Hi guys. I really hated the prologue so I changed it so before you guys notice some of the things that have changed between the prologue and this chapter, mainly how they suddenly have the raven statue, please consult prologue just to check the facts.
I know a few people might think how it was kind of weird that Alicia's father still chose to take the statue despite the fact that his daughter is really afraid of it. I really tried to convey that it was kind of bewitching him, demonstrating that there is some magical power to this stone creature and it was kind of demonstrating a will of its own.
Also, you may have noticed I am avoiding mentioning any specific places in England, other than various landmarks in London and the city itself. This is mainly because I have never been to England, or Europe in general, and do not really know too much about it. I don't want to offend anyone from England by stating stupid things, and I have been putting a lot of research into this but even I cannot really substitute too many facts from wikipedia with the experience of actually going to a place.
Maleficent's castle and the forbidden mountain are actually really hard to plot in England. I kind of came up with a solution for this, as you will see, but I do not really know if there are any mountains in England so I apologize if I offend anyone.
Well, on with the story I guess.
Chapter One
A new life in London and an upcoming ball
London England
1888
Alicia sat in her new room, gently holding a porcelain doll in her lap. It was smaller than her room had been in the farmhouse, but the window faced the street and she could see many people bustling down the pathway, all yelling and making a lot of noise. London certainly was much louder than the country had been. Alicia could already tell she was not going to like it.
There was a knock on the door and Alicia looked up to see her father enter with an older, dumpy woman behind him. Her father smiled as Alicia eyed the woman suspiciously.
"Alicia, I would like you to meet your new nanny," said her father. The dumpy woman came out from behind her father and looked at Alicia.
She was fat, bigger than the last nanny. She had very chubby cheeks that appeared to ripple when she spoke. Her nose was huge, it appeared to take up a good portion of her face. Her eyes were also very small, it looked like she was squinting as she spoke to Alicia.
"Hello young Miss. I am Mrs. Shaw and I will be caring for you and tutoring you while your father is busy," said the woman.
"Tutoring?" asked Alicia, unaware of what the word meant. Before Mrs. Shaw could answer, Alicia's father was called away by someone downstairs. He quickly left and Alicia could hear his voice and the voices of a few of the people moving their things into the house.
"Oh dear," Mrs Shaw began, shaking her head as she looked at Alicia. Alicia could feel already like she did not like the old woman. She was much different from her previous nanny had been, and it was not just in the way she looked. Something about the woman in general put Alicia off.
"A tutor is a teacher, and I will be the one responsible for making sure you receive a good education and become a proper young lady. Tell me, what is it you were taught in the countryside?" asked Mrs. Shaw. Alicia shrugged.
"Um...I know my ABC's. And I can read...a little. I like the pictures in the books we have, they are very pretty," said Alicia. The woman shook her head.
"Books are not for pretty pictures. They are to give us facts about the world, to make us less ignorant. However, for a girl your age and where you were raised, picture books are better than nothing. Can you do arithmetic?" asked Mrs. Shaw. Alicia blinked and repeated the word, confused with its meaning.
"Math child. What is one plus one?" asked the woman. Alicia blinked and cocked her head. The woman sighed and held up one finger on each hand.
"One," she began wiggling one finger, "Plus one equals, you can count can't you?" asked the woman. Alicia frowned and nodded. She looked at the fingers.
"One," Alicia began, "plus one, equals two fingers. There are two fingers," she said. The woman nodded. She then began to instruct Alicia more about math, until the little girl thought her head was fit to burst. Every time she got a problem wrong, miscalculated the sum or difference of two numbers, the old woman would slap her hand. It did not hurt and the woman did not use much force, but it never hesitated to surprise the girl. Finally, Mrs. Shaw declared the lesson was done and Alicia, hugging her doll to her chest, returned to looking out the window while Mrs. Shaw left to speak with her father.
As she watched the people, a lesser number of them now but still enough to slightly crowd the streets, Alicia frowned. She wanted to go back to the farmhouse, she wanted her old nanny, and she wanted Lewis.
Sitting there, alone in her room, Alicia thought of another thing she was sure of, that she did not like London.
Not one bit.
Outskirts of London
Phantomhive mansion
Ciel sat at the chessboard, staring intently at the pieces littered across it. His opponent, a guest who had business with him, was equally intently staring at the board. The man, more advanced in years than the head of the Phantomhive family, appeared more preoccupied with the age of his opponent and ensuring he did not lose against one of Ciel's age than the actual game. Despite his preoccupation, however, he did have a substantial lead on the Phantohive child, and it appeared the game would soon end, with the older male the victorious one.
Ciel moved his piece and waited on the older gentleman. The man smiled, Ciel had made a move beneficial to him. He would win this game in another two turns, no matter what the young boy did. The older gentleman made his move, and then Ciel made his final move. As Ciel played, the older gentleman took a sip of tea.
"Check mate," Ciel stated, causing the older gentleman to nearly choke on his drink out of surprise. He looked at the board.
"What do you mean check mate?" he asked. Ciel pointed to one of his pieces, lined up perfectly to take the older man's king. After staring at the board, bewildered by Ciel's move, the older man searched for a way to save his king. However, there was nothing he could do. Ciel had won.
Ciel grinned as the man resigned himself to Ciel's victory and settled back in his chair. The grin faded, however, when there was a knock on the door. The door opened, and the faithful butler to Ciel, the man with raven black hair and even darker eyes, Sebastian Michaelis entered the room.
"Mr. Ellis's carriage has arrived," stated the butler. Mr. Ellis, the older gentleman whom Ciel had been playing against, rose, and after a polite farewell left the Phantomhive mansion and got into his carriage, which carried him away from the estate.
Sebastian looked at Ciel, who sat in his chair and was examining one of the chess pieces. He played with the piece, watching how the paint changed as the light hit it in different ways.
"Young Master, it is time for bed," stated Sebastian. Ciel sighed and placed the piece back on the board before he rose from the chair and walked to his room.
From there, it was the usual routine that came before the young earl retired. Sebastian drew him a bath, gently washed him, and then helped him change for bed.
As Sebastian knelt before Ciel, buttoning his nightshirt with skilled hands, he remembered a matter that had been brought up previously in the day that had to be discussed so that a decision might be made quickly.
"Young Master, I do not wish to be a bore, but the matter of the Adams ball has not been attended to," said Sebastian. Ciel yawned and shrugged.
"It can wait until tomorrow," said Ciel.
"Tomorrow is when it was asked that any parties planning on attending the ball were to send confirmation of their intent," said Sebastian.
"So? Tomorrow is when I can make the decision as to whether or not I will go to that ridiculous affair," said Ciel. Sebastian sighed.
"While I do know your contempt for dances and balls, the Adams go hold great social standing, and refusing to attend an affair that they sent you a formal invitation to might be a rather poor move if you wish to have your family name remain unscathed," said Sebastian. Ciel frowned.
"It's just a ball correct?" asked the boy. Sebastian nodded.
"It is a celebration of Lady Adams birthday, I believe. A giant masquerade ball, similar to one she and her husband attended while in Venice, if I remember what the invitation said," said Sebastian. Ciel thought it over.
"Fine, if it is such great importance to attend," Ciel muttered, flopping over onto his bed in a rather unsophisticated manner. Sebastian sighed at his master's behavior, and then smiled.
"Of course, I'll send the RSVP on the morrow. Sleep well, Young Master," he said as he tucked the young boy in. Ciel yawned and snuggled against the pillows, giving no heed to the butler as he quietly left the room.
"A ball?"
In a mansion within the limits of London, not too far from the Phantomhive estate, was a girl with long hair the color of caramel and beautiful peridot eyes. She was staring at a handsome, blonde, ash-mauve eye colored man who called himself an Earl but whose questionable past left such a position in jeopardy.
"Yes," the man said, replying to the girl's earlier exclamation concerning the formal celebration he had asked she accompany him to.
"And why must I be the one to go with you. I'm sure there are plenty," her tone turned slightly bitter, "of more deserving women to be your escort for the evening."
The man shook his head, shaking off the unspoken accusations of his red haired companion.
"It is you that I see myself dancing with at this ball. Besides, I found a dress today that I though you would look truly stunning in. All you need is a mask, it is a masquerade ball after all, and you would would be the most beautiful-" he began
"Edgar," the girl said crossly, identifying the man by name as she interrupted him, "what would I do at a ball. You know I'm not that good at dancing, and what would I do when you eventually find yourself in some corner with-"
"Lydia," he said, now interrupting her, "you are the only woman I would find myself in a corner with. Though, if you would protest, I would make sure to keep around the other guest so your virtue would remain intact."
Lydia opened her mouth to argue when the door opened and a black haired, emerald eyed slightly tan youth came in. Dressed in the dark attire of a butler, though both Lydia and Edgar knew that was not his true occupation as he served under Edgar, he carried in his arms a dress more lace, ribbon, and frills than actual dress, or so is seemed as it rested on his arm.
"The dress you ordered has arrived Lord Edgar," the man said in an emotionless tone, offering the extravagant dress to his blonde master. Lydia stared at the garment as Edgar picked it up and lifted it, studying it as it waved and fluttered when he moved it around. He held it in front of Lydia.
"Wonderful, didn't I say it would be perfect for her Raven?Lydia, it will fit you beautifully," said Edgar. Lydia crossed her arms.
"I get no say in this, do I?" she asked. Edgar cocked his head.
"Of course you get a say in it. If you truly do not wish to go, I will decline the invitation Lady Adams sent to the house. After all, it is not worth it to attend a ball, even one as grand as she has planned, if I cannot be in the company of my beautiful fiance," he said.
"Edgar please stop," Lydia mumbled, winding a strand of hair around her finger as her eyes quickly flickered off to some corner of the room.
"My lord, we already reserved our places at the ball, and Lady Adams was adamant that the Blue Earl attend her affair," stated the butler, identified as Raven earlier.
"We can cancel easily. Lady Adams will understand that, as a gentleman and will not be without my dear Lydia," said Edgar.
Lydia sighed.
"That would be extremely rude Edgar. I...I'll go, but-" she was cut off as Edgar smiled at her. Despite the fact there was always a smirk or a grin present on his face, when he truly smiled it always stole her breath away. If he wasn't so...Edgar...like he would be a true gentleman.
"I need to go home, I'm sure my father will be expecting me," Lydia said quickly. She bid Edgar and Raven goodnight, warded off Edgar as he sought to give her a goodnight kiss, and quickly went to the carriage waiting to take her back to the house she lived in with her father.
In the carriage was a gray, slightly thin, and scraggly cat, sitting not like a cat but like a human would. He had eyes almost exactly the same as Lydia's, and a dark navy blue ribbon was tied around his neck. Sitting next to him was a small glass with a small amount of Brandy still within. Lydia settled back against her seat and looked at him.
"Where have you been all afternoon Nico?" she asked. Indeed, the cat had been missing for most of the afternoon, an observation she made after she'd gone to lunch with Edgar. Nico shrugged.
"I was playing chess with Raven. For your information Lydia, watching you and Edgar dance around your feelings for each other is quite tiring. Beating Raven in chess was far more rewarding...even if my victory came after three losses to him," Nico muttered under his breath. Lydia blushed when he mentioned Edgar.
"What feelings? I don't really feel anything for him. He's not..well..." Lydia trailed off and Nico gave a her a cocky grin.
"If you do not feel anything, why do you stumble over your words like a guilty child with their hand caught in the cookie jar?" asked Nico. Lydia frowned at the feline.
"There is nothing, and most likely will never be nothing between Edgar and I. Besides, even if I harbored some feelings for him, there is no way they could even be reciprocated. He has good looking women throwing themselves all over him, and then there's Ermine..." she trailed off when the remembered the Selkie. Lydia liked to pretend she was not jealous of the woman who'd once been very dear to Edgar, from what she could deduce, but it grew hard when she thought of the past Edgar shared with the woman.
Nico saw he'd caused an unfriendly subject to be revisited and gave an apologetic look to the girl, or rather young woman. Having been her companion since she was a small child, and the companion of her mother before her, it felt strange for him to think of Lydia of a woman. However, as he watched the Blue Earl chase her, sometimes putting her in danger with his ignorance of the Fairy realm but risking life and limb to ensure her safety, Nico knew he had to acknowledge Lydia was a woman and soon, he may be the companion of her children.
He was distracted from his thoughts by Lydia's silence and quickly sought to bring forth a new topic of conversation.
"So, I heard raised voices," Nico said. Lydia looked out the window of the carriage.
"I'm accompanying him to a ball," Lydia said. She remembered the mass of lace, fabric, ribbon and frills Raven had delivered.
"A ball. Wait! Why aren't I going?" Nico yelled. Lydia blinked.
"Because you're a fairy cat? Nico, it's strange for people to have a cat attend such events like balls and dances since cats are..." Lydia trailed off, not wanting to upset her furry companion. However, Nico was quite keen on having his opinion known.
"Cats are what? And I'm more gentleman than cat. Does she have something against gentlemen?" asked the cat angrily.
"Well, maybe...it's a masquerade. You have the mask you wore, after your whiskers were ripped off. You could wear a fine coat, and your feathered hat, and the mask. I'm sure no one would be more the wiser!" she said.
Nico contemplated the idea.
"Maybe...ah! We're here," he said, motioning out the window. Lydia saw her humble home come into view. She sighed. At least she was home, and she could get a good night's sleep and forget about the ball and all other issues that had come up in the day.
However if nights of steamy dreams were any indication, she would get no reprieve from her thoughts of Edgar, even in her sleep.
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..
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Urgh...this chapter was long and hard to write. Near the end I was using Earl and Fairy characters, they are involved with this crossover for reasons you will soon see, but I know a lot of people haven't watched this or read the manga, despite it being a pretty decent 13 episode series.
It was really hard to keep the characters from Earl and Fairy in character, it has been awhile since I watched the anime, and this underwent like five rewrites. Lydia has always annoyed me in the anime, she's just so...Mary Sue. I mean, she's part changeling, with a rare appearance, and she's won the affection of two men and while ignoring the better one (Kelpie is a fucking stud. I want Kelpie.) of the two she constantly pines over a man that tells her constantly that he loves her, proposed to her, and yet she does not believe him. After thirteen episodes of...I'll give you a summary.
Edgar: Lydia, I love you.
Lydia: No you don't. I'm not pretty enough.
Edgar: Lydia, you're beautiful.
Lydia: No I'm not. I'm strange. You like Ermine. You don't love me.
Edgar: Lydia, I've confessed my love to you at least twice in each episode. I threatened to kill myself if you left (episode 2), went to the fairy world to propose to you after you went there because you saved my life, I nearly had sex with you (and then he said another girl's name and passed out drunk, causing me to scream COCKTEASE and throw a shoe), in any shoujo manga this means we're meant to be. Seriously, do I need to get your name tattooed on me or like preform some sort of over the top romantic gesture to even get a goddamned kiss?
Lydia:...you don't love me.
Edgar:...I'm going to drink.
And then it ended and with a second season not in sight I'm pretty sure we're stuck with how the anime ended until the manga is translated past the 2nd novel (I've looked for scanlations) or makes its way to America.
I may sound critical of Earl and Fairy but I do like it. It's just, like with anything, there are a few flaws.
Mainly that I want the main characters to finally end up together or full frontal Kelpie action.
In addition more Kuroshitsuji will be present in the next chapter, and I'll finally deliver on my promise to have Godchild in this giant crossover fic. The first few chapters may be a bid muddy, but once I get the ball rolling I promise you guys will get a good story.