Chapter 11

The manor was gigantic, Anastasia knew that just from walking around. But she had underestimated just how big it was. It would be easy just to get lost on one of the floors. But even knowing this, Anastasia wanted to explore and get to know the place she would now be living. Her room was nice and all- especially now that she had all of her books- but she wanted to see the other rooms. Besides, she had always wanted to live in a mansion. Now was her chance to finally see one!

Walking over to her door, Anastasia hesitated. What if I get lost? At the last moment, she grabbed a spool of thread she had out when she was repairing a skirt that had a rip in it. Tying the scarlet thread to her doorknob, Anastasia took the spool in her hand and let it out behind her as she walked. A slight grin lit her lips at her new found freedom.

Pausing where the hallway split off, Anastasia's brow wrinkled as she contemplated which way to go. Eventually, she decided left- it looked more interesting. Cautiously, she walked slowly, allowing the thread to unwind behind her. The first two doors she came upon were locked. She scowled at the fact.

"Fine," she grumbled, moving on to the next door. This one was open. Cautiously, she opened the door to reveal a surprisingly clean room. Sebastian must clean in here… she thought. Walking in, she threw the curtains open so she could see better. The room must have been a guest bedroom, because there was a medium-sized bed in the center and a large wardrobe. Walking over to the wardrobe, she opened it and was disappointed to find it empty.

Seeing there was nothing of interest in that room, Anastasia moved onto the next one. She didn't find anything of value in the next three rooms. Going into the next one, her gaze alighted on a small chest at the end of the bed. Setting her thread on the floor next to her, Anastasia went through the chest. In it, she found a pretty lace handkerchief. It was almost perfect, save for a tiny brown stain on it. She also found a very old copy of the bible. Anastasia snorted when she saw it. How ironic. She placed it to the side, continuing to dig in the chest.

By the end, she had a small pile of treasures. These included a (probably lead) painted toy top, a paper fan that Anastasia feared would disintegrate in her hands, and a gold stub that belonged to a circus ticket.

"Cool," Anastasia whispered to herself in a hushed tone. She didn't know why she was being so quiet- but it was so silent in the room, that it felt wrong to make noise. Quietly putting everything back they way she had found it, Anastasia picked up her thread and exited the room. Trying the next door, she scowled when it was locked. Damn, she thought and then tried the next door. Open! Anastasia went in and noticed an immediate difference from all the other rooms. For one, this one was much more spacious and had a lot more furniture. But what captured her attention was a portrait on the wall.

Anastasia moved into the room, the floorboards remaining not creaking- even under her weight. She moved silently to look curiously at the painting. It was an old painting, that much she knew immediately. It was beautifully painted, portraying a woman with red hair, sitting next to a raven-haired man. Anastasia's brow wrinkled, she recognized them from Ciel's memories, but there was still too much to sort through. She couldn't summon the knowledge of who they were. Tilting her head, Anastasia continued scrutinizing the painting.

The woman was holding a baby, wrapped in a blue blanket. Curiously, Anastasia trailed her fingers down the frame, pausing when she got to the inscription at the bottom. The Phantomhives, 1876. Anastasia's eyes widened as realization shot through her. … This is Ciel and his parents… It was strange to see him as an infant- innocent and unknowing. It was so far from what she'd learnt of him so far, that she almost refused to believe it. But from what little she could get from her stolen memories, she knew that Ciel had once been kind. Good. Innocent. But that changed when he turned ten and was taken by the cult.

Anastasia moaned as she held her head, grimacing. Purple spots danced in her vision as she unconsciously dug through Ciel's life. There was still so much to sort through. Usually, when she read someone's mind like that, she held onto the basics of their life for maybe a few hours- usually less. But with Ciel's mind, it was as if her mind refused to process it, or make it go away. Perhaps it was because he wasn't human, perhaps it was because he lived for so long that her mind couldn't deal with it. But either way, it was stuck in her head- unable to leave or be understood. It was driving her crazy, and it was affecting her sleep.

Blinking rapidly, Anastasia forced her head to clear as she rubbed her temples. Shaking her head, she left that room after grabbing her thread. She didn't want to be in there any longer, or find out what was in there.

The next few rooms she visited were empty- but on the forth, she found something she didn't expect. Anastasia's brow wrinkled as she opened the draw at the bottom of the wardrobe, only to find a crumpled pink dress. Gently pulling it out, Anastasia studied it as she held it up to the light.

It was a very pretty dress, decorated with black and white ribbons. Tilting her head, she looked at it confusedly. Why was this just shoved in the wardrobe? And not even hung up, why was it just crumpled in a drawer? Holding it up to her, Anastasia was disappointed to find that it was much too small. It looked like it had been meant for a thirteen year old girl. Shrugging, Anastasia carefully folded it and put it back. She was gentle with the silk fabric, not wanting to ruin it- even if the previous owner had obviously hated it.

Closing that door, Anastasia went on down the hallway. Her scarlet thread danced behind her as she walked onwards. Her skirt swished around her ankles. Pausing at the door at the end of the hallway, Anastasia cautiously opened it. Her eyes widened when she found a large ballroom. Setting her thread on a nearby table, Anastasia walked fully into the room.

"Wow…" She breathed. This is amazing! The room was huge; she felt dwarfed by its size. The walls were painted with gold and the cream curtains over the tall windows were thrown back. The light streamed into the room, making dust motes dance. It seemed that this room was the only room that wasn't cleaned regularly. Though, it was still cleaner than if it had gone without cleaning for two hundred years- but it was obvious that nobody went in here. As Anastasia gazed around the room, she wondered why.

Wandering around the giant room, Anastasia jumped when she bumped against a hard shape. It made a clanging sound, and Anastasia rushed to steady it. When she did, she noticed it was a phonograph. It came almost up to her chest, since it was sitting on a table. Her eyes slid over to the black record that was still in it. Her breath caught in her chest.

What are you doing? She thought as her fingers slid across the dusty, wooden surface. It probably won't even work. That didn't stop her wandering fingers. She had a vague idea as how to work it; her mother had had something similar. And even if it does, it's probably out of tune from disuse. But none of that made a difference as she started it. Anastasia jumped as the contraption made a horrible squeaking noise. She wilted in disappointment, sure it wouldn't work. As silence pervaded the huge room, Anastasia turned around to leave.

Just as she was about to step out the door, music began to play. It was scratchy at first, but the quality slowly got better. A smile spread across Anastasia's lips. Turning around, she walked to the middle of the room. Sure, she didn't have the right sort of shoes for this, but who cared? She could still dance if she wanted to, no matter the sort of footwear. Placing her feet into fifth position, she began to dance.

Chassé, chassé, pirouette. Pas de Bourrée, sissonne, sissonne, turn. As she leaped and spun, she could feel her mother's lessons coming back to her. Pirouette. One. Two. Three. She stumbled on the landing, but recovered nicely. It had been a while since she had danced. Her mother- being both French and Russian- had plenty love for ballet, and she had taught her only daughter all that she knew.

Anastasia halted in her movements as the music ran out, finishing in a second arabesque with her head to the side. She jumped as she heard the sound of clapping behind her. Abruptly jumping out of position, she whirled around with frightened eyes to face whoever was at the door. It was Ciel. She looked bemusedly at him, too confused to be angry.

"Why are you here?" She demanded. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"It is my manor," he said dryly. Anastasia glared at him.

"You know what I meant," she snapped. Ciel looked at her amusedly, pulling out her scarlet thread from his pocket. It was would all wound up- meaning that her trail leading her back to her room was gone. She scowled at the fact. Now I can't get back to my room without him. Knowing Ciel, that's probably what he wanted.

"You know," he commented, twirling around the spool in his hand, "You should really learn your way around the manor so you don't have to rely on this." Anastasia scowled at him. She stalked over to him and attempted to snatch the thread out of his hands, but he merely held it above her head. She glared at him- not noticing their close proximity.

"Ah, ah, ah," Ciel taunted with a wide grin. Anastasia's eyes went dangerously bright. She growled at him, but refused to resort to jumping. Ciel's grin widened as he chuckled.

"Anyway," Ciel continued, pocketing the spool of scarlet thread. He pushed Anastasia so she was no longer bumping up against his chest. "I didn't know you could dance," he said conversationally. Anastasia's glare softened as she sighed.

"That's probably because every time you talk to me, it's to threaten me," she snapped. Ciel arched an eyebrow and nodded, as if she had a point.

"Touché," Ciel replied with a slight smirk. He took a step closer to her. "Did your mother teach you?" A note of curiosity entered his tone. Anastasia stiffened at his words.

"What makes you say that?" She questioned guardedly. Ciel smirked, already having his answer by her body language.

"It seems like something that someone who's both French and Russian would both know and love," he answered conversationally. Anastasia's posture relaxed as she let her guard slip a little.

"It was," she answered. Ciel's smirk told her that he already knew. They sat in silence for several minutes as Anastasia went over to the phonograph and fiddled with it.

"Do you dance?" She asked after a moment. Ciel looked shocked by her question, but he recovered momentarily.

"Why?" He asked with a smirk, "Are you offering?" Anastasia snorted ungracefully.

"Not in any sense of the word," she retorted. Ciel chuckled at her response.

"Follow me," he ordered with a toss of his head. He started heading out the door. Anastasia hesitated at first, not wanting to follow the demon who brought her here- but ultimately decided to follow him because he had her thread. There was no way she could remember the way back. Huffing, she jogged to catch up- making up for the difference in stride length. His legs were much longer than hers, even when she was wearing heels- which she wasn't at the moment.

"Wait!" Anastasia called after him. Ciel turned his head to her, arching an eyebrow. "Where are we going?" She questioned as she caught up to him.

"You'll find out," Ciel answered cryptically as he continued walking. Anastasia looked at him suspiciously. …He's not going to take me to a dungeon, right? Ciel chuckled when she voiced her question.

"No," he reassured laughingly, "I'm not taking you to a dungeon. Why do you even think I have one?" Anastasia's eyes widened in earnest.

"It's a reasonable concern!" Anastasia protested. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if you did!" Ciel laughed, a real laugh. That's the first time I've actually heard him laugh. She relaxed slightly, but continued watching Ciel suspiciously. She continued following him until he abruptly halted at a large wooden door. Stepping to the side, Ciel gestured at her to open it. Anastasia scrutinized him suspiciously, wary of what could be behind the solid, oak panels. Eventually, though, her curiosity got the better of her. Slowly touching the smooth, carved wood of the door, she opened it to find a magnificent sight inside. It was a library. But not just any library. The closest approximation she could think of was the library from 'Beauty and the Beast'. It was gorgeous.

Stepping inside in wonder, her hand left the door as she gazed around the high ceilings. Ciel followed in after her, gazing at her. Not noticing him, Anastasia whirled around, trying to see all the books. Shelves went up tall walls, and huge windows let in golden rays of light. It was beautiful, yet cozy- with armchairs and tables tucked away in small niches. It was wonderful.

"You…" Anastasia began, unable to form a coherent sentence, "You have a library," she managed to get out. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"Yes," he answered dryly, "I thought that would be a bit obvious." Anastasia let out a dry laugh.

"This is amazing," she breathed, shaking her head in wonder. Ciel's lips quirked up into a slight smile at the sight of the girl in front of him. Caught up in the wonders of the library, Anastasia didn't notice. Eventually, she forced her gaze away and looked at Ciel.

"Why did you bring me here?" She questioned curiously. It hardly seemed in character for the navy-haired demon. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"Do I have to have a reason for everything?" He asked. Anastasia gave him a look.

"Yes," she answered bluntly. Ciel chuckled.

"I just thought you'd appreciate it since you love books so much," he answered after he finished laughing. Anastasia tilted her head back, looking at him suspiciously.

"… Really…?" Anastasia asked slowly, not believing him. Ciel looked directly at her, keeping eye contact. Taking a few, slow steps towards her, he answered her honestly. Well, as honestly as a demon could, anyway.

"Yes. Nothing more, nothing less." Anastasia's gaze softened as she relaxed.

"Well then," she cleared her throat, "I think you should show me around." She smiled at him as she took his arm. She may not have liked the demon much, but he did seem to at least care a little. Besides, he took her to an enormous library- that was more than enough for now. Ciel recoiled at the gesture- shocked, but she didn't seem to notice. After a moment, though- he relaxed at the gesture and started to show her around. Through the next several hours, both Anastasia and Ciel read through many books- though the former collected many more.

By evening, they were sitting in chairs opposite each other, relaxed in one another's company. Glancing up from her book, Anastasia's gaze settled on the demon sitting in a cozy armchair with a cup of hot chocolate, looking more relaxed than she'd even seen him. Her gaze softened as she gazed upon him, and she thought- if only for a second- that just maybe… maybe demons weren't completely bad. But it wasn't as if she would ever admit it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, I updated within a reasonable amount of time! Hurray! Hope you liked the chapter.

Reviews:

S-Lioness: Claude does want her for a similar reason as Ciel, but he also wants something else… (Have to wait in see, my apologies!) I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I get that feeling too- I think she and Sebastian will get along fantastically. Well, maybe not in the beginning.

Scorpia1029:I'm glad you liked the chapter- and how she cussed him out! (I enjoyed writing it) Sebastian is enjoying this, isn't he?

Esmereilda: At least that, better than she probably expected.

Tye-Dye Girl: Lol, I loved writing that part- and apparently you guys liked reading it! I just thought it was funny for Anastasia to have no filter in the mornings. I'm glad you liked the chapter- hope this one fulfills your expectations!

Please R&R