My Rose

The Begining of the End

Part I

It was a long morning routine, I will give you that. I woke up to a sunny sky and an empty

 stomach. I head down to the kitchen and gobble down a piece of toast before heading to my closet. 

I pick out a simple yet charming outfit. A white ruffle shirt in which I tie a red tie with butterfly embroidery around the collar. I throw a black blazer on top of the shirt and throw on a poofy black lace skirt. I then do the final touches by putting on black socks with a lace trim and some bright red high heels. I look into the mirror and realize that I still have work to do.

I run to the bathroom to do my hair and my makeup. Makeup is always easy, a simple look with bright red lips works like a charm. Then I straighten my bangs and place a white bonnet on top of my head. Then come the drills. Two long black twisty ponytails that I clip onto the base of my hair. Without the clips my hair doesn't even go past my ears, but with the drills I look like a regal monarch.

I waltz back to my room and look in the mirror one more. "I am missing something", I think to myself. "Oh that's it!",realize. I walk over to my shelf and pull out a long silver ring. It covers all of my index finger and makes me look especially elegant when I hold a deck of cards. I actually won it from a gambling tournament a few years ago so I guess you could say it was special to me.

I place the ring on my index finger and look in the mirror. I no longer look like a normal girl in her pajamas. I look like a queen, maybe even a vampire. In these clothes I am no longer Taeko Yasuhiro, I am Celesta Ludenberg. 

I suppose all of that preparation was worth it because it was a fairly big day. Just last semester I enrolled to go to Hope's Peak Academy, one of the most elite schools in Japan. The academy only accepts ultimate students, these students are the best at whatever hobby or talent they have. I am the Ultimate Gambler and I was awarded the tile just last year after beating my long time rival in a game of poker. The school was situated in walking distance from where I lived so I could go check in on my cat during the weekends.

I walked down the stairs of the house before seeing my uncle passed out on the living room couch. I could tell he had been drinking because there are liquor bottles scattered across the floor. He had a habit of getting blackout drunk no matter what the day of the week was. This was so common that I usually had to fend for myself.

I felt a warm fuzzy thing rub across my leg. It was my cat Grand Bois Cheri Ludenberg, but I call him Cheri. He is a large grey cat who wears a ruffled collar that I styled for him. He is my best friend and I have had him for four whole years. I saved up all of my money from gambling just to get him all lavish toys and food that any cat could dream of.

I gave Cheri a scratch on the head before heading out the door to walk to school. It was a sunny day and many other students were also on their way to school. They all looked at, their eyes digging into my back. I know I may dress strange but I never did it for attention. In fact I hate it when people stare at me. I hurried along the sidewalk to get to the school. "The sooner I get in that building the sooner I get to be somewhat alone", I thought.

I walked down the block to the giant academy that awaited me. It was a huge red brick building with an intricate roof. The school's crest was placed right above the entrance for all to see. The school in a way was a landmark of the city.

I peeked through the school gate to see no students on the lawn. "How strange they all must be inside". I reached out my hand to open the gate, but just as I did my vision started to swirl. I was all of a sudden very dizzy. I stepped backwards only to have my heel roll on the curb. I fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Then everything went black.