A/N: A story inspired in great part by my friend KrossAmongst's story: A Twist on Friendship~ We were discussing it and thought it would be cute for an OC/Someone romance-ish~ Try to guess who it is (it probably isn't obvious in the first chapter, so I'll try to get more up to help soon ^^) Thank you for reading, and GO READ KrossAmongst's STORY TOO (hehe, yes dear, I AM advertising your fic.) Please review, for they are love and points that I might improve on~ Thank you ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji. If I did, there would be 100% more shota and Season 2 wouldn't exist XD Enjoy~
The butler of the Phantomhive house twitched at the latest 'masterpiece' to decorate the kitchen in charred black. Sebastian didn't normally let his anger show, covering it up with a disappointed sigh while underneath he was seething. But now, quite a bit of irritation carried into his voice, more than irritation. He kept quiet though, and took on a low, velvet tone. Well... if that velvet was drenched in cyanide... "I suppose I overestimated your ability Bard-san. I simply hoped that our head chef would be able to make salad without blowing it up." With every emphasized word, he took a step closer, until the blonde man was backed into a corner, quite literally.
"E-erm, Sebastian-s-san... I... j-just thought that... w-well, y'know, with the... tomatoes and all... Th-that they could be... roasted..." he finished shamefully, like a small child. "Oh, that's right. We mustn't forget the tomatoes spattered all over the walls. It looks like a murder scene in here!" The butler set a gloved hand on his forehead, thinking, calculating how much time it would take to clean up the chef's mess. Maylene was useless in the way of tidying anything, poor thing was blind as a bat... Finian would probably destroy the house even more than Bard already had... And Tanaka couldn't be expected to work like this in his state... What was a butler to do...?
"Well, that settles it. We need more than just those three and Mr. Tanaka to keep up the household." Sebastian finished his report. The young boy sitting behind the grand desk waved a hand dismissively. "Yes yes, that's fine, I agree. Do whatever you have to, Sebastian. Find someone suitable to cover those three." He scraped a quick bow, and and murmured an affirmation. At thirteen, Ciel was already the full-fledged Earl of Phantomhive, as well as president of an empire of toys and sweets, the Funtom Toy Company. A hard responsibility for a child, but then again, his young master was hardly a child. A grown-up little boy; petulant, but cold as ice. That summed up Ciel Phantomhive quite nicely. Just as what summed up Sebastian would be five simple words: One hell of a butler.
As they made plans, it was decided. They would find a servant apt to complete tasks that the others couldn't, covering their messes and helping them along. That way, Sebastian would have an extra hand and even have a bit of time to himself without always having to watch after those fools. The butler sighed in contentment. Now all that was left was to find them...
After a bit of this, a bit of that, and (of course) an afternoon tea break, there was a rapping at the doors of the main hall. "Now... who could that be?" Sebastian murmured softly. They weren't expecting any guests until noon. He set down the vase he was polishing and opened the grand doors with a bow and a smile, greeting the guest.
"Welcome to the Phantomhive manor. To what do we owe the pleasure of a beautiful young lady coming to see our young master?" He asked with a certain amount of flattery. Amber eyes, copper hair... on a different girl it would have looked beautiful, but somehow this girl pulled it off with a certain drab air. Her eyes told him she wasn't fooled, which was rare, but not impossible. He shrugged inwardly, dismissive. A clear, but quiet voice answered him. "I am here to apply for the job you had inquired about. A maid, I believe it was?" she finished with a question. He blinked, and nodded. "Yes of course. Shall I show you to the young master's study?" He closed the door behind her as she walked in and nearly bumped into her as she stopped dead. Her eyes grew wide as she stared around her at the grand manor. He politely, but firmly ushered her forward. There was something that did not sit well with him about this girl... and he was going to find out what before long. He swore it.
"So then... You meet the qualifications upheld by the staff. There's just one more thing..." Ciel trailed off, staring calmly at the girl, revealed to go by the name of Emmaline. She tilted her head, quizzically, waiting. "Can you make a parfait?"
"A... parfait?" she repeated. After a nod, her mouth quirked into a smile. "Yes. Having younger siblings sort of demands I know how to make sweets. Does parfait happen to be your favorite, my lord?" she asked, still respectful of his status. He sat back, pleased. "Strawberry, preferably. Although I won't say no to chocolate." Sebastian suppressed a chuckle of his own, clearly surprised at the odd turn this conversation had taken. With a few more questions, and apparently delightful answers, the young Earl was definitely taken with the idea of having this girl as a maid. He quickly ordered Sebastian to have her measured for a uniform, at which time Sebastian left to summon Maylene. His ears picked up the sound of hushed talking coming from Ciel's study, but he couldn't quite make out the words. Probably something about angel food cake or some such thing, anyhow... He called for the girl, and heard a responding crashing sound coming from the main parlor. He sighed, and went to go collect what had certainly broke. Yes, he amended. This Emmaline definitely had much more grace than the clumsy maid, and perfect vision, it seemed. Maybe it wouldn't be terrible to have her here... Perhaps the girl was simply a bit off-kilter, as some humans were, and it made her seem odd. As he followed Maylene into the study, the two of them had fallen silent. Ciel coughed, and ordered the maid to take her new 'apprentice' for measuring. Emmaline greeted her with a friendly smile, which she returned, and the two of them left. Sebastian let a few moments pass before bluntly asking. "What were the pair of you speaking about?"
He caught the slightest hint of chagrin chasing across the boy's features, before his expression smoothed into the usual sneer. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he sassed. "It's no business of a butler to know his Master's private conversations. Now, go make some tea before they get back, and we shall discuss the terms of her starting today." As always, the perfect servant, he bowed and left the room, but not without a mildly annoyed expression. Since when was it not his business?
He sighed (doing that quite a bit, as of late) and made his way off to the still-scorched kitchen to prepare tea. It was still a toss-up whether this young woman would prove useful or not, he decided. We'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.
~And the curtain falls- on the first act.~