(Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler.)

"You choose to take on this mission of your own accord, understanding that if you complete it, we cannot save you?" asked a stern voice.

"I do," replied a much gentler voice.

"You also understand that this is very dangerous, and will certainly be very painful?"

"A wrong has been committed, and we must make it right. Someone has to do it. I can't just sit here and let this happen," stated the second voice with a bit more resolve.

"Even if it means saving an enemy?"

"Even then."

"Very well. Brace yourself!"

A scream echoed through the air as the owner of the second voice was ripped through time, hurtling back into darkness.

Constance woke with a headache. For a few moments she felt the confusion normal upon waking from a rather intense dream. Standing she walked over to the mirror and looked in it. A rather whimsical face looked back, and for a second it seemed wrong to her. Then her mind cleared and she smiled faintly, watching as the reflection smiled back. Quietly she went about the task of dressing for the day.

It was early in the morning, and she opened her bedroom window to let in the fresh spring air. Just recently she had gotten a job as the maid to a very prominent, yet very angry, young woman. Her treatment there was not ideal, but necessary. An image flickered through her mind of a young man, really still a boy, sitting upon a throne atop a pile of bodies discarded like broken rag dolls. She shuddered faintly, sighed, and got ready for work.

Lady Eleanor was not an easy woman to please. If things were not just the way she wanted them, they had to be done again from scratch. The problem with this was that she rarely seemed to know what she wanted in the first place. Constance knew it wasn't her place to judge, and she knew why the woman was a bit of a control freak. Life had been out of her control for so long that now she had to direct everything in the household. Still, Constance knew that any compassion she showed would be seen as pity and get thrown back in her face. So she kept a politely neutral expression at all times.

Not long ago she was a happily married woman. As expected, she was raised with the grace and etiquette of a proper young lady. Her poise and dignity in front of guests was impeccable. No one could find fault with her. She showed her husband just enough gentle affection in public to avoid the label of being cold, but didn't shower him with so much that it would be considered indecent. Her husband was a handsome man of fairly good background. It seemed like a perfect marriage.

But the most beautiful of things often have something hidden beneath that is less than desirable. The happy couple was destroyed by the crude matter of money. Although Eleanor's family was of old noble stock, their financial situation had gone down over the generations. Her husband's family had come from a somewhat lesser family, but they had a lot of money. What looked like a romantic marriage was actually a marriage of convenience. It was just extra convenient that both sides of the couple were young and attractive. When word leaked out that her husband had contracted far too many debts there was a scandal; especially since some of those debts pointed to dealings with a certain Viscount. Shortly after this the husband was found dead by hanging. Further scandal ensued, and it seemed as though Lady Eleanor's very home was under threats of being taken.

Most of the servants had left her except for and old cook that had served since Eleanor's father was young. It was he who hired Constance since the girl was willing to work for lesser wages and didn't seem to care that the house was under scandal. Lady Eleanor lashed out at her new servants often, and many of them left. Only Constance and the old cook seemed to have the tolerance to stay with the woman for long. All her anger seemed to be put on these people who had never done anything to harm her.

Constance worried about her mistress quite a bit. She was still young and should have been having children by now, not living with the threat hanging over her head that she will one day be evicted from her familial home. Injustice made Constance's heart sting, and she swore to herself that she would aid her mistress, come hell or high water.

And this is exactly what some beings want to hear.

(AN: This is my first Black Butler fanfiction.)