Translations:

Eloigne-toi de moi, connard - Get away from me, asshole

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Dead people can't hurt you, it's the living you have to fear.

Tony Amato

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Rose was beginning to consider lighting the guy's eyebrows on fire.

He'd asked her name and directed her to a chair while frowning like she'd offended him with her appearance before ignoring her entirely and questioning the albino, whose name she'd actually learned and was now going to make fun of.

Subaru, who was not made with love, just shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know where this idiot came from and why she's here. I just found her lurking in our entryway." Rose bristled at the insult, and at the fact that they didn't even think to ask her.

"Well, what was I supposed to do when the doors opened magically? Stay out in the rain? Besides, I was sent here with very little information, though if you'd asked I would have given you this letter," she interrupted, brandishing the rain-dampened and slightly wrinkled envelope. She thought her logic was quite sound, but RBF clearly disagreed as his disgusted frown deepened at her outburst, though he took the letter.

"I see," he murmured, his emotionless voice making her shiver lightly. She found people without emotion scarier than people with too many bad ones. They could do whatever they chose to without feeling a shred of guilt. "So you're the next bride."

At that, Subaru stiffened and turned, walking out without another word. Rose, on the other hand, had many, many words. "What are you talking about? What did the letter say? What the hell did you mean by bride?" RBF held up a hand, and she shut her mouth, much to her own surprise. There was something very commanding about him, and she disliked it immensely. 

"My name is Sakamaki Reiji, the second son, and you are here to live with my brothers and me. You'll meet them at dinner. Follow me to your room." His sentences were short and terse, as though he couldn't waste precious time speaking to someone like her.

If Rose were to be honest, she found him patronizing and very menacing, which was never a good combination. However, she didn't say a word, merely nodding and following quickly behind him as he stalked down the hall. The house was indeed a maze; Rose realized as Reiji led her deeper. She'd be lucky if she found her way anywhere in this place.

A creaking door caught her attention, and Rose peered to the side to see a dark blue eye staring at her from a cracked open doorway. It was accompanied by a mass of dark hair and framed by long lashes, but before she could say anything, the door snapped shut. Glancing ahead at the nearly marching robot, Rose was surprised to find he hadn't reacted at all. The slam hadn't exactly been quiet, and Rose had the strange feeling his senses were better than hers. Was Reiji purposely ignoring whoever was behind the door?

Realizing she'd slowed down, Rose jogged to catch up to the robot, and they turned several more corners before she nearly slammed into him. Stumbling backward, Rose mumbled a few choice words in French as she glared at his back. "This is your room," Reiji snapped, turning to glare right back at her and tilting his head slightly towards an insignificant looking door.

"Is anything going to be explained to me, or are you going to keep tying with a wall for best conversationalist?" Rose snapped back, not appreciating the lack of information, particularly after being called a bride.

"You'll be introduced to my brothers at dinner, and I suggest you hold your tongue. Your manners so far have been deplorable," he replied, and she bristled, looking at him incredulously.

"Sorry, but who the hell shows their guest to their room without explaining anything about the circumstances surrounding their arrival and the basic rules and such? You called me a bride, which I feel gives me some right to know what's going on!" Her temper, already on a tight leash, flowed over as she exploded. The annoyance and fear she'd been feeling the past few days turned into anger as she faced down Reiji, who stared down at her with disapproval, as though she were throwing a tantrum.

"Are you incapable of having outbursts quietly? Your voice is giving me a headache," he snarled, and Rose was sure her face was red with fury. Who did this stuck up prick think he was calling her voice headache-inducing?

"Have you ever listened to a recording of yourself?" And with that, Rose lunged for the door, escaping to what was apparently her room before she had to deal with the consequences of her words. As she slumped against the dark wood, Rose wondered if anyone had ever talked to tall, dark, and machine-generated like that before. Probably not, which meant she was fucked. People like that didn't take kindly to sass, and Rose's armor was made entirely of sass, with the slightest accentuation of sarcasm.

Rose stared around the room in an attempt to calm her racing heart and found she didn't instantly dislike it. The room was a cozy size, with a canopied bed, dresser, nightstands, and the like all the same dark wood. The wallpaper was a calming light blue, and her sheets were a soft purple. The other fabrics in the room--chair cushions, rugs, and curtains--matched at least one of the two shades. Rose noted the carefully arranged reading corner and wondered how they'd known so much about her personality without knowing about her arrival. Perhaps it was just a lucky guess, but with the added additions like her favorite colors and a smaller room in such a large mansion, she wasn't so sure.

Rose shook her head vigorously, trying to expunge her paranoia, but in clung firmly to the edges of her conscious thought, driving her to lock the door and look under all the furniture before settling entirely into the room.

As Rose organized all of her clothes into the dresser, she heard footsteps patter down the hall. Quick and quiet, like someone was trying to hurry while being discreet. Straining to hear, Rose listened as the footsteps passed her doorway, paused just after it, then headed down the hall again. They stopped abruptly, and Rose heard nothing else as she finished unpacking, no matter how quiet she was.

***

After Rose had arranged everything to her liking, she set out an outfit for dinner, wanting to get out of her travel-stained clothes as quickly as possible. Settling on something utterly opposite of appropriate, Rose grinned down at her cream sweater dress that hung a little above her knees and her dog-patterned plum leggings. Everyone needed dog-patterned leggings in her opinion, and what a better way to meet the people who were going to kill her than in style.

Rose slid on a white bra and pink polka-dotted underwear--who had the time to match underclothes anyway--humming to On Etait Beau by Louane. She turned her back to the window just as it swung open with a bang, making her jump.

Whirling around, she hung back for a few moments, unsure of what had made the latched window open with such force and slightly unwilling to go near it. This was how many horror movies went, a window banging open, footsteps in hallways, and suddenly you're being dragged across the floor by unseen demon claws.

Finally, it was the fact that it was still raining outside that made Rose walk up to the window. Before she closed it, however, Rose peeked her already damp head out to make sure there were no demons on the roof. As she did so, the prickling feeling returned. Jerking her head inside as goosebumps covered her arms, Rose was about to shut the window when she heard a chuckle.

The laughter made her stiffen, and she turned slowly, not really wanting to look. When she did, Rose found herself glaring at a grinning guy with chin-length, fiery red hair and a smile that sent warning bells ringing in her head leaning on her bed, the sight making her cross her arms over her chest and press her hipbone against the windowsill.

"What do we have here? You look good enough to eat, Little Violet," he cooed, and Rose dug her nails into her shoulders as she bared her teeth in a snarl. Aggression was a much better emotion to show then the rising fear she was feeling. She found fear only encouraged them, while anger and fight usually scared them off.

"Get the fuck out of my room, creep," she hissed, but the red-haired man only laughed and walked forwards. Memories began to push their way to the surface, flashes of grasping hands and whispered skin-crawling statements, and Rose dug her hip further into the windowsill, begging for an escape.

"Looks like the shrinking violet has fangs. Good. I like a challenge," he teased, now barely a foot from her. His gleaming green eyes bore into her grey ones with the pinpoint gaze of a predator stalking prey, and Rose tensed, preparing for a fight.

"Eloigne-toi de moi, connard," she mumbled, throat closing with terror as he moved closer still, their bodies nearly press together now as his hand reached for her chin. Languages scrambled in Rose's mind, and she had no idea if her thoughts were in Japanese or French as old, nearly forgotten prayers for strength rose to the surface.

The man's teeth were bared as his head lowered towards her neck, and Rose reacted to her terror, shoving him away and darting to the side. He caught her, laughing as though they were playing a fun game, and Rose rammed her shoulder into his stomach on instinct, forgetting they were by a window as she flung strength she didn't know she had into the shove.

She had only wanted to escape, only wanted to put distance between them, but found she had done much worse as the shocked redhead tumbled out the window, hands letting her go as he flailed in a failed attempt to grasp something that would stop his fall.

A strangled sob rose in Rose's throat, but she swallowed it as she snapped the window shut, her body shaking so badly she feared her legs would give out. Not even knowing where she was going to go, Rose pulled on her outfit hurriedly as she moved for the door, taking a full minute to unlock it with her trembling hands.

Once out of her room, Rose's brain shut down, and she just ran down the hallway, mind filled with long-repressed memories.

Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! You killed that man. Just like her. Hahaha! Better watch out Rosie dear. We wouldn't want you to fall too.

Who's the liar now?

Should Rose light Reiji's eyebrows on fire?

By the way, that was a direct quote from my lovely girlfriend, so if it made you laugh, imagine trying to keep a straight (read: semi-straight; nothing I ever do is straight) face while watching this anime with her. I think I have abs now! Finally!

~ Avie