Lovely Girls in Pretty Dresses - Bella's Castle

Cass grinned and let Bella lead the way, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I've been trying to get every vantage point I can for a project. I just hope it turns out well. I've never done anything like this before. I'm trying to tell a story with the moon. Setting it to music composed by Miss Harrington."

"That sounds so lovely - I have only met her in passing. She seemed lovely."

She led Cass up into the East Wing - a simple floor with several guest rooms. Up a small set of stairs near the back of one of the rooms they went, and a trap door led into a clean, barren attic. It had obviously been recently cleaned, though nothing was stored there.

A small window opened easily, and she crawled out - finally releasing Cass' hand to pull herself up onto the roof. It was slanted, but easy enough to balance on.

The view was truly astounding, the water within view from here. A gentle fog hovered over the forest and the moon reflected off of it, a beautiful, bright crescent.

"She's very lovely. A very good friend," she smiled as she nodded. Cass watched Bella climb out and took a moment to look out the window, her eyes focusing on things in the distance. After a moment or so, she came out of the window, pushed and pulled herself up with an easy swing of her legs upward and easily made it to the roof. The Rose brushed her hands off and stepped up to the edge of the roof, toes dangling just over the side as she took one long, good look around.

Her eyes went first for the moon and then to the fog over the trees and then the water. A small, very pleased smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Like an enchanted forest..."

She smiled gently, lounging back on the roof. "I feel like I live in an enchanted forest.. like a fairytale."

"But are you living the fairy tale?"

She turned to glance at Bella over her shoulder as she crouched down onto her haunches.

"Mm, no.. not really." She smiled sweetly. "I mean. We're vampires, immortal, etc.. that's pretty cool. But as far as Prince Charming.." Her shoulders shrugged up.

"Most fairy tales are grim, anyway," she chuckled softly.

She gave a bitter chuckle, rolling her eyes some. "Yep.."

"Are you alright, dear?" Obviously thinking perhaps she had struck a chord.

She perked up quickly, scooting a bit closer to Cass. "Yep, awesome. Up on a roof with a beautiful woman, under a beautiful sky.. what more could I ask for?"

"A bit of a loaded question," she smiled sweetly as she watched Bella come closer. "We could all ask for more things than what we have. But what is it that truly makes us happy? Are you happy, Bella? In the most general of terms, can you say that you are?"

"In the most general of terms.." She gently hooked Cass' arm with her own, leaning softly against the other woman. "Yes, I'm quite happy."

The Rose gave Bella a slight squeeze of her arm and her smile stayed bright as she looked back out over horizon. "That is a good foundation for bigger and better things, then. Anything I can do to keep you happy, you have but to ask."

"Ditto, k?" She smiled softly. "Are you happy?"

She gave a nod and smiled, playing with the ruby pendant around her neck. "In the most general terms, I am."

"What keeps you happy?" Her question was innocent, genuine.

"My work, mostly. Keeping my mind as sharp as the pictures I take," she chuckled softly. "Trying to avoid trouble when I can help it. Traveling kept me happy for the longest time, but I got road weary. My project kept me happy, too. It was odd though, when I finished it. The sense of accomplishment was amazing, having worked on it for so long. But... then I realized I didn't have anything to fall back on. With it finished, my hands were empty. So it was bittersweet, in a way."

She leaned a bit into Bella as she turned to speak to her.

"And what is that makes you happy?"

"Old friends.." She leaned back against Cass gently, "New friends. Remaining close to my Humanity, helping and caring for other people.."

She shrugged a bit.

"Keeping close to my humanity is a goal I have, too. How do you do it? How do you balance it with what you are?"

"I do things for people without expecting anything in return.. I protect myself by means that aren't violent - stop myself from frenzy to avoid hurting people - do things that remind me of what life was like as a mortal."

Again, Cass nodded. It was a familiar set of statements for her.

"Have you found this domain to be... um... trying in the humanity department for you?"

"Not yet... I mean, so far people more powerful than myself have taken care of any potential threats. The Demons are sort of a problem.."

"A very big problem," she frowned as she fidgeted. "Very, very big problem," she said again in a near whisper. And then Cass promptly scooted away from the edge of the roof.

Bella shifted backwards with Cass, slipping her arm around the woman's waist. "Yeah.. it's.." She lowered her head a bit, giving a gentle sigh. "Can you do me a favor?"

"I can sure try," she answered softly. "What do you need?"