A/N: I have to dedicate this to xredificationx, ThePrincessofBlackHearts, and fanwriter1245 for the lovely reviews they gave me on Countess Phantomhive in the past 6 months or so. It made me look at my notes for this story and got me into the mood to start writing Black Butler again, so thanks! This third part will be the end of the Lady Phantomhive series now that Sebastian and Faye are finally almost officially together. I hope you enjoy!
Sebastian titled Faye's face up and stared into her eyes. "Faye Phantomhive, will you marry me?"
Faye stopped dancing, staring up at Sebastian in shock. She didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to think. She was still having a hard time believing that Sebastian was alive and standing before her.
"I-I-I…Have you spent the past three weeks fabricating a story and gathering what you need to pass yourself off as a Marquis?" That wasn't what Faye meant to say, but it worked as well as anything since she didn't really know what she'd meant to say. And she honestly wanted to know. It had been three weeks since Sebastian and Claude disappeared from Trancy Manor. Faye and Ciel had believed that both demons perished during their fight. Phantomhive Manor had been depressed and listless with Sebastian gone.
"It's not a fabrication," Sebastian said in an offended tone. "At least, not one that anyone will ever discover."
"Of course," Faye said numbly as Sebastian led her outside to the gardens of Midford Manor and away from the rest of the ball attendees. Sebastian always did everything perfectly. "What-what about Ciel?" Faye asked. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Sebastian had just proposed to her. That he had returned with the title of a Marquis for the express purpose of marrying Faye. How was she supposed to handle this abrupt and complete change in circumstances?
"I have no interest in marrying Ciel," Sebastian assured Faye, smiling as he brought one of her hands to his lips. "You're the one that I love."
Faye gave Sebastian a look and Sebastian said, "I am still beholden to Ciel and will be until I eat his soul. My marrying you won't change that. I will just aid him in a different manner than I have up to this point."
"Ciel will be furious," Faye said. Ciel, brilliant and capable as he was, was also hugely dependent upon Sebastian as his butler. He'd struggled greatly the three weeks that Sebastian had been gone. He barely knew how to function without a demon butler capable of fulfilling his every need and whim at his side.
"That is not my concern," Sebastian said, wrapping an arm around Faye's waist and pulling her close to him. "I'm much more interested in fulfilling your wishes, my Lady." He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her face up toward his. "You always wanted to get married, didn't you? It was your plan growing up and your plan again after you moved back to Phantomhive Manor. You thought you gave up any chance of marrying when you made a deal with me to prolong the time when I'll eat your brother's soul, but it doesn't have to be that way. Plus, this is the perfect solution to your Aunt Francis' incessant desire to see you married. This is the only solution that is acceptable."
Faye couldn't think as Sebastian's lips drew closer to hers. Everything Sebastian had just said was true, but marrying a demon was hardly what she'd pictured while growing up.
Faye could feel Sebastian's breathe on her lips when an indignant voice asked, "What is going on here?"
Sebastian pulled away from Faye to face Marchioness Midford. "Lady Midford, I have excellent news. As I'd hoped, I've found the woman I'm going to marry at your ball." He moved to the side so Faye became visible, keeping his arm around her waist.
Aunt Francis' eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she covered it up with a stern look. "As pleased I am both that you've found a bride and that that bride is my niece, it is hardly appropriate for the two of you to be out here alone. It's not proper." Despite Aunt Francis severe gaze and words, Faye caught a look of pleased triumph in her aunt's eyes.
"You're quite right," Sebastian said, removing his arm from Faye to lay it over his heart as he bowed to the Marchioness. "I apologize deeply for my lack of decorum. I'm afraid we simply got lost in the moment."
"I-I haven't said yes," Faye interjected, feeling panicked. What was happening here? Did Aunt Francis not recognize Sebastian as the Phantomhive's butler? Or had Sebastian come to her beforehand and given her some story about how he was really a Marquis?
Aunt Francis gave Faye another severe look, her eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. "Stop being ridiculous, Faye. It's past time you thought about your future and this is a perfect opportunity for you." She turned towards Sebastian. "Pay no mind to the words of my niece, Marquis. It is merely the folly of youth speaking."
"Of course," Sebastian agreed with a deferential nod of his head.
Faye being spoken about as though she was a child who needed her decisions made for her got her back up. "This is a decision that needs thinking about, not one to make lightly and in the heat of the moment" she said, striving to keep the anger from her voice. Aunt Francis would not react well to that. "Aside from that, I think it's time I left."
"Yes, quite," Sebastian agreed. "There's no more reason for you to be here, and I'm sure this night has been exciting enough. I shall escort you home."
For one wild moment, Faye felt affronted at the thought of a man trying to marry her being so forward as to invite himself to take a carriage to Phantomhive Manor with her. Then she remembered that Phantomhive Manor was, in fact, Sebastian's home as well.
Aunt Francis eyed them both before settling her eyes on Sebastian. "Lord Michaelis, while it is polite of you to offer to escort Lady Phantomhive home, I feel the need to remind you that if anything at all happens to my niece, you will answer to the Midfords." Despite herself, Faye felt warm at her Aunt's words. Both Ciel and Faye struggled to get alone with Aunt Francis and the ways the ways she chose to show her care for them, but she was family and did manage to show the fact that she loved her niece and nephew upon occasion. If only she wasn't so insistent on marrying Faye off. And possibly willing to let Faye go off with a stranger, depending on what cover story Sebastian had used for his appearance as a Marquis.
Phantomhive Carriage
Faye wasted no time in asking Sebastian questions once they entered the carriage. "You called yourself Lord Michaelis at the ball. Does that mean you're still using your old persona? Just claiming that you're a Marquis now instead of a butler?"
"I'm still using the same name," Sebastian said with a nod. "But it would be an affront to the Phantomhive name for you to marry a man who worked as a butler, even if said butler was truly a Marquis. No, as far as anyone, including your aunt, believes, this is my first time in England."
"So you look exactly the same and have the same name, yet Aunt Francis didn't recognize you as Ciel's butler?"
"Really, my Lady," Sebastian said with a disappointed frown as he pulled Faye closer to him. "Is this all you can talk about? Are you not happy to see my return? Did my death mean nothing to you?"
"I—" Why did she seem to keep getting stuck on that infernal word? But as Faye looked into Sebastian's eyes, she couldn't think of anything to say. She had missed him. The Phantomhive Manor hadn't felt like home without him. With Sebastian gone, she'd felt like she no longer had a stable place in the world. She'd been lost.
When Faye continued to look into Sebastian's eyes without saying anything, he cupped the back of her head and kissed her. Faye inhaled sharply, though her hands went straight to his hair. She loved the feel of his silky hair since the first time she'd touched it. Sebastian's free hand rubbed up and down Faye's back, pulling her closer to him. Now all she could think about was Sebastian. All she could taste, feel, and smell was Sebastian. Why did it feel like her world had just been put back in order?
Sebastian titled Faye's head and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, urging her to open them. Faye pulled back with a gasp, her face red. Her hands moved from Sebastian's hair to grasp at his jacket. She stared at her hands as she stammered, "I wasn't happy you were gone. I mean, I didn't want you dead." She gave up in frustration before she started babbling. Why couldn't she honestly tell Sebastian her feelings? Was the hatred of demons that William T. Spears had installed in her so strong that she still couldn't admit out loud that she cared for a demon?
Sebastian moved the hand from Faye's head back to her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"I didn't mean to be callous with my questions," she explained. "Or insinuate that your absence meant nothing to me. I'm just—trying to process your return and find out what your story is so I don't make a mistake in talking to anyone about you."
Sebastian leaned down to gently kiss Faye's lips before pulling away. Maybe this was part of what had Faye so off-kilter. Sebastian had never been this affectionate with Faye before. Apparently, declaring himself a Marquis and proposing to her got rid of whatever bounds he'd felt were in place between thembefore. The thought that Sebastian could so easily affect Faye like this made her blush. She wasn't some twit of a girl to fall at the feet of every handsome man who confessed feelings for her.
"I am Sebastian Michaelis, a Marquis from Wales who has decided to come to Britain both to live and to marry," Sebastian explained. "No one will recognize me as the Phantomhive butler thanks to my powers, though I may seem familiar to some people. The exception I will make to this is the Phantomhive servants. I feel it would be confusing for you and Ciel to know of my former identity and for the rest of the household to view me as someone new. To them, my story is that I was a disinherited Marquis who was in hiding as a butler. Because of my love for you, I returned home and reclaimed my birthright so that I could marry you."
"I'm glad," Faye said quietly. "Everyone will be so happy to see you again. I'd hate for Finney, Bard, and Mey-Rin to still believe you dead when you were standing right in front of them. Everyone has missed you terribly."
"Really, my Lady?" Sebastian teased. "Everyone?"
Faye found herself unable to respond and cursed herself for being unable to be honest with Sebastian about her feelings.
Phantomhive Manor
The whole family sat assembled in the sitting room, the nobles (including Sebastian) seated while their five servants stood. Sebastian held their rapt attention as he told his sad tale. "So then my father disowned me," Sebastian said, hanging his head in false shame. "I feared for my life and had no choice but to leave Wales. That was in I came across Lord Phantomhive and out of the goodness of his heart, he gave me a place to live."
Ciel ground his teeth in irritation as Sebastian spun his tale. He'd been relieved at the return of Sebastian, but he was not pleased that he appeared to have lost his butler.
"I see," Finney said quietly, tears brimming in his eyes. "No wonder you always understood the young master so well. You were from the nobility too and must have felt the same as him. The two of you have twin hearts." Sebastian and Ciel both twitched at Finney's words, though Finney saw nothing since he was wiping his sleeve across his eyes.
"So, why did you leave so suddenly to go back to Wales and reclaim your station?" Bard asked, speaking around the unlit cigarette in his mouth. He was flabbergasted to learn that Sebastian, the head butler of Phantomhive Manor, was really Lord Sebastian, a Marquis from Wales. Sebastian's manners, tastes, and actions had always been impeccable. He'd know just what to do in every situation, but Bard never would have guessed that was because the man came from noble stalk himself.
Sebastian turned to look at Faye. "I fell in love," he said simply. Faye blushed and Ciel stiffened. Bard, Finney, and Mey-Rin gasped. Even Tanaka looked shocked. Emily, draped around Snake's shoulders, opened her mouth wide in what appeared to be a gasp of surprise. "I knew that we could not be together while I was a butler, so I returned home to take back the title that was rightfully mine. I could never have been with Lady Faye otherwise."
"That's so romantic," Mey-Rin said, clasping her hands together and swooning. She tried to push down the little bit of jealousy and sadness she felt. She'd sometimes let herself dream that she and Sebastian would have a tryst together, but they were just silly and girlish thoughts. She cared for both Faye and Sebastian and would love to see them happy together.
"Wow," Bard said, folding his arms and looking impressed. "So you went back to a country where people wanted you dead for the sake of our Lady. If that don't say love and devotion, I don't know what does."
"That's enough," Ciel said with a clap of his hands. "It's late and it's time for everyone to retire for the night."
The servants looked disappointed as they left, obviously wanting to hear more about Sebastian's story. Sebastian, Ciel, and Faye, however, did not go to bed. Instead, they went to Ciel's office.
"What is it you think you're playing at?" Ciel demanded once they were safely closed inside his office. "And of course you'd feel the need to choose a title one higher than the one I have."
Sebastian looked at Ciel like he was studying an interesting bug. "I feel that I've made my intentions perfectly clear, Lord Phantomhive. Of course, I'll still help you, simply in a slightly different capacity now. I have my own manor close by, but it will currently only be used for official functions as need be. Otherwise, I'll stay with the Phantomhives."
"Fine then," Ciel said, crossing his arms. "Go back to your old room."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Lord Phantomhive," Sebastian said with a regretful shake of his head. "I am a Lord now and cannot possibly sleep in servants' quarters. You understand, I'm sure, that I must now be one hell of a Marquis."
Faye hid her smile behind her hand as Ciel glared dolefully at his former butler.
A/N: I've spent the past two days doing a marathon rereading of Lady Phantomhive and Countess Phantomhive and planning out this third part of the series, so hopefully I'll be able to do updates around once a week.
