London's cobblestones were slick with rain, shining in the light from the flickering street lamps like the scales of some dark reptile as the street wound its way past a solemn cathedral. Lightning flashed, and a small figure was illuminated as it hurried through the downpour. Glittering puddles were upset by little black heels beneath slender stockinged legs. The inevitable thunder resounded, but was paid no mind. Twice, she stumbled, avoiding a face to face with the grimy street by the barest slip of momentum as those feet carried on to the door of the church. Shaky pale hands met the ancient wood doors and pushed their way inside, closing out the wet and the cold as the girl pressed her small back against the wall to catch a breath. The church was dark. Quiet. Empty. Well, mostly.
The dripping raincoat was discarded over the back of a pew as the girl sought to rid herself of the chill that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Shivering slightly, she slipped silently down the aisle before making her way around to the back and through an almost hidden door. Her steps were those of someone who knew where they were going, and why. She was not the first to travel down the steep stone stairs that were already damp with the rainwater of a dozen pairs of shoes. As she descended, the air became cooler and smelled less and less like prayers and incense, giving way to a scent that could only be described as age.
A fleeting pause at the base of the steps gave her time to steel herself for what lay just down the hall. Her hands smoothed the onyx satin of her dress and reached up to sweep a wayward strand of silvery black hair into its rightful place. The girl took a step forward while adjusting her mask, a slim white eyepiece that had precious stones around the black eyeholes as its only decoration and ended just above the tip of her nose, showcasing the thin rouged lips that were pressed into a determined line. She walked down the candlelit corridor, allowing her heels to sharply punctuate her every step and her hips to sway to a song that played only in her head. She had to keep up this dance, this act. It meant everything.
Once inside the already crowded room, a path was made for her as the others parted to grant her access to the front row. More than one gaudily masked eye wandered appreciatively down her form, graceful and petite as it was. And surely, she knew this. Her dress hugged every curve, a perfectly tiny waist, down to the slender hips, where it flowed out and down to her knees with a whisper of blood-red lace teasing its way out from beneath the hem. A single strand of silver lay about her neck, sliding over her collarbone in the most pleasing way possible. Bare shoulders were a bother though, tonight, as it was absolutely freezing. But no one would ever know she was cold from the way she held herself, all confidence and poise.
Bodies pressed together in anticipation as a tall figure, cloaked in white and masked with mystery made his way across the platform in front of the group. "Tonight is the night!" They tittered in excitement behind trembling hands, each hoping they would be the one chosen. To be chosen was to be elevated above the rest, to be given privileges and knowledge and power. No one had to wonder at what would happen were they not chosen. They would be done. Finished. Judged to be useless and unfit to progress. Breaths were sucked in as the man lifted his hands to silence the people before him.
"Welcome, supplicants." His voice was deep and soft, and the words that issued forth sounded as though they had been formed from a smiling mouth. "It is the end." This pronouncement echoed against the stone walls like a heavy stone in his audience's stomachs. "It was easy to choose, this time. No one in this group is of any use to me." There was more than one gasp of astonishment from the room. The man's eyes lit on the slim little girl in the front row. The coy smile that teased the edges of her lips mirrored his own, though his mouth was hidden by his mask. "Except..." A hush fell over the room. They were so easy to toy with; it was no wonder there was only one desirable applicant out of them all tonight.
The girl mounted the platform easily, keeping her face as it always was, the hint of a smile, nothing more, nothing less. The man towered over her at least a foot and a half. His eyes were on her, although his face was turned to the disgruntled group that stood before him. "I am only interested in those I deem useful." His voice commanded attention. "You have all failed the test." His arm snaked around the girl's shoulders. "Disperse, and remember: When the Serpent awakens from his slumber, he will not hesitate to poison those in his path." Silence pervaded as the dazed crowd melted away. They had not been chosen. They were not special.
But she was. The man wrapped his hand around hers for a brief moment before exiting himself, with a grand sweep of his pure white cloak to mark his departure. The girl stood alone, perfectly still but for the rapid heartbeat threatening to burst out of her chest. She had almost been afraid that she would not be the one, because it was so vital that she be chosen. But she had not hesitated, she had not faltered, and she had not been dismissed along with the others as a result. A shiver crept down her spine as she finally felt the full weight of the silence that covered the room in a dark, cold, unfeeling blanket. Knowing the man was likely still watching her, the girl turned and walked in the dance-like way she had created out of the room, down the hall, up the stairs.
The other applicants were long gone, scattered articles collected from the various pews they had been carelessly deposited in. Doubtless, they had not been expecting to be so abruptly dismissed tonight, as the meetings usually ran far into the night, but of course they were deceiving themselves. 'They told themselves that they were special, they wanted it so badly that they saw themselves as irreplaceable. And that's why they weren't chosen.' The girl thought as she shrugged her raincoat over her shoulders. The old cathedral door creaked in a way it hadn't before when she opened it. Stealing away into the night, the girl drew her coat tighter about her small figure. It wouldn't do to catch a cold in this downpour. Not now, when everything was beginning to fall into place.
It took her an hour to get back. Not one of the wandering street vagrants bothered her as she picked her way around them. Maybe it was they way she held her head, hair and mask shining in the moonlight, or maybe it was the shadow that followed her almost imperceptibly. Either way, she was untouched when she slipped through the cold iron gate in front of the grand townhouse. The door was opened by a tiny silver key she'd hidden in her bodice, and the warmth of wealth pulled her inside. Since she wanted the other servants to be oblivious to her entry, not to mention the foreign guests, she had to sneak up the steps as fast as possible, which wasn't hard for her. She'd had practice. Now to get safely inside the earl's bedroom.
Her expert hands opened the latch without a sound and she was finally safe. A sigh of relief, then a commanding, "Sebastian." The black clad bodyguard appeared behind her at once. "I did it." The girl said with an air of excitement, peeling off her coat once more and tossing it at him. She kicked off the heeled shoes and winced as her sore feet made contact with the ground. "He gave me this." She put a shiny tube on the table next to the mirror. She hadn't noticed at first, but when the leader had taken her hand in his, he'd slipped it into her grasp. Directions to the new meeting place, no doubt. "Help me out of this dress." She commanded, releasing long hair from its elegance atop her head. The older boy tugged the hidden zipper down the back of the dampened dress-it wasn't a very good raincoat-and dropped it to pool at the girl's feet with a rustle. His nimble fingers went to the laces of the corset and soon that too was cast aside. "Oh, that feels so much better." A slender hand flicked off the mask, revealing two mismatched eyes, one a startling blue, the other a sultry violet. "I really don't know how girls could stand that."
Ciel lounged in the bath, cold soaked limbs not eager to leave this blessed warmth. Then again, a cup of hot tea surely awaited him. He ran his fingers through his wet hair, which was now blessedly free of its false length. "Sebastian." He called languidly, relishing the promptness at which the bodyguard appeared at the crack in the door. "I want tea when I get out." The earl sighed. "Of course." Sebastian had already prepared the pot, perfectly in tune with his young charge's every whim. Ciel pulled himself from the water with a groan. Better to get out now than stay until it became tepid. He wrapped himself in a fluffy white towel and rubbed himself free of all the stares he'd felt that night, all of the dirty thoughts he could practically hear as they floated above his head.
"He was always staring at me, you know. I told you that." Ciel wandered into his bedroom in his dressing gown. "Yeah, well, the way you were dressed, it would be hard for anyone not to stare." Sebastian smirked, offering Ciel a steaming cup. "That was the whole point." The smaller boy snapped. "Anyway, I knew he would pick me. Now I just have to gain his trust enough for him to reveal his identity." He took a sip, and recoiled a bit at the burning sensation. It was just that much too hot. "How long will that take?" Sebastian asked, an amused expression playing over his chiseled features. Ciel stretched out on the bed, all relaxed from his bath. "I don't know. I don't want to push it too much." "Yeah, that could end badly. For you." Sebastian nodded sagely. "Nonsense. You would be there to stop it before it went too far." "True. Let's not let it get too far." "Yeah...hey, Sebastian?" Ciel stared up at the ceiling. "Yes, Ciel?" Sebastian glanced over at Ciel. "Will you ever get tired of this?" The younger boy sounded serious. "Of what?" Sebastian stood and crossed over to get into Ciel's view. "Of following me around all the time." Ciel was obviously testing his bodyguard, a satisfied smirk on his lips as he laced his fingers behind his head. Sebastian smirked. "Never." "Good." There was a contented silence that lasted until Ciel drifted off to sleep. Sebastian tucked him under the covers and switched off the lights. "Goodnight, then."