Ciel glanced around the large hall, wishing he could be anywhere but there. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate art; the manor was decorated with pieces that suggested otherwise, but he preferred to observe it within much quieter situations. As such the current venue couldn't be helped. He was there per his duty to the Queen, and because he genuinely hoped that he would get some sort of lead on the thief. Looking at the assortment that had been selected for that year's auction, he was pleased to note that it would be hard to resist, even for the most careful criminal.
His eyes scanned the room for Sebastian. The butler had arrived to attend to him that morning, on time and pretending as though the previous night hadn't even happened. Ciel had at least been expecting some sort of veiled comment regarding his solo evening activities but the demon had remained surprisingly indifferent to the matter. The day had passed too quickly and he'd soon found himself dressed in his finest at the evening's festivities.
Accepting a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, his gaze swept the perimeter once more. Sebastian had gone to see if he could gather any sort of information that would help them in the investigation. In truth, Ciel was a bit relieved to have the butler at a distance from him. This wasn't something he usually wanted; in fact it was almost always the opposite. But something had changed the last couple of days. He'd felt as though he were rising and falling repeatedly. Two days prior he was at the dinner with Elizabeth and spending the night having Sebastian pound into him. Then there was the horrible nightmare which he woken up from alone, and then the previous night…
He'd fought with Sebastian before but it had been a while and usually not over something so trivial. Though it was irritating and Ciel never appreciated having his shortcomings pointed out, the butler hadn't been wrong. There was no progress in the investigation or locating Marina. Even though he knew the contract required Sebastian to follow his orders without question he had hoped that the other wouldn't have given up being dismissed so easily. It was almost as though he hadn't cared if Ciel were mad at him, which he supposed was in line with the demon's true nature.
"Did you see anything interesting?" Ciel asked as Sebastian sidled up to him.
"Not outside the usual mortal amusements," Sebastian replied. "Everyone here that I have seen is a human. Disappointingly so, with perhaps one exception…"
His voice trailed away and Ciel looked up to find the demon staring pointedly at him. Rolling his eyes, he took a long drink of bubbly amber liquid. "No."
It wasn't that he didn't want to indulge with Sebastian, he had been quite sure that the other would try and solicit something from him after the previous night, but really he wasn't quite in the mood. Besides, if he were supposed to be on the lookout for a thief then he really couldn't accomplish that very well from within the confines of some hidden alcove. Those types of things would be best left until later, if at all. He was still a bit cross with the other for the various infractions over the past two days.
Elizabeth came over and looped her arm through his. She started chattering excitedly about the party and who was wearing what. It was the usual banter that she offered at any given celebration. Ciel listened politely, giving small noises of agreement or short generic responses as he continued to watch the room for any signs of ill activity. Elizabeth prattled on as they made their way around the hall, pausing every few minutes to look at a piece before moving on to the next one.
"So," Elizabeth said, as they stepped away from a pair of bronze statues of angels battling and started toward an oil painting of a priest. "I was thinking that it might be nice to get married next year in the spring."
Ciel struggled to keep his small smile from slipping. Of course there would be more wedding talk. It was probably not going to be exempt from any conversation until the actual event occurred. He reached up and gave a polite squeeze to her hand where it was wrapped around his arm. "That sounds lovely, any particular reason why?"
"Well, I had thought about doing so this winter," She said. "Perhaps somewhere around your birthday, but mother thought that it would be too cold. Most people don't get married then, even though I think it could be pretty. It was also mentioned that it might be a bit soon."
Ciel thought this was a rather absurd statement. December was still many months away; they had barely started April. Still, waiting a whole year to get married seemed both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time. On the one hand he wouldn't have to deal with it for another year and during that time could be free to live and indulge in what he chose. However, on the other hand, he would have the impeding marriage looming over him for twelve month, and that wasn't appealing in the least.
"I had also considered this summer," Elizabeth said. "Father has contacts that could make everything wonderful in a short amount of time, but mother said that was entirely too rushed. I guess I understand her want for things to be perfect; she does only have one daughter. Especially since Edward's gone, and grooms don't have as much to get ready for."
Ciel nodded. He remembered attending Edward's wedding, two years prior. It had been a rather gallant affair all things considered, but it had filled him with anxiety. The groom had come over as the festivities were winding down and let him know that marriage, while it was a man's duty as much as a woman's could be wonderful for the both of them. And he'd said in no uncertain terms that he would make Ciel very sorry if he didn't do right by Elizabeth.
He'd nodded and said he understood, because he wasn't blind to the delicate balances of noble society. Ciel was seventeen at the time and still a bit less involved than he now was with Sebastian. After the very passionate first couple of times when he was younger, relations between them were very few and far between due to his age and size. Then when he'd turned sixteen and experienced a bit of a growth spurt, things had taken a more mature turn and the Earl had been more than ready for it. Now he really couldn't imagine being with anyone else and he truthfully didn't want to.
With a shake of his head, he drew himself from his thoughts again. They'd moved on from the painting and were now three pieces down, standing before a sculpture of a dog. Ciel rather liked this piece, it reminded him of his family's pet from childhood. He made a mental note to place a bid for it when the auction started.
"I will probably set the date for sure in a couple of weeks," Elizabeth said. "I've already been looking over options for the invitations. We should probably do something with blue, don't you think?"
"Whatever you wish, my lady," Ciel said.
They turned the corner and began to stroll along the next row. Ciel was surprised by just how many pieces there were. He had been certain that a lot of people would be afraid to place their valuables in such an open space. Even though the Queen had promised extra security, the thief had proved exceptionally skilled. He still didn't understand if there were any connection between the assortments, and if the burglar was collecting them for any significant reason. There seemed to be no correlation between any of the pieces, which ranged from a painting of a mermaid to a bust of a king with an unpronounceable name from some distant land.
Earlier that morning after breakfast, he'd spread his notes across his desk and tried hard to link any of the artifacts or the persons who owned them together. He'd surfaced hours later for lunch with nothing. He'd come to the conclusion that there was no connection, the thief was simply stealing things that they liked or those that they thought would fetch a handsome price from a buyer. For some reason however, none of the lifted articles had surfaced for purchase, even on the black market.
"Oh wow, this one is certainly interesting," Elizabeth said as they came upon a rather large portrait.
Ciel glanced at it. It was a remarkable piece. The painting showed a woman in a red dress, her dark chestnut hair billowing around her face. There was something strange about her eyes. Like they were staring right into the observer's soul. She was sitting in an ornately decorated chair, the folds of her skirt sweeping elegantly across the floor. After a moment he realized that the objects littered about her feet was skulls, their sightless eye sockets boring into him.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Elizabeth said. "But she's also a bit scary."
"Indeed," Ciel said. "I wonder who she is."
"Maybe she's not real," Elizabeth said. "No one is that beautiful. Though whoever the painter is has quite a good imagination."
Ciel was inclined to disagree. There were people who were that beautiful, but in his experience they were often not humans at all, rather other sorts of creatures who resembled them. Creatures like Marina Beaumont. Or Sebastian.
He glanced behind him, relieved to find the butler still hovering at a comfortable distance. Though he was still slightly annoyed with the other, it was a comfort to have the demon near, just in case anything happened. With a soft sigh, he took another look at the painting. He took a small step forward. Even though he found it creepy he was curious to see the signature, to figure out the artist who had painted it. But the scrawl was rough and scratchy; he couldn't make out any letters.
"Shall we move on, Lizzie?" Ciel asked. Elizabeth nodded and they continued down the line.
Ciel was rather exhausted by the time they made it through the hall. He couldn't remember half of the pieces they'd seen but he was grateful that the auction was going to be starting soon. Sebastian trailed behind the pair as Ciel made his way toward the hall with Elizabeth. She felt heavy on his arm, a weight that he was suddenly aware of. He told himself that how he felt wasn't her fault at all, and was rather ashamed with himself for wishing to move away from her.
The auction began within a few minutes after they'd arrived. Viscount Druitt had taken it upon himself to act as auctioneer. Annoyingly he still remained a picture of incredible beauty, and Ciel often wondered if there was something otherworldly about Aleistor. Sebastian had denied it on several occasions, but Ciel still found the man creepy. The ladies in the hall didn't seem to think so however, he could hear them tittering behind their hands as the man gesticulated flamboyantly from behind the podium.
Ciel bid on the dog statue and ended up winning it. He ran through places in the manor and the townhouse where he might put it, watching the pieces making their way across the stage. Each one was displayed briefly for a moment while people raised their paddles in the air and the numbers rose steadily, sometimes astonishingly quick over a particularly sought after article. A painting would quickly be replaced by a statue, then another painting, then a sculpture. The battling bronze angels. The mermaid in oils. The foreign bust.
The painting of the woman in the red dress was carried up next. The handlers set it carefully on the display easel. Ciel sensed everyone in the room was staring at it. The volume of the chatter dropped considerably as hundreds of curious eyes swept over the details. It was an exceptionally stunning piece, painted with a careful and practiced hand.
Ciel was sure that the Viscount had read off the name of the artist but he hadn't been listening. What he did hear was the bidding had already started and was climbing rapidly, the numbers soaring more quickly than any other artifact had yet that night. For some reason, he also found himself drawn to it. And he refused to have it elude him.
Ciel entered the bidding war, finding himself putting up insane amounts to overcome every opponent. The company had had a record-breaking year, so he wasn't concerned about the finances. He wasn't sure what exactly he liked about the painting but it seemed familiar in some way. It also appeared to be an immensely popular piece among the attendees and Ciel quite enjoyed taking things that others wanted. Besides, he had come to reason as he upped his bid again, that if it were that big a source of interest to those in high society, perhaps it catch the eye of the lower class as well.
Perhaps the thief Her Majesty wants brought to justice will find it too tempting to resist, Ciel thought. His lips set in a satisfied smirk as the gavel landed, signaling that he had come away victorious.
"Where do you plan on putting that?" Elizabeth asked as the next object was brought forth. "It's beautiful, but it's also kind of creepy."
"There was just something I liked about it," Ciel said. He wasn't going to reveal his true intentions of course. He wanted Elizabeth to remain naïve to his duties as the Queen's Guard Dog for just a bit longer. Another thing that probably would be impossible to hide once they were married. "If it bothers you I can get rid of it once we marry."
Elizabeth laughed. "Don't be silly. If you like it, we'll keep it."
The auction passed quickly and there was no sign of the thief. Ciel found this both a relief and an annoyance. While the delicate highbrow atmosphere of the evening hadn't been ruined, the culprit was still at large and several expensive pieces of art still had not been retrieved. And he had spent an unreasonable amount of money on a painting for no real purpose other than wishing to draw the burglar to him. And he supposed, he did actually like it, unsettling as it was.
"A rather interesting choice I must say, my lord," Sebastian said as they went to retrieve the pieces after the conclusion of the auction. Elizabeth had departed, promising to visit again soon. Ciel had sighed internally. "The painting, of course. That statue is exactly the sort of thing you would go for. I am truly quite surprised that in all this time you've not procured a mutt to join you around the house."
"One is enough," Ciel smirked, raising a challenging eyebrow at the demon. "Anyway, I am curious to know who it was that created this work. I wonder if the artist was in residence tonight."
"You're looking for the artist?" One of the men who were busily wrapping the painting in cloth for safe transport asked. Ciel nodded. The man gestured toward a slender male standing a few feet away with his back to them. "That'll be him right there."
He certainly didn't look much like a painter, Ciel thought as he strode over and the other turned to the side, smiling at a passing lady. The man more resembled someone who would spend his days doing…well doing not much of anything of substance if Ciel were to be quite honest. He looked handsome in the way the Viscount was, beautiful but one could tell that there was something slimy lurking under the surface. He was also dressed much more elegantly than a normal artist usually did unless they were frequently employed by those well off. However, he supposed that he should be the last one to judge someone by his or her appearance. How many times had that proved to be deceiving?
The lights in the room caught the man's hair, turning it into spun gold as he turned. His dark eyes flicked over at Ciel as the Earl came abreast of him. Ciel offered a quick incline of his head. "Earl Ciel Phantomhive. I just purchased a painting and was told you're the artist. It's rather unusual, and I wanted to make your acquaintance."
"Warren Turner," The man said offering a hand, which the other shook. "The pleasure is mine."
Much love to all my readers. Your comments make me so happy.
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LonelyStargazer: yes, as I said before I have been experiencing the same. So frustrating. Haha Ciel is rather cheeky. But then again he always has been. I like writing him older though. Thank you, I have not either but I mean we know how I like to make Sebastian go through the wringer. I don't think he'll end up in as much pain as last time but who knows. Thank you so much for the comment!
Ran: Yes, in a way. More will be revealed as the story goes along but they are essential to demon survival and actually pose no threat to them unless they start becoming too enraptured with a human (as Sebastian clearly is).
A French girl: Thank you so much. Yes, I enjoy making them give each other a hard time. It's amusing to write. The concept of the cores is something i am looking forward to exposing more.