Day 47: Greenhouse (2nd Shift)

[himetsuru]

Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was a stupid white dress. So what if it was visual evidence that she was a princess? It should not be bothering her this much. It was a just a dress

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[exbride]

Here was something that Anthy was used to, the familiarity its own sort of comfort. After avoiding the crowded meal hall a few times in a row, her nurse finally convinced her to participate in the gardening activity. This greenhouse was larger than the one from Ohtori, but it was a little less colorful and housed vegetables as well as flowers. There were only a few other girls in here at the moment, but few or none appeared to be doing any gardening.

Moving on automatic, Anthy ambled down a pebbled path and found a secluded spot with an empty patch of soil. She chose a bundle of roses to work with, of course, and knelt by the dirt to begin digging a hole. This was familiar to her. This was something she could do.

This was a glass cage. Her hand slipped on the shovel and she stabbed at the dirt with a small measure of undue force, her hair falling in her face and obscuring it. It was difficult to garden with no means of tying back hair that flowed as long as hers.

[free]

[exbride]

"In that case, my being dangerous is also conditional," Anthy replied after a thoughtful pause. "It depends. What do you mean by dangerous?"

Now she was not sure, although she was certain she was interested in what this woman's answer would be.

[quickdrawbkiddo]

"Of those that seek revenge, they tend to fall into two camps. One camp is made up of those that manifest their anger at the wrong that was done in an intensely hot flame, intent on burning the world to the ground as they lash out indiscriminately in their rage," the Bride began to explain.

"Those of the other camp condense their anger at the wrong into something cold and unyielding, focusing their efforts on precise strikes at the target of their revenge. The former is powerful in the short term but lacks staying power to see things through. The latter, on the other hand, will never stop and never let the anger itself control them."

Beatrix ran a hand through her own hair, bringing attention to the bit of exposed metal in the side of her head reflected briefly in the greenhouse sunlight. Whether that was done on purpose would be anyone's guess. "When I speak of dangerous, I speak of the latter."

[exbride]

Anthy was watching carefully enough while this patient spoke that it was impossible for her to miss the gleam of metal when she combed her hair back with her fingers. If she had to guess, she knew which camp of revenge this woman must've belonged to. When Anthy attempted to tackle the question in regards to herself a second time, she had to glance forward and blink again.

Another long and particularly thoughtful pause ensued. "At times, I have yearned for the type that destroys everything."

It felt like a lifetime since she'd admitted as much. "But the latter is what I know best and what I'm most comfortable with. You can take from that what you will about how dangerous I may or may not be. I'm not entirely sure myself."

[quickdrawbkiddo]

"Many of us have, when we face a premature end to our quest," Beatrix replied. "It is nothing to be ashamed of as long as you do not allow the flames to consume you."

The Bride had felt from the moment the girl had mentioned revenge that she may be more like herself than not. Still, the girl had this passive-aggressive feel to her that did not match the ex-assassin. Beatrix was far more proactive in her revenge.

If the girl was not sure if she was dangerous or not, that led the Bride to ask, "Tell me, do you have anything left to lose?"

[exbride]

A quest -- there was something she'd never quite had. Goals were one thing, but for a long time she'd merely existed as the Rose Bride, administering jabs to the world when she got her chances (once in a while she was able to turn a sword about and hurt back) in lieu of finding a way to escape. Anthy's expression deadened a little as she stared ahead.

This woman understood a great deal many things, but she could sense the differences as well. Anthy's gaze meandered around the greenhouse; it spotted a girl with medium-length pink hair and settled on her. "I thought I did not for a very long time. I wanted to believe I didn't. It was easier."

"But I do." Something clicked in her head and she forcibly switched her gaze back on the blonde woman, eyes blinking wider in reflex. "What's your name? I think I enjoy speaking with you."

[quickdrawbkiddo]

As Beatrix was carefully watching the girl, she followed the girl's gaze to a pair of women across the way. One had atrociously pink hair while the other had short silvery hair, the former the younger of the two. Given the age difference and the difference in mannerisms between the two, it was more likely that the pink-haired one was the object of attention. Ah, so the girl does have something left to lose. It was the same with Sasuke. Because of this, neither was as dangerous as they could be, meaning the likelihood of their successful revenge was low.

When the girl looked back, the Bride's eyes flickered to meet the girl's gaze. "You may call me Arlene. And yours, child?"

[exbride]

It was an odd way to put it to -- Arlene, apparently, but it was also an odd way to be. The last time she'd enjoyed a conversation with a stranger was -- well, probably around the time she met Utena. The last time she'd been this honest with a stranger was even longer ago, but it wasn't so bad.

Maybe there was something to it after all. "Anthy," she replied, and then immediately went on to ask: "Did you arrive here with that metal plate, or is that something Landel's has given you?"

Not reaching for tact.

[quickdrawbkiddo]

Anthy. That sounded almost as fake as her own supposed name did. Regardless, Beatrix had no room to talk. The blunt question was unexpected, if only because Anthy did not seem the type to be so direct in her questions.

"Prior," the Bride replied. "I've had if for four years now." She formed a gun out of her hand and pointed her index finger at the spot in question, 'firing' the gun.

[exbride]

Names were important for reference (how much she could trust it was another matter -- Anthy was trying out honesty, but this woman was careful) but finding out the exacting details of what Landel's was capable of was also on her mind. Her eyebrows raised slightly at the gesture of a gunshot.

At least she wasn't brainwashed. Or maybe she was; could one ever really know?

"Someone you knew?" A shot in the head might've had a good chance of being related to her concept of revenge, but then again, it might've simply been a byproduct of her lifestyle. Anthy wasn't sure how much of an answer she could expect, but she tried it anyway.

[quickdrawbkiddo]

Most assassins retired by death, not by choice as Beatrix had. Still, death had tried to claim her, brought by the hand of the one man that had been her whole world until she learned of BB. She hadn't talked to anyone, not even Maki, about the circumstances revolving around her coma and the physical evidence left behind. yet, she was inclined to speak of it to this girl.

"The man I loved more than any other," she replied in a quite voice, a slight softening of her tone. "I should have died."

[exbride]

Ah.

Perhaps that was the thread that connected them enough that she felt alright conversing with this other patient. Anthy's eyes flickered at the change in tone, a related pang of understanding jabbing inside her chest. And also anger -- something that she masked by glancing down and grasping a palm full of dirt, absently squeezing, and letting go.

"I see. I have only ever loved one man," she said, just as quietly. "He turned out to be capable of similar betrayals. I'm sorry."

[quickdrawbkiddo]

"Don't be," Beatrix replied. "I knew there was a chance I would be found when I made the decision I did. After all, no one but me truly understood him. There are some things in life that you can't just walk away from and expect to leave unscathed."

Beatrix fell silent as she transferred a plant into fresh soil. "But some things are always worth the risk. Does the man you love still live, Anthy?"

[exbride]

It wasn't his place to decide whether or not you could walk away, she thought silently, bitterly. Anthy knew what it meant to be irrevocably tied to a person who felt entitled to control one's choices and she'd grown a distaste for it that bordered on loathing. The bond ended up destroyed by a power dynamic that should not have existed in the first place.

She was quiet (almost tangibly stewing) until the blonde spoke again and actually placed a plant in the earth, something that Anthy had neglected to do since the start of their conversation. She watched; her hands moved and copied to plant one by the other's side. "He does."

"But I love him no longer. I stopped loving him a long time ago, but only managed to leave recently. I suppose ending up here doesn't count as completely unscathed either."

[quickdrawbkiddo]

Beatrix had let Bill control her, so taken by the man old enough to be her father. He had taken advantage of her naivete and cultivated her into what she had become - a world class assassin, one of the best. He had, in a way, created a family our of the Deadly Vipers. It was certainly a dysfunctional family, but one nonetheless.

Her eyes moved over to Anthy as the girl answered. So, it seemed she was at the beginning of her journey. She wondered when the man she spoke of would come for her. Still...

"You are only fooling yourself if you believe you no longer love him," she calmly stated. "Love does not die so easily, if it ever does. But there are things stronger than love." Self-respect, vengeance, greater love for another...

[exbride]

Anthy's forehead crinkled in response to those words. She'd only just discovered how much she'd grown to hate her brother, since she'd been far too attached to the bond before finding the strength to leave. She hated him (leaving him behind was the same thing as hating him, wasn't it?) and he hated her -- things she'd been unwilling to see, but existed in the violent ways he'd moved against her in the night.

"He's only a ghost of who he was." She was almost whispering, her fingers curling in the dirt before she pushed it over the root of her plant. "It's impossible to love a ghost."

"My revenge was to leave him utterly alone and helpless. He needed me. He's nothing now." Stuck in his coffin.