GARDEN TEA PARTY
Because only in our dreams can we be happy, dear Mary Weather...

. o . o . o . o .

She heard the dainty clink of tea-cups in the distance and immediately perked up, shoving her fleur-de-lis comforter off of her body. A tea party so early in the morning?

It almost seemed like she hadn't even taken the time to change, she was out so fast. Mary Weather ran down the hallways of the manor, bursting through the front doors, running up their hill. Cain was waiting for her, sitting as regally as ever in the cute little wooden chair they had specifically picked out for him for their special tea parties. Uncle Neil was deep in discussion with Aunt Katina, but both glanced up and smiled as she approached. Riff was cutting her favorite cherry cake in slices, setting them onto white porcelain plates, and Oscar looked like an oaf in her eyes as per usual, trying to restrain himself from eating too much before she came. "I'm here!"

"So you are, Mary." Cain courteously pulled out her seat for her, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before sitting down. "I'm glad you managed to get up," he teased as he sat down, leaning over and familiarly adjusting a ruffle on her shoulder. "We were starting to worry that there would be no cherry cake left for you, since Oscar was eating it all." The earl shot a venomous glare at the ex-baron.

"I didn't eat it all! ...Just a quarter of it. Riff does make the best cherry cakes," Oscar laughed sheepishly. Mary sent him a huffy glare of her own to match Cain's.

"Mooch!"

"Have no worries, Miss Mary. There's plenty more," Riff smiled. A particularly large piece of the dessert was set in front of her, and it was with gusto that the little girl set to eating it.

"Mm! It's so good!" she squealed.

"Don't eat so quickly, Mary! You'll choke!" Aunt Katina scolded lightly. "And it's not lady-like besides."

"Yes Aunt Katina," she replied with a sigh, reluctantly eating more slowly. Riff's cherry cake really was delicious- she couldn't help eating so quickly and so much in one sitting.

"Go easy on Mary, Aunt Katina," Cain said easily, accepting a steaming cup of tea from Riff. "It is her tea party, after all."

"It's our tea party," Mary corrected. "Our garden tea party."

. o . o . o . o .

They talked quite a bit during that seemingly endless tea party. Uncle Neil and Aunt Katina were cajoled into attending Mayfair's Spring Festival with them, and Cain was conned into buying Mary a puppy, a small Golden Retriever with cute floppy ears and a feather tail who would be named either Janey if it was a girl, or Jacques if it was a boy. Oscar spilled tea all over himself and Riff, at which Cain and Mary accused the really apologetic former for being a clumsy idiot for doing something like that to the latter, who just smiled and cleaned up, then excused himself so he could change. When he came back they discussed the trip to France that Cain planned on taking in the early summer, lapsing into more and more cheerful topics as they continued on.

At the end of the party, Uncle Neil and Aunt Katina said their goodbyes and left, promising another visit soon. Oscar left shortly after that (to Mary's relief), saying he had matters to attend to. Cain and Mary started to head back to the manor at Riff's urgings, saying that he would soon be there after cleaning up the tea party table.

"Today was so fun, Cain!" Mary twirled with a giggle as she walked, sending her blonde hair flying. "I want to do that again sometime soon."

She didn't notice that her half-brother had stopped in his tracks until she sensed the loss of his presence behind her. The little girl turned and blinked. "Older brother?"

Cain sent her a soft, sad smile. "I'm afraid this is the only tea party I can give you, my dear Mary Weather."

She was startled, slowly walking back to him, trying to decipher the meaning of his words. "Older brother, what do you mean?"

A ghost of a smile spread over his features. "Like you said, Mary...I'm a repeat offender." He reached out and took a perfect braid of hers in his hand before bringing it to his lips to kiss. "I just wanted to make sure that this one promise was not neglected."

Everything started fading away. Fading until nothing was left...except for his golden eyes, sad and apologetic. But then they closed as well, leaving her in darkness.

I'm sorry Mary.

"Older brother!"

. o . o . o . o .

"Ahh!" Mary sat up in shock, heart beating fast. What was that just now? She raised trembling hands to her cheeks, feeling the cold sweat breaking out over the smooth skin. "Older brother!"

"Miss Mary?" Riff rushed in, the worried expression growing more concerned at the sight of her pale and frightened face. "Miss Mary, what's wrong?"

"Older brother...I want to speak to Cain! I need to speak with him now!" She was on the verge of tears, and was half-way out of the tangle of her bedsheets by the time Riff returned with Cain, clothed haphazardly in a dressing gown.

"Mary! Mary, what's wrong?" His golden eyes searched her teary blue ones, searching for the reason why she was so upset. The little girl clutched at him for a moment, checking that he was real, that he was there. "Mary?"

"Oh Cain!" She collapsed in a heap into his arms, sobbing. The earl was at a loss of what to do, turning to his trusted butler for answers. But a shake of a head told him Riff knew nothing to tell him of.

"Mary, shh Mary, it's alright," he soothed, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm right here. I'm right here."

Mary didn't let him go for the rest of the night. By morning, she'd forgotten her dream. The only thing that remained of it was the desire to have more tea parties.

She never got the chance to have another one with Cain there with her. And she never had cherry cake ever again.

. F . i . n .

Author's Notes:

My sister has a love of sibling relationships (not incest), so at a 'request' of hers (read: demand -snortlaugh-), I'm starting to write some sibling one-shot fics. This Cain/Mary Weather one probably isn't what she was looking for, since she likes more 'happy fairy tale ending' stories, but I like how this came out. I think it's more realistic to what their relationship was, and how it had to come to an end.

1023 words...not bad.

Review?

This goes down here, not up there.
Godchild and its characters do not belong to me.

Kaythxbai.