Anonymity

Chapter Two

In Which Ciel and Sebastian Are Disquieted

Ciel and Sebastian quickly rushed to the garden with only one thought on their mind, was that Vic who just screamed?

Said person was barely clothed and beaten a few times, she couldn't do anything thing expect be beaten and taunt her would-be murderer and that would create more bruises. "I didn't nothing of the sort! I just met you and I was having a dance with my partner when you came and lead me off to this maze like a horse with a lead." she said to him, and suffered a kick to the ribs. He had taken a liking to kicking her where it would be painful.

"Say it," he said.

"I would rather die then say it," came the reply. Another kick to the ribs was her reward.

"I'll make you," he said.

"You've been trying to get me to say it for the past twenty minutes. If I scream again then Lord Ciel and Sebastian will find me in no time. They are already on their way from when I last screamed bloody murder." she said, trying to stand up but was yanked up by her hair.

"Scream like that again and you'll find yourself without a voice to say anything."

She smirked, despised what position she was in and the hand in her hair could possibly snap her neck. "Then how would I be able to say it?" she taunted.

Alfred grew red in fury and slammed her head in the ground. She held back a flinch. "I dare you to try it." he commanded.

She twisted her head under his grip, smirked and spit in his face. "I ain' nobodies dog," she said.

---

"Lady Victoria!" shouted Ciel and he once again got lost in the maze which he followed the footprints too. Sebastian looked from up on top of the hedge that made the maze to see if he could find the guest of Phantomhive.

Sebastian could sense something was wrong in the air, and he figured that if they didn't find Lady Victoria that she would die. "Sebastian," said Ciel.

"Yes, my lord?" he asked.

"I order you to find Lady Victoria and keep her safe," he said.

"Yes, my lord." said Sebastian then taking off to the top of the mazes and began searching.

"Oh! My love!" came an annoying voice that Sebastian always hoped he would never hear again. He turned around and only meet the face of the killer of Madame Red- Gruell Sutcliffe. The red-haired Shinigami made a kissy face and tried to kiss Sebastian who dodged his attack. "Why must you be so cruel my love?" he wept.

Sebastian just merely looked at him. "Who is going to die tonight?" he asked.

Gruell was still pouting and looked away from his lover. "Why should I tell you? You and that brat will try to change the fate of the mere mortal who is going to die tonight." he commented.

Sebastian had no time to argue with him, so he just sighed and pulled him into a loving embrace. "Gruell," he said.

Said killer looked at said butler with hearts in his eyes. "Yes, my love?" he said in a dreamy voice, having naughty thoughts going through his mind.

"Will you tell me who is dying tonight? And where they are?" he asked in a caring voice, pulling him tighter to his body. Much to his protest, mind you.

"Of course my love!" screamed Gruell and spun out of his arms and lead the way to where the couple was busy making annoying threats to each other. Sebastian quickly picked up Ciel and followed Gruell.

Ciel was just minding his own business, being stuck in a maze, when his butler picked him up for no reason at all. "I presume that you have a lead?"

"What kind of butler would I be if I didn't?" asked the butler.

Soon they landed where Victoria and Alfred were. And they were shocked at the image before them.

Victoria, who was barely clothed, was arguing with the red-haired death god, and Alfred looking like a bloody mess in the corner, seemly forgotten. "Give me tha' jacke' you s'upid red-head!" screamed Victoria, then tackling the said person trying to get the jacket.

"It's the color of my hair! I will never give this up! It's a memento of my last owner!" he screamed trying to get away from the crazed baker.

"I dun care! I wan' tha' jacke'! I'm freezin' my arse off!" she screamed.

"My lady!" said Ciel, applaud that one would use such words.

Sebastian stepped up and took off his jacket and laid it on the baker. "My lady," he said. "I offer you my jacket,"

Victoria just looked at him, "I know yer jus' makin' fun of meh now," she stated, but accepted the jacket none the less. "There's ya killer, an' I'm willin' ta 'es'ify ta tha Sco'land Yard," she stated.

Before Gruell left, he decided one more time to gain Sebastian's attention, he was ignored, much to his displeasure and left the maze stating that he be pack for his loves love.

---

It was some time after the party when the Scotland Yard came and asked Victoria about what had happened to her. "Is there anything else that you might have heard about him?" asked the head of the Scotland Yard.

"Yes, he said, that he kill all those people!" said a hysterical Victoria, twisting Sebastian's handkerchief.

"People?" he questioned.

At this point Victoria fell to the ground, her hands clutching her head, eyes wide in fear. "All of those people who have been murdered recently! All those poor people!"

"What are you referring to?"

"The Corner Square Murders!" she said crying hysterically before Ciel and Sebastian took her into their arms and helped her out, once she was up, she started to cry into Sebastian's shoulder.

"I think my. . . sister has enough of this questioning. We'll take our leave," stated Ciel before walking over to the exit with Victoria and Sebastian following behind. "If you have further more questions, you can contact us at Phantomhive mansion. Until then gentlemen,"

---

There was a pregnant silence in the carriage as they rode back to the mansion. Sebastian and his young master was staring at the cross-dresser sitting across from them in the plush red velvet that lined the carriage. Said cross-dresser was looking back at them with a look in her eyes that the author can't describe at the moment. "Is there something on my face dear brother?" asked Victoria in a sarcastic tone.

"Why did you act like a mad-woman back there?" asked Ciel, dismissing the tone she used.

Victoria just crossed her arms and huffed. "What else was I supposed to do? Just act like a calm person who didn't almost get raped, beaten and also got murdered? Oh yeah, splendid idea dear brother," she said.

"Where did you learn to act like that?" asked the butler, both he and Ciel were trying not to look down to Victoria's chest, it was much uncovered and the jacket Sebastian lend her did little.

Victoria just drilled her amber eyes into theirs. "If I couldn't do a little thing like this, then I shouldn't be a member of the Phantomhive mansion. And I also wouldn't be a member of the Phantomhive family, would I not?" she said, then after some time she spoke again.

"I also wouldn't be one hell of a baker, now would I?"

Ciel and Sebastian looked at each other, was she onto their contract? If so, how did she know? Before they could question her, they arrived at the mansion and Bard opened the door. "H-how w-w-was the ball Mistress?" asked Maylene, taking Victoria's borrowed cloak before gasping and hurrying to put it back on and ran her to the baths.

"Maylene! What are you doing?!" asked Victoria, her voice carrying throughout the mansion.

"Ho, ho, ho," said Tanaka, sipping on his green tea. Bard just looked onward.

"Did anything happened Lord Ciel?" asked Bard, knowing that he was treading in dangerous waters.

"Nothing that is your concern," said Ciel before heading into the mansion with Sebastian following him.

---

Maylene was frustrated right now, she couldn't wash the back of her mistress! And it made her mad, "P-P-Please Mistress, l-l-let me wash y-y-your back," she tried for the thousandth time.

"No, I'm quite alright Maylene, I'm used to doing it myself, its perfectly alright," cried out Victoria.

"A-Are you sure M-Mistress?" asked Maylene.

"Quite sure," responded Victoria, slowly entering the tub. But not before she took a glance at the mirror that hanged from across the room to see her back. Her back suffered from many scars, mainly from her hardships she had to endure to get to the point where she wanted out, but she could faintly see the only scar that mattered. The one where she protected a little child when she entered a burning mansion from a falling chandelier.

"Little one! Master!" she cried as she entered the mansion, looking for the child and Master of the mansion. She knew they was somewhere around here, the child just loved his mother to death, the Master loved his wife and child to death, and she found the Mistress of the mansion crushed under some burning beams.

"Please! Go save my husband and son!" she cried out to her.

"But what about you my lady?" cried out Victoria, rushing over to the beams and tried to lift them up.

The blonde haired lady just smiled a bitter smile, that didn't belong on her pretty face. "I won't make it, even with my sister's help. Just save my husband and son! I beg of you! I know you don't work here, but I have seen you around our kitchen talking to Ash, please, go save them!" she urged the young apprentice baker.

Victoria just gave her a bitter smile in return, "If that is your wish my lady," she said to the woman.

"It is," replied the lady of the mansion.

"Good-bye," whispered Victoria as she headed to the other rooms in search of the child and husband.

How did she get in this mess you ask? Surely if she came from outside the mansion she would have some sense not to go in the burning building to save the people trapt in it. But she was close to the cook of this mansion and was showing the cook her latest creation of cake, when in the storage room something exploded and make everybody get knocked off their feet.

When Victoria came too, the person she respected was on top of her, shielding her from a hail of silverware. "C-Cook," she stuttered, trying to wake up the cook.

"Vic," he stated, "Go and see if the Mistress, Master and Young Master are out of the mansion."

"S-Save your breathe! I'll g-g-get you out of here!" she whispered to the cook and got out of from underneath him and tried dragging him to the exit.

"Victoria," he said again, before coughing up some blood, the light in his eyes slowly dimming. "Please," he whispered.

Victoria was crying now, and nodded, before setting him up in a comfortable position, cigar in mouth, glass of brandy in hand, and his chef hat at his side. "Go peacefully ok?" she whispered, to him, and got up, only glancing back to see him nod and close his eyes.

Finally she snapped out of her day-dreaming and started kicking in doors, looking for the Mistress's precious people. It was the 10th kick to the doors that she found the Young Master face-first on the floor, and the Master in a chair. She quickly picked up the Young Master and checked his breath, he was still there. Quickly going over the fallen parts of the ceiling and walls she made her way to the Master and was applaud what she found.

The Master was sitting on the chair, his body tied to the chair and the ring was slowly being melted into his finger. "Master?" she whispered, before pulling up her shirt to cover her mouth, and shifting the Young Master into her arms, and lightly pressing him to her figure so he wouldn't breathe in as much as she did of the smoke that was slowly covering her line of vision. "Master?" she repeated, not getting a word from him.

She failed the Mistress in one aspect of her mission, but she be damned if she left the Young Master to die. "I'm taking your ring Master, that way the Little One will have something to remember you and your wife by Master," she whispered to the slowly burning corpse, before taking the ring off his finger with some difficulty.

Now the question is how to get out of here? She knew that the kitchen area was blocked off, she was too high up to jump out of the window and land in some trees, and if that was possible, the trees would most likely be on fire. The servant entrance was most likely blocked off, the only other logical exit would have to be the main entrance.

On the way out, she carefully went over some broken columns that were cracked with the sudden temperature rise, and failed to notice that a edge of a statue was in her line of stepping and only noticed it when the boy she was protecting went out of her arms and into the middle of the floor, the ring was safely tied to her throat with a piece of ribbon she had with her.

CREAK!

Looking up, she noticed a chandelier hanging dangerously at one angle, if it gave it would land on top of the Little One! She hurried up to her feet and right as she was about to grab the Young Master, it gave and it was falling at a great speed, due to its weight. Straight at the Little One.

Leaping she grabbed the Little One and used her body for a shield, and only gasped in sudden pain as she felt the chandelier enter her body. "Don't worry, Little One, I'll get you out of here," she whispered to the boy, and tried pulling out the piece that was stuck in her body, but it wouldn't go.

"Mmm," came the sound from the young boy. He slowly opened his eyes to find Victoria trying to pull out the piece that was stuck in her back. "W-W-W-Who are you?" he whimpered.

"I'm just a baker," she whispered, before looking up and seeing the exit cleared of most falling pieces of walls and ceilings. "Take your Father's ring that's around my neck and run!" she whispered to the child, he could only look up at her in fear. Victoria grew pissed, standing up and picked up the Little One, ignoring the pain in her back. "Listen you little twerp!" she said harshly.

He just whimpered. She growled.

"Listen to me!" she said, she in return got a nod back.

"I want you to run out of here as fast as you can, take this ring that is around my neck, it belonged to your father. And get the hell out of here!" she said to the kid, before untying her ribbon and letting the ring fall into the palm of his hands. "Do you understand me?"

He nodded.

"Now run you little twerp!" she said, pushing him towards the exit, before collapsing on the floor when the piece finally broke up.

The second time when she woke up she found she was in a hospital, glancing at the white ceiling and finding drilling hazel eyes staring at her body. Slowly she sat up. "Where is Ciel?" asked the hazel-eyes woman.

Victoria just looked at the woman, before blinking. "Who miss?" she asked.

"My darling little nephew! I want to know if my darling little nephew is still alive!" she asked, shaking the young Victoria, her red hair getting in her face.

"My darling sister! Where is she?!" came a familiar tone of her brother, before she was whisked away from the red-haired woman doctor.

"M--Mistress?"asked Maylene tentivally through the door. "A-Are you a-alright?" she asked.

Victoria rose from her bathing water, quickly grabbing a towel and securing her robe, then walking over to the wooden door and yanked it open. "Is there something of great importance?" she asked gravely, looking at the maid with her amber eyes.

"N-Not at all! I-I-Its-" she started before Victoria held up her hand.

"First off, take a deep breath, and slowly, I repeat slowly. Now tell me what you want to say." said the baker.

"Young Master wants to m-meet you in the study along with Sebastian." she said, glad that her stuttering was gone for the most part.

Victoria quirked an eyebrow, "Right now?" she asked.

"Yes my lady," she said.

"Alright," said Victoria heading out the door, leaving the bathing water to the maid as she left the said maid flabber-gasted that she would just walk throughout the household in just a towel.

---

"You all rang fer me presence?" asked Victoria as she barged into the room, ignoring the stares she was getting from her new brother, and his butler. But did notice the upturned smile of the Chinese Warlord that was in the room, sipping on some tea with a scantily dressed woman on his leg, staring blankly at him.

All of the men were staring at her, she began to tap her foot, "I swear if ya dun 'ell me wha's goin' on, I'll go back ta me bro'her an' till him 'ha' ya' go' me wi'h a kid. I dun 'hink ya wan tha." she said in her native tongue, regardless what Sebastian was threatening to say to the woman once this meeting was over and done with.

"We were just conversing what else has happened during the Corner Square Murders." said Ciel. "Put some clothes on, Victoria."

Victoria just shook her head and sat down in Madame Red's old chair, "Wat else happened my lord?" asked Victoria, crossing her legs like she was a man. Then glanced at the Chinese Warlord, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Lau," he offered his name to the unasked question, "And my sister, Ran-mao,"

"Well dis is all pleasen' ya know, bu' wat else has 'appened?" she asked Ciel, ignoring the stares she just got from the Chinese noble.

"The Queen has sent this letter while we were solving the case for the Corner Square Murders," said Ciel. Holding up a plain white envelope with the red wax stamp in the shape of the royal seal. "She has noticed that an uncanny amount of counterfeit coins have been handed out and wants the Phantomhive family to solve it before the public finds out and inflation happens." he commented.

"Those who dwell in the iron are often found within the cave of red," said the Chinese noble cryptically sipping on some tea. "What are you all talking about again?" he asked after sometime when all of the guests were looking at him.

They dead-panned.

"Do ya have sum of ta coins?" asked Victoria rubbing her head, clearing ignoring the opium dealer.

Ciel nodded and tossed her the case of the counterfeits. She caught it and took a look at it. Carefully she picked one of the coins up and looked at it closely, who ever did the job was extremely good at it, she could barely tell the difference. But she could faintly see the extra lines around the coins, and the weight felt different. She vaguely remembered some of her customers down at the bakery paying quickly and not looking at the selections for the Winter Ball that was coming within a few days.

"Try lookin' at . . ." she started up, then squinched up her face, trying to remember the names of the nobles who ordered the chocolate cheesecakes, "Lord MacVan an' Lady Rouge," she finally remembered the names. Then answered the unasked questions. "I own a bakery shop 'mber? 'hose peoples cum by me shop ta buy sum chocola'e cheesecake, but they usually order sum'hin' else fer ta Win'er Ball dat is cumming up," she said.

"Sebastian!" exclaimed Ciel.

"Yes my lord?" he asked.

"Find out where Lord MacVan and Lady Rouge lives," he ordered.

"Yes, my-" started Sebastian but got cut-off by the baker.

"'here is no need my lord, I need ta deliver da baked goods ta them on da mor," she said. Then started heading out the door, but stopped when she about to exit. "Un'il nex' 'ime my lord." she said and slipped out.