Rebecca gently guided Alex to the bed, his body trembling, his breath shallow. She held him tightly, whispering through tears,
"Alex… please don't think. Just rest. I've got you."
That night, Alex finally fell asleep in her arms wrapped in warmth, grief, and silence.
But Rebecca didn't sleep. Not for a second.
She lay still, watching over him, her hand resting lightly on his chest as if anchoring his soul.
When morning broke, golden light streamed in.
The door creaked open. A maid stepped inside, only to pause in surprise.
There they were Alex curled into Rebecca, still fast asleep, his arms gripping her like a lifeline.
Rebecca didn't move. Her eyes were red, but calm.
"Please," she said softly, "just set the food aside. Don't wake him. He cried all night…"
The maid nodded, setting the tray down gently. She smiled, her voice low with bittersweet affection.
"You two... you're still just kids, huh? I hope you remember that."
Rebecca's cheeks flushed. "Please… don't tease," she whispered.
The maid knelt beside the bed, glancing at Alex's tear-stained face.
"He looks like he's been through hell. What happened?"
Rebecca's gaze dimmed. She explained it all the mansion, the confrontation, the fire, the breakdown.
The maid listened quietly, then nodded solemnly.
"Ruby… the first kill is always the heaviest. It scars you. Makes you wonder if the blood will ever come off your hands."
Rebecca lowered her eyes.
The maid touched her shoulder gently and added,
"But do you know what heals it?"
Rebecca looked up.
"A beautiful moment," the maid said with a small smile.
"Find him a memory so bright, it burns away that bitter one. Show what him really do …. more he can be."
Rebecca stared at her, then at Alex peaceful at last in sleep, his brow no longer furrowed, his breath steady.
She nodded.
And whispered,
"I will."
THE DAYS AFTER
Rebecca held Alex's hand every single day never letting go.
They wandered through flower gardens bathed in golden light, laughed under waterfalls, walked through markets bursting with color and life. She took him to rooftops where the wind kissed their faces, to meadows where butterflies danced, to lakes where stars rippled on water.
She tried everything to make him smile.
Some days, he did.
A soft chuckle. A small grin. A joke that slipped from his lips like it forgot he was hurting.
But every night… the nightmares returned.
He'd wake in cold sweats, gasping for air, clutching at his hands like they were still soaked in blood. The laughter of the day would vanish like fog in morning sun.
So he started wearing gloves.
Not for the cold but to hide the stains only he could see.
Every time a memory surfaced of the screams, of the dying howler's outstretched hand, of the knight he struck down his breath would shorten. His heart would throb with guilt. And he'd whisper to himself, "It's still there. On me. In me."
Darcy and Leo saw it.
The way his smile faded too fast. The way his eyes scanned the shadows. The way he flinched when he saw red.
They never left his side. Leo curled up next to him each night, and Darcy kept a wing around him like a second blanket. But when the cries broke through the silence of midnight, when the weight of it all became too much
It was always Rebecca who answered.
She'd hold him tight, pull him into her arms like armor, and whisper softly,
"Talk to me, Alex… please, just talk to me."
Sometimes he did. Sometimes he just cried into her chest, the tears soaking her nightgown, his body shaking with sorrow he couldn't name.
But she never let go.
Not once.
Because even if the world said he was a hero she knew he was still just a boy trying to forgive himself.
And she was going to stay… until he could.
alex crying and falling in to sleep .
Rebecca didn't sleep that night.
She held Alex in her arms, tighter than fear itself, his breath shaky against her collarbone. He had cried himself into silence into a sleep that wasn't rest, just… surrender.
She watched him like a guardian, like someone afraid the person they love would vanish if they let go.
When the first sliver of sunlight pierced through the curtains, the door creaked open.
The maid stepped in, balancing a tray.
But her footsteps halted.
She saw Rebecca sitting upright, unmoved, arms still around Alex like a barrier against nightmares.
Alex lay nestled into her, his hands tangled in her sleeves, face pressed to her chest.
The maid's voice softened. "He's still asleep?"
Rebecca nodded, her own eyes tired but burning.
"He cried the whole night," she whispered. "Even in his sleep. Please… don't wake him."
The maid sighed, placing the tray aside. "Poor child. Still just a kid, no matter how brave."
Rebecca looked down, brushing hair from Alex's forehead. "He didn't deserve this."
The maid knelt beside her. "Ruby… the first kill never leaves. It stains the soul before it stains the hands."
Rebecca clenched her fists. "But it had to be done."
"Yes," the maid agreed gently. "But truth doesn't soothe like that. You must show him something stronger than the blood. A feeling… that replaces the bitterness."
Rebecca leaned in, whispering something into the maid's ear.
The maid's eyes flickered then nodded, lips pressed thin.
A LITTLE LATER
Rebecca gently shook Alex awake.
"Hey…" she whispered, "Alex… wake up."
His eyes cracked open, dazed.
"Rebecca?" he rasped.
She forced a smile. "You've got something to do today."
"Huh?" he blinked. "Where are we going?"
She placed a finger over his lips. "No questions. Just trust me."
IN THE BATHROOM
The cold water wasn't enough.
Alex splashed his face again. And again.
But the blood wouldn't wash off not in his mind. The screams still echoed in his ears.
"No," he whispered, gripping the basin, knuckles pale. "Damn it… it's still here… I can't face this…"
OUTSIDE THE RUINS
Rebecca stood in front of the charred ground where it all went down. Where he made his choice. Where he ended a monster.
She fed him quietly, then took his hand.
"Come with me."
They walked in silence, until Rebecca stopped.
"This is the place," she said.
Then crack.
The earth split open, revealing a hidden chamber beneath the ruins. The stench hit them first death, rot, blood.
Alex covered his nose, stumbling back.
Down below… bodies.
Women. Children. Slaves.
All mutilated. Some chained. Some burned. Some bitten.
His heart jackhammered in his chest.
"What… is this?" he choked. "Why are there so many why did he "
Rebecca's voice was a knife.
"He tortured them. Starved them. For years. He hunted them like sport."
She stepped forward, kneeling by a small skeleton curled into a corner.
"You didn't kill a man, Alex. You ended a nightmare."
Alex dropped to his knees, fingers digging into his shirt, breath fractured.
"But I… I still feel it," he gasped. "The screams they won't stop!"
SLAP.
His head snapped to the side.
Tears welled in his eyes.
And then he saw her Rebecca her own eyes red tears , breathing hard, hand still trembling midair.
She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him close.
"Get it together, Alex!" she shouted, forehead to his, voice shaking. "I hate seeing you like this! Everyone who loves you hates seeing you like this!"
"I I didn't mean to "
"Then stop drowning in guilt and breathe!"
She gritted her teeth, jaw clenched. "What's the one thing you can do right now?"
Behind them, a wooden cart rolled in. The maid and her husband stood beside it, arms full of white cloth.
The maid stepped closer, voice calm but firm. "He didn't just kill them, Alex. He erased their names, their families, their stories."
She looked toward the mass grave.
"But if someone remembers them… gives them peace… then they don't die as victims. They pass on as souls."
Alex turned toward her, silent.
The maid's voice softened. "Let them go. Not with screams but with a good farewell ."
Rebecca squeezed his shoulder. "You want to be free of the blood on your hands? Then start cleansing it."
Alex removed his overshirt, walking into the shadows of the chamber.
He lifted one body a child into his arms.
Tears slipped down his cheeks.
He carried the body gently out into the light, laid it down, and covered it with white cloth.
Then another.
And another.
Each one carefully placed. Each one wrapped like they were loved.
Rebecca watched him, hands clenched, lip trembling.
The maid turned to her husband. "We can't help him."
He frowned. "But he's just a boy "
"He needs to do this," she said. "He cried in his sleep. Kept saying he couldn't breathe."
She wiped her own eyes.
"He has to do this… until he can breathe again."
Hours passed.
Alex kept going.
Carrying.
Covering.
Praying.
And then softly he heard them.
Whispers.
"Thank you…"
"Home…"
"We're free…"
He paused, eyes wide.
The ghosts weren't screaming anymore.
They were whispering goodbye.
Alex stood still, trembling.
"I was wrong…" he murmured. "He deserved death. The voices they told me everything he did to them."
He looked up, eyes glistening.
"They're… thanking me. For praying for them."
With a soft, tearful smile, Alex bowed his head.
"Thank you. For helping me let go."
The sun dipped low, golden light washing over the field of white-shrouded souls.
He turned to Rebecca, his voice raw but warm.
"Thank you, Ruby. If you hadn't brought me here… I would've drowned. I would've been lost in despair. You didn't leave me. You stayed."
Rebecca didn't speak at first. She just pulled him into a tight embrace, her arms trembling around him.
"You idiot," she whispered, voice cracking. "What are you even saying? I'm just glad... you're back."
Alex smiled into her shoulder.
Then, slowly, he slipped off his gloves letting his bare hands feel the breeze.
"Thanks for everything," he said.
And for the first time…
the weight was lighter.