NaNo - 2008
It wasn’t that Elizaveta was afraid of marriage. Despite her years pretending to be a boy, she-like any young woman at the age of nineteen-loved the idea of marriage. Loved to plan out just how it was going to go, what her husband would be like, even naming the children. Elizaveta harbored the same fantasies but it was more of an issue of being ready.
She had only just stopped pretending to be a boy three years ago when her family finally decided to just surrender to the Edelstein family. She only had three years to construct ten’s worth of memories and feminine ideas and habits.
This really was too much for one woman!
Now, not to be thought wrong of, but Elizaveta respected Roderich and cared for him deeply. Three years of being a servant had passed by quickly, but slowly enough for her to realize that she had some feelings of attraction towards him.
When he approached her with an idea-an intent of marriage to offer her a status befit of a proper woman-Elizaveta couldn’t help but think of how terribly cute he was when he was flustered. And it made her giddy and feel extremely lucky to be noticed by him. (Several of the other servants whose condition of service was quite different from hers, called him the ‘young master’; this made him blush and stutter, and girls and women alike would giggle at how cute he was.)
It would have been foolish of her not to accept the proposal. It had pained her to see her family humble themselves so much to the Edelstein family, and her pride had not wanted to let her serve him as a mere maid. Not that her family would have let her deny the proposal.
“A union between two families,” he had said, “brings about better relations than servitude.” Roderich never did agree with how things were run in the house before him, and once he became the master of the house he set about to change them.
So, in all, she could have nothing to truly complain about.
“Oh. You.”
Except for that.
Elizaveta twitched, gritted her teeth together, and slowly turned around. “It’s too early in the day for it to be ruined already. What do you want?”
Gilbert returned the sneer. “You’re darling husband called me over.” He looked her up and down a few times in a way that made her feel rather uncomfortable and extremely annoyed. “I thought it was weird to see you dressed like a scullery maid after your boyish phase, but it’s even more unsettling to see you dressed like a proper woman.” He snickered and crossed his arms over his chest. “Men’s clothes suit you better, Your Ladyship.”
Elizaveta was prepared the fling the first thing her hand could find-a golden candelabrum-but resisted the urge. It’s not something the lady of the house should be doing, she told herself. “Don’t mix me up in your sick fantasies, Gilbert Weillschmidt. And wipe that smirk off your face or I’ll go over there and rip it off.”
His face darkened and the smirk immediately turned into a displeased frown. “Some things about you haven’t changed, love.”
The candelabrum was in her hand and prepared to launch across the hall, but he ducked and covered his head the moment he saw her arm moving. “Sorry, sorry!”
“Elizaveta, dear, is something wro-Oh… Gilbert, I was wondering if that was your horse in the stables.” Roderich entered the hall and hesitantly glanced between the two.
The young woman’s face brightened and she set down the candelabrum and brushed past Gilbert. “Nothing is wrong, Roderich! I was just talking to our delightful friend.” She grabbed onto her husband’s arm and smiled up at him with girlish delight.
Behind her, Gilbert’s frown shifted into something resembling disappointment. He awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet.
Roderich smiled at her as he hooked his arm around hers to lead her back out of the hall. After a moment, he paused and looked at the young man behind him. “Gilbert.”
The figure in question looked up.
The two, arm in arm, smiled at him. “Come on,” Roderich said. “I invited you here to have lunch with us. Then we can discuss business.”
Gilbert’s expression shifted, hovering between surprise and an actual smile. Instead, he settled the score with a determined grin and jogged after them. “I might just skip out after the meal,” he said with a laugh, hooking his arms over the shoulders of Roderich and Elizaveta as he leaned in between them.
She smirked and tossed her head, making sure to hit Gilbert in the face with her hair. “Not if I can help it.”
“I knew it, you want me, don’t you, love?” he teased back, enjoying the frustrated blush that colored her cheeks.
“Who would?” Elizaveta demanded, pulling Roderich closer to her. “I already have someone.”
Frowning, her husband sighed and shook his head. “The two of you need to behave.”
Elizaveta giggled, resting her head on his shoulder as Gilbert said something in protest and went to walk on Roderich’s other side. No, it wasn’t that she was afraid of marriage. She happened to enjoy it very much. As long as her usual relationships with everyone hadn’t changed, then she couldn’t ask for more.