Kuroshitsuji III

by: DUke Aster Williams

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my characters (Earl Barrett Francis Lockwood and Johann Weyer) and this plot. No Beta. SYOC. Ceza and Cez belong to DarkShade221.

Dear Reader,

As promised to give you guys a long chapter, but I think I wrote too much so I had to divide it up into two chapters. I honestly don't know when I'm updating this, but Merry Christmas if any of you celebrate Christmas. If you don't then Happy Holidays and hope you enjoy this little gift-bonus-what-ever-you-want-to-call-this chapter.

Until next chapter,

~DUke Aster Williams and Earl Barrett F. Lockwood


Chapter Four: A Butler's Mystery Part I

-Earl Ciel Phantomhive's Second Household-

The twins stood at the door way in the entrance halls, patiently waiting for any sign of the Earl coming back. It didn't really occur to them that the Earl and butler would take such rumors seriously, were Sebastian and Ciel that desperate? The two pondered the idea of the rumors of being true, but they didn't really think that a mere human was capable of committing such a display of murder. As their red eyes glowed in the darkness, their gaze soon met before they instantly knew what they wanted to do. If the Earl and butler were going to be gone for a while, why couldn't they have some fun of their own? Within a blink of an eye, the twins walked out of the small manor and locked the door before running into the woods. Slowly but surely a hazy mist surrounded their bodies as the forms of the twin's changed into large black wolves. Bearing sharp fangs and piercing crimson, red eyes the two wolves demons howled up at the moon before a chorus in the distance could be heard. The hunt has begun.

-Earl Barrett Lockwood's Household-

Earl Barrett Lockwood held his hands behind his back as he walked in the garden. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining down onto the stone path way. It was a pleasant day out and the Earl was pleased to see such a beautiful garden. A small smile was on his face as stared off into the sky without a care in the world with two tall figures behind him. Circling around him were two young transparent boys who were giggling and playing in the open space. Luka and Jim Macken, the latter formally known as Alois Trancy, were once against reunited and had found their way to the Lockwood Manor. The two lost souls didn't know why they found the Earl, they felt as if they were being drawn to him by an invisible force, but that wasn't important to the two brothers. What mattered was that they were reunited with one another and started a new life with the demons they had signed contracts with. Hannah Anafeloz and Claude Faustus stood behind Earl Lockwood, both of them kept an eye on the two boys. For the two demon souls, Hannah and Claude were happy that they found this small piece of paradise and were grateful for the protection it provided. When they were demons they didn't even know that such a place exists. They thought that demons ceased to exist when they died and that they only had one purpose in life, which was to devour and consume souls. Now they knew that demons and humans were not as different as they thought, they did have a purpose and the will to live.

"Oh Lockwood~" a high pitched masculine voice called as a red blur pounced onto the Earl. The two demon souls disappeared, fearing that they would be caught by the intruder.

"Lady Sutcliffe, what a fine day it is to see your lovely face again," the Earl awkwardly smiled as he kissed the grim reaper's hand.

"Oh stop," Grell said as he was a bit flattered.

"Aye, but it is true. Shall I have Weyer fetch us a cup of tea so we may enjoy this pleasant weather?" the Earl asked as the grim reaper nodded furiously.

Within seconds, Earl Lockwood escorted the grim reaper to an already set table with hot tea. The friendship between Earl Lockwood and the grim reaper is rather strong, mostly because the grim reaper was attracted to the Earl. It was about a year ago that Earl Lockwood and his demon butler, Johann Weyer, were attending the Phantomhive's funeral. Although only the family was able to attend the burial, the queen and all the aristocrats held a 'royal' funeral. It was there that he met the red haired grim reaper; Grell had attended the funeral not for the Earl, but for the butler that disappeared. Lockwood didn't ask any questions, but offered to be the grim reaper's shoulder to cry on. Over the months, the Earl was visited by the grim reaper every so often. The Earl had grown use to the grim reaper's flamboyant and flirtatious manner, but when he was away he would have his demon butler take care of the grim reaper.

"William has been so cruel to me lately. He had me doing paperwork for the past week and he knows how much I hate it. I'm sure he is a sadist…not that I mind, but still. That is not how you treat a lady!" Grell huffed as he continued to complain about his job as a grim reaper.

"Ah, but it shows that he cares for you. After all, a lady such as yourself has so much beauty that I am surprised that he has not swept your off your feet," the Earl smiled as he took a sip of his tea.

"You're such a gentleman, Lockwood. I'm sure you have plenty of girls running after you," Grell said as he leaned against the table.

"I do have a fiancée, so most women stay away from me."

"Oh really? What a lucky girl, I may have to kill her so I can have you all to myself."

"What happened to William being your one and only prince charming?"

"Alas, it is true, but he doesn't understand how to treat a woman."

"Excuse me and my interruption, but it is time to go to the part my prince," a dark voice said as dark purple eyes glared into bright green ones.

"Oh, Weyer is it that time already? Well please forgive me to end this get together short, I hope to see you in the near future. I welcome you into my house until you must go back to work, I'm sure the servants are more than happy to serve your needs," Earl Lockwood smiled as took the grim reaper's hand and kissed it.

"Of course I look forward to our next meeting! I must pay a visit to a particular handsome men," Grell smiled before the Earl and grim reaper parted their separate ways.

-Lady Elizabeth Midford's Household-

The sound of music filled the halls of the Midford Manor as a grand amount of people were gathered in the main hall. Women were dressed in extravagant outfits and adorned with glistening jewelry while the men were dressed in sleek and clean outfits. Young girls giggled as they batted their eyes at the young boys who were more interested in the food. Earl Lockwood smiled and laughed as he chatted with the other aristocrats who enjoyed the young earl's presence. Next to him stood a young woman with long blonde hair, her delighted green eyes were filled with joy as she kept a bright smile on her face. The two seemed like the perfect couple despite their age difference, Elizabeth Midford was two years younger than her new fiancé, but he was the youngest bachelor within the aristocrats after the death of Ciel Phantomhive, her ex-fiancé. Some of the Middleford's family friends were wary about the family's daughter getting married to another one of the Queen's loyal subjects; they believed that it would only bring her more misery that she didn't deserve. Despite this, the Earl of Lockwood became Elizabeth's second fiancé. Now it seems that Elizabeth had gotten over her mourning and started to become a more mature woman. Her body has developed into a tall beautiful figure and her hair was taken out of her pigtails to being pulled back into a simple bun and a couple locks of hair to frame her face, to mimic her mother's hairstyle. With an arm around her waist, she and Earl Lockwood became the youthful couple amongst the aristocrats.

"Ah Earl Lockwood, Lady Midford; what a pleasure to see you both again," a Chinese man said as he had his arms wrapped around his personal assassin, Ran-Mao.

"As to you Lau," the Earl said as he and his fiancée bowed.

"Oh I hear there is a new aristocrat under the Queen's favorites," Lau said as the young couple leaned forward to hear more.

"Oh that's marvelous, will they be attending the party?" Elizabeth asked as the Asian nodded.

"Of course, ah there she is," Lau said as he gestured to the unknown faces that entered the building.

The three looked to see a petite young lady with long dark blue hair. Wearing a lovely, pale pink, rose themed dress, the young lady was one of the more childish of the aristocrats. Next to her was a tall young man trailing next to her, he was clad in black with a pale pink scarf around his neck to match the woman's dress. Elizabeth's eyes lightened as the girl reminded her of her late ex-fiancé who had died only a year ago. Pulling the sleeve of Earl Lockwood's jacket, Elizabeth asked if they could meet the newest member of the aristocrats. Her response was a simple smile and head nod as they made their way into the crowd to greet the fresh faces.

"I can't believe that I am in this bloody costume again," Ciel grumbled as they finished greeting many of the aristocrats that they already knew, though they all believed that he was Lady Burnett and not Earl Phantomhive.

"Ah, just put up with it until we meet this 'Keeper of Lost Souls' and then this will all be over, young master or shall I say m'lady," Sebastian teased as it only made Ciel angry.

"If I could I w… – Excuse me, Miss!" Ciel started, but was interrupted by a mellow high pitched voice. Standing before him, was none other than his ex-fiancée Elizabeth Midford…with another man?

"I would like to introduce myself. My name is Lady Elizabeth Midford, call me Lizzie for short. This is my fiancé, Earl Barrett Lockwood," the blonde said as she indicated to the taller man next to her.

"…Excuse me for the intrusion, Lady Burnett is very shy. My name is Michael Tatum [1], her tutor," Sebastian said as he bowed.

"It is lovely to meet both of you…pardon me for asking, but are you related to Lady Angelina Dallas-Burnett?" Elizabeth asked as three pairs of eyes snapped to her.

"…A-Ah well – my Lady, I think we have bothered the two long enough, after all they have plenty more people to get to know," Ciel managed to gasp before he was cut off by Earl Lockwood.

"O-Oh I apologize; I hope to see you again Lady Burnett," Elizabeth cheerfully said as the couple left Ciel and Sebastian alone.

Sebastian and Ciel looked at one another before looking back at the couple. Elizabeth had nearly caught them, if not for the Earl…but why did the Earl stop her? Sebastian narrowed his eyes in order to observe the strange Earl for a few moments. There was nothing interesting about the man at all, if anything he seemed like any other human. Despite that, there was something off about him; it seemed like he knew who they were…as in knowing that they were demons. Sebastian looked down at the young master before he was given an order.

"Sebastian, I want thorough information about that man…that's an order."

[To be continued]


[1] John Michael Tatum voices Sebastian Michaelis in the English dub, and since Sebastian's name as a tutor was never mentioned I decided to name him Michael Tatum.

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