When Oda and I went to my room, it was already past midnight. The lights were out and the contestants were asleep. I was waiting for Oda downstairs to avoid seeing Aideen. When Oda saw me, I asked her to come to my dorm to talk.
"What do you want to speak to me about?" I cringed at Oda's straightforward question. Only now did I understand how much Blithe went through to tell me what she knew. If I told Oda, would she believe me or Aideen?
I had chose to believe in a stranger rather than my friend.
"It's about Aideen," I muttered.
"What about her?"
I tried to force the words out, but it wouldn't. Oda raised and eyebrow impatiently.
"Yes? What about Aideen?"
It was now or never.
"She might be working with the Queen." Even I couldn't believe I was saying those words. I quickly turned up to look at Oda, expecting a frown. However, she looked strangely serene.
"It is because of how close Mother is with her?" I didn't answer.
"You never told me the Queen was upset that rhe Dandelion System didn't let maids participate." My words come out accusing.
"Yes," she admitted sarcastically, "I never told you—because I never suspected Aideen." I glared at her.
"Unlike me, right? The terrible person who suspects her friend." She didn't meet my eyes.
"Do you know how much she does for us?" Oda whispered in a cold voice. "She organized all of our meetings. She treated you with the utmost respect. Not once did she ask for something for herself."
"I know. I know perfectly well. She told me she is the Royal Family's dog, and that she would do anything for them."
I remembered that day at the coming back from the tailor. The way she opened the lock with a hairpin. The way she knew how to call for the princess when we got interrogated. Her coldness and almost disdain for making friends. That feeling like she didn't need anyone as long as she had the Royal Family. She was more clever than she thought. She was working for them, not me. I looked at Oda, not wavering, until she finally locked eyes with me, her jaw set tight.
"And you know what? You aren't the head of the Royal family. Queen Sonota is." My words affected her. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted to show her white, clenched teeth. "And after she dies, it will be Otto. It will never be you."
"You think that hurts me?" She didn't miss a moment replying. "I knew that since the moment I was born. I always knew that!"
I was taken aback by her sudden harshness, but I didn't step back.
"Just like Oscar, I knew that! We were never part of the Royal Family!" She turned around, her dress twisting at the sudden movement, and stomped out of my room.
There was something similar about Oda and Oscar, but I never knew what. Now I do: they both were lonely. There was a loneliness inside them that they didn't show anyone. A loneliness that could never be cured.
I opened the door to chase after her and saw a silhouette in the dark hallway. Her head was down. She heard us.
"Aideen—" I started to say, but she turned and ran down the hall.
In just one day, I've lost two people.
The next morning, I woke up to an empty room, and realized how much I missed Aideen opening the windows and combing my hair. I dressed myself in black again, and wondered if there was a new death.
I met Oriana on the staircase again.
"Good morning. Have you heard any news?" I asked her as we descended down the stairs. She shook her head.
"It seems like everyone is fine." I was relieved. She noticed and gave me a small smile.
When we step into the dining room, we saw girls gathering around Annabelle. She sat in her seat with her back straight, but I could see the unease on her face.
"It must be you," one of the girls standing across from her at the table declared. I walked towards them.
"What about Annabelle?" I asked her. She turned around to look at me. It was Viola. Her face was twisted in anger. "She must be the murderer!" Other people joined in.
"She was close to Tristesse." It was Nicolette.
"She would have no problem setting this up—she's rich!"
"I've always thought she was suspicious," Viola continued. "She is not from Taraxac and has an accent. Berennis may have sent her to kill the contestants of the Dandelion System so she could be the queen!" I clenched my hands into fists as I glared at her.
"That's ridiculous! You know that's not true!"
"Annabelle is always with Karina and I," Oriana added.
"That's not all," someone else says. She walked towards us. Priscilla.
She pointed to her Annabelle's gloved hands. "Don't you find it strange how she always wears gloves? Maybe it's so her hands won't be bloodied from killing us."
She was calling Annabelle a murderer.
"You—" I moved towards her, but Oriana gripped my arm tightly.
"No, Karina!" she begged me. "Not here, they will frame you next!"
"Karina? So you are the girl who found Tristesse. Maybe we are wrong and the murderer is you," Priscilla continued in her steady voice, not even blinking. She certainly wasn't afraid of saying what was on her mind.
"You are disgusting," I hissed. "I heard you talking with Garnett and the others. You said that classes matter in the Dandelion System."
"Yes, I did say that." She looked at me like I'm a pathetic child. "And?"
"Is that why you are picking on Annabelle? Because she's one of the few nobles left?" She tensed up at my words.
"No, it's because she's always wearing gloves. Will you deny that she was the only one who wore gloves the day Tristesse went missing?" I couldn't answer.
"See? You can't."
I wanted to help Annabelle—but I can't say anything.
"I'll tell you why, then." Our heads all turned to Annabelle. She smiled at us as she stood up from her seat. Her big, dark dress framed her figure like she is a little doll. Her bright white gloves embroidered with white flowers and clasped with pearls was a big contrast against the outfit.
"I wear gloves because I want to cover these up."
She pulled up her long black sleeves to reveal that her white gloves reached her elbows, and then she tugged off her gloves, exposing her arms and hands. We watched in horror. Then slowly, she proceeded to roll up the sleeve of the other arm, and also pulled off the gloves. Still smiling, she dropped both on the floor.
Scars covered her skin. They were red, purple, and dark brown, unlike her peach-colored skin. It looked as though veins bursted through her skin. Some looked like cuts, others like burns, and others you wouldn't know how they came into existence.
Aubree heaved and ran out with her hand over her mouth. The room was silent. Annabelle still had her chin held high.
"These are what my sisters did to me when I was in Berennis. They used their nails, knives, matches, and whatever they could. This is also the reason why I was sent to Taraxac—so they could finally not see my face anymore, and their reputations will not be tarnished."
Oriana's grip on me tightened, yet she didn't move. No one did.
Finally, Priscilla walked away, and then sat down at her seat.
I couldn't believe it. She forced Annabelle to show everyone her scars, and without as much as an apology, went back to having breakfast.
"I'm sorry," Viola whispered between hiccups, her hands covering her face. She was crying. "I didn't know—I really didn't know. If I knew, I'd never—"
"It's fine." Annabelle replied stoically. The rest of the girls walked away sheepishly. Nicolette wrapped her arms around her friend. Annabelle walked out of the room, stepping over her long gloves. I bent down to pick up the glove before Oriana and I followed her wordlessly.
It was only when we reached the garden, still white with snow, that she turned to us.
"I'm sorry." Annabelle's eyes wouldn't meet ours. "You can't eat after seeing that, right?" She looked at her arms with disgust. "I wouldn't be able to either."
"No, Annabelle," Oriana said. Annabelle peered up at us. Tears slid down her cheeks.
"I wanted to die those days." Her lips trembled with each word. "I don't know why they hate me so much. I loved them."
She fell down onto the snow on her knees, her black skirt billowing out. Her golden hair loosened from its ribbons and fell over her face. Her shoulders shook with each sob, and she hugged her shoulders.
Oriana walked to her, the snow underneath her feet crunching with each step. She bent down into the snow and hugged her. I walked to the two of them crouching in the snow and joined them.
"Karina? Annabelle?" Oriana whispered. We raised our heads to look at her. "Do you know that everything that happened is kept a secret from the public?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Oriana gestured to the colorless garden and dark castles.
"Everything. The deaths and murders. Even the girls who want to leave have to promise to say that they dropped out of their own free will and not speak of the truth."
Annabelle pressed her hand to her mouth.
I wanted to tell them that this wasn't the only secret the Royal family kept from the public. I want to tell them that worse things have occurred in this castle of golden ballrooms, crystal chandeliers, and vibrant oil paintings.
"My father told me not to tell anyone this," Oriana murmured. "He's going to keep it a secret. He's going to pretend this never happened. The deaths of Tristesse, Lorna, and if I die, even my death."
"The Dandelion System is revolting," Annabelle cried, face red, cheeks tear-stained. "We are left to die!"
"I won't let it happen," I declared. They turned to look at me. "I won't let The Dandelion System continue. I won't let it end like this either."
"Karina?" Oriana looked surprised.
"I will free us from this." At the moment, I feel surer than anything that I would change it. I had to. With Oda and Aideen.
I pulled Oriana and Annabelle into a hug. We all wrapped our arms around each other and rested our chin's on each other's shoulders. The three of us were dressed in thin gowns and shivering from the cold, but together it didn't matter.
"I will be waiting," Oriana told me. She trusted me, a weak and powerless girl. I smiled.
"Can you sing for me?" I asked her. "The song you sang that day."
"I remember it too," Annabelle said. "I like hearing you sing."
"Yes," Oriana laughed.
Her voice was still slightly hoarse, and a bit unsteady, but the moment she sang, you didn't hear it.
I sense there's something hidden here.
I sense there's a whisper I can't hear.
The sky is crying for the girls,
But they wear her tears like pearls.
They wish to win the prince's hand,
But what do they know of the man?
The wind is telling them to leave,
But their skirts dance in his breeze.
They wish to live like a queen,
But they are only but eighteen.
I sense there's something hidden here.
I sense there's a whisper I can't hear.
Is this simply a fairy tale or
Is there a tragic ending to this tale?