{oOo}
No one knew why Princess Serenity had ordered both her chambers and anything remotely shaded red to be painted in, as she put it, "a nice, dark shade of blue."
When questioned on the matter, she would simple reply, "I never really liked the color red anyway." As she had, not a day previously, been obsessed with the color pink, Horus was, admittedly, confused.
To make matters worse, he couldn't find her anywhere in the palace. When he asked the Adeptus Custodes, they mentioned that she had ordered them to say nothing of her location.
This would not do.
After several long hours of searching, he found her not in the kitchen, looking for food, as he had expected, but, rather, outside, of all places, watching the sunset.
Horus took a moment to process the sheer incongruity of the situation before he walked over to his sister and sat down next to her.
"If you are asking me why I have decided to paint everything blue," she said before Horus could speak, "I never liked the color red, anyway."
He stared at her. "Really? Because just yesterday, you happened to, and I quote, 'absolutely definitely love the color pink.'"
She groaned. "I've had people asking me that question all day, and I don't feel like spending the time explaining."
"You don't look like you're busy right now. Could you possible spare the time for-"
"Alright, fine. I'll tell you, and you can tell everyone else. How's that sound?"
Horus nodded, and leaned closer to his sister so as to not miss anything she said.
"Have you ever wondered why sunsets are red?"
"Because the atmosphere scatters light?"
"And why some sunsets are redder than others?"
Horus remained silent.
"When there is smoke in the air, the red color is both more vibrant and also lasts longer." She frowned slightly as she quieted for a moment. "When we fight to liberate worlds, the sunsets are redder than usual because of the fires which we light. I-" She shrugged helplessly. "It just reminded me of the killing."
Horus nodded. "I understand," he said as he left Serenity sitting alone, gazing at the red on the western horizon.
Serenity was odd sometimes, he thought. He could understand that she disliked red because it reminded her of battle, but because it was the color of the sunset rather than the color of blood?
Horus shook his head as he strode through the corridors of the Imperial Palace and cast such thoughts from his head. It would not do to think badly of the Princess, and he still had to collect on his bet with Rogal Dorn and rib Magnus about how he disquieted his sister now, after all.
{oOo}
