The young miss truly was the apple of the Castellan family's eye. Evelyn's gaze drifted to the fragile child who lay under the multiple pretty lights that illuminated her.
With her blonde hair glowing under the brightness, along with the toys and flowers surrounding her, she truly seemed more like an outwardly being rather than a human child.
She sat beside the young miss and gently caressed her hair.
Never mind the emptiness of the room and the supposed vulnerability of the young miss—any wrong move by Evelyn, and she would be put down before even being able to formulate a single thought.
Right now, despite appearances, she was completely surrounded.
She softly released the young miss' locks and sighed once more. She wasn't sure what she was doing here. She wasn't even sure what she was doing.
Only after that dream, something within her sparked, and she just let her legs lead her wherever.
That dream had stripped her of all her strength and audacity, leaving her too lethargic to fulfill her earlier motive. She could no longer end her life.
So now what?
She wasn't sure. She was just so unsure.
***
Rosanna woke up to her gloomy bestie curled up in bed beside her and had never felt so happy. Just as she was about to express her joy, her parents burst in, and the sleepy Verity was yanked right out of bed by Isolde and thrown across the room.
She stumbled, fell, stood right up—only to be shoved back down by Lucien's rather obvious "mistake bump," followed by Gideon's gaze of disgust.
Rosanna was about to express her immense displeasure when Verity stood back up and, as if nothing had happened, walked past the entire family before pulling Rosanna into a hug with the brightest smile she had ever seen.
Everyone was shocked, including the maid who had arrived later, but Rosanna was even more shocked because… Verity spoke!
"Verity," her eyes shone like a thousand suns, and before Evelyn could take cover, she was tackled and pulled back to bed with the excited child in an engulfing hug.
The young Rosanna laughed, and, affected by her glee, Evelyn also laughed. Sparks flew between her brown eyes and the dull gold within bloomed with a brilliant fervor that left Rosanna blinded by its beauty.
Baby blue met golden brown. Fingers interlocked. Foreheads pressed together. Giggles burst out. One, two, three—then the room was alive with their laughter,
completely overwhelming and ignoring the recent arrivals.
Evelyn wasn't sure if she had lost her mind acting like that with a child despite having the mind of an adult, but in that temporary moment of relief, she completely forgot everything except the intense joy that eclipsed her mind, bringing with it an urge and reason she so desperately needed.
She wanted to live to see the young miss' smiles. Oh, how fulfilling and beautiful they were!
***
Evelyn had Rosanna wrapped about her after that, throughout the Castellans' visit. They were heavily displeased, to say the least.
Having been heavily scolded by Rosanna, then treated coldly while the subject of their problems was firmly held in a rather favourable position—staring at them with the usual blank gaze, as if the flash of brilliance had been but a fleeting dream.
"I hope you're okay, Verity," Rosanna worriedly asked after the despondent departure of the Castellan family. Evelyn parted her lips in response, but then her eyes caught sight of the maid, so she simply smiled and nodded.
Rosanna, who had captured her minor motions, smiled as well, then exclaimed in excitement, "Let's go brush!"
"Young miss, your body—" the maid expressed her worries.
Rosanna laughed, "It's alright, I'll be sure not to exert my strength too much."
Unlike the former days, today seemed less gloomy—perhaps because the young miss was motivated enough to leave her bed and try out some things with Verity, such as reading.
Or because Verity was much more cheerful than she ever was, smiling and gleefully accompanying the young miss with the love and gentleness of a dear friend.
Either way, today was different and triggered the beginning of more different days ahead.
That night, Evelyn dreamt of the rats again, and this time, not only did they have headphones, but she also wore their outfit and danced crazily along with them.
She woke up the next morning and promised the young miss that she would show her something spectacular tonight if she slept well enough during the day.
The good news was that the young miss listened. The bad news—Evelyn was dragged against her will to have an afternoon nap with her.
Evelyn: I don't like this.
Rosanna: (≧◡≦)
Evelyn: (´-﹏-)
That night, Evelyn wore her loosest gown and strode into the young miss' room with a moonwalk.
"Whoa, what's that?" Rosanna was up and eager to learn.
Evelyn smirked, then spoke in reply, "Moonwalk."
Without an iota of shame, she added, "I invented it."
"It looks so good. Can I—" Rosanna's eyes widened, then a loud shriek escaped the child, leaving Evelyn jumping out of her skin.
"Verity, you're speaking!"
"Is that such a thing of joy for the young miss?" Evelyn grumbled.
Actually, she didn't want to.
This voice truly was too childish—squeaky, like an abominable cross between an anime girl and a mouse.
"Yes, yes, it is. Oh, Verity!" Rosanna climbed off the bed and hugged the stifled girl. "It's so cute. I missed your voice so much."
Seeing the young girl filled with so much joy, Evelyn sighed, "Then you will never stop hearing it, even if you get sick of it."
Rosanna beamed, then leapt up with joy.
"Yeah!"