Eyes of Blue, Heart of Stone (Baroness X Femme Reader)

Aftercare

Victoria blushed. "Wonderful to me as ever, my darling." She smiled, lifting your chin up. "I'd like to shower. Would mind doing my hair afterwards?" She asked, cracking her back. "Of course." You smiled.

Whilst waiting in Victoria's room, you saw her sketchbook. You'd offered her a few lessons here and there between getting floored by Claudia and the whole becoming friends with Estella incident from a couple of days ago. You opened it and flipped through. There were drawings of faces long lost.

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3 Days Earlier

"Victoria! Victoria guess what I've found!" You chirped. "What've you got darling?" She asked. "I found my old yearbook!" You held the heavy blue book of memories. "Oh wow."

She spent the evening looking through old pictures of you, sneering at old pictures of Claudia and sitting in silence as you showed and told her about your childhood, craving she could have had that...

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There were drawings of your childhood self, alongside more tasteful drawings. There was two sketches that stuck out. Claudia and Maddie.

Claudia wasn't Claudia in the yearbook. She wasn't smiling falsely and she wasn't acting like she was god. It was like the Baron, Victoria drew the truth as a pose to the filter shown to the world.

Madeline wasn't one for having her photo taken, but the few pictures that she was in had produced a rather nice image of Maddie.

"Y/N!" Victoria called from her en-suite. Shit. She's done already. You put the book down. "Yes?" You called back. "Get my hair stuff ready!" She demanded. "Yes Victoria!" You shouted back.

Wrapped in her plush towel, Victoria walked in, with sopping wet hair. If it was the other way around, you'd look like a drowned rat. Victoria, somehow, wore soaking wet hair with style. "Hello dear." She smiled, curling up into her white vanity chair. "Nice shower?" You asked, plugging the hairdryer in. "Yes, thank you Y/N."

As you dried and massaged Victoria's luscious hair, you found yourself looking at each strand. You found where her poliosis lay. Although in her roots, hardly visible, they were there. Chunks in her roots where melanin lacked, which would be mistaken for age (or her irritability catching up to her).

"Why are you playing my hair dear?"

"Oh- nothing, nothing. Bit dazed that's all."

"You fou- doesn't matter. I want a braid please." Victoria knew. She knew. You knew full well she knew, it was in her ice eyes and her changed demeanour. "You have gorgeous hair Victoria." You commented, lifting up a soft bunch of strands. "Years of finding the perfect products. Rather irritating when they change their recipes, am I right?" Victoria shrugged off what you mean. She knew what you meant and she didn't care to admit it.

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't."

"Victoria."

Blank expression.

"Victoria."

She's so damn irritating when she does that.

"Victoria Elizabeth Von Hellman would you answer me for gods sake!" You said, frustratedlyh. "Yes. I know what you mean. I disagree." She replied, stubbornly. "Okay. I disagree with you disagreeing. Your natural hair is beautiful." You replied, mimicking her stubbornness with affection. "You don't know that." She murmured. "The carpets match the drapes, that's all I really need isn't it." You replied.

The silence was undeniably loud.

You pushed one too many buttons.

"I need you to help me with the next collection. I'd like to have a second opinion and you have a good eye in the fashion department." Victoria stated, taking a few designer's clipboards and placing them on the bed.

You erased pieces and redrew them. You fixed several designs. Victoria fixed them after you. She used her infamous purple pen and you were immediately taken back to a month ago.

One small month?

Had you only had Victoria in your life for that little?