Crown of Thorns and Roses

The forest was silent as Elena and Cassian walked away from the valley. The weight of her decision hung heavy in the air, though the crown's pull had faded. For the first time, the forest no longer felt hostile—it felt empty, like a battlefield after the war had ended.

Elena could still feel the hollow ache in her chest where her heart used to be. Every step she took reminded her of what she had given up, a price she wasn't sure she could ever repay.

Cassian walked beside her, his silver eyes flicking toward her every so often, though he said nothing. For once, the silence between them wasn't sharp or heavy. It was something else—an understanding neither of them spoke aloud.

Finally, Elena broke the quiet. "It's over, isn't it?"

Cassian didn't answer immediately. His gaze was fixed on the path ahead, where the forest's edges blurred into mist. "The trials are over," he said at last. "But what comes next… is up to you."

"What comes next?" she repeated softly. "How do I go back to my people like this?"

Cassian stopped, turning to face her. "You go back because they need you. Crown or no crown, they need someone who survived."

"Someone who survived," Elena echoed, her voice flat. "But at what cost? I gave up everything, Cassian—my heart, my ability to feel. What kind of ruler can I be like this?"

Cassian regarded her carefully, his silver eyes softer than she'd ever seen them. "One who understands sacrifice."

Elena looked away, her throat tightening. "That's not enough."

"It has to be," he replied. "Because the only way forward is through."

By the time they reached the edge of the forest, the sky had shifted from gray to gold. The light of dawn poured through the trees, painting the world in soft hues of warmth—warmth Elena could no longer feel.

The forest opened up to a hillside overlooking the land she had once called home. From here, she could see the distant spires of a broken castle, its walls scorched and crumbling from the war that had torn her kingdom apart. Beyond that lay villages—some still standing, others nothing more than ash.

Elena sank to her knees on the hilltop, the wind pulling at her hair. She had fought through the trials, she had conquered the darkness, and yet… this was all that remained.

"Is this what I fought for?" she whispered.

Cassian stood behind her, silent as always. For once, he had no answer.

Elena's fingers dug into the earth, her chest aching. The emptiness inside her was a yawning void, a silence that stretched endlessly. She had been marked by the Rose Crown, shaped by its trials, but it hadn't made her whole. It had made her less.

"Tell me the truth," she said, her voice barely audible. "When you gave your sacrifice, did it ever stop hurting?"

Cassian's silence lingered for so long she thought he wouldn't answer. Then he spoke, his voice quiet. "No."

Elena looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Then how do you live with it?"

Cassian crouched beside her, his gaze steady. "You don't. You carry it. You make it part of you, because that's all you can do."

Elena shook her head, tears spilling over. "I don't want to carry this."

"I know," Cassian said softly. "But you're still here, Elena. You're still standing."

She met his gaze, searching for answers she knew he couldn't give. "And what if that's not enough?"

Cassian rose to his feet, holding out his hand to her. "Then you find a reason to make it enough."

Elena stared at his hand for a moment before taking it, letting him pull her to her feet. The wind carried the scent of ash and rain, a bittersweet reminder of everything she had lost.

As they stood together on the hill, Elena looked out over her broken kingdom. It wasn't the same as it had been before. She wasn't the same. But she was still here.

"You once asked me why I helped you," Cassian said, his voice breaking the silence.

Elena glanced at him, her brow furrowed. "And you never answered."

He looked back at her, his silver eyes shimmering faintly in the dawn light. "I helped you because someone once did the same for me. And because… I hoped you would choose differently."

Elena frowned, her heart—or what was left of it—clenching painfully. "And did I?"

Cassian gave her a faint smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Time will tell."

They began the descent toward the ruins of the castle, the path winding through fields overgrown with thorns and vines. The land had been left untended for too long, its people scattered, its rulers gone.

But as they walked, Elena straightened her spine, her steps growing steadier.

She had no heart. She had no crown. But she still had her will.

I will make this enough, she thought. I will make something of what remains.

The path stretched on before her, bathed in the golden light of a new day. And though the hollowness inside her remained, Elena kept walking, one step at a time.

She didn't know where the journey would end.

But she was no longer afraid to begin.