"…you're dying."

"I know that!"

"Do you…not want to die?"

"Of course! Even existences like mine… want to live…."

"I can't say I like the sound of that."

"Heh, but wouldn't it be better if it hadn't turned out this way?"

"…Yes, it would have."

"Hey, kid. "

"Hmm?"

"I still have some power left…"

"Forget it."

"Just be quiet and listen…"

"…"

"I can…send you to stop it."

"Is that even possible?"

"Yes, I could. It would be difficult, but I could. And then you-"

"Why would you help me?"

"Haha! Ow…no, I would not be helping you. You really don't know?"

"Yeah, I'd thought of it. But I'd never-"

"I've already done it."

"You! You thought that far ahead?"

"It's only natural, since something like this happened."

"But I'd never-"

"I know. But if you were to succeed…"

"…Then it would…Ugh, I guess when you put it that way, I could accept. You're surprisingly persuasive."

"What, you thought I wouldn't be? I'm hurt."

"Pfft. Up until now you weren't very…ahem…easy to talk to."

"Ha! Wily one, aren't you?"

"So, we going to do it?"

"Of course, then you'd have them to deal with…"

"Don't start spouting ominous stuff at this point."

"Then do you accept?"

"Yes."

"Then we are in agreement. Do not fail me…"

"I should be telling you that."

"Ha! And what good would that do you?"

"…I suppose it might make me feel a bit better."

"You…I wouldn't mind making a contract with you…"

"We already made one, didn't we?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

Barking…I could hear barking… What is that? Be quiet. Please… My head is throbbing..my eyes feel so dry…can I open them? Slowly, so slowly, my eyes open. The light comes streaming in as if it has been waiting to invade once I raised my lids. I shut them, this time they obey my command faster. I try to move a hand to my face. It feels so stiff. I shield my eyes and open them. Where…am I? The surroundings are murkier than I thought. The ground feels damp, and the sky is so cloudy. I roll over and push myself up into a sitting position. Now that I'm up…I feel much better.

I stand up slowly, worried I might still be weak. But it seems like I'm fine. What happened? I rub my hands together against the damp chill. I notice that my right hand feels warm on my left. Looking down I see an orange glow, and a symbol. Even as I watch the glow fades, and all it is is a light mark upon my skin. It looks like some tattoo, with soft, cloudlike flames curling up my arm. I push up my sleeve and see with fascination that it ends just below my shoulder.

This looks different than it should… I flex my arm, but feel no pain. The orange has faded now, I can hardly see it. In fact, I would not see it if I didn't know it was there; even still I have to squint hard. Ugh…anyways, I need to find food..or shelter…or something in this kind of situation, right?

I hear barking again, and turn my head quickly. What was that? A dog? It didn't really sound very doglike… maybe a wolf!Well shoot, that doesn't sound very good. Yet I know that if they are hungry…I am alone. I must find someone else…and so I begin walking, down this road that I have found myself upon…

The two carts rattled along the road, each one led by a pair of horses.

"Ahh, nothing like a good vacation by the sea!" Finni yelled out, laughing happily.

"But wasn't it more of a nightmare?..." both Meirin and Bard said to each other.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Finni said. He smiled and laughed at Pluto, who was following along behind. "Haha, good boy," he laughed again as Pluto attempted to take a bite out of the cart, making the horses pulling it stutter under his weight.

Sebastion turned around with a gleam in his eye. With a yelp Pluto stood up straighter, and ran to the front cart, wagging his tail happily.

"Sebastion, I think he wants to sit with you," Ciel said with a small smirk on his face.

"Surely the Master jests," Sebastion said with a smile. Pluto barked and jumped up, landing next to Sebastion in human form and attempting to lick his face. Sebastion looked sideways at Pluto and held his hand straight up. Pluto simply licked the hand, continuing to make happy noises. Sebastion, with a look of mild irritation, pushed his hand into Pluto's face to keep him away.

"Ah! Look!" Finni cried out, pointing to a person passed out on the side of the road. Both Sebastion and Tanaka slowed the horses.

"Ah?" Ciel said, annoyed. "What is it?"

"It appears there is someone passed out on the road," Sebastion replied in an apathetic tone.

"How troublesome…" Ciel said, looking off to the side.

Finni jumped off the cart as soon as it began to slow. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked the unconscious person. It looked like a girl. He was hesitant to touch her, in case he were to accidently hurt her; she looked very fragile.

"Finni, what's wrong?" Ciel questioned from his carriage, his impatience obvious in his voice.

"Young Master! There's a girl on the side of the road. Can't we please help her?" he asked with both fists raised in determination.

It reminded him a little bit too much of Pluto. "No." Though he had to admit, looking at Pluto now…anything to get Sebastian to break that maddening straight face.

Sebastion's eyes narrowed at the image of the young girl. "Master, perhaps you might wish to help her?"

"I don't have time for such troublesome things." Ciel said this with finality, his eyes closed and his head leaning against his hand. At this Sebastion started the front carriage up once more.

"But…" Finni looked sadly at the small figure. He carefully picked her up and jumped into the cart as Tanaka started it up again.

"Oi, Finni…" Bard said warily, looking up at the cart in front of them, "You can't intend to go against the Master's word…"

Finni looked down sadly. "I know, but I can't just leave someone who's all alone…"

Meirin looked down at the girl, adjusting her glasses and staring intently at the crumpled figure.

"Finni, Master has spoken." Sebastion said from the front cart.

Finni jumped guiltily and stared sadly downwards. Tanaka stopped the cart and he laid her back down on the side of the road. Sebastion stopped his cart and waited for the other one before resuming movement.

"That really was quite cruel, Young Master," Sebastion said once the cart had resumed movement.

Ciel looked to the sky, bored. "We've been in this place too long; Sebastion, I want to reach home by tonight."

Sebastion's lips parted and the tips of his mouth turned up into a small smile. "Yes, my lord.

"O-oi, Finni…" Bard trails off and scratched his head. Finni was looking sullenly back down the road.

"I wonder if she's okay…" he rubbed his finger along the bottom of the wagon.

"I'm sure she'll be fine!" Meirin popped in, once again adjusting her glasses. "You may not have noticed, but she looked pretty strong!" she said enthusiastically.

"Really? I'm glad," Finni said, already in a more cheerful mood, forgetting about how small the girl had looked before.

Bard looked back. "Will it really be okay?" he said to himself. As Finni and Meirin began to chat happily about supper, he joined in, lifting his arms up and naming all the 'things' he planned to 'make'.

"They sound like they're enjoying themselves," Sebastion said.

"I don't understand how they can be so happy, it's just dinner."

"They are taking joy in life, Young Master."

"What joy is there to be found in such trifling things? Worthless."

Suddenly Pluto perked up and stopped trying to gnaw on Sebastion's wrist. He jumped of, rattling the cart, and landed in his dog form. He ran off back down the path, barking.

"Are you sure you'll leave it like that, Young Master?"

"Given the way things are, that dog wouldn't dare not come back."

"Oh?"

"After all, his favorite thing is right here."

Sebastion laughed. "You are quite cruel, Young Master."

"Ah! Look, look!" Finni shouted as Pluto bounded back up from behind.

Passing the back cart, Pluto ran up to the front cart, tail wagging. He deposited the drool-covered body of the girl on the bench next to Sebastion. He was, to say the least, displeased with the slime that covered him when her body leaned onto him. Pluto whined happily.

"Just what are you trying to do?" Sebastion looked back off to the center of the road. Pluto jumped up again on the cart and barked happily, though now it kind of sounded like a yell, since he was in human form again.

At least he has enough sense to not break the cart. "Sebastion, what did Pluto bring?"

"That girl from before. Do you wish me to get rid of her?"

Ciel sighed. "Didn't I already tell you to?"

Pluto, in all his happy, somewhat awkward -considering he was in a human form-, shows of affection for Sebastion accidentally knocked the girl off the cart. He paused a few moments before whining and turning to jump back off. Sebastion grabbed him by the back of the neck. "Oh? And where were you going?" Pluto turned around happily with sparkles in his eyes and jumped for Sebastion's face. Sebastion pushed him off the cart. Pluto, in dog form, sniffed the ground and ran off again. Sebastion sighed to himself. Perhaps too much carrot?...

After a while Pluto returned once again with the girl in his mouth. This time the dried saliva and the fresh saliva melded together to create truly a unique and wonderful scent. He rushed up and dropped her beside Sebastion again, running off quickly to go sniff some grass.

"Oh, my. It seems we just can't get rid of her." Sebastion looked at Pluto with narrowed eyes and eyed the filthy girl half on the cart seat next to him while giving Ciel another smile that clearly conveyed the wish to get her off his cart and somewhere else.

Ciel huffed, the voice of Finni calling out in the background, "Fine, we'll take her with us." Finni's happy cries could now be heard. "Just…get her filth off of my cart!"

Sebastion picked up the girl and jumped back to the second cart. "Here is the girl; Master, from his bottomless heart, has decided to take her with us." He dropped the girl in the cart and jumped back to the one in front, once again taking the reins.

"Quite kind of you to help her," Sebastion said rather teasingly.

"The stupid dog wouldn't leave her alone if we threw her off again."

"And what do you intend to do when we reach the Young Master's home?"

"We'll leave her by the gates. Then we won't have to worry about that dog bringing her in."

"You know the others will not like that."

"Ugh, this is so troubling."

"Might I suggest she help out at the house?"

"I don't need anyone else."

"I have a feeling she may get along well with those three."

"And why should I care about that?"

"I'm sorry, Master, just a passing thought."

Ciel huffed again and stared out at the passing countryside. "So troublesome…"

The girl's head hurt terribly, like it had been repeatedly bashed against a rock. A hard rock. Her eyes fluttered open and with a slight moan she looked around. And she sat bolt upright when she had absolutely no idea where she was. She was laying on a bed in a small room, quilts and blankets and hats and feathers and…um…cats lay strewn around the room. Well, looks like I was saved. One of the cats, a big white fluffy one, mewed and padded over, seeing the movement. It hopped up and rubbed herself against the girl, purring.

"Um, hi." As the cat turned, its massive poufy tail whapped right into her face, and she got a breath full of cat hair. She sputtered, "Phoo!" But she also laughed, glad to finally have something relatively normal to get bothered by. Yeah, that would last about two seconds.

She could hear loud laughter from below her. Either they have fun dungeons, or I'm on the second floor… She dismissed the dungeon thought. Nobody who liked cats could be all that bad. Except for all those villains who always had a big, fluffy, white cat. Just. Like. This. One.

The cat turned and meowed, its face a vision of pure innocence.

"I'm onto you," the girl said to its face. It rubbed its head against her again then rolled onto its back, with its little paws in the air. "Aw, that just isn't fair," she said, petting the dangling paws. But as she did she felt a dark, sinister presence watching her. Turning her eyes carefully, so they wouldn't know she was looking for them, she scanned the room. And spotted a cat giving her the most scathing look she'd ever seen. From a cat. And she'd seen some pretty scathing cats. It was pure black, and slim without being skinny. Its long black whiskers were perfectly still, as was the rest of it, perched atop a dresser. What was most striking about it, however, were its two icy blue eyes. Aren't black cats supposed to have yellow eyes? To make 'em more spooky? Though she had to admit that on this cat, the blue was just fine.

"Azel" she said, without thinking. One of the ears of the unmoving cat flicked. "That's your name. Well, unless you already have a name." The cat seemed to give her a suddenly hostile look. Yet again, without moving. It was like a statue, or a shadow.

Suddenly all the cats in the room tensed, making it kind of eerie and creepy. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and down the hall. The white cat straightened itself and with another mew, hopped off the bed and raced for the door. All of the others did the same. Except for Azel, who still refused to move. And the girl refused to lose eye contact with the cat, until the sound of the door opening made her look over. She didn't see it, but Azel flicked his tail then, and hopped down to the ground from his perch.

"Well hi-dee-doo! You're awake!" A middle-aged woman strode in, placing a bowl on the floor. Supposedly for the cats. "So, feeling bright and chipper again now? Well, I shan't say again, for we've only just met." She smiled. "Name's Abel, nice to meet you."

The girl watched slowly from the bed, examining the woman as she walked in. While she was middle aged, she looked young; most certainly young enough to be told so. She had long auburn hair snapped into a ponytail, and was wearing a dull red dress. Her brown eyes were so dark they looked like chocolate…which made the girl's stomach rumble. She seemed nice enough, and besides, the girl wouldn't have had enough energy to do anything anyways. She hadn't had any food, -as she was reminded by the rumble- and she had been almost mortally exhausted just a day before. A day? Had it really been just a day? Either way, she didn't feel like she'd eaten anytime recently. Apparently feeding a sleeping person was difficult. And with that thought… God, I hope I didn't…have to go to the bathroom… Well, at least she still felt filthy, a sign that no one had attempted to clean her while she slept.

She realized the woman wasn't waiting for a reply. "Well, made this for you," Abel said, placing a bowl of some sort of soup and a tray on the girl's lap. There was also a small hunk of…'bread' there as well. It was kind of lumpy, and smelled an awful lot like seafood. But it wasn't seafood. The girl reached out and scarfed down the bread, wincing a little as she bit into some hard spots, not caring about the taste. Which was pretty bad.

"Reily cooked that. He's my son. I'm surprised you can stomach it. He's just got no culinary sense. Or any sense when it comes to anything not in a book." She sniffed. "I would have cooked something myself, but we've just been very busy lately. Oh, we run a hat shop, and a clothing shop, too," she added in suddenly as of the girl had asked a question. "Ah, careful with the soup, it's hot. Now, don't worry, it isn't poisonous. Very. Oh, you'll live."

The girl ate the soup, quickly figuring that this lady wasn't about to be quiet, so she'd just let her talk. And yes, the food did taste horrible, which she had the joy of noticing the less hungry she got.

"So, I hear they found you on the side of the road a ways out from here. You're lucky, you know. The young Phantomhive boy saved you, if you could believe it."

At this the girl looked up. "Phantomhive?"

"She speaks!" Abel exclaimed. "Yes, odd one, that. His parents died in a fire, very tragic. Lives all by himself, now. Oh, well, except for his servants and that butler of his. He was the one that brought you here, you know. While the others waited outside. Apparently back from a vacation. Can't see why they would go in this gloomy weather we've been having recently. Though to tell the truth it's always gloomy."

The girl was fighting an urge to slap Abel and get her to the point. "They brought me here?" she asked quickly, to get the woman to stop rambling.

"Ah, yes. Yes yes yes! That butler brought you in. Ahh, he's so handsome~"

The girl couldn't help but blush at the thought of being carried, half-dead or not, by someone apparently handsome. Although he could also be really old, and creepy. After all, Abel looked…okay, she didn't actually look that old. So she probably would only find young people attractive… "Why?" was all she could think of to ask.

"Why? Well, that dark, sexy, hunk of a man-" the girl coughed- "Brought you in here, said something about a dog, and not being able to get rid of you. Hmm, doesn't sound very nice now that I say it again…."

The girl couldn't help a small smile. "So Abel made them able to get rid of me."

Abel smiled, startled, and patted the girl's head, who flinched just the tiniest bit. "Yes, I suppose that's true," she said almost wistfully. The girl tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "Well, seems you're chipper enough now, if you can be making jokes like that. How's about we get you cleaned up?"

"Wa-wait-" the girl said as Abel tugged her out of bed.

"Now, I've got a hot bath of water waiting for you. To tell the truth, that's why the food is so horrible. Would you believe Reily went out and used all our spending money to buy such a nice tub? Well, that was a while ago, so I suppose it's just his cooking." She sighed again. "Alright dearie, off with those clothes," Abel hummed, beginning to undress the girl.

"W-what are you doing!" The girl backed away, almost slipping on the floor.

"Why, dearie, you cannot be saying you want to take your bath with your clothes on," she said, smiling and with her hands on her hips.

"Well no, I'm not going to take it with my clothes on…" As she petered off Abel moved forward as if by invitation and proceeded to attempt again to 'help'. "Why are you- I can do it myself!" She scrambled back again and tripped over something on the floor. Something Furry. "Wha- Oof!" She scrunched up her eyes as her head hit the wooden floor.

"Oh my! Are you alright?" She could hear Abel fussing. When she opened her eyes she saw 'Azel' looking down at her. He twitched his whiskers and walked off. "Stupid cat…" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Well come on! If you keep puttering around like this you will never get clean!" Abel helped the girl off the floor and led her out the door and into a narrow hallway. At least she's stopped trying to strip me… "Here we are." Abel pushed open yet another narrow door to a relatively large 'bathroom'. At least the floor was made from chipped tiles. But the wall was wood paneling, and there was no obvious sink. Yet the main attraction of this event was a gathering of standing curtains in the middle of the room surrounding a large porcelain tub –with little brass paws and everything- that was filled with what looked like hopefully near-boiling hot water. "Now off with those clothes!" Abel exclaimed merrily, pulling up on the girl's shirt.

"For the last time no!" She watched Abel's startled and saddened face. She felt bad for making the woman sad, but it was weird: who got upset over not being able to strip someone naked? Maybe Abel was crazy. Er, wait, that couldn't be it…The girl suddenly remembered where she was. "I mean, ah…I'm kind of from far away, and there we, um, bathe ourselves. Without help."

There was a pause as Abel watched the girl, not moving. Then suddenly, "Aha! I see. You know, you do talk a might bit strange, I thought you might be from somewhere far away. Tell me, is it somewhere exotic? It must be civilized, I hope."

"America."

Before she had even finished the word Abel began to say something more, "I really should leave you to it. I hope you feel better, dearie." She moved to the door and out, and just as she was about to shut it completely, she poked her head back in. "I find it a tad embarrassing but- what was your name?"

"Abigail," she replied, as Abel nodded and closed the door among mutterings of "Pretty name" and "It would be impolite of a host to not ask" and "I wonder if she would like my Reily."

Author's Note: Heyo! I decided to put this at the bottom since at the top it kind of detracted from the story. So, this is my first FanFic, and if anyone's wondering the plot came from a dream I had which I decided to squish into Kuroshitsuji. And thus Uv Ajed was born! I tried to make the characters like they are in the anime, but I really don't know how well I did. Any feedback would be much appreciated, and if you like the way it's going or if you want it to go a certain way [ Romance, perhaps?... ] feel free to say something!

Chapter One's a bit long, since it's everything I splarfed out onto a page over the course of I don't remember how long. I thought to cut it into prologue and chp 1, but I figured I might as well do it this way. ANYWHOO. Enough of my babble. So...you likie? Ways to improve? Any ideas on what's going on? Abigail will be making her way to the mansion by-and-by. And thanks for watching! Er, reading...