Judith: Chapter Six
Author's Note: I'm not really sure what happened, but the Chapter Six that I originally published was not the complete version. Here is the correct version of the chapter, and Chapter Seven will be posted either today or tomorrow. Sorry guys!
The click of the door handle stirred the young earl Phantomhive from his reading, glancing over his shoulder as he snapped the book shut and traced his slender fingers over the gold print on the navy fabric cover. He shifted in his seat, the leather of the wing backed chair creaking as the boy uncrossed his legs, leaning forward to assess the tea tray that Sebastian placed delicately on the mahogany coffee table. Ciel watched as the butler poured the golden liquid into a fine china cup, adding a drizzle of honey.
"This evening I have prepared a Chinese silver leaf white tea and almond scones with cherry extract."
Ciel simply hummed in response as he picked up the saucer, the porcelain clinking delicately as he lifted the cup to his lips. "Sebastian, did you accomplish everything I asked of you today?"
"Naturally, bocchan," the butler replied, placing his hand over his heart and giving a shallow bow. "I have thoroughly interrogated everyone on the list that I compiled earlier this evening. There is one young lady in particular, a gypsy girl of seventeen years who has been recently expelled from an Anglican orphanage in south London. I was informed that the girl was orphaned at the age of seven when her mother and siblings were murdered by the sons of the landowner on whose property they were residing illegally."
The boy snorted. "I'm going to assume that the killers all possessed blonde hair and blue eyes."
"Indeed, my lord."
"Find her tomorrow. We must ensure that she comes in contact with Bardroy," the young earl said plainly, returning the empty teacup to the tray and exchanging it for a scone.
Sebastian gently removed the elegant tome from his master's lap, trailing his lithe, gloved fingers across the fabric of the book's cover, the spine crackling as it opened, the butler thumbing lightly through the crisp pages. "I see," he mumbled to himself, earning an inquisitive glance from Ciel. "This is the wordsmith's new volume, is it not? Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of crimes; the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Quite fitting, my young lord." A smirk tweaked the corners of the demon's pale lips, his eyes narrowing slightly in amusement as he looked down at Ciel, who returned the gaze with an irritated glare before snatching the book from the butler's hands. The gold lettering on the cover glinted in the dim candlelight of the room as the boy tilted the volume, watching shades rise and fall dramatically across the title like the shadows of ghosts. Sighing, he set the novel gently on the side table to his right before rising from his seat and turning to Sebastian, who had been silently observing his master's pensive disposition for the last several moments. "Bocchan, are you troubled?" he asked sincerely, slight concern welling up in his stomach as he knitted his eyebrows together tightly.
"No," Ciel replied firmly, "I am simply ready to retire for the evening, as I am tired and tomorrow will be quite busy. I expect that you will be able to perform your duties effectively. It is of the utmost importance, Sebastian. I'm sure you understand that." The boy glanced towards the loyal butler, his uncovered eye dark with determined expectation.
Sebastian kneeled, lowering his head as he lightly pressed his palm to his chest, eyes momentarily flashing red. "Of course, bocchan. I will do as you command."
The young earl tilted his chin up slightly, looking down at his butler with a single piercing blue eye, assessing the kneeling demon carefully. "Hmm. Very well," he purred, turning to stride out of the room and into the dark hall. Sebastian smirked, rising to his feet and straightening his crisp lapels before following his young master towards the bedroom.
"Yes, bocchan."
Ciel scarcely waited for the butler as he twisted the crystal knob of his bedroom door, swinging the heavy mahogany inward as it creaked on bronze hinges and scraped lightly over the plush oriental carpet draped across oaken floors. The boy was exhausted, and though he had no inclination of exposing such weakness to anyone, he determined that the prospect of sleep, and therefore his weak attempt at undressing himself, might be worth Sebastian's mockery. He desperately wanted to shamelessly climb into his plush bed and wholeheartedly welcome the much needed rest. Whether or not the tempestuous depths of his unconscious mind and the torment of his dreams would allow him to sleep was an entirely different matter, and a distinct struggle in itself.
Pulling the ribbon lazily from around his collar and discarding it into a coiled puddle on the floor, the young earl shuffled towards the bed, eyes scarcely leaving his feet as he attempted to ignore the sensation of Sebastian's smirk landing on his back, between his narrow shoulder blades. Irritated, Ciel raised his head, intent on whipping a seething insult towards the demon, but froze as his gaze fell upon the man who was perched on the edge of his bed, long crimson hair cascading over narrow shoulders and pooling like blood on the white duvet. The man straightened his posture and crossed his legs, his luminescent eyes smiling as he hungrily assessed the butler in the doorway over red-rimmed glasses.
"Hello there, Bassy," he purred, easily ignoring Ciel's fierce glare and clenched teeth. The man glanced down to the boy with a sneer, a taunting smile lightly tugging at the corners of his thin lips. "Hello, brat."
"Dammit, Grell! Why are you here?! And more importantly, why the hell are you in my bedroom?!" the young earl seethed, the drastic rise of his temper causing his pulse to throb painfully in his temples.
Grell slid blithely from the mattress, his heeled boots clacking lightly on the floor and his long red coat fluttering behind him in delicate ripples before falling to sway around narrow hips and thighs. The shinigami skipped happily past a fuming Ciel, latching himself onto Sebastian's arm with painful enthusiasm and gazing up at the dark butler with lustful green eyes. He nearly climbed up the demon's arm in a futile attempt to steal a kiss, but was quickly denied by the harsh impact of a white gloved hand on his face. Sebastian and his young master rolled their eyes in perfect synchronization as Grell's retorts and ceaseless complaints were effectively muffled by the palm that was pressed into the lower half of his face with surprising aggression. Ciel couldn't help but smirk, and hardly attempted to subdue the low chuckle that escaped his lips and filled the nearly silent room. The butler glanced from the red shinigami to his young master and hung his head with an exasperated sigh, reluctantly releasing his hold on Grell's face, who began gasping for air with excessive theatrical flair. Sebastian assessed his gloved hand and was thoroughly disgusted with the dampness that had saturated the white fabric from the red-haired man's breath. Contorting his face into a repulsed grimace, he carefully removed the glove and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor, glaring at the crumpled fabric as if it was some sort of vile insect worthy of being stamped upon.
"So why exactly are you here, Grell?" the butler inquired with poorly executed feigned interest, "It can't be that you simply desire to disturb my master's evening routine."
"Oh no, darling Bassy," he sang, smiling broadly as he forcefully snuggled himself under Sebastian's arm, eliciting an irritated sigh from the butler's pale lips. "I came here to seduce you, of course," he said, giving the demon a suggestive wink as he gazed longingly over his red-rimmed glasses. Locking his intense, smoldering auburn gaze on the shinigami's luminescent eyes, Sebastian quietly raised a gloved index finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. Grell began to speak, but was promptly hushed by the placement of the gloved finger on his own lips, where it remained for merely an instant before relocating to his forehead, only to give him a violent shove that sent him sprawling across the rug. Attempting to recover and rubbing his harassed brow dramatically, the man in red scoffed loudly, spouting some nonsense about chivalry and blatant mistreatment of a lady.
"Lady?" Sebastian spat bitterly, "how disturbing."
Ciel sighed, stepping forward to intervene the foolishness that would no doubt continue if not promptly and effectively subdued. "That's enough. Now answer me. Why are you here, Grell?" his voice was low and dark, his presence suddenly heavy and commanding.
"Oh… well…." Grell stuttered, his previous raunchy confidence quickly fading at the hands of a thirteen year old boy with a sharp tongue. "There was something odd in the ledger that I thought might interest you both. There are two names that continue to flicker and alternate. Almost as if the record doesn't know which is to die, even though the time and date remains the same."
"It changes?" Sebastian questioned, his interest clearly piqued as he moved to the shinigami's side, glancing into the morbid tome now laying open in Grell's hands.
"What nonsense are you spouting, you fools?" Ciel folded his arms over his chest, his expression cross and devoid of amusement as he strode across the room, shoving the two out of his way as he glanced down to the exposed page. "This…." he began, eyes momentarily flaring with confusion before narrowing with suspicion and savage determination. "Sebastian," the boy spat, "this will not happen, am I understood? I'm making this an order."
The butler fell gracefully to one knee, lowering his head and lightly placing a lithe, gloved hand over his heart as his eyes flashed with demonic, glowing red. "Yes, bocchan. I will do as you command."
The young earl nodded curtly, never relaxing the rigid nobility of his posture as he turned to stride towards his dressing room, but paused momentarily to throw a burning glare over his shoulder. "Now that your business here has concluded, Grell, get out of my house. And I'll be damned if you impose your presence here with such familiarity again." The crimson shinigami seemed to whither slightly at the threat, "Otherwise Sebastian will be sent to deal with you in a manner bereft of delicacy."
Grell's eyes flashed with lusty excitement as he flung his arms around the dark butler once again, eliciting a disgusted shudder from the tall man trapped in his grasp. "That's okay, Bassy," he winked, making no attempt to contain the tempest of his advances, "I like it rough."
"How vulgar," Sebastian stated flatly.
"I can assure you, Grell," Ciel began, strongly emphasizing his name with disdainful warning, "that you will not enjoy it. Now, would you kindly leave?" The red-haired man pouted dramatically at the young earl's demand, clutching onto his unwilling prey with renewed vigor, eliciting a strained sigh from the boy before him. Ciel raised his gaze, burning with unrestrained ire and irritation, and locked it aggressively on the shinigami. "OUT!"