A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the late update! School's taking up a lot of my time. (14 pieces of homework a week! D:) A lot of my updates are going to be extremely late, so please be patient /-\ And with that note, please enjoy this chapter!
hapter 3: The Souls Secret
They had found the source of the scream. Master and butler shared a look, Ciel's hard and Sebastian's interested. Ciel approached the silhouette huddled in the cage as one would approach a startled animal. Deep brown eyes, brunette hair tangled to no end and a look on her face like a deer in headlights. She must have been no older than fifteen. She shuffled back, one arm wrapped protectively around herself whilst the other was chained to the cage, "W-who are you?" She whispered, her voice shaking from the cold.
Sebastian, the oh-so-amazing butler that he was, stepped forward to introduce his master, "This is Lord Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of Phantomhive and service to the Queen."
The nameless-girls eyes widened. She pulled herself forward, wrapping her slender fingers around the bars of the cage, "S-so you're not going t-to take me away?"
Sebastian and Ciel shared another glance before the butler nodded and smirked. With absolute ease the demon pried the metal bars open, snapped the handcuffs and lifted the frail frame of the girl out of the cage. Before she could scream from the shock of seeing Sebastian's inhuman strength, said demon but a single gloved finger to her forehead. There was a sharp inhale and a small flail of limbs before her eyes fluttered shut.
"She will have no memory of what happened when she wakes up." Sebastian flashed a closed-eye smile.
"That wasn't necessary, you know. You could have just broken the lock." Ciel returned Sebastian's grin with a disapproving look.
"My apologies, Sir."
Ciel's hard blue eyes scanned the room at leisure -almost like a cats- and with no more signs of danger presenting itself, started to lead out of the room leaving the stench of fear behind him.
"There are no records of who Lady Elizabeth could have been 'sold' to, my Lord." Sebastian declared, flicking through several papers he had obtained from Lord Druitt's mansion, "There's nothing but orders for Chloroform and several cages..." He trailed off.
Ciel settled on his king-sized bed, the covers silky and soft beneath him and groaned quietly in acknowledgement. He'd exhausted all his anger along with his energy throughout the day and honestly couldn't care less at that moment. He'd just have to pick it up in the morning. With that thought Ciel slipped under the covers. The cotton nightgown as well as the plush duvet would do for protecting him against the chill air of the night, additionally acting as a form of comfort.
"Good night, Young Master." Sebastian simpered as he blew out the only source of light in the royal blue bedroom. Soon after silently exiting and softly shutting the door, Sebastian decided to check on their 'guest'. He faintly rapped on the door that would reveal one of many guest bedrooms. There was a quiet rustling sound before the door was opened. The young girl, who had revealed herself as "C-Cassandra. Cassandra Pierce..." Minutes after she'd been explained to where she was, lay dormant. An icy draft blew in through the window, which had been hastily swung open. Sebastian raised an eyebrow as he swiftly shut the window, the curtains swirling around him as he did so. Cassandra attempted to keep her breathing steady, but Sebastian being the demon that he was, picked up on it easily.
"My Lady, are you not cold?" He asked, studying the shivering form. In response the girl pulled the sheets up to her chin. The butler shook his head and strolled over to the fireplace adorning the room. With a clean flick of his wrist, for he knew Cassandra wasn't watching, the fire flared giving the room a soft orange glow.
That was two weeks ago. Cassandra, once she'd regained her self-control, had called for someone to pick her up. That was two days after prying her from the Viscount of Druitt's grasp. Today a letter came addressed to Lord Phantomhive. Ciel ripped open the envelope with a specially designed knife and carefully removed the letter. His sapphire eyes rolled over the words slowly at first. His grip tightened almost tearing the delicate paper.
To my dear boy,
I believe that not long ago you made acquaintance with Lady Cassandra Pierce. I know this is sudden, but it turns out that she happens to be a distant cousin of yours. She is a noble and in line to be the next marchioness of the household, no less! I deem her the perfect person to fill in for Lady Elizabeth as your new fiancée. After all, every Earl must have his mistress.
Please consider this offer, dear boy, as Lady Cassandra has agreed to marry you, her father had also given you consent. There's no letting a lady down, now is there?
Warm regards,
Queen Victoria.
The frame of the boy-earl froze in place as the Queen's words processed in his mind. New fiancée? How could Her Majesty give up so easily? Surely she couldn't believe that Elizabeth was gone for good? Ciel stared at the letter in slight horror, almost as if he was expecting the letters to re-form themselves into a solution. He couldn't decline a request from the Queen, but he couldn't just take on a new fiancée like that. It just wasn't negotiable, he would have to marry Cassandra. A girl he had met only two weeks ago. Sebastian's voice snatched his master from his thoughts, "Might I ask what you are getting so worked up about, my Lord?"
Worked up? Sebastian was right, Ciel'd been subconsciously grinding his teeth. It had become somewhat of a habit since Lizzy had been gone, "Her Majesty has requested that I take on a new fiancée." He tried to keep his voice as level as possible.
"And who might your new fiancée be, Young Master?"
Ciel didn't need to look at his butlers face, he could hear the smirk in his voice, "Cassandra Pierce."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "The mistress at Viscount Druitt's manor?"
"It appears so." Ciel grumbled.
"Are you going to obey the Queen's orders like a good guard dog? Or are you going to stray away for the sake of Lady Elizabeth, my Lord?" The demon taunted, the smirk returning once again.
"Of course I'm going to follow her bloody orders! There's no other choice!" Ciel snapped.
"And what if Lady Elizabeth should return?" Another provoking question.
"Then I'll just have to break off the engagement with Cassandra."
"And return to Lady Elizabeth right after? Wouldn't that cause quite a bit of trouble?"
The Earl didn't have a response, never mind a smart comeback, so he said what he usually replied with when he was lost for words; "Shut up," He growled, "bastard..."
Soon after that ordeal Ciel agreed with the Queen via letter and arranged for a meet up with Cassandra. He was going to have to propose to her. The legal age for a gentleman to get married was fourteen, so why not get it over with quickly? However, Ciel wasn't one to get down on one knee. Proposing by letter would be the best course of action, and thus he began writing...
The letter that held the words he had spent almost an hour perfecting, (he may not have loved her, but he was still a nobleman,) lay on the desk in front of him, almost mocking him with it's stillness. After a few minutes of deciding whether it was the right decision or not, he had the letter sent off. And waited.
Ciel may not have noticed it himself, but everyone else in the household had. Between the time that the letter had been posted and the time he received one back, (which was three days to be exact,) he had become extremely restless and quick to anger. It was very unlike him and it only continued to get worse when he received the response to his proposal.
Yes, she will marry him.
Plus, she'll be moving in.
Tomorrow.
Ciel leaned his head against his hand eyeing the letter as if it had offended his ancestors. How was he going to deal with living with another person that wasn't his servant? He didn't even know what he was letting himself in for. Cassandra could be a psychopathic killer for all he knew, though he doubted it. He just hoped that she wasn't cute-crazy like Elizabeth.
The Earl stood at the front entrance of the manor, the trio (plus Tanaka and Sebastian,) standing either side of him. Every one of them had smiles on their lips, Ciel's convincingly real. The door to a luxurious looking carriage revealed a very noble-looking girl. And she was indeed beautiful. For a fifteen year old she seemed extremely matured, it was mostly the fact that she was a few inches taller than the Earl. Chestnut coloured locks fell down her back in ringed curls, glimmering in the early morning sunlight. Her eyes, that at that moment were taking in her new surroundings, burned a brown so dark and intense they almost looked red. Fine jewellery, rubies to match her dress, adorned the creamy tanned skin of her neck and wrists. Her skin was of a darker shade than usually seen in Britain at that time, so Ciel couldn't help but wonder if she was an immigrant. It was soon cleared up that she wasn't when her voice rang out in a perfect British accent.
"I say, what a gorgeous manor." Cassandra smiled coldly when she met and held Ciel's gaze. She took petite, lady-like steps up to the doors to meet the six waiting to greet her. She held out a gloved hand which Ciel took and planted a light kiss on, much to his dismay.
"Welcome to the Phantomhive manor, my Lady." The Earl, trying his hardest not to scowl, said as Cassy linked her arm through his.
"Welcome!" The trio cheered, their grins widening.
"Ho, ho, ho."
The mistress allowed a warm smile onto her face. Looking at the beaming faces of the servants almost warmed her heart. Almost. Cassandra was lead to her bedroom by the boy-earl whilst the servants carried her bags in behind them. When everything was settled and all luggage had been safely deposited in her new room, Cassandra and Ciel were left alone. The brunette smiled slyly and cocked a finger, "Come."
Ciel raised an eyebrow, but did as she said. He had a feeling that the way she behaved at Lord Druitt's mansion was all an act, but an Earl must keep his fiancée happy at all times. The two were standing awfully close together. Before Ciel could take a step back, Cassy had placed a full-on kiss upon his lips. He jumped back, blushing furiously, "W-what on earth are you doing?!"
Cassandra giggled and came closer to him, placing a hand on his chest, "We are to be married, are we not?"
"Y-yes." Ciel froze and swallowed. He had no experience what-so-ever in this kind of thing.
"Then is it so wrong that I may commit such acts on my future husband?" She bit on her lip.
"My Lord," Sebastian, to Ciel's relief, intervened, "lunch shall be ready-" The demon stopped, taking in the scene before him. His trademark smirk appeared on his lips, "Ah, please do forgive me for interrupting."
Ciel blanched, "N-no! You're not interrupting anything!" He moved back for the second time.
Sebastian concealed a chuckle. A blushing Young Master and a lady in the room? Who could have thought they'd 'settle in' so quickly? "Lunch shall be ready in half an hour." He stated with a bow.
"I look forward to seeing you at lunch, my Lady." Ciel spun on his heel to leave.
"Could you stop being so formal? We are engaged, you know."
He didn't need to be reminded, "Of course," He looked over his shoulder, his frown returning, "Cassandra."
Lunch that day consisted of Cassandra flirting with practically every man that came her way, (which meant that Sebastian, Bard, Finny and Ciel himself were the victims,) and the Earl contemplating on whether the dinner fork he was holding could be enough to kill her, or himself, or anyone really.
The years Ciel had to spend with Cassandra were driving him insane. He was thinking about breaking off the engagement already. If he didn't get rid of her soon, his mental health would be at stake. He thought all of this with his head in his hands, sitting at his study desk. Ciel was ripped from his dreamland when a light knock that could only be identified as his butlers broke the silence of the room.
"Young Master," He said entering the study, "I believe there is someone here to see you."
Ciel was about to scold Sebastian for entering without his consent until he saw the pitiful figure of his visitor. He shot up in his seat.
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!