Epilogue

Open read the neon sign sitting in the windowsill of a storefront in London. Nestled between two shops that were already abandoned, it was tucked into a rather ill-traversed part of the town. People wandered by in twos or threes but rarely a gaze ventured to consider the oblique stares of the dolls within. Creepy, some might have called it. Others may have considered that it had some charm. But the bell to signify new visitors rarely rang.

The shopkeeper was a rather extraordinary individual – not what one would have expected. A young woman with dark skin and hair a silvery white. Half of her face remained bandaged while the other half was visible. She worked alone, apparently the creator of the dolls as well as the one that maintained them.

However, on a day where the London skies were smeared gray and rain was rapidly falling, the light in the store had turned dim. The counter was left unattended as she ventured to the back of the building, the click of her heels the only sound that echoed in the silence. Although even that was soon accompanied by the clap of thunder.

It was on a day that was not entirely unlike this one that those two had met. Hannah recalled it not from her own memories but ones that she had absorbed.

The door creaked as she opened it and stepped into the backroom. It had grown dark and the air was rather stale. For a demon this did not even elicit a pause of consideration. She pressed on, passing opened and unopened boxes alike until she arrived at the rear wall.

Resting on the floor, side-by-side, were two life-sized dolls. They almost gave the appearance of being alive themselves. Both had glassy eyes that stared emptily out at the world. A boy and a girl with hands that were interlinked, their fingers woven together in a tight grasp.

"Master," the young woman whispered through the darkness as she knelt down and caressed the face of the blonde-haired doll. It, of course, was unresponsive to sound of her voice even as she called out to it. Again and again she stroked his cheek before looking over at the other doll – the female. Hannah reached out with her other hand to gently cup the cheek of the girl. "Are you both happy now?" she asked quietly.

The two dolls, both of whom had porcelain lips set in a tight frown, gave no response. They only stared blankly back at their creator.

"Now the two of you are finally together." Dropping her hand away from the male doll, she brought it to rest against her chest. Gazing down, she smiled to herself. "I can feel it. You are at peace now, aren't you?"

The moment ended abruptly as the stagnant air brought the chime of the bell. A rare occurence even on a day when the sun glared down on the streets. Hannah quickly took to her feet with no time to linger and headed for the front of the store, giving one last, wistful look back at the two dolls that were leaning against each other.

"Together forever," she whispered before closing the door behind her.

Author's Note: Short and sweet, I hope. It really just confirms that both Alois and Remy are together inside of Hannah. I know this may leave some other questions unanswered but hopefully it ties most of the story together.

Thank you all so much for sticking with it, for all the amazing reviews and all the support I received. :)