Heh. This would have been up earlier if I hadn't been distracted by several different things. I blame everyone else!

Alice really wanted to go home. She was fed up with how everyone looked at her. The way they whispered behind their hands when she hurried by. Anything would be better than this. Their jealousy overflowed and infected her workspace, making her constantly irritated when it was anyone bar her, Francis, Gilbert and Antonio. Which, when she realised this, would irritate her, too.

The flower in her hair had made things worse. For, instead of going to set up the dining table, Alice had gone to her room, closing the door firmly behind her as her red face was enveloped in semi-darkness. Unfortunately, Heather was there. And she saw the flower before she had taken it out and thrown it to the ground. (Heather had later placed it on her pillow just before Alice had lain down to sleep and, as a result, it ended up on her bedside table beside her spectacles. She loathed the idea of throwing it away; it was, after all, her favourite flower and she wanted to respect it.)

Since then, the air of jealousy around Alice had grown. And the air of anger emitting from her had also grown. She spoke to people less. She completely ignored Francis' advances and refused to go for walks in the garden. Whenever he gave her flowers, she placed them in vases and left them in his room.

Unfortunately, this didn't stop him from following her when she went about her business. She had caught him a few times. Of course, it was always most noticeable when there were other people around; mainly because she could hear the maids getting excited from the mere presence of him.

A few times, he tried to send in Antonio and Gilbert in before him to distract them and Alice from the fact he was there. That didn't work so well, either, as the butler would get distracted from his task and the gardener would be ignored in favour of the Frenchman.

Most of the time, though, Francis would just watch her tidy the room around her. It was beginning to unnerve her. She wanted to ask why but had a vague inclination that she wouldn't want to know the answer.

At the moment, she was in the process of closing the curtains in Francis' rooms. The candles were all burning, providing a flickering light for the dim room. At this time of year, when it got dark so early in the day, all Alice ever wanted to do was to curl up with a good book beside the hearth. It was a shame she wouldn't be able to do that this year.

Finishing her task she went back to pour Francis some more of his wine. She glanced at the clock as she picked up the bottle. Only a few more hours to go… Tipping the bottle, she let enough pour in to fill the glass. Then she placed the bottle back and glanced at the Young Master. "Anything else-?" she began before looking at him more carefully. He was gloomily staring at the glass. After a pause, Alice sighed and tapped him on the shoulder. "Is something wrong?" she asked him as he jolted and looked up.

"Ah! Non, non, cher. I am fine," he replied, smiling at her. The look in his eyes unnerved Alice.

"Well, I was just trying to ask you if you would like me to do anything else for you…"

"Ah…" Francis stared into space for a moment. "Please, cher – what is ze date?"

Alice blinked at him for a moment. "Well… It's the thirteenth of February, I believe… Why? Is there something important happening soon?"

Francis chuckled. "As a matter of fact, there is. But it is nothing for you to worry about, cher. In fact… I believe you are in need of holiday, oui? Why don't you go to bed early? You don't need to get up until you awaken either, rather than a specific time!" He smiled at her.

Alice looked at him suspiciously. What was he up to? She stared at him for a moment, watching for any tells. He gazed back, an amused expression on his face. "Really…?"

"Oui, mon amour," Francis said, quietly.

Alice hesitated before nodding and curtseying. "Thank you, sir…" she said before leaving, walking past Antonio and Gilbert on the way out. As she walked to her room, she brooded: it just wasn't like him to let her go away early. Was there something wrong? Was he ill? Had she done something wrong? Should she apologise?

Wait, why am I worrying about that git? She shook her head, glaring at her reflection as she passed a mirror. I'll go to bed, get some sleep and everything will be back to normal in the morning…

She couldn't have been more wrong…

When Alice slowly came to her senses the next day, she was first struck by the smell. It was a rather strong and sweet smell. Like roses… Does Heather have a new scent? She rolled over, still rather tired and tried to bury her head in her pillow to obstruct the smell. "'oo spr'ed 'oo 'uch o' tha'…" she mumbled into the pillow.

"Alice?" came Heather's voice surprisingly close to Alice's bed. "Is that you awake now?" Alice just grunted. "I really think you should wake up…"

Confused, Alice sat up and, rubbing at her eyes, felt around for her glasses. She was surprised to feel something soft on the bedside cabinet beside them. After regaining her ability to see, Alice looked around.

"What the-?"

The entire room seemed to have gotten a red and white carpet overnight. So had their beds. In fact, every surface was covered in red and white. On closer inspection, Alice realised they were roses. Lots of roses.

She let herself fall back into her bed, closing her eyes. "This had better not be his fault…" she mumbled, unaware that a very jealous Heather was glaring at her.

An idea struck the green-eyed Heather and she cleared her throat. "I wonder when they did this…?" she said, her voice layered in honey. "After all, it wasn't like this before we went to sleep…" The young girl satisfied herself with the sight of Alice's body stiffening and her eyes flying open.

"That… BASTARD! He sneaked in while we were-?!" Alice hissed. She jolted upright. "That does it!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to talk to him about this! I've had enough!" She was so enraged that she was unaware of Heather sitting on her bed, sniggering quietly behind her hand.

Alice clambered out of bed and hurried over to the wardrobe so she could get dressed before leaving their room. Throwing open the doors in a rage, she was unprepared for what she found there. She froze and stared into it.

"Wha-? Wh-?"

Heather looked over at her roommate. What had gotten into her, she wondered. She got up and walked over, peering in as well.

Inside, none of their uniforms were present. Instead were two dresses, one for each of them. A large tag denoted which one was Heather's – a pale green affair. And quite a pretty dress, too.

"Well, it's not so bad," said Heather, happily as she noticed the tag had been written out by Francis himself, including kisses. She glanced at Alice who was still staring in shock at her own dress. Or was that horror…?

Heather looked at the dress left for Alice. She stared too.

It was covered in roses – that was the simple way of describing it. The bodice of the dress and the short sleeves were white. Fake white roses were sewn onto the sleeves. The skirt itself was pink, the same colour of roses sewn along the hem. Other roses had been sewn on at seemingly random intervals so that Alice would look like a walking rose bush if she were to wear it.

"D-Does he… expect… me to… wear… that?" Alice croaked out.

"It looks like it," said Heather, still staring at the dress.

There was silence for a moment. Then Alice dropped to her knees and let out a scream. "THAT FUCKING BASTARD!"

Heather was rather startled before realising that, what with everything that had happened to Alice over the last few weeks, it was surprising that she hadn't had a breakdown yet. Feeling rather guilty, she patted Alice's shoulder. "I'll help you get dressed," she said quietly. Alice reluctantly nodded and stood up. "Just sit on your bed for now; I need to get dressed first." Again, Alice nodded before slumping down onto the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. She was trembling with fury – she nearly snapped at Heather when she touched her shoulder to get her attention. Looking up, she saw that Heather was ready. She stood up again and slipped off her nightdress. Letting Heather help, she managed to don the dress.

Then she went over to the dressing table to brush her hair and tie it up. When she looked for her hair things, though, all she could find was a large, red rose clasp. "He stole my hair things, too?!" Alice shrieked, startling Heather. Slamming down her brush Alice stood up. "That does it! That definitely does it! I'll- I'll- That- AAAARGGGH!"

And with that, Alice stormed out of the room – and directly into the path of Antonio and Gilbert. "Ah, sorry," said Alice distractedly before noticing their faces. "Are-Are you two not well?"

Both men were bleary-eyed. In fact, one would think they had been up all night. Gilbert only grunted in reply. Antonio, however, slowly lifted his gaze to her. "Buenos días, señorita. Estás muy guapa hoy. Espera ... ¿Dónde está tu flor del cabello?" he said to her.

Alice clicked her tongue. "I have no idea-!" began Alice but, suddenly, Antonio stomped into the room. Alarmed, she turned and followed him back in. "What the hell are you doing?!" she exclaimed. Antonio didn't answer her and, instead, grabbed the rose clasp. Then he turned to her and grabbed her arm so she couldn't move. Carefully, he pinned up her hair as much as possible, the flower now attached to the side of her head at an angle. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

Antonio ignored her, speaking to Gilbert instead. "Ahora, a la cama." And, with that, they both left.

Francis was innocently sipping on his first glass of wine of the day when Alice barged in. "What the hell is the meaning of all this?!" she demanded, crossing her arms as she did so. She tapped her foot.

"Ah, cher!" exclaimed Francis who was suspiciously upbeat and cheerful compared to the two men Alice had bumped into earlier. "I see you have found my present!"

"Present?" Alice snapped. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's Valentine's Day, cher!"

Alice froze. Dammit! I should have remembered yesterday and made sure I wasn't here…

"I 'ave given presents to everyone, cher. And, look!" Francis gestured around the room. Looking round, she realised that the room was covered in red roses. Here and there, a white rose stuck its head out from its companions, intent on catching her eye.

Now that she thought about it, she had passed by several vases full of roses on the way to the room. So many as to almost change the halls into a garden.

"Did you really…?" Alice sighed. "And, by any chance, did you have a couple of little helpers last night?"

Francis grinned. "Oui. And zey have gone to bed so you shall have to keep me company all day, ma douce."

Alice scowled at him. "You planned all this, you sneaky bastard… I won't forget this – or forgive you! Give me back my things!"

Francis faked an expression of shock. "Ah, non, cher, I cannot do zat. It would spoil the ambience." He smiled at her. "Come, we should spend the day together."

"Well, I'm not happy about this, so don't expect me to smile, you French tosser." She glared at him before obediently walking to the table and flopping down in the seat opposite him.

The day had passed fairly quickly. Most people say that 'time flies when you're having fun' – Alice's day had been a mix of having fun and being annoyed at Francis. Especially when he pointed out her smiling.

Thus far, they had breakfasted together, walked in the garden together, had luncheon together, played billiards and cards together, and, finally, had dinner together. Back in Francis' rooms, Alice felt more exhausted than when she was working. Francis guided her to an armchair by the window.

"Sit here, cher. I have to speak with you," he murmured, smiling lightly at her.

This woke Alice up a little. "We need to talk?" she said, perching on the chair. This is it. This is me getting fired. It's funny, though… I thought I'd be a lot more relieved…

"Oui," sighed Francis, sitting in another chair. "I… have to confess something…"

Confess? What is this? I'm no priest… What the hell is going on now? "Confess… To me?"

"Oui. Alice… Je t'ai-"

"You're speaking in French again!" exclaimed Alice. "You know I don't-"

"I love you."

There was a silence interrupted only by the ticking of the grandfather clock by the door. Not even their breathing could be heard as Francis held his breath and Alice stared at him in shock.

"E-Eh?!" exclaimed Alice, finally. "Wh-What did you just say?!"

Francis rose from his chair and crossed to her, dropping to his knees beside her. He grabbed her hands in his and Alice realised her was trembling a little. "I said, 'I love you.' I love you, Alice. I… Je t'aime!"

Alice stared at him. Ah, what? What is this? Is this for real? Wait, of course it isn't! He's probably said this to all the other girls he managed to get into his bed! She smirked at him and yanked her hands away. "I thought I told you to stop trying to sweet talk me into your bed?" she said. "If you've quite finished, I think I should go back-"

"Non!" exclaimed Francis, clutching at the skirt of her dress. "Non! It ees not like zat, cher! Je t'aime! I promise you! I love you!"

Alice paused and looked into his sapphire eyes. They were earnest and desperate. In fact, his whole composure screamed desperation. He was really telling the truth.

Hey. Hey, wait. What do I do now? What do I do? What do I say to him? I don't… What excuse can I use to make him understand? Well, there's that but… he might not think highly of me afterwards. What do I do? Should I say it?

"Alice?" said Francis, frowning a little.

"I… I…"

"You love me, too, cher?" said Francis, excitedly.

"No! That's not what I was going to say!" exclaimed Alice. "I… I can't love you."

"Quoi? But… You were clearly enjoying my company earlier!" Francis looked confused.

Alice sighed. "That's because it felt like a holiday. It felt… Anyway, the point is – I can't love you. Ever."

"Can't or won't?" asked Francis, frowning now.

"I can't!" Alice insisted. "Because… I… already have a fiancé."

The Spanish is: "Good morning, miss. You look nice today. Wait... Where is your hair flower?" And then, "Now, to bed."

"Mon douce" means "my sweet". (Probably not in the way I intended it but, too late now.)

I hope you like cliffhangers because, not only is there going to be a lot more of them, things are going to get more complicated from now on. :) (I'm awful for that sort of stuff.)

Also... today... finishing this off. This was a nightmare... But, done now, so, yay!

Also, I really, really hate Heather. I wish my mind hadn't created her. Thankfully, this should be the last we see of her...

But if she does reappear... *shudders*

Mais, c'est la vie!