A/N: After spending all day drawing sketches of characters' outfits, it's time for chapter 2! Hope you all like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of its characters or anything.
Alana's lungs burned and felt like they were about to burst. Wasn't she dead? Why didn't the pain leave? She felt something strong and heavy forcefully push down on her chest. She began to cough and sputter, feeling like the ocean was being poured out of her stomach. Cold hands pulled her up and up her hair away from her face as she puked. When it felt as though all the water had left her lungs and stomach, she fell back and expected to hit pavement, but instead felt someone pulling her head into a lap. Alana tried to speak; only her throat was scratchy from salt water.
"W-who?" she breathed as she opened her eyes to a man looking down at her.
He smiled slightly at her, "I've called an ambulance, and it's on its way, young mistress. As to your question, you named me, so you should know who I am."
Alana's eyes bulged a bit. It wasn't a delusion, the demon was real. She turned her head away from him. There was a heap on the pier close to her. The black tux looked so familiar. Alana bolted up and retched. It was her brother, her beloved brother. She was sick all over again.
"Shh, it's alright," The demon reached for her as sirens rounded the corner. He pulled her into his lap. She gripped the front of his shirt tightly and sobbed into it. He put his hands on her head.
"Please relax, it will all be o-" his voice faded as Alana passed out again.
There was an annoying beeping on her left side. Alana tried to turn away from it, but felt her skin tug and gloved hands pushed her back.
"Be careful Miss. You'll pull your IV out." Alana's eyes flew open at the smooth voice. She looked up to see a tall, thin man. He had perfect, shaggy hair that was longer in the front than the back. He was wearing a suit and tales, classic, old fashion butler attire.
"You're… you're the demon," She whispered.
"Yes," He took his left glove off and left his hand up for her to see, "I am bound to you" His eyes glowed red and the intricate tattoo on the back of his hand glowed a slight purple. He reached over and pulled her hospital gown a tad. Something black was etched on her skin. Right over her heart was on exact replica of his tattoo, it too glowed purple.
"I can find you anywhere with that. You need but concentrate to call me to you. I am to fulfill your every command. You order me and I follow." He bowed to her and then looked at the door.
"Can I go home?" Alana asked. She panicked, what was there for her to go home to? Everyone was dead.
As if reading her thoughts, the demon spoke, "I have found a replacement staff for you. They are waiting at your mansion. You have been in the hospital for three days. We can return whenever you see fit."
"This is an order," She breathed. Alana was perplexed by the small smirk her new butler gave, "Take me home.
He bent down to one knee and but his hand over his heart, "Yes, my lady" as if he had been saying it for years to her.
A nurse walked in, "Oh? Are we awake?" she asked.
"My mistress would like to return home." He looked at the nurse with a stern eye.
"Oh um… will she be taken care off?"
The butler looked back at the girl in the bed, "She will not leave my sight."
"Then fill out these papers and you two may go." The nurse handed him a clip board and a pen. He sat in the chair next to the bed and began filling it out. The nurse slowly took the IV out of Alana's arm and helped her stand. "I'll be back for the papers in a minute."
Alana stood in the middle of the room for a minute, wondering what to do.
"Do you need help getting dressed my lady?" She turned around to see him right behind her, "It wouldn't be the first time I was to help one of my masters do so. I brought cloths for you and they are in the closet." He walked over and opened it to reveal a bag and a black summer dress. "You're closet seems to be filled with dresses."
"The other cloths are in the vanity cabinets" she replied. Without a word she removed the cloths from the closet and slowly walked to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her, Alana opened the bag to reveal a black strapless bra and a pair of black underwear. She blushed at the knowledge that he had been in her undergarment drawer. There was also a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, and hair ties in the bag. She quickly brushed her teeth and her hair. She went to put on the dress and realized that the back was buttoned up and a halter. Grabbing the bag on her shoulder she held the neck and back and walked out of the room.
Without a word her new butler came over and began buttoning up the back. Alana could feel his slender gloved fingers buttoning the top button right below her shoulder blades. He moved her hair out of the way and took the strings from Alan's hands. She left them fall to her sides. Once he was done he moved away from her and picked up shoes from the bottom of the cabinet. Alana choked back a sob.
"Do these shoes not suit you Miss?" He held the black flats away from her, "I can run to the mansion and get you something else."
Alana shook her head, "It's… fine."
"May I ask what is wrong?" He asked as he bent down and put her shoes on her feet.
"The only time I ever wore black flats were for choir concerts. I always wear wedges or heels out on proper occasions and school. Anything else I wear converse." She stated flatly.
"Sorry to press, my lady, but is there more to that?" He stood up and looked down at her.
"Choir concerts were very important to me. Se- I mean my brother….. would always come watch me. After it was over he'd run to the choir room and sweep me into a big hug, telling me how proud he was of me….. but…. He'll never do that again, will he?" Alana sat back on the bed and covered her face in her hands.
"I'm… sorry, my lady. I will find who has done this to you." She looked up and he was on his knee again, that same as before. After he stood up straight he asked, "If I may, you named me after your brother?" She nodded. "I see. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes!" Alana jumped to her feet and almost fell over. The demon grabbed her shoulders and held her up right.
"Would you like me to carry you?" He gave a looked that seemed it wouldn't be the first he'd carried someone.
"They won't let us leave that way." Alana headed toward the door. The Nurse was just about to knock. Alana held her hand out behind her and the butler put the papers in her hand. She handed the papers to the nurse before walking past her and down the hallway. She stopped in front of the elevator.
"Allow me," somehow he had already caught up to her. He pressed the down button and as soon as the door opened she stepped inside. Once the doors closed Alana held the side bar and crouched to the floor. The demon looked at her quizzically.
"I'm… afraid of elevators." She muttered.
"Young mistress! I could have carried you down the stairs. I will remember this for now on." When they reached the lobby Alana shakily stepped out. They got to the doors and hit the hot summer wind. Alana breathed deeply as it breezed on her skin.
"I love the summer, I will make the most of my last week of it," Alana looked over, "It won't take a year, will it?"
"Hopefully not miss. Do you want me to carry you to the car? It's parked far away and I don't want you walking too much yet." He hefted the bag over his shoulder.
"Yes… Sebastian." It hurt Alana a bit to say the name. Sebastian placed one hand behind her back and scooped his other arm under her knees and carried her bridal style. He began walking and instead of going around the car parked in front of them, he hopped over it.
"Sorry for the jolt." He apologized.
"Do you always do that?" she whispered, amazed.
Sebastian smirked, "That and more mam." After a few minutes' walking and jumping over cars they arrived at a familiar vehicle. It was her father's black Mercedes Benz that Seb inherited. This car served many memories to her. It was the car she learned to drive in, and before that her brother. It was the car her brother once stole and the two of them ran off to see a concert they weren't allowed to see. Every mishap and runaway from high society was in this car. This was the car that made Alana feel like a normal teenaged girl.
"Sebastian?" She remembered a crucial point now.
"Yes my lady?" He sat her in the passenger seat before turning the car on.
"Who's in charge of mother's fashion label? And father's political standings? Who is the head of the household?" Alana began to panic, "And what of the funerals? What am I supposed to do?" She could feel her heart beat speeding up. She may have been living in modern New York, but she lived in a society the was very old fashioned. Positions were handed down by generations and there were still heads of houses. She couldn't do all of that, she wasn't ready to give up her small teenage era. She couldn't face her parents' grave, or her brother's.
"Please calm down. You will assume the heads of family, your mother's franchise, and your father's place in the Old Senate. You will also arrange the joint funeral. There is no reason to panic, for you will not be alone, after all, a Nottings butler who can't do as much, isn't worth his salt" Sebastian smirked at the saying and Alana was dieing to know why certain things did this to him.
"Thank-you," Alana laid her head on the leather seat.
Sebastian stopped at the stoplight, "What flowers did your mother like, what was your father's favorite color, and what your brother's favorite color was?" He asked.
Alana sighed, "She loved orchids, daddy liked purple, and my brother loved the color red." A tear threatened to jump from her eye.
"You just finished arranging the funeral. I had everything in place already. I will order purple orchid with red ribbons in your name. It will be held tomorrow morning. Do you want to get a new dress, or do you have something in mind?" Sebastian pulled into the winding drive way of the Nottings.
Alana thought for a while, "No, I know what I am going to wear, it just needs to be finished," she answered when they finally rolled up to the mansion.
Sebastian opened her door for her and helped her out of the car, "Then we will attend to it once you have had something to eat." They walked up to the double doors and Sebastian pulled them open for her. Alana walked in and was greeted by her three new employees.
"Welcome home, Ms. Nottings," They said in unison as they bowed.
"It's Alana." She said quickly. She wasn't going to be Ms. Nottings, that was her mother, and she would never get to be her mother. She was never going to grow up and have her own children to love. She wasn't going to get married. Alana suddenly realized all the things she was never going to get to do now that she had the contract. A long silence had fallen over everyone in the room.
"Miss Alana? Are you alright?" A woman who looked about twenty-five stepped toward her. She was wearing a kitchen apron, so she must have been the new chef.
Alana snapped out of it, "Y-yes. Sorry, lost in thought."
"Mistress, this is Whitney, she is the new cook." Sebastian moved behind a man who seemed to be about thirty, "This is Greg, your new gardener"
Greg bowed to her, "Pleased to meet you mam"
"And I'm Darren," A boy about eighteen smiled and held out his hand to her, "I'm your maid. Kind of weird isn't it? I'm a guy, and I'm a maid. You'll get used to it" He smiled at her.
Alana took his hand and a rush of electricity ran through her, "I'm sure I will. It's nice to meet you all, but I must get going, I have a dress to finish." She turned to the lower east wing of the house. Out of nowhere, Sebastian was in front of her.
"I told you, you must eat first miss." He took Alana's shoulders and steered her toward the kitchen, Whitney followed them. "What have you prepared for us today Whitney?" He asked as he sat the young girl in a chair.
"Um… I did not know you wanted anything prepared before, I'm Sorry" She bowed.
"Sebastian, I feel fine," Alana lied. She could be way better, but she wanted to work on the dress.
He looked at her disapprovingly, "Very well, you may work and I will bring you dinner when it is ready."
Alana stood up quickly and walked out of the room. As she walked through the foyer, she saw Darren dusting. She walked over to him and grabbed him by the sleeve, "You are coming with me."
"May I ask why?" He almost fell on the threshold into the lower wing's main hallway. Alana stopped in front of a door and cursed slightly.
"I forgot the keys chain!" She hissed.
Darren pulled a key ring from his pocket, "This one miss?"
Alana's eyes widened and she smiled, "Sebastian gave you that?" she inquired.
"Yea, he said I'd have to clean every room in the house, so he gave me it." He handed it over to her.
Alana smiled at the key ring, there was a key for every room and door in the house, along with a copy of every car key they have, the guest house, the pool house, and the garden shed. Alana selected the correct one and slammed it into the lock. She turned the key and flung the door open.
"This room, it's so big," Darren peered inside, awestruck.
"It's my mother's fabric room. She buys bundles of fabric and keeps it in here. When she needs one she brings it to her studio. She creates a single, handmade copy of a dress. It then either goes to the runway or is looked at by her associates. If they really like it, is goes into mass production." Alana stepped into the large room and began walking down the color coded walls. As they went farther into the room, the colors became darker. It seemed to Darren that this room was infinitely long and they would never reach the color Alana wanted. He almost ran into her when he didn't notice her small body had stopped.
"This one please," It was a roll of black tool, "And this one also." The other roll was some light fabric that Darren couldn't place. He picked one up under each one and followed her out of the room.
"Can you not lock all the doors anymore? Only the doors to the outside," Alana gulped, "And…my parents' room and my brother's"
"Yes mam," Darren felt bad for his new mistress. She had lost everything and was alone in replacing the roles.
Alana walked down to the last room in the hallway. She stared at the long silver key before unlocking the door. "Just put them right over here," She waited for Darren to do so, "Thanks." She rushed him out of the door and shut it behind him. She leaned against the door and slid down it. It felt at is the air was crushing her. She couldn't breathe. She stared at the dress on the form until her eyes burned from not yet cried tears.
Alana didn't know how long she had been sitting there crying when there was a knock on the door, "Young Miss, may I come in?" Sebastian opened the door a little and hit her gently. "It won't do you any good to sit on the floor and cry, miss. How do you expect to get anything done this way? You look a wreck; your face is all puffy and red." He picked her up and carried her over to her mother's sewing machine. He went over to the sink and dampened a washcloth with cold water. He came back to her and dabbed at her face gently till it was no longer red.
"There you go, shall we finish the dress together?" He kneeled next to her and smiled with his eyes closed.
Alana silently got up and grabbed the black tool. She rolled it out on the table and began cutting it. She took the piece over to the form and twisted it around the neck of the unfinished dress. She crested a halter with it and cut it down to size. Sebastian removed the dress from the mold and set it at the sewing machine where Alana stitched the tool on. He put it back on when she was done. They worked quietly as Alana worked the dress in to the image in her head. What seemed like hours later, Alana sat down in the chair and smiled at her creation. She had taken the shell of a dress her mother had created and encased it in a cloud of tool.
"It is wonder Young Mistress, I'm sure everyone will love it." He looked between the raven haired girl and the dress.
She nodded and yawned, "Thank you."
"There is no need to thank me; I am only doing my job. Now I think it is time you ate and got some rest, your body isn't completely ready to be at full force yet." He picked her up and carried her out to the hallway. He had barely gotten to the foyer before Alana had fallen asleep with her arms folded on her chest. Sebastian chuckled; remembering when he was last named Sebastian and carrying a sleeping master. He carried her up to her room and cradled her in one arm as he pulled the sheets back. Once he tucked her in he left and shut the door behind him. Right before he closed it all the way he whispered,
"Good night, Young Mistress"
A/N: That took me a bit longer to write than I thought it would! I couldn't find the perfect place to stop for a while there. I really enjoy writing this for you all!
