To The Villains Who Gave Me A Happy Ending

✧﹃ 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭「𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱-𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮」

Yuu stood in a void. The word 'stood' is to be treated lightly as Yuu could not tell whether he was sitting, standing, or lying down. Whatever position he was in he felt as though he was surrounded by a light layer of water. It was similar to when he first arrived here, to when he nearly tucked himself into death's cloak. Yet, this time it was calm, the water was still and airy, unlike the bone-crushing rapids from before.

Within that void, there was a profound silence, a comfortable silence. Yuu's consciousness seemed to melt into the liquid that surrounded him, joining the large body of the void. He just wanted to stay there, he wanted to dissipate into the quietness around him, Yuu wanted to mold himself into the subtleness of the place.

Drip

Small ripples passed over his flesh disturbing his consciousness. The floaty liquid suddenly gained weight making every breath carry a weight. Yuu did not know if his eyes were open or hidden behind his eyelids, whether what he was seeing was a hallucination or a dream. Nonetheless a scene vacant of any color besides a bright striking red began to play out.

Hurry up and paint those roses red!

A thin man? No, a card with human features danced around a bush of white roses waving around a brush coated in red paint. With a dab of the brush, the card splattered red paint onto each rose.

Slather them quickly, as aforesaid!

Another card faded into the picture copying the other's movements as they painted the rose petals.

Hurry, Hurry! There are still roses left to paint!

Yuu did not know what to think, the oddness of the 'dream' was certainly confusing as there was nothing that could have influenced it. But the fact that he was aware of what was happening, that he was experiencing this as a real occurrence in his life, is what perplexed Yuu. Not only that but his body felt nonexistent as if the only part of him that did exist in this 'dream' was his consciousness.

Why are you painting these white roses red?

It was a childish voice, youthful and sweet. The figure it came from was a small girl clothed in a blue dress. Her blonde hair looked light and soft, perfectly framing her roundish face. She stared at the frantic cards in wonder.

Why, you ask? It's quite simple. We planted the wrong color, you see.

The Queen likes her roses red. If they're white, we'll lose our heads.

The girl covered her mouth, blue eyes widening in shock. Someone losing their life over the color of a flower was certainly something to be appalled about. Yuu could find good reason for the Queen to be frustrated by the worker's incompetence, but punishing them in such a way is rather, barbaric of a Queen. A good leader would administer a punishment equivalent to that of the offense. A leader who lets their citizens off with a light punishment or is feeble in their duty to uphold the laws is weak. A leader who will allow no room for error and punish the offender with consequences that are morally unfair in a tyrant.

Goodness! The girl exclaimed.

And so, we're painting the roses red...

—

Yuu woke to the feeling of velvety fur brushing against his cheek. His body buzzed with a numbness that slowly began to fade as the pads of his fingers traced over the sheets of the bed. Although he was now awake Yuu could still vividly picture the 'dream' he had almost as if it was now a memory of his.