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The moon, a silver coin in the velvet sky, cast long, dancing shadows across the royal gardens. Eloise watched Lilith drain the last of her wine in one swift, desperate gulp. The glass, a fragile thing of crystal and gold, was flung with such force that it shattered against the marble fountain, the sound a jarring echo in the stillness of the night.
"Lilith" Eloise gasped, concern lacing her voice. "What is the meaning of this?"
Lilith's hand, trembling slightly, reached for the pearl comb nestled in her hair, pulling it out with a rough jerk that sent silky hair tumbling down her shoulders. She stared at the comb, her eyes wide and unfocused, before tossing it with a sigh onto the dewy grass.
"I...i do not know" she whispered, her voice a broken echo of her usual teasing tone.
Eloise, sat her own glass of wine down on the marble bench, her gaze fixed on Lilith. "Something is clearly troubling you" she said, her voice gentle but firm.
Lilith's eyes snapped up, a flicker of anger firing in their depths. "I am so angry, Eloise" she declared, her words a venomous dart.
Eloise leaned closer, her heart pounding in her chest. "Angry about Mary?" she asked, referring to her friend, the one with whom Eloise pretended to be engaged to, a charade designed to shield her true feelings from the prying eyes of the woman who stood in front of her.
"No" Lilith breathed, turning away.
"Amelia?" Eloise ventured, her voice laced with worry.
Lilith shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. Her voice, choked with emotion, rasped, "No"
Eloise's voice, her patience fraying, took on a note of urgency. "Who are you angry with Lilith!" she shouted.
Lilith turned, her gaze meeting Eloise's with a tortured intensity. Finally, she snapped, her voice rising in a torrent of pent-up emotions, "I am angry at myself!"
Eloise fell silent, her eyes fixed on Lilith's pale face, her heart sinking with a dreadful realization.
"I thought that if you left for Scotland, if you were miles away, i'd be free" Lilith confessed, her voice cracking. "Free from the own beating of my heart. The same cold heart that hasn't worked in years. Now i can ban lilies, i can run from the memory of Amelia, but I cannot possibly escape the moon. It's light rains down on me, it dances through my curtains, and i hear it..."
A sob escaped Lilith's lips, her voice breaking. "The moon sings your name" she rasped, nodding slowly.
Eloise's tears streamed down her cheeks. She laughed, a mixture of sadness and joy, a bittersweet symphony. "It seems when I went to the moon" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion, "It kept its promise"
