#ch: johanna hezenkoss

[galedekarios]

Emmrich leaned over a coffin ringed by bowls of silver fire. He placed the skull next to the body of an old woman, humbly dressed but crowned with white roses. The screaming stopped. “Mathilde…” “Your wife left gently, in her sleep, last midnight.” Emmrich smiled. ��The records confirm she also wished to be interred together. You’ll not be parted again.” There was a sigh. Did the old woman’s mouth quirk, or was that the dancing flames? Johanna snorted. “All that fury, ending in another grave.” “Oh, I don’t know.” Emmrich ran a hand along the coffin’s snowy marble. “It would be rather fine to possess such an enduring affection."

—Flame Eternal, Sylvia Feketekuty

[loveydoveypiperwright]

An excerpt from The Eternal Flame

This short story occurs in 9:22 Dragon, eight years before Origins, so Emmrich is younger than we recognize him. But this particular excerpt..... I'm thinking about how he's supposedly sensual and passionate... Assuming he's kept this frame of mind three decades later, he's going to be quite the grim romantic 👀