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The bright halls of Academie Eglantine held a mysterious secret. Rosa did her best to avoid the awed stares of her new classmates, intent on quietly making her way towards the great library. Her rose-colored hair and strangely pointed ears marked her as someone not-quite-human; she heard whispers, people claiming she was descended from ylves, but no one had seen those tell-tale ears in hundreds of years. Perhaps they were only a legend after all...
Hidden away from prying eyes amongst the dusty tomes, Rosa leafed through ancient spell books and modern alchemy manuals, the products of centuries of magic and technology intermarrying. But among the histories and epics one book in particular seemed to call to her. Bound all in black leather and gilded with elaborate gold leaf, its cover emblazoned with an ornate mother-of-pearl. It seemed to be the story of a pious young woman who became a legendary knight, although the text was faded and somewhat difficult to read.
Suddenly, a soft voice spoke up behind her: "Can I help you find something...?"
How strange... Rosa had never seen this girl before, but something about her seemed so hauntingly familiar. Maybe it was her soft brown hair, or her kind blue eyes -- Rosa wasn't sure. But one thing was certain: Rosa thought the girl was beautiful.
"Oh, L'histoire de Sainte Ciel," the girl said, blushing behind her glasses. She was smiling, but her eyes looked sad, as if she had been crying. She pointed shyly at the old book in Rosa's hands. "That one is special to me. A holy knight who rescues an ylven princess from an evil entity... Have you read it?"
Rosa flushed, suddenly self-conscious about her pointed ears. The girl must have noticed. "Ah..."
"Oh, ah, I'm sorry! How rude of me." The girl giggled nervously, covering her mouth with one delicate hand. There was a bright flash of a gold ring. "I'm the library assistant. My name is Celeste."
"I'm Rosa," said the red-haired girl. She looked flustered, bashful even. "I-I'm new he-- oops!" Rose felt her face redden as the old book slipped from her hands. "I'm so sorry! I'm not usually this clumsy..."
Celeste smiled gently and bent down to pick up the book. The soft smell of roses seemed to rise from its yellowed pages. Celeste gazed at the strange girl, her cute pointed ears, the dark blush rising on her coffee-colored skin. Something about her seemed so warm and familiar, a golden memory from long ago... "You said you're a new student? I swear we've met before..."
As Celeste handed back the book, their hands touched. Celeste's heart quickened. So familiar, just like... But it was impossible... Celeste looked down at the golden ring on her left hand, set with a pearl carved in the shape of a rose.
"Beautiful," Rosa whispered. Did she mean the ring?
"Oh, this! It's very special. It was given to me by--"
Suddenly a bell chimed. "Oh, I'm so sorry Rosa, I'm late for the student council meeting! I hope I'll see you again..."
Rosa couldn't wait. The same mysterious force that led her to the gilded tome in her hands urged her to follow Celeste up the Academie's many tower stairwells, until she reached the Council conference hall. She peeked around the corner and spied a small group of students, one of whom stood at the head of the table; Celeste waited meekly at her side. The girl's long midnight curls hid a rose-shaped scar, and she possessed a cold, familiar beauty. As Rosa watched her, the girl stopped speaking and looked sharply toward the door. Their eyes met. It was like looking into a dark mirror.
"Rosa!" Celeste called, though her voice shook slightly. "W-we were just starting... Please, join us?"
Cautiously, Rosa rounded the corner, her eyes moving between Celeste and the mysterious stranger. The stranger gazed back with an unreadable expression as she laced her pale fingers with Celeste's, her rose ring flashing in the dim light.
"Rosa, this is the student council president," Celeste said quietly, "and my fiancee... Briar."
Weeks passed, and Rosa did her best to avoid Celeste and the girl with the scar. She saw them in the halls occasionally, accidentally meeting Briar's cold, strange gaze, or a flushed glance from Celeste. She swore she saw something there, a hint of what Rosa felt, sudden and consuming love. It happened so quickly, but it felt old and familiar. Rosa felt her love for Celeste deep in her bones, as if it had always been there.
One day, Rosa returned to the library. She had to see the book again, to read for herself the story she had started to remember. Celeste was there, holding it with trembling hands.
"When I met Briar, she was holding this book. She seemed so familiar, so when she told me she was the Rosamund of the story, and I her Ciel, it felt..." She looked down at the ring. "...if not true, then what I wanted." Celeste's eyes shone with tears. "Briar gave me this ring saying it was the one that married us hundreds of year ago, in our previous life. But now I know the truth. She has tricked me the way she always has, since our first life... And you, Rosa, are my destiny, my Rosamund."
When they kissed, the ring began to glow, and a golden rose crest shone on Rosa's and Celeste's foreheads. Their uniforms shimmered and started to transform...
Rosa and Celeste, united by love and transformed into legendary knights, raced up the tower to the council room. Surely their ancient enemy would be there, waiting to destroy them now that they had awakened...
"Show yourself, Mephiste! We will not be manipulated by your schemes!"
But what they found was not the fearsome demon of their dark memories, but Briar crumpled on the floor, glittering tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
"Why won't you love me?" she cried pathetically. "All I wanted was what you had together! I want to be loved... I want to be you!"
Suddenly Rosa and Celeste felt very foolish in their magic armor, brandishing their swords at this weeping girl. Is this what Mephiste had become, after hundreds of years of solitude? They sensed no dark power, but a deep, lonesome sadness.
"Mephi-- That is, Briar," Celeste began. "Mine and Rosa's destinies are entwined, but you don't have to be our enemy!"
"You have your own story," Rosa added. "You can be a hero too! And you can find love, in many different forms."
Hope shone in Briar's unmarred eye. The beautiful knights smiled kindly at her and raised their swords. A blinding light filled the hall and washed the weeping girl in healing magic. Briar felt herself changing. Her skin seemed to glow, her scars fading to tiny silver threads, her healed eyes bright and clear. In a flash, her body disappeared, leaving in its wake a book, silver gilt and bearing the crest of a sapphire rose -- "L'histoire du Mephiste". The story of a mysterious girl who was both a princess and a knight...
 Odd Cinderella · Sat Jun 28, 2014 @ 02:00am · 0 Comments |
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