"Hmm...this is a pretty shirt," I said as I lifted up a long, bright red shirt. "...Yes, this will do just nicely!"

I was standing in the middle of a men's clothing store, looking through the selection and trying to find a few casual clothes for myself. Christine stood next to me, holding the clothes I chose out in her arms as I picked each one out. She looked down at them, noticing all of them had a very similar trait.

"You really must like the color red, Sebastian," Christine said. "Almost everything you have chosen so far has all been some shade of red..."

I handed her the shirt.

"I guess I do," I answered with a smile. "I'm just subconsciously drawn to that color, I suppose."

Christine laughed.

"Obviously!"

She gave a small smile.

"But it does look great on you. It really compliments your hair."

I studied the amount of clothes she held.

"...Though I would love to buy some more, I think that will be enough for now."

I took the clothes from her.

"I'll go ahead and try them on. And once we are done, we can go next door and see if we can find anything for you."

Christine blinked, a nervous look appearing in her eyes.

"I...okay. If you want to..."

She walked off to the front of the store while I headed to the dressing rooms. Once I found a room, I went inside it and changed into all of my chosen outfits. With the money I had, I was able to choose three pairs of pants and four shirts. The pants, though looked black from a distance, were actually a dark maroon colored while the shirts were in different shades of red, one dark, one faded, and one that was the same color of red as my coat.

As I tried each of them on, I smiled, a part of me feeling somewhat free wearing something else then the black of my butler uniform. However, the bright redness of my shirts did seem flamboyant, screaming out for attention. I could imagine Daniel's reaction if he saw me in this bright red of a shirt, the look of horror on his face... I wondered if Lady Edna would like me wearing something like this?

Once I was done trying everything on, I changed back to my original clothes and left the dressing rooms. After I paid for my clothes, I met up with Christine and we walked next door to the women's clothing store.

"So, what kind of outfit do you want to get?" I asked her. "Anything in particular you want to look at?"

"Um...I don't know," Christine rambled, her eyes drifting throughout the store. "Maybe a new dress, or something..."

Rubbing her arm nervously, she wandered over towards the selection of dresses the store had to offer. Skimming through them, she picked one out and turned to me.

"What do you think of this one?"

I studied the dress. It was a dark blue dress, with a very flat skirt and barely any flair or emotion to it. I frowned.

"Not to be rude, Christine, but that dress..."

I sighed.

"It...is just too bland. You already wear an expressionless maid's outfit every day. Don't you want something that is more fiery, to make you standout?"

Christine's eyes widened.

"I...well, I admit this dress isn't as nice some of the others..."

I rubbed my forehead, sighing softly. This girl was so hopeless at times!

"Here," I said, "let me take a look around and see if I can find a better dress for you. You don't have to buy it, but at least try it on for me and see what it looks like on you. And if you don't like it, you can buy this one. Does that seem fair?"

Christine nodded shyly in reply.

"Alright...just don't choose anything over the top. I...don't want to stand out too much."

She avoided eye contact.

"I'm not like you to where I can stay so confident, especially in my appearance... I wish I was, but I'm not and I know it."

"Well, that can be changed!"

Moving past her, I went over to the dress selection, carefully studying each one I saw. Christine moved in right behind me, saying nothing as I went through dress after dress. I found myself strangely critical and picky about each one I looked at, as if I was picking something out for myself instead of my friend. I did find some that I would have liked to try on myself, but I tried to push those feelings towards the side, as part of my conscience found it a little creepy. In the back, I then found a dress that I knew would be perfect for Christine to put on.

A similar style to one she had chosen out, this dress however was a bright red color with white trimmings and lace. It had a more fluffed out skirt, making any woman who wore it extremely graceful. Smiling, I showed the dress to Christine.

"Try this one on," I advised. "I think you would look beautiful in it."

Christine's face paled a bit, but she took the dress without hesitation.

"I h-hope you are right. Wait for me, I want your opinion how I look."

She turned her back towards me.

"...And be honest how you think it looks on me..."

She then walked off into the dressing room. I waited patiently, or as patiently as I could, getting lost in my own thoughts.

I thought back to where I asked Lady Edna about her business, how coldly she reacted. What could her motive be for acting that way? It prayed on my mind, and my curiosity failed to fade away. Did any of the other servants know what our lady does? Christine, Jasper, and Simon probably didn't, if I wasn't allowed to, and something told me that Daniel wouldn't know the details either... What about Martha? From what I've seen, Martha seemed to have worked for Lady Edna the longest, and was the closest to her. Maybe once we all get back to the manor, I'll ask Martha, causally of course, if she knew anything.

"Sebastian, is that you?"

Returning to reality, I glanced over to see Daniel, looking quite handsome in casual clothes, walking towards me.

"Danny, didn't expect to see you here," I said with a smile. "Enjoying your evening?"

He cringed at the sound of his nickname.

"Yes, much," Daniel replied professionally. "And how about you?"

"Same. Christine and I have spent the whole day wandering around London. After buying myself some clothes, we came here to see if we could get Christine something nice."

I gestured towards the dressing rooms.

"She is changing into a dress I picked out for her. I chose a dress that I hope will brighten her up, give her a more confident image."

"I see."

There was a small silence.

"...What kind of clothes did you get?" Daniel asked, looking down at my bag.

"Oh, just a few causal things," I replied. "I wanted something else to wear besides my butler uniform, so I picked out a few things."

I moved the bag closer to him so he could see. Daniel looked inside, his brown eyes growing wide for a second.

"...You would pick something like that out."

He pushed the bag away from himself, turning his gaze away from me. And I swore they had a look of disgust in them. I narrowed my eyes.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"I mean that you would choose to wear something as unorthodox as that," Daniel answered, his voice turning cold. "Something that no man in his right mind would wear."

I clutched my fists, anger flaring in my gaze.

"How dare you insult me like that! You have no right to-"

"Oh, Daniel!"

The sound of Christine's shocked cry cut me off. Both Daniel and I turned to see her standing before us. Wearing the red dress, its fabric elegantly flowed from her. The bright color of the dress made her hair and eyes appear darker and mysterious, making her skin also seem paler. She looked ravishing in it, and I could only imagine her looking even more beautiful if she were to go all out with makeup and her hair styled.

"Christine...you look amazing!" I exclaimed. "You must get that dress! It looks like it was meant for you!"

Christine blushed.

"R-really? You don't think it's a bit too much on me?"

I shook my head.

"My dear, you can never go wrong dressing in the color red."

I gave a mischievous smile.

"And let me tell you, you are going to drive the men wild with it! Don't you agree with me, Danny?"

I turned to face him. Daniel's eyes were wide, and for the first time since I've known him, the man seemed speechless.

"...Yes, you do look lovely, Christine," he finally said, his voice soft. "It fits you nicely."

At his complement, Christine's blush grew, her eyes meeting his as she rubbed her arm.

"T-thank you, Daniel."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, me moving my gaze between them. A large smile slithered its way to my lips.

"Well...if boring Danny is impressed, then it must be a buy!"

Pretending I had a pocket watch, I let out an over-the-top gasp.

"Oh dear...I need to go!"

I put my hand on Daniel's shoulder and smiled.

"Would you mind taking care of Christine for me? I have to go...do something important."

Daniel blinked a couple of times.

"W-what? Why?"

Ignoring him, I turned to an alarmed Christine and said, "I'll see you later back at the townhouse. Ta-da for now!"

And before either one of them could question what was going on, I dashed out of the store, leaving in a random direction so that they could not catch up to me. I giggled to myself, happily going down the street as I couldn't believe the look that Daniel gave when he saw Christine! And Christine's face was just as priceless. Oh, many wonderful thoughts came to me as I thought of ways to play matchmaker with them!

However, that blissfulness soon left me as I noticed my surroundings had changed. I stopped where I was, seeing that I was no longer at one of the higher points in London. I seemed to have stumbled upon an older part of the city, the sidewalk and buildings having an older, filthier, grittier look to them. It was also less crowded, but the few people who walked past me were in rags and as filthy of clothing. My headed started to ache slightly, as the dark area seemed so familiar. Across the street, I saw a woman walk by, her blonde hair in a messy bun, her eyes dull, and her cleavage in almost full view. She looked like a prostitute, wandering defenselessly through the dark streets...

My headache suddenly went into an unbearable amount of pain, a woman's cry of terror echoed in my mind. Grunting, I retreated into a nearby alleyway, leaning against the wall as the screaming rang in my ears. Red tinted images flashed in my mind. I tried to remember the images, but my headache was too great for me to focus on anything. And the horrid woman's screams soon merged into another woman's scream, and another's and another's till they all meld together as one...

"Sebastian? Sebastian, is that you?"

My eyes widened, a gentle voice breaking through the screams of pure terror and agony. I looked up, seeing I was now sitting on the ground, to see a woman in red standing before me, her eyes piercing into mine. It took a minute for me to recognize her, but it was no doubt Lady Edna.

"...My lady..."

Lady Edna gave me a worried look.

"Sebastian, are you alright? Why are you all curled up in this dirty alleyway?"

She helped me stand up. I groaned.

"I...I got a really bad headache all of a sudden," I said, my headache lightening up. "I...just had to sit down for a second, I guess."

I met her dark brown-red gaze. Somehow, seeing Lady Edna here helped eased the pain.

"...Though I'm happy to see you right now, my lady," I said weakly, "I have to question what are you doing in a dirty place like this?"

It took a moment before she replied.

"...I just so happened to be passing through. Nothing else."

Lady Edna gave a small smile.

"Come, I know the perfect place that will help your headache."

She took a hold of my arm and pulled me out of the alleyway and without really a choice, I followed her out of the poorer area of London.