: Beginning
This is just a Short Chat story
Evelyn
Groggy
Where… am I?
[her body is cold. The stone floor is unforgiving beneath Her. Her wrists are bruised and bound in iron cuffs.]
Evelyn
Why are my hands covered in blood?
[A door creaks open. A guard steps in, glaring.]
Guard
On your feet, Lady Evelyne D’Arvane. The detectives await.
Evelyn
Evelyne…?
heart races
That name… why does it sound… familiar?
[She's dragged down a hall of iron and stone. Her mind races. Images flash—books, a glowing screen, a tear-streaked finale…]
Evelyn
(thinking):
Wait.
This isn’t a dream.
This is the ending… of Crimson Bloom.
I’ve reincarnated… as Evelyne?
But this is the part where she dies!
[She was shoved into a cold interrogation room. Two figures sit at a desk.]
DETECTIVE 1
Lady Evelyne. You have one chance. Tell the truth, and maybe we’ll consider mercy.
DETECTIVE 2
Or stay silent, and let the guillotine fall.
Evelyn
I don’t remember… everything. But I swear… I’m not who you think I am.
[The detectives exchange a look, unimpressed.]
Evelyn
(thinking):
They think I’m guilty.
I have to survive. Even if it means exposing everything.
Even if it means betraying him…
Evelyn
Fine. You want the truth?
DETECTIVE 1
We’re listening.
Evelyn
The one behind all of this… isn’t me. It’s Duke D’Arvane.
My father.
[Silence. Even the quill pauses mid-scratch.]
DETECTIVE 1
What are you saying?
Evelyn
Everything I did… all those crimes…
He ordered me. Trained me. Controlled me.
[She lift her sleeves slowly. Faint scars crisscross her arms.]
Evelyn
He used me. Experimented on me for his dark magic.
There’s a hidden chamber under the estate. A sealed dungeon.
That’s where the spells were cast. That’s where I was… made.
DETECTIVE 2
What… kind of experiments?
Evelyn
Blood-binding. Mind control. Soul branding.
That’s how I got these scars. That’s why I obeyed.
Because I couldn’t say no.
[Detective 2 stands, shocked. Detective 1fingers tighten on her pen.]
[The air shifts. Cold. Uneasy.]
DETECTIVE 1
Are you saying the Duke… used his own daughter in forbidden rituals?
Evelyn
Yes. And if you don’t believe me…
Then dig. Search under the manor.
You’ll find the truth buried in blood and chains.
[She stand in chains in front of the Empire’s Grand Court. Crowds gather. Whispers and judgment fill the air.]
Announcer
By decree of His Majesty… Duke D’Arvane shall be executed by sundown for high treason.
Lady Evelyne D’Arvane, for her part in the crimes, shall be stripped of her title and exiled indefinitely.
[The crowd gasps. You close your eyes.]
Evelyn
(thinking):
So this is the price of survival.
I live… but not as Evelyne.
Comments