DAY 5 OF THE YEAR OF EDMOND

The first thing I did this morning was tell Edmondine what Princess Edmondina said to me. I said that she said that the Chambre was false. I described how I defeated Tothiliand and that I was now free.

Edmondine stayed silent for a long time.

Finally, after another eternity, she responded. “I’m glad you’re happy when you’re in your little kingdom… But I’m scared.”

“Scared?” I asked. “Of what?”

Again she left me in silence for a long while. “I’m scared of losing what little remains of Edmond Fisk.”

“What?” I did not understand. “Jarlheim helped me recover myself.”

“Yes,” she said with a weakening voice. “But when will you start losing yourself? When will your little kingdom dive too deep and make you forget who you’ve become? Who we’ve become?”

I gripped the writing desk by the leg and flipped it over! The led snapped off, ink rained down, papers were ruined. “You’re scared I won’t need you anymore!”

Edmondine ran off deep into my mind where I could never find her. Papers drenched in ink littered the floor. What had I done?

I righted the inkwell, grabbed the papers, laid them flat. I lost the Chambre’s inventory. It was all black. I found the Candle de la Chambre under the desk and found it torn through the centre. All my work, everything that brought me joy, was lost.
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Why had I done this? I was angry. Angry at Edmondine. She tried to stop me from going to Jarlheim. She couldn’t stand seeing me happy so she destroyed what brought me joy. This was her fault! She did this!