Well, I guess you lot like this story, huh? :P
I would like to apologise in advance for Francis' accent. I don't seem to have the balance right... I think I shall put ze accent only when 'e is excited or tired. Or something like that.
It was nearing the end of a rather stressful day for Alice. She had been spending the day with duties revolving around the Young Master. She had found him numerous bottles of wine, cleaned glasses, stoked the fires, made sure that he was entertained. In short, she was given a lot of unnecessary tasks to perform (as they could have been performed by Antonio), all the while being near her boss. And, by now, she was finding it rather hard to control her temper.
She smoothed the bed covers for what felt like the hundredth time and turned to leave the room – only to find Francis standing in the doorway. She held back a sigh. "Your bed is ready for you, sir."
"Elle effet il est," muttered Francis with a small smile, gazing at her. Alice flinched. She hated the way he looked at her, like a hungry wolf. She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. Fifteen minutes until her curfew. And she still had to walk through the house…
"Sir…" she said, glancing back at him. "I must leave you now so I do not get into trouble." She walked to the door, stopping a couple of paces away from him. He was blocking the door and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It will be alright if I leave now, will it not, sir?"
Francis didn't move for a few seconds. Alice narrowed her eyes, prepared to ask a little more harshly when, suddenly, there was movement and her master was incredibly close. She gasped and tried to take a step backwards. However, she couldn't move as Francis was holding her wrist, pulling her towards him.
"You do not need to leave," he murmured into her ear, his breath tickling her neck and making her shiver.
"Enough!" snapped Alice, wrenching her arm from his grasp and backing up. "Sir," she added after a few moments of silence. "I really do have to go, sir – there is not enough room here."
Francis sighed, still smiling fondly at her. "There is plenty of room, ma petite fleur."
Alice shook her head. "I don't care. I'm going to my room and to bed." She smirked a little. "It's been a pleasure, sir," she told him, a little sarcastically, curtseying as she did so. She made her way past him and to the door.
"Are you sure you want to go, cher?" said Francis' voice behind her. Alice breathed out, almost in a sigh and turned to see what he was going on about now. The sight that met her was alarming.
Francis' dinner jacket and waistcoat were on the ground. His top was undone halfway, his chest showing in a rather taboo sort of way. The man himself was lying on the bed, one leg bent so that his legs were spread a little. Alice presumed this was supposed to be provocative.
For a moment, she just stared. Then she curtseyed, turned and shut the door behind her as she left.
The next day, Alice was once again intercepted by Antonio. This time, she was sure she was going to be thrown out of the mansion. After all, she had turned down the boss' advances – and in such a blunt way.
When she had got back the night before, Heather had been aghast. How could anyone be invited to spend the night with the Young Master – and turn him down? How could anyone resist his charm or his looks? Alice had just ignored her and hid under the covers, trying to get some sleep.
Now, she would be fired. And, from the route they were taking through the mansion, she would be told that by the Young Master himself. She tried to think of an upside to this. At least she would never have to see him again. That would definitely be a good thing. She'd probably be dead within a week, what with no income, so at least she wouldn't have to do all of this dull work. And-
Her train of thought stopped as she realised that she was actually in Francis' room. Gilbert and Antonio were again both present. Ignoring them, mostly, she sat down like last time and waited. This time, Francis appeared from the bathroom, still in just his dressing gown. Believing she really would be fired, she rolled her eyes. "Typical," she muttered under her breath.
Francis sat down in the same seat as last time, crossing the room to do so. Again he leaned towards her. Alice stared back at him, impassively. "Mademoiselle…" he began. She stared back. "I wish for you to serve me like you did yesterday."
Alice stared. "A-Again?!"
"Oui!" said Francis, smirking a little. "And every day until I say otherwise."
Until I get into your bed, huh? Alice glared at him for a second before rearranging her face and nodding. "Yes, sir…"
Over the next few weeks, Alice was one of the constant companions of the Young Master. And every night, he would try various tactics to get Alice into bed with him. And every night, each of them failed. And at least half of the tactics resulted in him being hit violently and Alice stalking off. Of course, every morning, she would fret that she would lose her job – but Francis seemed determined to keep her until they had spent the night together.
One day, Francis seemed rather excited by something other than her. Alice watched him pace up and down in front of the window. "Sir…?" she said, trying to get his attention. He ignored her.
The other odd thing Alice had noticed was that Gilbert was nowhere to be found. Usually he was loafing around somewhere near Francis or Antonio. Alice doubted he was doing his job.
As she placed the china down on the table, the door slammed open. She gave a yelp and almost dropped the teapot (which was only for show – it was really full of wine). Thankfully, she saved it and placed it gently down before turning to see what the commotion was.
Gilbert was standing in the doorway, a grin on his face, panting. His clothes were dirtier than normal and he was wearing thick gloves and a pair of secateurs was in one of his hands. He rushed forwards.
"Kesesese! Francis! It's finished! Are you going to show-?" He broke off as Francis pulled him into a hug.
"Mon ami! Merci!" exclaimed Francis, excitedly. "Come, Alice, get your coat!"
"My coat?!" exclaimed Alice as Antonio appeared with the Young Master's coat and Francis rushed towards him. "But, Young Master, it's the middle of winter! If we go anywhere, we could get stuck in the snow!" She followed him, keeping pace as much as possible.
"Ah, cher, we are not going far. Do not worry!" Francis replied, cheerily.
Confused, Alice grabbed her coat from the coat hooks by the back door which they happened to be going through. She pulled it on and wrapped up as they hurried out into the cold.
She gasped along with Francis at the beauty facing them. Hundreds of roses were dotted around the garden in bushes and hedges. In fact, the way they had been planted, it looked as though they were walls.
"A-A labyrinth of roses?" said Alice, dumbstruck.
Francis nodded. "Zey 'ave been specially cultivated to bloom now. All with ze different colours available, cher. Mais, la plupart du temps rouge."
Alice nodded, wondering what the reason was. However, she didn't have long to wonder as, suddenly, her hand was grabbed by Francis. He dragged her into the corridor of flowers, colours flashing by her. "H-Hey!" she exclaimed.
"I want to show you ze centre, Alice!" Francis exclaimed.
Alice blinked, confused. She glanced at his face. He was glowing with excitement, his grin wide. He looked as though he was a child on Christmas morning. She resisted the urge to laugh. The stupid git, getting this excited over a few flowers…
Following some rather small signs (which Francis had insisted were included so he could easily find the centre with a woman in tow), they soon reached the centre. Once again, Alice was gobsmacked. There was a large garden swing installed, white and stark against the greenery surrounding it. White roses were dotted between red, entwined around the wood. It faced specially designed hedges containing one of each colour of rose. It almost seemed to sparkle and, to Alice, it looked like it had been taken from a fairy tale or a romance novel.
Francis pulled her to the swing and sat her down. He stayed standing as he asked her a question. "What do you zink of zis, cher?"
Alice glanced around. "I don't know why you're asking me… But…" She reached out to touch one of the white flowers beside her. "You placed me next to my favourite flower. So I can't complain."
Francis sat beside her, causing the seat to swing more, watching her leaning over to smell the scent flowing from the flowers. "You like ze white flowers?" he inquired.
Alice nodded, still staring at the flower. "They look so pure – as if they can be painted any colour. Become any one of them." She absentmindedly gestured at the others. Unlike me…
Realising she had said a bit too much about herself, she blushed before she turned to see his reaction. When she did so, Francis was already holding a white rose. He leaned towards her. Alice panicked, thinking he was going to try to kiss her. However, his hands moved and, suddenly, he was placing the flower in her hair.
"I think it suits you, cher," he whispered to her.
Alice reddened and leapt up. "I-I have to get things ready for dinner!" she exclaimed before hurrying off. Francis was left alone, swinging back and forth, staring after her, an odd expression on his face…
Later that night, after Alice had left his company to be in time for her curfew, Francis stood looking out at his roses, a glass of wine in one hand. He took a sip as the door opened behind him and Antonio and Gilbert entered the room.
"Hey, Francis! I take it you liked the garden?" said Gilbert, cheerily. Francis nodded in response. "A pity Alice did not take it so vell, eh? Kesesesese!"
Antonio clicked his tongue at Gilbert. "Do not be so mean to him, amigo. This is a big shock to him, after all…" The tone of his voice suggested that he was grinning, as amused as Gilbert.
"I zink…" murmured Francis before trailing off.
"Ja?" asked Gilbert, a confused tone in his voice.
Francis turned to them, a faraway look in his eyes. "I zink zat I am in love…" said Francis, smiling lightly.
There was a silence before Gilbert and Antonio laughed. "With Alice, si?" asked Antonio. "You mean like all the other senoritas, don't you?"
Francis shook his head. "Non. It ees more zan zat… zis time… J'adore Alice."
"Are you sure?" asked Gilbert, looking quite shocked.
"Oui."
"It is just… She does not seem that interested, Signor Francis."
Francis frowned a little at the comment. "I shall 'ave to see what 'appens, non?" He smiled at his friends before turning to look back out of the window, gazing at the swing. He wondered what she had done with the rose he had given her. He smiled at his dull reflection in the window. "J'adore Alice," he muttered again.
Again, sorry for the accents - it's kind of difficult to put them in...
Also, an explanation of the white rose being Alice's favourite. My personal opinion is this: Alice and Arthur are siblings and during the Wars of the Roses, Alice was on the losing side (the white roses) - which is why Arthur now represents England and the UK, mostly. Obviously, I had to come up with another reason for this alternate reality...
Another thing, I do apologise for not going into too much detail about the occasions where Francis tried to seduce Alice. It would have made this chapter way too long. And, I couldn't be bothered thinking about it too much...
Ah, at the end, I was going to have Francis say "I love her" in French but, when I Google Translated it, I got "Je 'laime." Which, when you translate it back to English means, "I love it." Which makes no sense. So I gave up and had him just say, "I love Alice."
You can probably Google Translate the other French but, I can just put the translations here, if you want?
Elle effet il est = Indeed it is.
Mais, la plupart du temps rouge. = But, mostly red.
Also the way I am going to write this is, write a chapter, write a one-shot/chapter for a different story, come back and write a story. Really, I would like to start all the ideas I have and write all the one-shots but it's way too much fun writing this one! :D
