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[lady-elisabeth-esq]

Vera Webb - portraits near Marunweem Bridge

The Devil's Advocate | ladyelisabeth

At last, she would come face to face with the Keepers once more. At last, she would be able to demand the answers that would save Anne from her curse and save Sebastian from spiraling further down the path of dark magic.

She pulled her tall riding boots on, hopping on one foot as she reached for her traveling cloak. Her fingers trembled as she secured it in place. 

In her mind, she saw the grief on Isidora’s face as she had pleaded with Professor Rackham to find a way to help her father; the goblins and Ashwinders and poachers that were ravaging the countryside; Anne’s expression, twisted by pain; Ominis cradling his head in his hands as he relived the horrors in his past; Sebastian’s dark eyes as he raised his wand towards her before a door full of carved, tortured faces. And the anger festered in her heart like an infection.

The key to everything lay with those dusty, self-important old portraits. And she would make them understand.

Electric anticipation buzzed through her, ringing quietly in her ears. She swung her bag over her shoulder and took one last glance in the vanity mirror. The quick braid she had done in the Undercroft was still intact and didn’t look as messy as she had feared. Her face was pale and drawn, her pallor only emphasized by the cool light filtering in through the stained glass. But the circles under her eyes weren’t quite as puffy as she had been picturing, and her blue eyes were alert and focused.

The girl in the mirror gave her pause for a beat longer than intended. She looked familiar and yet entirely unrecognizable from the reflection she was used to seeing. It was a subtle change, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was different. But this girl looked older, somehow, and harder. 

Blinking, she turned away and slipped out the door.