Dear Edward,

I'm sorry to hear that your fag broke his leg during his first week back. I still don't understand the fag system in your school very well (you're all rich, but you experience being servants to each other despite not having much experience in work?), but that sounds very painful. No, I am not aware of any special remedies for broken bones. He'll have to get it set the usual way.

And yes, I've read some of Tennyson's poems – they're almost as nice as Shakespeare. Are there plays of his work as well? I think I'd like to see them. I enjoyed that Twelfth Night performance very much. Paula's teaching me the poems, and even if Shakespeare's more interesting, Tennyson's easier to remember. Paula's quite the singer, and she sings the poems very beautifully. It makes them easier to remember when she sings them. My personal favourite happens to be 'The Lady of Shalott'. Shall I take a guess as to what yours might be?

Sieglinde paused in the middle of her letter, and read over her words again. Much to her discontent, she found that it sounded far too much like a carefree letter when she was anything but. She wasn't sure who the tutor being sent to her by the Queen would be, and despite Ciel trying to find out, even the Earl of Phantomhive wasn't having any success in his investigation. The Queen was keeping her lips shut about the matter, only informing her that her new tutor would be qualified for the job.

She was nervous, and wound up at the fact that she was going to be getting a new tutor – who was supposed to arrive today. Assigned by the Queen. Ciel spoke respectfully of the Queen, as did the family that had taken her under their wings, but she knew that people could do horrible things in the name of love for their nation, and everything of the Queen depended on the wellbeing of her people.

And Sieglinde was, in the end, nothing but a pawn with lots of potential. The new tutor was more than just someone overseeing her education, it was the beginning of the Queen taking the first active move involving her life after being the catalyst to her escape of her false life such a long time ago. No matter how kindly she smiled down at Sieglinde, she never forgot that the old woman had been the one to send Ciel into the village to investigate in the first place.

Meeting Ciel had been, she believed firmly, one of the best things to happen to her life. His sudden entry into her life had brought forward a lot of pain, forcing her entire world to be shattered into pieces and blowing everything she knew away, but it had also opened her eyes and given her a new dream.

He had become her friend, and given her other friends.

But at the same time, the Queen had sent Ciel to the village in the forest. A boy barely older than Sieglinde was the agent sent to an unknown territory with high potential for danger.

Adults, she thought, her fingers tightening around her pen, shouldn't use children like that.

The quiet but firm knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts. "Ms. Sieglinde?" her maid said quietly. "The marquis and marchioness ask that you join them in the parlour. There is a guest."

"Of course," she replied, putting the pen away and placing a sheet of blotting paper over the letter. The ink would have dried by now, but it was just in case someone came into her room and read the letter.

It was unlikely that anyone would come into her room – there was nothing to snoop about with medical books, because they didn't really make sense to anyone but her – but she did so anyways.

Her maid – a young but kind-hearted woman – helped her down the stairs, and then followed her until they were at the parlour. "Pardon my intrusion," she said after knocking on the closed door. "But Ms. Sieglinde is here."

"Come in!" the marquis called.

The maid opened the door, and moved out of the way so Sieglinde could see the parlour. The marquis and marchioness sat on the velvet upholstered chesterfield, side by side. The marchioness put down her cup and saucer onto the table in front of her.

But Sieglinde stared at the third person in the room. The man's every appearance was crisp and sharp, like he stood at attention even as he sat in the carved mahogany chair, the light cream-coloured wallpaper behind him failing to make him seem softer.

But his eyes softened when they met hers, and the corners of his sternly set lips twitched upwards briefly in a ghost of a smile.

"Ah, Sieglinde," the marquis said. "Meet your new tutor, Mr. Wolfram Gelzer."


an: I very nearly did just drop this story, but reviewers made me hesitate on that. You can also thank Indochine's awesome writing and the latest BB chapter for making me get off my lazy butt and finally finish the last few lines on this chapter. Can I just say the part where Lizzie saw Sieglinde for the first time was everything I've dreamed of? (Oh and Sieglinde meeting Nina YES)

an2: and yes it was never my intention to actually kill Wolf. I just wanted to make Sieglinde suffer. Nightmares don't always have to be based on truth.