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This is a pleasant feeling of relaxation, when an insanely tired body can finally afford not to stay straight, from which the lips themselves melt into a slight smile. It's so nice to just close your eyes and think about something else, to renounce the real world for a few minutes, depriving your hearing of the opportunity to hear swearing and voices coming from colleagues.
The touch of the skin on a cold surface, the frosty air of the room, the feeling of flight and inactivity. How she wants to fall asleep and not think about anything.
Someone gently touches her shoulder, and the girl giggles softly, letting her know that she did not sleep at all. Her voice echoes and Columbine realizes that everyone has long gone, and her hands are already resting on the table.
"I see that Rosalina's demise has brought you down a lot, Darling." she stretches her arms, rejoicing at the small changes.
"Her death was... predictable." the woman in white sighs, looking at the chessboard with the pieces spread out. Her voice sounds upset, and her eyes slowly examine each pawn, "Disrespect for everything she did for Snow, that's what hurt me the most. Of course, she was a great and strong woman. Her soul should rest in peace."
"Drama-drama." Columbine giggles, swinging her legs, "You're like always, my dear. Rosalina's merits will never be forgotten, please do not give yourself up to gloomy thoughts on such a free day."
"Half a day." Arlecchino gets annoyed.
The girl laughs and touches with her fingers the soft clothes in which the tall woman is dressed. She is gloomy, dissatisfied, upset, disappointed. She has always been like this, but now Columbine seems to notice it for the first time.
How beautiful, how lively!
How wonderful!
Pale skin is like ice, cold and dangerous, and the girl allows herself to touch it, gently tracing her thin face with her fingertips. The woman's lips are compressed into a thin line with a dissatisfied mumbling, steam comes out of her mouth. This is a sign that she is standing in front of Columbine, alive and well, and the girl rejoices at this as the dawn of the sun in such a frosty country.
Arlecchino raises his palm and covers her hand, breathing slowly. Columbine is smiling, she's here. She's alive.
"Rosalina was the best of us."
Was. Her sacrifice was one of the most significant for Fatui, for the whole Snezhnaya. For Tsaritsa. She notices a tear on her skin that slides along the line alone, and the girl gently catches it with her finger, allowing it to roll to the floor.
"Don't leave me."
Suddenly, Columbine mentally notes, but only after a few seconds, when these words flew out of her mouth in a fragile whisper.
"Promise?"
She is silent.
"Answer me."
"Rosalina was loyal. Unfortunately or not, I am deprived of this trait."