Black.
Black was the colour people wore when they missed someone, when they lost someone, when they celebrated the previous life of someone who was gone. However, Quilliene didn't miss anyone. She hardly knew them, afterall. The only connection she had of them was forgotten letters, long range phone calls, and old stories. All that she missed was the long gone chance to perhaps know them a bit more.
"Are you sure you wish to wear… this, your majesty?" One of the maids asked timidly.
"Yes," She answered coldly. "I am positive."
(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> 🖋 <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)
Neo was told to continue on with the day without the queen. She had to get ready, of course, and he assumed she needed time alone. Afterall, it was the day of her parents' funeral. He hadn't seen her since that morning, and she seemed so… angry. He won-dered why, but didn't dare ask such a question.
Standing by the crowd who watched the holes in silent respect, he looked at his clothes. He was the only person not wearing black. The previous three days were not enough time to make funeral attire - what he wore at that moment was all he had. Everyone around him, friends and relatives and nobles, were glaring at his outfit and blatant disrespect. He could practically hear their seething thoughts through their hatred-engulfed eyes.
How dare he?
Yes, how dare he not mourn people he hardly knew. People who spoke three sentences to him, and sent him into… that place… for three years. He sighed, staring out across the graveyard, and then to the glorious two metre tall stone structures that marked the holes. Both were female angels - they had to keep up the appearances of the royal family not being demon worshippers, of course.
Already they had walked through the streets of London with the two caskets, the entire city silent in a show of respect. Neo hadn't joined them. He remained by the graves, staying a ways back, until they arrived. However, as they arrived, they could no longer wait for the queen. As the priest read some passage about rising to heaven, the four people at each ornate casket started lowering them inside. Alas, Neo knew better - they would hardly get into heaven with all their demon servants around.
However, when people started taking turns throwing roses into the holes - all of them a deep red - Neo got distracted. He turned as he heard a car, a white limousine pulling up, and he quickly realised what it meant. While violins and symphonies of melancholy played, he stared out upon the street and down the hill. Quilliene, the newly appointed queen, had finally shown her face.
Everyone, who had already paid their condolences stopped and turned as the vehicle screeched to a halt. They watched in anticipation. Staring. Waiting. Neo held his breath like many others, almost dreading what he would see. She hadn't even shown up to walk through the streets. Perhaps, to none of his surprise, it wouldn't even be her - but it was.
A butler stepped out of the driver's side, dressed all in black. People gazed curiously before their mumbling stopped short when the man opened the door. The first thing out was a slippered foot, but it wasn't black like it was supposed to be. It was instead a sparkling cream colour. What came next led to a collective audible gasp from the crowd, and caused Neo to part his lips in surprise.
The dress she wore was nothing if not unexpected. It was a trumpet skirt with long sleeves and a high neck, a hole in the front to showcase her collarbone in a four-pointed star shape. The shoulders were bare, her mocha skin showing through. Neo was unsure if the next part was the best or worst piece - because the dress was made of sequins and coloured a vibrant Tyrian purple.
Her hair was braided back on the left side, the rest still in thin strands right above her shoulders. Quilliene's brown eyes were cold as she strutted up the hill, two singular flowers in her left hand. However, they were not scarlet roses, instead being violet hydrangeas.
Neo watched her pass by without so much as a glance in his direction, the nobles parting to have her walk towards the graves. She stopped between the two, looking down inside each without a single tear in sight. Slowly, she brought up the flowers to her chest, taking on and ripping the head off, throwing it down her mother's side. Then, she did the same with the other, tossing it into her father's. With that, she let go of the stems, letting one land in each hole.
With that, she turned and prepared to walk away. For a moment though, she paused, looking out into the crowd and searching before her eyes landed on him. White dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail, dusky skin, black suit. He stared at her in disappointment with a cold, icy blue gaze that made the entire dreary day freeze. She glared, sneering before going on.
She stopped by Neo, casting him a look before nodding at him to follow. He obliged, walking after as she elegantly floated across the grass, not a word spoken while she entered the limousine. He went in after, sitting a ways away from her. When the door closed and the whispers of her actions dispersed, he spoke his question.
"Why did you do that?"
She paused. "Whatever do you mean?"
Neo turned to look at her. "Why did you disrespect them?"
Quilliene seemed to think before turning away, facing the window. "I didn't."
Neo was silent at the answer, frowning a small bit. His eyes returned to the window, watching as the people stared in shock and awe, whispering to each other while the driver pulled them from the parking slot. Throughout the journey back to the castle, neither of them spoke to one another. Neo was simply silent. Thinking. Wondering. Only a single question kept coming up into his mind. If she truly didn't care, why was she putting on a mask to hide the anger of her loss?