Tina The Bunny Maid -final- By Mikiy →

“Tina,” he said, as the light began to fade. “You know this is only one day.”

But Tina was a bunny maid. Not a rabbit, mind you. A bunny maid. There was a difference. Rabbits fled. Bunny maids cleaned. They organized. They ensured the silver was polished and the teacups faced precisely southwest in their cabinets. She could no more abandon the Estate than she could stop her nose from twitching.

“Temporal Lichen,” whispered a voice. Tina the Bunny Maid -Final- By MikiY

She walked to the front door, just as he had asked. She opened it. Outside, the garden had grown wild—roses twined with clockwork vines, and over the iron gates, a cascade of white flowers had begun to bloom.

“And when the sun sets, the chrono-core will shatter. The Lichen will return. And I will…” “Tina,” he said, as the light began to fade

The journey to the Attic of Forgotten Hours was a journey through the Estate’s memory. Each corridor she crossed shimmered with ghost-light. She passed the Hall of First Meetings, where she saw herself as a newly assembled bunny maid, fresh from the Clockwork Menagerie, ears still stiff with factory starch. Lord Alistair had been young then—well, younger for a being made of starlight and spare clock parts. He had looked at her and said, “You’ll do.” The highest praise he ever gave.

But right now, the Viscount’s hand was warm on her ear. Right now, the tea was still hot. Right now, she was not a rabbit fleeing the inevitable. She was a bunny maid, doing the only thing she knew how to do. A bunny maid

“To my dearest Tina: You were never a servant. You were the only heartbeat this old clock ever had. Give me one more sunrise with you. That’s all I ask. – A”