Chapter 7: An Unusual Reveal
I walked back over to the steps and sat down. I couldn't seem to rap my head around what was happening. No wonder transportation was provided for me, I thought. Ciel knew I needed to get here no matter what. This wasn't just a ball—this was a welcome party. But how did Ciel find me, and why does he need me?
I rubbed my temples and sighed. Before I could make a decision on what I wanted to do next, I saw Elizabeth running towards me.
''Cynthia!'' she yelled as she practically collided with me. ''I can't believe it! You get to stay here!''
''I can't believe it either.'' I stammered.
''You're sooooooo lucky! That means you're going to get to see Ciel every day! I wish I could move in with him.''
''Lucky…right.'' I murmured.
''Is something wrong?'' Elizabeth asked, noticing my lack of enthusiasm.
''No, I'm just a little, er, tired is all.'' I replied.
''I'm sure Ciel has a nice room all set up for you.'' Elizabeth said. ''You could rest in there.''
''No, it's okay,'' I said, quickly standing up. ''Why don't we all go down and enjoy the rest of the ball?''
''Okay!'' Elizabeth said as she grabbed my hand, nearly dragging me down the stairs. It was going to be a long evening.
Throughout the night, I tried to avoid people who I wasn't familiar with. I didn't want to cause more drama than there already was. It wasn't that hard to do, considering how Elizabeth stuck to me like white on rice. I found it was quite easy to make decent conversation with her, so I wasn't bored either. Ciel only came down to the ball two times after he made his speech so he could dance and chat with Elizabeth. After all, it would have seemed rude if he didn't spend time with his finance.
Once ball was over and Elizabeth left, the four Phantomhive servants came out and began to clean up. Bard, the leader of the quartet, was the first to notice me.
''Hey,'' he called out, ''Are you waiting for a ride or something?''
''No,'' I said, ''Ciel has invited me to stay here.''
''Oh my!'' gasped the female servant, Mey Rin. ''You must be the guest of honor we've heard so much about.''
I nodded.
''You're the guest of honor?'' asked Fini, the short blonde, servant.
''Yes, I'm Cynthia.'' I said. ''It's nice to me you all.'' I couldn't help but smile at the servants. All of them were really nice and friendly. They weren't always that efficient, but they meant well.
''You-you look really nice.'' Fini said a bit shyly.
''Oh, thanks.'' I said smiling.
''Yeah, but what kind of outfit are you wearing?'' Bard asked.
Before I could answer, I heard Sebastian from behind me shout,
''Bard, Mey Rin, Fini, Tanaka, what are you doing?''
All the servants jumped. ''S-sorry Sebastian'' they said. ''We were just talking with the guest of honor.''
Sebastian sighed and said ''This is not the time for chatting. You have work to do, and the young master wants to see Lady Cynthia before she gets settled in.''
''Don't worry Sebastian!'' they said in unison. ''We'll get straight to work.'' The servants quickly broke up and began doing various chores. Even Tanaka, who hadn't spoken a word, left to go do something.
''Please follow me, my lady,'' Sebastian said, quickly changing the tone in his voice so he sounded more polite. I walked with him as he led me into Ciel's office. Ciel was sitting at his desk with his chair turned away from me.
''Young master,'' Sebastian said. ''I've brought in Lady Cynthia like you've requested.''
Ciel turned around. ''Sit,'' he said to me, gesturing to a chair that was placed across from where he was sitting.
I sat down and before Ciel had a chance to speak, I said ''You have to tell me what's going on. Now.''
''That's just what I was getting to.'' Ciel replied coolly.
I looked him directly in the eyes. If I was going to get the answers I wanted, I needed to make sure I appeared confident.
''You see,'' Ciel began, his voice softening slightly, ''I asked Sebastian to retrieve you because you were in my dream.''
My eyes widened. ''What?''
''I hardly have dreams anymore,'' Ciel said. ''So I found it odd that this one kept recurring. The girl that was in it said she wanted to help me. I told Sebastian what she looked and sounded like, and ordered him to find her. And that person, ultimately, was you.''
I couldn't believe what I just heard. ''But how…how is that possible?'' I managed to say.
Ciel smirked. ''My butler is very efficient in tracking people down. He had almost no trouble finding you.''
I sat there silent for a moment. Ciel's world was supposed to be fictional—it shouldn't have been possible for him to dream about me, nonetheless get Sebastian to find me. I cleared my throat and said ''So I'm guessing that Sebastian also told you what I do in my spare time too, considering how Elizabeth knew I that I drew, played the piano, and cooked.''
''Yes,'' replied Ciel. ''You're well rounded.''
I wasn't sure whether to smile and take that as a compliment, or be annoyed that Ciel had Sebastian stalk me.
''Now,'' Ciel continued. ''You have to tell me something. Did you know about me before we met today, and if so, what do you have to offer me?''
I looked down at my lap, unsure of how to answer. Obviously, I knew Ciel's whole life story considering the fact I watched the anime he was in. But the whole concept if anime—the whole concept of my world, would be too complicated to explain to Ciel. I had to lie. ''No, I haven't known about you."
Ciel frowned. ''Well, this certainly complicates things. Perhaps we'll be able to figure out what this connection means in the morning. Until then, I've set up a room for you.''
I rose from my chair and followed Sebastian as he led me out of the office into one of the guest rooms. It looked like it was bigger than the three bedrooms in my house put together.
''Mey Rin will come up shortly with a change of clothes for you.'' Sebastian said. ''In the meantime, let me change your bandage.''
I looked down at my left arm. I had almost forgotten I had cut myself when I'd first gotten here. As Sebastian began to change it, I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks again.
''Sebastian,'' I began. ''I was wondering…how did you get from this world to my world? I mean, I know we took the carriage and everything, but I fell asleep, and I don't quite understand how I just sort of woke up there.''
Sebastian smiled. ''My lady, I must do whatever my young master orders me to do. Whether that means completing a simple task such as getting him dressed in the morning, or completing a more complicated one such as tracking a person down, I must follow his orders.''
I raised an eyebrow. ''So you're saying that because Ciel ordered you to find me, somehow that gives you the power to travel to my world?''
Sebastian finished tying my bandage and said ''Yes. After all, a Phantomhive butler who can't do that much isn't worth his salt.''
