Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Bitter ( Chapter 22 )

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Shattered Illusions

Chapter 22: Bitter

By: Melissa Norvell/Revamp

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Millie put the suitcases on the ground, after having helped the blue-haired girl unpack her belongings. She made sure to take special care of her beautiful clothing and not rip any of the precious and intricate seam work. There was no doubt about it; Coscatta had impeccable Lolita fashion sense. She watched as the petite form placed things around the room, being particular about the places that they sat and rearranging them several times to get them just right in her mind. Coscatta was a meticulous girl by nature and the school girl was sure to note that quirk and not be too offended when she moved that stuff she had sat down or placed around the room for her.

“Are you sure that Copernicus will let you stay in his room?” It was kind of odd that they were moving Coscatta's stuff into the same room that the vampire resided. Considering what had just happened, the whole situation was just odd and imposing. It nearly felt uncomfortable.

“Yes, we do this all of the time. We all slept in the same bed and everything! Well, he slept more with my brother than with me,” she waved in dismissal. “That doesn't matter, though,” Coscatta took out one of her pretty petticoats and walked over to the closet to hang it.

Millie arched her eyebrow. “How can you say that? Your brother was killed.” That was pretty nonchalant for someone who was murdered in cold blood.

Coscatta cast a sad glance to the piece of fabric on her hands. “I don't really remember much about it. All I know is that he was shot and everything went black. When I came to, there was blood all over. If I could find his killer, I would. I don't know what they look like, though.” It wasn't as if she meant to be disrespectful to her brother. There was no doubt that she loved him dearly, but at the same time the girl didn't want to dwell on the situation any more than she had to. It was already too traumatizing for her to take in and reliving the memories was not something that she liked doing.

The older girl's features softened after hearing that little tidbit of information. Her situation was truly tragic. “That must be hard,” she sympathized. “I'm worried about my parents and the people who so kindly took me in. I don't want them to be involved in this. They don't need to die because they cared about me that much. That would just be a needless sacrifice that I can avoid.”

Coscatta walked over to her and arched a blue eyebrow. “You're an American like Copernicus, aren't you?”

“Yes, aren't you?” Millie blinked. Coscatta was definitely not a Japanese name.

“No, I'm from Italy,” that proved it. Well, not that she was American but definitely that she was foreign.

“I knew your Japanese was weird.” It had bugged her for a long time, and she knew that it wasn't a dialect. It was actually an accent.

“Yours is weird,” Coscatta told her. It was unlike the Japanese that she was used to.

“Well, we both suck compared to Tsubomi-kun.” After all, he was actually Japanese and nothing could compare to the original. Millie had always envied those who were actually of Japanese heritage. Their language was so beautiful and she felt like she could never articulate words as well as they all could. Japanese people made their language look beautiful and effortless.

“Yeah, well…He actually is Japanese, so it doesn't count. Besides, where in Japan is he from?” The young donor inquired. Where someone came from made a huge difference when it came to dialects.

“He said he was from the Fukuoka Prefecture.” That's what she remembered, anyway.

“What? Fukuoka? That's on a whole different island. We're in Yokohama.”

Millie took a seat on the bed as she they continued their conversation. “Yeah, he's a long way from home.” They all were, it seemed. Was Tsubomi really the only one who was actually from Japan out of their entire group? Noticing a red tote next to her, the magenta-haired girl reached over to grab it but before her hand could make contact, it was snatched away and protectively held to the other female's small chest.

“Sorry, personal items are in here,” Coscatta said selfishly and turned away from her.

“Alright…” Millie replied in an unsure tone. That was weird. What was in that bag that could possibly be so untouchable? It wasn't like she was going to open it or anything. She was just going to grab it and sit it somewhere safe.

“Where is my master, anyway?” The girl questioned as she placed the bag deep in her part of the closet, burying it beneath other bags and pairs of elaborate shoes.

“I don't know. I'm not in his business twenty-four seven.” In fact, she barely knew anything about Copernicus, much less his location at any given point in time. That man was terribly illusive.

Coscatta frowned, standing in the closet. “He's probably with that Tsubomi guy. I mean, his name is Tsubomi. It means `flower bud'. What boy is named that?” She berated her fellow donor.

“Why do you automatically hate him? He's just Copernicus' friend,” Millie shot. She was kind of sick of Coscatta bad mouthing Tsubomi. It was beginning to get on her nerves.

The blue-haired girl came out of the closet with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed. “It's like everyone hates me now that he's around.”

“You haven't even been here a day,” the school girl sighed. She was just being overdramatic and jealous.

“You just don't know…” Coscatta's voice dropped a tone and took a nose dive into sorrow. “You don't know how hard it is to love someone who sees everyone else but you. It's bad when the shoulder you're crying on is the one that made you cry in the first place.”

“You've loved Copernicus for a long time, haven't you?”

“I did…but all he ever saw was my brother. His eyes were so kind when they saw Virgil. They were always cold on me. The only emotion I ever got was when he gave me that `I'm amused with your bullshit' look.” It was all too typical of a look, and one she knew well. The fact that his emotions ceased upon sight of her, while hers flourished and burned like a wildfire around her drove the girl crazy with rage and sorrow. After all of this time, she thought that if she came back then she would be accepted into his arms, but Tsubomi was present and his affections were directed at her. This only deepened the already scarring wound on her heart. She felt like she shouldn't have even tried to come back at all.

“You mean when he rests his cheek on his knuckles and smiles slightly?” Millie knew that look pretty well, too.

“Yes,” Coscatta pouted.

“He probably thinks I'm an airhead. I mean when he looks at me like that, I start to try and see if I can guess what he's thinking and a lot of things come to mind.” None of which were really good things. In fact, that look sort of made her nervous and question what her next words were going to be. Copernicus was the type of guy who could kill someone's self-esteem with a look. That made him a dangerous man.

“We're probably thinking the same.”

“Um…You're retarded, stupid or a dehydrated airhead. Are humans really this dumb?” Millie mocked the vampire's potential berating thoughts.

“She said what to me? Dumb little girl!” Coscatta continued the train of thought as she placed her hands on her hips and mimicked a disapproving look.

“Or, does she honestly think this? Surely this is a joke.”

“You're little games amuse me and then you stop talking and tell him you're serious and it's like he's trying not to laugh, or he is on the inside.”

“I hate that!” They both outraged at the same time.

“I want him to look at me the same way that he looked at my brother. It was such a kind, adoring gaze. I've done everything for him. I served him faithfully for four years. I was always here for him, and then this little no body walks right into his life and takes him from me. Again…Again it's a pretty boy!” She fumed and slammed down a pillow in anger. She was pretty tired of how things were going. No matter what she did, a male had always out shown her.

“Tsubomi-kun went through hell and back for him. I mean, I don't know what your life has been like-“ Millie tried to explain things from a different angle in Tsubomi's defense, but before she could get anything more out, a book sailed across the room, hitting the wall and popping open as the floor was littered with papers. She blinked and turned to the girl, who stood there with her arms straight down to her sides, balled in fists. Her blue bangs shaded her eyes and a deep frown was plastered on her face. “Someone has anger issues.”

“I don't have to try and like him! I already hate him!” She screamed angrily and ran out of the room with tears streaming down her face. This was not the day to talk about this subject, especially not with someone like Millie, who was obviously on Tsubomi's side. Everyone truly was against her, and she felt even more alone in the world than what she was.

Magenta eyes just stared at the open doorway. “Damn…This isn't good. Poor Tsubomi-kun. He doesn't need this,” she had a feeling that things would only get worse from here and no doubt she'd be put in the middle of some pretty bad drama if things persisted. This was just great. Nothing more horrible than being put in the middle of some girl she barely knew and her good friend's relationship issues.

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Tsubomi scouted out the region, seeing no signs of people anywhere the tom boy inched over to the plate of sushi, taking the last two pieces. After all of that resting that she had done, her stomach was urging her to fill it somehow. Not to mention, her depleted state needed nutrients in order to continue normal functioning. It was bad enough to suffer mental stress, much less take as many wounds as she did, as well as a self-inflicted gunshot. What in the world was she thinking?

Munching on the delicious pieces of fish, seaweed and vegetables she savored the flavors. Food had never tasted so wonderful. Her moment of eating in peace was disturbed in a matter of moments as a tall shadow appeared behind her.

“Ah, you're awake.”

The tom boy flinched and nearly jumped with such force that she had to save her falling sushi. “Don't do that, you idiot,” she turned to face the vampire, who placed a hand on the side of her face. This caused a blush to rise to her cheeks.

“You always do that.”

“I like you touching me.”

“Have you thought about it?” He asked. It was the same question as before. This guy really was serious. Tsubomi could tell that it wasn't just some game of his, and the vampire wasn't doing it to just dig at her nerves. What did Copernicus truly feel about her then?

Releasing a slow breath, she leveled him with an honest stare. “My opinion hasn't changed. You know I'd do anything for you.” Obviously she had proven that by shooting herself.

Suddenly, their bodies pressed together with force. She could feel him against her; Copernicus' warm aura overtook her senses, as well as the smell of tea and cologne. His voice lowered into a seductive tone. “Do you still want me?”

“To be truthful…” Tsubomi paused; a small smile crossed her face as she pushed into him. Her voice mimicked his similar tone. “So bad it hurts.”

“Really? I mean, for all you know you're my sex slave,” the vampire teased, poking at her for her prior remarks.

The tom boy smirked. “It wouldn't be so bad.”

“As long as I keep refusing Coscatta, right?” After all, that's what she was so jealous of. As long as she felt like she had the edge, then things would be amusing. Not like they weren't already amusing. Since he had found out this little piece of information, he wasn't about to not use it in his favor. If it got him this type of treatment, then it was a useful enough tool.

“Don't do it because of me. If that's the kind of relationship you had before-“ Tsubomi started but was cut off.

“It isn't. I have something to tell you,” the inheritor's voice and expression turned grave. Maybe putting an end to his donor issue would straighten things out with this boy, or perhaps throw him into an understanding about his situation. Not to mention there was always the topic of his unspoken feelings as well.

Tsubomi backed up a little. “Go ahead.”

“Not yet. I want to tell you when we do something.” Now was definitely not the right time. It's tempting, but he knew that he would regret it if he pursued the option.

“Do something.” There he went, making her blush again and bringing up vague subjects. Then again, she could have expected that kind of thing from him.

“I want to at least make out with you tonight,” he actually did mean what he was saying. Copernicus had romantic intentions, and unlike the other times where he had just joked about it, this time he was serious. It looked as if this would be the moment in which her secret would be exposed. It would either turn out better or worse than it already was. The girl in boy's clothing could only hope that he would not look at her lies as anything punishable by any form of assault. He had already smacked her for shooting herself. Granted, he was in an emotional state, but still. It was the principal of the fact. Now she was nervous, more than ever.

“Please go slow.” It was all she could say. It was all she wanted to say regarding this subject.

“It will go as far and as fast as you want it. Whenever you feel comfortable,” she wanted to take things further, as she had said before. The vampire sincerely hoped that it was not just something she said in the heat of the moment and planned to take back before things got started. Copernicus wanted this to be an uneventful, romantic night.

“What about Coscatta?” Weren't they staying in the same room?

“She's staying here.” That's what she thought. How was this going to happen, then? The girl felt uneasy now.

“Copernicus…I…” There were so many reasons why she couldn't do that. Oh so many. Not to mention she was far from being an exhibitionist of any kind.

“You what?”

“I love…this sushi…It's really good. Did you make it yourself?” It was time for a subject change. There was no way that Tsubomi was going to immerse herself in the subject of love or making out with her master anymore than he planned. If she could change the subject and get away with it, the tomboy would go out of her way to do it and the food that she had been eating was the perfect excuse.

A bead of sweat ran down the back of the vampire's head. “Yes.”

`I can't tell him. I won't hurt him.' Not here. Not now. Not after everything that's happened between them. She had already let far too much slip.

“You're from Fukuoka. You guys are nearly vegetarian,” Copernicus commented on her location and its people. Those from that particular prefecture mainly ate fish, so it was a lucky guess that she would love fish dishes and sushi.

“I guess we are. It is a fishing town,” Tsubomi replied with a smile. “What part of America are you from?”

“Maryland, it's beautiful there, or at least I've always thought so.”

“You should take me there sometime,” she's never been to America. It sounded fun to go off and visit another land, and see his home town in that state of Maryland. She wondered what type of place it was and what the culture was like there. From what she remembered, it was a state on the coast but she didn't remember much beyond that.

“I'll have to teach you English,” Copernicus replied.

“I know some English.” Not enough to be fluent, but she had a basic knowledge of the language.

“You can teach me some Japanese. Your language is extensive.” It was a fair trade.

“Hey, I don't even know all of it.” There were so many slang terms and dialects as well as ways of writing that no one could ever learn all there is to know. Even those who know advanced Japanese are always finding things they did not understand or encountering terminology that they had no prior knowledge of. It didn't matter if you were native or foreign; the language was definitely a meticulous and intricate thing.

“Copernicus!” Coscatta's sharp voice interrupted their friendly chat as the girl side stepped into Tsubomi, bumping her out of her way with a harsh thrust of the hip. The brown-haired donor stumbled to the side as her plate with the remaining piece of sushi tumbled out of her hands and fell onto the floor.

“Crap!” She exclaimed as she tried to save it, but to no avail. “Damn it, I was going to eat that.” Tsubomi cast a disappointed look towards the smashed sushi.

“Whoops! SO sorry,” Coscatta fakely apologized.

“That didn't sound sincere,” the tom boy muttered as she bent down to pick up her mess, but Copernicus was one step ahead of her. He had picked up the plate and handed it to her.

“Rest. You shouldn't bend with your injuries,” he advised.

“Master. You shouldn't pick things up off of the floor! You're royalty!” The other female reprimanded. Such a high figure acting like a slave was most unbecoming of him. Especially if it was for the sake of some lowly human who dared to associate themselves with him.

Anything he did in Tsubomi's favor was a horrible misdeed.

Copernicus shot her a look of irritation. “I am a part of a royal court. Perhaps you can pick it up next time, Coscatta.”

“I really didn't mean to,” she frowned, lowering her head in submission. It wasn't wise to step on his toes any further. Not to mention she could not stand being looked at like that. It killed her to know that he even favored Tsubomi over her.

“I'll make some tea,” Tsubomi just wanted to get out of the line of fire, and being hip bumped by the rude little girl. Retreating was her best option. Besides, she didn't feel like being caught up in their drama and she was hurt.

“Do you want to make more sushi? I can make another roll,” her master offered. It was more than compensation for the fact that the last of his current one had been wasted by a certain pretentious donor of his.

“I'll just have some sea breeze salad.” That would be simpler, and less wasteful.

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Millie was busy putting all of Coscatta's books in order and digging them out of all of the bags. She had even retrieved the ones from her special bag that she tossed in the closet. If she was going to do something then she was going to do it right. Besides, what was the big deal about those books anyway? Or that bag in general? The school girl huffed as she assembled them collectively on a nearby shelf. Pulling another book from her bag, she spoke to no one but herself. “This girl sure does like to read. Huh?” Looking at the old piece of literature, it had a haunting appearance to it and it smelled of copper. She opened it and flipped through the pages. They were all splattered in red. “Why are these splattered with blood?” She flipped it over to reveal the type of book it was. “This must be her diary.” Curious, the girl opened it, and then slammed it shut out of hesitation. “No! It's not my place.” Ignoring the temptation further, she shoved it onto the shelf quickly.

Some things were best left in the dark. This was one of them.

There was a tap on the window that deterred her further. With a light `huh' in question she glanced over to the glass to see Prince Yale on the other side. He wore a smile and waved in salutation.

“Prince Yale!” She smiled and rose from her pile of books. “I'm coming!” Her voice carried through the room as she ran over and opened the window. The sickly-looking prince slid through and the two of them shared a romantic embrace. “I missed you. I'm so happy that you're alright.” When he was away, she worried about him far more than she really should have.

`I'm glad that you're fine as well. I told you I'd be watching you,' his voice entered her thoughts. Finally, the prince was strong enough to gain his psychic powers back. They weren't as strong as they could be, but it was a slow recovery process.

“Wow, you can talk to me now. This is great!” Excited, the girl jumped up and down and clasped her hands together in delight. This was the best news she had heard in a while. “We don't have to use that notebook anymore.”

`I'm sorry for leaving you. I didn't want to be found out. I wanted to stay and hold you.' That was the biggest disappointment of that moment. Yale regretted leaving her in such a state. If it was possible, he would have held her for eternity in that moment of passion and love.

“It's okay. I held you all night.” In many ways, she couldn't ask for anything less.

`I held you as well. I've been thinking about you.'

“Hey, you're the only thing that's been on my mind since I first saw you. It's kind of weird, isn't it? We're so goofy, being like this.” It was some comfort to her soul to at least have her feelings returned. Millie was flattered that the vampire had her on his mind. Maybe, just maybe, he felt that way about her as well. She could only hope.

`It makes me happy.' Even if it was goofy, it was nice to have someone who cared about him as much as he did them. That thought alone was enough to calm the prince's worries. The less trouble he had, the better off he was, considering he was being hunted by nearly everyone, friends and potential mates were the best kind of medicine to abolish the disease of anxiety.

“Copernicus asked me if I'd be your queen. Isn't that funny?” Millie joked, even though she felt the inward sting of irony. She was sure Yale would find it equally hilarious.

`Considering that still wouldn't make me a king, yes.' Oh, it was ironic and funny but not in the way that she was thinking.

“What?” She was confused now.

`You don't know? There's already a kind and he's still alive.' It should have been obvious to her. It was a little confusing to him why it wasn't.

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow.

`Yes, he's my brother.'

Did she really not know?

“Man, I bet he's hidden well.” Anyone who was family and descendant of the dead royal crown holders had to be one hot item to Hide. Copernicus and Yale were probably working double time to make sure that he would not even be in the scope of the radar around them.

`Yes, he is.' There were probably reasons that his brother had not told her yet. He figured that they would eventually come out into the light. There was no use telling her until she found out or was told.

Their gazes locked and they both stared into the depths of each other's eyes, transfixed on the other's expression. “Prince Yaris Greenchapel…”

`Millie Ashford…' The prince closed the gap between their faces as the two shared a gentle kiss. He could feel the girl's hands on his face and pulled her close.

`When I'm around you, I can't help it. I just have to be close to you,' Millie thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

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Sitting the tea set at the table where Coscatta and Copernicus were seated, Tsubomi made an announcement. “I made you Red Tea, hope you don't mind.”

“I hate Red Tea,” Coscatta puffed up her cheeks.

“I'm sorry. I can get you something else,” the stripper didn't know if she was just giving her a hard time, or if she actually did hate Red Tea. Whatever the case, she was going to try and be polite. Even if this girl was a brat, she was still his donor.

“Can I pour Copernicus a cup of tea?” She asked sweetly, batting her eyes at Tsubomi. The tom boy knew that she was just trying to get under her skin, but she would ignore her little displays of jealousy for now.

“I don't see what it could hurt.” Taking a step closer to the small girl, she handed her the tea tray with the set on top, which Coscatta intentionally bumped her arm, which caused the tea to spill on both Tsubomi and Copernicus, who let out a feral hiss at the stinging pain of the hot tea. As she realized that the tea set was going to fall on her master, she tipped the tray backwards, showering herself in tea dishes as the loud clanking sound was heard. Dishes, cups and the tea top hit the ground in a clatter and she felt the hot liquid bleed through her clothes, stinging her skin and burning into her wound. That only amplified the pain.

“Son of a bitch! Ouch! Damn it!” Tsubomi called out in pain.

“Are you alright?” Copernicus asked her, seeing as more of the tea she touched her than himself.

“Sorry, I got bumped. Are you okay? You aren't burned, are you?” She rushed to his side to assess his wounds. Pulling back the fabric of his shirt, navy eyes scanned over his skin. It was red, as she suspected.

Coscatta propped her head up with one hand, looking unamused. `That didn't work. I thought for sure he'd be mad at him. Curse it all.'

Taking a cold cloth, Tsubomi attempted to clean up the tea that had showered her arm and wrist, as well as attempt to rid his clothes of the stains, disregarding her own burns to do so. “I'm really sorry. That's just my luck. I spill the whole tea set right onto royalty.” That was embarrassing. What had gotten into her? Well, besides a rather jealous little girl.

“You tipped it back so it would mostly fall on you. It's all in your wounds now,” Copernicus, on the other hand, was much more worried about her state, especially with prior injuries. She didn't need to get an infection, on top of everything else.

“I can do it,” Tsubomi insisted, “please don't. It's all my fault.” She gathered the pieces of the tea set from the floor and the vampire mopped up the spilled tea. Looking back up to him, she sighed. “I hope that didn't ruin your tea set.”

“Don't worry about it.”

`This guy is different than Virgil. It won't be easy to get Copernicus to hate him or even doubt his abilities as a donor. Little tea serving bastard, you will not have Copernicus as long as I am around. I promise to make your life hell.' Coscatta's eyes narrowed in malice. If Tsubomi thought her position as donor was unhealthy now, it was about to get a lot worse.

Their rivalry had only just begun.

…To Be Continued