"A-Argh..! S-Sebastian!"

"Please bear with it just a little while longer, Young Mistress.."

"I-I…can't..! T-Too… t-tight..!"

Sebastian sighed as he tied the strings of the corset Rune was wearing.

"I…hate… wearing… this…" the girl said gasping for lost air.

The demon merely smiled calmly before taking out the gown that was to be worn by his mistress at the ball. It was pure white dress stretching all the way down to Rune's feet. The only thing special about it was a big blue ribbon bow in the middle of the chest area; making it simple yet elegant in its own way.

"I hope it suits your tastes, milady.." Sebastian said as Rune stared at it.

"It's a little plain.." the girl mumbled. "But I like it."

After Rune slipped into the gown, Sebastian proceeded to help do her hair. Rune let her russet hair tumble freely over her shoulders instead of her usual ponytail hairstyle. The only headpiece she wore was a single golden pin; given to her by an important friend in the past.

The mistress studied herself in the mirror when she was done. Her hair was brushed nicely and Sebastian had skillfully curled them slightly at the tips. Rune also wore a lacey choker around her neck and a pair of white gloves to cover her right hand instead of using bandages. Though her outfit were simple, it somehow brought forth Rune's youthful beauty, making her look her age and not any older.

Clearly satisfied with what he saw, Sebastian smiled and bowed slightly.

"If you may excuse me, Young Mistress," he said. "I'm afraid it is time for me to attend to my master."

Rune turned away from the mirror and faced him. "Sure. I'll handle the rest myself."

Bowing yet another time, Sebastian left the room and hurried to Ciel's. When she was left alone in the room, Rune studied herself in the mirror again. She looked beautiful – no denying that – but she couldn't help feeling awkward. This wasn't the real her. This wasn't the true Rune Whitefield.

Sighing softly telling herself to forget it, the girl slipped her feet into a pair dainty high-heeled shoes that Sebastian had placed at the foot of her bed.

"Oh, Lord…" she thought as she steadied herself to stand. "How to people actually manage to walk in these?"

Carefully, the girl made her way towards the main hall. Looking around, she realized that Sebastian and Ciel wasn't there yet. Before she could decide what to do, she heard Ciel's voice.

"Why the hell am I wearing this again?" he demanded angrily.

"Because it according to our plan, bocchan." Sebastian said in a teasing tone. "Besides, you look breathtakingly good in that."

Then, the two demons appeared in Rune's view. What caught her attention was Ciel's outfit. The young demon wore a long pink dress that fitted his slender figure perfectly. There too, was a bow in the middle of the chest but it was more detailed that Rune's. Besides that, Ciel wore a pair of long black gloves that reached his elbows and a flowery headpiece that cleverly covered his right eye. His hair were in long twintails; which was obviously a wig.

Ciel caught his mistress staring at him and blushed.

"W-What?" he asked and turned away, not daring to meet her eyes.

But, Rune merely smiled and said, "You look beautiful, Ciel."

The boy's face turned deeper crimson.

"S-Shut up."

Saying nothing more, the two headed to the door which Sebastian dutifully opened. Parked right outside was a middle-sized horse carriage.

The demon helped them into the passengers' seat before climbing to the driver's seat himself. With sharp tug on the reins, the horses cantered and the carriage started to move.

Inside, Rune and Ciel sat on opposite seats, facing each other. Ciel leaned against the corner with his arms crossed.

"..How long do you intend to sulk like that?" Rune asked with a slight laugh.

"Hmph.. I still don't understand why I have to cross-dress.." The demon mumbled almost to himself. "And why does it have to be this of all the dresses?"

Rune's cheerful tone faltered a little.

"You're supposed to be dead, remember? I wouldn't want to see everyone there freaking out thinking they saw the ghost of Earl Phantomhive…And what's wrong with that dress? It suits you perfectly.."

Ciel glared at his mistress before finally averting his gaze outside, staring blankly as they passed numerous shophouses. Rune too, did the same for she had nothing better to do. Their conversation had ended just like that.

The mistress was in the middle of her thoughts when the carriage came to a halt. The door opened soon after and Sebastian peeked in.

"We've reached our destination," the demon butler announced.

Exhaling loudly, Rune stood up to half her height to avoid hitting her head on the carriage roof.

"Its time."

xXx

The palace was huge. Rune prayed hard that she would not fall again as she got down. After escorting the 'ladies' to the entrance, Sebastian excused himself and left. His job wasn't to attend the ball as a butler of the Whitefield family that night. For the time being, he was just a measly carriage driver.

"Stop!" a guard stepped in between Rune and the door as the girl tried to enter. "Where's your invitation?"

Sighing, Rune fished out the invitation card that was sent to her. The guard paled when he saw who it was addressed to. Rune secretly smirked.

The poor man hurriedly opened the door for the two. As soon as the doors were completely opened, a blast of bright light shone upon them. Compared to the darkness of the night outside, the main hall was as bright as day. As soon as Rune and Ciel stepped in, the talking and murmurings died down. All the attention were focused on the girl and the demon.

"Isn't that.." one whispered.

"She's the last one alive, right?" another muttered.

"To be orphaned at such a young age…"

Rune ignored the comments and turned to Ciel.

"Follow the plan." She whispered in his ear. "If you find anything suspicious, alert me immediately. But if things get difficult, I give you permission to act on your own."

Ciel nodded. "Understood."

The girl then turned to leave but paused. "Oh, and Ciel?"

"…What?"

"Don't forget that you're a lady for tonight," Rune smiled but her tone wasn't teasing. "Be careful."

With that, they went different directions; Rune to the right and Ciel to the left. The mistress hadn't taken more than ten steps when trumpets blared loudly.

"All hail Queen Victoria, the Queen of England!" someone shouted over the music.

The talking died down once more. The guests gradually started to sing 'God Save The Queen' when the ruler made her appearance.

"Please, forget the formalities and enjoy yourselves in this evening." Queen Victoria said when the song ended. Raising their glasses, the guests made a toast to the queen.

Before Rune could decide on what to do, a brunette man dressed in a butler uniform approached her.

"The Queen wishes to speak to you."

The russet-haired girl didn't see any harm to it so she followed him. She was led to the corner of the hall where the Queen was sipping her tea while sitting on an expensive looking chair. Four men in suits surrounded her.

"Your Majesty," Rune curtsied gracefully (Sebastian's training paid off after all). "Its an honor."

The ruler waved her hand and Rune stood upright.

"Lady Rune Whitefield," she started. Her expression was grim. "As you already know, both my Guard Dog as well as my Spider had fallen."

Rune listened in silence.

"Activities are starting to stir because of this." The Queen continued. "Your mother had served me in the past. Are you willing to do the same as my 'Black Cat'?"

Smiling, the girl bowed instead of curtsied.

"Of course. I am a Whitefield, am I not?"

This time, the ruler herself smiled.

"Very well," she said. "You're excused. I do hope you enjoy yourself this evening."

Meanwhile, Ciel was wandering around aimlessly. He never liked events like this even in the past. He was just forced to attend in the name of Phantomhive as owner of the company.

Clearly, he wasn't looking at where he was going and bumped hard onto someone, falling flat on his butt.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry!" the other person apologized.

"..No.. I wasn't looking.." Ciel said as he stood up rubbing his rear.

"..Um… have we met before somewhere?"

The young demon immediately glanced up. Standing before him was a blonde girl with emerald green eyes. She wore the frilliest dress Ciel has ever seen. He didn't recognize her at first but…

"I remember now!" the girl chimed. "Years ago during Viscount Druitt's party! You were there, right?"

Ciel stared wide-eyed at her. She'd changed a whole lot since he last saw her but it was definitely her. With that curly blond hair and frilly dress….

Before the boy could open his mouth and deny everything, someone grabbed his hand. It was Rune.

"Cie-" she stopped abruptly when she saw the blonde. "..Cecilia," Rune bit her lip to avoid laughing at her servant's pseudonym "..an acquaintance of yours?"

CIel's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he shook his head. "No, milady."

Rune turned to the confused looking girl.

"I apologize for my maid's rudeness as well as my own," she said formally.

"Ah, its alright!" the girl flushed. "I'm Elizabeth Middleford, by the way. What's your name?"

"Its an honor to meet you, Lady Elizabeth." Rune did a slight curtsy. "I am Rune Whitefield. This girl here is my personal maid and close friend, Cecilia." It was Ciel's turn to curtsy.

"Oh, there's no need to be so formal, Lady Rune." Elizabeth frowned a little. "You can just speak normally when you're with me."

Suddenly, Elizabeth's name was called from somewhere within the crowds.

"There goes Paula again.." the blonde sighed. "Oh, well. I gotta go now. Nice meeting you, Lady Rune and Cecilia!"

Then, she ran off. Rune expression hardened from a smile to a serious face when she turned back to her younger butler.

"Found anything?" she asked. Ciel shook his head.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he said. "Just some unwanted drugging and some really really drunk nobles."

Rune heaved a deep sigh.

"What about you?" Ciel returned the question.

"Nothing either. Except for an audience with the Queen, I didn't really do anything." The girl replied.

"You still intend serve her even after knowing that she's fake?" the demon asked.

"Its not like I'm serving her on my own free will," Rune said glancing around. "I'm just doing it because of the family name. Anyway, we should keep looking… we might still find something…"

Unfortunately, the night ended without the two finding any clues of a killer.

"I guess we made a mistake thinking the culprit was here after all.." Rune sighed as she exited the halls and into the courtyard with Ciel.

The young demon was about to say something when he suddenly tensed.

"Ciel?" Rune asked again when she didn't get a response. "Is everything-"

Just then, a gunshot echoed through the entire yard, followed by the terrified screams of a woman.

Who was tricked by the first part? XD (lol I don't think i got anyone there ^^')

Excuse my numerous grammatical mistakes and so on.

Reviews are highly welcomed and appreciated~ x3