Fireflies And Butterflies (ON HIATUS)

12║First Clue

Czarina quietly sat in the chair that was by her window. In her hands was a cup of hot tea, steam from the tea rising to touch her chin. Her eyes were glued to the sky above, watching the various clouds that crawled through it. In the background was the sound of her dog moving about, sniffing things and yipping in excitement. Czarina brought the cup to her lips and took a sip, gazing at one of the clouds that had decided to block the sun from the world. Her eyes traced the silver lining that the sunrays created at the edge of the cloud and exhaled lightly.

"Every cloud has a silver lining but what about my life?" she said quietly. She placed her hands on her laps and tightened the grip she had around the cup. "How am I supposed to go through with everything when... when..."

Czarina sighed and leaned her head to the side. She stayed quiet for a while, watching the clouds and drinking her tea. At some point her dog came to lie down by her leg, purposely brushing her legs with his side so that she could give him some attention. Czarina did just that when she took one hand away from her cup and dropped it on her dog's fur. She started petting his head, making the dog hum in gratitude. But the two of them were rid of their silent time when a series of knocks sounded in the room.

Czarina huffed and rolled her eyes. "Hadn't I told them not to disturb me? Can't they tell the rest," she grumbled under her breath. Czarina stared at the door when the person knocked again. "Who's it?"

"Your father," Qlaus said gently from the other side of the door, making Czarina's eyes widen a fraction before she frowned in confusion. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah... sure, the door's open." Czarina stood and turned around as her father opened the door.

Qlaus rubbed his hands together as he looked around the room. He sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I've been off work for the past few days and we've not talked. At all. And I haven't seen you once." He stared at Czarina. "Is there something that's been bothering you?"

"No," she said with a shrug, putting a hand into her pyjama's pocket.

"You sure? Because the other day you seemed to have been pretty mad at Lulana and since then you've been keeping to yourself, staying cooped up in your room." He cocked an eyebrow. "Is something bothering you?" he asked again.

Czarina shrugged again. She took a sip from her cup before she dropped it on a table. Folding her arms, she leaned against the table and stared ahead. "Nothing's bothering me. Maybe it's just the... race and all."

"Are you sure?" Qlaus asked in a caring voice.

Czarina rolled her eyes and looked at her father from the corner of her eyes. "Really... Dad? I've already spoken my mind and—"

"Lulana spoke to me," Qlaus said, making Czarina start in surprise.

She jerked her head to the side, her eyes wide. "What did she tell you?" she hurriedly asked.

Qlaus raised a brow. "She... told me that you were angry at her and accused her of having a relationship with Cheshire."

Czarina blinked multiple times as she gently shifted her gaze to the ground. "Uh... I... Uh..." She cleared her throat and rubbed her nape. "Well you see... I... I—"

"You don't need to explain. She already did that and confessed that it had been her fault."

"Yeah... It... It's her fault. She can't just go... talking with anybody... She..." Czarina slammed her lips together to shut her rantings.

She heard Qlaue sigh softly. "So that's the only reason why you're agitated?" She stared at her father with a confused look. He smilled as he gently shook his head. "I mean the race. So it's the only reason why you're agitated? Nothing else?"