Everyone in the family was out except for Bonnie, who was making use of the quiet time to do some deep cleaning.  Bonnie loved her duties, she loved being a sweet obedient maid. The best part was every time she cleaned, she reinforced her programming, and this made her want further programming that her Lady would cheerfully provide. It was a simply wonderful cycle. Bonnie would not change it for the world. Armed with a bucket of soapy water, cleaning cloths and other supplies she was on her knees in the bathroom scrubbing away happily when the door bell chimed. Bonnie jumped to her feet dried off her hands and moved to the door, stopping only to adjust her maid's uniform to make sure she was presentable.

At the door was the tallest Affini that she had ever seen, easily topping 3 meters in height. Her body was twisted about with thin vines covered in small white flowers that looked similar to jasmine, the thin vines appeared to be decoration. Larger vines swept out from her body, which moved slowly as she waited. Bonnie was startled but greeted their guest as a well trained maid. 

"Hello ma'am, how may I assist you today?" Bonnie said automatically as she stared up into the alien but breathtaking face in front of her.

"Greetings little one, my name is Alathea. I have come to visit with you and your Lady, I assume I am speaking with Bonnie?"

"Yes... how, how do you know my name?" the maid stuttered a little in surprise. Alathea chuckled a little at the surprise, and held up here data pad where Bonnie could see the title of the document on the screen 'The Care and Feeding of Bonnie'. "Oh, well I am sorry but my Lady Danae is out at present, I am the only person at home," she continued hesitantly.

"My, my that is unfortunate timing. Hmm I don't want to intrude on you without your Lady present...but... I do want to speak and meet with all of your household. Could I perhaps persuade you to leave your duties for a short time to go get a drink together? Tea or coffee? So we can have a little chat and get to know each other?"

"Ah, um, yes that would be... nice?" Bonnie said uncertainly. Her Lady's visit to the Affini office had obviously borne fruit, much sooner than Bonnie had expected. She hadn't been prepared for one of the plant ladies to show up at their door unannounced. If anything she expected to be informed by her Lady of their change in status, and moved without so much as a by your leave from the Affini. They all seemed to cheerfully take on florets without needing to know them first.... perhaps... this was because this was an attempt to find a solution to keep everyone together. "I, ah, just need to put on something more suitable to wear in public... would you like to wait in the living room until I am ready? I will be quick!" Bonnie gestured to her maid uniform that would make her stand out, and draw stares from other Terrans.

Alathea nodded her consent, and followed Bonnie into the house ,ducking her  tall body to fit inside. The house had not been designed to fit such a tall being and Bonnie smiled apologetically, and led the Affini to her Lady's chair. It was barely large enough for Alathea to squeeze onto but she managed to seat herself with surprising grace given her size. Bonnie felt positively tiny next to her which sent a pleasant shiver up her spine.

"I ah, I'll be right back." Bonnie rushed out of the room, half undressing as she ran so not to make the Affini wait as she got changed. Good maids were efficient and did not keep guests waiting. 

******

Alathea was entranced, Bonnie was positively adorable! Very easily flustered, she would have to be gentle with the pretty maid but it would be worth it. Teasing her was a tempting prospect, just to see if she could get her to stutter and blush in that cute way again. She was pleased she had decided to follow through on the impulse to visit without warning. Terrans were just so delightful. Hopefully Danae would not be put out by the coffee date with Bonnie. She might disapprove of it taking place before she had formally met the head of the household. Given that each was allotted free time, and allowed to play with others would hopefully mean this was not counted as a trespass... Still Danae said she was willing to be flexible on the arrangements to keep them altogether, so perhaps this would be a good test of that resolution. 

******

The minute Bonnie got to her room her uniform hit the floor. Kicking it out of the way absentmindedly she opened her closet and stared inside. Her Lady had been more than generous when it came to buying Bonnie clothes...mostly because Danae liked to trance her and treat her like an obedient little doll to play with while they went shopping. It was always delightful to play with her Lady, to have her mind taken away. To become a mindless obedient toy for her Lady's will.... mindless obedient toy.... no no she needed to focus... clothes, she needs clothes. Bonnie grabbed an outfit that had been hung up as a set, that her Lady particularly liked on her. A pretty light pink polka dot cap sleeve blouse and a long black jersey skirt with a slit along one of the legs. She paired this with a pair of pink polka dot heels that matched the blouse surprisingly well given they had come from different stores. The silver eternity anklet she wore around her ankle looked delicate and pretty above the heels. She took off the collar she wore at home and put on the black lace choker which she wore in public. Each item was easy to pull on which is why Bonnie had grabbed the outfit to wear. It was ideal for a quick change. She was in and out of her room in less than 5 minutes and hastened back to the living room. 

******

Alathea had barely settled in to wait when the pretty maid rushed back into the room wearing the most adorable outfit. It hugged her figure in exactly the right way and was the perfect mix of pretty and practical to suit the maid just right. Even better was the slight blush that started to form as Alathea examined her new outfit.

"My dear you look positively divine, you are simply the cutest Terran I have met so far!" The blush on Bonnie's face darkened, and she hid her face by ducking her head.

"Thanks," She mumbled, "Shall we... um... go?" Bonnie avoided making eye contact and gestured towards the door. 

How adorable she is when she's shy and flustered! Alathea was feeling more and more pleased with her decision by the minute. She extricated herself from the chair and led the way to the front door, allowing Bonnie to recover a little before they got to the street. It wouldn't be fair to put all that darling fluster on display after all. 

******

Bonnie followed obediently after the tall Affini down the hall to the front door. She watched the way her vines moved independently and seemed to express mood, and perform small actions. It was so interesting to see her up close after hearing all the stories both good and bad. She was.. less varied in terms of plant growth than some of the other Affini she had seem on screen or from a distance seemed to be. Bonnie wondered if this signified anything in particular, or if it was simple preference. After they left the house, Bonnie locked the door and walked with the Affini towards a popular local cafe. It had recently been taken over by an Affini and her floret and Bonnie had yet to visit it since the change in management. Curiosity brightened her eyes at this chance to see the developments to this local staple. 

"Tell me pretty Bonnie, while I appreciate the lovely outfit you have put on for our talk, why did you feel the need to change before we went? Your previous outfit was so cute!" Bonnie dropped her eyes at the comment and felt a little mortified at needing to explain.

"It isn't really something I can wear out in public without having people stare and talk. I.. don't really enjoy that level of attention. I like to fit in, not stand out. At least not in that way ...." Bonnie fell silent not sure what to say next.

"You haven't been treated well just from your clothing?" Alathea asked sounding horrified.

"It doesn't pay to stand out too much from the rest of society, the consequences... can be rough." 

The Affini softly said, "I see." 

The rest of the walk passed in silence, with both lost in their own thoughts.

******

Alathea felt she might have made a miss-step for asking about the change of outfit so bluntly. The charming little maid had gone from blushing and sweet, to withdrawn.  Once they were in the cafe, she approached the counter and ordered for the both of them. She then ushered Bonnie to a booth where they could sit together and talk a little more privately. She started making small talk asking about Bonnie's favourite books and shows to distract her from their previous topic. When their drinks arrived Bonnie sipped her drink automatically without paying much attention and then broke out into an appreciative smile. 

"You... read the contract...?" How else would she have known to ask for cinnamon to be added to her hot chocolate?

"Yes dear, I was very interested in your Lady and all of you by extension. It certainly gave me a fascinating insight for how your Lady see's the world and her family. After reading through all of them, well I couldn't help but come meet all of you sweet darlings in person." Alathea smiled gently at Bonnie and wound one of her vines around the maid in a comforting manner. Bonnie relaxed into the vine, and Alathea couldn't help tightening it a little before letting go. 

"Hmm you certainly do enjoy being wrapped in my vine don't you?"

Bonnie blushed and stuttered at the statement, while watching the vines with obvious interest. 

"May I please ask about your vines? I... I've never been this close to an Affini before and well you don't seem to look quite like each other. You have those pretty white flowers all wrapped around your body as decoration, but no other flowers, is it rude to ask why?"

Alathea smiled and brushed a vine along the maid's cheek to reassure her.

"No dear it isn't rude, I don't mind talking about my vines. The larger vines perform a variety of tasks, much like arms, or other limbs. The small vines you see wrapped around. These were the favourite flower of my previous floret Jebi. I wear them to remember them, to honour their passing. I do miss them dreadfully." She smiled a little mournfully then continued her explanation. "We Affini can graft on cuttings to our blooms, to add decoration, or functionality to them."

Bonnie nodded thoughtfully at the explanation but seemed too hesitant to the Affini's practiced to eye, to press for further details. If she took on this family as florets Alathea would enjoy working with Bonnie to increase her confidence, and help her relax more in public. If... well yes, it was still if... but when was starting to seem like a possibility more and more. 

******

The rest of their coffee date flew by as Bonnie was probed for information and flirted with gently by turns. The Affini certainly had a deft hand with teasing and soothing as needed, Bonnie had never felt so appreciated by anyone outside her family. After an hour or so she was escorted back to her home. The Affini bid her an affectionate farewell, telling her she would see her soon.

"Please tell your Lady I will drop by tomorrow evening to meet her."

"Yes ma'am." 

Bonnie walked upstairs to change out of her date outfit. On the way she wandered into the bathroom to wash her hands, only to be confronted by the abandoned cleaning supplies. Right yes cleaning.... that would settle her. She sighed and tipped out the now cold water, her mantra flowing through her mind as she resumed her cleaning.