A/N: This idea has been with me for a while, but while writing my random oneshot - the one I posted earlier - I finally got a few ideas on how to go about it.
Title: Shadowland
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: None.
Genre: Angst
Warnings: Slight AU
Summary: For England is full of shadows. Aberline wonders about Ciel's job as the Queen's Guard Dog, before Ciel comes and explains.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.
Aberline thought as he waited for Ciel to arrive. Ciel always insisted on taking particularly difficult cases, and he... he always let Ciel know. Even though he knew he really shouldn't.
Why did Ciel take cases, though? He didn't have to, not really. Aberline was sure that if he asked, the Queen would let Ciel stop until he was old enough to really handle it. He was really young, after all. How old had he been when he found out what his family did, anyway? Eight? Nine?
Not to mention, what kind of case was Ciel normally assigned, anyway? Ciel had called them 'cases that Scotland Yard could not longer handle', but what did that mean, exactly? And then there was this 'Underworld' Ciel and Randall kept referring to... But he hadn't heard of it. Did England really have one?
Why did England really need a Guard Dog?
He jumped as Ciel's voice sounded from in front of him. Apparently he had said the last few thoughts out loud. "England needs a Guard Dog to hunt the things that lurk in the darkness, Aberline, for England is full of shadows."
He looked up as Ciel seated himself in the chair across from him. "Oh, Ciel! You're here!" Then he processed what Ciel had said. "Full of shadows? What do you mean by that?"
"England is a shadowland, Aberline. For every light hides a shadow." Ciel didn't seem to mind explaining, so Aberline took his chance to find out what he had been wondering for a long time now.
"But what exactly does that mean, Ciel?"
"There are figures in the light, like yourself, Aberline. Honest, hardworking, fair. But for everyone one of you, there are two like me - someone who finds their place among lies, trickery, and deceit. These people are the evil nobles, the drug dealers, the gang leaders, and the Mafia. Most of them are people who you would put behind bars at the mere sight of them. The rest are like me - lying and deceiving in the name of the Queen."
"How do you survive out there?" Aberline asked. "It sounds... vicious."
"It is," Ciel replied simply. "I survive by giving as good as I get, Aberline. If someone tries to kidnap me, which happens irritatingly often, they vanish. If someone tries to assassinate me, they vanish. If someone betrays me... they vanish. That is how the underworld works."
"Why?" Aberline asked.
"Why?" Ciel echoed.
"Why do you do your work as the Guard Dog if it lands you there?" Aberline elaborated.
Ciel sighed and frowned, resting his head in his hand thoughtfully. "Well, there are multiple reasons. Among them, there are the people to consider. How would they have fared if Jack the Ripper still walked among them, hm? I cannot simply stand by, skills in hand, while people like that wander about. It simply wouldn't do. But the main reason is that I am a Phantomhive."
"You've said that before," Aberline commented. "But what exactly does that mean? Why the Phantomhives? And why are you paid extra, more than typical reward money, to solve cases?"
Ciel frowned again in thought. How to explain... "Hiring a Phantomhive..." he started slowly. "is much like hiring a specialist. You pay them more, because they know what they are doing."
"But you always say that it is the duty of a Phantomhive to do... this," Aberline pointed out.
Ciel nodded. "But think about it, Aberline. I am a Phantomhive; I have known what that meant since before I understood what a future was.
"Phantomhives, you see, are born and raised to be the Queen's Guard Dogs. When we are little, we do not play Hide-and-seek or tag, as most children do, but rather games that improve our deduction and critical thinking skills. We play games that teach us the value of persistence. We learn how to manipulate and how to lie from a very young age - occasionally even before we are taught the difference between right and wrong. That is what it means to be a Phantomhive."
"And the... reward, that Scotland Yard gives the Phantomhives?" Aberline asked hesitantly.
Ciel smirked. "Oh, that. The bribe. I am less than surprised that Randall did not look into it further, but I expected that you at least, Aberline, would investigate further." He chuckled mirthlessly. "The Queen pays Scotland Yard. Both for the task of delivering the funds to Phantomhive Manor, and then the reward money itself. It is not actually a bribe, though it amuses me to allow Randall to think so. It is, as I said, much more like the money one pays a specialist to come in."
Ciel paused to allow Aberline to think about this for a moment, before continuing. "The underworld isn't purely evil, you know. It is very close to it, certainly, but not entirely. There is Lau, for instance. While he sells drugs, he does not do it purely for profit, as many do, and he does not add harmful substances to the opium. He also helps me to gain information, on the rare occasion that he has it. Then there is Undertaker - you remember him? He is, in fact, also part of the underworld. He supplies information, as you saw. I contact him regularly for that very purpose, actually. He is completely insane, but not cruel."
He paused again, and as Aberline seemed to accept this information, finished. "To truly answer your question, Aberline, I do this because I have a job to do in the shadows, much like you do in the light. There is no light without shadows, and no shadows without light, but between us this Shadowland is kept as safe as it can be. That is why I do my duty as the Queen's Guard Dog. Now, I believe you had a case for me?"
Aberline nodded, slightly dazed as he thought about all this. He handed over the papers he had already gathered.
He understood now.
There we go! I spent all day on that, too... Oh, well. I'll work on something I promised someone, which should be done relatively soon, and then work on the next chapter of Young Young Master, which, with any luck will be out tonight. Please review!