... remain

*dies* I will never ... erm ... ok, I shouldn't say that, because next thing I know, I'm doing another But this piece, as well as many others, has killed me. Background especially. This is like ... my 10th attempt at it! [and it juat had to be the simpleat one ]

This piece was inspired by a poem written by Francis William Bourdillon, Christmas Roses, and not only because of the roses

<sub>Diana Hope, a woman of many talents, had been literally everything a woman can [and sometimes can't] hope to become. From house lady to actress, to spy and then a florist, she has been literally everything. Once she gets bored of a profession or a place to live, she moves on, no hard-feelings about it. But no matter what she does or how much time it passed, she still can't forget about the one thing she never managed to get enough of. A long time ago, Diana knew the joy of being a mother. One summer day, she had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She soon became the highlight of her life, her very own drop of sunshine on rainy days. One day, when they were outside, enjoying a little bit of sunshine under her husband's favorite rosebush, Diana saw her baby reaching for a rose. Diana then promised her that she will pick one for her when she's older so she won't be tempted to put it in her mouth.

I don't think I'll ever be able to say exactly how much she could care for that child, but by the time the baby was only six months old, on the exact day of the Winter Solstice, the house in which they lived caught fire. The cause of the fire was never determined, but her husband believe it was not a simple accident - but Diana didn't care, because she had lost her child in the fire. From that day on she was like a broken porcelain doll.

After her husband's death, she tried to move on with her life, traveling as much as she could, doing as many things as she could. But even so, she would always come back to her once beloved home once a year, on the day of the Winter Solstice, and would always leave a rose for her dead child, for she was never able to give one to her when she was still alive.</sub>

I feel like I should add that although the story takes place in modern times, the dress she is wearing is [supposed to be] a 1910's evening dress [yes, it's not a 1790's]. The contest rules over at :devLaMoneHstorique: say that "Costume designs must be original in order to be accepted. Do not directly copy designs from paintings, fashion plates, extant clothing, etc." ... so I hope this version of [link] is not 'going overboard' _{p.s. I left off the gloves intentionally} Also, I know that this doesn not seame like something someone would wear outside but Diana doesn't really care about that.

All that being said, WISH ME LUCK!!! <sub>although I know I won't win

~ for the Winter Contest at *LaModeHistorique
~ for the Winter Solstice at =starlightblood</sub>


System Overload © Jessica P.
textures from CG Textures