"A Rosemond lady iz always kind. A Rosemond Lady iz always well mannered.."
Jezebel stopped reading, closing the folder silently. Lillith claimed to think her mothers notes on being a young lady was trash, but that was obviously not the case since she requested that Jezebel read them to her every night until she was to fall asleep.
Jezebel smiled softly, gently moving a stray hair from her mistress's face. Yes, she'd make a tasty soul to steal.
It had been a few days since Lady Lillith's birthday, and it seemed that her spirits had brightened. It made her happy to see her mistress's bitterness slowly melt away.
Lillith breaths were short, her face pale and her eyes bank with a dark shade of green. She laid bare with nothing surrounding her but darkness. In a matter of days, she had lost it all. First her mother, then her health, then her father and now her brother. "what iz your wish, girl?" a pair of bright blue cat eyes appeared in the darkness. slowly, a silhouette of a cat appeared, licking its paw. It seemed to be the source of the smooth yet firm female voice. Lillith's hands tightened into fists, her tired eyes glaring lightly. "I want my brother back.. I want to see him smile again..! I want to make whoever took him from me pay in blood..!" The cat chuckled, but its mouth didn't move. Its stare became hard on her, the blue orbs brightening that much more in interest. "Your sick, aren't you 'uman? You'll surely need immortal hands to 'elp you carry out your wish.." Lillith narrowed her eyes. "i didn't ask you to state the obvious. Just tell me rather or not we have a deal?" the air thickened as she cat appeared on Lillith chest. "You'll make a tasty soul to steal. We 'ave a deal.. Lillith Alienor Rosemond." Lillith rose from her bed, running a hand through her messy long wood colored hair. Had it all been a dream..? She peeked down, finding that she was wearing her night gown. but something new laid on her chest. A odd star shaped tattoo rested just below her collar bone. "Good morning, milady." A smooth yet firm voice called. Lillith snapped her head up with wide eyes, her vision falling on a blond haired, blue eyed women. She wore a maid's dress with a matching hat. "who are you?" Lillith hissed. A smirk pulled at her the maid's tainted lips. "Z'ats up to you, My lady.."
Lillith's eyes fluttered opened, feeling the sun's familiar rays hitting her face. "Its awfully bright.." she muttered, groaning as she rose from her bed. Jezebel smiled over her shoulder as she tied the curtains back. "z'Itz' a beautiful day outside. not a single cloud in ze sky." She made her way over, her dress flowing gracefully behind her, and poured her a cup of tea. Lillith sipped the warm liquid, her eyes widening for a moment at the taste.
"Earl Grey, in honor of our guest today." Jezebel informed, preparing Lillith's dress for the day.
"And who might that be?"
Jezebel smirked, sensing irritation rolling off her mistresses tongue. "The Phantomhive siblings. z'It seem they 'ave something important to talk to you about." Lillith sighed softly, rubbing the bridge of her noes. "And why didn't they ask before coming?"
Jezebel gave a soft smile. "perhaps zits more important z'hen you think, milady. Do calm yourself. You don't want to become ill zis early in the morning, do you?" She asked, Slipping Lillith's gown off. She eyed the mark along her chest silently, smirking to herself.
"A Rosemond lady is always patient.." Lillith muttered to herself. She sighed lightly and looked away, admiring the world outside her window.
Beautiful day..? Everyday was beautiful, to Lillith. After all, Everyday was one day closer to being her last.
Dear, Lillith, Its come to my attention that perhaps I closed your case on your brothers disappearance too soon. There been an increase on young boys going missing lately, and it seems odd that the number increased shortly your brothers own disappearance . There's been some cases of young girls going missing as well. As my "Pet" I'm expecting you to look into this as quickly as possible. Love, Your Queen, Victoria.
Lillith's mouth gaped opened in silence, unable to register the letter before her. She bit her lip, reading the words again. This was her second chance to find her brother! She jumped at the sound of knocking and quickly put the letter away. "come in." she called, looking at a different letter.
"Ze guests are here, my lady." Jezebel bowed her head in respect before moving to the side to allow Ciel and his sister, Cyrene, to pass. Ciel kept his eyes low, which got Lillith's attention. Cyrene, however, simply smiled, giving a silent wave. Lillith rose a curious brow, carefully setting the letter she held down.
"Jezebel told me you two were coming unannounced. as much as i enjoy both your company, I must say I find this rather annoying." she tightened her hands together, making a popping sound, Leaning on her study desk. Ceil took a seat in one of the chairs that faced the desk, his sister doing the same. "My young masters are deeply sorry. You see.." Sebastian stopped as Ciel rose a hand, signalling him to silence himself.
"The Queen sent me a letter." He began, still avoiding her eyes. "I had no idea she closed your case. I can imagine your heartache." Lillith narrowed her eyes, turning her eyes away from him now. She felt her hands tightened even more while her brow twitched.
"I don't want your pity you-!" "Let me help."
Lillith snapped her eyes back to him, wide with shock towards his words. Cyrene chuckled nervously. "What he means is.. We were issued a mission to help track down your brother, as well as the others who have mysteriously gone missing. Considering you were the one to open the case in the first place w-"
"I got the same letter." Lillith muttered, her eyes trailing down to where she hid it. Jezebel blinked silently, looking down at her mistress. The sadness that flowed from her lifeless green orbs made her own heart ache silently. "Mistress-.." Lillith rose her hand stopping her. "You wish to help? So be it. But i have a contract to fulfill, and you two better not get in the way of it." she stood up from her desk, glaring softly at the two before leaving the room, slamming the door behind her.
A smirk pulled at Jezebel's lips.
"Please understand milady's actions. Z'is is important to her. I hope her hostel be'avior doesn't alter your thoughts on 'er." Jezebel bowed, Leading the Phantomhive siblings to the door. Ciel placed a hand on the custom hand carved door, taking a short moment to admire the large gold painted 'R' that rested in the middle of the double doors. His ocean eyes narrowed, his lips curving in a smirk.
"We'll be by tomorrow to pick you and lady Lillith up." He nodded his goodbye before walking out the door, his sister and butler following close behind. The investigation had been barred for quite some time, but Ciel had an idea on where to begin. He had already come in contact with a certain man who was in the black market business. "Young master?" Sebastian's voice broke Ciel from his thoughts, making him look up carefully.
Sebastian opened the carriage door, helping his too young masters inside before entering as well. "Are you sure this is such a good idea? Lady Lillith doesn't seem stable, as it is.." Cyrene waved her hand, dismissing the butler's worries.
"Unstable, yes, but it seems her case has something to do with what happened to us. It seems only natural that we team up." Cyrene explained, leaning back into her seat. Ciel nodded in agreement with his sister, letting his eyes drift to the window. They slowly began to pull away, passing by the many flowers that rested on the Rosemond estate.
"Needless to say, if we get nothing out of it, at least we'll be serving the Queen." His eyes roamed over to a patch of lilies that rested at the exit gate. To be honest, he found the sick girl to be an interesting person. Though her sickness had made her bitter and mentally unstable, he could see that she was a determined girl who wasn't scared of doing the unthinkable to get what she wanted.
And he could certainly respect that.
Lillith sighed softly, clipping the choker Edgard had given her around her neck. Since Edgard had insisted on coming along, she didn't want to upset him by not wearing it. She leaned in a little closer to her vanity mirror to check and make sure it was centered perfectly. "You seem tense." She rose her eyes to her maid, Jezebel, who looked at her with concern. Lillith shrugged her slim shoulders, her eyes trailing back to herself in the mirror.
Somehow, her room felt a little darker then usual. And that was saying a lot considering her room was themed with white. Lillith stood, making her way over to the window. the sky was coated in a collection of grey. Lillith's eyes narrowed softly, her lips pulling in a tight fine line. She enjoyed rainy days, but not when it meant she'd be getting wet.
"I see. Has z'e weather effected your mood?" Jezebel smirked, taking her place beside Lillith. Only the silence answered her, hinting that Jezebel was probably right. "Come, Jezebel." Lillith turned, leading the way out of her room
"A Rosemond lady is Always kind.." Lillith repeated as she descended down the stairs, her medication fitted neatly in her dress pocket. Her ears perked up to the sound of knocking. "Jezebel," Lillith turned on her heel to order her maid to answer the door, but she didn't appear to be behind her anymore. "Come in." Lillith blinked, turning back around to see Jezebel had already opened the door to let Edgard inside.
Slightly impressed, Lillith smirked as she made her way down, allowing Edgard to hug her in greeting. "You don't look so good." Edgard pouted, placing a hand on her forehead. Lillith hissed, pushing his hand away from her face.
"Its just the weather." she huffed
"Our escorts 'ave arrived, milady." Lillith nodded to Jezebel before following her outside, Edgard following silently.
"Good morning." Cyrene smiled, nodding her head in greeting to the three. Lillith turned her head towards the window as she took her seat, a frown pulling at her lips. "A morning that more so lacks 'good' and more so 'bad'."
Cyrene's smile fell, showing her more honest expression.
"Here." she handed Lillith a folder, papers filling its contents. "I'm glad you brought Edgard along. We'll be needing him for our first stop." Lillith rose a brow at Cyrene, who only shrugged and nodded her head to her brother. "Aleister Chamber is our current primary suspect considering he was behind a few.. interesting cases." Ciel muttered, watching as Lillith flipped through the papers.
Edgard shuddered, casting his eyes downward. It wasn't that he didn't care for his uncle, he just didn't know how to handle his.. mistakes. Lillith rose a curious brow before nodding. "If anything, perhaps he knows something." Lillith handed to papers to Edgard, allowing him to look over them. "Or perhaps he's behind all of it." Cyrene narrowed her eyes silently.
"Either way," Ciel spoke up, catching everyone attention, "Whatever we find out, I want you to remain calm." Hes ocean eyes stared into Lillith's emerald ones carefully, concern in them. A little taken back, Lillith simply nodded before looking down to her feet. She had been thinking hard on her brother since the case was re-opened. She had heard rumors floating around that she was 'crazy' and 'unstable', rather that was true or not she didn't even know. All she really knew was that she wanted her brother back. Perhaps that HAD made her a little unstable, but that didn't matter to her. So long as she got him back, it didn't matter.
"They say I'm sick in the head, don't they?" Edgard gave Lillith an uneasy look while Ciel and Cyrene simply stared. "Well of course. Your actions haven't proved otherwise." Ciel chuckled softly. It surprised Edgard how open he was over the fact. "But personally," Lillith blinked at him. "I think you have every right."
Before Lillith could reply, the carriage came to complete halt, making the group shuffle a little from the sudden stop. "We're here, my lord." Sebastian, who had been leading the carriage, peeked through the small window behind Lillith and Edgard.
One by one, everyone piled out. Edgard sighed softly, a shiver running down his spin. the manor was beautiful, but it didn't hold many good memories for him. Ciel's expression matched Edgard, his brow twitching upward at whatever was running though his mind. Cyrene, however, just seemed annoyed with the manor.
"Lets get this over with." Ciel huffed, leading the way.
The door swung open after some delay from the knock, a butler standing with a look of slight surprise on his face. "Master Edgard.. I had no idea you were planning a visit.." The butler's lip twitched uncomfortably, obviously not pleased with the extra guests.
"Er.. its more on the lines of business." Edgard rubbed the back of his head, a nervous laugh slipping past his lips. "Well, follow me. Your lucky he didn't have much planned for today."
"Jezebel," Jezebel's head perked up. "Stay here. i don't want it too crowded." Lillith ordered, taking a quick swig of her medication. Jezebel gave a firm nod. "You too." the Phantomhive siblings ordered their butler in unison. Ciel glared lightly at his sister, who only smirked in amusement. Sebastian, his smirk matching Cyrene's, bowed. "of course."
Lillith wiggled uncomfortably in her seat, her lifeless eyes looking around the room uneasily. She didn't trust that man in the slightest, and by the looks of it, neither did the others. "Does it always smell like smoke in here?" Ciel huffed, placing a cloth over his noes in hopes of blocking out the smell. Edgard sighed softly, running a sweaty hand through his blonde hair.
The door opened in a burst, revealing a tall blonde hair and purple eyed man spinning gracefully into the room. "Do my ears tease me? Is my dear sweet nephew really here to visit his dear uncle?! Oh how bright my day has become!" he stopped infront of the window, lightning striking in the background. Lillith gulped silently, her grip on her seat becoming tighter.
"I-its nice to see you too, uncle." Edgard's voice cracked.
Aleister scooped Edgard into his arms, spinning him wildly like a rag doll. "Oh how sweet it is to see you with my dear sisters beautiful hair. Oh! i see you brought some.. guests, as well." He blinked at the three others who sat silently, color drained from their faces while a sweat drop eased its way down their faces.
Lillith shook her fear away, her brow twitching. "That's enough of your childish behavior, Aleister." she tossed the file of papers on his desk, her emerald eyes glaring into his own purple gem orbs. His once dashing smile melted into a serious look, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Ah, my nephew's fiance. The darker side of the family. I see the Queen's dogs are here too. how delightful." he took a seat behind his desk, taking the folder in his hands. "For what do i owe this interesting visit-?" he stopped, his eyes widening silently.
"The case.. has been re-opened?"
Cyrene snatched the folder from him, feeling that it was all he needed to see. "Well done. Glad to see your eyes are as well as your mouth." she huffed. Aleister's body tensed as he leaned back. "So you think i have something to do with it?" Ciel nodded, waving his hand dismissively. "More or less. That or you know something about it." his eyes narrowed silently at the man before him.
"As you know, my brother was very dear to me. As WE know, human trafficking is dear to you. There are many cases of which I've chosen to ignore for Edgard's sake." Ciel and Cyrene snapped their heads over to Lillith, who was now standing with her hand on Edgard's shoulder. "Surely, you don't want me to crush all your hard work and murder your name among all other nobles? You tell us what we want to know, however, and no one has to know." Aleister smiled softly as he dabbed a cloth on his forehead to whip the sweat away. "Your a difficult one, my lady."
"So do we have a deal, or not?" Ciel huffed, growing annoyed with the back and forth nonsense. Aleister Sighed softly, leaning back in his seat. "Of course.." He stood up, going towards his bookcase for a moment. He shuffled through some books before pulling out one and blowing the dust off of it. "I've learned to keep letters and keep them safe, in case i am to ever need them again. In here is where i believe you'll find your answers." He returned, dropping the book on the desk and sending out a cloud of dust.
The four waved their hands, coughing lightly. Slowly, Aleister opened the book. Each page was another letter addressed to him from someone else, the hand writings each just as unique as the last. He flipped through the pages, humming to himself until he stopped, his purple eyes gleaming. "Ah. Here we are. The honorable General Dweller." he carefully pulled the letter out, Holding it gently out to Lillith. Ciel took it before she could grabbed it. "General Dweller?" he huffed, scanning over the letter. Lillith glared silently.
"The letter talks of his newest treasures, at the time. You see, I'm not the only human trafficker. He was well known among us as a legend who used his position in the army to his advantages. As it so happens, he stumbled upon many young men here around the time your brother went missing. This is his last known letter. The address should at least take you to someone who knows where hes at now. But be careful.." The group looked up from the letter to see Aleister's serious stare.
"Not everyone is as kind and understanding as me."
Lillith couldn't help but chuckled. "I'm sure we'll be fine." Ciel nodded, placing the letter neatly in the folder with the other papers on Daniel and the case. "Good day, sir." he tipped his hat lightly before standing and turning off, his sister, Lillith, and Edgard following silently.
Aleister smiled and waved them off until the door closed. His expression darkened. Silently, he picked up his phone, sitting back down.
"Yes, Exterminator?"
"You were pretty quiet in there." Cyrene rose a brow at Edgard, who was still rather pale.
"to be honest, He scares me half to death." He shuddered, opening the front door. Standing there was Sebastian and Jezebel, who anxiously awaiting their master's return.
"Ah, young master, mistress, I trust it all went well." Cyrene watched the folder in front of Sebastian with a smirk, giving a wink. "If we could get a clue on a simply case, then what kind of detectives would we be?" Sebastian chuckled softly. "indeed, My lady." he lead the way silently through Aleister's front garden, back to the carriage that awaited their arrival.
Lillith bit her bottom lip, her mind cluttering with the information she had gathered today. It felt.. Bittersweet. She felt like she was getting closer to her brother, but at the same time, it felt like she had re-opened a long healed scar. Could she fix it before she'd bleed out?
She stopped, turning to take a look at the mansion again. The white stoned manor stared at her mockingly, lightning striking behind it. It was more so like something she'd imagine while reading a haunting story, on a cold winter night. Silently she counted in her head the seconds it took for the sound of thunder to reach her ears.
"Lets go, Lillith." Ciel ordered, waiting outside the carriage. The others were already inside, awaiting the two.
The sound of thunder finally reached them. But something didn't seem right about it. By the time it took Lillith to realize what had happened, it was too late. Her feet had left the ground, shards of emerald glittering past her as she flew backwards.
That was no thunder.
Lillith slid to a halt, face down in the dirt. Her once curly hair that laid in a ponytail at the top of her head was in a messy clutter around her head. Ciel's eyes widened, watching as her cream colored ribbon floated down to the ground in front of his eyes. The shards from her choker became mixed into the dirt as rain began to fall.
It was a shot to the neck. There was no way she could have possible survived.
"Lillith..!"