Title: Weathered Stone.
Author: nocturnal messages
Summary: RosettaxMist. Rosetta prays for her beloved Raguna to find the fabled White Stone, so the two can spend the rest of their lives together. Little does she know that with a bit of Mist's generosity, she will find herself starting to fall for her rival.
Eyes of red wine poured over the mahogany west front of the cathedral. Icy blue ribbons of water crystal encircled the midsection of the two colossal pillars that towered far above the ornate entrance. A golden cross dissected a circular emblem crafted from the same rare metal, slicing it into fourths like a freshly baked pie. She once had the nerve to question why the cross nailed above the church's gaudy door had a circle melded into its design. Figuring it was merely for aesthetic purposes, Rosetta was surprised to hear from Wesley that the peculiar symbol of faith was meant to infuse worship of the Lord with the harmony of Earthen magic. A peaceful union between the two ideals. It sounded like a load of buffamo crap to her.
Inhaling deeply, she held her breath as she pushed open the heavy door. An old superstition had leaked across the town ever since her grandfather had been a child. Hold your breath while entering the chapel, walk the entire length of the crimson rug that unfurled itself right up to the edge of the altar where two lit candles buried in their golden holders sat on either end of the marble pedestal clothed in white silk, then, with your face turned blue from lack of oxygen, blow out the candle to your right whilst making a wish. Any wish at all, and it was certain to come true. Of course, one had to have the guts to extinguish the flame and risk having one's ego and pride injured by the scolding Wesley was likely to administer on them.
About halfway down the aisle of pews gleaming like the surface of a puddle of spilt oil in the dim lighting, Rosetta let out a loud sigh, releasing her breath and any promise of ever gaining her truest desire.
"I don't know what I want.. so whatever," she whispered into the holy setting before dropping down into the polished seat of a nearby pew and closing he eyelids softly. Prayer did not come easily for her, as she never really knew how to start up a conversation with someone who only listened and could never be bothered to respond, but the blond haired woman racked her brain anyway. Partially wondering if Wesley was watching her bow her head and smiling that content smile of his that made her want to tell him to take off the pretty dress he seemed so thrilled to don day after day and change into something that wouldn't make her realize why Lara never had a mother, Rosetta began, 'Hi God, it's so damn early. Are you even awake? Well, shut up and listen for a minute. I have some.. er.. confessions to make. Just today I cursed at least a dozen times, called Lukas a moron because he wrote a poem about how my hair reminds him of corn, seriously, who the hell does that? Oh, and I cursed again right there if you're keeping score. Am I winning, by the way? Well, whatever.'
Pausing briefly to give the Lord above a few seconds to absorb what she had just rambled on about, she peeked out of one eye to make sure Wesley wasn't sending any unwanted friendliness her way to discover that he had long ago ascended the stone staircase leading to his and Lara's housing arrangements. 'Okay, here comes some more, if you're ready. So, today I called Wesley a homosexual, inside my mind, of course. I think it still counts, though.'
Pondering for a moment to see if she had revealed every ounce of her horrid deeds, she couldn't think of anything else to add, so instead she went on to a different course of action, 'So, now I need your help on something.. Or someone. You know Raguna, right? He comes in here fairly often, probably praying for the spirits of the monsters he's defeated to find peace. He's a really nice guy, I'm sure you know. I just.. want you to help me out on one little thing.'
Without even noticing, Rosetta suddenly switched from pure, tranquil silence to mumbling her prayer quietly beneath her breath, "Please help him find the stone. I want him to find it before it's too late. He's been hanging around that damned Mist girl way too much lately and I don't like it. So, if you could also please kill her off for me before their relationship turns into any-"
"Hey, are you talking about me? That's sort of strange," a familiar voice, sweet as syrup, trickled through Rosetta's ears as she felt warm breath tickle the side of her face where the speaker's mouth was currently situated.
Toppling backward out of shock, Rosetta's left shoulder and elbow cracked down upon the seat of the pew as her eyes shot open to stare grimly upon the gentle features of the girl she had just been trying to hire God to assassinate. "W-what are you doing here?!" she stammered, failing to regain control of her emotions as she felt an odd mixture of rage and fear sweep through her.
The blue eyed girl stuck her pointer finger up to her chin, contemplating the answer she would give the other, "Ah. I can't recall. Oh well, good-bye then."
And with that, Mist started toward the grand door of the cathedral, her flax colored hair swaying behind her as if she didn't have a care in the world despite the fact that she was also obviously in love with Raguna and had her own farm to tend to.
Sighing out of relief once the last of Mist's slender fingers had slipped past the partially open door as she exited the church, Rosetta gained back her usual fiery spirit. "What a weird girl, I'll never understand what he sees in her even if I live to be as old as Leo. And she can't even remember to close the door."
Pushing herself up from her uncomfortable position on the pew, she made her way quickly toward the door that arched skyward to the heavens. "I hope one day she forgets to shut the door to her house and a wolf breaks in to finish that pathetic moron up once and for all," she grumbled quietly, listening to the soft padding of her feet against the rug.
Stretching one arm out to connect the palm of her hand with the mahogany surface, she was about to slam it back into its proper place when the all-to familiar voice chimed up again, "Oh, now I remember!" Delicate fingers laced around the edge of the door, followed by the serene face and eventually the rest of her rival as Mist returned into what was becoming a painful migraine for Rosetta.
"Thanks for holding the door open for me Rosetta, you're very kind," Mist, with her infernal, soothing aura, sent a fury of hatred through the short-tempered woman. "I remember what I came here for."
"Oh, well thank God for that," sarcasm dripped through her every word, though it seemed as if Mist was unable to pick up on her tone of voice as the girl continued to approach her.
Once she had closed the distance between them, though still couldn't figure out how to close the door behind her, Mist continued to speak, "I heard from Raguna that you were looking for a stone or something."
"A White Stone," she corrected through gritted teeth. It wasn't just any old stone that she sought after, and she couldn't expect a moron like Mist to ever comprehend the beauty of the object of lore.
"Yes, that, the White Stone," the farmer woman concluded, with a proud smile which seemed to say that she had already known what it was titled, though it was doubtful that she would be able to recall the simple name in a few moments. "Raguna was talking about how you were looking for it."
Eyebrow twitching in irritation, anger almost appeared to crackle off her skin like an electrical discharge, "So? Raguna tells me things all of the time. Just last month he told me he had amnesia and had lost all of his memories. It was very insightful, really made me understand who he is and where he's coming from."
Impervious to insults and sarcasm, Mist nodded with an understanding smile. "So, I decided to help you look for the stone. Well, first I checked the 'lost and found box'. I couldn't find it there, but then I decided to check this block of ice in Toros cave. Lucky guess, I suppose, because look what I found.."
A gasp escaped her throat as the hopeless girl produced a sparkling stone the color of pure, undisturbed snowfall from her dress pocket.
'What?! That moron actually found the White Stone? God, I can't let her hang onto it any longer! She'll probably lose it.. Or find out what I want to use it for and decide to use it for her own evil purposes. No! I can't let that happen! But, how am I supposed to get it from her? I can't just grab it and run.. She's probably faster than me,' as Rosetta continued to obsess and plot over how to gain ownership of the fabled item she missed hearing her rival call her name several times in an attempt to gain her attention.
"Rosetta.. Rosetta.. Rosetta!"
"What is it!" she shot out before she could hold her tongue.
Feeling the smooth texture of cold stone press into the palm of her hand half a moment later, she was dumbfounded when she heard Mist answer, "You can have it. I don't need stones, I have a bunch on the farm and there's always new ones popping up. So, go ahead and take it."
Mouth hanging ajar as she stood awestruck, Rosetta nearly crumpled to the floor in a heap of amazement and disbelief as her fingers clasped over the precious stone. "I-I.. Thank you," her voice cracked out, almost unable to say the word of gratitude to her arch-nemesis.
"It's just a stone, no big deal," the other replied, shrugging before turning to leave again.
As the angelic figure of generosity disappeared through the doorway once more, Rosetta couldn't help but notice how the morning light streaming through the stain glass windows stroked Mist's fair toned skin and hair, causing it to glow faintly like a candle flame.
Relaxing to enjoy her moment of victory, the hard-headed woman drifted off into her thoughts again, 'Hmm.. That was nice of her. And she really looked pretty today, I wonder if she's doing something different with her hair. I wish I could run my fingers across it.. Maybe I could wish for that next time I try the old 'church-candle-extinguish-trick'.'
'Wait!' alarm suddenly struck her like an arrow to the heart. 'Why am I thinking about that moron? Eww.. Must just be glad to finally get the stone. That's it.'
Relief pulsing through her veins again, she leaned back against the door, accidentally closing it in the process of trying to steal away a bit of physical comfort as her brain continued to focus on the stone. 'Okay, so all I need to do now is put it in a place where Raguna will find it first, maybe his mailbox or something. Then, when he gets it he can give it to me and our fates will be intertwined together forever, just like how the old myth goes.'
Another frantic wave of panic knocked the air right out of her, though she couldn't fathom where it had come from, after all, she had the stone now, so there was nothing to worry over. 'Yeah, I have it now. Mist gave it to me, so there's nothing to be concerned about.. Wait?! Did she give it to me?! Could that have.. Have..'
"Oh, God damnit! Shit, shit, shit, shit.." Rosetta thrust her beloved stone to the floor, and with a muffled clattering it skidded across the deep red rug, fractured light from the stain glass windows tainting its white coloring with hues of mixed sapphire and maroon.
She finally knew what she wanted.