joy: book one: the blooming.

record IV: bewilder//hamadryad glow.

  Dim sunlight chased away the night clouds, turning them from grey to light gold. Despite the warm rays, the fresh snow would not depart from the delicate outdoor scenery.
  The gentle beams kissed the soft, porcelain face of Evangelique. They trailed over her long eyelashes, breaking their way into her eyes.
  Flickering open, Eva winced and turned from her right side to the other. The snow was so soft to her sleep-fogged eyes.

  As she rubbed her eyes, she realized that in her right hand, she held a golden camellia. She stared at it, recalling the beautiful yet painful recession she had witnessed.

  The man who was crying--he was the most beautiful thing she remembered.

  Trying to set herself straight, Eva slapped her cheeks. A slight blush painted her face as she looked down at her ivory sheets.

  "Why was that handsome man so sad?" she whispered.

  She looked at the camellia again. It was still glowing, or--

  Eva jumped out of panic, dropping the camellia. Strange swirling marks glowed on her hands, shimmering like gold.

  "N-No way..."

  Trembling, she rushed out of bed towards her mirror. The pattern crawled up her neck and spread across her small and fragile fingers, like ivy to a stone wall.
  Eva traced them from her forehead to her neck. She unbuttoned the back of her nightgown, turning around so she could see it in the mirror.
  An intricate, filigree pattern of a golden cross had drawn itself on her back, with the same mesmerizing swirls accompanying it.

  Evangelique shuddered as she looked at the illuminated design. She once knew these markings on her body as a commonplace.

  Being from a mother that was a Hamadryad and a father who was human, she was destined to have a resemblance to her mother. The golden marks were no exception to this. Every Hamadryad had its ways with flowers. When they experienced a strong desire or feeling, they glowed in their own magical ways. Flowers would bloom from their skin, and they would be like a botanical galaxy--a shimmering magic from a flowery soul.

  However, after losing her legs to her childhood injury, all signs of Hamadryad blood in her was gone.

  She was only a human then, and she was only meant to be human now.

  Eva took a deep breath, holding onto the fabric of her nightgown that was closest to her chest.

  In a desire for answers, she set her determination upon finding out what was happening to her body.
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  "Today I will be showing you your classroom," stated Augustine. "The school year doesn't begin for another month, which gives you enough time to become used to your new life here."

  Augustine wore a long, black, velvet robe over a white blouse. It reminded Eva of the robes of a judge, only much more lively, as they had a beautiful golden pattern embroidered upon its surface.
His polished shoes tapped gracefully on the marble floors of the school's corridor as the two walked together.

  "Due to your resume and background, Headmaster Rowan and Brother Kaldreas, the head of AMO, have decided that you will be teaching a science class," said Augustine.
  "What science may that be?" asked Eva, who fiddled around with her skirt as she walked.
  "Botanical science," replied Augustine. "Since you are from Aleiliyo, I assume you are quite familiar with it?"
  "Yes...however, I've never been very talented with it," replied Eva.
  "Talented?" questioned Augustine. He looked at Evangelique, somewhat confused by her choice of words.
  "Ah, I mean that I've never been able to grasp it well like others," replied Eva, bashfully.
  "Hmm..." mused Augustine, thoughtfully. "Do you really mean that? Or is it you are of Hamadryad lineage, but own no gifts of the blossoming beings?"