Middos’s Corner

In this world the moment Gertrude understood how to get away from the Eye she did what had to be done and took away her sight after studying Agnes’s face for the last time.

The two then packed up and ran away from London and their old lives thanks to a young woman, named Louise, and an odd artefact that managed to make them invisible from the Ceaseless Watcher’s gaze.

The three of them lived on the run, visiting places and making experiences without the weight of duty heavily resting on their shoulders.

As much as Gertrude wanted to continue her plans Agnes made sure to placate her lover before she could endanger herself with the help of Louise much to the woman’s displeasure.

They don’t know how or when they reached the age of 74 and 69.

It happened so quickly they didn’t even notice.

What Agnes did notice however was that Gertrude was slowly deteriorating.

They knew from the start that she was already too far connected to the Eye and even if she blinded herself she always had to suppress the hunger for new knowledge.

By doing so she became weaker but her spirit never wavered even in the face of imminent death.

Louise and Agnes did what was possible to save her but Gertrude Robinson passed away in her lover’s arms the night of the first day of January while at peace in her sleep.

The funeral was a small deal.

Agnes and Gertrude had returned to England two years prior and bought a small cottage they wanted to grow old in so they didn’t really know many people other than Louise and the occasional person they spoke to when in town.

Agnes didn’t cry but who knew her just knew that she was suffering while staring at that headstone.

Two nights later Agnes stared at the side where Gertrude usually laid and decided that there wasn’t anything more to live for.

She calmly got out of bed, fixed it up just like her late lover liked and donned her housecoat before sending a simple message to Louise with “I’m done” written in it.

With that Agnes gave one last look at the few things she and Gertrude brought into their home over time.

A few books that would never be finished, a tea set that Agnes bought on a whim, Gertrude’s collection of antique small statues from the places they’ve visited and at last she smiled at the few pictures they placed around the living room while her face was completely blank. Void of any emotion.

If Gertrude was there she would’ve known that the blank expression was actually Agnes just remembering their time together.

With that the red haired woman slowly sat down in the middle of the room and let herself become impossibly more warm.

The first thing that caught fire was her clothes that were soon followed by the carpet.

Slowly everything lit up in a show of flames until what was left behind was only ashes of a house that had been lived in for a short time but that held memories beyond human comprehension.

The next day Louise calmly arrived to the vast field where the Robinson-Montague cottage once stood.

Nothing was left behind if not the dark mark of black dust that tainted the cold ground.

The young woman picked the urn Agnes once gave her and started picking up the ashes without as much as flinching.

She already knew that Agnes wasn’t going to live after Gertrude’s death.

The woman told her so a long time ago so she could be mentally prepared for what she had to do.

Louise stopped to the cemetery next.

With the help of the few who owed her some favours opened Gertrude’s tomb and lowered Agnes’s ashes next to her.

If you asked Louise she would’ve said that the moment the urn was placed next to the corpse of the former Archivist it seemed to be more at ease.

Like she was waiting for her love to lay beside her once again but this time for eternity.

She left the gloomy cemetery with a sigh of relief and her heart lighter than when she started working for the two.