It was a boiling hot August morning as Elizabeth Midford woke up to the morning birds outside of her bedroom window loudly chirping. She yawned deeply before walking over to her wardrobe and opening the bright pink doors. It took her a few moments before she decided on a dark, fuchsia colored dress.
She looked to the doors of her bedroom as she called Paula into her room, walking over to her bed and setting the dress on her bright peachy bedding seconds before Paula entered the room and forced a smile upon her often cheerful face.
"Good morning, Milady. How did you sleep?" Paula asked politely as she shut the door behind her and walked to the bed and redressed it.
"I slept alright. I had a weird dream about Ciel, but it was just a dream." Elizabeth replied as her tone sounded quite disappointed.
"Oh well, you should look at this." Paula sighed as she looked at Elizabeth before handing her a dark, cream-colored letter with black lace trimming. Paula knew there was only one reason anyone in England received a letter that was decorated like it was.
"Paula, w-what's this?" Elizabeth asked as the pitch of her voice jumped slightly. Only once in her life had she received a black-laced letter and that was when the Phantomhive manor had burnt down, and claimed the lives of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive – a sad day in both her and Ciel's lives.
"Milady…you should read this." Paula whispered after she grouped together her emotions and set them aside to be there for her lady Elizabeth. The young lady quickly opened the black-laced letter and gasped as she continued to read the letter in a soft and shaky voice.
"Dear Lady Elizabeth Midford,
We, the Phantomhive servants, would like to console you on the death of your fiancé, Ciel Phantomhive. May your memories with him heal not only your soul, but also your heart.
Sincerely,
The Phantomhive Servants."
Paula held Elizabeth tightly in her arms and stroked her soft golden-blonde locks as she softly whispered in her ear, trying to comfort her the best way she knew how. "Lady Elizabeth, everything will be alright.'' Paula frowned as she felt tears fall from Elizabeth's now red-jade eyes. A few short moments later she realized that there were tears sliding down her cheeks from her chestnut-eyes as well. The two women's' grief became all that existed in the room as the letter informing them of Ciel Phantomhive's death floated to the floor, landing on the dark wooden floors like a withered Autumn leaf.
"Why? Why? Why is it Ciel? Why couldn't it have been me? Why does everything horrible happen to Ciel?" Elizabeth shouted into Paula's chest as the seemingly endless tears kept flowing and soaking Paula's caramel-colored dress. The girl was frustrated, and even more so, she felt like the invisible columns holding her sky up had been demolished, leaving everything in her world in complete and utter ruin.
"Shh, you cannot talk like that, Lady Elizabeth." Paula pushed Elizabeth away from her chest and kneeled down on the floor to look into her hurt and devastated eyes. "You must mourn his lost and move on. Cry as much as you want, say things that a normal lady wouldn't, and then move on from Ciel. He's gone, Lady Elizabeth; he won't ever walk this earth again." Paula sniffled as she pulled Elizabeth back into a hug and stroked her golden locks once more after having told her the blunt, hurtful truth straight out.
"I will bring Ciel back home to me." Elizabeth whispered in a soft and hurt voice as she wiped her tears from her eyes.
Elizabeth looked over to the gown on the bed, she felt a small smile caress her lips as she remembered when she'd bought it. It was the dress Ciel had bought her for her last birthday. Ciel wanted something one of a kind and ended up ordering a custom-made gown for her. The soft lace around the arms and trimming of the gown was a light peach and the rest of the dress was a darker fuchsia. She sniffled before turning to Paula and bravely asking her to help her get dressed for the day.
"Ah~!" Elizabeth screamed as she held onto the bedposts and deeply breathed in and refused to let the breath out as Paula tied the back of her corset.
"Now all we have to do is…put on the dress." Paula wiped her brow before she turned Elizabeth around and placed the gown above her head and guided it down, sending her arms into the lace sleeves.
"Paula, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Elizabeth looked into the mirror and smiled as Paula buttoned up the back of her dress.
"Ravishing, Lady Elizabeth." Paula whispered in reply as she tied up Elizabeth's hair into two curly ponytails and smiled happily. "We should see… Who is planning Lord Phantomhive's funeral." Paula suggested before putting a simple necklace around Elizabeth's neck.
"We should. As Ciel's fiancée, I'd like to be the one who plans it." Elizabeth let a small smile crack her otherwise miserable expression as she looked down at the picture she had of him on her nightstand. "Ciel, you will be mine." She mumbled under her breath as she saw Paula looking at her with what couldn't be mistaken for anything but what it was – worry.
"Uh-huh, oh yes. Thank you and please tell me who is planning the Phantomhive funeral." Paula asked as she was on the phone with the Tanaka. "Oh? No one is planning it? Well then I'll ask Lady Elizabeth if she'd take on the arrangements. Thank you, good-bye." Paula said and then hung up the phone a few seconds later, doing her job without any dilly dallying.
"Lady Elizabeth, you're planning Lord Phantomhive's funeral. Is that alright?" Paula asked hesitantly; her mind still couldn't wrap around the thought that Ciel Phantomhive was no longer of this world. She couldn't believe that the days she'd spent chasing after Lady Elizabeth in the Phantomhive household were over; that she would never accompany the girl and listen to her gushing on and on about how sweet the cold young lord was to her.
"Uh, Paula… Is that something to be happy about?" Elizabeth asked with her naïve mind. She had never been a true lady when it came to funerals – when Rachel and Vincent Phantomhive passed away, she was a child whose sole purpose was to remain by her fiancé's side.
"Um, yes and no." The young maid replied, slightly confused as to how she can go about explaining how things will work before continuing on. "Now let's go arrange everything." Paula ran off to call the carriage-men so they could go into town and plan Ciel's funeral. Paula opened the door of the mahogany carriage and waited for the little lady to go in before entering in with her.
"Lady Elizabeth, Lord Ciel has a burial spot in the same cemetery as Madame Red and his parents, so we're going to be putting him in a casket." Elizabeth only nodded as she looked out of the window. The hot summer sun beat down harshly on them, making it seem hotter than it already was in the heavy gown.
"I loved Ciel, I want to be the one to send him off." Elizabeth whispered to Paula as she rested her head against the soft and comfortable lining of the carriage before correcting herself. "No... I love Ciel."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The shops in London didn't have the touch that Elizabeth had wanted. She wanted a casket that would suit Ciel Phantomhive's name; it would need to be fine and without a flaw. She shook her head as they had searched five shops, all lacking the Phantomhive standard. The two women walked by the undertaker's store and saw the coffins all lined up in a row. "Oh, let's look in here." Paula said as she opened the door and a deathly cold blast of air dowsed her, despite the fiery heat outside.
"Hello there!" The undertaker greeting as he emerged from a black and purple coffin, grinning down at Lady Elizabeth with a slightly ghost-like demeanor.
"H-Hello… You gave me quite the shock." Paula admitted, speaking up for the girl as she looked around the dark and depressing shop.
"May I ask why you are here?" The Undertaker asked, looking at the two women as he stayed in his coffin.
"Yes, we're here to plan a… Well… Um... A funeral." Paula looked down and then to Elizabeth who still seemed to be saddened by the slightest mention of the word.
"Oh, I know who you are now! You're Ciel Phantomhive's fiancé." The Undertaker had known Elizabeth – he just didn't know where from, but it suddenly came to him.
"Yes, I am." Elizabeth flashed him a quick smile before it turned back into a depressed frown.
"Are you here to plan the funeral, because I should tell you… Sebastian Michaelis has already planned it." The undertaker walked out of his coffin and leaned down to look into Elizabeth's beautiful jade eyes.
"What!? Sebastian planned it?" Elizabeth cried out before bursting into tears as she stood in the middle of the shop.
"Yes, and it's tomorrow at noon. Right down the road at the small white church." The undertaker sighed and patted her on the shoulder as he closed his open curtains and placed a "closed" sign on the window of his shop. The comforting gesture wasn't very comforting at all, actually "Now if you don't mind, I need some beauty sleep – so please leave." The undertaker sealed his coffin and slept while Paula escorted Elizabeth out into the sweltering heat and back home so they could prepare for Ciel Phantomhive's funeral on the next day.
x-X-x
It was surprisingly cool as Elizabeth woke up in her room. The pink cheeriness of the room made her sick to her stomach as she tossed over and pulled the blankets over her head, blocking out the brightness.
"Ciel…" She whispered as she sniffled once more before her bedroom door opened. Today, she knew she couldn't call it all a bad dream – Ciel was dead and there was nothing she could say or do to change it.
"Lady Elizabeth, it's time to wake up. You need to get dressed." Paula's tone was slightly more firm than it usually was as she pulled the blanket back to Elizabeth's feet and away from her head.
"Paula, can you get my dress?" Elizabeth whispered as she curled up into a ball and rolled off the bed so she could roll under it.
"Yes mil-" Paula sighed. "Milady, please don't do this today. You need to say your good-byes to Lord Phantomhive." Paula lectured before pulling a long, black-laced dress out of the closet. The dress' skirt was long enough to reach the floor. The neckline was in a turtleneck style and reminded Paula of black roses whenever she saw Elizabeth wearing it.
"Okay." Elizabeth agreed as she rolled out from under the bed and stood up, her eyes were red and puffy as she rubbed them gently, as was the result of crying oneself to sleep. Paula dressed Elizabeth and smiled when they walked down the stairs and out to the carriage that was waiting for her.
"Lady Elizabeth, do you want me to ride with you?" Paula asked as she held Elizabeth's hand with a tight comforting grip. Elizabeth nodded slowly and entered the carriage before taking her usual seat next to the window.
"I hate Sebastian. He planned something I was supposed to do." Elizabeth glared out the window and looked around as she saw the countryside pass by. Although the girl had some fun memories with the butler, it was Ciel she loved the memories with. If it meant having Ciel back, Elizabeth couldn't have cared less if Sebastian died. Paula didn't know how to respond, so she joined the quietness of the trip and thought about her times with Ciel Phantomhive, from the time he was a young lad to the teenager he died as.
They pulled up in front of the small white church and gasped as they saw scores of people. She looked over to one carriage and saw Agni and his master, Prince Soma; Ciel's Indian friends. Elizabeth looked over once again and saw Lau and Ran-mao – two people she'd met when she'd spent time with Madame Red. She frowned as her black heels stepped down unto the pavement. She took a few steps and then sighed, looking back at Paula as she made her way into the church.
She walked into the church and smiled as she saw the stained glass windows made the sun shine down on Ciel's closed casket, and yet the light refracted to illuminate his face through the glass lid. Elizabeth looked over and glared when she saw Sebastian by the door, his head held low as he mourned Ciel's passing – except that she couldn't see true remorse in the raven's eyes.
. "Sebastian, Ciel's funeral was my job. Why did you have to take that away from me?" She whispered as she looked at him.
"Lady Midford, if I didn't plan my young master's funeral then what kind of butler would I be? Besides, we shouldn't bring this topic up at this time. This is the time where we must say 'goodbye' to the young lord." Sebastian lowly whispered back as he looked to the short, navy-haired woman next to him. Her face covered in a thin, transparent veil as her one eye lowly glowed.
"Young mistress, is everything alright?" Sebastian whispered as he looked down to her. The young lady only nodded before she walked up to the coffin and ran her satin gloved hand over the closed lid. Elizabeth could only watch as an unknown woman caressed her ex-fiancé's coffin.
"It didn't take you long to find more work." Elizabeth coldly commented before walking up to the casket herself and whispering against the soft chestnut wood. "Ciel, I will never forget you. I will find a way to bring you back. I will find a way to become Elizabeth Midford-Phantomhive." Her face touched the coffin as she hugged it, a few seconds later Paula walked up and escorted Elizabeth to her seat in the front pew. The old, grey-haired minister stepped up and began to offer condolences for the loss of such an important heir.
The pews were all filled as the grey-haired minister continued to preach to the earls, viscounts, ladies, gentlemen, princes and servants. The church was filled with only one sole voice as the minister continued to preach. Everyone's heart ached as they followed four strong young boys out of the church, they were in charge of burying the casket that concealed Ciel Phantomhive.
X-x-X
It was hot as the ladies and gentlemen alike stood around the grave, Elizabeth, Sebastian, and the Phantomhive servants held a single rose each in their hands as the casket was set down next to the six-foot deep grave. Elizabeth was the first one to walk up, a few of her soft tears fell on the casket as she looked at the gravestone where Ciel's name had been chistled in.
"Ciel, I will always love you" She kissed her palm and then placed it atop the casket before turning away and walking back to Paula's side, where the taller woman gently hugged her from behind. Elizabeth glowered as she saw Sebastian walk up and just leave the rose; he didn't whisper anything to the young lord. The demonic butler only walked back to the young woman by his side. This only infuriated Elizabeth to her breaking point. She grabbed Sebastian's hand and pulled him away from the young lady he was with and bit her lip as she shoved Sebastian's body into the grave.
"A butler should stay with his master until death!" Elizabeth shouted before running over to the young lady and slapping her across the face firmly. "Damn you!" Elizabeth roared at the young lady who did nothing to provoke her. Paula watched in awe of what Elizabeth had done and quickly chased after her when she saw Elizabeth stomping back towards the carriages.
"Milady! Wait, Milady!" Paula shouted as she tried to catch up to Elizabeth who was already by the carriages.
Elizabeth cringed as she sat in the carriage and ordered the carriage-men to take her home. She could hear a whip slapping the horse just mere seconds before they speedily took off towards her manor.
(Edited by Evangelina Amaryllis)
