The Deck of Destiny - A Caraval Oneshot Collection

A Queen Forged Out of Lost Love

Setting: Finale (chapter 51)
Inspiration: "Scarlett truly removing Julian's love for her in coronation party scene and giving in to the wishes of the Fallen Star." - a prompt from @1AceClovers0
Mini A/N: I think I've mentioned somewhere in this collection (the rant I think?) that I actually thought Scarlett was going to take away Julian's love for her and that's how their story ended, so I was a mix of nervous and excited when I received this prompt. Also: there is a short passage from Finale in here so you would understand what scene it was, so all rights belong to Stephanie Garber!

"No!" Julian thrashed against the strings holding him to the cage. Julian knew this assault against his emotions was because of her magic--magic he'd warned her against. "Don't do this Crimson!"

The Fallen Star clapped and sparks shot out from the tips of his fingers.

On the stage, tears tracked down Julian's cheeks. He was fighting her, battling her powers with everything he had. But even his fighting was helping her magic win. She could see his love shifting to anger.

Scarlett started to shake.

The Fallen Star grabbed hold of her again to keep her from falling off the arm of the throne. She didn't know if it was from battling Julian, or if it was because she'd finally accessed her full powers, but her body no longer felt under her control.

When she briefly glanced down, her skin was glowing and shining with gold dust -- and Fated magic.

"Finally." The Fallen Star tightened his grip on her arm. "You're almost there, auhtara."

Julian screamed again. "Don't do this, Scarlett!"

The name sounded wrong. He never called her Scarlett. But the name didn't hurt as much as it should have.

"You're close," the Fallen Star said. "Let go of your feelings for him and take hold of the rest of your power!"

Scarlett pushed harder and Julian's face turned into a snarl. She could see the edges of his emotions turning brown, the way something does after it's been burned.

Julian bucked against his bindings. "You lied, Scarlett! You said you would always choose me." His feverish eyes met hers, but for once there was no warmth in them.

Maybe she was a liar, or maybe she was choosing him. She was choosing for him to live, and that's what mattered to Scarlett. Perhaps, if Scarlett was able to access her true ending, she would have found a way out of this mess. But she was stuck following her alleged grandmother's footsteps and her mother's footsteps, settling for her almost ending.

Scarlett let out a deep exhale and finished what she started. With one more final push, Julian's love had been set aflame and burned to a hatred ash.

The world shifted. Scarlett did not feel at all like herself. Her body was no longer shaking and a rush of power surged through her body. And the colour. Oh, how the colour was bright. Scarlett felt an itch to control the emotions of everyone standing in the room, but she resisted. She was afraid that once she started, she would not be able to stop.

The Fallen Star stood up from his thrown and grinned so wide Scarlett thought she must have done something wrong. "I am so proud of you, authara. You are now one of my Fates."

No, no, no. She could not have been a Fate. This was not how things were supposed to go. But maybe they were. Maybe, this was how she could fix things.

She just wished she didn't have to leave Julian in the process.

Scarlett looked back to Julian and tears pricked her eyes. His snarl was more prominent now, and he was being released from his bindings by Jester Mad. She felt the tears fall, and when her hand went to wipe them away, Scarlett realized that her tears were not normal.