The Great Fall

The corridor blurred past as Ariel ran, heart hammering against her ribs. The walls felt narrower, the air thinner, like the entire palace was closing in on her.

She reached the door and slammed it open.

The crash echoed through the stone chamber.

Every head turned. She didn't care.

"Ava!"

Her voice cracked as she rushed forward, nearly tripping over the heavy folds of her dress. Her knees hit the bedside.

Ava lay still. Too still. Her pale skin was littered with bruises, her arms scratched raw. Her chest barely rose, barely fell.

Ariel seized her hand. Ice. Her sister's fingers were ice.

"No, no, no—Ava, what happened to you?"

The answer came from behind her. Cold. Flat. Unbothered.

"She was caught by the Forbidden Wall."

Ariel stiffened. The voice belonged to The Mormont. She turned, rage burning through the thick fog of fear in her chest.

"You did this to her?!" she spat.

The Mormont didn't blink. "She was found this way."

Ariel's pulse pounded at her temples. Liar.

"She's sizteen! She's climbed trees taller than this palace! She's never fallen!" Her voice cracked. "Until now."

A new voice sliced through the thick tension.

"The gods spare who they spare.

Punish who they punish.

Man, woman.

Rich, poor…"

Ariel's breath hitched. The air shifted—grew heavier. Colder.

Austin.

The Queen's Regent stepped forward, his presence a silent, crushing force. Shadows clung to him like a second skin, stretching unnaturally along the floor. He didn't stop until he was beside her. Close enough that she could feel his breath against her ear.

"…Old, young."

Ariel's fingers clenched tighter around Ava's hand.

"What are you saying?" she whispered.

Austin's lips curled, but there was no humor in it. Only something sharp. Unreadable. Dangerous.

"She climbed." His hands folded behind his back as he turned. "She fell." He reached the doorway, pausing only once.

And then, with a glance over his shoulder, he murmured, "And now, she will never climb again."

And then he was gone.

The words landed like a physical blow.

Ariel swayed, barely registering her own shaking breaths. Never climb again?

"What does he mean?" Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

The Mormont exhaled slowly. Candlelight flickered across his bald head. "The fall was hard. Even if she wakes up, she might never use her legs again."

The floor beneath her tilted.

No.

Her knees hit the ground. No.

She clutched Ava's limp fingers, pressing them against her forehead. "We just lost Father. I can't lose you too." Her sobs tore through her body, raw and ugly.

Her fingers brushed against Ava's palm.

Something small. Cold.

A soft clink shattered the silence.

Ariel's breath caught.

She looked down.

And froze.