"blah blah blah" = dialogue
'blah blah blah' = thoughts
Blah = emphasis
~*~ = end of scene
(*#) = has a comment/note in the author's note at the bottom
Reviews and private messages are very much appreciated, as well as good critical comments (meaning good and bad. Pointing out my flaws and strengths in a professional manner is perfectly acceptable and it helps my writing. I love and live for it.) Flaming is completely unacceptable and any flame reviews will be promptly deleted.
Disclaimer:
All characters besides than Miss Emilie Wright, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, Sir Alaric, and anybody else I made or make up belong to Yana Toboso. I used the Kuroshitsuji storyline and characters for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any sort of profit from this (other than improving my writing, of course ;D).
Chapter One
New Arrival
Sebastian and Ciel were walking down a long hallway of the manor together. It was the afternoon and Sebastian had just finished giving his master a violin lesson. It had been a long, drawn-out session, for the boy could not seem to focus on the matter at hand. He would constantly hit the wrong notes, the awful sound grinding against the demon's ears. Sebastian had been frequently yelling at the earl, telling him to clear his mind and think about the lesson, but it was all for naught. Even as they headed toward Ciel's office, the boy seemed to be anxious about something and his thoughts were elsewhere.
The child turned to Sebastian and asked, "Sebastian, what time is it?"
"It is 11:30, sir," the butler said after he pulled out his pocket watch.
Ciel sighed in slight irritation. He appeared impatient. Sebastian eyed him suspiciously, unknowing of what his master was thinking.
He titled his head and said inquisitively, "Is something concerning you, young master? You seem anxious about something."
The earl looked away and murmured, "Nothing is wrong. I am simply… waiting."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for what, young master?"
Ciel ignored him and kept walking. Sebastian frowned and narrowed his eyes, annoyed by his young master's cryptic behavior. He was acting rather peculiar and the butler did not know why, which proved to further irritate him. The demon pulled out the planner book from his jacket and opened it. Flipping to the current date, the man read aloud, "Young master, at noon I will be serving you roast beef and apricot-date chutney on sliced baguettes, complimented by a Rose tea. It is perfect for the autumn time… Does that sound suitable?"
"Mm," Ciel nodded, again not really paying much attention to Sebastian's words.
The demon sweat-dropped and sighed. He stated, "For the next hour, you are to fill out the necessary paperwork for the latest transaction your company has made, along with writing letters to the Queen and some of your other associates. And-"
"Yes, yes. I understand Sebastian. I shall begin my work momentarily, so just wait until we actually get in the office," Ciel interrupted while waving his hand at him, signaling for his butler to cease talking.
Sebastian closed his eyes and snapped the book shut. He bowed his head, "Yes, my lord."
The demon's lids opened slightly, staring at his young master with narrowed eyes. Ciel really was acting extra peculiar today, and even more rude and bratty than usual. They eventually reached the office and Sebastian walked up to the door, opening it. Just as Ciel began to walk through the doorway, a loud banging could be heard from the front entrance. Sebastian blinked and placed his hand against his chin, pondering. He murmured, "Hmmm… it does not say on the schedule that we are expecting any guests today. I wonder who it could be…?"
Ciel had stopped mid-way through the door, and Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him. The demon's hand fell to his side and he said with a sigh, "Young master, I shall find out who is at the door and what their business is. Why don't you go in the office and start working?"
The earl swiftly turned around, a grin on his face, which Sebastian responded to with raised brows. The child rarely smiled, so this was a surprise to the demon. Ciel walked forward and replied, "No, no. I shall go with you, Sebastian."
Sebastian shook his head and frowned. "But young master, I am quite capable of handling it myself, plus you have all of your work to do..."
"No. I insist," Ciel said with a smirk tugging at his lips. There seemed to be a mischievous gleam in eyes, which immediately made Sebastian suspicious.
"Yes, young master. As you wish," he answered, eying the boy warily. He was trying to read his thoughts, but he could not quite figure them out, for the demon was missing something. Sebastian frowned. He did not like this whatsoever.
They quickly walked to the end of the hall and to the main entrance. The whole while, Ciel had that playful glint in his large, blue eyes and a small smirk on his face. Every so often the demon would side-glance with narrowed eyes at his master and look at him apprehensively. With each step, the boy seemed to grow more and more excited. When they reached the door, Ciel walked a little ahead of the butler and turned to the side, so that he was facing both Sebastian and the door, but, strangely enough, only so that the butler could see him and not the person outside. Sebastian just sighed and internally shook his head, not understanding his master's behavior at the moment, and proceeded to open the door.
A pretty, bright-eyed, young woman stood outside, her hand hovering where the door was, about to knock again. Her eyes, which were large, doe-like, and an emerald green in colour, widened and glanced up to meet with a pair of smaller, much narrower, dark red ones. Soft, pink lips quickly curved into a sugar-sweet smile, and the woman lowered her hand, wrapping her small, but long and slender fingers around the handle of her very large suitcase. The bag was massive, a dark, forest green in colour, and the back of it lightly rested on her grey-blue dress, which was modest and simple, but clearly made of a nice material. The young woman was certainly no peasant, but clearly not a woman of great wealth. The female was petite, not much taller than Ciel (*1) and could have been easily mistaken for a young girl if it were not for the fact that she had a figure. It was not prominent, for she did not have the large curves and hourglass figure some women had, but, after close observation, one could tell that she was not lacking. She had a slight figure, not too small or too large; perfect for her petite size. The young woman's skin was porcelain and pallid, although her cheeks were a slight pink in colour, a natural flush. Unlike most women, her hair was down, appealing to her girlish look, and she had long, smooth, thick, black locks, which reached to her mid-back, slightly waving toward the ends. The hair attached to the temples was pulled back and placed in a low tail which gently rested on the rest of her locks. To frame her small, round, almost child-like face, she had bangs that were only slightly too long, covering the top of her eyes just a smidge. There was a warm, kind presence that seemed to emanate from her.
"Good afternoon, sir," she said in a soft, cute, and almost bell-like voice. (*2) Sebastian raised his eyebrows, never seeing this female before. He stared at her for a few moments, blinking, before curving one brow down while the other remained arched.
"... Pardon me, but who are you, Miss?" he asked slowly and carefully. While the question could come across as rude, the way he said it made the words seem polite and that he was only simply curious.
The young woman moved her suitcase to one hand, placing the arm holding it at her side with ease and in one easy, fluid motion. Her free hand went to her other side and grabbed at her skirts, lifting them up slightly. The female curtsied, bowing her head, resulting in some of her ebony locks to fall around her face. While in her curtsy, she said, "I am Emilie Selena Wright, Sir."
Sebastian frowned slightly, not recognizing the name either, and then asked, "If I may, what is your business here? The last time I checked, we were not expecting visitors..."
Her large green orbs widened slightly and her mouth went in a small "o" shape. She straightened her posture, getting out of her curtsey, and her eyes met his. The young woman furrowed her brows, a slight look of concern on her features.
"O-Oh, well, I w-was hired by Earl Ciel P-Phantomhive and was ordered to come h-here," she answered, looking down to her side and, with her free hand, went into one of her skirt pockets. Emilie reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper, pursing her pink lips. Her large eyes scanned the contents of it.
"Or at least I h-hope it was here..." she looked up at him, tilting her head. Her smooth, black brows furrowed slightly, the girl nibbling her bottom lip, and Emilie asked worriedly, "Is this not his estate?"
Dark red eyes widened. The demon was surprised by the young woman's words. He knew everything that went on regarding the Phantomhive estate and business. How could he not have heard of this?
"Yes it is, but I know nothing of this..." Sebastian murmured, brows furrowing.
At that very moment, Ciel stepped into sight, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. The worried expression washed away from Emilie's face, relief clearly replacing the previous doubt, and she smiled.
"Oh, Earl Phantomhive!" she exclaimed, grabbing her skirts and curtseying. "I apologize. I did not see you."
The child waved his hand up and down in a dismissive manner, replying, "No need to apologize. It is fine, Emilie."
Sebastian looked down at his master questioningly. "Young master?"
Ciel had a triumphant look on his face, as if he won some sort of competition, and his smirk grew in size as he glanced up at the butler. His blue eye then moved to Emilie and the boy raised a brow.
"Please, come in. How about we go to my office to talk, instead of standing out here?" the earl suggested.
Emilie nodded and bowed her head. "Yes, Earl Phantomhive," she said with a smile, "that sounds most lovely."
The woman entered the manor, picking up her dress skirts as she passed the doorway. Her large green eyes scanned the extravagant hallway, a slight blush coloring her cheeks
"Your home is absolutely beautiful, Earl Phantomhive, sir," Emilie said in awe, mouth hanging slightly in a gape.
The child nodded, smiling at her, before looking at Sebastian and frowning. "Sebastian! You are slacking. Take Emilie's bag. She must be tired from her trip."
Emilie shook her head and closed her eyes, smiling nervously. "O-oh no!" she exclaimed, taking a small step backwards. "It is f-fine. I-I can c-carry it!"
Ciel also shook his head, waving his hand. "No, no. Sebastian shall do it. It appears heavy and it would not do if a woman had to carry such a load, right Sebastian?" At this, his eye slid to his butler, raising a brow and the corner of his lip curving upwards.
Sebastian closed his eyes and bowed. "Of course, young master." He turned to Emilie and held out his hand, saying in a polite manner, "Please, allow me, Miss Wright."
The young woman hesitated before handing the bag to him with one arm, looking to the side and a blush colouring her cheeks. She whispered, "S-Sorry..."
Her eyes glanced up to his and they appeared apologetic, saying, 'I did not mean for you to get in trouble, sir.'
The butler smiled and grabbed the bag, his eyes silently conveying back, 'It is no trouble at all.'
She blushed and smiled back. 'A-Alright.'
Sebastian was surprised at the weight of the bag, remembering how the petite woman had held it with ease. Most women and even men would struggle carrying it with one hand like she had. He raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued. The demon butler shut the door close and the three of them began to head down the hallway with Sebastian and Ciel side-by-side and Emilie following behind them. Her green eyes glanced about, taking in all of the extravagant décor. Sebastian looked down at Ciel, his eyebrow raised, waiting for an explanation from the boy, who was smirking at him, still reveling in the fact that he was able to catch the demon off-guard and surprise him. After a few more moments of satisfaction, the earl sighed and began to tell the story as they walked:
"I was introduced to Emilie last Sunday while meeting with Sir Alaric at the Edward's estate. The butler was busy with other duties so she was serving us that afternoon. As you know, the head of the estate and Sir Alaric's uncle, Jonathon Edwards, suffered from a stroke and is currently comatose. Mrs. Edwards has decided to sell the countryside manor and is moving in their London estate within the next couple of weeks. From what I was told, she is being tighter with the money since her husband has been in a coma, so she is letting go of some of the staff, including Emilie here."
Ciel waved his hand towards Emilie and added, "Hence why I hired her. Sir Alaric highly praised Emilie and told me she was the best servant at the Edward's estate. He was actually going to take Emilie if no one else hired her first."
The young woman flushed and said in a soft, embarrassed voice, "O-Oh, I-I would not say the b-best..."
"Nonsense," Ciel stated, dismissing her words. They had reached his office door and Sebastian opened it. The kid and the woman entered the room, and the butler quietly closed the door behind them. "I saw how diligently you worked that day. Other servants were frequently coming to you to ask for help with their jobs. Not only did you serve us quite adequately, but you also did much of your coworker's chores as well. I have not seen anyone work that efficiently other than my butler, Sebastian."
"O-Oh, why t-thank you, Earl Phantomhive, sir!" she exclaimed, a large, flattered smile growing on her face, along with a rosy blush coloring her cheeks.
Ciel walked over to his desk, Sebastian pulled out the chair, and Ciel sat down on it. He motioned for her to sit on one of the chairs at the front of his desk, at which she heeded and quickly sat down before the butler could even reach her to pull out the chair. Clearly the man performing tasks for the woman made her uncomfortable, considering a look of embarrassment continued to glimmer in her large eyes and she would fiddle nervously with the skirt of her dress. The demon internally shrugged at her behavior, figuring it was because she was used to serving others and not being catered to, and went over to the pantry, starting to make some tea.
Sebastian's eyes slid over to Emilie. It all made sense why he had not known about her. The trip, which was made a handful of days before, was taken by Ciel by himself. While it was practically unheard of for Sebastian not to accompany the child, he had to investigate a few matters for the Queen and Ciel needed to meet Sir Alaric for some business matters. Now it was clear as to why Ciel had acted peculiar that evening so many days before and today. Sebastian knew something mischievous was preoccupying his master's mind because he frequently looked at the butler, a devilish smirk glinting in the child's eyes. The demon had just shrugged it off and ignored his behavior. The butler could not say he was happy about his master making this kind of decision behind his back, which he knew was why Ciel had done it. Sebastian already had three incompetent servants who messed up their duties every day and another who was too old to do anything besides sit around drinking tea. Adding one more useless person to the list would only cause more trouble for the demon... which, again, he knew was why the earl had hired the woman, just to irk him.
'Why must I have a mercurial brat as my master?' the demon thought, internally sighing.
He quickly finished with the tea and brought over his tray to the boy, pouring him a cup. "Earl Grey, sir," he whispered quietly, staying quiet so as not to appear rude and as though he was interrupting their conversation. Ciel nodded and the butler went over to Emilie, raising a brow, asking silently whether the woman wanted a cup of tea as well. She held up her hands and shook her head, closing her eyes and smiling.
"Oh, n-no thank you, but I greatly appreciate the offer, s-sir," said Emilie graciously.
The demon's brows arched upwards. It was difficult not to notice how happy Emilie seemed; she was constantly smiling and her voice was so cheerful. Most of all, it was the aura about her. It was almost as if the Sun's light itself was radiating from her body. He found it strange, especially considering her situation.
"It may be bold of me to say," started the demon slightly cruelly, closing his eyes and keeping a straight face, although he was internally smirking, "but you seem awfully cheerful considering your situation. Your master suffered a stroke and is comatose and his wife let you go, and yet you are smiling and seem so happy and content. Please, do not take offense, Miss. It was simply something I noticed...-"
Emilie closed her eyes and shook her head, her black locks swaying from side-to-side, and she waved her hands. "Oh, please! None is taken at all!" When her lids rose again, her large, green orbs held a hint of sadness. A small, sorrowful smile appeared on her lips and the woman placed a hand over her heart. "It is not that I am happy Master Edwards is in the state that he is in. It is rather disheartening, actually. He is a kind man. My old master was so understanding and, why, he even gave us days off if we asked and... and without asking any questions! Nice payments, nice treatment, nice..." Emilie paused. The smile disappeared from her face and the glimmer in her eyes dimmed. Although it was only for a split second, Sebastian could sense that she had difficulty speaking the next word, "... e-everything."
The young women went silent. Her eyes glazed over and she seemed distant, as if she were no longer in the room, but somewhere else. Emilie appeared to be reminiscing about something—her bottom lip trembled and her fingers twitched, curling up and clenching at the skirts of her dress—something she did not wish to remember and that was unpleasant. Ciel placed his cup of tea on the small plate. At the sound of the clink, the fog in Emilie's eyes vanished and she bit her shaking lip, her fingers uncurling. She blinked slowly and, when her eyes opened fully again, a large beam was planted on her face.
"B-but I am happy now," she exclaimed. "I may have lost a good master, but I have gained a new one." Emilie laughed softly, her eyes closing and giving a happy smile. "I consider myself lucky that Master Phantomhive was kind enough to hire a new servant, and me for that matter. How could I not be pleased about that?"
The demon found it incredibly difficult to take this new woman seriously. She was so... optimistic and lighthearted. 'This woman simply cannot be portraying herself honestly. How could she be? It must be an act,' he thought, staring at her glowing face and sensing her joyful aura. Sebastian's eyes narrowed. 'What a strange girl,' he thought. 'Very strange.'
His thoughts were cut off by a "Sebastian." Dark red eyes turned to Ciel. "Yes, young master?"
"Show Emilie around the house," Ciel ordered, taking another sip of tea. "I want her to be familiar with the Phantomhive manor grounds as soon as possible so she can start working by tomorrow without getting lost. Put off all of your other work until this is done, understood?"
Sebastian's lips curved into that trademark smirk of his and said with a low bow, "Yes, my lord."
He sharply turned and walked towards the sitting Emilie, whose big eyes moved to face him. When Sebastian reached her side, he bent down and said in a quiet voice by her ear, "Let us go, Miss Wright."
She blinked a few times and her eyes widened. "O-Oh! Of... Of course, Sir."
Emilie quickly stood up and curtsied to Ciel, bowing her head. She said in a sweet, appreciative voice, "Thank you ever so much, Earl Phantomhive, for your hospitality and kindness! I shall work as hard as I possibly can to show you my appreciation, but even that would never be enough."
Ciel looked up at Emilie and smiled. "Your services shall be plenty enough, especially if you work like how you did the other day."
"I shall, and thank you again," she replied with a nod and straightened up.
Emilie turned towards Sebastian and he then led her to the door, opening it. Once she went through the doorway, the butler slipped through and softly closed the door. When he turned around, he noticed the woman glancing to the side with a blush colouring her cheeks. The demon raised a brow.
"Is something the matter, Miss Wright?" he asked in confusion.
The young woman shuffled her feet and gulped. The colour in her cheeks darkened from pink to red. It took her a few moments, but once she gathered the courage to look him in the eyes, she exclaimed, "Oh please, Sir! I do not wish to waste your time. I know the job of a butler is very tedious and time consuming. You have a lot to do without having to lug me around. Sir, I can make my way through the manor and find everything on my own without bothering you. Making your job more difficult is the last thing I want to do!"
The demon's red eyes widened at her words, surprised. She was exceptionally kind and considerate, even to her coworkers. This woman was actually willing to get lost in this great manor just so that she would not have to trouble him. Sebastian could not help but give a small, true smile, closing his eyes.
"Please, Miss Wright," he replied politely, "it is my pleasure to show you around the manor. Besides, if you became lost and had to ask me where certain items and areas are constantly, would that not waste more of my time and be more of an inconvenience added up than simply showing you around once?"
The blush on Emilie's cheeks turned into a more fevered red colour and her gaze dropped to the floor. "I-I suppose you are r-right, S-Sir..."
Sebastian nodded, turned his back to her, and added, "Oh, and please call me Sebastian, Miss Wright. There is no need for such formalities."
"Then," Emilie spoke up. Sebastian glanced over at her, eyebrows raised. A slight blush covered her cheeks and she smiled in slight embarrassment. "Then please, call me Emilie. One coworker acting familiar with another who does not just seems plain s-silly, does it not... Sebastian?"
The corners of the demon's lips curved upwards and he nodded his head in agreement. He said with a soft chuckle, "I suppose you are right, Emilie. Let us go then, now that we have that established."
Emilie giggled and tilted her head to the side, beaming up at him. He began to walk forward and she exclaimed while following after the butler, "Alright~!"
Author's note:
*1 : Ciel is 5'0," in case anyone was wondering.
*2 : Not the annoying, high pitched voice where you want to strangle them, but the one where you are like, "Aww... so cute!" and you want to glomp and cuddle them...yeah, that one... lol!
