(A/N): We're back in 1967 with Amelia, Mia and Annette.

October 18th, 1967

Amelia

Well. Wasn't that just... not the best. Not the best, not the best, not the best. I didn't know what else to say- or think, technically- when I had no idea what Cipicia was planning. In the end, there wasn't anything I could do about it, anyway. Even if I could somehow get in contact with Nolan, it would only put both of us at greater risk- no, there was no point worrying myself mad. I just had to thank Annette for the warning ahead of time, even if it wasn't the best, for my nerves.

"And I assume... you don't know anything beyond that?" She bit her lip, appearing genuinely regretful as she shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Miss." It was the same thing she had said about it being past dinner, the thing that had started this whole conversation- but this time, it didn't feel like some sort of secret signal.

"Amelia." She blinked, looking quite startled. "You can call me Amelia, while we're away from the family's eye." Her gaze darted to Miasenna, and I waved away her concerns. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about her. She and I have an agreement- all the dessert she could ever want, in exchange for a little silence. It isn't in her best interest to bring anything to her parents, anyway." Annette nodded rather hesitantly- like maybe she didn't quite believe me, but also was wary of contradicting me.

Miasenna, for her part, simply continued sipping her tea. It was clear to me at least, that she was only pretending to be unbothered by this- by being talked about like she wasn't even here- we were definitely going to have more of a conversation about this after Annette had left, but for now, she was playing her role well.

"I- alright, Miss. I mean- Amelia." She wrung her hands in her lap, and I saw Miasenna frown. "If I hear anything more, I shall try to keep you apprised of the situation, but- well..." I nodded.

"You have to put your own well-being first, I understand. I wouldn't ask any less of you, Annette." She relaxed slightly- but only slightly.

"Still, I- it isn't- it isn't fair. Nothing you did is worth punishing- nothing any of us do, is worth punishing." No, it wasn't... but that wasn't up to us, was it? I could only hope that eventually, Miasenna wouldn't choose to follow in her mother's footsteps, the way that Cipicia had followed in Anthophilius's. Whether that hope was-

"Your hands are bleeding." Her voice was so quiet that it took me a second to realise that she wasn't just talking to herself under her breath. Then I did realise, and Annette and I both blinked; her glancing down at her flexing fingers, as I watched Miasenna herself.

She wasn't looking at Annette's hands anymore. She had noticed them earlier, but had waited until now to say anything about it- the question was, how calculated that decision might be. She leaned over, and fished something out of the bottom drawer of her bedside table... it looked like a jewellery box, but when she opened the lid, I was surprised to see that it was full of medical supplies.

"Here," She said, holding the jewellery box out for Annette to take. "I'm not the best at playing the Healer, but Leonides has been trying to teach me how to put bandages on the right way for a while now, so I know what we need." She hesitated, then her shoulders slumped a bit. "Mostly." It was almost under her breath, like she wanted to hide it, but didn't particularly want to try to lie about it.

Annette stared at her for a few seconds, her face a mix of bemusement and apprehension, before she tentatively reached toward the offered box. I think she, like me, was stuck on the fact that Leonides apparently thought that it was necessary for Miasenna to learn how to properly tend to wounds- not to mention the fact that Leonides himself was already proficient enough to feel like he could offer some level of instruction- despite the fact that something that would typically require nothing more than a band-aid to handle, could be healed by just about any member of the staff with even the most rudimentary of healing charm... not to mention their parents.

She was also probably remembering when, a few months ago, word had made its way around the rest of the staff that the house elves had noticed that some of their medical supplies had gone missing. House elves had their own kind of magic, but they were practically completely at the mercy of their masters- so if they were told not to use magic to heal any injuries that they may acquire, they were quite bound to that. Hence why they tended to keep some minor medical supplies around- and I suspected that this was where Leonides and Miasenna had found theirs, considering that it wasn't exactly like they could go out and buy them, or ask their parents to do so, either.

Annette clearly took too long to accept the box for Miasenna's taste, because she suddenly set the box in Annette's lap and turned to me. "If you know anything beyond, 'apply ant-eye-back-tear-ial cream, then aid the band', now would be the time to do it." Ant-eye...? Oh. Oh. Well, I suppose the fact that she was only five years old would mean that she would most likely have trouble reading, let alone pronouncing, the word antibacterial- so I assumed that Leonides had taught her how to remember which cream to use by reading it phonetically. Not only that, but a way to remember what order to do things, by adding 'then aid the band' to the end. Aid the band- band-aid.

It was smart of Leonides to work with the limitations Miasenna's age provided him with, but at this point, I probably shouldn't have been as surprised by that as I was. I shook my head at her, even as I watched Annette carefully pick through the supplies in the box with the eye of a hawk. "She's only bleeding because her skin is dry- an unfortunate side effect of constantly having to wash her hands or otherwise get them wet, I suspect." I glanced at Annette's face, and she flushed slightly- as though she was embarrassed.

Miasenna's frown was very nearly a pout, and after a split second of deliberation, she slipped off of the bed; heading across the floor towards her vanity table. "I think I have..." She trailed off as she rifled through its drawers, clearly searching for something. "Ah ha!" She crowed quietly, procuring a tube of what looked to be hand cream. "Here." She said, slipping it into Annette's lap alongside the jewellery box.

Her cheeks turned a splotchy red, and she started spluttering nervously; her chapped hands closing around the pale pink tube as though it were the blade of a knife. "I can't- Miss Miasenna, I cannot accept this, it's too- it's yours. If your mother found me with it-" Miasenna shrugged.

"Then hide it really, really well." She said it like it was nothing- nothing out of the ordinary, but also, nothing that mattered- then held up her hand to bring Annette's worrying to a halt. I would guess that she had picked this gesture up from her mother, but that gesture by Cipicia was used to stop someone from continuing to annoy her, rather than to assuage fears. "Take it, I never use it. It smells like roses, and I hate roses." Maybe that had something to do with the way that Anthophilius's wife Caliste was always surrounded by them, but then again, maybe it was unrelated.

Reluctantly, Annette curled her fingers around the cream like it was something precious, and I wasn't sure if she was accepting it because she was touched to be given something of such value, or because she thought it was safer not to argue with Miasenna. "I- thank you, Miss." She tucked the tube away in one of the pockets of her skirt. "I'm not- I'm used to bleeding. I usually just wait until my duties are all done to heal myself, so I don't undo it over and over again." I frowned, much like Miasenna.

"Is there no way to shield your hands? Magic? Gloves?" She shook her head at my suggestions.

"Mistress Joannis does not provide gloves, nor an allowance to purchase them. I would have to pay for them from my own pocket, which I simply cannot afford. We tried a barrier charm, but it made us much too inefficient- we couldn't meet our quota, and suffered worse in the end, anyway." The look in Miasenna's eyes was wearier than I would have expected from any five year old, but if there was anyone I would have thought was capable of it, it was her- and Leonides, but still. "We do try to accomplish most tasks using magic whenever we can, but sometimes it simply isn't possible. Or feasible, at least." I nodded.

"I understand. Have you considered maybe... do you think a Healer would be able to prescribe you some sort of special hand cream? One that might keep your hands moisturised for longer, so you don't bleed as easily?" She blinked, staring at me like I had said something quite odd- but to be fair, she wasn't the only person I knew who worked with their hands, and was having trouble balancing that required manual labor with their physical health.

"I... hadn't thought about it all that much, Miss- Amelia." She was tentative, and I wasn't sure if it was because she was uncomfortable with the subject matter, or because she was still nervous about using my first name.

"Let's get you sorted, yes?" It was a calculated move- I wasn't exactly keen to be tending to the injuries of anyone- expect maybe Nolan- but so far I liked Annette... and above all else, I thought she might prove useful.

I found I was correct, when a few minutes- and some applied first aid- later, she spoke up again. "Dirt," I moved my eyes from her hands to her face, and I saw the fear and reluctance there. She didn't want to be saying this, because she was afraid- and yet, she was. "I think it will have something to do with dirt."

(A/N): Yes, Leonides stole the medical supplies from the house elves.

Amelia's whole deal is basically, 'Except maybe Nolan.'

Caliste wears rose perfume... except on the days where she's lucid. Or, as Leo described it in Chapter 367 (Lost Love and Love Lost): 'more... aware of things.'