I
      The wind rustled through the Spanish moss above. Birds chirped in the distance, unfazed by their solemn surroundings. I picked up the vase of flowers that had fallen in front of your stone. Speak me fair in death. The words still struck me, even though I had chosen them myself. You had always loved Shakespeare, a fascination I never understood. But the smile on your face when you took me to see The Merchant of Venice was something that I could understand, and that was enough. I traced the words, the stone cold even as the sun shone around it. The grass was soft under my feet; we hadn’t needed to dig you a grave since the troops couldn’t send your body.
    “Phillip, how did we end up here?” I asked, knowing he would never answer.
    I could still hear the music from the abandoned foyer. I could already picture the scene that waited for me beyond those doors, extravagance decorating every inch of the room from the decadent foods to the lavish fabric of the dresses. I could see the perfect smiles that hid their imperfect lies. Once you entered they devoured you, fighting for a chance to see the fresh meat. A hand on my shoulder startled me and I looked up into a pair of green eyes.
     “You don’t have to do this. You don't owe them anything.” He said and I looked away.
     “That’s not true.” I whispered. “They saved my little sister.” I said and he shook his head, sitting next to me.
     “They did that out of charity. You can’t be expected to give up your whole life for them.” He said. I stood up, nauseous at the thought of what I was about to do.
     “What would you have me do?” I asked, knowing there was no way out. I had already sat for too many hours trying to come up with a plan. He thought for a second before reaching for my hand.
    “Come with me. We can go right now and be on a boat to France by morning.” he said and I shook my head, glaring at him.
    “And leave Elizabeth to take my place? You know I would never do that.” I replied, irritated by the suggestion. He began to speak again but I stood up, silencing him. “They’re waiting for me.” I said and started to walk towards the large doors.
    “Goodbye Analise.” he said behind me. I turned back with tears in my eyes, the red fabric of my ball gown twisting with me.
    “Goodbye Phillip.” I said and opened the door.
II
“Edward is good to me. I want for nothing and he is always respectful.” I explained, unable to look away from the grave marker. “But I think he knows that I can never love him. When word reached me that you had enlisted and gone to fight the colonies in America, he saw how much I worried over it. And when that letter arrived-,” my voice cracked and I swallowed, “when I found out that you had been killed and that I had been listed as your only living relative he gave me space to grieve. He covered the cost of everything from the service and your grave to a wardrobe of black mourning clothes.” I wiped a tear from my lower lashes.
“I will never understand that. When we were young you hated the soldiers that sat it the pubs and yelled to the ladies on the streets. How did you become one of them? Part of me, I think that just maybe you did it for me, or because of me, but that I somehow compelled you to join this useless war. You always talked about heroes and their quests. But you gave so much more than Bassanio had promised, and I still couldn’t be your Portia.
“Elizabeth visits often to keep me company. She is doing much better these days. I think she feels guilty sometimes, like she could have controlled whether or not she became ill. But I’ll never regret it. If I would have let my own little sister die, even to save you, I don’t know if I could have lived with myself. She’s always meant the world to me. When we were in the orphanage I used to imagine that when I was of age I would adopt her and we would make our own in the world. At least I still managed to give her a better life.
“You do remember when we first met, right Phillip? You insulted Elizabeth’s Sunday School dress that had cost me half of my savings and I threatened to beat you up right there. You made some stupid comment about Christian behaviors and I knew we would be best friends. I just never expected that we would end up like this. And then Elizabeth got sick, and the Townsends had their doctor stay with her until she was better, and they adopted me on the spot. They had titles but had lost their money, and I still think I was right in thinking that they saw an opportunity to change that with marrying me off since she was barren.
“And then everything changed. You became someone that I couldn’t be seen with for risk of scandalizing my new family name. They taught me how to be a young lady but at what cost? And then we were saying goodbye, and God, I didn’t think it would be that final. There’s so much that I never said to you.” I said and fell to the ground, too weak to keep myself steady. “I love you.” I whispered, my chest racked with sobbed.
A hand on my shoulder startled me, and I looked up into a familiar pair of green eyes wearing a red coat.
“Hello Analise.”