The Fairest of Them All

XIV. White Rose

Chapter 14

Yui could not take her eyes away from them, those hooded, dull eyes that contained so much despair, so much sadness as they stared out into the distance. She was so entranced that she didn't notice the missing presence of the silver-eyed woman who she had been following all along. She jumped, startled as a certain albino stood where Cecelia was moments ago, his head tilted upwards.

In his hand was a silver dagger.

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The sound of the turning key clicked, followed by the short, shrilled screeching of metal as the door was pushed open. Upon hearing her name, Crista turned.

"...What are you doing here?" Her tone matched her lifeless eyes.

A small smile graced Cecelia's features before she responded. "You are the third individual to question my presence, and I daresay that yours held the least hostility."

Crista simply returned her focus towards the world behind the barred window, her thin hair resembling the finest snow as it swayed. Then, her quiet voice broke the short silence. "Hostility...such a precise word to describe the content of this world."

"Indeed," the silver-eyed woman replied. "white rose."

"That name...it seems like it'll only be used by your voice," Crista eventually said.

White rose was a name that complimented Crista beyond finely. The woman's flawless white hair was tied up in a bun at the top left of her head, held in a frilly, red hair band akin to a blooming flower. Two white strands cascaded from underneath the bun, splitting in half midway down to elegantly intertwine with one another before straightening again to reach her knees. To compliment her hair and complexion she wore a long white dress decorated with two parallel lines of black diamond-shaped straps that showered down the front sides of her dress, growing in size before the rest, lower half bled in crimson.

The dress billowed gracefully outwards as a light blue chiffon cloak acted as her sleeves, starting from the front bottom of her neckline straps and running all the way to the back of her dark, diamond-shaped choker, leaving her smooth, creamy shoulders exposed. Her gloves covered her hands and most of her arms, with one hand rested on the windowsill.

Her eyes were briefly searching the surroundings below her. Upon landing on the familiar figure below, they closed. "That kid...is down there, again isn't he?"

Cecelia gave her a look. "Yes. However, I believe 'that kid' is feeling quite down at the moment..." She trailed off after seeing Crista's composure began to waver.

The white-haired woman sagged. Almost impossibly, her voice lowered further. "...What kind of a mother am I...?"

Cecelia tilted her head. "A caring one."

"Liar."

"Now why exactly would I do that? You were a spectacular mother, and would have continued being one if—"

"—If it wasn't because of him, right?" Crista's sudden giggles shook her entire body, slowly building up into maniacal laughter that rumbled the tower walls. "That's right... It's because of him that I became this disgraceful! Him and that filthy child! Hell is where they should have been! Hell is where they should have rotted! They...they..."

Crista threw the wooden table across the room. It hit the opposite wall, causing a frenzied rain of shattered pieces. Cecelia immediately kicked the door shut behind her, the thunderous slam causing the walls to quake violently. Her composure reverted to grimness as she watched her friend slowly drown with insanity once again. And yet, she could do nothing. Her fist clenched while Christa screamed in rage, clawing fistfuls of hair. She then went silent, and the last traces of lifelessness disappeared from her eyes before it was conquered by lunacy. Those eyes then fixated on the silver-eyed woman.