Flora

Flora von Stralenheim

Flora is Emmelyn’s svelte maid and close friend. As sweet and golden as a buttercup and full of life, she keeps herself demure at all times around her lady. When apart however, her serene nature fades to an uncomfortable, socially withdrawn state. She quietly carries herself with the grace of nobility and the wisdom of the Earthshaker, but she is still young and learning.
Flora was hatched on a summery morning in the Mirrorlight Promenade among a healthy clutch of eggs. Her parents weren’t particularly poor, neither were they rich, but they were shocked to learn one of their most talented daughters wanted to be a maid. Their trade was in flowers, and they wanted a reliable living for their offspring and encouraged them to study local flora and help around as well. Flora worked hard at other things, however; she was better at cleaning and organising and was never particularly fond of flowers. She clashed many times with her family, including her siblings. She wasn’t a fiery person so she would often walk away licking her wounds.
No hatchling should feel sad and unsafe in their own home, she thought. She decided to leave a note for her parents to find.

Mother and father,
I understand your ideals for me, but it seems like my wishes are never accepted. You don’t have to agree with them; you have to come to terms with them. I’ve left to serve a lady in the Mirrorlight Promenade. She will take good care of me and ensure I never come to harm.

Flora

Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYfVuyZafUU


One day, all of Lady Emmelyn's servants were called together for a meeting by their lady herself. When they arrived, they saw that standing beside their lady was a gentleman. He had calm eyes and a gentle smile. He stood with perfect posture, with poise, and with an air of a strange combination of stateliness and humility. Lady Emmelyn introduced him as an accomplished butler who worked for another noble, and who had agreed to a sort of exchange program. He would train the servants here in techniques they practiced at the other manse, while one of their own did the same at the manse this butler usually worked at. It would be a one-week training period, after which the two servants would return to their homes and learn the new techniques from their peers. This exchange was agreed upon in the hopes that both sets of staff would refine their overall quality of service.

Then, the man gave a genteel bow to the butlers and maids he stood before. "Greetings. My name is Dicentra Spectabilis. I am humbled to have been selected for this role and I look forward to working with all of you."

Dicentra -- or Dicen, as some of the less formal servants called him -- proved to be both a polite and a strict teacher. As often as he could, he worked with each servant one-on-one and personalized his instruction to each one of them. As for Flora herself, it kept being the finer details with things that Dicen would correct her on. He would talk about how imperative it was that each detail be in place, and that this was what separated a butler or a maid from a regular hired hand. No matter how many times he corrected someone, he never lost his temper, but he was certainly firm. It was actually a fairly frustrating and discouraging time for Flora. Cutting, arranging, and replacing fresh flowers every day was particularly bitter, since it reminded her of how she was never good enough back home. Try as she might, by the end of each day of the week, she wondered more and more if she was truly suited for this job. She couldn't imagine going anywhere else, however, and that only made things worse.

"It's only for a week," she told herself each night. "Things will go back to normal soon..."

By the end of the training period, indeed, the staff had learned quite a bit from Dicentra. It would be up to each person now, what they chose to do with what they learned. Some had had a tough time with jobs before, but now had a way that made said jobs manageable. Some were better-suited to the old way of doing things. Whatever the case, Flora stood with her fellows to thank Dicentra for his time and wish him well in much the same style as he was introduced to them in. There he stood, next to Lady Emmelyn with that perfect posture and smile as she spoke about how the training period was over and how she hoped that everyone was benefitted by it. At this point, Flora couldn't help but somewhat bitterly think of all this as ceremony and formality.

But then, Lady Emmelyn said something Flora hadn't been expecting. "Dicentra has expressed that throughout this week's training, every one of you impressed him. However, there was one in particular that he says stood out, and has a gift for. Flora, please step forward. Our guest has something for you."

She was so stunned that at first, Flora just stood there. A second later, however, she took the hurried steps to stand before Dicentra. It was entirely awkward for her, with everyone looking on. She couldn't even raise her eyes to Dicentra's face. She was a little ashamed for how bitter she'd felt towards him the past week.

And then he spoke in that formal way of his. "No matter the task, you worked harder than anyone. No matter how difficult, nor how many times you failed, you never stopped trying. You have the tenacity to see your natural talent through, but you also have a skill which few in the service industry master: the ability to go unnoticed. We servants must fade into the background, and not be given recognition. We are a part of the house we serve in so as not to disturb our masters nor their guests. All recognition is to go to the master of the house, not the servants who do all for their master. Because of all of this, you have a clear future as a top-quality maid. With practice, study, and the right tools, this is what you will undoubtedly grow into."

Then, Dicentra pulled out a small, cloth bundle and handed it to Flora. Carefully, she unwrapped it, and inside found a pair of glasses and a brass pocket watch. "The watch runs early. Use that as a training device. Whether you fix it yourself or use its inaccuracy in order to improve your own sense of time, it is a fine tool for a blossoming maid such as yourself. As for the glasses, it occurs to me that perhaps your trouble with details comes from not being able to see them clearly. These should help with that. I selected ones that will suit you, of course."

Flora's eyes lifted from the gifts to Dicentra's face at that, suddenly realizing just how charming that smile of his was. He, an accomplished butler...really believed in her as a maid? Suddenly, in her memory, what she had previously seen as overbearing became attentive and selfless. She envisioned him correcting her flower-arranging as special care, his telling her to undo and redo her stitching as protective, and her entire experience with him as one gigantic gesture of believing in her in a way that she hadn't experienced before. Her mind raced, her heart flittered, and unconsciously, she unfolded the arms of her new glasses and slipped them onto her face in order to take in every detail of this beautiful man that she could. Indeed, his smile, his eyes, that relaxed yet attentive way he stood... He was like something out of a daydream.

Then, his smile widened ever so slightly, making her heart race. The simple statement he made afterward was overwhelming. "You look beautiful in those."

After that, Lady Emmelyn said something or other to the living daydream who had her rapt attention. He looked over with that courteous smile and gave a nod. Then, he moved to face Flora's peers, gave another bow and his lovely voice echoed incoherently in Flora's ears as she relished the sound of it. He had a few more words with Lady Emmelyn. Then, to her delight and wonder, he looked at her again. She stared into his red eyes for a little while before she became faintly aware of someone saying her name. Then, she snapped out of the daydream to realize that Lady Emmelyn was trying to get her attention.

"U-um yes, my lady?" she somewhat panickedly squeaked. An absolute rush of embarrassment flooded over her. That had been so undignified! And in front of Dicentra of all people! ...Oh, right, and Lady Emmelyn.

"Was there something you wanted to say to our guest before he returns home?" the lady asked.

"U-um, yes," Flora replied. Then, she turned to the butler and gave him a humble curtsey. "Thank you for the gifts, and for coming to teach us."

It was an automated response, really, but Emmelyn had snapped her out of her emotionally-charged trance. Then, she smiled at Dicentra, who bowed in return and replied, "It was my pleasure Miss Flora."

That alone brought a little blush to her cheeks, but then he stood and looked her straight in the eyes again, and she found the rest of the world falling away again. He added, "I do hope that our paths cross again. I look forward to seeing how much you improve."

"Y-yeah..."

With that, he gave one more bow to the women, turned, and began to walk away. Flora watched until he was out of sight. Her mind almost fell into a daydream, but Lady Emmelyn addressed her before that could happen. "Should I speak with his master and arrange a private training session for you two?"

The wry joke firmly yanked Flora's head from the clouds as she whirled around to gawk in sock at her lady. Emmelyn gave a knowing chuckle, then she began to head back into her home. "Come on, Flora. We can talk about your new crush later."

"H-he's not my crush!"

"Of course he isn't."

"He really isn't!"

Despite her claim, after the day's work was done and Flora was back in her room, she couldn't stop thinking about Dicentra. She wondered all sorts of things about him: what his favorite color was, favorite food, what sort of odd habits he had...

"Well..." Flora quietly said to herself, looking back to the watch he had given her, "Maybe someday I'll find out."


Thanks for @Cryoluxa for writing this adorable little meeting between servants!