Like every other day, the gloomy gray clouds hung over England. Busy people crowded the streets in the morning. Men fetched ingredients for their wives, women browsed dress shops, and elders were out for their morning walks. Children ran down the main cobblestone street in small crowds, school would be starting soon. This neighborhood was one of the wealthier ones in the area. Mostly middle class resided in the area, all of the buildings had a quaint atmosphere. The homes were made of stone, large gardens often overflowed the white or wooden fences. Bees flew from flower to flower, a sweet aroma filled the air throughout the town.
A black carriage leisurely made its way down the cobblestone path. Townsfolk could hear muffled voices from inside the carriage as it came to a stop. The door burst open and a woman with red hair swung down onto the sidewalk. Two blonde males joined her, followed by a man and boy with black hair. The first three people awed at the area surrounding them, letting out giggles and exclamations of excitement.
"It's beautiful here, yes!"
The redheaded woman shouted as she danced around with the younger blonde boy. The boy grinned and touched his forehead to the woman's, both grinning they took in a deep breath and admired the scent of the flowers.
"A rose bush! Lavender!" The boy named all of the flowers and herbs he spotted in the nearby garden. This area inspired him to work even harder on his own plants.
"ATCH-!" The other boy hid his face into a piece of cloth.
"Are your allergies acting up from this area, young master?" The older blonde man asked. His voice was gruff, but his eyes held a muted look of excitement from the area around him.
The boy nodded and rubbed his temples. "Let's just get this meeting over with, Sebastian. The rest of you can browse the nearby shops for ingredients and whatnot. Don't you dare cause a disturbance, I do not wish to deal with anymore headaches today."
"As you wish, young master." The older black haired man responded, bowing and following the boy down the street into one of the taller buildings. Some people curiously watched the young boy and his servant enter the building. The boy looked no older than thirteen years old. He held his shoulders back, his face looked straight ahead, and he gave off the aura of authority. His skin was pale, and his nose was slightly red from his allergies. One eye was hidden by a black patch, the other was a dazzling royal blue that happened to match the ring on his right hand. There is no question he came from a family of power and authority. No one could have guessed that he was the head of his manor though. The man accompanying him was tall and slim looking. He gave off a similar feeling as the young boy, authoritative, but more approachable. His face was pale, but not sickly. It contrasted well with his raven black hair, and no one could avoid gazing into his wine-red eyes. Women young and old fawned from behind their fans, giggling to each other. The man, Sebastian, looked to his right at a woman who seemed to have whispered louder than she thought to her friend. Immediately her face flushed a deep red. He seemed to have no reaction, his eyes remained expressionless as he entered the building through the heavy wooden doors.
"Finny! Look at this! Do you think young master would like it?"
The blonde boy jogged over to the man and looked at the shelf. It was a black tea set with red roses on it. The spoons were in the shape of roses, and the handles on the cups looked like rose stems.
"I think he would really like it, either him or Sebastian. Good find Mey-Rin!" Finny smiled wide and checked the price tag. It was a lot more than he would personally have paid for it, but it fit the budget Sebastian gave them before they left the mansion. They could still buy a handful of other items, the budget seemed larger than the last few they were given.
"Look at this one!"
The redhead, Mey-Rin, pointed to the set next to it. It was white with flowers molded into the sides of the cups and pot, made out of clay and hand painted. There was a butterfly also molded onto the top of the kettle lid. It was very extravagant and detailed. The flowers were painted in pastels, mostly cool colors with some pink here and there.
Finnian also checked the label, with the two combined it would take up about half of their allowance, but he thought it would be worth it. The group took the two items up to the counter and purchased them. Then they wandered back out onto the busy streets. The smell of a nearby flower shop lured them to glass doors. The doors were French glass doors, with silver holding the glass panes together. There was a fairy and a butterfly made out of steel near the top of the doors. Opening the doors, the group walked inside to a room with an enchanted garden feel.
Flowers were arranged neatly on a table in vases. Lists of orders and customers were attached to each vase. There was a tangle of vines and wild flowers growing up decorative metal fences and over the entire eastern wall. Two females and one male were walking around the flowers, watering, tending, and weeding them.
One of the females was shorter with dark brown hair in long thin braids. Two of the braids at the sides were brought up against her forehead and wrapped around the back of her head to create a crown. Small violet wildflowers were entwined with each braid, flowing out from the crown braid. Her eyes were a lighter brown, almost caramel looking. She was wearing an ankle length medium brown skirt, with a lighter brown flowy blouse. A black ankle length apron covered her front from the dirt and stains of the flowers.
The second female was much taller, about the same height of the taller blonde servant. Her hair was red, about the same shade as Mey-Rin's, and hung an inch or two past her shoulders. Her bangs were held back with ribbon out of her face.
"Ah, welcome!" The man swung around to greet the servants. His voice seemed musical, and a euphoric grin grew on his face as he outstretched his arms. His hair was a deep purple, shoulder length and held back with a white ribbon. His eyes were silver, and his skin was tanned. All of their skin looked tan, his was the darkest though.
"What can we help you with?"
He gracefully walked towards the servants, almost as if he was waltzing. Mey-Rin's glasses seemed to steam up, and her face grew slightly red.
"W-We were just browsing! W-We smelled the flowers f-from down the street a-" She stammered more as he came closer.
"Feel free to look around! We had a batch of roses brought in a few minutes ago from the fields!"
The servants nodded and browsed the shop. There was no doubt the flowers were freshly cut. Every flower was very saturated with color, and the scents wafting from them were almost overwhelming. The servants knew they needed to buy a centerpiece to match their master, it was too perfect of a store. Sebastian demanded only the best and these would definitely satisfy him. The trio browsed until they found the perfect selection and vase.
The young boy tapped his thumb against the arm of the chair. Staring out the window he let his revealed eye follow some select townspeople. There was a larger woman in red and blue sitting on a bench with her, what the boy assumed, husband. They were laughing and looking at a child and a kitten chasing each other, both of which must belong to them. Glancing to his left he also saw his butler staring at the group, but focusing on the small cat. The boy rolled his eye and continued to mindlessly observe the residents outside the window, but keeping his ears open for movement outside the door.
"There are three men waiting to ambush us once Mr. Walters thinks he seals the deal. I will take care of them, it should take no more than four minutes to finish negotiations from there. Would you like to stay and see the surrounding area, should there be no followers?"
The boy glanced over at his butler, who spoke to him in hushed tones.
"I trust you to take care of it cleanly, I do not wish to cause an uproar in this town… I feel oddly fond of it." His words halted as he held in a sneeze. "I do not think it would do me well to remain here more than necessary today. Perhaps another day, I do wish to make a contact or two more here."
The butler nodded and shifted his weight back so he could look out the window. Both of their heads turned to the door as it slammed open, and a hefty man sauntered over to the mahogany desk. Sitting down he extended his hand to the young boy.
"Ciel Phantomhive! I thank you deeply for accepting my invitation to my office here in Aynor. I would have chosen my other location, if not for the renovations."
Shaking his hand Ciel nodded.
"I do not mind taking a trip to the countryside every so often. I am fond of this town it was a good day to get out."
The man nodded and laughed, deep and hearty. It was a jolly laugh, his face plump with a trimmed brown beard, trying to compensate for his nearly bald head. Sebastian tilted his head to the side slightly as he observed the man. He was a powerful man in Aynor, and his death will cause a decent deal of panic within the city. Glancing around the room he made observations on how to make the death look like an accident. His master enjoyed the city, therefore he would not allow chaos within it due to his actions.
Clearing his throat, the man looked at Ciel. "As you are aware, from both my letters and short meetings, I am very interested in becoming a much bigger investor within the Funtom Company… possibly even a partner."
Ciel stared back at the man, the boy's silent gaze telling him to continue. His stare also unnerved the man, quietly composing himself Mr. Walters continued.
"I would be able to supply you with many more warehouses and production plants. The merging of our names and resources will increase demand by 75%. The people of the countryside know me well, they trust my name, prices, and quality..."
Ciel's attention wavered from the man, but not his gaze. Ciel continued to stare at the man as he droned on about how beneficial the merge would be for the Funtom company, and for Ciel's profits as well. Ciel knew it was all twisting of words. Sebastian uncovered the debt Mr. Walters had been in for years now. He was a gambling drunk who could put on a jolly face for those around him. He was a no good father who ended up murdering one of his three children, his wife left him and took half of his fortune to support herself and the children. During the divorce process, his wife found out that he had been cheating on her for the entire marriage, with at least twelve women. She could only guess how many children he had actually fathered and abandoned.
The essence he attempted to push out was fake and frankly tiring for the boy. Sure the man had a profit-fountain of a company a few years ago, but that was because of the high rent he put on his residents, the poor condition of their living environments was offensive even to the most basic commoners. The general stores he had his golden grip on paid his workers less than a livable salary. Sebastian also uncovered many scandals Mr. Walters tried to keep hidden. Those could be talked about for weeks, and Ciel decided to break ties as soon as he was a few minutes into the stories. There was no way that Ciel would allow the man to have any more influence within his company.
Ciel let the man ramble on for about another half hour, enjoying how nervous he could make the man with just his stare. He knew he had the upper hand in the situation, and he intended to milk as much amusement as he could out of it for the day. Unfortunately for Mr. Walters, it only lasted for another hour.
"So if you would so kindly initial at the lines marked, leave your signature on page three and six, we will have a deal my friend!"
The man smirked at the boy, underestimating the intelligence Ciel had. Like many others, he thought the boy was mindless and simple, parading around England as though he was playing dress-up. The ties he claimed to have with the queen did not make the man nervous in the slightest, it was most likely lies to feel like an adult.
It was Ciel's turn to smirk back at the man. "I do not believe a merge would be beneficial to Funtom or myself in the slightest. It would greatly hurt my reputation to have the people know that I had partnered with a man who murdered his middle child, obtained at least thirty thousand pounds through embezzlement, and was planning to kill the most loyal servant to the queen."
The man's eyes widened as his mouth opened in shock. He quickly regained his composure, his face a dangerous scowl, face and neck turning red, and motioning a strange signal with his left hand.
"I have never liked children; all they do is whine until they have things their way! Never taking into consideration what a bother they are for adults. I'm glad your parent's aren't alive to see what a pathetic rat you have turned out to be. You will never be a man!"
Ciel's eyes narrowed as his body was overcome with rage. He would not let him see it though, he would remain still and composed to all who opposed him. Grinning he stared the man dead in the eyes.
"Sebastian, go ahead. I command you to kill Mr. Walters and his associates. Distribute his money and accounts to his ex-wife when we are finished here."
Sebastian's eyes glowed a dangerous magenta as Ciel removed his eyepatch and spoke his command. Removing his gloves and coat Sebastian stared at the man. Sebastian could feel the rage coursing through the boy's veins. Ciel's blood grew hotter, as did the blood in Sebastian's body.
"I am my master's servant. Any rage that he feels, I feel. Any connections that betray him, betray me. Anyone who wishes to kill him, will be killed by me." His eyes bright with demonic aura he took the two strides to Mr. Walters desk. "This is what it means to be a Phantomhive servant."
Ciel breathed deeply to collect his rage as Sebastian disposed of Mr. Walters and his assassins that immediately entered the room. After the deed was done, Sebastian cleaned the scene of the crime, leaving Mr. Walter's body at the desk. Thankfully Sebastian's demonic aura had sent the man into cardiac arrest, so there was nothing to hide or clean on the man. He would be fully dead within a minute, maintaining the timeframe Sebastian had promised. Sebastian and Ciel gathered themselves, dusting their influence from the scene, and exited to a carriage awaiting them. They set off to the manor as the three other servants joined soon after.