A Flowers Enigma

7- Ties and Tied

  Everything about the Bloodwyn Family is huge. Their influence, their estate, their friends, and their bloodline. Though there is only 100 official members, some members have family that branch off. It's a very complicated tree, something that'd take hours or maybe even days to understand.

So why am I surprised to see Yannara in the castle, clad in pajamas and lounging freely as if she lived here?

"Yannara! What are you doing here?"

She snaps her head towards me, mouth full of candy and hands full of bags of chips and coke. "Oh, Iris! Didn't think you'd be here." I frown, striding up to her slowly.

"I didn't think you'd be here either. Skipping school?" I ask casually. We both knew of my sudden circumstances- of course she knew I'd be here. She nods, sitting up straight and wiping off crumbs from her shirt. She arranged herself and brushes her wild hair away from her face.

"Yea. Family business. You?" She asks, eyebrows raised as she stared into my eyes.

"Same. Well, soon to be family business, anyways." We both laugh awkwardly.

"I um... didn't know you were part of the Bloodwyn Family."

Her eyes widen. "Oh, no! Um, my older sister just got married to Jasper's second cousin. Pretty complicated stuff. So now, I'm moving in." I sit down next to her, taking a bag of Doritos.

"Super complicated. You being in the same castle as Jasper? Must be tough."

She stands up, inclining her head for me to follow her. We walk down multiple passageways, maids and butlers still scuttling about as their day is just getting started.

"It's better than getting married to him, I'll say. Pretty soon you'll be moving in too. We can be roommates!" She opens a door to a room with a room that made my eyes water.

It was so darkly toned. Yannara's queen sized bed was a dark and bloody red with black pillows. Gossamer like sheets hung from the ceiling, like spider webs protecting a spider nest. The walls were a creamy white with red decorations etched into them, almost like a carved out storyline into sacred red oak.

The carpet was a soft plush black, and even her desk and chair was black with a green bookbag hanging off it. The sudden color difference was alarming, and I wanted to hide it. Call me a perfectionist if you may.

A large flat screen television hung across from her bed on the wall, right on top of a small bookshelf. Next to her bed was a door which I'm guessing led to her closet or bathroom, but since this is the royal castle I wouldn't be surprised if it were both.

"Your a very...red person." I observate.

"Yeah. My mom thinks all this red might somehow manifest me to be an evil succubus when I'm older. But to be honest? I just love the color. It's so vibrant and..." I move over to caress the silk bedsheets, "lustful." Our eyes meet for a quick second, but we both look away just as quickly.

I laugh at the irony in her words. "Love is a little underwhelming. I'd say adore or worship, even." She laughs, all her pearly white teeth showing. Her two fangs were very sharp, somehow glinting in the light. It made her seem all the more wild and animalistic.

"What's your favorite color?" She asks, placing her food down and sitting on her bed gently. I sit across from her, pondering.

"Purple."

"Took you a minute to answer that. Why?"

"Because...I love a lot of colors. But if I had to choose, it'd be purple."

"Purple is the color of royalty, ya know."

I frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiles wider, her eyelids drooping lazily. Slight butterflies tingled in my stomach at the sight. "It means your destined for royalty. You'd probably be a good Queen."