The road was wet. It was a long road. You walk. The fog is thick. It tastes of iron. It tastes of old money. You are not alone. You are never alone.

The castle rises. It is grey. It is silent. It waits for you. You know the name. You do not speak it. The name is a wound. The name is a seal. You have come to break it. Or to be broken by it.

The gates open. No sound. The iron is cold. You step inside. The courtyard is empty. The stones are slick. You see him. He is by the well. He is small. He is grey. He is Lord Ashworth.

He does not look up. He knows you are there. He has always known. He pours water. The water is dark. He drinks. He wipes his mouth. He looks at you. His eyes are dead. His eyes are kind.

You want to scream. You want to strike him. You have the strength. You have the will. You have the history. You have the years of waiting. You have the years of silence. You have the years of lying in the dark. You have the years of counting the stars. You have the years of hating the stars.

You do not scream. You do not strike. You walk closer. Your boots make no sound. The fog clings to your hair. Your hair is white. You are old. You are young. You are both.

He sees your face. He flinches. It is a small movement. It is the only movement. He knows. He always knew. He is not afraid. He is tired. He is so tired.

You stand before him. The distance is short. The distance is infinite. You look at his hands. They are rough. They are stained with ink. They are stained with blood. You do not know which is which. You do not care. You look at his neck. You look at the pulse. It beats slow. It beats steady. It is a drum. It is a clock.

You have a plan. You have a trick. You have a word. You have a key. You have spent your life building this moment. You have spent your life learning the shape of his weakness. You have spent your life mapping the terrain of his soul. You are a scholar. You are a spy. You are a ghost.

You open your mouth. The word is on your tongue. It is heavy. It is sharp. It is a blade. You are about to say it. You are about to cut him. You are about to free yourself. You are about to end the legend.

Then you stop.

The fog thickens. The world slows. The air becomes still. You hear your own breath. You hear the water dripping from the well. You hear the wind in the trees. You hear the silence.

You look at him again. He is looking at the water. He is not looking at you. He is looking at the reflection. He is looking at the past. He is looking at the girl you were. He is looking at the boy he was. They are gone. They are lost. They are dust.

You realize you do not want to say it. You realize you do not want to cut him. You realize you do not want to be free. You realize you are not free. You were never free. The cage is not here. The cage is inside. The cage is you.

You close your mouth. The word dissolves. It turns to smoke. It turns to mist. It vanishes.

You turn away. You walk back. Your boots make no sound. The iron gates close behind you. The fog swallows you. You are alone. You are truly alone.

You walk. The road is long. The road is wet. The road is endless. You do not look back. You do not need to look back. You know he is there. You know he is waiting. You know he will wait forever.

You are a fool. You are a saint. You are a monster. You are a woman. You are a story. You are a legend. The legend is not of him. The legend is of you. The legend is of your choice. The legend is of your silence. The legend is of your love.

It is a terrible love. It is a beautiful love. It is a love that has no name. It is a love that has no end. It is a love that consumes. It is a love that destroys. It is a love that saves.

You keep walking. The fog lifts. The sun rises. The light is pale. The light is cold. The light is real.

You see the town. It is small. It is quiet. It is home. You go home. You lock the door. You sit by the fire. You wait. You wait for the night. You wait for the dream. You wait for the ghost.

The ghost comes. It is him. It is not him. It is you. It is the space between. It is the word you did not say. It is the blade you did not draw. It is the truth you did not tell.

It sits beside you. It does not speak. It does not touch you. It is there. It is always there. It is part of you. It is the other half of your soul. It is the weight you carry. It is the burden you bear. It is the gift you receive.

You smile. It is a small smile. It is a sad smile. It is a true smile. You close your eyes. You sleep. You dream. You wake. The fog is gone. The sun is high. The world is bright.

You are free. You are not free. It does not matter. It never mattered. The legend remains. The legend is you. The legend is the silence. The legend is the love. The legend is the choice.

You live. You age. You die. The fog returns. The road remains. The castle waits. The well is empty. The water is gone. The stone is cold. The iron is rusted. The name is forgotten. The name is remembered. The name is you.

You are the distant legend. You are the story that is not told. You are the word that is not spoken. You are the ghost that is not seen. You are the love that is not named. You are the silence that is not broken. You are the choice that is not made. You are the fate that is not avoided. You are the destiny that is not fulfilled. You are the truth that is not known. You are the lie that is not believed. You are the dream that is not dreamed. You are the nightmare that is not feared. You are the life that is not lived. You are the death that is not feared. You are the soul that is not saved. You are the body that is not healed. You are the heart that is not whole. You are the mind that is not clear. You are the spirit that is not free. You are the self that is not found. You are the other that is not met. You are the one that is not loved. You are the many that are not seen. You are the all that is not known. You are the nothing that is not nothing. You are the everything that is not everything.

You are the end. You are the beginning. You are the middle. You are the outside. You are the inside. You are the above. You are the below. You are the here. You are the there. You are the now. You are the then. You are the soon. You are the late. You are the early. You are the late. You are the early. You are the soon. You are the then. You are the now. You are the there. You are the here. You are the below. You are the above. You are the inside. You are the outside. You are the middle. You are the beginning. You are the end.

The fog is thick. The road is wet. You walk. You are alone. You are not alone. You are the legend. You are the silence. You are the love. You are the choice. You are the fate. You are the truth. You are the lie. You are the dream. You are the nightmare. You are the life. You are the death. You are the soul. You are the body. You are the heart. You are the mind. You are the spirit. You are the self. You are the other. You are the one. You are the many. You are the all. You are the nothing. You are the everything.

You walk. The road is long. The fog is thick. The iron is cold. The water is dark. The stone is slick. The air is still. The silence is loud. The sound is quiet. The light is pale. The dark is deep. The time is slow. The time is fast. The time is still. The time is gone. The time is here. The time is now.

You are here. You are now. You are the legend. You are the distant legend. You are the story. You are the end.