Hi Kuro lovers! This is my first attempt at a Kuro fanfic, and also my first attempt at a long fanfic. (By long, I mean it actually has... a plot!) I wrote this chapter from many different places at many different times, so I apologize if the moods are different, too. The ideas kept changing and shifting in my head. BUT! I had a lot of fun writing this, and plan to continue. But that won't matter to you, dear reader, unless you follow the shiny little arrow... and have fun reading! PS: I do not own Black Butler in any way, shape or form.
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The wind howled through the pounding rain, forcing the trees to bow in submission to the elements.
The lone figure bolted down the well-worn dirt road, her long dark hair plastered to her face by the rain. Hampered by her sodden dress, she stumbled in the thick mud as she chanced a look over her shoulder at her pursuers, nearly falling on her face. Scrambling to keep moving, she lifted her face to the stormy sky, startled by the flashes of lightning and cacophonous thunder.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck just ahead of her on the road, destroying an old tree with a sickening crack. The girl pulled on her remaining stamina and put on a burst of speed to avoid the tree, which tumbled to earth and effectively blocked the road.
Although there was now no chance of that belligerent mob catching up to her any time soon, the terrified girl could not keep her legs from trudging on and on through the downpour. Various places on her body were screaming with pain, but she could not stop.
However, she was only human, and was about to collapse from exhaustion when she met with a sign from heaven; there was a carriage departing from an opulent manor down the road. Waving her arms wildly, the young lady managed to catch the driver's attention and flag down the carriage.
The driver, a tall man in a tailcoat, hopped gracefully down from his seat.
"Are you alright, Miss? Has something happened?" The driver procured an umbrella seemingly from nowhere and held it over both their heads. Exhausted and relieved, the girl let out a piteous moan as her knees buckled, then fainted dead away.
Caught by surprise, the man with the umbrella flung his arm out to catch her with alarming speed. If the girl had been conscious, she might have wondered how anyone could move so fast. The door to the carriage abruptly slammed open, revealing a young man wearing a top hat and a scowl.
"What is it now, Sebastian?" the boy drawled. "If you even think about trying to smuggle another stray cat into... my..." The boy looked baffled for a moment. "Sebastian, why on earth are you holding an unconscious girl in the rain?"
"I suppose that would be because she fainted, my lord." Sebastian smirked at his master's impatient glare. Putting the umbrella aside, (they were both already soaking wet, so why bother now?) he lifted the child into his arms.
"Young master, you know we cannot simply leave her out here. This kind of weather can be deadly." The young man snorted.
"You think that I would do that, Sebastian? I am the Earl Ciel Phantomhive, head of England's Underworld and the Queen's watchdog. As such, the Phantomhive hospitality is demanded in all situations."
Ciel observed the young girl in his butler's arms, feeling a slight pang of... what was this? Pity? Even worse, sympathy? Shaking his head as if to clear water from his ears, Ciel continued.
"It appears our meeting with the Undertaker will have to wait. This is what he gets for calling in the middle of the night, I suppose. Put her in the carriage and have Mey-rin set her up for tonight.
"On second thought," the young Earl glanced over at Sebastian as he helped position the sleeping girl on the bench seat. "You will have to do it. Mey-rin will surely find something to break even at this late hour. Am I understood?"
Sebastian knelt in the receding storm, hand on his heart. His reply was always the same.
"Yes, my lord."
Slanted afternoon light spilled in through the open curtains, causing the huddled form in the bed to stir slightly. I don't want to get up yet. It's so... warm.
The girl let herself become lost in the wonder of her sleep-muddled senses. Cool, fresh sheets surrounded her entire body, swaddling her like a newborn baby. She burrowed deeper into them, absorbing the light fragrance of vanilla and lilac. Letting a contented sigh escape from her lips, she decided to stay put for a few more hours.
Reality, however, had different plans. Memory hit as hard and fast as lightning from last night's storm. The girl bolted upright with a gasp as she recalled the events of the previous evening, only to be gently pressed back down against her fluffy down pillow. Another young lady with thick round glasses was hovering over her with a concerned expression.
"Be still, please, Miss. That was a right nasty storm we had, yes it was. I can't imagine what you would be doing out in that gale all by yourself! If Mr. Sebastian and the Young Master hadn't-"
The red-haired chatterbox continued to hover and fuss while the extremely groggy girl took in her surroundings. She was lying in a large, ornate bed in a very large, very ornate room. The orangey light from the setting sun bounced off of the gleaming mahogany floor, causing the scarlet and gold of the walls and bedcovers to glow with a surreal luminosity that made her head spin.
Turning her head slightly to one side, the girl found the only source of cooler color in the room: a bundle of dark blue cornflowers in a plain glass of water. Despite the luxuries surrounding her, the girl found those small blossoms the most beautiful things in the room. The redhead followed her gaze and broke off midsentence.
"Those are quite lovely, aren't they, Miss? Finny brought those when he came by, he did. Said he thought they might help ya to wake up. He wouldn't stop fussing about, even though I told him-!"
"Mey-rin, what did I say about pestering our guest when she awoke?" The exasperated chastisement came from the doorway, cutting off the flustered girl's rambling. Mey-rin began to fall over herself apologizing.
"Oh my my my, I'm so sorry, Sebastian! And you too, Miss." she squeaked. "I'll just be leaving now, I will!" And with that, the very, very confused young girl was alone with the driver from the carriage. Suddenly aware of the flimsy nightgown she was wearing, (When did I change clothes, anyway? she panicked) she struggled to prop herself up as he slowly made his way to her bedside and bowed lightly.
"How are you feeling today, miss?"
The girl tried to speak, but her vocal cords felt like sandpaper. She fell into a coughing fit that wracked her whole body. When she was able to control the violent cough, Sebastian presented her with a steaming cup of tea. Where did that come from? she wondered as she took a small sip. It was very hot, but somehow effectively soothed her poor throat.
"Thank you." she whispered. For the first time, she looked the man in front of her straight in the eyes. Her amethyst eyes bored right through his garnet ones. She raised her voice a bit, though her words still grated on her own ears. "Thank you very much for saving me. I am forever in your debt, Mister Sebastian."
Sebastian gave her a lilted half-smile and bowed again. "It is not my hospitality you should be thankful for, but my master's. I will have Mey-rin return to help you dress, and then Lord Phantomhive would like to meet you himself, miss...?" Here the butler paused for a moment, allowing his guest to realize that this was his way of asking her name.
"Criel."
"I beg your pardon?"
The still nameless young lady cringed as she registered the state of her voice. Even she hadn't recognized her last name. She coughed again and took one more strengthening sip of tea.
"I said Criel. My name is Anya Criel."
"Sebastian Michaelis. It is an honor."
Anya winced as Mey-rin tugged the comb through her matted hair. What is he going to say? What am I going to do if he's angry at me? Here I am, imposing on their amazing hospitality, and he probably has a lot of work to do. I've heard rumors about the Earl of Phantomhive. What kind of person must he be to bear the title of the Queen's Watchdog?
Of course, everyone had heard of the infamous Phantomhives, and their gruesome reputation. The head of the family was, next to the Queen herself, probably the most powerful and influential people in the country.
Becalmbecalmbecalmbecalm.
Mey-rin continued to babble on, oblivious to the dark aura surrounding Anya.
"Oh, the master will be so pleased to see you all cleaned and shiny-like, yes he will! Now I warn you, he can be a mite bit intimidatin' at first, so just keep your head and try to be calm. It has been awhile since we had such a young guest though, hasn't it? All right, now let's get you dressed and over to the study!" Mey-rin began to tug at Anya's nightgown, but Anya pulled away.
"Mey-rin?" Anya asked. "Was it you who changed my clothes last night?"
"Why, of course, miss, yes I did!" Mey-rin exclaimed, her voice squeaking a bit. "I'm the only other girl in residence, that I am." Her tone turned playful. "You didn't think I would leave that to Sebastian, now did you?"
"Of course not!" Heat flooded Anya's face from chin to hairline. "I was simply curious... you say that you're farsighted?"
Mey-rin cocked her head to one side. "Of course, miss, yes I am. Why do you ask?" Anya smiled reassuringly.
"Oh, no reason. Now, shall we get on with this monstrosity of a dressing gown?" Mey-rin laughed good-naturedly.
"Say… Mey-rin?" Anya cast a furtive glance at the flowers on the bureau. "Where did you say those came from? They are very pretty." The maid looked up as she tied the laces on the back of Anya's dress.
"Why, Finny brought them. He's our gardener. Oh, you really should meet him Miss Anya, if only to calm him down a bit. He kept asking when you would wake up and who you were and if his flowers had helped at all. You really had all of us worried, sleeping through the night and all through the day like that. I'll introduce you after you finish meeting with the young master."
Mey-rin stepped back to examine her work. To her, Anya looked like a proper lady, but there was something missing…
"Pardon me, but I'd like to try something." Anya raised a questioning eyebrow as the maid plucked a cornflower from the glass and split the stem down the middle. In seconds, the flower had become a vine-like band with a beautiful blue "gem". Anya slid it onto each finger of her left hand, but it wouldn't settle on any but her ring finger, where it felt right at home.
Anya sent a silent thank you to Mey-rin -and the mysterious Finny as- Sebastian returned and led her down a series of corridors. This ring would be her anchor, her good luck charm. The flower petals lightly caressed her finger in what could be interpreted as an encouraging way. Anya steeled herself as the butler came to a stop and knocked gently on a closed door.
Ciel Phantomhive sat brooding in his study, paperwork forgotten. He couldn't stop thinking about his strange guest just a few rooms away. What kind of girl goes gallivanting through the countryside in the middle of a tempest of that magnitude? A thief? A runaway? Is she in trouble?
Ciel sighed. Did he really have time for this? The Undertaker had called again, saying that he had urgent news and needed to see him immediately. "By the way," the Shinigami had added. "You'll probably be getting a letter from Her Majesty any time now. So many new clients..." Then he had hung up abruptly.
Lost in thought, the young Earl jumped at the knock on his study door. "Come in, Sebastian."
The butler opened the door and held it in place to let his companion into the study. Ciel's breath caught in his throat. This was the drowned rat they had taken in late last night?
The girl -the lady- stepped cautiously forward and stood in front of Ciel's desk, wringing her hands and basically looking the picture of nervous innocence. Her muddy clothes had been exchanged for a simple light blue frock with white stockings and black flats. Washed and dried, her now much lighter brown hair was pulled back with a single blue ribbon.
Keeping her violet eyes downcast, the young girl curtsied awkwardly.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Lord Phantomhive. My name is Anya Criel and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you for undoubtedly saving my life. There is no way I will ever be able to repay your kindness." Anya stood very still then, awaiting a response.
Ciel stood up suddenly, causing Anya to flinch involuntarily. He was going to yell at her, wasn't he? For the first time since entering the study, Anya pried her eyes from the patterned carpet. Her heart skipped a few beats. Why, he's only a child. The Earl can't be more than a year older than me.
It was true; Ciel Phantomhive was like a child dressed in his very short father's Sunday clothes. While everything about him radiated wealth and confidence, his face was still quite childlike, his hair demurely shadowing the left side of his face.
The young Earl walked around his desk so that he stood only a few feet in front of Anya. He moved slowly, deliberately. He wondered at Anya's obvious distress, but decided not to give her any more cause to worry.
He swept his hat from his head with aplomb capable only of a noble. In the process, he accidentally messed up his blue-ish hair, giving Anya a glimpse of something she hadn't noticed yet; the boy only had one eye. As the shimmering orb gazed at her curiously, Anya found her own curiosity focused on the black patch over Ciel's right eye.
"There is nothing to thank us for, Miss Criel." Ciel's voice brought Anya to her senses, reminding her not to stare.
"I like to believe that any half decent person would do the same. I don't wish to intrude on your privacy, but I'm quite curious as to why you were in the middle of the country during the biggest storm England has seen in ten years."
Ciel gestured for Anya to sit in one of the two chairs at the coffee table. The poor girl sat, completely frazzled.
"Would you like some tea? Mey-rin informed me that you seem to have caught a slight cold. I assure you, Sebastian's tea is always delicious and rejuvenating."
Anya smiled. "I know. Mister Sebastian was kind enough to make some earlier when I woke up." She jumped, remembering just who she was talking to. It was disconcerting, speaking with a noble who was also merely a child like herself. "My lord." she mumbled.
Ciel frowned as Sebastian served the Earl Grey. "Is something the matter, Miss Criel? You seem a bit troubled."
Anya stared at him with frightened eyes. She accepted another cup of tea from the ever present butler before stammering, "Well, it's just that-well- no one has been nearly as kind to me as you, my lord, or anyone in your estate for that matter. It scares me a little, as if this is a dream and I have to wake up and go back home." Ciel sighed and sat down across from Anya.
"Now we're getting somewhere. Please, will you tell me why you were running?" Anya hesitated.
"It's alright." Ciel assured. "No one here is going to hurt you. You're perfectly safe."
Sebastian felt mild surprise flicker across his face. The young master was rarely this gentle with anyone, including his fiancée Lady Elizabeth. Perhaps this was a side of Ciel that Sebastian had seen only rarely, himself. This was the part of Ciel that had been locked away with his past, and made rusty from disuse. This was the side of the Earl that allowed him to connect to someone like him, another lost child.
Anya searched Ciel's face for a moment, reading into his expression and finding total sincerity in his words. Finally, she thought, this is someone I can trust. Anya took a steadying breath and dove into her story.
"I have been a permanent resident at the Rosenbloom Estate for as long as I can remember. My mother worked there as a maid, you see. It was the only job she could find, and not a very good one. Count Rosenbloom's business was falling into bankruptcy. Even his personal affairs always ended in disaster. Ill fortune hung over the household like a storm cloud." Ciel noted that Anya's eyes glazed over a bit. This was obviously a story she had been told many times.
"Despite the supposedly cursed job, Mother was very happy. She fell in love with the gardener and after a time they married and I was the result. However, three months before I was due to be born, there... was a terrible accident. Father was killed by a runaway horse. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Yard never even found the horse or its owner. Mother was, needless to say, heartbroken. After that day, she wouldn't eat, sleep, or speak a word. By the time she went into labor, her body was so malnourished that she died in childbirth." Anya swallowed back unshod tears and gritted her teeth.
"She had no family. No one to take care of her, or to help raise me. The only person in the world who knew about me and could take me in was Count Rosenbloom. He was at the end of the line, but he still took me under his wing like his own child." Anya smiled sadly.
"That was the day his life turned around. The copper mine struck gold. The lost ship overseas turned up in Tahiti with tons and tons of jewels and ancient artifacts. The scullery maid found a trapdoor in the cellar that concealed a safe containing 100,000 quid. Every single venture the Count had failed in became a huge success. He wept for joy and adopted me officially on the spot."
Ciel gave her expression a scrutinizing glance as Sebastian ladled honey into her tea. "If I'm not mistaken," he said at last. "These are all good things. Why do you seem so troubled about them?"
Anya suppressed a shudder. "It does seem like a charmed life, doesn't it?" she mumbled, almost to herself. "Everything I could ever want or need, a wonderful adoptive parent. Not a care in the world." She lifted her violet eyes to Ciel's azure one.
"You're correct, my Lord. And I was happy, for a very long time. Then one day, I wasn't. A maid spilled hot tea on my arm. I was only six years old, so of course while I was very upset and hurt, I held no grudge." She paused as she heard an almost inaudible snicker resonating inside the Phantomhive butler.
"Sebastian." Ciel warned. Sebastian bowed his head in apology to them both and left the room, leaving the tea cart. "I'm terribly sorry. It seems that my butler is forgetting his place. If he wishes to avoid making me angry, he will not insult you, our guest, again!" Anya lifted one eyebrow, wondering why the Earl was enunciating so clearly when Sebastian had already left.
"You may continue, Anya." The girl gasped, and practically leaped out of her seat. "Oh, forgive me. I seem to be forgetting my place."
"N-no, it's alright!" Anya stammered. "I actually prefer being called by my first name. It happens so rarely... it makes me very happy." She beamed at Ciel, who shrugged indifferently.
"Okay, then. Anya, you may continue." She nodded, and did as he said.
"Well, the next morning, the same maid turned up in the woods with no recollection of how she got there. On her return, she took one look at me, screamed, and fainted. There was no scar on my arm, either. When I had gone to sleep, it had hurt dreadfully, but when I awoke, there was no sign that I had been burned at all."
Anya tugged at her tight-fitting sleeves, remembering with discomfort the past events.
"Immediately, it was as if I wasn't the same little girl who the staff had known for all of her life. Not a single person besides Lord Rosenbloom would speak to me unless it was absolutely necessary. Even the Count seemed wary of me. Even Eugene…"
Anya mentally shook herself. She couldn't afford to think of her childhood friend now.
"I was so small then, there was no way I could have known why they avoided me so. Eventually, I overheard a gardener talking to a new kitchen hand."
Anya leaned forward and whispered, "He told the boy that I was a witch, a demoness! The entire estate thought that I had done something terrible to that poor maid, and were so scared of me that they had started to carry holy water and crucifixes around their necks!"
Ciel struggled to keep a straight face. People can really be very stupid at times, he mused. Everyone loves Sebastian, a real demon, and when one strange occurrence unfolds around an innocent child, they run for cover. But Ciel couldn't voice his thoughts, so he simply nodded sympathetically.
"I tried so hard to make them see reason. I was only a child! But they were so rooted in their fear they would cross themselves and flee. I was-completely-a-alo-"
Ciel started. Was Anya- Lord forbid- crying? Ciel did what any man faced with a hysterical lady does- he panicked. He knew how to handle Elizabeth's petty tears, but not a complete stranger's! Somewhat frantically, he pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and presented it to Anya with an over-the-top flourish. He was rewarded with a tearful smile and a small giggle.
"I'm sorry," he told her sincerely. "A lonely life is something a child should never have to endure. So is that why you left? To escape from the loneliness?"
Anya shifted her gaze to her lap, tugging at her sleeves again. "Yes, my Lord."
Ciel frowned. Something didn't quite fit. As he watched Anya fiddle with her ring, which he noticed –with equal amounts of confusion and amusement- was made from a flower, a knock came at the study door. "Enter."
Sebastian swept into the study, seemingly ignoring the fact that his master was upset and their guest was still somewhat in tears. "Young master, Miss Criel, I have come to apologize for my horrid behavior. To insult a guest is something a Phantomhive butler should never allow himself to do. Please, enjoy this small token of apology."
And without further ado, Sebastian brought forth the most delectably mouthwatering culinary masterpiece known to man or demon. Moist, warm chocolate cake topped with whipped chocolate icing (and, as Sebastian pointed out proudly, a touch of French vanilla) was sliced precisely by the ever-adroit butler, and in seconds each teen had a generous slice of cake placed on a plate in front of them.
Ciel hmphed, but dug into the sweet with abandon nonetheless, inviting Anya to do the same. She took a tentative taste, and let out a contented sigh.
"Wow" she breathed. "If I got cake every time someone insulted me, I wouldn't mind it so much. Laugh at me any time you like, Sebastian!" The overawed girl laughed openly and Sebastian thought that he liked Anya more and more every minute.
"Just for the record, does that mean that I am allowed to laugh at the icing on your nose?" Anya squeaked with embarrassment and laughed as the butler gave her a napkin.
"Oh my, that's embarrassing. I promise my table manners aren't normally this dreadful. That cake could bring out the worst in anyone!"
Ciel almost felt his lips turn up into a smile, and had to look away from Anya's face, as she was going cross-eyed trying to wipe the chocolate from her nose. Instead, he decided on the pattern on the lace of her sleeves, which he had just noticed were lightly embroidered with crisscrossing lines.
Ciel frowned and looked with a bit more scrutiny. The pattern was so irregular... And why was the embroidery only on one...? Ciel felt bile rise in his throat as realization dawned. Struggling to keep his tone nonchalant, he addressed his giggling guest.
"I hate to dredge up bitter memories over good cake, but did you not say that when the maid spilled tea on you the scar disappeared?"
Anya set down her napkin, confounded by his seemingly random inquiry. "Yes, my Lord. It vanished overnight."
"Well then," Ciel said coldly. "How did your arm become so scarred?"
Anya froze with another forkful of the enticing dessert halfway to her lips. It clattered to her plate as her wrist was caught in a cold, iron grasp.
"Forgive me," Sebastian stated calmly. He then gently pushed the material of Anya's sleeve up to her elbow, taking great care not to let the fabric scratch at the half-healed scars lashing across the pale skin.
Anya jerked at her arm, an involuntary reflex. The butler's grip did not loosen. Panic bubbled up from the pit of Anya's stomach as she struggled against the butler.
"Sebastian, let go, please!" she pleaded. He said nothing, and only released her at Ciel's cry of, "By God, Sebastian! Can't you stop being melodramatic for five seconds? Unhand her before she passes out again!"
Chuckling darkly, the butler followed his orders and bowed out of the room once again.
Anya cradled her arm and glared after him. Although Sebastian had not injured her at all, she felt very wary of him now. The panic caused by his stone grip was, she knew, irrational, but it would take a long time for her to forget it.
And yet, something had been different about the butler in that moment. That something simultaneously had her scared stiff and made her head swim. An old phrase about a mouse caught in a viper's gaze surfaced in her mind. That was exactly the predatory feeling that had emanated from the strange butler. Anya was torn from her mental analysis by Ciel's impatient tone.
"Why didn't you say that you were injured? Even better, why didn't anyone know you were injured? One would think that when-"
Ciel abruptly halted his tirade. "Mey-rin?"
Anya, still upset and shamefaced, understood perfectly. "Yes, my Lord." she answered, cracking a small smile. "Although, I've never imagined someone being quite that farsighted." Ciel did not smile back.
"Tell me how this happened to you. This. Instant." Anya winced at his unfamiliar tone. They had been chatting amicably only moments ago, and this house had felt like home and family.
Heat rushed to Anya's face, but she wasn't embarrassed this time. No, this time Anya could feel herself growing steadily angrier; angry at Sebastian for frightening her, angry at Ciel for giving her the silent treatment, and furious with herself for thinking that she might have actually found some friends. Slamming her palms against the tablecloth, Anya half rose from her seat.
"You really want to know, Lord Phantomhive?" Anya scoffed, her voice raised higher than the usual courteous level.
"Fine, then! I expect that you want to know every nasty thing the staff ever said to me. You'll want to know how terrified I was when I confronted them at diner to say that enough was enough, that I wasn't going to take it anymore. To know that the second I showed them anything but friendship, the instant that I became annoyed enough to speak my mind, they took it as animosity and feared for their lives."
"I suspect that you need to know every last bloody detail of how the stable hands brought out their whips and lashed out at me, how the cooks threw their pots and pans, how the maids shrieked for me to be exorcized, and how they chased me away from the only home I ever knew! You absolutely need to know every single awful thing that has ever happened to me!"
Anya sat, breathing heavily. She waited for the Earl to scream, to tell her to leave his house and not let the door hit her on the way out.
Ciel sighed in exasperation. "Are you quite done?"
Tears of shame flooded Anya's eyes, and she struggled to hold them back. In a wavering voice she apologized to the Earl for her outburst.
"I am so sorry" she choked out. "I can't believe I lost my temper like that. You have been so hospitable, and I've been so dreadfully rude. I beg you, Lord Phantomhive, to forgive me."
Ciel nodded patiently. "Anya, I understand that you are distraught. Who wouldn't be, after your experiences? You were very brave to keep going like that." And, he added silently, I think you were very brave to not completely break down because of Sebastian. Grown men have withered under that gaze.
Anya laughed bitterly. "You understand? How could you? I find it hard to believe that you, my Lord, have had quite the experience I have."
The Earl smirked at that. "How much would you bet on it?"
Anya listened, horrified, as Ciel wove for her a tapestry of tragedy and sorrow, from his parents' deaths in a terrible fire, to his capture and torture, to his destroyed home all the way to his acceptance as head of the Phantomhive family. (Obviously, he left out the bits about demons and revenge.)
"Oh, come now. You held back while reliving your own torture, but a stranger's tale brings you to tears?"
And Anya was sobbing great, heartbreaking sobs. She buried her face in the borrowed handkerchief and her shoulders heaved with gasping sobs. "I-I'm so-s-sorry!"
"How stupid," Ciel growled out. "Why are you apologizing for crying? Being sad for another's misfortunes isn't a bad thing. It shows that you have compassion in your heart; a trait that, while unwise for me to harbor myself, I admire in others."
Anya lowered the handkerchief from her eyes, and slowly smiled. "I stand corrected. I think that you, my Lord, may understand more than I could ever imagine."
Ciel cursed himself. He hadn't meant to open up that much. He stood abruptly, feeling flustered and more than a little disgruntled. He slowly strode to the large paned study windows and clasped his hands behind his back.
From where Anya was sitting, she could barely make out a figure in the courtyard walking briskly toward the house. I wonder if that's Finny, she wondered. However, she corrected herself as the figure glanced up toward the study. Just as the figure (whom Anya realized seemed to be Sebastian) fell from her line of sight, Ciel spoke again.
"Sebastian," he called softly. "Come here now, please." Immediately, the butler reentered the study. Anya leaped from her seat and nearly cried out. Our God in heaven! Hadn't that been Sebastian in the courtyard? It couldn't have been; he would have had to all but teleport to the study door.
The young Lord gazed out the window once again as he addressed his faithful servant. "Sebastian, I see that Finnian has destroyed my garden once again."
"Yes, my Lord." Sebastian apologized. "I am planning on fixing it this afternoon."
"I also heard a crash downstairs earlier. What did Mey-rin break this time?"
"Two vases, a candelabra, and five feet of the main hall banister are ruined beyond repair." Sebastian replied instantly.
Ciel chuckled lightly. "Fix those, will you? And I suppose Bardroy still cannot cook without his flamethrower?"
"My Lord," Sebastian answered, also smiling. "I don't believe I could teach that man how to cook properly if you ordered me to."
Anya listened to the strange conversation in bewilderment. Watching these two laugh together about the lack of order in their home lifted her spirits considerably (and made her slightly less leery of Sebastian), but what did this have to do with anything? How did the topic change to the destructive staff of the Phantomhive household? Still not looking at her, the young master directed his next comments at Anya.
"Anya, you don't have anywhere to go. Your parents are dead, your home is- well, you can't go there. You're all alone."
Anya grimaced in spite of herself. Hadn't she basically said that just a moment ago? Why was he rubbing it in her face?
"Yes, my lord."
Ciel smirked, amused by the girl's obvious restraint. She's actually annoyed, but in spite of her experiences, she has enough courtesy and patience to try and keep her composure.
"Of course, the name of Phantomhive would be forever shamed if I allowed a lady to leave without anyplace to call home. You haven't a family to care for you, but I speak on behalf of everyone living here that we would be delighted and honored for you to join ours."
Anya gripped the back of her chair, her knuckles white and her knees weak. Sebastian was instantly at her elbow in case she passed out... again. He pulled her chair out again and she thankfully sank into it. For a long time, she could not speak due to her absolute shock.
Ciel frowned. "Unless, of course, you wish to return to Count Rosenbloom?"
"No!" Anya blurted. Heat flooded to her face at her outburst. "I thank you for your amazing and generous offer, but I could never impose on your hospitality like that. If I'm going to keep going in life, I'll need to find a job... get a place to stay..."
Sebastian stepped forward and bowed to Ciel. "If I may, young master. I believe it would benefit us all if Miss Criel could hold a position here at the manor. After all," the butler flashed his most charming smile. "It does become rather tiresome, being the only staff member who can do any real work. This might be a welcome change."
"Would you?"
The butler and his master brought their attention back to the ecstatic girl. "Could I really work here? It wouldn't be too troublesome?" Anya felt her heart soaring. Working and living in this lovely home with such kind people seemed almost too good to be true. "Please, Lord Phantomhive. I'll take whatever position you could give me!"
Ciel, startled by her energetic outburst, looked to Sebastian for help. The butler only smirked and nodded his head. The Earl sighed, shaking his head at the both of them.
"Fine," he drawled, exasperated. "It seems I've been given no choice. You will start work tomorrow as Sebastian's assistant. As he is Head Butler, you will try your hand at all of the duties he performs every day. If we find that you hold a particular proclivity for any given area of work, it will become your specialization."
Ciel Phantomhive held out his hand to Anya Criel. "Welcome to your new home, Anya. I expect you to do your best."
Anya grinned as she bounded from her chair. She shook his hand vigorously and spoke her first words as a Phantomhive maid. "Yes, sir! I won't let you down!"
Well? Like it? Love it? Hate it as much as Ed hates milk? Even if you say yes to all three, I would appreciate NO FLAMETHROWERS. I mean flames. I write for fun and constructive criticism. Gotta love that feedback! Which is why...
Okay. I am currently writing chapter two, but until a few requirements are met, no more updates for me! They're very simple, really... Just tell me how you like it!
I reeeeaaallly like feedback, and stuff like this lets me know that people are actually reading. Until next time, the second (and third?) chapters will be mildewing away on my laptop.
In a mini-skirt,
Moony/Maya Koppori