The atmosphere in the garden was like something described at the beginning of a book prone to flowery prose. The sun had only just begun to peak over the tops of the trees, bathing the garden in a gentle warm light. A light breeze carrying the scents of the trees into the garden where they turned and mixed with the scents of the flowers creating a heavenly bouquet that lifted the spirit. It was truly a perfect moment, that Lillian was in no way taking part in despite being in the garden herself. After having spotted an interesting beetle perched on the stem of a voracious hydrangea bush Lily sat herself comfortably on a nearby bench and exited her physical form so as to study the insect closer without startling it, something a physical body was prone to do. The creature had the most brilliant iridescent shell that shifted between red and gold, and rather large oddly shaped antenna that acted independently of each other and would twitch into various positions. After watching it for a while Lily fetched one of her notebooks and a pen to write down her observations and drew a quick sketch. It was difficult to tell for sure as there were countless beetle species in the world, but Lillian was fairly confident she had stumbled across a totally new one. When she had a moment she would need to spend several days researching beetles to ensure she did in fact discover a new one, but once that business was out of the way she could get to task with the truly exciting parts of discovery. Cataloging, study, and experimentation. Several days would need to be devoted to the creatures mating habits, life cycle, food preferences, and countless other details. She would then need to spend several weeks, possibly several months, observing the creature to see how it interacted with the ecosystem and what, if any, part it played in it. The thought of all the science potentially to come in the future was thrilling, and did much to lift Lillian’s spirits in a way that the scent of flowers and trees never could.

Satisfied she had enough detail to do proper research Lily returned her notebook and pen to their respective pouches and willed herself back to her body. As expected after having spent over half an hour in her semi-ethereal form, Lily was absolutely famished. Taking no notice of the current otherworldly state of the garden, Lily stood and marched back into the house to satisfy her hunger at the breakfast she had been invited to. In the short time she had been outside, the house had come alive with the activity of its various members getting ready for the day, or getting ready to go to sleep after a long night of research. Lily couldn’t help but notice however that there was a great deal more activity then she had come to expect from the house and its’ members. This was very likely to have been caused by the events herself and her companions had gotten up to two nights previous, though whether the increase in activity was because the other members were helping, or simply trying to gather gossip was unclear to Lily. What she was rather acutely aware of however was the looks she was receiving from all the members she passed. Under normal circumstances the abundance of looks would have gone unnoticed by Lily, but with her shaken self esteem she was not just aware of the looks but they were beginning to upset her. So much so that she changed the path she was taking to one with less people along it. Her new path was a much longer and rather obtuse way to get to where she needed to be but it was worth it to be alone. It was along this new path that she encountered one of her companions from two nights previous, Lucie was her name; or so Lily thought, she was terrible at remembering names. She was not in the mood to speak with any member other than Adam, but it seemed rude to not at least acknowledge the other woman, so she gave a small smile and a “Good morning.” 

Lucie, dressed more for a ballroom than breakfast, looked down at her with an amused smile on her lips and returned Lilian’s greeting with a nod of her head, “Good morning, Lilian.” She took a few moments to look her up and down, sniffing at the air experimentally before one eyebrow quirked in a silent query, the corner of her lips tugging up a tiny fraction more. 

“A beautiful dress, I must say. I like the colour.” She met Lilian’s eyes, and for a moment they seemed to twinkle. “Were you invited to mis—” A servant rounded the corner ahead of them, and Lucie stopped herself, frowning silently for all of a second before resuming “—Master Ware’s breakfast?” She asked, apparently not at all concerned with Lily’s mood being one not suited for casual conversation. Her conversive companion was the least of her concerns at that moment though, Lucie’s question regarding the invitation and her location in the house would suggest that she too was headed to breakfast with Adam. Lillian had hopped it would be a private gathering of just her and Adam, with Ren at most. What was worse was that if Lucie was invited it stood to reason that others were invited too. Lily was tempted to make up an excuse and return to her room, but she was very hungry and wanted to see Adam, so some unwelcome company seemed of minor inconvenience. 

“Yes, I was. It is Professor Lillian by the by.” Lily was set to end the conversation and continue towards breakfast but suddenly realized she had been paid a compliment. “I beg your pardon? You...like my dress?” Her face began to warm unexpectedly which Lily recognised as a sign she was blushing. Compliments Lily was used to, compliments from someone who wasn’t trying to weasel their way into her families wealth, or who wasn’t a member of her family, were a rather rare occurrence. So rare in fact that Lucie’s comment was most likely the first since before Lillian dove head first into science some years ago. 

A look of confusion settled over Lucie’s features, and she folded her arms underneath her chest. “I do,” she said slowly, “I trust there is no issue with that?” Her lips widened in a smile and dispelled the look of confusion. She brought a gloved hand up and pushed a small lock of loose, orange hair back behind Lilian’s ear. Lillian froze at the touch and her face grew much hotter, she made to say something but had difficulty forming words. “Besides,” Lucie continued, her eyes flitting from the dress, to her hair, and to her eyes, the twinkle on Lucie’s own back, “how could I not? You are plenty attractive yourself, and the dress does wonders for your figure, if I might say so.” She chuckled, straightening up again. “Though it makes me wonder, if maybe my own corset was overdoing it?” Lily’s eyes widened at Lucie’s comment, so much so her face stretch slightly causing her glasses to slip off her nose and clatter to the ground. She desperately wanted to say something but no words were coming out, most likely because she was unable to even form any in her head. After a long pause that felt longer to Lily than it actually was, she managed to blurt something out.

“Ó, go maith, tá an gúna ag breathnú go hiontach! Agus ... agus tá an cóirséad álainn freisin! Lig dúinn dul go dtí an bricfeasta!"She had meant to speak in Czech but it had come out in Gaelic instead. 

“I beg your pardon?” Lucie asked sounding somehow both amused and puzzled. “I did not quite catch that.“

Somewhat flustered Lily tried once more to get her message across, however her brain did not seem to want to work properly and she was having troubles finding the right words to say, at least in a language Lucie could understand. With some difficulty Lily managed to say something understandable to the lovely woman before her. “Ah. Yes. You are in a lovely dress as well. And the corset is fitting for an early morning dining event.” Lillian began contemplating using her ability to leave her body behind.

“I appreciate the compliment,” Lucie replied, even doing a curtsy right in the middle of the hallway. The movement only just brought her eye level with Lilian herself, and she had to wonder at the difference in their heights. Lucie was usually very tall already, but the addition of a pair of heels brought her height to a level where she would dwarf even most men. Their eyes met as Lucie rose to her full height again, her tongue clicking in her mouth almost as if judging, or considering something of great importance. There was a brief moment where Lillian wondered what the other woman was thinking about, but it lasted only a moment as the analytical part of her brain resumed control and she found herself instantly interested in the tall woman’s eyes. So much so that she forgot about how flustered Lucie was making her and she stepped closer, raising up on her toes to get closer to the brilliant amber eyes the other woman possessed. Their faces mere centimeters apart, Lily frowned, bent down, retrieved her glasses from the floor, returned them to their place on her nose, and resumed her close proximity to Lucie, much to her visible amusement.

“Well now. That is something very fascinating.” Lily mused aloud, not really expecting anyone to comment. 

“I could recommend you something that would work wonders on those bags under your eyes,” Lucie said suddenly and off-handedly, her gaze unflinching as grey and amber met. “But cosmetics aside,” she continued, her voice almost a purr, “what is it you find interesting?” 

Barely blinking Lily responded, “You. You are a rarity aren’t you? You simply must tell me all about your genealogy.” Lillian moved slightly closer, close enough she could see the intricate pattern of Lucie’s irises, and her own reflection reflected back in the pupils. The reflected image was so clear she could see her own sunken in eyes that Lucie had commented on. Lillian returned to a normal standing position and took a step back, bringing a hand up to one of her eyes to feel the puffy bags that rested there. “I had never realized they were so noticable. My apologies.”

Lucie blinked and Lilian would have sworn she saw a glimpse of something akin to shame, but it vanished as quickly as it had come. She clicked her tongue once more and gave a shallow nod to no one in particular. “There is nothing to apologise for, Lilian,” she said. “It was not my intention to point out something negative.” She smiled, and turned forward, holding out a gloved arm for Lilian, inviting her along. Familiar with the gesture Lilian hooked her own arm around Lucie’s and pulled herself close to the other woman as she had seen her mother and father do at countless parties.

“Is apologizing not the proper protocol? My mother was always very keen to apologize to her guests first thing if she felt she had not met their expectations physically.” 

“Protocol?” Lucie laughed, not quite uproariously, but loud enough that it would have attracted some attention. “‘Protocol’ is merely pretending to be civil, while really not giving a damn. But while it may be ‘proper protocol’, rest assured that it doesn’t matter to me.” She shook her head and directed Lilian down one hallway, then the next. “So no, apologising isn’t necessary when around me. I suggested it as a friendly piece of advice. Not to mention it is, I suspect, something that could be improved upon with a little rest and some days without stress.” She hummed, her eyes growing dull as she lost herself in thought for a few moments. “What do you say to a trip to town sometime in the near future? I have a suspicion a day with me might, at the very least, be a bit of fun.” 

A day on the town seemed like a decent opportunity to study the towering lady so Lillian gladly accepted. “How could I turn down such a grand suggestion. I should like that very much.” Lillian thought a moment and realized she would need to see Lucie without clothing on if she intended to properly research her so quickly added “Perhaps we could go clothes shopping together.” Clothes shopping was also an effective way to get ahold of someone’s measurements without being too intrusive. Not that Lily personally minded being intrusive, but it had gotten her into trouble on enough occasions. 

Lucie glanced down with a nigh unreadable expression on her face. One eyebrow rose slowly, and for a moment Lilian thought her intentions had been seen through, only for relief to flood through her as Lucie simply grinned. “I think I agree. This piece—” she gestured at herself, and the dress she wore “—is a rather new one, but I’m often on the hunt for new and interesting designs. My tailor has a habit of coming up with new ideas rather often. She is quite a rarity in the regard.” Lillian instantly perked up.

“Is that so? A rarity you say? We shall have to pay them a visit then.” Lily had to admit to herself that her initial intention to avoid Lucie was a poor decision as in the brief time they had been together the tall woman was proving increasingly interesting. 

[hr]

Arm in arm the two ladies made their way to breakfast and found Adam sitting at a large table, alone, and already indulging in the cornucopia of delicious foods laid out before him. Lillian grew a wide smile and bowed slightly out of respect, Lucie curtsying beside her. “It is very pleasing to see you in good health Adam.” Lily then made to pull a chair out and offer it to Lucie, only to find that Lucie had already pulled her own out and was offering it to Lily. 

“I offered you my arm,” Lucie said, giving Lilian a knowing look and a smile, “I do believe that makes me the masculine one here, in spite of my attire.” She gestured to the chair with a gloved hand, never taking her eyes off of Lily or letting the small, teasing smile drop. “So if you would, please?” Lily hesitated, looking to Adam then back to Lucie. She was unsure what Lucie meant by “the masculine one” but it seemed rude to ignore the gesture so she sat in the offered chair and allowed herself to be moved into position at the table. 

But just because Lilian was seated, did not mean that the tall woman was done. She reached over the table, having yet to acknowledge Adam, and took a pear from one of the trays with fresh fruit and handed it to Lily. She gave her a knowing wink before she sat herself beside Lily, folding her hands neatly in her lap and finally looked at their host, giving him a most charming smile. “Good morning, Master Adam. Or—” she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, and an almost wicked glint entered her eyes “—now that the cat is out of the bag as it were, should it be…?” She let the words hang in the air. Lily did not notice the exchange as she was already enjoying the pear that had been given to her and was quite distracted by it