A/N: So as you can tell, I altered Ciels age in this. Iknowiknowiknow, its stupid but bleh. Its my story, youre just the reader! Merh. But yeah. Its safe to say that Ceil and Elezabeth are both older (that would make her 18 bc ceil is 17 in this.)
Anywho, sorry for the confusion.
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Autumn could hear a mumbled conversation through the fog that seemed to cloud her mind. I feel like shit, she thought before getting into a more comfortable position. Why in the hell can't Levy stay quiet for one morning?
The mumbling continued for a while until Autumn realized what she heard was two male voices. Her heart began beating harder against her chest as she listened.
"I don't understand why you want to keep this girl around, Young Master," A familiar, deep voice said. "Not even I know what she is, she could very well be a threat."
Autumn groaned while bringing her hand up to smack the side of her head. No, no, no, no!
There was a short pause before a certain banshee replied, "Just because you have a grudge against her for getting the better of you, Sebastian, doesn't mean she won't be of use to me."
Dear God, I'm going insane, what am I supposed to do? ...Run? The idea was mentally shot down. No, Sebastian will just appear in front of me again. She let out another groan. Maybe I should just let them kill me, it'll happen anyways. I'd just be prolonging the inevitable.. but I don't want to die… After a few more seconds of careful speculation, Autumn decided pretending to be asleep would be the safest option. This could all just be a dream – something rational.
"Our first order of business is finding out what she is," Ciel stated. "Until then she is not to be left alone. You, or one of the servants, are to always be around her during her stay."
What I am? During my stay? Autumn's heart was pumping painfully against her chest now. This isn't even supposed to be real! She thought, sitting straight up looking around owlishly. To hell with playing dead.
"What are you talking about?" Autumn objected. "I've already told you – I'm human! And there's no way in hell I'm staying here with that homicidal demon!" She stuck her finger at said homicidal demon, flabbergasted.
"Oh, hello there Ms. Blake. I was wondering when you would stop that ridiculous act and join the conversation," Sebastian said. He cut his eyes at her finger. "If you could be so kind as to stop pointing your finger at me; we have a few questions for you." An eerie smile stretched across his face adorned with shut eyes.
Looking around for a second Autumn noticed they were still in the office, though she was on a small couch and not the chair she passed out on. She dropped her hand and crossed her arms. Furrowing her dark brows, she sized up Sebastian. "Why should I tell a tree like you?"
Sebastian's eyebrow twitched, and his smile seemed to stretch over his face painfully, while Ciel covered his mouth and coughed into it.
"Because, Ms. Blake." Ciel said matter-o-factually, "Unless you'd like us to kick you out on the street to turn into a common prostitute, this would be in your best interest"
She could feel the blood drain from her face.
Autumn had no idea what else to do. Becoming a prostitute didn't sound so good and she had nowhere else to go. Swallowing her pride, she told them about her world, and what she believed to be real. Looking away from Sebastian she tried to explain that the world she had found herself in was nothing more than a story to her yesterday. When she looked back, she saw that same creepy grin.
"A story you say?" Sebastian chuckled. "Do you find us amusing, Ms. Blake?"
Autumn went to reply, but suddenly, the room seemed heavier. Autumn could barely breathe through the fury that radiated from Ciel like a dark, black cloud. It was as if there were shadows surrounding him that were slowly being absorbed by her. She reached a hand out to touch them, but they just swirled around it. He was obviously taking this a little less lightheartedly than his butler. Probably because it was a story about his shitty life, Autumn thought sourly to herself, her face pinching in pain.
The emotions that Ciel was emitting made being around Levy seem like child's play. Autumn could feel his anger like a living, breathing thing. It wrapped around her throat and made it harder and harder to breathe.
A red haze seemed to cloud Autumn's vision while her brain began to feel like it was on fire. The pain was so strong, she was forced to grab the sides of her head in an attempt not to scream.
"You think my life is amusing?" Ciel seethed, not noticing the pain he was unknowingly transferring to her. "You have no idea what I've been through – what I've been put through!"
"Please, stop," Autumn pleaded in a small, shaky voice. The bitter anger ate away at her brain, quickly making her lose touch of reality. What's happening to me?!
"Stop?" Ciel scoffed, anger still burning wildly through him. "You just told me that my life was a story that people read for bloody entertainment! I will do nothing of the sorts!"
Autumn's eyes burned while her limbs felt like they were melting, leaving nothing but pure malice that coagulated, forming into something ugly and disgusting. Slowly, Autumn looked up into Ciel's visible dark blue eye. She ignored how both his and Sebastian's eyebrows rose into their hairline.
The shadows seemed to be dancing – mocking her. She let out a crazed chuckle while rubbing her hands over her face roughly. "Make it stop," she muttered. But they couldn't stop what was happening. The proverbial ball was already in motion, and all they could do was stare.
Autumn lips formed into a crazed smile. "Stop, drop, flop, plop!~" She giggled to herself in a sing-song voice.
Autumn suddenly stood up a swayed on her feet. She could see the action made Ciel take a cautious step back.
The dark shadows that surrounded her, rubbed softly against her cheek as if they wanted her attention. Slowly, she reached her hand out to touch them again. "Such grace" she murmured in awe, her head falling to the side.
"- Ms. Blake!"
Autumns eyebrows drew together. What am I doing? She slowly looked around herself with a questioning look on her face. Her eyes narrowed when they fell onto the Earl. Oh, yes. Killing the brat that caused me this pain. Kill, kill, kill!~
A sinister smile spread across her face, and droll dripped down the side of her mouth.
Stop! A male voice – a voice that was not her own – Inside of her head pleaded, making her stumble ungracefully to a stop. This isn't you, get yourself together; Don't let it control you.
"Ms. Blake!" A deep voice growled. Yeah, literally growled.
Autumn's eyesight began to clear and she slowly gained control of herself. She fell to the ground, on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. She looked up, her face expressing how afraid she was. Afraid of herself.
Clutching her hands together, she fought back the urge to try attack the Earl again.
"Your eyes," Ciel gasped, his dark blues were wide in shock. "They were red,"
At his comment, Autumn was filled with another, more familiar, emotion – confusion.
Her body began rapidly going back to normal and more relaxed. She carefully pulled herself back into the nearest chair to her. "What the hell are you talking about- uh, excuse me?"
Sebastian had taken a step toward her and leaned in so close, she could feel his breath fan over her, now blushing, face. "Well, isn't that peculiar," he stated, tilting his head slightly to the side. The look reminded Autumn of a curious bird. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.
At that very moment, the doors swung open with a loud thump.
Sebastian didn't even flinch.
"MISTA' SEBASTIAN!" A feminine voice screeched "I DROPPED THE- OH!"
Autumn refused to back down. Sitting up straighter on the couch, she folded her arms and glared at the demon butler in front of her in defiance. Ignoring the fact that to someone else, it would look like they were about to kiss. She was also sure if either one of them moved, their noses would touch.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you, I didn't!" the feminine voice hurriedly said. "But there's been an- uh.. accident, with the fine china.."
Autumn could hear Ciel let out a loud sigh. "Sebastian," the Earl ordered, "go help Mey-Rin with whatever she's going on about. And bring us more tea, I'm afraid this pot has gotten cold."
The demon narrowed his eyes, still staring at the young girl. "With recent events, I'm not so sure if that would be in your best interest, Young Master"
"I'm sure I can handle her, Sebastian. She's tiny." Ciel stated, picking up some papers to inspect. "We will finish our previous conversation when you get back. Now go."
"Hey!" Autumn shouted, her attention now on the smiling teenager.
Sebastian examined Autumn for a few more seconds before straightening up and bowing to Ciel. "Yes, My Lord, right away. Come Mey-Rin."
"Yes sir!" Mey-Rin replied enthusiastically, glancing over at Autumn for a second.
Autumn smirked to herself in triumph and folded her legs in front of her. Before they fully walked out of the door, she sent a pointed look towards the demon. "Ruff ruff, Bassy," She barked.
Sebastian stopped for a second to glare back at her, his eyes glowing for a fraction of a second, before walking out of the door and leaving her alone with Ciel.
"It wouldn't be wise to get on his bad side," Ciel commented behind his desk.
Autumn met his nonchalant gaze with faux innocence. "Why, Ciel, I haven't a clue what you are talking about," she said, her innocent look transforming into a sly smirk. "Either way, you're the one that controls him. So I should have nothing to worry about as long as I'm 'useful'".
Ciel's lips twitched upwards for a second, before falling back down into a mask of indifference. "Don't be so informal with me, Ms. Blake. I may be a story in your world, but here, in my world, you will respect me," he said. "You will call me Earl Phantomhive, my proper title. And yes, you are safe for now and have nothing to worry about. But it would be in your best interest to remember that Sebastian is a demon."
"Sure, Ciel, whatever you say," Autumn rolled her eyes. His head is practically taking up the room, the Brat.
After being reprimanded about not calling him by is title, Ciel told Autumn about how she would stay in the mansion as his guest.
Though Autumn wasn't that excited about constantly having a babysitter, she agreed. It was better than becoming a prostitute. After all of that was cleared up, Ciel began reading through a stack of papers on his desk while Autumn kicked back in the comfortable seat, thinking about her situation.
In the back of her mind, Autumn knew she was taking this way too well. How the hell was she not in a small white room, arms wrapped around her in a straitjacket, drugged out of her mind? Maybe she was already insane? If what happened earlier was any indication, the answer would most likely be yes.
What was that, that happened earlier? Did she just absorb all of Ciel's anger? How could that be possible? Maybe Ciel is right she shot a quick glance at the Earl, maybe I'm not human. Pushing those thoughts back, she decided not to think about it. No need to fret over something like that.
Fiddling with the ring on her thumb – one of many that adorned her fingers – she decided to think of something else. Like, what were the possibilities of her ending up in another world?
Maybe that dark figure did it? She thought to herself, involuntarily shivering at the memory. That guy was creepy with a capital C. That didn't make sense though, she didn't feel anyone touch her. Maybe I did it she pondered.
She put her elbow on the arm of the couch, and rested her head in her hand. Her brain was starting to hurt again. Maybe she had a tumor and all of this was just a fabrication of her dying imagination? Pretty sure I would've noticed something like that. She let out a small sigh of frustration.
...Next subject.
Autumn's attention was drawn back to the Banshee behind the desk. He seemed so much calmer than he was seven minutes ago. Hmm, how old is he? She thought to herself. He acts like an old man. If she remembered correctly, in the anime and book he was supposed to be around 13. Her eyebrows drew together. "Hey, Ciel?"
Ciel glanced at her from over a paper, one eyebrow raised in question.
"How old are you?" she asked.
"I'm a character in a story to you, shouldn't you know? I don't see why my age would matter either way."
"I haven't seen it in a while," she lied, then caught her slip up. "I- I mean, read it. I was just curious."
Sebastian chose that moment to walk into the room, tea tray in hand. After he told his master the type of tea he would be drinking – Earl Grey – he bowed.
"Curiosity killed the cat, Ms. Blake," Ciel said after a few moments of silence, bringing his tea cup to his mouth. Sebastian twitched slightly.
Oh yeah. He has some weird cat fetish. "But satisfaction brought it back," Autumn quipped back, a shadow of a smile finding its place on her lips.
Sebastian seemed pleased with her pun as he poured another cup of tea, added 5 scoops of sugar, and handed it to her. Autumn accepted it with a silent thanks, eager for the sugary substance.
Ciel looked as if he were digesting her words before answering. "As of right now, I'm 17 years old." he said. "If I remember correctly, you said you were 19?"
"Uh… Well, almost," Autumn said nervously, her free hand rubbing the back of her neck. She didnt think they were that close in age – she had never been good at talking to people her age. "I'm actually 18, but my birthday is in five months," she admitted sheepishly.
Ciel nodded. "You're very short for your age," he said, taking another long sip of his tea.
Her eyebrow twitched. Rude. "I am not short. Im just flower size."
Sebastian coughed into his gloved hand and spoke up, "May I inquire as to what year you would've been turning 19?"
"2015," she announced. Autumn felt a bit of satisfaction when Ciel choked on his tea, and Sebastian's mouth opened slightly. Wait. She froze when she realized something that would probably be important. "Is it still May second?" She questioned.
Sebastian was the first to recover. "Yes, Ms. Blake. It is the second of May, in the year 1888," he replied.
Autumn wasn't surprised. She remembered Black Butler taking place in 19th century England. She slowly nodded her head. The next few minutes were spent in silence, drinking tea.
No doubt all three of them were thinking close to the same thing – how in the hell was this even possible.
"Sebastian," Ciel's voice broke the thoughtful silence, "Prepare the guest suite for Ms. Blake to stay in. It's getting late, and I'd like to go to sleep."
"Wait, we're not going to talk about what happened… Uhh… earlier?" Autumn asked awkwardly, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Already taken care of, Young Master," Sebastian ignored her with a bow. "Shall I heat up some milk and honey to help you sleep?"
"No, not until I've had enough time to think it over." Ciel spoke to her before turning to his butler. "Warm milk and honey sounds acceptable though."
"You already made up a room for me?" Autumn asked, surprised.
Sebastian sent her a smug look. "Why, if I didn't make sure my Masters guests' needs were taken care of, what kind of a butler would I be?" He finished with a bow.
Autumn suppressed to urge to face palm. I forgot he is a pun making, demon butler.
.
.
.
Twenty minutes later, Autumn stood in a large lavender themed room. Holy shit, this is a guest room?
A small door stood to the right of the room, most likely a personal bathroom, and next to it was an elegant four poster queen sized bed, with a canopy crown hung over the top. White sheer curtains elegantly drifted around the comfortable looking bed. Straight ahead, a door to what looked like lead to a small balcony. To the left of the room, there was a medium sized changing screen and large dresser. Beside changing screen was an ornate fireplace with a golden trimmed mantle; the wood burning within looked like it was just lit and there was barely a spot of soot behind it. The warmth of the fire brought a welcoming touch to the room.
"This is…" Autumn trailed off while walking around the room. "Beautiful" she whispered, running her hand along the soft covers of the bed.
"Only the best for a Phantomhive guest" Sebastian bowed. He made his way towards the door, but Autumn called out his name, "Sebastian!"
"Yes?" He questioned.
"Am I…" Autumn looked away, biting her bottom lip while looking for the right words. "Am I A demon?"
Sebastian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Ciel said my eyes were red back in the study when I… You know" Autumn felt horribly awkward talking about her… lapse of sanity.
Sebastian sent her a creepy half smile "No," he said as he sniffed the air. "If you were a demon, I'd be able to sense you. You smell... different."
"Hey, you creep! Don't smell me!" Autumn screeched while scowling at the demon, all the while trying to keep the warm blush off of her face.
"Sorry, Ms. Blake. It's just that I haven't met someone of your kind before. Though, you're definitely not human," he declared.
"I- Not… Human?"
Autumn didn't know how to handle this. Being brought to a different world, sure, she could handle that. But, not being human? That just seemed... "Impossible" she whispered to herself.
Sebastian hummed to himself. "Have pleasant dreams," he said with a gleam in his eyes.
With those creepy words, he left.
Autumn stood up and walked over to her belongings. Opening her suitcase, she got out the first over-sized shirt she could find. She quickly changed into it, fearing the creepy demon butler might come back to 'check up on her'.
The shirt itself reached her mid-thigh and was, in her opinion, a pretty color of brown.
After literally jumping onto the bed, she got comfortable while mumbling a few silent curses to the world for making her so short. Or maybe it was the bed that was too high?
She could practically feel the world laughing at her and her inconvenient shortness.
Finally getting situated, Autumn stared up at the ceiling for a while. I'm sleeping in Ciel Phantomhive's guest room, she thought to herself in awe. Her face scrunched up in thought. Why does this feel so right? Why do I feel.. home?
...Whatever.
Letting out a loud sigh, she laid on her side and closed her eyes.
The odd feeling of rightness didn't go away – even when the night terrors began.
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*
.
The wind begin to pick up to a light howl outside Autumn's window as she fell asleep. The curtains to the balcony remained opened, revealing slivers of moonlight that peaked from the clouds and fell onto the estate grounds. After the last bit of Autumn's consciousness fell into her dreams, the shadow of a figure materialized from a gust of wind atop the balcony. It was like a ghost in gray appeared at her window, watching the light of the moon fall like droplets. A slender man replaced the shadow, and sat on the balcony railing with his arm resting onto a knee, while his other leg hung limply beside him. With his other hand he dusted off his gray overcoat, and the side of his black trousers. The watchman let out a sigh as he began his vigil.
At least the beast doesn't know what she is yet, he thought. Demons can be like bloodhounds, but we're hidden even from them.
Silvery hair graced his collar from behind while looming over his eyes in the front. His face was pale, rivaling that of the butler's, yet his eyes were a deep, pure green that was full of life – an oasis that contrasted the rest of his face which looked drained of color. Although he had a small frame, he carried it proudly with rolled back, broadened shoulders. In truth he wasn't too much taller than Autumn – around 6 inches – but he always felt tall.
The watchman looked over the Phantomhive Estate and felt a chill run down his body, followed by relief. This was a place that hid a lot of pain and death yet, it felt so peaceful. He knew what this place was; he knew its history and he carried that with him as he kept watch. Still, as the moonlight gleamed into his eyes, now with touches of blue that danced with the green in the ocean of his iris, he couldn't help but feel at ease. This balance of vigilance and serenity was who he was, it was almost perfect. Almost…
He broke his gaze away from the moon and looked into the manor window. Autumn was fast asleep, looking exhausted. Nevertheless, she also looked troubled – thrashing about in her sleep from time to time. The watchman frowned, realizing she wasn't experiencing the same tranquility he was.
She has to learn to control her gifts or she'll tear herself apart, he mulled over. No discipline, no restraint; at this rate I don't know if I'll be able to save this child from herself…. He shook the thought away. No. I can't let that happen. I won't.
Autumn was still having nightmares of some sort. He could see her shaking now. He could feel her shaking and it hurt. Usually this didn't affect him, but her emotions were so potent it was like a dagger slowly digging into his mind. An idea came to him and he bit his tongue in disgust at himself. I hate doing this… but I can't see her like this either. It is just a dream after all…
The watchman got up from his perch upon the railing and walked over to the window and peered into her quarters. He put his delicate hand to the window and closed his eyes. "Rest" he willed. When he opened his eyes, she had become still and her breathing slow to a relaxed pace. For the first time in a long while, the watchman's eyes rested at a cool blue and glowed. He could feel the change, but it was short lived. Slowly his eyes dimmed and the curtain of blue revealed his natural green. Damn you for making me do that, he thought to himself. He hoped she didn't hear that one. I really hate doing that.
He let his eyes linger on the girl. He couldn't help but think about how vulnerable she looked; The large bed made her look even smaller than usual. And to make it all worse; the small girl was sleeping in the Phantomhive mansion. The thought made his skin crawl, wondering how much danger she could be in. I can't just keep watching… I have to do something… He knew he needed to be closer to her, just in case something happened. Skulking around in the shadows wouldn't be enough. He thought back to the demon; his hands tightened into fists.
For the rest of the night, he battled over what to do, but he would think of something. He turned away from her and looked out towards the horizon of the trees.
Soon...
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*
.
Autumn's eyes snapped open as she lunged forward in her bed. She brought her hand up to her messy hair and rubbed it for a second while she let out a long yawn.
I need to calm down on spicy food before bed. I always have the weirdest dreams.
The door to her room swung open. Thinking it was just Levy up to her normal bickering, Autumn got up and stretched. When she didn't say anything, Autumn turned around. A second passed, and her scream could be heard throughout the mansion.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
Holy shit, she thought. It wasn't a dream. Not a dream, Not a dream, Not a-
"Hello to you too, Ms. Blake." Sebastian said, annoyance lacing his voice. He gave Autumn a quick glance up and down, his eyebrows raising up slightly. Autumn looked down at herself and made a loud and unattractive noise.
"Don't oogle, you perverted demon bastard!" She shouted
"I can assure you, I was not 'oogleing'"
"Liar!"
"I do not lie, Ms. Blake."
"You just did!"
Sebastian let out a sigh. "I came here to help fit you into a gown, not argue. So if you could please be a little more compliant, we can get to the Young Masters office."
Autumn crossed her arms and leaned on one leg. "What's wrong with the way I dress?" She questioned.
Then, like an answer from the gods that always had to prove her wrong, three heads poked into the door. On the bottom, was a young man with large turquoise eyes, messy strawberry-blond hair, kept out of his face with red clips, and pale skin. What was his name again? Gineon? The next head, the one in the middle, was the maid Mey-Rin from last night. Her cherry-red hair was put up in pigtails and her fringe was square shaped, adorned with a lacy frill. Large circular glasses covered her eyes. At the top, a man with short, shaggy dirty blond hair and blue eyes was dressed in what looked like a chef's outfit.
Into the door, boy wonder Fabio said, "Excuse me Mr. Sebastian we heard a scream and we came running to see what it- what… it..." All three of the servants turned their heads to look at Autumn at the same time.
All three simultaneously turned red. The chef covered Fabio's eyes and closed his own while Mey-Rin fumbled over her words. Autumn felt herself deflate while Sebastian walked towards the door and slammed it in the trio's faces, telling them to get back to work.
"...Okay, what did you have in mind?"
.
.
.
Twenty minutes later, Autumn was alone in the guest room. Sebastian went to investigate a loud explosion that shook the mansion five minutes prior as if it were normal. The dress was slightly too long on her. It was a pretty shade of green with black lace and swirls sewn into it.
Autumn was twirling around the room in circles, giggling. Okay, so maybe this isn't a dream. Maybe I'm actually in the Black Butler universe, and I can't figure out a way to get out. She let out a short chuckle, Yeah right.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Autumn stopped twirling and fell behind her bed. Ouch. She sat up and rubbed her some-what tamed hair.
Scratch, Scratch.
Looking towards the closed balcony door, where the noise came from, Autumn found the said noise maker.
"Awe!" She cooed opening up the dark oak framed, glass door. Outside of it a small raccoon was pawing at the glass. As soon as she opened the door the mammal came dashing into the room. "Hey!" She called out. "You can't be in here, buddy!"
The raccoon turned to look at her, before jumping onto the bed and began rolling around.
Autumn raised an eyebrow at the little animal. She walked towards it carefully. "Hey there little guy, you got to get out of here. The perverted demon will kill you if stay in here," she called to it, hand outstretched.
The masked mammal paused and sniffed at her hand, before walking closer to her. "Holy shit, I'm a raccoon whisperer!" The raccoon tilted its head at her like it was questioning her sanity. "Don't judge me, you aren't even human!" she pouted. She never knew why, but Animals – house pets or wild – always seemed to like her. One time when she was younger, birds landed on her shoulders and for years she convinced herself she was Snow White.
The raccoon tilted its head at her again, before rubbing his little face on her hand. Autumn's face softened as she sat herself onto the large bed. "I'm going to name you… Flower!" The raccoon made what seemed like a disapproving clucking sound. "Okay, Okay! That was a skunk anyways. So a boy name then? How about… Socks!" The raccoon's ears bent back, but Autumn ignored him. "You have no say!~" She sang.
Sebastian knocked on her door. Autumn mumbled a quick 'come in' while hiding the small animal in her bathroom.
Autumn gave Sebastian her best smile. "Take me to The Earl of Phantomhive, Bassy!" she said, one arm holding onto his and the other outstretched with a finger pointing into the air.
Sebastian's eyebrows twitched.
