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Shin did not have a favorite color—or at least, he had never given it any thought. After all, in the Eighty-Sixth Sector, such thoughts were inconsequential compared to the certainty of death and irrelevant to finding a means to survive. However, things are different now, including Shin himself. And right now, he supposed he had the leisure to give it some thought.
Yellow, no. Blue, no. Green, no. He thought maybe he liked the color red, the color of his bright, Pyrope eyes. But red reminded him of blood—the blood of his comrades as they left him behind one by one, the blood that dripped down Lena’s head when she was injured, the blood that clung to his fingers, his clothes, and his very soul after every operation.
No, not red , he thought. Even now, the image of his friends and lover, bleeding and in pain, sent shivers down his spine. He wanted nothing more than for them to be safe and away from harm, away from that metallic stench and crimson liquid. He did not want the people he held dear to be coated in that foresaken red.
“What do you think of this one, Shin?”
Shin is pulled from his spiraling thoughts by Lena, who emerged from the dressing room in a stylish red blouse and dark pants. They had decided to spend their day-off in the shops of Sankt Jeder, where Lena invited him to help her pick out some clothes for casual wear. She had asked him what his favorite color was so she could buy something to suit his tastes, but he merely told her he did not have one and Lena had just chosen herself. The blouse had a low cut and long, flowy sleeves, matching her form perfectly (although Shin believed everything matched Lena perfectly). She walked to the full-length mirror by the wall and started examining the clothes, the staff chiming in at how beautiful she looked.
Seeing Lena in that red blouse, Shin thought the color could not be more beautiful on anyone else. For a short moment, it did not seem like such a deplorable color to him anymore. And suddenly, Shin was reminded of all the reasons why he loved the color red.
Red was the color of his brother’s hair, and he could vaguely remember the feeling of those soft, crimson strands between his fingers. He remembered holding on to those strands as his brother hefted him up on his shoulders, and Shin felt as though he could conquer the world.
Red was the color of the flowers back in the Eighty-Sixth Sector, the flowers that continued to bloom brightly despite the flames and ravages of war. Every time the Eighty-Six came back from a mission, those flowers would greet them with their vivid shades of ruby and vermillion.
Red was the color of the field where Shin had first laid eyes on Lena. After he had destroyed the Morpho, he had thought it fitting to die in that field of scarlet lycoris flowers, a field that resembled the crimson blood shed by his comrades. But no, she had saved him. Suddenly, that field no longer reminded him of blood; it merely became a scenic backdrop to the image of Lena and the sparks of hope she had ignited within him. In that field of red, Shin had found his reason to live.
Red was the color of the sunset he witnessed by Lena’s side, the flushed sky coating everything in shades of orange and red. They had held hands and promised to fight alongside one another no matter what. At that moment, Shin thought Lena looked breathtaking with the wind in her hair and the red of the sunset reflecting off her silver strands.
And of course, red was the color of Lena’s dress that night of the ball in the Alliance. She was a beauty clothed in red and black, a manifestation of her title as the Bloodstained Queen. Shin could not say she looked magnificent, because such a word would not do her justice at all. In fact, he thought there was no word in the English language to capture how beautiful she looked in that moment, so he remained quiet and admired her instead. He took her hand as they danced the night away, and he relished every moment that she was in his arms.
Red was the color of the fireworks that exploded in the sky as he professed his love to her. That night, all he could see was Lena. That night, all he could see was red as she stepped forward and kissed him.
Maybe red isn’t so bad after all , he amended. Perhaps, he had found his favorite color.
Still standing in front of the mirror, Lena adjusted the sleeves on her blouse. One of the staff came forward with a similar blouse in blue, and asked if she would like to try it on as well. Lena remarked that both colors looked wonderful but she could only buy one, and she simply could not choose between the two. She looked at Shin with an eyebrow carefully raised—she wanted to buy clothes in a color he liked, after all, so she could be reminded of him whenever she wore it. Even though Shin did not know why she wanted to buy something in his favorite color, his heart still swelled with joy at the knowledge that she valued his opinion so much.
“I think red is perfect,” he told her.