"So," Gakuko practically sang as Miku reentered the ladies' room, "what did Lord Shion want with our dear friend Miku?"
He wanted to propose. He did propose, and I said yes. We're engaged to be married!
Those should have been the words to spill from Miku's mouth without a fraction of restraint. They should have been the thoughts circling her head like bees to a flower. More than that, Miku should have called her parents to tell them the news the second she and Kaito parted ways just before she ran screaming into the ladies' room to share the happiness and excitement with her friends.
Yet for some reason, what Miku actually said was, "Nothing important," as she resumed sitting between the girls. As if getting engaged, the moment Miku waited for her whole life, wasn't a big deal. "With everything that's been going on lately – the attempt on his life, and now Mew's – he wants me to be careful and keep an eye open."
It wasn't a total lie. After she accepted his proposal, Kaito did warn Miku of watching out for potential danger. Nothing they were dealing with was simply going to go away no matter how much they wanted.
"Are you two sure you want to stay at the academy?" Luka asked, hands pulling her salmon hair. "After what happened to Lady Zola . . ."
"I'm not going anywhere," Gakuko answered, chin held high. "I was always taught to never run away when things get hard."
"Gakuko, what's happening isn't 'things getting hard.' This could cost you your life!"
"Lady Zola is someone important. If I were to be killed, it would be because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Careful, lest you write yourself a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Could we please not discuss anyone potentially dying?" Miku practically begged. "I'm still hoping against hope that Mew will wake up and suffer no lasting effects."
"It's a miracle already she survived a shot to the head," Gakuko muttered.
Luka sighed. "What about you, Miku? Why are you staying if you're not convinced of the academy's safety?"
"I . . . I don't want to go home."
"Why is that?" Luka asked.
Many responses flew through Miku's mind. She couldn't leave Mew and Wil like this. As much as she was still learning about Kaito's involvement in putting an end to a Juliet uprising before it could begin, she wanted to contribute somehow. Not to mention she didn't want to dare imagine how her mother would react upon seeing Miku and the weight Miku had gained.
And if I leave, Miku thought, I will lose any hope of seeing Rin one last time, even in passing.
Yet what she answered was, "I'm more scared of going home without a ring on my finger than I am of some faceless attacker. I doubt whoever shot Mew would try going after someone else now that the whole school is on high alert."
The second part, at least, was true.
Luka sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I'm starting to fear this will be the last time I ever see you girls."
Hearing the words carved a hollowness in Miku's chest. She took in both Luka's and Gakuko's faces. One sad, and the other unconcerned. Somehow Miku knew their time together as friends was coming to a close. No matter what happened from here, things would never be the same again.
Gakuko snorted, the unladylike habit not so easily broken. "Who's the one writing the self-fulfilling prophecies now?"
After Rin hid in a closet and cried for twenty minutes, she wiped her face and resumed her duty of hanging up the fliers. She would cry herself to sleep that night if she found it necessary, but now was not the time to dwell on Miku's engagement. Rin knew it was coming, and she was the greatest fool to think even for a second that Miku would deny Lord Shion just to consider being with the lowest of Juliets.
I can't believe I'm so stupid, Rin thought as she looked at bright lights whenever tears threatened to rise again. Juliets don't have happy endings. My story is an example of such. How many times must that be proven to me before I finally accept it?
At least Miku was only engaged to another and not six feet under like Nero.
With the task now done, Rin returned to Head Juliet's office to drop off the extra fliers. Head Juliet raised a brow at their crumpled state but didn't say a word about their lack of care. Something else more important was worth saying.
"Master Tonio wants all the Juliets to line up in the ballroom in ten minutes," she said. "The others got the news nearly an hour ago and should be on their way to the ballroom now. There's . . . going to be an inspection."
To pick the best Juliets to auction off during the fundraiser, no doubt. Rin didn't know if Head Juliet was aware of Master Tonio's plan nor did she ask. All Rin did was nod to acknowledge she understood and left.
When she arrived at the ballroom, the others were already there. Rin found Cul, Ia, and Nana by the windows and approached them. Cul crossed her arms, Ia pulled on her braid, and Nana chewed on her lower lip.
"Any idea what's going on?" Rin asked, curious if Master Tonio passed his intentions on to any of the others.
"We were only told to come here for an inspection," Cul answered, fingernails digging into her arms. "The last time this happened, they were selling off Juliets unfit to continue working here. Sending them off to labor camps and salt mines, or so I heard. Whether or not it's true, today isn't going to end well for whoever's chosen."
Rin swallowed. Perhaps Cul wasn't exact on what was happening, but she was close enough. None of the girls who would be picked today, save Rin whom Master Tonio promised would be taken care of, were guaranteed someplace better than the Cinderella Academy. Some might luck out and end up working in a better place. Others could very well be sent to labor camps and salt mines.
"What right do they have to group us up, inspect us, and sell us off like cattle?" Rin spoke through gritted teeth, quiet as to not be overheard. "Are we not people too?"
"Not in their eyes," Cul spat, but she spoke just as quietly.
"If only . . . ," Nana drawled, eyes looking around to make sure nobody was paying them any attention, "there was something we could do about it."
"Don't speak like that!" Ia pleaded, whispering loudly, eyes widened as she scanned for eavesdroppers. "We'll get into trouble."
"We get in trouble when we breathe funny." Cul snorted. "What do we got to lose?"
"Nothing, really." Nana tapped her finger against her chin. "Think about it, if we all worked together, could anyone stop us?"
"Guys, stop talking like this." Ia pulled harder on her hair, and some strands came out in her hand.
"Relax, Ia, we're only messing around," Nana said, halfheartedly waving the words away.
"Well, it's not funny!"
"I don't know," Rin deadpanned, "I'm laughing."
Cul rose a brow at Rin. Nana smirked. Ia, on the other hand, announced that she was leaving and walked away.
For half a minute, the three Juliets simply stared at each other. No words were spoken, but the message amongst them was still clear.
It was at this moment Master Tonio, Head Juliet, and three other people Rin didn't know or care to try figuring out who they were entered. They ordered the Juliets to line up from shortest to tallest, a task that took more than a few minutes to complete. Nobody rushed them, but the Juliets still stressed themselves over lining up correctly and quickly.
The inspection took over an hour. Each girl would be called forward, be thoroughly inspected by a man who was supposed to be a physician, and say and do nothing as she was being touched even in uncomfortable places. While this was happening, Head Juliet would tell the woman with the tablet about the Juliet's work ethic and efficiency. After they were finished, the girl would be sent back to her place in line while the next Juliet approached the group. Rin, being one of the shorter Juliets, was amongst the first to finish; even though the wait was agonizing, she was at least grateful to lack the dread the others felt from waiting their turn.
In the end, five Juliets were chosen. Rin, of course, along with Ia and three other Juliets Rin didn't know too well. Until time came for them to prepare for the fundraiser, they were to continue their duties as before.
As the room cleared, Rin lingered in the back, eyes locked onto Master Tonio.
"Are you coming with us back to our quarters?" Nana asked, Cul not far behind.
Shaking her head, Rin answered, "Just go. I'll catch up with you two later."
As the room continued to clear out, Rin realized Master Tonio lingered as well. He spoke with Head Juliet. About what, Rin neither knew nor cared. If he noticed her watching him, nothing the man did indicated he was aware. After Head Juliet walked away, her conversation with Master Tonio now over, he looked towards Rin and nodded his head at the door.
Rin's returning nod was subtle, but Master Tonio understood she had received his message. Waiting a few minutes first, Rin pushed herself off the wall and left the room. By this point, only Master Tonio, Head Juliet, and a few other Juliets still lingered.
Exiting the ballroom, Rin studied the portraits hanging on the walls. Many of them were of important men and Cinderellas in the academy's history. The others were of Alices whose contributions made the academy what it was. Not a single Juliet to be found, even though Rin didn't doubt this school was built by Juliets and continued to be held on their too skinny shoulders.
"Is there any reason you were watching me like a hawk watches a mouse back there?" Master Tonio asked as he walked past Rin. He neither slowed nor stopped, only kept walking so Rin would have to follow.
Rin glared at Master Tonio's retreating figure, scowling at his display of power, and answered as she followed, "Your comparing me to a hawk and yourself to a mouse has stunned my words right out of me. Do you truly find me, a lowly Juliet, a threat?"
"I know you were snooping around in my room," Master Tonio said. Rin tried not to react as she wondered how he knew. "Even if you aren't a threat now, you will find some way to make yourself one."
"Now, why would I do that?"
"Here I am, trying to save your life, and you seem to be trying to get yourself killed in the process. Were you really trying to find my secrets, or give my wife a reason to execute you as well?"
"We both know if Mistress Prima found me, she would torture me for information, not kill me," Rin replied. Then, "I know the truth."
Without faltering, as if Master Tonio expected Rin to tell him this, he turned into his office and held the door open for Rin. After he closed and locked the door, and she was seated, he turned to look at her. He had no intentions of asking Rin what truth she knew, but Rin had no intentions of telling him until he asked.
Such was fine with Rin. Toes pressed against the rug so she wouldn't slide off the leather chair, she gazed around the room. No matter how many times Rin entered the office, it still looked the same. It appeared Master Tonio was the kind of person who had a place for everything and everything in its place. She didn't doubt he kept the office clean himself so no Juliet would have to enter to clean it.
While Rin looked around, she wasn't oblivious to how Master Tonio watched her. She would not be the first to speak. This was a silent war for power, and Rin would not lose.
Slowly, Master Tonio walked away from the door and approached his wine stand. After pouring two glasses, one with wine and the other with water, he sat in his office chair and offered the water to Rin. She silently accepted the glass but did not take a sip.
Minutes passed, and still neither spoke. Rin was no closer to breaking. Even if this staring contest lasted the rest of the day and into the night, she would not relent.
Victory came at the thirty-minute mark.
"What is so important that you insist on this petty game?"
So that's what this is to him after losing. A "petty game."
Feigning a lax nature as she forced herself to loosen up as best she could in the slippery chair, Rin stated, "Gumi was your daughter."
Master Tonio didn't reply. It wasn't that he was stunned to silence – he must have already known that Rin knew, even if Rin herself didn't know she knew. No, he was waiting patiently for her to tell the story to see if she had all her facts and theories straight.
"You slept with Pet Juliet," Rin began, "and she got pregnant with your child. Mistress Prima found out, and needless to say she isn't the type of woman who would take her husband's impregnating a Juliet well. For some reason, Head Juliet adopted Gumi after Gumi was born, and when that didn't work out, she had Gumi adopted by a family in another district.
"Only Mistress Prima eventually found Gumi and brought her back. For years, she dangled her power over Gumi above your head, letting you know she can and will hurt your daughter, and there was nothing you could do to stop her. Then, when the right time came, she had Gumi beheaded, and she made sure you and Pet Juliet were there to watch with no power to speak of to stop it."
Nothing in Master Tonio's demeanor gave anything away. His lack of response caused doubts to blossom inside of Rin despite all the things she knew for certain. However, she shoved them down and kept acting as if she felt nothing but confidence.
"Tell me," Rin said, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with Master Tonio, "am I wrong?"
Miku placed a hand on her throbbing stomach and leaned forward to ease the pressure. Too much. She had eaten too much. Breathing heavily, she tried not to move since each motion hurt so badly. Her ballooned belly pressed against her dress, threatening to rip the seams to be free.
The moment Luka dismissed herself to pack and Gakuko left to read in the gardens, Miku ordered delicacies upon delicacies to her rooms. Cakes, brownies, cinnamon rolls – enough to feed a group of friends, and Miku ate it all. Now her groaning gut swelled to an uncomfortable size, pressing against the table as Miku rested her forehead on the wood.
Her eyes shifted to her bed, and Miku gathered all her willpower to move. Heaving, she pushed herself to her feet. With her belly so heavy she felt the need to hold onto it, Miku waddled towards her bed. She practically fell onto the mattress, the bed squeaking from her sudden weight. Out of breath, she rubbed her voluptuous gut and tried not to cry.
Miku did not, she was forced to realize, eat out of her love for food and sweets. Usually when she overate, it was because she wanted to try everything or enjoy the taste while she could. She never forced herself beyond what she could handle.
Until now.
Eating was supposed to make her happy, but this time filled her with self-loathing. Miku didn't eat all those desserts because she had a sudden, strong sweet tooth. She ate all that food, stuffing herself to her limits, to distract her from everything that was wrong with this whole situation.
With how much her belly hurt, the distraction almost worked.
Almost.
Continuing to rub her aching gut, Miku pressed her fingers downward and winced at the pain. Her oversized, overstuffed belly was as hard as a rock. Further rubbing proved there were some rips in the seams as flesh and fabric battled to overcome each other.
The truth was, Miku liked the extra weight. As she slowly but surely overcame her self-conscious feelings towards it, she found she liked her softer body more than her slim one. This, however, was too much.
Miku loved food because it was something she had control over. When her stomach was tight from being filled up with all her favorite foods, Miku would smile with content, pat her belly, and be happy knowing she packed it with things she liked. Then, somewhere along the way, she lost her grip on that control.
No longer did Miku control food. It controlled her.
Moaning from the pressure in her midsection, Miku began to cry. I want it to stop hurting. "It" being both her belly and her heart. One didn't outweigh the other, but the two worked together to cause Miku pain the likes of which she never experienced before. I want Rin.
The last thought stopped Miku. In her moment of anguish, she didn't want her parents or her friends or even her fiancé. She wanted Rin.
Miku cried harder, the words "I want Rin" being the ones she thought as she fell asleep and the ones she thought when her tablet woke her up an hour later as it pinged to indicate she had received a new message.
Her belly still heavy but less bloated now, Miku sat up on her bed and blinked away the distortion. She reached out and grabbed her tablet. The new message was from Kaito.
If you are unoccupied, please meet me in the gardens in an hour. There's so much I wish to discuss with you! I love you, Miku.
- Kaito
Miku swallowed. "I love you." It wasn't until now Miku realized she never once said those words to him.
Hefting herself up, Miku staggered to the bathroom and drew her own bath. It was different without the assistance of Alices, but Miku managed. She wasn't too helpless to bathe herself, not to mention she didn't want anyone else to see the aftermath of her binge session.
After she was clean, Miku put on the loosest fitting dress she had and braided her wet hair back. With a deep breath, she took in her reflection. Even though she washed away the evidence of her tears, Miku dreaded Kaito taking one look at her and knowing something was wrong.
That itself was wrong. Kaito was her fiancé. She should be able to talk to him about anything and everything. Communication was the most important thing in any relationship. After all, she herself had already told him to be honest with her, so she had ought to want to do the same.
Yet as she came into the gardens, Kaito smile warmly at Miku as he rushed up to her, picked her up, and spun her around. He kissed her on the nose and said, "I'm still trying to fully process it. You're my fiancée. We're going to be married. You're going to be my wife."
Somehow, the words "my wife" reduced Miku to a giggling teenager. She linked her fingers with his and kissed his chin. Just being with Kaito made all her worries vanish, even if only for a moment.
"I have been trying so hard not to tell anyone when all I really want to do is shout it from the rooftops," Kaito said, whispering in her ear so that his breath tickled her flesh. "We need to decide if we're going to tell anyone, but we must decide quickly. I think Kaiko is onto me, and if Kaiko knows, she'll tell Mother. If Mother knows, all of Artemis will know before she even begins to plan the announcement party."
"Then why have an announcement party if everyone already knows?" Miku asked, smiling up at Kaito.
"To tell everyone at least one hundred more times, of course," Kaito answered. He kissed Miku's nose again. "However, I want to know what you think first. Have you told anyone yet? What about your parents? I didn't realize until later I proposed to you without meeting your parents or asking for your father's permission. How thoughtless of me! Should we tell our friends and family, or shall we pretend otherwise until I can speak with your father?"
Hesitating for only a second, Miku said, "I think we shouldn't say anything until Mew recovers. This is a really sensitive time for our friends, and if we start being all happy . . ."
Miku didn't need to finish. "Right! Right. I truly am thoughtless. Good thing one of us has a steady head on our shoulders."
Pulling her closer, Kaito kissed her brow. Until now, he never kissed Miku this much. It was obvious to Miku how much this engagement meant to him, and she was washed with a sense of shame of not sharing in the joy that should have been just as much hers as it was his.
"At least let me buy you an engagement present," Kaito then said, surprising Miku. Her gaze shot upwards, and Kaito smiled at her. "Name anything, and it shall be yours."
Without missing a beat, Miku replied, "Juliet CV02."
Kaito frowned. "I honestly expected you to say a star or one of the moons or something poetic. You want that Juliet?"
Somehow, the way Kaito said "that Juliet" made Miku feel a little uncomfortable.
"I'm attached to her and fond of her," Miku stated. "You know that."
"And you think I will be able to buy her from the school that easily?"
"The academy will be auctioning off some Juliets in the upcoming fundraiser," Miku said, hoping Kaito wouldn't ask how she knew, especially since Miku noticed fliers were now hung around the academy. "Perhaps she'll be one of them."
"And if she isn't?"
Knowing without a doubt Rin would be part of the group, Miku simply replied, "In that case, I'll take a star."
"You aren't wrong," Master Tonio said after letting the silence between them linger for far too long. "However, you still don't know everything."
"And what is 'everything'?" Rin asked, caught between wanting to know and believing she knew enough.
Tapping his finger against his desk, Master Tonio answered, "To start from the beginning, I know it was wrong of me to have such relations with Sonika. Not because she's a Juliet, but she was so young. Sixteen. Twice my daughter's age at the time.
"But I was attracted to her humor and wit. Never once did Sonika let rank scare her into submission. She was strong and determined, and somehow she was as interested in me as I was in her. Not that her consent justifies my decision to sleep with her. As the adult, I should have been the one making the wise choices."
Rin said nothing. Instead she listened in raptured silence as Master Tonio continued.
"As you already know, she became pregnant with my child. At first we tried to hide it, but things like that can only remain hidden for so long. When word got out that Sonika was pregnant, everyone knew I was the father. Sonika's and my relationship wasn't as private as we thought. We didn't exactly hide our longing looks towards each other very well, after all.
"When Prima found out, she was furious. Not only had we stopped sharing the same room a year before, but I impregnated a Juliet. For months she cried to me about the shame I have brought upon her. Not the shame on our marriage, but on her reputation. Even though we were in an arranged marriage, Prima and I truly loved each other at first. Then somewhere along the line, she stopped loving me and had an affair with status. In turn, I fell out of love with her. She was no longer the woman I married, anyway, but we are stuck together till one of us dies.
"When Sonika's and my daughter was born, Prima forced Sonika to give up the baby. I had already appeased Prima by not claiming the child and giving her my last name, but it wasn't enough for her. Nothing was ever enough for her. And it wasn't as if I could oppose her, either. Prima comes from a very powerful family; if Sonika or I dared to tell Prima no, our lives would have been so destroyed that we would wish for death. So, Miriam – you know her as Head Juliet – adopted the baby. Prima was livid with this outcome, but Sonika and I did what she wanted us to do. In retaliation, Prima forced Sonika into a new role. I'm sure you don't need me to explain why Sonika is named Pet Juliet."
Feeling as if she was going to throw up, Rin shook her head. This wasn't just messed up, but sick and twisted as well. Against her will, Rin wondered if Sonika gave in immediately or if Prima had to force herself onto the younger woman until the Juliet submitted.
"When a Sister came to read the stars on Gumi's fate, she declared Sonika's and my daughter a Cinderella." If Rin's lack of surprise threw off Master Tonio, he regained composure quickly. "Prima bribed the Sister to rename Gumi a Juliet then ordered for an 'accident' to take the Sister out before she could get very far.
"Fearing what else Prima would do to make sure Gumi would never have a bright future, Miriam put Gumi up for adoption. We thought she was safe, until years later Prima brought her in to us, smirking as if to say, 'Try as you might, you can't hide her from me.' Gumi was too young when Miriam gave her up to remember living in the academy before, and so she didn't know who anyone was. It was heartbreaking for Sonika, who had to miss so much of watching the daughter she could never hold grow up. Even more so for Miriam, who couldn't reclaim the child she loved as her own and had to spend every day since as if she never was a parent to the girl."
"And you?" Rin asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Like Sonika, I had a daughter I could never hold," Master Tonio answered. "I wanted to know her, teach her about the world, and let her play with her sister. I could have no such thing. You don't know how hard it was, watching her but never able to speak with her."
Rin struggled to breathe. "And Gumi never knew this, did she?"
"She knew in the end." Master Tonio sighed. "While she was in the dungeons, I visited her. I told her everything. For the first time in a long time, I cried. And Gumi . . . she reacted as if I were mad. I'm not sure if she ever believed me. After all, I was her master. Life had always taught her that masters don't love their slaves, so she must have thought of this as some cruel joke."
Silence, then, "Gumi said she wasn't afraid to die." There was so much more Gumi had said, but Rin chose to not share it.
Master Tonio didn't have a response. There was no response to be had. It was so quiet, Rin was aware of her own heartbeat.
"Now you see why I'm trying to get you out of here," Master Tonio finally said. "My wife knows something, or perhaps she suspects something, and she won't rest until you're out of her way. I'm not trying to punish you, Rin, but protect you."
"You didn't protect Gumi," Rin said, her anger once again flaring. "Why am I any different? How do I know Mistress Prima won't find a way to drag me back here?"
"I can't promise to protect you long-term, but I can do what I can for now," Master Tonio answered. "Besides, you're not the living embodiment of her husband's unfaithfulness. Prima has far less reason to hunt you down."
Rin remained seated in the chair, her toes still pressing against the floor. She couldn't even feel them anymore from how long they were pushed against the carpet. If that wasn't a testament to how long she had remained sitting there, she didn't know what was.
"It's time you leave now," Master Tonio finally said. "I'm sure Head Juliet has other duties she would like you to accomplish."
Without a word, Rin nodded and stood to her feet. Her toes hurt, so after she left Master Tonio's office and closed the door behind her, Rin walked on the balls of her feet to try to stretch out her toes. As she walked, Rin thought about what Master Tonio said, about what kind of person he was.
"Pst, Rin."
Rin turned her head towards the sound of her name. Dropping to flat feet, Rin walked towards the speaker. Nana stood in a corner of the room, pile of empty dessert dishes in hand. Looking this way and that, she used her head to point Rin in the direction she wanted the blonde to go.
Not knowing what this was about, Rin followed.
Once they were a good distance away from the offices, Nana said, "I wasn't sure for the longest time, but I think you might be able to help us after all."
"'Help us'?" Rin questioned. "What kind of help? Who's us?"
Grinning wickedly, such a surprising expression on Nana's sweet and innocent face, Nana merely stretched out her left hand palm up in response.
Rin looked at the hand offered and choked on her breath.
There, etched so secretly in Nana's blood rose tattoo that anyone who didn't look closely at it would have missed the addition, were a series of thorns.