A/N: I hope I didn't butcher the little bit of Italian I have in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I only own Faye.
Phantomhive Manor
Faye still felt frazzled as she stepped into the manor. She still didn't believe William. She believed that he had cast the spell on Sebastian (and she was not happy he had cast a spell involving her without saying a word to her), but she refused to believe a demon was truly capable of caring for a human beyond wanting to consume their soul.
"Faye!" Ciel called, making her jump.
"Yes, Ciel?" Faye asked as Ciel and Sebastian came down the stairs.
"We have a letter from the Queen. The Ferro family is an Italian mafia group that deal in drugs. We've dealt with them before, but her Majesty feels they've gotten out of control again. She wants us to remind them who is in charge here in England. Would you like to come with us?"
"Yes, of course. Are we leaving now?" Faye hoped Ciel couldn't see how upset she was. She'd have to pull herself together quickly.
"I'd like to, yes. Do you need time to get ready?"
"No, now is fine." Ciel swept past her and out the front door, but Sebastian grabbed Faye's arm before she could follow.
He took a deep inhale before tilting his head to the side. "You smell of reapers. Now, why would that be?"
"Perhaps because I was at The Grim Reaper Dispatch Society earlier today," Faye said, trying to extract her arm from Sebastian's grip. "I worked there for three years and have many ties with the grim reapers. Is that a problem?"
Sebastian frowned before loosening his grip. "There have been times when the reapers' goals and your brothers' goals have conflicted. So long as you choose the right side if such a situation arises again, there should be no problem."
See, wasn't that proof right there? If the demon had feelings for Faye surely he wouldn't get upset at her visiting her old companions. Unless he was upset because demons and reapers are enemies and that was why he didn't want her around them. Faye resisted the urge to shake her head to dislodge those thoughts. This was ridiculous. Now that William had told her about the spell she was beginning to see things that weren't there.
When Faye got to the carriage Ciel was impatiently waiting inside.
"What took you two so long? I thought you were right behind me."
"It's my fault, young master," Sebastian confessed as the carriage began to move. "I was inquiring where the young lady has been this morning. She missed her morning political lesson, after all."
"I had some personal business to take care of," Faye said, glaring at Sebastian. Was he trying to get her into trouble with Ciel?
"What personal business?" Ciel asked with a frown.
"I went to visit William at the Reaper Society, that's all. In the years we worked together he's become a dear acquaintance."
Sebastian's eye twitched before he asked, "My you wouldn't be overly attached to Mr. Spears, would you Lady Faye? It'd be terribly inappropriate for you to fall for a grim reaper."
Faye bit her tongue to stop her retort. She didn't know why the demon wanted to bait her, but she wouldn't fall for it. Instead she turned to Ciel and asked, "What exactly is it that we're doing right now?"
"The eldest son of the current head of the Ferro family is in London right now," Ciel explained. "He has agreed to meet with us under the guise of forming a mutually beneficial relationship."
"As in he gives the Phantomhives information on the criminal underground and we let some of the Ferro family's activities slide? I thought we were going to warn them off."
"We are. The Ferro family decreasing the drug trade in London is good for us, and them not getting on our bad side is good for them. See? A mutually beneficial relationship."
"I see," Faye said with a smile, wondering how the three of them were going to warn off a mafia family. She was sure Ciel had a plan; he never would have set the meeting up otherwise. Since he appeared less than forthcoming with what that plan was, she would just have to wait until the meeting to find out.
When they arrived at the mansion there was a row of men on either side of the stairs leading to the front door, all of whom were probably armed. Faye wondered why so many. Either Ferro liked ostentatious shows of his power, or he was afraid of Ciel. Faye should have asked what Ciel's dealings with the Ferro family in the past had been like.
The trio were led upstairs to an elaborate drawing room where a handsome man with plenty of bodyguards sat in a plush armchair. The man's eyes widened when he saw Faye. "Earl Phantomhive, why have you brought such una signora bella to a meeting like this for?" He grabbed Faye's hand and lightly kissed it, his eyes never leaving hers. Did woman really fall for things like this? Faye wondered if she should act impressed or if her default stoic look that she had adopted from spending so much time with William sufficed well enough.
"This is my sister, Faye Phantomhive," Ciel explained. "She has been gone for three years, but now that she's back it's time for her to be involved in the Phantomhive's family matters."
"Women shouldn't be brought to meetings such as this," Ferro said disapprovingly. "It would be such a shame if she were to get hurt." Was that a threat to her or to Ciel? Faye couldn't tell, but she was sure that a subtle threat had been intended.
"Let's just get down to why we're here, shall we?" Ciel asked coldly.
"You're so quick to get down to business, Earl Phantomhive," Ferro complained. "This is our first meeting." Ferro's friendly tone became harsher. "All I know of you is that you killed Azzuro Vanel along with over two dozen of my men."
"Vanel overstepped his bounds, something you'd be wise to not do."
"Oh really?" Ferro asked coldly. "And where exactly do these boundaries of yours lie?"
"Three cities," Ciel stated. "Currently your drug trafficking operates out of London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, and Bradford, with a current attempt to establish yourself in Bristol." Ferro's eyes widened at Ciel's knowledge. "You will shut down your operations in London, Liverpool, and Manchester, and cease your efforts in Bristol."
"And if I don't?" Ferro asked tightly, giving a strained, but feral smile.
"Then I'll have Scotland Yard investigate and break up all your operations," Ciel explained calmly.
"You expect me to believe you know where I'm operating from in all those cities?" Ferro asked incredulously.
"Would you like me to list all the address for you?" Ciel asked with a dark smile.
Faye tensed, sure a fight would break out soon. She doubted Ferro was going to back down. Being told off by an agent of the Queen would be bad enough, being told off by one less than half your age probably seemed ridiculous.
"I'm afraid, Earl Phantomhive, that an agreement between the two of us is impossible. I don't know how you beat so many of my men before, but you were foolish to come here with only three of you, and it's such a pity that one of them is your sister." He turned to look at the men surrounding his chair. "Ready?"
Ferro's bodyguards began reaching into their jacket pockets. Reacting much faster than them, Faye reached up her sleeves for the knives on her forearms and threw them at the right arms of the two men closest to Ciel and her. Faye wrapped her arm around Ciel and brought him with her as she tumbled over the back of the couch. The demon butler could undoubtedly handle the rest of the men.
The siblings made for the door, but when they reached the hall encountered more men. Faye shoved Ciel behind her and grabbed two of her thigh knives, chucking them at the men's gun hands.
"How many knives are you carrying?" Ciel demanded as the men yelled in pain. Before Faye could answer, Sebastian appeared. He picked Ciel up and jumped out the nearest window. Faye grabbed two more knives, nearly ripping her dress as she pulled them out angrily. She wanted Ciel safe and was happy that Sebastian had got him out of here, but she didn't appreciate being abandoned.
Faye vaulted down the stairs, thinking that if all the men lining the front door were still there she would need to find a back door. Faye heard a gun go off and dropped flat on the stairs. A man at the top of the stairs took aim at her again. He was too far away for Faye to hit with one of her knives. She prepared to dodge again, but the man fell over with a kitchen knife stabbed into the back of his neck before he could take another shot. Standing behind him was Sebastian with an elegant smile.
"Things appear to be getting rather rough in here, my Lady. Shall I escort you out?" Sebastian was next to Faye and scooping her up in his arms before she could blink. Another shot went off and Sebastian quickly turned, the bullet hitting his shoulder rather than Faye's.
Faye winced, though she knew the bullet couldn't really hurt Sebastian. That knowledge didn't change the fact that she didn't enjoy seeing people get hurt.
The men who had been lining the front stairs began piling in through the front door and Sebastian turned to run back up the stairs. "I'm terribly sorry, my Lady," Sebastian said as he put Faye back on her feet, "but I'm afraid there are a few small problems I must take care of before we can leave." He softly ran his hand down her hair before jumping down the stairs.
Faye felt her face turn red. What had that been? There was no reason for him to touch her hair, and the touch had felt…affectionate. As had the smile that went along with the touch. Faye fumed as she heard sounds of battle going on downstairs. When the sounds died down Faye walked to the top of the stairs and looked down to see the floor covered in still bodies.
"Shall we take our leave then?" Sebastian called up the stairs.
Faye carefully walked down to Sebastian, making sure to avoid stepping on any bodies or in any pools of blood. When Faye came even with Sebastian she stood up as tall as she could and looked him in the eye.
"I know about the spell," she declared. "The one that William cast on you in the hopes that it would allow the Reaper Society to control you, but I don't believe in it."
"You don't believe in it?" Sebastian asked, confused.
"I don't believe that the spell worked," Faye clarified. "I don't think demons are capable of tender emotions and of caring for a being other than themselves. There's no need for you to act as though the spell did anything in order to fool the Reaper Society since I no longer work for them, and I certainly wasn't planning on attempting to use the spell against you since I wasn't aware of its existence until this morning." Faye paused awkwardly before stating, "I just wanted to make that clear."
Sebastian watched Faye march out of the mansion with a bemused expression on his face. He had wondered what Faye's reaction would be if she learned of the spell, but he had not imagined it to be denial. Did she truly believe the spell hadn't worked, or did she simply wish to believe that?
On the drive home Sebastian began to be irritated, and his irritation continued to grow as his thought chased themselves around in circles. Originally, he would have been thrilled for this to be Faye's reaction. With her uninterested in using the attraction spell to control his behavior, he wouldn't have a problem. But now he was just offended. How dare she refuse to acknowledge his feelings?
Admittedly, he hadn't done much to express his feelings, but he was still figuring out what those feelings were and what he should do about them. He was enjoying the unfamiliarity of it all, but he knew he would have to be subtle about his feelings. Faye had a more than obvious distaste for demons, but he was sure he could charm his way around that. It wasn't as though he was a stranger to seducing human women, after all. He would make Faye acknowledged his feelings.