Ciel sighed as he exited the carriage. It was a particularly boring day so far. Children began to run past him, laughing and screaming in joy. He immediately cringed. 'What noisy little things.' The thought passed through his mind as they all yelled in unison over a bug of some sort. Nevertheless, he continued his way down the cobblestone streets. Looking up to the sky he stared at finches flying from tree branch to tree branch. It was a Tuesday by his calculations. His previous week had passed so quickly he could barely remember what happened on which day. It was all a blur of blood, paperwork, and alleyways. Of course, that was nothing out of the usual for the Phantomhive household. He had not heard from the Queen this month so far, and it was making him antsy. He supposed that was a good thing, nothing seemed to be bothering her or the country currently. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Ciel reassured himself that it was okay. He was just stressed over not having a constant flow of work at the moment, that had to be it.
A butterfly landed on his left shoulder as he walked. He paid it no attention other than a glance and a thought. The flowers overflowing from the white fences were in full bloom, spring was to come to an end soon, and he wanted to see the flowers before they died and summer ones took their place. Continuing his way down the street, he observed the locals. It was morning and the elderly were walking around the town. The children from before wandered in and out of his view now and then. Ciel allowed his mind to wander, eventually it ended up focusing on the people within his life.
Tanaka had been the only one to truly know the Phantomhive's. Sebastian, of course, learned the history. That was not the same as being one though. Tanaka was the closest thing he had to a parental figure, especially after Madame Red died. Ciel and Sebastian both respected the older man, and often went to him for advice to this day.
Then there was Sebastian. The word many others would use to describe him would be… perfect. Ciel wouldn't argue that he was certainly the most capable servant in the manor, but Ciel saw him as arrogant and annoying for the most part. Sure, he had a 'perfect face', but Ciel was one of a small group over history that had seen Sebastian for what he truly was.
The trio Sebastian recruited were easily described as a headache. The only benefit they served were their skills in defending the manor. Finnian somehow constantly managed to kill every flower in the gardens, Mey-Rin broke anything by even glancing at it, and Baldroy's personal motto seemed to be 'find a way to cook everything in the most dangerous and explosive way possible'.
Ciel was thankful Sebastian somehow managed to correct the mistakes form the other servants. Of course, Sebastian never slept, or else the manor would most likely be in shambles. He would never admit to Sebastian that he admired his work ethic though. Not that he cared about Sebastian, but he felt a sense of relief when he walked in on Sebastian sleeping last week. The logic side of himself thought of how agonizing it would be for himself not to sleep for months on end. Of course, he knew Sebastian could physically handle much more than the average human.
Ciel's thoughts faded into quiet as he reached the end of the street he was following. Turning to his left, he followed the cobblestone street into a busier section of the shopping district. A quick motion of pink caught his attention. It turned into a shop, from which a scream of joy erupted. Elizabeth and Aeria must have business there, as the scream was certainly his fiancée's. Shrugging, he carried on his leisurely way. Elizabeth would have enjoyed an encounter with him, but her screaming would have only disturbed his peace and caused a headache.
He continued his aimless wandering until he came across a bench in a less busy part of the main park. As he sat down, he observed the area around him. A family passed him moments later. There were four children of varying ages from toddler to teenager. The parents looked close to middle ages, their hair was beginning to grey and creases were forming on their faces. A sudden unexplainable pang went through his chest as two thoughts formed.
The first was of his parents. If they were still alive… would he be a part of a family like the one before him? Would he have had younger siblings he would look after? A sudden wave of manifested protectiveness washed through his body. It calmed as he thought of his parents. His eyes stung as he continued to think, he would be fine with any family formation if it just meant that his parents were alive.
The second thought overtook him as that initial pang returned… would he himself ever be able to have a family like that? He imagined himself in the future, arm-and-arm with Lizzie as they walked through the park with three children of similarly varied ages. His black hair stained with occasional streaks of grey, Lizzie would not be so apparent with her being blonde and all. It was just them, just a happy family. A sudden shadow overtook his thoughts as a pang resonated from behind his eye patch. Ciel narrowed his eyes in anger as a 'tsking' voice softly surrounded his conscious, followed by a voice.
"Don't go soft on me now, young master."
His voice was harsh and mocking. Ciel growled and shook off the comment. Emptying his mind, he focused his attention back onto the flowers. Sebastian certainly derailed some of Ciel's future plans. Well, not at the time of making the contract. The only thing driving his mind at the time was torture ad a desperation to escape. Thoughts of a family were not on the list of his priorities at the time. But he had to admit, the older he grew, the more surprising thoughts entered his mind. He would never admit it aloud, but he found himself caring about Elizabeth more each year. He could see their wedding and actually feel emotions other than indifference. He had to make sure he did not dwell on those emotions for long though, his fate was already sealed. All he could hope for was that Elizabeth would be able to move on. Shaking his head yet again, he stood up and decided his day out had some mostly to an end. He headed to the shops and bought some items with Finnian before heading back to the manor.
The manor was still. The day had been strangely silent. A gloom overcame the mansion as the dreary rain fell. Sebastian was absorbed in his thoughts as he stared out the window. Ciel sighed as he pulled his eyes from his book. He was getting nowhere; his current level of progress was far more than infuriating.
"There's been nothing for weeks!"
Ciel yelled as he threw a book to the ground. Sebastian glanced over at the infuriated noble.
"Do not stress yourself so much."
Ciel's eyes narrowed at his servant's reply.
"I will do whatever I please!"
"Doing whatever you please will not help you in life when patience is the only answer."
"The answers I seek are the only answers I deserve!"
Ciel threw himself back into his study chair, eyes glaring daggers into his suspiciously silent servant. This has been the first time he spoke this morning other than serving Ciel breakfast before his departure to Aynor in mid-morning. It was early evening currently, the sun would begin to set in just a few hours.
"Speak your thoughts. What are your plans on finally finishing this matter?"
Ciel demanded answers from Sebastian, he was tired of the demon just sitting there and planning what to do. Usually he was more of a man of action. This is one of the only times he had simply sat so restlessly while on a case.
"These are not simply humans. This is not a case we can easily carry out. Who knows what could happen should we anger them. If they somehow figure out my true nature think of what supernatural wars could be started. All of humanity could suffer from our actions, and that would greatly upset your precious queen."
Ciel growled loudly as Sebastian explained his thoughts. He was treating Ciel like a child, and he would not stand for that.
"I am not a simple child! You know what I have been through, I have been through more than men four times my age might experience within a lifetime, perhaps even more!"
Sebastian's attention focused solely on the boy before him.
"You know I treat you more of a man than anyone. But this is different. These are issues of my kind that you have no knowledge of or experience with. So, to me, yes you are a child with these matters. If anything, this is more my case than it is yours. Yes, your Lady is involved, but the importance lies with the fact that a supernatural species is within your presence. I will not rest until I figure out who and what they are, and what threat they can be to you. You are my master; we are bound by contract. Any threat is a threat to me, no matter how small. You must be forgetting how protective demons are of things that are theirs. I will not allow a single threat to look at you, much less develop an idea that they can steal my long-awaited meal from right out under my nose. And if they happen to not be a threat, then there should be no issue other than boundary reinforcements. Even if they are peaceful and have no interest, I will keep them at a distance. Who knows what can develop in their minds."
Ciel was glad that something finally left the demon's mouth other than simple sentences or words of acknowledgement. He was glad that Sebastian was at least forming a plan inside his mind. All he wanted to do was figure out a plan to carry out. They had been sitting still for a month or so now, Ciel wanted to immerse himself in the case as he did during the gala that was thrown earlier. He needed more concrete information. All he wanted was to finally put the case to rest. It was bothering him to no end, he tried to identify why he was so uncomfortable with them, and he narrowed it down that he did not want anything slightly supernatural interfering with Elizabeth. He did not want her to seal her life away to soul-sucking creatures that would not allow her a happy future. He wanted her to life her life carefree and happy. There was no reason for her to ever carry a burden as strong as Ciel did.
"Master! A letter!"
Mey-Rin's voice echoed through the halls as she ran to his study, successfully delivering a pile of letters to the desk without losing her balance for once. Ciel was slightly impressed, not that it should be a feat he should be impressed with. Sometimes he really wanted to hire more capable servants, but he found a slight attachment to the current help of the household, and he was sure no one else could protect it as well as they could. Sebastian picked them after all, so that must account for something at least.
"Thank you, Mey-Rin."
She saluted and exited the study, Finnian's voice came from nearby. There was laughter, the sound of something crashing, and then they left. Ciel sighed as he sorted through the pile, there must have been a letter of interest if Mey-Rin called to him as such. Sure enough, there was a cream envelope with a royal seal. Ciel sighed in relief as he reached for a letter opener, he had not received any correspondence for some time now. It was good to finally have a case. He read through the letter and handed it to Sebastian.
"Breaking and entering of the nearby nobles. Two homicides of servants once they intervened with the culprit. Most likely not working alone. Armed and dangerous. Killed by disembowelment. Well, it seems this serves as a case and a warning for us. I am glad she cares for our well-being."
Ciel scoffed at Sebastian's slightly sarcastic tone.
"Of course she cares, we are her number one crime stoppers after all."
Sebastian tapped the letter.
"The Midford's are close behind, my lord. They were notified of this as well."
Ciel nodded and clasped his hands together. He did not like that the Midford's were involved in such a case, rarely did they work together. Ciel would make sure the mess would be taken care of before they even put their foot through the door. The Midford's usually dealt with lighter cases and the social side of the Queen's interests. He hoped she would not make it a habit of including them in future cases. With that he immediately began to brainstorm ideas of capturing the culprits with Sebastian, without the involvement of the other House.