Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 1

Ciel's POV

I sat in my usual spot in my study. Sebastian should be there soon with my tea, dessert, and any news for the day. I sighed as I heard a knock at the door, and I called, "Come in, Sebastian."

"Today, we have a green tea and a shortcake with an assortment of berries," Sebastian said as he entered and pushed a cart with my refreshments towards my desk. He cut a piece of the shortcake. It had blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries around the bottom and piled in the middle. The tea smelled wonderful as Sebastian poured it into the china teacup. He set both the tea and cake gently in front of me.

I cut a piece off of the slice with my fork, also stabbing a few of the berries, and stuck it in my mouth. The cake was sweet and fluffy while the berries were tart. After that, I sipped the hot tea quietly. It was quite relaxing. It was obvious that Sebastian could see that I was stressed over the Fantom's company's latest progressing on it. It had been doing will so far, but it could all turn for the worse.

"My lord, you have two letters," Sebastian reported. He lowered a silver tray with the letters on it. I took them quickly, and the first one had the queen's seal. I took that one into my first priority. I took my knife to cleanly open the envelope. The letter read:

Dear Ciel Phantomhive,

I'm sorry to bother you at a time like this, but I've come to realize that there is a family and company in America as powerful as your's here in England. I'd like you to meet the head of the family and determine whether he/she could be an ally.

Your Queen,

Queen Victoria

I looked at the next letter the address wasn't one I recognized, but I could tell that it was from America. The only name on it was Chandler. I opened it slowly. When I took the letter out of it's envelope, the first thing I saw was a simple but fancy seal at the top left of the paper. I quessed that it was the seal of the company. The letter said:

Dear Ciel Phantomhive,

I've been made aware of your existence and been intrigued enough to invite you to my mansion for two months. I would love to meet you in person. You can bring as much staff as you want. I'd be delighted to meet them as well and have plenty of rooms for them. I'll be waiting for your reply.

Sincerely,

Chandler,

"Still doesn't say the first name," I thought out loud. "It also seems that America had the same thoughts as the queen." I put the letter from the Chandler head on the letter from the Queen of England, and Sebastian picked them up to read them so he could have a better understanding of my thoughts.

When he finished, he asked, "Young lord, do you want me to write a letter of acceptance?" I nodded and responded, "Sure, whatever. Tell those three idiots we're going on vacation." Sebastian bowed in his usual way.

Sebastian and I walked up to a huge mansion that was as big as my own. "America sure has advanced in technology!" Mey-rin exclaimed as she pulled out a few more suitcases from the long car that had brought them there.

"Maybe," Bard said, unimpressed. He was looking around with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He should be at least a bit excited. They were visiting his home country.

I raised a fist to knock on the door when it swung open to reveal a maid with long, golden blonde hair. She was smiling slightly, but her crystal blue eyes were lifeless. "Welcome, Lord Phantomhive," she said. "My name is Josephene. Come on in before it starts to rain," She moves to the left to let us inside; it did look like it was going to rain.

Josephene took one of my bags from Mey-rin who was struggling with two more bags. Both of them were hers. Bard was carrying one of his own and one Finny's. Finny was carrying three suitcases. One was mine, and the other two were his and Mey-rin's. His unusual strength was really scary at times. He was carrying them without even breaking a sweat. Sebastian had his own luggage.

Josephene then took the lead and explained, "I'll take you to your room so you can get settle down." I nodded slightly.

Sebastian was glancing around, his red eyes weren't focusing on nothing in perticular. then he asked, "Josephene, are there other staff in this house?"

Josephene was silent for a bit, but she soon answered, "No. I'm the only maid in this house. We don't have a butler."

At this, Sebastian raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that he couldn't tell what this girl was thinking or feeling, like he did to me so many times. That always made him suspicious.

Josephene's POV

After I showed all the guest to their rooms, I had to find my mistress. She had disappeared a few minutes before they came. She has a bad habit of running off and disappearing at the most critical moment of the day. I didn't want them to think I was incapable of taking care of her and smear her family's name. that would be against the first orders I had been given.

I decided to check her room, study, and library once more. I headed toward the study which is where she was supposed to be. I accidently ran into the maid. I looked her up and down. I took in and stored information. her name is Mey-rin and with her glasses, she is a bit clumsy. She is good with a gun without her glasses, and has a major crush on Sebastian Michaelis, the Phantomhive butler. So, that's his name, I couldn't get any information from him and never bothered him for his name, I thought.

I hadn't fallen, being like I am, so I held out my hand to help her up. She took it and apologized, "I am so sorry!" She bowed to hide her embarrassment. Her british accent had a certain squeak to it. At least, it was high pitched.

"No, Miss Mey-rin. It was my fault. I was going too fast and had something on my mind," I said, bowing. Guest Treatment: Lesson 1: never let the guest take the blame for an accident, I recalled.

She blinked. I remembered that she had yet to tell me her name. "I research the Phantomhive family before your arrival here," I lied, covering up my mistake.

"Oh, that makes sense," she said, smiling. I was glad that she bought it since my mistress didn't want me to reveal what I am quite yet. She liked to surprise people.

"Have you seen a small girl with blue, corkscrew pigtails?" I asked, hopefully not giving away how important she was.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I haven't seen a girl like that," Mey-rin responded, frowning. "I hope she hasn't been kidnapped." She looked around worriedly.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing like that. She just likes to disappear at random moments," I informed. I looked out the window to see a light drizzle had formed outside. Great. Now, I can't look outside for her, I thought with a sigh. Then I remembered that Mey-rin could do that, but when I looked back, she had already left. I sighed again.

I continued searching, walking a bit faster than usual. I past by Ciel and his butler's rooms and didn't notice when the butler, Sebastian, according to Mey-rin, stepped out. I ran into him, and he caught me. To think, I actually fell. Something about having Ciel over made me anxious.

I ran past him with my head bowed. i had been made to be perfect for my mistress, and I had almost fallen in front of a guest. I was ashamed.

Sebastian's POV

I watch as the rather tall maid ran away and thought about how cute her frightened face was. After that, I mentally slapped myself. what wa I thinking? I had to help my young lord fulfill his goal so I can feast on his soul. I might come back for her afterwards, though.

I knocked on Ciel's door and heard his stern voice say, "Come on in."

I opened the door to find him sitting on his blue bed. In fact, almost everything in his room was blue. He was obviously waiting for me to come because he shot a glare at me. I apologized, "I'm sorry to make you wait. I ran into the maid on my way out."

He still glared at me though and sighed. Then Ciel stood up and said boredly, "Well, let's go then."

I held the door open and stepped aside for him. Outside the door, Mey-rin and Finny were having a conversation. They suddenly stopped when we came out. They stood up straight then ran off in opposite directions. At this, I raised an eyebrow. Something made me suspicious that they were hiding something. it made me want to find out what it was, but Ciel had a look in his eyes that dared me to leave his side. I just gave him a smile," he sighed.

"Young Lord, we should find that maid again to show us to meet her master," I suggested. At that moment, the maid named Josephene came from the same direction she had been when we ran into each other earlier. When she saw me, her head and eyes shot down at Ciel.

"It seems like you are ready to meet the head or the Chandler family," she said with a lifeless-eyed smile. I still couldn't read anything from her which made me even more suspicious. I would love to find out everything about her. "I will take you to the study."

She turned around and lead us down many hallways. Finally, we ended up at the end of a hallway where a huge, very detailed door stood. Josephene opened the door and stood back. She said, "You may enter."