Ciel, Sebastian, and Lilliana traveled to the Frost Fair, an event held by the citizens of London when the Thames River below the London Bridge was frozen and it was safe to walk on. It held many tents that sold various items, from clothes, spices, trinkets, and so much more. Some business owners that Ciel knew personally were going to be there, but he was there for other reasons. However, Sebastian and Lilliana marveled at the festivities. Ciel was dressed in a warm coat while Sebastian wore his usual tuxedo. It didn't really matter for a demon to stay warm. He could just go to Hell whenever he pleased. Lilliana was in her Reaper uniform since she said that pants were a lot warmer for her than a dress. "Huh, so this is the Frost Fair. I haven't seen one for a long time," she said.
"I am told this is the first Frost Fair on this scale since 1814," Ciel said.
"Oh, I remember that fair. All went well until the ice cracked and some people caved in. I had a lot of work that day. . . . Speaking of work, I heard that a dear friend of mine has a shop here. I'll see you all a little later."
"Wait a minute, you have a job here with us," he said angrily.
"What can a maid do that a butler can't? Besides, I need to talk to my friend because of a certain job I had to do last night. I'll see you all in a little bit," she said before running off.
"Lilliana," he yelled, but she was too far gone. "She may be a Grim Reaper, but she's still a servant! You are a more loyal servant than her and you're a demon."
"There's no need to be so harsh, young master. I'm sure she has her reasons for leaving. Besides, she has been a loyal servant for this long," Sebastian said.
"I'm starting to question her loyalty," he said.
"But you entrusted her to take that picture of me," he teased.
"I only did that because I thought if anyone would be able to take the picture, it would be her, but it seems that she couldn't manage to even do that. Regardless, I fear that her demon brother might be influencing her somehow."
"Why would you say that, my lord?"
"You and I both know that her brother was lurking around the estate. I heard Pluto making a ruckus and you were fighting a man with a sword. That was him, I presume?"
"Yes."
"What did he want? Does he have any intention of stealing my soul?"
"Actually, he wanted his little sister back."
"Really? Then why didn't you just give her away? We can live without her lurking around."
"I view her as a vital source from the dead. If we lose her now, we would have more difficulty with cases in her field of expertise."
"Are you sure that's not all, Sebastian?"
He laughed. "I'm certain, my young lord."
"I'm surprised to see you here. Did you come alone or with the young Earl and his butler," Undertaker said as she entered his shop set up in the Frost Fair.
"I came with them, but I'm just curious about that ring that my last assignment stole before he died. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who wanted it," she said as she sat on top of a coffin.
He giggled. "The Hope diamond, you mean? Its beauty and value bewitches its many owners to seek it, even if it meant that it would lead to their imminent destruction. It's quite an interesting piece, don't you think?"
"Sure, but the man that killed him mentioned something about it needing a 'worthy owner'. What do you think he meant?"
"How should I know? You don't even know who this man was and you saw his Cinematic Record."
She sighed. "I know, but his statement has been bothering me all night. We should find that Hope diamond before it falls into the wrong hands or before it finds its 'worthy owner'."
"Are you trying to figure this out because your young master was assigned to this case?"
"Not this time, or that is, not now. Who knows, the Queen might assign him this task as we speak." At that statement, he started to giggle.
She was about to leave the shop, but he said, "I heard from some Head Reapers that we might have an American recruit working with us for a while."
She stopped in her tracks as she said, "Really? Do you know anything about the recruit?"
"Not much; she was the top Reaper in her sect and they assigned her out here since one of her assignments is immigrating here."
"Hm, I guess I'll keep an eye out for her. We don't get any female Reapers, so it will be interesting to meet her."
"You won't be the only female Reaper in your sect for a while," he said with a laugh.
"Well, unless you count Grell, but he's more like half a woman," she said with a chuckle.
Suddenly, they heard someone yelp and fall into the shop through the curtain door. Inspector Abberline quickly got up and said, "Why would you have a door pattern on a curtain?"
"Why would I have a door in a tent," Undertaker said as he started to laugh and she quickly followed suit.
"Stop laughing! This is serious," he said angrily, but they continued to laugh even louder. Soon, Ciel and Sebastian came in, surprised by the sudden burst of laughter.
"You're amazing! I tell you, you're in the wrong profession. You could rule the world with comedy," Undertaker said, trying to recover from his laugh attack.
"What did you say to him," Ciel asked with utter surprise.
"I-I have no idea! I was just talking to him normally, or as normally as I could, but then they started to laugh like mad."
"How unexpected; Abberline, you are a man to be feared," Ciel said under his breath.
Sebastian gave Abberline a cold stare as he said, "It appears that you are rather skilled, Inspector."
"But I didn't do anything-," he said before stopping himself. He was too afraid of Sebastian to finish.
"So, this was your important duty that couldn't wait," Ciel asked Lilliana.
"Well, yeah. A man died here last night, but he held onto a certain ring that I found interesting," she said.
"The Hope diamond," Sebastian asked.
Her eyes widened with surprise. "How do you know?"
"The Inspector told us everything about it. We are now involved in finding the man's murderer. Have any ideas," he asked.
"Sadly no; I couldn't see anything," she said with a disappointed tone.
"Undertaker, tell me more about the ring," Ciel ordered. "We're told that a frozen corpse you took care of this morning had it.
"As an upstanding citizen of London, I call on you to cooperate with us. Please, tell us all you know," Abberline said.
Undertaker giggled as he said, "I'm profoundly impressed with you, Inspector. I'll tell you all about it. The ring is on an ice sculpture."
"An ice sculpture? Where? Show us," Ciel ordered. Undertaker guided the group, including Lau, to the ice sculpture underneath the London Bridge. Once they were close enough, he pointed to it and said, "You see? It's right there." They looked closely at the sculpture of a powerful woman and saw that the ring was around a finger, a truly difficult skill to master.
"Huh, I wonder how they did that," she said with curiosity. Abberline looked in horror since evidence was not only was being tampered with, it was being displayed. Ciel and Sebastian thought of how to get it off the sculptor without being seen.
Lau admired the piece as he said, "It looks like the artisan happened to find the frozen ring and designed a sculpture to complement its beauty."
"Collect the ring! Right now," Abberline ordered to some nearby guards.
They tried to remove the ring, but they were stopped when they heard, "What do you think are you doing, you fiends?!" They all looked and saw what appeared to be an angry group of judges storming to them. One of them surprised them all: Viscount Druitt.
"That is the sacred lady bestowed on the victor. You wouldn't want to defile her, would you," he said in his usual romantic tone.
"Why would anyone allow him to judge this contest," Ciel asked to only the group around him, still utterly shocked by the fact the man that tried to sell him to a group of human traffickers was not only here, but out of jail.
"Wasn't he arrested by the Yard for human trafficking," Lau asked.
"He was released the other day," Abberline explained. Ciel was disgusted by the fact that a man like him could be free only because he has a lot of money. Abberline walked to the judges and said, "Excuse me, but Scotland Yard will be taking charge of this sculpture."
"Oh no; this frost fair is a festival for the citizens," a man with a large white beard barked back. "Even Scotland Yard can't disrupt it.
"Just look at it. Beauty is something to be admired. You mean to violate this noble lady. If you insist on having her, offer something of equal beauty," Druitt said.
"What a hypocrite," Lilliana said.
"Just what I would expect from Lord Druitt, the lover of art, beauty, and love," the old man said. "He's quite right. If you want this sculpture, win it in a contest."
"I see; there's merit in that. The ring belongs to the winner; nice and simple. Don't worry, Inspector. Well get the ring," Ciel said.
"But that is stolen property and key evidence in the serial kidnapping of young girls-," Abberline yelled out, but soon covered his mouth after the last phrase. He was not supposed to say that information to anyone else, especially the young lord.
Ciel smiled. "Aha, I see why the Yard would be searching so frantically for it."
"But it's the truth that each owner of the ring disappears. It really is a cursed stone and you're going to try to win it-," Abberline said before he was interrupted.
"Then it suites me all the more," Ciel said as he looked at his ring.
"Come to think of it, I seem to recall that your family ring possesses a pretty blue stone. You should take care of it," Undertaker stated. "Diamonds are quite hard, but because they are hard, they are also brittle. If you go too far, you may be shattered as well."
"What of it? This body and this ring have already been shattered and then reborn. I'm far past being afraid of shattering," Ciel said before turning to his butler. "Win the contest, Sebastian."
"Yes, my lord," he said with a bow. He then went to Lilliana as said, "I would request your help."
"Well, I've got nothing else to do," she said as she walked with him to fill out an entry form.
Viscount Druitt looked their way, saw her, and seemed to instantly fall in love with her. "Oh my; what a beautiful creature! Such an unusual woman she is! She defies the laws of society by not wearing a dress! Her eyes green as the perfectly ripe olives grown in the tress of Italy! Her hair black as the ravens that fly in the sky crying 'nevermore'! Oh, and some of those locks cover her eye to add a sense of mystery to her; a mystery that I would like to uncover. Oh darling, how I would love to worship thee," he said as he approached her and began to kiss her hand and slowly up her arm, utterly disgusting her. However, Sebastian stopped his acts of "love" before it got any further.
"Excuse me, but the lady would not like to be treated in such a way. I'm terribly sorry," he said, trying to hide the fact that he was getting a tiny bit jealous.
"Oh, but what woman wouldn't want to be treated like a queen if not a goddess?"
"Be careful because you might encounter the goddess of death in your future," she said as she stormed off.
Undertaker laughed at the little scene that played out, alarming the people around him. "What's so funny," Ciel asked.
"Oh nothing really; she just somehow gets a lot of attention for a woman that doesn't want it," he said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I now open the Frost Fair's customary snow and ice sculpture contest," the announcer said. "You have until 3 o'clock to complete your masterpiece! Now begin sculpting!" As time passed, many groups, including a suspicious group of Irishmen, began working on their ice sculptures and while some put all their time and energy into a small sculpture, Sebastian and Lilliana worked effortlessly on their large sculpture. Soon, time was up and the announcer said, "All right! It's time to judge. First, we have team Scotland Yard and Its Merry Men with 'The Guardian of London'!" The officers saluted to their stature of Sir Arthur, but no one else saw the beauty in it, receiving a total score of five out of fifty points from the judges. "Next, we have an entry from team All China Dresses Should Be Minis." However, the sculpture had to be covered since it was a just a naked sculpture of Ran-Mao. "However, I'm afraid for obvious reasons, I'm disqualifying it."
"But why," Lau asked with Ran-Mao by his side, totally unashamed by the sculpture.
"How could you possibly think it was all right to display that here," Ciel asked in anger.
"I think hiding bits like that makes it even more erotic," Lau said, not really answering the question. The judges gave it an X score for disqualification, except Viscount Druitt, who gave it a ten, receiving a higher score than Scotland Yard.
"You can win, can't you Sebastian and Lilliana," Ciel asked.
"Of course; you had ordered us to do it, so we will not fail," Lilliana said.
"Next, from team Queen's Puppy, 'Noah's Ark'," the announcer as they showed a large scale of the Noah's Ark toy that Ciel and Sebastian saw earlier. Everyone was shocked to see that two people managed to complete such a large scale sculpture in the little time they had. Sebastian and Lilliana smiled at the easily impressed crowd. "Such an amazing piece indeed! Let's see what the judges think."
"One moment, please. You haven't seen all of the sculpture yet," Sebastian said before Lilliana snapped her fingers. At the sound, the top of the ark split in two and fell to the ground, revealing an even more elaborate display of animals inside. Everyone admired it in awe at such wonder and beauty.
"Brilliant! He deliberately made the seam of the roof weak so that it would melt over time and slip apart," the old judge said.
"The brave man who stood fearlessly against the relentless storm of God's wrath; his name: Noah! He and the pair of beasts he led rocked on the waves, waiting for their rebirth," Viscount Druitt said.
"Bravo, you two! This is a true work of art. I mark you two as skilled sculptors," the old judge said.
"No, you are too kind. I'm simply one hell of a butler," Sebastian said with a smile.
"All right, let's see the scores," the announcer said.
"Hold on right there," an Irishman said next to the prized ice sculpture. "Sorry, but this ring belongs to us and we're taking it back."
"What? That means that you are-," Abberline said.
"That's right. We're the team of bomber thieves that all of London is talking about," the man said as he revealed a belt of dynamite around his waist. As he held up a lighter, he continued, "I'll count down from ten. If you don't want to die, I suggest you get the hell out of here." As he began to count down, many people started running for their lives, except for the trio and Scotland Yard.
"My orders remain the same. Do it now, you two," Ciel said.
"Yes, my lord," they said.
Abberline saw that Ciel wasn't going anywhere and said, "What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and run, Ciel!"
"You can run if you want. Don't worry; I'll be fine."
"I can't do that! I joined the police to protect the citizens," he said before running to him, but he was stopped as a bullet aimed for his feet barely missed him.
"Stay away," the bomber said with a gun in his hand, but he turned to Ciel and said, "Only three seconds left. You sure you don't want to run, little nobleman?"
"There's no need because-," he said before Sebastian ice-skated to them, knocking the gun out of his hand. They all looked in shock and tried to shoot him, but they missed every shot. Eventually, Lilliana ice-skated to the other bombers and knocked the guns out of their hands. The two deities could have been mistaken for an ice-skating couple by the way they skated on the ice perfectly, even receiving a perfect score from the judges for laughs.
"You bloody little brat! Get blown to smithereens," the bomber said as he lit a stick of dynamite and threw it toward Ciel, but Sebastian and Lilliana grabbed him away before he could be killed. "Damn you monsters," the bomber said as he threw more sticks of dynamite at them, but Lilliana and Sebastian kept throwing him back and forth to avoid the continuous blasts.
"Please, stop, Boss! Have you forgotten that we're standing on ice," the other men said before the ice started to crack and eventually, all three and the prized ice sculptor fell into the freezing river below.
"Sebastian," Ciel yelled before Sebastian threw him into the air, causing Ciel to scream at the top of his lungs. Luckily for him, Lilliana caught him on the deck of the Noah's Ark ice sculptor, which by now was miraculously floating. Everyone stood in amazement as they marveled at the miracle of Thames. "Was tossing me around like that really necessary?"
"I apologize, my lord, but we did have an audience and I thought it was best if we put on a little show," Sebastian said with a teasing smile.
Ciel scoffed as he said, "The Hope piece will sleep safely at the bottom of the Thames. I suppose that end has its own charm. If that's all it takes to destroy London or this nation, they were never meant to survive. After all, the Phantomhives have always survived." He turned to Sebastian and said, "You said that Noah was arrogant, but don't you think it's more arrogant and foolish to think you can save everyone or even want to do such a thing."
"So it would seem," he replied.
"But an idiot of that sort every now and then might not be so bad," Lilliana said as they all laughed.
Soon, the trio returned to the estate and the servants greeted them with their usual, "Welcome back, young master!" However, Ciel didn't respond back, but instead headed for his study. Even though it was late in the evening, he said he had work to do before he went to bed. He asked Sebastian to accompany him, but not Lilliana, which concerned the deities. Still, she obeyed her master's wishes and walked to her room.
Inside the room, Ciel said, "Sebastian, I want to know your relationship with Lilliana."
"What do you mean? She's a fellow coworker and nothing more," Sebastian responded, a little too quickly to be natural.
"I don't believe you. You two seem to have a certain . . . liking toward each other and I doubt it's because you two are immortal beings," Ciel said angrily.
"That's all it is."
"Sebastian, I order you to tell me the truth: what is your relationship with her?"
He sighed as he said, "I'm afraid that it wouldn't be appropriate to say such acts to a child."
"I'm not a child!"
"That is something that a child would say."
"You know what; you can leave now and enjoy your fuck buddy! I will not hear such insults from you!"
Sebastian was surprised by his young master's vulgar vocabulary, but smiled as he said, "Yes, my lord."
He was about to leave the room when he heard Ciel say, "After you help me prepare for bed."
"Today was rather chilly, don't you think," Lilliana asked as she lied in her bed with Sebastian. There was wine on the nightstand and by now, they have drunk almost the whole bottle. Although deities could not get drunk, it was still fun to drink and pretend they were.
"It sure was, but it's nothing compared to what I've seen in Hell," he said with a laugh.
She laughed too as she said, "True; the worst winter I've endured was in 1513 when England seemed to be under an ice age. A lot of humans died that winter, but I wasn't working as a Grim Reaper then. In fact, I might have contributed to that number."
"You are quite mischievous, aren't you?"
"Of course; after all, my brother is a demon and he taught me everything I know."
"Well, not everything. You were never allowed to experience the pleasures of lust," he said with a perverse smile.
"Well, for someone who had little experience, I was able to give you more pleasure than you would like to admit."
"He-he, let's not be too cocky," he said in an almost embarrassed tone.
"But I can't say I was a hundred percent inexperienced. After all, I've watched many people over the years and they sometimes partake in some fun activities, but I was always curious how it felt. Even as an honorary demon, I wasn't allowed to wallow in such a pleasurable sin."
"Why don't we wallow in it now," he said as he leaned in close to give her a passionate kiss. Oh, those kisses were the only thing that she would die for. His tongue caressed hers with a fiery passion to the point that they were both breathing hard. He started to put his hands all over her and kissed her neck, but she pushed him off her. "Not now, Sebastian. I have to go to work soon and the last thing I would want is for people to see a hickey on my neck, especially Grell."
He then angrily pushed her further in the bed as he said, "Don't mention that debauched creature's name here."
"Sorry," she said, but was soon interrupted by another passionate kiss. With him on top of her, she couldn't help but accept it. After a while of kissing and groping, she pushed him off her suddenly to say, "Fine, but make it quick."
"Can I have everyone's attention, please," William said to everyone in the room. Every Reaper was supposed to be in attendance before going to work, but of course, they were missing a certain Rogue Reaper. "As you all have probably heard, there will be a recruit from America working with us for a while. She is the top in her sect and she will be with us until her assignment's soul is collected. May I introduce to you all Katia Vendoa?" The group clapped as they saw a young woman with long, curly, blonde hair and bright green eyes surrounded by black slim spectacles enter the room. She had a bright smile on her face with red lipstick to emphasize it. She wore a short-sleeved white collar shirt with a black skirt, which surprised them all since the only other female Reaper they knew wore male clothing. Skirts and dresses were always out of the question.
"Nice to meet you all," she said in an American voice as sweet as candy. Everyone seemed to like her already, except for a certain redhead.
"Ah, I thought you were going to get us a gorgeous man," Grell said. He was finally out of rehabilitation, but he was demoted due to his crimes. His chainsaw Death Scythe was taken away from him and replaced with scissors, which he despised. Ever since then, he has been in a very bad mood.
Suddenly, they all heard the door open and saw Lilliana hurriedly come in. However, her hair was a mess and her clothing was wrinkled. "Sorry I'm late everyone. I couldn't get out of work until a few minutes ago. What did I miss," she said in her usual somewhat apologetic tone.
Will fixed his glasses and sighed as he said, "How many times do I have to tell you to come to work on time, Ms. Kiliamo?"
"You don't think that I try to come on time? It's not my fault that my master won't let me go until he goes to bed." Lilliana soon noticed the new Reaper staring at her, almost as if she was somehow entranced by her appearance. "Who is this?"
"This is Katia Vendoa, a recruit from America. She will be working with us until her special assignment is complete," William said, but Katia quickly ran up to Lilliana.
"N-N-Nice to meet you," she said in a very nervous tone as she held out her hand.
Lilliana shook it as she said, "Nice to meet you too. My name is Lilliana Kiliamo." Katia couldn't help herself from smiling like a teenager who had a major crush.
"Since she'll need to familiarize herself with the huge city of London, I'm assigning her to work with Grell Sutcliff for a week," Will said.
Grell looked at him curiously as he said, "Why me? I don't have time to be babysitting some little American girl!"
"This is part of your post-rehabilitation duty. If she starts to act up, the Head Reapers and I will have no choice, but to send you back. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, honey, but I can't see myself stooping so low as to play tour guide to a tourist!"
In a frustrated tone, Will said, "You will do this or we will further demote you, do you understand that?"
"Fine," Grell said with an annoyed, exaggerated sigh.
"That's sweet and all," Katia started to say. "But would it be fine if I worked with the only other female Reaper in the room?"
"Excuse me," Grell asked in an insulted tone. "How fucking dare you! Are you blind or just stupid?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know," she said very apologetically, but Lilliana couldn't help, but laugh. This was all too hilarious for her.
"What the hell are you laughing at," Grell yelled with anger in his voice.
"Sorry, but this is too funny," she said in between laughs.
"Shut up, you two," Will said as he quieted the scene. "Like I said, Katia will work with Grell for at least a couple of days so she can familiarize herself with the city. After that, she can work with any person she chooses. Understood?"
"William, you are a sexy man, but you can get on my nerves sometimes," Grell said. "I'll do this if you'll go on a date with me."
"Don't be absurd! Do you want to be sent back to rehabilitation?"
"No, no, it's fine. I'll do it," he said with defeat. Katia looked in disappointment since she wasn't able to work with such an interesting woman.
As the duo traveled around the city, Grell showed Katia the secrets of London, good and bad, but she couldn't keep focus. Her mind was preoccupied and she kept staring at the sky. "Are you even listening to me?"
She blinked her eyes as she quickly replied, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
Grell sighed in agony as he said, "This is why I hate Americans. For a foreigner, you just want to be lost, don't you?"
"Sorry, but it's just I have a lot on my mind right now."
"What could you possibly be thinking about that's got you all ditzy like this?"
"Well, I found your coworker quite attractive."
"William? Oh, I know and I just can't wait for the day that he will finally see me as the woman he secretly wants and just take me," he said in a daydreaming tone. "But he's mine!"
"Oh, no, not him. I mean Ms. Kiliamo."
"Lilliana?! Why? How can you find anything attractive about her," Grell asked in total shock.
"I don't know, but she looked rather beautiful and I like a girl who can defy authority. That shows confidence to me and I love it," she said with a romantic tone.
"Well, I suggest you stay away from her," Grell warned.
"Why?"
"No one told you? She is a Rogue Reaper."
"I know plenty about Rogue demons, but not Rogue Reapers. I thought they only existed in myths. She's an actual Rogue Reaper?"
"Yes. Her brother is a demon, and a sexy one at that, and he taught her how to be a demon before we 'saved' her, but if you ask me, she should have stayed with her brother. She has no business here and I believe all the time they spent on her was a waste."
"Oh, a dangerous woman; it makes me attracted to her even more," she said with a squeal.
"I can't understand people like you. Danger does not equal attractiveness," Grell said, ironically ignoring the fact that two men he's in love with are demons. "For your own safety, stay away from her! She could kill you if you make her angry or maybe find a way to devour your soul."
"Well, I won't make her angry, plain and simple."