Chapter 9: Hay una Problema?

The cold chill of winter seemed to dull in the upcoming weeks, thawing the world around them. People seemed to be moving less lethargically, everything seemed alive with the dew of the upcoming spring. One could understand why Ciel was annoyed that he had to travel in this awkward time between winter and warmth, but it was absolutely unacceptable that one his projects go awry, so visiting the manor became a matter of urgency.

Apparently ghosts were haunting one of his establishments. An establishment destined to be for the Queen. Construction on this highly important project was halted because a bunch of childish ninny's were scared of dead things from the great beyond.

Forget the fact that Ciel was the master to a thing from the great beyond himself.

"Ghosts," Nefertiti complained as trunks and things were loaded onto the carriage. It seemed ludicrous that a bunch of grown men would halt all work simply because of a few alleged spirits, "Of all things, ghosts."

"Yes, they do haunt many of us." Sebastian's words made every single member of the Phantomhive household flinch for a second. They all had their own personal demons to deal with, every single one of them. No ghosts literally haunted the Phanthomhive manor, but figurative ones hung about the air like wisps of smoke over everyone's heads. His words however were directed at Nefertiti.

"Indeed." Nefertiti didn't shift her gaze from his. The taunt enraged her, but rising to his words would only satisfy him more. Ignoring the demon would provide her with some dignity. True enough, her nights were haunted by the constant moan of old spirits, but she refused to bow to them, and to him, "It's a wonder they haven't eaten away at our souls quite yet."

"All things turn to dust, including ghosts." Ciel looked adamant about that fact and sent his butler a quick, commanding glare.

The smile on Sebastian's face said he was amused. His eyes stated he was annoyed.

"The more enlightened our houses are, the more the walls ooze with ghosts." Tanaka, who was now suddenly a full sized man, quoted with clarity, his wise eyes latching onto every person around him and finally resting upon the demon responsible for it all.

"Italo Calvino," Sebastian guessed the true owner of these words correctly. He was impressed, that much was clear from his voice. Despite being a mere human, Tanaka was wiser than any other the demon had ever come across, "how appropriate."

"Ghosts are merely apparitions of ourselves, young master, they only turn to dust when we allow them too," Tanaka bowed low for his master in farewell, with nothing but the deepest of well wishes and worry in his eyes. No matter what Ciel did, it seemed at the very least, Tanaka would always stand by the side of the last Phantomhive.

"I will hold onto mine for now," Ciel retorted sharply, accepting Sebastian's hand as he raised himself into the carriage.

"Madam, have a safe trip." It was Tanaka who helped Nefertiti ascend into her seat. Sometimes, When Tanaka was like this, Nefertiti wondered if he knew far more then they all suspected. It was like he could see past the wool that covered everybody else's eyes, like he saw past the lies and the subterfuge.

"You make it sound as though ghosts are easy things to be rid of," she replied sliding effortlessly into the carriage. Her eyes bore down on the man carefully, waiting for a response, an answer, perhaps something that would make her hope again.

"The task requires one part nerve and two parts admittance," the old man replied, "the latter is always harder."

Like an omen, his words lingered on their minds as the coach lurched forward.


"Ghosts, they're literal ghosts." Nefertiti had trouble keeping the incredulity and amusement out of her voice. The two boys that stood before, clearly brothers, were dressed in a style that seemed rather ancient, but there was no ignoring the regale air that surrounded them. Royals always looked like royals no matter what else happened.

While Sebastian and Ciel went to investigate in the castle, Nefertiti had chosen to wander around the rather pretty gardens. One can understand her mild interest when Ciel stomped outside with Sebastian and two boys following behind him.

"May I present King Edward the Fifth and his younger brother, Prince Richard," Ciel replied with dull dutifulness.

With a wicked smile wrapping around her face Nefertiti bowed to the King, "My name is Queen Nefertiti, Mistress of Amarna."

"A Queen?" the little King looked sceptical.

"Indeed milord," she replied with a nod, "Of Egypt."

"Over 3000 years ago," Ciel retorted sharply.

"So what, I was crowned over 400 years ago and that hardly lowers my majesty any." Edward scolded and turned back to the would be royal with a delighted look, "Queen Nefertiti, I would like for you to stay as my guest. Come."

"I would be honored." Nefertiti replied and followed the young King back into his castle. This should be an interesting experience.

In the end the boys ended up playing chess. Why it always had to be chess, Nefertiti could not say. Despite her various attempts at learning, she barely had a passing knowledge of the game. She appreciated the strategy and skill required for it, but could hardly be bothered to play. While they played, literally for Sebastian's soul, she sipped her tea and ate her crumpets quite amicably. The king was treating her with the utmost respect that only another royal could give. It was quite a welcoming change. Personally she thought Ciel's bet with Edward was a rash on to make, she doubted that a four hundred year ghost came without a few tricks up his sleeve. As expected, the ghost won the battle, for he could not die.

"My master does not believe in holding back," Sebastian spat Ciel's own creed back at him when the Earl cried out defiantly against the ghost's tricks. Ciel was forced to let the matter drop, but Nefertiti could tell it was burning him up inside, he hated losing.

"Get rid of that horrible tail coat, you look like a crow," Edward's voice commented as the King, the prince and their new butler walked away. With a hacking cough, Nefertiti choked on her tea in laughter. This was getting better by the second.

"You should think before you play games."

"It was just the necessary loss of a pawn," Ciel retorted adamantly though he did look a little lost.


"You look bloody ridiculous." Keeping her face deliberately speculative, Nefertiti surveyed Sebastian's new apparel.

"I merely look as my master wishes me to look," Sebastian sounded neutral, but Nefertiti noted that her morning tea had a spiteful amount of sugar in it. Who knew that a demon could take such a harmless comment so personally, "If I couldn't do this much, than what kind of butler would I be?"

"A half witted one, but at least you wouldn't look like an idiot."

That comment earned her no salt at the breakfast table.

"Tell me, Queen, what was your kingdom like?" Edward asked. They were consuming breakfast al fresco, upon Nefertiti's suggestion. The weather was quite nice outside and it seemed Edward was far more inclined to listen to what she had to say than what Ciel did.

"It was large and grand," she replied thoughtfully after a second, "very much like yours."

"Did they kill you too?" Richard asked suddenly, speaking for the first time that day. He clutched his skull a little bit more tightly and looked slightly apprehensive as Edward's face tightened. For a second, Nefertiti could not find the right answer, could not see how any answer she gave would not be painful.

"They most certainly tried."

Everyone at that table had faced that kind of pain. There was the past, Edward, who had succumbed to the evils around him. Ciel was aiming to end his life at the present and perhaps Nefertiti who wanted a future.

While Richard chose to follow Sebastian around for the remainder of the day, Ciel and Nefertiti wandered with King Edward. No more games were suggested or played, and the trio moved throughout the castle, from room to room, slightly adrift. They made idle conversation; Richard asked for the current state of his kingdom and Ciel provided somewhat edited or false information. Nefertiti would occasionally shake her head at the two of them. They spoke like seasoned politicians not children.

Sometimes she forgot that Ciel was only a child.

"I remember when the fabric makers would deliver the finest cotton to the palace," she spoke, interrupting whatever conversation Ciel and Edward were having, her eyes were staring wistfully at the two the children, "Me and a few of the other children of the court would run through the corridors and hallways with yards of fabric billowing behind us. We likened them to clouds and would laugh and yell bringing a smile to whoever happened to be nearby."

Neither king nor earl knew exactly what to do with that bit of unsolicited information. In Ciel's experience, Nefertiti never felt the need to gush her feelings out to anyone. She would break down, build herself up and be furious with herself alone. And she never shared personal experiences from her past life.

"That sounds like fun!" Richard peered in through the open door. Sebastian was dusting a nearby bust and the child had obviously been listening to their idle conversation. Unfortunately that meant Sebastian had been as well.

"How childish," Ciel sniffed elegantly but Nefertiti hardly took it personally. There was a slight twinge of sadness in his eyes.

"Ciel, darling, are you up here?" Rachel's voice called into the large wardrobe. Since the early rays of light, her tiny little boy, aged a mere seven, had decided to play a superb game of hide and seek. It was in retaliation really. Vincent had promised to take the boy horse riding but unexpected business kept him away. So Ciel, rather than throwing a tantrum, had chosen to start this little game, "Tanaka's making himself sick with worry over you."

She had let the game go on for a while. It would give the boy some time to think and also give him a chance to feel like he had won one over the grownups, but it was well past lunch and enough was enough. Among all the places in the manor, Rachel's wardrobe and the linen cupboard were his two favorite places to hide.

"I still fail to see why hiding in thick and suffocating fabrics is your choice," she commented striding in, careful not to tread on the delicate silk of her skirts. If she was honest, the current fashion of voluminous gowns and large bustles was ever so slightly annoying, "You must be feeling rather warm by now."

"They smell good." The small voice called hidden deep beneath the folds of an elegant red gown that Rachel had received from her sister some months earlier. With a sigh, Lady Phantomhive sat down and crawled into the fabric made crevice her son had chosen to hide in. It was most undignified, but her son was far more important than a few wrinkles in her skirt.

"Do they now?" she asked, arranging them so Ciel was in her lap.

"The linen cupboard smells like soap, the lavender kind," Ciel explained placing his tiny cheek against Rachel's collarbone. His words were muffled a bit, "And the closet smells like your perfume."

Admittedly, Rachel was touched.

"Sometimes I hide in Papa's closet too." Probably because it smelled of Papa's expensive French cologne. Honestly the man was a fuss budget about his aftershave and his cologne.

"Lady Rachel, I have brought some tea and scones as you requested." Tanaka appeared in the doorway of the closet, looking not a smidgen surprised by what he saw. He was the head butler of the Phantomhives and had learned to always expect the unexpected. Little Ciel and his mother hiding amongst her gowns was hardly the most surprising thing he had seen. With a slight bow, he handed Rachel a cup of tea and passed Ciel a scone.

"Join us, Tanaka," Ciel ordered before promptly stuffing the scone in his mouth. With an even lower bow, Tanaka hid a small smile and settled on the floor outside the closet.

"Why thank you-"

"Tanaka, what are you doing-" Vincent stopped and peered into the wardrobe and blinked at the ridiculous sight.

"Ah your home," Rachel nodded at him, "Do you think we should let Papa join our tea party?" She consulted her son in a stage whisper. After peering at his father for a second with his wide eyes, Ciel whispered something back at his mother and for a few seconds Vincent waited with a raised eyebrow as they conversed. The serious expression on his face suggested that Ciel was about to pass judgement on his soul rather than invite him to have a scone on the floor of a closet.

"I suppose so." Ciel didn't sound too sure.

Letting out a deep melodious laugh, Vincent Phantomhive forgot the horrible things he had seen, the horrible things he had done and the things that littered his life outside of this cupboard. In that afternoon, all he thought about was his absolutely perfect son.

"Yes, an unfit way for royalty to behave," Edward agreed, but seemed a little wistful himself.

They were just children after all; children who deserved to have happiness.

Despite commenting on what nuisances King Edward and Prince Richard were, Nefertiti noted that Ciel fulfilled every burial rite and ritual that he was capable of, and that he did his best to insure that the two boys had a happier afterlife than the last four hundred years. Construction had recommenced on the castle, and with no further business warranting his attention, Ciel decided to return to Phantomhive manor. Compared to some of the other things he had done in service to the king, this little excursion had been far less painful and far simpler to handle.

It was a short reprieve, he was sure.


"Madam, I think it best that you peruse this morning's paper." Sebastian had plopped the newspaper in front of her while she set about stealing Ciel's chocolate while the earl watched her bemusedly as she rummaged through his drawers. As usual, she had missed breakfast because she slept in due to a nightmare and because the head butler was a time keeping prick. And usually, she never gave the paper more than a half hearted glance, "Particularly page five."

Dropping her purloined chocolate, the queen hastily flipped through the belligerent pages that stained her fingers until she landed on the correct one.

Marquis of Kingston Missing

Dropping the scone that her other hand had been occupied with, Nefertiti quickly scanned the article only to find that it was a rather sad attempt at reporting something as large as a missing Marquis. Firstly it had been banished to page five, secondly the article was a small little blurb at the bottom of the page that had not even a picture attached to it. The news was alarming; it meant she could no longer follow his movements through society and gossip as she had been for weeks now. It meant he was beyond her reach, but that she was still well within his.

In the last several weeks Nefertiti had taken steps to not be caught off guard again, she would not allow herself that grief again. This threw her plans into a pleasant little loop of uncertainty.

"Come along Master, we have much to do."

Dutifully, Ciel forced himself out of his armchair and headed out of the office.

"Anscom is missing?" she stared at Sebastian who merely shrugged and continued about his way. For a second she just stared at the empty doorway where he vanished and then snatched up the paper and the chocolate and strode after them, "Get back here!"

By the time she caught up with them, they were already well on their way through the manor.

Before she could properly stop them, they halted on their own. Sounds of foreign laughter made Nefertiti stop as well. Backing up a few paces to a particular door where the sound was loudest, Ciel shoved it open.

"Look Tanaka, three upright tea stalks," a man with white hair and a far too happy expression was crouched in a chair across from the Phantomhive servant who was chirping along quite happily, "I think it promises to be an excellent day!"

And Nefertiti was sure that this man had jinxed them and that today would prove to be an awful day.

Before she knew it, she was seated in a carriage bound for London. This time by her own choice.

"I can't believe you almost left without me." Nefertiti grumbled these words under breath as the carriage clinked along and entered London proper.

"I did not know you were such a great friend of the Undertakers," Ciel retorted sarcastically and rolled his eyes. The woman had barrelled into his coach just as they were heading off and was marvellously furious that they had not informed her of what was going with the job the queen had given him and that they were going to visit the lovely mortician.

"If I'm friends with him then Sebastian must be his goddamn lover judging by the way Undertaker hands information to you two," she retorted snarkily, "I require his assistance as well."

"Ah yes that missing Marquis of yours," Ciel retorted in a monotone, barely paying her any attention. Before she could snap back at him, the carriage stopped and Sebastian pulled open the door.

"We're here, master."

"I demand the very best loving that Bassy has to offer!"

One can imagine their shock as the Undertaker turned around to reveal Grell hiding in disguise. Both Ciel and Nefertiti barely had time to move out of the way as the Grim Reaper launched himself at Sebastian. For his part, the butler simply moved a single pace to his left, sending Grell flying into a wall.

As expected, any situation in which Grell was a part of quickly became more and more ridiculous and Nefertiti didn't get a chance to speak with The Undertaker until a few hours later as he piled his wagon with coffins. Sebastian and Ciel had disappeared, Grell had of course followed them and had not even asked Nefertiti to join them.

"I don't give away information fer free," he informed as she approached him from behind, "An' we hardly have time for chess."

"There has to be something I can offer you," she must have looked desperate because after surveying her for a second, the Undertaker placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. After a few seconds of pondering he snapped his fingers and a rather unsettling smile appeared on his face.

"I wouldn' mind seeing that shiny dagger of yours," he crossed his arms.

Her dagger. Hateshput's dagger. It was a token that Nefertiti had taken to carrying everywhere with her since the fiasco at the opera. For whatever reason, it made her feel safe. Parting with it seemed like a heavy price indeed, "I don't think-"

"Not to keep of course," Undertaker assured quickly, holding his hands before him in an attempt to be soothing, "Just to...inspect."

"Inspect?" Nefertiti did not even want to think about all the foul things he could do with it. It was a better bargain that she could have hoped for really. All he wanted was to see her most prized possession, maybe keep it for a few weeks and give it back to her. Though she could hardly see what he might want with it.

"If ye let me have it for a week, I'll give ye the information ye want when I return the dagger to ye."

It was a very enticing deal and Nefertiti had no other leads into Anscom's disappearance, "Alright."

Hesitantly, she slipped it out from her sleeve and passed delicately to him.

"Nice workin' with ye, Madam." It was gone in seconds, hidden under the folds of his robe, "Now let's see if we can't smuggle ye lot into a cult's secret abbey."


Random Oneshot: the beginning, I mean the 'once upon a time, a long time ago' beginning

Behind the jewels, the enigmatic and divine visages, and the royal way of life, lay their blood, and the blood of centuries past compacted below them. It swirled about their feet, staining their stalking steps and leaving a trail, an easy to follow trail that any hunter could utilize. When one royal rose, a hunter rose as well, stalking his prey in the darkness of the world.

I know this to be true, because I watched one such royal, bleed and writhe and wither.

A pretty little thing. Hardly aged past her thirteenth year, Princess Meritaten gasped for air that would fall upon lungs full of fluid. The stab wound was a particularly nasty one, which ensured the maximum amount of torture possible for the victim. The assassin had long gone, leaving no trace and no clue. Probably hired by one of her father's many alternate wives who wanted the influence she carried.

"If Aten gave me the chance," she muttered with her hair matted about her face. No amount of struggling would aid her, and in the dark allies of Amarna no one would hear her scream.

"I'm not quite Aten, but perhaps I can help you."

There was no surprise on her face at the sight of a shadow trailing down the long alleyway. It appeared to her as a copy of Anubis, with the head of a jackal carved ruthlessly into flesh. A grotesque sight to be sure, but being a royal, she had seen far worse. Her face curved into suspicion and anger.

"Are you here to finish me off?!" she growled, scrabbling as far away from as she could get with her wound. With her breathing labored, it sounded more like a weak hiss.

"Hardly, I'm here to offer you something better," replied I, "I am here to offer you vengeance."

She surveyed me, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I wish to Pharaoh," she replied wincing in pain, "I wish to be Pharaoh but not at the cost of the blood of my family."

A soul not seeking bloodshed or vengeance, but rather something far more divine entirely. It was a delicious soul and I wanted it more than life itself.

"Agreed."


And delayed update. Unfortunately that probably how updates are going to be for the next little while. Anywhoo, here a rather fluffy chapter. I'm disappointed by it, but I wanted to get something up before Thanksgiving.

Don't for get to review/favorite/criticize/rant

I love everyone's input!

Veilsofsleep