The Raven & The Spider (CURRENTLY UNDERGOING HEAVY EDITING)

Chapter 37 - Empathy from the Earl

Your POV (Second Person):

You slowly walked through the flower filled gardens, breathing in the nostalgic smell of honeysuckle and roses. The landscaping was breathtaking. Giant bushes of many sizes and shapes lined the brick pathway and a small apple orchard filled the already lovely scented air with a fragrance of apples.

Suddenly you heard a rustle, and a crash, which was then followed by a scream. You whipped around to see that a young boy with messy, strawberry blonde hair had just fallen out of one of the apple trees.

"Oh, what a bother!" He cried out as he sat up and rubbed a spot on his forehead. He then turned around and looked at you as his turquoise eyes widened. "Who are you?" He asked with surprise.

Besides his messy, strawberry blonde hair clipped back with five red bobby pins and his big turquoise eyes, you noticed that he was wearing a plain top with red piping around the collar and plaid pants along with black knee-high boots. Along with that he sported a straw hat that hung loosely behind his head.

"Um, I'm (Y/N)." You responded with slight awkwardness. "Ciel had brought me in for questioning yesterday." You informed him.

"Oh, that's right." He said with realization. "Baldroy and Mey-Rin told me about meeting you and how you helped them with the kitchen mess. That was very kind of you to help them."

"Oh, it really was nothing." You pressed with lifted hands. You didn't really mind helping the two workers since they'd been so kind to you since you're arrival, and it just didn't seem right for any fuss to be going into the matter.

The boy then jumped up from his fallen position and jogged over to you. "My name's Finny by the way. I'm the gardener here." He informed you as he outstretched his gloved hand for you to shake.

"Nice to meet you." You replied with a friendly smile after shaking his hand. "Baldroy did mention something about you. Sorry I haven't been able to meet you yet."

"Oh, it's quite alright." Finny assured you. "I'm nothing special anyway. Just the guy who's in charge of taking care of the flowers and such."

You laughed before asking, "What exactly were you doing in that tree?"

Finny blushed from embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck slightly. "Oh, um, that? Uh, I was just trying to pick some apples. I saw a really big one, but when I tried to reach it I fell."

You couldn't help but chuckle at the expression the gardener displayed. He seemed so ashamed and disappointed in himself over such a trivial thing as apple picking that it was somewhat humorous. "If you'd like, I could help you." You suggested politely.

Finny's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously. "No, no. I couldn't ask a lady to climb up into a tree and pick apples. That's the servant's job."

"I don't posses any title." You admitted with a nervous laugh. "I'm just a normal girl so I don't mind. Plus, I used to pick apples in nearby orchards with my friend all the time."

Before Finny could insist otherwise, you ran over to the apple tree he'd been climbing, grabbed a low hanging branch, and hoisted yourself easily into the haven of leaves. You looked around until catching sight of a giant apple which surely had been the one Finny told you of. You climbed up a bit higher until reaching out your hand and yanking the apple from the branch. After it was safely in your grasp, you used your free hand to take hold of a nearby branch and swung down before landing on the grass.

"Woah. Impressive." Finny confessed as he clapped in admiration.

"Thanks." You laughed. "I guess you could say climbing has always been an enjoyable hobby of mine."

You tossed the apple to Finny, who easily caught it, before exchanging goodbyes with him and continuing though the gardens to find Ciel.

After walking for a few minutes, you came across a marble courtyard surrounded by hydrangea bushes, containing flowers of blue, purple, and pink. The sun was still rising into the sky, causing a warm, morning glow to illuminate the area. In the center of the courtyard was a small, square table covered in a lace tablecloth with a vase of hydrangeas in the middle. Seated at the table was Ciel who was waiting patiently.

You walked over to him as he stood up from his seat to pull out the chair for you. "Oh, thank you, Ceil." You said a bit awkwardly at his gentlemanly action. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No, no." He insisted as he returned to his seat. "I've only been here a matter of minutes. Thank you for joining me for breakfast this morning, (Y/N)."

"It's my pleasure." You assured him with a smile.

You looked around at the table's beautiful dinnerware as your eyes widened. At both your place and Ciel's were expensive and exquisite looking china teacups, saucers and plates, along with what appeared to be pure gold cutlery.

Your moment of observation was interrupted however when Sebastian appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a tea cart stacked with an assortment of delectable cakes and other treats, along with a matching teapot with steam pouring from the spout.

Sebastian began to pick up the teapot and pour steaming liquid into first yours and then Ciel's teacups. "This morning we have a traditional Earl Grey tea, flavored with oil of bergamot and a hint of lemon." He then picked up the tray of cakes and placed two shell shaped ones each on yours and Ciel's plates. "The tea is accompanied by the madeleine cake; a génoise sponge cake from Commercy and Liverdun of the Lorraine region in northeastern France."

"Thank you, Sebastian." Ciel said gratefully before the butler turned to leave with the now empty tea cart. Ciel then reached out to take a sip of his tea. The two of you dined in silence until Ciel said, "This may be sudden, but I knew Ms. Elwin quite well when I was younger. She was a lovely woman."

You were quite shocked with the way he had just suddenly brought up your dead friend like that, much less admitting to knowing her in the past. You said nothing as you took a sip from your own teacup and waited for him to continue.

"My parents used to take me to the Alabaster Owl when I was younger, and Ms. Elwin would always give me her famous queen cakes, fresh from the oven." He spoke quietly while staring at his teacup. His voice had a noticeable trace of sadness though he strangely didn't seem to be hiding it. "After my parents passed away in a fire, I couldn't handle returning to visit her however. Honestly, it just brought back too many memories of when the three of us would stop there for tea on Sunday afternoons."

You lowered your teacup and stared at him in shock. Ciel was expressing the same feeling you'd had after Doll had died and the rest of the main cast had gone missing. After staying with the Noah's Ark Circus for two weeks afterwards, you'd realized you couldn't handle the newfound emptiness of the place that came with the disappearance of your family. Maybe at least some of what Smile had said wasn't a lie. Maybe, Ciel wasn't as different from Smile as you'd originally thought.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to cause the environment to be downcast," Ciel admitted with a nervous laugh. "But I wanted you to know that Ms. Elwin was indeed a wonderful lady whose kindness surpassed many." He paused for a moment before saying, "I do know what its like to lose people you care for, and I'm genuinely sorry for everything you may have had to endure recently."

You weren't sure what to say. Here was this distinguished earl you still barely knew who was trying to relate to you in a heartfelt way, and succeeding in just that. Though the boy before you was still considered a stranger in your eyes, you couldn't help but feel just a bit closer to him after the past two days. He was at least making an effort to understand you and in turn allowing you to understand him a bit better. This was also very admirable considering you most likely wouldn't be staying here much longer.

"Thank you, Ciel." You said finally. "I appreciate your compassion."

He nodded briefly though still avoiding eye contact with you. He took another sip of his tea and a bite of his madeleine cake. He then changed the subject by saying, "If you wish, I'll take you back to Ms. Elwin's house this afternoon to retrieve your belongings. I know we left in quite a hurry the other night and you didn't have the opportunity to bring them with you."

"Uh, yes that would be best." You answered thankfully, though still using a quiet tone.

"Alright." Ciel agreed with a nod of his head. "I'll fetch you around noontime then, and taking into account the trip there and back, we should arrive back home by nightfall."