Yo. It's Kai.
I know what you're saying: "What the hell-WHERE WERE YOU ALL THIS TIME?"
Or it could be: "What do you want now, you traitor? Writing such an awesome story then leaving it at a (kind of) cliffhanger for over 6 months! GO AWAYY! THIS IS SPARTA!"
Or even possibly: "Oh hey, how are you, Kai? How you've been the last few years? And what happened to your username, its Kanna Kim now!"
But I will answer these with:
I had no support. The only support I got with this story were my lovely reviewers who cared about my feelings! So I got tired of this and picked up and left. So I'm going to try again. All the chapters I've written so far will be re-written right now. Please make me feel as though it was worth my time…
Also, I have changed my username because I got tired of the same thing over and over again. But thanks for asking :D
"What's the difference between living and dead?"
There is no difference. The living can be dead too. The dead could have more feelings than the living. Some people live without a purpose. The dead still burns with regret or hate. If the dead cannot make contact with the living, yet feel that way, there is no reality involved. Therefore, do not ask me such a useless question.Ciel groaned as Sebastian pulled aside the curtains at early dawn.
"Good morning, Young Master. I trust that you have slept well?" He smiled as he began to fix Ciel's morning tea.
"Why do you care?" He snapped as he sat up and snatched the newspaper from his butler's hands.
"My my, Young Master is crabby in the mornings," Sebastian remarked.
"Shut up," he snapped again as he settled down and read the paper.
Sebastian handed him his morning tea and Ciel took it and blew the surface. He caught a whiff of it and frowned. "This is the same as yesterday's morning tea. Can't you at least give me different kinds of tea each morning? Is that really too much to ask?"
He bowed. "I apologize."
Ciel snorted and took a sip. "What's on the schedule?"
"Young Master has an appointment with Lady Elizabeth, has to take his Latin, French, and German lessons. After that, he will begin his violin course and study his history. After mathematics, he will attend a meeting with Baron Luke. Lastly, he will be visited by Mister Cass Espiritus who will stay for the night until Young Master approves of his craftsmanship."
"Espiritus? Who?" Ciel frowned at the name.
"Cass Espiritus. Have you forgotten already?" Sebastian asked in mock surprise.
Ciel closed his eyes and tried to look for the memory of an Espiritus.
"Mama! Look! I gots a dolly from Mister Spirit! He's so nice!" A girl who ran right past Ciel as he was returning to his carriage exclaimed.
"What a nice dolly you have! Oh, it's wooden! My, we'll have to thank him for it! It must have been difficult to make a doll out of wood. She looks so real too...," the child's mother smiled.
The child caught Ciel's eye and hid behind the skirt of her mother, flustered. "Hello…"
Ciel smiled one of his famous smiles and bent down to her. "May I see that?"
Reluctantly, the girl handed her precious doll to her. "Please don't break it, Mister Earl. I can't play with broken dolls."
He nodded solemnly and inspected the doll.
The materials weren't very sophisticated, but this person clearly had put thought into it. Despite the poor quality of wood, he had polished it and made it as perfect as possible for such wood. The clothes on the doll were made from patches of rags, but it was sewn as though Ciel's own personal (and erratic) seamstress had made it. Ciel could tell the creator purposely made clothes like the girl's so they could match. It had an apron like the child too. He looked at the eyes. The doll had bright blue eyes that would be locked in eternal wake. A small smile played on the doll's lips as though she were watching a child with love. The hair was a faded brown that was made from a wig. Ciel wondered about this because if the creator had no money to create a doll with decent materials, how would he have gotten the hairs of a wig? The hair was tied into two long braids and had a cloth tied around its head, making it look like a typical daughter of a baker.
"Ummm…Mister Earl?" The girl tugged on the hem of his coat. "Can I have my dolly back?"
Ciel returned it to her. "Who did you say made this doll of yours?"
"Mister Spirit!" she exclaimed with a great innocent smile. "Mister Spirit is the best! He makes dolls, toys, and clothes for us! He doesn't expect anything in return, but we still pay him!" She held her arms wide as though expecting a hug, but Ciel guessed that she was trying to explain how big his heart was. He almost smirked to himself.
"Is that so? Is his name really Mister Spirit?"
She frowned. "It's longer, but I dunno…he tells us to call him Cass, but we respect him too much!"
He nodded and thanked her, unable to stand there any longer.
He and Sebastian climbed into his carriage and Ciel burst out laughing. "Who is this fool of a man to give away something without something in return? Everything has a price and if he doesn't name his, he is only hurting his own pride!"
Sebastian gave him a smile of understanding. "However, for a human, his craftsmanship is incredulous. Even I approve of him. Perhaps you should use him for another line of dolls and toys in your toy company."
Ciel smirked and looked out the window. "To let a fool make me money. I am not as low to do such a thing. How old could he be to be homeless and unmarried?"
Sebastian nodded. "While Young Master was interviewing the little one, I spoke to the mother. She graciously told me that the creator's name is Cass Espiritus, so we will have no trouble finding him."
He sighed, "Then onward to the house of the fools."
Ciel grimaced at the ratty little house once he arrived there. "Are you definite that he lives here?"
"I am quite sure," Sebastian replied.
He sucked in his breath and knocked on the door.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four-
"Yes?" A voice answered, opening the door a crack. Ciel saw a strange eye looking back. An eye that was not brown, not blue, nor green, but WHITE. A white eye with black around it and a single black pupil, shaped like a cat's. "Is there something wrong?" It asked, noticing how official and gaudy they looked compared to the exterior of his house.
"Nothing is wrong, Mister Espiritus," Sebastian replied with a smile. "We only wish to speak to you face to face."
"Eh…this isn't the best time. I am afraid that my house is a mess at the moment and I am not as properly dressed as you two are. I will ask for you to wait a minute and I will come out and speak to you."
"A-alright…"Ciel was astounded by his formal language.
When he did come out two minutes and forty-four seconds later, Ciel gasped. While expecting an adult, a child no more than fourteen stepped out. He examined him as closely has he had examined his doll.
He had a faded blonde hair that looked white and tousled. The eye that Ciel had seen was only his left eye. The right eye was a black eye with a white pupil and surrounding. His eyes did not appear to have a shimmer or a glint in it as normal people (and demons that looked like normal people…) had which made him look…well…dead.
He wore a long sleeved shirt that was white and had cuffs with the collar up. He wore a midnight blue vest over it with a tie of the same color. He had the same colored shorts and black boots that came up right below his knees with various straps. It did not have the wooden heels as Ciel's did.
His face was so pale that he looked like he had never seen daylight in his entire life. Ciel wondered how the children weren't afraid of him. He certainly creeped him out.
Sebastian gave a small cough to try and get Ciel's mind back to reality. It worked because never in his life had he heard the demon ever COUGH.
Ciel cleared his throat and stated the reason he was here.
Cass looked at him, confused. "Why me? There are plenty of fine doll makers in this world you could hire. I am but a simple boy who makes dolls for his entertainment. You could do better off without me."
"How pessimistic. If you do not want the job, that is fine by me. Like you said, I could find more professional doll maker and give him the job," Ciel snorted.
"No, you don't want to," Cass replied softly.
Sebastian raised his eyebrow. "Whatever could you mean by that, sir? This is Earl Ciel Phantomhive you are talking to."
"Yes, however, there must be a reason why he chose me over all those other professionals. So I would like to be told why," he replied in a soft voice, but a firm manner.
Ciel frowned. So this boy was older, but he spoke as though he could read people's hearts and use them to his advantage.
Not the kind of person he favored.
"Fine, if I told you, would you work for me?"
Cass thought a while. "If you answer all the questions I have, then I would come. Although it is you who decides whether I get the job or not, it appears that I have pleased you in some way. Have you seen the doll I made little Samantha today?"
"That is already a question, but yes, I encountered a little girl with one of your works."
"Then tell me, Earl Phantomhive," Cass stepped closer. "What makes you decide so suddenly? I have been told that the Earl has come from his company director who requested another toy just this morning. Why hasten your decision?"
Ciel frowned some more. "Because they gave me a deadline by tomorrow."
"And another I have already asked: Why chose me over the others?"
"Because the butler insisted," he replied simply and waved his hand.
Cass showed no reaction to this queer statement, but asked his final question. "Will you use my craftsmanship to satisfy greedy needs or will you use them to make children happy?"
It threw Ciel off for a minute and he confidently answered, "This company was not intended to make me money nor was it to make children happy. I only wish to use your craftsmanship to satisfy customers who want porcelain dolls."
He nodded. "Fair enough. When should I come, Earl?"
Ciel sighed at the memory and finally said, "Then let's get this day started already."
"Please do not break me. You cannot play with a broken doll. Don't break me-DON'T BREAK ME!"
YEAH! So how was that? Wasn't it awesome? You people better be happy, I had to rewrite half the thing over because my stupid foot shut off the computer and it auto saved only a little!
Well, thanks for reading!