the perfect servant

"Good. I was worried you were hurt, I almost caused you to fall down."

"Oh these look lovely!" Belle said taking a look at the dresses she was holding. "Actually yes, there’s this jacket I have with a missing button, and do you think we can do something about this?"

"I can fix it, m-miss," she nodded, putting the dresses she was holding on the table.

"It does, and it taste’s better than it smells if you can believe it. Try the funnel cake, it’s amazing."

"T-the what ca-cake?"

"And it tastes even better, have you tried anything yet?"

"I have not."

"W-What happened?"

A bug! An ant, I think. Not a real one of course, but one of my students wanted me to have it.

"O-Oh?"

"Um… excuse me?”

"I s-said tha-tha, uhm, the r-repairs won't... they won't, uhm, be done until... until m-monday, ma'am."

"Er- Right."

"Okay."

"Is accepting an invitation to tea impolite as well? Or is there something else?"

"No, m-iss, I just... I should go."

"What am I gonna tell? You didn’t say a word, hon. I’m just buying the nice girl who helped me up a cup of tea."

Aurora glanced at the redhead. Mere did seem like someone she could trust, but that was just the first impression, she could be totally wrong, "I... I don't th-think I sh-should miss," she muttered, looking down at her shoes, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Punished? Who did- where did- oh." This, then, is what her sister would’ve become, had she lived. Scared of her own shadow, like this poor thing. "Come on, love, we’re getting you a cup of tea. Don’t you worry." In a second, she’d decided to protect this girl, for her sister’s sake.

"I'm twe-twenty, miss, and it's A-Aurora," the girl corrected her again, "Y-You don't... you don't need to give anything, miss. I-I should p-probably be on my way."

"Well, Just-Aurora, my da likes to say that politeness is dishonesty with a pretty face on, more often than not. Then my mum smacks him on the arm and he goes back to lecturing me. But really, if it’s not hurting anyone, what’s the problem?"

"It's just, uhm... It's just how t-they taught me to behave, m-miss. If I didn't f-fo-follow the rules, I'd be pu-punished."

"I should be the one apologizing, I was the one that bumped into you."