Unable to keep her hands from trembling, Miku pressed her palms together and interlaced her fingers as she and the other students marched towards the arena. Normally the arena, a bowl-shaped building with rows upon rows of seats towering into the sky, was used for theatrical plays. Only this performance would be an execution.

Juliet CV02 followed wordlessly behind Miku. Gakuko and Ona were present by her side. Luka was nowhere to be found.

Is she even going to be here? Miku wondered. Attendance is mandatory. I don't think this will proceed if Luka isn't accounted for.

Normally being surrounded by this many girls lead to a loud environment as each and every one talked and laughed with her friends. Instead only the shuffling of feet was the sound anyone made. This somber silence, complete with cloudy weather and the potential for rain, truly added to this depressing morning.

In a neat line, the girls had their retinas scanned to mark their presence and slipped inside. They were to take their seats starting from the third row and working their way up, making certain each and every seat possible was filled. For some odd reason, the first two rows were left empty. Miku tried to figure out what this meant. Nothing that came to mind was pleasant.

Miku kept scanning the crowd even after she had entered the arena and had taken her seat. Her eyes ran over every head as far as she could see, searching desperately for that familiar salmon hair. Juliet CV02 sat to her right, stone still. Ona sat to her left, absolutely silent. Nearly everyone else there sat in a similar fashion.

It must have been thirty minutes later when everyone had finally entered the arena and had taken her seat. Then the mystery of the first two rows was solved as Juliets upon Juliets poured into the arena, taking those seats closest to what was to take place. It must have been another thirty minutes after the Juliets had flooded in when Mistress Prima stepped behind the curtains of the reserved seating. Miku wasn't in the position to see Mistress Prima from where she sat, but the monitors floating in the center showed live feed of her for all to see.

"Good morning, my precious students," Mistress Prima greeted.

Is it truly a good morning? Miku bit her lower lip, anticipating what was to happen but still hoping she was wrong.

"I'm afraid we must start our new semester on such a . . . terrible note," Mistress Prima was saying. "We are an academy built on rules and regulations. When those rules are broken, we must take action. It is the only way we can guarantee that situations such as this will not happen again, or at least not for a very, very long time.

"I will not deny the pleasure Juliets can bring a woman." Mistress Prima indicated behind her, and the camera zoomed out to show Pet Juliet sitting to the right of the grand seat. "My pet here has been a better lover to me than my own husband."

"Why say that?" Ona muttered so quietly Miku was sure she wasn't meant to hear. "What does Master Tonio have to do with any of this?"

The camera zoomed out more, and everyone could see Master Tonio sitting on the other side of Mistress Prima. He had a hard frown on his face and a dead look in his eyes. At first Miku thought of how anyone could see that Master Tonio was displeased with his wife, but upon looking at him more intently, she saw it wasn't displeasure the man was trying with little success to hide.

It was with pure, unrelenting hatred this man beheld his wife.

"However," Mistress Prima went on to say as the camera again got a closeup of her, "these unions are not free for all. There are clearly stated restrictions of which you must never be unaware. Juliets which are a part of your estate are acceptable. Juliets which can be found in brothels are acceptable. Juliets which can be randomly found on the street are acceptable."

Miku thought she was going to be sick.

"Juliets which are the property of another are not acceptable." Mistress Prima narrowed her eyes as loud gasps echoed throughout the arena. "I'm afraid to say we have a student who did just that."

Reaching out to someone who had until now been off camera, she said, "Come forward, dear, and admit your wrongdoings."

Dressed in a simple gray gown and wearing her hair knotted into a low bun, Luka stepped forward and forced herself to look at the camera. She held herself well, but Miku could still make out the little trembles. The sight had tears springing up in Miku's eyes.

"Hello," Luka greeted the camera, greeted every single person who lived within the academy's walls. "My name is Megurine Luka of the Feyre District. I am guilty of sleeping with one of the academy's Juliets."

Another cry of gasps rang through the arena. Luka kept talking through them.

"What I did was foolish to the highest degree. This fine academy accepted me to be one of its students, and I insult it by playing with one of its toys. Today I bear this shame for all to see."

"That isn't all," Mistress Prima said, stepping back into the scene. To someone outside of the camera's range, "Bring her out!"

Even though the monitors showed it in closer, better detail, Miku looked at the center of the arena as a couple of guards dragged out a small, green-haired Juliet. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Miku recalled Luka saying that the Juliet's name is Gumi. This was Gumi, and this was the day she died.

Gumi, wrists and ankles tied, was thrown down in the center of the arena. One of the guards grabbed her under the chin and jerked her head upwards so that she was looking at Luka. Now Miku looked at the screen. The greenette girl was still small, but now Miku could see her face and try to find what the Juliet hid behind those wet eyes. As fragile as she seemed to be, Gumi displayed no fear Miku could detect. It didn't appear that she dreaded what was to happen but simply couldn't wait for it to pass.

A sob that was immediately choked off reminded Miku who sat with her. Tearing her eyes away from Gumi, she looked at Juliet CV02. The blonde Juliet had tears flowing unrestrained down her red, splotchy face. Her hands were balled into fists and pressed firmly into her lap. She made no other sound, although it didn't take a second for Miku to figure out that this was worse for Juliet CV02 than it was for her.

Did they know each other?

"We must cleanse the shame Ms. Megurine has brought upon this academy," Mistress Prima said, sounding almost pleased with what was going on. "As our code states, any Juliet used to taint the purity of our students must be . . . removed. Let this be a warning to all who are witnessing this today. For my students, you shall be publicly humiliated. For you Juliets," now Mistress Prima looked down even though the Juliets technically sat above her, as if even in this situation she had to make them feel small, "step out of place, and you shall become like this one of your kind."

At this, a robed, masked figure stepped forward. Miku held her breath. Within the figure's hand was a long, wide blade.

"We asked this Juliet if she had any last words," Mistress Prima said. "She did. However, I shall not repeat them, nor shall she say them. For defying her very reason for existing, she shall be denied this one final right."

With that said, the deed was done. No warning. No wave of the hand. Nothing to prepare anyone for what they were to witness. As soon as Mistress Prima's words were out, the blade flashed, and the green-haired head began rolling across the stage as the body slumped forward.

Many of the girls, Cinderella and Juliet alike, screamed.

Gakuko, sitting next to Ona, leaned over and began throwing up.

Miku clutched her armrests in hopes of keeping herself from falling over.

All the while, Juliet CV02 continued with her silent crying.

It all happened so fast.

One minute, Gumi was forced onto her knees, eyes locked on Mistress Prima. The next, blood gushed from her neck as her head continued to roll away. Her eyes would never see anything ever again.

Miku did her best to take slow, deliberate breaths. This was done on purpose. The girls in the first two rows were surprised on purpose. If they had the warning, they may have looked away. Mistress Prima didn't want anyone to look away. She wanted them to witness the whole thing. She wanted them to know what, exactly, the penalty was for breaking the rules. She wanted the execution to leave a lasting impression.

Heart threatening to beat right out of her chest, Miku considered the message received.

Mistress Prima looked around the arena, glaring at them all as if she could see each and every individual soul surrounding her. If she was trying to strike fear into everyone's hearts, Miku was sure she succeeded in her task.

"Now," she said after an eternity of silence, "back to class."

Gumi's not really dead, Rin kept telling herself over and over. She wouldn't just die so suddenly like this. That wouldn't make any sense. This is just a fake out. She's really alive, and I just have to wait long enough for her to make an appearance again.

Yet as she allowed herself to sink deeper and deeper in denial, Rin knew in her heart that what she wanted to be true wasn't true at all. Gumi was dead. As quickly as a candle being blown out, her beautiful life was extinguished, never to be lit again. Never to share her warmth again. Never to be a light in Rin's dark world again.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Rin could almost swear eyes were constantly watching her as she and Miku slowly made their way out of the arena and back to the castle of an academy. Everyone knew that Rin was assigned to Miku and followed her everywhere she went. Everyone probably believed that Rin's head would be the next to roll across the stage.

The visual of Gumi's head thumping to the floor made bile rise up. Never before had Rin been grateful to have not eaten breakfast. She didn't think she would ever eat again.

If Rin wasn't careful, she would be next. Witnessing a beheading was awful enough. Rin didn't want to personally experience what Gumi had just gone through before it all ended for her.

The whole academy was eerily silent for the rest of the day. Students didn't talk to each other. They barely interacted with their professors. Even those same professors didn't seem to want to stand in front of their students and speak to them. Not that any of them were sad about Gumi, Rin knew. By tomorrow, everything would be back to normal for them. It was the Juliets who would be keeping this in the back of their heads for months. It was the Juliets who would have to dry their tears every time they remembered that Gumi would not be there to help them with their chores or play cards with them before bed. It would be the Juliets who would cry themselves to sleep until finally the pain of losing Gumi lost its sting altogether.

It was the last thought that hurt Rin the most. One day, even if it didn't feel like it now, her chest wouldn't ache for Gumi. One day she wouldn't want to cry over what she had just witnessed. One day she will move on, as if this event wasn't as life changing as it was. As much as Rin didn't want to admit it, that was what happened with Nero. Gumi would be next. The world doesn't end because a life does, even if that lost life to some feels as if the very world itself is ending.

How cruel, Rin thought. When life ends, that's it. You will only live on in the memories of your loved ones, but even they too will one day forget you. Maybe not your name and who you were to them, yet that won't stop that intimate love from slowly fading away as if it never existed in the first place.

Thrice Rin passed both Ia and Cul. She could see in their eyes how much they were also trying not to cry. There would be plenty of time for mourning when they went to bed, but Rin didn't know if she would ever have the chance. Not when she was Miku's shadow. Not when now more than ever, Rin's every move was heavily monitored.

Pretending that everything was all right as she trudged through the day was so much harder for Rin than she ever could have possibly imagined. She barely focused on the lessons, something she actually liked to do. It felt as if she wasn't participating in life, but merely watching herself go through the motions.

By the time evening rolled around, she was ready to snap.

Rin stood a few feet away from Miku as she quietly tried to talk about her homework with Ms. Yuzuki. Both girls seemed upset, but neither had a right to be. They didn't know Gumi. Rin did. If anyone should be upset, it was Rin, yet she had no right to express the very emotions threatening to spill over after being bottled up all day.

"I think I'm going to retire early," Miku said, tucking her sketchbook into her bag. "It's been . . . an exhausting day."

Ms. Yuzuki didn't respond. She simply nodded to show Miku that she heard and returned to her work. While Miku was distracted by her sketchbook refusing to get in her backpack, Ms. Yuzuki looked at Rin. Pity was in her eyes. Rin wanted to scream at her even though she didn't know what kind of pity Ms. Yuzuki was trying to convey.

As Miku and Rin walked down the hall, Rin kept her fingers curled so tightly her fingernails bit into her palms. The stinging was so bad Rin wouldn't have been surprised if she was bleeding. She didn't bother to check.

"I'm so sorry about today," Miku said as they continued walking, no other soul in sight. "Did you know her?"

Rin didn't reply, prompting Miku to add, "It isn't fair."

"'It isn't fair'?" Rin growled. Miku stopped walking and turned around to face Rin. Scowling, Rin said, "I just witnessed the beheading of the only real friend I have while all your friend had to do was tell everyone what she did, and all you can say is, 'It isn't fair'?

"Do you want to know 'what's not fair'? Being forcefully ripped away from all you've ever known because your own father despised you so much that he chose to sell you. Being so insignificant in the eyes of those around you that all you can do is breathe wrong and will suffer harsh punishment for it. Being alone all the time because everyone you ever loved was taken away from you one way or another. Gumi didn't die today because she did something wrong. Gumi died for no reason other than she's a Juliet, and Juliets are expendable. She didn't die as punishment for a sin. She died as a warning for the rest of us Juliets to discourage us from having so much as thoughts, feelings, and desires. That's 'not fair.' And you want to know the worst part? That's our life whether we like it or not!"

Miku stood dumbstruck. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but it was clear words were lost on her. Shame should have overcome Rin as well as fear for what would become of her now that she addressed a Cinderella in such a way, but she felt nothing. She was overwhelmed by the pain Gumi's death caused. As a result, she was numb to every other emotion.

"Rin."

Ever so slowly, Rin turned her attention to Ia. She didn't realize her fellow Juliet was there, standing in the doorway of a room she must have been cleaning. When Miku also noticed Ia's presence, she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Rin . . ." It was clear Ia wanted to say more – to scold her for blowing up as such where others could have witnessed or to share with Rin in her pain, Rin didn't know – but words other than Rin's name were lost to Ia.

"Rin?" Miku questioned, and Rin looked at the Cinderella to see her brows pinched together.

"Yeah," Rin spat, "that's my name. Rin. Not Juliet CV02. Not Juliet. Rin." She laughed without humor. "You spent so much energy trying to befriend me, but you couldn't even bother to learn the most basic thing about me. If you really care about me, you would have known that my name is Rin. Hate to break it to you, but you're no better than the Cinderellas that sat in their seats and approved of Gumi's execution."

Flinching as if slapped, Miku grimaced. Her pained expression felt like a stab at Rin's heart. Rin said those hateful words to hurt Miku as a way to make herself feel better, yet somehow Rin felt much, much worse.

Waiting for no response from her mistress, Rin spun on her heel and marched away. She no longer cared what became of her. It didn't matter if her execution would end the day. Truly, Rin almost hoped for it. Only death would be the quickest way for this pain to cease.

"Are you insane?" Ia hissed when she caught up to Rin. "You'll be severely punished for talking to a Cinderella like that. It's going to be even worse if you walk away from her when you're supposed to be following her!"

"Then let me be punished," Rin replied, refusing to look at Ia. "Things can't get worse from here, can they?"

Ia neither responded nor continued to follow Rin. Not knowing what else to do, Rin kept walking until she descended into the Juliet Quarters and entered her and Gumi's old room. Collapsing on the bed that used to be Gumi's, Rin allowed herself to cry until a restless sleep overcame her.