I finally got this done. Yes! Sebastian is the most difficult character to describe. he is just so cynical and odd and heartless and sadistic and... Argh. Just a pain. He thinks humans are difficult creature, well cheers to you, butler. Cheers... to... you.
Sebastian woke up early the next morning to start with the day's work. He got out of bed, performed his daily bathroom rituals and changed into his butler uniform. Next thing was to wake up the rest of the staff. He woke Finnian, Baldroy and Tanaka and assigned each of them to their days work, heavily emphasising not to stuff up. He then went to the girls' room and knocked on the door. Mei Rin answered, still in her nightgown and rubbing her eyes.
"Hello?" she responded groggily. "Oh, Seb-Sebastian!" Even though they went through this ever morning, her voice showed surprise, like he had changed over night or something. "I was just getting ready."
"Could you make sure that Ms. Rosalie meets me in the drawing room in precisely half an hour? It is extremely important."
"Yes, of course." He told her what her agenda was and left. Mei Rin finished getting dressed and went to shake Rosalie up. "Hey, Rosy, it's time to wake up." The blonde girl grumbled and opened one eye.
"Already?" She yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Yes and you need to meet Sebastian in the drawing room in half an hour. Do you know where it is?" She nodded slowly and the maid left the room. Rosalie sat in bed, as still as a statue, before falling back onto her soft and invitingly warm mattress.
I have half an hour, she thought. Five more minutes won't hurt...
Sebastian pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time. It had been thirty five minutes since he asked Mei Rin to call Rosalie. Luckily, he planned for this and lied about what time she was really needed. He went up to the kitchens in search of the rookie tutor, but she wasn't there.
"Has anyone seen Rosalie?" he questioned.
"The Blondie? Haven't seen her." Baldroy continued with his breakfast.
"She was awake when I left our room," Mei Rin mentioned absentmindedly. The butler sighed and left to the servants' quarters to find Rosalie. He approached the door and knocked sharply.
"Rosalie, are you in there?" he called but received no response. Frustrated, Sebastian opened the door to see the small girl's figure curled up underneath the blankets, issuing soft snores. Sighing, he shook her body.
"Rosalie this is important, now, wake up." She didn't even stir. Sebastian was not in the mood for her childish games so he decided to use force by pulling the blanket off. Well tried to but for a semi unconscious person, she had a strong grip. He could have easily overpowered her but didn't want the situation to become chaotic.
"You will wake up," he growled menacingly and left to the adjacent bathroom only to return with the ultimate weapon for waking up annoying tutors.
SPLASH!
"What the-" Rosalie sat up straight and dripping wet. She brushed her hair out of her eyes only to see someone she was learning to loathe as time went by.
"Good morning, Ms. Rosalie." Sebastian drew the blinds open, smiling maliciously.
"You are digging your own grave, butler." She got up and tried to un-stick her nightdress from her skin while looking for a towel.
"Actually, you are. You were supposed to meet me half an hour ago. The young Lord wants to see what you are capable of, remember?"
"No."
"I told you last night that your skills were to be tested this morning." He said 'skills' in a tone of heavy doubt.
"Oh, that." She went to the bathroom to find her hairbrush. "Okay, fine. Where do I go?"
"I'll escort you to the drawing room, seeing as you have already caused enough delay."
"Fine." The two colleagues stared at each other, waiting for the other to do or say something. Rosalie cracked first, "Can you please leave?"
"Why?"
"So I can get changed, butler. Or do you have some fetish watching women change?"
"I do not like your tone of voice, Ms. Rosalie."
"Well, I don't like your existence, Mr. Sebastian, so I guess that makes us even." She smiled sweetly and closed the door in his face.
Rosalie was hungry, as in Irish potato famine, starving peasant, on the brink of death, poverty hungry. Maybe not that bad but she was afraid her stomach might make its signature 'Feed Me', dying whale gurgle and interrupt Ciel's plethora of pointlessly obvious and annoying questions. Sebastian thought it would be a marvellous idea to deny Rosalie her right to eat breakfast as a punishment for sleeping in, refusing to get up making both of them almost late and any other offence he had against her. As time went by, she hated the butler more and more. His sweet fake smile pissed her off. She hated how the other servants latched onto every word that left his mouth and not to mention his supernatural ability to not only do everything perfectly but also in record time.
"Rosalie?" Ciel's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Mmm... yes? Master," she added as she felt his gaze on her.
"Let's go." The young earl began to walk out.
"Where to?"
"The stables, you said you could ride a horse and hunt." His eye twinkled with doubt.
Why do they all question my abilities?
"Then should I get changed? I don't think it is suitable to ride in this." She absentmindedly tugged at her pinafore.
"If you wish but do hurry," the young earl drawled. "I don't like to be kept waiting." He left the room with his hands behind his back, an aura of arrogance emanating from his young, boyish façade, being followed by his butler. Rosalie rushed to her room and began rummaging madly through her belongings, pulling out old riding clothes.
You seem clean enough, now for the shoes. She threw everything back into her wardrobe and continued her search.
Come on, boots. Where are you? She pulled the room apart in panic of being late again.
"Damn it, how did I lose them? They were right here..." she mumbles to herself as she retraced her steps. She looked under the bed but only found one.
"What are you looking for, Rosy?" Fright hit Rosalie that she forgot where she was.
"Ow, curses!" she cussed as she rubbed where she hit the bed before shuffling out. Finnian was standing in the doorway, shock on his face at the state of the room. "My other boot," she explained as she showed him the left shoe.
"You mean that one?" he said, pointing at the top of the cupboard that was exploding with clothing.
"How in hell did they get up there?" She looked at the gardener and he just shrugged. "Hey Finny, come here." The blonde boy skipped up to her, eager to help. "I'll carry you on my shoulders so you can grab them."
"I think it would be better if I did the carrying."
"You're smaller than me."
"I am a lot stronger that you think, Rosy. Trust me." Before she could object the absurdity of the situation, Rosalie was already in eye level with the top of the wardrobe. She grabbed her shoe and Finnian placed her gently on to ground.
"Thanks again," Rosalie smiled as she ruffled his hair.
"No problem." Finnian grinned broadly and they made their way to the stables.
"You know, Finny, you remind me of my little brother."
His eyes lit up with excitement when she said that, "Really?"
"Mm hm, you're really sweet, adorable, helpful and kind. The only difference is that Thomas was very mature for his age, compared to the rest of us."
"Sebastian says I should be more mature. Wait..." Finnian looked up at her. "You said was. Did something happen?"
For some who seemed terrible clueless, Finnian noticed such small details. "Um, yeah, he died when he was eight. He got very sick." Her walking pace slowed down as she remembered walking in her baby brother's room to awaken him but he never woke up. Rosalie felt Finnian slip his hand into hers and squeeze it as gently as he could.
"It's alright, Rosy. I'm sure he is happy now and it sounded like you two were very close."
"We were. Thank you, Finny," she smiled and she ruffled his hair and vanished to the stable.
It seemed that Ciel actually didn't mind waiting or maybe he believed her highly fabricated lie about losing her way in the massive mansion and ended up in all sorts of places until a 'little adorable gardener' pointed her in the right direction. Or maybe he just chose to believe her seeing as it was the only option with the least trouble.
"So," Rosalie asked. What form of laborious torture do you have planned? "What would you like me to do?"
"We are going hunting," the young earl declared with a glint of excitement in his deep blue eye. He turned to the butler, "Sebastian, go get the firearms."
The butler bowed gracefully, "Yes, my Lord."
"Rosy?" She turned to face the boy. "Come with me." Sighing, Rosalie followed him through the courtyard until they reached the stables. "You could saddle up the horses."
Saddle up your own horse, you little munchkin, she grumbled to herself as she saddled the wasn't until both horses were prepared that she spoke. "Must we go hunting?"
"You said you can do it and I would like to see it."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just take my work for it and move on to something else? I'm not pleased with the whole 'murdering of innocent creatures' part"
"You said you could hunt and excelled in horse riding, so I aim to kill two birds with one stone. Also, the rabbits have been over breeding and keep attacking the gardens," Ciel explained. "And with the expanding number of rabbits, foxes will come and cause a larger problem. So we are restoring the balance, per se."
"You sound like an 80 year old man for someone who's only ten."
"I am twelve." His eyebrow twitched.
"So you say," she giggled under her breath but it soon stopped when she saw Sebastian arriving with two large riffles and other hunting gear. Despite all her protesting of animal cruelty and the inhumane behaviour of hunting, Rosalie found herself sitting on a black stallion by the name of Emrys in a forest with a mere twenty minutes to shoot as many animals as possible or she would risk losing the job she just got.
"Ms. Rosalie has shot down four rabbits, two pheasants, two foxes and what I believe is a small dinosaur of some sort," Sebastian declared as he prodded the large lizard to see if it was still dead. "Master Ciel also shot down four rabbits, a fox and three pheasants. It seems that Ms. Rosalie can hunt. She won by a small dinosaur"
"I find it hard to believe but you are a formidable hunter, Rosy," Ciel praised her but she wasn't listening.
"Look at them, their poor lifeless bodies. What is the point of all this, for sport, entertainment? It's barbaric. I mean, sure we can eat the rabbits but they could have had families." She pointed at the foxes. "What if they had children? Little cubs, barely old enough to fend on their own, waiting for Mummy to return but, no, we killed her because you were bored and didn't believe me. If anyone needs me, I will be in the stables." She grabbed the reins of the two horses back to their stables. She removed the saddle and reins and placed them back in their original positions and turned back to the horses. Ciel's one was asleep but Emrys was hanging his head over the door watching Rosalie.
"You hungry, Emrys? I think I saw some carrots around here." She searched the stables and found the bag of carrots she spotted earlier. "Mmm, look at this, some big juicy carrots for the prettiest horse that I ever did see." The black stallion raised his head and neighed softly and munched on the carrots as she stroked his head.
"Your fur is super soft and shiny, Emrys. You have such a beautiful name, you know that? It really suits you. You're all tall, dark, handsome and mysterious; you could whisk a pretty little maid off of her feet if you wanted, like me. Don't you agree?
"Well, I did not expect you to think of me in such a way, Ms. Rosalie, let alone have feelings." A voice swiftly whispered beside her with a familiar air of smugness to it. She had quite the shock that Rosalie tripped forward.
"Don't you go sneaking up on people like that, butler. You gave me a heart attack." she grumbled as she sat up and picked hay out of her now messed up hair. "And I wasn't talking about you; I was talking to the horse." She stood up and dusted off her clothes. Her blonde curls were covering her face like a curtain to hide her embarrassment.
"Sixteen year olds are incapable of having heart attacks," he explained with a sigh.
"I beg to differ, butler. A heart attack can strike anyone of any age at any time." Sebastian didn't respond but stared closely at her face. She reddened some more as to how close he was. She always thought he had brown eyes, but at this proximity, Rosalie noticed his eyes were a mesmerizingly deep red. She saw his face in Sebastian, that all she wanted to do now was get closer. She felt her hand rising up against her will to touch the face, to see if he really was there.
"Arthur..." she mumbled, almost trance like.
"Excuse me?" Sebastian's voice snapped something in the back of her mind, bringing Rosalie back.
"Er... is something wrong, Sebastian?" she asked hesitantly.
"You look a mess, Ms. Rosalie." He leaned forward and pulled out a piece of straw she forgot in her hair, while he combed her hair back with his fingers. In the process he ever so gently brushed her curvy, pink cheek, sending a shocking, yet stimulating, sensation through her body.
"Don't touch me," she growled and pushed him away before running back to the manor. When she entered, Rosalie leant against the wall breathing hard.
What was that all about? She couldn't tell if the butler was playing with her or if he was sincerely helping her. Whatever the reason, she did not want to be that close to Sebastian ever again. For some reason, all that embarrassment began to bubble into infuriating hatred towards him. Rosalie felt so annoyed that she didn't even notice Baldroy standing in the kitchen as she pulled out ingredients to make a sandwich.
"You could eat what Sebastian made," she suggested.
"I don't want anything that butler has made!" she exclaimed as she continued to mutter under her breath.
"Who shoved a pole-?"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, you," she hissed and pointed the knife in his direction.
"Fine." Baldroy looked hurt, with his hands in the air. "What are you so pissed about?"
"That stupid butler, that's what. He thinks he is all high and mighty with his exceptional skill and charm. That stupid smile wants to make me punch his pretty face in until his nose is pointing another direction. Vexing snide comments and that sneer, that infuriating sneer. He always puts me down like I am incapable. I am very capable, thank you very much, Sebastian Michealis!" She practically growled and continued to chop lettuce at such a force it looked like she was hacking at a corpse.
"Sebastian sure knows how to push your buttons." Baldroy smirked and let against the wall again with one foot on it.
"For your information, I do not have any buttons." She now started to shred up some steak, taking her anger on the poor protein. "And even if I did, I would dare not let him come within a 100 kilometre radius, let alone touch them." She placed everything into the bread and added some dressing but after one bite, Rosalie didn't feel hungry anymore.
"You have severe anger management issues, Rosy."
"That is no way to talk to a lady, cook!"
She stormed out hearing one more spiteful comment from the chef, "Good thing I'm not talking to one." Before she did anything rash or dramatic, Rosalie made sure she was a long way away from the kitchens. She went to wander around for the time being before she had to answer Ciel's call. Upon her wandering, Rosalie found a pair of transparent, beautifully fashioned, glass doors. Making sure no one was in sight, she slipped through them to find herself in a magnificent garden, unlike any other she had seen.
How come I have never noticed this before? She walked around, taking in the scenery. It seemed untouched by man, yet it was so organised like something other worldly was taking care of it. She noticed something small and black sleeping in a patch of warm sunlight. A cat, curled up tightly, part of it hidden under a bush.
"Hello, Mr. Kitty," she cooed. The cat opened one of its golden eyes and peeked at her. "My name is Rosy and I'm the new recruit. Pleasure to be of acquaintance." She gingerly put out her hand to stroke him. The cat stood up and crept closer as if to give her permission to pet his head. She was never allowed to have pets with fur because of her father's allergies but that never suppressed her love for animals.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" He continued to rub himself against her knees as if to explain something. "Are you hungry? I have a sandwich but I don't think cats eat sandwiches." She pulled apart her lunch and gave him the meat. The cat happily ate out of her hands, licking each finger as if not to leave a morsel behind.
"Hey, stop that. It tickles." She whipped her hand on her dress and let the feline climb onto her lap. He curled up on her lap and allowed her to scratch his head.
"You're a really nice cat, you know that? The nicest person in the manor. I mean, I like Mei Rin and Finny but they can get a little creepy. Bard is just plain annoying and Ciel shouldn't be such an arse. But they all are still very kind; I highly doubt you could find people like that in the streets of London, now can we? Then there's Sebastian." The cat meowed quizzically, shifting his position on her lap.
"I mean, he isn't a bad person, he's just strange. He could do thing so perfectly, it scares me as if he isn't human. No flaws, no mistakes. Shouldn't the best of people make mistakes, it's in our nature. He reminds me of Arthur, which is something I don't need now. That was a mistake, I was childish and stupid. But it scares me how similar they look. It's almost impossible." She sighed and tried to stop thinking about what happened. "Oh but you know what annoys me the most? He has a nasty habit of getting under my skin. And he keeps calling me Rosalie, not just Rosalie, but Rosalie." She put on a posh nasal accent, mimicking the butler.
"He sounds like her. Eugh. Oh wait; you don't know who I am talking about. It's my grandmother. She is so nag-y, all about a lady being prim and proper. It's kind of hard to do when you have grown up most of your life with a father and two brothers. It isn't the complaining that bothers me but the fact that she constantly complains yet does nothing about it. My whole life I have spent pleasing her, however she is never satisfied, always wanting more. Just because I am the only girl, she thinks I must behave like a princess. I bet she had a complete meltdown when I ran away from home. She can be Edmund's issue now. The one thing that annoys me is that I can't tell why she is doing it. Is it because she actually likes me and cares about me as her own kin? Or is it to spite me since I resemble Mother so much? She hated Mother." Rosalie smiled as she remembered how sour her grandmother's face whenever her mother, Vivian, entered the room, always more happy, filling the room with her bubbly personality.
"If it wasn't for Mother's linage, she would have never agreed to the marriage. Sometimes I think her opinion didn't matter, Father was too much in love with Mother to do anything otherwise." She sighed at the memories of her parents, seeming like ages ago. "I hope they are in a better place, now." Her nostalgia was interrupted when footsteps approached where she was. Rosalie quickly picked up the remains of her lunch and hid behind a bush. The doors creaked open and she heard someone draw near as she dare not breathe. The person stopped and Rosalie heard a familiar voice who she thought would be the last person to be here.
"Hello, my beautiful girl. Are you well?" Sebastian stroked the black cat, as she purred in response.
So it's a girl. This whole time I thought it was a boy.
"Do you need anything from me, like food, water?" The cat meowed back. "Not hungry, I see. Did you find something to eat?" He got up and dusted himself. "I apologise but I cannot stay. There is a certain tutor who I must find. First I must get this fur off or Master will have a sneezing fit. I'll come back later, my beautiful." He petted the cat one more time before leaving. Rosalie waited a while until she was absolutely sure that no one was around before crawling out from under the bush.
"Wow that was close." The black cat slinked up to her and rubbed her head against Rosalie's thigh. "To think your Sebastian's pet, and to think that cold hearted butler can show love to such a cute kitty." She picked up the cat and nuzzled her nose into its fur. "Looks like the Sebastian is hunting for me, so I have to go." Rosalie stood up and noticed her riding pants were covered in black fur. "But first I have to clean this up. See you around, kitty." Checking that there was no one around, Rosalie slipped out of the room and made a dash to the servants' quarters. She finally got all the fur off and went back up to the main hall to make Sebastian's search for her far easier.
So much for easier. Rosalie grumbled inwardly, as she passed the staircase for the seventh time. She heard the grandfather clock chime vociferously twice. And he is going to blame me for being late.
"Where have you been?" Sebastian was standing behind Rosalie with his arms folded and looking severely irritated.
Rosalie glanced at him and continued to stare forward ahead, "Around," she groaned.
"I've been looking for you and you give me attitude?" He knelt beside her, smiling devilishly. "My, my, my, you have a lot to learn. Come here." He gestured for her to follow him.
"What now?" Rosalie sighed as she got up.
"We have to finish your tests, don't we? Unfortunately the master is busy and won't be joining us for the remainder of it, so I will be you examiner."
Why now, Ciel? "What would keep a twelve year old busy? Playing with his little toys?" she mumbled to herself.
"I can hear you."
Because you have ears, Rosalie stuck her tongue out at the butler's back, half expecting him to do or say something about it but he didn't. Not so sharp, eh?
"We're here." Sebastian finally stopped. She peered from behind him and instantly recognised where they were.
"We're back at the library."
"Of course, we have to see if your knowledge really is there. And I'd prefer it if you didn't act childish behind my back," he added as he gestured for her to sit so he could start her examination, while he hovered near the bookshelf. He ran his pale lean fingers across the spines of various books on an assortment of subjects ranging from the history of English monarchy and the architecture of the country's most famous buildings to grammar and the dead language of Latin, from what she could make out of.
"Now, Ms. Rosalie, to make this quick and simple for the both of us, I'd like you to give me an idea of what you know. Now, where to begin?" He finally stopped and pulled out a leather bound book. "I think we shall start with literature," he declared, smiling.
After several hours of intensive questioning, verbal harassment and a quick crash course in what she was to do, Sebastian found it appropriate to stop and declared Rosalie fit to be Ciel's new tutor. He said he has to attend to some business and left her in the library. For the first time in the afternoon, Rosalie felt relief. She ran her fingers through her loose hair and stretched out. Throughout her whole testing, she felt feverishly uncomfortable around Sebastian especially when he leaned over her shoulder to point out something she missed or when she felt his knee brush hers. Maybe she was imagining it, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she hated having strange men close to her and she especially detested the butler's uncanny resemblance to him. Rosalie sighed and buried her head in her hands.
Dear god, I really need to relax. Rosalie stood up and went to distract herself with books. The Phantomhive's had an exceptional library, and she loved it. She found it easier to distract herself from everything than deal with it and books let her do that. She pulled out stacks of books and sat at the table, immersing herself completely in each one.
Rosalie was intrigued by the detailed volumes on England's monarchy. Getting bored on the geography of Britain and the architecture of the greatest buildings, she went to the fiction section. She found the entire collection of the Grimm Brother's fairytales. Rosalie smiled and remembered how her father has been trying to compile it for years and how her older brother, Edmond used to scare her with it that she couldn't sleep for days without her parents being by her side.
Come to think of it, they aren't as scary as they should be. She flitted through the Latin dictionary before moving it to the 'read' pile and spotting a small blue leather bound book. Alice in Wonderland;her favourite bed time story. Rosalie's favourite character was the Cheshire Cat. Having the ability to disappear with only a grin was something that excited her as a child. She had a smile etched on her face as she read the novel.
"You're enjoying yourself, Ms. Rosalie?" She looked up from her book and saw Sebastian standing in the door way. "You've been here for an awfully long time." He pointed at the arch windows and noticed it was completely dark outside.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise." Rosalie began to hastily pick up the books and return them to where they belong.
"As tutor, you have access to the library whenever you want," Sebastian explained. She froze midway in returning a book than began pulling out the ones she hadn't read. She sat back down and continued reading forgetting about the butler.
"The master thought you might like something to drink." She looked up and saw a tray with a pot of steaming tea and sweets.
Rosalie didn't want to drink it in front of him but the aroma kept distracting her. "What type of tea is it?" she asked, leaning over the books.
"It is called Russian Caravan." She looked curiously at the tea trying to distinguish the flavours by its scent. Sebastian smirked and continued as he poured her a cup, "It is a smooth, delicately nutty tasting tea with light smoky flavours that is excellent for relaxation. Here, try it." He sat down and handed her the china tea cup.
"Thank you," she muttered and took a sip. She felt her heart warm up as she drank, breathing in the flavours. She noticed the cakes and pointed at the small chocolate one. "What's that?"
"Hazelnut fudge slice. The young lord has a disturbing sweet tooth." She took a bite out of it and felt it melt in her mouth. It was absolutely divine, almost heavenly.
"Did Bard make this? It's delicious." she asked with surprise.
"No, I did." She let out a small noise to acknowledge his culinary skills before resuming her reading. She peered over the rim of her tea cup and noticed Sebastian was still there, watching her intently
"Is something the matter?" she asked in all manner of professionalism.
"You don't like me, do you?" he deduced. Rosalie stayed quiet and sipped her tea. "I can tell by the way you are so careful when it's only the two of us. Is this about what happened in-" She didn't dare look at his face but instead closed her book and interrupted him with a fake yawn.
"My, would you look at the time? It's getting awfully late and your tea must be working. I am absolutely tired." She stood up and stretched. "Well, I best be off. First lesson tomorrow and I don't want to be tired. Good night, Sebastian and thank you again for the tea." She left the library as briskly as she could while trying to look tired.
"Who is Arthur, Rosalie?" His question got the desired affect as she stopped dead in the doorway.
She rested her head against the frame and sighed deeply, "No one," she answered and left to go to her room.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Until next time, whenever that may be.
Minami
