agnes strauss//d2. fin.

He came in like a whirlwind.

As quick as the lightening that flashes across the sky and as loud as the thunder that follows.

But not one of them was prepared for the dark storm Finn would bring with him, or the destruction he would leave in his wake.

Agnes was mesmerized the moment he walked through the doors. The scent of fresh baked bread from the shop in town still lingered on his clothing. They were rarely allowed to leave the house, let alone go to town. The smell reminded her of freedom, of a life she once had that is now long gone. His eyes were piercing, and the moment they met hers it was as if they could see right through her, as she stood perfectly straight and not a hair out of place.

The facade she played was useless around him.

All those years of perfection gone to waste.

They way he carried himself was different from the others. They way he walked, the way he spoke as if nothing was wrong. He was simply a boy, but he portrayed himself as a man.

It wasn't long before she was drawing hearts around his name in her journal, and it didn't take much effort to picture herself in a flowing white gown with her hand in his. There was something about this boy that had her infatuated. She watched the way he would hold his sword and swing it through the air so gracefully. The way the sweat dripped down his face and his brow furrowed in concentration each training session. Agnes felt as if her heart belonged to him, the way it fluttered each time there eyes would meet, even only for a second.

But then it was torn in two.

Annabelle.
Finn.

There names were scrawled carelessly across the piece of paper, as if their names meant nothing. But one of their names would be just a whisper in the air.

After tonight one of their names would be no more.

The tears from Meredith stained her clothes as she wept silently on Agnes's shoulder as the three of you embraced. Deep down they all knew it would be the very last time, but not a single one of them dared to speak the words out loud.

There was only silence when it happened. Annabelle did not scream, she did not cry. The only noise she heard was the blade as it sliced through the air and landed itself into her friend's heart. The whole time Agnes kept her eyes locked to Finn's. She was scared to look away, because she knew once she did-

She would never look at him the same again.

Now if he walks down the halls she averts her gaze the other way, when just a few short weeks ago she would do everything she could to find them.

The halls felt foreign without Annabelle by their sides, and now Mer was slowly unraveling. An anger that she had never seen before would be released. There would not be a warning. It was like a tidal wave that would come crashing down.

There was no calm before this storm.

She knew she must keep it together, not for herself, but for Meredith. Agnes knew that if she were to disappear the girl she once knew would be no more. Her time training seemed more precious than ever, she could not let her name be scribbled on that piece of paper. She would not let her name but tossed to the side like trash. So she focused until she was no longer the little girl that once was.

She was strong. She was dangerous

Most importantly she was broken.

But she only ever dared to let her pillow see the tears that streamed silently down her cheeks at night. The tears that she cried for the girl who once was.

He brought a storm with him.

And now her walls were crumbling down.