Bitter Rose [Diabolik Lovers]

Chapter Five: No Touchy Please

Translations:

Qui êtes-vous - Who are you

Qu'est-ce que vous voulez - What do you want

Je suis déjà mort - I am already dead

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Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

-Edgar Allan Poe

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Rose didn't have a plan for where she was going; she just needed to get out of that situation before she started to care. She cared too easily about people, and she had a feeling that it would not bode well for her should she develop any kind feelings towards any residents in this mansion.

Rose quickly found herself in a large garden of roses, red and white blooms spreading out in neat rows for quite a ways. She wrinkled her nose, poking a flower in distaste. She disliked roses, mainly because everyone assumed they were her favorite flower. They also had too many thorns for her liking, and their smell wasn't as pleasing as other flowers. She preferred French lavender and lilac to roses, thank you very much.

Mireille adored them, however, because she once read a story where a fairy had made a knife out of their thorns. Ever since she would wind pieces of grass around twigs and the thorns she broke off from them and leave them out as presents to fairies so they could fight off their enemies. Rose had always helped her, though she was never very good and got injured more often than not, and would sometimes creep outside early in the morning to steal the knives so Mireille wouldn't be disappointed when she woke up.

Mind still locked in nostalgia, Rose reached for a flower, hoping it could help stave off the violent waves of homesickness she was feeling. However, just as her fingers pinched the stem, a voice call out, "What do you think you're doing?" With a start, Rose turned to face the first brother she'd seen upon arrival, Subaru. He was scowling at her, arms crossed aggressively over his chest as he waited for an answer.

"Um, I was just, uh, going to pick this?" Rose stuttered out, her voice going up in a question as she subtly asked for permission. It didn't seem like a good idea to pluck flowers from their garden without asking, now that she thought about it. They were a rather touchy group of individuals.

"Like hell," he snapped, taking a step forward that had her lurching back into a defensive posture. He looked so furious that for a moment another person flickered where he stood, an image of her tormentor taking his place as their rage-filled expressions blurred.

Rose shook her head, trying to clear it. What was wrong with her? Lately, her emotions had been all over the place, and these images... No, she wouldn't let herself think about that now. Especially not when a pissed off vampire was glaring at her like she was his next meal. She forced herself to relax her defensive position and let out a small, utterly fake laugh. "Alright. Jeez, no need to get so touchy. They're just flowers."

His glare deepened. "Then why were you about to pick one?" Subaru spat, and Rose turned back to the flowers, a small smile dancing on her lips as she thought of what Miri's reaction to this situation would be.

"My sister loves roses, and I miss her," she confided, figuring the information was harmless enough. How could he possibly use Miri against her when she was clear across the ocean? In the clutches of Damien, a small voice whispered in the back of her head, but she shoved it away. What could she do about that at the moment? And so, she focused back on the present, the 'here and now' as the multiple mental health books she read had said.