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"If you're so worried about your runaway bride, go chase after her yourself," Chuchu scoffs.
Miorine rolls her eyes. "As if she's so spineless that she'll run away," she shoots back, smothering the gnawing nervousness in her chest. She's late, Miorine impatiently notes as she crosses her arms. She already asked the Earth House residents if Suletta happened to drop by, but none of them have seen a strand of her red hair today.
Pacing around the halls of the Earth House, she waits for her groom-to-be to arrive. Boy-crazed Suletta deserves a break after her victory, even if the words sound green and bitter to her tongue. But she's not jealous. Rather, Miorine's worried. Although Elan did seem considerably sweeter after his defeat, a far cry from his Mannequin Prince persona, there could be dangers afoot.
(She ignores the voice saying that he's starstruck, starstruck of a girl that barged into his life without warning and swept his feet like a knight in shining armor. That's what Suletta is, after all. All too daring and determined to rescue anyone, even if they don't really deserve it. Her face involuntarily twists into a scowl.)
Dark scenarios start conjuring in her head. What if he lures away Suletta to the Peil house? What if he threatens her to give up Aerial? What if Suletta falls head over heels when she sees him fake a smile, all just a ploy to break her heart again?
At that last thought, Miorine immediately marches to her scooter. She can't waste a single moment to find Suletta, she can't risk another broken heart.
Outside, the projected lights in the artificial sky of Asticassia Academy have already been dyed red. The blazing colors remind Miorine of Suletta's hair, bright like a candle. It isn't only her hair that burns red; she has a brilliant, terrible bleeding heart that burns like the sun. It's the part that Miorine hates and loves the most about her. Always so compassionate and sweet, to the point that it's innocently cruel.
"Innocently cruel. Fits her perfectly," Miorine murmurs to herself as she zips across the sidewalk.
The grounds of Asticassia Academy are wide, it will take a good hour to roam around, not even counting the dorm houses. Still, she checks every place that could be considered 'romantic', though she's not so sure what Elan or Suletta's standards of romantic would be. At least Suletta would have a grandiose fantasy of cherry blossoms flowing in the air, Elan's ideal date might as well be a day in the test area, without filtered holographs or a single word exchanged.
The tactical test area. Empty classrooms. The hangar. The park. The forest. (She nearly ran over a tent in the middle of a clearing. Who in the right mind would be camping out in school grounds?) Even though she turns over every rock and searches for nooks and crannies, none of them had a trace of him or her.
The bright orange of the fake skies are already darkening into a crimson. Miorine was worried a few moments ago, but now, she is outright anxious.
Just when she is about to tiredly haul herself back to the Earth dorm to ask the students once more of Suletta's whereabouts, her eyes catch a head of flaming red.
Miorine holds in her breath. She never even bothered to check the benches, because surely, they wouldn't take the same course? Unless-
Suletta sits alone, curled in a fetal position. She couldn't see her face in this angle, but her slumped shoulders and her head buried between her knees indicate enough of what happened.
Protective fury instantly overcomes Miorine. Heartless bastard- he strung her along like she was just a toy to throw away. It was a mistake of her to think that he'll show decency after he lost.
Miorine slowly walks towards Suletta, as if she were approaching a wounded animal. She doesn't even want to imagine what Suletta must be feeling right now. "Suletta," she cautiously calls out.
Suletta doesn't reply.
Miorine sighs gently rests her hand upon Suletta's shoulder. "Suletta," she says again as she takes a seat next to her.
"Miorine san..." Suletta feebly replies.
"Curfew's over, Suletta," she breaks it to her in the least harshest way possible. "Let's go back home." Home. It's such a foreign word for her, the only place she can remotely think as a home is her mother's long-gone greenhouse at her childhood house. But if it's for Suletta, she could even call a cemetery a home.
"Maybe he thought we were supposed to meet at 10 PM instead of AM." Miorine isn't sure if she wants to flick Suletta's forehead or hold her hand. Just when she's about to pull her up, Suletta huddles in deeper. "He- he promised," her voice cracks. "He couldn't have broken a promise. Something must have gone wrong."
At those words, Miorine briefly ponders. She's right, it would be against the rules to not hold the victor's deal. Even if he's cold hearted, Elan would know better than to go against the dueling committee, especially as a core member.
Thoughts of Elan are immediately dismissed when she hears a choked cry. Suletta weeps and shivers right next to her, heaving out uneven gasps.
Miorine is horrible at comforting. She never received a single word of comfort in her life until Suletta, and she never gave much in return. It feels awkward, to say that it's going to be okay, that nothing's going to hurt, when she just knows it won't. White lies such as that don't suit her.
So instead, Miorine embraces her without a single word.
In her chest, Suletta is too warm, too soft. Miorine's afraid that Suletta will melt away at her grasp if she's not careful. But she remains solid as she sobs into her, gentle tremors running through both bodies. Miorine rubs soothing circles into her back as she combs her hair with her slender yet stiff fingers.
Once the crying dies out, Suletta wipes her tears away with the handkerchief Miorine offers. "I'm fine now," she reassures Miorine in a clearly not fine tone. "We can go."
"Wait," Miorine exclaims as she grabs her arm. Suletta blinks. "Stay here for a while. Look." She points at the scenery laid out for them.
Suletta has a look of pure awe on her face. An image of a bright red sun dips over the walls of the school. Miorine dislikes every aspect about her father's personal project, but for once she is grateful of the craftsmanship put into the facility. Uncertainly, she says, "But the curfew-"
"My curfew, my rules," Miorine responds firmly. "We can have a treat before we leave." Suletta nods obediently.
Heat hazes distort the glow of the fake star. The flames of the light flicker like tidal waves, the tiniest of curves on the edges of the circle. It's fascinating how they were able to replicate the sun like this, even if holographic technology isn't her forte.
Usually Suletta reminds Miorine of the dawn, white rays escaping the horizon as a beacon of light banishes of night. But with her tearstained face, she resembles the sunset so much today. Miorine recalls a book she once read, a story about a prince who loved sunsets and a rose too much. When she was a child, she couldn't empathize with him, why the prince felt such bittersweet reverence towards a simple phenomena. Now, with a sunset right next to her, she could understand why it hurts to love them so much.
Once the artificial light has sunk over the horizon, Suletta stands up. Her smile seems sad and Miorine doesn't know if she wishes the smile would be happier or if she hadn't smiled at all. One way or another, if it weren't for him, that smile wouldn't look so sad.
"Thank you, Miorine san," Suletta speaks up. "You know, I think I'll consider this as my first real date."
Her heart skips a beat at those words. First real date. With how disastrous Suletta's meeting with Elan went, it's no wonder that she'll want to consider this as her first. Even though she could consider this as a victory, it's pyrrhic with how she has to be a 'first real date' instead of just a 'first date'. It's strange, she feels both proud and hurt at the same time by only a few words uttered by Suletta.
She then rises from her seat as well. "I guess curfews can be passed if it's a date with me," she says casually, trying her best to mask her discomfort. "Although I'm a kind fiancé, I'm only merciful towards business between us." Suletta giggles as the two walk side by side.
Innocently cruel, Miorine sighs inside.