Disclaimer: All character of Kuroshitsuji belong to Yana Toboso. Kate is mine.
She just couldn't understand it.
Why the people around her couldn't see him the way she did.
He was perfect. Every word, every action choreographed to perfection. He never made mistakes.
But that in its self was his mistake.
He was too perfect.
She watched him, whenever he came close. She watched how his hands, white gloved and graceful, ran the dusting cloth over the stair railing, leaving only shining, polished wood behind. Or, how he balanced priceless china figurines in one hand and never fumbled, never dropped even one. How he walked, confidant, self assured, his lithe body moving almost fluid like down the hall towards the Young Master's room. The way he fingered the kitchen knives, caressing each sharp edge with an almost-reverence.
It was disgusting.
And she had no idea why.
The feeling, like alarm bells ringing in her mind, twisting her belly, squeezing her heart and causing a terrified scream to claw at her throat.
She had to choke it back.
Every.
Single.
Time.
At first, she thought it was just nerves. It was a new job, with new faces and a new home. She was bound to be anxious. After all, it's not every day you get an offer to work for an Earl. Even a kid Earl at that. But the more time she spent here, the more she started to realize that it wasn't any of that.
She did her duties and knew the Phantomhive Manor like she'd lived there her entire life. She knew the gardens, the kitchens , the rooms; everything.
She knew Bardroy was a lousy excuse for a cook, Finnian broke cutlery just by being in the same room as it, and that though she vehemently denied it, MeyRin was a peeping tom.
She knew the routine.
She knew she should be comfortable by now.
But she wasn't.
And it was all because of him.
It had to be.
She was in the West Dining Room, dusting furniture and chatting with MeyRin when suddenly he appeared.
That damn butler.
He walked in, black suit as clean and unwrinkled as the day he got it, though he's had it for months now. She stopped talking mid sentence as her mouth automatically clamped shut, preventing the inevitable scream from escaping.
He was wearing that oh so fake polite smile of his as he looked at her, through her, sliding his eyes quickly up her body before letting his gaze fall on MeyRin.
He came towards them and questioned MeyRin about a certain tea set he found broken this morning. She turned away and began cleaning a crystal vase the moment MeyRin's face decided to turn into a tomato. She slowly made her way to the far side of the room as her friend began stammering out excuses.
Despite her unease, the house maid smiled softly.
MeyRin was so predictable sometimes. She was the clumsiest maid you would ever meet, which often made one wonder if she would be better suited for something else. The girl grimaced, knowing what she was better suited for.
MeyRin's voice rises hysterically, signaling either an upcoming panic attack or an all out faint.
She quickened her pace, fluttering her damp dusting rag over items quickly. She was almost to the door. If she could just reach it, she was sure that this sick feeling of dread would go away.
Her hand is closing around the door handle when suddenly everything goes quiet. She turned it, pushing, but the latch sticks. She's breathing harshly now and all she can think about is putting this door between herself and him.
"Kate."
His voice is silky smooth, dark and deceivingly kind.
Sometimes, it's almost as if he knew.
Kate resists the urge to freeze, forcing her body to relax as she slows her breathing and turns to face him.
"Yes?"
She forces her voice to be clear and angles her head so her hair covers her eyes.
"MeyRin seems to have fainted again, would you be so kind as to help me take her to her chambers? It won't take long."
She clenches her hands tightly behind her back so he won't see them shaking.
She just couldn't understand it.
She lifts her head and looks into his red eyes.
Why couldn't the people around her see him the way she did?
"Yes… Sebastian."