"Umm..." said the assassin, staring at the mess before her. "What were you trying to make?"
Flour covered everything in a thin layer. The walls, the table, and all of the countertops were dusted in the white powder. A red sticky substance, which she assumed was jam, streaked everything in the blast sight. Random ingredients were hurled all over the kitchen, adding to the already chaotic scene. The table was broken and a fork was even stuck in the ceiling.
The cook scratched the back of his head. "Strawberry crepes..." he admitted.
Addy knew what they were, but had no clue how to make them since she never prepared food.
"Let's clean up first," she declared, deciding to tackle one issue at a time.
Bard nodded in agreement.
"Do you have anything to wash this all with?"
Bard chuckled. "We have those," he said, pointing to a corner of the kitchen.
The assassin looked to where he was gesturing. Nothing but a tiny broom and mop in a bucket sat sadly in the corner. There was no way any mortal would be able to clean such a culinary disaster with just that.
"Bard?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you go grab some cloth towels and fill the bucket with water," the redhead asked.
"Sure."
Sighing, the assassin grabbed the broom and started sweeping the debris that was scattered throughout the kitchen. She managed to clean the majority of the larger pieces, throwing them into the rubbish bin. When Bard returned, she looked up, still in the middle of cleaning.
"You got them?" she asked.
"Yup."
"Alright. You can set them down on the counter," she said.
"Alrighty," said the cook, setting the towels and bucket down on the kitchen counter.
When she finished sweeping, they wiped down the mess with the towels. The place was a nightmare to clean, but somehow it transformed into a spotless room. Sighing in relief, the assassin wiped the sweat off of her brow and let out a sigh.
"Thank god that's over…" she mumbled to herself. "How much longer until Ciel wakes?"
Bard looked at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall. "About an hour."
The Crimson Rose sighed. "We better hurry then. Do you have the recipe?"
"Yeah…" Bard said, handing her a bulky cookbook that looked like it had been through battle. "I wanted to modify it though. To make it taste better…"
The assassin wiped off some of the flour residue that coated the cover. Turning to the page that contained 'Utterly Delectable Strawberry Crepes', she quickly skimmed over the recipe. Despite how complicated it looked in the picture, the instructions were fairly simple.
"What did you do?" she asked, wondering how he could mess up so badly.
Bard hung his head a bit. "I used a flamethrower to try and give it a nice glaze…" he explained. "Y'know? Like what the French do. What do you call it? Bru –something…"
"Brûlée?" she suggested. She had heard of the word while on a mission in France.
"Yeah! That's the word!" he exclaimed. "Anyways, I was trying to add that as the finishing touch and I must have left it on for too long. Some of the ingredients were flammable and caught fire. I was trying to put it out, but they ignited, causing them to explode…."
"How are you not dead yet?" the killer deadpanned.
Bard merely chuckled, "Y'can't be a Phantomhive servant and not be ready for any situation."
The assassin nodded. "Let's get the crepes started."
The cook nodded in agreement, not wanting to deliver the young master's sweets late. He'd have a fit.
They went over the recipe, gathering all of the ingredients. They all looked so delicious by themselves even. The strawberries were picked fresh from Ciel's personal garden, the eggs were collected from the Phantomhive estate's chickens, and the dry components were imported as premium items. This was nothing like the Crimson Rose when she grew up with Clockwork. Inhaling the strawberries' fresh scent, she began to get to work.
Bard started preparing all of the flour and grains to make the crepe. The assassin agreed to make the filling part. She pulled out her knife from her boot and the cook didn't even bat an eye. She started cutting the strawberries into thin, precise slivers so the flavor could be brought out in a unique texture. She expertly wielded the sharp tool with precision and before she knew it, a pile of slices strawberries stood before her. It was rather bizarre for her; the techniques she used for murder apparently came in handy for household tasks. The killer looked over the recipe once more.
She had to make whipped cream for the filling. Having no prior cooking experience, she was a bit nervous.
I did pretty well with the strawberries, she told herself reassuringly. This should be no problem…
She was wrong. Not only was the table now a mess, but crème was splashed all along the wall. How did this happen? The assassin had combined the powdered sugar and heavy crème in the bowl as instructed. She then proceeded to aggressively stir the mixture, desperately trying to replicate what was in the cookbook picture. Instead, she got a sticky mess. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she redid the whipped crème, being sure to be a bit gentler. The Crimson Rose cracked a small grin when she finally finished a decent looking bowl.
"You done on your side?" she asked Bard, looking over her shoulder.
"Yeah…" he replied, scooping the crepes off of the stovetop. They smelled delicious. The crepes were a light golden color, cooked to perfection. They were airy, yet still crispy around the edges. The intoxicating aroma of vanilla filled the kitchen.
"Good job there," the assassin said, partially speechless. Despite the fact that he blew up the kitchen, Bard was actually a pretty capable chef.
"You too," he said, placing the delicate crepes onto a serving platter.
The Crimson Rose poured some of the strawberries into the whipped crème bowl. She then folded them into the mixture as directed in the cookbook. She put a giant lump of the filling into each crepe, folding it gently to form the shape. It was beautiful, but something seemed to be missing.
Bard reached for the torch, but was stopped by a stern glance by the assassin. She didn't want all of their hard work to literally go up in flames. After a brief pause, her silver eyes lit up with an idea.
"We should dust it with powdered sugar!" she exclaimed. As a child, she found that adding a little garnishing at the top made it look much more elegant.
Bard nodded in agreement. He took a scoop of the sweet powder and lightly coated the top of the crepes. The assassin added a small strawberry for the final touch. She felt quite accomplished.
Sebastian returned to the kitchen not too long after they finished. He had finished helping Mey-Rin clean up after her mess. He looked over to see what they had cooked.
"Well done." He said simply. "Though you ought to clean the cooking utensils after you finish using them."
The assassin stared at him, dumbfounded. The butler was getting on her nerves. She had just cleaned up an entire kitchen (with the help of Bard) and cooked a presentable mean in a practically impossible amount of time.
"Alright…" she sighed in defeat, turning towards the sink full of dirty utensils. "I'll go clean…."
Sebastian seemed amused. "On the other hand, you may go deliver the young master's breakfast sweets. Bard and I shall clean up here."
"No, really," she said, not wanting to deal with Ciel that early in the morning. She heard that the earl got rather cranky when woken up early. Well, it wasn't that early for her though. The assassin had been up for almost two hours. "It's okay…"
"On the contrary, Miss Rosemary," Sebastian said, mockingly. "The young master seems to enjoy your presence."
The assassin gave him a cold glare, revealing some of her bloodlust nature. She had no choice though. She had to fit in.
"You better hurry along," the butler added. "You better not keep him waiting, Miss Rosemary. The young master gets a little… disappointed… when he does not receive his sweets in time."
The Crimson Rose muttered profanity and picked up the serving tray. It was quite heavy, being made out of fine silver, but it was definitely sturdy enough to carry the precious desserts that she made.
Let's get this over with, she told herself.
She made her way to Ciel's room, knocking on the door to make sure that he was presentable before entering.
"You may enter!" Ciel called.
He was sitting in an arm chair, sipping some tea. He looked up.
"Oh. It's you," he said, expecting it to be Sebastian.
The assassin took that comment as an insult. She set the tray down on a table beside him. The killer gave him an icy glare as she tossed a napkin at the earl.
"Your strawberry crepes, Young Master," she said, trying to mimic Sebastian. The killer stood to the side, not uttering another word. She had learned that servants are to listen, not to speak. They are to serve, not be seen.
"Alright," Ciel said, taking a tentative bite. He had grown weary when eating any of Bard's cooking. To his surprise, it was delicious. His taste buds yearned for more of the fluffy strawberry goodness.
The killer stood beside him awkwardly. He had not instructed for her to leave yet, so she just stayed there, feeling dumb. The Crimson Rose held the tray against her chest, waiting for him to finish eating so she may finally leave with the empty dishes and used silverware.
"Addy?" Ciel asked out of the blue.
"That's not my name," she replied.
The young master rolled his blue eye. He took a piece of the crepe on his fork, making sure to get some of the filling too. "Try some."
She gave him a bewildered look. The killer wondered if this was some sort of trap. Perhaps it was some kind of test that he devised.
"Go on," he said. "Try some."
He handed her the fork. She took it, being sure to observe his mannerisms for any ill-intent. However, he seemed to be quite genuine.
"You sure?" she asked before she ate.
"Just eat the crepe," Ciel said, annoyed with the killer's paranoia.
"Alright," she said, taking a bite.
The flavor was nothing like she had before. It was creamy, but the crispy outside layer balanced it out. A burst of strawberry flavor exploded, her tongue experiencing a delectable adventure of savory taste.
"It's delicious," she said instinctively, not bothering to remain silent in the presence of the earl.
"It is indeed," Ciel said, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin. "Who made this?" he inquired.
"Bard," the assassin said quickly. She did not want to get him in trouble for messing up the kitchen. Besides, he earned the credit for creating such a masterpiece dish.
Ciel arched an eyebrow, not buying her white lie. He knew full well how Bard was in the kitchen
"Well…" the killer added. "I did help a bit…"
"Quite a bit, it seems," Ciel said, eating the rest of the crepe. "For now on, I'd like you to assist Bard with preparing the meals."
Ciel felt a small twinge of jealousy as the words left his mouth. He had to admit, they worked together nicely.
"Okay," she said, wondering how long she'd have to keep up the charade. The crepes were a simple recipe, but she felt as if she was being set up for disaster once more complicated cooking tasks came her way.
Suddenly, the there was a loud knock on the manor door. Ciel looked out the window to find a horse-drawn carriage beside his doorstep.
"I wasn't expecting any visitors today…" he said cautiously.
He sat in his armchair as the assassins shifted in her maid uniform. She had a bad feeling about this. Whoever it was, he or she was giving off a bad vibe.
"Sebastian?" Ciel called out to his butler.
Sebastian entered the room a few seconds after, ready for orders.
Ciel turned to his butler. "Go find out who it is."
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said, bowing deeply and then went to discover who had been knocking.
The earl looked up as his butler strutted back into the room, seemingly in distress.
"Young master," said Sebastian on high-alert.
"Yes?"
"It appears that we have an unexpected guest," he informed Ciel.
"Who? Another assassin?"
"I wish it was another assassin…" he muttered under his breath. The butler shook his head sighed. "The earl Alois Trancy accompanied by his servant Claude Faustus."
"Well, did he say what he wanted?" asked Ciel irritably. "It must be urgent for him to come here so abruptly..."
"He said, and I quote, 'I want to play with Ciel this instant!'" said Sebastian, mimicking Alois's high-pitched voice.
The Phantomhive Earl rolled his eyes. "Tell him that I'm busy."
"Yes, young master," he said, leaving to go inform Alois.
Not too long after, Sebastian returned, a rather grim expression on his face.
"Are they gone?" Ciel asked anxiously.
The butler shook his head. "He was very persistent. The earl Trancy was very insisted upon taking full advantage of the Phantomhive hospitality."
Ciel groaned. "He's not going anywhere is he?"
Sebastian shook his head again. "No. Unfortunately he is not."
"Alright… send him in," the earl said, letting out a sigh in exasperation.
I wonder if Adeline could help distract him for a bit…. He thought to himself after a moment, feeling a bit sadistic. It'd be amusing to see how she'd take to his 'unique' personality…
"Who is 'Alois'?" the Crimson Rose asked. She had been standing in the corner the entire time, holding the empty serving tray and observing the scene.
"You don't want to know…"
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