Garden of Hope

Prologue

(Y/n) (L/n), proudly the seventh generation maid to the Phantomhive family. (Y/n) practically grew up alongside Ciel Phantomhive, having only been three years his senior. They had played together as tots and young children, she was excited to fulfill her role to serve Ciel as his maid. The current earl and countess of the Phantomhive estate had always been fond of her as had Ciel's fiancee, Lady Elizabeth Midford. At thirteen years old she watched as the only home she ever knew burned away. Her parents, the master, and mistress died in the flames and the heir she once befriended, missing but presumed dead.
After the fire, with no place to stay, (Y/n) roamed the streets of London before finding a bakery in search of another employee, for three years the young woman stayed there until news spread that Ciel Phantomhive had returned to England's social circle. With that, she promptly left the bakery to pursue her real purpose and to reconnect with her old friend. Upon her arrival, she discovered a new companion perched upon the Earl's side, a butler with fair skin, silky ink colored locks and wine colored eyes, a man who could cause any woman's pulse to race and make the most coldhearted countess swoon although a strange aura surrounded the male. Furthermore, she realized the earl she once knew was no longer the same, in three years he had changed quite a lot; no longer was a charming smile gracing his face nor did his blue eyes twinkle with affection- in fact now he wore an eyepatch and was quite elusive as to why. Ciel Phantomhive was no longer the sweet and loving young boy she once knew; now he was a cold, calculative young man with many enemies- more than she knew.
The Queen's Guard Dog did not greet her fondly as she had expected he would, he greeted her coldly and suspiciously- as if they had never been friends. The young maid had been awestruck by how much he had changed, but nevertheless, her loyalty hadn't faded, she would stand by his side and serve as his maid. Whatever he asked of her, she would complete without complaint. (Y/n) (L/n) was the seventh generation maid to the Phantomhive family and she did not take that responsibility lightly.
Four new servants and a comforting old friend were there to meet her on the servant's end. She now knew the name of the crimson-eyed butler who was never far from their young master, Sebastian Michaelis, his given name reminding her of the family pet at one time, a black Borozi dog, also known as a Russian wolfhound. The butler was not too fond of the comparison to the canine and made it well known that he was not fond of them, instead preferring the feline. He worked swiftly and quickly, everything he did was near to perfection, truly deserving of being the head butler.
Tanaka had been a familiar face (Y/n) had been ecstatic to see, nearly running to him and enveloping him in a hug. Tanaka remained the house steward and assumed the role of a butler when the need arose, a friendly, elderly gentleman with love for tea and peace, (Y/n) was ecstatic to see he was still alive and faring well.
A new maid with bright red hair and circular glasses named Mey-Rin was the only other female now part of the estate. She was a bit of a handful and quite clumsy- it was made apparent after a while that she fancied the new butler, occasionally she would talk to (Y/n) about her crush and gossip about events occurring in the mansion and London. Though she was a clumsy maid, when it came to protecting the estate and the young master, Mey-Rin was more than capable. She was an expert gunwoman when her glasses were off, with eyes as sharp as a hawk's, she shot with pinpoint accuracy leaving (Y/n) both astounded and fearful of ever ending up at the mercy of Mey-Rin's gun.
The third new servant was a chef, Bardroy- or Bard as most called him was an American, and a veteran soldier. He wasn't a great cook, leaving Sebastian to prepare most of Ciel's meals or having to find a way to compromise with whatever Bardoy created. Bard smoked and had a strong affection for his flamethrower (which he insisted on using to cook everything with).
Lastly was the blonde gardener with the strength that could put Hercules to shame. Finnian, or Finny as he preferred, loved the outdoors because it was there where he honestly felt free and happy. He also was quite challenged when trying to tend to the garden. However, Sebastian would clean up his mistakes and (Y/n) would always try to help Finny out when she had some spare time. The maid bonded the most with him due to their shared love of the outdoors and Finny's easygoing nature. It was quite clear to the other members of the house that the maid and the gardener fancied each other, although they were quite oblivious to the affection of the other. The other household members found immense enjoyment in teasing and the embarrassment that would overcome both parties when the other would be mentioned in conversation.
Whenever any of the other servants or the master had to look for (Y/n), the first place they checked would be the garden and surely enough, nine out of ten times, that is where she would be found- occasionally she would be discovered sleeping amongst the flowers (which embarrassed her and caused sadistic pleasure in both the butler and earl).
(Y/n) was happy to finally be home again despite all the changes that have occurred the mansion and the residents who once resided in the original walls as well as those who were still living within the rebuilt replica. No matter how much the young earl had changed, she knew that he was still the same boy that used to refuse to go to bed unless she was there with her mother to read him to sleep. He was always the young man that she would forever show loyalty to and protect alongside her fellow servants.
Her determination and loyalty were awe-inspiring to many of the residents in the mansion (including the demon butler). Her commitment, kindness, and love for Mother Nature were what encaptured the attention of the blonde with red clips in his hair; it was no surprise that he eventually asked the young master for permission to court the young maid- though that comes later on.

Daffodil ~ new beginnings

A/n: I genuinely hope that you have enjoyed this chapter, let me know in the comments what you thought. At the end of every chapter will be a flower that correlates with the section or the relationships between the characters as well as the meaning(s) of the flower. Feel free to message me at any time for anything at all. Also, happy New Year everyone xx

Much love, Emersyn

PS: I apologize for the lengthy wait for the creation of this book. I wanted to wait until I was inspired and content with the way I planned to write this fanfiction. I revamped the prologue about five times to make it more informative and exciting as well as long in retribution of the wait.

1121 words total in this chapter (excluding the A/N + PS)