Hello fellow readers!

I would just like to tell you all...

That I am so so so so SO SOOOOOO sorry for not updating earlier!

Stupid high school, and it's stupid homework...

ANYWAY, I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter, seeing as how I made you wait awhile for it.

Also, I do not own Kuroshitsuji in any way, shape, or form. Although, I wouldn't mind having my own Sebastian tied up in my closet...

I opened to a bright light shining in my eyes. Why was it so bright? It was usually pitch black inside of my 'home.' As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that I was being carried bridal style. I looked up and saw the dark haired stranger. My eyes widened; how could have I forgotten everything that took place just a few hours before?

He must have noticed that I was awake, for he smiled down at me. "Are you feeling better Mistress? You fainted as we were leaving that cramped house."

I had passed out? I don't recall doing so…

I looked around, and saw a thick forest of trees. Where was this man taking me? "Where are we?"

He looked back ahead of him. "We are almost home, we will be arriving in a few short minutes."

After a few moments, I asked him another question. "Who are you, exactly?"

His crimson eyes locked with my blue ones once again. "I'm Sebastian Michaelis, your butler."

"My…butler?"

He smirked. "More or less."

I once again became quiet – I got the impression that he wasn't a very talkative man.

True to his word, we soon came to a mansion. My jaw dropped at the sight of the large house. This was where I lived?

The lawn was marvelous. All of the trees were well trimmed and was freshly cut, there was not one blade of grass out of order nor were there any weeds; the lawn itself must have taken up a few acres at least. A large fashion lay in the middle in front of the building. The house – the mansion – it was gigantic! It stretched across the property in a glorious fashion. Light shown through the windows, signaling that there were others inside.

Sebastian carried me to the front doors and pushed them open. I was even more amazed with the interior, if that were even possible. Black and white checkered floors, wondrous paintings, headstones, and several doorways leading to even more rooms… It seemed as though I were visiting a fairytale.

However, after taking just a few steps into the house, I heard a thunderous crash coming from one of the nearby rooms. I heard Sebastian give a distressed sigh and mutter a few words under his breath before heading toward the sound. I followed, not really knowing what else to do at the moment. Once we found the right door, I was shocked at our discovery. There was a maid on the ground, shattered plates surrounding her. She had bright red hair and large round glasses sitting upon her nose. She was wearing a disheveled black dress with white trimming and headband.

"Mey-rin, may I ask what you are doing?"

Mey-rin glanced up at Sebastian, her face turning a bright pink color. "Well, I was taking down some plates to serve dinner later, but I slipped and fell."

He sighed once more. "Alright then, I will finish up in here. Go dust the banisters."

She nods, still red faced, and walks out the door. He then turned to me. "If you wish, you may explore the manor, my Lady. I will be along shortly."

I nodded and left the room. I came back to the foyer. Which way should I go first? I look to the right, and see a staircase. Without a second thought, I head over and head upstairs. Once I got to the second floor, I noticed that there were long hallways with many doors and tall windows lining the walls. I walked up to one of the windows saw a boy with a straw hat hanging off his neck down below weeding the lawn. I don't think I saw anyone outside when we were walking up here…

"Enjoying the view Mistress?"

I gasped when I heard the soft tenor voice. I quickly spun around and found Sebastian standing behind me with a smile on his face. I put my hand over my heart and let out a sigh of relief. "Sebastian, you scared me!"

"I am deeply sorry Mistress. I expect you're finding the manor to your liking?"

I smiled. "Yes, it's very beautiful!"

"Sadly, I am not able to accompany you on your tour; there is much that needs to be done."

"That's alright. I'm just kind of making my way around."

He smiled. "I'll leave you to it." He was making his way down the hallway before yelling over his shoulder. "I will locate you when dinner is ready."

I stared after him for a few minutes before heading on my own way.

I've gone past this room before, I'm sure of it!

I had been wandering the house for a good twenty minutes before I had gotten myself lost, and have been trying to find my way back to the first floor for at least an hour. I sighed. I was sure I had turned every corner, so why couldn't I find the staircase? Dragging my body around another bend, I prayed that I had finally found the right route, but it was in vain. I cried out in frustration and sat against the wall to rest. After a few moments, I heard light footsteps heading my way and looked up.

Sebastian smiled once again. "Dinner is prepared my Lady, would you like some assistance?

Grateful, I quickly stood up. "Lead the way!"

He chuckled, and led me down the hall and took a right turn, and then a sharp left. When we came across a staircase, he smirked at me. "Maybe I should have you supervised until you actually know your way around the manor my Lady."

After dinner, Sebastian was finally able to show me around. Two hours later, I was lead into the last room. "And this is where the tour ends – your room."

It was much better than my last 'room' by far. A very large bed sat in the back with the headboard against the beige wall. Each wall was decorated with paintings; I could tell they were old. I walked across the hardwood floor over to the closet and took a look inside. It was full of dresses of many different colors, patterns, and styles. I looked over to Sebastian. "These are all mine?"

He nodded. I was bewildered about the fact that I had actually lived here.

"I took the liberty to replace the ones you already had in there; they were too small for you to wear at this age."

I took one out of the closet and ran a hand down the soft fabric. "You didn't show me all of the rooms, did you Sebastian."

He smirked. It wasn't a question; it was a factual statement. "More or less, my Lady."

I nodded. "I'm thinking of retiring for the night."

Silently, he walked over to the closet and grabbed a thin silky dress and handed it to me. "Yes, my Mistress. You will find all needed supplies stored in the bathroom. Have a good night."

With that, he left me alone.

I looked down at the nightgown; it really was beautiful. It was a lovely off-white color with soft, silky material. I smiled and neatly folded it, walking out the door and down the hall to the bathroom. Once there, I closed the door, stripping down. I looked at myself in the mirror, embarassed; I was filthy. I can't even remember the last time that I had bathed… I had rings of dirt around my wrists and ankles, along with old crusted blood caked on my skin.

Once I was done examining myself, I drew myself a bath. Giddily, I found the shampoo and lathered my hair. After rinsing it, I proceeded to wash my body, grateful for cleansing myself for the first time in weeks. Deciding it was time to get out, I grabbed a towel and dried my body and hair and slipped on the nightgown. Looking around, I saw he had even gotten me a toothbrush. He thinks of everything, doesn't he?

After I was done preparing for bed, I once again looked at my reflection, shocked at the difference. I had clean pale skin; not one trace of filth or blood anywhere on my body for the first time since I could remember. My hair was no longer faded, and had a deep chocolate color.

I admired my reflection for a moment longer before deciding that I was too tired to stay awake. Grabbing for the door handle, the rings that I had always had were staring back at me. Sebastian must have known me before I disappeared from the manor, right? At least, he implied that he did. Walking down the hallway to my room, I entered and once again closed the door. Climbing into bed, my eyes were getting heavy with sleep. He must know where the rings come from. I'll ask him in the morning…

With that final thought, my eyes drifted closed at last, letting me fall into darkness.

I'm standing in the middle of a room, although I can't tell much about it – it's too dark. Looking around, I can see that there are quite a few other people, however, I can't make any of them out. One of them grabs me roughly and puts a knife against my neck. They start speaking, but I can't understand anything escaping his mouth; every word he's saying sounds muffled. Another starts speaking.

"There is no need to attempt murder on a young child."

That voice sounded so very familiar…

A smaller silhouette turns to the one that had just spoken. "I order you, keep her safe."

The other's eyes glow to a familiar crimson color. "Yes, my Lord."

I open my eyes to a bright light coming in through the window. I slowly sit up in the bed, reflecting back on the dream. More had taken place this time. One of the men in my dream had seemed so familiar...

I shrugged; I decided not to dwell on it at the moment. I went over to the closet and stared at each of the dresses. I got excited just thinking that I actually owned nice clothing, let alone lived in an entire mansion… I still wasn't used to the idea.

I chose a simple blue dress and slipped it on. The sleeves weren't perched on top of the shoulders; instead, they rested off of them on my upper arms. The corset of the dress hugged my bodice and flared out from the hips, flattering my curves. Satisfied, I exited the bedroom. When I finally found the staircase, it had only taken me fifteen minutes to find, definitely an improvement from last night. Not exactly sure what to do, I headed to the kitchen. Once I entered the cooking area, I was surprised to find another person to be working here. I was about to say something to the man, when he whipped out a flamethrower. Curious, I decided to stay quite to see what would happen.

"Cooking is an art, and art means explosions!"

He then proceeded to blast whatever food he was making into charcoal. My eyes widened in surprise, certainly not expecting him to light the kitchen aflame. I cleared my throat, letting him know that I was there. He quickly turned around, the clear look of surprise written on his face.

For a moment, we just stood there, frozen. He then smiled. "Ah, you must be the one Sebastian was talking was talking about last night. I'm Bardroy. It's nice to see you again, Mistress."

I sent him a sad smile. "Unfortunately, I can't remember much about this place, or any of you for that matter."

Bardroy nodded. "Yeah, Sebastian said that might happen –"

On cue, said man walked through the doors. He took one look at the kitchen, and let out a frustrated sigh. "Bardroy, may I ask what in the world went on in here?"

Bardroy smirked. "I have created art!"

Sebastian blankly stared at the chef, and then shook his head. "Alright then, I will prepare a brunch. You, on the other hand, will clean up your 'art.'" He turned and handed me a list. "Why don't you run to the market in town? Finny may accompany you; he needed gardening supplies."

I nodded. Heading outside, I figured that he was the boy I saw last night out in the lawn. Once outside, I looked around for him – this was the most likely place he would be. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw a strawberry blond man weeding the garden. Bingo.

I walked over and tapped his shoulder. He quickly turned around. "I swear, I'm using the right spray this time –" A look of confusion crossed his features. "Oh, you're not Sebastian."

I shook my head. "No, I'm Cassandra."

His look of confusion turned to one of surprise. "Oh, I didn't realize you were back, Miss Cassandra! It's so good to see you again!"

I smiled. "Thank you. Are you by any chance Finny? Sebastian said I could go with you to get groceries?

"Yes Miss Cassandra! I was planning on leaving…now actually. Just let me get the carriage."

After he left, I looked around once again. He had managed to kill the weeds…along with most of the lawn. Confused, I thought about the people that worked here. From what I've seen, they weren't the most ideal workers for their jobs. Why would they be employed here, if they weren't even good at what they did?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Finny, who brought up a horse and carriage. Getting in, I noticed that he was the one driving the horses.

On the way to town, I had taken to watching the scenery. After a few minutes, however, I became bored and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

What seemed like moments later, the door to the small carriage opened to reveal Finny.

"Wake up Mistress, we're at the market!"

We decided to get his things first. We weren't exactly sure what the best thing to buy was, so we went with a few trees that he could plant. After that, we looked over the list of things that Sebastian had given me.

Finny sighed

"Well, I think we're going to be here for a while."

A few hours and several bags later, we were finally finished shopping.

Finny turned to me and smiled, balancing the objects in his hand. "So, do you like being back at the manor Mistress? We've all really missed you since you left.

I smiled. "I wish I could say the same, but unfortunately, I don't remember you at all."

Suddenly, his face had a gloomy look to it. I gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude, it's just that –"

"No, I understand. It's just that it happened so fast. One day you were here, and the next you were gone. It's been a hectic seven years with no one to look after…

Once we got to the carriage, we set everything inside, making sure nothing would fall over. Getting in, I leaned against the door staring at the scenery. Thinking back to the conversation I had just had with the gardener, I frowned. I wasn't gone for seven years. I was missing for at least ten… He wouldn't have been able to mistake that, not if he knew me from before.

Once we got back to the manor, I got out of the carriage and took everything out. Setting all of the sacks on the ground, I waited for Finny to get back. Once I saw him, I quickly went over to him.

"Finny, when we were talking earlier, you said I was gone for seven years. I think you are mistaken; I was gone for ten years."

He shot me a confused look. "…No, you were gone for seven, I'm sure of it."

Carrying the trees over to the lawn, he spoke again. "Now that you mention it, what exactly happened during your time away from the manor?"

That's not possible…It's been longer than that, I'm sure of it. Greg said I had been there for 10 years… I decided to keep quiet about that for now, receding back into my thoughts. "…Nothing."

He gave me a look that clearly showed he disagreed, but dismissed the comment, nodding his head. He picked the trees back up and went off to the garden to do his work. I grabbed the food, heading into the house.

Once I got into the kitchen, it was spotless – there was no sign of the mess from earlier. He really can do anything, can't he?

Setting the food on the table, I headed off to explore more of the manor.

Upstairs, I headed down a corridor that I hadn't been in before. Finally picking a door, I tried to open it, but it was locked. Confused, I stared at the closed door for another moment before heading to another one, which was also locked. Giving up, I decided to head toward my room. – I could tell these rooms were special for some reason.

As I was about to open my door, Sebastian walked around the corner. "Why, good afternoon, my Mistress. What can I do for you this afternoon?"

Well, since he's here, maybe – "Well, I've had this for some time, and I was wondering if you knew where it came from?"

Handing him the azure ring, he looked it over, his eyes softening.

"This ring belonged to your father. It has been passed through your family from generation to generation. Before you were…taken from us, he gave it to you."

"I see…"

I grew silent, many questions running through my mind.

"Is there something troubling you, Mistress?"

"…Where is my father now."

He sighed. "Not even I can answer your question. I am sorry."

"It's fine."

As he started walking away, I thought of something. "Sebastian?"

He stopped walking, still facing the other way. "Yes, Mistress?"

"Is it alright if I work around here a little bit? I mean, it gets kind of boring sitting here all day."

"Of course. And I expect that you haven't learned much in your absence, so I have taken it upon myself to tutor you."

I stared at his back in shock. "You're doing so much around here. How do you have time to fit it all in one day?"

He simply turned his head toward me and grinned. "I am just, in fact, one hell of a butler."

And with that, he walked away.

I stood there, hand on my doorknob, staring after him. He's done so much for me, and I've only been here for two days. I must find a way to repay him… Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I headed into my room. Flopping on my bed, I yawned. Thinking about taking a nap I lied down, my last thoughts straying to a certain dark butler.

I knocked on the young Mistress' door. Hearing no response, I entered. Carrying the tray of tea in one hand I walked toward the bed and stopped in the middle of the room. She was stretched across the bed in a not so lady-like manner. I blinked at the scene and set the tray down on the bedside table. I sighed. "The tea's going to go to waste, such a shame."

I looked down at her and noticed that she was shivering. Pulling the bed cover over her body, I stared at her, thinking. Such a difference 10 years can make… I reached a hand out, stroking the smooth skin of her cheek. …Everything's going to change now.

I pulled my hand back and reached the bedroom door. I looked back at her. But the question is… I opened the door and softly closed it behind me.

Is it for the better?

If you haven't picked up on it already, this chapter was a little bit of a filler. It was just pretty much Cassandra getting settled into her home and everything. Although, I did decide to put a few important facts inside; may they be obvious or not.

And just a side note, I am putting things in the story for a reason. So if you get confused about something, I can bet you anything that it will turn up in later chapters, fully explained. Just thought I'd let you know, in case someone decides to flip out on me.

That's pretty much it for now. I will be updating this as soon as possible, but if any of you know what high school is like...you know that's not possible xD

Read and Review please!