Lotus Blossom

Cosette tapped Mae's door. Mae opened just a little, suspicious at first, and then swung it open once she saw her handmaiden there. Closing the door behind her, she held a tentative hand up to Cosette's face. "Are you alright?" Mae said, arranging the medicines and treatments that were on her wardrobe. "Yes, miss," Cosette said, taking the cotton that Mae offered and applying the salve onto her cheek. "Cosette, I must tell you something." Mae sat on her bed. Her handmaiden stood, but Mae gestured her towards her bed so she sat next to her. "You must swear to utmost secrecy." Cosette nodded. Mae looked down at her dress, placing her hands on her stomach. "A doctor came to call this morning," She paused, looking at her handmaiden. "I am with child." There was a moment of silence. And there was nothing to say. Mae rushed up, Cosette following quickly behind. She walked up to her door. "Yes, dear?"

Mae set down her fork. "I apologize, men, but I must retire to my room." She turned politely and left, walking up the stairs. "I no long feel well," she said on her way up.

"Ridiculous? I think not, darling. I hear much more these days, and nervousness wrecks this kingdom."

"Well that's wonderful..." Mae said through gritted teeth, tension evident. "Have you heard news of the Starfall, Cedric?"

Mae saw him picking at his food distastefully and smiled pitifully. "So. Cedric! Anything particularly exciting in the courts recently? I've been forbidden from my usual encounters withe aristocrats, seeing as my recovery must be as swift as possible. But you're gone for so long, dear. How are you enjoying yourself these days?"

"It has ruined lives before."

"Hope brought me here. Reality will get me out. Skill will raise my higher. It is a grave mistake to assume hope is the best guiding star."

"No one will want to change a lost cause. And that is what this is. That is what we are. We always have been. And perhaps, the world coming to an end isn't as drastic as one may have thought. And now, more and more people are simply coming to realize it. There is no more room to change. Why make a positive impact on the temporary? No, people will turn to selfishness. Greed. Wanting to enjoy these last moments for themselves, instead of giving them to others. The peasants will riot, not wanting to work anymore. The servants will strike. The government officials will be assassinated by those who they have wronged. The wealthy will be robbed of those who want more money, overwhelmed by a sense of confidence fueled once they are told that everyone is destined to die. Top will become bottom and bottom will become top. Left and right will merge into one and reverse upside down. The hegemony will crack, trade will end, the world will come to a pit of chaos. Before everything is silent. Quiet. For eternity."

"And you expect that to go in positive ways? No. People will choose to make the best they can, and there will be a boost in infidelity. Of betrayal. Of murders, revenge. Of love, of affairs. Of people taking what is left of their lives and doing whatever it is they've always wanted to do. When guilt and consequences once held them back, all those ties to sanity are now lost. It will be chaos."

"I believe there is no more opportunity for positive change. There will be chaos."

"I agree with you. All of our opinions are irrelevant. But I ask because I am curious. How do you see this?"

Mae clicked her tongue. "Those lucky Lëtzebuergers." She hesitated, "I find this exciting. Soon, the world will be entirely different. The Star's approaching, yes. It's coming. All too quickly. But it's coming. How do you take the news?"

"No, I don't think I have. My maids are keen on socially isolating me, as it were."

"No, I just imagine we'll speak of it some way or another. We already are, you see."

"Luxembourg."

Before Mae could answer him, she heard Cedric. Then, instead of acting startled or caught, she simply turned around with a calm, innocent demeanor. Her face was pale from the illness, but gaining color with hints of humor in her eyes. Mae, mimicking Envoy, also looked up at Cedric. She smiled, though she was still weak from her recovery. "Hello, sir. I thought he'd join us for this supper."

"Wonderful, thank you. I've had a little scare, that's all." She smiled again. "Do you not have a home, Envoy?"

"Take a seat," she said smiling, gesturing to the table. "Cedric should be here in any moment."

Mae smiled weakly and began to get up, but a servant ushered her to sit. Cosette walked briskly to the door. She adjusted her apron, then opened it with a smile. "Welcome to our home, sir. May I take your coat?" It was the automated welcome that all servants were taught.

Mae stumbled, and Cosette caught her. "Are you alright, miss?" "No," she said darkly. "Pardon?" "Yes, fine, thank you," she muttered as she regained balance and walked over to the dining table. "Is something upsetting you, miss?" "No, Cosette. I just wonder..." "Yes?" "Oh, no matter. I was simply wondering if we may have an unexpected guest arrive for supper this evening." "Oh, why of course we would shut them out immediately. Tell them you are ill. You are ill, miss. You shouldn't be attending social parties until the doctor allows." "No, Cosette. Let him in. If my suspicions are correct, and he even does arrive at all. He is welcome at this table." "If you say, miss." "Also," Mae added. Cosette paused. "Social parties are my only life. I need to attend as many as possible. It is essential for me to survive, you see. I have much in mind, Cosette." Mae continued. "Is it true, miss? Are you marrying the master?" "I have much in mind." Mae repeated, in a tone that made clear that the conversation was cut. She simply curtsied slightly and left. Mae sat down in her chair.

The handmaiden hadn't noticed. Mae again stood up, and began to search casually through her closet. Swiftly, her handmaiden stood and selected an appropriate gown, modest enough, and a deep blue color. It was satin, not frilly lace, so it was categorized as evening attire. Appropriate for a light supper, seeing as she wouldn't be enjoying cocktails after the meal in the drawing room. She looked at herself in the mirror as she clasped a necklace onto her neck that was a silver chain in nature but embedded with deep blue sapphires, matching her dress. She wore dangling sapphire earrings that were the same as her necklace, and began to apply makeup. "You're pale, miss," Her handmaiden remarked as she tightened her corset. "I know." "Would you like something, miss?" "No, Cosette, thank you." Mae continued to stare at herself while she spoke, without making eyecontact with the increasingly nervous handmaiden. "Well, the doctor sent a telegraph. He will come again tomorrow, and then once more in a fortnight to bleed you." "Is that so?" "Yes, I think it will do you much good. You've been strange lately, miss." "Have I been?" She was absent-minded, speaking through her lips at a mutter. Moments later, Cosette finished arranging Mae's gown and was waved off back to her work. Mae turned back to the window and sat by it, reserved and calm as she looked outside, letting the cold air blow her sleeves carelessly. "Who are you, Envoy?" she said in a whisper, letting the words form and leave her lips without breaking her easy gaze outside. "What was that?" her handmaiden asked. "Pardon? Oh. I wasn't aware I was saying anything at all, really." Her handmaiden walked over to her and shut the window. "Miss, there's a chill." "Thank you, Cosette. I will be off to supper now." "Of course, miss." Mae stepped outside onto the creaky victorian wood. Cosette had accompanied her, holding her white gloved hand for stability. Mae was still pale and sickly looking, but was able to walk, though she appeared tired. As servants saw their mistress appear, two more came to assist her as she walked down the stairs. "Cedric?" she asked, "Cedric, god save you, sir. I do hope you haven't been drinking too much this evening."

"I'm alright, Cedric," she replied in a honeyed, pleasant voice. She took a sip from her herbal tea. "I'll be downstairs for an early supper half past six. Would you care to join me?" Mae delicately folded over her bed's sheets and carefully stepped up. Her handmaiden's head snapped to her and she immediately went up to assist her, but Mae simply waved her aside. She walked up to the window, looked down, and breathed in the cold air. Then, she shut it, and went back to her bed. "Not too brave today, are we?" she spoke in a hushed tone. The handmaiden turned back to her half-mindedly, but quickly went back to work. She had grown accustomed to this, and was beginning to even think her mistress to be going insane.

Mae smile weakly from her bed. 'Where are you?" She said softly. Her handmaiden was positioned next to her, caring for her as she recovered. "Who?" Mae turned to her, "Don't trouble yourself, dear." The handmaiden simply nodded and went back to her chore... Ironing, it seemed.

@SmilingPanda19