"Young master." The tall, thin, black-haired butler set Ciel's breakfast on the bedside table as his master stirred in bed. A crisp smile was on the sharply-dressed butler's face as he stood waiting for Ciel to wake up, watching him with sharp red eyes.
"Yes, yes, I'm awake," the disgruntled boy muttered, rubbing his eyes as he sat up sleepily. His blue-hued dark grey hair was rumpled from sleep, and he didn't look like he had slept well; bags were starting underneath his mismatched eyes.
"Breakfast today is Earl Grey tea and raspberry tarts, as you requested," said the butler with a smile, gesturing to the ornate silver tray on the table next to his young master's bed. "Today, you shall have your violin lessons, then entertain a business partner's daughter."
"It was the Atkins girl, yes?" Ciel asked as he ate, allowing Sebastian to put his eye patch on for him.
"Yes, Lady Kendall is her name." Sebastian helped Ciel dress himself, and they went down to the study for violin lessons. Lessons were uneventful, except for Ciel being a bit more distracted than he usually was. "Is something wrong, Young Master?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow as the lesson neared its end.
"I've heard a lot of things about this Lady Kendall girl," Ciel said hesitantly. "I've heard she's a bit…well, off."
"A bit crazy, yes, I've heard that as well," Sebastian conceded with a nod. "However, I've also ensured that she's completely harmless. And you must treat her kindly; she's the daughter of a very important business partner to Funtom. You will also remember the business plan relating to her father's company that you put together."
"Yes, yes," Ciel muttered, putting down his violin. "When will she be here?"
"Actually," said Sebastian, checking his watch, "she should be here any minute. The lesson will conclude for today, please go down to the main hallway to welcome her."
Ciel was still waiting impatiently in the main hallway, as Sebastian's eyes followed the hands of his pocket watch intently as the seconds ticked by. "She's late," Ciel griped, crossing his arms. "We've been waiting here for half an hour already."
"Patience, Young Master," Sebastian replied, snapping the watch shut. "She's here now, after all." Indeed, a carriage could be heard pulling up in front of the mansion, drawn by a single speckled grey horse. Ciel stood up and smoothed out his clothing, anticipating another eccentric guest. He was pretty used to strange people at this point.
The door opened to, yes, a very eccentric guest, although her appearance wasn't the most blatantly odd thing about her at first glance…more specifically, her clothes were what made her so eccentric. She had longish straight brown hair, with a fresh red rose tucked behind her ear. Her eyes were wide and green, and freckles were scattered over her nose and cheeks. She had pale skin, and a rather pretty face, actually. However, her clothing...was, well, interesting, to say the least. Instead of a dress or a skirt, which would be proper, she wore loose-fitting black pants that stopped at the knee. Black boots that almost looked like the kind one would wear in combat reached up to her ankle and were laced up with red ribbons instead of laces. Her shirt was a red blouse, with black lace around the neck and around the hem. She had a bright smiling expression on her face, and she excitedly bounded up to Ciel. A woman, clearly her maid and clearly quite frazzled, came in after her with a hairbrush in hand, muttering something. At closer inspection, Kendall had a few blades of grass and even a couple leaves and twigs in her hair, as if she'd been rolling around in a field or something. Her maid had brown hair with streaks of gray in it, tied up in a bun on the top of her head.
"Ciel Phantomhive! I've heard so much about you, it's wonderful to finally meet you!" Kendall said, eagerly reaching out a hand to shake. He took her hand hesitantly, and she gave him a much firmer shake than he'd been expecting. "And who's this?" she asked, turning to Sebastian.
Sebastian looked relatively surprised to be addressed by a guest like that, but he did that classic 'Sebastian Smirk' and bowed, hand on his chest. "I am Sebastian Michaelis, the Phantomhive butler. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kendall."
"Oh! It's very nice to meet you!" she said, reaching over and shaking his hand as well. Both Sebastian and Ciel looked surprised at this point, and shot each other quizzical looks. "So, this is your house?" Kendall asked, looking around in fascination. "It's beautiful! Such a lovely mansion."
"…Er. Thank you, Lady Kendall." Ciel cleared his throat and stood up a bit straighter. "Would you like to head to the courtyard? We could begin discussing"—he was cut off mid-sentence.
"Actually, that sounds like a grand idea," Kendall interjected with a bright smile.
"Lady Kendall!" huffed the maid, grabbing on to her arm and attempting to brush out the grass that was stuck in her hair. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times; do not go running off before we leave to visit a business partner! You look like some urchin that's been picked up off the streets! And don't interrupt people when they're talking!"
"Let gooooo," Kendall complained, pouting at her maid as she tried to wriggle free from her grip. "I saw that albino deer from yesterday, I was following it!" Kayla started rubbing at her young mistress's face; there was a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
Ciel gave Sebastian a look that suggested he was about ready to smack the butler. What kind of crazy girl had he invited over here? Even Ciel had never met such a blatantly improper girl.
Sebastian just shrugged subtly, although he now had a smirk on his face. Watching his young master try to deal with such strange people was quite amusing to the butler, even if he did often have to rescue his young master from such situations.
Kendall had finally shaken off the disgruntled maid. "This is Kayla, my maid." Kayla gave a curtsy.
"Lady Kendall, if I may guide you to the courtyard…" said Sebastian, bowing again and starting off. Kendall nodded and followed after Ciel and Sebastian eagerly, with the maid Kayla following behind.
Kendall looked absolutely star-struck when she saw the garden in the courtyard. "It's beautiful!" she said with a gasp. "I've never seen such perfect roses." She bounded over to the nearest rosebush and carefully stroked the petals of one of the roses, enraptured by their scent and perfect shape.
"That is all thanks to our wonderful gardener, Finny," Sebastian told her, pointing to where Finny was perched on a ladder, trimming a tree. It seemed that Sebastian was giving Finny credit for the garden, even though with all the mishaps caused by the over-strong gardener it seemed that Sebastian did more of the work.
"Oh! Maybe I'll introduce myself later, I don't want to interrupt him while he's working," Kendall replied. "So, Ciel," she began after a moment, turning to him, "you wanted to discuss something?"
"Ah, yes," he replied, gesturing to a table in the center of the courtyard. "Would you like to sit down?"
"Certainly." She sat down promptly, pulling out her own chair and not even giving either one of them the chance to pull it out for her. It appeared that this girl was very independent, even from her own maid; speaking of whom, Kayla had arrived moments after, huffing and puffing, having been left behind by Kendall's excited speed. "So," Kendall began with a chipper smile, "what did you want to discuss?"
"Your father is the owner of the Atkins Corporation, yes?" Ciel asked, still rather bewildered by this girl's odd behavior.
Kendall's face seemed to fall a bit, but she responded, albeit a bit flatly. "Yes, he is. A rather stiff name for a doll company, I know."
"Well," Ciel continued, hardly registering what she'd said or her reaction, "Funtom would like to make a deal with your father about the company, but as I understand it he's away on business, yes?"
"Yes, he's away in Ireland right now actually. He left me in charge, but you already know that, don't you?"
"Indeed. Well, Funtom has been thinking of making an offer for some time now," Ciel began. "We're offering to buy your father's doll company off of you and join into one business. Funtom already makes toys for children; we would love to add your products to our inventory."
Kendall stared at him for a while, seeming to be contemplating it. Then she spoke as if there had never been any doubt, a little louder than was possibly necessary. "No."
"Not even a chance?" Ciel asked in surprise, not having expected that answer.
"No. We're not selling." She shook her head.
"You would continue receiving a percentage of the profits…As I understand it, the company your father runs is falling into debt as it is. Funtom has calculated that you would be much more profitable as a part of our company." Ciel didn't seem to register her now-stiff posture and clenched fists.
Kendall's face turned red and her expression became dark and angry. "We are not in debt! My father's company is perfectly successful, thank you very much!" She stood up, despite Kayla's attempts to calm the young lady down. "We're not selling!" she repeated, and proceeded to storm out of the courtyard and back toward the entrance hall.
Ciel simply watched in surprise, and Sebastian did the same as Kayla hurried off after her, muttering something about a 'crazy girl'. "…What did I say?" Ciel asked, glancing at his butler in confusion. "I have very reliable sources that tell me they are in debt. Why would she deny it? And why did she react so badly?"
"My lord, her father's company was said to have started long before her father was even born. It's a family business, and people can be quite touchy about their family's monetary state. Let her calm down, and perhaps ease back into the conversation later." Sebastian watched the door, contemplating this girl and her quickly-changing moods. What a sudden outburst, he mused.
A good while later, Kayla reappeared in the courtyard, looking a bit shameful and fidgeting where she stood. "I'm terribly sorry for my lady's behavior, sir, but she insists on leaving immediately…I can't convince her otherwise. It's like she's glued to the carriage seat, she won't come back in no matter what I try…"
Ciel raised an eyebrow and looked a bit irritated. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sebastian cut in before Ciel could get in a word.
"No, no, there is no need to apologize, madam. My young master had no intention of hurting the young lady's feelings and will send an apology letter later on today." Ciel shot him a dirty look. "Please, if Lady Kendall wishes to leave, we will not force her to stay." Kayla curtsied and scurried off once more. A moment later, the sound of a carriage leaving could be heard.
"An apology letter? For what? I didn't do anything wrong!" Ciel protested, standing up and crossing his arms.
"It is the proper thing to do, considering you did push her to do this even if you didn't intend to. Besides," Sebastian continued with a smile, "it is not she who makes the final decisions, but her father. When her father returns to town from his business trip, you can have a business discussion with him. I have a feeling he will be more willing to negotiate than his daughter."
Ciel nodded, and the day concluded uneventfully from there, even if Ciel did end up having troubles forcing himself to write the apology letter.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! This is the first fanfiction I've ever written that I feel confident enough to publish. And don't worry, it's not going to be near as boring as this first chapter. Think of this as a prelude, if you will. The story warms up after this. By the way, any reviews/critique is very much appreciated! 3