A month later


Sarah struggled to pull on the dress, something she had been getting better at, but after a lifetime of being helped into her clothes... it was a bit hard.

Today she even begrudgingly pulled on stockings and shoes.

The house of Phantomhive was expecting an important guest.

Earl Grey, a butler of the queen.

Today was the deadline of the queen's offer.

A soft knock.

"I've brought the morning tea."

Sarah waved her hand towards the night table, even though Sebastian probably needed no prompt to do that.

He surveyed her as she straightened her outfit.

"My, we're even wearing stockings today!" He exclaimed in mock surprise.

She scowled. "Shut up."

The butler moved to her shoulder.

"If only you would allow me to help you, then you wouldn't have to work so hard just to do this."

As per her usual response to this topic, Sarah moved away from the butler, continuing to attempt the fixing of her clothing.

"You are not to touch me. We've gone over this."

The butler sighed. She says that so often I wonder why she didn't include it in our original contract.

Stubbornly, he moved to her shoulder again.

"Might I ask why?"

"No."

"I'm just concerned that if there happens to be a situation where I need to save you, to lift you to safety or something of the sort.."

Sarah leaped away from Sebastian, whose head had been peering over her shoulder. Her face twisted into a deep frown, anger burning in her oceans of eyes.

Breathing out deeply, settling her heart from it's racing, she fixed her eyes on the window.

"Every time a hand is reached out to me... all I see is their hands. Grasping their knives dripping with my blood. My blood!" Her deep hatred for this was apparent, but she breathed out again, trying to banish her emotions.

"I'm a beaten animal, fearing the hand offered to me, afraid that it will turn against me."

The feared hands settled on her shoulders, and the owner of them spoke into her ear.

"My hands carry no harm to you, my lady. Never."

Sarah still darted out from his grasp, face folded into a dirty stare of dislike, and she brushed off her shoulders as though dust had accumulated there.

"But your hands carry another sin!"

She leaned into the words, showing a hidden hatred and disgust for the butler.

"They took my father! They took my only parent away from me!" The girl was shaking with her fury.

"I will not be touched by my father's murderer!"

Sebastian's face was wiped of emotion.

"Is that so?" He took a step away from her, looking to leave the room. But in a flash of inhuman speed the butler was right next to Sarah, and her head had been taken in his bare hands, white gloves lying discarded on the floor.

Her head, covered in it's short boyish locks, was pulled gently to the black clad man's abdomen, and her ear pressed against his stomach.

Automatically Sarah began to struggle, but Sebastian continued to press her there.

"Listen." He whispered.

She stopped struggling, quieted, and quivered in the grasp.

The girl's ears fine tuned themselves in the silence, picking up the deceivingly human-like heartbeat of Sebastian. She listened even further, but instead of picking up the roiling of stomach acid, whispers began to filter through.

Sarah gasped in surprise, and pressed her ear more closely to the butler's middle.

Now screams came through, and full voices.

"Why?!" A woman's voice cried, "Help us," another voice pleaded.

"This will be you," a sinister voice whispered, suddenly louder than the others, and she stiffened, not noticing that Sebastian's hands no longer held her there, instead resting on her back.

"Sarah..." A voice she had known well until a year ago whispered to the young girl.

Her heart almost stopped.

"Let nothing stand in your way, daughter, not even the past."

She felt the hands on her back.

"Nothing can hurt you but the present."

She thought of the knives.

"I...lo..." Ciel's voice faded back into the swarm, leaving her with the Earl's voice in her ears, something she hadn't had in a year.

Sarah hovered with her ear pressed against the warm black cloth for a second longer, then pulled away, turning again to the window. Behind her she heard Sebastian picking his gloves off the floor, but he did not leave.

Her navy dress swished as she faced him, cool indifference in her eyes.

"Well? Are you going to help me get ready?"

"Of course... my lady."


Marching into the room she now occupied she tossed the long-haired gray wig onto the bed exasperatedly, kicking off her shoes furiously.

"Why did that damn Earl Grey have to take FOUR HOURS just to take my response and give me back the deeds to the company! Lord, I was about to keel over from spending another minute with him!"

Sebastian picked up the wig that had been used to prevent the Earl from seeing her scandalously short hair, not to mention the seal of the contract emblazoned on her neck, hiding it away in the wardrobe.

"You should get used to it my lady, such conversations are a large part of the company owner's duty, as well as the Guard dog's."

She scoffed, peeling off her stockings and tying them together in a knot, which Sebastian patiently untied when he took them from her.

"The majority of his banter had nothing to do with anything! And only a very small bit of it concerning this first task. Give me the letter again," As the thought crossed her mind Sarah held out her hand and the butler set a new letter from the Queen in it.

"Call the tailor tomorrow. I want pockets sewn into these frilly disasters."

"Of course, my-"

A resounding knock rang through the manor, shaking the two from their current business.

"It seems we have a visitor."

Sarah tucked the letter into her little world of treasures from her father, a safe place to hide it until she could read it.

"Then go let them in."

Sebastian vanished in a supernatural blur, and the girl wound through the manor, barefootedly heading towards the grand main doors.

"-really should have called ahead, we could have prepared a nice meal for your arrival." The butler's voice carried down the hall as the gray haired girl approached.

Turning the corner she was shocked to see her father's friend Prince Sohma standing in the doorway, his faithful butler Agni happily beside him, as usual.

"Prince Sohma?" Sarah exclaimed. His purple haired head turned towards her, his happy smile stopping mid-bloom as his eyes took her in, and big tears welled in his eyes instead.

"You look just like Ciel!" The man turned to bawl into Agni's chest, who looked as though he might start to cry as well.

Sarah sighed, exasperatedly. "Please, contain yourself Prince," Sebastian implored, his own form of annoyance plastered over his face.

The girl shook her head as Sohma dried his tears, regaining whatever he had that passed for composure. "I apologize Sarah. Your father would have scolded me for behaving childishly like that." She smiled a bit. Prince Sohma was by far her favorite of father's accomplices, cheerful and kind as he was, even with his unstable emotions.

Sarah beckoned for the pair to follow her, leading them to the outdoor table and chairs that had just been vacated by her and the Earl Grey.

Sebastian quickly made tea, a type that he knew from prior experience that the Indians were partial to.

Sarah refused her cup, and Agni, standing by the Prince's chair accepted his with a joyous smile. "It's very good to see you again Sebastian!" he exclaimed. "After your lord passed on and you disappeared, I feared I had lost my good english friend!"

Sebastian darted quick eyes to Sarah, his old order of never lying kicking in, despite the fact that it was now invalid.

"I had served the Young Master for many years, and despite the circumstances I thought that a vacation was warranted."

"But you didn't even attend the funeral-" "Please, I would rather not discuss this in front of the young mistress," the black-clad man whispered, and Agni stiffened. "Oh of course. Sorry."

As if sensing the distress, Victor burst out from the manor, the flapping door whacking his pursuit, Finni, in the forehead.

"Somma! Somma!" The boy shouted joyously, crying out the nickname his slow toddler tongue had given the prince.

The Indian man grinned widely, and let the child hug his leg. "How are you, little boy?"

"Good!" Victor said cheerfully. "But Finni isn't."

Sebastian went over to the doors, pulling the dazed gardener out from between them.

Forgetting Finni, Victor climbed up onto Prince Sohma's lap. "Where's Atiya?" He asked, referring to Sohma's daughter and his occasional playmate.

"She's busy in London today, her and her mother were in need of some new clothes for the Season."

Sarah rapped the table to regain the Prince's attention. "What brings you to Phantomhive Manor, Prince?"

He smiled again. "What's wrong with paying a visit to my favorite godchildren?" Sarah rolled her eyes, but let a small grin grow on her face. "You know father never made that official."

"Being bound by spirit is just as strong!" Sohma burst out, making Victor laughed as he was jostled by the outburst.

Their friendly talk took up the rest of Sarah's afternoon, and they stayed for the evening meal, which, due to the addition of Agni and the Prince, was lively.


The two siblings waved goodbye to Sohma's carriage as it rolled away into the evening sunset.

Sarah took Victor's food-crusted hand and lead him back to the manor, handing him off to Mey-Rin and wishing him sweet dreams.

The head of the Phantomhives climbed up the stairs to the study, taking up the paperwork that came with being the lead of a company.

The moon rose, shining it's light onto Sarah's back.

Setting down a sheaf of paper the grey haired girl looked back at the waxing moon behind her, a moon that had lit many moments of her life.

She tugged open one of the drawers of the wooden desk, withdrawing a small, gleaming object.

Knuckles tapped on the door, and the glow of candlelight brightened the dim room.

"It is time to retire my lady," the butler's voice spilled into the quiet of the study, and Sarah stood, shuffling her papers back into their files and drawers.

Sebastian pulled the door closed, and they went quietly to the bedroom, where Sarah dressed for sleep.

"Sebastian."

The butler paused, looking back at his charge in her bed.

"I think you should have this back."

A silver object flashed as it soared through the air to land in his gloved palm.

Sebastian smiled, and affixed the pin of the Phantomhive butlers to his lapel.

"Night, my lady."


A/N: Tada! Chapter Five! As promised Chapter six will have much more action and etc., as well as a certain Grim Reaper :D! That'll be up on Thursday, which is much sooner then usual, but after Thursday I'm going on vacation, so there won't be an update for two weeks or so. Apologetic me is apologetic!

On a different note, I've seen Sohma spelled Soma too, so I didn't really know which spelling to go with. I just picked the way it was spelled in the dubbed episodes.

My thank yous!: beccaleigh97, and Hinote! This story is by far my most organized fanfic. I'm updating regularly, I've got the plot planned, chapters typed in advance... compared to my other two stories this is way better organized. yada yada yada.