Author's note:
I'm happy to know I'm not the only one to say "Her name is Um, idiot!" at bad times. That's good! Keep on doing it, or the Jabberwocky will eat you. And Chess'll probably help.
20. Rose Petals
Tarrant inspected the flowers before him, trying to decide whether or not they were the kind that talked or not. Still uncertain of them, he reached for it with a long, pale finger, poking it gently.
"Are you alive?" he whispered. "Hello?" Poking it again, he decided it was a dead flower and carefully broke the stalk. There was a shrill scream, and he affrightedly dropped the white rose.
"Why would you do something like that?" the mother-plant wailed. "You've murdered her!"
"I didn't know!" he raised his hands for protection. "I thought she was one of those flowers that doesn't talk."
"How could you? How dared you? Just wait 'til I tell the queen of this!"
At this point; Tarrant found it best to run for it, leaving nothing but a white rose petal behind.
Flushed and out of breath, Tarrant stormed into the castle, nearly tripping over Chessur.
"Watch it, cat." he snapped.
"Technically," the feline purred. "You are the one who should watch where he's going." Grinning wickedly, he added; "Picking flowers, are we?"
"No." Tarrant snarled, pathetically hiding the flower behind his back.
"Oh, really. But what's this, then?" Chessur evaporated, only to show up behind Tarrant and snatch the rose. "It sure does look like a rose. And a white one, too. Do you know what white roses mean?"
"Haven't the slightest idea."
"Eternal love." Chess giggled, dropping the rose in Tarrant's lap as he faded, pausing only to say; "Do you think that means; if I gave Mally to a female of my kind, she would mean eternal love?"
Before Tarrant could answer, the cat disappeared completely in a wisp of smoke.
"Stupid cat." Tarrant murmured, inspecting the flower.
As he watched, a second petal lost its grip and slowly fell towards the marble floor.
"Curious…" he whispered. With trembling fingers, he caught the petal and brought it up to his face so he could inspect it. "Very curious."
Slowly flapping it up and down, he followed its movements with the eyes blue of curiosity.
"If, maybe…" his voice trailed off. "Yes, yes, that will be good, indeed."
Making a hurried retreat to his room; Tarrant didn't notice the petal coming to rest just outside his door.
There was a white petal on the white marble floor, barely visible at all. Alice kneeled to look at it, wondering how it might have gotten there. There was a slightly pink area at the otherwise perfect petal, as if some blood had seeped into it. Carefully, Alice picked it up, smelling the faint smell left in in. It smelled of summer, and of love. Of Tarrant, Alice corrected herself, blushing the same pale pink as the petal.
"Alice, dear." a familiar voice chuckled. "Are you blushing at a petal?"
"No. I was blushing because it made me think of Tarrant." the blushing blonde admitted.
"Everything reminds you of him nowadays."
"I guess so, I'm mad, aren't I?" Alice snorted, going mad shortly before her wedding just wouldn't do.
"Madly in love, that is." Mirana sat down next to her, inspecting the petal. "It looks like Tarrant has acquired another prick."
"He always manage to have at least one of his fingers pricked." Alice laughed. "How does he do it?"
"By simply being Tarrant."
The pair of them laughed merrily, leaving the pearly white petal the only one silent.
Tarrant proudly eyed his creation. He was certain Alice would like this dress, as soon as it was done anyway. It reminded him of the dress he'd made for her that time when she was much out of her proper size, even though this dress was somewhat bigger, and it was also to be more formal; fit for a wedding.
"Still can't believe she'd choose me…" he said under his breath, struggling to create the decorative flower properly. His plan was to make it look like a rose, a white one, but I wouldn't stay the way he wanted it to. "Stupid silk." The needle found a way through his thimble, how did they always manage to do that? Instinctively putting the pricked finger in his mouth, Tarrant saw the rose beginning to unravel. "Oh, shukum."
Someone was knocking on the door, he hadn't realised this until now.
"Tarrant." Alice called through the wood.
Double shukum! Tarrant covered the dress with a sheet of fabric in an awful fester-y yellow. It looked unpleasant, even though he knew what was hidden beneath it.
"Yes." he answered his fiancée, trying to flatten invisible creases in his vest and rock. "Come in."
"What are you doing?" said fiancée asked as she entered, nervously looking at the messy room.
"Nothing." Tarrant lied, grinning at her. "Nothing at all."
"Is that so?" Alice smiled back at him, letting her eyes rest at the now rugged rose in his hand. In fact, it only had one petal left now, the rest was strewn all over the room. "Is that for me?"
"It was. Then it broke…" Tarrant giggled manically, trying to make the best of the situation. "you can still have it if you'd like." He shyly offered her the blossom, looking sheepishly at the final petal trembling perilously.
"Thank you, Tarrant." Alice smiled warmly, gladly accepting the gift. "Shouldn't I give you something in return?"
"Like what?" Tarrant wriggled his eyebrows seductively.
"None of that." Alice gave him a loose slap. "I was thinking something more like this…" she caught his mouth with hers, chocking the mad man.
"Naughty…" Tarrant chuckled as they pulled apart, sparks of gold dancing before his eyes.
Alice shrugged. "I guess I am." she sighed, adding; " I have to leave now, duties, you know. Keep working on that nothing you're hiding under the awful sheet." Alice giggled and winked at him.
As she left the room, the last rose petal same loose, landing on the floor before Tarrant's feet.
"We meet again…" he whispered. "Curious."
Author's note:
Yeah, that was a little strange… And don't ask me what was up with the petals, 'cause I seriously haven't got the slightest idea. I guess I was just struck by some weirdness... Please review, or don't, do what you want.