In the distance, Dorothy watched over the picnic, sipping her tea. She could feel the beginning of the end approaching. It was evident in the way that Adeline couldn't stand, her gaunt cheeks, and the exhaustion on her face.
"How amusing," Dorothy said to herself. "Everyone is gathered at the tea party, as if it wasn't a going-away party for the little human Queen."
Dorothy glanced at her grandson, whose face was soft and loving. She had forgotten he was able to make this kind of expression. Her heart squeezed when she realized the last time she saw this face was when he was a child, prior to the experiment. He had come running up to her, bright-eyed and all smiles, jumping straight into her arms.
"You were much cuter as a child," Dorothy muttered to Elias, even though he'd never be able to hear her from the tower.
Dorothy stood up and placed the tea cup down. She took a good look at the tower where she had spent the majority of her life.
