Staring down at the coffin that laid in rest in the 6 foot hole, Lillith stood by her little brother. The two had already spilled what tears they had for their mother. Now all that remained was the tearless sniffles that Daniel was currently giving. By now, most who had showed up for the funeral had left to avoid the rain, but Lillith wanted to stay. She wasn't ready to let go of her mother.
"Lilly," Edgard placed a hand on her shoulder, his grey eyes red from his own weeping.
"We should go. Don't want you going off and getting sick too." he chuckled softly in hopes of raising her mood. The only response he got back from her was a chilling stare, her eyes dull. The innocent light that had once been in those emerald eyes had died out, leaving behind only a pool of green.
"Hes right.." Daniel sniffed as he whipped his eyes. His hand, which was in Lillith's, tightened. Edgard looked behind him to his butler, Smith. "cover us. Let's take these two home."
With a nod, Smith held the black umbrella over the black clothed children. His hard, bright blue eyes softened. Even the bright and optimistic Daniel had lost his happiness. In silence, he lead the three to the carriage.
Lillith turned her head, muttering only last silent goodbye to her mother.
"iz time to wake up, Mademoiselle." A smooth, yet firm, female voice ordered. Slowly, Lillith fluttered her eyes open, finding the room bathed in sunlight. Jezebel smiled over her shoulder at her young mistress as she tied back the last curtain.
"Ah you awoke a lot ezier today, no? I've brought you Moon Drop tea, this morning."
Lillith rose up slowly, her eyes staring out the window. "You've served me that tea a lot.." She forced her eyes to leave the window, his lifeless green orbs staring at her french maid as she prepared the tea.
Jezebel Paused. "would you prefer i serve you somezhing else, Mademoiselle?"
Lillith shook her head. "No. Its my favorite." taking the Cup and plate, she sipped the warm intoxicating tea, allowing the sweet, yet bitter, taste to smoothly run down her neck. It sent shivers down her spine almost every time. "Whats on my agenda today?"
Jezebel glanced up at her mistress as she dressed her, starting with her dress. "Considering yesterday's events, I went a'ead and rescheduled today's lessons to Tomorrow. Instead, Edgard will be joining us for a little while, as well as ze Phantomhive siblings." she explained, finishing buttoning up the dress. It was as it always was. Pure white with a cream colored trim. Jezebel lead her mistress to the vanity, Picking up a Victorian brush as she did so.
Lillith sighed, taking a seat. "Yesterday he wouldn't stop apologizing for his cousin." Jezebel paused her brushing, her eyes narrowing slightly at her mistress's green orbs. "Forgive me, my lady, but if i remember correctly, you made a contract with me because z'you needed me. I cant exactly be there for you if you don't let me." Lillith Glared lightly, a hiss slipping past her lips.
She didn't like be scolded. not by anyone. Certainly not by her own maid. "I made a contract for your help in finding my brother. I can take care of myself just fine." Jezebel sighed softly. "very well, Mademoiselle.."
Once Lillith's hair was pulling into a loose ponytail, Jezebel took the cream colored ribbon and tied it firmly in place. As usual, Lillith's curls bounced. Slipping on her heels herself to prover her point, Lillith smirked slightly.
"lets go. Edgard will be here soon." Jezebel frowned, giving a slow nod.
"Beautiful, as always."
Lillith turned her head to the voice, her lifeless eyes falling onto those grey ones that she grew up knowing. She turned back to what she was doing, being careful not to cut herself with the clippers. She was currently tending to her garden, which was originally raised by her mother. "I try my best." She smirked, slipping a rose into the vase Jezebel followed her with. She figured that while she was tending to the garden, she might as well make something for her dinning room.
"I was talking about you." Edgard cooed, slipping his arms around her. She huffed, shaking him off her, a light pink brushing across her cheeks. "I'd be careful what you do, considering the weapon i carry." she grumbled, shaking the clippers in front of him.
Edgard gave a nervous chuckle, holding his hands up in front of him. "Y-you have a point.. Oh!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a long box. He held it out to her, a grin pulling at his lips. Lillith rose a curious brow as she pulled her gloves off, finger by finger. He was known for surprising her with random acts of kindness, but being as bitter as she was, she never knew how to act.
"Happy birthday~!" Edgard beamed. The box he held was white with a cream ribbon, like the colors she usually wore.
Lillith's eyes widened, her mind wrapping around his words.
Birthday..?
Birthday..
BIRTHDAY!
Her eyes twitched in irritation. How could she forget her own birthday? How forgetful..Slowly, she took the box from Edgard. "what.. is it..?" she muttered, shaking it beside her ear. Edgard rolled his eyes, smiling in amusement. "Oh, dear, just open it." he held his hands behind his back. Lillith stared at the box, her eyes taking in every detail it had to off her. slowly, she untied the ribbon, pocketing it for safe keeping. Her hand grazed over the box before taking a firm hold and pulling it apart. Her eyes softened on the emerald pendant choker. She pulled it out, being careful with it. It was heavy, hinting that the material used was strong. "Edgard-.." she trailed off, a sigh escaping her mouth.
It wasn't that she didn't like it. She lovedit, actually. Her eyes traveled down to her family ring, On it was an emerald resting on a silver band. the choker looked like a perfect match. The problem was that she didn't know what to say. it was.. to much.
"I see it's already started." A young male voice spoke. Edgard and Lillith turned their heads to see the two Phantomhive siblings, their butler following them close behind. Lillith threw her gaze back to the choker. "Care to do the honor's?" She held out the choker to Edgard, an artificial smile pulling at her lips. Beaming with pride, Edgard nodded, hooking the choker around Lillith's neck.
"Its awfully, pretty." Cyrene smiled. Sebastian nodded, waving his arm dramatically. "A fine selection for a Lily, i must say. Her, the blooming flower, now has her steam to hold her high above the rest." Ciel's brow twitched. Sometimes Sebastian could be a little odd, even for him. Lillith blinked. "uh-.. Yeah. I think I'll just stick with 'pretty'." she decided. Jezebel smirked. "A fine Deci'sion, Mademoiselle." Sebastian sighed softly, shoot down. Cyrene chuckled, patting his arm lightly.
"You must not be into big parties. It appears we're the only ones here for your birthday." She pointed out, looking around curiously for any other hidden sign of life. Lillith tensed up a little.
"To be honest, i forgot it was my birthday."
Edgard and Cyrene gasped lightly. Jezebel, Sebastian and Ciel was just as surprised, but had too much pride to show for it. "If i may ask, how does one forget their own birthday?" Sebastian asked. Lillith walked over to the outdoor table set, trailing her fingers along her medication that laid on top of it.
Considering her condition, she carried it everywhere to help ease her pain.
"As the days pass, i grow weaker and more useless to the world around me." Edgard placed a hand on her shoulder. Unlike usual, she didn't shake him off. she picked up one of the bottles, glaring at it. "These bottles are useless to me.. All they do is stop it from hurting as much. They will never be able to extend my life past its expiration date." she huffed, clutching the bottle. She tossed it to the side with a huff. Jezebel caught it effortlessly, a smirk playing on her lips. Lillith glared lightly at her. "That being said, I always tend to forget such things."
Edgard frowned softly. "You shouldn't talk like that.." Lillith rose a brow, turning her eyes towards him. "You expect me to lie? Have you forgotten my mother's code to being a lady? A Rosemond lady never lies."
"Your mother sounds like a smart women." Ciel smirked, his cold ocean eyes locking with Lillith's for a moment. Heat rose to her face, but she turned away before the others could see. "Yes, that she was.." Lillith turned, the redness in her face gone now. She picked up her gardening gloved and the vase of flowers she picked. "Lets get out of this sun. I've had what i could tolerate of the outside world." she smirked.
Cyrene blinked lightly, staring silently at the painting of the Rosemond Family in admiration. Lillith had let them into the entertainment room, which had a Piano, 5 bookcases filling with medical booklets, old children stories, and many novels.
"Z'is was made by a french painter, long before my arrival 'ere as Mademoiselle's maid." Jezebel explained. Cyrene smiled softly, nodding. though she didn't care for the fact, it was still nice to see that her maid was on top of things. "So, your 13 now?" Lillith looked up at Cyrene from the love seat, her brow raising in confusion. "I believe so."
"when i turned 13, Mother took me to the park with Ciel, who was currently 7. I know it doesn't sound like much but.. spending that little time away from home without having to act a certain way at social gatherings was nice. It made me happy." Cyrene smiled slightly. "Maybe you should do the same? after all, we've all have a pretty troublesome week."
Lillith leaned back in her seat, placing a hand on her forehead. She had just gotten out of the sun not to long ago. Why would she suddenly want to go back out there?
"we could have a picnic." Cyrene smiled.
The sky was almost clear, expect for the few white clouds that roamed by. Her and her Mother sat on a blanket, empty plates and tea glasses surrounding them. A tree overshadowed them, leaning back and forth with each gust of wind, making a cracking sound each time. The branch above them had a small red ribbon tied around it. Her mother had given it to Daniel, and gave him permission to tie it up there.
As he said, he wanted to leave a copy of the memory behind, as well as carry it.
Not far from Lillith and her Mother was her Father and Daniel, tossing a small ball back in forth. Daniel's laugh echoed in the air.
"Can i play too, mother?" Lillith smiled softly as her mother, who sat beautiful as ever, sipped her tea. She gave her daughter a sad frown. "Your getting too old to be playing in such a way. Here." she turned for a moment, shuffling through her bag before handing Lillith a book. It was on flowers. "I know you want to enjoy yourself, but its time you start learning how to behave. Not only as a lady, but a Rosemond lady."
Lillith tried to small from her sitting place on the large blanket, but it was hard knowing that her brother was enjoying herself while she sat in with a stupid elder's book.
"Lillith?" a soft voice questioned. Lillith blinked, looking over to the source of the voice. Edgard stood in front of her, a worried expression on his face as he wave his hand in front of her. "Welcome back to reality! You were spacing out again. Scared me for a moment, i must say." He chuckled. Lillith lowered her eyes, shaking her head in hopes of forcing the memory away.
Now she hadto go. just to see if that ribbon was still there.
"So, how about it? I've already hugged Ciel into complete submission." Cyrene smirked. Ciel, on the other hand, still didn't seem very willing. But obviously he didn't want to be attacked by his sister's neck crushing 'love' again. Lillith sighed softly. "Fine. on one condition." the group leaned in, each with the same curious look.
"why THIS tree?" Ciel huffed, tired from the long walk. The tree itself was on top a tall hill. just past it was a fishing pond, that could be seen easily from under the tree's comforting shade. it was a long, hard walk, but well worth it.
Obviously, however, Ciel's bitter heart was unable to capture the beauty of the spot. Lillith smirked to herself. She'd expect nothing less from a damned soul with a blackened heart.
"The location is a perfect example of rewarding hard work. I must commend you on your eye for beauty, Lady Lillith." Sebastian gave her that chilling smile. It was much like her Mother's smile was before she perished. Ciel simply huffed as he watched Jezebel set the blanket down under the tree. "Actually, I'd be lying if I said I was the one that found it. My Mother found it herself when she was around my age." Lillith muttered, gently grazing her hand on the bark of the tree.
"Auntie Rossila~. She always had such classy tastes." Edgard cooed, skipping over to the blanket to set the basket he carried down. Sebastian and Ciel sat the once they carried down as well, pulling out the plates and silverware.
Ciel's expression softened, but he continued to huff and grumble. "It is lovely, I suppose.." he muttered.
"But even the beauty isn't the reason why I picked this tree." Lillith muttered, Her eyes making their way up the large tree. Ciel blinked at her, his eyes curiously following her gaze. He blinked in confusion, staring at the long, stained and ripped ribbon that hung from the tree. The wind blew it carelessly. Though it was old and rather ugly now, it had a strange beauty about it.
Cyrene and Edgard gazed at it for a few moments, then looked at each other in confusion.
"It was my mothers." Lillith muttered, standing to her feet. "Daniel tied it up there a long time ago. I was 9, I believe. Daniel didn't go missing until exactly 3 years ago. on my Birthday."
Ciel's frown deepened. He didn't even know she had a brother. Much less that he went missing. It certainly pieced together a few things for him. he looked to his sister, who's hand was trembling silently. She couldn't imagine being without her little brother. He was all she had left, really. He was the light in her cold dark room. Sebastian placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Sebastian-" He shook his head, cutting her off. "If i couldn't comfort my mistress, what kind of butler would i be?" he explained, smiling that demon smile of his.
That chilling demonsmile.
Ciel had to turn away. It was hard having to watch her like that.
"i had almost forgotten that, too." Lillith muttered, tracing the emerald on her choker. "But coming here reminded me. He would always do these little things, claiming to be leaving a memory behind. That way he'd always remember it again when he'd see what he left behind. I suppose it works for the both of us." Lillith smirked, making her way over to the tree.
Edgard quickly stood up, Jezebel and Ciel doing the same. "Lilly, what are you doing?" Edgard demanding, watching as she grabbed a hold of the tree, pulling herself up a little ways. Lillith turned her head towards them, a look of burning determination gleaming behind her eyes. "Taking that memory back!" she huffed. Edgard rushed over, taking a hold of her leg. "You'll fall!" He huffed.
Pulling her free leg back, she kicked Edgard his jaw. Edgard stumbled back, almost falling. He placed a hand over his cheek in shocked. "She's gone mad.." he muttered. Ciel smirked softly. He admired it, it anything. it was only proof that she'd do anything to achieve her goals.
Much like himself.
Lillith took a hold of the red ribbon. she smirked smugly, Becoming cocky. "Lillith-!" Cyrene called. Lillith's foot slipped and before she knew it, she was falling.
Jezebel leaped into the air, catching her mistress with easy. "honestly, 'ow do i deal wiz' such a reckless Mistress?" she muttered softly, smirking down at Lillith. Lillith glared silently.
"the ribbon.." Cyrene muttered, a small smile forming.
Lillith looked past Jezebel's head to the branch where the ribbon once laid.
But it was still there.
Only difference was that it had been ripped cleanly in half. the other half rested in Lillith's tightly gripped first. Lillith moved out of her maid's arms, sitting on her knees in silence.
"Looks like hes still hanging out." Ciel muttered, gathering everyone's attention.
"He must be pretty forgetful too." his lips pulled back in a smirk, his ocean eyes turning towards Lillith's emeralds ones.
Lillith turned away, heat once again raising to her face. What was it about those cold ocean eyes that got to her..? Her head snapped up, realization striking her. "Jezebel." Her maid turned, raising a brow to her mistress. "yes, My lady?" Lillith pulled out the cream colored ribbon Edgard had tied around the box that once held her choker. A smirk played at her lips.
"I want to make a memory."