*Trigger warning*
Execution by hanging — nothing gory, you can skip and I'll leave a brief recap at the end of the chapter. Happy reading!

The ballroom was vibrant, occupied by various ladies and gentlemen twirling and maneuvering around one another in a lively dance. They were dressed elegantly, in long gowns and dress coats. Noah and I were at the centre of it.

I knew exactly where I was. I was at another ball that Mother had taken me, only, I wasn't dancing with just anyone. I was dancing with Noah.

I glanced down at myself, at my dark green gown. I had specially worn the barrette Noah had gifted me. It was the highlight of my outfit. My curled hair bounced against my face as Noah and I danced and violin music sounded throughout the room from an orchestra behind the curtain.

His outfit was handsome even though it was just a regular black dress coat and his wavy hair combed back.

His hand was intertwined with mine, his other resting gently on my waist. Our feet moved together smoothly, like two puzzle pieces made for one another.

"Ophelia, I have good news to tell you," Noah said in a hushed tone. I raised an expectant eyebrow at him and a slow grin stretched across his lips. "I have your father's blessing for your hand in marriage. I believe he has yet to tell you."

I shook my head, feeling my own grin spread across my face, "Yes, he has. I am glad I heard it from you."

"I must be a lucky man for him to have agreed," Noah smirked, spinning me around with a hand. He caught me smoothly, placing his hand on my waist again as we continued to move around the dance floor. "If I am not mistaken, he mentioned you had a line of men asking for your hand in marriage."

"Yes," I nodded, my cheeks heating up. "They are all infuriating and stuck in their ways. You are different."

"I can not wait to be your husband," he said lowly as the music came to an end, the last note vibrating throughout the large room. He lifted my hand, bringing it to his lips as he pressed a soft kiss on the back of my hand.

I bit back my smile, avoiding his eyes for I knew that if I met his, I would grow beet red.

I glanced over at Mother and Father who stood to the side, beaming as they watched Noah and I twirl around the dance floor. They were dressed in their usual formal attire with their gowns and dress coats, hair adorned with either a hat or beautiful barrettes.

I returned their grins as Noah and I began making our way towards them, his hand in mine as he led me to Mother.

The smiles wiped off my parents' faces and instead, they curled down into a flat line. I stopped short, my brows furrowing at that sight. Their bright blue eyes morphed into a dark shade of blue, then navy and then black. The whites of their eyes disappeared, leaving only a black void.

"M-mother? Father?" I called out to them, my voice rhythmical and hollow — like an echo. Apprehension filled my gut as I watched them.

They didn't answer. They stared at me as they faded away into a blurry image and then they disappeared altogether. Fear finally crept in and my hand flew to my mouth. My eyes widened — Mother and Father were gone.

"I need help. My parents, they—" I glanced around frantically, my hands began to tremble wildly. Ladies and Lords chatted with one another, laughing and giggling, even flirting.

The music began again, echoing through the large, bustling room. It was a more aggressive, fast-paced tune. My breathing quickened into shallow, hyperventilating breaths and I struggled to take air in. Within all the chaos, no one seemed to notice my distress. The room began to spin as I glanced around, the bright ballgowns and dress coats all blurred into one.

"Can anyone hear me?" I asked, my voice only coming out as a whisper. I turned to Noah, desperate. "No, no, no..."

His eyes were no longer his usual dark brown ones, the ones that mirrored the dazzling stars in the sky. Rather, they looked like Mother and Father's. Black.

"N-Noah?" I reached my hand out, tugging at his gently. His arms remained limp at his side as his gaze burned into me, pulling me into the dark abyss.

"It is all your fault," he said, his voice toneless and empty.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"It is all your fault," he repeated, his lips curling into a nasty snarl.

"Noah no, please," I begged, reaching a hand forward. I did not know what I was doing, I just wanted to touch him.

I gasped when my hand slipped right through him. I curled my fingers, attempting to grasp at his wrist but I hurtled right through him, like he was nothing but thin air.

The floor below cracked open, crumbling as it split in half and I plummeted forward. I screamed out as I attempted to to claw at anything I could, the jagged rocks, the cement, anything. But I had no luck.

I was falling, weightless into what seemed like an endless black hole. It caught me by surprise, but within moments, I smacked against the ground. I grimaced, almost expecting pain to shoot up my legs, my spine and my chest, but I felt nothing. No pain.

Cautiously, I pulled myself up onto my backside, glancing around. It was pitch black as far as the eye could see, all except for a wooden gallow just a few meters away, with three ropes tied into a noose hanging from the frame. Crowds gathered around it, cheering, screaming and yelling profanity.

I crawled onto my feet, moving them forward towards the gallow. They were heavy and reluctant.

I stopped, my eyes widening at the sight of Mother, Father and Noah. They slowly made their way, step by step to the ropes, while another man followed close behind. He was dressed in all black, a mask covering the entirety of his face. I squinted, hoping to get a glimpse of who he was.

"Mother, Father! Noah!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs, cupping my hands over my mouth. I ran, forcing my legs to move forward. But I was not getting any closer. Rather, they moved further and further away. The gallow, my parents and Noah grew smaller and smaller. "Mother! Father!"

They did not seem to hear me and they kept walking, each of them stopping in front a rope. My eyes widened when it finally hit me what was happening.

They would die for treason — because of me.

"No, don't go over there!" I shouted, my voice hoarse. "No, please!" 

I pushed myself to run towards them, but no matter how hard I tried, I was not moving. I was stuck, rooted in my spot on the black void underneath my feet. I pushed myself harder, desperate to reach them. But my efforts were futile.

All I could do was watch.

The man in black shoved Father forward, hooking the rope over his neck, slow and menacingly. Almost like he knew I was there.

"No, stop! Please, you can not do this. It was my fault, I am the one who deserves this, not them! Please!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Hot tears that I had never noticed raced down my cheeks from my eyes, dripping down my chin.

My heart hammered against my chest, my breaths becoming short and rapid. I gasped for air, as if my lungs were closing in.

The man slipped the rope over Mother and Noah's neck.

I glanced around, frantic, swiping the tears off my cheeks. But no one seemed to notice me. They continued to shout profanity at my family and Noah, a crazed look in their eyes. They only thing they were missing were pitchforks.

"No, no, no. Please..." I whimpered. The man walked towards the lever, placing his hand on top of it.

My head grew heavy and my hand flew over to my chest. I grasped onto the fabric of my shirt tightly, hoping to loosen it to get some air in.

It was hopeless. The room started to spin, like I'd just stepped off a tire swing. I let out one last earth-shattering shriek and still, no one was fazed by me.

The man pulled down on the lever and the trap door below their feet swung open.

My hands trembled and tears streamed down my cheeks. I yelled and yelled and yelled, until my voice became discordant and hoarse.

Then, it was like the ground had swallowed me up. I was falling, my stomach rising into my chest. I fell for what felt like forever, bathing in pitch darkness. My fingers clawed and grasped at emptiness. Nothing could save me. And just as quick as it had happened, everything was completely still and quiet.

A steady beeping noise filled my ears. My lips parted and I sucked in a gasped breath.

"Ophelia?" a distant, echoing voice called out to me.

I would have thought I was still dreaming if it weren't for the bright white lights that assaulted my vision when I forced my eyes open to a sliver. The lights were almost blinding, and I pressed them shut again, whimpering.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out, my throat parched, and my lips dry. Fresh oxygen rushed into my nose and I became vaguely aware of the tubes that fed into my nostrils. The scent of alcohol and antiseptic drifted up my nose.

Finally, I was able to adjust to the bright lights and my eyes flitted throughout the room. Nameless machines sat next to me and an IV penetrated through a small vein in the back of my hand.

I was in a hospital.

I let out a shallow breath, the events of what had happened rushed back to me. I hadn't been aware of the extent of my injuries then, but I was relieved that I wasn't dead. My fingers and toes twitched when I willed them to — everything seemed to be working fine.

My body was heavy and limp, like there were ten pound weights attached to each of my limbs. I half expected to feel pain, but instead, I felt nothing.

"Ophelia, hey. You're okay, you're fine," the voice spoke up again, gently. The sound of it sent me comfort and security. A tender hand brushed over the hair near my temple, swiping the strays out of my eyes and face.

After an immense amount of effort, I turned my head slightly. At last, my eyes landed a pair of starry dark ones. Ones that had captivated me since the first time I saw them.

Liam was with me.

★★★

𝐻𝑖! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔! 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟!

𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒑: 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒂𝒎 (𝒐𝒓 𝑵𝒐𝒂𝒉, 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏) 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏.

𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑢𝑝?

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡