Perfect Matches - A Black Butler (Weston College) Love Story

Worries

Ignasia stared out her bedroom window, sighing sadly. Her thoughts were filled with her mother and her wellbeing.

She stared at the opened letter on her desk. It was from her sister, Rivika. It was about her mother. Isadors had fallen into a deep state of depression without knowing. Things back home were getting much worse, and Isadora had more and more bruises each day. Ignasia wanted to run and help her mother, but she knew that's not what Isadora would want for her youngest. She would want her dear Ignasia to stay at school and study, be happy, fogey about her mother's problems.

Ignasia's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She hadn't realized she had been silently sobbing. Ignasia quickly wiped away her tears and answered the door. 

"Gregory," she said. She plastered a small fake smile to her face.

Gregory, who was standing outside Ignasia's room awkwardly, smiled slightly. Quietly, he said, "Hello, Ignasia. Would you like . . . to go for a walk with me?" It was dark out, and he knew that it was last curfew, but he wanted to show Ignasia something that he knew she would enjoy. 

"Of course. I would like that." Ignasia was telling the truth. She needed a breather, something to take her mind off of things.

"Gregory, I'm afraid we're going to get caught." Ignasia was clutching Gregory's arm. The two were off school grounds, and Ignasia didn't want someone to realize they weren't in their rooms. "What if someone saw us leaving?" 

Gregory gave her a small reassuring smile. "It'll be okay. I've done this many time before."

Ignasia widened her eyes. "You have? I didn't know daredevil Gregory existed," she said mockingly. Gregory just smirked. 

They continued to walk down the quiet cobble stone streets, and Gregory was feeling strange. A bubbly feeling inside of him kept growing as they neared their destination, and he didn't know whether it was because Ignasia was with him this time, or if it was because he was getting closer to his favorite place in the world.

When Gregory stopped, Ignasia looked at bum in confusion. They were there. Ignasia looked in front of her, and her lips parted in astonishment. Ignasia took a few steps forward to take in the sight.

Before her were beautiful flowers, many kinds. Large trees were towering over a long stretch of grass. The trees were covered in pink, white, and purple flowering dogwoods. The pleasant nighttime breeze was blowing some of the blossoms off of the branches, the delicate petals floating through the moonlit sky. 

The grass was covered in yellow coneflowers, red copper tips, and purple asters. Ignasia walked close to one of the shrubs, and smiled when she saw some of the dogwood petals covering the plants. She continued to walk, and that was where she saw the most precious of all of nature's beauty.

In the middle of the field was a small wooden bridge, a large flowering dogwood tree shadowing it from above. The bars that connected the railing of the bridge to its bottom were being surrounded by neat vines with blossoms in between, forming small spirals around the wood. Under areat the bridge was a small stream of water, the moonlight reflecting off of its small waves. 

Ignasia was sure this was heaven.

Gregory was watching Ignasia as she explored the field, taking in the moonlit stream, the different flowers and the dogwood trees, and the bridge decorated by nature. He didn't know he was smiling, or even when he started, but he was glad he had showed Ignasia the garden. It was worth it.

Ignasia turned around and looked at Gregory. A certain gentleness was in her eyes, and her face looked even prettier with the moonlight shining light on her natural features. The way her long, black eyelashes fluttered with every blink, the way her wavy black hair fell over shoulder, and the way her violet lips shone in the light made it impossible for Gregory to take his eyes off of her. He didn't realize it, but Gregory was in love.

"Gregory . . ." Ignasia's voice was so quiet and soft. Gregory moved slowly closer to her, his robe trailing behind him. His hood was still covering some of his face, but he was still able to take in the beauty.

"Welcome to Eladaria Grove," said Gregory. He watched Ignasia's eyes shine as she watched the blossoms being blown around in the sky. The moon was shining bright, giving the blossoms their own little glow.

"It's beautiful." Ignasia sighed happily. 

"It is, but not as beautiful as you," Gregory said. He was glad his hood was on. It covered his blush. Ignasia was blushing, too. She liked the compliment. But she had to make a joke.

"Ah, so cheesy. I'm lactose intolerant," she said, laughing a little in between. Gregory looked at her and chuckled.

"Are you really?"

"No, I'm not." Ignasia smiled at him, and Gregory took her hand. Ignasia blushed a tad bit, but followed him anyways. He through the grassy field and to the bridge, where the two climbed the small steps and stopped in the middle of the wooden bridge. There was a better view of the garden from there. Ignasia noticed the small pebbles that bordered the stream. 

Gregory turned around and plucked a small dogwood from the tree behind them. He put his hand on Ignasia's shoulder and used the other to carefully tuck the flower into the braid running along the side of her head. He smiled when she turned to look at him and felt the soft petals in her hair. She smiled back.

Ignasia was enjoying the grove, until the letter came back into her head. She didn't know what made her think about it, but she could feel her heart sinking. She felt a heavy sorrow, and Ignasia knew the tears were welling up in her eyes. She wiped them away again, but it was too late. Gregory knew something was bothering his love.

"Ignasia, what's upsetting you?" Gregory asked, looking into her tear filled eyes, mirroring his concerned ones. Ignasia thought about whether she should tell Gregory or not. She eventually decided that she could tell him. Ignasia trusted her fiancé.

Ignasia told Gregory everything. Her poor mother's current condition, her father, her insecurities that piled on top of her troubles. It all added up. She was so quiet and insecure. She was afraid to let anyone truly see her, for she was afraid people would regret getting to know her. Ignasia didn't realize that her friends admired her deeply.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to get rid of the tears that were now freely falling from her eyes. "I shouldn't have told you all of this. I need to deal with this on my own, not drag you into this."

"No, Ignasia. You don't have to be alone," he said. He was rubbing her back, and he felt pained to see his fiancée in such a state. Gregory didn't want Ignasia to feel like she was alone in this world, she didn't deserve to feel that way.

Ignasia stared out into the night, once again astonished by the pops of color coming from the flowers. "Anything could happen here, anything at all. But this place would still be beautiful." 

"It would," Gregory simply replied.

The two stayed like that, until Gregory lost it. He looked at his fiancée and sighed. 

Gregory pulled Ignasia toward him and embraced her, holding her close to him. He adored her so, he didn't want to let go of her. Not if she felt alone. Ignasia was tense under Gregory's touch, but soon relaxed and wrapped her arms around him. She needed someone to hold her, let her know she had someone there for her.

After a while, Gregory pulled away and stroked Ignasia's cheek. Her tears were falling again, and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

"Listen. You're not alone. I'm here for you. I always will be."

Ignasia stared into her fiancé's eyes, getting lost into those deep Violet pools of emotion. 

Ignasia smiled. She yanked Violet's hood back, revealing his black hair, along with the small bleached section. His hair blew in the wind, and Ignasia smiled at the sight of her future husband looking so handsome. She giggled and hugged him again, this time holding him tightly.

Ignasia was glad to have someone like Gregory by her side.