Blood Lily

As the doors flung open and I took my first step forward, I was greeted with the beautiful sight of the garden once again. From the myriad of colors dotted along the vibrant shades of green to the water that practically sparkled as it gently flowed out of the fountain, I inhaled a deep, fresh breath and took my first step forward.

Once I took that step, however... I felt a pressure against my chest.

It was a guilty weight.

I knew mother was in the middle of telling me... something... important, but, when I saw this opportunity, I decided to take it. It doesn't matter if I'm only here for a few minutes, I'm still choosing to delay my return and then lie about it.

Even though I had the option to turn back any time, I continued with great haste as anxiety and regret riddled my heart with holes.

"Just a minute and no longer," I told myself as I approached the same cluster of lilies that the one nestled into the silver hair on my head was from.

Once I arrived, I hastily removed the lily from my hair and brought it down close to its family.

"Um, sorry again, lily, I didn't mean to steal you from your mom and dad or your brothers and sisters..."

I noticed just how full of life my lily was. Seeing it side by side the other ones, it seemed as if it had never been plucked out of paradise. The thought relieved some of my guilt. Allowing a brief moment of reunion to take place, I raised it back up into my hair.

I hope it's happy to live with me from now on... I wonder if this makes me its new mom? O-Or, would I technically be its fa-

No... I don't really like the sound of that. I-I mean, either way, I'm definitely its mom for today, heh...

Those few strings of thought made me consider the future. Would I be a mo... a-a parent one day...? If I was a parent, then... I'd be the best parent I could possibly be! I'd make sure my child gets lots of love and attention and hugs and pizza and games a-and whatever else they would want... They would never have to sit all alone in a cold park bench wondering why they even...

J-Just, yeah! I would spoil them with care, just like my mother does! Just like Magn-

A weight I had allowed myself to forget about returned. I need to go back before she starts to worry. It's only been a few minutes, so it'll just seem like I spent that time in the bathroom, which is completely reasonable.

But also a lie.

Maybe I should just be honest with her... I hate letting the lies and guilt build up like this...

Still worried as to what I should do, I decided I had spent enough time here and twisted around to make my way back. However, the moment I took my first step forward without really soaking in the environment...

"Ah!" I squeaked as I faceplanted into something very tall and very sturdy. It felt like I had walked straight into a tree.

Looking up, I realized it was a someone, not a something.

"M-Mister Batler?!" I exclaimed in panic. "I-I'm sorry! I, u-uhhh... I can explain! This dress is made of sunsilk, I-I mean obviously, b-but I just-"

I stopped speaking when it dawned on me that he didn't seem to even acknowledge my presence. His tall, looming figure was staring down, not at me, but at a patch of flowers. His colorless eyes seemed to gaze into a far away place completely lost to time... a distant memory shrouded in fog.

"Um... Birch... What are you...?" I asked.

Only the serenity of leaves and petals dancing along to the wind's lullaby met my ears.

I glanced down at the flowers his eyes seemed so fixated on. Their shape seemed reminiscent of the lilies close by, but there were a few key differences.

Their petals seemed to curl more wildly, almost as if their elegance was stripped away and replaced with a carefree arrogance. They radiated a vibrant orange, too, a color only seen for a few brief seconds during a sunset. Here, though... that color seemed to last for an eternity. The small, brown freckles found on the lilies could be found on this flower as well, though they were much darker and peppered the entirety of the petals, not just the center.

This flower was wild, yet handsome. Familiar, too.

"Remembering a dear friend, Lady O'Sang," he suddenly spoke up, startling me. "That is all."

"Oh..." I weakly responded. I was a bit surprised to hear him call me 'Lady,' but I didn't feel that's where my thoughts should be at the moment.

His heavy, stone-like gaze continued to focus on the flowers.

"Um, w-well, I need to get back to mother..." I said, excusing myself as I walked around him.

He had no words, so I continued walking in my short, black heels until my hands reached the door. Upon hearing his voice, I froze.

"I know, by the way. I'm the one that had it made." 

Confusion written on my face, I twirled around, the skirt of my dress swaying with my movement.

"What do you mea-"

Where he stood a moment ago was nothing but a dark cloud in the process of dissipating. A small, wispy and smoky trail led upwards into the air. He was gone.

He had it made...? What did he mean...?

The obvious realization hit me. He was the one who had the dress made.

"But, why...?" I asked myself, whispering.

Why would he do that? Was it an accident? Well, no, it couldn't have been an accident, I mean he gave it to me as a gift... anonymously and in private... He had to have gone against Magnolia's orders then, right? Maybe he felt embarrassed for messing it up and didn't want to take responsibility...? He doesn't seem like that kind of person, but then again I don't really know much about him...

In spite of the confusing web my brain was currently stuck in, I shoved those thoughts down. I needed to get back to mother. It's still only been like, no more than ten minutes since I finished using the bathroom... surely that's still believable...

Quickly stepping inside, I began making my way back to the dining hall. With each step I took, the sturdy oak symbol on the door grew in size as I got closer and closer.

Am I really going to lie to her? Again? I don't like this. I shouldn't be doing this. I should just tell her what I was actually doing. But... if I do that... then I have to explain this dress is sunsilk... Then I have to explain everything I explained to Amber all over again and I don't even know how I got it- Wait... I do know how I got it. Birch gave it to me. But... doesn't that just complicate things? Even though I know that, what am I going to say? That he randomly confessed that to me while I was in the garden when I should have been back with her already? Oh god, this is such a mess, I should just start at the beginning and-

The door suddenly opened just before I reached it, an unfamiliar face greeting me.

"Oh! Hello Lady O'Sang," she said, awkwardly bowing.

She was wearing the same maid outfit as Amber and Millie, though I don't remember seeing her before. She had shoulder length, messy brown hair and large glasses. She was much shorter than me, too.

"Um, hi," I just as awkwardly responded. "I'm in a bit of a hurry to get back to mother, so, if you don't mind, then-"

"Oh! Um, she had a work emergency she needed to attend to. Shortly after you left, she called for me to let you know," the mousy maid explained.

"Oh..." I said, disheartened. If I didn't detour to the garden, would I have come back in time? I don't know, but it's too late to find out...

"Lady Magnolia also told me to tell you that, um, you should wait for Sir Maximillian Louve in the lounge room along with, um, Amber and Millie," she added.

"...I see," I said with a heavy voice. "Did she say anything else...?"

"Y-Yes!" the nervous maid responded. "S-She said to, um, e-enjoy your day and have fun! A-And not to worry about her!"

Oddly enough, I felt more confident standing before this timid girl. Was I usually like this? Is my, err, 'royal' presence having this effect on her?

"Alrighty, and thank you for letting me know!" I said with a smile. I was trying my best to show that glimmer of confidence within.

"O-Of course, Lady O'Sang!" she said sounding somewhat surprised. She seemed happy.

For a few moments, though, we kind of just awkwardly stared.

A drop of sweat ran down my face. W-Was she expecting me to say something else?

"U-Um," I started, my newfound confidence dwindling. "G-Good job! You can, um, y-you can carry on, now..."

She went slightly wide eyed.

"O-Of course! H-Have a good day, Lady O'Sang!"

And, just like that, she displayed an imperfect bow and rushed past me towards the lobby, back to do... whatever it was she was doing.

That felt weird... but... it kind of felt good, too? Like, I think I made her happy by praising her. Maybe I don't mind the formality as much as I thought, either, I kind of like the ring 'Lady O'Sang' has to it... sometimes! K-Kind of! Hehe...

Shaking my head, I lightly slapped my rosy cheeks.

"S-Snap out of it!" I told myself before turning around and making my way towards the lounge room. I'll just have to talk to mother later! And, no garden detours this time!

I'm not really sure why, but I kind of felt like I needed to straighten myself out a bit, act a bit more proper, you know?

So, I did. I straightened my back to stand tall instead of slouching and I kept my hands over one another in front of me.

I guess you could say I was trying to copy a bit of mother's confident stature but also some of the maids' humble disposition. I-I'm not really sure what I'm going for, but I felt like trying something! Today is all about testing myself, isn't it?

I also decided that I should just take responsibility and come clean! No more lying! Even if I can't explain everything, that's better than saying the wrong thing!

With my new, slightly-more-confident-yet-clearly-still-kind-of-shy gait, I pressed forward and eventually found myself opening the door to the lounge room.

Two friendly maids were awaiting me inside.

"Hello!" I said, squeezing out every ounce of confidence I had in me. A nervous blush was visible on my face as I tried to maintain my composure.

"Wow, hey there Lil'! Energetic, huh?" Amber quickly responded, her attention turning towards me.

"Hi Lil'," Millie slowly responded, her attention remaining on her task of dusting the table.

"Um, yes! Kind of!" I answered to Amber's question as I was slightly put off from Millie's weak response. I expected her to be more excited than this.

"Kind of?" Amber giggled. "Well, how did your talk with Lady Magnolia go?"

"Good!" I instantly responded. "Well, at first. She started to tell me something important but then I had to use the bathroom and then, well..."

"Yes?" she questioned with a brow raised.

Alright, yup. I'm committing to what I decided.

"I-I think I should just be upfront about the truth, Amber! I went to the garden again after using the bathroom and I reasoned with myself it would be fine if it's just a few minutes but I still felt really guilty for lying and then creating more lies and then I bumped into Birch and apparently he's the one that had the dress made and he was kind of being a bit weird and I'm really confused and then when I went back to mother she was apparently gone for a work emergency and so I don't know I think I should just be honest with everyone it's just not sitting right with me so I thought why not start now before it gets out of control?!"

Amber blinked, her mind taking a few moments to process.

She was not the first to speak up, however.

"What?" Millie asked, her fuzzy eyebrow furrowed in deep confusion.

"U-Uh... W-Well..." I stuttered out.

Before I could explain further, a sudden knock on the door behind me startled all three of us. As I twirled around to meet the noise, the door flew wide open and two figures stepped forward.

"S-Sir M-Maximillian Louve has arrived, L-Lady O'Sang..." the mousy maid from earlier spoke up in a trembling voice.

The stranger had his arm slung around her shoulder and an impossibly smug grin on his face.

"Why, hello little sister," he said towards Millie. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and long time no see, Amber," he winked at her. For a moment, I could have sworn she prevented herself from gagging.

The air suddenly felt several times heavier as he let go of the sheepish maid. He took a few intimidating steps closer to me, yet spoke no words. Not yet.

Any pretense of confidence I had been trying to put up crumbled to dust, though I still felt it necessary to do one thing.

"Y-You, um, did a good job. You can c-carry on now..." I told the anxious girl who had escorted him here. 

Unlike last time, she didn't thank me, she just politely bowed and excused herself. Fast.

Once the door shut, I could swear this guy's smug grin actually deepened even more.

"You must be the woman who I've heard so much about from my little sis," he said offering a hand.

"Um... h-hi..." I responded, reluctantly accepting his hand.

The handshake was tight and uncomfortable. It lasted longer than needed to, as well.

"You're the spitting image of Magnolia. Cuter, actually," he said, a perplexing blush settling onto my face. D-Did he just call both me and my mother cute?!

"U-Uh..."

Amber and Millie remained silent. I could only imagine they had to. They were maids and he was, for all intents and purposes, an honored guest that we invited.

I looked up at him. He was noticeably taller. In spite of the fact that he physically had to look down at me, I got the feeling he was also looking down on me.

I could definitely tell he was Millie's brother by blood. Though his smile was light years different from Millie's, he shared the same darker skin tone and fuzzy eyebrows. His seemed less... cute... and more aggressive, though. His eyes were an identical shade of earthy brown, too. His hair color is even the same, though much shorter and combed. A big difference, however, were his ears. His were-!

W-Wait a second, does he have big, adorable, fluffy doggy ears?!

"Excuse me?" Max smugly grinned in disbelief. "Flirting already?"

I slammed my hands over my mouth.

I can't believe I did it again.