Bleeding In Love

Ch 1

Winter was on her way to dance class, her favorite part of the day, with her best friend Sal.
"I'm just saying that it's not really fair to us, how she's always rubbing it in our faces!" Sal was back to the topic of Carrie, the girl we all despise.
"She has no idea what's in store for her. Just because you find your soulmate doesn't mean it's going to work out in the end," Winter remarked, trying to comfort her friend for the second time that day.
"You're right. Maybe her soulmate will die," she said, clearly not getting what Winter's point had been.
Winter thought for a minute about her soulmate, Mindy, who had died long ago. It saddened her all over again, but she couldn't let it show. Instead she said "Sal, that's not something to wish on someone or joke about!"
Sal sighed, regretting her earlier remark.
"You're right, Winter, I was just mad at her." She stopped for a moment, trying to come up with something else to say. "Thanks again for standing up to her in class."
"If I hadn't, what would be the point of friendship?"
They both giggled, opening the door to the studio.
Through her lesson, Winter couldn't shake the past from her mind. She kept thinking about that gleaming smile from Mindy's last week. It was like playing a movie in her mind, but she was a background character, helpless when trying to save the love of her life. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, and she tripped, falling on a peer.
"Winter!" the instructor commanded, "You're done for today, this is the third time you've tripped in 10 minutes! Clearly something is distracting you. You are dismissed. Come back tomorrow if you're ready to actually dance."
Winter trudged out of class, grabbing her bag and heading back out to the crowded town. Her left glove caught on something, coming off and revealing her skin. She was glad it had been her left, for on her right there is a black star, the mark of a deceased soulmate, also revealing that she's royalty.
  She looked around at the unfamiliar faces, finding comfort in the fact that none of these people knew who she was, why she was there, or anything about her past. She found a bench, taking a seat to enjoy the sunshine even though it was still chilly, with wind biting her face.
  Instead of enjoying the slightly warmer than usual day, however, she ended up thinking of her past for what seemed like the thousandth time, wishing there was a way to forget.
  It had been a quick day for Rosalina, class shortened so she could play with her only classmate, Mindy.
  Mindy was a bubbly girl, sun-streaked red hair billowing behind her as she ran.
  "Wait up!" Rosalina shouted, laughing and chasing her friend, soulmate, and classmate.
  Being homeschooled could have its perks, such as getting let out early and hanging out with your soulmate all day.
  Rosalina knew they wouldn't have more than three hours to play, but three hours was longer than they normally got. She checked her watch, realizing 15 minutes had already gone by.
  "Hurry, Rosa!" Mindy shouted, singsongy voice echoing through the courtyard, "let's go to the garden!"
  Rosalina complied, heading to their secret meeting spot that they code named the garden,  for there were far too many gardens on palace grounds for guards to know which one to go to.
  "I'm coming!" Rosalina shouted running towards her friend.
  They made it to the hole in the fence and stopped for a minute.
  "Are you sure this is the best idea?" Rosalina asked,  for about the twentieth time that day.
  "We'll be fine," Mindy said, slipping through the broken fence with ease. "Don't you want to know what's out there, besides the other royals, don't you want to know what common folk do all the time since they don't have to balance books on their heads and write speeches?"
  Rosalina sighed, giving in to her curiosity rather than trying to fight with someone she knew she couldn't bring herself to say no to.
  She slipped through the fence and was astonished by what she saw. Tons of people, each in drab attire, rushing around, all having somewhere to go.
  Rosalina giggled.
  "What?" Mindy asked, unsure why her bestie was laughing.
  "Look at the silly clothes they're all wearing! And to think we thought these were rags!" Rosalina shouted, holding up her silk skirt as if to curtsy.
  The both of them were laughing so hard at that point. It was like that for a while, but then Mindy had an idea.
  "Let's split up and get presents for each other, we could probably buy just about anything we want. Meet me back here in an hour and a half," she said, eyes glowing with excitement to find Rosalina something perfect and receive something equally perfect.
  "Deal," Rosalina said, shaking on it. They went their separate ways, and Rosalina turned back to watch her soulmate disappear into the crowd.
Rosalina had read many stories when she was home, always taking the books off of her head when no one was looking to read them, but none could have prepared her for the sensory overload of actually being in town. She could hear the chatter of the common folk, feel the warmth of so many people pressed around her, and smell the fresh cooked food from hot dog stands and bakeries.
She searched the shop stands, wondering which one would hold the perfect gift.
  She had run from stand to stand for almost an hour and was about to buy a mirror when something at the next stand over caught her eye. She set the mirror down and walked to the purple-covered stand, looking at one object. It was a black chain bracelet with little red charms, glittering in the sunlight.
  "How much for that one," she asked the tall woman running the stand.
  "Ah, a bracelet of personality. You don't pick it, it picks you dear child. I'm not sure it's right for you," the woman said, speaking into the air, her words seemingly not directed at Rosalina.
Rosalina answered anyway.
  "It's not for me," Rosalina told the woman, smiling, "it's for my soulmate."
  "In that case, pick it up and see if your heart turns pink," the woman said softly so only Rosalina could hear, speaking of soulmate's hearts, a heart that shows up glowing on your hand when you're near your soulmate.
  "I have a star," Rosalina told the woman, picking up the bracelet to see if the star would show up pink near the treasure.
  "A star for royalty, I should have known by your clothes," the woman whispered.
  Rosalina's star started to change into a nice bubblegum pink, indicating that Rosalina's soulmate would love the gift.
  "You may have the bracelet, no charge for royalty," the woman told Rosalina.
  "Oh but I couldn't," Rosalina said, setting the bracelet back on the table.
  "But you must," the woman insisted, putting the bracelet into the young child's hands.
  "Well," Rosalina knew she was defeated for the second time that day, "if you insist."
  She went about thanking the woman and bought from her a cookie for a higher price than the label to show her thanks.
  Nibbling the cookie, Rosalina headed back to the meeting spot, arriving about five minutes early.
  Waiting was easy, as she wrapped the bracelet in a bag she had gotten on her way into the crowd, knowing that her present would be small and loving the swirling patterns scattered across the bag in blue.
  Mindy showed up about two minutes later, carrying a carefully wrapped box about the size of a man's hand.
  "For you, darling," Rosalina told Mindy, excited for her to open her gift.
  They exchanged presents, and Rosalina watched the expression of Mindy go from curious to delighted.
  "Rosalina, I love it!" Mindy had exclaimed, admiring the red charms.
  "I thought of you the instant I saw it- the butterfly because you're always flying away with your ideas, the book because it was your idea that we always sneak books off our heads to read them, the heart because of all the love you spread, the fire because no one could ever put you out, and the crystal because you sparkle. I know red is your favorite color, and black goes with everything," Rosalina said, revealing the thoughts that led her to decide that the bracelet was perfect for her soulmate.
  "It's perfect," Mindy whispered, slipping it on. "Your turn Rosa!"
  Rosalina carefully unwrapped the box and opened it up.
  "Wow," she muttered in awe, "this is amazing."
  She picked up the necklace, a white choker with blue pictures, a diamond, a bow, a heart, and a dancing shoe printed on it.
"A diamond for your beauty, inside and out, a bow to tie us together forever, a heart because I love you, and a dancing shoe because even if we have to run away so you can dance, it makes you happy. There's nothing I wouldn't do to see you happy."
"I love you too Mindy," Rosalina said, and they latched their hands with glowing stars together.
They went back on castle grounds and played
for the last hour and twenty minutes, giggling and talking and just enjoying each other's company.
That was the last day Rosalina's right hand would ever glow.
Much to Winters surprise, a glowing star appeared on her left hand, snapping her back to the present and indicating that her second soulmate was nearby.
She ran and didn't stop until she had made it safely to her apartment, where she started to cry.
Her second soulmate? This could only end in disaster, where her new soulmate would find out that she was runaway royalty and turn her in, not accepting her because her first soulmate died.
"Mindy," she whispered, "I miss you so. Now more than ever before."