The Times
6.00AM (Mey-Rin)
Mey-Rin stifled a yawn as she quietly moved about the ground floor opening the curtains, she'd woken up early this morning in the hopes that getting a good start on the chores would please Mister Sebastian.
She'd broke not one but two of the Earl's tea sets yesterday and hoped that getting up extra early and making a head start on her duties would go some way into convincing Mister Sebastian that she wasn't completely hopeless.
She respected and admired the Phatomhive butler a great deal and valued his opinion of her. So lets make sure today goes smoothly she thought to herself as light thump grabbed her attention. Thoughts of another rat infestation flashed through her mind and where dismissed just as quickly as she noticed the morning newspaper lying on the carpet in front of the front doors.
She walked over to it picking it up, listening to faint tick of the grandfather clock in the dinning room as she did so. I don't think it's ever been this quite before she thought to herself trying to let the slight uneasy feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach worry her.
Her last job had been very quite, in fact apart from when she was told her target she'd didn't think she spoke at all to anyone. She just scoped the area found a good location and waited. Waited in the quite for the right moment, and now that the lively Manor she'd been so used to had suddenly fallen so quite she couldn't help but feel like she was right back where she'd started waiting for her target.
Every ones still asleep there's nothing to worry about she thought to herself casting the depressing memories aside. She flipped open the paper and laid in out on the small table in the main hall. She instinctely read the headline, ever since Mister Sebastian had started giving her reading lessons she used every opportunity to try a get some practice in.
"Lady Susanne Smith Opens Remembrance Garden For Late Husband To Mark One Year Of His Passing" Bit of a long headline she thought to herself smiling as she glanced at the picture accompanying the article clearly of the late Mr Smith.
And she immediately felt her blood freeze up, the slight smile she wore was replaced by a look of dread and she knew she'd been a fool to ignore that feeling she'd had earlier, today wasn't going to be a good day afterall.
8.00AM (Finnian)
Finnian was out in the back garden tending to the weeds when he heard the Masters coach leave the grounds. "Phew that should give me some time" he muttered to himself as he stared down at the dead patches of grass.
The brown blades clashing horribly with their green neighbors, he wasn't sure how he'd managed it again but somehow he'd poisoned the grass while he was tending the his morning duties. "I guess I didn't really check the tank that holds the weed killer when I moved it thought, the Masters going to be really angry with me" Finny said to himself he could feel the tears fighting for release but he held them bay, for the moment he needed to concentrate and think of way to fix this.
Mr Sebastian would have thought of somethinghe thought sadly to himself wishing that the butler was with him now to help him out. When he first met Sebastian he'd been sure he was some kind of magician but Bard had told him there was no such thing, but still he wondered how Sebastian seemed to be able to fix any problem no matter what it was he just seemed to have a natural talent for it.
"But I have talents to" Finny said to himself as he pushed the few escaping tears away. It might take a while but he'd just thought of a way to solve this problem. He set a smile on his face and got to work. "This is going to be a good day I just knew it" he said to himself as he walked over to the closest statue.
It had taken longer than he'd thought it would and he was pretty sure he'd heard the Master's carriage come back only a few minutes after he'd finished, but all things considered he thought he'd done a good job.
He surveyed the garden from near the back door quickly giving it a glance over before he went to see if Bard needed any help. Moving the statues had been the easy part but carefully placing them so they covered the dead grass had taken some very precise movements.
He turned away and moved inside he could hear Bard talking to himself as he gradually got closer to the kitchen. He stopped noticing the newspaper left by the stairs as he walked through the hall. Well it wouldn't be cheating if I just had a quick look.
Sebastian had been teaching both Finny and Mey-Rin to read and although he usually used simple books and words in his lessons he'd recently started using bits of the newspaper in his lessons. Finny always found reading the small print in the newspaper difficult so quickly went over and picked it up flicking through the pages.
This is no good I don't know what bit he'll use in the lesson. Finny closed the paper deciding he'd just try his best and started walking away when he noticed a stray page of the newspaper had got stuck to his shoe.
He gently peeled it off intending to place it back its rightful spot when the headline caught his eye. He took him a moment to make out the words but the small picture accompanying the article is what really hit him. He quickly placed the stray page back on top of the newspaper, not caring that it was out of place and carried on on his way to Bard.
Don't cry don't cry he kept repeating to himself knowing that he more he said it the more the tears fell. "Today was supposed to be a good day" he whispered to himself as he carried on walking.
Author's Note
Well I' am new to the whole fan fiction and anime in general and only watched this show by pure chance, so I hope I did at least a decent job with the characters so far. The plot will make more sense in the next chapter. Also I shortened Baldroy's name to Bard to avoid any confusion since opinion seems to vary on what it is.