(A/N: Thank you for the reviews and words of encouragement you gave me. I'm not sure whether I'll continue this and progress their relationship too much, but I could always try… With more words of encouragement…)

Title: Red

Chapter 2: Blush

The young mistress's silhouette appeared slowly as she lit a small candle in the wooden house, her petite, slender frame visible through the fragile walls of the room. Standing up from where she was kneeling, she smoothed down the front of her new dress and stepped towards the main door, her red ball held to her chest protectively. Now wearing a sleeveless white dress, Ai looked more and more like a little porcelain doll, her wide crimson eyes staring out curiously before she finally exited, not bothering to put on her shoes as they were still wet. Treading the soft soil near her red flowers, she stared at her small feet for a moment before looking up, tossing the scarlet ball into the air, catching it skilfully. A barely visible smile appeared on her lips as she continued to silently play by herself.

Lost in her own playtime, she threw the ball particularly high up and it was caught in the wind. Afraid that it might fall into the pond again, she skipped after it, chasing it with her arms outstretched.

Almost there…

Bump.

Instead of her toy, she felt a much larger form than herself and her hands clutched not the rubber of her ball, but the soft material of the person's clothes. Glancing upwards from the awkward, unintentional embrace, face nonchalant once more as her eyes met with Ren's. Ignoring the fact that he had caught her ball for her, she remained in that position, also ignoring the fact that her servant was shocked as well as clueless.

"Ojou," his tender voice echoed in her ears and the older man smiled a little, patting the top of her hair once more, chuckling at the soft blush that had somehow appeared on her usually white cheeks. "I think you dropped this, Ojou."

Drawing back from him, she stretched out her hands eagerly for her ball again, patiently waiting like the polite little child she was. "Again…" she murmured softly as it was returned to her once again.

"Again," Ren echoed her before looking at the dress she wore. "Is this a new dress, Ojou?"

Ai didn't seem to have heard him as she started to toss her ball up and catch it but she answered in her distant voice, "Not really…" Skipping off, she played among her red spider lilies, the crimson flowers a contrast to her snow white dress and ebony black hair. A Snow White in Hell…

"You look quite nice in it, Ojou," he commented and she stopped in her tracks, the ball held in her white hands. She seemed to pause and stare at the ground as if considering what she would say. The breeze picked up again and her hair as well as her dress fluttered softly in the gentle wind through she remained unmoving. Ren didn't mind the silence between them, he was used to it. Finally, she looked up and stared at the bright sun in the claret sky. "Not really…" she mumbled, repeating her earlier words and her feet sprung back to life like a wind-up doll. She started to play with her ball silently once more. Unknowing that the rose blush on her cheeks hadn't completely disappeared.

Red stood by the pond water, eyes tender as he looked over his Mistress. Taking a seat on the ground, he blinked in surprise as he heard what seemed like a small giggle from Ai. His face softened and he smiled.

(A/N: Remember, read and review!)