Thin eyelashes parted to stare upwards at him, revealing glazed over and tired eyes. He saw himself in those eyes, a feat of reflection that he thought was impossible until now. He was suspended in those judgmental, shining red jewels that peered up at him without hesitation. 

Everything was there, as though she served as his only connection to beginning to understand himself. But, he could not begin to understand the truth behind the owner of those eyes.

With every ounce of her being, the sudden strength that she had mustered even while on near her deathbed, she spoke. 

"I hate you. You are the one I hate the most. You brought me the most pain in life and death. What is the difference now?" Her voice came out hoarse, a pain ebbing away at her body as she panted out those words of spite.

He hesitated for a few moments, left frozen at the harshness of her words.  He parted his lips to speak, but instead shut them, unable to think of anything to reply to her.

Her vision was blurry; she couldn't see anything except for his overwhelming presence hovering over her bed. Was this a dream? Was this her reality?

It didn't matter anymore. He didn't matter anymore. She didn't matter anymore, in this stupid fantasy world.

A cold and calloused hand cups the left side of her cheek. The touch was numbing but felt somewhat familiar, a warm tingling sensation spreading across her face. It felt strangely comfortable and left her leaning into the touch, closing her eyes in the moment of familiarity. It was welcome, in this unfamiliar world that she had been living in. 

But... was it him who was touching her? There was no way that this calculative and foolish man would be willing to show such affection, even in a moment of weakness.

It felt as though a sudden blackness had fallen over her entire being, dragging her away from her predicament. Her breathing grew shallow, her chest rising and falling as a sudden calm washed over her. It swallowed her body whole in the form of momentary bliss. The environment she was in was incredibly dangerous, yet she felt no fear at all.

"Sleep, Angelika."