(Untitled)

[vestalstone]

That the sky was clouded was the first thing Pierrette noticed that morning, the day cool and listless compared to some of the scorching days past. She spent her morning and afternoon daydreaming of a summer rain, delighting in the fantasy of dewy grasses and wet earth. She would find herself wandering out towards the beaches and hills to look out

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[provincialbelle]

Belle caught the very tail end of some words spoken (too quiet for her to take note), but it was the height of the girl in the tree that alarmed her. She stopped in her walk to turn her attention to the girl and the object, watching her with wary concern. "Are you...are you all right?" she asked, her attention on the object. "What is that?" she continued, gentle as she could be.

[vestalstone]

Her cheeks stung from the hot tears that stained them, and from where thin reedy branches had scratched the tender skin. Her breath shuddered, scarce and harsh from her chest and when she glanced down through clouded eyes she saw the woman, straight and all and so very far down. She sniffed loudly, fingers clasped tightly against her handholds as her lean muscles strained from pulling her weight.

"Please," she rasped. "This is an evil thing, you should leave it. Such a sorcery has no place here and you should flee from it." The gown wafted gently, the satin of the sash shining fetchingly in a brief ray of sunlight. "It should not be here. It is a foul thing, one which was burned. Evil is taunting me, a cruel ploy is the only thing to bring it here."

[provincialbelle]

Belle couldn't understand how such a thing could be evil. It was, after all, just a piece of clothing, wasn't it? Belle stepped closer, pressing her palm to the rough bark of the tree and staring up at her. "Can you at least come down? Will you come down here and tell me why?" She was worried, she had to admit that much.

[vestalstone]

"It must be destroyed. It can not be here, it can not be found here. If she were to ever come and to find it, it would ruin her, it would break her again this I am sure." She was babbling, her words falling from her mouth unbidden by her mind. But this cruel ploy could not stand, and the gown could not be allowed to flaunt itself high in the canopy, seemingly gentle and whimsical to any passerby. She wouldn't have been able to stand it, to allow innocents to walk by and be caught by its loveliness when she knew the truth of it.

Her arms ached, and her fingers were sore and scratched. She pulled herself up farther, closer now still, and she knew with a few more she could reach out and grab it, even if she thought of touching the soft lace made her stomach churn. "Please allow me this, I am so close."

[provincialbelle]

"Is it cursed? I'm not saying that you shouldn't, I just want to understand," Belle rushed to explain, her confusion running rampant as she stared at the cloth and wondered what story was behind it. No matter what, she always looked for the story and this one intrigued her as much as it worried her.

[vestalstone]

"It has been imbibed with evil. Allow me to tell you a story so you may understand." It was as close to an explanation as Pierrette could reach. A few more handholds, and scrambling feet and she was resting on a thick sturdy branch, straddling it the way she would a horse. The gown looked innocent as drying laundry, a few fallen leaves settled on the bodice, earthy green against stark lace

[provincialbelle]

Belle had always sought out stories from books and though not all of them had happy endings, she felt as though she could spin some kind of understanding from them -- even if it was only to see the true depths of evil that could live in humans. She didn't hear so many stories by way of other people and now that she did, she wished that she could influence it. She wished that the ending wasn't fixed and could be rewritten and that showed upon her face. "I'm so sorry," she expressed, an expression of determination appearing on her face. "Can I help you to burn it, then?"

[vestalstone]

Pierrette had never taken the time to sit and reflect on Marie's story. Of how horrible it would sound to another pair of ears, of how heartbreaking and cruel it truly was. She only knew it the way she did, from having been there. From having tried to plead with her drunken father, with the cruel Jerome. She had been the one to bathe Marie, to take her to the nuns of Massalia. She only knew the broken girl as her sister. And as she reflected on her own words, she realized just how terrible it truly was.

Blinking away a fresh wave of tears she nodded, her breathing stuttered. "Yes," she agreed, soothed by the request. This was something she could do alone, but would be happy to have someone for. "I would be honored if you would."

[provincialbelle]

Belle didn't carry matches on her, though at one point in her life she had done so because it seemed a prudent and wise decision. Now, she was without them when she needed them the most. "My name is Belle," she introduced herself, aware that this was something that names were possibly something that might need to be exchanged. "Where should we go to burn the dress?"