I woke up to a gentle knocking on my door. Quickly getting out of bed, I barely remember to slide the stupid nightgown on before opening my door to a lively Mey-Rin. "Hello, Miss. I didn't see you at dinner last night, so I wanted to come and make sure you got some breakfast in you. I don't know what the young Master has in mind for you, but he never said you couldn't enjoy your time here."

She pushed her way into my room and closed the door behind me. "Finny told me that you were dressed oddly last night, so I also came in to help you dress. I know you had difficulty with your corset yesterday and we can't have you going around improperly dresses, no we cannot." She shuffles over to the bureau where my bags from the night before still are.

Rifling through them, she finds Alice's Alice in Wonderland dress. "Why, this should do quite nicely, although it seems a little short. Do you have any stockings to go under this?"

I stare at her for a moment, still a bit shocked that she's here. "Um. I should have a pair of leggings in there, and some black socks. They're not the same fabric, but as long as nobody is looking at my feet, it shouldn't be a problem."

She goes back into my bag and pulls out the aforementioned items. "These look like acrobatics attire, are you a part of a troupe?"

I laugh and take them from her, pulling off my nightdress at the same time. "Nah, they're just comfortable, and they're the easiest things to wear if you want to wear a shorter skirt or shorts." Leaving my tank-top on I switch my shorts for the leggings. I reach for the dress and see Mey-Rin looking at me confused. "What is it?"

"Well," she begins. "Most ladies ask for assistance in getting changed, and if they don't, they are uncomfortable changing with another person in the room. It doesn't really matter much to me, but you are just a peculiar person, Miss Myra."

I laugh at her as I finish dressing, finishing the look with my boots. "I did theater for a little while, and I liked to help backstage. Trust me after that first year, seeing others changing or changing in a room full of people doesn't really phase me anymore."

She gave me a confused look but smiled nonetheless. "As long as you're comfortable with it, I don't mind in the least. But don't be afraid to ask for help either. It's not often I get another girl around here."

She hooked her arm in mine, and we entered the hall. To my surprise she brings me through the servant's passages, chattering the whole way. "Sebastian always cooks for Ciel, but he normally lets us do our own meals. Sometimes he'll cook for us too, but he gets so busy making sure the day goes smoothly, so we try not to bother him too much in the mornings before the Young Master's awake."

I nod in understanding as we enter into the kitchen. Bard and Finny are already there, Finny setting the table while Bard finishes up the food. Although both are dressed, Finny looks as though he could fall asleep again in an instant. Mey-Rin goes to help Bard and leaves me standing in the doorway, unsure of how I will fit into their routine.

As I'm contemplating my role in this, Finny finally turns from setting the table and perks up, noticing me lingering by the door. "Ah, Miss Myra! G-good morning!"

I laugh and go to stand near the table, confused about where to sit. After living together so long, they're sure to have a spot they've declared as 'theirs.' "Good morning Finny, how're you doing?"

He blushes and rambles on about how excited he is about today's chores and something about fixing the garden. Mey-Rin and Bard come over to the table with two small platters, putting them on the table between the plates before sitting down. Mey-Rin sitting across from Bard, and Finny next to him, leaving me next to Mey-Rin. Thankfully none of them try to say Grace and start digging in.

We eat in silence, the only sounds being cutlery on plates. When everybody eats their fill, Mey-Rin gets up and starts collecting everybody's plates, while the boys head off somewhere else. "Hey, do you want a had with that?" I ask.

She looks at me puzzled but lets me grab some dishes, and we bring them to the sink. She starts filling the sink with water and turns to me, smiling. "You don't have to help me. I can do this on my own."

I raise an eyebrow at her and grab a clean towel I see hanging off to the side. "You guys made breakfast, and it's the least I can do. How about you wash, and I'll dry?"

She laughs at me but nods in agreement, getting to work. We finish up the dishes just as Sebastian walk into the room, rolling up his sleeves. His eyes narrow at seeing me but says nothing.

Mey-Rin, being blind to his mistrust, greets him cheerfully. "Good morning Sebastian! Would you like me to get the kettle on while you start on the Young Masters breakfast?"

Taking some pans down he nods but stays quiet. Mey-Rin starts the kettle and smiles at him, before looking back at me and gesturing, "What are we to do with Miss Myra, Sebastian. She wants to help around, but I don't know what you have in mind."

I stare at her in betrayal. He was ignoring me, but now I had his full attention. "Yes, what am I to do with you." I glare at him, and he glares back for a moment. Turning back to Mey-Rin, his face goes back into default-butler mode. "How about we rotate her around. Have her spend the next three days with each of you, to see where she will fit the best. You needn't worry about special training though, and I'm sure she can do enough on her own."

For a moment I can see Mey-Rin stare me down, before settling back into a broad smile. "Then I will start her off with me today! Seeing as she's in a nice dress and all, wouldn't be nice to ruin it by making her work outside with the boys today."

Sebastian makes a non-committal noise, and I take that as an okay. I grab Mey-Rin's arm and drag her from the kitchen, avoiding any more conversation with him. She looks confused again but doesn't question me as I lead her further down the hallway until we slip into the main parlor. "We can start with simple things. First, we need to gather everything we need. After all the excitement last night the manor needs a lot of cleaning. We can start with the floors and staircase before working on the railing..." She starts muttering to herself as she makes a mental list, but I interrupt her.

"Wouldn't it be easier to do the railings first? That way if we are to spill something onto the floor we needn't worry about re-cleaning anything."

Her eyes widen as I catch her mistake. "You catch on quick, Miss Myra! We will be doing the rails first, I was testing how much attention to detail you have. Not bad at all Miss."

She was testing me. That little snoop. I mean I get it, everybody in the house has a role to play and a particular reason for that role, no wonder she's trying to figure me out. I flash her an innocent look.

"Not at all, I'm just an avid cleaner when it comes to anything that isn't my bedroom."

She rolls her eyes and nudges her shoulder with mine. "Don't worry, we'll be putting that to good use, there's always plenty to clean around here. If you don't do as well as a job with the boys, I'll be happy to have a helping hand."

We spend the day chatting as we clean, slowly making our way from the main parlor to the rest of the first floor. It sounds like a lot, but since this is done every few days, it doesn't take as long as you would think to have it done by dinner time. I can't imagine Mey-Rin has fun doing it by herself, but even being clumsy she does a damn good job.

Sebastian checks in on us at lunchtime, bringing a cart with tea and snack-foods. He sends a quick look my way before talking with Mey-Rin about how he's glad to have not been needed so far today, and that he hopes the trend may continue until tonight. She smiles real big at that, promising to be as careful as she could. When he leaves, she looks at me and says, "You've been such a big help, normally I've tripped or misread a label and had to redo half of what we've done, but with you here to help me nothing bad has happened! I may not even let you try helping the boys, and I'll just steal you for myself!"

We laugh the rest of the way through our lunch. When Sebastian comes back to collect the cart, Mey-Rin and I have already started to move on to the next task. Although once again watching us with narrowed eyes, he stays silent as he leaves.

Finishing up the floor with Mey-Rin was a lot of fun, the two of us just randomly conversing about what rooms are used for what, historical facts about the manor, and so on. By the time we were finished and had returned all our gear to its proper place, Bard and Finny were once again in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Dinner went much the same way as breakfast, only this time there was a bit of chatter about how the day went and such. I didn't contribute to the conversation much, preferring to listen instead. Once everybody finished eating, the boys said goodnight and left for bed, leaving Mey-Rin and me to the dishes. We worked in silence, and when we were done, she walked me back to my room.

"Well Miss, I certainly had a great day today. I'll come back tomorrow morning to grab you for breakfast again, okay?"

I nod my head, a yawn escaping me as I open my door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Mey-Rin. Good night."

She laughs and waves in my direction as she starts down the hall. "Bright and early!"

Okay guys, this was done at like 3 am on a day where insomnia decided to rear its ugly head and say "HEY HERE'S A STORY IDEA NOW YOU CAN'T SLEEP," but it honestly didn't come out half bad. Let me know what you guys think, and I should have the next chapter up in the next week or two! ~IAE