The sweet melody of her latest piece filled Krista's ears as her hands moved across the keys. Despite it not taking her fancy at first, upon playing the music for the first time, she had grown fond of it. She had started learning the piano when she was four years old, and had played every day since. The result of this dedication was that her playing was famous throughout the town; Krista would perform at most balls.

Krista let her mind drift away with the song as she played. She tried hard not to think of next week's ball, and what would happen there; instead, her thoughts drifted to the new maid and her unusual appearance, and that glimmer in her eye-

Clang!

A wrong note. Krista sighed, chastising herself for becoming so easily distracted. Attempting to play again, she found that she had lost her focus, and instead devised a plan to go and ask the head chef about the mysterious Ymir. Krista and the head cook got along very well; she was a large woman, and an excellent cook, and never failed to give her honest opinion to Krista, because they respected each other with equal value. Krista saw her as the mother she'd never had, and knew the cook felt the same.

Krista made her way downstairs, whistling to herself. The kitchen was busy with the preparations of lunch, but the merry woman was happy to see Krista.

"Hello, Miss Lenz," she smiled. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Nothing of particular importance… I just wondered if you knew anything about the new maid in our service… What was her name? Ymir?"

The woman set down her cooking knife and wiped her brow. "Yes, Ymir. She's certainly a quiet one. Seemed a little off to me, but otherwise she's very good. Although your grandmother seemed positively appalled by her."

Krista nodded. She'd known this; Elizabeth Lenz was furious at Ymir's disrespect.

"Ymir? What about a last name, girl?" She had snapped.

"Ma'am, I do not have a last name." The strange girl had replied, much to the infuriation of the woman; she had left soon after, back to her own large estate only a few miles away.

"Did she not speak at all?" Krista continued. "Not a word?"

"Nothing but simple pleasantries. Oh! She did mention that she would like to become acquainted with you, my dear. An odd request, but she's an odd girl. Lord knows what your father was thinking when he hired her. I suppose he took pity on her; she is your age, no doubt."

Krista requested some tea and thanked her, before returning to her practise. She sat on her stool, hands gliding over the keys but not pressing them. She changed music from her newest piece to an old favourite; one she had cherished since she was little. As her fingers graced the notes, she thought of what the maid had told her. To become acquainted with her? Indeed, it was an awfully strange request. Krista pondered over its meaning and quickly became lost in thought, not noticing as a figure approached the room.

"Aren't you going to play something?" Said a voice from the doorway. Krista jumped, accidentally pressing down hard on the piano keys, which startled her again. She quickly turned around to this unfamiliar voice addressing her so casually. Of course, it was the new maid. Krista was confounded; she sat staring, her mouth slightly open. "Well," the girl continued, "that wasn't exactly what I had in mind." She laughed to herself before apologising.

"Oh… well, it's quite fine," Krista said, still shocked by the casual nature in which the girl spoke. "It's Ymir, is it not?"

"That' would be correct, Miss Lenz." She had suddenly become formal in speech. "May I come in?"

"Of course. May I ask why?"

Ymir gestured to the tray she held in her hands, a pot of tea balanced precariously on top.

Krista shook her head, attempting to regain composure. Why was she suddenly so flustered? "Oh, yes. Thank you."

Shock flickered through Ymir's eyes. "Thank you?" She said confusedly.

Krista smiled at her, slightly confused. "Yes, thank you." She repeated. Ymir returned to normal, curtseyed, and went to leave the room.

"Wait!" Krista said, not thinking. Ymir stopped in her tracks and turned back around. "My apologies… I was just wondering… It would normally be Miss Peters to bring the tea… Is something wrong in the kitchens?"

"No, miss, nothing is wrong." Ymir said. "I asked Miss Peters if I could take it, instead, in the hopes that I may be able to hear you play." There was not a hint of hesitation in her tone.

Once again, Krista was taken aback. "Do you still retain that wish?" She asked, and when the maid replied positively, she turned to her piano, and began to play.

The first movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata no.16; a piece she knew so well, that she hardly had to look at the music. Her eyes closed as she was filled with comfort and happiness; never had she felt this connected to the music, never had she felt this much energy as her fingers flowed like water over the keys, each note falling perfectly into place and filling the room with flawless tonal quality.

"Mozart," Ymir breathed, as the resonation of her final note faded from the room. "It's beautiful."

Krista had never been aware of such a tense silence. She was almost afraid to turn around and face this strange girl. Who was she? Her heart was pounding in her chest and there was a slight tremor in her hands. Krista had suspected her a peasant, come to work for her father, but she could recognise Mozart? How could that be?

"Who are you?" Krista broke the silence.

"I'm Ymir." She replied, a small smile playing on her lips.

"But… I mean… Where are you from? How do you know that piece?"

Ymir avoided her questions, instead moving forward, and sitting down on the stool next to Krista. Not saying a word, she slowly began to pluck the melody of the song, much slower than Krista had; it was the same song nonetheless. Her hand brushed once against Krista's, who recoiled immediately as her nervousness increased tenfold.

"I was always terrible at the pianoforte." She laughed before turning to Krista and laughing more at the completely shocked expression on her face. She then got up and walked out the room. As she reached the doorway, she paused. "You'll find out about me, eventually, I have no doubt." She then curtseyed and left Krista alone with her endless questions and shaking hands.

Krista's path did not cross Ymir's for the next few days, which were spent preparing for the upcoming ball. The return of the brigade and the ball at the Jaegers' was all that was talked of; there was not a woman without a new dress. Krista had finished designing her dress the day after her incident with the new maid. She completed it faster than any other she had ever designed before in the search for anything to distract her mind from Ymir.

The dress was finally complete the day before the dreaded ball; to Krista, the only thing it signified was her loss of freedom. As she tried it on, with the help of one of her maids, all she could think of was this man, Mr Hoover. If he proposed, there was no way she could say no. Her grandmother would be furious, and as much as Krista disliked her, she had trouble saying no to anybody. Especially someone as intimidating as she.

Krista studied her reflection in the mirror. The dress had been made flawlessly, exactly as she had intended; the cloth she had chosen fell in all the right places and framed her small build, highlighting her good features and hiding the bad. The apple green colour and lace cloth suited her blonde hair and fragile build perfectly.

Her grandmother came to visit; Krista knew she would be getting a lecture on how to behave at the ball. Despite the fact that her manners were always impeccable, Krista's grandmother liked to remind her constantly how to behave. Krista wished her father would be there to provide support, but his melancholy demeanor had worsened over the past few days; he had barely left his room, and Krista missed him. She was even more lonely than usual, and when the dreaded lecture finally came about, her father wasn't there.

Mrs Lenz was a widow, and had been for eight years. She had been married for forty-five years, since she was sixteen. Krista knew this was the reason the woman was forcing marriage upon her; her grandmother knew the importance of marrying young, for her wedding had been to one of the richest and most influential men in the county.

Krista was versed thoroughly in ball etiquette. She was told, many times, to attempt to secure a second dance; although her grandmother deemed this 'inevitable'. A second dance with a man of his stature on their first meeting would be a great compliment to Krista.

"Krista." Her grandmother addressed her with an unusual level of informality, but her tone was sharp. "It is paramount to your family's honor that this goes well. I do not doubt you in the slightest; but, as a precaution, I must remind you of the pivotal importance that this holds."

"Yes, grandmother," a stray blonde curl fell over Krista's eyes as she promised to perform to her best standard.

That night, Krista hardly slept. She tossed and turned in her bed, attempting to fall asleep; but her constant fear and worry kept her awake. She thought about this Mr Hoover she was destined to marry. Would she like him? How would her father cope with her gone? What about the new maid…? Would Krista ever find out who she was? Krista knew she would not find the answers these questions within her own mind, yet she pondered them endlessly; and when morning came, she was barely able to lift herself from her bed. Instead she lay there, and watched the bright colours of her last sunrise of freedom through a gap in the curtains.

The day seemed to pass in no time at all, and yet, at the same time, with an excruciating slowness; each minute felt like an hour, but the hours themselves flew by. Her father would not be accompanying her to the ball; instead, Krista would be attending with her grandmother.

The afternoon passed and soon Krista was being dressed once again for the ball. Before making her final preparations to leave, her father called her to his room. She knocked on the door gently and entered upon his permission.

"Krista, my dear girl," he smiled sadly from his bed. She had barely seen him in days. Just looking at him reassured her nerves slightly. "I have something for you."

"For me?" Krista asked.

"Yes," he pointed to the dresser across the room, the one that used to belong to Krista's mother. "Do you see the jewelry box, there?"

Krista nodded and walked over. Her fingers touched the clasp of the ornate box; when her father nodded his approval, she opened it.

It was almost empty, but immediately, one piece caught her attention. It was a silver bracelet, simple, with one charm of a beautiful jade green. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Krista had ever seen. Entranced, she picked it up, and delicately inspected it.

"I met your mother at a dance, you know," her father said quietly. "It was that charm that first charmed me," - he laughed - "and when I looked up and saw her face, I fell in love. We were eighteen, back then. She was only mine for five years, and those were the best I have ever experienced. And Krista, my dear, dear daughter, you are the best gift she could have ever given me; when I look at you now, there is nothing more sure in my heart than that. I'm sorry I cannot be around more to see you. But please; take that bracelet, and wear it tonight, so your mother can be with you."

Tears had pooled in Krista's eyes; she simply nodded, unable to speak. A knock on the door informed them it was time for Krista to leave. Miss Peters escorted her downstairs and into the carriage, and with that, Krista left her father behind to go and secure a proposal.