"Good morning, Miss Artemis."
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the suave voice next to my bed. Luckily, due to habit, I managed to keep my right eye closed and my deformed hand hidden under the covers. I looked at Sebastian with my left eye through my curly brown hair, with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights stare. He gave me his trademark smile, the one where he closes his eyes, and I calmed down a bit. Looking at the clock, I realized it was 8'o clock.
Sighing, I replied with a soft, "Good morning."
"Breakfast is ready for you downstairs, and everyone else is getting ready as well. Please do make haste, for you have a busy schedule today," And with another smile, Sebastian left my room.
Is he gonna do this every day? I wondered as I looked through my suitcase for my blue aristocratic jacket. If that was the case, then I might as well leave my glove on, even when I sleep. And buy an eye patch. Ciel and I could be matching.
Finally finding the love of my life, I hurriedly put it on along with the matching vest and a frilly collared white shirt. With black leggings and black high heeled ankle boots completing the look, I took a look in the mirror and groaned. My hair's a mess! And I can't straighten it like yesterday because that would take forever…
Cursing my broken curls, I ran to my bathroom before brushing my teeth. Then I set to work. Turning on the tap, I wet my hands under the faucet, and quickly ran my hands along the length of my hair. Repeating this action until I was satisfied, I got a tiny bit of gel, rubbed it around my palms, and applied it.
Now my hair was perfect! My outfit was perfect! And pulling on my leather glove, I headed out into the hallway, and into the dining room. For some reason, only the guys were there, pigging out on Eggs Benedict and apple juice. Feeling my stomach curl at the sight and smell of eggs, I sat at the edge of the table. Awkwardly waiting for them to finish, I looked out of the window, that is, until I was interrupted.
"Does the breakfast spread not please you?" Ciel asked.
Following the trail of plates of bacon, muffins, biscuits, and eggs, I met Ciel's deep blue eye with my dark brown one. I knew that he didn't care much for my actual health, but if the Queen were to find out that I keeled over from starvation, she'd have his butt with tea.
And since Ciel is a pompous bastard and cares a lot about his butt, he almost obsessed over my eating habits. Although 'obsessed' is a strong word since he only asked twice…
"I'm not hungry," I replied in a polite voice. Noah almost choked on his eggs, and Trayvon snorted in his glass of apple juice. Well, it was true...Sort of. The disgusting smell of fried eggs plus bacon and apple juice just ruined my appetite. Those are probably the top three foods I hate, right in front of me.
"Are you the same chick from yesterday? Or do you have a split personality disorder?" Noah asked after recovering.
Sighing for the second time that morning, I nodded, "I'm the same person."
Giving me a skeptical look, Noah continued to eat his morning food. Trayvon stayed quiet, as per usual.
A couple minutes later, the two other females walked down the stairs. Rosaline smiled nicely at me, while Shanna exclaimed, "Oh my god, your hair! It's gorgeous! You should leave it like that more often."
Once they finished eating, Ciel explained our schedule, and excused himself from the table so that he could show me the office. Following the two demons to fulfill my cover story, I wondered how my parents would react if they found out about Ciel and Sebastian's real identity. Considering that they're die-hard Catholics, they'd probably call a Father over. But they'd have to care about me to do that, which they don't. But it was funny to imagine them overreacting, clutching at their Rosaries and Crucifixes. Ah, well…
"This is going to be your office," Ciel nodded at Sebastian, who then proceeded to open the door.
It was a beautiful room, like all the others in this house, and it also had a large window. Listening to the birds chirping, I felt a faint smile decorate my face. I wonder if they'd be proud of me if things were different…
"Your first job is actually going to be in a few hours," Ciel began as he walked beside me, "You'll be translating between me and a Spanish company."
"Don't you know Spanish?" I asked incredulously. Living in this side of the world, so close to Spain, you'd think he'd try to learn with all the time he has as a demon.
Eyebrow twitching, Ciel just muttered, "I'll call you when it's almost time."
Left alone in my office, I decided to explore a bit. On my wooden desk was a high-tech computer, pencils, a stapler, and a calendar. So much for originality.
I played some sort of cat game on the computer before Sebastian showed up at my door again. But instead of leaving me to my own devices, he walked with me to the meeting. I stayed as far away from him as I could without being too awkward about it, but I caught him giving me a couple glances. I wanted to try and read his mind, but it comes and goes as it pleases, and if I try to force myself onto his mind, it just tires me out. So, I played around with my necklace. Hopefully he doesn't notice that it's the Virgin Mary, or else he's gonna think that I'm scared of him or something, which I'm not, even though he's the demon with the-
"Here we are," Opening the door to the meeting room, I sat next to Ciel, and crossed my legs. The guys from the company came soon afterwards, and after greetings, we set down to business.
"Entonces nosotros pensamos que tal vez Señor Phantomhive quería a probar este sistemático de vendiendo los juguetes. Así el puede a vender más sin problemas, y nosotros solo pedimos dos porciento de la veinte, " They finished their presentation with a smile. I smiled back, and faced Ciel.
"And to finish off, they said that they thought that you would like to try this system to sell your products. That way you can sell more without a problem, and they're only asking for two percent of the sales," I translated.
Ciel thought for a moment, and I could feel the anticipation radiating from the presenters. After five minutes of pure suspension, for the Spaniards that is, Ciel agreed. Breathing a sigh of relief, they all signed a contract, shook hands, and walked out of the room.
Gathering the signed contracts, I put them in a folder, and headed out. Strolling out after the men towards the exit, the two Spanish speakers gravitated to me, since I was the only one who could understand them.
"Y como se llamas?" What's your name?Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to say my name at the beginning of the meeting…
"Me llama Artemis" My name is Artemis…
"Cuantos anos tienes?" How old are you?
"Yo ya tengo quatorse anos," I'm fourteen.
We continued to talk in Spanish, especially since they were interested in how I was so young and working already. They were funny, and whenever I giggled Sebastian or Ciel would give me a side glance out of the corner of their eye. They probably wondered if we were talking about them or something.
Finally reaching the entrance of the house, we said our goodbyes and they left. I tried to get to my office as well, but something held me by the back of my collar. I turned around, and was faced with Sebastian's smiling face, the one that said, 'Bitch you're about to die a slow and painful death and I'm the one who's gonna kill you'. Damn it all…
"May I help you, creepy butler?" I asked in a polite tone.
"No, but you can help me," Ciel came into my field of vision after a bit of squirming, "What did you three talk about after the meeting?"
So they were thinking that we were making fun of them. Ha! As if…
"Oh you know, about this and that…" I said vaguely while trying to pry myself out of Sebastian's fingers. I could have easily broken them, but hey, as far as they know, I'm a somewhat normal girl. And I'd like to keep it that way.
"Elaborate."
Giving up, I slumped, "They wanted to know more about me, so I answered some of their questions. Then we started talking about where exactly we're from, and started telling jokes. They should become comedians, if you ask me."
Sebastian let go of me, and I smoothed out my jacket. Demons just think that everything has to do with them, well I have better things to do you stupid, vile creatures-
"Where are you from, anyways?" Ciel asked. I was going to say America you pompous bastard, why else do you think Noah calls me a Yankee? But I had a feeling that he wasn't going to take anymore crap from me.
"I was born in Northern Virginia," I was about to say more, but caught myself. No need to say more…
"So how did you learn Spanish?" He asked after a couple minutes. I raised my eyebrows. Was he really curious or just really bored?
"Back over in Virginia, it's kinda required that we take a foreign language. We have a choice between French, Arabic, and Spanish. Coming from where I am, I chose-"
"Spanish," Ciel finished. I smirked. You're only half right, jack ass.
"And French," I added.
I heard a small 'hmph' from Ciel, and he stayed quiet for the rest of the trip to my office. I entered through the heavy wooden door while Ciel continued on his way to his own office. Opening one of the drawers in my desk, I put the folder in its spot.
Such hard work for a cover story, really.
Not knowing what else to do, I turned on my computer again. And for lack of anything else to do, I proceeded to play my cat game. What have I been reduced to, honestly… Didn't Sebastian say I had a busy schedule?
I was currently grooming one of my virtual kittens when I sensed something outside. It didn't feel familiar, so it wasn't any of my coworkers. Plus it was like, 5 miles out in the woods, so what would they be doing out that far anyways?
I paused the game, and opened the window. It was dark and gloomy out, and the clouds gave off small rumbles of thunder. At the risk of my precious getting wet, I decided to leave it inside, along with the vest. So I jumped out just in my frilly white shirt and leggings, and I looked like some kind of waitress. But unlike a normal waitress, as soon as I touched the ground, I took off at an impossible speed. Trees, bushes, and wildlife zoomed past me as I got closer to the foreign presence, and I realized that it wasn't even human. It was a shinigami… But not Undertaker. No, it was very different from his…
I was close enough to hear it, and I couldn't tell its gender. It sounded like a high-pitched male's voice, almost sing-songy. All it would say is, "Bassy, my sweet Bassy!" and "Where is he, my beautiful Se-bas-chan~" So its target was Sebastian. Weird.
I climbed on top of a tree, and a few feet away from me was a red clad shinigami, with long bright scarlet hair and sharp teeth. He or she held a camera, but put it down when I blocked its view with a whine.
"Who're you?" He/she asked. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say its a male, but I could always be mistaken.
"Depends," I answered, "What business do you have with the butler?"
Before he could answer, my talent came along. Thank you very much, past reading abilities, for coming now. Why the hell do I have to wait to make literal eye contact to know everything about them?
Grell Sutcliff. Male. Is infatuated with Sebastian Michaelis, and had previous relationship with Angelina Durless, Ciel Phantomhive's aunt. A shinigami with a chainsaw as a death scythe. An interesting creature, for sure.
"Oh, well Bassy and I are lovers, you know~" He practically sang this while hugging his chainsaw. The poor thing is crazy.
"Ah," I nodded as I looked down the tree. Hundreds of feet below me, and I was calmly conversing with a gay Death God who had a crush on a Crow Demon. Normal day, apparently.
"Well, let me introduce myself," I held out my hand and a smile, "I go by Artemis Von Vanity. What's your name?"
"Oh, what a darling you are," He shook my hand, "I'm Grell Sutcliff, a Butler of Death!"
"What are you doing all the way out here?" I asked as if I cared. I just wanted to bring him to the manor and see what destruction he can bring to Sebastian. For entertainment really, it was just a real boring day.
"Oh, well you see, Bassy isn't too keen on having me there on that brat's mansion, so I keep my distance," Grell looked sad for a moment before brightening up again, "And what do you do at the manor? I haven't seen you there before."
Before I could answer, I heard footsteps underneath my tree. And in a blink of an eye, everyone else was there too, surrounding Grell. The males had a look of disgust on their faces while Rosaline and Shanna held smiles. This shinigami truly was a spectacle.
"Grell, what are you doing here?" Sebastian asked, looking exasperated, "And what are you doing here, Miss Artemis?" He asked, almost looking annoyed.
"I'm here for you, my love!"
"I'm making friends."
I think you can guess who said what.
"I wouldn't suggest talking to this one," Sebastian gestured to Grell, who was getting ready to glomp him, but was afraid to fall hundreds of feet onto his face.
"And how did you know that he was out here?" Noah inquired.
"Lucky guess," I replied quickly.
"And how did you get up here?" Rosaline softly asked.
Eye twitching, I mumbled, "The same way you did."
They stopped asking me questions, since it was pointless, and gave the soul reaper their undivided attention.
"Shouldn't you be working?" Trayvon muttered, trying to get the conversation to end.
"I am!" Grell shrieked, squirming on the tip of his tree, "She's supposed to die soon!" And he pointed at me.
Me? I can die? I thought that I was invincible after that happened… Huh.
Silence. Only the occasional thunder interrupted, and I vaguely wondered whether or not I was supposed to break down crying or what. But I didn't feel anything, really. I've always known this day was going to come…
The thought of finally dying, after all this time of praying for death during that period of pain, made me want to laugh. It was funny, to finally have God answer me. I had to wait two more years for this, and it's finally coming. It's about time.
A genuine smile. That's all they could see. Inside, I was laughing, crying, jumping out of pure joy.
"That's great," I whispered, "I wonder...Am I going to heaven or Hell? Ah, well, I guess it doesn't matter much. Thank you, Grell, for bringing me the best of news."
"Are you okay, Artemis?" Shanna looked concerned. Maybe I looked crazy, since I was just told that I was going to die soon, and yet I was smiling.
"I feel amazing," And indeed I was.
"We should get going," Rosaline stared at me, with worry in her eyes.
"Oh, is my Bassy leaving?" Grell pouted, "Can I at least have a kiss?" And he puckered his lips.
I had already made my way down the tree before I heard a scream come from Grell. He sure as Hell didn't get a kiss.
I ran back to the manor at a relaxing pace, for me at least. I think I was still going 60 miles per hour. The rest of the group ran alongside quietly, not knowing what to say. And what would they? Sorry? We're going to miss you? We just met, I won't have a major impact on them if I died.
I had just walked through the back doors when something glomped me from behind. And then another weight was added, with constricting arms around my neck. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but I'll live. Or maybe this is how I'm going to die?
"You poor, poor girl!" Shanna all but yelled into my ear.
"I'm so sorry you had to find out that way!" Rosaline sobbed.
"Why couldn't we have met earlier!?"
"You'll be deeply missed!"
I continued my way through the dining room and into the living room, ignoring what they were saying. The men followed behind, awkwardly shuffling their feet, looking at the females and their bumbling forms. Should I get them to stop? I want to try and finish this mission before I died.
"Hey, hey, hey," I dumped them onto the couch, "It'll be okay."
They actually had tears in their eyes! We only met each other literally 48 hours ago!
"NO IT'S NOT!" Shanna bawled, with mascara running down her cheeks.
"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! HOW IS THAT OK?!" Rosaline cuddled with Shanna, looking at me with big, watery eyes. Aren't they supposed to be the ones comforting me?
"You say that like it's a bad thing," I began, "I want to die, believe it or not. So there's no point-"
"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT TO MAKE US FEEL BETTER!" They yelled in synchronism.
Sighing, I looked at their partners. With hands held out in front of them, I knew what they were trying to say. 'You're on your own.'
"Okay then fine. Believe what you want," I gave up, "But can we at least finish this mission before I die?"
"Is that your final, dying wish?" Shanna sniffled.
"Uh, yeah, sure," I rolled my eyes. It's not like I'm dying of a terminal illness or something.
"Then we'll do it! Right now!" Wiping off their messed up make up, they ran upstairs, and yelled at the rest of us to get ready.
After maybe half an hour, we were ready. I had changed into my favorite pair of combat boots and waist-high camouflage skinny jeans, with a simple tank top to complete the outfit. Sebastian had stayed in his uniform, which was stupid, but maybe he doesn't have anything else in his closet? Ciel looked like he was going out hunting, Noah and Trayvon had clothes that said 'We're in a zombie apocalypse', and Shanna and Rosaline wore something similar to mine. Except Shanna had a camo jacket instead of pants, and Rosaline was using a camo shirt. Were they trying to pay their respects to me?
"So then," Ciel looked at me, "Where to?"
A/N: So, um, hi.
I got my first couple of reviews! SO happy! I literally fangirled over the positive feedback.
I know. I have no life. But who cares! PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ THIS!
This is my first fanfiction ever, and the first time I had the courage to post anything I've written on the internet, so I'm glad that others enjoy this. I'll be sure to finish this, just for the people who like this.
'Cuz you're special and all that.
Buuuuut that's probably as touchy-feely as I'll ever get, I hate sentiments and all that crap.