Experimentation
Chapter Two
Phantomhive's New Housekeeper
Weeks pass since Charlotte Dawn rejoined society as the newest addition to the Phantomhive family. Working for the youngest member of the family was something the young woman enjoyed. She felt . . . normal in these instances.
Waking up before the sun rises, the auburn-haired housekeeper stood beside her bed and stretches. Charlotte gives a purr of delight as she listens to the sound of her joints popping, waking from their slumber.
"Ah, I'm good to hear you are up, Miss Dawn," the butler of the manor says from the kitchen, making use of Charlotte's inhuman abilities.
Cocking her head to the side, Charlotte listens as Sebastian requests her to wake up Mey-Rin.
"Mey-Rin?" the housekeeper says, walking over to her bunk mate's bed. "It's time to wake up."
"Morning already?" the red-headed maid mumbles, rising out of the bed, reaching for her glasses.
"Afraid so."
Charlotte smiles as she watches the maid get up and walk over to the closet to retrieve her uniform, as well as Charlotte's.
Mey-Rin's maid outfit was a traditional one. A breathable black and white dress, topped off with a white apron.
While still holding the black and white style of the dress, Charlotte's was donned with a midnight blue sash around her dress, no apron needed. The blue sash was requested by Charlotte personally, to match the blue ribbon that stands atop her head, a gift from Ciel.
After the two women get dressed in their uniforms, Mey-Rin leaves the room to begin her morning. But as the housekeeper, Charlotte's job begins by cleaning Mey-Rin and her room, as well as the cook and gardener's room.
As she finishes with the servants quarters, even though Sebastian made it clear his was off limits, Charlotte was to go to the other rooms of the house, specifically the guestrooms, to tidy them up.
To others, this routine would see boring and others would loathe the amount of work to do. But Charlotte? She loves it.
*~*~Experimentation~*~*
Hours pass as Charlotte cleans up the upstairs guest rooms, switching out the sheets and cleaning up any dust that may have collected since her last sweep of the rooms.
Grinning at a job well done, Charlotte goes down into the kitchen to meet up with Sebastian to see if there were any other jobs for her to do. Walking in, the young housekeeper notices the chef, Baldroy, mixing a batter together.
Baldroy, or Bard as he wants people to call him, was a thin American man with very short dirty blond hair, and bright blue eyes. The chef always smells of cigarette smoke, given that he always seems to have one dangling from his mouth. He was apparently employed by Ciel for his cooking skills.
What cooking skills those were, Charlotte didn't have a clue, but she loves to talk with the chef about his home country. Ever since leaving the Dawn household, Charlotte wanted to learn everything and anything she could. Even if she didn't understand most of the time.
Skipping over to talk with Bard, the female notices a plate of food sitting on the island table in the middle of the kitchen. But the strange thing about that was the fact her name was on a small card in front of the plate in the most beautiful handwriting she's seen.
Picking up the name card, she walks over to Bard and taps his shoulder. When the chef turns to look at her, she simply holds up the card and points to it with a questioning look.
Charlotte was more comfortable talking with the Phantomhive staff, but would still convey her thoughts and requests with hand gestures, if able. Thankfully, this was one of those times.
"Oh, I see you found it," Bard says, a large grin on his face. "Sebastian made it for you."
"…Why…?"
The American kept the grin on his face as he goes back to mixing whatever mixture he was working on. "He said somethin' about how he noticed you won't eat breakfast before going to work on cleanin'."
Charlotte's golden and green eyes shine in confusion at the new term. "What's 'breakfast?"
Tensing up, Bard turns to look at the housekeeper, a sad look coming across his face. "Oh, kid . . . Breakfast is a meal that's given at the beginning of the day before any work is done. It helps give you energy."
"Oh . . . And Sebastian made it?"
"Yep! And if he made it, you know it's gonna be amazin'!" Bard announces, a large grin on his face. "Now, sit your butt down and eat!"
Smiling gently, Charlotte picks up the fork beside the plate and takes the first bite of her first 'breakfast'. And Bard was right. It was absolutely delicious.
"Sebastian made this?" Charlotte asks, her eyes wide. "He's amazing!"
"Yep! Taught me all I know about cookin'~!" Bard announces, a proud grin on his face. "Even though I'm still learnin' some things, I've come a long way."
"Talking about me again, Mr. Baldroy?" a cool voice interrupts, making Charlotte and Bard jump.
Turning her head, Charlotte raises an eyebrow at how easily Sebastian was able to sneak up on her without her smelling him, or hearing him. Maybe she needs to practice on that?
"Just tellin' our newest member her about how good of a chef you are!" Bard explains, the lit cigarette in his mouth bouncing with every word.
Glancing over at Charlotte, Sebastian's crimson eyes roam over the plate he prepared for her. A small smile, even though no real happiness entered the smile, comes across his face. The smile sent shivers down Charlotte's spine, her senses springing into high alert. It was almost . . . demonic.
"Miss Charlotte, you are to report here for breakfast before cleaning any room, understand?" Sebastian orders, that smile never moving from his face.
"Yes."
"Very good," Sebastian announces, clapping his hands together. "Once you finish up, the young master is up and out of his bedroom, and it needs to be cleaned and attended to. See to it." And with that bit of orders out of the way, Sebastian left the kitchen.
"Now, I got a question for you, kid," Bard asks, gaining Charlotte's attention once again. "How the hell do you get out of a scolding from Sebastian, eh? Because you're the only one that doesn't get yelled at!"
Blinking, Charlotte takes the last bite of her food and stands up from the table. ". . . Maybe it's because I go and get my job done correctly the first time he asks?" A small smile comes across her face at the teasing of the chef before she runs out of the kitchen to start cleaning.
"OOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Bard yells out at her, with no malice in his voice.
He, and the rest of the staff of the Phantomhive manor, was just glad she was comfortable enough to talk freely with them. Charlotte was one of them now. She was a Phantomhive, connected not by blood, but by family.
*~*~Experimentation~*~*
The morning at the Phantomhive manor was quiet for the most part, but then everybody gathers around outside for the special guest that Ciel invited to fight Sebastian.
"So, why are we doing this again?" Charlotte asks, looking over at Mey-Rin.
The red-headed maid looks over at Charlotte, her glasses shining in the light. "Well, the young master has made a bet with Sebastian, he has!" she explains, looking over at the butler in question.
Cocking her head to the side, the housekeeper looks up at the chef in confusion. "What's a bet?"
"A bet is like a challenge!" the young gardener, Finny, says, grinning brightly at Charlotte.
Finnian, who goes by his nickname 'Finny', is around the same age as Charlotte, if not a little bit older. He has strawberry blond hair, and bright green eyes. In his hair, he has five barrettes uses to keep the hair out of his face. Then around his neck, is a large straw hat that Finny refuses to take off. He said it was a gift from Ciel, much like Charlotte's ribbon.
Charlotte looks from Finny back to the 'bet' at hand. Sebastian and the strange man stand facing each other. Sebastian stood tall, like the butler usually does, whereas the strange man is in some, strange, stance.
Moving his arms wide and around him, the challenger begins yelling, announcing his attack. "Take this! MY SECRET TECHNIQUE!"
~Then why the hell would you announce it?~ Charlotte asks herself, raising an eyebrow.
"THE BEAUTY OF NATURE BLOOMING IN GLORY FIIIIIST!" the challenger yells, rushing at Sebastian.
But the attack never lands on Sebastian. During the strike, said butler attacks the challenger, resulting in him coughing up blood.
~He's fast . . .~ Charlotte hums, not able to keep track of Sebastian's motion, even with her abilities.
Kneeling on the ground, the challenger continues to cough. "Th-that was the ultimate technique of our school!" Turning to look at the Phantomhive butler, he yells out, "When the fierce tiger and dragon roar, ten thousand flowers scatter and split fist . . ."
Charlotte's eyes widen. ~He can do that technique? The ultimate one?~
"You fiend! Who the hell are you!?" the challenger yells, gaining Charlotte's attention again.
Clapping his hands together, Sebastian gained everyone's attention. "I am the butler of the house of Phantomhive." A small smirk comes across his face. "It goes without saying that I can manage a technique as elementary as this."
Turning to face Ciel Phantomhive, the young Earl of the manor, Sebastian smiles eerily. Smiling was definitely something the butler does often. Real ones anyway.
"Now then, young master, because I won . . ." Sebastian walks over to the table where Ciel sat, continuing his train of thought. "Please do today's review and tomorrow's pre-lesson."
"Oh, that's what the bet was for . . ." Charlotte hums.
"THAT WAS AMAZING, SEBASTIAN!" Finny cheers, sparkles practically shimmering in his eyes in admiration for the butler. "That's the fiftieth win in a row!"
Blushing madly, Mey-Rin tried to compliment the butler, but it was being drowned out by Bard's statement.
"Ain't our butler awesome!?"
Ciel sighs, looking at Sebastian with a bored expression. "And after I went to the trouble of going to mysterious lands to bring back an expert in Chinese martial arts . . ." Sitting up in his seat, Ciel rubs his forehead. "I thought for sure I would see you fall to your knees today."
Still giving that eerie smile, Sebastian bows. "So sorry to disappoint."
"At any rate, you won, so drink this," Ciel says, lifting up a glass of lemonade to Sebastian, as if a reward. To which the butler drank in one gulp.
But Charlotte's mix matched eyes narrow at the glass. The "gift" offered wasn't something that Ciel would normally do. So, what was done to the lemonade?
"By the way," Sebastian began, retrieving Charlotte's attention, as well as the other three. "What are all of you doing here?"
Whereas Charlotte gave Sebastian a confused look, she didn't notice the horror written across the other three workers. They apparently weren't supposed to be here to watch the fight. Oops.
"Finny! Have you finished weeding the garden?" Sebastian questions.
"Um . . ."
Sebastian didn't wait for an answer and moved on to the next victim. The maid. "Mey-Rin! Have the sheets been done?"
"W-Well, Mister S-Sebastian . . ." Mey-Rin tries to stutter out, but was ignored by Sebastian as he moves to the chef.
"And Bard, are the dinner preparations going as they should?"
Charlotte steps up, ready to take her yelling, only to watch as Sebastian over looks her and yells at the other three staff. "Miss Charlotte has completed all her work before coming out to the courtyard, yet you three laze around. Now, go do your jobs!"
Finny, Mey-Rin, and Bard all take off back inside the manor.
"So, I don't have anything else to work on . . .?" Charlotte asks, a bit sad at the news. Working in the manor helps her feel normal, like she has a purpose. What else could she do?
"Now, I never said that, now did I, Miss Charlotte?" Sebastian asks, a sneaky grin coming on his face as his eyes shimmer with mischief. "You are to report to the Young Master's study. You are to learn the tasks that come to being a guard of the Queen's guard dog."
"Eh?!" Charlotte gasps out, her mouth falling open. "G-Guard? But I'm just a housekeeper!"
Sebastian's red eyes glimmer in the light as he smirks down at her. "And when the young master is out to complete duties that are given to him by the Queen herself, you are to accompany us. With your abilities, it will make things a bit easier on the young master, understand?"
Charlotte glares at the butler, her mix-matched eyes attempting to bore a hole in his skull. With no such luck in that happening, Charlotte closes her eyes and sighs.
"I understand."
"Wonderful! Please report to the study then, Miss Charlotte."
*~*~Experimentation~*~*
The "lessons" Sebastian talked about were just that. Lessons about what exactly Ciel did for the Queen. Which was basically being a detective for Her Majesty, and solving cases that perk the Queen's interest. It was a huge responsibility for a young boy, especially one of Ciel's age.
Even so, the young master held his own, his eyes holding years of haunting trauma that he's witnessed, but that's a question for another day.
Charlotte's ears twitch as she hears a tire pulling onto gravel.
"Are we expecting company . . .?" the young woman asks, her eyes looking over at Ciel.
Glancing out the window, Ciel notices the black car coming up the manor's driveway. "Seems like our lesson took longer than I thought. Go find Sebastian and make sure everything is prepared for Chlaus."
"Yes sir," Charlotte says, ducking her head and walking out of the study and walking to the kitchen.
But the young woman didn't get a chance to make it there when she spots Sebastian rounding up the staff to prepare for the visit.
Looking up, Sebastian's red eyes lock on Charlotte, motioning her down to join them.
~How does he know Chlaus is arriving?~ Charlotte hums, walking down to the main door to stand with the rest of the staff. ~I just heard him pulling in . . .~
The housekeeper's eyes look up at the butler as he continues to give the orders to the staff, her mind sure of one thing.
~Sebastian isn't human . . .~
As if he could hear her thoughts, Sebastian turns to look at Charlotte, his crimson eyes burrowing into her green and gold ones.
Her blood runs cold as Sebastian's lips part to give her that sinister smile of his, as if confirming Charlotte's thoughts. Not. Human.
But the moment was broken when Sebastian breaks eye contact with Charlotte and claps his hands, gaining everyone's attention.
"Places everyone."
The six staff members stand on each side of the main door, with Charlotte by Mey-Rin and across from Bard.
"Welcome, Mister Chlaus," the Phantomhive staff all greet as the doors open, revealing Ciel standing by a tall man.
Chlaus was clearly middle-aged, but youth still shines in his bright blue eyes. His age didn't seem to affect his spirit. His hair was a light blond and pulled into a nice, tight ponytail. From those features alone, it was clear Chlaus was wealthy, but what sent that fact over the moon was the suit he was wearing. Most definitely expensive.
But the strangest thing about the man before her is the conflicting scents he has. One was a very strong after shave type of smell, and the other was something Charlotte couldn't exactly place. What was Chlaus really doing here?
Breaking Charlotte's examination of the new man in the manor, Sebastian walks up and greets the man again. "We have been expecting you, Mister Chlaus."
"Sebastian! Long time no see! I see you've taken on some new staff!" Chlaus comments, taking his hat off and placing it, gently, on Finny's head.
Charlotte's dark eyebrow arches at that. Wasn't she the newest staff member? Then the other three haven't been here all that long?
"You must have much to discuss with the Young Master," Sebastian says, a small smile on his face. "So, please, right this way to the courtyard, sir."
"The courtyard?" Chlaus asks, confusion on his face.
Which perfectly mirrors Charlotte's, who was behind Chlaus. Wasn't this supposed to take place in the dining hall?
But Sebastian quickly clarifies the situation. "The Young Master has ordered us to entertain you for all the trouble you have experienced on his behalf during your journey, sir. And I hope you find our efforts most agreeable."
~That clarified nothing,~ Charlotte scoffs mentally. Though she had an idea about the whole thing, she wouldn't know unless other clues were present.
"Please make yourself at home," Sebastian says, opening the door and revealing a beautiful stone garden in the court yard.
Blinking rapidly, Charlotte was incredibly confused. It was a normal courtyard just hours ago. What happened when she was in the study with Ciel?
Chlaus gasps softly, looking around the courtyard. "Prodigioso!" he calls out, seeing how beautiful the scenery was. "This is a Japanese Stone Garden!"
Sebastian steps forward, behind Chlaus and Ciel, leaving the rest of the Phantomhive staff inside the building, watching through a crack in the door.
"We have tea ready for you, sir," Sebastian continues to be suave, saving whatever mishap happened while Charlotte was in the study. "Right this way, if you please."
Charlotte watches in amazement as Sebastian is able to get away with all of this, because according to Bard and Finny, Sebastian was talking his way through the service.
But the tone shift in Ciel's voice catches Charlotte's attention. Moments ago, it was light hearted, like a casual visit. But once Chlaus was comfortable, the young Phantomhive's voice grows darker slightly, a double meaning behind his words.
"By the way, Chlaus," Ciel starts, gaining the guest's attention. "What I asked for?"
Chlaus, who lost the wonder like sound in his voice, grew serious as well. "I've brought it, as promised." Reaching into his jacket, Chlaus pulls out a small game box, Mouse 3. "Here is the game you wanted."
When the game is shown, Charlotte's eyes dilate at the clear smell she was able to place, now that it wasn't showered by Chlaus scent.
"…Drugs…" Charlotte says in a soft whisper, which goes unnoticed by the three staff beside her, but not a certain butler.
"It isn't widely available in Italy," Chlaus continues, using the game charade very well. "So it was quite troublesome to procure it."
Ciel leans forward on the table, interlocking his fingers in front of his face. "Troublesome, hm?" he asks, a small chuckle in his voice. "So you keep stressing since this morning's phone call."
Slipping the game back in his pocket, Chlaus chuckles. "Of course! The prince gives his servant a fitting reward for his efforts, after all!"
Ciel sighs and tilts his chair back, balancing on the back legs. "I do hope this game is worth the reward though," he muses. "The one I finished playing the other day had such a tiresome ending."
Charlotte's eyes narrow, thinking back to when Ciel and Sebastian left the manor for a few hours. That must be what he means. He dealt with a client for Her Majesty.
"Really now!" Chlaus chuckles, a small smile on his face. "Games are easily completed by the hands of children like you, Ciel." Chlaus opens his eyes, his smile turning into a smirk. "Soon you'll be asking for another one."
"Of course," Ciel says, his face growing darker with ill-intent. "Children are greedy when it comes to games."
Charlotte sighs, struggling to listen to more of the conversation, but it was time for the servants to get the food ready for Sebastian to prepare. While her body went through the motions of preparation, Charlotte's mind stayed on the double meaning of Ciel's conversation.
"What have I got myself into?" she hums, leaning against the door, watching the rest of dinner play out, trying to ignore Finny and Bard's cheering of their success.
"I also," Sebastian began, catching the staff's attention, "selected an Italian wine to suit your taste, sir."
Beside the butler, Mey-Rin stood by the food cart that she pushed out to help Sebastian. And the poor dear wasn't moving. Seeing this, Sebastian leaned over and whispered something in Mey-Rin's ear and the maid jumped into action.
"Isn't there something wrong with Mey-Rin?" Bard asks, watching the maid stand beside Chlaus, wine in hand. But that wasn't the strange part. Her nervous shaking was.
Bard and Finny yelps in surprise as they notice Mey-Rin spilling the wine onto the tablecloth, missing the glass completely.
Jumping into action herself, Charlotte rushes outside with Bard and Finny. The two boys grab the nervous Mey-Rin and pull her inside as Charlotte grabs the wine bottle that fell from her hands.
But Sebastian pulls off the most amazing trick of the evening. Grabbing the end of the tablecloth, the butler gives a quick and powerful yank, removing the cloth from the table. Not one piece of silverware, or glasses, seem to move at the action.
Charlotte stands beside Chlaus and silently pours the wine into the glass and steps back away from the table, heading back inside the manor as Chlaus begins to notice that the tablecloth is gone.
Sebastian followed the housekeeper into the house as Ciel and Chlaus ate their meals. Immediately, he was hit with a wave of praise.
"You're wonderful! Simply wonderful Mister Sebastian!" Finny yells, stars practically dancing in his eyes.
Bard steps up next, wrapping an arm around the butler's neck. "In my country, we'd call a man like you 'Superman'!"
"I am no superman," Sebastian corrects. "I am merely a butler."
Charlotte chuckles as she places the wine back in the wine rack in the kitchen. "But you seem to do so much more than what a normal butler would do."
Sebastian merely chuckles as he goes to prepare the dessert for Ciel and Chlaus, as well as promising a dessert for the staff if they continue to behave just a little bit longer while Chlaus is here.
"And must I say, Miss Charlotte," Sebastian starts, gaining the housekeeper's attention. "That was a very quick reaction time. Nicely done."
Charlotte grins widely. "Thanks!"
But as Sebastian begins to head outside with the desserts, a thought enters her mind.
~Is he referring to catching the wine, or catching on that this dinner was about something else entirely?~
Charlotte's eyes watch the scene outside unfold with her mix matched eyes, which stays locked on Sebastian the longest.
Even though she recently joined this manor's family, Charlotte planned to protect this place with her life. And at the same time, try to figure out the mysterious butler before her.