Author's Notes: Well, I wanted to start a new story. Now featuring the Kuroshitsuji II characters! There will be various pairings here that are different from the ones we usually know. Still, I'm maintaining our normal pairings. There will be a surprise in the later chapters! I'll surely break into yaoi fangirl-ness at some points so be sure to watch out for any fan fiction fanservice.

Various pairings vary, like I said. INCLUDES CIEL x SEBASTIAN, CLAUDE x ALOIS and Surprise! ALOIS x CIEL crack. The story also includes Lizzie x Ciel, Lizzie x Alois along with Hannah x Claude and many many more crack pairings.

I don't know much about the Trancy manor so please review to give me some tips about how it looks like! I'm trying to use the anime and manga as a possible guide. Yes, it's kinda annoying using the giant material for reference. But I can't help it. Anyway, please, do enjoy!

"Welcome, welcome, Ciel Phantomhive~!" Alois Trancy greeted in his sweet yet loud voice. Waving a gloved hand, his eyes twinkled at the sight of the boy and butler walking up to the steps of the Trancy Manor. The young boy who was dressed neatly in a federal blue coat, black buckle boots and a miniature top hat sighed in frustration as the blond raced up to him in a rather childish manner. Alois hugged the head of the Phantomhive household without warning, causing his victim to cough in the tight embrace. The tall man behind the eye-patched boy chuckled, "Apologies if we're late."

Upon hearing the butler's low yet majestic voice, Alois released the struggling Ciel. He turned to the man clad in black, raising an eyebrow in interest and breaking into laughter, "Late? Tea isn't even ready yet! And besides, I want you to show you the Trancy Manor - now renovated with a new sense of fashion!" He stepped aside to show a row of more polished pillars had it not been for the frilly decorations which had covered the marble's shine. One of them had a person hiding behind, particularly a child in a fancy pink dress.

It was none other than Lady Elizabeth or Lizzie, as called by Ciel. "Ciel~! Sebastian~! Good afternoon!"

"L-Lizzie?" Ciel stuttered in a dark, choking voice. He didn't expect the girl to be here; Sebastian had told him that this was a private tea party. However, Sebastian only gave him an unknowing frown. Sighing again, Ciel made his way up to the first few steps of the mansion before being hugged - again - by his to-be fiancee. Elizabeth was heard pouting, "Ciel! That outfit does not look cute on you! I thought I had arranged a whole new set of outfits for you!"

Ciel pushed Elizabeth away, brushing off imaginary dust from his sleeves, "There's no need to send me a set of hideous dresses, Lizzie." He couldn't forget the painful memory of being forced to wear Elizabeth's fabulous yet super girlish and immature costumes. It had given him the present of mad-driven insomnia. "And aren't you supposed to have an appointment at this hour?"

As though on cue, Alois appeared beside Elizabeth, taking her waist in a swift motion, much to Ciel's annoyance, "Sir Collins will be debriefed. Now then, how about I show you around while Claude prepares our tea?"

The three nobles, along with the butler, stepped into the mansion when they spotted three identical servants being dismissed into the kitchen. A man at Sebastian's height straightened his clear glasses and turned towards the door. A known butler of the Trancy household - Claude Faustus. He said in slight wonder, eying the two new visitors, "Ciel Phantomhive. Sebastian Michaelis."

Sebastian nodded at the fellow demon. Ciel didn't, because his eyes were staring at Claude with an open jaw. Were those... bunny ears? They were black, just like his hair. One of them bent down in a cute manner as Claude stared with a blank look of a marble statue. "Is there something wrong, Ciel? Do you not like the new red carpet and the windows?"

Alois snapped a finger in front of Ciel's face, causing the Earl to bring himself back to reality, "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." He blinked continuously, finally looking at the confused Alois. He then looked at Claude; those bunny ears were still present. It must be one of Elizabeth's animal ear collection, noticing how Claude winced when he saw her. Ciel did manage to avert his eyes and look around the large room: the banisters were adorned with maroon red, the walls were painted a much more creamy white and the floorboards were more tasteful in a chocolate color.

Ciel didn't sound so much excited when Alois boasted, "Bloody magnificent, aren't they? There are more to come in the garden when we get there! Come!"

Instead, the head of Phantomhive had an intense painful feeling in his stomach. Was he hungry already? Ciel wasn't so sure, but he kept himself stable when Sebastian gazed at him with concern. Sebastian looked around and said, "I'll go to the kitchen to prepare tea for Young Master." He then turned to Claude and questioned, "Do you mind if I use your kitchen?"

"You are welcome any time," Claude bowed slightly, before walking down to the kitchen with the fellow butler. Ciel watched the two servants disappear until Elizabeth piped up, "I wonder what's for tea!"

"I couldn't possibly care about Sebastian's plans," Ciel muttered, "Besides, you'll have to wait until tea is ready, Lizzie."

Alois lightly bumped Ciel's shoulder, before elbowing the boy's stomach gently, "Speak for yourself, Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel's stomach suddenly erupted into an unexpected loud growl, causing his cheeks to paint themselves a shade of red. Elizabeth couldn't help but giggle and Alois stood with a soft smirk on his face. Alois then waved his hand in a fanning motion, "I think we need to get some fresh air in the garden.

"Thompson! Timber! Canterbury!" Alois called out, snapping his fingers twice when three young men appeared at the top of the stairs. They slid down the banister and within a blink of an eye, stood in front of Alois in a neat row of three. They all looked identical with matching purple hair and black kitty ears. Ciel found himself twitching in disgust. Alois commanded, "Lead us to the garden to the prepared table."

The three servants bowed before turning in unison, walking down the hallway in same moving steps. Elizabeth and Ciel followed behind Alois while Ciel commented on the new furniture, "I don't see anything that might brighten up the atmosphere, Alois."

The blond Trancy head pouted, "You're not brightening up the atmosphere at all, Ciel. As expected from seeing someone wearing such dull clothes. Right, Lizzie?" Elizabeth nodded, taking Ciel's arm as she said, "You can wear your new clothes after tea, Ciel~!"

Ciel shook Elizabeth's arm off huffing, "Don't be stupid! It's not necessary for you to buy those for me." Elizabeth seemed hurt but Ciel managed to look away from the girl's bright green eyes. Alois only snickered silently. The party went to the garden in silence; none of them didn't seem to dare to break the quietude. Until they reached the garden, it was unusually silent. However, Ciel was finally feeling comfortable. He needed some time to be quiet, especially in the Trancy estate.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Claude along with Hannah were already preparing the silverware and treats at the table in the garden. Claude checked the forks and knives to ensure that they were spotlessly clean while Hannah spread the table cloth evenly and neatly on the polished table. Claude sharply laid the cutlery before placing three porcelain plates on the table. Sebastian held the teapot in his hand and turned to the guests who were approaching them, "Tea is ready, Young Master."

"Thank you, Sebastian, Claude, Hannah," Elizabeth smiled gratefully at the three servants while being helped to sit with Hannah's assistance. The maid hastily backed away as soon as she saw Alois. However, the blond boy ignored the woman. He took a seat beside Claude and asked politely, "And what's for tea, Claude?"

Claude rubbed his gloves together and replied, "Vanilla Tea Misto and Mille-feuille are served for tea, Young Master." He took a step to the other round table Thompson, Canterbury and Timber had set, and took a plate which held a delicious-looking treat. He set it down in front of Alois and explained, "Comprised of three layers of puff pastry, two layers of crème pâtissière and icing and chocolate strips glazed on the top. The tea is a combination of Earl Grey, steamed milk and vanilla syrup."

Elizabeth eyed Alois' plate in great interest, "That looks delicious!" Ciel paid no attention and looked at Sebastian expectantly. The demon butler smiled and presented a plate with another treat, "Torta Tre Monti; a cake of layers of thin waffled wafers cemented together by chocolate crème and coated with chocolate fondant. As for Lady Elizabeth..." Sebastian's eyes gazed from across the table, expecting an answer to pop up from the air.

"I think I'll go with what Alois has," Elizabeth clapped her hands together. Ciel looked up from his dish when the noble girl explained her reason, "Your dishes are extremely delicious, Sebastian and I would like to taste what the Trancy has to cook."

Sebastian nodded in acknowledgment as he set the tea cup beside Ciel's dish. He then filled up two more, giving it to Hannah who immediately served it beside Alois and Elizabeth. Claude snapped his fingers at the three identical servants before they took the pastry from the round table they had made. In less then five seconds, the pastry appeared in front of Elizabeth who seemed as satisfied as Alois. The Trancy head offered, "Go on, have a bite!"

Ciel shrugged. He took a forkful of cake and popped it into his mouth, unable to savor the taste when Alois opened his mouth to eat his pastry. "Aah~" Alois said quite loudly, before Claude put the fork of pastry into his mouth. The blond sealed his mouth and chewed, eyes closed in concentration which made Ciel irritated. Still, the Phantomhive head kept his mouth shut and continued eating.

Finally receiving peace, Ciel was able to identify the flavors. He could taste the warm chocolate licking his taste buds and running down his throat delightfully. The wafers crunched quietly through his white canine teeth and the fondant added as a compliment to the cake piece. Tasting the treat somehow made him quite thirsty. He then put down his fork and took the tea cup Sebastian had prepared a minute ago.

He brought it up to his lips, allowing the tea to run down his throat and into his tender stomach. It was sweet, tasteful and the vanilla was no exception. Ciel felt his irritated mood enlighten for a moment, receiving a sense of calm. He then helped himself for more of his Torta Tre Monti.

o-o-o-o-o

"Hannah, you can take Lady Elizabeth to her room," Claude ordered, fixing another cup of tea for Alois. Thompson, Timber and Canterbury cleared up the plates and the makeshift table in a split second. They then disappeared to the kitchen to take care of the dish cleaning. Elizabeth stood up from her chair and followed Hannah who said gently, "This way, Lady Elizabeth."

Ciel watched as Elizabeth and Hannah left and as soon as he was alone with Alois, Claude and Sebastian, he turned to the head of Trancy. "So what's this all about? What's the purpose of this tea party?" Ciel didn't hesitate to ask.

Alois took a moment to look surprised. "What? You mean I can't invite the Queen's Watchdog, Ciel Phantomhive?" Ciel shook his head. No, he was becoming suspicious because this was just too ordinary. He knew that Alois was hiding something. Of course Alois was hiding something from him; Ciel had read his invitation. It was flowery and well detailed - too detailed for this tea party. Ciel managed to hold a grim smile, "You know what I mean, Alois Trancy."

The blond stuck out his bottom lip. Nevertheless, he leaned back in his seat and said, "Alright, alright, you got me. Figures that someone like you would go straight to the point whenever I organize a private party." Alois folded his arms and started, "I've been in the library lately and was searching through a bunch of books, you see?"

Ciel sounded amused. "You even bothered about reading?"

"Everybody has common sense to read, Ciel," Alois scoffed, "Anyway, when I was flipping through some pages of a certain book, I found... this." He stretched out a hand and Claude took a red book from his back. The butler gave Alois the book and straightened his glasses again. Alois opened up the book and flipped some random pages before turning back to a particular page. He then showed it to Ciel, "Tell me what you see, Ciel."

The Phantomhive head squinted his eyes. "What do you expect me to see?" He could only see two spears crossing over each other: one adorned with red diamonds and the other with blue gems. Alois scrunched an eyebrow, "If you could see the Queen's emblem on the main jewel of the spears."

Before Ciel could have a better look, Alois quickly shut the book in his face. The blond snatched it back, summarizing, "Long story short. The Queen has some artifacts she had left behind and it's located somewhere near the mountains of the Helvellyn in the Northwest of England. I was supposed to recover the artifacts but I knew I couldn't do it alone."

"Which is why you called us," Ciel provided a possible and most probable answer. Alois chuckled, "Of course, you wouldn't want to go to those mountains, do you?"

Ciel scowled. "If it involves getting myself killed, then no. Simple as that," He waved a hand dismissively. He could hear Alois pout in his book. The Trancy head opened up the book again and flipped to the same page, "But Ciel! You do know that the artifacts belong to the Queen and you wouldn't want them to be left behind and abandoned, right?"

"Isn't that why they're left behind?" Ciel narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arms and sighed, "Can't you find someone else to do your work? I'm practically busy now at the moment."

"Oh, but Young Master, you are free of any appointments for this and next week," Sebastian said soothingly, receiving a glare from his master. Alois was happy to hear that and he cried, "Well, I don't see why you can't help me in this situation. There's two spears, so two for the price of one! It's typically a suicidal mission anyway. We can either leave on Wednesday or Thursday or even Friday!"

Ciel sighed, "Fine. But you do know that we can do it next week so why bother doing it two days from now?"

Claude spoke for his master, "According to the book, the artifacts were locked in a vault in the mountains and the only way to access the vault is to search for one of the keys nearby in a forest near an abandoned village. The village is supposedly known as the Fertain Village, located five miles from here."

"Why would they put such a useless key there..." Ciel muttered to himself. He was about to argue when he found Alois' seat empty. The Trancy head had appeared behind Ciel and took him up by the shoulders. Alois whispered darkly in the Earl's ear, "So will you help me or not, Ciel Phantomhive?"

The Phantomhive head didn't want an invasion of personal space. Still, the only answer was, "Sure." It did help to make Alois satisfied. Ciel brushed off his shoulders. For Alois to be asking for his help... was he only trying to get Ciel killed? However, Ciel had won over Alois in many sword duels. Surely this would be no problem - he also had Sebastian with him. Making a decision, Ciel stood up from his chair.

"So what do we have to do first, Alois?" He asked, looking back at the Trancy head.

Lame ending.

But this is the best I can do so please tell me what you think in a review! I really felt like writing a new story and I'll only continue if I have some encouragement. Do give me some advice and reference from the second seasons' episodes or perhaps some geography lessons!

Grell should appear soon in the later chapters.

Until then,
~M I N T