Thanks to fluffy things r cute (I swear to God that's the person's penname, and I didn't just pull it out of my ass), Sebastiansotherhalf, and rainbow spring for adding Out of the Dark to your favorites! I love you guys! Lol, jk. But seriously, thanks.
Okay, as I said in the previous 2 chapters, I am in no way owner of Kuroshitsuji or any characters except Dawn Michaelis.
That's about it for now, so I'm going to get on with the story!
I sat on the stone wall that surrounded Phantomhive Manor, watching Finni pull the weeds out of the flowerbeds that lined the main entrance. The cat that we'd saved earlier had found me and was curled up in my lap. Pluto was around somewhere, trying not to let Sebastian see him in the front yard. I was sort of hiding from Sebastian, too. I have a feeling he wanted to talk more about what happened before I came here.
It was so peaceful and quiet, I could actually feel the tension in my back, shoulders, and legs dissolving. Finni didn't need to talk the whole time, and it was only us and the animals. I tipped my head back and let the sun hit my face.; I couldn't get enough of it. It had been almost a year and a half since I'd seen the sun, and while I had always been fair-skinned, I thrived on the light. I would have preferred not to be locked in the restricting fashions of this time, though.
I had on a light blue dress, with a huge dark blue bow around the waist. The skirt of the dress was huge, with ruffled layer upon ruffled layer of a light, white material that gave it a huge shape. I absolutely refused to wear a corset, shoes, stockings, a hat, or bloomers, and I kept my hair down. I would have preferred to wear pants and a shirt, but… well, it looked like if I wore fewer clothes than I was already, at least one of the guys was going to explode.
I laid back, facing Finni, one arm dangling off the wall. I watched how the sun reflected off his hair. The heat from the sun and working had given him a sheen of sweat that glimmered and made him look sparkly. I was savoring the moment when I felt something coming down the road. I would have fallen off the wall, except I couldn't cross it. As it was, I jumped up and almost fell into the flowerbed.
"Something's coming," I said ominously. I wasn't getting bad vibes off it, but that didn't mean it wasn't something bad; it just meant it wasn't a complete and total disaster. As a carriage rounded the corner, I felt a tingle go up my neck. I couldn't really identify what I felt, if it was good or bad. I felt a little woozy.
The carriage barreled past us, and I saw a man looking out the window. And then it was gone, up the drive and to the front of the house. Sebastian was on the steps, the courteous butler as usual. I froze, hoping no one would call to me or notice me at all.
Once Sebastian had ushered the man and his people in, he turned. He shot me a look that said he knew I was there but hoped the men who had arrived didn't. I blushed and sat back down. I tried to forget about the man in the carriage, but as I tipped my face back to catch some more sun, the blur of his face I had seen entered my mind.
"So," I started nonchalantly, "Who was that man? Sebastian acted like he knew him." I hoped Finni couldn't tell how interested I really was with the man.
"That was the Viscount of Druitt, Lord Aleister Chamber. Master Ciel doesn't like him much, but Sebastian insists that he's treated respectfully. He is a viscount, after all." Finni went back to weeding like the man's position explained it. "He'll be attending the party on Thursday. He's probably confirming some outrageous request he's made as to the entertainment or food or something."
"Okay. Do you want some help with the weeding?" I hopped off the wall and got down next to him. "So which ones are weeds and which ones are flowers?" I looked at the pile of greens that he'd pulled out already. I wrapped my fingers around one that looked similar to those, but didn't pull it out. "These?"
"No, that's a flower. This is a weed." He grabbed a plant that looked like the same thing to me. "See how the stems have little white hairs on it? The flowers don't. If you run your fingers lightly over the stems like this, you can feel them."
He took my hand and moved it along the weed. It tickled the tips of my fingers and I started to pull my hand away, but turned to look at Finni instead. He was really close to me. Our arms were touching. I felt a heat start in my chest, and started to panic. The last time I felt that, weird things started happening; things that were weird even to me.
"I have to go," I whispered, then bolted. I stepped on a rock, but kept running. I knew I was probably trailing blood behind me, but I didn't care. I ran into the house but made sure I didn't slam the door. I was running past the study to my room, when I heard Ciel talking to the viscount.
"That's outrageous, Chamber. How am I supposed to find a solo violinist in two days? If you wanted something special, then you should have told me sooner or found your own!" It sounded like Ciel was getting really pissed off. There was a rustle of clothing and the sound of Sebastian murmuring into Ciel's ear. I opened the door and stepped inside.
"I play violin." Everyone looked my way. "Quiet well, actually." Sebastian looked surprised, a look I'd yet to see on his face. "Is it astonishing that I may be good at something?" Ciel looked dubious that I could do anything, let alone something that would be of use to him. The viscount stood up and clapped his hands once.
"Well, let's hear you play!" He looked expectantly around, as if a violin would have magically appeared. I took a moment to look at him. He had piercing blue eyes and shaggy golden hair. His eyes were dark blue-grey and framed by the longest lashes I have ever seen on a man. He was wearing a well-tailored white suit, white gloves, an ascot, and a huge ruby brooch.
"Miss Dawn," Sebastian said, handing me a violin that seemed to have really appeared from nowhere. He was treating me like some noble come to visit, instead of some girl who showed up and couldn't leave. I was just fine with that, though. I took up the violin and began to play a soft, mournful song. It was one I had written in my head to keep myself to keep from going completely mad when I was being held for 'science'. When I finished, there was a moment of silence.
"Bravo!" The viscount shouted, jumping back up and clapping. "It's like a woman, awaiting her lover, who never shows. It brings forth such feelings of longing and sadness!" He was very dramatic, dabbing at his eyes with a blue silk handkerchief. "Who composed the piece?"
"I did." I would have started getting defensive about it, but he was just so sincere, even if he was extraordinarily theatrical. I just didn't want to say something stupid. I shifted my weight to my left leg, but quickly pulled it off the floor. "Orokana kusorokku!" I pulled the rock out and put it in my pocket. "Does anyone have something I can stop the bleeding with?"
The viscount looked like he was going to faint. Since I pulled the rock out, my foot was bleeding more than it had been when I first came in. Sebastian pulled out a little square of fabric and handed it to me. He shot me an annoyed look where the viscount couldn't see, and I knew he was a little pissed off at me. He was probably just mad because I was bleeding all over his floors.
"From whence do you hail, Miss Dawn?" asked the viscount. "You have strange ways, and I've never heard an accent like yours." I scrunched up my forehead, trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get me sent to the loony bin.
"Very far away," I said at last. This wasn't really a lie, because I was from a different country. I just didn't tell him that I was from a different time as well. "Very, very far away." I fiddled with the rock in my pocket. "If that's all, can I go now? I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."
Ciel waved a hand, as if to shoo me away. That kid really rubbed me the wrong way. He thought he was better than everyone, and everyone else thought that, too. It took all I had not to go hit that brat, because he was just so stuck up. It was a major culture shock, going from everyone being equal to everyone being judged on their ancestry and wealth.
"Go on," said Ciel in that superior tone he had. I still wanted to hit him in the face, but I gritted my teeth and walked to the door. I could just feel his smirk, but kept walking. Instead of turning around and hitting him like I wanted to, I just growled loudly in the back of my throat. The viscount and Ciel jumped, but Sebastian just smiled. Glad I could do something right by him.
I limped to my room and into my private bathroom. I rinsed out the surprisingly large hole where the rock was. Tearing a washcloth into strips, I wrapped the strips around my foot. The fabric wasn't immediately soaked in blood, so I took that as a good sign. Testing it out a bit, I walked around, then ran out to the back yard to play with Pluto.
Pluto had actually managed to keep his suit on for more than five minutes today, and was sitting on the wall. He was smelling a rose he had picked from the bushes, and actually looked like a normal man. I ran over to him and sat down. He offered me the flower, and I took it, smelling it delicately. I smiled at him, and then jumped up.
"Why don't we go run or something, Pluto?" I grabbed him by the hands and started twirling. "Pluto, things are so different here than what I'm used to. You're such a good listener, although that's because no one expects you to talk back. What would they do if you learned English?"
I let go of Pluto's hands and we both fell back in the grass. He crawled over and laid right next to me. I was looking at the clouds, and Pluto was looking at me. Suddenly I felt something rough and wet touch my cheek. Pluto was licking my face! I sat up and scooted back.
"What're you doing? Why are you licking my face?" I made my voice hard and angry. Pluto crawled over to where I was on his belly and started licking my hand. I softened my voice. "Come on, you're ruining your suit. Sit up, and just don't do that again when I'm not expecting it."
I smiled and rocked up onto the balls of my feet. I crouched for a second, then took off running. I heard Pluto following me, on all fours. He tackled me from behind, but I flipped over so that I was on top of him. He tilted his head, showing me his neck in a sign of submission. For a supposedly vicious demon dog, he was very submissive. I bit him gently on the nose and got off.
"Let's go see what Bard is doing. Maybe he has a treat for you." Pluto heard the word "treat" and took off running for the house. "Pluto, wait!" I jogged after him, not feeling the need to actually catch up with him. He got to the side door and stopped, anyway. "Yeah, didn't think about the door, did you? What're you gonna do if I don't open it for you?"
Pluto jumped at the door and whined. That's a very compelling argument. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. I have a soft spot for guys that act like such ukes*. I guess it's my mothering nature. I petted Pluto on the head and peeked around the door.
"Is Sebastian in here, Bard?" Bard was slicing vegetables at the counter. He stopped and set the knife down.
"No, why?"
"Because I'm bringing Pluto in." I pushed Pluto in the door and slid in after him. " I know that Sebastian hates him in the house, but he's being good today. He's even wearing his suit, see?" I pulled Pluto's tie straight. "He could pass for human, if he wasn't sitting on the floor."
Pluto started licking my hands again. I frowned at him and pulled my hands back. He whined and laid down by my feet. I sat down in a small chair that was propped against the wall. Bard tossed Pluto a little piece of meat he had set apart from the rest, probably a treat he had been planning to take to him later.
"Hey, Bard, what's the party on Thursday for?"
"I'm not sure, but I do know that this is the first time that Master Ciel has hosted a party in this house. This isn't the original Phantomhive House. The first one burnt down a little more than three years ago. Master Ciel never hosts parties, but right before you showed up, he said we were going to." Bard shook his head. "Strange, all of it, but it's not my place to question."
"Why is everyone like that? I don't understand what's so important about place or class. Where I came from, everyone was the same. We learned the same things, and we all got along. Everything's just so weird here!" I took a deep breath and tried to calm down a little. I was getting loopy, and I knew it, but if I clamped down on it now I wouldn't go full-scale psycho.
"It's how the world is." Bard shrugged his shoulders and went back to cutting vegetables. "But where you're from sounds nice." Bard talked like he longed for a society like that. I shrugged my shoulders.
"My town was kind of isolated, and lots of old traditions that were taboo in other places were still around. For instance, the burning and/or torture of suspected witches." I pulled my knees up to my chest. "It was like everyone was two people. They were nice, caring people who would give their last dollar to a stranger in need, and then they were the people who could do such cruel things to me, a girl they'd known my whole life, just because my existence conflicted with their views of the world."
"I cannot believe that you could conflict with anyone, even if you tried. But my opinion doesn't matter because I'm just a -" I jumped up and put my hand over his on the knife.
"Don't you dare say you're just a servant, or working class, or whatever you were going to say. You're more than just your station in life, Bard. Trust me on this. There is going to come a day when you feel like you're nothing, or that you're unimportant; don't say you're not like that, it happens to everyone. Just know, when that day comes, that you are important to anyone who truly knows you, and you will always matter."
"Dawn Michaelis, you are not like other girls." Bard shook his head again, then went back to chopping vegetables.
"Well, Bard, that is the understatement of the century."
* If you don't know what a uke is, then I suggest you Google it. And for future reference, Google is my answer for almost everything.
Review please? I'll love you forever and ever if you all write one review! And if not... Well, beware. I could take even longer to get the next chapter out.