crimson botanica

Volume 1, Chapter 8

Without A Trace

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In the meal's uneasy conclusion, they forgo the usual wedding festivities, this evening more akin to an evening mass. There are no playful games of catching the bride's garter, no unabashed revelry or even dinner table arguments— just the bitter taste of blood-red wine lingering on Colletta's lips.

Meanwhile, she observes her new husband's plate, scarcely touched as he mindlessly taps his fork against the painted ceramic. Her own appetite fares no better under the weight of the heavy atmosphere, painfully aware of the pools of crimson fabric smothering her body. Every breath, every blink of the eye, feels like a carefully orchestrated motion.

Colletta stays still, precariously tiptoeing on the edge just to keep her head above water. Her own kin are silent spectators to the unfolding drama as the uneaten plates are cleared away. Rising from their seats, the guests form a solemn procession, filing into the marbled foyer. The massive oak door hangs open to the vacant night, her sisters already halfway through the threshold, eager to escape and return home. But Colletta doesn't have the luxury of choice.

As her sisters try to offer parting words, the wound of betrayal lingers fresh, leaving her with a dour scowl. They settle for halfhearted kisses on the cheek, but she can feel their pitying gazes, grateful to be spared by fate this time. However, her mother lingers in the doorway with a troubled expression.

With a satisfied chuckle, Amaryllis leads the four of them up the weathered dual staircase. Colletta's throat tightens when she passes the obsessive collection of crucifixes once more. Each step upward solidifies an irreversible fate. Upstairs, the temperature drops, and a strange damp smell permeates the air—an unsettling scent that the Brugmansias seem all too accustomed to.

Following Amaryllis to the south wing on the left, Colletta steals a glance down the opposite side of the hallway, her curiosity piqued by the mysterious crumbling door she's swiftly guided away from. Dread pounds in her chest as they draw closer to the room beyond, knowing all too well what final wedding tradition awaits them. Lycoris seems to drag his feet, a faint shiver running through him as he silently follows his mother like an obedient hound. Even Colletta's own mother carries an air of trepidation and nervousness, despite her earlier insistence on fulfilling her "womanly duties" to God.

At the end of the hall, the bedroom door swings open, revealing the next chapter of their unsettling wedding night.

"Well, it would be a shame to keep the newlyweds waiting." Amaryllis quips with a breathy laugh, her amusement evident despite the uncomfortable atmosphere. Perhaps it's the palpable dread and discomfort itself that she finds so humorus.

Colletta spins around, immediately locking eyes with her mother. Acacia's gaze briefly flickers up to meet the frightening woman before she enfolds her daughter in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her temple without uttering a word. With one final forlorn glance, guilt evident in her eyes, she slips away from view, leaving Colletta utterly alone in the clutches of her new family. She wants to scream, to plead for help, but it's as if the water has already flooded her lungs, ready to consume her whole.

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{chat we did it FINALLY a new chap. lmao. this took me forever cus ive been dilly dallying XD. also lowk my tattoo was inspired by lycoris but just in my head... lmao... my goal is to get a tribute to all of my twinks diluc ur next completely unironically}