We all wear masks, and there comes a time when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.
~Andrzej Sapkowski, from The Witcher series
***
She took a deep breath, returning her gaze to the frost-laced glass. It didn't matter if their impression was worse than her handling as long as she felt empty.
As long as she was an entirely different facade who didn't oversee their mockery but was intense with unspoken fury when they brought up Alaric.
"Bleeding up in the cell like a good dog should," Lady Alethea didn't fail to use every means of her weakness to torment her with a sickening smile that churned her stomach.
The door eased open with a sigh of old hinges, and the warmth from the hallway touched the edges of the cold chamber but Ravenna didn't move. Either too drained to, or too empty not to.
