꧁•⊹٭𝙰 𝙺𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝٭⊹•꧂

𝕴: 𝕴𝖓 𝖂𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 𝕻𝖔𝖔𝖗 𝕮𝖍𝖔𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝕸𝖆𝖉𝖊

Donatella stepped out of the shower, enveloped with the scented tingling of warmth and as she turned toward the mirror, she felt the icy grip of fear caressing her spine. The haunting, grating sound of the laughter of Death seemed to echo through the whole room .

Shoving the chilling feeling of terror off of her, Tella gets dressed and walks into the hallway where the aroma of roses waft through the air. Ever since Scarlett brought Donatella back to life with the sheer force of love, Death had been following Tella around like a stray puppy, except with none of the redeeming qualities.

Tella can't help but frown at the scent of roses, more than aware of the fact that roses are quintessentially Legend. If it had been any other day, she would've investigated, after all her whole life depends on her finding the well, legend's identity. Tonight she felt far too worn out, though.

As she decided to indulge in her bad habit of impulsive decisions, she had consequences. After gambling away her rest for an answer she never got, she slept for days and woke up exhausted. On the bright side, she sincerely doubted she'd complain about early wake ups now.

The door creaks open with a grating squeak. When her sister Scarlett enters in a swirl of fabric and food, carrying a tray laden with breakfast, Tella smiles.

"Tella," Scarlett chides "You could have gotten hurt!". Tella holds back an exasperated eye roll, all too used to Scarlett's "mother hen-ing".

Brightly, Tella replies, "But I didn't!". This is Scarlett's turn to hold back an eye roll, all too used to her younger sister's recklessness.

Scarlett sighs, "Tella..." she begins, her voice trailing off. In a brief moment she seems to collect herself and smoothly comment, "Tella, I know we were planning to do Caraval but I think I might just watch instead."

This was both shocking and unfortunate for Tella. In the deal she made with the fortune teller that lost her sleep, she found that the only viable way to find out the identity of Legend was winning. And since she couldn't afford not to learn, she'll now have to play alone.

Donatella wasn't quite sure how to reply when fortunately Julian, her sister's new boyfriend, walks in and saves her the burden of having to come up with one. Scarlett seems to have a bit of the tension in her shoulders dissipate when her eyes meet his brown ones.

Julian looks at Scarlett and murmurs "We need to talk.", never once breaking eye contact. To Tella's disappointment, Scarlett walks out without hesitation, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Tella stares out through her tiny window at the crystal clear water. She thought this window would be a blessing but she was starting to realize it was more of a curse. Nothing makes a ship seem as disgusting and cramped as staring out at the beautiful, open landscape right outside your window.

Suddenly, she hears a voice coming from a hallway. One far too familiar. One talking about...her.

Dante.