my moonflower. - damie.

twelve.

the sun beat down on the grass as the children played make believe in the front courtyard of the towering manor. their daily routine consisted of doing their school work from breakfast to lunch, then having the rest of the day to do their chores and keep themselves busy. living in a place such as this one, it was rare that they were ever bored. 

some areas although, were restricted. no one questioned why they were, it was just accepted as common knowledge that you avoid the lake, the well, and you don't get too close to the perimeter of the property that was shrouded by thick woods.

miles was entering some sort of a 'rebellious' phase, to dani's dismay. she always felt so guilty every time she had to discipline either one of the children, it was hard for her to see them anything but happy. but, sometimes it was needed. 

flora sat up in her room as the day faded into a calm sunset, playing with her dolls quietly and laughing to herself. dani didn't interrupt her, she let her be. as she passed miles room, she frowned as she noticed it was empty. "hey flora, any clue where your brother is?" dani called out as she poked her head back into the young girls room. "i'm not sure," she responded, shrugging and promptly turning her attention back to her dolls. dani sighed, knowing she had to now go on all around the very large estate of bly in search for him before the sun set completely.

walking down the staircase, she called out to owen who was beginning preparations for dinner. "off to go find miles, who knows where he'll be this time." owen chuckled, "what a scoundrel he is!" dani nodded as she closed the front door to the manor, quickly scanning the front yard for any sign of him. to no avail, she began making her way to the chapel. noticing the lights were off, she knew he wouldn't be in there, because whether he would admit it or not, he is still afraid of the dark and requires the lights to be on in every room he's in.

"miles? miles wingrave? you better come here!" she called out into the wind, awaiting for a response. yet, he never called back out to her. 

sighing, she directed herself towards the greenhouse. the building sat on one of the front corners of the property. walking inside, she peeked behind the large pots and hanging plants incase he was hiding behind any of them. again, to no luck.

she walked back behind the green house, as he jumped out from behind an old, rotting barrel and yelled. "got you! i got you so good! you should have seen your face!"

dani on the other hand, was not as amused as he was. "miles, you know you shouldn't be out here alone, especially this close to dark. what do you think would have happened if you were out here after the sun set? some big coyote could swoop out from the woods and we could have never seen you again!" she was stern, but not in a menacing way.

miles nodded, hanging his head a bit lower than usual. "i know, i know, i'm sorry dani. i was just following this HUGE toad, like you wouldn't believe how big he was. i was gonna scare flora with him, but he hopped somewhere back here and i can't seem to find him in all of the grass. when i heard you calling, i knew you would come looking and i thought it would be funny to scare you." he reached his hand up, watching dani grab it and help hoist him back onto his feet. 

dani sighed, "i'm just glad you're okay, just please don't do that again." miles nodded, as the two began walking back towards the manor as the sun set below the horizon. 

jamie met the two as they walked into the doors of the manor, watching miles run into the kitchen. she grabbed dani by the waist, pulling her back outside the door before any of the other house inhabitants saw them.

"jamie! what are you doing!" dani said, her eyes wide. she was obviously flustered. 

"calm down poppins! i just wanted a few minutes alone with you before dinner, i feel like i've barely seen you all day." she whined, leaning into the blonde-haired girl pressed up against the brick wall in front of her.

"oh well, we still have all night together. but, this is nice." dani said, leaning in to place a small kiss on the gardeners lips before pulling away and sighing. "but, we better go in for dinner. they're gonna wonder where we both are!"

jamie frowned, slouching her shoulders and looking up at her. "do we really have to? i promise you taste better than the food that owen's cooking, and that's saying a lot." dani chuckled, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as she put her forehead against jamie's.

"well, thank you, but.. i promise i'll make it up to you later." she reached to the side of her , turning the door knob and placing a small kiss on her cheek before slipping inside the foyer of the manor. 

jamie closed the door behind them, following her and sitting beside her at the table as owen placed multiple plates of different foods in front of them.

"it looks decadent owen! i'm starving." jamie said, practically drooling on the wooden table.

dani placed a hand on her thigh under the table, rubbing her thumb around in circles as she used her other hand to scoop a steaming serving of rice onto her plate before passing it to jamie.

jamie winked, grabbing the plate from the au-pair and giving herself a spoonful as she set it down on the table. 

"permission to eat?" the children said almost in unison from the opposite side of the table.

"permission granted." owen said, sitting down and watching as the two children dug into their meals with their silverware as if they hadn't eaten in months.

dani placed her napkin in her lap, before taking a small bite of the meal in front of her. closing her eyes for a second, she swallowed before saying, "mmm owwn, you've outdone yourself. how do you keep getting better and better with every meal?" jamie nodded her head in agreement, her mouth full.

owen smiled, wiping a grain of rice off of his mustache with his finger. "practice makes perfect, love." he chuckled, taking a sip of his tea.

as the meal came to a close, dani yawned as she put her napkin on the table and scooted her chair back. "i'm gonna go shower, by the time i'm out i expect to see you both ready for bed?" she turned to the children, who both nodded wearily. 

jamie followed her up the staircase and into the bathroom. dani chuckled, "well, what are you doing in here?" she asked the gardener.

"what does it look like? i'm gonna take a shower, duh." she said, slipping her dungarees off and looking up at her with a small smile. dani sighed, "gosh, what am i gonna do with you?" she muttered before pulling her into a deep kiss. dani slipped her shirt off over her head for a moment, turning to her side to turn the water on in the shower quickly before returning back to the gardener, who by now had 'lost' all of her clothes. 

dani studied her figure for a moment, watching her step over the tub wall into the shower and disappearing behind the curtain. it was only a moment before dani slipped in herself, closing the curtain behind her and turning her attention back to jamie, who stood in front of her drenching her hair under the hot water. 

pulling her into yet another kiss, jamie slyly reached for the liquid shampoo above the au-pair and began slathering it on dani's head, then her own as the hot water fogged the bathroom mirror.

author's note!!!

i'm sosososososo sorry for not publishing for so long! school got so overwhelming in the past few months, i didn't have much free time to update the story. but! school's over now until august, so hopefully i can begin updating this more regularly as time goes on, but who knows.

anywho, i hope you guys enjoy this chapter! it's been so long so apologies if i seem a bit out of touch, i'll be back to normal in no-time. let me know what you guys think, or what you want to see in coming chapters! i love seeing your feedback on what i have published, and hope y'all continue to let me know what you think!

thank you for all of your support, i never expected this to get reads.

i love y'all, stay tuned!