The Last Ruby Rose

Chapter 1, 1969 : Blue Skin

She sighted and leaned back, looking out of the window and watching the snow falling down to the ground. This time it was a very cruel winter. She knew that most of the villagers would not survive this weather, especially not the little children, which were bad news for her. No children no future maidens for her castle, which was equal to letting her daughters starve. Alcina reached out for her cup of tea. A tea with a special ingredient of course. When the warm liquid touched her throat and the slight taste of iron unfolded in her mouth, she immediately felt better.
It was at this moment, a knock at her door announced someone. She did not turn around. "Come in, dear.", her voice was calm, but non the less determining. The door opened. "Mother!". It was indeed one of her three daughters. Daniela, to be precise. Her youngest Daughter sounded different. Not excited but nervous, something Alcina did not come to see very often, since Daniela was a bit delusional to put it mildly. Alcina put down her tea and stood up to face her daughter. "What is it, that you sound so nervous, my dear?", she asked and was surprised to see Daniela with a frightened expression at her face. "I've found a girl.", she said a bit hastily, "She layed in the courtyard. Her skin is like ice and it's ...changing colours somehow." Danielas confusion mirrored her mothers facial expression, but after a few seconds she seemed to have collected herself and smiled lightly. "Well, then please show me this girl."

She did not know what she was expecting when Daniela said her skin was changing colours, but she did not expect a young woman with nearly royal blue skin. The woman was laying on one side and her eyes were closed like she was just sleeping. Daniela had brought her to the kitchens and now she was laying on a table like a piece of flesh. The door to the courtyard was still open as the cold wind was blowing inside. "Shut the door, Bela.", Alcina said with a distracted voice to her oldest daughter who was there as well. "She smells interesting.", Cassandra said, taking a deep breath leaning forward. "Do not touch her.", Alcina said strictly. "She's now even darker than before.", Daniela said looking at her. Alcina slowly reached out for the young woman's hand, carefully brushing over the blue skin. She was not like ice, she was like stone. "Interesting.", the lady whispered, while sinking down on a nearby chair. She took off one of her dark leather gloves and felt the temperature of the woman in front of her. She was freezing cold, but... "She is still alive. I can feel her blood running through her veins." "What?", Cassandra looked like her mother had just told her that she did not want to be a vampire anymore. She stepped closer and sniffed at the body. "I don't smell blood.",she said to her mother, "Can we eat her?", Cassandra asked, looking totally mad. "No, of course not. Go and fill my bathtub with warm water, would you?" Cassandra let out a loud sigh of annoyance, turned around and left the room, making extra loud sounds with her heels. "Bela, be a dear and go with her.", Alcina said looking at her oldest daughter with a light smile. "Yes mother."

Together with her youngest daughter Daniela, Lady Dimitrescu went to her private chambers, the stiff young woman in her arms. She could not help herself but she felt a huge interest in the young woman. She lived already for quite some time, but had never seen a human with royal blue skin who was as hard as stone and as cold as ice, but still alive. "You are very quiet, Daniela.", Alcina noticed. Her youngest was normally the loudest of them all, but since she found that girl, she was too quiet. "Mother...", Daniela began and turned to Alicia, looking in her golden eyes, "What is she?" This was by far the clearest question she had ever asked her. Daniela was not a woman who was into deep talk. The most time she just ran giggling through the castle, killing everyone in her way. "I do not know, my dear.", she answered honestly and with a calming voice, "But I am sure we will find out." "I have a bad feeling about her. She has something about herself, that scares me." Alcina stopped walking, looking at her daughter in pure surprise. Fear? She never had feared anything, not even mother Miranda, but this little, weak human being scared her? She patted Daniela's hair with one hand, the other still holding the woman. " Dearest, there is no need to be afraid.", she tried to calm her down. Daniela nodded. "For now, let's look after this poor thing, shall we?"

Carefully she bent down and laid the woman in the warm water which was covering her whole body except for her face. She seemed to relax, like the warm water was just what she needed. Alcina looked at Bela and then at Cassandra who was sitting at the edge of the tub, her mouth slightly opened. "Do not even think about it.", Alcina demented strict. Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Cassandra Dimitrescu this is not how I raised you.", Alcina said disapproving and uncomfortable calm, her eyes glowing dangerously. She did not raise her voice, however Cassandra jumped from her seating bowing in front of her mother. "I beg your forgiveness, mother.", was all she said. She knew it was just a very bad idea to make her angry. The Countess nodded and dismissed her and the others.

"Well, well.", she said, bending over the white bathtub with the golden ornaments. "Let's see what exactly you are."

Time passed slowly for the tall lady, but she was very patient and used the time to read in an old book she had found not long ago in one of her libraries. Coincidentally it was a book about rare diseases. She did not know what she was looking for exactly, maybe a hint of what she might be or what the reason for her blue skin was.

She lifted her ganze from the book. Her golden eyes analysed the slim woman in front of her. Her skin was now a light blue with a grey undertone which made her seem sick and even more fragile. Her lips were a deep dark violet, her eyelids and the part of her skin surrounding it, where drawn with dark shadows. It almost looked like she had bruises. Had someone hit her? Her skin was so thin, her veins showed through, colored in an aesthetically beautiful light blue. Alcina admired the fine features of her face, the high cheekbones, the round lips, the pale look of her skin, the small scar on her left temple, her little nose. She looked sick, however this made her even more beautiful.
The lady of the house was born in an era, where the women were desperate to have flawless white skin and even painted little veins with blue paint on their faces to show how pale they were. Some mixed up a dark powder and used it to fake shadows around their eyes. To look sick, like death was about to come over you, this was what made you beautiful. This woman had all of that and it made her so incredibly pretty and lovely looking. Her blonde hair was floating upon the now slightly dirty, light brown, reddish water.
Now the lady knew what she reminded her of. She was looking like a water corpse, floating in a cold river somewhere deep in the forest on a winter evening when the snow is slowly falling down on the lost soul. Alicna shook her head and turned her attention back to the book, calmly reading.

The soft sound of moving water made the Countess look up again. In slight waves the water crushed against the edge of the bathtub. Her legs were shaking and her hands were twitching. Alcina glanced curiously at the young woman, who began to move. Her eyelids flinched before she opened them. Alcinas heart stopped beating for the drop of a second. Under heavy lids silver eyes, shining like moonlight, looked at the ceiling, wondering what they were looking at. For a moment she remained looking at the ceiling, her chest slowly raised and lowered. After a while she set up like she was in trance, observing the room in all his detail. When she finally looked at the Countess, Dimitrescu was surprised to see how relaxed she was, although a giant woman nearly twice her height was sitting next to her. She was still a bit dizzy, Alcina could tell that by her slightly blurred gaze. She closed the book, laying it on her lap. "Good evening, young lady.", she said with a soft voice and a charming smile on her red lips. The woman looked at her for a second before she leaned her head to one side, smiling weakly. "Your eyes...", she said. Her voice was cracking and sounded hoarse. She sounded like she had screamed for a long time and now her voice was nothing but a hoarse, weak mess. "What do you mean, dearest?", Alicna asked confused. "Your eyes... they look like honey..." "Pardon? ", the Countess said stunned by her answer. "Honey.", the woman repeated, "This sweet golden liquid. It suits you perfectly, my lady. It...it makes you beautiful.", with that she leaned back and fell into a deep slumber.