Periwinkle and White

A week had passed and Sebastian settled into a new yet familiar routine. He would wake, dress the master and serve breakfast, then while the young lord was eating he would retrieve Estel, help her dress and take her downstairs to eat, of course over the progress of the week she had learned to walk slowly, but at a suitable pace and could now make it to the stairs before she needed help. He would then take the young master to his study while Estel whom he left in the drawing room before he returned to her in the next few minutes and then return and began Ciel's lessons, Ciel would progress on his own and he would return to Estel who was learning the alphabet and the vowels, sounds and the formation of words. She had of course extended her vocabulary since this time and could now point out certain objects and say the names properly. He would then return to Ciel and serve lunch, then leave the master to his work for an hour and go back to Estel whom by now was totally off track of her work. He would sit down with her and teach her sentences and words, she had trouble and often bit her tongue when saying a word as simple as 'table', but it began to become easier for her. Then he would go off and prepare two separate meals, since Estel's stomach still had not accustomed itself to richer foods, she threw up about three days earlier after being fed lobster, Ciel had insisted but Sebastian knew it wouldn't end well. He would then retrieve the two and then report on Estel's progress to the master while they ate. He would catch her every now and then forgetting the manners he was teaching her and scold her; she had learned the difference between praise and scolding so she understood.

Today was no different "and finally she has finished her learning of the alphabet, her writing is still an abomination but we're working on that."

Ciel finished his dinner looking to Estel who was eating her salad with a fork trying not to inhale the delicious food before her and smiled.

"Alright, then tonight I shall put myself to bed and you shall spend extra time teaching her."

Sebastian nodded "yes my lord"

It had become a corky habit and Ciel and Sebastian were rather happy with this lifestyle, Ciel had not been plagued with nightmares since the arrival of Estel, while Sebastian found himself doing things in his free time which often consisted of nothing which quite obviously bored him.

"Miss Estel" her eyes looked up, she was becoming much more obedient in her responses than before "I trust dinner was to your liking?"

She always caught tid-bits of Sebastian's words like 'dinner' 'your' 'liking', she responded to the best of her capabilities, so not much "yes, I."

She had stopped unable to form the next word and slumped in her chair, she often enjoyed Sebastian's praise, a pat on the head, a chuckle, she may have felt like a cat but she found it better than those sharp things the man she could barely remember the face of poked her with. He smiled at her, he knew she was brooding, but in response to her attempt he lightly patted her head, her eyes opened, her ears perked and much like a cat she hunched her shoulders and smiled.

"Now how about an extra hour of lessons."

He took her hand and led her away from the table and up the stairs, this time only supporting her by holding her hand, it took a few minutes of course but it was worth it. This time she had not fallen nor even once wavered, her patience and slow movements paid off. Sebastian had yet to get her to allow him to cut her hair, so perhaps her inability to see well due to overgrown hair was the cause of her instability, but it was all in due time.

"Estel, please allow me to tame your hair" he said touching it gently.

When he held the small sheers up she stumbled away from him, he then took a lock from his own fringe and snipped a small piece off.

"It will not hurt, but it might be better for you to see."

She was hesitant but at the light nod he lead her to her room and sat her down on the chair in front of the vanity. She was unsure and shied away for the first few attempts but slowly he managed to begin to trim away at the mess. He cut her fringe which curled around her head while still having some of it cover her forehead. He began to trim the waist length hair upwards, until it was just above her shoulders, then layered the thick mess so it would thin out and it would be easier for him to manage in the morning. When he finished he gently persuaded her eyes that were shut tightly to open, when she looked she was met with a strange reflection, her pink irises stared back at her, her pink lips which stood out against her white skin, her hair which felt lighter and softer splayed in a wavy mess around her head, it was a good mess though, one that looked presentable. She pressed her thin fingers to the reflection leaning forward farther and farther until she was staring so closely and intently sebastian thought her to be possessed.

"Thank you" she managed out words she knew very well.

He smiled and picked her up taking her to the closet to choose out her night gown. She had her entire wardrobe custom made for her, of course she was still a little flabbergasted with the outfits and their intricate ways of being fastened to the body, so Sebastian had often see her in her full glory. Mind you he did admire her body, it was frail, but it was perfection, and many woman would envy the child if not for her inabilities to function. Then again Ciel was educated but the boy could barely dress himself in the morning.

She returned to the room, in her nightgown as Sebastian had set up a small piece of paper, a pen, and lead her to the table, her began to continue to teach her to write in cursive, guiding her hand for the first few letters then let it go freely, it was messy with a few quivers and wiggles significantly showing showing in her hand writing. She struggled at first and finally it began to straighten out he smiled at her as she wrote the few words she knew.

"Very good, that will be all for tonight" he let her take herself to bed.

He pulled the covers over her and in the week he had developed a habit of waiting until she fell asleep. When her eyes had finally lidded and he bent over her brushing back her bangs and kissed her forehead. He pulled back puzzled with his own actions, he brushed it aside and began to walk towards the door, he picked up the candle and blew it out, looking at her. She seemed to glow even under the covers, but tonight was different this time she turned in a way he had not seen her move before. She seemed to struggle her hands held up on each side of her head she squirmed as though someone was pinning her. He moved towards her she then began to thrash but it appears her legs had been bound during that time as well. He moved towards her faster and was by her side in an instant took a hold of her hand.

She did not wake, not for the night, and though her mouth opened to scream nothing ever came out, just silent gasps of breath and air, and her scrutinizingly painful face. Sebastian wanted to wake her, but he could not, so he sat there waiting for her to wake the next morning.

Estel's nightmare had progressed until early that morning when she finally settled around three, Sebastian was not about too leave her, and while Tanaka had come to check on them every now and then, he noticed the young butler had not wavered even when Estel was violently flailing, and even scratched his face. The cut however healed later that night. However this morning was quieter than usual, almost as though a pin could drop and the sound would be heard, not by Sebastian alone, but everyone.

"Sebastian" he heard his name later in the morning from the young lord at breakfast.

Estel was still sleeping and Sebastian thought it best to let her rest for another hour. Ciel seemed to be planning something.

"I plan to go out this afternoon, prepare Estel for a trip, The Midford family has invited us for tea and a picnic, of course i would be going since this is Elizabeth's family, but I feel it is time for Estel to go out."

Sebastian bowed and replied "yes my lord."

He headed upstairs to retrieve Estel an hour before they were to leave, he stepped into her room, and too his amazement her hair had grown, it was once again at the same length, she was holding it between her hands and staring at him as though the world was about to fall and crash down upon her. He stepped over and took the hair in his hand. It would appear no matter how much he wanted to cut it, that the same result might happen once more.

"I will have to put it in a bun or something to hide most of it, anyways Estel it is time to go out."

She looked at him as he lead her to the closet, he pulled out a periwinkle dress, it was a soft hue, he discovered she looked much better in soft pastel colours rather than vibrant or rich ones. He pulled her night gown from her and placed the corset on her, she wore the standard bloomers most women wore, so at least it wasn't like the days prior when she had none. He tied the corset perfectly, she gave only a few gasps here and there. He slid the dress over her and tied the dresses lace from the back so it could fit her small body.

"There" he said.

Dressing her was easier than ever, she did not wear hoop skirts, so it wasn't an elaborate dress, the sleeves came to her elbow and had simple lacing, the bust and torso of the dress hugged her small body but the skirt was loose, it flowed out and down to her ankles, where he then placed on a brown pair of ankle boots, made from the finest leather of course. Ciel had felt embarrassed of course when Sebastian went to the stores and found her suitable clothes, of course it was a hilarity to him. the dress's neckline cut in a modest way hid her bust, though there wasn't much to show, while her collarbone and thin neck were accentuated. He tied the white sash around her waist and finished with a bow off to the side. Sitting her down she looked at herself in the vanity as he began to braid her hair. He braided the thick white curls into one long braid down her back. He wrapped the braid around itself at the top creating a bun but allowing it to still fall to her shoulder blades. To hide her large amounts of hair he took a sun hat and placed it on her head, she touched it and was uncertain, but left it alone. Sebastian helped her up and not being used to the small two inch heel on her foot she wobbled lightly.

"Come now Estel we are going for a picnic."