Author's Note: Okay, I have to admit that I hadn't read the reviews for Winter's Eve yet. Mostly because I was a little afraid. This was my first foray into writing seriously. I had also been warned not to read the reviews by another writer because they would either make your head swell or throw your confidence into the dirt. But I did tonight and I almost cried. Thank you so much! It's renewed my confidence in the Fallen University series and pushed me to keep going on the second book.
For everyone that has only watched the series and haven't read the manga, Lizzy has a brother, Edward. He makes an appearance in this chapter because I need him. I couldn't decide whether to stick to the manga or the anime so I kind of combined them both. The manga goes deeper, but in the anime, Undertaker is a legend. Yeah. He's a badass in both though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of it's characters. I only claim Serena, as well as the demons and descendants that I introduce.
A Demon's Mate
Chapter Six
The next morning, Mei-Rin woke Serena with much more confidence than yesterday. The maid quickly poured the tea that Sebastian had made before laying out one of the dresses that had been purchased by Elizabeth yesterday. The one she chose was a pretty dark blue satin with white ribbons that emphasized her pale skin. After the maid helped her into the gown, Serena sat in front of the vanity to do her own hair.
Mei-Rin took her nightgown to be laundered and informed Serena that the Earl would await her for breakfast. The girl nodded while slipping pins into her hair to hold it in place.
In the dining room, she and Ciel sat to a delicious breakfast cooked by the butler. She couldn't help but snicker a little when she saw Sebastian.
"What is it?" Ciel looked up from his plate to see the demon glaring at Serena as he set her own plate in front of her.
"Nothing. Just a weird thought."
The Earl kept conversation to her trip with Elizabeth the day before. It was only after Sebastian sent the other servants to their tasks that he broached the subject of last night.
"This afternoon, we'll go through the notable events that have happened since I formed the contract with Sebastian."
"Alright. I'll write down the list of events that are shown in the anime as well as depicted in the manga. Then we'll compare." Serena put down her silverware and placed her napkin on the table. Sebastian came to help her out of the chair.
Ciel stood as well. "Very well, I wish you an enjoyable morning."
Serena bowed as the Earl walked out of the dining room before turning to Sebastian. She decided it was probably a good idea not to bring up last night again.
'Irritating a demon is never a good survival tactic.'
"Could you tell me where I can find some paper?"
"I will bring it to you, my lady." The demon bowed. "Where would you like to spend the morning?"
"I guess I'll spend it in the library. That seems the right place."
"Very good, my lady."
"Sebastian?" Serena bit her lip as the demon looked up. "Where is the library?"
He blinked at her for a moment before smiling. "If you will follow me, my lady."
********************************A Demon's Mate*************************************
'I'm so bored!'
Serena moved some of the papers that were near her face. Her head had dropped to the surface over an hour ago, after the books she pulled down had lost her interest. So had the paper airplanes, doodles, and the time line she was supposed to be working on.
"Are you alright, my lady?"
She screamed, jumping up with a book in hand to hit her attacker. The girl tried to calm down when she saw Sebastian.
"Jeez," she put a hand to her racing heart. "Put a bell around your neck!"
"I am sorry, my lady." The butler's smirk led her to believe otherwise. "Master had asked if you are coming to lunch?"
"I'll be there in a minute." Serena started to gather her papers.
"I can do that, miss."
"No!" Serena scrambled to scoop the papers into a messy pile and quickly picked them up. After seeing his surprise, she stopped for a moment to take a breath.
"I've got it. I'll be down in a minute." The red head smiled up at him.
"Very well, my lady." Sebastian watched as she put the papers in a neater pile and walked out of the room.
Serena stopped by her own room to drop the papers off. She knew that Ciel would probably order Sebastian to search her papers and decided to try a little misdirection. Taking the papers that contained what was shown with Alois and Claude as well as the one outlining the Queen and Ash, she put them in the wardrobe. Taking the rest, she let them slide across the bed.
'Do I think that this is going to work...probably not.' Throwing up her hands, Serena left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. 'At least I didn't write down the ending of either arc.'
In the dining room Ciel was rubbing his temples when Serena came in. The earl stood as she entered out of habit.
"You look exhausted." The red head observed as she sat down.
"I'm fine. Have you finished with the list of the events that you have seen?"
"Yes. Have you?"
"Sebastian has it." He waved toward the kitchen.
'He means Sebastian did it.'
Both heard a tinkling sound as the door to the kitchen opened. Sebastian came through with the cart carrying their lunch, the sound getting louder. The tinkling continued as he removed the domes covering the food.
Ciel's eyes widened when he saw the black ribbon holding a small bell resting against the knot in his tie.
"What are you wearing?"
"Miss Serena requested that I wear a bell as I surprised her earlier." The butler answered smoothly while taking Serena's plate from the cart.
As he leaned over, she reached up and pushed the bell with her finger. As it tinkled she laughed a little. The Earl looked at her in horror.
"I can't help it. It's kind of cute." She smiled as he bowed. "I can't tell if I see retribution there or not."
"You'll see it from me!" Ciel reached up and took the ribbon from the demon's neck. "It's utterly embarrassing for my butler to wear a little bell."
"Would it be better if it was a big bell? Like a cow bell?" Serena nodded in excitement.
"Absolutely not!" The earl was working himself into a fit.
"It was a joke." She put a hand on Ciel's arm and looked at Sebastian. "I didn't think that you would actually do it."
"You said that was what you wanted, my lady."
"I apologize. I'll be more careful with what I say from now on." Serena took the bell from the Earl. "I'll keep that though. It's a good memory."
Ciel watched his butler and the girl from the future. He could see the connection between them even if she couldn't and it didn't make him happy.
'He would do something so demeaning just because she mentioned it? I don't like this. Not one bit.'
"Excuse me, master. It seems that we have guests." The butler bowed and walked out of the room to meet the incoming carriage.
"Again?" Ciel felt his headache reaching breaking point very shortly.
The red head grabbed his arm in panic. "I don't want to go with Elizabeth again."
"Master, Lord Edward and Lady Elizabeth are here to see you." Sebastian came back into the room. "I have shown them into the drawing room."
"I'm surprised that Elizabeth hasn't come in here." The earl looked down at his ruined lunch and pushed it away.
"Lord Edward is holding her back. He seems to be fairly angry about something, sir."
"What could he have to be angry about?" Ciel scoffed into his tea. "Did someone beat him in cricket or something?"
"It's about me." Serena leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
"Why would he be angry about you?"
"Come on, my lord. I'm not even from this time and I know the issue here. You spend too much time on your own."
"Well, are you going to enlighten me?" The earl drawled.
"You, his sister's fiancee, have a young, unmarried woman staying in your home without a chaperone." She took a sip from her own cup.
"I still don't see how that is any of Edward's business."
"Wow, you are more sheltered than I thought." Serena just stared at Ciel.
"I believe that you had it right that master does not spend enough time in society, my lady."
"I am sitting right here." Irritation was evident on his face.
"Master, Lord Edward and the rest of society will conclude that Miss Serena is your mistress. Adding insult to the injury of her living in your main home, you introduced her to your fiancee."
"And you can't forget about Edward's small sister complex."
"I wouldn't call it small."
Ciel face exploded in red. "That's preposterous! Even if I had a mistress, I wouldn't keep her in my home and I most certainly would never introduce her to Elizabeth."
The young earl stood embarrassed and strode from the room. Serena and Sebastian hurried after him, both worried at the mood the Earl was in. Indignant fury never mixed well with stupid.
"I'm a little worried at his ability to keep it together," Serena whispered.
"The master is well aware of how to deal with Lord Edward."
"Yeah, has he ever had to deal with Edward when he didn't know that he was going to and when he was already irritated?"
"No." The butler sped up.
"Edward, Lizzy. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
"Ciel!" Elizabeth started to come forward but was pulled back by her brother. "Edward, what is wrong with you?"
The red head came up behind Ciel with Sebastian. Edward stiffened at the sight of Serena standing next to his sister's fiancee.
"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you!" He pointed to Ciel. "How could you do this to my sister? I always knew that you weren't good enough for my sweet, little sister."
"I have no idea what you are talking about Edward. Perhaps you should calm down."
"Calm down! You're keeping your whore in the house and encouraging my beloved sister to spend time with her."
To her credit, Serena continued to smile as she stood behind the earl.
"As I said before, I have no idea what you are talking about. Miss Serena, nothing more." Ciel sneered at the older boy. "And I do not appreciate such behavior in my home."
"I do not appreciate you introducing my innocent sister to someone like that." The tone of his voice suggested that Ciel had exposed Elizabeth to the lowest scum to be found in a London gutter.
Sebastian looked to his master as he felt something break within the boy.
"If Elizabeth didn't barge into my home whenever she felt like it, she wouldn't meet people that you're not happy with."
"If you weren't so inconsiderate of Lizzy, she wouldn't feel the need to barge into your home."
The lady in question looked between them as tears fell down her cheeks. "Ciel..."
"If your family would understand that I am a busy man, then I wouldn't be seen as inconsiderate. I have more important things to do than flit between the nobles' parties and horse races. If you had more things to occupy your time than spending your father's money, you might understand."
"Why you! Perhaps if you spent more time in society you would stop embarrassing my sister with your inexcusable social blunders!"
"Really? Have you ever thought that it is my staying away from those idiotic social engagements that keeps my mind out of the gutter? Serena is a guest of the Phantomhive family, nothing more and I will not let you or anyone else insult her. If you're so interested in knowing who my mistress is, that you'll accuse a proper lady, I'll give you her name."
Elizabeth let out a sob. Serena looked to her and then to Sebastian not knowing what to do.
"This has to stop."
The demon shook his head. "There is no stopping it now."
"A proper lady? Ha! A proper lady traveling alone with no luggage and staying in a bachelor's home without a chaperone? She's nothing but a whore. If she isn't your mistress than she's aiming to be."
Sebastian took a step forward but Serena put a hand on his arm. When he looked down she shook her head.
"Neither I nor any of my family will step foot inside this house until you get rid of her." Edward pulled his sobbing sister behind him as he headed for the door.
"Good! I'll finally get some peace then, won't I?"
The butler sprang forward to open the front door. After Elizabeth was out the door, he slammed the heavy wood behind them.
"Are you okay?" Serena reached out to touch his shoulder but thought better of it and pulled the hand back.
"I'm fine." He continued to stare at the door before straightening. Rebuilding the calm and collected demeanor he always wore. "Well, that was ugly. I wonder, did I win that argument?"
"You did get them to leave, master." Sebastian cocked his head to the side as he thought about it.
"And you got the last word. That counts as a double win in my family." The red head smiled at him encouragingly.
The man nodded and turned to the stairs.
"My lord?"
"We had an appointment this afternoon, didn't we?"
Serena looked to the demon and back to the Earl. Both simply stared back, as if the previous incident hadn't happened at all.
"Okay, I'll get the papers from my room." She walked up the stairs behind Ciel, still not sure of how to act. Sebastian had moved back to the dining room to clear lunch.
"Come to my study when you have the papers. We'll go over them there." He waved her off and went quietly down the hall. Serena stared after him.
'Ciel just keeps burying everything further and further into himself. It's no wonder that he lost it. But will he be able to fix this later?'
Author's Note: I do have a meaning for this argument later, I promise.