For the next few weeks Sebastian's lessons didn't progress to anything more difficult than what they'd already been doing, much to Andie's relief. He continued to teach her to mediate more in order to open her mind wider to other emotions, rather than just the painful and frightening ones that she was used to.
As the days went on Andie was able to notice the effect it was starting to have, though she wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She now seemed even more susceptible to other people's emotions than ever. Those that were stronger now hit her even harder than they had before. That wasn't a very welcome change - the stronger emotions were always the negative ones.
But at the same time she'd started to pick up glances of other things that she hadn't felt before. Feelings that she wasn't familiar with... Sebastian explained that they were positive emotions. Happy feelings. Andie could only perceive the barest essence of them, but the whole idea still awed her. It was all very new.
Sebastian had clearly noticed the improvement too, because he'd stayed true to his word and allowed her out to help Finnian in the gardens more and more. Things were finally looking up for Andie. For the first time she actually felt a little more at home at Phantomhive Manor, rather than it simply being a preferable alternative to her old life as a prostitute.
But now Sebastian had a different trial in mind. "There's somebody I'd like you to meet," he'd announced that afternoon.
Andie had felt the familiar spike of anxiety at the suggestion. It was easy enough to tell that she didn't like meeting new people. "Who?" she'd asked worriedly.
"Her name is Lady Elizabeth Midford," Sebastian had explained. "She comes from an upper class family and also happens to be the young master's betrothed."
Master Ciel's fiancé? Andie remembered Mey-Rin mentioning her once before. She didn't understand why Sebastian would want them to meet, but it had still sounded better than she'd first expected. Not only was Lady Elizabeth a girl, but she'd also be younger than Andie herself. So she wouldn't have to worry about the effects of languid daydreams like what she sometimes picked up from Mey-Rin. Plus Andie was quite interested to see what kind of girl would be deemed suitable for the Earl Phantomhive.
"Okay," she'd agreed softly.
"Splendid," Sebastian had replied happily. "She'll be coming round tomorrow for lunch. You will attend to your regular duties as normal and will then join the young mistress for afternoon tea later on. Now you may go back to work."
So Andie had met the next day with even less of an idea of what to expect. Afternoon tea? She'd never had afternoon tea in her life. Surely servants didn't have afternoon tea? This Lady Elizabeth had to be very important, and Sebastian clearly had something in mind for her... But what?
"Oooh, afternoon tea?" Mey-Rin asked interestedly. "That sounds nice!"
Andie finished tidying the bottles of cleaning solutions onto the wheeled tray that Mey-Rin had been using. "Have you had afternoon tea before?"
"Oh, no, the staff don't join the noble families for meals!" said Mey-Rin, confirmed Andie's suspicions. "You should be honoured!"
If Mey-Rin had any questions as to why Andie had been invited to have tea with a young noble she didn't voice them aloud. Andie was grateful for it - she wouldn't have known how to respond. She was sure it must have something to do with Sebastian's lessons, but then Mey-Rin didn't even know about those... Finnian was the only one she'd told. Andie still didn't know how to talk to others about her supposed 'gift'.
"What's Lady Elizabeth like?" she asked instead. "Have you met her?"
"Oh yes!" said Mey-Rin. "She's a nice girl, she is. A bit loud, but she loves the young master very much."
The last part of that comment didn't mean anything to Andie, but Mey-Rin seemed to think it was important. "Oh."
"But you should be going now!" Mey-Rin pointed out. "Sebastian said the afternoon tea was at three, didn't he? You don't want to be late!"
So Andie hurried off to the second dining room, where Sebastian had told her the occasion would be held. The weather was still rather chilly so they'd deemed to have it inside. Andie knocked quietly on the door pane, suddenly feeling more nervous. She still had no idea what this meeting was supposed to be about...
Sebastian opened the door, sending the familiar chill of black over her. "Ah Andie, you're right on time. Come on in." Andie meekly followed him inside. He shut the door behind her and then gestured towards the table. "Let me introduce you to Lady Elizabeth Midford. My lady, this is Andrea Frost."
Sitting at the table was a petite blonde in a dainty hoop-skirted dress decorated with white and orange trim. Her hair was tied up into two elaborate bunches. Andie noted straightaway that she was remarkably pretty, particularly for her age. She was also surprised to see that Master Ciel was sat at the table too, looking even smarter than usual in a brilliant blue dress shirt and tails.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Andrea!" Lady Elizabeth greeted her enthusiastically, but eloquently.
"Andie," the servant corrected her shyly.
"Andie; that's so cute!" Elizabeth exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight. "In that case you can call me Lizzy!"
"Um, okay. Lady... Lizzy," said Andie hesitantly.
"Just Lizzy, silly," Elizabeth giggled. "You can drop the 'lady' part."
Andie looked nervously towards the young master for confirmation. Was someone of her class really allowed to refer to someone of noble blood without the proper title, even if they'd been given permission? Or was it still deemed inappropriate? Ciel simply rolled his eyes though, giving no indication as to whether or not it was acceptable.
Sebastian made no contribution to her plight either. "Please take a seat, Andie," he encouraged her instead.
Andie did as she was told, still feeling apprehensive. Surely most servants didn't get to enjoy afternoon tea alongside those of noble heritage... So why her? What exactly could this possibly have to do with Sebastian's lessons? Did Lady Elizabeth maybe have a gift too?
Sebastian pulled a wheeled tray over to the table - one much nicer than what Mey-Rin had been using for the cleaning solutions. He laid out three delicate teacups embossed with a light pattern of flowers, along with their matching saucers. He then picked up the teapot and began pouring out measures of the steaming, aromatic mixture inside.
"This is a rosebud blend, originating from East Asia," Sebastian enlightened them as he dallied out the tea equally. "It's made from a mixture of rosebud and chrysanthemum. I think you'll find the taste is quite sweet. It's recommended for a natural and glowing complexion."
None of what Sebastian had just said made any sense to Andie - she'd never even realised that the conventional British drink could be made of anything other than standard tea leaves - but she awkwardly picked up the cup with both hands and gingerly took a sip.
The liquid was hot and burnt the roof of her mouth as it passed over her tongue. The heat was quickly overridden though as a sweet, floral taste filled her mouth. It put her in mind of fragrant flowers. It was unlike anything she'd ever tasted before... It was delicious!
"Oooh, this is lovely! Thank you, Sebastian!" Elizabeth enthused. "Do you like it, Andie?"
Andie nodded automatically, but then she noticed Sebastian shoot her a cursory look. Oh yes, he was still encouraging her to speak up more. So for his benefit she awkwardly added, "Yes. It's very nice."
Her response seemed to please Elizabeth as well as Sebastian. "Aww, you're so cute!" she exclaimed delightedly.
Andie wasn't sure how to respond to that. Cute? She ended up busying herself by taking another sip from her tea instead. She took care not to burn her mouth this time. It really was tasty. So sweet, yet fresh... It reminded her of being outside in the gardens.
"So how long have you worked here for, Andie?" Elizabeth asked interestedly.
"Err..." Andie looked to Sebastian again for help, though this time it was because she wasn't sure of the answer. It was only more recently that her days had stopped feeling like they all simply merged into one. Only recently had she been able to pick out particular events or moments from certain days, rather than remembering them all as one long dull blur.
"It's been roughly four and a half months now," Sebastian answered for her, somehow instantly understanding her dilemma. "I'm afraid Andie's not much of a timekeeper herself."
"Wow, that's quite a long time!" exclaimed Elizabeth. "So do you like it here? What's your favourite thing about the manor?"
Surprised again by the genuine interest Lady Elizabeth seemed to have in her, Andie had to hesitate longer than usual to come up with her answer. "Well... I like the gardens..."
Elizabeth clapped her hands together again, gleefully. "Oooh, really? So do you like flowers? What's your favourite?"
"Um... I like daisies?"
Andie was bowled over by the multitude of questions and the still unrelenting fascination aimed at her. Elizabeth's enthusiasm never seemed to waver as she continued to quiz Andie about her life at Phantomhive Manor. Ciel chose to observe and continue to sip at his tea, rather than participate. Sebastian stood quietly on the sidelines too, occasionally refilling their teacups when they came close to emptying.
Andie tried to answer Elizabeth's questions as best as she could. She'd never had someone ask her quite so many things before. She generally preferred to remain as quiet as possible and survey everyone else in silence. She was sure she'd never spoken to anyone about herself this much before. She'd never even realised she had so many things to tell until the questions had been asked...
But for some strange reason she felt comfortable talking to this strange upper class girl and didn't mind answering her questions. Even with Ciel and Sebastian present, she somehow felt calmer around them too. Much calmer than usual.
Lady Elizabeth struck her as odd and a little on the loud side... But she wasn't at all unpleasant. In fact, Andie found her quite easy to be around - something she rarely ever encountered with strangers. There was a sense of something to Elizabeth that Andie could almost feel. Like the darkness she could always sense from Sebastian...
Only this was something different. It was actually quite the opposite. Andie wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it wasn't dark at all... It was refreshing. It was pleasant.
Elizabeth still didn't seem to have exhausted herself of questions even when they'd eventually drank their way through the entire teapot. It had actually taken a surprisingly long time, Andie thought - it clearly held much more liquid than she would have guessed.
As Sebastian replaced the teapot back on the wheeled tray, Ciel finally spoke up. He'd let Elizabeth take the reins on conversation until then. "Now then, Elizabeth, I think you've quizzed her quite enough..."
"Ciel, I've told you. Call me Lizzy!" Lady Elizabeth protested. "And you don't mind, do you Andie?"
Andie wasn't at all perturbed by the upper class girl's presumptuous response. She was actually right - she hadn't minded at all. It was strange... She normally really didn't like talking so much. Especially about herself. What was it about Elizabeth that made her feel different?
Still, Andie shook her head. "I don't mind."
"See, I told you!" Elizabeth told Ciel, looking pleased.
"Well as long as she doesn't mind, then I suppose it's not doing any harm..." Ciel conceded, mollified by that. He knew better than anyone how overwhelming his fiancé's personality could be.
He and Elizabeth were clearly very different, but it didn't seem to cause either of them any problems. Andie had little to no understanding when it came to love, but it was obvious even to her that Lady Elizabeth completely doted on the young master. And in turn he seemed very content with the bubbly blonde's company.
"How long have you..." Andie found herself starting to ask, surprising even herself. It was unusual enough for her to answer questions about herself so readily, and even more so for her to be the one to instigate conversation. It made her hesitate.
Strangely, Ciel was the first to notice and encourage her. "It's alright," he assured her, though still somewhat indifferently. "What were you going to ask?"
"Um... I wondered... how long you've been engaged?" Andie asked shyly.
Ciel looked a little surprised at the question, whereas Sebastian simply gave her a pleased nod for taking some initiative. Elizabeth, however, was positively ecstatic. "Oh, you're so sweet to ask! It was arranged by our parents when we were little - we've been engaged for four years now!"
It was quite a long time, particularly considering how young the two of them still were. Andie was a little taken aback by it. So it had been organised by their parents. Yet they both seemed content enough with the arrangement. Andie knew what it felt like to have a future decided by a parent... But not what it was like to be happy with the decision.
"And we all lived happily ever after," Ciel concluded, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Well that was the last of the tea... So I guess we should finish up here."
"Quite right, my lord," agreed Sebastian. "You wouldn't want to spoil your evening meal. My lady, you are more than welcome to stay for dinner as well, so please feel free to make yourself at home until then. The young master still has his violin practice to attend shortly."
"Oh yes, I'd love to!" replied Lady Elizabeth happily.
"Splendid," said Sebastian briskly. "As for you, Andie, you're dismissed. You may go and assist Finny in the gardens."
Andie brightened. "Really?"
"Really," repeated Sebastian, sounding almost amused. "Just remember that you must dismiss yourself appropriately, considering present company."
Andie nodded and climbed down from her chair. She turned and awkwardly bowed towards Elizabeth and Ciel. "It was nice meeting you," she told Elizabeth, the perfect figure of politeness. Even Sebastian looked mildly taken aback by it.
"It was nice meeting you too!" Elizabeth beamed. "We'll have to have tea again!"
Andie looked towards Sebastian for confirmation. As a mere servant, she knew that it wasn't up to her. Sebastian seemed happy enough with the idea though. "That shouldn't be a problem. We can make arrangements on your next visit."
"Great! Then I'll see you next time, Andie!" Elizabeth smiled brightly.
For a second it looked like Andie was almost going to smile back, but instead she simply nodded again. "See you next time."
Elizabeth watched as Andie scuttled off out of the room. "She's awfully quiet, isn't she?"
"Believe it or not, that's quite possibly the most talkative I've seen her," said Sebastian.
"Really?" said Elizabeth disbelievingly. "Does she ever smile at all?" Ever since Ciel had stopped smiling Elizabeth had begun to notice the same in other people too.
"Not that I've seen," admitted Sebastian.
"On the contrary though, she never seems to cry either," Ciel interjected, sounding rather bored with the conversation again. "She doesn't really do anything."
"Besides show fear," added Sebastian. "Andie doesn't like being around people much. That's partly why I wanted her to have tea with you, my lady - I felt it would be healthy for her to become acquainted with someone outside of the manor. And who better than someone as lovely as yourself?"
"The poor girl..." said Elizabeth sympathetically. She didn't even pay any mind to the butler's compliment. "She's really that scared of people?"
"I'm afraid so," Sebastian confirmed. "She lived quite a difficult lifestyle before she came here, which I'm trying to help her overcome. She's particularly afraid of men - including the young master as well - but she even shows unease around Mey-Rin."
"So she doesn't even get along with the other servants?" asked Elizabeth, dismayed.
"Most of them, no," agreed Sebastian. "She tends to avoid Bard and Tanaka for the most part... But she does have quite an attachment to Finny. No doubt she finds his bumbling, incompetent nature the least threatening."
"Oh, really?" Elizabeth looked thoughtful. Ciel knew that look well - it meant that she was plotting something...
"Of course," said Sebastian amusedly. "Why else do you think her face lit up when I said she could go and help out with the gardens?"
It was true. Though Andie wasn't sure why she was being allowed to go and help Finny outside. The opportunity was generally offered to her as a reward for doing well in Sebastian's lessons... But she hadn't had a lesson today. The only thing out of the ordinary had been having tea with Master Ciel and Lady Elizabeth, but then that had felt like an unexplained treat in itself.
Either way though, Andie definitely wasn't complaining. She hurried on towards the closest doors that led to outside. She actually felt unusually light-hearted. It was strange... There seemed to be a definite spring in her step that hadn't been there before. Perhaps it was to do with something that had been in the tea?
It didn't take her long to find Finnian. When Sebastian had come to give them their daily tasks that morning he'd told Finnian to spend the day pruning all of the topiary trees, meaning that Andie knew exactly where he'd be. Sure enough, she spotted him out on the west side of the manor.
"Finny!" she called out as she ran over to him.
Finnian was so surprised that he dropped the pair of shears he was using. He turned, thinking that he must have heard wrong and that it had been someone else... But no, it was definitely Andie. He'd never heard her call out to anyone like that before. She hadn't even ever addressed him by name - she tended to simply pull on his sleeve if she wanted to get his attention.
"Is everything okay?" he asked uncertainly, as he bent to retrieve the shears. She didn't seem like there was anything wrong, but it was just so unusual for her to have called out to him that way...
"Sebastian sent me to help," replied Andie, nonplussed.
There was definitely something different. There was something... positive about her. She seemed brighter-eyed and almost like she was bouncing on the soles of her feet. If Finnian hadn't known any better he'd have said that she was in good spirits. He'd never seen Andie in good spirits before. She was always so quiet and shy... Yet now it was practically radiating off her that there was something different today.
Finnian suddenly beamed at her. How wonderful it was to finally see her in a good mood. "Alright then! Here, I have a smaller pair of pruning shears that you can use. Now where did I put them..."
"Is this them?" Andie ran and fetched a small tool from the ground by one of the other topiary trees. She was used to Finnian's habit of constantly misplacing things.
"That's it!" Finnian smiled. "Now we just have to go round and cut off any twigs that are sticking out. Let's see..." He looked around the tree, trying to find part of it that he hadn't covered yet. "Like this!"
He found a wayward twig that was protruding from the body of the tree at an odd angle. Using the shears he was carrying, he snipped it clean off and then tossed it into one of the sacks at their feet. "Now you try!"
Andie sought out another odd twig and copied exactly what Finnian had done. Though they were smaller, the other shears still cut through the woody material easily. "Like that?"
"That's great!" Finnian replied encouragingly. "And you just throw the pieces in one of the bags." Andie did as he said. "Now just choose a tree and keep on doing the same thing!"
It was a very simple process, Andie thought to herself as she picked out a different tree and set to work tidying up the mismatched branches. But there really were a lot of trees, so no wonder it took such a long time to cover all of them.
Normally she didn't like tasks that were so repetitive - it gave her too much time to think. And Andie only really had negative memories to dwell on... But she didn't mind mundane jobs when working with Finnian. She felt much safer out here with him.
After he'd finished the tree he was working on, Finnian moved on and started on one next to Andie's. She'd just been stretching up to try and reach a particularly high rogue twig when the strangest sensation washed over her, distracting her from her concentration.
It was similar to the unusual feeling that she'd picked up from Lady Elizabeth. Only this time it didn't just prick at her senses - instead it enveloped her in a warm shroud of unfamiliar emotion. It felt like something pure, innocent... Something good. How peculiar...
"Do you need a hand, Andie?" Finnian suddenly asked, seeing her struggling. It effectively interrupted her thoughts and the odd sensation vanished just as quickly as it had occurred. "If you can't reach properly there's a set of ladders over there that you can use. Do you want me to bring them to you?"
Still a little dazed, Andie looked in the direction he was pointing. Her mind cleared a little when she spotted the small set of stepladders and she shook her head. "I don't like ladders."
"Oh, you don't like heights?" Finnian guessed, looking sympathetic.
Andie shook her head. "No, I don't mind them. Ladders just make me feel wobbly - they don't feel safe."
"Well if you don't like ladders you can sit on my shoulders and we can do it as a team?" Finnian offered helpfully. Though as soon as he said it he realised what a stupid suggestion it was. Andie generally went by a strict no-touching policy - that would likely be a bit much for her. "Err, or I could..."
"Okay," said Andie suddenly, much to his surprise. She'd never really done anything as part of a team before. She wanted to try it.
"Oh, err, okay then!" said Finnian, his enthusiasm outweighing his surprise. Andie had already seemed a little different today after all. Plus she seemed to trust him more than she did anyone else. He had to encourage her where he could. "Here, if you stand there then I'll give you a hand up..."
Finnian crouched down beside the tree and helped Andie climb up onto his shoulders. He was only slight - not much taller than Andie herself - but she marvelled at the strength she could feel in his small frame. She wondered if her weight was anything to him. Did everything he lifted feel feather light? Or did he still feel the weight, but it just wasn't a burden to him?
"Are you ready?" Finnian asked.
"Ready," said Andie, one hand gingerly holding onto Finnian's head and the other clutching the pruning shears awkwardly to her chest.
"Right, here we go!"
He straightened up easily with no effort at all and Andie felt herself lifted smoothly into the air. She wasn't really that high up but she still looked around interestedly, amazed at how different things looked just from being that little bit higher. She'd used to pick her younger brothers up on her shoulders too when they were small, but she'd never been on this side of the game before. It was something so simple... But it was fun.
"Is that better? Can you reach now?"
Andie remembered then that they were doing this for a reason. It wasn't a game - she was supposed to be working. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said quickly, almost hitting Finnian round the head with the shears in her haste to get back to work.
"Are you okay? I can put you back down if you don't like it?" Finnian suggested concernedly, mistaking the reason for her hesitation.
"No, I do!" said Andie hastily. She didn't want him to put her down yet. "I like it. It's fun - I feel tall!"
Finnian laughed, pleased that she finally seemed to be enjoying herself for the first time since she'd came to work at Phantomhive Manor. It was particularly nice that she was so enthusiastic about something so simple. "Alright then, in that case you can do all of the high parts!"
Andie felt that strange feeling wash over her again, even stronger this time. It felt warm and positive and so good... It had to have been something to do with the tea that Sebastian had given her. What else could it be? She hadn't done anything else out of the ordinary today...
Either way, she was going to find out. She wanted to experience this feeling again and again. One way or another, she was going to get hold of more of Sebastian's magic tea!
XXX
Author's Note!
Oh Andie, you so crazy, there's no such thing as magic tea... xD
I want to seriously apologise for how long it's been since I updated. I kinda branched off and did a few one-shots for this story, but then ended up forgetting just how long it had been since I worked on the actual story itself... Me so stupid.
If you like this story though please check out the one-shots too! You can find them both on my profile - one's called "Valentine" and the other is called "Snow". Bet you can't guess what they're about ;D