The Beginning of the End of gryphonkind
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// The Beginning of the End of gryphonkind
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The Tale of a Bloodline’s End by Vivid Lucidity
Commissioned for Vaxxus
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War is never a triumph. It is never a path of shimmering battles of courage and valour towards an inevitable victory. It is a path forged in blood, violence and atrocities.
No matter the cost, no matter the heartbreak, what must be done is to be done.
But the violence of war can shock even the most hardened of warriors…
==
A bright, moonless night hung over the kingdom of Equestria. Clouds lazily drift over its capital, Canterlot. The serene sky was unaware of the horrors wrought below.
The clouds were illuminated in plumes of orange fire, with a war raging beneath their surface. Gryphons had invaded Equestria and had laid sudden siege to its capital, flying in and attacking the walls with the element of surprise. It had barely begun, but already the sky was illuminated an ethereal glow with the flames of their arrows.
Yet darting through the darkness, with only faint snips of light catching on their wings, two-winged beasts flew. High above the ground they hide in the cover of clouds as the pair of gryphons silently approached the castle. Their fur was dark, their gazes were steeled; not a word was spoken as they soared. The directions were burned into the memories over months of practice and preparation, with one following the other. They could not fail.
Without a word they both dropped, holding their wings close to their bodies as they rocketed towards the ground. Hundreds of metres were covered in mere seconds, the blurry outline of the capital fast approaching. Their primal brains screamed to pull up, less they splatter over the cobblestones, but they kept going. The leader’s gaze was fearless, the follower’s afraid, yet still they plummeted. At a distance way too close to the ground they opened their wings. Forces yanked them back as they sailed towards the castle’s roof, the ground approaching way too fast, no hope of stopping in time…
Until with a forceful jolt they landed on the curved rooftop, without even knocking a tile loose.
Standing tall on the roof was none other than King Grover, leader of the gryphons. His gaze was strong as he looked over the capital and the army, his army, sieging the gates. Some would die, yes, but it had to be done. There was no other way to keep the guards away from the castle. And with the castle unguarded, they could strike at the capital’s heart and end the war mere moments after it began.
Beside him was his son, a prince, a mere shadow in the presence of his mighty father. His body was smaller, his feathers were lighter and messier, while his stature betrayed his fear. He was afraid. Afraid of what might go wrong, and what his father would think of him if he were to fail.
“We won’t fail son.” The King said with forceful intent as if reading his mind. “The guards will be gone. All that is between us and victory is the weak and lazy Princess Celestia. We must go.”
Without another word he leapt off the roof’s crest and dove down the roof, sprinting with his wings beside him. Every step was forceful and fast with his talons blurred lightning from the speed. The prince was now slower, but lacked grace and poise, with his betrayed by his steps.
Quickly running down the roof they leapt onto a balcony and dashed inside, into a small library. Seeing nobody around, they wasted no time dashing into the hallways and heading straight for the throne room. The hallways were opulent, with white and grey checker flooring, marble walls, and motifs of the sun everywhere you could look.
But no people.
The halls were dead and empty, the only sound echoing down them being the thundering of the pair’s claws. During the day the halls would’ve looked radiant, but now they merely felt lifeless and unnatural.
“Where … where is everyone… this isn’t right…” the Prince, gulping nervously as he ran alongside his father.
“Quiet!” King Grover hissed, not even looking back to scorn him with his steely gaze. “They’re all fighting the army, so let’s just move!”
“Even the cooks and servants?” The prince thought yet did not dare to speak up against his father.
After minutes of dashing down perfectly memorised halls, they arrived. Claws scratching the floor, they skittered to a halt just outside two imposing wooden doors marked with the herald of the sun. The tall doors loomed far above them; the prince felt like a mere ant in comparison to them. With bated breath King Grover rested a claw against it but felt no resistance; the door was unlocked. He nodded to this son, who weakly returned it. Taking a step back, they wielded the short-swords across their back, before King Grover gently pushed the doors open. They both stepped inside.
The throne room was beyond opulent. It was a large room with a tall, curved ceiling made from glass, with the herald of the sun etched in the dye. Rows upon rows of benches lined the room with a passage in the middle, giving the subjects a place to sit before their Princess. At the far end was a raised platform for the Princess to stand upon. Behind that was a window that took up the entire far wall, giving a panoramic view of the entire kingdom; and the war engulfing it.
And stood before the window, back turned with a tint of orange light illuminating her brilliant white fur, was Princess Celestia.
Even in the darkness of a moonless night, illuminated by the flames of war, she still looked absolutely radiant. It was as if her white fur glowed with a star burning bright inside her. She wore her regal garb, with her golden crown and hoof-shoes. She didn’t turn as the pair entered the throne room. Standing side by side, King Grover stared with burning fury, while the prince looked up with trembles of fear.
“What I don’t understand is why.” Celestia suddenly spoke without even turning. They both looked to each other uneasily, she was probably just talking to herself…
“Why did you two do this? Why did you attack our peaceful kingdom…”
Even King Grover was shocked, flinching backwards at how easily their ruse was discovered. But he steeled himself with even greater fury.
“So, the mighty Princess admits to our presence at last.” Grover started with a sneer of contempt. They began to walk forwards, carefully watching their step with their swords drawn. “Bow before us, and perhaps we’ll give you a quick death.”
Celestia didn’t turn. She continued watching the world before her, burning with its violence. Her eyes traced a flaming projectile hurled by catapult, before flinching slightly as it slammed into a castle wall. All this violence … all this death…
A tear began to form in her eye.
Slowly, as if she’d rather not, she turned around and looked them in their eyes.
King Grover’s stare was wild, angered and determined, while the Prince’s trembled with fear and trepid dedication. But the Princess’s eyes were weary almost as if she had resigned herself to an unfortunate task. There was no fear in her eyes, just … sadness?
“You never answered me why. Why all this violence … why all this death … what do you want?”
King Grover’s response was immediate.
“Heh, isn’t it obvious? You ponies … all of you … you’re weak. Soft. Spineless. Unable to take what you want. Your kingdom will fall easily Princess … just like you.”
“Are you sure about that?” she replied, not even flinching from any of the words. The Prince flinched, terror flashing across his eyes before he steeled himself with determination. Neither spoke, now halfway across the throne room towards her. Silence reigned in the room, spare the far and distance cries of war.
“In case you’re wondering…” the Princess started again, shattering the silence with her warm voice. “…I dismissed the guards and servants. I didn’t want them to be hurt when you arrived…”
The pair stopped dead. Even King Grover looked hurt, for only a moment, before a snarling growling hid any fear. But the prince trembled while his eyes darted in terror; the ruse had been found. His fear of Princess Celestia steadily grew…
“We … maybe… we should go…” he whispered with a trembling voice.
“No!” his father snapped, making him flinch back in greater fear. He began to ascend the steps to the raised platform, his son dutifully following behind him with a flagged tail. “So you think you’re so clever do you, Princess? Thinking you’re as all-knowing as the sun as always, huh Princess? Well, are your grace, all your regality … yet we’re the ones in control now…”
“Are you?”
“SILENCE!” he roared, voice echoing off the walls. This wasn’t just anger, this was fury hiding doubt he himself didn’t want to admit. The prince could see the hidden doubt, and that scared him as well. But still, they pushed onwards. Claws scraped across polished tiles as they ascended the short stairs onto the slightly raised platform of the Princess.
This was it. There was no further they could go.
King and son stood side by side as they stared down Princess Celestia. Their gazes were strong, while Celestia held that same resigned stare. The two were ready to attack at a moment’s notice…
“I will give you one chance.” She said, not even bothering to look at their drawn swords. “One chance to surrender. You will leave the castle and order your soldiers to withdraw. There will be no repercussions.”
Even the prince chuckled at this, an uneasy laugh betraying his fear. But King Grover openly laughed, a cackle of wicked delight.
“Are you delusional?! Hahaha, you stand before the two greatest warriors, unarmed and alone, and you have the GALL to demand our surrender?! You know what? I’ll humour you. What’s going to happen to us if we don’t surrender, oh you powerful and majestic Princess.”
“Then both of you will die.”
Celestia didn’t blink, she didn’t look fazed, she just said it matter of factly as if it was the unshakeable truth.
“Neither of you will leave the room alive. Your bloodline, King Grover, will be extinguished forever. Surrender. Please. I’m begging you.”
The prince could see a tinge of sadness in her eyes as if she didn’t want to say it. That was what scared him the most. This wasn’t the boasting of an overconfident king or the furious demands of a lunatic, but the humble admissions of strength by a person that didn’t want to use it. It was all too much for him. Slowly, he began to step backwards…
“I su…” the prince stammered, but he never finished the first syllable.
“Never!” his father screamed, freezing him in place with the authority of his words.
Silence. Celestia drooped her head, shutting her eyes before looking back up. She was … crying…
“I warned you.” She said remorsefully before her horn began to glow.
The King and Prince tried to attack, but never even took a step before a sudden force gripped them tight. It felt like it was coming from every angle, pinching, squeezing, tugging; it as if they were being compressed inwards. Letting out a pained screech they tried to step forward, only to scream as they looked around.
They were shrinking.
The world stretched away from them like gum as their bodies shrank away at a dizzying pace. In mere seconds they were a quarter of their original heights and it hadn’t even stopped. The throne room became a towering coliseum, while Princess Celestia grew ever larger with every second. And throughout the whole ordeal, she looked down at them with not anger or glee, but regret.
“I warned you…” she said as the last of their height wilted away, leaving them tiny and afraid on the polished floor.
There was no denying it, they were tiny beyond belief. They were no bigger than grape each, a king and prince reduced to bugs in a great hall. Everything was colossal to them, the throne room, the pillars, walls, furniture, and most of all: Princess Celestia herself. To the tiny gryphons, she was bigger than a castle. A morose, towering princess, looking down at them with sadness and regret.
For one moment, King Grover and his son were silent. Silent and still as they took on the might of the formerly unassuming Princess towering over them. She stepped closer. Tremors as violent as earthquakes ripped through the ground with every step that brought her closer. A mere step covered what looked like dozens of metres to them.
At that moment, as their legs struggled to work as they stared upon the approaching giant, they thought one thing. One thought dominated their terror-filled minds.
They were completely and utterly doomed.
King Grover tried to escape. His steely resolve completely shattered, he turned around and tried to run, but didn’t take a step before an unseen force pinned him to the ground. It was the Princess’s telekinesis holding him in place. Letting out a primal roar he tried to drag himself forward with all of his strength but barely budged an inch. His desperate attempts to flee were no more forceful than a scurrying cockroach.
The prince laid stunned as he watched her approach, his throat and chest getting tight with pure fear and terror. By the time he managed to scream at himself to run, he was already pinned by her magic. He was beside his father, both of them with their backs to the floor.
King and son, side by side, but as two tiny bugs pinned against the floor.
Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
Their screams and desperate struggles did nothing to dissuade the approaching mountain that was Princess Celestia. As she passed overhead, they threw up their hands, expecting her hooves to come crush them flat … but they didn’t. For now. Instead, Celestia positioned herself with her hind hooves on either side of the pinned pair. For a moment they thought they had been spared. Their racing hearts slowed slightly. But the terror exploded back in as she lifted her right hind hoof and brought it towards King Grover.
Screaming like the trapped animal he was he tried to scramble anyway as the golden surface approached, but there was no hope. Her hoof came down upon his stomach, making him howl in pain as he was forced against the ground. Everything beneath his midpoint was hidden beneath her hoof. The golden surface stretched up and in front of him like a cliff face.
“Please … no … glrk!” he screamed as he desperately tried to break free, claws scrambling over the smooth gold. “I … I surrender! Please … no!”
“I’m sorry…” she mourned, shaking her head sadly. “I gave you a chance to surrender, to turn away, but you were too headstrong. If I let you go now … you’ll just bring an army back to kill me…”
“PLEASE!” he squawked as he felt his bones bend beneath the pressure.
“He … he surrenders! I surrender! I’ll do anything, anything!” the prince yelled, tears flowing down his cheeks. Welling up all the strength he had he crawled towards his father. But he could barely move, his struggles bringing him just out of reach of his father. Tears caked both of their eyes as they stared at each other forlornly. King Grover’s body shook with exhaustion, the prince’s with uncontrolled sadness. Taking his claw away from the hoof, he reached out towards his son…
Princess Celestia could see it. The fear. The anguish. The regret. Her body tensed as she hesitated, unable to do it, unable to do what must be done…
But it had to be done.
“Son … I lo…”
But King Grover never finished his last words. Princess Celestia rolled her hoof forwards, taking him entirely beneath the golden surface as she lifted her other hind-hoof up. With all the pressure upon him, the hoof simply sank down, crushing his body like nothing. With a sickening crunch that made Celestia turn her head away, he was obliterated. In the blink of the prince’s eyes, the hoof crushed his father flat. All the stuck out was his tail, flaring upwards as the last of the crushed nerves fired, before it fell back down, still and silent.
The prince was shocked. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe as he stared at the hoof that was once his father. A torrent of red poured out from beneath the hoof. The prince was soaked in blood, his father’s blood. He merely trembled as the hoof raised up again, with a waterfall of blood and unrecognisable viscera cascading to the ground.
That was all he was. The strong and mighty king reduced to a red, bloody smear on the underside of her hoof. Not even a footnote of history, but a stain. A stain beneath the step of Princess Celestia.
“No…” he stammered, tossing his head in stark raving fear. Celestia didn’t notice, stepping backwards to bring him in front of her. A trail of red hoofprints followed her step.
“No … no … no … no! No!” he stared up at Celestia’s giant eyes. “You … you killed him!”
“It had to be done … I’m sorry…” she said with a teary eye.
“I … I surrender! I’ll never … attack the kingdom … just let me go! Don’t kill me … please! I’m a prince … I don’t want to be just a blood-stain, please!”
A moment’s hesitation as Celestia stared down upon him, before turning her head and shutting his eyes.
“I … I wish I could… but I can’t. I just can’t. Young prince … I’m sorry. Your kind … the desire for revenge burns deep. I know you may regret this now … but later … you will come back for me. That much I know. I must end this now…”
“PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE!”
Celestia didn’t flinch. She just looked down at him with those same sad eyes tinged with pity. As if he was a poor, innocent and defenceless creature that did nothing wrong … yet had to be put down anyway.
“I’m sorry … but there is no other way… I wish I didn’t have to do this … I wish things were different … but it is how it is. That is unfortunate. But young prince … you will not die in vain. You will not be forgotten … I will let you live on as a shining beacon of hope… your death … your death will give me life…”
And with that, the crushing pressure became lightness as he was magically brought upwards towards her head.
She wasn’t going to give him a quick, painless death beneath her step.
She was going to devour him alive.
There was no escaping it. He screamed and thrashed as if his feathers had been soaked in oil and set alight, yet the magical bonds didn’t budge. All he could do was thrash his head and scream as the graceful, yet terrifying visage of Princess Celestia approached.
“PLEASE OH NO PLEASE!” he waited. Her eyes faltered and she looked down with concern, yet he did not slow.
“I’m … sorry … young one … but there is no other way. There isn’t…this is the only way to bring peace…”
“I SAID I SURRENDERED! I’LL NEVER DREAM OF ATTACKING YOU EVER AGAIN! JUST DON’T EAT ME!”
Halfway up her body now. Passing her torso, the prince swore he could hear her stomach grumble. A long, low growl of a beast churning inside her, ready to break him down.
“I know your kind … I know what you will do … there is no other way … there is no other way…” she said as she tried to soothe both the prince and her own tortured conscience.
“PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE!”
“This is going to happen … nothing can change that. This will bring the most worth from your life … ensure you’re never forgotten…”
“THIS IS WRONG! YOU’RE WRONG! NO!”
“…and just imagine … the whole world will see you … in me. You’ll live on … in me…”
“NO!”
No amount of screaming would change her mind, as much as she wished it would. But that didn’t matter anymore, as there was no higher he could go, as he was now floating in front of her head. Up close he could see every minute detail: the fur fluttering as she breathed through her nostrils, the worry etched in her eyes, and the faint trails of tears running down her cheeks. He felt like he was going to throw up. His entire body burned with adrenaline while his feathers were soaked in tears and blood. His voice was hoarse from all the screaming.
Princess Celestia opened her mouth, and he screamed as he had never screamed before.
To see the inside of her maw, a dark, rank cavern of saliva and flesh, broke him as the realisation shattered him. He was going to be food. Her broad tongue gently flicked against the edges of her mouth in nervousness, while her gullet waited at the back of her mouth. It was ready for him, ready to drag him down to the stomach where flesh would be burned from his bones. And there was nothing he could do to save himself.
“Goodbye … young prince…” was all she said, before with a final, tiny scream, shoved him inside and snapped her mouth shut.
She could feel him. Struggling, beating, clawing at the walls and her tongue as he begged for freedom. She could taste the saltiness of his body – it disgusted her. The flavour, the blood on his feathers, and even his tears, they all formed a horrific flavour that made her gut churn. She began to push and squeeze him with her tongue, pushing him back towards the throat...
-
But he was barely thinking about his flavour as he screamed his heart out inside the hot and humid maw. The tongue and saliva battered him from every direction and left him unable to tell which way was up. It was nauseating. The saliva was thick and foul, forcing him to cough it up as he swallowed it accidentally during his screams.
His claws raked over her teeth, tongue and gums as he clawed like the trapped bird he was, but couldn’t even draw blood. Her tongue was everywhere, a thick, strong organ that pushed and squeezed him relentlessly. It didn’t feel part of her body, it felt like a raw force of nature.
“GA- NO-NO PL-PLEASE!” he screeched between mouthfuls of foul saliva. But even he could barely hear it beneath the wet, slow licks coming from the tongue that beared down on him. Wet licks that squelched saliva all around him, forcing more of the thick, hot ooze directly into his feathers and very being.
But still, he kept fighting. A rolling surge of the tongue pushed him across a hard set of molars, and he screamed with fresh resolve as he realised where he was. With a surge of strength, he pushed away before she could chew and crush him to oblivion. Momentum carried him forwards towards the tip of the tongue. He pushed out with his claws and feet, shoving away the tongue and pushing him across the slimy floor. Feeling the hard enamel of her front teeth behind him, he rolled over and pushed out of her mouth. The lips were tight, the tongue assaulted his back and tried to drag him back in, but he pushed.
He pushed, and burst forth of her lips a soaked, heaving bird dripping with saliva. Only his upper half was out. Pushing forward, he gripped her lips with one claw, while extending his other in a desperate plea. He could see no-one else, it only being an empty hall, yet still, he reached out.
“HELP ME, PLEASE!” he screeched. Slowly, he dragged himself forwards...
...before the pressure around his waist doubled, and he was effortlessly sucked back in again. Screaming. His screams were abruptly silenced as he disappeared back within the hot, sticky maw once more. The tongue wasted no time in pushing and shoving his battered body, rolling him all around her mouth. But still he continued to fight, pushing and clawing against the overwhelming pressure.
-
All he wanted was for its end.
Unfortunately, she wanted the exact same thing.
To hear his screams when he burst his head out ... Celestia couldn’t handle it. She wanted to roll him around her maw to try and soften him, weaken him, but it just broke her heart further and further. The thought of silencing him screams with a single, wet crunch crossed her mind ... but she couldn’t do it. Every press, every struggle could be felt, and it sickened her to the stomach.
But it had to be done.
-
Crushed against the palate, the Prince gasped and struggled as the breath was squeezed out of his body. Slowly, he began to push his way forwards...
...only for the tongue to drop out beneath him.
And the world to tip back.
What was a flat tongue was now a steep incline. His body slid across it as if it was glass. His heart exploded in terror as she clawed for grip, hoping, praying for any salvation.
“NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!” he gibbered in mind-breaking terror as she clawed onto the tongue.
Until there wasn’t any tongue anymore. A moment of freefall, before he slammed into her wet, fleshy throat.
And it swallowed him down.
He shot down a few inches, while his claws desperately tried to cling onto anything. His entire body thrashed as if he was set alight as he furiously fought his fate. But she gave another swallow. And another. All rippling across his form, until with a final scream, he was sucked down into her throat.
Never to rise again.
-
Unable to bear it any longer and wanted to get it down as quickly as possible, Celestia threw her head back and gulped him down. Her throat muscles hitched, she couldn’t do it, but she had to. With regret, she gulped again and again until the tiny, wriggling morsel slipped into her throat and was swallowed down. She could hear his screams and pleas as they slowly died away in her body. She was thankful for that at the very least, but it made the deed no easier.
-
The prince couldn’t think of a worse way to die. All he wanted was to be at home, anywhere but here, but nothing would change his fate. There was nothing he could do but scream as he slipped down her tongue towards the gullet he knew was there. There was nothing he could but scramble for grip as the throat muscles sucked him down. There was nothing he could do but beg as his grip was worn away by her strong muscles. And as he slipped into her throat, there was nothing he could do but flail as he was dragged towards his doom.
It felt like aeons. He wished it was. It might’ve been chaotic, hot, rank, and left him unable to breathe due to the saliva around him, but it was better. Better than the stomach. The throat would be the last respite he would ever have in his life. His heart hammered out of his chest and he felt like he was going to vomit in pure terror. This couldn’t be real, this had to be a nightmare, he couldn’t die like this!
But he was going to. With unstoppable consistency, he was dragged down her throat by her unshakeable strength. A thick, slimy sphincter slithered over his skin before he was dumped into the churning mass of her stomach.
Even His possible worst nightmares of her stomach were worse than this.
It was hot. Boiling hot, an all-consuming heat that made him feel like he was boiling alive, while the acids lashed his skin. There was no light, only the ever-churning sea of chyme that surrounded him. Over and over he’d be dunked beneath the churning waves, foul stomach juices shooting up his throat and down his nose before he would gasp again in the thick and noxious air. Swirling currents dragged him deeper into the churning mass, away from the slimy stomach walls that offered his only hope of respite.
There were no solids in the stomach, with everything churned away to a thin liquid. Just like he was going to be. Not even ten seconds had passed, and agony blossomed across his skin as the acids began to bubble, sizzle and break him down. Clumps of feathers broke away and joined the all-consuming mire.
Like the drowning bird he was, he slammed his paws into the chyme, trying to swim to a stomach wall, but it was hopeless.
“PLEASE … DON’T DIGEST ME … PLEGLRK!”
A sudden wave splashed over him and dunked him beneath the surface. He was done for. His entire body burned, he couldn’t feel his legs or wings, and his lungs screamed for oxygen. Even if he had the strength to move, he wouldn’t be able to swim to the surface; the churning mess was simply too chaotic.
This was it. He was going to die. He could feel the life leech from his skin and join the stomach juices of his consumer. Everything he did, everything he wanted to be, everything he dreamed of, and it would amount to nothing more than a snack for a princess.
He wished it could’ve been different. He really did. He wished with all of his strength and conviction that it would be anything but this. That he made different decisions, chose not to join his father, anything, just anything, that would mean he didn’t have to die like this.
But nothing answered his wishes.
With a final spasm of his corroded muscles, he went still, never to rise again.
He didn’t die like a prince. He didn’t die with honour, or with reasoned thoughts.
He died afraid. Afraid, screaming and begging, but with no way to change his fate.
He did not die like an animal.
He died as a piece of food.
The End.
Epilogue:
Placing a forehoof to her stomach, Celestia let out a sobbing sigh of relief as the struggling inside her gut finally went still. She wasn’t able to hear him before, but she could feel him. Every splash, every struggle, every fight he put up, all clear as day within her.
It all told her what she didn’t want to know.
She was killing him.
Several times throughout, she thought of letting him back up. Of regurgitating him, bringing him back to health. But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She had to do this, he had to die.
War made a monster of them all, and Princess Celestia was no exception.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed in anguish, the guilt wracking through her body like poison. Leaving a trail of tear-drops behind her she limped to the window and stared out at the night before her. The flames of war still burned bright, but she knew they would die down before long.
She’d planned this, really. She’d knew they would attack. She knew that King Grover, boundless in his ego, would expect to try and win it with a daring sneak attack. His son … that she did not anticipate. Holding her hoof against her stomach she mourned the loss of him; he had such hope.
But this had to be done, it was the only way to win the war with as few casualties as possible. The army would undoubtedly have no more orders than to siege, with King Grover not imagining that his daring attack would fail. The armies, leaderless and without a plan, would fall in a few days. And then, peace would return. Sweet, beautiful peace.
A peace that was worth anything in the world to bring it.
But as the young prince’s screams echoed in her mind like a torture she could never escape, she doubted that fact.
Sobbing, she rested her head against the glass and watched as her tears trickled down.
“It had … had to be done… what must be done … what must be done!” she sobbed in agony for the rest of the night.