"Excuse me Miss but Wendy Marvell need's to go to Headmistress Extallie's office."
My head snapped from the spot I was supposed to be staring at and the book that was balanced precariously on my skull tumbled to the floor with a thump. 'The History of Fiore' fell to the floor and opened up on 'Chapter 13: Famous Dictators', which I tried to use to cheer up my mood. At least Headmistress Extallie was kind to me, kinder than the other headteachers that I've had to deal with before.
Everyone's head snapped to stare at me, the thud echoing through the room as the eyes bore into my soul, I could feel myself turning bright red as they watched me pick up the book and place it in my desk, standing up with my fringe covering my eyes as best as it could and walking out of the room. The sniggering followed me down the hall, every classroom revealing countless eyes that followed my movements as I passed them. My eyes met a pair of blue ones down the hall but they immediately turned away, almost as if it was embarrassing to make any contact with the social pariah of Saint Shagotte's Finishing School for Girls.
I found myself in front of the door I had been called to, smoothing down the front of my dress before I knocked lightly on the wood, staring worriedly up at the words 'Miss Carla Extallie. Headmistress.' as a quiet voice called for me to come in.
I gently opened the door and stepped in, feeling my throat start to constrict as I looked at the woman sitting in front of me, "y-you asked to see me, Headmistress Extallie?"
The woman looked up, her brown eyes meeting mine as she gestured for me to sit down, placing a piece of paper on the desk for me to look at, "Wendy, do you know what this is?"
I leaned forward in my chair to get a better look at it, taking my eyes off the white-haired woman in front of me for barely a second to glance at the paper before I looked back up, "it's my report, Aunt Carla."
The woman, my aunt, stared at me from over her glasses. "What have I said about calling me that in school?" She hissed. She had white hair that was pulled back into a tight bun and looked down at me with harshness in her eyes.
"Sorry," I said quickly, looking down at my hands as my face blushed slightly.
"Do you know what's wrong with this report?" Carla said, acting as if I was a tiny child that knew nothing.
I only shook my head, staring at my intertwined fingers and twitching my feet uncomfortably, not understanding why I was called. I was doing well in all my lessons. I wasn't the best in the class but I also wasn't struggling. The best part about being an outcast meant that I could get all my homework in on time.
"Look again." The harsh words made me snap my head up and stare at the paper.
My eyes widened as she saw my teacher's comments, most of them saying that I was a rude and ungrateful child who talked back in every lesson and that I never did any of my work properly. Paragraph after paragraph of hurtful phrases, blaming it all on my lack of parents and my inability to make friends, "b-but I-" I took a deep breath as I felt my eyes water, "I-I don't..."
Carla shook her head, "I don't think you realise just how many strings I had to pull to get you into this school after you were discharged from your last..." she glanced at a thick file on her desk, "...six schools. Just because you are my niece doesn't mean that you can flaunt around the hallways acting like you own the place. I know you're turning eighteen soon but you are still in my care until you graduate. So I cannot have you throwing this tomfoolery around in my school, do you understand?"
I nodded, holding back tears from my eyes as best as I could, although I felt like I was failing miserably.
"Good. As punishment for this," she gestured to the report, "you will be confined in your dorm for the rest of the week. Leave."
I nodded again, standing up and leaving the room, letting the tears fall down my cheeks as I ran towards my dorm. I didn't care if running was 'unladylike', I just had to get back to the room so I could cry to myself in peace. I slammed the door of my dorm behind me and fell onto my bed, burying my face in the pillow as I quietly sobbed.
In that building, I was alone. No one wanted to talk to me. My reputation, as the orphan who was disowned by an entire village, preceded me and I was left to try and get through the year on my own.
I must have fallen asleep because I was jolted from my slumber by a door slamming, pushing myself into an upright position to see three girls giggling by their beds, glancing over at me for a second before they rolled their eyes and continued to gossip, my name being thrown out a couple of times but I tried to ignore it as much as possible.
The girls slowly got changed into their nightdresses, the gossipers barely taking the time to breathe in between their sentences as they flung themselves around the room in their underwear, purposely showing off every single curve while I silently covered myself in my bedsheet as I got changed. The girls in my dorm knew my every insecurity, including the fact that I was still as flat as a board when the rest were throwing their bodies around without a care in the world.
The lights were turned off and the other girls slowly fell asleep but I was wide awake after my impromptu nap before. I sat up in bed, checking that they were not awake before I grabbed a pencil and paper and tiptoed over to the window.
I liked to sit there at night when I couldn't sleep, the ground floor window giving a large view of the grounds that I was stuck in, able to see all the way towards the trees on the edge of the gardens and admire the sight with no one there to tease me. But that night, I had other plans, perching myself next to the glass and leaning the paper against my knees so that I could write properly.
I can't even fully explain how bad today was, so I'm not going to. I know you like it when I write multiple pages complaining about every single thing under the sun but I'm really not feeling it today. I'm counting down the days until I graduate and can finally see you again after all these years. Remember when we met? I still feel like that tiny child crying lost in the library sometimes, if only you were here to show me the way now.
It feels like this whole place has come to a standstill. Nothing ever happens and the weather never changes, every day bringing the same cloudy skies. You don't know how much I would give to feel the wind in my hair once more. It feels like hours between every tick of the clock in my classrooms, the glares from my teachers lasting longer than my ability to focus on what I'm sewing. I'm finding myself spending even more hours sitting on the windowsill at night, trying to imagine a world past the tree line but it's getting harder every single day.
I think I saw a bonfire the other night and I immediately thought of you. I can't believe it's been five years since I last saw you. I miss you. I'm struggling to work out who to picture when I'm writing these letters. Some days I see the little boy who saved me in the library, other days I see the person who chased after my carriage as I was taken off to yet another boarding school. But recently, I'm trying to think of what you would look like now. I wonder, have you changed your hair at all in these years or are you still trying to copy your big brother? How is he, by the way? You haven't said anything about him since he announced he was engaged. I hope he manages to sort out his wedding soon and it would be amazing if I could go. Lucy sounds like the perfect girl for him.
In complete honesty, I find myself waiting by the door for the postman to arrive just in case he is bringing a letter from you. It genuinely makes my week when I see your scruffy writing calling out my name but I haven't got one from you in a while. Is everything okay?
When I graduate, I hope I can see-
A spark flashing through the night distracted me from my writing, making me look up to see a bright purple flame flaring from just inside the tree line and my face lit up. There was only one person I knew that could do that.
I glanced behind me, spotting that the girls were still asleep before I undid the latch on the window and swung it open. The night air was cold and still but I didn't care as I stepped out into the flowerbeds barefoot. As soon as I was safely out of the room and knew that no one had spotted me, I sprinted as fast as I could across the gardens, not looking back as I could feel my spirits soaring.
I reached the tree line and made my way through, seeing a tall figure with messy hair stood just in front of the flames, making sure that they were large enough for someone to see but contained enough that they didn't set the entire forest on fire.
I yelled his name as loud as I could, watching as he quickly turned on his heel, smiling as he saw me running into his open arms and clutching him tightly. I didn't care that I was in my nightdress, only glad that I was finally in his arms as he stroked the top of my head, which only just reached his shoulders.
I stepped back, looking up at him, "since when did you get that tall?"
He chuckled, his voice much lower than I remembered, "more like you got smaller. You're a little pipsqueak now."
I rolled my eyes, smiling at him, "you've been spending too much time around Gajeel."
He rubbed the top of my head, "he's my chemistry teacher. I wouldn't be able to do this for you without being around him."
I grinned, looking over at the flames, "how do you even do that?"
He shrugged, "a tiny bit of potassium chloride works wonders."
I shook my head, stepping back, "I must be dreaming because those words are not real."
He pulled me into a hug, resting his head easily on the top of my head as I heard his heartbeat in his chest, "you're not dreaming Wen, I'm right here."
"I missed you," I managed to say, feeling breathless in the moment, "my favourite chemist."
"I missed you too." He gently rubbed his thumbs in circles against my back, "and happy birthday."
My eyes widened as I hadn't even realised it was my birthday, stepping back with a gaping mouth to find him holding out a purple box that was just slightly bigger than my hands.
With curiosity, I pulled off the ribbon, smiling as he took it from my fingers and easily tied my hair up out of my face while I pulled the lid off the box. Inside was a note and another box, this one smaller than my palm, and was the same shade of purple, made out of a fabric I easily recognised to be velvet. With a gasp, I looked up at him, "how expensive is this?"
"Just look at the note." He said with a slight blush on his cheek. I nodded and pulled it out, unfolding it and staring at the scruffy writing.
I promise to make you happy
I promise to cherish every moment with you
I promise to make every day the best day of your life.
I promise to never let you feel lonely
I promise to always listen to your opinion because you're probably going to be right
I promise to love you until the end of time
I looked up with wide eyes, seeing him stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets and his face bright red, hidden in the yellow scarf he still had tied around his neck, the scarf I remember giving to him a couple of days before I left. Although, at that point, I didn't know I was going to leave.
I looked down and took the smaller box out, opening it to reveal a silver ring nestled in the fabric and a tiny note on top, simply saying, 'I promise.'
I looked up at him, feeling the tears collecting in my eyes as he spoke, "look, I know that we're young and I know that we haven't seen each other in years so you may not want to say yes but right now I am absolutely certain that I never want to lose you again. So take the time to think it through, really think it through, and that ring, even though it's not the biggest and it's not the sparkliest, means all of my promises to you and so many more. I'll be here and always waiting for you."
I couldn't help the smile making its way onto my face as I thought of the countless letters we had been sending each other.
Hi, I know you may not remember me in that fancy school of yours but I still remember you. I actually really like it when you reply to my letters so if you have the time, please write to me. I know I've only talked to you a couple of times but the thought that someone like you would want to talk to me gives me hope...
...you can make any day brighter just with a letter. I miss you, even though we've only met a few times in real life, and I really want to get to know you more...
...my teachers have been asking why I keep staring off into the distance with a smile and the only answer I can give them is you. I can't get you off my mind, Wendy, but the thing is. I don't want it to stop...
...I've been doing a lot of thinking as I unpacked my stuff (moved to yet another new school because of the rumours, this one being the one my Aunt Carla is the headmistress of. I hope it's nicer than the last one) and I think I've come to a shocking realisation. Even though there may be miles between us and I've barely spoken to you in real life, I think I've fallen head over heels for you...
...when we get out of school, I'm coming for you and we are going to run away, just you and me. You are the love of my life, Wendy, I can't leave you like this. I love you too much for that...
I snapped back to reality to see him stood there, waiting for me to say something. Anything.
I felt something within me change as I stepped forward, feeling fully confident about everything for the first time in what felt like years. I pulled out my necklace with a grin, "we're not allowed jewellery here because it's 'improper' but I've worn this necklace for years and at so many schools and no one's noticed," I unclasped it and strung the ring onto it, trying my hardest to do it up but struggling. He spotted my difficulties and stepped behind me, easily doing it up.
I turned around and looked up at him, spotting over his shoulder and through the trees that a light had switched on in my dorm. They had probably realised that I had escaped by now. People were yelling something but, to be frank, I didn't care. I turned my attention to him, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek, "if I survive tonight, I'm graduating in two weeks and will be waiting for you."
His face broke into a smile as he realised my answer, dipping his head to press his lips against mine, tugging me closer as I pulled my fingers through his hair. I felt my head go into a spin as he pulled back and I nearly fell backwards, holding onto his shoulder as I mumbled, "wow."
He laughed at me as I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and seeing people spewing out into the gardens looking for me, "you have to go, see you in two weeks?" He asked.
I nodded, not wanting to leave him all alone in the purple light but starting to stride off anyway, knowing I had to face the consequences of my actions.
Just as I reached the tree line, I turned on my heel to look back at him. The purple fire was out and I could barely see him in the moonlight, but I easily heard his voice, "I love you, Wen, I'll see you soon."
I smiled, "I love you too, Romeo."
I know it's a short one, I'm sorry. I also know that I'm being absolutely terrible at coming up with anything new at the moment and updating on time but I'm trying my hardest. School sucks.
I hope this little RoWen shot will be enough for the moment as I work on another one of my ideas. It took me a few days to write out just the summary and that is almost twice as long as this chapter. It will definitely be multiple parts, two maybe three if I can stretch it properly and then I've also come up with an idea as a continuation. The way I work means that I'm constantly tweaking the earlier parts as I write so I end up writing the entire of every single part before I publish one. Which means that I may not update in a while.
Hope you are staying safe and have a better 2021.
Also thank you to everyone who has voted and commented it really made my day while I've been feeling like crap.
Goodbye!!