Amour Anatol
Special thanks to all the contributor maidens below:
Alice, Ari, Ellie, Emosh, Lita, Liza, Loi, Luna.All characters belong to the book Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji, originally illustrated by P.
“Be mine, Mrs. Ricaydo”
*Trigger warning: there are brief implications and discussion of infant death in part one, anyone sensitive to such content please proceed with caution.
December 27th- Drachium
Catherine walked along the rows of headstones in the cemetery until she came upon the one where both of her parents were buried. She carried four individual bouquets of flowers: three of royal lilies and one of yellow sunflowers. After placing a bouquet of royal lilies at the bottom of each headstone, she let out a weary sigh and closed her eyes. Catherine never imagined she would be without both of her parents and visiting their graves this early in her life. She stayed only for a few moments before moving to the south side of the cemetery to lay the third bouquet of lilies.
The next headstone belonged to her father’s first wife, also her sister and half-brother’s mother. She had no obligation to lay flowers at this grave, given she had no blood relation to the woman nor did she know her at all. But she knew her sister would appreciate laying the flowers in her place when she could not do so herself.
When Catherine arrived at the grave there was already a bouquet of wilting flowers on the ground, gently resting against the base of the headstone. Her lip twitched in a scowl, knowing it was undoubtedly her half-brother who had placed it there. He had every right to, it was his mother’s resting place after all, but Catherine simply didn’t like the idea of being in the same place he had been. Feeling the urge to be petty, she gently kicked the wilting bouquet to the side of the headstone, and placed the fresh lilies down in its place. Then she moved on to the last grave she needed to visit, on the east side.
Catherine dreaded visiting this grave, and before she knew it she was standing at the small, white, marble headstone; a teddy bear with angel wings engraved on it along with a name and dates that were much too close together. She promptly placed the bright bouquet of sunflowers on the ground and backed away. A surge of unpleasant memories came upon her, and her heart cracked when she noticed there weren’t any other flowers laid here. Catherine struggled to stay, but she also struggled to leave. She knew she was only one of two people who would visit this grave, and it didn’t feel right to leave so quickly, no matter how distressing it was to remain here.
Before she could let herself be overcome with emotion she prayed silently, then turned and headed back to the parked cab that was waiting for her. Catherine swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and blinked back the tears that had unwittingly brimmed her eyes. She walked as fast as she could and practically yanked open the cab door when she reached it. Once inside and situated, she let out a shaky breath.
“Where to, lady?” the driver asked, in an unrefined accent.
“Drachium mental institute,” she replied while rubbing her closed eyes.
“Mental institute, eh? Going to visit a loon for the holidays?” The driver looked at her in the rearview mirror with raised eyebrows and a funny smile.
Catherine opened her eyes and met his gaze, unamused. “What’s your name? I didn’t get it earlier.”
To be continued... Read more here:
All characters belong to the book Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji, originally illustrated by P.
Fanarts
Fanarts drawn and commissioned by the Remdragon Maidens.
All characters belong to the book Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji, originally illustrated by P.
Valentine's cards
All characters belong to the book Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji, originally illustrated by P.