Long ago, a wise man (aka my friend) asked me, "What monster would you not mind having a dupe of?" I replied with "Charlotte. She's the best monster ever, has a third skill that decreases attack bars, and I can nickname my second Charlotte Scarlett."
Did you think that Scarlett died in the prologue? THINK AGAIN.
...or maybe she did. I'm honestly unsure myself. I just write as I go along or when I think of a good idea.
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Summary: Charlotte, now nicknamed Scarlett, wakes up in a strange room, with no recollection of what happened after drowning, only to learn she had been summoned. Something had happened to her to change her, she realized, when she found out loud noises now hurt and she didn't want to talk anymore.
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Chapter One
Waking Up
"- !"
"Do not worry...you are simply being summoned..."
"..."
"...By a girl, one I hold very dear to me..."
"...I see."
"I guess this is goodbye, Charlotte."
"Not goodbye."
"...?"
"Just see you soon."
Static hummed in Charlotte's brain, before she slowly drifted out of a rosy dream world and into reality. It was a comfortable feeling, only to be snapped out of it, leaving her delirious. Her senses came back to her, and she opened her eyes slowly. It wasn't nearly as bright as she expected, though it still burned. Charlotte rolled over, now finally able to focus and see what happened to her.
She was in a warm, friendly and inviting room, a bedside dresser to the right of her bed. There was something folded up and placed on the flat white surface, probably gathering dust. Charlotte looked down, and could see that she was in a nightgown of sorts. The silence wasn't deafening; if anything, it was peaceful, and helped her to focus her thoughts.
The silence was soon broken from the sound of the door creaking. Charlotte sat up, turning to the left, where two faces greeted her. One was of a kind woman with red hair; her face gently aged but still young enough to make Charlotte believe that she was in her early thirties. She wore a red and white dress, a small pinkish crown on top of her head. In one hand was a staff with a cross on top of it, a soft pink glow emitted from the cross. The other was hiding behind this woman, but Charlotte could make out green hair, tied into pigtails.
"Good morning, Scarlett." The woman said to her. Her voice was like music; soft and gentle. Why did she call me Scarlett? Charlotte asked herself. None of these words escaped from her head, though. Her face must have asked an unheard question, as the woman went on.
"You were summoned unconscious, and our Summoner, Sara, brought you here." She explained. "You were out for fifteen days, and we visited you every day since."
The woman introduced herself as Chloe, and soon enough, the reason why Charlotte was being called Scarlett revealed herself. A little girl came out from hiding behind Chloe, with large green eyes and hair of a similar color, tied up into curly pigtails. She wore a mostly tan and white dress, sleeveless and the skirt coming down halfway to her thighs. Her legs were covered by black and tan Victorian stockings, both of which different from one another. In one hand she held an umbrella, closed up and tied with a bow. It was an Occult Girl; in fact, it was another Charlotte.
"Hi!" This Charlotte greeted; a smile curled across her face. "I-I'm Charlotte! You must be the other Charlotte; a-although Sara's been calling you Scarlett! I think i-it's kinda cute!" Scarlett couldn't help but be charmed by her enthusiasm; it reminded her of herself during her life with...
No. She shook her head to clear her mind of the bad thoughts, like a dog trying to shake water off of its fur. I will not burden myself with Enigma anymore. Charlotte noticed and tilted her head.
"I-is there something wrong, Scarlett?" She asked. She gave Charlotte a small and weak smile in return, and shook her head.
"Where am I?" Scarlett asked; the first words she said since waking up. Her voice was no longer using the happy, peppy tone that Charlotte was using; instead quiet and emotionless; never once faltering. It was the kind of voice someone used when life finally got to them and made the future look hopeless, and they were truly, sincerely broken.
"You are in a small town near Garen Forest." Chloe smiled kindly. Her bright blue eyes had a gleam to them as it caught the light overhead. Scarlett was unsure if Chloes had red or blue eyes, but frankly; this Chloe's eyes were very pretty. Scarlett liked her. "We are all close friends with everyone here, and they could treat you in ways we could not."
"I see." Scarlett nodded.
"Can you stand on your own?"
"Yes, I can. Thank you for worrying." She swung her legs to the edge of the bed and attempted to support her weight on them. Scarlett stumbled a little, and instantly Chloe was at her side, holding one hand to keep her up. Scarlett's legs were bare, as were her feet. Charlotte smiled sweetly at her.
"Come on! We'll show you around!" Scarlett's head was pounding all of a sudden. Why was it doing that? Charlotte was loud, Scarlett realized; too loud, even. It made her ears hurt.
"...You're loud." Scarlett said blankly. "I don't like loud."
"O-oh, I'm sorry..." Her voice dropped, to the point where Scarlett felt...normal, again. Her headache went away once Charlotte calmed down. Charlotte looked almost ashamed of herself, like she should have somehow known that this would have hurt Scarlett. In reality, not even Scarlett herself knew that this would've hurt; it never did before she was abandoned. She felt sympathy for the girl, and knew that she had to reassure her it wasn't her fault.
"It's alright, Charlotte." Scarlett told her. She wanted to say more, but didn't for some reason.
"Would you like to come to the island with us once you are dressed?" Chloe asked. "There is a dress that Charlotte made for you on the nightstand." Charlotte nodded.
"I think you'd like it!" She smiled at Scarlett. They were all being kind to her, and it made her wonder if they were all just putting on a face, like Enigma was. She kept it to herself and smiled back at Charlotte.
"Thank you. I will join you in a few minutes." Chloe nodded, taking this as their cue. She walked over to Charlotte and gently took her hand, leading her out the door and closing it behind her; leaving Scarlett alone to reflect on her thoughts. Chloe acted like a mother, and a part of Scarlett seemed happy that she was going to live with such a kind person.
She turned to the nightstand, where the folded up dress greeted her again. Scarlett unraveled it to look at it in the light. It was a pale tan color, and three stripes, a burnt orange, snaked across the fabric; one near the shoulders, one near the waist, and one on the skirt. It was long and flowing, the sleeves coming down a little over her wrists and the skirt stopping at her ankles. It was obvious Charlotte had spent a lot of time and care on making it.
Scarlett soon found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. She almost looked...nice; pretty, even. The dress had fit her perfectly, and her hair was kept loose, ending at her waist. She didn't feel like tying them up into pigtails; it reminded her of her old life. This was a chance to start anew, and she would not be held down with fragments of her past. What did she think of her new image?
I look older. Scarlett told herself. Nothing else. With that, the girl turned back to where the two monsters had left and followed after them, opening the door to the town in Garen Forest.
Light assaulted her eyes, temporarily leaving her blind before they could adjust to the change in light. When the white faded away, she found herself standing on a cobblestone path, leading to the house that she had woken up in. The sun was warm on her face, which felt nice when the last thing you remember is dying in a freezing pool of water. "GENERAL CARE WARD," the sign in front of her read. It was a hospital, then.
Monsters entered and exited houses and buildings. Scarlett could make out a blue horse trotting down the road, a brilliant white horn on its forehead; before it stopped all of a sudden, staring at the sign on a building. "No animals allowed." There was a flash of light as feathers fluttered onto the ground, and the horse became a girl with white hair and a horn peeking out of her hair; a blue gown flowing down to her ankles. The source of the feathers soon became obvious, as a pair of wings opened up on her back and she continued on her path, entering what looked like a café. Chloe and Charlotte were a few yards away, talking to someone. It became clear to her that they hadn't noticed her yet.
"Scarlett's finally woken up!" Charlotte announced. As Scarlett's eyes focused, she was able to see who the two were talking to. A woman stood in front of them, proud and tall, clutching a long, thin sword that seemed to radiate with the power of darkness. Her eyes were a bright red, the color of blood, and her purple hair was swept over one eye and tied up into a low-hanging ponytail. The woman's hair was a stark contrast against her unusually pale skin, mostly hidden by armor as dark as the ball of energy that lazily floated over her free hand.
"Thank you for taking her in on such a short notice, Lanett." Chloe thanked the woman. "We didn't know what to do, as a monster had never been summoned unconscious before on our island."
"It is not a problem. I am glad to help the monsters who took on the responsibility of Sister Lapis..." Lanett replied, before turning the subject to their island life. "Speaking of her, how has Sister Lapis been?"
"She's doing better! I helped her pick flowers for Frigate today! I think she likes him!" Charlotte smiled. Scarlett would later learn that this Lapis was a Magic Knight that had snapped one day and started to drain the energy from her younger sister, Iris, to grow stronger. She would have completely absorbed the girl's life force, had Lanett not found her in Mt. Siz. Their Summoner, Sara, had decided to take Lapis in to help her regain her sanity once more.
"Is that so?" Lanett felt a smile creep across her face at the thought of her half-sister doing much better than she ever expected her to: when she found her, she was gleefully cackling at the thought of her sister growing weaker and weaker as she absorbed more of her magic and energy and Lanett was forced to use Gravity Shot on her to temporarily immobilize her; "It's not like her to be so caring and compassionate...I think your help is doing far more than you think, dear Charlotte."
Scarlett felt awkward as the three happily conversed with each other; she didn't know anything about their life and couldn't chime in. She was the odd one out, the one who didn't belong. Finally, Lanett noticed the girl standing there and turned to her. Lanett studied her features and her posture for a moment, before smiling.
"Greetings. I am Lanett; the dark Magic Knight." She began. Her voice was like Scarlett's; unfaltering and quiet, rarely revealing her emotions. She instantly liked Lanett. She was not loud. She did not hurt her ears. "I believe you are the Scarlett that Chloe and Charlotte have been telling me about all this time?"
"Yes, ma'am." Scarlett nodded once.
"You are a beautiful young lady, you know?" Lanett complimented, leaving a strange feeling in Scarlett. She didn't know how to describe it, but it was nothing positive; soon she felt as if Lanett were being false. She took it anyway, pretending that nothing was wrong.
"Thank you, Lanett." Scarlett replied.
"Charlotte was just telling me about how she couldn't wait to be your best friend." Charlotte nodded in agreement. "Whenever you are ready, they will take you to your new home."
"You will also be training with Lanett once Sara has some runes in you." Chloe chimed in. Scarlett nodded, indicating she heard.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes." Chloe smiled kindly and reached out to her, as if to take her hand. Scarlett let her, and Charlotte hopped to her side.
"Come on, then!" Charlotte chirped, and with that, they started for the island in the sky.