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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

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Notes:

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT YOU FILTHY FILTHY SINNERS

because i had to type it out twice

because google docs decided to be a dICK and not save it the first time

Chapter 17: Birthday Surprise

Summary:

An unexpected visit from Ciel's aunt leads to a much happier circumstance

Notes:

All characters from the original Kuroshitsuji series belong to Yana Toboso!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“--ster. Young Master. Young Master.” Both Sebastian and I called the next morning repeatedly when the child refused to wake up, his brows furrowed as he was caught in what appeared to be a nightmare. Something his mind was conjuring up made his eyes snap wide open, and I watched Sebastian’s eyes grow wide in slight shock when the child withdrew the gun beneath his pillow and aimed it right between the demon’s eyes, his face and body covered in a cold sweat. The room was silent as the two stared at each other, and Ciel’s grip on the revolver began to shake.

“Do not--! Touch me--!” he finally gasped out, hands shaking violently. Sighing softly, I moved around the bed and toward the trolly cart, a small grin spreading across my face.

“For today’s morning tea, we have prepared Assam with plenty of milk,” I started, lifting one of the tea cups and filling it with the warm drink, the male demon soon coming to my side to retrieve it.

“The milk will serve to relax you. It will calm you down,” he explained, moving back to our master’s bedside and extending the tea, “especially after a bad dream.” Ciel’s eyes remained wide on us throughout, finally managing to release a heavy and weary sigh as he managed to relax and set his gun aside, taking the assam from Sebastian and taking a long sip. Something caught my eye on the bed, and I moved over to pick up what seemed to be the cause of the child’s fright.

“Heh. It is all because you read Poe before going to bed,” I chided, setting the book in a more proper place and dusting off my much more proper uniform. From what was planned today, I figured my off-the-shoulder apparel would NOT be the best outfit choice. I was even wearing proper stockings and petticoats, my hair pinned back in a tight bun. Even my bangs were tucked neatly back.

“I do as I please,” Ciel huffed afterwards, taking another sip of tea, “what of today’s schedule?”

“Today you must review the documents sent from headquarters,” Sebastian started, “and in the afternoon, the Marchioness of Midford and Lady Elizabeth will be visiting.”

“DAMN!!” Ciel suddenly exclaimed, quickly handing over the empty cup and jumping out of bed.

“And young master’s--”

“Begin preparations right away!” the boy interrupted before Sebastian could continue. I only shook my head when the demon gave the younger male a confused expression.

“You do not need to hurry so. The Marchioness will be here this afternoon--” he started, only to be interrupted again.

“Fool!!” Ciel snapped, not seeming to care I was still in the room as he whipped off his night shirt, “we’re talking about Aunt Francis here!!”

It was in no time at all that a carriage pulled up at the front steps of Phantomhive manor, the Marchioness in question stepping out with her ever stern expression, her daughter Elizabeth hopping out with her own usual radiant smile. Ciel looked a haggard, whilst Sebastian and I stood behind him, a knowing smirk unable to be kept from my face.

“It has been awhile since I saw you last, Marchioness of Midford…” the boy grimaced, his smile looking forced, “you have arrived earlier than expected today as well…”

“Spare me the formalities,” the strict blonde huffed, her eyes narrowing upon her nephew, “you look as if you’ve just risen, Earl Phantomhive.”

“No, I--GUEH!”

“Gosssh! Ciel’s cute even when he has just woken up!” Elizabeth gushed as she near tackled her fiance, arms wrapping tightly around him.

“You’re choking me…” the boy groaned.

“Elizabeth!!” The Marchioness barked, making the girl flinch, “do not behave so rudely before you’ve even greeted him. I have always told you that a lady must observe the proprieties even when she’s at her mother’s family home…”

“I’m sorry, mother!!” the girl squeaked, reluctantly letting the boy go. The elder woman’s attention shifted as Sebastian approached her, a polite smile on his face.

“It has been awhile since we saw you last,” he started, placing a hand over his heart and bowing his head in respect, “welcome, Marchioness and Lady Elizabeth. You have traveled a great distance--” he stopped midsentence as the woman’s inspection of his face made her glare worsen as she moved closer, the male even starting to shrink away from her intense gaze.

“Ah...erm...Might there be something on my fa--”

“You look lecherous!! Per usual…” the woman huffed, her gaze narrowing further as Sebastian’s eyes went wide in shock. I had to swallow back my laughter, though the effort made me start shaking; apparently the same was happening to our master.

“I am afraid I was born this way--”

“Moreover!” she interrupted again, taking the demon by complete shock as she lunged forward and grabbed his bangs, pulling them taut above his head, “both you and your master are sporting long bangs, though you’re both male. How unseemly! You need to learn a thing or two from Tanaka there!” she scolded. And thus began the miniature makeover for both my mate and master, all the while I was still holding in my giggles. When it was over, it was clear their scalps were in pain, but I did enjoy Sebastian’s hair slicked back the way it was. It suited him.

“I apologise for troubling you...aunt Francis…” Ciel muttered when the torture was over, his grimace once again present on his face.

“Hmph! Indeed,” she huffed in response. I figured it best to make my greetings to the woman, who seemed rather pleased to see me; though not how I kept my fellow servant, “Cassandra. A pleasure to see someone who maintains their proper appearance.”

“A pleasure to see you again, madam,” I cooed, shifting my skirts and curtsying to her. She had told me once before that we were similar; strong women in a male dominated society were a necessity, and we both seemed to fit the bill in her opinion. Her calmer expression soon turned back to a slight glare after a moment, causing my own confusion before she moved closer for a hushed whisper.

“My daughter tells me you and that lecherous butler are engaged?” she hissed, making my face flush and causing her glare to worsen, “I do hope there is nothing scandalous occurring…”

“There is not,” I whispered back with a calm smile, “we have been together since before going under the young master’s employ, though at that time it was very recent. We are married, and not under any scandalous circumstances, I assure you,” I explained. It seemed to calm the woman down, since she leaned away and straightened out her attire before once again addressing her nephew.

“I drop in on you, and you’re still a layabout,” she scolded, arms folding over her chest, “not to mention your butler looks ever the degenerate!”

“Degenerate…” the butler mumbled, his complexion paling. I couldn’t help giggling at that.

“On this day of days, your reformation begins! Nothing will escape my notice, is that clear!!?” she ordered, extending her arm and pointing at the duo, “we’ll start with the manor! A disorderly home reflects a distracted mind!!”

“Then I shall guide you,” the butler suddenly volunteered, regaining his composure and stepping forward, but pausing when Ciel tugged on his sleeve.

“H--hey…!” he hissed, eye narrowing on the male who only secretively held a finger to his lips.

“Leave it to me. I made certain everything was perfect yesterday,” he whispered back, moving to lead the strict woman around the manor, “I will first show you the inner courtyard. This year, the winter roses we ordered from Germany are quite lovel--” he was stopped mid-sentence as he opened the door and was met with the garden completely destroyed, Finnian humming to himself and chirping about the amount of flowers. Sebastian could only look on for a moment before slamming the doors shut so the Marchioness wouldn’t see what was happening.

“My mistake,” he stated once turning to the blonde, a beaming smile on his face as he lead her in a different direction, “I wanted to show you the living room first.”

“Something was wrong…” Ciel and I mumbled, my smirk from earlier faltering as we followed along with the women and butler.

“Why? Now that we’re here we can begin with the inner courtyard--” Francis started, quickly getting cut off by Sebastian.

“The living room, I insist,” he pressed a bit too forcibly, “I made a simple mistake, really! The “party dress” Christmas roses and the winter roses from Germany are at their best now, but we would like you to see them around noon when they all bloom, so please, come to the living room...we will be able to show you the beautiful view there. The living room was just revamped the other day,” he explained, once again coming to a stop at the door and opening it just enough to see what was happening inside for himself, “we ordered a most handsomely patterned wallpaper from France--” he cut himself off at witnessing Meyrin destroying yet another tea set, and screaming at her newest blunder. Once more before the Marchioness could see, Sebastian slammed the doors shut, and turned to face her with a beaming smile.

“My mistake,” he repeated, leading us all quickly away, Ciel growing more nervous than prior, “why do you not take tea in the conservatory?”

“Why? We came to look at the living room,” Francis huffed, her eyes narrowing again.

“Tea, I insist,” the butler pressed, “right this way! You ladies must be exhausted from riding in a cramped carriage for those long hours. I apologize for not realizing sooner. I cannot believe my audacity...There is space for you to relax in the conservatory, so please enjoy tea while snacking on something sweet. We just had the most exquisite oranges delivered from Spain, so perhaps a Shalimar tea from Dimbula--” his speech was cut off as a large explosion sounded from what I could only guess was the kitchens, and I had to use every ounce of will I had not to snap. Circumstance after circumstance...I was beginning to doubt we would be able to pull safely out of this one.

“Yet another mistake, was it?” Francis growled, Sebastian smile becoming forced, “you just cannot make up your mind can you!!?” she snapped.

“I beg your forgiveness,” the demon finally sighed, bowing deeply at his waist towards the woman, “one such as I--”

“There was something else we wanted the Marchioness to see,” I interrupted, placing a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder as he stood straight again, “though it is no place to be guiding a lady of your stature...let us visit the stables.”

It took significantly less time to properly reach the stables, this time myself leading the way, and upon arrival I gestured to the black steed by my side, a polite smile plastered to my face.

“How do you like this, Marchioness?” I asked, raising a hand to pat the muzzle of the beast, “we sent for a horse with a magnificent bluish-black coat to serve as our master’s steed...and we have been looking forward to the day you might take a look at it, Marchioness.”

“Ohh...a fine horse, indeed,” she praised, eyes widening a tad as she stepped closer for further study, “the hip is sturdy, and it looks well. I have it!” she suddenly exclaimed, a smirk spreading to her face as she now addressed her nephew, “Ciel. What say we do a little hunting together?” she suggested taking the boy aback.

“With you, Aunt Francis?” he asked cautiously, raising a brow at the woman.

“It will be a good opportunity to see how good a man my daughter’s fiance is. Or...is ‘hunting’ too demanding for Earl Phantomhive, who possesses a constitution more common to the fairer sex?” It was clear she was goading the lad, whose features quickly set into a look of defiance and determination.

“Very well. Sebastian, prepare for the hunt,” he ordered, causing both demons in his employ to smirk. Francis chuckled, her own determined gaze setting into place.

“The game is afoot, Ciel!”

Moments later, Sebastian and I were leading Ciel and Marchioness Midford through the forest, Elizabeth seated in front of Ciel on his horse and the male demon holding the reins to guide while I did the same for the boy’s aunt’s own steed.

“Sebastian, Cassandra,” he ordered, both of us bowing our heads before looking outwards into the thicket. Sebastian inhaled sharply through his nose, myself doing the same before we went in the proper direction for the best game.

“Does your butler and maid double as hounds?” Francis chided, a smirk spreading to her face. Ciel chuckled himself in answer.

“They...are sort of like that.”

“Then we shall begin here,” Sebastian suddenly called, coming to a stop, “the rules are as follows: Maintain your territory, twenty-five metres on either side, and avoid shooting birds flying lower than the prescribed altitude...are we agreed?”

“Yes,” the two participants answered. I released Madam’s reins as she began to veer her horse in the proper area.

“The game is now underway,” I started, glancing over at Sebastian who was already checking the time on his pocket watch, “the time limit shall be three hours.”

“See you, Ciel!” Marchioness called before galloping off, Lizzie and Ciel watching for a moment before the boy turned to his betrothed with a slight scowl.

“Lizzie, get off here,” he huffed, earning a pout from the girl, “I can’t hunt otherwise.”

“Ehhhhhhh? But we finally get to spend time together!” she whined, her stubbornness when it came to her cousin once again shining through. A loud bang of gunfire caught my attention, as well as my mate’s as both our gazes flickered in the direction of the source.

“1-Nil,” the butler announced, catching the Earl by surprise, “as expected of the Marchioness...she has already shot a bird,” he praised, a smirk coming to his face as he began to goad his own master now in place of the boy’s aunt, “it seems she will be a formidable opponent even for you, young master, hm?” he chuckled. A glare set on the younger male’s face before his shotgun flipped skyward and sounded off, the ringing barely concealing Lizzie’s scream of shock.

“Too bad for Aunt Francis...but I’m not very good at losing any kind of game,” he hummed, smirking at his in shock cousin, “Lizzie, it’s dangerous here so stay with Sebastian and Cassandra. All right?” he half ordered as the girl was handed off to the male demon, only turning to hunt once she was safely off his horse. The three of us watched him gallop off in his designated territory before the youngest of us piped up.

“--I’m glad. Ciel seems to be feeling better,” she sighed, a relieved smile spreading across her face, “Aunt An loved Ciel best so...I was worried. I don’t want Ciel to suffer anymore. I always try to cheer him up in my own way, but...it never seems to work out. I always overdo things and make him angry,” she giggled without much heart, her brows furrowing together. I chuckled, placing my hands on her shoulders as Sebastian bowed before her.

“I am certain our master senses your kind consideration as well, my lady,” Sebastian mused, a polite smile on his face. The girl giggled in answer, her hands rising to hold onto my fingers.

“Thank you. You’re sweet, Sebastian and Cassie…” she giggled, the sounds of gunfire soon ringing through the forest and distracting all of us.

“5-4,” I started, peeking over at Sebastian with a smirk, “it is a close contest. Let us cheer them both on, yes?”

“The Marchioness shot ten pheasants, a brace of foxes, and three rabbits for a total of fifteen points,” I listed off once the time was over, everyone already gathered at the table we had set for lunch.

“The young master shot eleven pheasants, three foxes, and one rabbit for a total of fifteen points…” my mate listed after me, both of us speaking to the little grouping afterwards.

“The result is a draw. Is that acceptable?”

“It most certainly is not!” Francis scoffed, arms folding tight over her chest, “I prefer definitive results, one way or another!”

“How odd, Aunt Francis. It seems we agree on this point,” Ciel chuckled, his smirk quickly fading as tension crackled between them.

“Then...the tie will be broken with another round this afternoon...and now, if we may…” Sebastian suggested, opening a bottle of wine for the Marchioness.

“Fine!!” Ciel growled, still glaring at his aunt.

“No complaints here,” the woman in question huffed herself, her gaze turning downwards as she rested her head on her hand, “but I daresay, we’ve overhunted here. We’ll have to find a new location for the afternoon,” she sighed, eyes closing in thought for a moment. I only chuckled, catching her attention as she blinked open one eye to look at me.

“No need for such concerns, Marchioness. Big game still lurks on these grounds,” I chided, already at Ciel’s side to pour him his drink.

“Now that the rules have been decided, let’s eat!” Elizabeth giggled, clapping her hands together in delight at observing the food prepared, “it smells diviiiiine...eh?” she started, the crunching of leaves breaking her happy demeanor as she looked up to find an approaching bear. Everyone immediately moved to attention, Ciel shouting for his screaming fiance as he jumped up from his seat and shielded her with his own body, while the girl’s mother readied her rifle. The gunshot echoed as the growling bear’s movements and noises came to a halt, swaying for a moment before falling down dead on its front. Ciel’s gaze shifted to his aunt, her brows furrowed and her gun smoking.

“Aunt Francis…!” the boy gasped, his showing eye wide for a moment as silence overtook us all. It was broken when he chuckled, taking Lizzie by surprise, “16-15. It looks like I’ve lost this game, Aunt Francis,” the boy proclaimed, making his aunt smirk before answering.

“Hmph. You’ve still got at least a decade to go before you can even think of winning against me,” she started, resting her gun on her shoulder, “however...I commend you for daring to protect my daughter...with your life...And...I am in your debt…” she finally stated, bowing deeply before the Earl, much to his surprise, “I would expect nothing less from the man who is to become my son, Lord Ciel Phantomhive. Now the game is over. Let’s head back,” she suggested with a turn on her heel. Sebastian and I were already cleaning up, even tying the biggest game to a sturdy enough branch for us to carry back.

Once everything was cleaned and put away, Sebastian and I walked somewhat ahead of Francis, leaving Ciel with his still shaken cousin to keep her calmed. I carried both the game of the Marchioness and the Earl, leaving the bear for Sebastian to handle.

“Hey,” Madam suddenly called, catching our attention and making us pause, “over here, butler and maid. You forgot this,” she huffed when reaching us, extending a piece of silver, namely a knife, in our direction.

“...Oh?” I hummed, taking the cutlery with a small laugh, “how careless of us. Forgetting a piece of precious silverware…” I chuckled, tucking it into my apron to return to its proper place when arriving home.

“Indeed. You forgot it in the bear’s head,” she hissed at us, our expressions growing serious, “it was you two who struck it down, right? My bullets missed. With my daughter in danger, I had trouble aiming properly. I must be getting old.” she sighed with a shake of her head, her glare now settling on Sebastian, “but a butler’s duty is to save face on his master’s behalf. So why did you let me win?”

“The young master has an inordinate talent for games,” the man started, his face calm, “consequently, he seems to over-confidently believe that he ‘cannot lose’. But at times, it will be necessary for him to carry himself with humility while striving for his goal...Otherwise, he will eventually trip up, as the place for which the young master aims is not an easy one to reach.”

“Perhaps this is not our place to say this, but…” I continued, earning the Marchioness’ attention now, “we would like you to be an example for our master, Marchioness.”

“So...in other words, you two used me. Hmph!”

“We did no such thing…” Sebastian chortled, shaking his head slowly, “Our master is now but a ‘child’, yet he is also the ‘head of the family’. An ‘adult’ who will be firm with him is just what the young master needs.”

“Don’t say such proper things with that lecherous face of yours,” Marchioness huffed, making Sebastian simper.

“Do I really seem that way to you…?”

“So if done for the sake of his master, a butler’s duty includes admonishing said master by letting him get burned as necessary…?” Marchioness questioned, her attention on Sebastian before shifting towards me.

“As I am merely a butler...I only did what I thought best for my master. Just as Cassandra did what was best by cleaning the mess without being seen,” Sebastian hummed, a grin on his face. Francis was silent for a long moment before scoffing, a smirk on her aged features.

“Hmph. You’re tricky fellows…”

Finally managing to reach the manor, the horses were set back in their proper stables before all of us trailed back to the manor. Sebastian’s head was turned as he opened the doors, but unfortunately Ciel and myself were the first to see the calamity that had become of the manor.

“As the hunt was a success, I shall do my best to--”

“Ah!” Sebastian’s words were interrupted by the three morons under the Earl’s employ, who certainly looked the worse for wear. Baldo even had a cast on his arm and leg, making me question what he could have possibly been doing beforehand.

“Welcome baaaack!” Finny hollered, throwing his hands up in excitement.

“Wh--What is with you lot…!?” Ciel blanched, already bristling at what they looked like, nevermind what they had damaged.

“Look, look! We made this together!!” the gardener went on, ignoring the inquiry of their injuries and holding up a...very sloppily put together...I wasn’t even sure what it was. Maybe cake?

“I decorated everything with roses!” he giggled, gesturing to the crumpled flowers.

“I made donburi full up with young master’s favorites!” Baldo praised himself, a big grin on his face as he stood before his concoctions.

“I set the table. Following Mister Sebastian’s example…” Mey-rin mumbled, a shy smile on her face as she fidgeted back and forth. The Earl and us demons only stared in paled silence, not entirely sure what to make of the situation; until we could actually feel the cold glare of the Marchioness Midford on our back, our heads whipping around to see her absolutely fuming.

“Hmph. They beat me to it,” she only huffed, quickly gaining her composure and moving closer to her nephew, “that’s what I came here to say today,” she smiled, raising a hand and petting the boy’s hair, “happy thirteenth birthday...Ciel,” she cooed, placing her hands on his shoulders before turning her attentions to the servants of the house, “and everyone...I hope you will continue taking care of both my daughter and my son.” The Earl looked around at everyone smiling and gathered, and soon a confused but actual smile spread to the boy’s face.

“Thank you...so much,” he finally answered, the three injured staff and his fiance crowding around him. Francis pulled away, now moving towards us and choosing once again to speak frankly.

“Sebastian, Cassandra, you both have my gratitude for attending to us today,” she thanked, both of us bowing to her with a polite “yes, my lady” in answer, “There’s just one thing I thought I ought to mention,” she continued, taking us both by surprise as she winked at us, “take good care of that shattered china, the ruined garden, and the burnt kitchen,” she chuckled. Of course she knew about everything; the madam was not dull.

“Yes, my lady,” we answered with a light laugh. We stood back as the grouping gathered once more, the chef chanting something about drinking before they began in idle chatter. I watched on until I felt I stood alone, my head turning to find Sebastian vanishing through the doors. Brows furrowing, I followed after him to the kitchens, leaning against the doorway as he retrieved something from the cupboards.

“Alas…” he sighed, setting down the birthday cake we had worked on and mussing his hair back to its original place, “I suppose we shall not be needing this. Goodness...human creatures really are difficult to understand,” he huffed, removing one of his gloves and dragging his fingers through the frosting top hat, “to think they consider something like this…” Just as he brought his hand to his lips to lick away the sweet, I moved behind him, snatching his hand and licking away the icing myself.

“Indeed…” I hummed, licking my lips as my eyes shifted up to his wide-eyed face, “how do they think that could possibly be delicious? Now really,” I purred, grinning up at the male. He remained silent for a long moment before grinning back at me. His arm curled around my waist and hefted me onto the counter, my arms immediately draping around his shoulders.

“I can think of a few good uses…” he purred softly, his head bending to my throat. Giggling, I raised my hand to weave through his hair, my gaze drifting towards the window to see white flakes beginning to drift down…

In London…

“--It’s cold. Agni, what is this?” an Indian man in expensive garb asked, hand outstretched in the air and watching the snow collect on his tanned palm.

“It is known as ‘snow’, and falls in Great Britain during the winter...my prince,” another man answered softly.

“Snow…” the first speaker half whispered, continuing to watch the flakes before raising his hand and removing the scarf covering his purple hair, “Great Britain, eh…? It is rather beautiful. I want to take it back and show it to Mother.”

Notes:

yes yes, we ALL KNOW AND WANT what sebby plans to do with that frosting--

filthy filthy sinners

it's okay i'm one too--

AND YAY I GET TO INTRODUCE AGNI AND SOMA

YES there will be tension between Agni and Sebby concerning Cassie

I can't help myself, i have been planning this out for WEEKS

LOOK FORWARD TO IT

Chapter 18: Introduction of a Prince

Summary:

The start of the Curry Competition Arc!

Notes:

All characters from the original Kuroshitsuji series belong to Yana Toboso!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Winter--

In Great Britain, it is an ashen season covered by thick, heavy clouds. With the Jack the Ripper case resolved, the hum of daily life returned to London.

That peace, however, proved but a brief respite--

The image we were met with upon seeing past the throng of people was quite intriguing. Multiple men had been hung upside down, stripped down to their underwear, and a note was stuck to their chests.

There occurred a curious incident in which Anglo-Indians frequenting the Hindustani coffeehouse near Portman Square were attacked, stripped, and hung upside-down from the roof. Afterward, in a rash of similar incidents, aristocrats and military personnel who had returned from India were likewise assaulted all over London. The same notice was affixed to all of the victims--

“Watch this wild, pathetic child of sloth and depravity. England is the motherland of the Devil, who robs off everything and forces its worthless, rotten, and ignorant culture on you instead! To all the idiots of the bitch ruled land, you are the ones who deserve the vengeance of Heaven!”

--So it said.

The Commissioner of Scotland Yard stood with the newest note in his hands, shaking with rage as he read the same message he had seen multiple times already. His jaw clenched as he glared at the quickly wrinkling piece of paper.

“Another incident! This is the twentieth one!!” he snapped, crumpling the paper entirely in his grip, “haven’t you been able to arrest the perpetrators yet, Abberline!!?” he hollered at the Chief Inspector, who immediately jumped to attention and saluted the Commissioner.

“Sorry, sir!!” he quickly apologized, signaling that no, the man had not yet been apprehended.

“We let Jack the Ripper slip through our fingers, and that blood brat snatched away our glory…” Randall growled, crumpling the paper further, and not noticing our approach to the scene.

“Ohh, do forgive me for being a brat,” Ciel hummed as he stepped forward, a smirk on his face that quickly vanished at Abberline’s words.

“You, boy! How did you get in here!?” he snapped, clearly unfamiliar with who the child was. Randall quickly halted the inspector’s further actions, stepping in front of him to address the young Earl.

“Earl Phantomhive...why are you here!?” he demanded, never amused when Cel took over an investigation.

“Ha! I think that should be obvious. I’ve come to clean up after the bumbling hounds,” he chuckled, snatching away the clipboard containing all the necessary information, shocking the chief inspector, “I see. Only Anglo-Indians have been targeted in this case. And there don’t appear to be any casualties as of yet.”

“Wha--! Who gave you the right to--” Lord Randall started to shout before I brandished the letter right in his face, my expression neutral while Ciel only chuckled at the elder’s shocked expression.

“I would not be here if mere bandits were to blame, but...I cannot rightly sit by as the royal family continues to be insulted,” Ciel hummed, his smirk broadening to a grin as I pulled back the letter, Randall gritting his teeth and keeping his mouth shut for now. Letting out another laugh, the boy handed me the papers, as Sebastian was otherwise occupied in preparing the London manor for our stay.

“I say, ‘child of sloth and depravity’ is a wonderfully accurate expression on the part of our culprit,” he hummed, handing off more papers, “I’d have to agree that this country would be marginally better off without the Indian Nabobs.”

The British Indian Empire. At the time, masses of Englishmen lived in the British colony of India. The third and fourth sons of well-to-do families, who could not live in luxury in their homeland, were able to live the elegant lives of “noblemen” in India. Those who returned were called “Anglo-Indians”, and the many who were unable to shed their lifestyles of extravagance and idleness even after their return were known as “Indian Nabobs”.

“Even if they wallowed in base amusements while in India and are cowards who singlemindedly squandered their fortunes, many of them are members of the British Gentry,” the commissioner huffed out, eyes narrowed upon the Earl, “we must protect them!”

“Gentry, hm…?” the boy mumbled, sifting through the papers himself before showing me the letter and sticking his tongue out at me, “In any case...what of this mark…?” he continued, still mimicking the weirdly placed symbol. I only shrugged i answer, remaining silent. As a maid to the public eye I wasn’t to speak unless spoken to.

“They’re making a mockery of we British and Her Majesty the Queen!” Randall spat, “how dare they cock about like this…!!” he ranted on, once again crushing the notes in his grip, “The victims were all returnees from India. That means the perpetrator must be a vile Indian. Those bloody savages!!”

“Commissioner Randall, please calm down…” Abberline hushed, his attempts in vain.

“Ohhh? So that’s why I was summoned here,” Ciel hummed, the smirk back on his face, “Most of the Indians who’ve stolen their way into Great Britain are holed up in the East End. The city police seem to have trouble dealing with the underworld there. So learning the exact number of stowaways or by what routes they make it here is rather problematic, hm?” he chuckled, the commissioner once again gritting his teeth, “Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll be going about my business. I’d like to return to the manor as soon as possible, you see. Cassandra, you’ve memorized the papers?” he asked, a polite smile appearing on my face.

“Yes, sir,” I answered simply, bowing my head before placing the papers in Abberline’s shocked hands and thanking him softly.

“Come along then, Cassandra,” the Earl ordered, turning sharply on his heel to leave.

“Very good, sir,” I chuckled softly, bowing to the policemen again and following after the boy. I couldn’t help smirking to myself at their words as we left.

“Commissioner Randall. Who in the world is that kid…?” the inspector asked once he thought we were out of earshot.

“Since you’ve seen for yourself, I suppose I have no choice but to fill you in...Abberline,” Randall started, voice and expression grim, “...In this country, there exists a secret agency under direct control of the Queen. It is known as ‘Phantomhive’. The Phantomhive Earldom has headed up this agency through the generations...and the Earls themselves have been called ‘Watchdogs of the Queen’, or the ‘Aristocrats of Evil’.”

“Why ‘evil’?” Abberline asked, clearly confused, “If he serves the royal family, are they not the same as u--”

“No. That is no such simple thing,” the other interrupted, “in every civilization, there is both a ‘polite society’ and an ‘underworld’. And Great Britain is no exception. The rogue organization of Phantomhive covers up any number of criminal acts carried out by the royals and will stop at nothing to eliminate any and all who may seek to harm the royal family. By all rights, they function as the royal ‘shadow’--a ‘phantom’ which should never have come into being. The underbelly of the East End. The criminals and blackguards of other nations who congregate them. So that these undesirables do not spill out into polite society, they employ their monstrous authority to rule over and police every inch of this country’s underworld...That’s...the ‘Phantomhive earldom’ for you.”

“So basically, they’re the opposite of the police in that...they use the powers of ‘evil’ to carry out the Queen’s orders…? A slip of a child like him?”

“That there is no child. That is...the devil himself.”

“Young Master, we have arrived,” I said simply upon reaching our desired destination, the boy already holding an expression of distaste.

“--You sure this is it?” he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the darkened stairwell.

“Yes, sir,” I hummed, taking the lead, as my eyes were better than his in the dark, “do watch your step,” I warned, holding out my hand when we reached the bottom stair so he wouldn’t trip. He instead used my arm as leverage, quickly covering his nose when I opened the door to the opium den hidden inside, his nose crinkling in disgust.

“What an awful smell…” he coughed, squinting his eyes in the candlelit and dim room.

“...So you’ve finally managed to find this place...Earl,” the usual hum of the Asian man waiting in the darkness cooed, “How strange to be facing you here like this. But I’ve...always believed this day would come.”

“And what sort of day would that be?” the Earl growled as his eyes grew accustomed to the dimly lit room to find Lau smoking a pipe and surrounded by numerous women. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at the sight.

“I say! Welcome, Earl! It’s been too long! And greetings to you, lovely Cassandra,” Lau chirped, moving to lean his head on his hand as most of the girls filtered away, leaving only the girl on his lap behind, “Have you been well? Ah! I heard you celebrated your birthday not long ago? Good tidings to you!”

“Nevermind that!” the boy spat, his face turning a tad pink.

“Why are you blushing…?” I mumbled, causing the crimson to worsen slightly. He quickly cleared his throat before continuing.

“There’s something I want to ask you,” he demanded, taking a step closer to the trader.

“Aah. For the Earl to go to the trouble of visiting this dank cellar of an opium den must mean you’re here...about that, yes?” the elder answered, making my eyes narrow. His words seemed too familiar, given past experiences with him. Two women moved towards me holding a pipe, their words hushed as the Earl continued his conversation with the opium den leader.

“Sister, would you like some?” One girl with cloth covering the twin buns on her head offered sweetly. I smiled and held up my hand in declination, shaking my head and feeling my high pony tail swish through my coat against my back.

“I shall pass, thank you,” I answered softly. Sebastian would have some cross words if I succumbed to material things like drugs; especially since I had not partaken before, and hadn’t the foggiest on how it would affect me. The smell alone was already making me dizzy the air was so fogged with it here.

“Word’s gotten around already, has it?” The Earl huffed, my attention turning back to him, “you’ve a sharp ear. Yes, I’m looking into that series of incidents. When it comes to orientals, talking to you, the bigwig of this patch, is always the most expedient...British Branch Manager of the Chinese trading company “Kon Ron”...or should I say...top official of the Chinese crime syndicate Qing Bang-- Lau.”

“I reeeally would prefer you not call me that. It’s much too stuffy and all. Isn’t it just, Ran-mao?” he purred, turning his attentions briefly to the girl on his lap, his hand holding her chin so their eyes were locked. The girl remained expressionless, but nodded her head in agreement.

“Stop puffing away and hear me out!” Ciel ordered, his eye narrowing on the pipe still in Lau’s hand, “ I’ve left the management of the oriental corner to you. So you’ve an idea of the number of people coming and going in these parts, yes?” he demanded, gaze moving back to the other’s face. Lau chuckled as he set the pipe down.

“Now now, this is just a bit of mint,” he reassured lazily, “certainly. I’m following your orders to the letter, Lord Earl. Such is the price I must pay to conduct ‘business’ in this country’s underworld, after all.”

“Then--”

“But first, I have a question to pose to you as well, my Lord,” Lau interrupted quickly, cutting off Ciel’s words and causing a look of confusion to pass over his face, “These incidents of which you speak...what are they exactly?” he asked innocently, Ciel’s look of confusion quickly changing to that of annoyance.

“Why, you…” he growled, looking ready to kill the Asian.

“We have to take it from the top, huh?” I sighed, giving a small shrug before chuckling softly. I expected as much, “He was simply chiming in when he thought it appropriate. I am sure of that.”

It fortunately didn’t take very long for us to explain the recent string of attacks on the Anglo-Indians, this happening after we exited the opium den and to the much clearer streets. The dizziness from the drug faded quickly enough, but I would certainly not partake willingly anytime soon. Well, at least not in the middle of Sebastian’s contract…

“--Oh, noow I see!” Lau exclaimed after, a big grin on his face, “so you’d like to capture that prankster!”

“There haven’t been any deaths yet, but the gentry and military personnel are being targeted,” Ciel reiterated, once again stating the reason behind the Queen’s distress.

“Ah, you have to make an example of him to keep the common folk in line! There simply is no end to your troubles, Earl!” Lau sighed, giving a nonchalant shrug.

“What drivel,” Ciel grumbled in answer. I took the time to actually look at our surroundings, realizing something was...very off.

“Incidentally, we have walked quite a distance,” I piped up, catching both the young master’s and the gang runner’s attentions, “at which lodging house are the Indians based?” I asked. Lau seemed genuinely confused for a moment before laughing innocently and bonking his own head.

“Ah! Do forgive me! I was so caught up in our conversation that I think I may have gotten us lost! Silly me!” he giggled, Ciel instantly bristling.

“Why, yoooou--!” the youngest growled, letting out a heavy sigh and turning sharply on his heel, “then first let’s retrace our steps back, and--ow!!” Sure enough, turning so sharply without paying attention, the Earl crashed right into the scruffy man fast approaching him. From his heavy accent alone we knew he was from India.

“Par--” The Earl started, the homeless man quickly interrupting by holding his sides in “pain”.

“Owwwww!! I think I just cracked a riiiiib--!!” he hollered, almost doubling over. Ciel was immediately taken aback by the impossible accusation, and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes again from the obvious act. His shouts of agony quickly caught the attention of other, and in mere moments we were completely surrounded. A situation as this, I was thankful I at least appeared as a long haired man, my coat tailored in a more masculine style. The last thing anyone needed was an angry female demon set on a bunch of nameless humans because someone decided to get a bit too handsy. The man Ciel had bumped into lathed onto the boy’s coat, tugging him forward for a closer inspection.

“The little master’s awfully well-dressed for an East Ender. You a noble?” he accused, Ciel quickly slapping his hand away and glaring at the ragamuffin.

“I gotta demand damages for you banging into me, kid!! Leave everything you’ve got on ya behind, ya hear!?” he shouted, extending his hand to the boy, whose brow was now twitching in annoyance.

“And once again, you have gotten yourself caught by a second-rate thug, young master,” I sighed, keeping my voice low enough for only him to hear, “How shall we deal with this?” I asked, my gaze scanning over the crowd.

“How? Just get rid of them quick,” he ordered, his voice a low hiss. I smirked, tugging slightly on my coat so it sat properly again.

“As you wish,” I answered, preparing for a fight.

“And ya know...the Indians ‘round here have it in for you nobles,” the same man growled, soon raising his voice again, “you dragged us all the way here, and then just threw us out like trash! The lot of you British are self-serving bastards!!” he accused, his words gaining heated agreements from the fellow Indians surrounding him, “It’s your fault we’ve been reduced to leading lives of misery, like sewer rats!” he ranted on, beginning to draw a dagger from his tattered clothes.

“Yeah!!”

“You trampled our nation under your shod feet! Now taste the humiliation of being plundered yourselves!”

“YEAH! TASTE IT!!”

“That aside, there’s something I should like to ask you.” A new voice interrupted, the crowd too heated to fully acknowledge it, however.

“Yeah! First off, I gotta ask you something!!” the first added on, not entirely paying attention to what he was saying.

“If you prove useful, I’ll treat you to something delicious in reward,” the newcomer continued.

“YEAH! SOMETHING DELICIOUS!!!”

“Fish!!”

“I was just starting to feel a bit peckish!!” It was in that moment they seemed to realize they weren’t quite going with the original flow, and all their heads whipped around to silence the newcomer and correct him.

“DAH! That isn’t iiit!!” they shouted, holding their hands up to halt any further confusion.

“Quiet down, you lot,” the man ordered. His appearance was that of an Indian, but his accent was hardly detectable, and his English was near flawless. Not to mention his attire was far neater. Ciel and myself could only look at him in slight amazement at the odd turn of events.

“I’m looking for someone,” he went on, holding up a very poorly drawn picture, “have you seen an Indian like this?” he asked, showing off the drawing. The first gasp as he dropped back to reality, now wielding the dagger on the newcomer.

“Hunh!? Don’t interrupt us, you cur!” he snapped.

“How dare you call me a cur. I am asking you a question,” the purple haired man huffed, now seeming to realize what he walked into, and peered around the scruffy Indian to see Ciel and I, “what’s going on? Are you fighting a duel?” he asked innocently, golden hues quickly narrowing on us.

“Hey, don’t igno--”

“He has a khansama with him…” he interrupted the homeless man, shoving him aside to make his way closer to us, “are you...a British noble?” he demanded of us. My master’s eyes narrowing in answer before he spoke.

“And what if I am?”

“Then I shall ally with my brothers in this battle,” the man stated simply, crossing his arms over his chest before calling his companion, “Agni!”

“Yes, your highness.” Well that was unexpected.

“Defeat them!” the first ordered.

“Jo aagyaa,” Agni answered, beginning to undo the wrappings on his right hand, “the right hand, with which God has blessed me...shall I wield for my master,” he seemed to pray before dashing towards me in particular. I reacted quickly enough, using my forearm to block the attack, glaring at the white haired male before grabbing the young master rather indelicately, much to his displeasure. It was necessary if we were to both dodge the incoming kick. Still, I was caught slightly off guard by this human’s speed as his attacks continued, swift enough that I was preoccupied, and forgot about the first reason this was happening.

“Don’t you dare forget about us!!” the original accuser shouted, charging at me with his blade at the ready. I took the opportunity to duck, dodging Agni’s incoming punch, which instead landed on the far weaker attacker.

“Ah! Forgive me, brother!” the man quickly apologized over his shoulder, “I will tend to your injuries presently!” he called, reverting his attention back a now running away me. I used the others as leverage to get away, while equally knocking out those still trying to start a fight. Agni was quick to catch up, jumping into the air and landing a blow to my pressure point on my forearm. I continuously blocked the same blows before he leapt back, confusion in his gaze as he glared at me.

“I have struck your marma numerous times. Normally, your arm would be paralyzed by now. So why can you still move?” he questioned, his brows furrowing. Letting out a huff of annoyance, I prepared to answer appropriately before Ciel’s struggling gave me pause.

“Let me down!” he hissed, though it went ignored, “hey! We were just passing through when those Indians picked a fight with us!” he explained hastily to the royal, “are all Indians barbarians who indiscriminately attack any Englishmen they lay their eyes on!?” he spat, taking the royal by surprise.

“What? You there! Did you attack the runt and his companion without a valid reason?” he demanded of the original crowd, all of them confused as to why they would possibly need a reason, “we can’t have that! The fool is he who wages war without cause. Agni!! In this case, our brothers are at fault! Ally with the runt and company!” he ordered of his servant, taking us all by complete shock. Ciel and I only stood in awe as they were defeated easily by the hands of this Agni fellow, the crowd quickly in a damaged heap.

“All done, Lord Soma!” he chirped when the task was completed, a pleased smile on his face.

“Good!!” Soma huffed in reply, his hands resting on his hips and expression looking...a bit bored, “hey, you two. You’re not hurt?” he questioned us as he retrieved Ciel’s fallen top hat from the ground.

“N--No…” I answered softly. The man’s eyes widened before his brows furrowed in confusion, studying my face for a long moment before slapping the hat back on my master’s head.

“Your khansama has a very feminine face,” he prattled, seeming to have completely mistaken me for a man, of which I was blaming on the coat at this point, “but you, runt. A child should not be wandering in a place like this. It’s dangerous,” he rambled on, Ciel still bristling from his hat being so forcefully placed on his head, “I’m still on the hunt for someone, so I’ll be taking my leave. Farewell,” he stated simply, turning his back to us and taking his leave. His servant seemed to be studying me as well before his master made his departure, a polite smile appearing on his face before he bowed his head and followed this “Soma” fellow, showering praises on him as they exited. Ciel and I were in stunned silence long after they were gone from sight, a loud call soon catching our attentions from...above?

“Myyy--! Those two were something else!” Lau called, both of us turning to find the Asian had been hiding on a rooftop, probably the entire time.

“And where have you been this whole time?” Ciel growled, earning an innocent laugh.

“Oh, don’t be like that! Why, I was waiting for a chance to save you, okay?” he chuckled, jumping down from his perch and landing with a light tap, “though, it would have been better for me to save the damsel in distress,” he purred, making me shiver in distaste. That seemed to be happening more frequently since Sebastian and I had marked each other... “In any case, who were they? They don’t live in the East End, that much is obvious. They were well-dressed, and their English was without a trace of an accent,” he recited, naming off the details I had found earlier. Chuckling to myself, I crouched in front of the pile of passed out Indians, looking over at the Young Master as I spoke.

“Be that as it may...I should think our first priority is to take these people to the city police…”

“We labored in vain...and now it’s begun to snow…” Ciel groaned when we finally made it back to the manor. I chuckled as I retrieved his coat, Sebastian soon greeting us, but stopping me when something caught his attention.

“Your dress is torn…” he whispered softly, keeping his voice low. I blinked at him before turning to find where it had actually ripped, finding a long tear over my ribs, the white cloth stained with blood despite there being no wound. I quickly grabbed Sebastian’s arm before his tempers could flare, getting him to look me in the eye.

“I’ll explain later. The young master and myself are fine, I promise,” I whispered back, grabbing his hand and kissing the back of it before moving to hang the coats and speak to our exhausted master.

“The culprit might be among them,” I suggested with a smile and shrug, “let us wait for Lord Randall to contact us.”

“Really! I’m tired of being summoned to London every time a silly incident like this occurs!” Ciel ranted, moving to storm off to the drawing room.

“Ha, ha! You must howl if there is even the faintest possibility of harm befalling Her Majesty!” Lau laughed, following leisurely after the frustrated child, “such is the difficult role of the Watchdog, Earl. But, I don’t mind in the least since I get to play with you!”

“Young Master! Welcome hooome!” Finnian chirped as the three idiots poked their heads around the corner. Lau seemed confused to actually see them, as it was highly unusual for them to tag along with us to London.

“You brought your servants with you this time?” he asked, gesturing to the four with a confused grin. Both Sebastian and I paled in memory of what happened last time.

“Yes. It would be troublesome to leave them behind at the manor,” the male demon mumbled, increasing the Asian’s curiosity, “Well! You must be worn out from the cold,” he went on, changing his attitude as he addressed Ciel, “I will have tea ready right away.”

“Indeed…” the Earl sighed, further expressing his exhaustion.

“I would prefer chai to English tea,” a very familiar voice piped up, though it hadn’t seemed to register to Ciel yet.

“Indeed...eh?” he mumbled, turning around to see the two we had encountered earlier standing in the doorway. He immediately started sputtering, completely unsure of how they had managed to get in unnoticed in the first place.

“This is awfully small compared to my palace…” Soma muttered as he waltzed further inside, Agni following close behind.

“Wh--! Wh--!? Why are you here!?” the little Lord snapped, bristling up entirely.

“What do you mean, why? We became acquainted but a moment ago. Have you forgotten me already?” the royal stated bluntly, expression going blank.

“Became acquainted you say…” I mumbled, narrowing my eyes on him.

“And I rescued you,” he went on innocently, making me bristle right along with the Earl.

“Res--! How!?” the boy demanded. The other fours servants of Phantomhive looked on in confusion, not entirely sure what was happening, and Sebastian was quickly becoming equally confused.

“In India, it is commonplace to invite your benefactors into your home and make them welcome,” Soma stated, crossing his arms over his chest again, “There’s a saying that goes ‘entertain your guests, even if you have to sell of your heirlooms’. Hey, where’s the bed?” he suddenly asked, whipping his head around in search of the furniture.

“Why a bed?” Lau chirped in question, as confused to the odd question as we were.

“In my country, one invites one’s guests to one’s bed to sit together in a circle, enjoying each other’s company,” the royal answered just as bluntly as earlier.

“Does this have any part of your explanation later?” Sebastian whispered to me. I only nodded in answer. That seemed to appease him for now.

“Myyyyyy priiince!” the servant suddenly called, already leaning over the staircase railing and waving to his master, “Loooord Somaaaa! There is one heeeere!!”

“That is well.”

“Hey!! Listen to me!!” Ciel shouted, going completely ignored.

“Then, good. It is a tad small, but we shall stay here for awhile. Much obliged,” the royal went on, following his servant up the stairs to the room he mentioned having a large enough bed.

“Wait a minute!! Why must I take care of you all of a sudden!?” the youngest demanded, dashing after the two Indians and skidding to a halt in the hallway in front of the open door. Sebastian were quickly on his heels, I more curious to what would happen.

“I haven’t given any thought to other lodgings,” Soma answered as he flopped onto the mattress, removing his outer robes and revealing the far more extravagant attire beneath, “besides, is it custom for Englishmen to throw their benefactors out into the cold?” He had Ciel there. Most English nobles, despite the women spreading vicious rumors, were quite polite as a whole. It was obvious he had stumped the lord by Ciel’s poor change of topic.

“--! Moreover! Just who are you!?” he instead demanded, covering his flustered reaction with more anger as the Indian rolled about on the mattress.

“Me? I am a prince,” Soma answered as he came to a stop, lying on his stomach with his arms folded and head resting on them, grinning over at the Earl.

“A prince…?” Sebastian questioned softly, both of us looking briefly at each other before back at the Indian men.

“This gentleman is the twenty-sixth child of the Raja of Bengal...Prince Soma Asman Kadar,” Agni formally introduced his master.

“We shall be imposing on you for a bit...runt,” the prince chuckled, the Earl visibly growing more angered by the insult to his height. Something seemed to catch the prince’s attention when his eyes fell on me, confusion warping his features before he jumped up from the bed and stood before me. My eyes were wide as he studied me head to toe, unsure how to properly react as he circled around me. Coming to a stop again, he was silent for a long moment before his hand lashed upwards. My eyes went impossibly wide when he flat out groped my chest. Sebastian’s anger quickly became palpable, and I had to resist the urge to just kill the human who would dare touch me in such a manner.

“Ah! So you are a woman!” he exclaimed, acting as though I had lied to him. I scrambled away from him, sputtering out insults, “I was wondering how a khansama could be so feminine!”

“Eh!? A woman!?” the prince’s servant exclaimed, his face paling as he realized I had held my own against him earlier, though it appeared he was more fearful he had tried to harm me. He bowed his head repeatedly as he sputtered out apologies. Meanwhile I was trying to both keep Sebastian tearing apart the prince while trying to keep myself from ripping him to shreds, which was far more difficult than one would think.

“I am so sorry!! Had I known you were a woman…!” Agni sputtered on, growing more and more flustered. The three servants were already occupied with fawning over Soma, despite what he had just done.

“Amaziiiiiing! So you’re reeeeally a priiince--!?” Finny gasped, eyes sparkling in excitement.

“Hey, Finny, he just--” I started, only to be interrupted.

“A-a prince…” Mey-rin sighed, holding her face as she blushed.

“First time I’ve seen a real prince in the flesh,” Baldo mumbled, eyeing the young royal, who was already lounging back on the bed.

“You may approach,” he purred, smirking at the three as they started to bombard him with questions.

“Well, my Lord,” Lau suddenly chimed, making the Earl break his last nerve, “Your stay should be a lively one.” Ciel’s next order were my exact sentiments, despite my inability to voice them, being a maid in the public eye--

“GET OOOOUT!!”

Notes:

Phew! Just in time!

I know, weaker start, but it was being difficult getting this chapter out. I had to give Soma an excuse to be a bratty prince, so grope the maid it is!

See you next Sunday!

Chapter 19: Annoyance After Annoyance

Summary:

Work is proving...difficult with the current guests

Notes:

All characters from the original Kuroshitsuji series belong to Yana Toboso!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I couldn’t stop the loud groan of exhaustion as I finally collapsed onto my temporary bed, immediately rolling onto my stomach and smothering my face in the nearest pillow. After getting unnecessarily groped by our uninvited guest, the three idiot servants would not shut up about him and how “exotic” he was, especially Mey-rin. A touch to the bare spot on my ribs made me jump, and I looked up to see Sebastian looking at me through narrowed eyes. Apparently his tempers were still flaring at the intimate touch to something of his. Sighing, I raised my hand to his cheek, smoothing my thumb over it before sitting up fully and stretching my arms over my head.

“I’m going to find some thread to mend this. Can’t have my uniform in shambles so often,” I hummed, smiling softly at him. It seemed to calm him a little, but he still didn’t let me leave the room without kissing me; repeatedly. Finally managing to close the door, I shook my head slowly with a soft chuckle, beginning to make my way to the room that would hopefully contain what I was after. Finding the laundry room easily in the dark, I made sure no one was inside or within the area before ducking into the room, removing the torn uniform and sitting down on the available seat in just my undergarments. Waving a hand, a single candle flared to life, allowing me to find the proper threads and needle before setting to working. The sound of the door followed by a startled gasp had me whipping my head up in surprise, my eyes equally as wide as the grey one staring at me. I quickly sobered as Agni fell to a flustered and stuttering mess, continuing on with the repairs and ignoring the Indian on the opposite side of the room, his back towards me.

“What is it you needed, Mister agni?” I asked softly, watching him stiffen.

“M-my apologies, b-but I had seen the tear in your dress earlier…” he stammered out, keeping his back towards me, “I wished to repay you as apology for not realizing you were a woman before fighting you in such a manner…” he mumbled afterwards, his hand rising to rub the back of his darkening neck. I chuckled silently, focussing back on my task and tugging the material back on once it was properly mended. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention, unable to keep from smirking as his head whipped around and show the bright red of his blush against his caramel colored skin.

“That simply won’t do, Mister Agni. You and your master are guests in this household. Beside, I was not as careful as I should have been, but my master thus remains safe,” I hummed, my smirk changing to a polite smile. He remained standing still in shock even as I bid him a good night and returned to my room.

Morning had arrived far sooner than I would have preferred, especially with the unexpected amount of people now in the estate, but I still managed to rouse myself from slumber and half drag myself after Sebastian to the kitchens and prepare the young master’s morning tea and breakfast. It was the usual humdrum of the early morning until a loud shout alerted to something incredibly amiss. Glancing briefly at Sebastian, who didn’t appear to notice it, we continued preparing the tea and making our way to Ciel’s bedroom, the demon male knocking once before entering.

“Pardon me, young--” his greeting was interrupted upon seeing a struggling Ciel in the arms of one of our houseguests, Agni in the process of holding a carefree smile and hefting the boy from bed and making his way to the door, ranting about breakfast.

“Now just hang on! What the hell!?” the boy shouted, shoving at the butler’s head.

“Oh? Things are already lively at this hour?” Lau’s voice piped up from around the corner, his head soon following as his usual smile was plastered to his face, “Ah, good morning to you Sebastian and Miss Cassie,” he cooed, sending a shiver down my spine in discomfort.

“Mister Sebaastiaaaaan!! Miss Cassandraaaaa!!” Three voices all screamed at once before the owners appeared barreling down the hall. I was already dreading what they were to say at such an hour.

“You three, you are in the presence of our guests,” Sebastian scolded, scowling at the three fumbling humans.

“What is it? Has something happened again--” I started, only to be interrupted by all three as they stumbled over their words.

“S--something’ wrong!”

“Really, really wrong! The garden, it’s--!”

“Crazy wrong! The food, it’s--!”

“Wrong, it is!! The laundry, it’s--!”

“Wrong…?” we demons questioned at the same time.Immediately they began to drag us all about the estate, leaving Ciel, unfortunately, at the mercy of Agni. The laundry was already hanging outside, the gardens were in pristine shape, and the morning meal had already been prepared and sat steaming on the dining table. Sebastian and I could only look at it all in utter shock.

“What in heaven…?” I breathed, unable to keep from staring at the scenes before me.

“Ah! I have taken the liberty of handling the morning chores!” Agni chimed suddenly, his hand shooting up into the air to get our attention. I frowned at him as I approached.

“As you may recall from the night previous, I told you were a guest! You should not have done all this!” I half scolded, my brows furrowing together.

“We insist you merely make yourself at home!” Sebastian pressed. I knew already he would be asking about what I meant by my words later.

“I could never!” The guest butler gasped, holding his hands to stop us from continuing. I could already see a blush forming on his face as he remembered last night, “my prince aside, I...am merely a butler, so...I felt it my duty to help Mister Sebastian, as well as work for forgiveness for my actions towards Miss Cassandra,” he finished, finally smiling brightly at us. I had to admit, I was immensely moved, and it appeared my mate felt the same.

“Mister Agni…” we mumbled, staring at him in awe before turning to glare at the three less useful people of the house. A polite smile soon spread across Sebastian’s face.

“Why do you three not kowtow and beg Mister Agni for the dirt under his nails? Your lives might gain a little value that way,” he insulted in the form of suggestion. All three were silent for a moment before suddenly pouncing on the guest, grabbing at his hands.

“Gimme the dirt under your nails, dirt!!”

“Me tooooo!”

“Me three!”

“Eeh!? What is going on!?” Agni shouted, attempting to get away. The smile had faded from us demons as we made a hasty retreat, moving to the dining room to our awaiting master.

“...So?” The boy started, an annoyed look on his face as he glared across the table at our guests, “how long do you intend to stay here?” he demanded as Soma ate somewhat sloppily with his hands, Agni busy with serving him tea.

“We’ll leave when we’ve finished our errand,” he answered simply around his french toast, the words muffled because of it.

“That--”

“You mean the person you were looking for before, right?” Lau interrupted Ciel, his usual expression directed at the royal.

“And why are you staying over as w--”

“Yes. I’m in search of a certain woman,” Soma interrupted this time, rummaging through his robes until he pulled out the paper he had shown the previous day of the poorly drawn...apparently woman, “this one. Her name is Mina, and she was a servant in my palace,” he explained as he handed Ciel the paper, munching on more of his toast.

“This is…” Ciel mumbled, not entirely sure what to make of it. None of us were.

“I drew it. You’ll know right away when you see her because I drew her so well! Isn’t she pretty?” Soma ranted on around the last of his food.

“Sebastian...Cassandra...will either of you be able to seek her out with this…?” Ciel mumbled, looking over his shoulder at us. Both of us were staring intently at the drawing, trying to find how it, in any possible way, resemble a person...

“Even for us this is a bit...erm…” I grumbled, brows furrowing in confusion and partial annoyance.

“...Well, we shall try…” Sebastian whispered himself, the drawing being snatched away from Ciel by the Asian for his own inspection.

“Ooooh...I myself have never encountered a beauty like this, I saaay!” Lau gushed. I was unsure if he was being serious or mocking the prince’s terrible skills.

“To be expected! She was the most beautiful woman in my palace,” Soma answered simply, clapping his hands together and giving his thanks for the meal.

“...So, why is that woman in Great Britain?” the Earl asked, turning his attention away from the drawing and to the guest, who seemed to be...I didn’t even know what. Praying? “Listen to me!!!” he snapped, though their prayer went on anyway, “what are they doing, all of a sudden? Where did they get that statue from!?” he went on, though lowered his voice a tad. His annoyance was still present in his tone.

“They seem to be praying, but their object of worship seems quite surreal,” Lau mumbled.

“You would call that an object of worship?” I huffed, both Sebastian and myself scrutinizing the bizarre item.

“It seems nothing so much as a statue of a woman dancing in a frenzy on the abdomen of a man whilst carrying severed heads and wearing a necklace of said heads...to me…” Sebastian mused. I had to resist smacking my forehead as he described precisely what we all saw, for seemingly no reason at all.

“This is the statue of the goddess Kali, a deity of hinduism, our faith,” Agni explained, allowing his master to continue praying in peace.

“So it is an Indian god,” I huffed, smacking my fist in my palm as an “ah-ha” action. The name did seem familiar, thinking about it...Maybe this Kali had been visiting my father at some point?

“Our goddess Kali is the wife of the god Shiva and the goddess of strength. She protects against misfortunes. There are also other divine favors,” Agni continued, his polite expression remaining on his face, “In ancient times, a devil dared to challenge the goddess in a battle. Of course, the goddess Kali was victorious. However, she could not stop raging...and continued to destroy and kill,” he told, holding a hand over his heart as he described the apparently dramatic event, “She kept on killing, made a necklace of severed heads, drank blood…”

“It sounds as if the goddess caused more harm than the devil. Truly amazing,” Lau interrupted with a light laugh, Ciel, Sebastian, and myself listening in half awe, half dumbfoundedness.

“Even the gods could not stop the goddess Kali, and the Earth was about to fall to ruin, when...at that very moment--!! Her husband, the god Shiva, lay down at her feet to protect the land.” he finally proclaimed, putting far too much enthusiasm in the conclusion. Sebastian mimicked my earlier “ah-ha” actions.

“Aah! That is why she is stepping on him. I had assumed they were simply having a lover’s quarrel,” he chuckled.

“Her husband was very slow to act,” I sighed, shaking my head slowly.

“Wasn’t he too late? In a whole number of ways?” Ciel huffed out in half confusion.

“When she stepped on her husband with her unclean foot, the goddess Kali returned to her senses and peace returned to the land. Therefore, the goddess Kali is a supreme deity who engaged in mortal combat to defeat the devil,” he explained further, once again clapping his hands together as though in prayer, “that is why she holds the severed head of the devil.”

“...So that’s the story,” Ciel mumbled, glancing at his demon servants. Sebastian and I were already scowling at such an idea.

“I was not aware such a strong goddess existed…” I whispered, crossing my arms over my chest.

“We will have to be careful should we ever visit India…” Sebastian followed, confusing Agni by our musings.

“Well, we’re done praying,” Soma suddenly started, rising from his kneeling position and immediately moving to drag Ciel off, “so let’s go, runt! You’ll guide us.”

“Why me!?” The Earl snapped, struggling to get loose of the hold around his neck and shoulders, “and furthermore, I am not the ‘runt’. I am Ciel…” he argued, even while being dragged off.

“Then, Ciel! I order you to guide us. Come,” The royal only huffed out in answer, holding an air of indifference at Ciel now having a name besides “runt”. Sebastian and I immediately stepped in their path, extending our hands to halt the prince’s footsteps before Ciel got too far.

“Forgive us, but…” I started, putting a polite smile on my face, the butler mirroring my actions.

“The young master has a full schedule with his studies and work today,” he continued, his head tilting slightly to the side and raising a brow at the prince, almost daring the guest to argue.

“As you can see, I’m busy. Find your quarry on your own,” Ciel scoffed in partial relief, waving the disappointed guest off as we lead him to his ten AM music lessons.

“--Now,” I coughed, clearing my throat before holding up the sheet music and placing it on the stand before the little lord, “While you are in London, we shall tutor you, in place of the lady governesses,” I explained, my attire having changed from my usual uniform for a more formal gown, the collar higher than usual, much to my current displeasure, “First, let us practice the “Partita No. 2” for solo violin,” I instructed, turning the page to the proper sheet music. Ciel was already turning pale at the sight of the difficult piece.

“Bach’s Chaconne...I won’t be able to play…such a hard piece--!” he grumbled, eyes narrowing on the notes. I chuckled, tilting up his head to make eye contact with him via use of the thin conductor’s wand in my grasp.

“You will gain confidence if you begin by mastering the difficult pieces first. I lay down the rules here, and you should know, my father being who he is, I had a strict upbringing. Naturally, I too shall be very strict. Do you have any issues with my teaching method?” I cooed, smiling sweetly at him. He grit his teeth, but nonetheless readied himself to play, “Good. Now hold the bow ready. With the key of D Minor, it is important to express solemnity and reverence with your timbre. Just like that,” I instructed, nodding my head in praise as the boy began to play, “express the timbre with emotion,” I continued, my brow twitching as something sounded off, “express anger occasionally. Yes…” Okay, something was extremely off. Something had been added to the violin, and I whipped my head around to find our guests sitting on the ground on ornate rugs and playing their own instruments; though, Lau was simply looking on as a bystander.

“Erm...and what might you be doing?” I asked, having to hold back the growl in my voice as I stared down the confused prince and butler.

“Nn? Soma mumbled, perking up at the address to his person before smiling brightly, “I thought I’d spend the day with Ciel today. I’m a dab hand at playing string instruments too,” he chirped, playing a few more notes on his bizarre instrument, Lau commenting on the drums laid out before the butler. The Earl was already shaking with rage before finally exploding.

“GET OUT!” Ciel snapped, tossing the two outside of the room.

“Now it is time for drawing,” Sebastian said calmly, playing the role of tutor this time around, the glasses from his disguise the last time we were in London perched on the bridge of his nose, “Look at how things are balanced and give depth to your drawing,” the butler instructed. Ciel was staring intently at the still life before him, holding his pencil in front of his eye to grasp the proper sizes and shapes and copy them in a smaller form on his canvas thusly.

“What is this? Drawing a bottle is dull!” Soma suddenly piped up, making Ciel jumped and for me to look away from my own drawing; which was already mostly done, “you must draw naked women. Therefore, woman!” he hollered, thrusting his arm outward and pointing at me, making me jump, “strip!”

“Oh, shall I undress her?” Lau hummed, placing his hands on my shoulders. That action alone made me snap, and I whirled on him, slapping him clean across the face despite my social standing.

“You will do no such thing!” I snapped, Sebastian grabbing my clenched fist and keeping me from beating both Lau and Soma to a bloody pulp. Ciel was already busying himself with once again throwing the two out of the room.

“GET OUT!”

“Samples of the Christmas products have arrived from the Yorkshire factory,” I started as we continued with our next scheduled event of the day; work. Sebastian was by my side, holding his own list of the new products.

“Nn. I had them revise this, and it feels good,” Ciel mumbled, picking up one of the stuffed rabbits and hugging it close.

“Also, headquarters has sent over the plans for next year’s goods,” Sebastian went on, flipping through the list, “The new Christmas crackers are selling well at Harrods.”

“However, children are difficult to please,” Ciel interrupted, popping one of the crackers and sending a Santa and sleigh flying, “we must keep providing new novelties.”

“And so I have invented one such new product just for you!!” Soma exclaimed as he and Agni popped up from the pile of merchandise. Lau was busy hugging the rabbit Ciel had earlier, and smaller ones remained clinging to Soma’s shoulder, Agni holding a folder labeled “Proposal”, “Feast your eyes! It is a soft toy in the likeness of the Indian god Ganesha...and…” he started dramatically, revealing the drawings the prince himself had made, “the trunk…” he paused, a grin on his face, “...it moves!” he hollered in delight, Agni pulling away the first picture to reveal the second drawing, it being the same as before, but with the elephant’s trunk raised. The Earl was shaking completely in rage, and the duo was once again removed rather forcibly from the room, and accompanied with the same shout--

“GET OUT!!!”

“Heeeeey. When will you be done?” the prince whined, once more lying on an ornate rug as he watched Ciel continue with his next lessons; fencing, this time with Sebastian as his sparring partner, “Heeey! Heeey! What are you doooing? Heeeey, IIIIII saiiiiid,” he whined on, cupping his hands around his mouth. The little lord finally snapped.

“ARGH! SHUT UP!!! I can’t concentrate!!” he snapped loudly. Sebastian let out a small sigh at the miniature breaking point as the earl turned angrily on the annoying prince. He had begun grating on my nerves since the music lesson, and it had only worsened with his continued antics.

“C’mon, you don’t have to get so angry,” the royal pouted, acting as though he had done nothing wrong, which only added to Ciel anger.

“All right. Enough,” he hissed, snatching the blade in his butler’s grasp and tossing it towards Soma, “I’ll take you on if you’re so desperate for attention.”

“I only know kalaripayattu and silambum, but...well, why now,” Soma hummed, having caught the blade by the handle easily and flicking it upwards, posing for the match with a cocky grin on his face, “so if I win this...you will play with me, right?”

“If you can win, that is,” Ciel clarified with a glare, readying his own blade, “if you lose, behave yourself and stay out of my way! We will play five rounds of three minutes each. The fencer with the most points wins. All right?” The younger explained, glancing at Sebastian for the signal to begin. The butler raised his hand into the air.

“Now...begin!” he ordered, swinging his arm down and signaling the start of the match. Soma was the first to attack, the lord remaining right where he was as the prince charged.

“You are mine!!” he shouted in triumph, swinging the blade down and batting Ciel’s booted leg with it. He was visibly taken aback as the blade bent against the far more solid object.

“The leg is not a valid target area of the foil,” Ciel explained with a smirk, moving to attack on his own now that he had the clear advantage, “too bad!!”

“Wah! You coward! I don’t know the rules! What is a valid target area!?” the royal yelled, dodging each thrust towards his abdomen Ciel made. Both of the boy’s demonic servants couldn’t help but snicker at the lord’s follow up.

“It’s your own fault for being ignorant of the rules. A bout is a bout,” he chuckled, his smirk broadening as he made another move for Soma’s torso.

“Kuh! Aww, hell!” he snapped, clashing the blade against Ciel’s and having it bend again, “this sword bends, so it’s hard to wield!!” he complained struggling to get the foil to stay still again.

“In fencing, you thrust forward,” Ciel explained, taking his own minor role as “tutor”, “if you swing your foil sideways...your valid target area is completely vulnerable!!” he shouted, thrusting his blade forward to win the point.

“Prince!! Look out!!”Agni suddenly shouted, rushing forward to stand in the way, taking both his master and mine by surprise. What was more, the butler struck the pressure point on Ciel’s arm, causing him to drop his blade and crumble to the ground in pain, clutching at his immobile hand and wrist. Silence immediately followed before Agni gasped in shock, dropping to his knees in a flustered mess while retrieving the fallen blade, unsure what to really do with it.

“L-Lord Ciel!! I am so sorry! I could not help it when I thought my prince would lose…!!” he gasped out, still exceedingly flustered as he looked back and forth between his hand and the foil. I was already at my master’s side with his butler, asking softly if he was all right, though he was unable to answer as his jaw was clenched in pain.

“Ah ha ha! Agni, you protected your master. I commend you!” Soma laughed, clapping his hand on his servants shoulder in praise, cocky grin back on his face, “Agni’s my khansama. He belongs to me. Therefore, I win!!” he boasted. He wasn’t entirely wrong… “Noooow! You must accompany me!” he ordered.

“No--!” Ciel gasped, interrupted by an indifferent Lau.

“Dear, dear,” he hummed, once more balancing his own foil on the palm of his hand before tossing it at Sebastian, “now you must avenge your Lord...Master Butler.”

“Ciel’s khansama. Are you going to fight?” Soma asked with a haughty air, cocky grin still adorning his features. The butler released a heavy sigh as he looked at Ciel.

“Goodness...all this because you were nasty to a complete amateur who does not know the rules,” he sighed, shaking his head slowly, ignoring his master’s comeback by rising to his feet, “however...my master has been injured. As butler to the Phantomhive family, I must do something about it,” he scoffed, swinging the blade downwards.

“Moreover, we have fallen ten minutes behind schedule,” I added in a growl, the Earl reeling on me now.

“That’s your real motive, isn’t it…” he seethed, his glare settling on us. I couldn’t help but smirk and add something to fuel the fire I shouldn’t even be adding to.

“Not to mention your butler attempted harm upon a lady,” I mused, lifting the Earl to his feet and leaning close enough to Sebastian where only he could hear me, “he even walked in on me in just my underclothes while I was repairing my uniform. Another man has laid eyes upon your near naked mate. Will you honor me as well?” I cooed to him. His eyes went wide as he whirled his head around to look at me in shock. Smirking at him, I couldn’t help the thrill go through me at the possessive and dangerous look that entered his gaze, even when he quickly suppressed the emotions and focussed on his current task.

“Interesting. Very well. I approve of the duel!” Soma hummed, arms crossing over his chest as his grin appeared once more. Both butlers quickly settled into the proper stancing for the match, “Agni! In the name of our goddess Kali, win this match!”

“Sebastian. I command you. Shut that brat up!” Ciel ordered himself, his glare returning to his face as the butler smirked.

“Jo aagyaa.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Notes:

AUGH

I AM ALIVE

sort of

later than i said i would post but it's up now!!

and now i am exhausted.

TO BED!!

Chapter 20: Let the Battle Begin

Summary:

The fencing competition between Agni and Sebastian is brief, but an unexpected arrival ensues...

Notes:

All characters from the original Kuroshitsuji series belong to Yana Toboso!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The air about the demon and human was tense as they stood across from one another. Sebastian’s lips soon twitched into a smirk as he addressed his current adversary.

“Well...pray, do go easy on me,” he hummed, shifting his stance as he readied his blade.

“Here I come!” Agni warned without much necessity, opting to make the first attack. He lunged to make a blow to Sebastian’s shoulder, the demon dodging easily and striking out towards the other butler’s ribs. Agni ducked down away from the foil, using his new stance as leverage and aiming right for Sebastian’s face, missing by only a fraction and instead piercing the air between his face and arm. He would have landed a blow to the jewel on Agni’s forehead, had the man not clashed his own blade with the demon butler’s, the loud clang that followed it echoing softly through the room. Something began to nag at the corners of my mind, but I quickly ignored it, focusing back on the match and equally suppressing the wave of thrills going through me. I knew he was doing this for our master, but he was doing it equally for the reasons I had given him. He was fighting for his mate. I could only begin to imagine how it would differ if this was a match between demons.

Their footwork changed to mirror each other, moving to make the same blow to the forehead, and missed only by mirroring again in the way they dodged, bodies bending backwards and heads rolling skyward. Steps changed again, and both attacked at the same time, and my eyes went wide in shock as the foils collided perfectly by each tip. Both of the strengths behind each blade caused them to bend until they snapped in half, each piece flying high into the air. Sebastian caught his half easily as he stood straight, a worried smile spreading across his face.

“Oh dear. The blade is broken,” he stated simply, looking down at the two pieces. Ciel inhaled a sharp gasp, my own eyes widening in shock. Fighting something like Grelle, a Reaper, or another demon was one thing...but a human had held his own against a devil…

“We cannot continue then,” Agni followed up with, a small puff of air leaving him, “this match is a draw.”

“Hmm! Ciel’s khansama fared pretty well!” Soma praised, his arms folded behind his head as he made his way towards his butler. Ciel remained standing in complete shock, “Agni is the best fighter in my palace. You are the first to fight equally against Agni!” the prince continued with his praises, soon changing his stance to address the demon, “I like you! Ciel’s khansama! I shall excuse you today in deference to your skills.”

“I am most honored,” Sebastian answered with a deep bow and a hand over his heart. I let out a heavy, weary sigh, disappointed this had all ended in a tie, but a loud clapping of hands caught my attention, and that of my master and the conversing butlers. Seeing the source made me mentally slap myself for not recognizing the new presence when I felt it earlier.

“Well well! My dear sister has chosen herself quite the match!” Draco praised in his human guise, perched upon the ledge above the fireplace in the room, and thankfully avoiding the expensive dishes displayed upon it. His human self was too similar to his more animalistic form, his eyes remaining the same and his white hair holding shades of green. His skin was pale, easy enough to determined the more human shade, seeing as how he was only wearing a pair of black trousers. His feet and torso were completely bare. Some sort of tribal themed dragon was stretched down the length of his left arm, and his hair was pulled back and swept over his shoulder to reach his collarbone. My eyes flashed red for a moment before I dashed forward, grabbing him by the ankle and dragging him off the ledge, despite his yelp of surprise and protest. Especially since I had slammed him face first into the ground.

“What in the hell are you doing here, brother?” I snapped, stepping on his back and digging my heel into his spine. He let out a shout before suddenly starting to laugh.

“I-I come in peace, I swear!” He laughed, slapping his hand on the marble floor, “I give, I give!” My eyes narrowed at the back of his head until a small cough caught my attention. Gasping, I looked back up at my current audience, of whom were completely stunned and horrendously confused as to what was happening and who this person was. Clearing my throat, I tugged Draco back up to his feet and bowed in apology to Ciel, whose showing eye was narrowed in confusion and anger; fortunately, mostly confusion.

“Forgive me, young master. This is one of my brothers...” I introduced as I stood straight again, pausing for him to come up with his own fake identity. He snickered, looping his arms around my shoulders and poking my cheek, much to my slight annoyance. He had a tendency to annoy me like my other brothers, but we got along the best nonetheless.

“Lukas, if you don’t mind,” he hummed, a fake pout tugging on his sharp face, “I was just so worried about how my dear sister was faring. Not to mention Father wants to make sure she’s eating properly,” he pressed, glancing at me sideways. At least he had taken the hint that there were humans in the room unaware of what we were, “plus, I missed my girl here.”

“Say what you want, I can still whip you,” I grumbled, even though I was now smirking. Ciel was silent for a long moment before holding his head as though gaining a headache, his brow already twitching.

“Just...keep him out of trouble. That’s an order, Cassandra,” He hissed, glaring softly at me for a moment before Soma popped back up by his side.

“Never mind all that. Come Ciel! Let us have another round!” He laughed, slapping an arm around the boy’s shoulders and catching him entirely off guard. Draco and I remained watching as Sebastian approached, his eyes narrowed on my brother, who only smirked back at my mate.

“You can relax, crow,” he chirped, apparently knowing exactly what Sebastian was thinking, “the fox was a twit who wanted power, and our little kit here is one of the strongest women in our realm. I see her as she is; just my sister,” he reassured, his smile turning sincere as he bowed his head. The other demon visibly relaxed at that, but still kept a close proximity. Apparently my older brother’s actions made him a bit more cautious.

“Still, that human...It’s been a long time since I witnessed a human holding that power...” Draco continued, a small frown tugging on his face. We all turned our attention to Agni at that. My mate smirked, a small chuckle escaping him as he glanced briefly at the broken foil still in his grasp.

“Indeed…” He uttered, red eyes flowing back towards the Indian, “he has powers that we can never hold…”

“You said your name was Lukas?” My master asked of my brother. We hadn’t exited the room, but Ciel had changed out of his fencing practice attire, and it was only myself, my brother, and boy in the room. The two demons in said room were busy wrestling, however, and I currently had the dragon in a sleeper hold.

“Y-yes…” he gasped out, managing to swing his leg out for leverage and use the momentum to flip me clean over him and onto my back, pinning me down afterwards, “and yes, we are siblings. I’m sure she’s mentioned her little family to you already.”

“She has, but failed to inform me of your arrival as ordered,” the Earl growled out, making me flinch before shoving my brother off and pinning him on his stomach, keeping him down by twisting his arm around his back and keeping it sharply bent.

“Not entirely my fault. I was unaware he would arrive until he made himself known,” I defended, twisting his arm further.

“Owowowow! Right, right, should have sent something, ouch. Will remember next time...” Draco hissed out through his pain. He was quick to turn the tables again though, once again slipping his leg under him and this time falling backwards, causing me to crash hard enough into the ground that the wind was knocked out of me. It didn’t help that he just continued to pin me down by sitting on me.

“Next time?” Ciel questioned with ice beginning to drip from his voice.

“Well, yes,” Draco answered before I kicked him in the temple and shoved him off, managing to get him pinned back onto his stomach and properly keeping his legs and arms both down this time.

“You are aware I am uncontracted,” I continued for my currently smothered brother, since his face was being shoved into the ground, “so Father flasks souls for me to consume so I can keep my strength up. I’m not keen on starving myself as my mate does with you,” I huffed out. Draco tapped the ground in surrender, and I let him up easily enough.

“Speaking of, I’ll give them to you later. I’m sure you dislike eating with an audience,” my brother huffed as he pushed himself into a seated position, , running a hand over his head to tousle his hair and keeping himself propped up by his other hand. I rose to my feet and brushed off my attire until it sat back in proper place, turning to Ciel as he cleared his throat.

“Is it common for demons to act in such a manner?” he grumbled, referring to the miniature wrestling match. I chuckled, shaking my head slowly before actually giving him a definitive answer.

“Not for most, but it is in my family, at least when it comes to him. Lukas prefers to fight with his fists anyway, and my being his sister means he fights me more than my other two brothers,” I explained.

“Only to make sure no stupid and weak male tried to steal you away because you were too weak yourself!” Draco argued, pushing himself to his feet and stretching his arms over his head. I only rolled my eyes at him.

“Now then, young master. I have my duties to attend to concerning dinner. Please, do wait for it in the dining room,” I said politely, bowing my head. Ciel stared at me for a moment before waving me off, his shoes clacking against the marble as he exited the room. Something made my polite smile falter, and I whipped my head around to find Draco failing to contain his snickers at my behavior. Growling, I opted to punch him on the top of the head.

“Stop that. I am in such a role for Sebastian’s sake…” I hissed, my eyes popping wide open as I remembered when we had first met Ciel; and what he had named the demon after. Grinning broadly, and knowing full well I would be paying for it later, I told him why Ciel had chosen the name Sebastian for my mate. Draco stared wide at me for a long moment before his own grin spread wide across his face, a second later doubled over from laughing so hard.

“H-his dog!? His damn dog!!” he managed to shout out between laughter, palm slapping against the marble.

“You cannot let him know I told you!” I warned, a difficult task given that I had started laughing as well. I soon waved him off to control his laughter and let him explore, warning him far more seriously to stay out of trouble and keep his trap shut about our being demons, to which he gave an incredibly halfhearted assurance, before I did what I was supposed to do and continue about my duties as maid to the Phantomhive household.

Securing my apron tightly around my waist and making sure my uniform was in full order, I pushed open the kitchen doors to find something...entirely unexpected. Sebastian was no doubt in the rear kitchen fixing dinner, but all three of the idiot servants were...actually doing the job. They had yet to notice my presence there, but Agni was the first to notice me despite the fact he was rolling out dough.

“Ah! Miss Cassandra!” he called, a beaming smile spreading over his face as he gestured me to come further inside the kitchens, “you have been running around all day, please take a small break while we prepare dinner!” he beamed, moving from his station to pat the back of a chair for me to sit on. I blinked at him, keeping silent before doing as he asked. A cup of hot tea was immediately placed in front of me, making me stare in confusion before looking up to seeing Agni smiling down at me. He continued smiling until I finally reached forward and took a sip of the tea, his frame visibly relaxing before he went back to work.

“Miss Cassandra, I don’t think I have seen you eat all day. Are you hungry at all?” he asked lightly, attempting conversation.

“We haven’t seen her eat either!” Finny piped up while mashing the potatoes, a small frown tugging on his face. I shrunk back from Agni’s scrutinizing gaze, soon hiding behind my tea cup.

“I...have a delicate stomach…” I mumbled, hoping the excuse would work. It seemed to appease him enough, but now there was worry in his eyes. I was thankful Sebastian appeared from the rear kitchens at that moment, allowing me to leave my tea alone for the time.

“How are things going, Mister Agni? Are they coming along well?” he asked as he wiped off his hands, his eyes going wide at the sight before him.

“Yes! We are doing fine!” Agni chirped, his head swiveling away from me and looking at the demon male.

“Mister Sebastiaaaan!! Look, I mashed the potatoes for the pie!!” Finny called, holding up the pot with the food specified inside, a beaming and very proud smile on his childish face.

“I chopped up the onions, and now I’m doin’ the garnish! ‘Cos I’m the chef!” Baldo cackled, moving his goggles from over his head and looking exceedingly proud of himself.

“The table has already been set too, it has!” Mey-rin gushed softly, a blush beginning to dust her cheeks. A cold glare settled on my face at that; that maid would have to resolve her crush very quickly if she wanted to keep her head and good god what am I thinking.

“Agni wouldn’t let me do anything,” I huffed from my seated position, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest, a pout pulling on my face.

“Thanks to everyone, the food should turn out to be delicious!” Agni hummed, everyone giggling in their pride at their apparent good work. Sebastian was completely dumbstruck, not entirely sure how to respond to all this.

“Mister Sebastian?” Agni asked, snapping the butler from his observation.

“No...I am just amazed you were able to get them to help you,” the demon mumbled once he stood beside the other butler, a light laugh leaving the Indian.

“They work hard. They are good people!” he laughed, smile not once leaving his face.

“Well, they are not evil, per se…” I huffed, making a move to stand up. A pointed look from Agni made me sit back down.

“Everyone is born with a gift. Each of us has a path and a God-given duty,” he explained, bowing his head and clapping his hands together, “we children of God must simply follow the path we are set upon...and do what we have been set here to do without haste.” Now we were both staring at him in awe.

“How do I put this…” Sebastian started, his brows furrowing in thought, “Mister Agni is truly a man of fine character.”

“I can’t believe a human like you actually exists…” I breathed as an afterthought, now leaning forward and propping up my head on my hand.

“Oh no, not at all!” Agni gasped, raising his hands to stop our praises, “...I was a hopeless paagal until I met my prince. The debt I owe him is one I will never, ever be able to repay...My clan was brahmin, part of the highest caste, members of which were allowed to serve God. However...my father was a brahmin only in name. And I, who had grown up watching him enveloped in lust and greed, lost my faith in God,” he started. I scowled at that, knowing full well losing faith in Him was a serious offense in His eyes, “Taking advantage of my social status, I sinned day in and day out. I hurt people. I blasphemed against God. I kept sinning, and...The day finally arrived on which my sins were to be judged. Then before me, the Godless sinner...the fool with no lingering attachment to this world...the man who had thrown everything away…God appeared. And he made me realize that the divine resided inside of this man.

“That day, I saw the face of God radiating holy light from within my prince! As though he were Ramakrishna himself!!” he gasped out, having grown very...passionate over his storytelling. Enough so that I had ignored potential pointed stares to take care of the food.

“Mister Agni, the pot is boiling over,” I called simply, taking the large pot off of the hot burner.

“Ah, forgive me, go sit back down Miss Cassandra,” he said hurriedly, a sheepish smile spreading to his face. I pouted, but did as he asked, “I have been in my prince’s service ever since. He is both my raja and my God,” he went on, shutting off the burner before someone got injured.

“God, you say…” Sebastian mumbled, brows furrowing at the other butler.

“Thus, even if I must risk my life to do so, I want to protect my prince, who gave me this new life, and...insofar as I am able, try to grant all of his wishes,” he concluded with that beaming smile of his. I only had to glance at Sebastian before both our expressions went dark.

“Well, a lot of actual gods are good-for-nothings,” the male grumbled, eyes setting into a glare.

“Considering who my Father is, I know that better than you…” I huffed, most of my words muffled by my hand.

“Eh? Did you say something?” Agni chirped, his confused smile on his face.

“No, no. Nothing,” we both answered with a wave of dismissal.

Notes:

Oh hey I'm actually on time!!

I kind of cut this one shorter than I expected to, but only because it is an hour until midnight here, and I kind of liked how I ended it, especially with Draco/Lukas in the picture. Yes, they do wrestle as a greeting. I found the concept amusing :3

See you all next week!

#black butler fanfiction

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