Midnight Blue

As the sun crept up in the sky, Wesley heard the familiar light footfall of his and Arietta’s maid approaching his bedroom door. He looked at the clock on his bedside, 7 AM. So he had succeeded in getting approximately five hours sleep. How delightful.

A gentle succession of knocks on the door were followed by her soft voice, “Good morning James, is it okay for me to come in?”

“Yes.” Wesley said hoarsely, his eyes still heavy with the last fleeting feelings of sleepiness.

When the door opened and Ella walked in, Wesley smiled. Ella was tall and had long dark hair tied into a loose bun. Her light blue eyes shone in the early morning light as she threw open the curtains that Wesley had not even noticed were drawn last night before he went to sleep.  

“Is Ari up yet?” He asked her.

“No, I was asked to get you up first. As I understand it, your mother and father are less than pleased with you.”

Ella had a way of being charming without even trying and whilst around Arietta and Wesley alone she was usually quite informal. Wesley liked Ella for this because it meant that there was someone in the house whom he could be himself around. There was never any need for pretense with Ella.

“I think I know why.”

“Do you need me to pick anything out for you today or would you rather choose your own clothes?” Ella knew the answer these days but she always asked it nevertheless.

“No, I think I can manage. Thank you Ella.”

“James.” Ella curtsied and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, to tell his mother and father he was awake and would be down shortly.

Wesley waited until he heard the door click closed before he got out of bed and made his way over to his dresser. He took a couple of minutes to decide but he went for grey jeans and a light blue shirt. Over the top he wore a black sweatshirt and he sat down to put on his leather shoes.

He preferred to choose his own clothes after Ella saw his wrists while he went to pick up a shirt she had chosen for him when he was five. Wesley had panicked and expected her to hurt him so he had locked himself in his bathroom, crying. It had taken Ella almost an hour to calm him down through the bathroom door. Wesley still remembered it like had happened just the morning previous. When he had finally opened the bathroom door he was still in tears and she was sat with her legs crossed, she simply held open her arms and hugged him until he stopped crying, whispering to him that it was okay and that it was nothing to be ashamed of. That she would never hurt him and she would put her life on the line to stop anyone from hurting him over it. Even though he believed her, he still asked her from that day forward if she would let him chose his own clothes. She had agreed but would often wait outside his bedroom to make sure she was around if he was having any difficulty with a tie or shoelaces. These days she knew that he was competent enough not to need her so she would just come in, wake him and open the curtains before asking the same question as each morning, always okay with his answer.

Wesley went through to his bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. When there was nothing left but to go down stairs he sighed and exited his bedroom.

As he arrived in the sitting room, that his mother insisted they call the drawing room, both their attentions were turned straight to him. His father spoke first.

“James, why were you not there to bid our guests goodbye at the end of the night?” James Senior asked, no actually, demanded,

“I went to my room.” Wesley could get away with only so much around his father. He had quickly learned how far to speak out of turn around his mother and father. While he could be more obstinate around his mother, his father would not stand for it. So Wesley was sure to be careful what he said.

“And did either your father or I say you could?”

“No, mother.”

“Next time I expect both you and Arietta to make it through the entire evening.” His father told Wesley sternly. “Now go and get your breakfast. Your tutor will be here soon.”

“Yes father.”

---

Arietta was already awake and dressed when Ella knocked on her door, she opened it for her maid and smiled up at her.

“Look at you! Awake and dressed without me even having to ask.”

“I’ve been up for about an hour, I had a shower too.” Arietta said proudly.

“Well in that case then, I’ll let you go on downstairs for your breakfast.” Ella smiled and stepped aside. “Wesley is already downstairs.” She told the girl, anticipating the question.

Arietta smiled, she liked Ella. Ella was always kind and would call her brother Wesley, instead of James like Arietta did, when Arietta’s mother and father weren’t around.

Ella watched as the little girl skipped along the landing and headed for the dining room. She stepped inside Ari’s room and looked around, there was not much for her to do in here today. Mrs. Devlin would be in to clean the room and en-suite but Ella made Arietta’s bed and tidied the wardrobe up a little. She spotted something under the bed and knelt down to pick it up.

It was a folded over piece of paper, when she unfolded it she noticed it was James’ handwriting. The pair of them were always leaving adorable little notes for one another. Ella suspected this was left last night after he had seen her to bed.

‘Arietta, take it from me, we will live our lives the way we want to, one day. You are special and do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise. We may not be the same as other people but we have each other, and until you find something better I will always be by your side.’

Unshed tears burned at Ella’s eyes. The way Wesley talked to sister and how he acted around her made how much loved her evident. What made Ella want to cry though was how he seemed resigned to what he had been taught to believe. How he wanted better for Arietta and how in this note, he only ever made reference to Arietta being special, not him. The way he told her that he would always be there for her, ‘until you find something better’, he didn’t even believe he was good enough for his own sister, he believed that she would find someone better. He seemed to be saying he knew she had a soul mate out there, despite the lack of name on her wrist.

Ella carefully folded it back over and placed it on Arietta’s pillow.

They were such intelligent children for their young age. Wesley already spoke two languages besides English and was probably better at maths than Ella would ever be. Arietta’s tutor would be employed within the next couple of weeks and she would begin learning the same subjects as Wesley. She could already sing like a soprano and dance like she worked with the Bolshoi ballet. Her artistic skills were coming on leaps and bounds. Ella was as proud of them as she would be of her own children but she felt Mr and Mrs. Wesley pushed them too much for two so young.

Ella made her way back to Wesley’s room to make sure it was ready for the housemaid.

---

Arietta sat at the large dining table next to Wesley as Mr. Skrit brought out their respective breakfasts.

“For Miss Arietta, a fresh fruit salad and glass of orange juice.” He said and smiled at her. “For young Master James, eggs and bacon with a glass of water.”

They both gave the chef their thanks and began to eat. Half way through their meal Arietta looked up at her brother.

“What is it?” Wesley asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was just thinking.”

“I see. Do I get to be let in on what it was you were thinking about.”

“I was thinking about grandad and if I would get to see him before the Ballet instructor comes.”

“I wouldn’t think so. Your tutor arrives at eight thirty, right?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s a Sunday. Grandad won’t be awake until ten.” He said, “So you had to look at me to think that?”

“No, I just knew you would ask and that you would know the answer.” Arietta grinned at him.

Wesley made a slight huffing sound but grinned back at her. That was when James senior entered the room, “James, your tutor is here. Finish your breakfast and go to the classroom.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Arietta, your tutor called ahead. She is unwell and cannot make it today. She wants you to practice what she taught you last week and she will see you on Thursday.”

“Yes, father. Can I sit in on Wes~ James’ lesson?” Arietta asked

“No you cannot. James needs to be focused today.”

“Okay father.”

Without another word, their father left the room and Arietta couldn’t help but pout at the thought of being left alone until at least ten. Wesley was hurriedly scarfing down the last of his bacon and practically inhaled the last of his glass of water.

“I’ll see you at lunch time.” He said as he wiped his mouth on a napkin and kissed the top of Arietta’s head.

“Bye.” she said and began to play with her food. She had lost her appetite.