A Sea of Jacarandas

Eos hastened her pace to the office before the lord would reprimand her for wasting his time. Eventually, she reached towards an oaken door which was embellished with rose gold carvings hesitating to knock. But, steeling herself for the worst. Eos knuckled gently knocked against the door giving signal of her presence to the person inside then the door opened to reveal the same butler that she saw that was talking in the corridor not too long ago, "The lord has been awaiting your arrival, Miss Eos." Politely addressing her as normal girl was a nostalgia idea to Fangsu that it caused her heart to tighten causing her to clench her chest in pain, "Miss Eos! Are you feeling unwell as of late?" It was such a familiar pain but she didn't know how to associate the pain of her heart to anything besides the mysterious ailing condition of her body that not even the best doctors could not identify. The butler tried to assist her to ease her aliment.

Eos held a hand signalling the butler to cease al attention on her and that the matter on hand was of more importance that herself, "My Lord, you requested for my presence." Putting up the fold on her dress and bending her knee behind her opposing leg at the perfect angle, curtsying. A show of her servitude to the lord. The lord's nonchalance to Eos' display of manners caused her to feel inadequate and decided to work on her skills on a later date.

The Lord then stood from his seat, "Since you have guest over, I won't take too much time off your hands," His golden white eyes that were glazed from old age was aided with spectacles which glanced at Eos' feeble form, "You have proved yourself well at the debutante ball and made a solid connection with the Umber Household." His hardened expression having to congratulate Eos to show that she had proved herself to continue with the task that she was assigned to do. Eos then bowed her head seeing that the conversation between the two of them was just plain stale was quite a frustrating situation to be in. The lord then gestured with his hand for her to leave which Eos was gladly to comply with. Spinning on her heels into the direction of the door which lead to her freedom from the suffocating room to return back to her friends. The only saving grace to this tiring lifestyle.

As she was a few steps away from the office. The door opened once again to reveal the butler who was the only one who treated Eos with warmth that was akin to a grandpa, "Miss Eos, are you sure that you are alright?" His gentle words of concern warmed her from the inside that only the people that cared for her could only do. Eos nodded as she wrapped the shawl around her shoulder tighter. Tightening her guard even in moments like these where it seem that she was alone but in reality the walls had ears.

Eos released a sigh of exhaustion that was acquired from tonight, "Can you have a doctor sent to my ailing mother for me?" A silent plead to which the butler nodded as he bowed in respect to the young girl who had to shoulder so much work, "Place it on my account as to not alert too much attention." The butler took this in consideration as the Madam of the Monciaux Dukedom was quite harsh on Eos for using the wealth of the Monciaux Dukedom because she was not of the main family's bloodline.

Eos then returned to her friends before flopping on the massive bed that was soft to the touch, "Eos, welcome back." Lilith jumped at her startling Eos who immediately out of reflex held her hands in front of her, "Are you okay?" She was concerned over Eos' defensive stance most people who crouched in such a stance knew that this was the protect themselves but this wasn't obvious knowledge. Eos brushed off her defensive stance quickly as she continued to talk with the other girl pulling Lilith with her to the ground so that they could continue talking.

Since the night was late, everyone went to turn to their assigned rooms for the night so that they would be able to rest before returning back to their estates. However, Lilith remain behind leaving the two alone in the room, "Are you not going to rest for the night?" Eos covered her shoulders with the same shawl readjusting it to cover her shoulders. Rubbing her exhausted eyes to ease off the fatigue that was causing her eyes to grow heavy wrestling her to sleep.

Lilith then patted her head causing Eos to tilt her head in confusion, "Are you sure that you are ok?" Her concern fro Eos caused the same aching feeling in her heart when she was with the butler. Clutching her shawl, "It's not normal for someone to frighten like that especially in your own home." Lilith then wrapped her arms around Eos' petite form seeing the very vulnerable Eos who had never showed sadness or anger before. Eos then leaned into Lilith's arm as she tried to force the tears from falling, releasing a sigh that she didn't know that she had been holding for so long. Relieving a weight from her body.

At that moment Eos just melted into Lilith's arms but it took so much effort for her to stop the exhaustion from letting her from pour out everything that was hold back her circumstances, "Just tired from having to live this lifestyle." With just that Eos pushed Lilith away to go rest in her own bed chambers. It was quite the ordeal having to deal with so much at one time yet it was expected on her to fulfil her duties as the said daughter of the Monciaux Dukedom. With the light from the candle finally ceasing it burning from the lack of the wick completely engulfed the room into a darkness which Eos relished in. It was the only time which she didn't have to hear any people that surrounded her. Peace and Quiet.

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The needless chirping of the birds welcoming the spring time was not the most ideal thing for Eos who wanted to continue sleeping in until the next day but sadly Lisa came into the room opening the dreadful curtains that blocked out most of the light, "My Lady, you mustn't sleep in too long." Lisa tried to pull at the quilt that laid on Eos' form to no avail. Eos's grip was like a vice unwilling to part with the comfort of her own bed, "The rest of the ladies are already about to finish with their morning routine." This is the last warning before Lisa pulled at the sheet with no mercy finally unravelling the cocoon that encapsulated Eos. After a few more tugs and pulls, Lisa was finally able to get Eos sitting on the vanity table so that she would be able to brush out Eos' beautiful maple biege hair. As she was being dressed into simple cream A-line dress that accentuated her natural figure with some rose gold trims at the hem. A simple design for a dress at fist glance but the fabric and embellishments utilised was quite expensive if one had an eyes for dress-making.

Eos rebuked herself from rubbing her eyes since it cause the people around her to critic her actions of being improper. Four beautiful blossoming girl sat inside at a close-by gazebo which had a beautiful array of breakfast foods that were light on the stomach from their late night event. As she walked towards the gazebo to join the rest of the girls but the butler came walking towards Eos with some paperwork. Collecting the paperwork from the butler, Eos analysed the data was laid out in front of her to see that it quite an array of topics from region management and inventory for store that the family assigned to her. Seeing the delicious array of food that was in front of her, opting for the obvious decision since her brain couldn't function without food for long right after she woke up.

Lisa had already pulled out a chair for Eos to eat with her friends while the other girls began plating up the food sky high on to her plate seeing that Eos seemed exhausted. Arachne had placed a salad that had beautiful exotic ingredients that aren't usually available all year around like prawns and grapefruit with a light vinaigrette that lightly prickled Eos' nose, whetting her appetite. Cybele placed a small bowl of onion soups as a side dish which was a regional dish that many in the Monciaux Dukedom has had before but it was a comfort dish which only commoners had to cook that could utilise simple ingredients in bulk. Lilith then placed some baguettes that were toasted in butter. Courtney had settled Eos with some chamomile tea to help calm the stomach from greasiness from eating such a heavy meal in the morning. It indeed was a filling meal but it was honestly something she looked forward too since she would often skip lunch and sometimes dinner because of her busy schedule.

Eos began eating all the food that was served to her with such gusto that everyone was quite captivated by how deliciously she ate despite it being foods that are commonly eaten. Everyone began resuming their dining and immediately realised how delicious the food was despite having eaten these dishes before, "How is that every time we dine together like this?" Arachne cupped her cheeks as she ate her pawn and grapefruit salad relishing in its refreshing flavours as each grapefruit capsule coated the rich taste of the skilfully cooked prawns, "The food always taste so good." Emitting a smoky flavour which was instantly complimented by the vinaigrette that accompanied it. Arachne often has to restrict her diet since she would usually model dresses at balls so that she could promote her families business.

Cybele was surprised to hear such a statement, "Is that true?" To test out the theory, Cybele elegantly spooned a small portion of the onion soup onto her soup, gently blowing at the steaming soup before consuming it, "Oh my! It is true!" Cybele's eyes shone as she continued eating the food with gusto disregarding manner which no one care for at the moment. Courtney and Lilith all chuckled at the two who were complimenting Eos' magically power of making any dish much more delicious than it already was. While Eos could only blush at the statement as she cupped her hand in front of her mouth so that she would spurge out her food.

As the meal came to a close, Eos escorted everyone out of the estate waving them farewell until their next meeting which would be at the next tea party. Her eyes trailed behind the carriage of all her friends behind her gaze imminently change to someone unrecognisable. The butler quickly attended to Eos who immediately ordered for the preparation of a carriage so that she would be able to head out for a regional inspection. Lisa then began preparation for outer wear that would be suitable for the inspection dressing Eos in a classic chemise dress with some light corseting so that would have easy movability but Eos refused the corset seeing it as unnecessary item of clothing. For an inspection where she would most likely be moving a lot and cause her to be light headed after wearing it for a long period so she opted for a shawl, "Young Miss! Please take this parasol with you to prevent burning from the sun." One of the butlers in training handed a beautiful parasol that was simply decorated as to not draw too much attention but regardless of attention grabbing. Eos alone would bring about unwanted enough attention with the parasol but decided it would for the best.

For the long trip to the nearby region that Eos sat comfortably in the cushioned carriage that was filled with delicious snacks that were provided to bid the time. Her eyes wondered through the familiar scenery that she pass whilst looking through the impeccably clear glass window. An onslaught of green with small spurts of lavender purple flashed by the carriage as the rocking of the carriage gently lulling Eos to sleep. Her energy levels had always been low since she was young which never allowed Eos to stay awake for long period of time. Soon, the green visage that covered the majority of scenery was completely overtaken by a quaint little village where there was a good flow of goods through the village but there had been slight concerns for the crop harvest this time around. Lately, many of the crop harvests are going straight to granary for storage at the Monciaux Dukedom letting not much for the village itself.

The carriage soon stopped at a small mansion that covered in jacaranda blossoms. It was well off despite its quaint surroundings where Eos would be dropped off at before leaving at the end of the day. Pushing up the mechanics of the umbrella did the block the sun from damaging her skin albeit it being for a short time. Two individuals came out from the house with simplistic clothing that what was portrayed by the well-off mansion waved over Eos who immediately smiled as she rushed over to the two people. Two pairs of arms engulfed the beautiful girl without any hesitation as if it was their reunion with each other. Truely it was. Their time spent together has always been short-lived. Eos took her mother's hand into her own feeling the writhed bony chilled hands, "Mother, you need to stay warm." Removing her own shawl and wrapping it around her ailing mother who only chuckled as she gave a gentle kiss to Eos' forehead.