Chapter Text
~~LONDON - 1802~~
With summer arriving, the flowers are in full bloom. London’s gardens are almost at their peak, the flowers painting the entire garden as if it’s a beautiful canvas. The sun is shining its rays down upon the garden. Birds’ chirping melodiously fill the air.
With her small notebook in hand, Robin walks through the gardens of the Oak Estate. The smell of freshly bloomed flowers always inspires her to continue writing her melodies and lyrics. Walking slowly through the gardens, she sometimes scribbles something with her ink and feather in her notebook. May it be a melody or lyrics, she always gets creative when taking strolls.
The melodies from the birds get interrupted by footsteps approaching her. She perks up from her notebook and turns around to the source, her long dress graciously spinning around with her.
“Brother!” her smile grows as she sees the person standing there, her brother Sunday. She approaches him slowly, stopping in front of him.
“Robin.” He slightly nods, his demeanor as calm as ever.
“Is there something you wanted to tell me, dear brother?” she asks him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
“Yes, that’s what I’m here for. I thought I could find you here,” he nods, confirming her suspicions. Robin chuckles. “We have to prepare for your debut to the wedding market. The debut in front of Queen Bonajade is tomorrow.”
Robin's smile fades as quickly as it appeared when Sunday told her those words. Wedding market. Sunday notices her sudden change of expression, but doesn’t pry further in on it. He knows her longer than today, after all. This reaction was expected from her.
“Right,” her voice is colder than usual.
“We have to go to the modiste today to get you a fitting dress for your debut. Gopher will be coming with us to the modiste and choose the type of dress you’ll be wearing,” Sunday explains, her expression darkening further.
“Sure,” she turns around and silently starts walking deeper into the garden.
“Robin.” Sunday grabs her arm, his voice piercing through the silence. Robin turns back to him. “Just know that I just want you to be happy. Gopher made these decisions.”
“I know, brother.” A small smile creeps on her face to show him that she knows it’s not his fault. Sunday noticed the smile and felt a bit more at ease knowing she isn’t mad at him. Reluctantly, he lets go of her arm.
“We’re leaving at 3 PM. The carriage leaves at 3 PM,” he repeats to make sure she heard it. Robin nods and turns away, slowly disappearing into the garden again.
~~~~~
“Are you ready, Robin?” Swan’s voice echoes through the room. Robin stands up from in front of the mirror and nods.
“Let’s go,” Robin smiles and heads towards the exit of the room, passing by Swan. Swan follows and closes the door behind them. The walk to the carriage is silent. Robin is unusually quiet, Swan noticed. She didn’t want to pry in the details though, since that might make things worse for her.
They reach the carriage, seeing Gopher and Sunday waiting in front of the carriage.
“There you are,” Gopher nods, acknowledging Robin. Robin bows slightly. When she looks back up, her gaze falls to her brother next to Gopher. She walks over to the carriage and Sunday extends his hand to help her get up into the carriage.
Gopher and Sunday follow her into the carriage, closing off the door and leaving Swan behind at the Oak Estate. She politely bows before the carriage rides off. Robin smiles at her before she goes out of sight.
The carriage is filled with an unpleasant silence, the only sound breaking the silence being the hooves of the horses in front of it. Robin turns her gaze to outside the carriage, watching as they drive past the people and houses on the street. She feels Sunday’s gaze on her, yet she doesn’t yield from her spot. Continuing to stare outside, she puts her hands on her lap.
Finally, they arrive at their destination. Madame Samuels’ boutique, the best modiste in town according to Gopher. Robin agrees with this statement, as her dresses always make Robin excited. Sunday stands up and exits the carriage, standing in front of the open carriage door to help Robin leave too. She nods as a thank you and takes his hand, now standing right in front of the boutique. Gopher follows her and exits after them.
Robin lets go of Sunday’s hand and walks to the door, slowly opening it. A bell’s chime fills the room as the three of them enter. A few other customers perk up at the sound, but they quickly return to what they were looking at. Gopher takes the lead and goes up to the back of the boutique, where the modiste is at.
“Madame Samuels,” Gopher calls out to her and she perks up at hearing her name.
“Ah, Lord Wood,” she acknowledges his presence with a small bow before continuing, “for what occasion do I have the honor of accommodating you?” “I have come here for the debut of my youngest, Robin.”
Her gaze falls upon Robin and she looks up and down, as if scanning her. Her smile widens at the sight of the periwinkle haired lady.
“That’ll be no issue,” she smiles and motions for Robin to come with her. Robin follows her towards the mirror.
“I appreciate your kind help, Madame Samuels,” Robin smiles and steps in front of the mirror, her dress following her every movement.
“Please, call me Kafka instead,” the modiste comments as she investigates Robin once more. "After all, you've been here often enough."
“Ah… Alright, miss Kafka.”
Kafka shakes her head, appreciating but also disapproving of her etiquette at the same time. She grabs her measuring tape.
“I’m going to take your measurements first, then we can decide on which dress we’ll pick out for you,” she explains, to which Robin gives a subtle nod along with a smile. As Kafka starts taking Robin’s measurements, Sunday is observing from a seat nearby. He had sat down next to Gopher when took a seat near the mirror. Sunday took a glance at him and noticed how serious his expression was, just like always. He was measuring the modiste’s every move, it looked like.
Just as Kafka finishes the measurements, Gopher stands up and walks over. Sunday stays seated, looking at his sister’s expression through the mirror.
Kafka turns to Gopher with the same smile on her face: “Is something wrong, Lord Wood?”
“No. I was just going to help Robin pick a dress,” he says solemnly, the dark wings behind his ear staying the same and not revealing anything.
“I see, but maybe the pretty lady wants to pick a dress herself?” Kafka noticed the slight change in Robin’s expression.
“No, it’s alright,” Robin instantly denies her offer and smiles again, knowing she shouldn’t go against Gopher. However, she can’t help but feel delighted at the nickname the modiste had given her. “Thanks for the compliment. You flatter me.”
“Oh no dear, I’m only stating the facts,” she grins and turns to Gopher, “So, Lord Wood. What kind of dress did you have in mind for the pretty bird?” “Something that’ll make a lasting first impression, I had a few ideas I wanted to lay out.”
“Go ahead,” she motions for him to follow her to a table nearby, leaving Robin standing in front of the mirror on her own. She stares in the mirror for a bit, at herself, before turning her gaze to Sunday through the mirror. Before she could say anything, Kafka came back with a design in mind.
“I have the perfect dress for you. I’ll make it right now and your maid can pick it up later today, as arranged with Lord Wood,” she explains and Robin turns towards her.
“Many thanks, Miss Kafka. I look forward to our next meeting,” Robin bows down again to show her genuine gratitude for her service, to which Kafka smiles.
“No problem. I love designing pretty dresses for pretty women,” she waves at Robin as she leaves together with her brother and Gopher.
“And it’s just Kafka,” she mutters under her breath as they exit the boutique.
~~~~~
The end of the day is already nearing and the sun is setting. Robin is sitting in the window in her room, looking out upon the garden and setting sun. She quietly hums a melody, that of one of the songs she wrote herself. A soft melody that’s soothing and calls upon sorrow at the same time.
A soft knock interrupts her melody and she perks up from her notebook.
“Come in!” she answers the knock, waiting in agony to see who’s on the other side of the door. The door opens, revealing her maid who’s holding a dress. At the sight, her smile widens slightly, but noticeable.
“I picked up your dress and I must note how beautiful it is. It’ll fit you perfectly and leave a lasting first impression at the same time,” Swan notes as she enters the room, laying the dress on one of the cabinets in Robin’s room. Robin let’s out a small sigh as she returns her gaze outside. Swan can’t help but feel as if there’s something wrong once again. She walks over to Robin, stopping next to her and looking out of the window.
“Quite a grandious view, isn’t it?” Robin comments to break the silence. Swan nods.
“I understand why you choose to sit here so often. The setting sun really emphasizes how beautiful the garden is,” Swan moves her gaze towards Robin and studies her expression for a second. “Robin, if there’s something wrong, you know you can tell me right?”
Robin turns towards Swan, smiling.
“I appreciate it.”
The two women fall into another silence, but not an unpleasant or awkward silence.
“The cook has already started making dinner. Lord Wood expects you to be downstairs in a few minutes and earlier asked me to pass on the message,” Swan breaks the silence and puts a supportive hand on Robin’s shoulder.
“My thanks for passing on the announcement,” she nods appreciatively. Swan lets go of her shoulder and prepares to walk out the room. Robin’s gaze returns to the garden, as she picks up her notebook and feather to write something down. Swan turns around for a second and smiles at the sight, before turning around again and leaving the room.
A while later Robin stands up and leaves to head towards the dining room, going through the various hallways with paintings adorned on the walls. Finally, she reaches the dining room and is met with a table full of delicious food. Gopher and Sunday were already seated, as she noticed when she entered the room. Gopher is sitting on the head of the table, while Sunday is sitting in the middle, across from Robin’s seat. Robin walks over and sits down.
While Gopher and Sunday start eating, Robin stays silent and looks at her empty plate. The sound of forks clashing against the plates are the only sound in the room.
“Robin, you should eat something,” Sunday comments, noticing his sister’s reluctance to eat. His expression is as calm as ever, but a hint of worry is betrayed in his golden eyes. Robin perks up from her plate.
“I’m not really hungry,” she scrapes her fork against the empty plate, before putting it back down again. Another awkward silence fills the room.
“Eat,” Gopher’s stern voice breaks the silence, leaving no room for arguing. Robin nods slightly and puts some food on her plate, knowing there’s no going against him.
Silently, Robin wishes she could just run away from the table. She looks up at Sunday, who was just enjoying his food, before shifting her gaze to Gopher who was scrutinizing her, as it seemed. She looked back at her plate, feeling a bit awkward knowing he was looking at her.
“Robin,” his voice pierced through the silence again. Robin turns her gaze back to him.
“Yes?”
“I just want to confirm you know about the gravity of our situation at hand,” he says sternly, his face expressionless. Sunday’s gaze shifts towards him too. “Your debut must go perfectly. It can’t go wrong,” he emphasizes, hoping that she realizes the seriousness of his small speech. In return, she gives him a slight nod and puts her fork on the plate.
“I understand…” she says quietly, almost whispering. The wings behind her ears are slightly hiding her face from the room. Sunday clenched his fork, his knuckles turning white. Yet, he kept himself from saying anything. The rest of the dinner was the same awkward silence.
As they finish eating their food, Gopher stands up and speaks again.
“The debut is tomorrow. You should rest until then,” he says, coldly. The words should’ve come over caring for her wellbeing, yet the words only worsened everything. Gopher turns around and leaves the room, leaving Sunday and Robin behind in silence.
Sunday looked at her, hoping she’d make eye contact with him, yet Robin didn’t even glance once. Robin stands up and leaves the room, leaving Sunday behind in the room.
~~~~~
“What would I do without you?” Robin pulls Swan in for a hug. Swan slightly tenses up at the sudden gesture, but immediately relaxes. She gently caresses her back with her hand, before releasing herself from the hug.
“Go on, otherwise your bath will get cold,” Swan says and smiles, leaving the bathroom. Now it’s just Robin in the room. She had already dressed up in her nightgown, which does make it quite a lot easier for her to undress to get in the bathtub. She untangles her arm from the sleeves and lets it drop to the ground in a swift motion, pulling off her underwear as well before walking over closer to the bath, practically hanging over it.
Taking a deep breath, she swings her leg over the edge of the bath, dipping her toes in the water as steps in the bath. The water slowly engulfs her legs, the heat soothing and burning at the same time. She fully enters the bath and slowly lowers herself to sit in the bathtub.
The water makes waves as she lowers herself, the water slowly flowing against her body. Her hair reaches the ground outside the bathtub as she tilts her head towards the ceiling, taking a deep breath.
'Pull yourself together, Robin. There are worse things to worry about than your debut to the wedding market,' she thinks to herself as she lifts her hand towards her head. The warm candles in the room add on to the calming atmosphere, making her more at ease. She takes another deep breath, slowly relaxing her body into the perfectly heated water.
She looks over at the window, her eyes almost closing to stop herself from crying. Just then, she noticed a dove flying by, her eyes widened slightly. Closing her eyes, her thoughts drift back to past memories, a strong sense of melancholy overcoming as she thinks about the past.
~~~~~
“Look, sis! It’s a dove!” little Sunday exclaimed, gently picking up the little dove into the palms of his hands. The dove was laying on the ground, almost motionless.
The little Robin hurried over to her brother and crouched down next to him.
“Oh no… Is it alright?” the songbird asked, her wings slightly twitching as she looked at her brother with worry. She hesitated to feel the bird, her hand hovering over the little creature.
“The poor thing…” Sunday muttered under his breath, scrutinizing the little bird in his hands, checking for any visible injuries.
In the meanwhile, Robin finally reached out to the bird and gently caresses its wings. The little bird perked up at the sudden touch.
“It’s alright, little bird… I only want to help you,” the little girl cautiously said, then turning to her brother, “It’s too dangerous for a fledgling to survive on its own here.”
“Let’s take it with us! I’ll ask the family head to build a cage for it,” the little boy suggests.
“A… cage? But then it won’t have the freedom to fly!” the little girl exclaimed, genuinely concerned about the little dove's wellbeing.
“What’s going on here?” a man approached them, glancing over at the bird in Sunday’s hand. “Oh, the poor little thing. Doesn’t look like it’s going well… Do you wish to rescue it?”
“I do…. But I don’t want to lock it up in a cage,” Robin said and turned her gaze to the man with black wings behind his ears.
“Why?” the man had asked her, smiling at her resilience.
“Birds… belong to the sky.”
~~~~~
“I’m finally going to debut?” the silver-blonde haired girl asked excitedly, pacing through the room before stopping in front of the other woman in the room. She nods and grins.
“Yes, my little firefly. You are going to make your entrance this season,” she takes a step closer to the silver-blonde haired girl, who was practically gleaming with excitement. “I must say, don’t expect too much from it. Don’t set your expectations high.”
“Yes, mom,” she smiles.
“I like it when you call me that,” the red-wine haired woman took a step closer and ruffled her hand through the girl's hair. The girl closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the soft movements.
“I hope my dance teachings finally pay off,” the girl says, her voice a bit less energetic and more composed.
“I’m sure they will. I’m sure there’s going to be men at your feet practically begging for a dance with you,” she chuckles, visualizing the idea of some people begging at her feet for her to dance with them.
There’s a small silence, but not an awkward silence. They look at each other with smiles on their face, just appreciating the moment. However, the woman breaks the silence, feeling the need to reconfirm with her.
“Firefly, you’ll tell me if it happens again, right?” her expression isn’t the same smile anymore, instead it’s filled with worry for the girl. Instead, the girl chuckles and shrugs off her worries.
“Yes, Kafka. You shouldn’t worry so much.”