Sebastian checked his pocket watch for the time, Elizabeth and her company were due at any moment. He stationed Mey-Rin at the entrance while he made a last minute round of the entrance and social rooms. Making his way to the kitchen he felt their presence enter the grounds. He felt the familiar aura of Lady Elizabeth and her head maid Paula. There were two other humans that he did not recognize. One was within the carriage, and the other driving it. Sebastian carried on with his inspection, and then made his way to his young Lord to inform of his Lady's arrival.
Mey-Rin heard the hooves of the horses as the carriage drew closer to the main doors. She smiled, waiting a moment for the carriage to stop, and then opened the doors. Simultaneously she waved and dashed to the carriage, surprisingly not losing her balance. Finnian also waved from the flowerbed he was attending to. They both saw a slightly tanned man jump from the front of the carriage and make his way to the passenger compartment. He had brown slicked back hair, a medium gray dress shirt and black dress slacks. Neither of the Phantomhive servants could tell his eye color from their distance. Opening the door, he assisted the familiar Lady Elizabeth and Paula down from the inside. Lady Elizabeth wore a charming blue dress, while Paula wore a simple peach dress that went to her ankles. Paula's hair was twisted into a neat bun while Lady Elizabeth's was a rare sight as it hung down her back in beautiful curls.
"Welcome Lady Elizabeth! We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival! The young master should be making his way from his study at the moment." Mey-rin exclaimed too loudly.
Mey-Rin led the two women to the entry way of the parlor. Finnian followed behind, making his way to the washroom to rid himself of his dirt-stained clothes. The front doors to the manor closed as the unfamiliar man and another woman entered. Mey-Rin did a double take as she saw the woman step out from behind the man. She felt like a deer caught in headlights as she was stared at by piercing sky blue eyes. She had beautiful golden blonde hair that flowed in a neat ponytail a few inches above the floor. She wore an attractive brown dress and ankle boots. Her heart skipped a beat again as she made eye contact with the man to her right. His grey eyes seemed to bore into her soul. Lady Elizabeth noticed an absence of footsteps from behind her. Turning around and almost slapped herself as she forgot to introduce her servants.
"I am so sorry. I have absolutely no manners, I forgot to introduce you!" She ran over to Aeria and grabbed her arm.
"This is Aeria, my personal caretaker." She then grabbed Oscar's arm. "This is Oscar, he is in charge of the stables and the personal servant to my parents, also our head butler-in-training."
Aeria blushed slightly as she waved with her free arm at the unfamiliar maid. Oscar smiled as his greeting.
"This is Mey-Rin, the household maid." Ciel's voice called out from the bottom of the staircase as he looked at Elizabeth's servants.
Finnian reappeared with a clean white dress shirt and black pants. Baldroy emerged from the depths of the kitchen, with minimal fire damage on his dark blue dress shirt.
"The man on the left behind me is Baldroy, the head chef. The one next to him is Finnian, the gardener." Ciel introduced the two as they stared at the other two unfamiliar Midford servants. Oscar and Aeria waved again.
"Sebastian should be serving refreshments momentarily. He is the head butler of the manor. I am Ciel Phantomhive, pleased to make your acquaintance." He bowed in their direction.
Oscar and Aeria bowed in return as Elizabeth sprinted towards her beloved, efficiently consuming him in a painfully tight hug.
"It is an honor to be invited in addition to our Lady. Your home is very beautiful; I commend your staff on their up keeping of the manor." Oscar spoke, his words ringing off of the parlor walls.
"It is no easy feat, but what kind of servants would we be if the manor was not spotless?" A deep voice entered the room from the kitchens on the left.
Sebastian's eyes met Oscars, making millions of observations within a single second. He then trailed his sight over to Aeria, his wine-red irises meeting sky blue. He paused for a moment, and then spun on his heels. "If you would follow me, I believe refreshments are ready."
Aeria continued through the dining room, making her way to the table within the kitchen. It was not proper for servants and their masters to be at the same table. She knew that her Lady apposed that rule, but she could tell at a glance Ciel was not like her Lady. Aeria knew her place and made sure she made her way to it. Taking a seat at the kitchen table she thought about the servants she was introduced to.
'Mey-Rin is obviously the redhead, as there are no other females other than myself. Finnian is the younger blonde, he seems much more friendly than the other blonde, in addition to being younger. Sebastian… Paula was right he is just formal.'
Raising her head, she smiled as Oscar entered the kitchen and took the seat next to her, Paula did the same on her other side. They were alone a moment longer before the trio of servants entered the kitchen as well. Finnian took the seat next to Oscar, Mey-Rin next to Paula, and Baldroy opted to lean against the kitchen counter, his back to the wall.
"Our lady gave us brief details about all of you, but I believe one is missing." Oscar broke the silence.
"Tanaka is away in London on Funtom Company business." Finnian smiled as he answered.
"Ah."
Mey-Rin cleared her throat as she began to speak. "We have met Miss Paula on a few occasions, but we have never heard about either of you. How long have you served Miss Elizabeth?"
Oscar looked up in thought. "I have been under Milady's care since about age 6. Well, the care of the Marquess and Marchioness."
"I also have been with the Midford's since a young age." Aeria added.
Paula smiled as she looked at her coworkers. "They were both taken in from the orphanage in Aynor at young ages, and are inseparable as you might guess."
Aeria and Oscar linked arms as on cue, smiling at the trio. Everyone looked at the entrance of the kitchen as Sebastian entered.
"Dinner has been served to the young Lady and Lord. The servings for us are on the counter near the sink." Sebastian took the seat at the head of the table, opposite of Aeria.
Baldroy and Finnian began to hand out servings of stew to the table. Sebastian began to display the elegance of the dish he created, naming the key ingredients and taste. Aeria's attention was focused in observing the head butler, she did not hear exactly what he was saying. He had a slim face and body, fair skin, and the darkest shade of black hair she had ever seen. It contrasted well with his wine-red eyes, which seemed able to stare through anyone who caught his attention. She rated his overall appearance as orderly and extremely attractive in the eyes of society. As he sat down everyone began to eat his creation.
"Milady was correct; your meals are something to look forward to." Oscar commented as he was halfway through his bowl.
Aeria and Paula nodded in agreement. Aeria raised her eyebrow slightly as she looked up at Sebastian, he had no serving before him. Her eyes met his and held for a moment before she looked back to her meal. She had a strange feeling crawling up and down her spine. It was slight but she could not shake it for some reason. She looked to her left to see Oscar staring at her as he ate, he could tell something was bothering her. She sent him a look saying that they would talk about it later, he nodded in return. The table then began idle chat, asking about hobbies, their favorite things to do as servants for each household, and the most difficult aspects of caring for their masters.
"Marchioness Midford accepts nothing but excellence. It takes a few tries at times to get a task completed to her expectations. Marquis is more manageable. Milady forgets the border between Master and servant most of the time." Oscar put his insight into the conversation.
Paula and Aeria nodded, it was accurate.
"Milady is the easiest to satisfy, as soon as you begin talk about fashion she will immediately cheer up. She prides herself on being in the know of the latest trends and styles. We often travel to Aynor; she has a personal seamstress in one of the shops downtown."
Mey-Rin's face held excitement as she looked to Paula. "Master enjoys frequenting Aynor on his less busy days as well! I am surprised we have not run into each other before."
"It is such a beautiful city!" Finnian exclaimed.
Oscar nodded. "I am proud to come from there; it is quite- "
He was cut off as the window directly behind Aeria shattered, a bullet scraped along her cheek and lodged its self into the table, shattering Mey-Rin's bowl. Everyone looked to Aeria, who's eyes were wide in shock. She immediately threw her hand up to her cheek and ran from the room.
"Aeria!" Paula's voice was full of concern as she followed.
The entire table launched into action, the trio flew out the back door to identify the source of the bullet. Sebastian looked at Oscar, who's eyes were full of rage. He stared at the bullet in the table, picked it up, and crushed it to dust within his hand. Sebastian raised his eyebrows, it seems the Midford servants had secrets of their own.
"Are you well versed in combat?"
Oscar looked at Sebastian, a fire burning in his eyes. Sebastian took that as a yes.
"Follow me then."
Sebastian disappeared out the back door in a flash. It was Oscar's turn to raise his eyebrows, it seemed the Phantomhive servants were not who or what they seemed to be. In a similar blur Oscar vanished from the kitchen, appearing near Sebastian in the middle of the back yard. Bullets filled the air, flying in all directions from the trees. Simultaneously Oscar and Sebastian caught exactly two handfuls of bullets, and begun to fling them towards the places they originated. Screams and dull thuds were heard in the distance.
Sebastian stopped in his tracks as a red rune appeared on the ground beneath Oscar and himself. Looking to his left he saw Oscar's hands glowing a bright red as he stared into the distance. Sebastian sensed that the man had even halted his own breathing completely. Curiosity overcame Sebastian as a few hundreds of black scaled monsters flowed from the outside of the runes. They were the size of a small dog, with large white teeth protruding from their overbite mouths. The rune then turned a sickly green as the bodies of the monsters obtained a translucent glow of the same color. All at once the monsters rushed in orderly lines, breaking off in groups throughout the trees. Vicious growls and screams were heard, and then silence moments later. Mey-Rin, Finnian, and Baldroy entered the field, staring at Oscar. A black aura surrounded him, white runes crawled over his skin like living tattoos. Closing his eyes Oscar flicked his wrist to the right, and everything that seemed strange vanished within a second.
There was nothing but awed silence.
"Magic."
That was his cold response as he turned and headed back into the manor.
