"Are you quite sure I can't help you clean up?" The young woman asks, standing from her chair.
"Oh no, my lady. It's my job to be clearin' the table. I am obliged that you'd offer it, though." Mey Rin bows her head, leaving the dining room with an armful of dishes.
The young woman sighs a little sadly, looking around the room as if searching for something. There's a tiny bother at the back of her mind, scratching away at her, but, try as she might, she can't seem to put a name to it. Shaking her head furiously, she picks up her skirts and leaves the dining room for the entrance hall.
Spotting a shawl that Mey Rin must have put out for her by the front door, she dons it and slips out of the manor. It's chilly out, but the ground is bare of snow and the sun is actually shining through the dull clouds overhead. The fountain out front is frozen over, and she takes a moment to stare into the pale ice, quite shocked to find someone staring back at her in the reflection it casts.
The young woman stiffens, reaching out to it, only to find that the reflection does the same. She waves her hand, watching in curiosity as her every action is mimicked.
"No," she gasps, pawing at her face. "It can't be."
She leans in close, studying her features – the deep blue eyes, the hair like flames.
Flames.
Her vision clouds over and she drops to one knee, hand resting on the edge of the fountain for support. The whole of her body is shaking as she clutches the shawl to her chest, feeling her heartbeat pound against her fist. She gets the vaguest sense of being watched, and then it's all gone. The bird's songs fill her ears, the wind blows cool against her skin, and the icy chill of the ground soaks through her dress to her knee.
Rising slowly, the young woman departs from the fountain, completely unaware that in a swath jutting out from where her hand was placed on the fountain rim, the ice has melted completely, pooling in a sort of basin in the un-melted remainder.
She wanders the gardens, now laying dormant, save for a few brave stalks of what she assumes to be daffodils poking up from the frozen ground. She wanders the hedges and raised beds, breathing in the clear air with a sense of peace falling over her as she walks.
Stopping short suddenly, the woman lays eyes on what appears to be a young man curled up under one of the barren hydrangea bushes to her right. She rushes over, kneeling beside him and pulling off her shawl to drape over him.
"Are you all right?" She asks worriedly, touching the back of her hand to his cheek. His eye spring open, and she gasps – they bear the same crimson color as Sebastian's. Something feels very wrong in the pit of her stomach, and she falls backwards onto the ground.
The man springs up onto all fours, his head cocked to one side.
"Ar?" He says, almost like a question, before his eyes widen and he lunges at the young woman, pinning her to the ground and proceeds to lick her neck and face, his sliver hair falling in her face. She's still for a moment, so overwhelmed by a feeling of dread that she can't force her limbs to move.
"Plu-Plu!" A young man's voice echoes across the gardens, and quick footsteps soon follow. "Bad dog!"
The man is pulled off of the young woman with ease, leaving her awestruck on the ground, still not moving. She looks over, seeing a lanky young man with blonde hair scolding the man who'd jumped on her. Her attacker is down on all fours, looking quite ashamed of himself as the young man shakes a finger at him.
"That's very naughty, Pluto." He says, turning back to the young woman. "Are you all right, miss?"
"I…I think so." She says, feeling slowly returning to her limbs. He kneels beside her, helping her up gently. She brushes herself off, shooting a curious glance at the silver-haired man who now seems to be chasing a non-existent tail around in circles. "Um..."
"Oh, yeah. That's Pluto. He's our…guard dog." The young man says, putting a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Guard…dog?" She asks, eyeing the apparent dog-man with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
"It's a long story. Really long, actually." He says, chuckling. "I'm Finny, by the way."
"Pleasure," she says, a small curtsy following. She frowns, once again having no way to return the introduction.
"I'm the groundskeeper here, as well as the…" He looks over at Pluto, who now is digging at something in the ground with his hands. "…dog sitter."
"I see," she says, eyeing Pluto. "The gardens are lovely, even at this time of year."
"Oh, thank you, miss. I've got a lot planned for this spring."
"Do let me know if you'd like any help. I'd love to be of some use to Master Ciel."
"I'll do that." Finny says, smiling kindly.
"Finny, darling! I've found the purple tulip bulbs!" A woman with long brown hair comes running out of a side door of the manor, a good-sized cloth pouch in her hands.
"Great," Finny says, grinning. She runs up to him, pecking him on the cheek before realizing the young woman's presence.
"Oh my, how rude of me!" She exclaims, curtsying.
"This is my wife, Mary." Finny says, admiring the woman. "She's my helper."
"Assistant Groundskeeper," Mary says with a pout and hands on her hips, and then smiles at the young woman. "You must be our houseguest."
"Yes," the young woman says, nodding.
"She's offered to help us with the gardening." Finney says.
"Perfect. Then maybe I can actually get some help around here." Mary chides, and Finny kisses her on the forehead with a grin. "Pluto, are you behaving well for our guest?"
Pluto looks up from chewing on a root, still attached to the ground, and smiles, barking with remarkable resemblance to a dog's voice.
"My lady," Mey Rin says, coming up to them. "The dressmaker has arrived to measure you for some new clothes."
"Oh?" The young woman asks, genuinely confused.
"Sorry, miss, I forgot to tell you this morning, I did. The Master has ordered new dresses to be made for you."
The young woman is speechless, nodding at Mey Rin.
"Thank you. Both of you." She says to the couple, who nod happily, then pats Pluto on the head. "Good boy."
Pluto barks again, nuzzling his head against her leg before returning to gnawing on the root.
"Plu-Plu…" Finny says as she and Mey Rin are returning to the house. "That's attached to something."