Work Text:
"Esmeralda? Where are you, dinner is almost ready." Miss Stilt rounds the door to the livingroom, and finds the girl huddled on the floor. Without asking, she knows she heard the row she just had with her fellow peculiar in the kitchen.
Though he had been a sweet boy at first, Hans want for leaving the loop to which he was bound had only turned into a larger and larger problem as time went on, and he was quickly becoming impossible to controll. Tonight had been the untempth time that weak alone that Miss Stilt had to convince the boy to stay with her, not wanting him to put himself at risk by leaving. Silently, she noted that she needed to finish her letter to her fellow Ymbrynes asking for advice regarding the situation.
"It's dinner dear. You need to go clean up" She told the young Ymbryne gently. "Hans is making some fish. You'll enjoy that." She smiled, tpuching her cheek.
Esmeralda nodded, lightening up a little at the mention of fish. Still, her green eyes watched her Ymbryne mentor cautiously. "Miss?" She asked as she stood up.
"Yes?" Miss Stilt turned around, as soft and loving as always.
"Is Hans going to be okay?" She blurted out. The look on her face showed the concern she knew many of the other peculiars, as well as Miss Stilt herself, shared about the angry young man. He was becoming a problem that needed to be dealt with properly.
"Of course. He'll be just fine" She promised softly, sending the girl on her way out the door as she headed back to the kitchen.
"I made a special thing, just for you Miss" Hans smiled softly, any trace of conflict gone as he presented her with her own place of smaller fish that he fried whole. "I know you prefer these" He said lovingly. “i hope it m,akes up for earlier.”
Miss Stilt nodded graciously. "Thank you Hans. I do love these." She agree, looked at the larger fish from which the rest of the children retrieved their meals. Something in her back of her mind sent off warning signals, but she pushed it away. “And of course you’re forgiven.”
Hans did something nice for her, she had to appreciate it. Otherwise, it would only undermine her relationship with the young man further and make the next fight all the more diffocult to resolve.
She ate her fish slowly, enjoying the strong seasoning, but only finished half. Her stomach contracted strangely and she figured she was full despite the limited amount of food she ingested. Well, perhaps she over ate at tea and was still full. The cucumber sandwiches had been delightful.
And sp, Miss Stilt simply brushed it all off, getting up to leave. "I will see you all for the nightly tea" She told them as she departed. Hans, normally so sour, smiled delightedly.
"I look forward to it" He said.
Miss Stilt coughed and retched, blood coming up into the toilet along with the half-digested fish she had for dinner. She downed some water from the tap, trying to get the sour copper taste out of her mouth. Her stomach, meanwhile, tried fruitlessly to remind her it wanted to stay empty and made her throw it all bak up, along with even more blood.
Something was wrong, but what?
She thought back to the meal. The fish had tasted strange but still delicious, though she had filled up quick and not ate ennough. Surely if it was dinner, the other children would be sick too...
Only she had her own plate of fish.
Suddenly, it started to dawn on her exactly what had happening. Vaguely she recalled a similar case, long ago, with a Russian Ymbryne. The poor woman had been poisoned by her charge after an argument between the two, and the next morning she’d been dead.
At this point, it all seemed awfully familiar.
She swallowed. "Esmeralda?" She called for the girl from the bathroom, hoping she was close enough to hear her but not so close she'd heard her puking befor. She didn’t want the children to know of her illness, thinking it would only prolong the suffering for all of them. The last thing she’d ever want was for someone to be worrying about something they couldn’t fix. With this amount of blood coming up, she was surely already lost.
"Yes Miss?" Esmeralda appeared in the door opening, confused to see her stamding leaned over the sink and clutching her stomach. "Are you alright Miss?"
Miss Stilt faked a smile and tried to stand up straight. "Perfectly fine dear. However, it's a lovely night tonight, so I thought perhaps we could do some stargazing?" She suggested. It was one of her favourite activities, and she was sure the girl would enjoy it as well. A lovely way to end her last night on Earth.
Esmeralda glowed as she heard the question, excited to recieve such special attention. "Yes! I would love that" She exclaimed. "Now, at once?" She asked hopefully, not wanting to wait.
Miss Stilt nodded, feeling her mouth slowly fill with blood. "Why don't you go ahead and get us a blanket in a good spot out on the hrass, and I'll come after?" She whispered, trying to prevent it from leaking down her cheek. “I’ll be there in a moment”
Esmeralda nodded, running off. As soon as she was gone, Miss Stilt vomited more blood down into the toilet. Her stomach cramped and immidiatly, she wondered if she had enough time left to dop what she wanted. It was impossible to tell, but she was going to try.
"Is this good?" Esmeralda asked when she finally appeared. "I didn't know where was a good spot but I figured a hill would be useful" She shrugged, looking around her at the small grassy hill she had put out the blanket on top of.
Miss Stilt smiled lovingly, trying to take a deep breath despite the blood constantly tried to sneak up her throat. "Here is perfect my dear. Lets lay down" She sat dow gingerly on the blanket, insistently ignoring the stabbing pain in her bowl.
Esmeralda nodded, leaning back as well asn cuddling up close to the older woman. "Are stars beautiful?" She asked, gazing at the sky. "What do you even do when you stargaze?" She asked.
"You lay on your back and you look at the stars." She explained, laying back with her. "As for if the stars are pretty...why don't you see for yourself?" She wondered, pointing to the sky.
Esmeralda sighed, blushing embaressed. "I can't" She admitted quietly. "It's all blurry to me."
"Blurry?" Miss Stilt frowned. "Why did you never tell me you needed glasses dear? I would've gotten you some!" She said, pausing. She thought about the ripping pain in her bowl and the blood in her mouth, and realized that she had apair of glasses aalredy. "You know what? Take these." She took off her own glasses, gently placing them on Esmeralda's nose.
"No!" Esmeralda protested immidiatly, carefulling pulling the glasses back of her face. "Miss I can't! You...you..." She stammered, trying to give them back.
"No" Miss Stilt refused them firmly. "I don't need them anymore. You use them." She put them back on the young girl. "Look at the stars Esmeralda."
Esmeralda blinked, finally turning her head upwards. "Oh!" She grinned, seeing it all clearly for the first time. "They're so pretty...like tiny diamonds." She watched the stars twinkling in the sky, delighted.
Miss Stilt chuckled, then coughed hard, blood coming up in her mouth and dribbling down her cheek, from which she quickly wiped it off. "I know" She croaked, trying not to let any more blood run down her face. "I love stargazing."
Esmeralda looked over at her. From the way the girl's eyes met hers, it was clear she was thinking some less than pleasent thoughts - perhaps suspecting that something was amiss. However, Miss Stilt refused to let this moment be spoilet. Quietly, she pulled Esmeralda closer, nestling the girl's head against her chest and holding her tight.
"I'm glad I got to do this with you my dear.” Miss Stilt whispered to Esmeralda, face burried in her golden hair. "I love you so much Esme. You are wonderful young woman."
esmeralda seemed both excited and surprise dat the generous praise, not used to so much flatter. "I love you too miss" She whispered, her eyes drooping and then closing as she grew increasingly tired. “You’re a great Ymbryne.”
Miss Stilt smiled peacefully. She could feel she was drifting too, and unlike Esmeralda she was well aware that when she drifted away this time, there would be no going back. Quietly, she began to humm an old tune, hoping to comfort them both in these last moments that they would share.
Comforted by her Ymbryne, it didn’t take long for Esmeralda to drift off completely, blissfully unaware of what awaited her once she woke. Miss Stilt, unfortunatly, didn’t drift of as blissfully and the last thing she felt was a stronger, more overwhelming pain than those that she already had suffered, which turned her stomach inside out and caused everything to fade into black.
She drifted off, in agony and knowing that though the pain would fade, she would never return from it again. A single tear drifted down her cheek and then, she was no more.
Esmeralda wole up the next day as the first rays of sun hit her face, confused. Miss Stilts grip, which she remembered being so tight around her when she went to sleep, was loose and there was an unknown liquid wetting her skirts, as though one of them had wett themselves in their sleep.
Gently, she removed the arm, finding it limp and cold which set off warning bells in her head. She sat up, inspecting the scene properly.
Miss Stilt layed cold and dead beside her, her open eyes starring lifelessly at the sky as blood leaked out of her at both ends, already having soaked Esmeraldas skirts as well as leaking all over the blanket they slept on during the night.
Not knowing how to react to this oh so horrific scene of death and gore, Esmeralda did what came most natural. She screamed, scrambling to her feet in order to get back to the house and ask for help. “Help! She’s bleeding!”
To her surprise, as she stumbled down the hill, screaming like a mad woman as loud nas she ever couold, she find that there are several Ymbrynes being drawn out of the house. This even though she knew noone but Miss Stilt had been there the day before.
"Esmeralda!" Miss Goose reaches her first, wrapping her up in her arms and physically forcing her to stop for a moment. "Dear bird girl, what happened to you?!" She exclaimed, inspecting her soaked skirts and disheveled apperance.
"She's dead!" Esmeralda cried, hiding against her chest. "Miss Stilt is dead!"
The other Ymbrynes in attending all looked horrified and pained at the blutn confession, they too noticing the liquid that drencheed and clothes and realizing where is must’ve come from.
"Are you injured?" Miss Condor steps forward to inspect her, before turning back to the remaining Ymbrynes. "Find the boy!" She ordered them sharply. “Hurry!”
The three remaining Ymbrynes nodded at her directions and quickly scampered off, happy to be excused from the msot horrific situaiton that they had found themsleves in.
"I...I'm not hurt" esmerlada cried upset to Miss Condor. "It's Miss Stilt! She’s dead!" She sobbed harder and leaning further into Miss Goose warm embrace, highly upset.
Miss Condor frowned, crossing her arms and starring coldly at the dramatic scene. "Can you show us the body?" She asked Esmeralda. “come on now girl, we need to know where to find her.” She ordered.
Esmeralda shook her head over and over. “No! Nononono…!” She didn’t want to see the body again, didn’t want to have to return to the gruesome scene and relieve it all. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t survive it.
"Sweetie please...I know it's upsetting...but we need to see her. We need to figure otu what happened." Miss Goose whispered softly, stroking Esmeralda’s back mamanging to be kinder than her sister Ymbryne in the present situation.
Esmeralda finally gave in, letting go of Miss Goose. “Fine. But I doon’t wan tto see her!” She cried, turning to show them where they'd been stargazing. The whole hill was now drenched in blood, painting the green grass blood red. The liquid squelches under her boots as she trudges upwards, going to face the body after all.
Miss Goose take one look at the former Miss Stilt and grab the younger Ymbryne by her shoulders, leading her back down the hill and letting Miss Condor stay to care for the corpse instead. They walk all the way down and then back towards the house, where the other three Ymbrynes appared with Hans. He's been put in a straightjacket, swearing and screaming and doing all he possibly could to escape from his capturers.
"We found him" One of the Ymbrynes reported. "He was caught trying to leave the loop."
Miss Goose nodded. She was hardly surprised - she knew that was the end goal for the boy, after all. "Good. Miss Condor is taking care of the body. We need to lock him up and evacuate the children before the loop collapse. We have five hours and three seconds."
The Ymbrynes all nodded, taking the instructions form their superior, and rragging off Hans. Before Esmeralda herself could even utter another word on the matter, asking what was going on with the peculiar boy, Miss Goose had sent her off to shower and pack up. Clearly, they wanted their business swiftly and smoothly, going against the grain of how esmeralda felt she was able to do things. The whole world seemed to move in slow motion for her, and each step forward was agonzingly slow as she tried to escape what had happened any way she could.
Once she finishe dher shower, she sat down on an empty bed to watch Miss Goose pack up her things for her. "What will happen to me now?" She asked her worriedly, grabbing a photo that Miss goose had missed off her nightstand, adding it to the bag. “Who will teach me now?”
Miss Goose didn't shift a muscle. "You'll come with me and I'll mentor you instead. It's the decision of the council for you to continue your education with minimum interruption."
Esmeralda nodded. It could be worse, she supposed, though she still felt very shaken. "Why...why did Hans do it?" She asked, tears filling her eyes. "Why did he kill her?" She whispered. "She never hurt him."
The woman sighed. "I know. But he wanted out of here...and he wasn't thinking clearly. So he killed her. He figured other peculiars had done it before, and that that way he would have his freedom." She sighed deeply, pausing to give a moment of silence for her fallen sister. "Locked up is all he'll be now. He won't be seen again."
Esmeralda shivered. She knew Hans and Miss Stilt had had many fights about his being kept in the loop, but never ever had she imagained it could end like this... Perhaps if she would've, Miss Stilt wouldn’t have died. Maybe she could’ve saved her.
"Don't blame yourself" Miss Goose voice is strong and unwavering, her hand on Esmeralda's shoulder the same. She sees tears in the young Ymbrynes eyes, and she knew what she must be thinking of. "It's not becoming dear. We must be strong and not let it get us down. We move on, always.”
Esmeralda nodded, straightenning her back. She hd to be strong now. Miss Stilt trusted that she would be okay, and she mad esure that she would know before she died how strong and powerful she thought she was. She had to prove her right.
Carefully, she rightened Miss Stilt’s glasses on her face and nodded. “Yes ma’am.”