It was just a month since Claire had been assigned to protect Ciel, and the boy was ready to strangle the girl. Not only was she incredibly cocky and arrogant, but she could also be extremely annoying. Ciel's already found her snooping in places she shouldn't be in, saying "I'm looking for places the Raven might get in!"
Though surprisingly, her servants weren't as bad. Fae was still as rude as ever, but she was actually nice to the other servants. She just didn't know when to shut her mouth. Edmund also turned out to be nice, but in a more formal manner. Though, he did have his moments, like whenever Mey-Rin broke the dishes. Or when Bardroy made the kitchen explode… again.
Ciel was currently sitting in his office alone, while Sebastian and Edmund fixed the kitchen. He had no idea where the hell Claire was, but at the moment, he really didn't want to go look for her. But speak of the devil, the raven-haired girl barged in just as the earl was taking a sip of his tea. "Honestly, Ciel," she'd started calling him that two weeks ago, "Why do you spend so much time alone? It must be dreadfully boring." Ciel shot her a glare. "Maybe for you, since you can't seem to shut up."
Claire pulled up a chair and sat on the opposite side of Ciel's desk. "Hmmmm.. I want to play a game." Ciel looked up from the letter he was reading. "What kind of game?" Claire put her elbows on the desk and rested her head in her hands. "How about~... Chess." Ciel smirked darkly.
Ciel and Claire were sitting opposite to one another, a chessboard laid out in front of them. Ciel would be the black pieces, Claire-white, which meant she would go first. "Do you play chess often?" she asked as she moved her first pawn. Ciel rested his head in his hand, moving his first piece. "Only when I have a good enough opponent?" Claire raised a brow and smirked. "Does that mean I am a good opponent?" Ciel looked up at her. "We will see."
"Tell me, why is the false Raven after you?" Claire asked, moving her knight a few spaces. "Because, Ciel began as he moved a piece to take her knight, "I believe it might've been caused by something I did a few months ago." Claire looked up at him.
"And that would be?"
"I'm not telling you."
Claire's expression turned sour, though she managed to captured Ciel's bishop. "Well, whatever it is. It must be quite the awful thing to do. Just how cruel are you, Ciel Phantomhive?"
"Your imagination could probably come up with something." Ciel said, taking another one of Claire's pawns.
Claire was silent for a few minutes as they played on. Ciel was winning by a longshot. "So, tell me a bit more about your two servants, Claire." The girl looked up at him with confused green eyes. "And why would you want to know?" The earl Phantomhive simply shrugged. "I'm simply curious. How did they come to your employment?"
Claire sighed, sitting back in her seat. "Fae and Edmund were abandoned when they were little. When I was seven, my mother Maria Benoit found them both on the side of the street. They're about the same age as me, so maybe she saw…" Claire paused for a moment. Her eyes clouded over, and her fingers briefly brushed the scar on her cheek. "She saw what I had to go through in their eyes doubled, maybe even tripled. So she took them in. Fae became my lady's maid and best friend, and Edmund became a serving boy at first."
"So how did you come by your servants, Ciel?" Claire asked.
"They were… recruited by Sebastian."
"Recruited, you say? What were they before?"
"That's none of your business."
"Oh come now, Ciel," Claire said, resting her head in her hands, "I told you about my servants. Why don't you tell me about yours?"
Ciel sighed, and moved another piece. He was silent for a few minutes before, "Mey-Rin was once a scullery maid for another noble. The owner didn't want her any more after her eyesight turned so bad. Finnian was abandoned when he was little on the streets, and Bardroy was a previous soldier looking for work." He lied. Well, at least about two.
"Those are quite the interesting backstories." Claire said resting her hand in her hand. "Indeed they are," The earl replied, smirking slightly as his pawn took Claire's king, "Check."
Claire looked at the board and groaned. "Damn!" She flopped back in her seat, narrowing her eyes at Ciel. "You're good at this, Phantomhive." Ciel's smirk widened and he shrugged arrogantly. "You should never underestimated a pawn." Claire picked up the white Queen. "True, very true. But you know - The queen will always be the most powerful player."
