I do not own Pandora Hearts and Kuroshitsuji.
The Earl's Marionette
by: KRIZZA
i. The Doll's Worth
...
It was nearing dusk when they found her. The carriage came to a sudden halt and the coachman was quick to inform him of the unconscious body deterring their way home. Under normal circumstances, Sebastian would have already brushed it off and asked the man to disregard it and proceed on driving the young Earl to the manor. But as he took a whiff of the cold outdoor air, he immediately sensed the non-typical and uncommon scent of the lying soul case on the road. With one graceful swift, he faced his master who seemingly caught the surprising peculiarity of it, too.
"I'll check on it," he spoke, lightly bowing his head before descending down from the vehicle.
The wind gone wild as it brushed through his tailored ebony coat and he could feel the unpleasant bleakness it emitted. The remaining course of the way to the manor from here was no longer faraway. Basically, they would arrived after passing this forest road. That was if they hadn't met an obstruction. Sebastian let a small sigh passed as he thought of his schedule having a little adjustment. But he supposed it was also in his commitment as one hell of a butler to handle such unexpected situation with great laxity.
A girl with approximately a little shorter in height than Ciel with an exceptionally long and voluminous brown hair that blanketed her lithe body was what he found on the quagmire part of the road. She was knocked out and barely breathing, but still alive, nonetheless. He came closer and took a nigh look at her face. In first glance, she actually appeared a simple human girl, Sebastian, however, knew better.
"What is that?"
The butler heard the young Earl questioned inquisitively. Apparently, he stepped out as well to take a look, probably out of genuine curiosity. He almost smirked when he realized that Ciel was already aware that the girl was not human as he outwardly referred to her as 'that'. As to be expected from his master, really.
"Bocchan, isn't quite rude to speak of her like an inanimate object?"
He threw playfully, expecting a displeased reaction from him that, oddly enough, didn't happen. The young Earl raised a brow and gave him a stern knowing look. "Well?"
His lips quirked for a brief moment primarily upon checking on the said body. "As bocchan concluded, she isn't human," he said, casting a glance on the young Earl's way as he took a step closer. "But she is not my kind, either," he continued before Ciel could even open his mouth.
"Unfortunately, as inept as I am, I am not familiar with what she is," he added while narrowing his eyes, intentionally letting them glow to integrate a proper assessment of the soul. His words sounded humble, but he only spoke the honest truth. It was the first time per se he came across something alike. It was neither human nor demon, and the soul's quality was almost comparable to Ciel Phantomhive's. Almost. It lacked some purity but smelled just as delicious. He nearly licked his lips at the thought.
"What shall I do with it?" Sebastian asked with anticipation. Surely, Ciel wouldn't pass the opportunity to acquire such a rare good, seeing he looked fairly fascinated on it. Besides, he, himself, was reasonably captivated.
The young Earl stared intently at the prospect, eying her with an investigatory look mixed with some distrust. Nevertheless, an obvious interest was reflected on his unconcealed eye. "Take her home," he answered firmly as he went back to the carriage.
Sebastian spared half a minute to observe the girl as he picked her insensate body. Her striking red coat with diamond patterns was a bit tattered, apart from being scantily covered with mud. She was wearing a mid-thigh fitted black skirt and knee-length high boots and the gigantic ribbon from her originally white oxford had his butler instincts cringing in dissatisfaction with the awful amount of stains pervading it.
Her clothing style, though, added to his assumptions that she wasn't from this place, perhaps not even from this world. Sebastian distastefully mused that her strange sense of fashion was more suitable for those pretty dolls from The Phantomhive Toy Company. Hence, he decided that the little girl very much resembled a doll of high attribute.
Not wanting to make his master wait any longer, he carried the doll-like being and gently placed her on the spacious cushion inside the carriage as they resumed their way home.
Their guest, much to the young Earl's growing impatience, remained asleep for a few more days. Sebastian laid her in one of the guest room and purposely asked Mey-Rin to tend to her wounds and change her clothes. He was unsurprisingly questioned with the girl's what abouts but he opted to brush it off in the guise of giving her instructions for the correct way of doing things. Naturally, the maid didn't press it as she merrily listened to every word the butler was saying.
The young master carried out his profession and manner of living like the usual, only adding a constant visit to the guest room on his routine, presumably waiting for the girl to wake up. The way he looked at her sleeping form, Sebastian noticed, was full of interest. There was some skepticism as might be expected, but there was no hint of hostility or even antagonism from it. Sebastian wondered if it would stay this way even after the girl woke up.
In the meanwhile, he handed the responsibility of looking after the girl to the other Phantomhive servants as he took the initiative of gathering informations and clues that would lead to the said girl's identity in which, by far, hadn't come to fruition. There was no reported accidents, no missing person, no mishaps—not even a single insight to her locale of origin. He could ask Undertaker about her, but Sebastian would need something to give him in exchange and he'd rather leave that almost chagrin opportunity to his master since he was somehow invested to her, which was a feat and of itself.
Ciel Phantomhive rarely got invested into something. Once he deemed it irrelevant to his contracted yet imperative life, he would label it unusable, ready to get thrown into the trash. However, the attitude and attention he was displaying recently towards the thing they literally picked up from the road was very questionable even for Sebastian. For him, the girl was no more than a doll, a trinket of style and finesse with no real value. In contrary, Ciel seemed to have a different view of her.
Well, not that he was complaining. It was sort of intriguing to watch his master pour his awareness from things other than revenge.
When Mey-Rin told them that the girl finally woke up, Ciel was quick to his feet. He left, if not outright abandoned, the cup of rose hip tea steaming fragrantly on his desk as he strode his way to the guest room. Sebastian came behind him.
What greeted them was the sight of their guest standing full alert with her feet flat on the bed while glaring daggers at the servant and baring her imaginary little fangs. To the butler, her behavior was similar to a wounded small animal, ready to attack or defend itself anytime.
"Calm down, miss. We're not going to hurt you. Um, please get down."
The servant ushered in a nervous manner as she tried to coax the girl to calm down. She tried approaching the bed and slowly reached out her hand, hoping the girl's possible displeasure could die down. But it did nothing of sort.
Sebastian chanced a glance at Ciel and found him silently staring at her, his expression unreadable. He directed the servant to leave the room and let him handle the rest so they could talk and confirm things. If what he suspected was true, it wouldn't be good to drag those uninvolved and ignorant of the other world. The servant nodded and politely excused herself.
Now that they were the only three in the room, the doll-like being shifted her gaze to Ciel who slowly moved towards her.
"Bocchan?" he called, realizing the young Earl hadn't said a single thing as of yet. He continued remarking the girl whose eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion.
"Chains?!" the girl shouted all of a sudden.
"Chain?" Ciel repeated curiously. Although he was looking up to the girl atop the bed, he stood firmly and refused to back down from their intense staring battle.
The girl was deep in thought for a moment before promptly shaking her head as she mumbled, "No, you're not." She took another once-over to Ciel, then to Sebastian, then back to Ciel and asked, "What are you?"
It was faint and short-lived but Sebastian swore he saw a smile grazing the young Earl's lips as though he was proud. He remembered having the same sentiment earlier. Witnessing his reaction, the girl, however, frowned deeper.
"Who are you?" the young Earl spoke at last, countering her question with another question. At this, he seemed to regain his bearings and got hold of the reign just like an Earl should, or so they thought.
"Hmmph," the girl huffed, taking one step closer as if showing she wasn't afraid to draw near the fire. "If you want to ask someone their name, it's only natural to state your name first." She crossed her arms in front her chest and raised her eyebrow while slightly tilting her head in an arrogant manner.
"Aren't you the impolite one, asking us all of a sudden of what we are?" his master calmly responded in retaliation.
Sebastian expected the young Earl to get annoyed at the brass demeanor of the girl. Instead, there was a glint of playfulness on his visible eye as he took up the unspoken challenge. It must've felt refreshing for him to encounter someone with equal stubbornness and conceitedness. The butler couldn't help himself from feeling amused at the interaction.
The girl clicked her tongue, clearly irritated at the matter of fact Ciel had presented. Although his master was the first to act rude the first day he met her, the girl didn't need to know that.
"Where did you came from? Why are lying unconscious on my property? What exactly are you?" the young Earl continuously inquired. Even after being subjected to nothing but silence, he didn't flash an inkling indignation. He looked at her with soft and even-tempered gaze that he only ever bestowed to Lady Elizabeth, but even that was out of confounded self-proclaimed liability as her betrothed.
"Argh! Shut up! I am not obligated to tell you anything!" the young girl raised her voice, a defense mechanism Sebastian noted she knew how to play. It was clear as day that she didn't want to reveal her circumstances but since he didn't sense anything dangerous that could threaten the young Earl's life, the butler observed on the sidelines and allowed his master to do as he pleased.
The young Earl released an abrupt sigh as he professedly gave up on the questioning. "Fine," he said, eye fixated on the still raging girl. "I won't ask you anymore questions that you are not obligated to answer." He purposely stressed the word to indicate that she was in fact obligated to comply to him considering she was rescued and sheltered by the young Earl. The girl only heaved an exasperated puff. "Just tell me your name," he proposed all too kindly.
With that, the girl's anger seemed to lessen as she brought her arms back on her side. She didn't completely let her guard down and the creases on her brows hadn't thoroughly smoothened but she had calm down from her high. Perhaps she was deliberating if the boy in front of her was worthy of giving him her name.
"Alice."
The girl eventually said, tone dropping to a quiet whisper as if she was reluctant to let him know. "That's my name. And you?" she questioned airily, recovering from the unconfident mood from before.
"Alice?" Ciel repeated, not so much of a question as a confirmation. Sebastian thought he just wanted to try saying the name to know how it felt rolling through his tongue. He successfully hid the entertained smirk from his master.
"My name is Ciel Phantomhive, the current Lord of this manor." He uncharacteristically extended his arm to the girl with his palm facing upward as though he was asking for her hand. "Come, Alice. I will give you what you need," he said in full authority.
The said girl was taken aback with the sudden proposition but not as much as she was suspicious. She took her time in mulling over the young Earl's words, speculating whether it was alright to put her trust to him. She contemplated for a while but ultimately complied as she reached out to the proffered hand and placed her own on top of it, eyes intently fixated on Ciel.
Sebastian witnessed how Ciel's lips formed a genuine smile.
How interesting, the butler thought with a smirk.
The flow of the latest investigation went smoothly as planned and the young Earl had effortlessly completed yet another assignment that Her majesty, The Queen had designated to him. They wasted no time and briskly wrapped up the case as they began to traverse their way home.
Sebastian could see some implications of giddiness from his master's face and decided to track it down. "Bocchan, you appear excited to go home," he said, not missing the way his eye flinched from being taken notice.
"Not really," the young Earl rebutted while trying to free his expression from any visible emotion. He caught the small smile escaping from the butler's lips so he glared at him. "What is it?"
"Forgive my rudeness, I was just thinking how thrilled bocchan is to see his doll. You seem fond of her."
"So? What of it?" Ciel rested his elbow on the windowsill of the carriage and propped his chin at the top of his half-fisted hand while lazily looking at the scenery outside. He was supposed to look nonchalant about it, but the tint of pink tainting his cheeks gave away his façade and indicated that Sebastian was actually right on the mark. The butler didn't delve any further as he let out a wry smile.
When they arrived at the mansion, they were greeted by Alice in a not so normal way.
She was seated on the railing of the second floor with her legs dangling dangerously in front while she was munching an apple she probably stole from Mey-Rin's supply of ingredients, not that it really mattered. She was wearing a dark mauve dress that lacked extravagance but not sophistication. Again, Sebastian compared her to the high quality doll produced by The Phantomhive Toy Company.
Alice had a primitive grace on her, so much that Sebastian suspected her coming from a noble lineage. With enough effort, she could be polished to a refined lady and be juxtaposed with those noble woman the young Earl occasionally crossed path with. However, acting like a proper lady was apparently the last thing that she wanted to do.
"Alice, what are you doing there?" the young Earl asked a little tiredly. It wasn't the trip that exhausted him, it was something that had to do with the girl in question.
Sebastian removed his master's coat and took the hat and cane from him as he listened to their interaction.
"What, you're finally home?" Alice said, seemingly unaffected by the frightening height from where she decided to get comfortable, as she took notice of their arrival.
"It's dangerous so get down." Ciel let out an exasperated sigh and climbed up the stairs.
"What? I'm just eating," she feigned innocence and continued eating even after the young Earl came closer.
"Just get down already."
"Tsk. You took so long to come home and it was so boring, so I came here." Finally fed up with arguing, she turned backward and jumped to her feet to face the approaching boy. "You should make it up to me," she added pointedly.
Ciel heaved another sigh as he gave in. "Fine, come with me." He set off to the leisure room with Alice blissfully following behind.
Honestly, it didn't came as a surprise to Sebastian anymore. They conversed as though they had known each other ever since and had a deep understanding with each contact. What astounded the butler was for Ciel Phantomhive, the ever so ruthless young Earl, to hold someone who was practically a stranger dear to him.
The unexpected change on his character didn't cause any harm on his soul, it didn't soil or defiled it at any cost. Alternatively, it added spice to the already luxurious and over the top essence of it, if that was even possible. Sebastian couldn't help but recoil in anticipation for him to finally acquire that mouthwatering price.
Alice was, Sebastian learned, anything but timid. She had a loud mouth which incessantly spouted profane and cheeky language. It was endearing in a way though not appropriate and quite unappealing for her age. She had a high opinion of herself and acted superior to everyone, but she had an honest nature and was generous to reward the servants plenty of commendations whenever she was satisfied – particularly when it came to the food.
She was a huge meat lover—something that she flaunted everyday. On top of that, she had a massive appetite that they were all left wondering how it could fit to that petite body of hers. As the Phantomhive butler, Sebastian catered to her every demands with gusto since his master went as far as giving his word to provide her necessities. He was careful not to sully the young Earl's promise.
The relationship of the two, if Sebastian had to described, was fascinating. Alice gradually became attached to Ciel as much as Ciel became certain that he wanted to keep Alice.
Alice was ruling and prevailing. She always acceded her need to domineer. But when it came to Ciel, she was willing to submit, albeit in a conspicuous way, and abide the young Earl's final words. She wasn't subdued to talking back, nor was she afraid of crossing a line, and she still acted haughty towards him, probably something that came with her character. Except, there was an unmistakable reverence behind the bickering and reciprocal influence.
Ciel, on the other hand, was very lenient to Alice. Sebastian thought the young Earl might, or might not, becoming smitten with her. He never felt hostile towards her no matter what she did or said. He would scold or reprimand her repeatedly but never resented the girl. She had a note-worthy place in him which he wasn't ashamed to admit since Alice seemed to know her place.
They developed a connection that was not liable to easily break and be infiltrated. Only to Ciel did Alice completely lowered her guard and only to Alice did Ciel manifested his tender and almost sweet side.
Sebastian wanted to test how much the girl meant to the young Earl, how far he would go out of his way for her sake. So he tried cornering her once. Alice was obviously wary of him—there was always a concealed fear lingering behind every watchful gazes she sent him. She always made an effort to avoid being alone with him and was rapid to evade any contact from him.
When the young Earl took notice of it, he gave him a firm warning.
"Don't lay your hands on it," Ciel ordered over a stack of files and envelopes while Sebastian poured a perfectly blended tea on an intricately-designed cup.
The butler smiled before giving his answer. "Understood."
There was no words to follow the command but there was something pulling on him that made Sebastian look his way. When he lifted his head and faced his master, he was met with the imperious Lord whom he vowed to aid. Ciel's face was grim and absolute. The patch covering his marked eye was nowhere to be found and the seal from the said eye was glowing and drawing the demon to obey him.
"Sebastian. This is an order."
Sebastian instantly felt the indraft of his being and knelt in one knee as he bowed in compliance. "Yes, my Lord."
The episode answered Sebastian's question about Alice's worth. He never dared to touch the girl since then.
...
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