The morning air covered the Phantomhive mansion in an eery white mist, making the mansion disappear into thin air. Stars slowly flickered out of sight as the day was dawning. The rose bushes in the Phantomhive garden sparkled with the morning dew.
Ciel and Sebastian were waiting at window of the Main Hall. The earl had curtains pulled back, looking for the black carriage that always brought the raven-haired girl there in the morning. So far none had come, but that didn't matter to him. He didn't want to go in the first place.
Just as Ciel was about to close the curtain, the faint sound of horses trotting came from outside. He looked out again, and there it was - the black carriage. The butler and earl walked over to the front doors - Sebastian opening them - and stepped outside. Fae and Edmund exited the carriage first, but… Claire never came out. Confusion swept over the two of them.
"Where's Lady Claire?" Sebastian asked.
Fae perked up. "She had a lot of work to do, Mr. Sebastian, so she couldn't come. We'll be escorting you to the Benoit Mansion."
Ciel made a 'tch' sound. "How rude of her." Fae shot him a glare and clenched a fist as if to control herself, while Edmund replied with a dark undertone, "The Young Mistress happens to be a very busy individual when she's not at the Phantomhive mansion. It would be kinder not to insult her in such a matter, Lord Phantomhive. You only add to her burden."
The earl and footman stared at each other for a moment, a silent tension between them. That is - until Sebastian intervened, "We should be going. How far away is the manor?"
"About two hours time." Fae replied.
"Well, then, Young Master-" Sebastian motioned to the already open door to the carriage.
Ciel frowned, but entered the carriage anyway. The butler clad in black, Fae, and finally Edmund stepped in after them. And thus, the carriage set off.
Nobody spoke for a while. Fae started fiddling with her hands - a nervous habit perhaps - while Ciel and Edmund looked out the window. Sebastian sat there, not really doing anything, until he spoke up, "I never did get to ask you two - What did you do before you worked for The Benoits?" Fae and Edmund both turned their unnerving electric-blue eyes on him.
Fae began, "We were abandoned by our parents when we were little, so we didn't have long-lasting jobs. They were mainly small things - sweeping the streets, loading cargo onto ships."
Then Edmund cut in, "Mistress Maria, Claire's mother, found us when we were six years old. Since we were both around Claire's age, she let us be her servants. It was nice, having a real job for once. And with such a nice girl as Claire was when she was little."
Fae smiled softly, looking down at her hands. "She was so much happier before the accident…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Accident?" Sebastian asked, "What accident?"
"Only she can tell." Edmund said, then looked out the window again. "We're here."
The Phantomhive and his butler looked out the window to see… nothing? There was no mansion standing before them. Just a large forest, covered in darkness.
Ciel glanced over at Fae to see her pull out a lantern and some matches. The lady's maid lit the match and put it inside the lantern. Edmund opened the door and motion for Sebastian to exit. The butler so and Ciel came next. Once everyone had left the carriage, it drove off, leaving them in the middle of nowhere.
"What's the meaning of this? Is Claire playing some practical joke-"
"Hold on, Lord Phantomhive." Fae walked up to the edge of the forest and started looking around for something.
"What is she doing?" The earl asked Sebastian. He only shrugged in response.
"I found it!" She said, and pointed to something.
When Ciel, Sebastian, and Edmund walked over, they could see a small dirt path winding through the forest. It was so small you could only go one at a time.
"It will only take us a few minutes to actually get to the mansion. Master Benoit happens to have a flare for mysterious paths and traps, so don't stray away from us."
"Is he paranoid or something?" Ciel muttered under his breath.
"Yes, and no." Edmund said, as if he heard Ciel perfectly, "He isn't THAT paranoid, but being the manager of a weapons company, he fears spies will try to steal future weapon ideas. He also happens to be a very flamboyant person."
"Thank god, Claire obviously didn't inherit that trait."
"You just don't know her well enough yet."
Edmund started walking, leaving Ciel and Sebastian there. "You mean she did inherit that?!" Sebastian's lips twitched as he almost laughed. The earl sighed and followed after the twins, leaving Sebastian to be the last person in line.
The walk to the mansion seemed to take forever in the darkness. The trees were so thick they blocked out the morning sun. Only with the light of Fae's lantern could they see where they were going. Not to mention, every once in a while, a bird would screeched and flap through the trees.
When Ciel actually looked up into the trees, he saw more than just a few birds. There were thousands in the trees, all watching them as they passed by. Species of all kinds were perched silently on the branches, occasionally flying to another one.
"Why are there so many birds?" Sebastian asked as he walked.
"The crest of the Benoit family has a bird on it, so we honour them by giving them a place to stay in the trees. They seem to like it there." Edmund answered.
"Lady Claire personally puts out birdseed for them in the morning, so they like her very much." Fae added, smiling as a bird swooped near them. "She likes to name them too. The one that just flew over us is Serenity. She's a Eurasian Magpie."
Fae continued to point out certain birds to Sebastian and Ciel, such as Victoria the skylark, Coal the crow, and Snowy the barn owl. These birds apparently had been around since Claire, Fae and Edmund were little, so some actually flew up to the twins and chirped or squawked happily. Snowy sat on Edmund's head, much to his annoyance, but the bird seemed very pleased with himself.
"It is just me or is that bird actually smiling…" Ciel whispered to Sebastian. Fae snickered quietly.
"Ah ha! We're here!" Fae announced to the group, and stopped abruptly. Edmund bumped into her, making Snowy squawk and fly off. Ciel and Sebastian leaned so they could see the Benoit mansion for themselves.
The place was incredible! The mansion spread out from one edge to the other of the forest, and the bricks were dark gray, and the slated roof green. There was a large courtyard, decorated with gardens of roses and cherry blossom trees and a small pond off to the side with ducks swimming in it. One of the trees near the pond had a swing on it Every room was lit with a candle, so all the windows were bright with light.
Fae and Edmund walked so they were standing on either side of the picturesque scene, and they bowed while smiling.
"Welcome to the Benoit Mansion."