[DROP] It'll take your breath away

a m a l i a First regrets, now desires. Amalia is not enjoying this game; it pulls at the sadness deep within her, the pervasive sense of insecurity which taints her every thought. What does she regret? Not being better. What does she want most? To be better. Circular logic, cracked and flawed, but the girl cannot think of anything more. Sure, she would love the return of her mother, her grandmother, her gods. She would love to escape this prison and see the world, to visit the places spoken of in her books. Amalia dreams of friendship, of love, of family and belonging to something, someone: of being pulled from her isolation and making the world a little brighter, a little more beautiful. But to do all that, she needs to be better. "I will never have the thing I want most," the girl murmurs at last. "I want to be a better version of myself, but... there is always a better version to be. But I still try, every day, to be that person, to be good enough. I do everything I can. I don't know what more I could do. But if there was something I- I'd do it." Uncharacteristic speech concluded, the baker falls silent once again, flushed and uncomfortable in the icy cage.