"Head straight, eyes forward, now walk!" My mother commanded. With the thickest book we could find in our shabby house on top of my head I walked, and tripped, and stumbled, and fell, "Born with the beauty of an angel but the balance of a baby horse. Perfect looks but she can't walk two feet without tripping over something" she muttered to herself.
"Everything comes with a price" I spoke quietly shrugging my shoulders getting up from where I fell, dusting myself off.
"Very well, let's try again" She sighed and placed the book atop my skull and commanded me to walk again. I managed to walk smoothly down the hall and down the stairs without tripping once. Mother hollered with joy. She wrapped me in a tight hug and kissed me with her rose colored lips all over my delicate face.
"Now you can go to that party and maybe catch the eyes of a rich noble, though, of course you will, with a face like that you already have every man eyeing you. Now you have the presence of perfection as well as the appearance," she spouted her hopes and dreams as if she'd rehearsed it a thousand times. I was always the perfect girl, men as old as 50 wanted me, none of them realized I was a peasant girl, and that I was just 14. They said I looked as old as 20 trying to persuade my parents they weren't pedophiles.
There's a party tonight and I was invited as my rich friend's plus one. The formal invitation was just a little social get together for all the rich people to flaunt their money and status to other rich people. But this time, you can bring a friend, and little old lucky me got chosen by Veronica, a beautiful girl from a rich family that owns one of the most popular tea companies around. They're hoping an Earl will be there who owns a famous toy company so they can ask him about an idea they had.
Veronica took me to get our dresses made just a few days ago. She wants me to have a dress "as pretty as my face" as she put it. She chose a deep lavender color with black ribbons and bows to accessorize it. I chose a dark turquoise green color to compliment my hair with ruffles that reached just past my ankles. The tailor said I look stunning in it, he would have married me on the spot if he could have.
My mother took the first layer of my hair and did it in a loose bun and the rest of my hair fell in their natural loose curl state. The carriage arrived just after we'd finished dolling me up and my father escorted me and helped me inside. He kissed my cheek goodbye and wished me luck finding a man. I don't understand why they want me to get married so badly, so quickly. I wanted to live out the few years I had left before I was an adult with actual responsibilities.
When Veronica saw me with my dress and makeup she screamed with happiness
"DEVIN YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL!" She screamed at me in her thick french accent, she threw her dainty arms around me.
"Thank you, Veronica. You look quite stunning yourself" I spoke calmly and quiet.
The whole ride to the estate at which the party was to take place was full of idle chatter. Her parents spoke of the earl they would be meeting, how he was a very important man and how he could boost their business even more if he agreed to their idea. They wouldn't share the idea for fear of us spoiling it. Veronica spoke at me about how excited she was to see old friends and rub her high status in the other people's faces who weren't as rich as her except not me because I was her friend and in her eyes we were equals even without the same social status.
When we arrived at the estate and were escorted inside Veronica's father showed the guards his invitation and introduced me as their plus one. The young guard looked me up and down as if I were a prized show horse he may buy. I looked down shyly, trying not to meet his gaze. He allowed us inside, once in the family parted ways, her father and mother on their way to look for the Earl, Veronica and I to socialize with other rich people. I felt very awkward with Veronica, I didn't know the ways of the rich. I didn't know what it was like to not have to work for money. Across the way I saw a young boy with midnight blue hair and an eyepatch over his right eye. He was the Earl Veronica's mother and father wanted to talk to! How could he be a prestigious Earl, he was only my age. I couldn't help but stare at him, he had a dazzling butler by his side with raven black hair and a cool gaze as if he knew everything about you with just a look.
I made my way through the crowd to get near them just to hear their conversation. Through their conversation I learned that his name is Ciel Phantomhive and he owns the Funtom toy company. When I found this out I gasped out loud. That prestigious company is owned by a 14 year old boy? I'd always wanted their Bitter Rabbit. It was so cute and looked so cuddly.
I was listening to their conversation more when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. It caused me a great start and I jumped with a gasp then turned to find myself face to face with Ciel's butler.
"Excuse me miss but I couldn't help but notice you were listening in on private business that my master is conducting," The raven butler spoke, his voice was rich like honey and cool as a fall day.
I let my rude attitude flick it's fiery tongue when I said, "It's hardly private in a party like this, anyone could listen in to their dirty secrets," My icy stare pierced through his stone cold one. It was like a battle of the gazes and I felt that he was winning.
"While that may be true," his voice changed from honey to vinegar, "I do believe it is rude to purposefully listen in when you know it's private," In that moment I could have sworn that his eyes flashed a demon pink. My gaze was only broken by a voice piercing through the chatter of the party calling my name. I glanced over to see Veronica running towards me. She stopped just before slamming into me.
"Who's this Devin?" She asked me with a suggestive glance.
"This is...I don't believe you told me your name"
"I am Sebastian Michaelis, butler to the Earl Ciel Phantomhive"
"Oh! You're the butler of the Earl my mother and father are talking to. My family owns Mariage Frères," Veronica said, she pronounced the name with a french accent. Though she's always had one she made it more prominent when she spoke the name.
"Ah yes," the butler said cooly, "Your family is asking if my master will give them permission to use some of the toys in gift baskets to sell"
"Sebastian!" The young Earl called. His voice didn't match his age. It sounded mature, unlike his short stature. I'm sorry to say I'm still shorter than him. As we followed the butler over to Veronica's mother, father, and the Earl when I noticed the family crest on his ring. It looked familiar, very familiar. I couldn't remember why I knew it and it was starting to bother me. As the rich continued chatting I continued thinking, remembering. What was it that made it so familiar?
It was gnawing at my brain. I knew I'd seen that crest before somewhere, somehow, I'd seen that crest. It reminded me of a time that I'd hoping I'd forget. I wanted to put those images out of my mind. I gasped, I remembered where I'd seen that crest before. I shook and I felt my diamond eyes fill with tears. I remembered.
"What's wrong? Devin? Are you okay?" Veronica asked putting a hand on my shoulder and I screamed. The images flooded my mind and I began to feel sick. The flames that reached for the sky to lick the tree tops, the screams of agony and fear that left the lungs of the household people, everything. I remembered running away with my pudgy child hand being gripped by a stranger. He wasn't a stranger, he was my uncle. I remember watching Ciel being branded a slave. I remembered his screams of agony, of the innocence lost in that moment. I remembered what I'd wanted to forget, what I needed to forget. And then I fainted.
I woke up with a start and kicked myself back against the headboard of a bed that wasn't mine, I was also in a nightie that wasn't mine. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest and my breathing was short and rapid. I looked around at the strange room with my pulse pounding in my ears when suddenly the door to the room opened and I screamed. Standing in the doorway was a small blonde boy in a gardening outfit. He came over to try and comfort me as I continued screaming.
"Please miss calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!" He held his hands up defensively as I continued trying to calm me.
"Who are you?!" I questioned as I grabbed the candelabra from the nightstand and fell off the bed and held it in front of me, hands shaking, in case I need to use it as a weapon, "Where am I?"
"You're in the master Phantomhive's home!" He said as if I was already supposed to know that.
"What?" I asked lowering the candelabra a little bit but still ready to weaponize it if necessary.
"You fainted at the party last night so my master took you home with him, you're very short…"
"YES I KNOW!" I yelled at him, "Take me to see him!" I demanded. I set the candelabra down and followed him to Ciel's study. He opened the door and walked in a little ways to tell him I wanted to see him. When Ciel allowed me to enter the young boy left and shut the door. Sebastian stood a little ways behind him. He wore a smirk upon his face with his hands clasped in front of him.
"Wipe that smirk off your face!" I snapped at him, staring him down with a piercing gaze. He said nor did anything and I grimaced. I redirected my line of sight to Ciel. I could tell we both had questions for each other.
"How about I start asking the questions. I'll ask, you answer, then you ask and I answer" Ciel said cooly, clasping his hands together had resting his chin on them.
"That's fine with me" I said crossing my legs and arms, "What do you want to know?"
"What do you know about the fire of my manor?" His eyes pierced through to my soul. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.
I asked, "How much do you want to know?"
"Everything." He said bluntly
"I remember my uncle putting me onto a horse saying that we were 'going on a trip' and that we'd be 'punishing the wrong doers of society' I didn't want to go but he made me saying that I'd be doing to same thing someday. We rode for what seemed like hours until we came upon your manor. It looked dark inside and he dragged me in," I felt the tears beginning to form in my eyes but I wouldn't let them escape, "After that it's just little bits and pieces. I remember that uncle Greg was suddenly with us, I remember my uncle starting the fire, I remember uncle grabbing my wrist and making me run, I remember uncle Greg went and grabbed you. I remember hearing people scream, I remember the flames roaring in the night, I remember feeling scared and that's it. That's all I remember" I only left out the detail that his mother tried to grab me, thinking I was Ciel and my uncle hitting her over the head.
"I see…" Ciel spoke softly, then cleared his throat, "Alright then, ask me your question"
"Why did you bring me home with you, why not bring me back to my own house?"
"I thought you'd be better off here, I'm sure your parents won't mind, I can call them and reassure them of your safety"
"I don't have a telephone" I said bluntly and he looked aghast that he'd thought I was a rich person, "I'm not some noble person, I work every day for the little sum of money I get. I don't have fancy dresses or telephones or servants, I am a servant!" I had since slammed my hands on his desk glaring at him.
"You know, someone as short as you isn't exactly very intimidating," Ciel said not looking up at me.
"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF YOU'RE ONLY A FEW CENTIMETERS TALLER THAN ME!" I let out my anger then sat back down in the chair, "Ask me your question," I huffed looking at the ground.
After a few more rounds of our silly game we'd gotten to know each other a little better. I've found that Ciel is very fond of games. I'd hoped after this he'd bring me back to my shabby little home on the other side of town but no such luck came for me. He has asked me to be a maidservant and split half the work with Mey-rin, his current and only maid. This should be fun.