CHAPTER XV

"Hey, are you okay?"

Celestine could only make a wry smile as she shifted her gaze from the dark sky to her friend, Meira. Silently, she nodded her head before sighing, clenching the white cloak that she has been holding.

Seeing that her friend was not in her best mood, Meira sat beside her. "Do you want to talk about it...?" She, with her soft voice, gently asked.

Celestine made a small smile. "It's getting quite cold." She began, noticing the light puff of smoke coming out from their breath.

Meira smiled, "Indeed, it is." She said, rubbing her hands together. "I'm actually surprised that it hasn't snowed yet." She continued, looking at the sky.

Celestine kept quiet, looking silently at the fabric in her hand, carefully observing its design.

She clenched her teeth before sighing once again.

"Do you have a problem?" Meira asked, concerned. She looked at her friend who only shook her head.

"No... I don't...." Celestine replied, sighing.

Meira looked at Celestine encouragingly, waiting, as well as urging her to continue.

"It's just that... I love winter... I really do..." Celestine said, trying her best to force a smile but ultimately failing.

"If that's the case, then why do you look so dejected?" Meira asked, her eyes reflecting the same sadness as her friend.

Celestine once again looked down, "I can't help but remember about that old man's decree..." She answered.

Hearing Celestine mention Ronald, Meira fell silent at once. Both of them sat quietly, not uttering a word.

Celestine closed her eyes shut, tightly. Once again, she messed up. "I-I'm sorry, Meira." She apologized with a low voice. She sighed. If only she was not as childish, maybe she would have thought of the things that she was going to say before voicing it out loud.

"No... It's alright." Meira said, making a small smile.

Both of them sighed in unison. The atmosphere instantly felt heavy, the cold air suddenly felt hot, mirroring the change in their emotions.

"If only... If only I did not fell asleep that night..." Celestine said through her gritted teeth, clenching her fist so tight that her knuckles almost turned white.

She was angry, not just to Ronald but also to herself.

Meira looked at her friend who was deeply regretting her actions that night. She smiled, placing her hand on top of Celestine's. "It's not your fault." She said, "And I guess, it's not mine either?" She continued, slightly chuckling at her own statement.

However, Celestine did not feel the same as Meira. "How can you laugh about that?" She asked, frowning as she looked at Meira's eyes.

"Well... It's just that I can't do anything about it." Meira answered truthfully.

"You know, Meira. I've always hated your way of thinking." Celestine said honestly. Angrily, she pushed away Meira's hands to stand up.

"Why won't you fight? Why must you accept all the things that are happening to you?" She asked, remembering the way Meira was begging her to not confront Ronald about his wrongdoing.

"You're right, maybe I am a coward." Meira said, accepting what Celestine was hinting about her behavior. "But then again, do I really need to fight back?" She questioned, looking straight into her friend's eyes.

Celestine, however, was too preoccupied with her own thoughts and did not notice the look on Meira's eyes.

"Of course, you need to fight! If you won't even do so for yourself, then don't expect somebody else to do so for you!" She shouted, angry with the fact that her friend had such a weak mentality.

Meira looked away from Celestine. She looked at the sky, its twinkling little lights made her smile.

"There are battles that are not worth fighting for." Meira began, "In a losing battle, must the Commander sacrifice the lives of his soldiers for his pride as their leader?" She asked, shaking her head, "Sometimes, one should just accept his defeat, in that way, you'll learn, and who knows, win the next one instead."

Celestine shook her head, "No! How will you be free if you lose? You should at the very least, try to use your strength!" She countered, not agreeing with what Meira said. "You won't know unless you try!" She added, shouting out her opinions.

"You're not understanding my point, Celestine." Meira said, sighing as she stood up to face her friend.

"Then make me understand!" Celestine answered, pointing her fingers to her heart, clearly frustrated.

Meira smiled, "We've lived through different circumstances. I can understand why you're so brave and courageous, that's what I like about you." She said, before once again reaching out to hold Celestine's hand, "I have learned a lot from you and your family." She said as her smiling face turned serious, "But then again, having just one ideology is not enough to get through the hardness of life." She added, "You won't be able to achieve what you want every time." She continued, emphasizing each word.

Celestine looked at Meira with conflicted eyes. She wanted to swallow all of her words back into her mouth.

Of course, Meira's hurt. How can she be so stupid to assume that she isn't? She was violated, by her Master, at that. Aside from the fact that she had no physical strength to fight him, she also had nothing, in terms of their standing.

"Meira..." Celestine trailed off, not knowing what to say. She looked at her friend's eyes, finally noticing the slight hint of despair in them.

She held her friend's arms in return as she closed her eyes shut, tightly.

Meira smiled in return. "It's alright, Celestine. I understand." She said, hugging her.

Celestine shook her head. "No, it's not okay." She muttered, still not agreeing with Meira who only chucked in return.

"You really do have such a thick skull. It's exactly just like what your mother said." Meira said, breaking free from their hug, pinching Celestine in her cheeks.

"Meira!" Celestine shouted, pouting.

Both of them looked at each other before laughing out loud. Catching their breaths, they smiled, sighing before finally sitting down again.

Silence once again enveloped them. Both of them looked quietly at the brilliantly lit dark sky by the stars. The pressure they felt from earlier quickly evaporating from their hearts, making them peaceful again.

"Meira... I'm sorry... But..." Celestine apologized, though trailing off, she did not take her eyes off from the sky. She regretted the way that she said things, however, she will not falter from her stand.

Meira nodded in understanding, having the same opinion as hers.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time that you talked full sentences." Celestine said, her eyes shining with the realization as she looked at her friend who chuckled.

"You can say that I have started to finally learn how to talk." Meira jokingly said. "Because of you and your family, I've started to think that it's okay to once in a while voice out what I really want to say." She continued, smiling sincerely.

Celestine pouted, realizing a fault in her friend's words. "You said earlier that 'There are battles that are not worth fighting for.' does that mean that there is worth in fighting against me?" She asked, turning her head towards Meira as she raised one brow.

Smiling, Meira answered, "Maybe?"

Celestine rolled her eyes, "You're starting to act like Nesryn." She said, pouting.

Meira chuckled at her friend's poor attempt of talking back. She shook her head, "I'm way below Nesryn's level, Celestine, and you know that." She answered, her words making both of them laugh.

"You're right. Nesryn is way ahead of you. You are years behind to achieve her frankness." She said, smiling ear to ear.

Once again, both of them sighed.

"Care to tell me about that cloak?" Meira asked, noticing the fabric that Celestine was holding. "You haven't let go of that for the past week." She noted, remembering the past few days.

Celestine sighed as she once again looked at the fabric in her hands.

One week.

It has already been a week ever since her so-called incidental sleep in the forest.

A week after the mysterious man left her with his high-quality cloak that was as white as snow.

"It's nothing... Really." She answered, trying to make not just Meira but also herself believe her words.

She once again heaved a deep sigh.

She did not know if she can still believe herself. She could still faintly remember some of the events from her memories of that night, yet, she was in doubt.

She was with the Emperor for heaven's sake!

"Even I would not believe myself if I were to say that." Celestine whispered to herself.

"Say what?" Meira asked, hearing the last word coming out from her friend's mouth.

Celestine immediately shook her head, "Nothing..." She answered.

Meira did not seem convinced but decided to let her feeling go. After all, "You won't tell anyway." She muttered, a small smile showing on her lips.

Clearing her throat, Meira stood up from her seat, facing Celestine. "Since it's our rest day, do you want to spend our remaining time to actually rest?" She asked, yawning as she already felt quite tired from the chores from earlier, as well as her fight with Celestine.

Celestine nodded, "Let's do that. I bet almost all of them are asleep anyway." She agreed, recalling the tired faces of her sisters.

As she stood up, both of them walked through the quiet halls of the house.

Celestine couldn't help but feel nostalgic. A longing pain panged through her heart.

The loud halls that previously resonated with an echo of loud music and laughter are now long gone. If not from the slight buzzing sound from the street outside, she swore that it would seem like there were crickets inside the house due to how quiet it was.

She missed being surrounded by their customers and her sisters who were always laughing as they talked about and celebrated various things that they or their guests have achieved.

Looking around, her eyes sat upon the big stage in the middle of the room. She smiled, remembering her nervousness on her first day as a Celestial Rose. It was nerve-wracking, yet, seeing the dazed gazes of their guests as they looked at her in fascination made her heart swell with joy and pride.

If not for that bastard, Roux, everything would have stayed the same. But then again, it's not like she hated their current circumstance. She was happy to see the peaceful faces of her sisters who finally did not have to worry about their appearances or care about gaining the favor of their customers. This way, they could finally live in safety and at peace. Though it is hard to stray from the path that has once led them to their happiness, their present track is also not that far from before but is only presenting new challenges that are important for their own growth and improvement.

"Here is my room... Goodnight, Celestine." Meira said as they arrived by the door of her room.

Celestine nodded in return, "Goodnight, Meira... and... I'm sorry." She said, apologizing once again for her behavior earlier.

"I'm not gonna say anymore, or else, we'll never be able to sleep." Meira said, chuckling.

Celestine agreed with her words. "Alright. Let's just see each other again tomorrow." She said, bowing her head as she bid goodbye.

With one last exchange of smiles, Meira entered her room and as she closed the door, Celestine then proceeded to walk towards her own.

Closing the door behind her, she walked to her bedside table, lighting up a candelabrum which provided light, enough to dimly lit the room.

Sighing, she flopped down to her bed, her body meeting with the soft mattress. Holding up the fabric in her hands, she frowned.

"Am I crazy?" She asked herself, sighing once again before holding the fabric close to her heart.

Her heart sped up as she remembered her dream from that night. She knew it was a dream, she was sure of it, yet, why does it seem so real? Why is it so vivid?

She shook her head. Everything just seemed impossible.

"That was the Emperor...Desidevious…"

She bit her lip, feeling her cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

"Maybe I hallucinated?" She thought but shook her head again in disagreement. "No... If that was the case, why did I have this when I woke up?" She asked, looking at the fabric.

"My head hurts." Celestine said, fixing her position in the bed, laying down on her pillow.

Once again, she looked at the finely threaded white dragons on the cloak. She was sure, this was the same kind of design as the Emperor's robe.

She shifted her position, rolling back and forth, clutching the fabric in her arms.

She could still remember the lie that she had to tell her family during their 'interrogation'.

"I-I don't know... It was there when I woke up..." She fumbled, trying to think of an answer to her sister's question.

She could feel the increase in her heartbeat. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes.

She had an answer, but it seemed like a lie. Most definitely a lie compared to what she was about to say.

"Maybe some other shopkeeper in the area saw me, and because of their kind heart, left me his coat?" She said, talking quickly as she was also unsure of her own statement.

She cringed. 'Who would even be so kind as to give such high-quality material to a lady who was sleeping in the woods? Why would someone a merchant give a stranger something that has evidently a high value?' She thought, questioning her own lie in the face of her family.

Even she would not believe such an obvious lie. Her statement had a lot of fault in it. Yet, for some reason, her family bought it, which made her look at them with wide eyes. She was surprised.

"Maybe that is the case."

"After all, our youngest sister is so beautiful."

"That's right, maybe the shopkeeper has been enamored by her beauty."

"Yeah... The shopkeeper..."

After those words, her sisters looked at each other meaningfully, giggling at their own words.

Celestine, however, failed to notice the looks that her sisters were giving her.

She heaved a relieved sigh, thinking that they believed her alibi.

'I'm not lying... I'm just not telling them the truth...' She thought to herself before cringing once again. 'I am lying.' She thought, sighing.

Her desperate attempt almost made her laugh. She wasn't even in her right mind. She was just glad that her family did not dare to press their thoughts any longer.

She closed her eyes, and tried to relax, yet, her heart desperately declined.

Thadump! Thadmup! Thadump!

Frustrated, she sat up, frowning, she looked at the cloth in her hand before placing it in her chest.

She was bothered. Extremely bothered.

She inhaled and exhaled as she made up her mind. She stood up, carrying the cloak on her hands as she wore her own before striding towards her door.

It was already deep in the night, yet, she knew, she had to do something.

As silent as she could, she walked through the halls of the house and into the front door, carefully opening it as to not make any noise.

Walking through the buzzing streets of Maylea, Celestine slowly made her way towards the forest of the East Lake.

As she entered the quiet woods, she went straight to the tree—where it all started.

'What am I even trying to prove?' Celestine asked herself as she arrived.

She looked around, "Of course there's no one here." She muttered, ruffling her hair as she sat down.

She closed her eyes, feeling the cold wind blow through her skin. Unconsciously, she held the fabric close to her heart. The feeling of the air made her remember the terrible memory of the past.

"By the Governor's edict, Celestine Schleifer will be marrying Roux Maynard two weeks after the first snow has fallen in this winter."

If not for the Emperor making his move, she highly doubts that she will be able to survive that damned man's edict. She will either spend her whole life in misery, being married to Roux, or rot in jail. Well, if she did succeed in her plan against Ronald, she would most probably end up dead.

"Hmm?"

She opened her eyes feeling something called drip on her cheeks. Squinting, her eyes lit up, noticing the bright white droplets from the sky.

"Snow!" She screamed in delight, immediately standing up as she held her hand out to catch the falling flakes.

"It's snow—ing…"