"Man and woman contemplating the moon"
Caspar David Friedrich
(circa 1824)
The Only Noble Consequence
There was no noise in the clearing, for there was no breeze, just the gentle caress of forgotten memories.
She walks up the dark hillside; her gaze grazes the horizon before touching upon the initials scraped into the bark of a falling tree. He was already there, looking through an empty bottle at the distorted sapphire sky.
She reaches out and rests a hand on his shoulder. A satin cloak shakes beneath her palm; she knows she is not strong enough to draw his attention away from the guilt.
Her mind becomes his mind.
"The moon is my judge, the stars are my jury, and they have found me guilty. If I am guilty before the court of God, how could mankind find me innocent? Jewels and lives were taken by this hand, but all they could see in that righteous stand was a birthright."
Nobility was the key to his freedom
but his mind was still a prisoner.
He turns a heavy head towards her. A ruin of tears wreck his cheeks. His eyes ask her what he should do.
There is not a pause before her answer, for she doesn't really "answer", just reacts; like fire and gunpowder.
This causes the shadow of a lonely smile to dance across his face.
A sober voice cracks the peace. Her eyes respond in a whisper.
He reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder. A woollen dress quivers beneath his palm; he fears he is not strong enough to draw her attention away from their love.
There was a familiar silence in the clearing, for there was no breeze, just the morbid chill of inevitability.