Second Breath

Chapter 02

Peony 

Peony was the flower that was crafted in the seal, and Eliza could never be mistaken about its importance. 

Peonies were believed to be the symbol of prosperity. 

All the pieces of the puzzle seemed to get placed in their exact position - but, only a question remained. 

What was she doing inside a book? 

And not only just a book but a fairytale - the one that used to be her favourite when she was just a toddler. 

Eliza had to wrap her mind around the situation and she knew the exact excuse that could be quite helpful. 

"That was lovely of both of you to bring these dresses here. But, now I need to be alone for some time to decide which one is perfect for the party." Eliza said, and the ladies left the room instantly. 

Deciding the dress was of the least importance for Eliza. She couldn't care less about what she was wearing when her whole life had shifted inside a fairytale. 

"I know I begged for a second chance, but that doesn't mean you sent me to some fairytale," Eliza muttered under her breath - she recalled the times when she begged for a second chance in her life, as she was tired of the circumstances that drunk her sanity. 

She got up from the bed looking through the collection of the evening gowns - all of them were beautiful - a masterpiece in her eyes, and seemed to be made just with her in mind. 

She began to summarise everything that she had learned in the past hour - she was inside a fairytale, she had a sister and a mother and soon-to-be a stepfather with a daughter, which indicated that this was the tale of Cinderella. The only difference was that she somehow was living the behind-the-scenes story of one of the stepsisters - their names were completely different, even the appearances were not the exact match as penned down in the tale - and most probably she could easily alter the flow of the events. 

"Now that's something," Eliza said and blinked her eyes. Her toddler self would have been super excited to spend time with her idol - the girl according to her was the epitome of never giving up against all the hardships. 

"Seems like things would be more interesting than I thought," Eliza said and chuckled to herself - there was no way she could behave or withstand the wrongdoings that Cinderella had faced, and she decided to help the latter whenever it was needed. 

Her thoughts were at different places, some pointing out how she could no longer play online games or binge-watch series on Netflix, when her eyes landed on one of the dresses - it was perfect. 

The evening gown shimmered like moonlight on water, the fabric flowing down like a cascade and it oozed unforgettable elegance. It didn't have long sleeves nor was strapless and the neckline not being too high or low - just exactly to her taste. 

"This is my choice."

Eliza declared, with a soft smile on her face, and went through the collection of jewels that she owned. Being confused between the diamond and the pearl set she had - she chose the former for it felt to add to the beauty of the evening gown. Once done with selecting everything, she decided to go around her room.

From a corner of the cupboard, hidden behind the numerous clothes, she found a stack of books. Setting them down on her bed, she went through each of the pages and was astounded by the beautiful diagrams. They were fabulous and being someone who had a love for art, she couldn't stop herself from appreciating even the slightest of the details. But, what was confusing for her - everything drawn was just black and white, not even a tinge of colour. It was a plain, basic palette in her eyes, and why would someone who could draw so well never try colours?