A/N: This takes place before and after the episode "Deathly Butler." It's a drabble about Claude, with appearances from Hannah, Alois, and Sebastian. Reposting this from my old FanFiction account, this story was originally posted on 02-18-13.
Claude Faustus sighed. He sat alone in his office, the room almost completely silent. The moon was high and the only light shed in the room was from a candelabra set at the corner of his desk. Claude set the quill in his hand down and raised the hand to rub his temple. The day had been very long, particularly because he couldn't catch a breath without Alois in tow. The golden eyed demon had been gone for about two days, telling Alois only that he had an idea to rid themselves of Sebastian Michaelis forever, and thus gain Ciel's soul. Alois agreed, though reluctantly, and let him go.
However, when Claude arrived back home, Alois followed him from room to room, scalding him and then resorting to tears every once and while to remind him to never leave the Trancy Manor again. Now finally, Claude had put the little blonde to bed and he was finally able to relax. Well, relax as much as a disciplined butler such as Claude could relax.
Claude held his head in both of his hands now, left alone with his thoughts. The "deal" made with Sebastian days earlier was rubbish. Claude knew this all too well. He had no intent of playing by the rules of their arrangement. No, he wanted Michaelis writhing in a pool of his own blood. He wanted to violently devour the little Phantomhive's soul right in front of the dying Sebastian. Yes, he wanted it. His hate for Sebastian was deep rooted and beginning to blind him of his butlery duties.
A small smile danced at the corner of Claude's mouth at the thought. Yes, Claude mused internally, Sebastian Michaelis, prized butler to the Phantomhive household... Little do you know, I have quite a surprise for you tomorrow.
Tomorrow, as arranged by the two butlers, would be a duel. The young masters would be allowed to watch as they fought to the "death." No, an actual death was not in their contract. At least, not yet. Sebastian and Claude agreed to put on a show for them, harm each other a little, then call it off. Maybe this would rile the boys up a bit, make Ciel to want to take revenge on the Trancy boy even more. This would, of course, only make his soul more decadent. A soul Sebastian and Claude were now enemies for. Two demons turned against each other was quite a rare sight indeed.
Claude, however, fully planned on killing Sebastian tomorrow. He had a scapegoat. The Laevateinn Sword. Claude traveled for two days in hell, and quite frankly, went through hell to obtain this special sword just for tomorrow's duel. Oh yes, Claude was very prepared for tomorrow. As usual, no less would be expected from the head butler of the Trancy manor.
Claude Faustus sat back in his chair. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Calmly, though very firmly, he called out, "Hannah."
Within seconds, the woman sheepishly slipped into the room and kept her gaze low. "Yes, sir?"
Claude glanced at her from head to toe and frowned a bit. He was never too fond of her. "Hannah, come here at once." He demanded, his voice low and cold.
Hannah shivered at his tone and walked over to the brooding man, now standing next to his chair. Her hands were clasped together in front of her.
"Hannah, are you aware of what this is?" Claude muttered, pulling the long green sword out from under his desk. He set it on the flat surface in front of him and awaited her answer. He was very aware she knew what this was, and what she was going to have to do.
Hannah cast her eyes over the sword and gasped. How? The sword had been extracted from her centuries ago, how did Faustus have it now? What had he gone through to retrieve it?
"Hannah?" Claude hissed impatiently, wanting an answer.
"Yes. I am aware that is the Sword of Laevateinn." She answered quietly, reaching a shaky hand out to touch it.
Claude snatch her hand mid air and gripped it tightly. He felt her flinch. "Do not touch it. I have gone through many trials to obtain this. Hannah, do you know what I'm going to do with this?" His gold eyes now bore into the side of her head. She still refused to make eye contact with him.
Out of her peripherals though, Hannah caught a glimpse of something different in Claude's eyes. For once, he didn't look so rigid. He looked... Wild. Was that a smile toying at his lips? Hannah felt a twinge of fear rising up into her chest.
"You'll use it in tomorrow's duel. You'll use the Sword of Laevateinn to kill our rival Sebastian Michaelis." She answered quietly, studiously.
"Hah," Claude spat, releasing her hand. "Correct. You, my dear, will hold the sword within you until that time comes. That's all you're worth, being a sheath. Isn't that right, Hannah Annafellows?" Claude growled lowly, now tracing his gloved hand along the blade from tip to hilt.
Hannah nodded. Yes, this was all she was worth. Hannah knew she was lucky to be allowed to serve Alois Trancy at all, given how much begging and grovelling she had to do at Claude's feet for the position. She was sure Claude was disgusted by her and her affection for Jim Macken.
Claude pulled his hand back from the blade and reached up to remove his glasses, placing them in his breast pocket. "You know what you are to do." The demon scooted his chair backwards a bit and left his lap exposed to her. He glanced at his knee, beckoning her sit down there.
Hannah obediently sat down on Claude's leg, hands in her lap, eyes cast downward.
Claude inwardly grinned to himself. He was so close. Soon the Phantomhive child would he his to devour. Claude snaked his hand around Hannah's rib-cage, under her breasts. He held her in a firm, almost painful grip. Claude leaned his face in close, breathing on her, taking in her demon scent. She didn't smell horrible, he thought. This was his first time being so close to this particular female demon.
He stuck his long tongue out and toyed gently with her earlobe, making Hannah squirm a bit uncomfortably. "I can taste fear on you, Hannah. Are you afraid of me?" He sneered in her ear.
Hannah gulped and stayed quiet. Why was Claude playing with her like this? Couldn't she just do her job and move along? No, Claude liked toying with his prey, ensnaring them. She was no different.
Claude sighed. She wasn't willing to humor him tonight, was she? Oh well. "Fine then, Miss Annafellows. I suppose I'll be gentle since you will also be fighting for Alois tomorrow."
Claude used his free hand to grab Hannah's face roughly, looking her over a few times. "It's been quiet a long time since you've held the Laevateinn, perhaps I should stretch you out a bit..." He trailed off as he tugged his glove off with his teeth. It fell to the floor and two fingers slipped into her mouth. He watched as her purple hued lipstick smeared a bit on his fingers and her own face. He slid them in and out a few times, then slipped a third digit in. Now when his fingers slid inward, they approached the back on her throat, and he felt the empty, wetness of her esophagus. Hannah choked a bit and felt tears stinging at her eyes. She was born to do this, yet she couldn't say it wasn't extremely unpleasant.
"There we go," Claude whispered smoothly, his lips against her ear. "I think you're ready now. I'll go slowly." He assured her, removing his hand from her mouth and reaching for the sword.
"Open wide," Claude nodded and stuck the tip of the blade into her mouth. Inch by inch, he slowly inserted it, listening to what sounded like bones breaking as the sword entered her. He kept his hand tight under her breasts, holding her still as he fed a giant blade to her.
"Losses into victories, charades into realities, revenge into actuality, and little black crows caught into a sticky web," He whispered under his breath, watching intently as she gagged on the metal sliding down her throat. Her eyes stayed tightly shut.
Within a minute, the blade had been buried and Hannah had tears running down her face. Her job was finished for now. Claude nudged her off his knee and she stumbled to her feet, wiping her smeared lipstick and tears off of her face.
"Be gone from my sight." He muttered to her, looking with disgust down at his saliva covered hand. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it clean as Hannah quickly excused herself from the room, shutting the door behind her. Claude returned his glasses to his face and stood up, grabbing the rogue glove off the floor and slipping it back on. He ran his slender fingers through his raven hair and composed himself.
The candelabra was picked up as Claude headed toward his bedchamber for the night. A warped sense of glee filled Claude as he thought of plunging the sword deep into Sebastian's chest. Yes, tomorrow would go perfectly to plan. Sebastian would once again be trapped in the spider's web, although this time, he would finally become his prey.
The Trancy Manor's backyard was now in shambles. The beautiful chess board battleground was torn apart, and the perfectly sculpted stone playing pieces were just rumble now. It was a sad mess that Claude Faustus would eventually have to clean up.
Not tonight, though. For tonight he had to tend to Alois' wounds. The petite blonde had been stabbed in the side by none other than Ciel Phantomhive himself. Claude didn't think Ciel had it in him to preform such a task, but alas, he did. Claude knew that had Ciel concentrated, he could have killed his master. What a shame that would have been.
…Would it be, though? Claude found himself lost in thought, quietly stalking the halls of the manor. The thought of Ciel Phantomhive and the taste of his sweet, succulent blood was clouding his thoughts. Claude felt as if he was going insane. He knew now why Sebastian pursued the boy as ruthlessly as he did. Because of this, Claude now knew what he must do.
Suddenly, Claude's mind wandered from Ciel for a brief moment as he recalled that he failed miserably in murdering Sebastian today. Oh yes, Sebastian was more than shocked when Claude produced the Laevateinn from Hannah's body. Claude saw the flash of rage, and admiration, in Michaelis' scarlet eyes. Sebastian could tell very well that Claude was no longer playing fair. This angered him, sure. Sebastian was a man of his word, he would never betray a contact. Especially not one made with a fellow demon. However, Claude's blood lust enticed him and encouraged the smaller demon butler to fight back with full force. The thrill of the fight seduced Sebastian, intoxicated him.
Once the boys were gone, Sebastian Michaelis faltered and was soon caught in the piano wire tight web weaved by Claude. One small movement and Sebastian would lose a limb. Claude swiped the sword tauntingly back and forth growing closer to the rival demon. Claude could only see red, he could smell... No, taste, Sebastian's blood already and he felt more giddy than he thought he ever had in his thousands of years. Finally, the pesky Michaelis would be dead and the Phantomhive's soul would be...
A scream?
As Claude roamed the halls, he recalled this part of the memory fondly. Yes, stubbornly setting Sebastian free so they could make sure the boys were alright. The horrifying sight of seeing Alois' blood spilling out. In fact, everything after that was a haze to Claude... Except one thing. The taste. Ciel Phantomhive's blood.
In a room full of the smell of Alois' blood, it took one drop of Ciel's to drive him to the edge.
Claude was thrown into pure ecstasy, his world came crashing down and he could no long hear Alois' screams. In that moment, Claude metaphorically broke his deep rooted contract to Alois Trancy. No, he would no longer serve him. He couldn't serve him. Claude knew soon he was have to kill Alois, or if he was lucky, perhaps the wretched boy would bleed out right then and there. Anything to terminate the contract. Claude didn't care either way, his senses went into overload and all he could do was stand completely still.
Claude was jolted out of his trance when Sebastian called to him. Oh yes, Sebastian was very aware of how tasty Ciel's blood was. The flash of pink in Claude's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian either. The red-eyed demon kept his composure, but deep down he felt fear. Like a wild dog locked onto a scent, he knew Claude was about to go mad. He knew soon, things were going to escalate to an insufferable level.
Sebastian felt frightened, angry, jealous. How could this vile man have tasted Ciel's blood, perverting his young master in such a way... No, Sebastian would not handle this well. For now, he stood up with a tantrum throwing Ciel and danced around Claude, flaunting his scent. Sebastian left quickly after that, tending to Ciel's wounds and thinking of how to gain revenge on the Trancy butler. Not only had he broken their contact, but now he had a taste of euphoria, and he knew Claude would never let go. He would have to kill Claude Faustus for this to be over.
After the two left, Claude fixed Alois up in bandages, and put the boy to bed. The young boy slept peacefully. Now, the golden-eyed butler found himself walking the halls with a candelabra for... Hours? Relentlessly walking. His mind was running a million miles a second and Claude felt so overwhelmed he was sure he was going insane. This feeling was so foreign to him, a man who was usually so unwaveringly composed.
Hannah had heard Claude walking around for quite sometime now. She had some duties to attend to, though honestly she would rather not confront Claude at the moment. She was sure he would blame her for the days loss and would apprehend her greatly when given the chance. She walked down the hall on her tip-toes.
Hannah tried to quietly slip past Claude Faustus, as he was walking slowly and staring down at the ground. One of his hands had been fiddling with a button on his waist coat, while the other held the candelabra. Hannah had made it about a foot past him when Claude abruptly whirled around on his heel and snatched a handful of her braid in his fist.
Hannah's head yanked back and she yelped a bit, quickly covering her mouth so as not to wake Alois.
"Oh, there you are Hannah," Claude sneered, twisting the braid more tightly around his fist. "I've been looking for you. May I talk to you alone in the drawing room?"
Hannah stuttered out a "yes" as best as she could, now terrified. She knew this was coming. Hannah protected and fought for Alois as best as she could today, but she knew it wasn't enough. Claude would punish her, and she knew she deserved this.
Claude dragged Hannah Annafellows backwards and into a darkened, musty room. He shut the door and suddenly hurled the candelabra from his hand. It crashed loudly to left of them against a bookshelf, and the candles fizzled out. The room was now dark, except for a bit of moonlight shining through the windows. Hannah jumped at the loud noise of the candelabra and cried out in fear. "Please Claude! His Highness is sleeping, he's had a long day-"
Claude yanked her hair a bit harder, pulling the voluptuous woman against him. His nose was now buried in her hair, and his body pressed up against her back. "You will remain quiet, Hannah. His Highness' wounds are because you were unable to protect him today," He growled next to her ear, his voice dripping with anger and condescension.
The Trancy butler knew somewhere inside himself that this wasn't her fault, and he knew she shouldn't take the punishment of his rage, but someone had too. He let go of her hair and shoved her away from him. In a flash, Claude appeared in front of her and reared back, slapping her across the cheek with the back of his hand. The force of it caused the female demon to collapse with a scream.
Claude's eyes were now magenta and he was getting close to transforming into his demon form. The overwhelmingness of Ciel's blood, mixed with his own failure was too much and the broad demon was going to beat the hell out of Hannah Annafellows until he felt better. The thought of tearing her limb from limb was flashing through his mind.
Claude's long leg reared back in an attempt to kick the house maid, but suddenly, he froze. Hannah laid in floor with her hands covering her face, shaking. She was awaiting the blow, but... it didn't happen. She peeked between her fingers, silently wondering why had Claude stopped. Abruptly, she felt it too. Another demon was on Trancy property.
Sebastian.
Why couldn't Claude detect him sooner? Was he that blinded by his rage? His head shot over his shoulder and towards the window.
There hung Sebastian, upside down like a bat. Sebastian was grinning as his dark locks and tailcoat hung upside down as well. He gave a polite wave. In a blink of an eye, Sebastian opened the large window and swooped in with a flip, landing on his agile feet. "Good evening, Claude."
Claude frowned and glanced down at the cowering Hannah. How much had Sebastian seen?
"I had hoped not to interrupt, but I see that you're in the middle of something. You're very much like your own young master, aren't you Claude?" Sebastian flashed a closed-eye smile and tilted his head to the side.
Claude growled a bit and his eyes widened. He was nothing like Alois, at least... He had hoped not. He looked down at Hannah once more. Alois was always very violent with the female demon...
"Hannah, don't you find fried eggs rather pathetic? Nakedly exposed for all eyes to see. Indeed, they almost look like eyes themselves, but they'll never become eyes of course...or anything else other than my breakfast."
"Do forgive me, Claude would be most upset if I don't punish you."
"I must say," Sebastian called, taking a step forward, "It's very impolite to hit a woman. I would never do so myself, especially when the lady has done nothing wrong." Sebastian now frowned and stepped towards Hannah. He offered a hand to the maiden and helped her to her feet.
Claude watched wordlessly as Sebastian checked her over and made sure she was alright. Quickly, he escorted Hannah out of the room and shut the door behind him. The demon now turned to face Claude, a serious look in his eye.
"Claude, I was wondering if we could go outside to have a little talk?"