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

Chapter 7- Late Winter

Melody screamed and scrambled back. Pens and markers dug into her as she tried to scramble away from the bed. When her back was pressed into the wall, she noticed the ghost — well, clearly not a ghost, but a figure that had not been there ten seconds earlier — was stunningly, amazingly, hot. The girl on the bed, even with pillow marks stretching red lines across her face and her beach-blonde hair a tangled mess, looked as if she was modeling for a photo shoot.

A K-pop idol and a Victoria's Secret model living in the same house, Melody thought, then cringed at herself for even the thought of it. She had been there a day and she was already spending too much time with Diana, she supposed.

The girl straightened and tilted her head a little as she stared at Melody, much like how a curious puppy tilts his head. Melody's heart was pounding in her chest and kept pounding as the girl continued to stare straight through her, not speaking.

Footsteps came running toward the room, and Doctor Robinson froze in the doorway. Her eyes were frantic, and she looked almost confused about the scene in front of her. The strange girl didn't glance over at the doctor, just continued looking at Melody. Melody felt as if she were a mouse being stared down by a barn cat who had plenty to eat. The hunter wasn't hungry, so she was just toying with the prey for entertainment.

"Thank you, Melody." The doctor said the words carefully and with complete control. "You may take the basket and leave. Heidi will direct you on where to go."

Not needing to be told twice, Melody scrambled to her feet, slipping on a pen as she stood. She grabbed the basket and scurried out of the room. The door buzzed and squeaked shut behind her.

"What was that?"

Melody jumped again at the voice. But instead of being a ghost, it was just Puzzle standing outside her room.

"Uh, hey," Melody said, feeling uncomfortable.

Puzzle raised an eyebrow. She looked exhausted, her skin sallow and some strands of hair were limply falling out of her hair bun. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Melody turned back to the door. "I think I did."

Puzzle followed her line of sight. "Oh, you mean Jordan. Yeah."

Melody grimaced and pulled her black hair away from her face. "So no one thought it would be nice to warn me about the crazy woman in the last room?"

The other girl shrugged. Melody rolled her eyes and picked up her basket. "Where do I wash these?" she asked. Of all the questions she had on her mind, that was not one of them. But it was what Melody said. She felt hot and angry and nervous. She felt as if those dark blue eyes had somehow looked right through her skin and into her insides. She hated it.

Puzzle seemed annoyed by the question. She half-rolled her eyes. Melody noticed the other girl had a light shimmery glitter on her eyelids. She was beautiful too, Melody realized. Tired, but undeniably beautiful. She remembered what she had said to Key before, about Puzzle not being mean, just angry. Perhaps it was time Melody practiced what she preached. She took a deep breath. "Would you please show me where to bring this?"

The politeness seemed to surprise Puzzle. She nodded slowly. "Sure. Come with me." She turned and began walking, and Melody followed.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Puzzle looked at Melody a little more intensely.

Melody felt a nervous little flutter go down her spine. "What?" she asked.

Puzzle tore her eyes away. "Sorry. It's just that you're new. It's nice to see a new face, I guess. Do you speak Spanish?"