May 8th, 1894
By the time dawn broke, every member of staff was up and preparing. No one could get a moment's peace; the halls were aflood with noise. Maids and elves ran about with laundry in their arms. The cooks were set to work the most. Everything had to be on the table or in the trash, as Talía simply would not stand to wake up to rotten food. The rest of the family was settling in, either wondering what the world will be like when they wake or practicing for the event. Juana's little eyes shone bright gold as she listened to the adults listing off ideas of books that would read themselves and photographs that would move. Ostentosa and Ornamentada rummaged through their wardrobes to find the best gown to sleep in, tossing the ones they disliked over their shoulders. The poor fairy behind them flew to catch them all and landed with a thump as a discarded gown flew on top of her.
But wherever there was busywork, there was Bella.
She was there in the laundry rooms to wash the clothes. She was there to drop off the laundry when it was ready. She was there to help clear the path to the spindle tower. She was even in the kitchen to do the dishes before the cooks finally shooed her out. She huffed as she ascended the stairs and passed by her family's rooms. If there was nothing else she could do to help, then what was she supposed to do?
Rosa's room was cracked open. Bella peeked inside and sighed in relief; it was empty. She stooped down and heaved up the basket of roses she had collected from the garden, a small book tucked under her arm. She spread the book open over the bed and flipped to a certain page. Taking two roses and some wire, she began the painstaking process of assembling them over the head of Rosa's bed. It was clear she had never done this before. Every minute or so, a rose would slip out of the wire. Some were quickly losing petals. And, an hour and a half into her work, the entire structure collapsed. She gathered the fallen bits of the arch into her arms and sighed.
The door knocked. "Belleza?"
"Mamá - AY!" She scrambled to keep the roses in her arms, her skin becoming scratched. Almost all landed on the floor and at Talía's feet, however. "I-I was..." She bent down to clean up the roses. "I was asking how the staff created the centerpieces for the table. And I-I found this book. So I thought to - ay!- just ready Rosa's room - ouch!" She dropped several stems. Nervously, she stood up straight with two roses in her hand. "For her, you know, to feel comfortable."
Talía stared down at her daughter with her brow crinkled. Acutely aware that the roses in her hands were slowly losing her petals, Bella forced a smile across her face. Talía sighed. "Belleza, this is very difficult for everyone. And your efforts to contribute are admirable. But, it is not your place to ... overstep the work of the servants."
"W-Well, I just thought - " she yelped again as another thorn pierced her, and she dropped the roses.
"Instead of arranging rose corpses along your sister's headboard," Talía darted her eyes towards the rose arch. "perhaps you could take the effort to spend time with your sister?"
"I would, Mamá. But - "
"There is no 'but' in this. You have plenty of opportunities to spend time with her and you refuse."
Bella pursed her lips. Rosa was always by her mother's side, or with Osta and Orna, or practicing her voice or dancing. The girl was always busy!
"I do not refuse. I'm only trying to do my part like the rest of the family - "
"You don't need to do anything, Belleza," her mother said firmly. "Your place is to be with the family, and performing the tasks of a chambermaid does not befit a princess."
What good is that title if all I do is sit on my rear right behind Rosa?! But, of course, she did not say that.
Talía continued. "Everyone must uphold the legacy of this family, no matter the role." She turned to leave, but peered back over her shoulder. "And go to see Opulento, please. You're bleeding."
Bella glanced down at her hands and realized several thorns were lodged in her palms.
The door to Opulento's room swung open. Bella silently held up her bleeding hands, and he rolled his eyes.
"Come in, then."
She stepped inside and sat down on his golden bedspread. Opulento glided over to the cabinet in the back of his room and carefully opened the doors. Bella stared at the floor. Her eldest cousin was not one for conversation. He preferred to read romantic novels and listen to Baroque music, while also dabbling in swords and dragons. Mostly, he wished to be left alone. Bella would usually respect that, but lately he was in high demand.
He selected a vial from the cabinet and began unscrewing the top. Impatiently, Bella held up her hands. Opulento took her wrists and took one hard look at her hands.
"Rose thorns again?"
She rolled her eyes. Opulento sighed and pulled a pair of tweezers from the drawer by his bed, mumbling about how he was not making the same mistake again.
"You know, maybe we wouldn't be spending so much time together if you didn't try so hard."
"What do you expect of me?!" Bella said. "Mamá thinks all I'm good for is being Rosa's sister, because there's nothing else for me to do. I have to do something!"
He plucked the last of the thorns from her hands and dabbed them to staunch the bleeding. "We've all been trying to get in Talía's good graces for years. What makes you think she'll start letting us in?" Her eyes darted to the floor. "That's what I thought."
He brought over the vial and held it over her hands. She averted her gaze.
"Bella," Opulento sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. It's only...you know how your mother is. There's use trying if nothing works." He finally poured the vial over her hands and watched as her wounds seal. "And we can only live with that fact."
"I do not want to live my life only being an embarrassment!" Bella shook her head.
"I never said you were an embarrassment."
She groaned softly. He rifled through his drawer once again and pulled out a needle. "What I mean is that I want to feel like I'm worth something in this family. In our legacy!"
"I'm not certain I help with that." He lightly poked the tip of the needle, checking to see if it was sharp. "I have my own problems." He stabbed the needle into his own arm and let out a short, sharp cry. Bella winced. Tears poured out of his eyes and down his face. He held the empty vial under his chin to catch the falling tears.
Bella rose from the bed. "I need to take a walk."
She closed the door behind her and started down the hall. She swallowed, her throat becoming dry. She shook her head, straightened her back, and let her face relax. She never liked going to see Opulento. She always came out feeling worse, and that feeling made her feel even worse. She quickened her pace, turning her head away as she passed Osta and Orna's room. She couldn't stand to hear them giggle.
As soon as she felt she were at a safe distance, she allowed her brain to whir. Something to do, anything to do. Laundry? No, she'd already done that. Dusting? No, there'd be no point. Something in the kitchen? Her face turned scarlet. She groaned. Without chores, all she had were her thoughts and the books she'd read ten times each in the library. Going over in her head, she found neither of them were useful at the moment. She swallowed, her throat becoming scratchy.
She took a deep breath, crossed her arms over her chest, and proceeded deeper into the castle.
"Are you done yet?" Rosa asked.
"Not yet," Orna replied.
"What about now?"
"Almost... There!"
The two sisters turned their cousin towards their vanity mirror, and Rosa opened her eyes. She gasped in delight. Her hair had been pinned back into a braided bun, the rest spilling over her shoulders. Pink gems had been put into her ears and a bit of blush powdered her cheeks, making her red-brown eyes pop.
"I love it!" she exclaimed, and Osta and Orna giggled. Her chest fluttered happily. Her first year at school had been with these two, and they had been her support. But they graduated. And Rosa was left alone again...
"Rosa?" Osta sat on her bed with her empty jewelry box. She closed the lid and turned to Rosa. "I can't decide which earrings to wear tomorrow. Which ones should I wear?"
"Oh, the, uh, the gold ones with the rubies in the center, I think."
Osta tapped the lid, then opened it. The earrings sat in the velvet lining for her. Orna sat next to her sister and ran a brush through her hair. "Everything alright, primita?"
Rosa bit her lip. "...How has Belleza been? Do you know?"
Orna shook her head, glancing at her sister. Osta simply shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I haven't seen her much lately." She wrung her hands together. "I know with everything that's happening, everyone is busy. But I've been trying to make time, and I can never find her!" She sighed, vines of lavender roses crawling into her hair. "Do you think she and I have grown apart?"
Orna opened her mouth to speak.
"Isn't it obvious?" Osta said.
"Osta!" Orna snapped.
Ostentosa shrugged. " Well, isn't it? She'd rather rub elbows with the servants and scrub the floors than spend time with her family."
"You could have worded it differently," her sister rolled her eyes.
Rosa's brow furrowed, and she glanced between her cousins. "I'm sure her intentions were unselfish."
Osta shook her head. "Her Majesty has told her specifically to see you, and yet she never does. Orna heard it herself."
"I...this is true," Orna admitted.
Rosa shook her head. Bella wouldn't do that. She loved her family too much to do that.
Orna stood, handing her sister the brush. "I think, Rosa, that perhaps this may be due to her lack of destiny."
"She's not that selfish - "
"Just listen, please." She took a seat by the window. "I don't think Bella realizes, but Osta and I had been noticing changes in her since you left. She's become quite emotionless. She hardly eats with the family, or at all if I am honest. And it has only worsened since you returned." She glanced back at Osta who nodded. "My - our thinking is that...perhaps it's the destiny talk. That if she can't have a destiny, why should she be enwrapped in someone else's?"
"Are you hearing yourself?!" Rosa sprang from her seat. "My sister would never be so inconsiderate! She is devoted to this family!"
Osta set her jewelry box aside and slid into Rosa's empty seat. "How much do you really know her anymore?"
Rosa clenched her fists. How dare they?! First Darcy and now - No! No, no thinking about the fairy-not-to-be-named! They were wrong! They were all wrong about her sister! She huffed and made for the door. Her face burned from the anger rising up, and she quickened her pace down the hall. She needed to be calm...
A small hand tugged at her skirt. She turned and looked down. Juana held up a small picture book, one page ripped and held to the cover.
"Prima, mi libro ha rasgado!"
Rosa knelt down to take the book.
"Ay, Juanita." Paz muttered exasperatedly. She slid up next to her tiny daughter. "English, mi vida. In the new century, we must speak English."
Tiny Juana bit her lip and wrung her hands, her face scrunched tight. Rosa's chest tightened, and she held the other end of the book to take it. "It's alright, Tía Paz. She doesn't need to."
"Mamá, no sé!" Juana cried.
"She needs to know, Rosa. If she's to grow up in this new world, she must learn the common language." She took her daughter by her shoulders. "Now, Juana. How do we say in English? ¿Cómo la decimos?"
Juana shrunk feeling the two women stare at her. Rosa's heart twinged for her. The little girl moved her mouth silently, trying to find the words.
"M-my book... t-`tear... tore...?"
Paz smiled, satisfied. "Good, mi amor. Now you may go."
Juana tentatively shuffled over to her older cousin, burying her face slightly into her leg. Rosa gently rested her hand on Juana's hair and smiled at her aunt. Paz nodded and swiftly left. Rosa knelt to the little girl's height, the book still in her hands. The girl rubbed her teary eyes and sniffled.
"¿Qué tiene de bueno el inglés de todos modos?" she mumbled.
Rosa sighed and smiled. She laid the page back in the book, making sure it was in the right place, and waved her hand over the spine. A single green vine wound through the paper and pulled tight. She flipped the pages open, blowing Juana's hair back and making her giggle. She handed the book back and brushed back a lock of hair from her forehead.
"Vas a estar bien," she said. Juana smiled and held the book to her chest. Without a word, she grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a sitting room. "Ay, Juanita. N-No puedo - "
Juana sat down on the lounge, Abuelita sitting in her chair by the fireplace. The little girl yanked Rosa with her and shoved the book into her hands. Rosa pointed at herself questioningly, and Juana nodded. Rosa chuckled, suddenly remembering when Bella would read to her late at night. It was bittersweet to know now. She had seen so little of her sister lately, and at a time where she really wished she could spend time with her. Without intending, Darcy's words crept forward from the back of her mind. Bella could never hate her! They were twins; they were sisters! But there was something wrong, something that had been growing since she left for school without her. She didn't want to believe Osta and Orna, but...
She opened the book and began to read.