Oneshots [IdentityV]

The Same Perfume [Vera x Emma]

Long and endless corridors always leading back to the same alley of doors whether you took a right or left turn. A spotless body even after getting stabbed and having to crawl on the dirty ground repeatedly. Same story every day. Just like a fairytale told to a different child.

She wondered if Euphoria was really worth such despondency.

As she walked down the stairs and passed by the living room, a flowery smell came to float under her nostrils. The scent was familiar, it reminded her of the reality of the past, a world beyond the doors of the manor. It seemed like it came from the garden.

There was no one when she arrived. Not a single soul around. That was for the best, she didn't feel comfortable with the others yet.

She grabbed one of the roses on a bush nearby, the biggest and most gorgeous.

Too bad, the garden was pretty but there would probably not be enough place for her to grow flowers to make perfume again.

Just at that moment, she heard the door open. She turned around to check and met the green gaze of a woman. What was her name again... Emma... Woods.

The brown-haired woman gasped while looking down on her hands and she realized she had plucked the rose from earlier. Would she get mad?

"You should cut the thorns!"

Not a scowl but a smile.

"Ah..."

She gave her the rose and the woman took out a small pair of scissors from her pocket before getting rid of the thorns skillfully.

"Here you go!"

"Thank you..."

"Hmm, I don't think I caught your name yet, you are..."

"Vera Nair. You may call me... Vera."

That's right.

"Nice to meet you Vera! Feel free to ask if you have any question about the manor, after all, I've been here for quite a while!"

"Thank you Mrs.Woods."

"Do you like flowers, Vera?"

"I do. I'm a perfumer."

"Woah...! You must have a sharp nose then!"

Emma smiled brightly as she bent down to smell a white camellia. Her hands wrapped around it softly before squeezing the flower mercilessly between her fingers under Vera's disconcerted stare.

"I like flowers too. There was a garden when I was a kid. I would plant flowers with my parents but..."

She didn't finish her sentence and instead put the white petals in a handkerchief she kept.

The atmosphere felt somewhat tense but Vera knew better than ask.

"Well, I hope we will see each other more often Vera!"

Emma went away just like that with the same smile on her lips.

Vera stayed behind on the other hand, staring at the spot where some white petals had fallen.

It was a peculiar encounter to say the least.

She did not intend to meddle too much with the other survivors at first but something about Emma, like the friendly aura of death, drew her to want to know more about the woman.