after this morning's scene, the crown prince would like to relax in his dorm and just chill out from all the drama.

it's been a long time since he's seen meredith so worked up, her shoulders tense and fingers already wrapped around the handle of her sword. even the dire wolf standing behind him softly whimpered at the sight of the young lady. her eyes staring deep into roséline's soft orbs that started shifting in fear. 

it has been a sufficient amount of time for meredith to cool down from the events of this morning, currently sitting by a window with the dire wolf resting at her feet. the crown prince has long since learned the proper way to approach meredith: make eye contact with the dire wolf as it perks up from it's resting position to stare you down. once the dire wolf cuts eye contact, it's the sign that you're welcomed to speak to meredith. by the dire wolf that is – doesn't mean she welcomes it.

"hey mer, how you doing?" the crown prince carefully speaks, still slightly in shock from this morning.

"oh, your highness. i didn't see you there, and yes i'm fine." meredith replied, a polite smile stretches across her lips. she knows she has startled the prince with the way she reacted, and she really wasn't in the mood to create another fuss over the matter.

"if you didn't see me, that means you're really bothered about something aren't you?" the crown prince makes himself comfortable on the cushion next to her. meredith inwardly grimaced at the crown prince's observation, he truly knows her well, too well. she looks away as he spoke up again, "you really gave everyone a fright this morning." 

meredith let out a low chuckle and shrugs, "well, i guess i did my job."

the crown prince gives her a strained smile, and stands up from his seat, giving meredith a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before walking away. he could sense that she rather be on her own, quietly trying to wait out while everyone forgot the chaos that ensued.

while developing the relationship between the crown prince and meredith, the developers didn't expect such an overwhelming response for them to be together. even then, that was never the intention: the intention was to show a healthy friendship between the opposite es. the crown prince at the beginning of the story, starts to realize why meredith up and left the friendship pack due to her future role as her bodyguard. so he is trying to patch up what they had before while respecting meredith's boundaries of being professional with him.

out of all the aisling character, the crown prince is probably the one that knows meredith best on how she ticks and what she does. he is aware that there are times where meredith would probably like to nag and yell at him for being a complete idiot but she doesn't because that just isn't the meredith way. he observes her and knows her habits of dusting her cape off for the dire wolf fur and the little things she does such as adjusting her hair when no one is looking. admittedly, the crown prince had a crush on meredith before he was told about being engaged to roséline. 

meredith tries not to overthink her friendship with the crown prince. after her exit from the friendship pack, things became professional and formal. meredith understands the rationale behind all of it but does enjoy the moments when the crown prince lets go of formalities and tries to go back to the way things were. he is definitely one of her more trusted friends, although she keeps much from him due to her knowing him too well – knowing that he'd jump on the train to find justice and be the hero. she can't have him risk that.

the characters are most often seen together, the crown prince doing most of the talking while meredith and the dire wolf listen. meredith plays a big role in the romance route between the protagonist and the crown prince, being the one to allow the crown prince to realize his feelings.

"if yall don't ship the crown prince with meredith idk what your taste is tbh"
– @justalittlelove

"why do the devs give us such a healthy relationship and just not use it ugh"
– @dcvsmv2

"mer is so hot whenver she's around the crown prince, telling him what he must do and him picking her brain. what a duo!"
– @hyunotome

(you have unlocked the romance route: the crown prince)

meredith and the crown prince should be asleep by now: if anyone were to catch them out of bed, in their night gowns with only their coats covering them up, the both of them would get a mouthful.

but that doesn't matter much to meredith, especially when the crown prince is opening up to her about his feelings.

"do you love her?" meredith quietly asks, the dire wolf's snout resting on her lap, her fingers rubbing between his ears.

the crown prince stares at the girl beside him, deep in thought as he processes what she's implying. meredith rarely is the one to bring up question to the crown prince, usually giving orders and stating facts: never the one who is asking. "i mean, i dont love roséline -" he then is cut off by meredith, "no i meant her."

oh, her, the crown prince thinks to himself. the beloved protagonist. the girl he has been denying his feelings for all this time. why is he not surprised that meredith has managed to sniff out his feelings for the girl? however, he is shocked that she mentions the protagonist, knowing the way meredith's cheeks flush whenever she is mentioned, "but... don't you love her?"

the blood in meredith's cheeks warm at the crown prince's words, and yet her eyes meeting with his, "yes, but you see, there is no time for love as the crown's guard." she states as a matter of fact. the guilt makes the crown prince feel sick to his stomach. time and time again meredith sacrifices for the crown, for a kingdom that isn't her's. she has lost friendship, family and now, love.

"so go, your highness," meredith begins, "in the morning, tell her how you feel." the crown prince lets of a breathy chuckle, his hands reaching the back of his nap in embarrassment; he didn't think meredith would be such a romantic.

"i will, mer, and thank you." the crown prince gives her a wide smile, the one that reaches his eyes and meredith can only smile back, her heartbreak masked behind the reflection of moonlight on her face.

no matter the occasion, the second prince never fails to have his high tea with meredith. even when she's busy training, he waits for her to be done only to have a cup of tea and pastries. the second prince strongly believes meredith deserves some taste of the good life. since she could have been the princess of wolffgon.

"hey princess!" he calls out to meredith, fresh from cleaning up after her session with swordsmen. her lips press together in a thin line as she sits directly opposite of the second prince, "i'm sorry your highness but please don't call me a princess."

the second prince scoffs, taking a sip of tea before saying, "but i mean, you are technically a princess." emphasizing on the word technically. meredith watches the second prince carefully, making sure he takes the first bite of the dainty macaroons before taking one for herself.

"well, i don't think i'd be a very good princess." she chimes in, raising a brow at the second prince as he lets out a laid back laugh, "of course not, you'd be a horrible princess!" the both of them start laughing, the second prince louder than meredith. 

"but it's fun to think about, dont you think? to rule a kingdom and to have everyone respect you." the second prince looks out the window and ponders to himself. meredith doesn't say a word, she understands what the second prince means when he says that.

it shows his ignorance to his privilege and insensitivity to those who have lost just so he could gain, though it seemingly lacking compared to his brother. she understands that he's always been bitter about how the system works, and while she disagrees, she makes no stand to tell him off. after all, she has no place in the matter.

throughout the game, it is made obvious that the second prince takes pride in being closer to meredith than the crown prince, at least outwardly. they share more casual interaction around the other characters. however these interactions do serve a lot of tension when being read closely, more obviously: the second prince assumes a lot about meredith. he assumes that she thinks they are the best of friends and that she thoroughly enjoys his company and chatter. at some point, the second prince assumes meredith has a crush on him. 

in actual fact, meredith doesn't like the way he speaks to and of her. she doesn't like how he goes around aisling, adding her to his narrative when she was really doing her duty to protect the crown prince and in doing so, protecting the second prince. the biggest issues likes with the way he treats the dire wolf. while his older brother respects him, the second prince pays no attention to the wolf, at one point, calling it a puppy and a dog.

while the crown prince may be clumsy and sometimes irrational around meredith, the second prince is condescending and often allows his emotions to get the better of him. in terms of relationship with meredith, the crown prince and her share a deeper bond that occurs away from the crowd where he shares his deepest fears and concerns. a mutual respect. the second prince and meredith share a relationship that seems fine on the surface but has a lot of tension involved, especially when it comes to meredith's heritage and their past friendship as children.

the character only seen together during the afternoon and occasionally in the hall outside the dorm of the prince. meredith doesn't play a huge role in the second prince's romance route, however plays a bigger role in the secret route to discover the secrets of the goldscheider brothers.

"maybe the true villain is the second prince honestly but you didnt hear it from me"
– @rosel1n37

"yknow those people who ship the second prince and meredith? yea, we dont talk about them in this household"
– @crownwolf

"i mean guys, the second prince just wants friends and it's also mer's doing for making him belive that they were good friends so"
– @aiman2mun

(you have unlocked the secret route: the secrets of the goldscheider brothers)

when the second prince arranged for a private meeting in the art gallery, meredith knew something was going on. he's the type to flaunt their apparent friendship, making sure everyone knew that they were having a good time. but to be alone with the second prince meant he wants to show her a side that he rarely shows the rest of the world: the ugly side that meredith has seen a couple of times.

when meredith enters the room, the second prince is pacing back and fourth, mumbling to himself. his eyes light up when he sees her. "ah! my dear friend, there you are," he speaks in a cheery tone, a tone that he has perfected over the years.

"good afternoon your highness, you wished to speak to me?" meredith says, palm pushing the large door shut as the second prince made his way to her. his smile is sweet and his demeanor doesn't bother her until the dire wolf's stance starts to tense up as the prince grew closer.

"i always wanted to ask you this," the second prince starts off softly before gradually raising his voice, "why do you always pick my brother over me?" meredith observes, wide eyed as the second prince continues to borderline on senseless with his words and delusions. she stays incredibly silent as the second prince seems to lose his cool as time went on, demanding an answer. if anyone were to see him in this state, they may have already deemed him insane.

it isn't until he roughly grabs her by the wrists, yelling at her face, that the dire wolf nips at the second prince's arm. "your dirty mutt bit me!" the second prince screams, hand clenched around his hurt arm. there wasn't an open flesh wound, only the marks of teeth and saliva. it was obvious the dire wolf shows the last warning. the next bite will draw blood.

meredith takes a deep breath before speaking, her voice steady at the sight of the deranged second prince, "i protect the crown, and that includes you. so i suggest you never lay your hands on me again or the dire wolf might bite them off clean."

talk about a new student among aisling definitely intrigues meredith. she needs to know as much information as she can since the king and queen had already requested for her to make sure the protagonist was no harm to the crown prince – she's known about the protagonist for about a week before everyone else has the news. meredith didn't ask for much information, only knowing that she's a commoner 

when meredith first lays eyes on the protagonist, she can sense a shift in the way things were going to go. ever since her arrival, the dire wolf has been more calm, even friendly towards meredith's peers. she starts to understand why aisling has so many opinions about the protagonist; and meredith starts to form one of her own when she smiles at her.

a smile that could be felt from across the room, meredith's heart warms as the protagonist approaches her. when she falls to her knees, meredith immediately gets down to her level as well, only to find that the protagonist was meeting eyes with the dire wolf, "what's his name?"

the wolf nuzzles it's snout gently into the hands of the protagonist, earning a giggle from the girl. meredith then speaks softly, "he doesn't have a name."

"oh," the protagonist states, a small pout forming on her lips, "why not?"

"well," meredith starts off shaky, fidgeting as she's never been asked this question before. "where i'm from, dire wolves are greatly respected. my people don't think we have a right to give a wolf a name and own them. they are their own beings." the protagonist listens in awe, a smile forming on her lips. "can you tell me more?"

meredith is beyond shocked and takes a minute to recover from it; no one has ever asked about her culture and history. no one wants to hear about wolffgon and its traditions. but the protagonist just did. what else is meredith supposed to do but comply to her simple request?

"sure, miss, if you have time to spare." meredith's eye meet the protagonist's, outstretching a hand for her. "i'd give you all the time in the world if i could." the protagonist responds sweetly, her hand taking meredith's. meredith gently guides the protagonist back on her feet and leads her to the garden, a fitting place to take about the nature and wildlife of wolffgon.

from start to finish, meredith is portrayed as the gentleman among all the potential suitors. extremely kind and gentle towards the protagonist. the developers established that while the romance route for meredith is a pure slow burn, making her love ending to be the longest route and the most time consuming, the conclusion comes quick when meredith decides that she gets to have her own happy ending for once and makes the big move of confessing, assuming she'll be turned down ("i know you wouldn't want a guard like me...", "but, i choose you meredith...").

if turned down, meredith is the only character who is truly still happy for the protagonist even as she marries the crown prince or the childhood friend. some have speculated that out of all the suitors, meredith is the only one who is truly, deeply in love with the protagonist.

the protagonist has a high regard of meredith, blissfully unaware of the affect she has on the guard. she doesn't find meredith intimidating, but very charismatic. as she learns more of the history of wolffgon on her own in the library, she begins to sympathies with meredith and their unspoken bond grows stronger. it is said during a panel by the developers that their relationship was inspired by the quote, 'it is an art of the most exquisite kind to touch someone’s soul before touching their skin.' 

during the slow burn, meredith doesn't approach the protagonist as often as the other characters, depending on the player to actively choose to interact with her for her love line with the protagonist to proceed. the moments they share are sweet and innocent such as teaching the protagonist combat skills and the protagonist tutoring her on subjects. 

the characters share scenes together in the training hall and the library. unless the player chooses meredith's romance route, the pair don't interact as much. meredith is then knocked down to a good-friend-with unrequited-love status for the protagonist.

"mer and the protagonist are meant. to. be. together. stop choosing the dumb dudes!!1! and chose the soft cuties uwu"
– @l0velive4eva

"lets face it: the devs created mer for us to be in love with her, look at the way she treats the protagonist? that's true love"
– @darkanother

"i think the protagonist can do better than mer honestly like c'mon you have two princes and royalty and you pick a guard?"
– @shooktan

(you have unlocked the romance route: meredith's happy ending)

earlier in the day, the protagonist had asked meredith to show her her sword, having been curious about how it looks up close ever since she knew of it's existance. meredith agreed, on the condition they would meet at nightfall due to how meredith drawing her sword in the middle of the hall, mid-day, would cause a scene. the protagonist eagerly agreed, promising to meet exactly at nightfall in the garden.

so here the two young women are, in the garden, the wind blowing against the trees and rustling the leaves. the polished steel of the sword glistens underneath the moonlight, meredith holding the heavy weight of the sword steady as the protagonist runs her fingertips on the back of the blade. "do be careful, miss." meredith says, staring at the young lady utterly fascinated by her weapon.

"oh meredith, i know you wouldn't hurt me." the protagonist says in a carefree tone, wind blowing her locks as she looks back at meredith with a smile. the two lock eyes for a moment, a moment that felt like forever, it's as if they were speaking to each other. meredith swallows as she eyes the protagonist's rosy lips. she has never noticed how pink they were...

eventually, meredith is brought out of her trance with a question, "um, what do these engravings mean? and what language is this?" the protagonist asks shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she spoke.

meredith clears and puts down her sword, tracing the engravings on the sword with her fingers, eyes never leaving the blade as she spoke, "it's in traditional wolffgonsh. it reads: let the howl guide you home..." it has been a long time since meredith took a good look at the sword, a gift from her father a few years ago. the engraving serves its purpose to harden her resolve and purpose in defending the crown while also never forgetting her roots.

when meredith looks back at the protagonist, she had already been staring at her this whole time. both of their cheeks turn a deep shade of red, meredith quickly looking away as her heart beats fast.

while the students of aisling were having their lunch, meredith takes her leave early; her long dark cape being the last thing the childhood friend sees when she exists the great hall, along with a bushy tail following close behind her. he takes a look around at the usual scene, face visibly confused, wondering why no one has said a thing about meredith leaving.

"hey, you alright there?" the crown prince asks, his brows knitting together as he follows the childhood friend's eyes towards the door of the great hall. "why? haven't seen meredith leave to feed the dire wolf before?" his tone of voice is abrasive, which makes the childhood friend wonder if he crossed the line by unintentionally questioning the crown prince's guard.

the childhood friend clears his throat and lets out a weak chuckle, bowing his head in response, "i just, never noticed before..." the crown prince gives him a look, brow raised, before focusing his attention back on his plate. the childhood friend makes sure the crown prince isn't looking before he scans the room, meeting eyes with the protagonist. and when she smiles, the childhood friend knew he has one person in mind to talk to: meredith.

as he made his way out the hall, a dozen eyes trail his movements, the crown prince being the most skeptical. most of them simply brush off the childhood friend's actions, except the villainess, who keeps in mind to ask him where he has been.

the childhood friend knew better than to run in his attire, but he has to get to the bottom of his burning question.

"meredith!" he yells, out of breath when he finally catches up to her. meredith looks back at him, her head slightly tilted, wondering what he was doing out here. "i just wanted to ask, uh, how is the protagonist?" 

meredith shoots the childhood friend with a quizzical look: he has never interacted with her before, so she didn't expect this moment, much less about the the girl.

"she's just fine, sir. if you'll excuse us-" meredith gives a respectful nod before turning on her heels and going on her way; the dire wolf is starving by now, with all this hold up.

remember how roséline and meredith were best friends? well, that was way before the childhood friend came into the picture. ever since he come into roséline's life, he has only heard nasty things about meredith, things he promised the villainess he will never tell anyone. these are mostly her opinions on her being of wolffgon descent and about her race and culture.

the developers made it a point to show how much roséline has manipulated the childhood friend through his prejudice about meredith that were never there before the introduction of the villainess in his life. this side of the childhood friend is kept rather low-key throughout the game as the two characters rarely interact until the protagonist comes into play – this is when the childhood friend tries to get to know the protagonist through meredith, despite her being extremely reluctant to tell him anything; at first because she found it weird of him to ask so much, then eventually because she falls for the protagonist and can tell the childhood friend has done the same.

their awkward dynamic of having been or currently being roséline's friend causes their shared scenes to be awkward and short, full of unspoken tension.

when choosing the romance route with the childhood friend, there is one particular scene between meredith and him that is suppose to be a hint to the player that the childhood friend may not be the prince charming he seems. the choices the player makes does not affect the story line of being together with the childhood friend, but plays into the player's head of getting a happy ending with a poor boy who has been severely manipulated into putting down someone for their heritage.

"ever think about how the childhood friend would basically be considered a racist in our world? no? not that deep? ok"
– @xiaolu90

"the tension of being the ex bestfriend and the new bestfriend ugh give me the drama"
– @repl1ca

"im grateful for meredith bcs she is the one who shows us the true colors of the society and even the hot childhood friend."
– @24601lemis

(you have unlock the romance route: the childhood friend)

every evening, meredith is seen by the crown prince's side, making sure he makes his way safely into the male dorm. right after, she makes her finale round around the academy before heading to her own dorm. tonight, things are a little different.

"your highness, may i speak to meredith in private?" the childhood friend requests, his head bowing respectfully towards the crown prince who is a few steps above him on the stairs leading up to the male dorm. without much thought, the crown prince meets eyes with meredith, eyes looking for her approval before she nods her head and presses her lips together. "yes you may, i'll see to you inside." the crown prince says, "and have a good night meredith." he directs towards her, casting a gentle smile before heading towards the doors.

meredith's eyes follow the crown prince closely until the doors close behind him, which is when she finally makes eye contact with the childhood friend. he lets out a loud sigh, sounding frustrated, "why do you never talk to me about anything?"

"what do we have to talk about?" meredith asks innocently, a small part of her hoping the childhood friend would drop the subject and simply leave her alone for the night.

the childhood roles his eyes, earning a low growl from the dire wolf, a warning that he seems to ignore. "don't play dumb. you know exactly what i'm talking about." he scans her figure up and down. meredith huffs softly in response, "if i tell you everything i know, things won't be the same." she refers to the crown prince's growing feelings for the protagonist, including herself.

the brows on the childhood friend furrow together tightly, eyes widen at his own realization, "i always knew your kind practiced dark magic." he accuses, the face of disgust and a loud scowl at the female in front of him.

meredith takes a defensive stance, she takes a step back and has her fingers brushing against the dire wolf's back as the beast snarls with his teeth, "don't you ever speak ill of my people again."

the childhood friend lets of a mocking laugh, looking away briefly before staring into meredith's eyes, "right... you could have been their princess. i forgot." he says with a twisted smile, chuckling to himself as he takes the stairs up towards the doors of the dorm.

meredith's vision is cloudy, a bright white cast shining directly into her eyes. with her vision impaired, she focuses on the sound surrounding her: laughter and the pattering of bare feet. as her eyes adjust to the brightness, she sees a small figure –roséline. the young girl is wearing a pink gown, one of her favorites as a child. her hair rests in perfect curls, bouncing as she runs towards the younger meredith.

"mer! mer!" roséline yells, earning the disapproving glances of many adults in the hall. meredith sees herself turning around to look at roséline, giving her a toothy grin. as the young girl stops in front of her, panting softly, she hands her an elegant jewelry box with embroidered silver details in dusty rose pink fabric. 

the young meredith stares at the box in question, clueless as to what to do with it. she is curious, expecting roséline to open it and show off her new bracelet her uncle has probably gifted her. not that meredith minds roséline's bragging at all; she thoroughly enjoys seeing the girl so happy being surrounded by her beautiful jewels and pretty dresses. it gives meredith a warm feeling deep inside her tummy seeing roséline smile the way she is right now, eyes forming crescent moons as she says, "it's a gift to you mer! it's for you!"

roséline pushes the box gently towards meredith, a sign to assure the girl that it is in fact, for her. when meredith opens the box, she is shocked to see a small lavender gem sitting snug between white feathers, the gem attached to a silver chain, just long enough to be a necklace. meredith later learns that roséline's father bought it for meredith from the church after observing her having trouble controlling her magic compared to the three other children. roséline clarifies that it's not a sign that he looks down on meredith, but for meredith to see it as a token of appreciation. the young girl smiles weakly, knowing the gift is out of pity for her.

meredith's vision blurs once again, her body aches as she tosses in her bed. another memory haunting her, dreams give her headaches. when she sits up, she stares at the pink jewelry box that sits on her vanity. it is a piece of her childhood she refuses to let go of, while at the same time refuses to admit to not being able to let go of the roséline she once knew.

when meredith opens the box, she feels the gem's energy call out to her, craving her attention before the closes the box shut, staring at herself in the mirror, wondering when these long-gone memories will stop haunting her nights.

as the developers were creating roséline's character, they figured they needed someone who has a conflicting past with the villain of the game. and what better person than the bodyguard of the crown prince? one of the potential romantic partners to the protagonist. in the beginning, it was to create tension between all the characters, something long-drawn and complicated for the player to learn more about. however it has turned into a subject that many fans of the game find extremely relatable.

roséline and meredith share a complex bond of attempted forgiveness and the trail and errors of finding the true meaning behind friendship. as children, roséline genuinely loved meredith as a friend. she truly cared and showed the outcast kindness when no one else would, when everyone else, including the princes, saw her as the eventual guard of the crown prince. roséline treated meredith like a girl, which is something the young girl rarely got for being surrounded by aged men to teach her about sword fighting and archery.

it is confirmed that meredith did harbor feelings for roséline, after hearing news of the engagement between the crown prince and roséline, meredith did her best to get over her feelings. breaking the friendship was also meredith's way of getting over her crush and put that energy into training and getting to know her way around. as roséline grew bitter and hateful with the way she treats others, the more meredith saw her as a threat to the general peace of aisling. she actively avoided situations where she had to be around roséline unless the crown prince had to be there, taking no chances for roséline to strike up a conversation with her.

when roséline suddenly becomes the girl meredith knew and loved as a child, while she is torn about the mindset she has, she is also extremely suspicious of roséline and put in effort to overhear on her conversations to get to know her intentions and true nature. meredith views this as a possible emergency to the crown prince and the protagonist's safety.

"im in the middle of the game and can i say and merline is pretty hot if they could ever be together, like wow"
– @harlord 

"who would top and who would bottom? im asking for a friend"
– @hent420

"meredith makes roseline redeemable honestly, like their relationship makes me just feel sorry for roseline and that ending? breaks my heart all the damn time!"
– @missaaa

(you have unlocked the good ending: bonus content)

when the orders for roséline to be banished from the nation were given, meredith requested to be the one to escourt her out of the city. the crown prince agreed, trusting no one but meredith with the matter, not questioning why she would volunteer herself with such a task.

when the day comes, the great hall is shocked to see meredith sit the dire wolf by the crown prince's side as she left to  roséline. the royals and dukes have read enough history to know that leaving a dire wolf behind is as good as leaving your men behind to battle on your own without weaponry against a thousand armed men. while meredith's sword stays by her side, many whispers can be heard and hard stares given to her as she extends a hand to roséline. the lady, despite the shame that has been put upon her, has her nose stuck in the air and looks away as she places her hand on meredith's arm.

the two make their way to the edge of the nation, avoiding the crowds and small talk along the way. the silence between the two is unbearable, meredith's face says serious while roséline does her best to hide all the questions running through her head: why is meredith the one to send her off? why is she still treating her with such respect? why is meredith being the same meredith she knew as children? the same meredith that she could never force herself to fully hate, the girl that she made everyone else have a bad impression of because she selfishly didn't want anyone else but her to know how kind meredith truly was. 

"c'mon. stop playing it cool." roséline breaks the silence as they enter the forests, coming to the edge of the nation. meredith doesn't stop walking or even glance at roséline, making her even more frustrated. she lets go of meredith's arm to bring her arms crossed across her chest, stopping in her tracks. "admit it." roséline begins, not really sure what will come out of next. "you had a huge crush on me when we were young!" she blurts, cheeks burning red at embarrassment and also anger at meredith's initial disregard.

"fine. i did." meredith shoots back immediately, all that pent up emotion being let out by those three words. her eyes glaring straight into roséline's, "and what about it?" meredith hums loudly in question afterwards, jerking her chin upwards to roséline, who's face turns apologetic. "oh, mer-" roséline starts, before being immediately cut off by meredith's raised voice, "don't you 'mer' me!" 

roséline casts her eyes downward, ashamed at how she's long passed the chance of forgiveness from the one person she thought would still give her a chance. the two continue to walk in silence, meredith trailing behind roséline to make sure she is kept in view.

"now go." meredith says sternly once they reach the checkpoint. roséline looks back at the girl, searching for the same kindness in her eyes that she remembers from her childhood. all that was staring back at her was orbs of darkness. full of disappointment and protectiveness over the people meredith loved, the people roséline has deeply hrut. roséline's eyes look forward, knowing that her search for forgiveness has failed, and continues onward towards something new.