smash the world's shell // closed

[fun]

b

[skydust]

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞 ༄
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location: courtyard/rose garden | role: The Dreamer | tags: Arlo, Cecile, Delilah, Eleanore

“Yeah..See you later,” Julian said at Arlos retracting form, the sunlight once again shining in his eyes. He looked down at the ground, his hair falling in his eyes. He could tell his face was heating up from the conversation. He shook his head and wondered what in the world possessed him to do that. He heart was beating really fast, and he tried to control an assault of emotions coming his way. I'm such an idiot. he thought. Quickly finishing off his apple and throwing it away, he nervously ran his hand through his messy hair once again, his thoughts traveling elsewhere. He looked at Arlo and peeked to where he was looking, and a few yards away in the rose garden sat Delilah, Cecile, and a seemingly pretty peeved Eleanore with a letter that he recognized very well in her hands. He was friendly with Delilah, after all it was who he was dueling for. He knew Cecile somewhat, but nothing too special going on there. He didn’t really think she knew the problem with The Rose Bride, and was constantly at Delilah's side because of it. He only briefly knew of Eleanore, as the girl's harsh personality was hard to miss.

He walked out of the dormitory, his shoulder brushing against Arlos shoulder gently as he made his way past. He made his way to the girls, his long legs helping him get there in no time. He gently came up to them, peeking over from behind Eleanore's form. “Is everything cool here?” he said with a soft smile on his face, hoping he wasn’t intruding on something. He glanced down at the crinkled up paper in her hands, and smiled a little wider at the sight. He nodded a hello at Cecile and Delilah, then trailed his eyes down over to Eleanore. He tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering what was behind that hard demeanor. His mind whirled with possibilities, but he kept his mouth shut and tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

[Pevensie]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
𝐃 𝐄 𝐋 𝐈 𝐋 𝐀 𝐇
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[ eighteen ] [ female ] [ the rose bride ] [ engaged to: arlo ] [ location: court yard, rose garden ] [ tagged: cécile, eleanore, arlo (mention), julian (mention) ]

Delilah listened to Eleanore's words, slightly perplexed. She did not want the power? That was something Delilah had heard many times before. That always changed when the true nature of her power began to dawn on them. If they learned to harness it, they could perform miracles. Anything their hearts desired could be theirs if only they learned how to control it. At least, that is what they had been told. In truth, no one had ever fully harnessed the power. As a result, a revolution had never occurred and Delilah was trapped endlessly in her role as the Rose Bride. It was something she had learned to accept, for better or worse. She had convinced herself that she was happy like this; that this was what she was created for. Delilah observed Eleanore's features, trying to read her inner thoughts. As the Rose Bride, she remembered all of her past lives as vividly as her current one. All of the duelists that had fought for her, however, blurred together over time. They were all the same; all looking to use her in some way. The only one that stood out was a boy that had tragically died during one of the duels. The aim of the duel was to knock your opponent's rose from their chest and nothing more. However, there had been a small mistake when the other duelist had taken aim, resulting in the sword going through his heart instead. The first and only death that resulted from the duels. Delilah was snapped from her thoughts by movement in the corner of her eye. She turned, catching the eye of her new fiance. Arlo was as handsome as always, ever the ladies man. His skill with the sword, at least from what she had seen, was admirable. She should have been glad to have such a duelist as her champion. She caught sight of Julian as well, looking rather solemn despite his forced smile.

[idky,]

◤════════◥
Cécile Courth
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
nickname/ CC.
age/ 17.
where/ rose garden.
tagged/ Delilah,
Eleanore, Julian.
◣════════◢

ceci❝ "Not duel for the rose bride?!" Now that she could not get. For the whole time Delilah and Eleanore Rose talked to each other, CC failed to get out of her astonishment, and looked at the latter with wide eggy eyes, shaking her head. She also forgot to close her mouth. Yet Delilah's reaction... utterly corteous, queenly, even. The way she floated through adversity made her look trascended, ethereal. Ever since she knew the Rose Bride, Cécile had to stop herself many times from blurting out the question, "are you an angel?" while in her presence. Her appearance, her demeanour, she was simply overawed.
ceciCC was about to put on her bravest face and offer herself as a stand-in for Eleanore's duel, when the letter crumpled in the brunette's hand. The youngest of the girls stood ashamed while listening to Eleanore's speech. It sounded by far more chivalrous than anything else she could have said at that moment. However - what was Delilah to be freed from? Cécile would have died to receive 1% of the attention and admiration the Rose Bride enjoyed. She would have died to be taken as seriously, for once. Yet Eleanore seemed in earnest. At least, whatever she meant to do, it was for Delilah's sake, or so she claimed.
ceciCécile stared in jealousy as the other women spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she perceived someone else was approaching. Julian. She smiled instantly and greeted back. "All's cool, Jules. Eleanore found out she's to duel for the Rose Bride. Now I think that'd be a thrilling experience for anyone. I wouldn't waste a chance to prove my worth to..." Cécile gave Delilah a glowing grin "...well... I can hardly think of a greater honour." she finished in all sincerity, shrugging humbly. ❞

[arabella !!]

''━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ‘✦ ＧＲＡＣＥ ！！ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━

the trees swayed in the distance, the breeze allowing them to drift peacefully in the moonlight... even in the pitch black forest, where parents have told their children for numerous generation that monsters roam this territory, there seems to be some type of calmness towards it. it is as if the entire essence of forestry was supposed to be serene, not terrifying to the core. however, even as grace shifted gently against the leaves that crushed under her weight --- she realized that something was terribly wrong. a disturbing yell could be heard from afar, startling grace until she woke up with a gasp. absolutely stunning, she could not believe where she was... and how she got there. instead of being surrounded by the comforting atmosphere of blackwood academy, she was lying down in the leaves on grass in the forest beside it. it was a soothing feeling either. to grace, it felt like something --- or someone, was lurking. watching her... she frantically looked from left to right, not understanding her current situation.

suddenly, it all made sense to her as she watched her father yell in the distance for her to come back. tears began to fill her eyes, tilting her head as she watched him in wonder being pulled away like a shadow disappearing when a cloud blocks the sun. finally, she stood up as her now fallen tears stung her cheeks but blew away as she began running away from the mysterious figure as it began to randomly appear closer and closer to her. unfortunately, as she was running it didn't seem like she was getting anywhere. the academy was supposed to be right in front of her, not in the same as it was when she woke up. realizing that she was stuck in a bizarre loop, grace has no choice but to scream her lungs out. yet... the words wouldn't come out. they wouldn't escape her mouth, as if she was stuck in this nightmare all alone within her mind. grace decided to close her eyes, and breathe...

blinking a few times as the sunlight beamed in her eyes, grace woke up sweating. another nightmare about my father, just freakin' great... that's what i needed. she thought in annoying, getting up to take a shower to refresh her body and clear her mind. grace wasn't the best person when it came to dealing with her emotions, she rather keep them all inside until she was ready to burst like a balloon being pumped with air. it was complete torture, because grace was aware of the fact that was going to hurt someone inevitably if she continued with that habit. she knew she had to break it somehow... especially with the duels coming near, she needed to make more friends than enemies: fast. after getting out of the shower, she combed her hair and dried it before straightening it to perfection. she put on her uniform, glancing at the clock before noticing she got up early enough before her first class. i guess this nightmare was good after all... she smiled gently. which then gradually turned into a frown. grace left her dorm a few moments later.

while she was walking through the halls, she glanced at the group near the rose garden who were chatting about the upcoming duel. yes, grace was not the most talkative out of the bunch, but she sure as hell was a great eavesdropper. she smiled when she saw julian join the group in the distance... his presence always gave her butterflies. grace always tried to shrug the feeling off, especially because of him and delilah being together --- even though, deep down, grace was aware it would not last forever. but, she wanted to respectful and kind as she could be. sighing, she stopped peering through the window like a creep and began to actually go outside until she saw arlo throw something in the garbage. she leaped in surprise, and her face flushed in embarrassment. grace hoped that today would not be humiliating at all, but of course her conscious had to bite her back.

"oh god--- you scared me. actually, i scared myself. that was... bad. anyway, i uh- you know what? i'm hungry, actually. i'll be in one of the cafes!" grace spoke in a rush before realizing she was heading the wrong way, until she turned right back around to pass arlo to head in the right direction of the cafes. she shook her head in discomfort, trying to forget that whole interaction happened at all. how many times was she going to mess up? arlo was a great guy, but grace would always get goosebumps around him. he is the most charming of the group, but that doesn't mean he isn't human.

grace needs to learn how to break down her walls.

finally, she made it to the cafes. as she peered around for something to eat --- even though she knew she was not even remotely hungry --- she spotted eleanore and grinned, deciding that this was her moment to communicate with someone like a proper person. she hesitated at first, but then grace walked towards her as she was also deciding what to eat.

"i heard there was a limited time offer for a 'buy one, get one free' macaron sale. fyi, matcha tea is the best flavour. doesn't get any better than that. wanna try one with me?" grace smirked at eleanore, realizing that she definitely made a more daring move than she usually does.

[fun]

b

[skydust]

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞 ༄
───────────────────────────────
location: courtyard/rose garden | role: The Dreamer | tags: Cecile, Delilah (Eleanore, Grace, Arlo)

Julian internally cringed as Cecile talked about The Rose Bride as if she was a prize to be one. He kept a mild mannered expression on his face, which was hard to do when Eleanore stormed off in fury after snipping back at the response Cecile had given. He wanted to give a round of applause to her. It was true. She was a human being, they shouldn’t be fighting over her like she’s a trophy. At least she reacted slightly better than he did. His reaction was definitely not anywhere near pleasant. While he tried to act like everything was fine in front of his family, when he was alone he practically destroyed a canvas in dark red and black paint. He remembered wanting to scream, cry, and just curse everyone all at the same time. He had stroked the paintbrush so hard against the canvas that it had tore, a gash slicing through its center. He still obliged though, and everyday he wonders more and more why he would ever do such a thing.

Looking down at Delilah with hazel eyes, he smiled and remembered why he was even doing this in the first place. He might not know her very well, and she probably didn’t trust him all that much, but he wanted her to be free from this cycle of roses and swords. He wanted her to realize that she didn’t have to be what everyone said she was. He did have his selfish reasons, like maybe her influence would help him finally break free from his family's chains. He knew that was horrible of him to think that. She was a person, not a tool. Coughing to break the silence after Eleanore's exit, he spoke up, his voice hoarse for no reason besides the tension in it.

“Well. I think I’m going to take my leave then,” he said awkwardly shifting in place. “I’ll see you two later, yeah? And we can discuss this whole dueling thing after class?” He turned around swiftly and walked off, hoping to find his roommate so he could chat with him and shake his mind free of this morning's events. He could still feel his face heating up from talking with Arlo. It brought so many memories into his mind, and not to mention the whole encounter was awkward. He couldn’t help but think how in the world was he going to interact with him if they had to duel?

He made his way into the school, passing Arlo as he did once again. He quickly avoided him and hoped he didn't see him as he made his way into to the cafeteria. He did not need anymore awkward encounters today. He scanned the area, hoping to spot his roommate. He spotted both Eleanore and a girl named Grace talking to one another. He didn’t really know much about her, as they hadn’t spoken much in their years at the academy. Looking in the opposite direction he saw his roommate. Taking a deep breath he made his way over.

[idky,]

◤════════◥
Cécile Courth
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
nickname/ CC.
age/ 17.
where/ rose garden.
tagged/ Delilah.
◣════════◢

ceci❝ She tried her best to keep smiling as one by one the other left as abruptly as they came. First, Eleanore... "but she may have misunderstood me...", CC excused her in her mind, even though being obliquely called "dishonourable" was like an ice shard to her stomach. She thought Eleanore had been downright rude. Cécile did not expect everyone else to adore the Rose Bride as much as she did, but she did expect others not to judge her for hoping to be next to her licitly, to spend even more time together, to help Delilah in any way she could. She did not dare of even imagining herself kissing Delilah, however much she yearned to.
ceciThen Julian... "he would have defended me if he thought my thinking was defensible, I'm sure..." But Julian did not. That dealt her another tough blow to digest. She hated coming to terms with the same reality over and over again: she was just unpopular, unliked. Despised, even, she thought. Rejected... set aside... a knot formed in her throat as her low self-esteem whispered cruelties in her ear, and she believed them all.
ceciShe drew in a shaky breath and looked up at the woman beside her. Gazing into her indecipherable eyes, she pulled herself together. What did everyone else matter. Who did matter, besides Delilah? "Why do I care so much about the others' opinion? As long as she's not hurt... is she?" CC hesitated, but the need to know if she had wronged her love pushed her forward. She put on the best grin she could muster, yet her voice cracked in the beginning of her question. "Delilah... was it something I said? Did I offend you, too?"❞

[Pevensie]

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𝐃 𝐄 𝐋 𝐈 𝐋 𝐀 𝐇
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[ eighteen ] [ female ] [ the rose bride ] [ engaged to: arlo ] [ location: court yard, rose garden ] [ tagged: cécile ]

The Rose Bride watched as the conversation took a turn for the worse, remaining silent all the while. Her features remained calm and poised, showing neither happiness nor anger at any of their words. She watched as both Eleanore and Julian left, the former more dramatically than the later. Her hands still gently grasped her watering can, the metal cold against her pale skin. She turned to Cécile as she finally spoke up, another smile creeping onto her face. "Of course not, miss Cécile. It is only natural for a duelist such as yourself to wish to win me." She replied. The princely girl's actions and words did not surprise her in the slightest; they were exactly the kind of thing she had come to expect from a duelist. "Do not worry yourself over it."

[fun]

b