"Natalia! Which do you think is cuter, the light pink, or the dark pink?" Elizabeth asked, holding up the two dresses.
"The darker pink, mistress," Natalia responded. "It contrasts well with your light hair and skin, and looks nice with your eyes."
Elizabeth threw the lighter dress on to her bed, before hugging the other one to her chest and twirling. She stopped to look at Natalia with a wide smile. "Oh, Natalia, you always know what to say! You're so amazing!" The smile disappeared from the blonde's face. "But I keep on telling you to call me Lizzy!"
Natalia did a slight curtsy. "My apologies, Lizzy," she said with a smile. The blond's stubbornness about her name never failed to amuse her.
Elizabeth flashed a triumphant smile, before clapping her hands in delight. "Oh, we have to get you dressed up as well!" She exclaimed.
"Wh-what? I'm not coming, am I?" Natalia asked, taking a step back.
Elizabeth giggled. "Of course you are, silly!" She squealed, taking Natali's hands in hers. "It wouldn't be as fun without you!"
Smiling weakly, Natalia let out a soft sigh. "You're praise flatters me, Lizzy," she said. "But you don't have to-"
"Oh, it's just for one night! I'll lend you a dress, and do your hair! You'll even lovelier the you are right now when I'm done with you" The blonde exclaimed, starting to rummage through her closet.
Natalia sighed again. There was no turning back now…
Soon, instead of her normal maid uniform, which consisted of a maroon dress and a tan apron, Natalia wore a sage green dress that matched her eyes. The dress showed just a bit of shoulder, and hung down to her ankles. The fabric was gathered in some places, making the dress look poofier, and overall, nicer. Natalia did a slight twirl, and smiled when she saw how the skirt fanned out.
Beside her, Elizabeth squealed. "Oh, you are so cute!" she chirped. "Now lets just do your hair…" The blonde reached out to pull up Natalia's dark brown hair, but a shaking hand stopped her. Natalia took a few steps back and smiled nervously.
"W-we can't just keep it down? I mean, maybe we could curl it or something…" Natalia stammered, placing her hand over the back of her neck.
"It would so much cuter up though!" Elizabeth said, before reaching out again.
Once more, Natalia stepped back. 'Er, um…" She sighed. "I actually have a rather large scar on the back of my neck… I'd hate for anyone to see it…" Her words actually held a bit of truth to them. Although it wasn't a scar in the usual sense, it was still there, and ugly, and very noticeable. If anyone saw it… she shivered. "Please…"
Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks. Natalia had a scar? Since when? Had she always had it? If she had kept it secret, then she must've not wanted anyone to find out. "Oh… I'm sorry…" Elizabeth said, her eyes wide. "Here, we can just brush it out real nice…" Elizabeth went to go get a brush.
Natalia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you, Lizzy," She said. Her smile faltered and died, however, when she saw Chienne standing in the doorway, smirking.
Realizing that she had been noticed, Chienne walked into the room. "That was smart thinking, Natalia," The demoness said, her eyes flashing red for a brief second.
Natalia frowned. "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't of needed to come up with an excuse at all," She hissed.
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be alive right now."
"Only because you would've killed me!"
Chienne chuckled. "That is true…" she muttered.
Natalia opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short when she heard Elizabeth enter the room. She looked at Elizabeth, and then back at Chienne, only to discover that the demoness had already left the room.
"Got the brush!" Elizabeth said, smiling. But her smile disappeared when she noticed that Natalia was shaking. "Er… Natalia? Are you okay?"
Natalia snapped out of her little trance, and looked over at Elizabeth. "Yes…" She said. She could tell Elizabeth didn't buy it, but she was glad her mistress didn't pursue the topic any further.
Soon, Natalia was sitting in a fast carriage, next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was rambling on and on about the party, about how it would be the biggest of the social season, and how excited she was, and how disappointed she was that Ciel couldn't come.
"He's never really been one for parties anyway, though," The blonde said with a small sigh.
"He should at least come for you though," Natalia said frowning. "He's always so cold…"
"He didn't used to be like that," Elizabeth murmured. "He used to be so happy… but then, there was a fire… his mother and father died, and he disappeared… but then he came back with Sebastian, and he's never been the same ever since."
Natalia nodded. "He has been through a lot… and no one even knows what happened to him when he disappeared?"
"No. Ciel won't tell anyone…" Elizabeth sighed. "I always try to make him happy… to see his smile again, to hear him laugh again… it's all I want. But I might overdo it sometimes…"
Elizabeth looked on the verge of tears. "H-hey! Don't worry Lizzy!" Natalia chirped. "I'm sure Ciel appreciates it deep down, and that he loves you! He did dance with you, didn't he?"
"He danced with me, even after I broke his ring…" Elizabeth sniffled.
"N-no! Oh, Lizzy…" Natalia sighed. "I'm sure he still loves you… everyone overreacts sometimes. I'm sure he's fine now. He doesn't seem to be the type of person who would dwell on something like this for too long."
Elizabeth sniffed, and wiped at her eyes. "Really?"
"Really. Now, cheer up! Like you said, we're going to the party of the season!" Natalia said.
Elizabeth smiled weakly. "Yes, you are right. Thank you, Natalia," She said, squeezing her maids hand. "I don't know what I'd do without you. It's practically a crime for a lady to show up to a party in tears!"
Natalia gave a light laugh. "Of course."
After that moment of tears and smiles, Elizabeth continued to talk about the party. How she was excited to see the dresses, the people, and how she really hoped she'd get a chance to dance. Ciel, however, wasn't mentioned again. Natalia tuned in and out of Elizabeth's ramblings, until a certain blonde demoness was brought up.
"So, you and Chienne are really good friends, right?" Elizabeth asked.
"What gave you that idea?" Natalia asked, taken aback by the question.
Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, you two are always close together, and when I brought you in, she was with you," The blonde remarked. "Am I wrong?"
"Er… honestly, I'm not really the biggest fan of Chienne," Natalia chuckled. "She's kinda… well, she's taken an interest to me, and hasn't left me alone since." The brunette rubbed the back of her neck.
"Oh. I thought you two were friends…" Elizabeth said before smiling. "But you and I have really gotten to know each other tonight, huh?"
"Yes, I suppose so," Natalia said.
Elizabeth giggled before looking out the window. "Oh, look! We're here!" She squealed, struggling to open the carriage door. After the excited blonde finally managed to exit the vehicle, Natalia followed, and let out a low whistle.
"Would you look at that…" She said, awestruck. The mansion was lit up, looking like a heavenly palace. Several people were mingling just outside, all wearing lovely dresses and suits. It was like a dream to Natalia.
Elizabeth was already rushing towards the entrance, leaving Natalia behind to gaze in awe at the sight before her. "Natalia! Come on!" She squealed back at the girl. Natalia shook her head, and rushed forwards to catch up.
She could tell that tonight was going to be a very memorable night.
Hello again!
Number two! YAY! I was originally going to write more, but I'll save it for the next chapter, because I just really want to post this. So, uh... yeah. Thats it. I can't dye my hair pink because my hair is too dark.
Darn it.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! Feel free- no, please review! Bye-bye~!
