Happy birthday @thedarkestcrow!!! ^3^ ❤ Here’s to you my friend on this special day, a little gift!!

I somehow managed to be on time ^^” which is really a first for me, haha!  Anyway I really wanted to make a little gift for you, to thank you for being my friend, for always chatting with me, discussing crazy ideas and running an amazing blog! ❤ 

Keep on being awesome and enjoy your birthday, I love you! ^3^

DISCLAIMER: please keep in mind that I’m not a good writer, but I was inspired by these little posts [x] [x] and I thought I’d make something out of it!
Hopefully you can enjoy it, but even if you don’t, that’s alright! xD

This little story takes place after the current arc, but there is no real spoiler about it, since I have no idea when and how it’s going to end. Honestly it’s just a typical girls’ day out, to hopefully fit with your own happy day! 

BTW, it’s approximately 4k long so, ahem, take your time.

Also on: [AO3] [FFnet]

---

« Are
you sure ? »

«  Yes. »

“But are
you really sure, Lizzie?”

“Yes Sully, I can assure you I am.”

Sieglinde
frowned, not convinced, and turned to Nina Hopkins who was waiting patiently,
hoping for a backup. The talented and fashionable clothier only smiled while
weighing the scissors that she held in hand, not desiring to influence her
client’s decision, so Sieglinde sighed again.

“Lizzie, I
still think that this is not a good idea. I cut my long hair but it was because
I wanted a new, fresh start. Besides, I am more of tomboy than you are and Ciel
himself said so!”

For the
first time since the two young ladies had entered Nina’s shop to make some new
dresses one cold afternoon of winter, Lizzie stopped smiling to stare at her
friend. There was no coldness in her gaze, but she was serious all the same. “Sully,
I told you before, I want, no… I think I
need a fresh start too. Especially after everything that happened, I…”

Guessing
what she was about to say, Sieglinde quickly raised her hands in apology. This
little outing was supposed to be a joyful moment they could both enjoy with
each other, especially after the rather morbid last few months. Besides,
Sieglinde had promised herself that she would try not to make Lizzie address
any depressing subjects relating to what she had lived through recently. What
Lizzie needed was comfort right now and she herself had helped the German
prodigy so much after her arrival in England that the least to do was
reciprocating.

So, inhaling
and then smiling widely, Sieglinde said: “Then cut your hair if that is what
you wish! It will grow back and you are so lovely that I doubt any haircut will
manage to make you look ugly anyway.”

Lizzie
smiled brightly again upon hearing her friend’s approval and turned to nod at
Nina who was still waiting with the scissors in hand. The clothier started
humming to herself as she undid her regular client’s twin tails, combing
through her hair with her fingers. “Lady Elizabeth, your hair is not naturally
wavy, is it not?”

“No, it is
not. Or rather, Paula curling it most mornings of a week ends up giving it a
constant wavy semblance, but it is not naturally like that.”

“It will be
hard to curl it once your hair will be shorter though”, Nina remarked with a
soft voice, “and I was under the impression that you liked it when it curled.”

“I do!
Mother’s hair looks naturally wavier than mine but I always thought it was
prettier her way rather than my boringly straight hair, so Paula curled it for
me for years.”

“Lady Midford’s
hair, huh…” Nina appeared thoughtful for a moment, stroking a strand of
Elizabeth’s hair between her thumb and forefinger. “Tell me Lady Elizabeth, do
you know how long the Marchioness’ hair is now?”

Elizabeth
took a moment to think about Nina’s question. She had never seen her mother
without her hair being neatly tucked into a bun except on rare occasions, like
getting ready for the night or after an intense training session, but she
expected it would at least reach the middle of her back, which is what she told Nina.

“I think
sometimes her maid cuts the tips though, so it is possible that it might have
grown longer than that.”

Nina chuckled
a little at this, to Lizzie’s and Sieglinde’s confusion. However before any of
the girls could ask, the clothier was already explaining: “The Marchioness was
my very first client and back then I remember her hair already reached her
hips. It was at the same time as I was told that she was a skilled fencer,
which impressed me even more.”

“Mother was
your first client?” Lizzie repeated, blinking. “But she is older than you are
Nina, so how old were you both when you worked on an outfit for her?”  

“Well, let
me see… She must have been eighteen years old and I was twelve? My father was
already outfitting Earl Phantomhive’s predecessor, Lord Vincent, as well as his
sister at the time, but I was overflowing
with creativity and so he kindly asked if I could work on a creation for your
mother, Lady Elizabeth.”

Sieglinde
almost whistled before reminding herself that it was not particularly
lady-like, while Lizzie smiled at Nina’s apparent enthusiasm. “Your family line
outfitted many generations of the Queen’s Watchdog, is it not the case, Nina?”

“Indeed! I
do not know myself when it started, but my father always insisted that the
Phantomhive family was a very important client of us, the Hopkins tailors. I do
still feel grateful to this day for the Marchioness’ kindness towards my slight
inexperience of back then and despite how she initially scared me, but—“

“Wait,
Nina?! Mother scared you?” To this,
Lizzie could not help but chuckle. She knew Nina would have never meant to be
insulting with that comment, but she found funny that it was mostly what the
clothier remembered from her very first client, knowing how unstoppable she was
when it came to her own opinions about fashion. “She is indeed very strict, but
I always thought that she had perhaps a mellow side to herself when she was
younger. I guess not then.”

Nina’s
expression softened after the passionate look her reminiscence had triggered. Putting
down the scissors that she had kept in hand all this time, she leaned against
the dressing table Elizabeth was sitting at. “I dare say it was my inexperience
that led to such a reaction out of the Marchioness. However, after that initial
misunderstanding, things worked out quite well and I was able to meet her
expectations as well as my father’s.”

“But what
happened?” Sieglinde asked, not able to hide her curiosity. The younger girl
had met Lady Midford only a few times, the last being when she had stormed on
stage one November evening during one of the Phantom Five’s concerts to bring
her son, Lord Edward, back home. Almost two months had passed since then, but
Sieglinde had instantly understood why Ciel himself had said that he was no
match for her.

“Oh, well,
I attempted to cut her hair you see, and she expectedly did not take kindly to that.”

Leaving only
a few seconds for the surprise to settle in, Nina did not wait for the younger
girls’ astounded reaction before explaining further, no shame at all underlying
in her voice, proof that she really had put the event behind her. “I was 12 and
my father had just explained to me that Lady Frances had agreed that I could
design a special outfit for her as my very first work. You know the kind, Lady
Elizabeth, a dress that would allow for a few weapons to be hidden underneath.”

Lizzie
nodded to that, still inwardly wondering how such an usual assignment could
have led to a twelve year old Nina trying to cut her mother’s hair, but she did
not have to wait very long to find out.

“My father
and I came to the Phantomhive manor after he had explained to me what kind of
dress your mother would need due to her position as a relative of the Queen’s
Watchdog’s. Mr. Tanaka received us with kindness as he always would – I do not
recall meeting Lord Phantomhive that day however – and I met with Lady Midford
alone but, as I was starting to take my measurements, I tried to convince her
to cut her hair and, as you could guess, she refused. Voilà.”

The story
as it was with its abrupt conclusion did not satisfy Lizzie’s curiosity, nor did
it Sieglinde’s, but the latter could afford to be less inquiring than the
former since she was not Lady Midford’s daughter. “But Nina, why would you even
want to cut my mother’s hair?” Lizzie asked, her eyes widening, “was the Alice
style already en vogue back then?”

“Non, obviously it was not. Years ago, I
just thought that it would prove easier for her to have shorter hair – it
reached her hips, Lady Elizabeth! –
especially since she was described to me as a great fencer who also had skills
with guns. Quite original for a noble lady, really!”

Yes, it was
indeed no surprise to almost everyone that Nina always was very appreciative of
Lady Midford’s… aesthetic, but Lizzie
personally never thought it anything else but charming.

“So my inexperience
it was, as I told you,” Nina kept going. “I chose to see only efficiency over
any personal preference. The look Lady Midford gave me when I attempted to
insist and convince her was quite frightening, to say the least, and I remember
leaving the room for a moment to join with my father, tears threatening to
fall.”

The two
ladies could only imagine the scene in silence, Lizzie knowing better than
anyone what kind of glare her mother was capable of generating, as Nina smiled
to herself, no bitterness in sight.

“It was Mr.
Tanaka who explained to me that Lady Midford – who was still young Lady
Phantomhive back then – was rather sensitive to the subject of hair in general.
Not to mention her distaste of certain haircuts for men, as it happened she
also took great care in letting her hair grow long, something the previous
Countess Phantomhive had apparently done as well.”

This time,
Lizzie visibly tensed upon hearing the mention of her mother’s own mother
before blinking slowly for Nina’s story to sink in. On her end, Sieglinde
noticed her friend’s reaction and her eyes traveled back and forth from her
friend to Nina for a few seconds, wondering what exactly the matter seemed to
be.

“So,” the
young German prodigy started slowly, still side-glancing Lizzie, “Lady Midford
wanted to keep her hair long like her mother?” She did not add ‘big deal’,
because it was inappropriate and mostly because she had a slightly hard time
understanding Lizzie’s silent but thoughtful reaction, but she still thought it.

“Sully,”
the young noble lady said gently, “I think Mother’s own mother, that is my
maternal grandmother, died when Mother was still young.”

“…Like
Ciel’s parents you mean?”

Lizzie
nodded slowly, the shadow of grief passing in her eyes while Nina looked down
for a brief moment. “Like Uncle Vincent and Lady Rachel, yes. I hardly know
more on the subject because it is not one Mother or even Uncle Vincent liked to
mention, but I think it may explain why Mother was sensitive about cutting her
hair in the past. Right, Nina?”

“Absolutely!” The clothier nodded vigorously,
“Lady Midford liked to keep her hair long to imitate the late Countess
Phantomhive’s hairstyle. Something like a memento I suppose and maybe it is
even still the case today, which is why I dared to ask you earlier in the first
place.”

Sieglinde
reflected on the last few minutes of the discussion once Nina had finished her
sentence. The younger girl had not thought about her own mother – for the few
minutes she had known the truth about her – for a while now. To say she had
been able to immediately forget about the disfigured old-looking crone who had
given birth to her, amongst the rest of the treachery that was her life up
until a few months ago, would be a lie though.

Sometimes
she was still crossed, still shocked and sad. Some other times, she longed for
a chance to go back in time, despite knowing how ridiculous it was, since she
had witnessed firsthand how the military had been ready to kill her upon her
discovery of the truth.
There were still nights she would wake up from a nightmare, half crying about
the lie she lived for so many years and despite Wolfram’s numerous explanations
about the truth.

Yes, sometimes
it seemed pointless to not have been able to fully confront the first twelve
years of her life. However, living in England since then had helped her
tremendously about seeing through what she wanted for herself (and for Wolfram
too, to an extent) and she knew she had Ciel, but also Soma and Lizzie to thank
for that.        

Still,
getting a new haircut had been a symbol of new beginnings and freedom, a way to
clearly cut with her past as she strived to work for a better future. So the
feeling of honoring the memory of a dead parent one had loved, as Nina’s story
conveyed, suddenly felt a little too foreign to her.
For so long the idea of her own mother had been one of filial love and fondness
too, until the truth had painfully destroyed this image, and Sieglinde knew she
would never be able to dream peacefully about it ever again.

Yet it was
different for Lizzie who, as Sieglinde had understood, looked up to and
respected her mother with everything she had. And as it seemed – judging by her
reaction – Lizzie’s tone held the same amount of respect towards the subject of
her grandmother and the subject of her mother, despite hardly knowing a thing
about the former, which was something Sieglinde almost felt jealous about.

She knew
what it was, that Lizzie looking up to her mother, who also apparently looked
up a great deal to her own, was the reason the young noble lady could afford to
look up to her maternal grandmother who died so many years ago. Familial love
really could be an amazing source of personal motivation, so it was slightly
saddening to the German prodigy that she herself would never be able to
experience that anymore.

“Sully?”

Lost in
grimmer thoughts than she would have liked to admit, Sieglinde was slightly
startled upon hearing Lizzie’s specific way of calling out to her. The older
girl was smiling her usual bright smile at her, with her hair undone but still
uncut, while Nina was rummaging through her drawers looking for one thing or
another.  “Are you alright? You seemed to
have been spacing out for a little while.”

Sieglinde
shook her head a little, attempting a smile of her own. “No, I am fine. I just
remembered a few things… from my life back in Germany.” Lizzie nodded but did
not care to inquiry further than this. In fact, she never would, just like Ciel
and Soma, which was something Sieglinde was grateful about.

Ciel aside,
because he was aware of where she came from, all that Soma and Lizzie knew was
that he had brought her back from Germany and that it had something to do with
one of his missions for Queen Victoria. The details were lost on them but,
while she knew Ciel had never said a word to either, both Soma and Lizzie had
seemed to unknowingly agree about not asking further.

One day,
Sieglinde had decided a while ago, she would tell them just like she hoped she
would get to know the secrets they were probably keeping to themselves too. One
day, when she would feel the need to. For now…

“So, what
about your hair Lizzie? Should we move on, or is it just the dresses for today
in the end?”

…Sieglinde
felt that they had digressed from the purpose of this afternoon, which was
mostly about cheering Lizzie up after everything that had happened in these
last few months.

“Ah yes,”
Nina chirped in, “not to rush you, but I have another client appointment in one
hour, my lovely ladies!”

Lizzie
turned to look at herself in the mirror atop of the dressing table. She audibly
sighed while taking the end of her hair in hand, as if weighing it and her
decision at the same time. Without a doubt Nina’s story had influenced her in
some ways, but then again, it was understandable.

If shortening
her hair had been akin to a fresh new start for Sieglinde who wanted to cut the
ties to her past, Lizzie’s current hairstyle was also an illustration of how
she genuinely looked up to her mother and she had no reason to want to part
with that. If anything, Lizzie’s mother was a main reason Lizzie was such a
strong young woman and this was something to be proud of.

No, the
only reason Lizzie felt the need to change was regarding what had recently
happened.  

“Lizzie…”
Sieglinde spoke slowly, “I hope you know you do not have to cut your hair just
because of everything that happened with… Ciel and that Blue Sect? If you need
something to… change, it can be done differently.” Or so she hoped her friend
would understand, because she was failing to put it with better words.

Sometimes
it was easy to forget that she and Lizzie had known each other for only a few
months.
But still, while Lizzie had come to accept her presence on a regular basis and
had declared her a friend almost immediately, the proximity the young German
prodigy shared with the young Lady Midford remained something rather new after
twelve years confined in her Green Mansion in Wolfsschlucht and years
surrounded by adults.

That was
why Sieglinde could feel estranged from her role of confidante from time to
time, especially after the recent events that had shaken London and Ciel’s
entourage rather strongly. The young German prodigy used to have an entire
village relying on her – or so she had thought since “the Green Witch” had been
the pawn all along – yet trying to do the right thing for a friend seemed
immensely more difficult than every else that had been considered her duties up
until a few months ago.

You are not a witch, Wolf had said on that night her whole world
turned upside down, you are just an
ordinary girl. These words were the first truth he had told her and they
still rang loud and clear for her to be fully aware that her manservant was
absolutely right. It just so happened that it took Sieglinde until this afternoon
in particular to figure out than being an ordinary girl and enjoying quality
time with her friend had its share of compromises to master. Which she intended
to do right now.

“Lizzie… I really
find your long hair pretty so, instead of cutting it, how about you start
styling it differently? I do that myself with… different ribbons, almost every
day, and this can definitely be called a change.”

“Oh!” Nina meddled
in with a smile, certainly more helpful than at the very beginning of their rendezvous,
“a new style is always refreshing… Though not always fashionable obviously
depending on whether it follows the current trends or not, or if it even fits
the client themselves, but the new beats the old almost all the time.”

“Thank you
Nina,” Lizzie chuckled at her tailor’s volubility, “I do appreciate the support.” Checking the length of her hair in the
mirror once more, her smile became a touch more melancholic, “I just do not
know what I am supposed to style it after, especially since I had made up my
mind to cut it…”

“Well~,” Nina said in cheerful voice, putting both
her hands on the young noble lady’s shoulders, “Reminiscing might have just
given me the best idea for the
daughter of Lady Midford! Not that you should expect any less from yours truly
in the first place—”

“Wait, I
thought we had settled on not cutting Lizzie’s hair anymore?” Sieglinde
intervened, slightly confused.

“May I
remind you that I did not get to cut
Lady Midford’s hair either? Or were you not listening earlier? Now that would
be rather rude, Miss Sullivan~!”

***

“…Lizzie, it
suits you so well…! You look so pretty!”

“She does, does she not? Ah, I just knew it
would be a style befitting you, Lady Elizabeth!”

“Lizzie? What
do you think?”

Yet
Elizabeth remained silent for a little while longer, observing the ponytail
Nina had carefully combed her hair into. Her usual curled strand on the right side
of her face had been left untouched, but the rest of her new hairdo made her
appear like an entirely different person.

“Mother
used… to wear her hair like that, right, Nina?”

“That is correct!” The bubbly tailor nodded vigorously, “This is exactly her hairdo the day
I met her and that she too styled after her own mother, or so Mr. Tanaka
confided to me those many years ago!”

Elizabeth
stared at her more adult-looking reflection in the mirror. This was still her,
of course it was, but looking more mature than she ever had before. Now it was
not a bad thing at all and she liked her long ponytail… But is it a good thing, do I even have the right to style my hair like
that after everything that happened recently…?

An even longer
silence looming ahead, Sieglinde and Nina exchanged a glance briefly, Sieglinde
starting to worry that maybe this afternoon had not been enough to cheer her
friend while Nina looked thoughtful. Maybe what Lady Elizabeth needed was about
more than change, maybe she sought reinsurance instead after everything that
she had been through…

With this
in mind, Nina went to gently pat her regular client’s shoulders: “Lady
Elizabeth, do you know what Mr. Tanaka also told me, years ago?”

Lizzie
looked up from the mirror to Nina, slightly intrigued. Inwardly, she was
slightly amazed at how much her tailor knew about her family when she felt so
estranged from everything lately. Yet this was also why going to Nina was never
a waste of time.

“‘The Phantomhive family line has rather
strong-willed women’ he said, and I realized he was absolutely right from
the moment one glare from your mother was enough to chill me to the bone! And you
also are a strong-willed woman, Lady Elizabeth, like your mother and your
grandmother before you. This is why you survived until now and why you will from
now onwards and there is nothing to be ashamed of: clients like you are the
reason the Hopkins tailors remained associated with the Phantomhive family for
generations.”

A smile
slowly found its way to Lizzie’s lips, one that mirrored Sieglinde’s own, as
they both took one of Nina’s hands.

“You just
need to believe in a new beginning, Lizzie,” Sieglinde added. “And even if you
need more than just one through life, I am sure it will always work out.”

It will always work out…

Elizabeth
thought about Ciel, about the one who died four years ago and the boy she
loved, about Soma who lost Agni and about her family who had trusted her during
these last few months. Truthfully, she was not sure of what ‘working out’ meant
anymore: would everything still be the same, would everyone still wait for her
if her new beginning was to take some distance?  

Ciel… I could not save you, but I will try and save
your brother instead. From the darkness that is already threatening to engulf
him in. For that
was what she had decided after he had died once more, leaving painful
injuries in his wake and only time to heal them.

Slowly her
hand went to rest above her chest, feeling and stroking the shape of a ring
hanging from a simple chain around her neck, carefully nested against her skin.
The ring was made of gold and a crystalline jewel, a fleur-de-lys pattern crowning it: ‘it is a reminder,’ that man had said, ‘a reminder that it is never too late if the time to act is now.’

So maybe,
just maybe, her new beginning was simply the right time for her to prove that
she finally deserved to be called a strong-willed woman of the Phantomhive
family.

Make them proud, little Lady Lizzie.

---

Notes: I’m always shitty at writing endings, so I hope this one here wasn’t a drop in quality. xD Also, the little part about the ring at the end is related to this crack theory of mine (I’m sorry I couldn’t resist) and the fact I totally think Liz should team up with UT to try and save Ciel from Seb.

What else is there to say, except that I totally HC Nina has having a thing for ladies over gentlemen, not that there is anything wrong with that. ^_^
Also I really enjoy Sieglinde and Lizzie’s friendship so I hope I managed to make it justice. 

Finally I’m not sure about the title, so if you have a better idea, I’d be happy to change it! 😀

There you go! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN MY FRIEND ❤ I love yaaaaaaaaaaa, hope your day will be as great as you envisioned it to be!