Lilliana Kiliamo has been a maid at the Phantomhive manor ever since Sebastian Michaelis and Earl Ciel Phantomhive hired her. She helped clean up after Mey-Rin, Finnian, and Baldroy whenever they made a mess of things, but she never hated the poor servants for their messes. She knew they were trying their absolute hardest, even if it didn't seem like it. They all didn't want to disappoint the master and especially Sebastian and who could blame them? Ciel, who was only twelve years old, acted much older than his age. He was mature, stoic, and cunning, just like his father before him, but sadly, he and his wife were tragically killed in a house fire. Ciel would have died too, but somehow, he survived and not only that, he survived with only a scar on his right eye, or at least, she thought it was a scar. He wore an eye patch to cover the eye, but the only person who has seen it was Sebastian.
Speaking of which, Sebastian was different from the other servants she worked with. He was the head butler and Ciel's personal assistant. He did everything with diligence and expertise that anyone could have mistaken him for something nonhuman. Though he was an excellent butler, he was also a great bodyguard for his young master. He seemed to do almost the impossible to catch a runaway item headed for his young master or push him out of the way of danger. Although the servants could too if they truly tried, they wouldn't be able to do even half the things Sebastian could do. He was just simply one hell of a butler.
Today, Lilliana worked in the kitchen to make breakfast for her dear master. Today's breakfast was poached salmon with mint salad and scones. The smells of the food filled the entire kitchen, making her hungry; despite she ate some oatmeal just before cooking. Baldroy, the chef, would have helped too, but he was busy getting everything prepared for tonight's special dinner with Mr. Damiano, a man who was in charge of stuffed animal factory in India. She made sure that he didn't burn anything since he had a tendency of using a flamethrower with every meal, thinking that it would speed up the process, but it always left everything burnt to a crisp. After some time, Sebastian walked into the kitchen and asked, "Is breakfast ready?"
"Not just yet. In a few minutes, it will be," she said with a smile. She didn't want to turn around because she knew that if her olive green eyes looked into his crimson ones, she wouldn't be able to look away. She had to admit, there was something about that butler that intrigued her, but she couldn't quite figure out what. Maybe it was because he was unlike anyone she met or the fact that he was in face, a handsome butler. "Did you wake up the young master yet?"
"Once the food is ready, I will," he said as he walked up to the stove she was cooking on. "It smells delicious."
"Thank you; I learned from the best," she said. He smiled at the statement and after some time, the food was ready and placed on a plate with care. Everything had to be perfect for Ciel Phantomhive.
"Take this to the dining room and I will wake up the master," Sebastian ordered as he left the room.
"Yes sir," Lilliana and Baldroy said in unison.
Once he left the room, Baldroy looked to her and said, "Should all four of us go? We haven't received our orders yet."
"I don't see the harm in doing so," she said as she put the plates of food onto the cart. She left the room while he headed to the servant's quarters to get the other two servants.
"Ow," Finnian yelled after he was hit in the head with a dart. Ciel liked to play games with people, even when the opponent didn't know they were playing one. This time, he threw a dart at the poor gardener who was just talking to the other servants. "What was that for all of the sudden?! What did I do, young master?"
"You should have seen that coming," Ciel coldly said, leaving Finnian in disbelief.
Suddenly, the doors opened and in came Sebastian saying, "There you three are! Finny, have you finished weeding the courtyard?"
"Well," he said with an exaggerated sigh.
"Mey-Rin, have you washed the sheets?"
"Um," she said shyly.
"Bard, weren't you supposed to be preparing tonight's dinner?"
"Damn," he answered.
"Tanaka," Sebastian said to the old man who was sipping tea, but he didn't want to give him any strenuous work. "Well, you're all right as you are."
"Ho, ho, ho," the old man responded with delight.
"If you have time to dawdle here, then use that time towards your work," Sebastian scolded.
"I thought you told me that you didn't have chores to do right now," Lilliana asked Baldroy.
"Well, I might have lied about that," he said as he rushed out of the room with the other two servants. Lilliana wiped her face with her hand and sighed as she started to walk out the room, but Sebastian stopped her.
"Today, I want you to work with me. I'm sure the servants will make a mess of things and I want you there with me in case that happens," he said.
"Yes sir," she answered. Throughout the day, the two of them worked hard to prepare for their guest's arrival, including setting the table, polishing all the silverware, creating a beautiful centerpiece, and finally, making the dinner. He prepared the meat while she chopped up vegetables. "If you know Baldroy is going to ruin the meal, why would you put him in charge of cooking it in the first place?"
"He has his very flawed moments, but there are some days when he is a truly good servant. I can't strip him of his duties just because of one mistake, though sooner or later, I might have to," he said.
"One mistake," she teased. "I think he's made more than one mistake." The two of them laughed, but soon, a little bell rang, indicating that Ciel wanted his butler in the study.
Sebastian sighed. "Why must he call when I'm always busy? There is still so much to do. . . . You wouldn't mind finishing the meal, do you, Lilliana?"
"Not at all," she said with a smile. Sebastian left the room and she started to work on the meat. Sweat started to moisten her raven hair, but she tried hard to avoid any sweat from getting into the meat.
Suddenly, the door opened and in came Baldroy with a flamethrower. "Don't worry, Lilliana, I'll cook it up for you!"
"What are you doing with that thing?! Put it-," she said, but it was too late. He already turned on the flamethrower and aimed for the table, but instead of cooking the meat, the fire spread throughout the entire table, burning everything it touched. The two of them screamed as she quickly ran for a pail of water and splashed it to the growing flame. Luckily, she was exceptionally faster than all of the servants, excluding Sebastian, and eventually, the flame was gone, but it left quite a mess of the table. "What were you thinking? How many times have we told you that flamethrowers don't belong in the kitchen," she yelled.
Baldroy guiltily said, "Sorry, I just wanted to cook the meat faster. Aren't we Phantomhive servants supposed to do things quickly?"
She sighed. "Yes, but you also have to be efficient."
"I'm sorry," he said. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from upstairs and the two of them rushed up to see what made the noise. When they finally arrived, they saw that Mey-Rin was lying on the ground with broken glass and furniture around her.
"What happened here," Lilliana asked, almost annoyed that two simple chores have become messes.
"I was trying to get out the tea set for our guest, but I fell and took everything down with me," she cried.
"Are you all right, though," he said as he helped her stand to her feet.
"Yes, I'm all right," she said with a sad smile.
Lilliana sighed and looked out the window, but saw that the courtyard was completely dead, as if a Grim Reaper took the life out of the vegetation. "What the fuck?!" The two servants looked outside and gasped in shock. The three of them ran outside and saw that Finny was crying about his failure. "I thought using undiluted weed-killer would kill all the weeds, but it killed everything!"
"Ugh, can one thing go right today," Lilliana said under her breath.
"What are we going to do," the three servants asked frantically.
"There is one thing we can do: get Sebastian's help," she said. The three servants looked at her with frightened eyes, but they knew that she was right.
They walked back inside to the kitchen, hoping she could find a way to save dinner, but Sebastian was already in the hallway with a shocked face. "How did you guys manage to botch up your jobs this badly?"
"We're sorry Sebastian," the three servants cried, begging that their mistakes wouldn't be their last, or at least, the ones that finally get them fired. Lilliana turned her face away, trying to avoid his cold eyes. It was almost her job to make sure that the three of them didn't mess up their jobs, at least, not this badly, but she couldn't even do that.
"Calm down, all of you," Sebastian said. "Listen carefully and do exactly as I say. We only have two hours left and we need to be quick. We'll have to manage with what we have."
As the agonizing two hours passed, the five of them worked their very hardest to create the perfect dinner for their guest with the little time they had. They turned the courtyard into a Japanese stone garden, used Tanaka's favorite tea set, and even managed to cook the burnt meat by removing the black cover. The moment was upon them and Mr. Damiano finally arrived at the Phantomhive manor. Sebastian escorted him out of the carriage and he noticed the beautiful, but unusual garden that welcomed him. "Welcome," the servants said with a smile.
"Tonight's dinner will be served out here tonight, but until then, why don't you wait inside the manor," Sebastian said.
"Of course, the Phantomhives sure don't disappoint their guest, but I wouldn't expect any less," the Italian man said as he walked by the servants, but stopped when he saw Lilliana. "Oh my, the Earl surely has the best servants working for him. Bella, if you wish to find another job opportunity, you can always work for me."
"Thank you sir, but my loyalty will stay with the Phantomhives," she said with a fake smile. Damiano pouted and headed into the manor. The three servants marveled at their success, but once Damiano was gone, her smile quickly faded as she said, "I hate those fucking men! Just because I'm a woman, it doesn't mean I'll sleep with anyone. I'm a maid, not a prostitute!"
"It's all right, Lilliana," Sebastian said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But it can't be helped that you are too beautiful for your position."
She blushed with embarrassment. She thought she was thinking to herself, but she instead said it out loud. Not only that, but he complimented her as well, causing her to blush an ever deeper shade of red. "L-Let's get things ready for tonight's dinner," she said hesitantly.
"You're right. Let's get to it while the master is speaking business with our guest. There is still work to be done," he ordered. The servants quickly went into the kitchen, but Sebastian pulled her away from the rest and asked, "So, is our guest on your . . . list tonight, you know, after your servile duties are done?"
"No, but William is still pissed at me for taking this job in the first place. He gives me so many assignments at night to the point that I don't even have time to sleep in between jobs," she said.
"You know you could have declined at any time, right?"
"I know, but I actually like working for the Phantomhives," she said with a smile as they both headed to the kitchen where they saw Finny and Bard removing the black cover off of the meat. Luckily for them, it was still edible and they prepared to cook it.
"Sebastian and Lilliana, I found them," Mey-Rin said as she ran to them with a tall stack of boxes in her arms, but she soon tripped, sending the boxes flying in the air. In the blink of an eye, the two of them caught the boxes almost with ease and managed to get them all before any of them crashed on the floor.
"Honestly, how many times have I told you not to run inside the manor," Sebastian asked in a disappointed, but gentle tone.
"I'm so sorry, sir, but my glasses are cracked, you see, and I can't really see where I'm going," Mey-Rin said frantically with a deep crimson face. The two men in the kitchen heard the commotion outside and wanted to see what was going on.
"Well, regardless, we have everything we need for now. Splendid work everyone! Leave the rest to Lilliana and me and take a break. Oh, and please do not, I repeat, do not touch a thing," he said with a smile.
"He said it twice; he must be serious," Lilliana said under her breath.
"Yes sir," the three of them said. Lilliana playfully sighed, but they took the boxes to the table outside and carefully placed the tea set, plates, silverware, and centerpiece. Baldroy made his special fast-paced meal for tonight and when it was done, she placed the delicious food on a cart and took it outside while Sebastian left to announce that dinner was ready.
After some time, everyone was at the dinner table. Ciel sat at the head of the table, Damiano sat at the other side, and the servants stood by, awaiting orders. "Tonight's menu is a finely-chopped raw beef donburi from our wonderful chef Baldroy," Sebastian said with his usual sophistication.
"A pile of raw beef . . . is our dinner," Damiano asked. The words "raw beef" and "dinner" did not mix in his mind, especially since it seemed unsanitary.
"Yes. This meal is made for someone that deserves great gratitude and appreciation. We hope it is to your liking, especially since it is a token of our thanks for your devoted efforts on behalf of the Funtom Company."
"Ha, what an inspiring dish you have served! That's the legendary first-rate Phantomhive hospitality that I've come to know!"
"Also, we have a specially prepared Italian wine for you as well to compliment the food perfectly," he said with a wink to signal Mey-Rin to pour the wine. However, she seemed flustered, as if his wink somehow caused her to be nervous, or was it the fact that he was watching? Not only that, but she was nervous that her cracked glasses would hinder her simple task of pouring wine into a glass. Sure enough, she did spill the wine, but she was so embarrassed that she didn't quickly bring it up. Instead, it kept pouring to the point that it was going to spill on the poor man eating his specially made food. Sebastian noticed this and before the wine could reach the edge, he pulled the tablecloth off the table, but somehow, he managed to not carry everything else with it. It was like magic, amazing everyone.
Damiano finally finished his dinner, but once he placed the bowl back down on the table, he noticed something amiss. "What happened to the tablecloth?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there was a speck of dirt on it and we had to remove it. Please, continue to enjoy the meal," Lilliana said as she took the tablecloth from Sebastian's hands and left the dinner scene.
"Wow, once again, you have impressed me, Lord Phantomhive. Your butler is an able one, isn't he?"
"He is only doing what is proper for a butler," Ciel said.
"He is quite right. You see, I'm simply one hell of a butler," Sebastian said with a smirk.
"Are you going to work now," Sebastian asked Lilliana after dinner and cleanup were finished. He knew it was time for her to go to her other job now, but she was still here.
"Not right now. He's not going to die tonight, but it will be one hell of a show that I don't want to miss," she said with a devilish look in her eyes, something that he enjoyed seeing. Even though she seemed sweet and innocent, she was just as sadistic as he was, especially when mischief was about to happen. After a while, he prepared tea and pudding for the two noblemen and was about to enter the drawing room, but Damiano opened the door before he could and without saying a word, he stormed out the room.
He walked for a while before he found what seemed to be a private room with a telephone and started calling someone. "I fucking hate babysitting that little brat! Yes, the factory has been long since sold off and now, I just need to pocket the cash I can swindle from that brat." Even though he thought he was alone, there were two people who were listening to his conversation and they knew the proper way to punish a bastard like him.
Damiano headed for the drawing room, but the poor man got lost along the way. The manor was a large place and anyone who didn't know the layout could easily get lost. Throughout his trip back, he thought he kept seeing faces, almost like skeleton faces, staring at him. Although he thought it was just his imagination, he soon heard a voice saying, "You are bewitched by the eyes of the dead." He stopped in his tracks when he heard that. Wasn't that a space on that brat's board game? He thought it was eerie, but tried to make sense of the situation and continued walking. Suddenly, he heard noises in front of him and looked to see where they were coming from. Soon, he saw a figure, but it was dragging something very heavy. The figure got closer to the light and it revealed a hooded person with a large scythe, almost like one that a Grim Reaper had.
"Get away from me," Damiano yelled as he ran like hell away from the figure.
As soon as he was at a far enough distance, Lilliana removed her hood and smiled. "That will teach you to mess with the Phantomhives." She then picked up her Death Scythe and made sure there weren't any scratches. "William would kill me if you got a scratch."
"Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeee!" The three servants frantically bickered as they saw their guest in a lot of pain because of his twisted right leg. He fell down the stairs and hurt himself pretty badly. They tried to help him, but he was in so much fear that he didn't want any of their help.
"You lose your leg in the enchanted forest," that same voice said only to him. He started crawling away, but he eventually met up with Sebastian's evil smile.
"Where are you going, sir? Surely, you aren't leaving the manner yet? We still haven't given you the full Phantomhive treatment. Besides, you lost a leg, so you have to move half of the spaces, remember? Why don't you just relax a bit and make yourself at home?" Despite the innocent tone, his intentions were far from that. Damiano quickly crawled away from him and eventually found a dark room to hide in, but the footsteps came closer and closer and he had no choice, but to hide. He found a place, but he noticed something was wrong. Not only were the footsteps getting closer and closer, but they seemed to have multiplied. Regardless, he remained quiet, but then, light appeared in the area he was hiding in the form of fire. He heard something slide over and saw two pairs of eyes staring at him: one crimson and one olive green.
"What an impatient guest you are," Lilliana said with a sinister tone. "You had to get the pudding in the oven now."
"Wait, an oven? Let me out of here! Open this door at once! Please!"
"Perhaps Italians aren't familiar with our English customs? Plum pudding, mince meat, and any desserts from England in general have animal fat that needs to be burnt away," Sebastian said as he closed the little window of the oven, leaving him there to burn.
"Your body is burnt by the raging flames," Lilliana said as she picked up her Death Scythe so it was over her shoulder. "Well, I hope that bastard appreciated our Phantomhive hospitality! I'll be off to work now."
"All right then. Thank you for your help," Sebastian said with a smirk. Only she knew the funs of being a demon among humans, especially those who deserved punishment. After all, she was a Grim Reaper.
"You're welcome," she said as she removed her hooded cloak, revealing her uniform: black slacks, a white collar shirt, and a brown vest. Since she was the only female Reaper in her sect, she was required to wear male clothing, or at least, the female cut of male clothing. Her black heeled boots were the only thing that was feminine, but even then, she knew one man (or woman, or whatever the hell he was) who wore heels to work. Her straight, black hair was no longer in a bun and was flowing past her shoulders, covering her right eye. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she left through a window.
"Where have you been, Ms. Kiliamo," a stern man with brown hair, a tuxedo, and grey glasses said as she walked in an hour late to her shift.
"Sorry, Will, but I got caught up with work. You'll have to forgive me," she said as she put on her spectacles. They were red, but had a slim frame. She was one of two Reapers that didn't really need spectacles, but they were part of the uniform, so she had to wear them.
William T. Spears raised an eyebrow at her statement. "I hope that's the case and not you falling for that demon. Lately, you have been coming late to work and that's always the excuse you use."
"Being a maid over there takes a lot of time and effort. Can you blame me?"
"Yes I can; you are already breaking a lot of rules, including trivializing your Reaper duties, unauthorized use of your Death Scythe, and most importantly, active contact with a demon. Any other Grim Reaper would have been in serious trouble. Why would you accept a job like that in the first place?"
"I don't know. Maybe they made me feel special at a time when I was alone or maybe something else. All I know is that I actually do like working there and I'm not going to quit," she barked back. She noticed his change in expression and continued, "Besides, I've been able to manage two jobs at once."
Will frowned, but sighed in annoyance. "If you insist, but if you continue to be late, you might be out of job here before you know it," he said before handing her some files. "Here are your assignments for tonight. I expect you to complete them before dawn, do you understand?"
"Yes sir," she said with a smile.
He was about to leave her side, but he just remembered something and asked, "Oh, before I forget: have you seen Grell Sutcliff lately?"
"No, I haven't, but why would you want him, or her or whatever the fuck he is? It's actually been quiet around here lately!"
"Although I do enjoy the quietness, he hasn't shown up to work for a while and that is against the rules. If you do see him, tell him to meet with me immediately."
"Will do," she said with a two finger salute. Once he walked away, she said under her breath, "But I do enjoy not having him around. He can stay away as long as he wants."