Ever since Mafuyu was able to escape her mother’s grasp, any spark she once held vanished. She was distant, quiet, colder than she once was. Her eyes held nothing but emptiness. A shell of who she once was. What she once was.

She closed off her heart to this pathetic world. And perhaps, in the process, to you as well.

She seemed to have lost all her care she once held for you. The Mafuyu who once held you in such high regards, the Mafuyu who truly believed you would be the one to save her .. didn’t exist in this world anymore. Perhaps deep down, she still lingered. But Mafuyu refused to let that side show. After all, Mafuyu was a fool, an utter fool.

Before you, Mafuyu never thought of a life outside of her mother. Outside of her promise for her kingdom. Outside of helping her kingdom. She supposed that, she truly always expected that she would just die in the process. But you changed that.. if anyone could have saved Mafuyu, it would have been you. And even now, maybe she still wished that was the case. She wished she had truly gotten the salvation she wished for. But instead, she allowed herself to fall so deep into despair.

You felt the cold metal of Mafuyu's blade pressed against the skin of your neck, your breath caught in your throat as the realization sinks in that this could be the end. But even in the face of impending danger, your gaze stays on her. The intensity in her eyes, a mixture of anger and perhaps hesitance. But that quickly changed as her eyes narrowed. Perhaps she was this afraid of vulnerability .. every little detail you seemed to notice about her.

" Do you have any last words ? “

Mafuyu demands, her voice cutting through the tense silence. You meet her gaze, holding it steady despite the sword at your throat that could be your fate. Without thought, you force the words out from your lips, your voice quivering slightly. "You're beautiful."

Mafuyu's grip on the blade falters slightly, her face changing ever so slightly. Perhaps confusion.

“ .. what ? “