Everyone at the Phantomhive manor was running ragged, trying so hard to accomplish the ever growing list of chores their master continually pressed onto them. The poor servants barely had enough time to eat or even stop to breathe, for that matter, before their Lord or his head butler had to tell them to pick up the pace. Heck, even the head butler was running himself wary. The head of the Phantomhive manor began to notice more and more accidents happening around the manor then there normally would be. The red head maid, Mey-rin, was more clumsy than usual and the Lord found himself watching her stumble up the stairs four times along the same stair case. Not only that, but she forgot how many plates were to be set around the table, she would stumble over flat surfaces more, but mostly was the fact that she would come into a room and completely forget why she came in there in the first place or without a duster or broom. He noticed the blonde haired man, Finnian, who tended the gardens on the property, would over weed and begin to pull out plants that were painstakingly placed and cared for. However the biggest hint was when he noticed his butler, Sebastian, continually forgetting tea, messing up on his beloved violin, or trying to stifle back a yawn or trying to hide it. It was the last straw when Mey-rin tripped on the stairs and tried to get up but fell asleep on them.
"That does it!" The Phantomhive's young master shouted, his voice ringing through the halls, waking Mey-rin and snapping the others to look at him.
"My lord?" Sebastian asked as he walked after the young boy to a study room where he quickly wrote up a letter on a scroll and shoved it in Sebastian's face.
"Take this and make sure it gets to the letter carrier." He demanded of his tall butler.
"Yes, young master." Sebastian bowed deeply and walked out making sure the letter got to the carrier and got to its destination with haste and urgency.
A young woman let out a sigh as she reread the scroll in front of her before she entered the property containing the large manor. She sighed again as she looked at the mansion as she began to roll up the scroll and tucked it into her bag on the ground. She placed the back of her black gloved hand to her nose. "I'm just outside and this place already reeks," She stated with a look of disgust on her face. She had a black bag with another long bag going diagonally across her back slung over her shoulders. She bent down and picked up the larger one on the ground before heading up the road to the large building in the distance. She wasn't dressed in a normal woman attire of the era. She wore black boots and a white button down shirt that was tucked into her black pants all covered over with a black trench coat. She had long brown hair that was in a tight braid going to the middle of her back. She approached the manor and glanced at her surroundings, trying to familiarize herself with the surrounding landscape. She came to a stop at the base of the stone steps as she stared at the large doors.
The bushes began to rustle on her right, causing her to look over at them. A silver haired man poked his head out of the bushes and growled at her. She glared at him and raised her lip, baring her right canine at him. With this expression, the man was sent whimpering and running to the back of the property. Sighing, she walked up the steps. She examined the door at eye level before raising her hand and making three loud knocks. She waited for several minutes before the large door opened revealing a red headed short girl in a maids outfit with glasses.
"Yes?" Her voice asked as she peeked out from behind the door.
"Uh, yes. I was told to come to the Phantomhive manor and talk to the person who owns the place." The brunette stated to the red head as she reached into her coat and pulled out a piece of parchment between her right index and middle finger that held the address of the manor. The red head reached out and gently took the piece of paper in her hands and read the piece quickly before smiling.
"Yes, please do come in!" She beamed and bowed before getting out of the way and letting the woman into the large manor. The woman walked in and looked around before stopping and looking up.
'This place reeks even more than I thought,' The brunette thought. She brought the back of her right hand up to her nose again and made a slightly disgusted face. She heard the large door close behind her and let her hand fall back to her side before looking over her left shoulder as the red head trotted up next to her.
"Please, right this way miss." The red head stated as she began to walk into the heart of the manor. The woman followed the red head through the hallways. She came to an elegant wooden door that looked much like the others along the hall. She turned and bowed to her. "Please wait here a moment." She knocked on the door.
"Come in," A young male voice called.
"My lord," The red head stated as she opened the door and bowed. "Someone is here to see you."
"Bring them in," The voice sighed. The red head bowed before turning around and bowing to the woman outside the door, motioning her to come in. The woman walked into the room and the red head shut the door. The woman bowed slightly after being amazed at the young age of the person in charge. The red head approached the young boy in a large throne like chair in the library looking study. She handed him the piece of paper, which he quickly glanced at and then set down on the arm rest of his chair. "Ah, yes, I requested a presence but…" He stopped and eyed the woman up and down. "I was expecting some one stronger, and not a woman." He was blunt and to the point.
"I am sorry to disappoint you," The woman gave a slight bow with her head. "But, I AM the best there is." She looked up and smiled at the young boy. "What you requested in your letter is what you get, though you didn't mention the gender." The woman pulled out the scroll from her bag that she set down on the floor and held it out. "And, as you requested, all of your priorities have been met and more." The woman let the scroll unravel slightly. "I, myself, looked it over twice making sure no detail went unchecked." She stepped closer and gave a slight bow before handing the boy the scroll. "I took the liberty of writing everything down, I hope it is to your liking." The blue grey haired boy scanned the document over. "And of course, at the bottom are my colleagues' signatures approving of the material that has been written. And of course, the seal." The boy eyed the seal carefully to make sure it was correct. Indeed it was the one and only.
"Ugh!" The boy gasped in shock as he read some of the jobs and signatures. He was in awe at how many names were written on the piece before him. "Emperor Gaungxu, Emperor Tongzhi, Prime Minister Gladstone, Prime Minister Gascoyne-Cecil, Prime Minister Disraeli, Queen Victoria, Emperor Meiji."
"Ah, yes," She smiled and scratched her cheek, looking off to her left. "Those are some of the people I work for. You see, I travel to where ever I am needed. So, I am highly regarded and top priority for almost any situation." Ciel looked up at the listings.
"You were there when the Queen was almost assassinated?" Ciel asked, looking over the scroll at the woman in front of him.
"Ah, yes, Queen Victoria," She bowed slightly with her right arm across her waist. "Sadly, no, however, she is one of my biggest clients. I became one of her personal body guards after she became very fond of myself and my colleagues when we were hired for extra security." Ciel let the scroll hang over the arm of his chair and laid his head on his right hand.
"I also see the assassinations," Ciel smirked. "How do I know you aren't trying to kill me?"
"Trust me," The woman's mouth made a lopsided smirk, "You would have already been dead."
"I highly doubt that. How do I know you aren't taking your time?" He retorted, a smirk creeping across his features.
"I do my work quickly and efficiently Phantomhive." She stated in a stern tone. "I get my jobs done. And as for who I work for, I work for me, and me alone." She said as she turned her back and walked back to her bag before picking it up.
"Does our mysterious assassin come with a name or am I just going to have to call you something random?" Ciel sneered.
"Rai," She stated simply over her shoulder.
Ciel smirked before addressing the red head, "Mey-rin!" He snapped. "Take our guest to her room and get her fitted."
"Y-y-yes, sir!" She stammered. "Right away, sir!" She bowed and quickly went to the door and opened it. Rai began to walk to the door before she stopped and spoke over her shoulder.
"Oh, and Ciel," She said. Ciel's eye widened when she called his name. She held up her left hand holding a pistol by its barrel. "This gun you were brandishing isn't good for a boy like you to be carrying around something dangerous like this. You could get hurt." She stated, almost mockingly. Okay, yes, she was mocking him. Ciel's eye went wider as he looked down at where his pistol was supposed to be between the cushion and the armrest. It wasn't. Ciel snapped his head back up as he saw Rai lay the pistol down on the ledge of a table before walking through the door and leaving. Mey-rin closed the door as Ciel smiled and sat back in his chair. Several minutes later, Sebastian showed up with his tea and Ciel still smiling to the door.
"My lord, your tea is Earl Gray," Sebastian said. He looked up from the tray at Ciel who was looking in front of him with a smile he knew all too well to be mischievous. "My lord, is everything alright?" He questioned as he looked to his right at the door Ciel had been staring at. He gave a slight glare to the door as his nose picked up a barely noticeable scent.
"Everything is going to be just fine," Ciel smirked. Sebastian couldn't help but look at the writing that was scrolled across the parchment draped over the armrest of the chair as he set the tray down. The thing he noticed most were all the names and stamped seals. Ciel was up to something, but what?