Yes, My Lady
Chapter 2:
It was a warm summer afternoon at the Phantomhive mansion and the cheerful gardener Finnian was planting some new flowers. He carefully unpackaged the little seedlings whilst humming to himself. 'Ok! I am determined not to crush any this time!' he stated to himself with confidence. He couldn't afford to ruin a lot of seedlings or Sebastian would certainly behead him this time. What he did fail to notice though, was the approaching sound of running feet on the grass. One second he was admiring the tiny plant, and the next his head was planted in the tilled dirt. A shrill sound of laughter filled the hair.
'Gotcha!'
Finny groaned in the dirt. 'Young Lady…' But only muffled sounds came out. The weight on his back was uncomfortable. The little girl seemed to have fun jumping on his back, so his face always came into contact with the ground.
Little Rose Phantomhive, now six years old, had planted her little bottom on Finny's back and grasped his strawberry blonde hair in her small fingers. She had become such an attractive little spirit to look at. Her ivory skin was like a doll's and she was quite a small girl. Her hair was the same colour as her father's, but had the same curl as her mother's, which bounced on her shoulders. Her eyes were large and a brilliant cerulean blue. But despite her angelic appearance, she could be very mischievous and energetic.
Letting out a squeal of excitement, Rose wrapped her little arms around Finny's neck. 'Uncle Finny! Let's play!' she exclaimed. Thanks to Finny's abnormal strength, he carefully sat up, with the little girl hanging from his neck. 'You have dirt all over your face!' she laughed at the sight of the gardener's face. Embarrassed, he wiped the dirt off his face. 'Young Lady, I'm sorry but I am very busy at the moment.'
Rose looked at the seedlings, thankfully still intact. 'Are you planting flowers?' she asked, letting go of Finny's neck. He smiled and nodded. 'Yes, I am! I'm sure you'll love these ones.' Rose stared at the seedlings with fascination. She then grinned at Finnian. 'Can I help? I love flowers.'
'Ah, I don't think Sebastian would like it if your dress got dirty.' Finny pointed out nervously. He knew that he himself, would get the blame if they were caught. He can already see the gleam in Sebastian's eyes. He had always admired the brilliant skills of the butler, however he was terrified of him if Sebastian got angry. And that was very common.
'It's okay! Sebastian is with Daddy at the moment. He won't know!' the girl sure seemed confident that they would be safe.
'Okay, but only for a little while. You can help me plant these in the holes I dig.' Finny finally gave in after swiveling his head around, looking for any sign of black. Rose clapped her hands in joy and grabbed a small shovel.
/
An hour had past, and all flowers were planted, watered and fertilized. The two stood back to admire their work. 'We did it! Yay!' Rose cheered. She did manage to get some dirt on her frock, hands and face, but she wasn't worried at all. That was until, she heard a familiar voice.
'My my. You two have been busy.'
Sebastian stood behind the duo, with a look that said he was displeased. Finny could feel himself get weak at the knees. 'Sebastian, it's not what it looks like!' he cried out. The demonic butler held his blood coloured gaze on the terrified servant. 'Oh? Do tell me what else it could be.' His tone was somewhat teasing and at the same time menacing. It sent shivers down their spines. Moving his attention to the six year old he sternly spoke, 'Go inside, Lady Rose. Now.' Rose, happy to be out of the situation, ran off towards the mansion. Finny's jaw dropped. 'Young Ladyy! What about me?!' Sebastian was cracking his knuckles.
About thirty seconds later, there was a loud screech from outside.
/
Rose ran through the mansion to get to her room to wait for Sebastian. Despite her encounter with him earlier, she and Sebastian had a special bond with each other. She looked up to Sebastian as a father figure, more so than her actual father. He had practically done everything a mother and a father would do for their child. Rose and Ciel had a very difficult time bonding. But because she was so young, she didn't really understand why he didn't really look at her and acknowledge her. But as long as she had Sebastian, she was happy.
She ended up colliding into someone as she ran. The force knocked her off her feet and on her back. Rubbing her sore nose, she looked up at the person she ran into. Ciel Phantomhive loomed over her like a large shadow. Rose saw the cold expression in his face, his eyes. She had seen that expression her whole life, but it still made her chest feel heavy. Scrambling to her feet, she did what she had been taught by Sebastian and curtsied lightly. Sebastian had told her to do it as a sign of respect. Rose didn't like following rules very much, but she did want her father to see what a good girl she was. 'Good afternoon, Daddy.' She smiled at the older Phantomhive.
'Watch where you're going!' Ciel snapped at his daughter, making her flinch. He continued past her, trying not to look at Rose's disappointed face. She looked around at her father's disappearing back, longing so dearly. She pushed her sadness aside, swallowing her tears that fought to come out. She continued the journey to her bedroom, with a solemn expression.
She pushed open the large doors and ran to her bed, which she flopped on. She stayed like that for a few moments, listening to the silence in the air. Rolling to her side, she came to face the photo frame that sat on her bedside table. It was a photo of the late Lady Elizabeth, her mother. She didn't have any memory of her, but she talked to the photo of her all the time. She knew her mother had died and gone into the sky, but even then, she felt closer to her than her father.
'Mommy, I want to see you. Then you can actually talk back to me.' The little girl whispered to the photograph. A sudden knock at the door got Rose's attention.
'My lady, may I enter?' It was Sebastian.
'Yeah.' Rose called out in her sad little voice.
Sebastian stepped into the room and went to his little mistress. 'You should take a bath, my lady. You should not have been gardening in those clothes.' The tall male butler sat down on the bed next to Rose's curled up body. She apologized humbly and sat up. 'Very well, I shall call for Mey-Rin or Paula.' Sebastian said and began to move from his position. He was suddenly stopped by a tight grip on his arm. His gaze met little Rose, who seemed to be blushing a bit.
'I..want you to bathe me.' She requested quietly.
'Are you sure, my lady?' Sebastian asked, though he knew she was absolute. Usually his lady would request alone times like this when she had something on her mind. Although it rarely was bathing. Of course he gave her a bath himself when she was a baby, but as she was growing older, he understood that she would need her privacy amongst female staff.
The blue eyed girl nodded her head without speaking. Sebastian could sense she was deeply troubled. He gathered the small child in his arms, bridal style. 'If that is what you want, then I have no reason to object.' He smiled at the girl.
/
When she was all settled in the tub, Sebastian took the opportunity to question her troubles.
'My lady, what is the matter?' he asked, in a very soothing and soft tone. He had a concoction of baking soda on the ground besides him. It was used to wash hair. As he was preparing to wash the girl's hair, she spoke quietly. 'Why does Daddy hate me?'
Sebastian's eyes fixed on Rose's small back, picturing her expression vividly in his mind. It's difficult to explain the complicated situation of Ciel Phantomhive to a six year old. He knew he couldn't be harsh, even though it was his nature. He paused his hand movements.
'He doesn't hate you. He is just very sad about your mother's death.' He told his little lady. She turned her head to him quite quickly with a pout. 'But that was years ago! I'm still alive right?' she complained, searching her butler's gaze for answers. Sebastian turned her head away from him with gentle hands. He began lathering the makeshift shampoo in the girl's hair.
'Grief is different for every human. Some get over it faster than others. Your father and Lady Elizabeth were very close. He lost her very suddenly.'
She could kind of understand what Sebastian was talking about. But she was still hurt. 'Is Daddy going to be like this until I grow up?'
Sebastian was rinsing her hair when she asked. 'No. I'm sure he won't.' But he really wasn't too sure himself. Rose looked up at him with a change of expression. 'You are more like my daddy anyway!' her cheeks became rosier as she grinned. Such an innocent human. Sebastian smiled softly at her. 'I am honored, my lady.'
I seem to be turning human myself.
/
After a nice supper and some playtime, Rose Phantomhive was becoming droopy eyed and yawned every few minutes. She dropped her doll and reached out to Sebastian who was serving tea to his master. 'Time for bed, my lady.' The butler scooped the child off the ground, instantly feeling her heavy head on his broad shoulder. He smiled to himself. She was always quick to fall asleep, especially in Sebastian's hold.
'She longs for you dearly, my lord.'
Ciel looked up from the novel he was reading in his large armchair. Before he saw his butler, he saw his sleeping daughter. So innocent, but so vulnerable. So much like Lizzy.
'I'm busy with work.' The Earl went back to his book without another word. Sebastian shook his head at his master's stubborn attitude. But he didn't push the matter further, so instead he left to tend to the young lady.
After dressing her in a light nightgown and tucking her in the sheets, he spent a few moments in silence, crimson eyes locked to the sleeping girl. Gently he brought a hand to her angelic face, to brush away some of the delicate curls from her eyes. He continued to stroke her face, with a feather's touch, before he felt Rose stir. She was still in her dreamland, but her mouth became a content smile. 'Sebastian…' she muttered, then fell silent once more. Sebastian chuckled lightly. He stroked her cheek once more before leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.
No one knew he did this except himself. It was a moment when he stopped being a demon and became a father who wanted the world for his daughter. He first did it when she was a few weeks old and couldn't settle into sleep due to her crying. Sebastian kissed her forehead to calm her down and she stopped crying immediately. So every time he put Rose to bed, he would kiss her forehead. That continued for the next six years.
Sebastian was constantly questioning every new emotion that arose throughout that time. As a demon, he wasn't meant to feel certain things like despair and the desire to protect. But indeed he had the desire to protect all the time. He couldn't understand why. For centuries, he had formed contracts with humans throughout the ages, but never had he felt so… human.
As he made his exit, he peered at his lady once more. 'You will be the death of me, my lady.'
/
Well hallo thar! *derp*
So after working on this half the day, I finally think it's good enough to post! Yes I do understand that Sebastian is a bit OOC, but I find it really HARD to keep him IN character. I'm not really sure what his kind of demon feels, so I'M JUST TRYING TO FIT HIM IN THE STORY AND IT SUCKS.
So Rose is about six years old in this which means Ciel would be about 32-33. (Random fact)
So this chapter is more like an intro to Rose's character. How she feels about stuff. She WILL get older as each chapter progresses.
I will update soon! (That's if I can be bothered getting out of bed since it's so cold! It's winter in Australia, I'm freezing (It doesn't even snow here..) and I can only be comfortable in hot weather!) Imma go get in some cozy blankets so SEE YA!