Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any characters from Kuroshitsuji. I do own Ivy and Ivy's family.
Author's Note: So I've made it to the anime chapters. I probably won't go in-depth with any of the descriptions of characters or events from the show. Just enough that it makes sense. Please comment and rate. Criticism is welcome.
"Holiday. Holiday. We're going on a Holiday."The three overly excited servants sang. Ivy was just about to try to tune them out but stopped when she heard Sebastian begin to speak to her.
"Are you enjoying the fact that I refused to allow you to sit with them yet?"
"I can still hear them clearly. Where I'm sitting really has no effect on whether or not they manage to irritate me." She didn't really sound irritated to him, and he assumed that she meant that she could just as easily have put up with them while sitting next to them as she was doing from a distance. Ciel came to the same conclusion, but neither of them said anything about it. She began staring into the distance only slightly paying attention to the conversations going on around her.
"I couldn't leave them there alone. I might come home to find the Manor in shambles." Ciel sounded exhausted just thinking about it.
"Indeed."
"Most likely" She continued staring into the distance now completely ignoring everything being said until the carriage came to a stop. Tunning back in she began looking at her surroundings. There was a sign marking the edge of Houndsworth and a tree full of dog collars. The thing that really caught her attention was the many animal skeletons scattered all over the ground. Curious as to what type she began to wonder if she would get in trouble for getting out and picking one up. Probably. I'm pretty sure based on the other things around here their dog skeletons. Maybe the place we will be staying is close enough that I can just walk back later and look at them.
"Oh yes. I forgot to mention something. The resort the queen is planning has yet to be constructed."
He really hasn't changed much. He still does his best to be a brat. It would be strange if he acted any other way though. She thought while still looking away.
"A holiday young master? In this season?"
"Yes. Indeed. Tell me something. Have you ever heard of a pastime called bear baiting."
"The notion does sound entertaining, but I'm afraid I've not heard of it. Indulge me sir." Ivy who had been leaning back in a chair near the door now leaned forward and listened intently to Ciel's explanation of bear baiting and what it later evolved into. intrigued by what she was hearing she only took her eyes off of him when she heard Sebastian respond with, "It sounds like something only a human would come up with." Then she instantly looked back at Ciel for the rest of the story.
I'll get him back for taking a shot at humans later. Was her only thought given to anything other than what she was hearing about bear baiting.
"They use dogs to attack 's see. Would that be dog baiting?"
Was that some kind of joke? She went back to listening as Ciel began explaining the reason that the queen wanted them to go to Houndsworth.
Somehow Ivy became so interested in finding shapes in the fog that she managed to miss everything that happened around her until she heard Meyrin screaming something about hurting a baby. "There's no baby." She mumbled to herself in a volume so low that Ciel barely heard it. He didn't realize exactly what she had said until after Finny had dropped the stroller and the old woman walked away. He turned to face her.
"How did you know?" There was obvious curiosity in his voice. Glancing at him she just shrugged and looked back into the fog.
"Magic." It was the best answer she cared to give and it was just as good as any other one she could have chosen. In fact it was an answer she gave to that question quite often. Most of the time she knew things she shouldn't have and just as often she couldn't explain why. Her answer really hadn't satisfied, but he knew it was the best that he would get and just turned to face forward again.
She continued to look at the fog until her view was obstructed by buildings. As she heard dogs barking around her she began to feel like her ears would start bleeding any second. She thought about covering her ears, but at the same moment Sebastian began explaining the reasons that he hates dogs. Hearing a description that sounded amazingly familiar to her she decided now was a good time to get her revenge for his earlier shot at humans.
"It seems like you would understand a dogs actions more than any of us considering your description for dogs manages to fit pretty well with one for demons. It's made even worse for you since right now you're going by the name of one of Ciel's old ones." The insult was made even worse by the fact that her monotone voice made it sound as if it was meant to be serious. The irritation coming off of the demon was so thick it was almost suffocating, and then she heard a "woof" from beside her and instantly gave Ciel a thumbs up enjoying the fact that he had managed to make Sebastian even more irritated.
The three of them were silent the rest of the way and she finally sensed his irritation fade almost completely as they pulled up to the castle. Almost. I'm gonna pay for that later, but it was completely worth it. She made the decision to stay with the servants and help them unpack rather than going in with Ciel and Sebastian to meet Lord Barrymore. When they finished with their discussion she decided to ask Ciel how it went while Angela left to find the others. "What happened? Did you make the deal?" She only sounded slightly interested, but he answered anyway.
"It started with him calling me a chihuahua and Sebastian a Doberman. Then he refused to sell the castle due to some curse that's been put on it." She assumed that he only added the first sentence to see if she would continue her insult to Sebastian, and she probably would have had she not been stuck on what he said right before that.
"Chihuahua?" She tilted her head to the side as she spoke. Based on the looks she got from them she assumed that they had given the same response. After that she decided to explore the castle and if she couldn't find anything interesting to do she would explore the village. Maybe I can go back and get one of those skeletons. I'm sure now that they're dog bones, but if I take one I'm sure I could find a use for it later on. Maybe just the fact that I decided to keep a dog skeleton would be enough to annoy Demon even more than I already have. She was still wandering the castle by nightfall and decided to just go to her room rather than wander through the village.
As she made it to her room she heard Angela screaming about a curse and then Ciel yell something to Sebastian. Looking out her window she saw a long stripe of something that was glowing green. By the time she made it outside everyone else was already there along with the villagers. They walked into the village and up to a dead body covered in bite marks. She began searching the area for any reapers. I suppose I shouldn't have expected to see any in such a crowded place. A job like this would only be given to efficient reapers anyway. Oh well.
She turned to face the crowd pf people who were now doing some kind of chant and taking the body watched until they were out of eyesight. Then she followed the others back to the castle.
That night she was woken up by a nightmare. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall opposite her. Exactly three in the morning; same as only I could remember what it was about. Maybe then I could get it to stop happening. She got out of bed and began searching for something to entertain herself with until everyone else woke up.
The next day when they went to swim she chose to walk around the edge of the water instead. She made sure that the water never touched her for no real reason other than to have something to focus on. The constant lack of sleep was beginning to wear away at her and she was sure that if she sat still for too long she would be fast asleep and risk waking up from the nightmare in front of people. There would be too many questions she either couldn't answer or didn't want to at that point. There was also the fact that Sebastian had yet to get his revenge and he wasn't one to let such an insult go so easily.
She had made sure to stay on the far side from where everyone else was and randomly sit down and make something in the sand so that it looked to them like she was just trying to find good places to do so. It was during one of these moments that she felt a presence beside her. Even without looking she knew it was Sebastian. "Are you not going to swim Ivy?"
"I didn't bring anything to swim in. It's okay though. I'd just burn anyway." Having finished her small castle she stood up and began walking again. From the other side it had looked like she was just trying to avoid the water, but now he could see that she was staggering and having a hard time walking straight.
"You seem unwell. Have you been avoiding falling asleep again?"
"No." She wasn't lying. She had been going to sleep. It wasn't her fault she couldn't stay asleep. He raised an eyebrow easily seeing through her.
"Then why are you so tired? Lying while half asleep won't work very well for you."
"I haven't lied. Even if I had it's none of your business if I'm tired or not, but since I'm sure you won't give up without an explaination I'll give you one. I haven't been able to sleep much. That's not saying I haven't tried though." Once again she stopped and sat on the ground. Her movements were slow as she drew a childish attempt at a flower in the sand. He noticed that she seemed to be exhausted as she stood up and he reached out to help her. She seemed dizzy and he realized it was more than just one or two nights that she hadn't slept.
"How many nights have you not been able to sleep?"
"How long have I been living at the Manor. A little longer than that. I did get a good night sleep the first night I was there though."
"The only thing that interrupted your sleep then was that nightmare. Based on that I'm assuming the same thing happens every night and you simply choose not to fall back asleep. Am I correct?"
"Sounds about right. Shouldn't you be taking care of shorty right now?" She didn't really care, but she was sure if she let him think about what he'd just figured out he would find some way to use it against her later. He looked back at where Ciel was sitting.
"This conversation isn't over." He turned and began walking back to where his master was. The idea of leaving her alone in the state she was in wasn't something he was a fan of, but she was right. Even as he spoke to Ciel he kept an eye on her. Because of this he noticed that she had started splashing water on her face every time she sat down to make something. By the time Ciel sent him to gather information and evidence she had started to look more awake and he felt less uncomfortable leaving her unmonitored. She noticed that he had left didn't really care why.
When everyone ended up getting chained up because Finny had stopped the villagers dogs from attacking the one that was chained up. she just watched from a distance. As Sebastian started explaining she nearly fell over asleep due to how exhausted she was and didn't hear a word of it.
By the time that they were back in the castle she could barely stand. Her room was upstairs and she was sure that she would trip if she tried to go up so she just wandered the ground floor until she found a library. Taking a seat at a table in the back she put her head down on the the table and fell asleep. She was woken up by a scream from downstairs that she recognized as Meyrin's. She didn't bother to go see what was happening and instead just fell back asleep.
It was only after she was once again woken up by a knocking at the front door and a large amount of yelling that her curiosity was finally peaked enough to get her to get up and go see what was happening. She followed everyone out into the village and ignored the annoyed look she was getting from Sebastian the entire time. She just stared blankly at the chanting villagers and watched as Sebastian walked up to examine the body. She didn't even bother to look when Angela fainted. Instead she just turned and walked back to the castle.
The nap she had taken earlier gave her enough energy to make it to her room this time. Rather than go to sleep immediately she made a decision to wait. It always happens at three so maybe if I wait til after then it won't. That was the only thought she had on the subject before making her mind up. She should have known that wasn't going to happen. Shortly after deciding that she heard a knock at the door. Already knowing who it was she didn't bother responding. Just as she had known he would he came in anyway.
"You said before that you always at least tried to sleep, but that doesn't appear to be what you are doing." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice that she could barely pick up on and she was sure she was about to see what he had planned for his revenge. "You should have stayed here to sleep rather than following us out to the village."
"There's a lot of things I should have done. That doesn't mean I feel bad for not doing them. I was curious so I went to see what was happening. I have a reason for not trying to sleep too. My nightmares are always at three in the morning so if I fall asleep after then maybe they won't happen." A hint of a tone saying that it was worth a shot managed to show through her normal one.
"No. If you do that then you'll get less sleep then if you slept only until you had the nightmare. There wouldn't be a point in it." She just shrugged and moved to a bookshelf against a wall in order to find something to do until she chose to sleep. Of course Sebastian wouldn't allow that and chose to use the same tactic he had on her first day with them. He walked over to where she was and picked her up. Putting her on the bed he pulled the covers over her before sitting on the edge with his hand on the side of her head.
"What are you doing? The point in it is that I won't have to have the nightmare. Maybe if I break the cycle it will stop happening." She moved his hand away and sat up. at first he just stared at her and she wasn't sure if he was angry or just thinking.
"Then consider this revenge for the yesterday." There was a teasing tone in his voice as he gently pushed her back until she was once again laying down. This time when he put his hand on her head he wouldn't allow her to push it away. He began running his hands through her hair like he had the first day. Slowly the hand that had grabbed his arm and was trying to push it away relaxed as she began to drift off to sleep.
"Not fair." It was all she said before she fell into a deep sleep. This time instead of stopping he stayed where he was and continued running his fingers through her hair. He occasionally looked up to see what time it was. When three came around he waited but she never woke up. He smiled down at her and continued even after the sun came up until he had to wake Ciel up.
