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Coronation
ArsenicForBreakfast
The shell of the world is thick--neither hand nor sword will crack it. Inside, the chick cries feebly. Broken wings, sightless eyes, cracked beak: it will die stillborn in its bleach-white coffin. This is reality, this is fate, that the chick should die without having ever seen the sun. Or, at least, it was, until the Prince ascended the staircase and the illusion began to fade.
The curtain rises with the creaking of gears. The white sheets loll like drunken lovers from every surface of the room, snaking down the naked body of the woman who would be a witch. Propped on her pillow, she smiles at the unwitting Prince.
"The Rose Garden is farther up," she says, as Utena takes measure of the room and of Shiori from the doorway. "Touga said this would happen. He knew you'd beat him, in the end." Her expression sours. "But did you really have to kill him?"
"Touga was already dead," Utena takes Touga's coat, still dripping, from her shoulders, and throws it at the foot of the bed. "If I want to leave this place, I have to forget about him. That's what he told me."
"Even though you loved him?" Shiori rises up, and the sheets fall away, showing her nakedness. Utena averts her eyes. "Are you hurt? Do you feel guilty? Because you should. Touga belonged to me! He was my Prince, and you killed him." Shiori is all flash and fire; she strides to Utena and strikes with the back of her hand. Utena presses her fingers to her reddening cheek, and the ring on her finger gleams.
"You'll fail," she whispers, taking Utena's hand in twined fingers,"In this world, the Duelists live because they're weak, because they cling to their weakness. But if you leave this place, you'll surely meet the death that waits for you at the End of the World, and Touga will have died in vain."
"I have to go. Himemiya is waiting for me. Even if I die, I'll die outside of this place."
Shiori raises Utena's shaking hand to her lips and kisses it gently. She can feel a shudder move through the girl's body. "Go then, noble Prince. Only know that in the end, it's the witch who rules this place, and I am the witch." Shiori lets go of Utena, who staggers away from her. As she runs from the room and up the stairs, her footfalls pound rythmically until they fade into the silence.
Calmly, and for the first time in years, purposefully, Shiori dresses. The curtains roll back from the window, and the orange glow of the highway lights fills the room. Smiling, the witch takes a red rose from the vase by the window and plucks a petal. She places it on her tounge and swallows, savoring the bitter flavor.
"I'm sorry for lying to you, Utena Tenjou, but you'll never make it to the End of the World. For taking Touga from me, I won't be satisfied unless I'm the one who kills you." With a cold smile, she places the rose on top of Touga's jacket and takes a final glance at the empty room.
"The Prince is dead. Long live the Prince."
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