a/n: this story is dedicated to two very nice people, who are TheNextAlice and Inside Out Musica. They have reviewed my last one-shots with these two in it. Musica wanted a longer story, so this is for you! This will have three or four chapters. NextAlice said egghead book people rock the world, so this is for you, too, solely for that reason. Also thanks to BeastlyFrog, who favorited Blueberry Scones. You guys are all awesome!
"Arianna? Arianna, are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" my nurse, Miss Nettles, scolded. She was a tall, bony spinster, who had high cheekbones and raven black hair that was always swooped up into a tight bun at the back of her head. On her nose sat silver-rimmed half-moon spectacles that allowed her to look down her long nose at me.
"Yes, Miss Nettles."
"Describe one thing about the Blue Monarch Butterfly for me, then, please."
"It is said that the Caterpillar in the book Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, or rather, Doctor Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, later became a Blue Monarch Butterfly in the book's sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass," I sad, almost automatically. It was one of my favorite quotes from Mother, who used to read the Alice books to me before she died.
Miss Nettles shot daggers with her eyes at me. "No, Arianna. The Blue Monarch Butterfly is famous for being very scarce here in England. But never mind. Our lessons are done for today. Go and read your books—any book you'd like. I will fetch Ellie-May for you."
Ellie-May. Wasn't that such a sweet, farm-girl-y sort of name? She had such a lovely name that suited her happy-go-lucky nature, while I was stuck with a horrid snooty name that everyone but Ellie stubbornly calls me by. Ellie-May was my own personal maid at Uncle Craven's house. She was ever since my six older brothers and I moved here after Mother's funeral. I often felt sorry for her—she wasn't that many years older than me, and yet she had already to go to work. But no matter what happened, Ellie-May was always happy and cheerful and kind.
She was happy when she walked in, catching me re-reading Alice in Wonderland. "Aren't you a bit old to be reading that, Miss Ia?" she giggled. You see, I didn't want to be called Arianna. It was stuffy and snobby. I wanted to be called Ia, and Ellie-May was the only person who ever called me that.
"Yes, I am, rather," I replied, giggling with her.
"Would you like to go to the garden, Miss? Since it isn't so foggy today? Sounded like a tough lesson back there."
"Yes, it was. I wasn't paying attention again," I sighed, getting up. "But a walk in the garden sounds lovely, Ellie."
The Craven House's garden wasn't at all massive and colorful with a fountain in the middle. In fact, like the rest of the enormous house, it was often left alone. It was a small square patch of ground surrounded by towering white walls that were covered in ivy and vines. In was green, green, and green, with the occasional splashes of yellow or white. It was the sorriest-looking garden in all of England, I was sure. The ground around the Craven House wasn't very fertile, so it was hard to grow anything. The servants have to ride out several miles either to the farm or to town to get any produce. All that could grow in the Craven House garden were ferns, ivy, and maybe some snowdrops or daffodils. I used to think that the daffodils were signs, because they symbolize hope, but I'd stopped thinking that for ages now.
That day, walking in the garden, I had expected nothing but the usual robins and the gardener's shouts. But that day was special.
On the ground, simply lying there, was a mahogany box, with roses and little angels carved into the wood. The latch was golden, and so were the hinges. It looked like fake gold, but it hadn't rusted, even with all the recent fog, so maybe I was wrong. Curious, but scared, I opened the box just a tiny bit.
The inside was inlaid with layers and layers of the most regal purple satin. Even more drawn to the box, I opened it fully, and out popped a boy and a girl who were frozen in a dancing position.
The boy was dressed like a poor commoner, with a sailor's cap over black hair and green eyes, and his feet were bare. He had a sweet, girlish face. The girl had ash-blond hair so bleached it was almost white braided down her back like a peasant's though she wore the clothes of a French Princess. It was a music box.
Turning the box around, I wound the golden key, and the most beautiful tune sung out, clear and true and a lark's.
Hearing, Ellie-May raced to my side. "Miss, I think you had better leave it alone. It might be bad luck," she whispered, her eyes wide. You see, Ellie believe in that sort of thing. I looked at her with pleading eyes and she whispered, at last, "all right, Miss, but if anyone asks, I didn't see you." She turned around purposefully while I tucked the box into my coat pocket. Ellie turned back around. "Well, Miss, I think it's time we went back inside."
a/n: I know it's short, but please read and review!