"If you are done, find Drew, then return to the van. I'll be there in a short while."

"Are we not going to stay to watch the wedding? I want to see the bride and groom."

"What the hell are you saying? We're not invited and most of all, we're not guests here. The wedding coordinator told us to leave after we finished our work, so stick to the plan. This event should be exclusive to friends and family. We're strangers here, Joanne." 

"You have a point. And the atmosphere in this mansion makes us feel out-of-place. The people in the reception are like celebrities with their branded clothes and bags. And look at us with jeans and sneakers. It's so embarrassing to stay here. Where the heck did our fairy godmother go when we both needed her in times like this? It seems like she's only exclusive for Cinderella."

Miles laughed when she heard those words. "Do your job well then, Cinderella. Your fairy godmother will appear if she sees you working hard."

They both giggled. Afterwards, they walked on a separate route. She made it to the music room, where she saw two grand pianos. Every piece of furniture and painting appears to be elegant and costly. It's so scary just to even touch them, knowing that she can't afford to break anything in there. Miles climbed the stairs in a hurry. But she grabbed the rails when she suddenly felt dizzy. She stopped, put down the basket, and touched her forehead. It's a bit hot. She isn't really feeling well. It must be a fever. Miles sighed and continued her steps. Carrying out the job is the priority right now. She will just take the medicine when she gets home. 

When she noticed that there was no one on the second floor, she hesitated a bit. The hallway was dim and long. She inhaled deeply before she started to do her job. While arranging the flowers meticulously in each vase, Miles became absorbed in what she was doing and forgot about her discomfort. She took her time decorating the vases and didn't just shove the flowers into them just to end it quickly. Miles put effort into arranging the flowers. It's for the bride if the newly-wedded couple spends their first night there.

Miles is on the last vase when she notices a strange odor. It's a mysterious and fragrant scent. She couldn't help but sniff it repeatedly. That familiar fragrance was the scent of a flower. But it didn't come from the flowers she brought with her. She knew the scent of each flower in their shop. And if it came from the flowers of Celts and Francine, the scent should be like what she smelled at the reception.

The scent of the flower she's smelling right now is different. It's more fragrant but not strong. It's mild but very distinct. That scent of flower is a new encounter for her, so she's really curious about what kind of flower it is. Maybe it's a breed of flower that she hadn't seen before. 

When the wind blew from the big open window at the end of the hallway, the scent became richer and thicker. Miles put the basket down and found herself walking towards the end of the hallway. She was surprised to see a staircase in the right corner. Depending on how big and high the mansion is, it's not strange to have a third floor. 

She turned in the direction she came from. It's like the hallway became even longer and dimmer because she couldn't see the opposite side. She shook her head and looked up at the wood staircase leading to the third floor. If the light on the second floor is dimmer, the light on the third floor is colored red, like the light in a darkroom for developing photos.

"I'm just going to take a peak and I'll leave right away," she muttered to herself. "But what if they take me as a thief when they see me sneaking around?" She hesitated, but curiosity still won over her doubt. Miles is really interested in flowers. In fact, the course she's going to take if she gets into college is botany. She's also planning to study horticulture because she wants to have a farm of her own where she can plant and breed different kinds of flowers. That's her dream. 

"It's just a bit. And it looks like all the people here are in the reception," she convinced herself while climbing the stairs with silent steps. After a few seconds, she got onto the third floor. The first and second doors in the hallway are both closed. However, the third door is slightly open. And it seems the scent is coming from inside that room because it filled her nose the moment she stood in front of that door.

Miles looked around to check if people had spotted her, but luckily, no one had appeared to question her yet. She grabbed the knob and carefully pushed the door forward. Miles thought it was a bedroom, but it's not because there's no bed inside. The four lights in the corner of the ceiling are on, but it's still not enough to brighten the whole room. It was still strangely dimmer. There were long shelves on the wall, and there were figurines and paperweights displayed on them.

On the opposite side, there were bookcases, and the books lined up on them were arranged neatly. Miles walked towards the windowsill where the scent became stronger. She saw a flower pot with a single flower planted in it. It's a flower that she's never encountered before. 

It's a lone rose. But not an ordinary rose. It's a blue rose. A blue rose that is impossible to exist because there are still no horticulturists that have succeeded in breeding it. To Miles' knowledge, there is still no news about that. Miles couldn't help but touch the leaves and the petals of the flower to inspect if it was real or not.

The petals and leaves are soft, but the stem was rough and had small thorns. It's no doubt an authentic blue rose. The petals were not dyed, and Miles was convinced that it was real because there was no stain on her hand and the blue pigment looked so natural. Even the scent of it isn't like the scent of a perfume, where there's a traceable chemical aroma. The smell she's smelling is definitely the scent of a flower. It's not the smell of red roses, pink roses, or white roses. The flower had a very nice scent out of all the flowers she smelled before. There's not even a comparison because it will easily win over any flower in terms of fragrance.

- to be continued -