A voice rang out throughout the chambers that belong to a young woman, "Cheyenne! What kind of tea is this?" A young female pulled a cart into the room where a china tea set was displayed. The girl took a second to smooth her black knee high dress along with her frilly white apron, "It's Earl Grey, madame. My dearest apologies if it is too hot." The female behind the white wooden desk flipped her dark brunette hair over her shoulder with a small grunt, "I thought so.." The female murmured before shooting a glare at her, "Too hot? Cheyenne, to think you would mess up such an easy task. It appalls me." With that, the girl took a sip of her tea as her upper eyelids lowered over her dull brown irises as if she were about to daze off. It was a bit over-brewed.

Something was obviously wrong.

"Didn't we get some tea bags to sample at that shop? Is this one of them? I'm sure you've picked a variety of them, please correct me if I'm wrong though." The mistress set down her cup before rummaging through a perfect, organized stack of papers. The butler known as Cheyenne shook her head curtly, "Yes, I did, madame. It is in fact one of the samples. Would you like something to go with your tea? I'm sure the raspberry scones that Alistar prepared earlier are almost done baking." She offered kindly.

The majestic girl simply murmured, "You know I hate scones."

Cheyenne picked up her head slightly with the raise of her eyebrows, not replying as if she were waiting for her to go on.

They locked eyes for a moment before the young mistress broke eye contact, "Whatever, just prepare me something else please. I'm rather famished today."

A gentle smile came upon Cheyenne's features, "Of course, Mistress Kugeline. What would you like today?"

Another odd silence seemed to fill the space between the two of them.

".. I have no clue. You are the 'butler', right? You should pick something for me." Miss Kugeline said in a rather interrogating, yet mocking way.

The question perturbed her as well as the change of tone in her voice. Cheyenne furrowed her eyebrows and gave her a glance with a rather stern expression. What was the matter with her attitude today? It was beginning to bother her to the absolute max. She hated how mortals thought so highly of themselves and treat others like they were dirt. The way she threw the word 'butler' around was one of the few peeves she had against her mistress. Such arrogance burned her cheery ego with a passion.

Although...

"Yes, Madame Nicole. I am at your command." A sudden smile came upon her pale pink lips as she squinted her eyes to express her positiveness toward the question. Suddenly, the girl looked taken back like she had been pushed away by a long-term lover. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

That smile.

Oh, how she hated it.

A small sigh escaped Nicole Kugeline's throat as she propped her elbow on her desk and let the side of her face sink into her palm as a gesture of boredom, "Find out whatever our guest tonight likes. First impressions last, you know."

"Of course, madame! I'll make sure to ask when he arrives."

Suddenly, her eyebrows perked up as she picked up a stray letter and ripped it open with her fingernail. She opened a card that was within the envelope that clearly read 'Happy Birthday' on the front, ".. Wha.. I.." She tried to find the write words before letting it drop to her desk with an accusing glare at the butler, "You told my client my birthday?!"

Cheyenne let her eyes wander around the room innocently before letting her gaze drop to the floor as if she were shamefully confessing to a judge.

Nicole pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she shut her eyes tightly, "Whatever, I'm going to my father's office to look for a few documents. Get me when the guest arrives, understood?" The butler bowed her head and replied solemnly, ""Y-yes, madame.. I will be sure to do so.." And with that, the mistress stood up from her seat and walked around the female butler to the door.

"Wait, madame!" Cheyenne blurted out as she spun on her heel to face Nicole's back.

"What is it?" The young girl replied as she looked over her shoulder.

"I.. I don't understand.. why you're inviting Lord Phantomhive over for supper, Miss Kugeline.. Are you.. bargaining? Please correct if I'm wrong, o-of course!" The servant stuttered due to her lack of thought she put into her words.

There was a long pause before Nicole turned and walked up to her, meeting the demon butler face to face, "Know your place as a servant. None of this is of your concern. I'd think inviting that Butler over as well would be good enough for you. You might learn a thing or two from him." She advised with a harsh tone as her eyes burned into the others, "That's all you need to care about, y-your self." The mistress finished mockingly before walking off and out of her chambers.

The butler bit back her retorts and comments, causing her cheeks to flush and become hot. She looked down with a frown and murmured, "Yes, my mistress.."

- x -

Nicole marched into her father's study and huffed to herself quietly, "So what if the Phantomhive heir and I are bargaining? I know what I'm getting into! It's not like she cares anyway." She accused silently as she made her way to the drawers where her father's documentaries were when he was a journalist back in his younger days. They were the only things he left before he disappeared. Her shoulders sank of the memory, but soon she squelched the thought; but her mind immediately went back to the bargain which caused her to plummet further into depression. Her eyebrows arched as she set the few documents she picked out onto the desk, plopping herself into her father's old chair with a heavy exhale. An image of Cheyenne's face kept flashing through her mind which made her frown even more, "Why is that smile irking me so much? I see it all day everyday, and I usually couldn't care any less about something other than the Kugeline name. Why am I getting like this?" She questioned herself in a whisper with a bit of a melodramatic tone.

She left herself in a few moments of complete silence before she began to talk to herself again, "Oh, Nicole. You know it has everything to do with the bargain you have already made! Tonight's just the big reveal." The younger female dragged her fingers along the edge of the aging desk, "There's no backing out now."

Picking herself up from the chair she wandered over the old-framed window and opened it, letting a fresh breeze blow through her long hair as she began wondering to herself aloud again, "Was I being too hard on her? Yelling even about the stupid scones? I wouldn't even mind if Brandon made those horrible yams and carrots for supper tonight. I wouldn't want to pressure her to make a big course so late. No one will be eating much tonight after hearing the news, anyway; especially Cheyenne. This is all about her after all..." She trailed off once she saw the mailman approach the mailbox and carefully place the mail inside, but soon, stared directly up at Nicole with a blank expression. Nicole winced, why is he staring at me like that? She wondered to herself quietly for the first time in her life. He soon departed his gaze and went on down the path. How odd!

She redirected her gaze to the garden where flowers of all sorts teemed with life, but soon delivered a triggering flashback to the mistress. The mansion was being ripped apart from the inside and destroyed, townspeople scouting the house for valuables. Her father had fled out of cowardice and left her like a lamb to the slaughter. She was bloody and mangled from a few men stomping and kicking her around like she was trash, blaming her for her father's doings. She remembered how much it hurt and how each bruise blossomed upon her pale skin while she dragged herself through the garden's pathways.

It burned.

That's when she decided to force herself to run away, run away so far that no one could find her into the dark woods that her father forbid her to go to. She only ended up so far, collapsing in the middle of the field like a broken puppet.

But that was when she met her.

Cheyenne.

She promised to fulfill my wish..

Suddenly she felt her cheeks moisten which caused her to reach up and feel her tear-stained skin with shock, "What? Are these what people call tears?" The girl grunted, erasing the flashback from her head instantly, "Knock this foolishness off at once Nicole; There is no time for this now." The loud, lighthearted, resounding of a tiny bell filled the air along with sound of her Butler's voice, "Prepare for Lord Phantomhive's carriage! We must make sure everything is in order!" She turned to the doorway with a frown, "Already?" Nicole sighed one last time, "And so it begins.."

-x-

Nicole tread her way down the spiral stairs as she held up her light purple dress, her high-heeled boots clacking against the marble. Cheyenne straightened her dress nervously with a low mutter, "This shall be fine.. Just a couple of mortals; nothing severe about that... Huh?"

The servant turned around to spot the mistress standing on the third stair from the bottom as she stared down at her coldly, "I want to make one thing very clear with you tonight, there will be no fighting of any kind. Ciel and I have also discussed and made this clear." The sounds of hooves clambering upon the path began to get closer. She made her way down to her side with her nose pointed to the air with her eyes closed, "No matter the price of bargaining and any discoveries made, it is my deal to agree with. You will treat our guests with much more respect than you do me. Is that understood?" Nicole questioned with the usual flat seriousness in her tone.

The girl stared at her blankly before a smile upturned on her lips, her chocolate almond eyes shining brightly with pleasure, "Yes, my mistress!" She gave a curtsey to her before directing herself to the other buzzing servants, speaking to them in a demanding tone, "I do believe everything is in pitch perfect shape? Alistar, you are to go back to the kitchen and prepare dessert. Mr. Quinn, please tend to the garden while Jade and Jayden tidy up."

She was soon disrupted by a loud knocking upon the door. Cheyenne looked over to her mistress with a slow nod of her head before approaching the entrance and opening the door with a big smile, giving a pleasant curtsy.

"Lord Phantomhive? Sir Michaelis? Please, come in. M'lady is waiting for you..