Okay. I think I mentioned this a few times before in the original Romeo and Cinderella, but in case the message did not get across, this story is mainly the same as the original except no twincest. Well. It is for the first seven chapters. There begins to be some major changes around chapter eight and more revisions from then on out, but I'm using the original story as a guide. Please no flames about the whole charade. But feel free to read along and see if you actually care for the changes. I'm an optimist. I like to keep things positive.
Thank you very much.
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Romeo and Cinderella: Noncest Version
Chapter 2: Secret Garden
I got up and dressed late that morning. Apparently Luka had come in earlier and I was dead asleep and, being a regular Thursday, she felt no need to wake me. I appreciated that from her. My dream was much better not disturbed.
I felt like wearing something blue on this day marking the 15th of December. I chose a long, draping light blue article from my attire and finished it off with a bow of the same color tied in my hair, hoping it would ever so slightly bring out my eyes. Many white ribbons laced around my arms and waist and a panel of white, textured silk fanned in the front. What? Can't a girl dress up?
As I made the final touches to my appearance, being the awful perfectionist that I am, I happened to gaze out the window and yet again see the boy with the golden hair. And just like before, he looked up at my window, almost as if he knew I was watching him. My heart skipped a beat.
I rushed out of my room as fast as I could, grabbing the first cloak I could find and luckily running into Luka in the middle of my mad dash. I forced her to put down everything she was carrying and dragged her through the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door in the foyer.
A slight chill was the first thing to hit my face. It was still winter, after all, but I was too captivated in my small quest to feel any change in temperature. I rushed down to the town square with many a few protests from Luka. I made it to the silvery-haired jeweler and started describing my obsession, the boy with the golden hair, and asking about his whereabouts.
Haku pointed toward the opposite side of the square and I thought I saw the swish of a black cloak. I followed in his invisible footsteps in a hurried manor, trying to bump into as few people as possible and keeping my face hidden under the lining of soft fur on my white hood. I turned another corner through the busy streets of the marketplace and saw the back of his head as he headed straight for the half-built wall that separated the two sides of the warring states.
He slipped inside a very narrow alley that was just out of the way enough of many watching peasants. I started to follow him inside until Luka caught me by my shoulder and spun me around to face her.
"There's no way I'm letting you chase in after him," she ruled. "What if the master—your father—finds out I let you cross into the domain of the east side?"
"You weren't here," I insisted.
"No," Luka persisted. "You can't go over there. The law will find you. You'll practically be—be screwing the whole family's reputation. Not to mention your own credibility to your father."
Screw my father. I smiled. "You weren't here," I repeated. I shook her hand off my shoulder and ran after the boy with the golden hair.
I had to turn sideways to get through the narrow alleyway through the wall, which was about 3 meters long. Once I had squeezed through I had found myself inside a beautiful garden that, regardless the freezing temperatures, was green and luscious. Breathing in deeply while also taking in the mingled scents of the garden, I realized how cold it was. The air burned my lungs. He must have heard me behind him when I approached. He started to run again.
"Wait!" I called. "Don't leave!" I started after him a bit.
He stopped suddenly and turned around to face me. Even from the distance, the first things I noticed were his gorgeous green eyes. His cheeks were stung with red from the chill in the air. To be honest, he looked terrified—a dear staring down the barrel of a gun.
I gave him a little smile. "I finally caught up to you. I saw you outside and—"
"Your face…" he mumbled.
"I'm sorry?" I was slightly taken aback. What was wrong with my face?
"Forgive me," he apologized. "You just look rather familiar. We haven't met before, have we" The guy looked as if he saw a ghost.
I shook my head. "No." The only time I had ever seen him was from my windowsill, and the same went for him. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"Oh. Well. My apologies, then," he concluded. "Anyways, what are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be from the East City? What if someone finds you?" Oh my God. He sounded like Luka.
"I don't care. I had to see you. I saw you from my window the other day and, well, I just had to see who you were." In other words, I just got spontaneously obsessed with you and decided to stalk you. "Oh! I can't believe myself. I've forgotten to mention my own name." I blushed. "I am Rin Kagamine. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." I couldn't stifle a small giggle at the end.
He made an exaggerated disbelieving face that sort of melted into a little half smile. "I'm Len," he said bluntly, then, his features went serious again. "You really should be going back now."
"Well what about you?" I accused. "What were you doing on the West side? That's just as illegal as me being over here." I really did want to know. He must have had some sort of important reason for being on the wrong side of the border.
"Unfinished business." He cut off at the sound of nearby voices. "You have to go. Hurry!" He turned me around and started me off toward the alleyway then ran out of the secret little garden.
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"As for me, I will sing the song of the present. That's all I can do; be singing and talking," the voice hummed at me into the cold winter moon."I won't remember what happened at that time. But it's engraved in my heart, so let me go," I sang back.
Again we sang through the night as flakes of fluffy snow tickled our faces. Tonight the voice seemed to have a body. A shadowy figure stood behind me, still anonymous. She seemed to sing louder tonight. I could hear her just a little clearer with each note, but everything still seemed fuzzy; no identity could be derived from it. Nevertheless we resonated together as one. I wished I could remember the sounds we had made when I woke up.
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I woke up the next morning, not bothering to get into anything fancy for a Friday breakfast with my family. Food was already on the table as I walked in overdue, rubbing my eyes.
"You're up late this morning," my father commented with a light face.
"I'm sorry," I replied monotonous. I didn't appreciate my father's attempts to make me "joyous" in the morning. I was not a morning person.
I picked up my plate and sat farther away from my family than normal, about four seats down. My mother didn't appreciate my quiet rebellion—her disapproving grimace proved that—but I wanted to be left alone with my thoughts that morning. My trust in my parents had recently diminished into little more that a speck of dust. I looked at them from the corner of my eye as they glanced at each other. My parents seemed to act the same way about me. It was like they couldn't take my word anymore. Ever since the accident… all I could do was agree with what whatever they were saying; as if I had any other person's word that I could take.
I picked at my food that morning. My good mood brought upon me by my dreams was long gone. I didn't know what was with me. I was usually much happier a person when I got to have rare quality time with my mother and father. Maybe something in me had changed, I wasn't sure. My mind was too busy wandering through bustling streets, going into secret alleys, and meeting Len in the garden over and over and over…
My parents' sudden burst of talking and giggling tore me out of my little thought bubble. It was just loud enough so that I could hear them but just soft enough that I didn't have the slightest clue as to what they were saying. The only hint I got were the smiles on their faces as they looked back at me repeatedly. Perhaps there would be a nice surprise in my future? I hoped so.
As the servants came out to take up the mostly empty plates and glasses I got up and walked away to lock myself in my room all day. The first thing I did when I came to my dwelling was look out my window. Maybe Len would be there today. I searched heads and faces to see if I could find anything familiar. I came up with nothing. Dissatisfied I slumped over to my bed, falling onto it face first and just staying there for a long time.
Someone knocked.
"Come in, Luka," I said, my voice muffled from the sheets. She opened the door.
"Good evening, Lady Rin," she greeted. "How are you?"
"Fine," I answered.
"You haven't been out of your room all day. Aren't you hungry? Your parents were worried when you didn't show up to supper." Let them worry.
"No. I'm not hungry." I stuck to simple sentences.
"What's wrong?" she persisted, sitting down next to me.
I lifted my face out of my bed so my voice could be audible. "I'm not sure. I just haven't been in a very pleasurable mood lately. But I haven't been able to put my finger on what's bothering me so much. Maybe it's…" I trailed off and my eyes wandered blankly to the window.
Luka traced my line of sight. "Oh," she concluded. "Is it that boy?"
"No, that isn't it," I answered shaking my head. "Well, I guess that could be part of it, but I've really just been feeling awfully down lately."
"Oh, yeah? What seems to be the matter then?" Luka asked. She sat down next to me and I propped myself up more comfortably, looking away from her.
I sighed. "They never found her body, you know," I said a little too loudly. "They didn't even look for it. They just found a little white dress and a blood stain and they didn't even look." I turned to Luka and felt myself letting go. This was the first time I'd talked about it. "I didn't cry at her funeral, Luka. I couldn't cry for her."
Luka leaned over to me and patted me on the back. "It's okay, Rin. I think you're tired. You should go to sleep early, tonight." I had slept a lot the past couple days. As if more would make life any better.
Nevertheless, I nodded and did as she told, sniffling.
"It's hard, Rin. But sometimes we just have to pull through."
I didn't reply to Luka's comforting. I pretended to sleep. Luka paused before getting up. She closed the door behind me quietly.
I felt restless, yet didn't have the energy to move. I wanted something to distract me from my own inner turmoil. Perhaps that was why I had nightmares that night.
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I was standing in front of a door in the dark. I knew that by the time daylight came the door would open and I would see her, the one I had been looking for. I heard her voice, a whisper, echoing through the chambers of my mind.
I was stuck inside a labyrinth of time, tangling vines hiding her face from me. Her shadowy figure always stood behind me but every time I looked back there was nobody there. I was dreadfully alone in this cold, dark world. If only the sun would rise! But it was if something had made the earth stop. All of those of the world were still. The sound of a bell reverberated through the air. Its sound was so loud I woke up with my hands over my ears.
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Author's Note: Gosh these early chapters are short. Well I lied about the whole little changes idea back in chapter one because I changed almost every other sentence in this chapter. So…
Well. Betcha didn't see that coming. Who could the voice be now? Certainly isn't the same person as last time. I wonder who can guess it right. XD
Okay…. Question question question…. Describe your favorite TV show in three words. No more, no less.