The Burning of the Palace at Versailles (or, Butterfly) [REWRITING]

Chapter 2 - The Palace at Versailles

Melody nodded. "Yeah, actually. I love gardening."

Puzzle gave Melody a sideways look like she was trying to decide if Melody was kidding. "Huh. Cool. You'll be the only one."

The gate swung closed behind them, and Puzzle started to lead them down the hallway.

"Speaking of food," Diana continued, "we cook pretty much everything ourselves. If you want outside food that isn't totally normal and healthy, then you have to earn it through good behavior. Twinkies, Snickers, whatever. Same with other stuff that's considered luxuries, like makeup and stuff like that."

"It's a pretty independent place," Melody said.

"Doctor Riley wants us to basically take care of ourselves. That way, when we supposedly get out of here, we have transferable skills and don't immediately die," Puzzle said. "Well, at least skill-wise." The last part was muttered quietly.

"Oh yeah," Diana continued as if neither of the other two had spoken. "We get doctor's checkups every six months unless there's an issue, dentist checkups every six months unless there's an issue, and we get haircuts every two or three months. They're all students, so don't expect anything too nice. A priest comes in and does a church sermon every Sunday and runs a Bible study every Wednesday. You don't have to go if you don't want to, but she's cool. And bakes some amazing cookies."

Melody tried to take it all in. She swallowed nervously and looked at a picture that was hung on the wall. It had an old woman in it. She wasn't smiling, just looking straight at the photographer. The photograph was framed with gold. "How long have you guys been here?"

They both seemed to think about it. "Six years for me. I have a long way to go still, though," Diana said eventually.

"How long?" Melody asked.

The girl's eyes darkened. "Ten years?"

Melody's mouth went dry. Suddenly, her twenty months in Versailles didn't seem so bad. That was less than two years. She nervously glanced at Puzzle, who was glaring at her. "What about you?"

Puzzle blew another bubble with her gum and let it pop with a loud crack. "Four years left to go. They took my manslaughter charge pretty seriously."

Melody decided at that moment that she was going to avoid talking to Puzzle as much as possible for the time being.

They walked towards a tall staircase. The slippers the two girls were wearing made hardly any noise on the worn-down wood, whereas Melody's boots made loud thumps with each and every footstep. Melody looked down at the bright orange uniform the jailhouse had made her put on and felt even more out of place.

Diana hummed. "What else, what else... Oh yeah. You'll be in your room the rest of the day. We spend a lot of our time together, but Riley is going to want to learn more about you tomorrow before you can hang out with the rest of us. Also, all the bathrooms are locked half an hour before and an hour after mealtimes, so if you've got issues with that, figure out alternative arrangements."

"Try not to stare at Key. He's self-conscious," Puzzle said.

Melody blinked. "Who?"

Apparently, Diana didn't feel the need to answer her. "Drugs are kept locked up with security, so if you're a junkie like Puzzle here, tell the doc."

"I'm not a--"

"If Jordan pisses you off, try not to punch her. She's really freaking annoying sometimes," Puzzle said. She was twirling a loose piece of hair that had fallen out of her hair bun around one finger.