February 2, in the year of our Lord 1899

There were no problems in stopping the train, thankfully. As it rolled into the designated station a throng of family members and friends crowded around the doors, heads peeking through foggy windows trying to recognize someone. Moments later officals came out to pardon the people back and soon afterwards the doors opened.

From the back compartments there were many greeters; no less could be expected from the lower-class seating, after all. The same could be said for the front boxcars if one accounted for the mass of the people plus their belongings. Mothers had maids at their right-hand, and with those maids bird cages and giant suitcases of the like. One by one the wealthy passengers were guided off the train and escorted to whoever they'd know, then be left alone. The most apparent difference between the poor and wealthy Americans was the lack of public affection. The same mothers who had stood with birdcages now lightly hugged their daughters, then broke away as if they had touched an unwashed man of thirty years. The lower income people laughed, smiled, and rejoiced in one another's arms.

"I will always be amazed at how much money seperates humans statistically from one another," Sebastian commented wryly.

Ciel took in his statement with pensive indifference. "The men who work the hardest are working for the ones who can manage them the best."

After a silent nod from the butler, the pair crept off the boxcar and advanced towards where Robert was standing. As usual the heir was acting vibrant and spirited, though Ciel could tell that underneath that dense coat he was a dark man of sorts. Beside him stood Lucia Stephensen, and on the left of her were the Rockefeller sisters. From the sound of heightened voices he assumed there was a quarrel between the ladies and the woman ahead of them.

"I knew it, I knew that those robbers were the rick kind!" The woman hollered, curly hair flailing about her like a tornado. Her husband stood transparently behind her.

"Dear, forget this matter, we must attend to the children—"

"I'm not going anywhere without my music box!"

She's most likely lying about the music box. Not even at a fractioned price can a commoner afford that sort of material, Ciel thought, halting on the sidelines to get a panoramic view of the situation. Suddenly he smirked. How will you handle this one, Ms. Stephensen?

"I don't see your name inscribed any place," Lucia said, turning around the box for a demonstration, "Are you sure you have the right possession?"

"Of course I am!" The hysteria in the woman's voice was reaching near ear-splitting.

Lucia raised an eyebrow at the volume. Looking from a normal standpoint, the woman would look like she was yelling at a young teenage girl. This would be considered comical if the accusations and jeering gestures weren't made.

Breaking the cycle, the youngest Rockefeller daughter, Henrietta, spoke up, "I think you may be confused, miss. The robbers came only through the first compartments, not the back."

"And what makes you think we're from the back cars? Oh, you must think that since we're dressed so poorly we haven't a dime to our name!" She huffed and gripped her hands around the box.

Lucia made no move to let go. As Henrietta translated for Susan, Robert would try to coax the husband by giving him wary looks. Nothing worked however and Ciel found himself trying to figure out how to deal with the disagreement. Before he could even come up with a summary of what was going on, however, he saw the light in Lucia's eyes transition and she let go.

This sent the woman tumbling back into the man's arms. When she regained her sense of reality she grinned at her prize and ran off toward the back of the train, hooting madly. The husband glanced at her along with the others for a moment then tipped his hat, giving a brief (though sincere) apology before dashing after her.

"That was a new way of handling a problem…" Robert chuckled. "But then again, you were never much of an orthodox person, were you?"

"If I was I wouldn't be alive now," Lucia replied, her gaze still far-off as she stared at the rear of the train.

Wordlessly Sebastian tapped on Robert's shoulder, causing him to shudder and turn around by pivoting. Upon seeing the butler and his master his face relaxed from the immediate paranoid.

"Oh, you two! Good morning and welcome to Norfolk!"

"You've been to this city before?" Ciel asked, an innocent curiosity emerging from his voice.

"No." He shook his head, then went on cheerily, "I've always just wanted to say that."

Lucia sighed impatiently from behind him and came to stand beside her employer.

"If you want to know where we're meeting, it's at the harbor near Harper's Road. The boat will be leaving tomorrow so please get your tickets now." True to her nature, she gave Ciel a good old-fashioned glare before grabbing Robert's wrist and walking away.

"Good day."

"Certainly quite the friendly one, isn't she?" Henrietta giggled to her sister. Susan nodded and looked at Ciel.

"If you would please excuse us," she said, "we need to find a hotel room to stay in."

At that the two left, hand-in-hand, leaving the demons alone at the station. The only chatter that could be heard was from the outside, and an occasional yell from one of the train's engineers. A quiet breeze passed by to remind both of them that they were in winter, not spring. Shelter needed to be found fast before all the rooms in the inns were taken.

Ciel hugged his jacket closer to him, though he wasn't shivering. Sebastian took note of this and smirked.

"Are you cold, young master?"

"That conversation was shorter than I thought."

The butler was thrown off a bit but quickly recooperated. "Do you mean the eldest Rockefeller sister?"

"I have worked with the deaf before through the Queen's requests," Ciel explained, his expression going hard, "Not one of them was able to speak that fluently."

"Do you suppose that she is a naysayer, then?"

He didn't answer, choosing instead to face the train. The thoughts running through his head became unreadable.

Sebastian allowed a time lapse of fifteen minutes to go on before inquiring, "Should I get us a place to stay for the night, my lord?"

There was no hesitation in his master's response. "Yes."

"Very good."

And with that, Sebastian left the station and began wandering the town. Through the years of being a demon he had forgotten how to be surprised, but now and then he had his "humane" moments. Such was the case with his master's fascination with the white-haired girl. Upon studying her he didn't find anything that would interest the master, other than her strangly white hair. Everything else was…normal.

How bothersome.

He leapt from the rooftop of a bakery shop to an apartment complex, intent on finding an inn through the sky rather than the ground. It was usually faster that way and less trivial. Suddenly, he heard screams below him. With the slightest glance he was able to see what was happening:

In the bright sunlight of the afternoon the dagger was practically glowing against the girls neck. She wrestled with the man who held her from behind and reached for another girl, a few years younger than her. Contrasting them was impossible so he marked them as sisters. The younger sister ran up to her sibling's capturer and kicked at their shin, but they stooped down and dangled her just the same. With that they backed up into the darkness covering the alley, leaving behind nothing but the shining dagger.

For a moment Sebastian contemplated going down to retrieve the weapon. The people taken were the Rockefeller sisters, after all, and it may interest his lord. However he had a job to do, and as a butler he was going to do everything possible to complete it at the highest degree. Taking a mental picture for future reference, he continued his leaps until he came to a lavish hotel with a sprouting fountain in the lobby.

Putting on his cunning smile the butler approached the front desk. The receptionist on the opposing side smiled at him and asked what she could assist him with.

"I would like to book a room for one night, if you please." He laid out the many dollar bills he had collected from his days of humiliating street performing.

"Yes…" The girl trailed off, collecting the required payment. She then added briskly, "You're room will be on level three, first door on the right."

"Of course," Sebastian said, "and thank you, ma'am."


"I must admit that it looks quite ravishing on you, Ms. Stephensen."

Lucia scrutinized her olive green dress, focusing on the ruffles near the neck area and traveling across to the puffy sleeves. Silently she noted that it appeared awfully stuffy and made her look like a milkmaid trying to impersonate an aristocrat, but on the outside she grinned at Henrietta.

"Thank you, my lady, although I'm not deserving of your comments." She then glared at Robert, who was trying desperately not to laugh aloud. All of his expression said cynically, What a liar you are, Lucia…what a liar.

I don't mind your criticism, Mr. Middleton, as long as you don't use it against me in my relationships with others.

Either way he ended up paying for the dress. It wasn't a favor for Lucia, but more of a way of assuring that she'd be in his debt, she realized as soon as he had pulled out his wallet. Nevertheless she thanked him for it and the two split off from the Rockefeller sisters, choosing to walk the main street and find a hotel, hopefully not the same as the Phantomhive's. Lucia thought of how long it was ago that she had met a teenage girl, and with nostalgic melancholy she thought of the girls she would used to see parading around on the Brookyln streets. She missed it terribly, much worse than she had thought. Her depression had hidden away underneath a rock, it seemed, and with each patch of moss grown there was a sense of longing carried with it.

Lucia felt a heavy lump in her chest as she saw Henrietta jump out of the way of a rat, and she furrowed her eyebrows for a brief moment. Peculiar…

"Ah, here we are," Robert announced, coming to stand in the front of an old-fashioned inn.

The judgemental woman searched for sort of negativity of the place once they had gone outside. She chose to ignore the exterior architecture simply because of the fact that the snow covered much of the designs, and it would be a hassle to imagine the whole view from imagination. On the inside her eyes narrowed but the staff seemed unaffected. While Robert was being assigned their room number a bellhop came beside Lucia and offered to carry their bags. Seeing the eagerness in his eyes she couldn't help but cooperate, and was surprised to see that he could carry all of her bags plus his. Robert, not wanting to take a chance of hurting his pride, averted his gaze.

The elevator was cramped but not completely unsettling, with a soft humm as it rose instead of the usual screeching. Lucia commented on this and the bellhop reported that their maintenance man "was the best in the business". At this point Robert jumped in the conversation, saying that he'd like to get some pointers from the man if the boy could introduce him. The boy said he was happy to and certainly looked like so.

"Here we go, all nice and roomy! Mey-Rin should be done with your room soon, I think," the blonde said, the smile on his face widening once he caught eye-contact with Lucia and then looking away with a blush.

Lucia raised an eyebrow at this odd behavior but her attention was soon directed towards the flung doors, revealing a red-haired glasses maid behind it. Both the guests eyes went wide as she waved at the air, waving away dark bits of dust.

"Oh, goodness me, what a mess! If only Sebastian was around I could—but no, he isn't anymore, so I have to work for myself, yes! That's why I went on this business venture in the first place! Ah!" Looking incredibly flustered the maid gave a deep bow. "Excuse me, sir and lady, I'm just about done with my dusting."

Holding out her finger, Lucia was able to catch a dust bunny. "I see you're quite skilled…"

"Sorry about that, my lady!" Mey-Rin replied, running over and swabbing away the dust away from her hand with a wet cloth.

At this point in time Lucia had no energy to come up with a good rebuttle or forgiveness, so she remained quiet as the woman explained the grand setting of their room. One of the best, she says, you wouldn't find a better one in Charleston!

"I thought we had stopped off in Norfolk," Robert cut-in curtly, "But perhaps I'm mistaken?"

"No, sir!" The bellhop—no, his name was "Finny"—assured him brightly. "We're definitely in Norfolk, Charleston!"

Did he mean to say that Charleston is a state? Lucia put a hand up to her mouth to stop any laughter from exploding out. Glancing over at Robert, she found even more amusement in his astonished face.

"…you're not from around here, are you?"

They both nodded.

"Well then, I shall tell you this: first is that Norfolk is in Virginia, and Charleston is in South Carolina. Second, they're both cities so there's no way they can be inside of one another."

They both nodded.

"…do you understand me?"

They both shook their hands and put on the accustomed charismatic smiles.

"Sorry, but we've only been here for a few months, yes," Mey-Rin said, coming out of the room and bringing with her a storm of dirt and powder. Lucia quickly wafted some away from her, though she made sure the other didn't see.

"Really now? Why, then we must have a celebration!" Robert laughed and ended up dragging the workers with him.

He put his arm around Finny and winked at Mey-Rin, who giggled. "Seriously though, I would like to take that time to educate you all on the basics of Southern living. You can be students along with Ms. Stephensen. Actually, now that I think about it, how about you all come and—"

"No."

The cheerful atmosphere drained out from Lucia's cold statement. Rather than glaring at the strangers she set it on Robert, who had a flicker of annoyance pass across his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you've already picked up enough poor souls, sir. I would rather you not burden yourself and your family by bringing so much help into an already organized area."

Not only that, but I'll have enough drama just dealing with this Phantomhive earl, she added silently to herself. Finny and Mey-Rin subsequently backed off, gave a quick excuse at how the stove in the kitchen may be burning, and promptly departed (Lucia and Robert's bags' being deposited in the room first, of course).

A moment of silence then, as in the dignified prediction, ensued. Robert set about laying out all his things on one part of the room while Lucia kept hers, giving her a nice view.

After unpacking she took out her bird book and began reading the chapter about song birds. She felt weight shift beside her on the bed but pretended not to notice.

"Exactly how much do you plan to test me, Lucia?" Robert asked.

His exasperation made her feel like she had the upper hand. "I do believe I will when you stop inviting strays into your home without consent to your parents."

"Listen to what you're saying, you of all people!"

"Please don't holler. We might attract unnecessary attention." She closed her book and set it on her lap, laying folding hands on top.

Robert fumed. "But that's just what you want, isn't it? That's why you insist on ruining every happy moment of my time with your cynical ideals. My God, how depressing can you get, I wonder?"

"Attention is not something I strive for; that alone is a sin," Lucia murmured in reply, "In addition, I'm sorry if I'm depressing you but I don't exactly have the most cheerful personality in the world."

"Most woman do though."

"Although I am not like most woman, am I?" The two smirked equally on that statement.

"Yes, I suppose you could say you aren't…"

"Then let's agree to disagree."

"What ever do you mean?"

Lucia got up, getting a look of the room for the first time. It was quite lavish and was filled to the brim with miscellaneous items of expensive value. Mirrors hung from the ceiling; Russian nest dolls were resting on multiple vanities; different colored drapes covered every inch of the two wide windows; there were three couches sitting side by side. The main colors repersented by auburn, gold, and deep red while most of the smells ranged from a homely honeysuckle to tint of strawberry-scented opium.

Putting her hand on an antique ragdoll, Lucia continued, "If I stop saying dark comments and coming down on your 'happy moments', then you will stop pandering to random people about working at your mansion. This compromise will move us forward without holding hostility towards each other. Do you not agree?"

Robert straightened himself on the bed, looking more dignified than the usual street rat. "I agree, since those conditions seem fair. And if we break them the other can hold them in their debt."

Lucia nodded and pivoted to face him, holding out a hand to him. The gesture itself was becoming a symbolic form of their relationship. Wordlessly Robert shook it himself, though it lingered for just a moment longer then Lucia intended. She shook the suspicious thought away and took upon herself the book again, smiling at the pictures of the Carolina Chickadee.

"I'll be going out to talk to the chef," Robert pronounced as he fixed his attire in one of the ceiling mirrors. "Feel free to roam around while I'm gone, since nobody else seems to be here."

"I thought you wanted to meet the maintenance man?" The lady peered from her book at her companion's tuxedo and scoffed inwardly. One must dress big to look big, after all…

"That's just the thing…"

The doorknob was turned and the doors opened as he gave his last departing words.

"He's both the chef and mechanic."


As always, the Phantomhive servants were jubilant and becoming of their previous service. They treated Robert with dignity and respect, but slipped up in a few social disgraces by calling him by his first name. Robert himself didn't seem to notice. They mulled over the taste of whiskey compared to wine, and winced over Baldroy's "culinary creations" that sent each of them packing to the restroom one at a time.

When Mey-Rin was taking her absence to relieve her groaning stomach and Finny left to check on the front desk, Robert gathered his preposterous amount of courage and inquired about why they settled here for a sight of all places.

"Well, here's the thing," Baldroy, or how he liked to be called, Baldo, replied, "We wanted to make a fresh start after the Master's…passing. So what better place than ol' America herself?"

"Your master passed away?"

"Yeah, about ten years ago. Real tragic thing that brought me to tears, along with Mey-Rin and Finny. We mourned and attended the funeral but no one really got over it so one day I said, 'Hey, why don't we settle a hotel and dedicate after the young master?' Everybody agreed and here we are, getting' on and soon to be popular."

Robert smiled. He always liked stories of valor, where the strong men truimphed over the most difficult obstacle and lived to prosper from it. He wanted to ask who their master was but knew if he did that it would appear offensive; if he had paid more attention to the sign rather than getting a room he would have seen the name of the hotel.

"That's quite the tale, Baldo," he stated, picking at what was supposed to be a piece of pound cake but instead a dark thing of charcoal. "I'm sure your master would have been very proud."

"And you know what? I think so, too."

Together they laughed and continued to talk about what was going on currently: the Spainish-American war, President McKinley, the abundance of the journalism in populated cities, and the Civil War.

"Yes, sir, I was one of the sergeants on the Confederate side, although I am a bit wary to say so," Baldo added quickly, probably taking into account the universal opinion of the war.

"No need to be cautious around me." Robert shook his head. "In fact, my family was on the Southern side, too. We lost almost everything afterwards, it was horrible. Thank goodness we had some loyal coloreds' who would stay loyal to us."

Baldroy agreed quietly. Not much was said after that, since for the remainder of their time they wallowed in their own coupled misery from being on the losing side. By the time Robert got back to the room it was already midnight. He was surprised to find Lucia sleeping on his bed, which was the smaller one, a music box playing slowly beside her head. It held a happy tune draped in melancholy and he felt his stomach clench. Just how long had she been waiting for him to come back? The woman was aggravating at times, yes, but she did have her soft spots, this being one of them.

Slowly he took his place beside her and picked up the box. It depicted a biblical scene the Last Supper, and looked almost exactly similar to Leonardo da Vinci's except for the background, which was embodied with a darkened sky and stars. He drew his finger across the cover and felt a sort of cold marble. The music had stopped a while ago.

"Wonder where this came from…" He mused, opening the box to see a simple design of velvet boxed openings to hold jewelery or other valuables.

Feeling his own eyelids start to come down, he put the instrument down and sauntered over to Lucia's bed. If she was going to take his, why couldn't he take hers? Finally he collapsed on top of the sheets and gazed at the ceiling, which had numerous letters from the Japanese language written on them. He had heard of this type of obsessive collecting; it was starting to become a fad all across the country. He would have to remind his parents and family not to buy into it…