Waterfall

Chapter 7

Morning, Lea (Can I call you that?)

Get dressed. Put something nice on, and come downstairs. I got a surprise for you.

-Adam

I smile and go to my closet, and pull out this.

I run downstairs, smiling, and walk into the kitchen. I see Adam, in a pink apron, cooking some eggs.I see him turn around, and pop the toast out. "Morning, Lea." He smiles, flipping some bacon. Then I realize what he is making, "Senpai Food?" I ask, excitedly. He smiles, knowing that he has made me happy, and nods. I sit down at the island, waiting for it to be done. While I wait, Lucien comes downstairs, stumbling a bit, as he trips over the dog. He sees me, and looks away. "Please, sit. Food is almost ready." Adam says, gesturing to the spot next to me. Instead, Lucien walked towards Adam, spinning on his heel, and grabbed a piece of bacon. Then he walked up to his room. I sigh, and mumble, " I really hurt him, didn't I?". Adam brings a plate over to me, and says, "No. He is just keeping his distance.". "I'm not hungry right now. I'll be back in a minute." I say, pushing my chair in, and walking upstairs. I stalk down the hall, into Lucien's room. Then I close the door and lock it, looking at him. He stares at me, and I realize that he has been crying. In all the years I have known him, Lucien has only cried twice. Once when I had fallen off my horse and had to be taken to the hospital, and when his little sister, Maria (MA-RY-A) had died. We didn't talk about her much though. I slowly walked over to him, and sat on the bed. He just looked at me, pain dancing in his eyes. Then, I hugged him. He was surprised, but wrapped his arms around me and weeped. Before I knew it, I was crying as well. "I'm sorry." I whispered. He smiles and wipes his cheek with the back of his hand. "Do you remember that day, when we were running through the mazes in the gardens at the palace, and I had cornered you. I was walking toward you, and you yelled, "Lucy! Wait! I have something for you!" So I stopped, and waited, and you told me to close my eyes, then you had kissed my cheek, and ran off, just so I wouldn't tag you." He smiled. " Such a cheater." He laughed. "Nuh-uh! I didn't cheat! I just- MADE UP MY OWN RULES!" I giggle. He laughs again. "Well, that's true. But you changed the rules half way through the game." He corrects. "Well, rules are made to be broken." I say playfully. Then, he suddenly stops smiling, and I know he is thinking about Maria. And with the tears building in his eyes, I know which memory he is thinking about. One day, we were all together in the mazes, playing tag. I was about 7, Lucien was 8, and Maria at the young age of 5. But Lucien was it, he saw Maria, and started chasing her. Maria had started climbing up the side of the hedges. She was very agile, she was so light that she could easily do it. It gave her an unfair advantage, because Lucien and I were much heavier. Well, she had climbed all the way up to the top and was walking on top of them. But her foot slipped, and she fell. Lucien had run to catch her, but it was too late. She had already hit the ground. I had just come out of my hiding spot, to see him holding our dear Maria, who was still breathing, but barely. I heard him saying, "Wake up Mari. Come on. Please Don't leave me!" He was in heavy tears. He turned to me, and screamed for me to get my parents. By the time we got back to the spot, Maria was gone. He blames himself. He thinks that he could have saved her. I come back to the present, and see him in a ball crying. "Hey. Lucy. Wait. I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes." He lifts his head, looks at me for a second , and then closes his eyes. Then, I kiss him softly. "Come eat, Lucy Goosey." I say, getting up and walking to the door. He nods and smiles. Then we walk downstairs together. "NOW WHERE'S MY SENPAI FOOD!" I announce, walking into the kitchen. Adam rolls his eyes playfully, and slides the plate back over to me. Then he slides a second one for Lucien. I take a big bite and beam. Then Lucien takes a bite and smiles. "So, have you two made up yet? Because the real surprise is going to be ruined if not." Adam says, leaning on the counter. Lucien tries taking a piece of bacon off my plate, and I poke him with my fork. "Ouch." He smiles. I laugh and say, "Yeah. We're good." Adam smiles proudly. "GOOD! Now,could you look at some of these? They are for the spring ball." He asks, pulling a notepad out of a drawer.

I open to the first page to see a beautifully drawn dress. It was long, and a gorgeous shade of blue, with other blue accents added to it. It looked like a fairy tale dress.I loved it. I flipped to the next page, and even Lucien was impressed. They were perfect. I look up at Adam, grinning from ear to ear. "Did you make all these?" I ask, smiling. He blushes and nods. I start flipping through it, and see hundreds of beautiful dresses. Some long, some short, some blue, some red, some lacy, some embroidered, some flowy, some tight, but all extraordinary. I look at Adam, and say, "Okay, yeah, please tell me that these are all real. Please."

He beams and shakes his head no, but then says, "I hope that I can make them all someday." I take another bite of my food, and steal a piece of Lucien's bacon. "Hey!" He laughs, but I just stick my tongue out at him. "So, if you had to pick one dress, which one would it be, out of the options?" He asks. I start flipping through the pages, and then I find one that I really like, I show it to Adam. "This one." I say, showing him a blue dress, with long sleeves, and a high neckline, far above the collarbone. He smiles, and nods, "Just give me about a half hour. I kept a record of everything that would be needed to make these dresses, and that one was especially tricky to find the right kind of material." He jogs into the parlor, and pulls a book out from a bookshelf.

He turns to a page, about ¾ way through the book, and asks for a piece of paper. Lucien brings him some, and he starts jotting down types of fabric, and how much. Then he hands it to Lucien and asks, " Could you go into town and grab these. Please take Lea with you." Lucien nods, and I secretly grab 3 more pieces of bacon from a plate, and eat some of Lucien's sandwich. Then, Lucien came out and grabbed my hand. "Lets go." He mumbled.