UPDATE: To any experienced fanfiction readers! It may seem like the 'Sora' is my Mary-Sue, but 1.) She, Sora, is in no way perfect. Later in the story, you'll find she's far x5 from perfect. Remember, it takes time to develop good characters. 2.) This character isn't based after myself AT ALL. Sora is my favorite name, and I use it all the time because the only other name I was going to pick was a boy's name. Which would have been cool. PLEASE DON'T JUDGE MY STORY ON THIS FACT!
A/N: Here we go again. Another story I might just end up deleting. The title may be changed throughout the story, because I'm amazingly awful at titles. Unless there's a super awesome review or something that needs to be addressed, this will be the universal Author's note. Usually I don't like to add OC's, but this time it's more of an experiment. Also, I hate when people make up their own things, like powers of Angels. I'll try to avoid that as much as possible. Reviews are welcome, flames will be used to heat my house. Enjoy friends.
Black Butler is NOT mine. I don't claim to own ANY of the characters except the one(s) I create myself.
Diluculum Luctus: Mourning Twilight
The queen laid there, under a veil of black, suspended in space against a blood-red background while the Raven watched. The red cast a sickly colour on her deathly pale skin, shadows playing across her face from an unknown source. For the longest time, she just laid there.
Still.
Finally, she spoke. "I wish to forge a contract." Her voice was gravelly; coarse. Like a fragile toy, about to break.
The Raven cocked her head, beady eyes boring into the limp body of Her Highness.
"My angel. My sweet, sweet angel Ash. He's my butler, you know," the queen paused, as if to take a breath. "He's opened my eyes. The world is infected. Tainted. He told me how to clean it, and I'm helping him to do it.
"But we can't do it alone. I need you to kill Ciel Phantomhive. He's the source of the taint, Ash says. He tries so hard to kill the boy, but he has other work to do. But with your help, we could do it! Get close to him, and kill him!" The queen finished, excitement evident in her voice.
The Raven stood still. Then, her voice echoed throughout the open-space, her beak uttering no noise. "Once a contract has been forged, it cannot be broken. After you get your way, I get your soul. Are you sure this is what you want?"
The queen cracked her eyes open, her silvery eyes filled with tears, and uttered the words.
The contract was finished.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"Master, your guest has arrived," spoke a suave, smooth voice.
Ciel Phantomhive sat at his mahogany desk, not even looking up to acknowledge his butler as he continued writing a letter to the queen. Finishing his sentence, he waited a minute to check for mistakes before finally looking up. His deep-as–sea blue eye pierced his butler's, Sebastian's, all knowing gaze.
"Very well. Escort him into the lounge. I will join shortly," his cool voice echoed in the large study, firm and stern.
"As you wish, master." Sebastian bowed deeply, and made to leave, but stopped halfway out the door. "Shall I bring your chess set with the tea?"
"Yes," was Ciel's tart reply. As Sebastian left him again in solitude, Ciel climbed down from his chair and reached for his walking stick. Straightening up, he folded the letter in half and slipped it inside of the left hand drawer. After this distraction was taken care of, he could get back to work. He left the study, completely at his own pace.
Ten minutes later, he glided into the lounge, glancing at his guest for the evening. This man was an important member of the Funtom Company, one of the higher ups that kept the business running when Ciel had to do his other job. He was middle aged, with graying chestnut hair. Inwardly, Ciel cringed at his appearance. His shirt coat was wrinkled. How crude.
"I'm glad you could be here this evening, Mr. Tichelli," Ciel said in a commanding voice. This man was in his house. Child or not, Ciel had the power. He always did. Walking over to his maroon armchair, Ciel sat down to notice the chess set was already set up. He smirked.
"I'm glad to be here, m'boy! We have some important matters to discuss…"
Ciel cut him off. "White moves first."
Tichelli's eyes widened. His eyes gained a sharp glint. "Pardon?"
"The game," Ciel drawled, motioning with his hand to the board in front of them. "You should take your turn."
"How childish," Tichelli muttered without thinking. Realizing Ciel had heard him, Tichelli's dull eyes widened as Ciel's uncovered one narrowed dangerously. At that point in time, there was a knock at the door. Glaring for another minute at the sheepish looking man, Ciel called his butler in.
Sebastian glided into the room, garbed in his customary black tailcoat, looking impeccably clean. His red eyes narrowed at the tension in the air, but he didn't hesitate for a minute. "Tea?"
"Ah, Sebastian, there you are," Ciel muttered. Sebastian smirked as he poured the tea. Cross the table, Tichelli was looking at the board before moving a pawn.
As Sebastian handed Tichelli a cup of Earl Gray in an elegant cup, Ciel moved his knight forward. Watching quietly, Sebastian chucked before moving behind his master.
"How forward of you, to move your knight out first. You must not be afraid to take chances," Tichelli tried to start a conversation.
"It makes no difference to me. All the pieces are pawns, in a respect. They may serve a different purpose, but they all live under the king. Sacrifices," Ciel explained.
The man frowned, and said no more. Within 20 minutes, Ciel had beaten him twice.
"You have a cunning mind, m'boy!" Tichelli exclaimed. Ciel smirked and Sebastian made a move.
"It's almost time for dinner, gentlemen. Please let me escort you down to the dining room," Sebastian gestured with his hand to the door and bowed. Ciel and Tichelli rose from their seats, following him down the many floors to the bottom.
By some God given miracle, Finnian had managed to not break anything AND stay out of trouble, Bardroy didn't burn down the kitchen, and Mey-Rin hadn't broken or spilled anything. Yet.
Ciel and Tichelli sat down, and the meal commenced. They talked politics and business, and while Ciel ate, Tichelli drank.
"What a fine butler you have there," Tichelli boomed after his third glass of wine. His Scottish lineage beginning to show in his accent. "Where'd you manage to pick him up?"
"He's served my family a long time now," Ciel smoothly lied.
Tichelli found that hilarious. His laughter rose to a quick crescendo before he stopped suddenly, and keeled over unconscious. His own butler, who had stood to the side the whole meal, apologized profusely and escorted Tichelli out to his carriage. His time at Phantomhive manor was over for the night.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Ciel scowled. "And he called me childish," he said to Sebastian as the older man buttoned his shirt for bed. "Men who have no self control are useless fools in the world. They'll end up killing themselves off eventually."
As Ciel climbed into bed, Sebastian smirked.
"Stop that," Ciel commanded. "You've been unnaturally quiet today. What's with you?"
"Nothing master," Sebastian shrugged it off.
"I command you to tell me!" Ciel shouted.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yes, master. I've just been making preparations for tomorrow. Remember? Tomorrow is the day the queen was going to send over a delegate to discuss crime rates in London, and evaluate your progress. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Ciel's eyes, now fully uncovered, widened for a split second. He had forgotten. "Of course not! I just had other matters at hand." He settled back into bed.
Sebastian smirked, Ciel scowled. "Of course master. Good night." He blew out the candles and walked out of the room, softly closing the door. Padding lightly down the hallway, Sebastian brought his hand up to his face. The queen's delegates were never good news. Tomorrow would be an interesting day indeed.
Going over to the window, Sebastian watched the oncoming twilight, embracing it as his eyes grew red.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Her carriage rolled over the uneven road, making sleep impossible. But that didn't matter. The sun had begun it's rise again, kissing the horizon. They were beginning to get close to the Phantomhive Manor. This time, Ash was the one commandeering the carriage. It was all an act, because she could have driven the carriage by herself. But he argued, saying it would look more official if he drove.
"Chauvinistic bastard," the girl, Sora, grumbled. She was bored. He refused to let her carry her bag with her, insisting that he keep it up front in case they 'got lost'. She knew the whole reason was just to slowly torture her to death. He hadn't been very happy when the queen signed her on as his 'helper', and especially not when he found out what she was.
Technically, he shouldn't be hating her. She was technically his boss. But he wasn't too fond of rules.
Sora was the result of an angel and a demon. Which was unheard of. The two groups just don't get along. But of course it happened. The impossible always seems to, eventually.
Her mother was the angel. And not just any angel; an archangel. So when she committed suicide after finding out she had brought a demon-angel half-breed into the world, the archangel title passed down to Sora. The only good it seemed to bring was a.) the other angels theoretically couldn't physically harm her on purpose (But they did anyway), and b.) her wings were larger, so she could fly faster (which helped escape. See reason a.)). And that's it. The only perks.
Her father was the demon. She never knew him.
All of a sudden, the carriage tilted dangerously, and Sora, who was laying on the plush bench, rolled off onto the floor with a thud.
"Sorry back there!" Ash yelled in his smooth, lifting voice. He wasn't sorry. He probably did it on purpose. "But on the bright side, if you're still conscious, we're here!"
The carriage did stop. But Sora was still on the floor. Getting up, she grumbled to herself. Now she was all dirty. That wouldn't be a good first impression.
She heard the creak of the door, and the sunlight of the early morning peaked through. The next thing she saw was Ash's face. She resisted the urge to smack him. At least he held out a hand to help her down, which she took, only to show the Phantomhive servants behind him that she was a 'proper' lady.
"Thank you, Ash," she said when her feet were secure on the ground. Her voice held a faint trace of hostility. Which he picked up on. The smirk waiting to crawl over his face could be seen in the pits of his bluish-purple eyes. She glared, before turning to the servants in front of her.
The smallest one was on the far left, with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He had a straw hat on, and an innocent expression on his face with a huge grin.
The next one in line was a mauve-haired female with large glasses. She was wearing a frilly maids outfit that fit her well.
Next was a large man with blonde hair. He looked American, but Sora couldn't tell for sure.
After him was an incredibly short, super deformed old man sipping from a tea cup. She thought she heard a slight chuckle from the man.
Finally, there was a man clad in a black tailcoat, looking quite sharp. There wasn't a black hair out of place on his perfectly styled head, no imperfection in his clothing, nothing. His face was pale, with deep red eyes. He had a slightly amused look on his face, telltale by the small smirk gracing his lips. He was staring at Sora intensely, studying her, as if trying to figure out if she was a threat.
Sebastian combed over the girl that stepped out of the carriage intently. She was small in frame, petite. She had white hair, much like Ash he noted with distaste, and it was cut short in the back, but longer up front, coming down to her jaw line. Her bangs, parted at the right side over her eyebrow, were swept across her face, a strand coming to rest over her left eye. She was porcelain pale. Clad entirely in white, she looked like another angel sent to torture him. But the aura she was giving off was different. Strange. Even stranger, he noted as he studied her face, were her eyes. The right was a deep red, much like his, and the left was a sea blue with golden flecks. Unlike most girls, she wasn't swooning over the sight of him. How peculiar.
"So how long are you two going to stare at each other?" Ash asked with a bored tone in his voice. She muttered something back, that even Sebastian couldn't hear. But Ash found it funny, and let out a little chuckle.
"I'm sorry Madam, that was rude," Sebastian said as he walked up, and bowed. "Welcome to the Phantomhive Manor. We hope you will enjoy your stay." Sebastian turned to Ash. "Will you be staying for lunch today as well, Ash?"
Ash turned to look at the butler. "Not today, good sir. The queen beckons me back home. Alas, maybe another day."
However, both of them knew that Ash wasn't welcome for lunch, nor was he ever going to accept.
Going back to the carriage, Ash pulled down Sora's patent white leather bag. He handed it to her, and got back into the carriage. Saluting her, he called out, "Be good. Try not to make the same mistake twice love!"
Sora hated when he called her that. It was taunting, and he was practically begging to be keelhauled. But putting on a smile, Sora called out, just as cheerily, "Of course Ash! And do try to fix that impotency problem of yours while I'm away. I'm quite tired of hearing you complain about it!"
If looks could kill, Sora would be cut up into tiny pieces, burned, frozen, then fed to the fishes. With no other words, Ash snapped the reins and the horses shot forward in a cloud of dust.
Turning back to the servants, Sora looked at their awestruck faces. Even Sebastian was mildly surprised that Ash would take that and not retort back. Or that a lady would even say that in the first place. But there were more important matters at hand. Just as he opened his mouth to invite her in, she spoke.
"Sorry about that. Usually I'm not that… vulgar. Unfortunately, though, that is sometimes the only way to silence Ash. I apologize, and I hope your image of me isn't dampened by that display."
The tall, blonde servant chuckled.
Sebastian decided to try again. "Oh, it's quite alright. Please, follow me inside to the lounge. The young master will be with you shortly." He bowed again, and offered out his hand. Sora stared at it, inwardly debating on whether or not she should take it. Finally, she just stared at him with her mismatched eyes.
He withdrew his hand, a little miffed. Now he looked like a fool. Should he have offered her his hand in the first place? Probably not, they just met! This wasn't how a butler was supposed to act. Turning around, he walked back over to the door. She followed silently.
"Don't you have work to do, you three?" He all but snapped at the servants, except the old man. The other three scrambled off, like bugs.
Highly amused that she managed to make him mad that fast (for she could hear the quiet hostility in his voice, and assumed it was because of her), she watched silently as he unhitched the lock and opened the doors into the dark hall of Phantomhive manor.