14 Amnesia or Something Bigger? (2)

January 14th, 1941

Ines scampered down the corridor. Her face was taut, and her eyes dim with thoughts, she didn't notice the short figure that quietly snuck up by her side.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"…Odette, hello," Ines said.

"Ah?" Odette boggled. Her carefree smile became lopsided, and she awkwardly asked, "Why the cold shoulder, Ines?"

"…"

"Ines?"

"You-" Ines frowned and abruptly halted in place.

Her arms furiously shook, and when she frowned, the dark eye bags on her face only became more prominent.

It was a face that a child her age shouldn't have to ever show.

"Ines? What's wrong? Oh, are you going to see Madam Consul too?" She reached over and touched the stack of papers Ines held in her arms, "Did you-"

"Why would you tell me that?" Ines hissed, memories of the past resurfacing.

Odette's smile slipped off her face.

Like her older sister, Noèmie, she too was a beauty despite her young age.

Sometimes when Ines looked at the two sisters, envy and resentment would simmer like a scorching hot coal in her chest.

It was an ugly feeling.

A small, delicate face no bigger than a noblewoman's palm, and round eyes the color of summer skies.

'To be born with everything that most people wouldn't ever have in a lifetime, how lucky,' She thought. Though Ines didn't despise Odette, jealousy was inevitable as young children typically yearned for things they did not have.

"Ines?" Odette said, her eyebrows scrunched up in thought. "What are you saying?"

"Four nights ago, why did you approach me and tell me that? Were you the one watching me?"

"…Me?" Odette said, incredulously. She looked bewildered as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"I may not remember, but I do know that you said something to me that night-"

"You've misunderstood." Odette interrupted, calmly shaking her head.

Even now, she wore a tranquil expression and a pacifying smile like she always did.

Odette lied so well (with a straight face and no changes in her expression) that perhaps if Ines were another, she would have believed the younger girl.

"What did I misunderstand then?"

As if she was in some sort of play, Odette twirled the edges of her hair and she paced back and forth.

"You see, I don't remember telling you anything!" She said, dramatically opening her eyes wide.

"You!" The older girl, Ines, raised her hand threateningly. "You clearly said… You said that night, that, that…"

Odette tucked her hair behind her ears. "That? Tell me then, Ines, what did I say?"

"You said that…" Ines clenched her eyes shut.

'…nes..tte...Elo…-ie, replacement…ou know?'

Memories like broken glass tore through her mind like wild torrents, and they vanished as quickly as they came.

"…" Ines wordlessly glared at the younger girl as blood trickled down her nostrils and flowed down her chin, dying the white marble tiles red.

"Nothing? See, look me in the eyes, Ines! I wouldn't dare lie to anyone, especially not you—you're my one and only friend aside from big sister Noé, and Eugene!"

Ines wiped the blood off her face with her collar. "A friend? Us? After what you said? Hilarious, you should become a court jester; the Emperor will surely love you."

"…"

Odette went silent.

Standing where the sun could not reach, her expression was veiled by the shadows. Although Ines couldn't see her face or her reaction, she could see how Odette's shoulder shook and trembled.

The agonizing silence dragged on for what felt like an hour, despite it only being a couple of seconds.

At last, the younger girl sniffled and covered her face as if she were tearing up.

"Why are you being so mean? I only said that you're my friend," Odette whispered, her voice soft. "You won't even listen to what I have to say."

At those words, Ines turned her attention away from her own bloody nose and dug around in her pocket for a handkerchief.

'…Did I make her cry? Right, she's younger than me and is soft-hearted, perhaps that was insensitive of me.'

Slowly, as if she were approaching a wild animal, Ines crept toward Odette.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you… uh, cry or upset," Ines said. She held out her handkerchief to the younger girl.

Odette shook her head. "Can you come closer? It's embarrassing, I don't want you to see me crying."

In sound to Odette's pleas, Ines came closer. Stepping beyond the light, she stood in the darkness with the younger girl.

Slowly, Odette removed her hands away from her face. Her face was tear-ridden, and her eyes were bloodshot red.

As the younger girl looked up, the two locked eyes.

"That hurt," Odette said, touching her face.

"I apologize, I just-" Ines' words slowly cut off, and her words became increasingly slurred as if her tongue were a slab of stone.

Odette's appearance slowly twisted, her small frame becoming one of an adult male's. Her limbs grew larger, and her blonde locks of hair turned black.

"Noé would hit me if she knew I was misbehaving, so…" She held her gloved hand out to Ines.

Ines dazedly held Odette's hand.

Odette beamed. Her eyes were no longer royal blue but rather fuchsia. She adamantly said with a pout on her lips, "Ines, you must've remembered wrong. I was there because big sister Noé cared for you— she told me to protect you, so I did! Am I right?"

It was a frightening sight. A grown adult acting like some shy seven year old girl--what a sight for sore eyes.

"...Yes."

Beneath Ines' layers of clothing, a symbol imprinted itself onto her chest where her heart would be.

"Good," Odette praised. She dropped Ines' hand and removed a single glove. Then, she tiptoed and cupped Ines' face. "I've always wanted a puppy, but Noé is allergic to mutts."

"…" Ines blankly stared into the air.

"But Ines, you won't speak of this matter anymore, right? The past is in the past, okay?"

Ines nodded, "Yes."

"Good! Then let's go see Madam Consul together," Odette said. "Go on, walk in front of me, I'll be right behind you."

Watching as Ines walked away as she commanded, the young girl rubbed her eyes and wiped the trails of blood off her face. Her body twisted and shrunk, and she returned back to her original appearance.

"Such a harsh drawback, and I didn't even impersonate them wholly," Odette said, frowning. "How scary."

Despite the stinging pain coursing through her veins that threatened to turn her blind, not once had Odette looked away.

Like a hound that had caught a whiff of fresh blood, she stared at Ines' shadow as she vanished beyond the corridor.

"Big sister Noé, big sister Noé, this is dangerous," Odette whispered to herself.

This wasn't the first time Noémie had requested for her to use her ability on another, saying how her savoir faire paired with her ability would greatly help her.

Each and every time, Odette complied, and this time was no different.

Oleander, it's said to be the kiss of death and can take many forms, though all are beautiful and can captivate the target's heart upon eye contact once the ability is in use, Odette thought, recollecting what she had been told about her ability.

Removing her single bloodied glove, she stared at her scarred hands and her calloused palm.

'Get out!' A woman with pale hair and heterochromia eyes shrieked, she clutched a bloodied and rotten body in her embrace.

'Mama, I didn't mean to harm Papa, I'm sorry-'

'I have no child such as you. Get out.'

Odette blinked.

'Big Sister said that Oleander is an ability that kills instantly.'

Then, why isn't Ines dead?

She should be, right? Her heartbeat should have long since stopped, and her flesh should have fallen off her bones and decomposed. Even a Grand Knight like Papa had fallen, so why hasn't Ines?

Odette slowly approached a flower vase and touched the rose with her pointer finger.

At a violent speed before she could even blink, the rose wilted and decomposed into ash.

"Really, Ines, we should become friends."