While they unloaded themselves from the wagon, Luca guided the family to a small appealing picnic table already set and equally fit for five people on top of their usual hill. The meal preparations apparently were taken care of by Luca's servants (later presented as Mercy and Rudolf) a little sometime beforehand his arrival at the masion.
Truthfully, the last time Elizabeth laid eyes on those swaying blue-green waters had been the summer prior to Ciel's disappearance.
The scattered search for his strange whereabouts had filled most of their days with dread, lack of sleep, snooping reporters and investigators. And even after the changed Ciel was reintroduced to the city, the cheerful mood had somehow been phased out nonetheless. Thier lakeside gatherings with Luca Lightbringer therefore simply melted into tea sessions set up within the ballroom following the event.
They seated about the table, listening to Mercy play the flute impeccably, standing nearby. Her apron drifted sideways with the flow of the wind. Luca stole the honor of pouring them drinks as he told absurd stories which occurred during the first part of this year involving his business and townspeople. The various jams and types of bread, the freshly-picked fruit in glass bowls, the meat slices and vegetables all had tasted more outstanding than they looked as well.
The private choir of jokes and laughs was an amazing sound to hear after so long.
Later on Elizabeth's parents had leisurely strolled away, hand in hand, tracing the sandy shoreline below. Rudolf and Mercy cleaned the remains of the picnic content, and then went along with Edward in the nearby clearing. The Middleford boy and Lightbringer steward soon handled appropriate-sized branches, loosing themselves in a fencing training act. The clicks of one wooden tool hitting the other echoed out across the hovering heat. Edward lunged his false weapon at his opponent, who swiftly dove under. From what it seemed, Rudolf was a helpful instructor, considering he had just met Edward earlier on that day.
Meanwhile Lizzie, had ventured towards her traditional spot—a arched stone bridge, which now possessed a weed-invested flooring and its slim outer frame appeared more moldy and aged. She leaned upon it nontheless, watching the others wallow in their own airs of entertainment. Closing her doll-bright eyes, she inhaled the sweet, organic aroma of the wilderness; felt the breeze caress her maturing features almost affectionately. Lizzie loved the warmest months of the year. She frankly hated the cold. She hated the ice, the snow mounds, the death of green forests...the annoyingly loud Christmas carolers roaming the streets...even if she would tell bystanders differently. She wouldn't mind not encountering another winter in her lifetime, which was ironic, since Ciel's very birthday happened to be in the middle of winter. But still, according to the silly Astrology charts her father liked to collect from published articles as his side hobby—her own birthday fit into the timeframe of the Fire Element. Fire children naturally felt at their best, felt more whole and internally connected during the spring and summer. What was more ironic—she'd say this fact could be indeed fact.
"You are not typically one to be this withdrawn."
Lightbringer's sudden observation pulled Lizzie from her mild trance. She whirled her head around to discover him bending against the railing beside her, holding a left-over apple in his hand. He bit into the red shining fruit, then swallowed. "Now, what is on your mind, Milady?"
He promised her time to chat, and he came to do so. Luca was so punctual and highly reliable. Every year he was expected to show himself on 6th of June, and he had yet to let them down.
A real man of his word.
Elizabeth admired this in a person.
She allowed herself to continue smiling in a dreamlike manner. "The horizon...sometimes it's comforting to picture myself soaring off into the beyond. Envision a different place than this world..." Though as she responded, Lizzie's sucked in her lower lip, regretting it. She knew women should not dream in public. And proper women of English Nobility did not display desire for such impossible things outside of the life selected for her. Thus Lizzie was eager to change the subject in hopes he wouldn't question it. "I—I cannot express my level of gratitude, Luca. The joy you always bring to my family is truly unforgettable."
"Dear one," he huffed calmly, apparently immune to her anxiety. "you are my family, the only. Your health and personal contentment...I take it all very seriously."
She giggled again, bemused. "I thought you once said you have a very large family back at home."
"Aye, I did and I do. Though from time to time, there will be family members that are not...adequate enough."
Resting her elbow upon the railing's creaking surface, Elizabeth's slender chin hit the dip of her curled-in hand in agreeable contemplation. "Hm. I suppose."
Dammit.
There she went on again! Not thinking thoroughly before she opened her mouth. Mother would have snapped at her.
Remain worthy of your titles.
"Lizzie—I want you to know—every little secret you share shall be strictly safe with me. Don't hide your born nature from me. It's not needed."
Stunned and sensing a shift in the atmosphere takig place, her eyes met his once over. "What do you mean?"
He attempted to clarify his motives, biting into the apple on second time. "It is very visible to me that you are bothered by whatever, or whoever, you're forced to endure these days."
"Oh?"
"Although your façade is very impressive, I however, am quite intuitive compared to the next person."
He emitted each word so confidently that she couldn't help but imagine Luca was actually probing inside of her thoughts.
"Well, as you suggested," Elizabeth played her phrases carefully. If she was singled out on purpose, even by a comrade, the ultimate key was to be blunt. She turned her cheek. "...I endure it."
"Certainly. I'm merely reminding you that you always have a friend in me." Then with a deep chuckle, Lightbringer moved around in order to part from the bridge. He tossed her his bitten apple over his shoulder on his way and Elizabeth instinctively caught it in both hands.
She studied it briefly in wonder.
