once again, nick was 'busy' in the morning with family business. seraphine tried not to be bothered by it, but if she were honest, she was. as much as she'd tried to be perfectly okay with the rest of the moreaus, there was still something unsettling about them all.

nick was gone when she woke up, and she got ready, dressing in a little blue picnic dress, aiming to see cassiel again.

she made her way down the staff elevator, it still smelled of peaches and that faint cleaning solution wendy always carried around.

on the first floor, sera bumped into daphne, who was laughing with a random man.

"seraphine! come here"

unable to get out of the situation, she walked over to daphne, a sweet smile on her face.

"good morning..."

daphne was incredibly enthusiastic, playing with the ends of her freshly curled blonde hair.

"this over here is remi, he's british"

"nice to meet you," sera smiled, unsure whether or not to shake his hand or go in for a hug.

remi gave her a hug, his hand squeezing her shoulder softly.

"remi this is seraphine, she's nicholas' girlfriend!"

he nodded smiling, "nick huh? always knew he'd get himself a good girl."

"remi's nessa's friend" daphne commented, dragging the 'friend' suggestively.

"oh well...nice to meet you remi."

"you too," he nodded, a charming smile adorning his face.

"oooo, remi i have to show you something alora made!"

seraphine waved the duo goodbye before shuffling her way to the gardens. unlike last time, she almost instantly spotted cassiel by the flower garden, his shirt folded to his forearms, dirt and mud coating his hand and cheeks.

she snuck back into the house, trying to get into the kitchens without running into any other moreaus. there she found some grapes. also finding a little basket, seraphine put together a little grape basket before returning to rhe garden.

cassiel was in the same spot as before, wiping sweat off his forehead when he saw her, smiling and waving. she walked up to him, clutching the basket.

"hey.."

"hi," cassiel smiled wryly, "sorry i'm a bit of a mess right now...digging up flower beds usually gets a bit dirty..."

seraphine chuckled, "you're very hard working."

"thanks..."

she held up the mini basket of grapes, "for you"

his eye lit up in a gentle, angelic way, "really?"

"yeah...i just assumed it must be hot working outside all day."

cassiel put down the shovel, and seraphine's eyes traced the soft flesh of his bicep.

she held up a grape, holding the green fruit up like a trophy almost. a haze of hesitation crossed his eyes before he bent down slightly to take it into his mouth, mainting eye contact the whole time.

the interaction caused a shiver up seraphine's spine, and he had a similar look on his face.

"i wish you hadn't come here," cassiel said, voice pillow soft.

"why?"

"you'll know why," he sighed, wiping his hands on his shorts.

"i'm glad i came," she interjected, cocking her head slightly to the side.

his breath caught and for a moment seraphine regretted saying that. what was she even doing? she has a boyfriend for fucks sake.

"sera...."

is this was feeling so happily guilty felt like? knowing what you're doing wrong, but still hopelessly desiring for it.

"babe!"

seraphine pretty much jumped backwards, away from cassiel when she heard nick's voice.

soon she felt his strong hand on her shoulder and a kiss on her cheek. cassiel also stood up a little straighter, reaching for his shovel.

"i was just bringing cassiel some fruit, he seemed a bit tired..."

"oh you don't have to worry about that sera, he'll get himself something if he needs it right cassiel?"

cassiel nodded, "yup..."

nick put his hand on her hip, and seraphine put down the basket before being swept away by him.

"so the meeting with my parents went great, i was thinking we could do something together."

seraphine chuckled awkwardly, "oh yeah?"

"ever cliff dived?"

. . .

turns out, cliff diving was horrible. nick was so happy with just...tossing himself off the cliff. seraphine chickened out almost three times before promptly tripping over a stone.

after a well deserved shower and yet another awkward whole family dinner, the two lay in bed, each on their phones.

seraphine scrolled through her instagram feed, seeing some friends back from nyu posting about cabo and los angeles. she kind of longed for a more simple summer vacation, spring break or whatever.

turning to nick, he looked at her and that urge went away. she felt the most confused and in love she's ever been.

later that night, tucked into bed, seraphine drifted off to sleep. she hadn't properly had a dream in what felt like a year but that night she was awake in her mind.

she was in a ballroom all of a sudden, looking down, she was wearing a pink dress much like a princess, lace gloves on her hands. seraphine tried to speak but no words came out, and the room was freezing cold.

then she saw a flash, mrs. moreau with a scarily large pair of scissors, nick, blood, alora screaming, more blood.

she looked down, just to see the pretty pink gown stained with cherry red blood.

seraphine woke up in a sweat, sitting up in bed, her breath uneven. beside her, nick was fast asleep, the blanket pulled down ever so slightly to expose his back.

"nick?"

no reply.

sera slipped out of bed, her duckling yellow nightgown glinting in the moonlight.

glancing back at nick one more time, she left their room and ventured into the hallway, somehow even longer in the dark.

"hello?"

she wasn't sure why she called out to nothing, possibly out of the fear of being scared by some wandering moreau.

seraphine walked down the hall, all the way till she reached the main grand staircase.

staring at it, she was pulled to the west wing, a place nick told her was simply nothing. what was nothing? sweat still trailed down her spine, making her night gown cling to her.

the large brass looking doors looked almost ten times larger at night, and combined with seraphine's already short stature, it loomed like a storm cloud.

curiousity took ahold of her, and seraphine walked forward when suddenly she heard a voice.

"ms. seraphine?"

she straightened, turning around. wendy stood there, in her usual uniform, a washclothe gripped in one hand.

"are you lost ms. finch?"

seraphine cleared her throat, "oh just uh... couldn't sleep"

wendy gave her a look that alluded to seeing through her, before giving her a maternal smile.

"would you like some tea to help?"

"no uhm," sera took a breath, "i'll just try to fall asleep again."

"best to do that miss."

she turned away from the door, going back past the grand staircase, and down the disturbingly long hall, the entire time feeling wendy's caring yet somehow threatening eyes on her.

seraphine didn't breathe till she was back in bed.

kalo's korner !

the beginning of the chapter with cassiel is a bit freaky...so sorry about that, but anyways erm...hah.

keep your eyes out for remi cause he may have an important plot purpose soon....

things are gonna start happening and i'm deciding who dies first!!