Out of the second story window, she leaned over the edge of the balcony and gazed upon the endless sea of stars. In her gentle, warm hands was the cold, white rose. She brushed her fingertips across the soft petals, feeling their silky texture and having jealously run through her veins. To be as beautiful as a rose would be impossible.
"Promise me...” She whispered into the rose. "When you see...” she kissed the flower.”A white rose, you'll think of me."
She pushed her short, messy hair out of her face. She put the rose down onto the ledge and went inside of her room. Around her were scents of flower petals and strawberries; on her was a soft white dress with long sleeves and corset laces. She looked to the mirror with a face that only a Saint would love. A wave of emotion spread across her facial features as she turned from the reflective piece of reality. One of her true fears was reality.
"Must you dance in such a way, that it pulls at my heart strings?" A voice from the window was low, and sounded like it hasn't been used for years. The sound of a mute finally able to speak.
She smiled and twirled around to face him, "Many years have long since passed and I recognize you not." She placed her hands upon her corset laces, almost as if she was holding herself together.
He had an emotionless stare locked on to her beautiful hazel eyes, "And I know not of your voice." He sat upon the ledge of the balcony; the veil like white curtains surrounded him with a mist that only his shadowy figure could be seen. "It's much softer compared to the one I recall."
She glowered, "Time changes things and also heals." Her feet slowly danced their way to the balcony. "We've met once before." She looked at the shadow and felt both fear and comfort.
The corners of his lips pulled up, "Indeed." He placed both his feet soundlessly to the floor and reached for the rose. "I made you a promise, that many years ago."
"A promise?" She looked puzzled. "You are familiar, yet a stranger. What promise do you speak of?"
"'Promise me...'" He quoted in a soft tone, his face again clean from emotion. "'When you see...'" He held the rose to her cheek. "'A white rose...'"
She felt another wave of emotion, "'You'll think of me.'" She wrapped her gentle fingers around the stem of the creator of the promise. "You've kept-"
"It forever, closely to my heart." He let go of the rose and leapt onto the balcony, having incredible balance. "Never once did I forget it."
She looked from him, to the rose, and back again. "You."
"I?" His face fell. Her tone was none short of sadness.
"You were taken." She looked up into his emerald eyes. They had a thick layer of ice across them, and her stare could not penetrate it. Only for a half of a second was there a twinkle in the corner.
"Aye." He sat upon the ledge again. He looked to the sky and breathed with such anguish. "When I did also promise I would never leave." His dark clothing danced with the breeze as it waved around the two.
Her hair was let in her face, a sign of deep sorrow. "For years I've waited for your return." She stepped lightly to the balcony's end, "But now, as you sit here before me alive and well, I cannot accept you came back." She twirled the rose between her soft hands. The petals reached out into the air, then came back together.
He placed his one hand on the ledge, the other reaching for her messy hair. Pulling it from her face, the scent of strawberries was let go. He breathed in, and couldn't hold in his emotions. "Just as I remembered. That fragrance that drew me to you, you still have it."
She pulled away, but then slowly moved closer to him. "You are not who you say you are."
"I have never said anything, my fair lady." He placed his feet upon the floor once more, and fluidly moved his body to bow to the maiden. "I am the Saint, whom you have been waiting for the return." He hung his head low, almost as if not worthy enough to look upon her face. She tilted her head to the side, confused by his motion.
"My dear Saint." She finally realized. "My... dear Saint." She took his face into her hands and he stood up. "Say not of what happened," she whispered, as he opened his lips. "I only care for now."
He took her warm hands from his cold face and held them to his chest. "Just as, if not more beautiful from the last we've seen each other." Her face felt hot with embarrassment.
"You lie." She turned away from him, taking her hands from him and holding her sides.
"Why?" He knew her silly game all too well. "You shall not be torn apart with the removal of your hands..." He took her hands once again, and wrapped his arms around her. She felt more fear and more comfort. "For I," he whispered, "won’t let it happen again."
"But..." She couldn't help but take in his scent of earth and rain, "I am beyond any repair..." With a tear in her eye, she pushed him away. "I was left," She turned away from his sympathetic face and looked to her stars. "Alone in the dark, and my candle has long burnt out." She closed her eyes and held onto herself. "That frightful day when we made that promise…" She took the rose and looked at its white radiance. "You were taken away from me, by Him." She choked on her words.
"I know," He had no emotions played across his face "I set myself free."
"No!" She turned to face him. "You cannot escape his grasp!" Her eyes were now flooded. "You were taken from me, only because we were together! You were at my side!" She covered her eyes with her pale arm, "You were always at my side..."
He removed her arm and held her fragile body in his hands. She looked into his ice covered eyes, and couldn't speak. The unforgettable sight of him was overwhelming.
"And my mind was left behind with you." He pulled her breakable body into his arms and picked her up, and set her on the ledge. She held onto his arms, and he held onto hers, with such a grip that the two of them thought that if either one let go, they'd be lost forever again. "I refused his every demand. No matter the things he said, I would not go along," he rolled up his dark sleeves to reveal a horror she wish she didn't remember. "You are correct, I cannot escape. But that doesn't mean...” He wrapped his arms around her waist. She held onto his shoulders. "That we wouldn't be together once again, for however long."
Upon his right arm, was a brand that could never be removed. A decorated letter J was carved into his skin, and looked as if it would have killed him. Even the cool air would make it burn, to remind the one who bore it, that they could never remember what it was like to never feel pain.
"That sign..." She gently pulled his arm into her lap. "You have been marked." She stared at the letter in despair. "You are his now..."
"Never." He said. He took her from the balcony and put her standing in front of him. His arms became her shelter, and his voice became the comfort she longed for. "I shall be forever yours, and you shall always be my little rose." Just then, he placed his lips over her mouth, and held her in his arms, as if she was going to fall apart. Her legs were trembling, as were her lips, for she stared in shock at him. Her hands shook, her heart beat at a near deadly state, for she had just embraced a kiss of death.
"I won’t let him take you." He whispered into her ear softly, brushing her hair out of her face. She was speechless. "Don't be afraid..."
Everything faded around her, eternal darkness consumed her being. She tried to breathe, but the oxygen was rushed out of her as the darkness took over. Then, all she could see was the color red.
Total Value: 135,818 Gold
After Exclusions: 4,780 Gold
[Item Information]
Item List:
Masterpieces
Maid Collar Necklace
Morgana's Gloves
GO Phones
Elegant Lord's Mask (Black Falcon)
Drop Dead Gorgeous Onyx Skull Hairpin
Onyx Milady Surcoat
Elegant Black Satin Corset
Onyx Milady Skirt
