Fallen Radiance

However, the light did not let her out of the trial, but the emergence of deeper memories, like a torrent of chains, once again drew her into the vortex of the past.

The picture came into focus and she saw herself standing in the palace gardens. It was a cloudy evening, and the air was cold and damp. In the distance, Reynaud's figure stood by the rose bushes, his silver-gray hair slightly raised in the wind, but his expression was as gloomy as the weather.

Elena gently walked over, her voice with tentative concern: "Renault, why didn't you go to see your father today? He says Estar's envoy has arrived."

Renaud turned his head slowly, with a slight coldness in his eyes and a low voice. "Estal? It's all the boring political marriages and quid pro quo."

The tone of his voice made Elena slightly shocked. She had never seen Renault like this. His eyes less that once warm, replaced by a touch of let her strange cold.

"Leno," Elena whispered, "I know this is exhausting for you, but it's your duty as a prince, isn't it? We can face it together..."

'That's enough! Leno interrupted her with an unprecedented chill, "Elena, do you really think you know anything? You're just a soldier, a pawn, and I... I must carry the future of the entire royal family with me!"

Elena froze, her fingers slightly tightened, her eyes in disbelief: "Chess pieces? Renault, you've never said that before. We used to..."

"Ever?" Renaud sneered, his eyes stinging her. "What do you think all that innocence and beauty in the past can change? The world doesn't show mercy. Feelings are a luxury."

"Are you serious?" Elena's voice trembled slightly as she took a step closer, her eyes full of stubbornness. "Leno, it's not like you. You once told me that we could do anything together, and you made me believe that the future could be made on my own!"

Renaud's expression changed slightly, a flicker of complexity in his eyes, but soon returned to coldness. He turned away from her and said, "Elena, this is reality. Either you accept it or you leave."

The words hit Elena hard in the heart like a hammer. She froze, the emotion in her eyes almost bursting, but eventually she clenched her teeth and forced herself to calm down.

"If this is your choice," her voice was low but firm, "then I will prove you wrong."

After that day, Raynor's manner became more cold, and his speech was replaced by a sense of alienation and impatience. Elena could not understand why he had become this way and did not want to believe that the love between them had passed away.

So she chose to write letters.

First letter

"Renault:

I don't know why you suddenly changed, maybe because of the pressure of the royal family, maybe because we all stood in different positions. But I still remember the words we used to say and the promises we made together.

You told me that no matter how hard it was, we could face it together. And right now, I just want to know if you remember that.

Elena."

She left the letter in Reynold's study and awaited his reply with some trepidation. However, the letter was like a blank sea, in return for Renault's indifference. Elena did not give up and continued to express herself in letters.

Second letter

"Renault:

If you don't want to face me, I respect your choice. But allow me to tell you through this letter that I still believe you are not a cold and heartless person. There may be too much responsibility on your shoulders, but that doesn't mean you have to go it alone.

You have shown me hope, and I want to bring you warmth. Please don't shut me out.

Elena."

Reynaud received the letters, but did not reply. His eyes lingered on the paper for a long time, his fingers gently stroking the words on the paper, his eyes full of complications and contradictions.

Elena did not give up and continued to express her feelings in letters. She placed each letter carefully where Raynor might see it, with patience and sincerity.

She thought of their agreement in the mountains, of what he had once said: "It's a deal." Maybe letters really can be a bridge for them to communicate.

The third letter

"Renault:

This is the last time I will write to you. If these letters don't bring you back, I'll accept that.

But I want to tell you that no matter what your decision is, I will not regret loving you, nor will I regret working for the future we once had.

If one day you would like to recall these, please remember that my heart has never changed.

Elena."

The night she wrote the letter, Elena sat quietly by the window, watching the moonlight in the distance. There were no tears in her eyes, only endless exhaustion and determination.

"If a letter doesn't bring him back..." "Then maybe we really have come to an end."

With the emergence of the last memory, the space of questioning began to shake violently. Elena's figure was enveloped in red light, her hands clasped tightly, her eyes burning with a fiery light.

"The emotions of the past... The struggles of the past..." "She whispered, pain and stubbornness in her voice." They don't define me... And I won't let them destroy me!"

A sudden burst of red light shattered the whole space like a mirror, and Elena's soul seemed to be completely torn apart and reassembled in an instant. Calm and fortitude returned to her eyes, the true strength she had gained from the trial.

In reality, Cavell gazes at the calming statue with a deep sense of complexity and awe. He whispered to himself, "She's not just asking questions... She's creating a new future."