A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Chapter 8 has arrived! I guess I'll apologize right off the bat for how incredibly long this chapter is. I didn't want to split it up into two chapters, so it's just one big chapter. Took me forever, but I finally got it done! :P I hope you guys like it! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and please review! I love hearing what you guys think! It makes my day! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji. All characters, with the exception of my OC's, belong to Yana Toboso.


Uncle had invited a guest over for dinner that evening; a Mr. Blackwell from the Bank of England. Apparently, Uncle was investing in yet another foreign trade market. I had to roll my eyes a bit when I heard that. The last time he invested, it was with a coy Chinese man from the company of Kunlun. His name was Lau, if I remembered correctly. He was a very strange character from the start, but only proved to be a bother once the deal had been made. He stopped over at the manor whenever he saw fit, and always brought with him a slight, devilish-looking little harlot, the same one every time. One day, Uncle simply got tired of his presumptuousness, and went to a lot of trouble, not to mention money, to break the agreement. I thought after that little incident he had learned. You never knew what you were going to get with foreigners. This time around, it was a sweatshop in east India.

Uncle and Mr. Blackwell prattled on about the investment during dinner, but I heard none of it. My mind was somewhere else, devising my plan on how I was going to get into that brothel Sebastian spoke of. I absentmindedly picked up my fork every now and again to take a bite of my food. It wasn't until my name was unexpectedly called that I realized I had been daydreaming.

"Annalise!" Uncle said testily. Apparently he'd been trying to get my attention for quite some time. My head snapped in the direction of his voice, and I dropped my fork.

"I apologize, Uncle," I said. "I must have been in a daze."

"Clearly," Uncle scoffed, standing up from his chair. "Mr. Blackwell and I are going out to the pub for a while. Do go to bed on time, won't you?"

I allowed my fists to clench underneath the table. Did he think I was still just a child? But I knew better than to speak my mind. Besides, this was exactly what I had hoped for. With Uncle out of the house for God only knows how long, I would be able to sneak out to the brothel, completely undetected. "I'll make sure I will, Uncle," I said, a glorious fabricated grin on my face.

Uncle nearly smirked. "Alright then. Sebastian, see to it that she does," he regarded the butler, who was standing off to the right side of the table, a pristine, white towel draped over his arm.

"Of course, My Lord," Sebastian answered dutifully. He looked at me then, his eyes knowing what I was planning.

"I'll just go up to my room and read for a while," I said. I bade Uncle and Mr. Blackwell good night, then excused myself from the table. Sebastian would have to stay down there and clean things up, which was good, because I needed to practice my 'seductive qualities,' and I would much rather have done that without him in the room. Then again, maybe I needed to practice on someone before I encountered the real thing.

Once in my room, I noticed a strange garment laying over the side of my bed. It looked to be a dress, but it most certainly was not meant for someone like myself to wear. First off, it was much too short; I predicted that the hem would barely go past my knees. It had no sleeves, and the neckline dipped dangerously low. Quite frankly, the top of the dress looked exactly like a corset. If it weren't for the lace and bow accents all over it, it very well could have been. The skirt was ruffled out with a few layers of crinoline, but that was all there was to it. The whole dress was a brilliant red. Alongside the dress, were a pair of black fishnet pantyhose, and long, black gloves with red bows attached to the cuffs. I assumed Sebastian had laid these out for me, and it embarrassed me a bit. He should never see me wearing such clothing. But if he was going to be my escort for the night, I guess I had no choice. I took the dress and pantyhose and went behind my changing screen, leaving the gloves on the bed for the time being. I slithered out of the dress I was wearing and effortlessly slipped into the new one. It felt like there was nothing on me at all. As I expected, there was soon a quiet knock on my door. "Come in," I said.

Sebastian entered the room, looking pleased when he saw me. "I see I did make the right selection after all," he said. I huffed slightly.

"Do I look like a piece of meat yet?" I asked, my voice dripping with bloody sarcasm. I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My legs looked considerably longer than normal.

Sebastian chuckled a bit. "Please, allow me to lace you up." I consented and he began pulling the strings, hard.

"Sebastian!" I whined, my nails digging into my sides. "Why so tight?" I looked down at my chest, and it was then that I knew what he was doing. He was trying to make my breasts appear larger.

"Forgive me, My Lady," Sebastian apologized. "But the men won't spare even a single glance if you don't look the part." I knew he was right, of course. All men were filthy pigs, and they only wanted to play with a toy if it was quite large on top. Once my waistline had been diminished and my breasts were amplified, Sebastian slid the gloves onto my arms. "You look like a picture, My Lady," he teased, and I knew he was feeling very satisfied with himself at the moment.

"Alright, but there's still the problem of my hair," I pointed out, looking into the mirror once again. "It's the one thing that makes me stick out like a sore thumb, red and wild as it is." Sebastian strode over to me.

"You needn't worry. I will fix it." He brought both of his hands to the top of my head, and caressed the locks. Then he carefully slid his fingers through them, turning the auburn strands black as he did so. I gasped as I watched the color fade. I looked like a completely different person with midnight black hair.

I turned to face Sebastian, a look of sheer amazement on my face. "Just when I think I know all that you're capable of, you surprise me again." Sebastian gave me a most provocative grin then, and began undoing the buttons of his tailcoat. I stepped back quickly. "What do you think you're doing?"

Sebastian's grin grew wider. "Do you intend to just waltz right in there without a clue of what you're supposed to do?" he asked, throwing his coat on the floor. He started on his vest next.

I gulped a bit. This was the very thought I had just a little while ago. Knowing he was right, I drew my eyes away and allowed him to continue. I couldn't ignore the sudden heat that rose to my face. When I looked back at him, his chest was completely bare. His skin looked like marble. His abdominals were so perfect, they seemed to have been carved by the world's finest artist. "Well," I all but squeaked. "What are you going to do, then?"

"Nothing too erotic," he responded. "I only want you to try and seduce me. I figured that would be easier for you if I was in a state of undress."

Well, I couldn't argue with that. It most definitely was easier to fawn over his flawless body. At the moment, I was no better than all those girls at the ball, hearts all a flutter about Sebastian. But I had to try and flirt with him now, as awkward as the thought seemed to me. Finally, I got up the courage to do that. "Sebastian," I whispered, moving so that my mouth was just inches from his ear. I made sure to let out a lot of breath. "Get on the bed." I pulled away, not failing to notice the smirk on his face.

"A good try, My Lady," he said. "But you'll need to do better than that if you want to get information from them." He started putting his white shirt back on. "I won't make you do it again, but just try to remember that you're posing as a whore. Hopefully that will inspire you to act more...sensual."

"Hmm, I thought it was quite good, considering I've never done anything of that sort before," I said, pouting slightly. Sebastian ignored me however, and continued dressing himself. Once he was finished, he started for the door.

"I'll have the carriage waiting out front," he said. "Come down when you're ready." Then he left me alone to my thoughts. I couldn't help but wonder if I was really ready to do this, but I decided not to doubt myself anymore. That would only cause my plan to fall apart at the hinges.


The carriage ride to the brothel was actually quite peaceful. Sebastian was driving the horses, so I was alone in the car. I was grateful for this, because I really needed some time to myself. I fiddled with my gloves as I thought of how I was going to confront the Walton brothers. I had a vial of henbane juice in my pocket, which I intended to use on them if they were involved in murdering my parents. I figured it would be the easiest way to kill them in a place full of people.

The carriage came to a sudden halt then, and I looked out the window. We were in front of a run-down, squalid building. From the looks of it, it must've been an old hotel. There was no sign on the front that detailed what it was used for, and I understood why. There was only an old, rusty bell by the door. I heard footsteps outside the carriage, and Sebastian was by my side in a heartbeat to open the door for me.

"This is the place," he said as I took his hand. I looked off to my right, noticing a rather odd pair of men who appeared to be eyeing me lecherously. This part of London was shady, indeed. From the moment I stepped outside the carriage, a foul smell penetrated my nostrils, almost causing me to vomit. I immediately recognized it to be opium. I'd only encountered the drug one time before, and it was because that Chinese man used to smoke it all the time. When I asked about the smell, Uncle had told me that there were some people in this world who needed only to get away from their troubles, and they often turned to drugs for relief. Now opium was illegal, but as long as it stayed underground, what could the police do about it?

"Shall I ring the bell?" Sebastian asked, letting go of my hand. I nodded my head as I took a deep breath. I knew the smell would be much worse on the inside. Sebastian rang the bell only once, and mere seconds later, a young, beautiful woman answered the door. She had long, blonde hair and the most incredible blue eyes I'd ever seen. Her figure was perfect, shapely and delicate, as any young lady's should be. She was wearing only a black full body corset with high, lace-up boots.

"Do come in," she said, sounding much too pleasant for a woman who made her living as a prostitute. "You must be new here?" Her voice came out as a question.

"Yes," I answered, taking a step inside. It was set up much like a pub, really. The only exception was the large stage at the front, which I assumed was where the women performed. There were tables set up all around the room. Women dressed much like I was were entertaining the men as they drank glass after glass of hard ale. And of course, many of them were smoking opium. The dim lighting cast dark shadows over everyone in the room. "Where might I find your employers?" I asked, wrinkling my nose once more at the smell. The woman gave me a big, toothy grin.

"They're a tad busy at the moment," she told me. "They should be coming down here in a little while, though. They haven't yet had their pick of the litter." The corners of her mouth pulled up into a devious smile as she said this. I knew what she meant by that, of course. The Walton brothers would choose which one of the girls they wanted to have relations with that night. But only the cream of the crop would be picked. What an 'honor' it must've been for the girl who was chosen.

"I see," I said simply, and put my leg up onto the back of a nearby chair. Several of the men in the area turned their heads to look at me. I began pretending like I was stretching, hoping to catch either Daniel's or Jacob's eye when they came down the rickety staircase. Sebastian leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"I should leave your side now," he said. "People may start getting suspicious. I hope you can handle this on your own."

"I assure you, I'm more than capable," I snapped harshly, still in a whisper. "Go. Pretend you're here for entertainment. That's an order." I knew Sebastian had no interest in such materialistic things, but he didn't dare disobey an order that I gave him. I watched as he charmed his way over to a couple of girls who were standing by the wall. They giggled as he started to give them petty compliments, falling prey to his wantonness. Damn him.

"Lovely birds," a masculine voice suddenly drew my attention to the top of the staircase. Two men stood there, both of them appearing to be in their late thirties. Both had dark brown hair and eyes to match. They looked exactly alike, not a single thing was different from the other. They were Daniel and Jacob Walton. They both began to descend the staircase, flawless smiles on their faces. "Which one of you would like to share our nest tonight?" This time, the other one was doing the talking. I fumed in my mind. They were treating the girls as though they were pets, simply things to be kept and fed from time to time. But I supposed this was the treatment they were used to. All the ladies in the room immediately began to titter, raising their hands and bouncing up and down on the floor. Now it made sense to me why the men referred to them as birds. I just kept to my stretching, and it wasn't long until one of the brothers glanced at me, tugged on his brother's sleeve, then pointed at me. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting to be noticed at all, let alone right away. I guess they preferred the silent, indifferent type.

"What's your name, little sparrow?" the one on the right asked me. I put my leg down and gave him a soft, yet still very seductive smile. The other girls had resorted to staring at me, some of them coldly.

"Celeste," I answered, giving them the false name that I had chosen for this occasion. The brother on the left reached out to touch my face then, and it was all I could do not to flinch.

"What a pretty little bird you are," he said, getting very close to my ear. "Well, Jacob, shall we take her with us?" He turned to his brother. Jacob nodded his head, and I could tell he was thinking some very indecent thoughts. "Come with us," Daniel said in a soft voice, taking me by the hand. They led me up the stairs, into a world that I was not yet familiar with. Once on the landing, we turned down a dim hallway, which led to several rooms. Some of the doors were open, while others were closed. I heard some interesting noises from the closed ones. We went into a room that was at the very end of the hall. They closed the door behind them once I was already in, and they both moved to lie down on the large bed that was in the center of the room.

"Well, you can get started then," Daniel remarked, gesturing to my dress. I nodded slowly, then began to untie the laces at my back.

"Hold on a moment," Jacob's voice stopped me in my tracks. "Before you do that, just let us do something else first." He smiled wryly and grabbed my wrist, pulling me down onto the bed with them. It was Jacob first whose lips crashed onto mine, barely allowing me to breath. My damn corset was tight enough as it was. His hands traveled up and down my body, not leaving a single inch untouched. Daniel joined in then, kissing up and down my arms. He even ran his tongue across my skin a few times. I would have to take a very long bath once this was all over with. Jacob removed his shirt, and I caught a glimpse of the one thing I had hoped to find here more than anything else: my mother's ring was on a long, silver chain around his neck.

"That's a lovely ring," I remarked. Jacob stopped touching me and looked down at it.

"Oh, that?" he asked, not really seeming to care much about it. "It's just something I picked up, nothing more."

Then why would you steal it?

"Oh, Daniel, I forgot I needed to tell you something. It's kind of important," Jacob said to his brother. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Celeste?" With that, the brothers retreated into the small washroom that was just off to the side of the room.

"Certainly," I said quietly to myself once they had closed the door. Then I flung myself off the bed and went to eavesdrop.

"Old man Brewer got himself killed. I just saw it in the paper today." Hearing this bit of information peaked my curiosity. I killed a man by the name of Brewer at my birthday ball. The authorities must've just found his corpse; I myself had no idea where Sebastian had dropped it that night. I kept listening intently to their conversation.

"So that means he failed then," the other said. I could hear pacing on the other side of the door. "Have any of the others contacted you?"

"No. But we're Greg's backup. That means the job falls to us."

The pacing stopped. There was a heavy sigh, then neither of them said anything for a moment.

"Fine. What did the worm say?"

"The Earl is at the Irish Lady tonight. Mr. Blackwell made sure they went there. If we leave right now, we can still catch them."

Damn. They're after Uncle now, I cursed to myself. Thinking on my toes, I scanned the room for anything I could put the henbane in. These two needed to be taken care of immediately. I saw a small cabinet in the corner, and rushed over to it, making sure I was as silent as possible. Inside, there was a bottle of gin, and two glass tumblers. Perfect. I quickly got the bottles out and poured a sufficient amount in each of the glasses. Surely they wouldn't resist a quick drink. The doorknob to the washroom jiggled, and I made sure to maintain my composure, holding a glass in each hand. Daniel and Jacob looked surprised when they came out.

"What's all this, Celeste?" Jacob asked, a coy smile playing at his lips. I returned the smile, holding out the drinks to them.

"You two seemed rather tense," I cooed. "I thought maybe you'd like something to drink, so I looked around to see if I could find something. Good thing I did." I watched as they looked at each other apprehensively, but eventually they both took a glass from my hands.

"Thanks. That's just what I need right now," Daniel coughed, then greedily took a large gulp of the tainted beverage.

"I'll drink to you, lovely robin," Jacob smiled at me, then also took a drink. I smiled inwardly, feeling an ebullient sensation within me. The henbane worked quickly. It wasn't long until Daniel's hand lost its grip on his glass, and he fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh God," he rasped, his fingers curling themselves in a most awkward fashion. His eyes rolled back into his head, exposing the whites.

"Daniel!" Jacob cried, rushing to his brother. He examined him for a moment then he began to cough as well. Slowly, he turned around to face me. "What have you done?" He barely got the words out before he also collapsed onto the floor.

"I've done only what needed to be done," I answered coldly, stepping towards him. He tried to crawl away from me, but I seized the ring around his neck, breaking the chain apart. Jacob gasped, looking wildly into my eyes. "And this ring belongs to me."

"Then you're-" He was interrupted by another coughing fit, which was followed by copious amounts of saliva foaming from his mouth.

"You're not going to lay a finger on my uncle tonight," I threatened, the words tasting a bit strange on my tongue. Never in a million years did I think I would be defending Uncle, but he was the only family I had left. I glanced over at Daniel, who was now dead.

Jacob glared at me with all the strength he had left. "It doesn't even matter if we die," he struggled to speak as the poison was starting to slur his words. "We're not the only ones playing this game." His mouth twisted into an evil grin and he bore his teeth like a madman. He breathed heavily one last time, and his limbs finally gave out underneath the weight of his body. He didn't move again.


"Sebastian, help me get out of this horrid outfit," I commanded, my wrists sore from trying to twist in odd ways to undo my corset laces. Sebastian dutifully answered my plea, and effortlessly loosened the strings. I let out the longest sigh of relief that I ever had in my entire life. After he had finished the corset, he ran his fingers through my hair again, giving my flame-red tresses back to me. Neither one of us said a word to each other about what happened earlier that night. I only told him that two more culprits had been eliminated. He told me nothing of what he did while I was busy 'interrogating.' Somehow I was grateful for that. I wasn't sure I wanted to know how he entertained those two giggly girls. I looked down at my right hand, which now housed my mother's ring. "It feels nice to finally have it in my possession," I said, tracing the gem with my index finger. Sebastian lightly took my hand, examining the stone for himself.

"It is a lovely piece, indeed," he mused, and I wondered if he was even thinking about what he was saying. His mind seemed very far off tonight. Just then, I heard a loud crack of thunder outside, and I pulled my hand away quickly. Sebastian offered me a gentle smile. "Are you alright?"

I allowed a short, bitter laugh to escape me. "Yes, of course." I walked over to my bed and pulled my nightgown on, not paying my butler any mind. I remembered how, when I was younger, I used to be so frightened by thunderstorms. I would hide under my covers until they passed, sometimes for hours. Of course, when Sebastian was in the room with me, things were a bit different. "Sebastian?" I asked, absentmindedly strolling toward my window.

He joined me at my side. "Yes, My Lady?"

"Do you remember what you always did when there was a thunderstorm?" It was a foolish question. Of course he remembered. But I wanted to hear him say so.

"Yes," he said softly. "You would curl up in my lap and I would sing to you."

"That's right," I said, recalling those moments. "Your voice would take me to a different place, far away from the raging storms outside. I think it even put me to sleep on a few occasions." I paused for a moment, remembering the sweet sound of his singing. It was so ironically angelic, lulling me into a sense of security whenever I heard it. I realized now that I wanted to hear it again. "Please, Sebastian," I begged. "Please sing for me."

Sebastian turned to me, a sweet smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Alright, but I'm afraid you're far too tall to sit on my lap now."

"That's alright," I laughed. "I'll just sit next to you." Sebastian nodded, then sat down at the foot of my bed. I seated myself practically right on top of him, but he didn't tell me to scoot over. I took a gentle hold of his arm and rested my head against his shoulder. Much to my surprise, he snaked his arm around my body, holding me close. Then he began to sing, and the room filled with a calm that enveloped me in its warmth. I closed my eyes and listened, my mind already beginning to drift off.

"May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune

With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet

And may you need never to banish misfortune

May you find kindness in all that you meet."

I was sound asleep before I even heard the last few words.


A/N: For those of you who are wondering: no, I didn't make up those song lyrics. They actually come from a song by Secret Garden called Sleepsong. I encourage you to listen to it if you haven't heard it! It's a very beautiful song! Thanks once again for reading! You guys are so amazing! Chapter 9 will be here soon, so stay tuned! :)