Anna. has a minion!

Snowdrop the Purrvocateur

Name Elisabeth Ann Krüger
Nicknames Ann, Sissi
Age Twenty-One
Heritage Austrian
Personality Down-to-earth, Cheerful, Passionate, Open-Hearted, Ambitious, Tolerant
Occupation Assists in father's flower shop
Looks


we planted our kisses where the wild berries grow...

Is this is what it feels like, when your heart is shattered?

A tightness in the chest, an inability to catch your breath, the concern that if you don't choke back your tears, then there will never be a time when you can go without crying.

Ann and Manuel had met several years ago when he ventured into her family's shop one day for flowers to decorate a hat. The shy boy had caught her attention immediately with his heavily freckled face and dark curls and small, unsure smile. From there, they fell into an easy friendship which blossomed into love.

Throughout the course of her relationship, she learned that Manuel was Austria's royal family's personal hatter. He had been taken into the palace as a child, and as a result, he had enjoyed a relatively higher status than her. He wasn't wealthy, by any means, but he was educated and could afford some finer things. In return, he was a personal hatter to the royal family, a profession that came naturally to him, and she saw he found joy in it.

She had never felt worlds apart from him until the war broke out, and the royal family fled, taking "key support staff" with them. How did a hatter become a key staff member? But she wasn't a member of the royal family. Maybe if she had been a princess, then she, too, would feel the need to always have a hatter on hand.

They hadn't even let him say goodbye to her.

She heard about it through the town gossip, as the flight had apparently been rather unplanned. Part of her was glad to know he was safe, but she ached for him.

Her grief was compounded when, mere weeks into the war, their flower shop was broken into, and in the struggle, her father was slain. Her family had always done well enough for themselves, and the attacker assumed they had money to spare. It was a pointless fear that had driven the man, and even Ann, who could always find some tiny speck of good, could not see anything beyond the senselessness of the act.

No longer feeling like she could breathe in Vienna, she fled the memories of the city in favor of the Netherlands. Despite her near endless optimism, she knew it had been a fool's journey. But her luck had held out. With the money left over from the flower shop, she and her cat Snowdrop were able to move into a windmill situated on a beautiful field of tulips.

Her father, who has so loved flowers, would have been at peace here. That thought brought her comfort, and she found that her grief subsided. Ann and Snowdrop opened up a new flower shop, and somehow, life went on.

She wasn't sure how he found her. But he did. Manuel sent flowers every month with a short note. She knew he couldn't reveal his whereabouts, for endangering himself meant endangering members of the royal family. He always gave a bit of news, though, on what he was working on or what he saw or his thoughts and feelings on the situation, on her.

Even though she didn’t know precisely where he was at, knowing that he was out there and thinking of her gave her strength. His flowers told stories as much as his notes did. Black-eyed susans for encouragement. Carnations for gratitude, remembrance, and cheerfulness. Hyacinths for sincerity. Forget-me-nots and ivy to let her know he still held onto their love.

When the war ended, the notes stopped. She received no bouquets for months. Despite the peace she had found, she felt her heart cracking again. Had he been killed in the last days and weeks of the war? Her lovely, joyful, vibrant Manuel. She felt he had been stolen from her again in the night, but this time, no town gossip to confirm the truth.She drowned herself in her work, dedicating herself more fervently to keeping the flowers alive and the shop going and strong. At least Snowdrop was always by her side. Between her flowers and Snowdrop, she was able to keep going, though doubt and fear continued to plague her at times.

Finally, on one lazy summer day, Snowdrop slept out on a bench in front of her store, her white tail flicking and capturing the town’s attention. The shop bell jingled, and she raised her eyes to greet the customer.

A lean man with heavily freckled skin and dark hair held out a bouquet of red roses.

Though no words were needed, she whispered one as she rushed into his arms.

"Manuel."

...my feet sprouted wings and i flew all the way home


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