A/N: I still own nothing. Apologizes for being caught up with school stuff.

Daffodils

Part eight

"Mai," he said gently, releasing the hold on the door. He stumbled, knees weak, and Mai hurried forward, calling his name. His normally pale face was flushed and he seemed to be hanging on the last scraps of balance with the almost non-existent dignity so unusual of him. When she was close enough, he almost smiled reaching out to her.

"Are you okay?" She pushed his hand away and touched his forehead. It was burning. "You have to lie down."

Her hand was instantly slapped away, as she grabbed his to lead him into the chilly room. "I'm okay," he whispered with a raspy voice, his face leaning closer to hers. His hot breath tingled on her skin and she backed away, red-faced.

"Please," he then begged, collapsing on his knees. Hands down, he stared on the floor, panting. Mai knelt next to him, worried about his strange actions. She heard his quiet sobs.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked gently, touching his shoulder. Naru reacted by tackling her in a hug, surprising her. She hit her hand against a chair and her heart did not quiet down. She felt like she was going to break.

Then she detected it. The faint smell seeping in from the cracks in floor and walls. The eerie glint in the teenager's eyes. Within the few days, she had become strongly familiar with the stories of them both. She closed her eyes and breathed calmly.

The daffodils. She could almost see them, the flowers opening their blossoms. They were everywhere. In Naru's eyes, in the dusty air around them. Inside them both. Burning, purifying them.

"Naru," she said sternly. "Come to your senses already!" Her fluttery heart showed no signs of acknowledging the fact this was not real. It was still competing in a race that was impossible to win. Perhaps it was the beating of her own heart or the fresh intoxicating smell, which put her out, but soon enough, she was with Eugene, the only one who seemed to understand what was going on.

He smirked like his brother, before pointing her towards a ball of light on her left. She nodded and started walking towards it, letting the memories swallow her whole. Fragments of history came back to her, as if she had known them for all time.

The snowflakes fell in an elegant fashion, dancing in the cold air. In the middle of the graveyard was a woman dressed in a dark cloak. She breathed out through her mouth and watched the water vaporize into nothingness. Somehow, Mai knew it was the day before New Year. Roza Bismarck had been executed, yet something ominous still hung in the air. The world stood still and in the stillness, this woman wept.

She moved not. Dressed in royal red, she was the only person out of the comfort of a safe and warm home. It had not been a merry Christmas, merry anything, although few in the village would admit to it. She, too, would deny it, should anyone ask her. Roza and she had never been particularly close, exchanging pleasantries only when necessary. That is, hardly ever.

She picked the sleeping baby from the gravestone. No one was supposed to know it was her who had been with Roza during her last night in that shabby cell, who Roza had hugged close and spilled all her secrets to. Yet she herself knew and there was no changing that. The beauty of the world – and the horror.

She rested her lips on the child's forehead. No one was supposed to know Simba Bismarck lived.

"Roza Bismarck," were the first words she said, after returning to the real world. Naru was still there, above her, and as she uttered the name, the eerie glint died out with the scent of daffodils. That's when she realized she could be the only one to sort the story out.

She poked her boss's head to make sure he was alive and when he said sternly her name, she grinned.

"Glad to see you up and working," she teased, as his eyes looked all over her. His cheeks returned to their normal color and he stood up. Straightening up his clothes, he avoided looking at her.

"What happened?" he asked in his stoic voice.

"Nothing, Naru-chan!" she piped cheerfully, getting up. "Well, if you'd excuse me, I'll be going now.." She laughed nervously and prepared to exit.

"Mai," he wasn't buying her carefree act.

"It's playing with us," she trembled. "Everything is there, in the books. Eugene Strider, Roza Bismarck.. the daffodils."

He turned to look at her. "Daffodils?" he frowned. Mai nodded.

"The clock strikes ten – the flowers bloom," she whispered with a blush. "It means ten flowers. Ten daffodils."

"I know," he replied calmly. "What are you trying to say?"

She breathed in deeply in order not to lash out on him. Whatever Gene had been trying to say, it suddenly was lost in her mind. She paused for a moment.

"I forgot," she then declared, remembering the other name. It was not like telling Naru would change that bit. She had to figure it out on her own – after all, this was something from a storybook Naru would never read. The boy sighed, sensing her lie, and stood closer.

"When you remember, tell me," he said, ruffling her hair. Mai froze at the contact with his warm hand. When he stepped away, she could detect sadness on his face.

He's cracking, Gene's voice echoed in her head and she wondered if he heard it too. If he did, Naru showed no signs of letting her know.

"One more thing, Mai," he added, his voice returning to normal, as she turned to leave. The girl looked curiously up. "Tea."