A Mistake of Fate: Sophie Dee's Journey to the Unknown

She was pale as a ghost beneath the flickering glow of the hearth fire. He could see her face clearly, despite the darkness. She was young, but not fresh faced like most women of her age. Dark blue eyes were rimmed with deep purple shadows, and she had a grim look about her that made him shiver visibly.

"What is it, Sophie?" he whispered, his voice breaking on her name.

She looked at him for what seemed like an eternity, before slowly lowering herself to the floor to sit cross-legged before the fire. She leaned against the mantle of the fireplace and stared into the flames once again, lost in thought. The silence stretched on, and he grew anxious at her lack of response.

"Sophie?" he called softly, reaching out to touch her arm lightly. Her skin was ice cold beneath his hand, and he let out a soft gasp. "My God..."

He looked around frantically for blankets or something warmer to wrap around her shoulders, but there was nothing to be found in this crumbling old room except for furniture covered in dust cloths. He took off his cloak and wrapped it around her anyway, then pulled up another chair close enough to touch her arm again.

"I'm here now," he murmured softly into the firelight. "I'll take care of you."

She finally turned back to him with an expression that could have melted lead. He knew instantly how much she had suffered over these past years--it showed plainly in those dark eyes that stared back at him from within a face so pale it was almost translucent.

Her voice shook when she finally spoke, barely louder than a whisper; "You don't understand..." she began hesitantly, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was about to say herself. She took a deep breath and continued; "I've killed people... I've done things..." she paused for a moment and swallowed hard before continuing; "horrible things..."

The words hung between them like a specter waiting to pounce on their joyous reunion. She turned away again but he reached out and gripped her arm tightly. She turned back to face him and he searched those haunted eyes for an answer that would make sense of all this madness--after all this time spent searching every nook and cranny of England for any trace of Sophie--there must have been some mistake... some way to explain why she had become this personification of fear and sadness... but there was none. It just didn't make sense...

She leaned forward until their foreheads touched gently and he closed his eyes as tears stung his eyes at last; "I can never go back... ever..." she whispered with defeat in her voice that broke his heart in two; "I'm too far gone now..."