anastasia

though she dressed in bright pink tones, very rarely is she perceived to be as jubilant or pleasant as her attire. her arrogance (which she felt no shame in embodying fully) was grating to those around her, carrying herself with an air so pompous that she became a polarising figure. she was equal parts loathed as she was admired and respected; had she more fans or foes? nobody could be sure.

her ego, however, was not baseless. she was an exceedingly skilled witch and potion maker, consistently attaining the highest marks in her class. learning new spells and brewing new potions came easy to her in a way that making friends did not. certainly, she was a popular study partner, and many have chosen to ignore their distaste for her for a better grade. as charismatic and astute as she was, she knew little about how to keep people around for longer than a few days, nor did she know how to stop them from taking advantage of her.

though she was many things, she was not a bully. she despised those who were terrible to others for no good reason other than the fact that they could be, particularly those who excluded people who they deemed too different from them. so out of spite, or perhaps out of a kindness she scarcely revealed, she welcomed the outcasts into her inner circle, protecting them from further torment. though they numbered few, she found in them friendship and loyalty, and a family she could call her own.

cold she may be and cold she remains. but warmth manifests itself outside of her, in ways that she vastly preferred...