A/N: Everyone thinks Sebastian has a hidden motive and its like PFFT whuuut!? him? a hidden motive? Blasphemy! ...or does he? Who knows! (Not even I do. Nope nope)
I got my best friend into Black Butler recently and we've been talking non stop about it. She sent me a link to a video she found and oh mah gawd guys, I'll never listen to ke$ha the same way again (not that I listened to her willingly anyway but still) go and take a look! Search 'Funny TIK TOK parody of black butler' in YouTube and it should have a picture of a Sebastian with '-gret' on it (I'd post the link but it won't let me on here ^^')
"So... What is my first lesson today, Sebastian?"
Ever since I woke up this morning, Sebastian has been keeping quiet about these apparent 'lessons' he was going to teach me. I was getting anxious now, so I took it in myself to question him until I got answers. He didn't budge though, he went around his daily chores normally like I was merely a buzzing fly. When he did manage to get a minute's break he told me to 'go and wait in the library' then proceeded to give Ciel his breakfast. I huffed and trotted off to the library like he asked, still suspicious of him.
Flicking through the dusty books lining the shelves, I realised that most of the words in the stained pages were so foreign to me. I could only read a little bit, not a lot. This was common for people like me, only the rich could afford to read and write. I only learnt to read orders Dad left for me, and they only consisted of very few words. Sometimes I would look at the newspaper to try and learn how to read more but it never got me very far. The sound of the door creaking open caught my attention, and I quickly slipped the books back when Sebastian came in, wheeling a tea cart. Wait what? Why?
On the tea cart there was lots delicious looking cakes, fruits, scones and lots of various filled sandwiches. I gawked at the sight, mouth hanging open.
"Is that your breakfast Sebastian?"
He smirked. "No, it's yours."
I almost spluttered, inching away from him. Yes, it looked good, but hell I couldn't eat all that! Besides, it didn't look like the usual posh food he made. Why this?
"I can't eat all of that!" I protested, throwing hand gestures at him. He ignored it though, placing the food on the small coffee table.
"This is your first lesson for today, learning how to eat the right amount of food and getting the right nutrition into your body. I think we can all see you're severely lacking it."
I flinched slightly, catching a glimpse of my reflecting in the window next to me.
"Right... This'll help me right?"
He nodded, pouring some tea. "Yes. I'm not expecting you to eat all of it but try and eat as much variety as you can." He looked up at me with a closed eye smile. "And it'll help fatten you up so you won't be so frail. Think of it as plumping a chicken for a special dinner."
...Did he just call me a scrawny chicken?
"You have no way with words, Sebastian. Also did you just compare me to poultry?"
He smiled and said nothing more, placing the food in front of me. I looked at it with hesitation, the pleasurable aroma and sights of the buffet was a big tease to me. It smelt good, it looked good but god damn there was a lot of it. I caught my reflection in the silver ware again, spotting my bony features. I had to swallow my nervousness, if this helped me then I'd eat every last bit. I went to tuck in but gloved hands stopped me before I started. Ok now he was just being unfair.
"Another lesson we'll incorporate into this is table manners, since you lack in that too."
I scoffed slightly, pouting at him. "Why do I need table manners? Can't I just eat how I want?"
He sighed slightly, taking the utensils off me. "It's an important thing to know, especially if you want to become a lady and abandon your old life. That is as well if you are required to attend special events, as a guest or servant. Even servants need table manners."
Bull crap, just let me eat dammit!
I figured it was hopeless arguing, this was Sebastian after all. The Phantomhive's super butler. With a sigh, I gave in and let him show me the proper ways to eat and the proper things to do. Sit up straight, napkin on my lap, no elbows on the table, use the correct knife and fork for the job and eat things one at a time in fair sized bites, not shovel everything at once, to which he made a comment about how I was known for that already. I retorted back that I was only fed occasionally back at the shop so when I did eat I had to do it fast and in large amounts. He had no choice but to accept my answer, though he wasn't too pleased about it. Score four!
Once the table manners were set into place, I could finally tuck into the yummy big breakfast but a sharp slap to my arm startled me to the point of choking on my meal. I coughed and picked up my tea, drowning it down to rid myself of the food before glaring darkly at the butler, who was innocently tapping a ruler against his palms.
"What the fuck was that for!? That hurt you jerk!"
"Your posture is wrong, sit up straight," he said, brushing off my comment. I frowned and sat up more, keeping a close eye on the butler.
"Are you going to hit me with that thing every time I get something wrong?"
"Yes, you are quite observant." He kept that same cocky smile on his face. "This is a very effective technique I used on the young master during his lessons."
Somehow, I knew these 'lessons' were going to get harder. I kept my glare fixed on him, continuing on with my big breakfast, making sure to keep everything in perfect place until I was done. That didn't last long though, once my elbow touched the table another sharp slap made me recoil back, and glare at the raven haired butler. I opened my mouth to speak but the tip of the ruler was struck in my direction, inches away from my nose.
"No talking with your mouth full."
I swallowed what I was eating and stuck my tongue out at the guy, swatting the offending ruler away to carry on eating. I managed to demolish all but one scone and two sandwiches, my body slumped back in the chair, a satisfied sigh escaped my lips. That was probably the most I'd ever eaten before. My frail body needed it and was currently thanking me with a nauseous feeling. Sebastian however seemed please... er... I think
"Very good. Keep that up morning and evening for a while and you'll start noticing results quite soon."
I waved at him slightly, suddenly feeling too sluggish to do anything else. I actually wanted to go back to bed but it was only nine o'clock in the morning, there were still more 'lessons' to go through today. Speaking of which, I noticed Sebastian take out his pocket watch and glance at it for a second, before putting it away.
"Ok onto the next lesson, your posture."
"Uh... my posture?" I asked, sliding out of the comfort of my chair when he beckoned me to stand up.
"Yes, it's proper to have right body posture. Slouching makes you look filthy and can cause a lot of problems with you, both socially and physically."
I watched cautiously as he stepped over to one of the book shelves, taking at least four medium sized books under his arm before strolling over to me with a confident smile.
"Now then, I want you stay completely still and straight, legs together." I wonder how many woman he's told that too. Heh...
I did as he said and stood completely still with my back straight, it actually ached a bit. His fingers traced through my hair suddenly, slipping the maid's head garment off my head. Instinctively I shivered at the motion, cheeks become heated instantly but Sebastian either didn't notice or chose to ignore it and instead, continued on with placing one of the books on my head. I stared at him with confusion once he had taken a few steps back.
"How does this help with posture?"
I reached up to touch the book but he quickly grabbed my wrist, pulling it away.
"Your objective is to walk in a straight line with this balancing on your head. You must keep a straight back and not let it fall, if it does then you'll have to start again."
That didn't really answer my question, actually it was almost like he was intending not to. He let go of my wrist and stepped to the side, indicating with his hand to start walking. However, I took one step and the book fell instantly to the floor with a thunk. I glanced sheepishly up at the butler who just placed his hand to his forehead with sigh.
"I would have thought you'd gotten further than one step. Try again, keep your back straight."
Picking the book back up again, I placed it back on my head and regained the stance I had before. I took cautious steps forward, trying to balance the object but my body faltered again, letting the book tumble once more. The familiar sharp slap of the ruler on my back startled me, I turned to the butler to glare but he just shoved the book on my head and ordered me to start again.
I lost track of how many times I had to do this, but it was coming close to an hour for the whole lesson. The clock chimed from behind me, signalling that my theory was correct. I dropped the book many times, gradually mastering getting from one side of the room to the other. I'd somehow managed to work my way up to three books now, and it was getting harder to keep them all steady. Sebastian never took it easy on me, every few minutes I'd receive the sting of the ruler for the minutest mistakes. Either my back wasn't straight enough or the way I walked wasn't good enough. The damn bastard took pleasure out of hitting me, I'm sure of it. Every time he did he always wore that smile of his.
After another few minutes I managed to make it to one side of the room and back again, keeping my back straight and walking 'proper'. Sebastian nodded, tapping the ruler against his palm.
"Very good. Keep practising that and your posture will fine."
"Good!" I sighed and rubbed my sore back, putting the books back in their places of the shelves. I glanced at the butler from over my shoulder and smirked slightly, striding over to him slowly.
"Sebastian..? There's something... I've been wanting to do all day..."
Almost instantly, his crimson eyes narrowed into a somewhat curious expression.
"Oh..? And what would that be..?"
I smiled sweetly and stood in front of him, reaching out and clasping my hands over his. I didn't realise he was so tall...
"This!" I sneered, yanking the ruler out of his grasp. I stalked over to the window, opened it and threw it out, dusting my hands in satisfaction when it disappeared down below. I turned to smirk at the butler and rub it in his face that he was now ruler-less but my eyes widened when he simply smiled at me with his usual smug smile, another ruler clasped tightly in his hand.
"But... where... where did you get another one? Up your sleeve!?"
"I figured you would do that eventually so I kept a few spares." He smiled. I could feel my mouth hang open slightly, he was such a crafty guy. Too crafty...
With a sigh, I slumped back into the chair I had previously occupied, glancing around at the many books within the room. Suddenly a thought came into mind.
"Hey Sebastian..?" He looked at me and 'hmm'd softly. "Do you think you can teach me how to read next?"
He raised an eyebrow slightly, tidying up the tea cart. He looked rather intrigued by my sudden request. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to. I taught the others to read and write so it's only fair to do the same with you."
With an excited smile, I reached out and grabbed the newspaper that lay on the bottom shelf of the tea cart.
"Can we start with the newspaper? That'll be easier to read! Plus I'm curious to know what's going on."
I glanced at the front page and instantly frowned, the words 'Millington and Co' being the first thing I recognised amidst all the unknown words. I glanced through the article to see if there were any other words I recognised, the only ones being 'closed' and 'gone'. I felt the hairs on the back on my neck stand up, an odd shiver running down my spine. 'This isn't good...'
"Sebastian, can you read this article to me please?" I pointed at the whole section for him "It's got something to do with the shop."
With a nod, he took the newspaper off me and held it up to his face to read. After a few moments of silence, he breathed out an, "Oh my... How unfortunate." which made me jump up to my feet in anxiousness.
"W-what does it say? What happened?" I was almost pleading for an answer, my thoughts going instantly to mom. I hoped she was ok. Sebastian glanced at me over the top of the paper, the smile he wore before faltering into an emotionless frown.
"It seems that the Millington and Co shop has closed down after going bankrupt. That was pretty quick actually, considering you've only been here less than a week." His voice showed a hint of amusement but his expression never changed. I didn't really actually care about the shop if I was honest, I was more interested in my mom. If the shop was closed, where was she going to live? How was she going to get money to feed herself? I felt a pang of guilty, chest becoming tighter all of a sudden. Was it my fault that she may have been kicked into the street to sleep in alleyways?
I swallowed my nervousness, glancing at my feet. "Does it mention my parents?"
There was a small silence before he nodded slowly, almost cautiously. I looked back up at him and locked onto those deep red eyes of his. "What does it say..?"
He seemed almost hesitant to answer, merely folding up the newspaper in his hands. With his next words though, I could feel my body become cold.
"They're both missing."
The summer... was a beautiful season. I loved the sunshine and the warm air, it was lovely just to sit outside and relax. This was my next lesson... sort of. We abandoned the rest for today since the surprise news that my parents are now missing. I asked Sebastian to leave me alone for a while so I could just get my thoughts into place, so here I was, sitting in the garden on a picnic blanket finishing off Madam Red's other items. This part of my lessons had to do with sunlight and exercise, as apparently the sun will bring colour back to my skin and exercise will strengthen my body more. A fact passed right into Ciel from Madam Red herself, who was a doctor.
For some reason, I became quite scared. My Dad was somewhere unknown now, nobody could track where he was. That meant I couldn't predict when he'd next turn up... and that frightened me to the core. No doubt he harboured a grudge against me for ruining his business, and now that he wasn't traceable, who knows what he could be planning? And Mom... she would be with him for sure, I just knew it. What kind of torture was she going through right now? Was he beating her up more than usual? Harder than usual? Was she taking his anger and his frustration... because of me? There were so many questions buzzing through my mind, like a hoard of angry wasps, wanting answers. Each question had that painful sting to it...
'Was this all because of me?'
Yes... it was. If I hadn't left my mother would be fine and the shop would still be booming, but then I wouldn't be here right now... at this magnificent manor. I wouldn't have met the others; they've become my friends since arriving. Mey Rin; she's clumsy and a little clueless but has a kind heart, and I'm glad we're able to bond with one another, being the only two woman in the manor. Finny; his cheery personality and love for animals and nature inspires me. He may have odd strength and cause the most destruction, but it's not his fault. He just wants to get hands on with things. Bard; he's like an older brother to me, he's loud and proud but he'll do anything to protect us, I know it. Tanaka; well... he's himself. But I know he's a proud man and enjoys his life here. I respect him for his long service and relaxed attitude.
Then there was Ciel... The master. I know he said he hired me for business purposes but I still question his motives. Why me..? Out of every other person in London who can fix things? Ciel keeps to himself, and I know there are things hidden in his past that he doesn't want to talk about... But I believe, deep down, he isn't that cold, manipulative Earl he makes himself out to be. I do believe he has a good heart, it's just a bit hard to see sometimes. My thoughts turned to the last person in the manor, Sebastian. He was an unusual person, everything about him was shrouded in mystery. He is devoted to his job, devoted to Ciel and devoted to the manor. I respected him a lot, especially having to take on so many jobs all at once. Every time I'm near him, I feel at ease but my stomach turns into knots when he smiles at me the way he does, even at his touch...
I shook my head violently when the blood began rushing to my cheeks in a flurry of emotion. Why so suddenly am I feeling like this..?
My head is a mess, I need to concentrate. I busied myself fixing Madame Red's clock, it wasn't as spectacular was some of the many other clocks I've fixed before, I was actually glad of its simplicity. Once I'd finished with the inside, I gave it a quick polish and turned the arms on the clock to test it. It chimed loudly, I felt myself smile.
My gaze shifted when the sunlight caught the music box. I was still in confusion about the box and why it wouldn't work with a normal key. The fact it was made to only accept a special kind of key became quite suspicious to me, not that I was accusing Madame Red of hiding some dirty little secret but it just made no sense. It was like it was so special that it wasn't made for normal ears, only for special people. I picked up the box and examined the key hole again. If there was some way I could get an impression of the inside if the drum, maybe I could forge my own key to test it? It didn't sound like a bad idea, a bit intrusive but hell, who cares right? If she didn't want it listened to she wouldn't have given it to me to mess around with.
The sunlight shone on the golden lock, making it sparkle and shine brightly almost to the point of being blinding. But a small dark spot on the edge and on the inside caught my eye. Only now was it visible in this light. I thought I cleaned every piece of this thing, I must have missed a spot. Grabbing a clean rag, I stuck it inside the drum and gave it a twist, intending to clean each nook and cranny I could get into. Once I pulled the rag back out however, I stared at it with blank confusion.
'What the...?'
I got closer to the dark stain that covered the end of the rag, blinking when I examined the substance. I felt a lump develop in my throat when I realised several large chunks of matter that were also evident of the rag. I wanted to vomit...
'Was... that blood? And flesh!?'
A/N: I honestly don't know how long this story will actually be since I'll have to cover a lot to keep the plot going. I won't make it like...100 chapters...unless I have to ._. Though of you're like me, if it's a fudging great story then I wouldn't mind. But this isn't a fudging great story so...we'll see what happens 8D
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Thank you reviewers so far ^^ any suggestions you guys have in mind will be kindly taken into consideration.
