"Arthur" Hatsu greeted softly, while the blonde maiko paused his cleaning to look up at the voice. He smiled up at her wryly and continued his chore. "Are you alright?" She asked. Arthur nodded without looking at her and she winced slightly. "Are you sure?" She asked one more time and Arthur smiled up at her now "Yes of course. I'm fine, honestly Hatsu". She smiled at him and picked a nearby flower. Her slender fingers twirled it around between them, giving her a moment of thought. "I know how much you loved him...really. Don't worry about it too much Arthur, they are just rumors after all. We don't know anything for sure" she finally spoke, still twirling the flower but now looking up at his working face.
He looked up and met her glance, "I know, but this gives me an excuse to slap myself mentally and stop dreaming of things that probably won't happen. I mean..." he put the cleaning cloth down "He's a traveller, one rumored to get around at that, and I'm a geisha. How could that work?". "Well actually..." Hatsu began but was interrupted by Arthur "I'm not going to worry though. It's fine and better I realised that my duties don't involve love now rather than later. Saves my heart getting broken". "You sure it's not broken right now?" Hatsu asked. Arthur looked at her surprised, but then looked away defeated. She could see that it was. There was no point hiding it. He sighed, "Probably". She gave one sighing-laugh and then looked back to the flower, "You know the story of the red string of fate don't you Arthur?"
"Of course, everyone does"
"Well, do you think that applies for just japanese people? What if the gods tied you to someone who's not from Japan? What if they tied you to someone, oh I don't know, American maybe?"
Arthur gave her a surprised look, "You honestly think we might be destined for each other?". Hatsu just smiled at him, "All I'm saying is, we may think we have something all figured out and we know all we can about it... but sometimes we just don't. Sometimes we have to just accept things as they come because anything can happen" she took the flower and put it in one of his silky blonde locks. She grinned, before leaving him alone again. Arthur thought about it for a while, but then sighed and continued his cleaning. Maybe Hatsu was right... maybe he knew nothing.
Two days passed and Arthur was feeling much better so he could get back to work. He had decided that Alfred was just another customer and he needed to convince his heart that was all he would be. He had been doing a pretty good job of it. The two Maikos and their onee-san glided along the stone roads in their precious silk atop a black carriage and came to a stop outside their destination. One by one they stepped inside the teahouse and greeted their customers. There were quite a few people there today, geisha and men grouped together in little groups all around. The three of them took their seats and had chatted for a little while before some other men came over and greeted them too. "Hey there everyone" Some said, obviously knowing their customers. Then a familiar voice came crashing into Arthur's eardrums. It was Alfred.
"Hey guys, enjoying yourselves?" He grinned with a wave. Arthur's skin broke out into little goosebumps and his hairs stood on end. Why is he here? Alfred spoke to a few of the men and then scanned the group of people, before landing his gaze on Arthur who had his head down. "Oh! Hello Amaya-san" He greeted. Arthur couldn't bear to look at him. He was worried he would either break into tears and start yelling absurd questions at him like "Is it true? Are you a woman-hunter?". He simply looked to the side and quietly greeted him back, "Hello Mr. Jones".
Alfred blinked in surprise, what was wrong with him today? Arthur seemed very off. He let it pass and told the others he would be over by the people he had come with today if anyone need him. Arthur snook a glance up to watch him turn his back and leave. He wanted to talk to him, straighten-out his rattled heart but his mind was totally against it. The geisha drank tea, entertained and enjoyed themselves. Even Arthur was surprisingly enjoying himself more than he expected. "Please excuse me for a moment gentlemen, I'm afraid I need to get a breathe of air" He smiled and everyone nodded.
The blonde stood and shuffled out the room, down some corridors and out onto a garden. He stood and let the wind cool his face for a moment, before breathing it in and out with a calming rythmn. The moon shone bright this evening, which warmed his heart. He turned to shuffle back inside, but was instead greeted by a tall musclar figure in the short distance. "Nice night hm? Really peaceful" Alfred smiled. "Why did he have to be here? Why can't he go elsewhere?" Arthur thought to himself, annoyed that the American was making his efforts go to waste. "Yes, very nice" Arthur croaked. He glumped mentally and shuffled over to Alfred who was by the door he was about to go through. "If you'll excuse me" Arthur managed but Alfred put an arm in the doorway. "What's the matter Amaya?" Alfred asked. Arthur kept his eyes fixed on the floor. "Amaya, please. Tell me what's wrong with you" Alfred asked, trying to get his eyes to look at him. Arthur snapped his head to the side "There's nothing wrong with me" he spoke quietly. "Don't lie, I can tell. Why are you distant with me all of a sudden?" Alfred asked. Then he took his hand and gently but firmly took Arthur's chin and pulled it up to look at him. Arthur lost his grip on control and let his emerald eyes meet Alfred's azure ones. He was beginning to loose himself in their beautiful depth. "No! Don't loose it now" Arthur's mind snapped at him. He moved his glance elsewhere and mumbled, "I just have a lot on my mind right now". Alfred softened his tone a little and said "Well tell me about it. I'll be here for you to talk to". Arthur wanted to hit him, since it was his fault in the first place but he just shook his head, which in turn shook off Alfred's grip "It's nothing" he said, "Now I really must go". He shuffled past the American, who was now looking at the floor in dissapointment. He didn't look back, he couldn't. If he did his heart would have probably spilt again. He could stand to see Alfred sad because he was so cheery all the time, but what could he do about it here really?