Imperfections & Flaws
Chapter 4: Good News, Bad News
Disclaimer: Do I really need a disclaimer for this? D: I mean, seriously gaaaaais. I don't own Kuroshitsuji in any way (sadly). ; u ;
A/N: Heheh, sorry for the super late update. I mean, I've been caught up in a lot of...living. Harrhuehueee~. Oh yes, and a special thanks to Phantom Hitman 1412 for being a really great beta. :3 Anyways, enjoy!
The morning was not kind to me since I was woken up by the sun's glaring rays. I blinked a few times and looked around the room. I was nearly startled to death (not the first time, might I add) as I saw Claude standing in the corner of the room with his hand held over his chest.
"Good morning, Ophelia. I have prepared breakfast and set your schedule out for the whole day. As soon as you get out of bed, we can begin the day," Claude said, while bowing.
"Claude, you're not my butler albeit you are my servant by contract. You don't have to do all of this, I can manage just fine," I replied while tossing my legs over the side of the bed. I raised my arms over my head and stretched out my legs.
"I understand, but seeing as how your body needs to recuperate from your previous stay at the orphanage, I considered it best if I handled things around the house for a while."
"Ah…that makes sense, thank you. Now, if you excuse me, can you please get out of the room so I can change?" I asked, blushing. He nodded and left the room as asked. His footsteps were heard going down the stairs and eventually fading off.
'Wait, blushing?' I thought 'Where did that come from? I never blush when it comes to my body…he saw it yesterday. I…shouldn't worry about it. He's a male, so naturally I'd be embarrassed. Silly me' I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to clear my head. Where were these thoughts coming from, though?
I got out of bed, immediately stretching my back to remedy the asleep muscles that had not fully awoken yet. I reached over to the dresser in the corner of the room and grabbed the first thing I felt and pulled it on. It seemed Claude had stocked the dresser up with a variety of dresses that weren't too puffy or outrageous. I smiled at his choices, then walked out of the room and downstairs.
As I neared the bottom of the stairs, Claude stood there by the window staring out of it. It seemed he was intently watching the morgue across the street from us. It wasn't a big deal, but it seemed a little off to me. I ignored it, though, and began eating what Claude prepared for me.
"Have you thought out your revenge yet?" He asked with his back still turned to me.
"Ah, about that. I don't know where to begin, really."
"If I may, I advise you to rise up the social hierarchy. That way, you have more of an advantage."
"How is that supposed to happen, I'm a nobody. Wouldn't it be suspicious if all of the sudden a new noble family came out of nowhere?" I asked, curious.
"Ah, I can cover that. What do you say? Will you heed my advice?"
"Gah, stop! Stop! Claude, can you please not talk to me as if I were an inferior being? I mean…it's appropriate sometimes, but since you're going to be around me a lot you know...maybe you can ease up a bit? I feel as if I'm speaking to an authority or something. Or at least add some tone to your voice, so it doesn't sound as though you're planning on killing someone," I replied, scoffing at the thought of Claude actually leading someone into thinking that.
"As you wish, my lady." I cringed. He was back to using the formalities again. Eh, I'll let it slide. I mean, I guess I am asking way too much of him since I'm practically asking him to change his character. "As I said before, are you going to follow through with the idea I pitched to you?" Much better.
"Ah…sure… I don't know how it'd work though. I have no experience whatsoever with being a noble."
"That's not a problem. You will be Lady Faustus, and I will be Count Faustus. We will be the newlywed couple that has moved here from France, so they won't be suspicious of our background." I thought over his idea and decided that it was a good one since there weren't that many flaws that I could hypothetically come up with. "That way, we will be able to be closer to the Queen and hopefully gain her favor." I flashed him a toothy grin as I nodded my head, signaling that I agreed with his idea. "As soon as you give the order, I will set out and adjust everything to your bidding, my lady."
"Claude, I order you to build a manor for us to live in, and establish a noble background for us."
"Yes, my lady." And with that, he vanished in a blur, leaving me alone in the room. I figured it'd take him about a few days to set things up, so I should busy myself.
'Maybe I should visit Undertaker again since we we didn't get off on the right foot last time.' I nodded to myself and set out the door. Once again, unaccustomed to the busy streets, I kept bumping into people while yelling out apologies. I finally reached the morgue and opened the door, with the little bell above the door jingling in the process.
I wasn't aware that he had company as I paused once I saw four other people and Undertaker in the room. Undertaker was sitting on a coffin, as usual, with a big grin that grew even bigger when he saw who had opened the door. There was a young boy, a butler, a woman clad in all red, and a Chinese man sitting with the red lady.
"Undertaker, who is this woman?" The young boy asked, impatiently.
"Hehe~ Ophelia~! You came back to me!" He said, giggling in the process. I cringed as I heard my name spoken so crudely. I looked from one person to another, inspecting them closely. The one that caught my attention, however, was the butler clad in black. He was watching me as well, his eyes narrowed dangerously at me. I instinctively thought that he was trouble, and began to back up only to trip over a coffin lying around. My body didn't hit the floor, however, as I was caught by the butler. My eyes met his, a small inaudible gasp escaping from my mouth. His eyes were red, a shade of color not common in most humans. I got out of his arms and ran over to the Undertaker, since he was the only one that I mildly knew.
"Girl, explain yourself. Who are you?" The young boy demanded.
"Hey, watch your mouth kid. I'm older than you, so you shouldn't be speaking to me like that!" I replied back, sneering in the process.
"Now, now. A lady such as yourself shouldn't make those kinds of faces, it'll mar your beauty," the butler said as he pushed the young boy back and began advancing on me. His mouth was twitching upwards into a smirk, a seductive one at that. I began feeling uncomfortable as his gloved hand grabbed my arm and yanked me to him. I got even more scared when he placed his nose next to my hair and inhaled deeply. I yelped and tried to get away.
"Sebastian! Let her go at once!" The young boy demanded, and instantly my limbs were freed as I quickly backed up from the butler. He only stood there smirking as he took his place next to the young boy. "I won't ask again, what is your name?"
"O-Ophelia. Ophelia-," I paused. 'Should I give out my real name? No, that wouldn't do.' "-Faustus. Why? What do you want with me?" I asked frantically.
"Oh Ciel, you're scaring the poor girl! Come now, don't be so intimidating, nephew," the lady clad in red turned to me and shot me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about my nephew's behavior, he can be quite scary sometimes. Now, you said your name was Ophelia, correct? What are you doing here, dear?" Her voice seemed to calm me down a bit as my muscles relaxed a bit.
"I just came here to visit Undertaker, but I didn't know he would be having guests. I'm sorry for intruding." I fiddled with my fingers, looking anywhere but at the four strangers before me.
"Oh, no it's fine. We've just about finished our business here and were about to get going before you came in, so no worries." I glanced over to the young boy I assumed was named Ciel. "Ciel, don't be prude, introduce yourself."
The short blue haired, blue eyed boy lightly glared at the woman clad in all red before speaking. "Yes, Madam Red. My name is Ciel Phantomhive of the Phantom Toy Company and this," he gestured to his butler, "is my butler Sebastian Michaelis."
"Pleased to meet you, my lady," Sebastian said as he bowed. I eased up a little bit and nodded towards him.
"Well, that still doesn't say how a creepy man such as Undertaker would know a lovely lady such as yourself," a voice said next to me. I flinched and looked to my left as the Chinese man sat there, smoking from a pipe. "My name is Lau, you should get used to it as I have a feeling I'll be seeing you around." I didn't know what his words meant, but they didn't sound too good.
"Ah, now that introductions are done, where are you from? I haven't seen your face around here before." The bell over the door brought all of our attention to the new visitor that had just entered. Claude was standing there, dressed as a noble with a dark overcoat hanging on his shoulders with his face hidden by the top hat he was wearing. He took it off and brushed his hair back, then looked at me.
"Ophelia, there you are. I was looking for you, dear. You had me worried when you ran off." I was confused at first as to what he was saying, but eventually caught on when he had called me "dear". So the charade has now started.
"I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to alarm you like that…I just wanted to visit an old friend." I quickly made my way over to him and stood by his side. He looked down at me and flickered his eyes over to Sebastian. I raised my eyebrow in return, our quick exchanges went unnoticed.
"Ophelia, you didn't mention you were married. Who is your handsome husband?" Madam Red asked, looking as if she were about to jump on Claude.
"I am Claude Faustus, and this," he said putting his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him, "is my wife, Ophelia. We just moved here from France as we felt it was time for a change in scenery," he said, returning a small smile to Madam Red. She seemed to be caught in his trap as she blushed and grabbed Ciel.
"Ciel, I think it's time to go. We're done here with the investigation," she said, beginning to pull him towards the door. He let out a groan and pushed his aunt's hand off of his shoulder. He began to walk out of the door, with Claude and I standing in the same spot watching them leave. Sebastian was the last one to leave. In the process of walking by me, he once more inhaled deeply and shot me a smirk. I felt Claude's grip on my waist tighten as my body was now pressed against his side protectively. I looked up at Claude's face and saw that he was glaring at Sebastian's retreating figure. Once the door shut, I quickly pried Claude off of me and demanded an explanation.
"Claude, what was that? Why were you being hostile to Sebastian?" Undertaker chuckled at my question and lifted his left leg, then placed it over his right.
"Yes, do tell Mr. Faustus, what has your drawers in a bunch~?" I looked over to the Undertaker in disbelief at him mentioning Claude's drawers at a time like this.
"That butler, he isn't simply just a butler. He's a demon, my kind," he narrowed his eyes, "and it seems that he isn't keen on sticking to one property." Claude turned to me and leaned down a bit. "Just so you know, Ophelia, you have a contract with me, therefore I can safely assume that your soul is mine. Therefore, by the law of syllogisms, you are mine." I didn't know how to respond to that since nobody has ever spoken to me in such a possessive manner.
"I know I made a contract with you, but since you can't harvest my soul yet, I'm not yours. Don't treat me as an item Claude, that's very inhumane," I responded, biting back some other unlady-like insults. It was silent as Claude and I had an internal battle, our eyes clashing violently. It was interrupted with a creepy high-pitched giggle. Both of us looked over to the source of the laugh, and found Undertaker sitting in the same spot with his chin resting on his hand.
"Lover's quarrels, I see~. You two won't be such a bad couple~," he commented as he got up and walked into another room. I let out an exasperated sigh and looked at Claude.
"If you don't change the way you think around me, I don't think I can stand being around you. Don't be such a possessive person, those kinds sicken me." I looked at him in disgust and walked out the door, leaving him standing there in silence.
I walked down the streets by myself trying to clear my head. The only reason why I exploded back there was because his possessiveness reminded me of Gideon and how he claimed me as his "toy".
'I'm not a toy that a person owns; I am my own being and choose not to be owned by anyone or anything. The way Claude thought he owned my soul since I formed a contract with him was sickening. Did all demons think like this? In such a lewd manner? If so, no wonder they're hated by so many humans.'
I let out another breath and stopped momentarily.
'Where am I…?' I wondered, while looking around. It seemed that in the midst of my ranting, I got lost. Suddenly, a dark figure began looming close to me. I watched the ground as the shadow got bigger, which I could only infer that it was getting closer to me. I turned around and was met by a pair of ruby red eyes, which so happened to belong to Sebastian. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as Sebastian held a hungry look on his face, slowly taking a step closer to me with every passing second. I backed up quickly and ran as fast as I could anywhere. I could have sworn I was running straight, but with all of the adrenaline rushing through my body, I had to think fast. I quickly swerved left, but was met by a brick wall. I was cornered, and alone with a ravenous looking Sebastian.
"My lady, don't be afraid of me, I won't hurt you. I'm here merely investigating and you just so happened to be walking around by yourself at night, so naturally, I became curious and followed you," he stated, coming closer and closer. My heart was beating at an unnatural pace as it sped up, then slowed down.
"What do you want with me? I honestly have nothing that you could want," I replied, holding back a whimper when his face came close to mine. He was still about a few inches away from me, but he had bent over so that his face was in front of mine. His breathing was steady and his expression calm, yet intimidating. His eyes practically spelled out the letters, L-U-S-T. For the third time, he inhaled my scent and exhaled slowly, his eyes gleaming now.
"It's been a while, but besides my young master's soul, your soul smells quite delectable. Maybe not as perfect as my lord's, but it comes close. It's a shame that you're contracted, though. I would have loved to dine on your savory soul," he replied, smirking and licking his lips. Because his face was so close to mine, when he licked his face, his tongue swept across my cheek which earned a high-pitched yelp from me. "Hm, maybe, we should play a game. I wouldn't mind stealing your soul from your pathetic butler." With that, he bit down on my neck, making me writhe in pain.
While caught up in the pain, I didn't see Claude coming and ripping Sebastian off of my body. I felt my body being lifted up and soon being enclosed with Claude's body heat. Sebastian merely stood up, brushed himself off, and licked his lips dry.
"Ah, nothing can compare to the blood of the innocent, am I not correct Mister Faustus?" Sebastian smirked, which seemed to aggravate Claude as my I felt his grip tighten on my body. I raised my hand and placed it over the bite wound and inspected the damage. It wasn't that deep, just a small nip that pierced the skin layer. I lowered my hand and saw that blood was stained on it. As I was staring at my stained hand, I felt Claude tense and look hungrily at my hand. Sebastian's smirk was still plastered on his face as he began to walk away. "I suggest you watch what is yours, Faustus. I would be happy to take her from you."
With Sebastian gone, Claude gently let me down on my feet. I stumbled a bit, but he caught me and helped me upright. My neck stung as the cold air hit it, which made me grasp it. Claude noticed this and lifted my hand from it. His eyes inspected it, and he seemed to be angry as to what Sebastian did.
"…Claude?"
"He marked you."
"W-What?"
"He marked you, on your neck. The bite wound is healing slowly and there's a pentagram replacing it." I gasped as I tilted my neck to see, but it was to no avail.
"What do I do now? What does this mean?" I asked worriedly.
Claude seemed to pause as I was grabbing his shirt, staining it red with my blood. I paused, too, after I realized he wasn't answering me. He grabbed my hand slowly and lifted it up to his mouth. His tongue slid out and began licking away the blood that had dried on the palm of my hand. I didn't know what to do. I yanked my hand away, my face turning red.
"What do you think you're doing, you pervert!" I yelled. He didn't respond again as he bent over and grabbed his chest. I bent over and looked at his face, which was a combination of shock and what seemed to be realization. He looked back up at me, his golden eyes switching back and forth between red and yellow. I got scared and began backing off.
"No, it's fine Ophelia, I'm fine. I just got carried away, my apologies." He glanced at the pentagram on my neck and scowled. "His mark, though, I can't do anything about it. It seems he wants to start a game over you."
"And what game is that exactly?" I asked, concerned for my own being.
"It seems, according to that mark he placed on you, that he wants to see who you will want to take your soul when this contract ends."
"I thought only you could take my soul since I contracted with you!" I yelled back, I really did not want Sebastian taking my soul.
"That still applies, but he has a chance at taking a small portion of your soul. If you submit to him fully, then he is allowed, by Demon Law, to take your soul if you offer it willingly to him."
"I would never," I replied, looking down and twiddling my fingers.
"You forget, he is a demon like me, he has ways to sway you to him whether you like it or not. I'm afraid that this will mean you can't leave my sight or else I won't be able to help you since you keep running off."
"I'm sorry, my feelings get the best of me…"
"As a noble, you won't be able to let that happen. You must train your emotions and control them diligently."
"Alright then…I will. I won't let Sebastian take me," I swore to myself quietly.
Claude nodded then walked over to me and wrapped one arm around my shoulders.
"Then let's get going, our new home awaits us." I nodded and began following him, drifting closer to him due to his warm body. We walked like this for a while before meeting the big black gates of the enormous manor that stood before us.
"Lady Faustus, I welcome you to Faustus manor," Claude said, looking down at me and smirking.
A/N: So how was it? :0 Yeah...I'm running short of ideas with this story right now. I'd appreciate it a lot if you guys helped me out by pitching some ideas :3 ME GUSTA IDEAS!