His Little Doe

Daughter of a Duchess

POV: R. F. Jackaby

"I love it."

I'd never heard anyone say that about my house or anything to do with me, for that matter. It was strange and a bit awkward to hear someone say that. I wasn't even taking into account that Miss Fletcher had said it, either.

Siena la Ariel Fletcher didn't seem like the kind of person who would take to the supernatural. I, on the other hand, as Miss Fletcher had unwittingly pointed out, did. Tall, awkward, strange, lanky, eccentric, blunt and a bit of a doofus—that was me. But Miss Fletcher...she was resigned, calm, regal, upheld, tall and thin but fit to her figure, and very beautiful. She looked like a princess or a duchess, at least.

It was then that I realized I knew nothing about her.

"Really? You do?"

She nodded, her hair bouncing with her. "Yes. It's perfect. Not everything fits and that makes it...charming and beautiful."

"It...does?"

Miss Fletcher nodded, smiling broadly.

"No one's said anything like that before," I whispered.

"Well, they should!" she said firmly.

"No one really, um, likes me," I said, getting a bit flustered. I'd never admitted this before to anyone.

Miss Fletcher snorted. "They're crazy."

"Are you sure we're not the crazy ones, Miss Fletcher?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely sure!" she said. "And...please, call me Siena."

"Siena," I repeated.

"Siena," she agreed, nodding.

"I don't know much about you, Siena," I said. "Tell me?"

"Oh, of course!"

"Come on, we'll go to the third floor. It's peaceful there."

I took Siena up to the third floor and suppressed a smile at her shock about the greenery growing throughout the entire floor. Her sudden smile after her shock seemed to light up the whole place.

I sat on the ground and gestured for her to sit next to me. She did, and I reclined back, laying in the grass with my hands behind my head. Siena stared at me for a minute before joining me, laying into the grass. But she kept her arms at her sides.

"So, Siena," I said. "Tell me about your life before you felt the call of adventure. Tell me about England."

She snorted. "England's boring compared to my life. Actually, my life is pretty boring, too. Never mind."

I laughed hard, my whole body shaking. "Really?"

"Really. Seriously."

Her seriousness made me laugh again. "Oh? Please, do tell!"

"All I do all day is go through boring studies and lectures as everyone tries to make me a "proper lady", as they say. I've never been really good at it, though. The only things I do enjoy are reading and writing and dancing. We have a magnificent, huge library. I spend most of my time there, along with writing in my study. And dancing...I've always loved dancing, and the freedom it gives me. It...lets my imagination wander and go places I've never been."

"Dancing," I said thoughtfully.

Siena nodded.

"I never learned how to dance," I admitted. "I'm too awkward."

She snorted. "I doubt that."

"Have you seen me?" I asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow.

"No one is too awkward to dance."

"You haven't seen me then," I decided.

Siena sighed and stood up, holding out her hands to me. "Take my hands. I'm going to teach you how to dance."