Work Text:
It was terribly wonderful to behold how deluded a mind could become when beset by overwhelming passions. Estella saw through the ruse soon enough: no matter the clocks were stopped, time might be measured by the steady decay of the dying feast and the repairs required to keep her guardian’s faded wedding habit fitted to her diminishing frame.
She determined the only protection against such weakness was to never feel anything, for anyone, at all.