Seasnake: I've reread and edited this chapter at least ten times since I first wrote the rough draft. So, it's nerve-racking to finally publish it. At least I know that I did my best to write this well. *sigh* I'm such a horrid perfectionist and worrier sometimes.
"That was solid oak!" Bard exclaimed when he saw the mess. Everyone was gathered around the destruction that Aliya had caused.
"Oh no! The guests are coming soon, they are," Maylene started panicking.
"What about the dinner?" Finny wailed.
"Ho, ho, ho," Tanaka remained the calm one.
"Where's Aliya?" Ciel asked the butler.
"In her room," Sebastian said. He was the picture of calm and collected. But Ciel knew him well enough to sense a good deal of rage hidden in his level voice. "I am going to kill her," he said almost cheerfully.
"Not really?" Ciel asked nervously.
"Hmm, perhaps not. I would have to decapitate her and that would make a mess," Sebastian reconsidered. Ciel chose to believe he was just venting and not seriously considering it.
"Pick this up as fast as possible," the butler instructed the servants, "I'll worry about dinner." Everyone had to hurry but the house was perfect when the guests arrived. Sebastian finished the meal despite the delay, Finny carried the broken furniture outside, and the others swept up all the broken glass and porcelain. Meanwhile, Aliya stayed contently in her room and didn't cause anymore trouble while the guests where around.
The girl was locked in her room for several days as punishment. Sebastian also forced her to do the dishes, dust books in the library, and several other tedious tasks. Aliya complained much less than usual during that time. But once her punishment was over, Sebastian stopped paying extra attention to her. This caused Aliya to break every available rule just to annoy him.
Sebastian wouldn't admit it, but Ciel could tell that Aliya's behavior was taking a toll on his nerves. His performance as a butler didn't change in anyway. But the stress of trying to keep her under watch caused his temper to become noticeably shorter than usual, especially with the servants. Fortunately for the humans Aliya was mostly nice to them. Even though she always kept her guard up and didn't talk with them much. She also helped the servants complete their chores, once she learned that it aggravated Sebastian. As the days past, life became steadily more chaotic. The servants and earl could hear fights between the father and daughter almost constantly.
"What are you doing now?" Sebastian demanded from the girl one morning.
"Sliding down the banister," Ailya said simply. She sat on the handrail as she smirked at the demon. To annoy her father, Aliya had refused to put on a dress and instead wore clothes that she had barrowed from Ciel's closet. The servants stared at her when they saw her wearing the earl's attire but they didn't dare to comment.
"How many times must I tell you that feet stay on the floor?" Sebastian sighed.
"I don't know. I haven't been keeping track," Aliya said smugly.
"And where did you get that clothing?" he demanded.
"The earl's room," she said proudly, "I got tired of wearing long skirts." Aliya absentmindedly kicked the high heeled shoe she was wearing against the banister.
"You're hopeless," her father grumbled to himself. Sebastian removed her from the stairs but he didn't have time to discipline her. "Young ladies should never climb on the furniture. It is quite unbecoming. And put those clothes back. You should know better than to steal the Young Master's things," he scolded her briefly then turned to leave.
Aliya, however, wasn't finished. Today she decided to push the limits of her poor behavior. She ducked around her father and pulled his left glove off of his hand. Sebastian had not been expecting this and didn't move fast enough to stop her from snatching one of his gloves.
"Give that back, child." Sebastian held out his hand for it.
"No," Aliya taunted.
"What can you possibly gain by acting like this?" Sebastian made a grab at the glove. Still, the girl managed to dodge away from him. Aliya had a fraction of her father's strength but her speed was impressive.
"Spite," she answered.
At this time Maylene entered the room. Sebastian quickly shoved his hand into his pocket. He couldn't allow her to see his black nails or the contract symbol. Aliya smirked at him and held the glove an arm's length away.
"Stop slacking off and go about your job," Sebastian told the maid. Aliya mocked her father by placing the glove on her own hand. She mimicked Sebastian's movements and pulled on the fabric with her teeth. The demon glared at her menacingly.
"Umm…I was coming in here to clean, I was," Maylene said, unsure of what was going on.
"In that case, I'll leave," Aliya started to walk out. When Sebastian took a step after her, she bolted. The maid felt a strong wind rush past her then both father and daughter were gone. Curtains whipped about as the black blurs ran through the mansion. Aliya managed to stay just ahead of Sebastian by ducking into different hallways. Still, despite her best efforts, he eventually caught up with her.
"Don't run in the house. You could break something or hurt yourself." Sebastian swiped the legs out from under her and sent her crashing onto the floor.
"Only if you do that!" Aliya snapped as she sat on the floor. Sebastian reached for his glove but she bit his hand. A few drops of blood trickled out as she dug her teeth into his flesh.
"Insolent brat," he growled at her. He grabbed her arm and bent the elbow backwards. Aliya gasped in pain but still managed to kick at his shin.
"Stop it!" Ciel shouted at the top of his lungs. Sebastian and Aliya paused in mid-fight. "I can't take this! Aliya, apologize for what ever you did and give that glove back. Sebastian, you also apologize and find a book for her to read." Ciel gave them both an angry stare until they did as he told them to. He noticed but didn't comment on the fact that Aliya had raided his closet.
"Young Master, I'm sorry to have disturbed you." Sebastian bowed to the boy after Aliya stormed off. "I'll make sure she returns those clothes before tomorrow."
"Your family feud is quickly becoming an hourly occurrence," Ciel said irritably.
"I am doing my best but she simply won't listen to me," the demon sighed.
"Your best would be treating her with kindness and respect instead of ordering her around." Ciel barely stopped the words from coming out of his mouth. Lecturing Sebastian would do no good. "Just keep the mansion in one piece. Two fighting demons are more destructive than three human servants," he said before returning to his desk.
"One demon and a gray winged creature," the butler corrected him and then left to continue with his chores.
Ciel Phantomhive sat at his desk, as he considered the situation. He simply couldn't stand seeing Sebastian and Aliya fight. Aliya's own mother had abused her. He wouldn't let her father ignore her. Sadly, a solution to the problem seemed hopeless. Sebastian refused to be kind to Aliya until she stopped misbehaving. Meanwhile, Aliya refused to behave until Sebastian was kind to her. Sebastian wouldn't to modify his schedule to accommodate her and Aliya wouldn't be patient. The two were in deadlock, both too stubborn to move.
"Thick headedness must run in the family." Ciel placed a finger on his temple as he tried to come up with a strategy. Sebastian believed his teaching method would work better than being nice to her. Ciel wondered if that was how the demon had been raised by his parents. Aliya, on the other hand, wanted affection from Sebastian but would settle for hatred. Ciel understood that she had no family and was hungry for attention. Still, Ciel felt certain that they could get along if they tried. The problem was that they both refused to see an error in how they acted. If someone could just get the father and daughter to talk, they could probably come to an understanding.
Ciel could observe the whole drama as it played out. Unfortunately, he was powerless to do anything. He had already tried to intervene but he couldn't order Sebastian to be a good father. The contract meant Sebastian had to follow instructions but it didn't make him do so willingly. He couldn't order Sebastian to change his mind. And a simple talk was out of the question. Ciel knew his demon butler would never take parenting advice from him. As for Aliya, the girl was so stubborn that Ciel doubted he could convince to act differently.
The earl suddenly thought of something. Ciel couldn't help, but there was one other person on Earth that Sebastian actually respected. Could it work? The earl started looking through papers on his desk. He had to arrange a meeting without Sebastian getting suspicious. He picked up a notice from the queen and read it over. This was perfect. Ciel rang the bell rope than started to write a letter.
"Do you require something, Young Master?" Sebastian appeared a moment later.
"I have new assignment," Ciel passed him the notice, "her majesty has expressed concern with recent gang activity in Indian neighborhoods. She wants to find a way to curb the violence and lower tensions from immigrants," the boy said nonchalantly as he continued to write.
"And you plan to request aid from your friend, Prince Soma," Sebastian observed.
"Just because I was nice to him doesn't make him my friend," Ciel said irritably. He concentrated on that annoyance to push all thoughts of Sebastian and Aliya out of his mind. "Just make sure they receive my invitation," he snapped and handed the letter he had written to his butler.
"As you wish," Sebastian said with a knowing smile.
Seasnake: Of course, I couldn't write a Kuroshitsuji fanfic without the awesomeness that is Soma and Agni. I also had to give them an important part in the story or my best friend would be disappointed. They'll be in the next chapter.
