He raised his eyes and stared out at Paris' dazzling landscape. On his right, across the Seine, the illuminated Eiffel Tower. Straight ahead, the Arc de Triumphe. And to the left, high atop the sloping rise of Montmarte, the graceful arabesque stone glowing white like a resplendent sanctuary. Here at the easternmost tip of the Denon Wing, the north-south thoroguhfare of Place du Carrousel ran almost flush with the building, with only a narrow walkway separating it from the Louvre's outer wall.
Peace at last. Peace could be mine... His thoughts prodded as he inched just a little closer to the edge of the window sill. A single step and it'd be over with. No more pain, nor hurt, nor lies.
France had been a place she had enjoyed, a place she found solace in years ago. Now, she was gone just like everyone else he had come to trust and call friend. The truth had been found out and it was only a matter of time before those He had sent would find him. There's nothing left for me in this world anymore. Come on Theo, would you rather they catch you? You know what would happen. This is the better way to die and you know it. Look up at the night sky. The stars, they weep for the loved ones. A step and you'll be up there too. Watching over those that still need guidance in this world.
The urging of his thoughts began to make sense and with a last glance up into the heavens above, he instinctively sought out Orion. He was always there, she had said to him once, one of the only things that could always be counted on. And there in the stars, he could almost see her, smiling down at him - beckoning him. He found the courage to do it in her smile, and stepped out into nothing. He still saw her as images flashed before his eyes.
How they'd met, the trials and tribulations of their relationship, it all come to an end. The war had been lost, many lie dead or dying around him. He had held her to him, that one last time, as life left her and wept. Never once throughout his life had he given in to tears, he'd come close but he always had to be the strong one. He had known that they'd be together, that nothing would tear them apart. It had been proven many times in thier relationship. He had been so arrogant as to believe that even death couldn't part them...
In death we shall be reunited.. He didn't know if he had spoken the words aloud or if they were in his head. With his eyes trained on the night sky, he never saw the ground rise up to meet him. There was a moment of intense pain, in which a last thought wafted through his mind before Death came for him.
The measure of your faith is the measure of the pain you can endure.
