L'amour Vrai
Summary: Bound by the guidelines of French nobility and his father, Ciel is obliged to agree to a non-consensual marriage. What is he to do when he to do when a crimson-eyed peasant steals his heart completely?
Notes: Dated way back in the 19th century in France. In which nobles had the upper-hand and an iron-fist control on the peasants and moral rigidity is a must amongst the members of la noblesse.
Rated T for now but it will change to M in later chapters.
warning: contains yaoi
Chapter 1: Prejudice
"Non, I will not stand for it." The young impending earl's voice (rather, was impending) resonated off the finely painted walls of his chamber as he fluttered the painstakingly written epistle in his gloved hand up and down, a scowl forming on the edges of his lips.
C'est ridicule!
"Young master, 'tis your father's orders." The rubicund-haired maid tried to reason, "It's best to just give it your consent than to argue—"
"You expect me to approve of this—this ludicrous proposition?! I'm being stripped of my rights Mei Rin!" the azure-eyed nobleman seethed, anger and panic evident in his tone.
"Jeune seigneur, please calm down." Mei Rin cooed, hoping to palliate her young charge's mood.
"Mei Rin." Ciel said, voice a tad shaky "I do not wish to marry Lord Edward Midford, I don't want to marry another man in the very least! I'm supposed to be an Earl, the next in line to my father's title… I'm supposed to be the head of the household lest he pass away. Yet he deems me too weak to support a woman and instead needs to be fawned-upon by another man?"
"Oh, don't get yourself so down… You're only just a tender age of sixteen, you'll grow I'm sure." The humble maid said with a warm smile upon her face. Never will she admit it out loud, but if you look closely enough, the young master could easily be mistaken as a woman.
His body slender and fragile, pallid flawless skin that any lady would envy and every man would want to touch, but most of all his immense doe-like eyes that exudes innocence and purity that is a lovely shade of blue so deep, all the sapphires the world could offer would pale in comparison.
The slate-haired boy sighed "My petite stature is not the problem here Mei Rin, the problem is that I'm being obligated to betroth myself to a man. Isn't homosexuality supposed to be grave a sin?" he argued.
The retainer hummed in thought "Well, young master, in retrospect homosexuality has been accepted by the people of France a few years back, now that I think about it. It isn't entirely taboo in the eyes of society." She said.
"Are you saying you agree of this nonsense?! I thought you were on my side!" Ciel huffed
"Oui, oui mon seigneur! I am on your side! However, maitre's orders are to be followed regardless of your opinions. It is your duty as a noble and as the maitre's un fils, after all." Mei Rin explained
Ciel stared at his retainer for a moment before sighing in defeat. He was in no mood to fight with his maid after what had just occurred in his father's study (a rather heated exchange of words between father and son) and Mei Rin is truthfully his sole confidant in the entirety of the mansion.
The young Phantomhive wanted to get his mind off things, being stuck in his spacious room only served to further irritate his already peeved nerves and he didn't want to spend any more time pondering about his predicament.
And like on cue; "My lord, if I may suggest, would you perhaps like to accompany me to the market? Just to get your mind off things..." Mei Rin said
It has become the russet eyed maid's routine to invite her petit patron to accompany her to the nearby market if ever he got into trouble with his parents to alleviate his mood. They would sneak out via posterior exit of the mansion and be home before dinner would take place.
The maître and maitresse of the Phantomhive household were much too busy to heed on their son, so as long as they'd return to the manor before anyone gets suspicious, they wouldn't wind up into trouble.
The young noble has no qualms about mingling with the peasants unlike most of the prétentieux noblesse the maid was somehow accustomed to.
Her young charge wasn't discriminatory. He held his head up high in pride like any other noble would, but his attitude and insight towards those of the lower classes was unlike all the rest.
"Of course, Mei Rin." Ciel replied
"I'll go get your fleece, sir." Mei Rin bowed before retrieving the slate-haired boy's coat.
The streets of the marche situated at the center of Paris were flocked with merchants, ouvriers and downtown residents, all bustling about doing their own business. The young noble reveled in the feeling of the sun touching his skin, the warm comforting heat calming down his vexed mood.
A group of lively young boys rushed past Ciel and Mei Rin as they made their way to a familiar stall where their trusted vegetable vendor, Finnian, was inspecting a myriad of vegetables. A welcoming grin etched itself on the fair-haired retailer's countenance as he saw the young nobleman and his maid approach his stall.
"Bonjour ma seigneurie! Bonjour mademoiselle Mei Rin!" Finny greeted with a slight bow "How can I be of assistance?"
"Bonjour, monsieur Finny!" Mei Rin responded with a perky smile "Do you happen to have any potatoes? I'm making Gratin dauphinois for dinner!' the enthusiastic maid announced
The vendor hummed as he bent down to rummage some crates in search for potatoes and came up not a minute later with a victorious beam and a small pouch of spuds gripped with one hand.
"Will this be enough, mademoiselle?" Finnian inquired as he handed the young maid the sack of potatoes.
"It's more than enough, monsieur." Mei Rin said and reached into her pocket for some money "Merci."
"Je vous en prie." Finny said, his cerulean eyes gazing up at Ciel "Ma seigneurie, it's been awhile since I've seen you. Did something happen?" the young vendor asked, actual concern lacing his words.
Before Ciel could open his mouth and utter a word Mei Rin eagerly spoke up first.
"It's a long story, monsieur Finny. You see my jeune seigneur here got into a slight disagreement with the master."
"C'est affreux!" Finny gasped.
"Oui." Mei Rin nodded in agreement "It's hard for the young master, to be forced into a non-consensual engagement and…"
Ciel's attention to Mei Rin and Finny's conversation waned as he whiffed a delectable aroma not too far ahead.
Not wanting to disrupt their eager exchange, the young Phantomhive slipped into the densely populated streets of la marche, molding into the crowd without being noticed by either of the two.
The aroma smelled sweet and had an underlying scent of heated dough.
A pastry shop?
Ever since he was young Ciel had always had an obsession for sweets, his sweet tooth would act up if something sweet was within close range to him.
He's confident that his nose could never be wrong when it comes to sniffing out sweets (how else was he even able to find the cookie jars that they desperately tried to hide from him when he was young?)
And just as his impeccable senses proved him right, he found himself standing in front of a pastry kiosk. Simple pastries like croissants, eclairs, marcarons, mille-feuille and the like filled the two rows of plastic covered trays that sat at the front of the stall.
It was all so mouth-watering, so delectable and the scent was so—
Plop.
The cobalt eyed noble stood there in shock as something warm and viscid stuck to his forehead, dripping to the rest of his face in the process.
The gooey dough on his face hindered his vision temporarily, not a minute later someone was by the little noble's side, gently wiping the mixture off his face with a damp cloth.
Ciel blinked as he tried to make out the figure in front of him underneath the obstruction on his eyes.
"Je suis tellement désolé." A baritone voice started "I didn't mean to dump dough on your face I didn't see—" the man came to a halt as his piercing wine-colored orbs connected with Ciel's bright cobalt ones.
In that instant nothing and no one else existed, the world solely focused on the anomalous pair.
Neither moved for what seemed like an eternity, their bodies paralyzed on the spot.
The young noble subtly panted, releasing the air he's been unconsciously holding in, his heart thumping against his chest at a frantic pace.
What is this? This feeling… it feels so strange.
"Stay away from the young master." Mei Rin's defensive voice pierced through the young man's stupor.
Ciel promptly found himself being pulled aside by his valet and unwillingly stepped away from the entrancing gaze of the bel homme.
"Well, aren't you going to apologize for soiling la jeune seigneur?" Mei Rin demanded, tapping her foot on the ground.
The attractive man gave an immediate bow "I'm very sorry, your lordship. I did not mean any harm to you I was just—"
"Please, do not fret over such trifling matters." Ciel reassured with a small smile on his rosy lips "I am unharmed."
Mei Rin was about to intervene before Ciel shot her a look that screamed murder.
"Merci, ma jeune seigneur." The crimson-eyed man sighed in relief, a ghost of a smile gracing his perfectly thin lips.
"Comment vous appellez- vous?" the slate-haired noble probed, curiousness apparent in his voice.
"Je m'appelle Sebastian Michaelis." Sebastian said
"Enchantee de te rencontre, Sebastian." Ciel said with vigor "I am Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel extended his gloved hand to the peasant.
Sebastian skeptically stared at it for a few moments before carefully taking it into his own, the gesture far too foreign for him to digest, coming from a noble.
"The pleasure's mine, lord Phan—"Sebastian started before he was kindly interrupted.
"Ciel… Please call me Ciel."
"Alright, Ciel..."
Inadvertently, a slight smile etched itself upon their features.
That evening right after eating a splendid dinner with his family the young Phantomhive retired early for the night, feeling quite exhausted, both physically and mentally. The whole engagement topic had been carefully avoided by everyone, letting the matter cool off.
Unbeknownst to the young heir his dreams will be plagued by a certain patisserie artisan.
L'amour Vrai- true love
Non- no
c'est ridicule- this is ridiculous
Noblesse- nobles
Maître- master
Un fils- son
Maitresse- mistress
Petit patron- little lord
Pretentieux noblesse- pretentious noble
Jeune seigneur- young master
Oui, oui mon seigneur- yes, yes my lord
Marche- market
Ouvriers- workers
Bonjour ma seigneurie, mademoiselle Mei Rin- hello my lordship, Ms. Mei Rin
Gratin dauphinois- the name sounds fancy, but it's really just sliced potatoes with melted cheese
Merci- thank you
Je vous en prie- you're welcome
c'est affreux- that's awful
Je suis tellement désolé- I'm so sorry
Bel homme- handsome man
Merci, ma jeune seigneur- thank you, my young lord
Comment vous appellez- vous?- what is your name? (formal)
Je m'appelle- my name is…
Enchantee de te rencontre- a pleasure to meet you
So many French words, it's making me dizzy. Well, 'till next time! But for now please review, I'd like to know your opinions and suggestions :)