Chrysanthemums For You [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 3

The boy, Idia Shroud, was staring at the girl he called Persephone. Currently, she was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, her legs curled up into her chest, a mug of tea in her hand. Idia had provided her with a light pink blanket, the colour of ripe peaches in the spring, which was now resting atop her shoulders. She had said nothing after their interaction on the beach. She hadn't said anything when he introduced her to the rest of his family, and she hadn't said anything when he sat her down by the fire, wanting to warm her shivering form. 

Idia sighed and turned back to his tablet. He should have been focusing on the task at hand, his summer homework, but it was hard with the girl sitting just a few feet away. His eyes kept flickering over to her, gazing at her cheeks, bathed in the glow of the fire, and the few strands of her pearl white dress that had been shredded by the torrential waves. He clenched his eyes shut in realisation. He should have offered her new clothes.

Persephone's gaze shifted when she heard the boy rising to his feet. She tugged the blanket closer to herself as if it were Wisdom's shield, and she watched as he approached. He did not speak as he approached. He didn't even meet her eyes. Instead, he was silent until he stood between her and the flamed. Then, he crouched down before her, only then meeting her eyes. 

She stared into his eyes, her hand subconsciously reaching out to caress his pale cheek. They were like pools of molten gold, and for a moment, Persephone thought she might succumb to the burning death the gold would bless her with. 

Idia shivered at the girl's touch, not because it was cold, but because her fingers merely ghosted across his skin, alerting his senses. He could feel the heat creeping up his skin, flooding his face with a rosy colour, and rendering him unable to speak. 

"Brother!"

Persephone let out a squeak and tumbled forward. She landed on Idia and threw her arms around his torso, nuzzling into his chest. Idia quickly realised that she was shaking like a leaf, and pulled the blanket up over her bare shoulders, tucking it in around her.

"Quiet please, Ortho," he said, glancing up at his brother.

Ortho frowned. The poor boy did not quite understand how to be quiet. But he said no more and walked over to his brother and the girl that his brother had found by the water's edge. He had never seen a girl like her before. H/c tresses that mimicked the breeze of spring, skin that mirrored the beauty of the season, and a form that he could imagine leaping through fields of flowers, singing her song to the birds in the trees and the little rabbits in their burrows.

"Who is she," Ortho asked, sitting down beside the girl.

Persephone glanced over at the boy, her eyes widening when she saw him staring at her. She shifted closer to Idia, not quite understanding why she found comfort in his embrace.

"I'm not sure," Idia admitted. "But you can call her Persephone."

Ortho smiled at his brother, "Like the story Mom told us?"