Caraval

Scarlett and Julian emerge from the tunnels in the sunlight, and Scarlett notices everything feels a bit less magical. Scarlett searches for the balconies, but she can’t see them. Everything outside looks like they’ve “stepped into a faded memory” (300). The only thing that still looks vibrant with magic is the carousel that had been covered in red petals and blood when she’d had the cider. Scarlett thinks this is their next clue and repeats Aiko’s request for the pipe organist to play them something pretty.

The carousel turns slowly at first, and Scarlett jumps on it. Julian hesitates but joins her. The carousel spins faster until they are knocked off into thorny bushes. They search for a hidden button, and Scarlett finds it, pricking herself with so many thorns the emblem fills with her blood. The carousel moves faster until a dark circle opens up. They can’t see the bottom, and there are no stairs. Scarlett wants to jump. Before she does, Julian gives her the pocket watch he stole, inside which he wrote the coordinates to a boat in case they get separated. He’s acting really strangely and tells her to jump. She wants to know what he’s hiding but jumps. Julian calls after her, and she thinks he says something about not trusting Legend.

She lands in cold water, and just like the room they were in before, the currents calm as she does. She swims to the shore where there are a wide set of steps. Strange praying statues line the stairs. A walking stick clicks down the stairs as a hand reaches out to help Scarlett to her feet. It’s Legend.

Legend is charming and much younger than Scarlett expected. Scarlett confronts him, and he tells her “It’s really too bad [...] You’re so dramatic, you would have made a fantastic performer” (308). Legend oscillates between inviting and threatening, which leaves Scarlett with the overall impression that he’s completely mad. Legend reveals the game he has been playing with Scarlett. He tells her that Dante and Julian were just a part of the game: two romantic interests for Scarlett to choose between. Legend thought she’d surely pick Dante. He tells her the whole Rosa story was a ruse and that Julian was lying to her the entire time by playing a part.

Scarlett gets upset, but Legend defends himself, saying they warned her two times that nothing in the is real. Scarlett looks at Julian to see if there’s any shred of the person she knew still there, but she doesn’t let his callousness break her. She’s still grateful Legend showed her the count’s true nature. Scarlett wants to leave and find her sister. Legend asks her where she’ll go now. She touches the pocket watch Julian gave her. Legend asks to see it and snatches it from her before she can hide it.

Legend looks at Julian, and Scarlett recognizes him as the person she fell in love with. He tells her that “[i]t wasn’t just a game” (314). In response to Julian’s betrayal of his role by stepping outside the bounds of the game and developing feelings for a participant, Legend stabs him in the chest and kills him. Scarlett pleads with him to stay alive. As he’s dying, he finally tells Scarlett how he injured his head that night: He got into a fight with the man who had stolen her earrings, even though he’d denied it. He confesses his feelings for her and dies mid-sentence. Scarlett cries over his body.

Scarlett is filled with an immense sense of dread and mourns Julian’s death. However, she remembers the wish that she will receive if she wins. She believes she must be close to Tella now, and if she receives the wish, she can wish Julian back to life. She wants to ask Legend for Tella’s location, but when she looks up, he’s gone. His top hat and Julian’s pocket watch rests on top of a letter covered in black rose petals. The letter is an invitation to Tella’s funeral. At the letter’s direction, she runs up a long spiral staircase until she reaches a trapdoor, which she opens.