Theodore Carlton stared across the hospital room at his mother as she argued with the doctor. Both of them were exhausted, but neither wanted to leave. Earlier that afternoon, when he'd been pulled out of class, Theo had been ecstatic that he didn't have to sit through another minute of his sixth form teacher droning on about long division. Now, he'd give anything to be back there. All the joy had drained from the eleven-year-old once he'd been given the news.
On the way to her ballet class, his older sister had been hit by a car.
Theo gripped his unconscious sister's hand, feeling the wave of panic wash through his body again as he stared at the cannula in her other.
His mother, clearly exhausted, sat next to him and wrapped her arm around her son's shoulders. "She's going to be okay," she assured him, but Theo could hear the wavering tone in her voice.
"Do they know when Tilly's gonna wake up?" he asked, still staring down at his sister's face.
"Not yet, sweetie," his mother said. "She hit her head pretty hard. Even then, the doctors are giving her a lot of medicine, so she'll be asleep for a while." The woman bit her lip and looked away, not wanting to show her son the doubt that was clear on her face.
"Is dad bringing Tilly's books over?" Theo asked, trying to change the subject.
His mother chuckled quietly. "I don't know how much help books will be at the moment," she said softly. "But I did ask him to bring over some of those dolls from the events she goes to."
Theo nodded. "The ones I'm not allowed to go to..."
"Next year," his mother promised. "When Tilly's all better and you've turned twelve, maybe she'll take you if you ask nicely."
As Theo was about to reply, a small knock sounded at the door to the hospital room. His father looked exhausted, a paper shopping bag stuffed full of Tilly's plush toys in one hand and his mobile phone in the other.
"I was trying to call you," he said, dumping the bag on the edge of the girl's hospital bed.
Theo gently picked the bag up and began rummaging through it as his mother sighed. "My phone's turned off, sorry."
"Don't you think I'm just as worried as you are?" His father snapped, going quiet when he noticed Theo cringe. "Theo? Your mum and I are just going to have a chat outside, okay?"
The boy nodded and kept his eyes down as his parents closed the door behind them, though he could still hear the muffled arguing from the hallway. Theo took one of the plush toys and inspected it. It was dressed in a dark green suit, with one bright blue eye and a black eyepatch over the other. He placed it on his sister's pillow before pulling out another. This one was dressed in all black, with black hair, red eyes, and a knowing smirk stitched professionally where his mouth was.
The last thing in the bag wasn't the piece of geeky merchandise Theo was expecting. It was his sister's ballet shoes - new ones she'd forgotten to pack that day - soft, pink and shimmering under the dim light of the room. Theo placed the shoes at the end of the bed, before taking his sister's hand in his once again and staring at the plush toys.
He'd never really understood his sister's fascination with Japanese comic books and animation, but he didn't mind watching one or two episodes with her. However he didn't recognise these certain characters. Maybe they were from one of the series his sister had deemed 'not appropriate' for an eleven year old to watch.
Theo at least knew that these two characters were some of her favourites. When he'd asked which one she liked the most, Tilly had almost given herself a migraine from trying to decide. The memories made Theo smile for a moment, but it quickly fell.
Despite the cuts on her face, Tilly's expression was peaceful, and Theo couldn't help but wonder what exactly she was dreaming about - or if she was even dreaming at all.
XXXXXXX
Mathilde Carlton's head felt heavy as her eyes fluttered open. It took her a few moments to realise she was lying on a wide pathway of grey stony gravel, the bag she'd had with her on the ground beside her with it's contents scattered everywhere.
She gingerly pushed herself up, her muscles aching in protest as she did, and gathered them up, pausing when she saw the new ballet shoes she'd forgotten to pack that morning. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she reached for them and frowned.
Something felt wrong.
Behind her, two of her plush 'Black Butler' dolls than normally sat on the end of her bed at home lay face-down in the grass beside the gravel pathway. Frowning, Tilly picked them up and dusted the dirt off them before stuffing them carefully into her bag.
She tried to stand, but her legs felt like jelly. Her vision was blurry, and Tilly rested her head in her hands. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was making her way to her dance class, having been able to leave school early for the day. She wasn't sure what had happened after that.
Tilly tried to push herself up again, this time managing to make it to her feet. She stumbled forward and looked around, her vision slightly blurry with dizziness. Choosing to follow the pathway, Tilly picked up her bag and began walking, frowning as a large, familiar manor came into view.
Her head began to spin again as she neared the house, and she sank to her knees. The house looked so familiar to her, but her memories were fuzzy. Tilly covered her face with her hands as her vision blurred again. Her bag slid off her shoulder as she hunched over, ready to throw up.
"Um, are you okay?" a strangely familiar voice sounded behind her, and Tilly's body tensed while she placed her hands on the ground, bracing herself. The gravel was digging uncomfortably into her knees, the navy blue skirt of her school uniform too short to cover them.
She turned her head slowly, still unable to see very well as the sunlight behind the person blinded her. The figure of a boy stood behind her, and Tilly could only just make out his blond hair and light neutral clothing before her hands slipped out from underneath her and she fell to the ground.
The boy behind her cried out a little in panic as he rushed towards her, and Tilly felt herself being picked up. Her eyelids felt heavy as she curled her fingers, now barely holding onto her bag, as the boy climbed the stairs; but, even though she felt like passing out, her consciousness just wouldn't fade.
Tilly almost wanted to faint by the time she was brought inside. At least that way her dizziness and pounding headache would stop.
"My, my, what do we have here?" another familiar voice sounded as Tilly was gently placed down on a couch in some sort of sitting room.
She groaned and wretched, rolling partly off the couch and positioning herself as if she were ready to throw up. Her hand balled into a fist when nothing happened and she lay back down, breathing heavily.
Tilly gasped when her vision finally cleared at the two faces looming over her, and pressed herself against the couch as she scrambled into a sitting position. She looked at the two men, who were staring at her in surprise and confusion, before glancing nervously around the room, taking in what she'd only seen as mere drawings before.
She scrambled off the couch and pressed herself into a corner, sliding down the wall and huddling into a ball like a frightened animal.
The tall man in black slowly approached her, standing over her as Tilly cowered further against the wall. She knew who he was, and her instincts were right to be afraid of him.
The man offered her his gloved hand to help her up, and Tilly reluctantly took it, frowning as her green eyes met the demon's dark red ones.
"May I ask what you were doing on Phantomhive property so early in the morning?" Sebastian asked calmly, letting go of Tilly's hand and taking a step back.
She touched her forehead as the headache returned and shook her head. "I don't know," she said quietly, not wanting to give away just yet that she wasn't from their world. "I can't remember."
"If you can't remember that, do you at least have a name?" he questioned her, a little snappier than the first.
"Mathilde," Tilly answered him confidently, louder than her first feeble reply. "Mathilde Carlton."
"I shall call for a carriage to take you home," Sebastian decided. "Where are you from?"
Tilly shook her head. "No where any carriage could take me back to," she said, cringing a little at the vagueness of her answer.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes and checked his pocket watch. "I must wake the young master now," he said, bowing formally to Tilly before turning to the gardener next to him. "Keep an eye on her," he said quietly before leaving the room.
"Sorry for scaring you," Finny said after a few moments of silence, making Tilly look at him in surprise.
She swallowed and lowered her gaze. "It's fine," she murmured.
"My name's Finnian," he said, and Tilly nodded.
"I know," she said absently, freezing when she realised what she'd said. She glanced over at her bag, which had been brought inside along with her, and Finny followed her gaze, his brow crinkled in confusion at her words.
He peered into the bag at the two plush toys, his eyes widening a little. Tilly's breath almost stopped as he reached for one, but she quickly stopped him.
"Don't touch them," she said quickly, making Finny look at her. "They're - uh - magic. If you touch them, something could happen to the real people." She cringed again. Now the simple plushes sounded like voodoo dolls.
Her words seemed to convince the young gardener, however, and he quickly backed away from the toys.
The door opened to reveal Sebastian, his dark red eyes still narrowed and suspicious as he watched Tilly. Finny approached the butler and murmured something into his ear, and Tilly tensed as Sebastian's glare hardened.
She closed her eyes and waited. She was going to die. The demon was going to murder her.
Sebastian reached past her and picked up the plush toy of his own likeness, inspecting it carefully. "Finny," he said, an air of command in his voice, without turning to look back at the gardener. "Watch over the young master while he eats his breakfast."
"Yes, sir!" Finny said enthusiastically. When he was sure they were alone, Sebastian tightly gripped each end of the doll and tore the plushie clean in half.
Tilly's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, her fists balling in rage. "You'd better put that back together," she growled, but her anger quickly subsided when the man stepped forward and bent down so his gaze was level with hers, looking far more furious than she ever could.
"It seems you aren't who you claim to be," Sebastian said with an eerie calmness. "Which brings me to my point: who are you, really, and what are you doing here?"
