Chapter 11

The clopping of hooved feet against the cobblestone driveway sent chills down Ciel's spine. How did he ever expect to explain this to her? No doubt the moment she saw him she'd flee back into the carriage. No doubt she'd be afraid of him. And what about Sebastian? What would she make of a butler who was her age?

None of these questions he had the answers to as he heard a carriage door swing open and a high pitched squeal hit the air. The voice certainly hadn't changed.

Downstairs, Sebastian braced himself to open the door. He made sure he at least looked like himself so the young noblewoman wouldn't mistake him for Ciel, as he had taken on his height and smaller frame.

To no avail as the door flew open and a girl with blonde, curly hair wearing a soft pink dress dashed inside and virtually threw herself at him, knocking them both to the floor. She began hugging him and greeting him with squeals meant for Ciel.

It wasn't until Elizabeth actually looked at him that she realized she had tackled the wrong man.

"Please forgive me, sir." She pleaded, "I was just looking for Ciel." Her eyes narrowed at him, "I say… you look a lot like Sebastian, Ciel's butler. Oh my, you wouldn't happen to be his nephew; a relative of some kind?"

Sebastian stood, brushing himself off before offering Elizabeth his and lifting her from the floor.

"Please excuse me, Lady Elizabeth." He said, "But, as strange as it is, I am Sebastian."

"Don't be silly." Elizabeth laughed, "Sebastian is far older than you are. Or do you both share the same name?"

Sebastian shook his head, "You misunderstand, Lady. My name is Sebastian Michaelis: butler to Ciel Phantomhive."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, "Are… are you telling the truth?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Oh my! What happened to you?"

"We still don't know." Sebastian said shrugging.

"Is Ciel alright?"

"He's changed, as well. He's taller and much older-looking than myself, now."

Elizabeth's eyes stayed wide, absorbing everything Sebastian was telling her.

"Take me to him." she ordered.

Sebastian nodded and led her to Ciel's study, where the earl sat waiting and silently hoping Elizabeth would just stay downstairs and decorate the manor, or dress the servants in silly costumes; anything to keep her from seeing him.

Ciel's hopes were dashed as he heard the rhythmic clopping of Sebastian's dress shoes being followed by the clicking of Elizabeth's high-heels. Her footsteps were patient and clicked in time with Sebastian's steps; a real difference from the noise they made sprinting to find him.

Eventually, the footsteps stopped and there was a knock at the door.

Ciel took a calming breath in and sighed, "Come in."

Sebastian walked into the room, followed by Elizabeth. The young girl stopped next to the butler and looked Ciel over. She was clearly stunned by the earl's older appearance.

"C-Ciel?"

Ciel forced himself to smile and nodded, "It's nice to see you again, Lizzy."

The words relaxed Elizabeth slightly, but she still tried to adjust herself to Ciel's deeper voice.

"Sebastian told me what happened." She stated as she sat down in a chair, "It's all so strange."

"I know, Lizzy. We are working on getting answers. We planned on visiting Undertaker to see if he knows anything that might have caused this."

Elizabeth giggled, "Work, as usual, I suppose."

Ciel nodded as his gaze veered towards Sebastian, "Why don't you make us some tea."

Sebastian bowed and left, his mind playing over what had just happened in the past few minutes. Even Elizabeth was bigger than him now, and she was stronger too. Now he knew how Ciel felt being attacked by her on her regular—or not so regular—visits; bone-crushing strength and one hell of a headache caused by her screeching. But he could handle it. He was still a demon; a child-demon, but a demon, nonetheless.

The butler brewed a blend of Darjeeling's and Earl Grey tea as quickly and efficiently as he could. After about five minutes the tea was dark. Now it was just a matter of getting it to the second story to Ciel's study, all without spilling the tea and being able to push the tea cart that waited for him at the top step.

"The tea smells lovely." A voice suddenly commented.

Sebastian turned. Finny stood there, smiling happily. There were blades of grass in his hair and dirt smudges on his face.

"Thank you." Sebastian said.

"Would you like any help?"

"Are your hands clean?"

"Yes."

Sebastian nodded, "I need to get this tray of tea upstairs to the tea cart. I'm able to carry the sugar cubes and the pot individually. But I can't exactly carry it all at once. It's too heavy for me."

"I can carry the trey for you, sir!" Finny said happily.

"Without breaking anything?"

"Of course!"

Sebastian shrugged and watched as Finny took the metal tray into his hands and carried it upstairs to the tea cart, miraculously getting it there without dropping, spilling, or bending the trey in any way.

"Thank you for your help, Finny." Sebastian said, smiling.

"No problem, Mr. Sebastian! All you have to do is ask."

Ask.

The one thing Sebastian hated doing ever since this whole thing started; asking. He hated the fact he needed help with the slightest of things. But, for now, there was nothing he could do about it.

Finny ran off back outside while Sebastian was left to push the tea cart down the hallways that led to Ciel's study. The cart was heavy and the friction of the wheels against the carpets and rugs made it difficult to push. Originally, the friction wasn't a problem; hell, lifting Pluto the demon hound wasn't a problem. But now everything felt like it weighed two tons, and soon Sebastian's feet were sliding backwards in effort to move the cart forward.

Sebastian firmly braced himself against the cart and thrust himself forward. Surprisingly, it began to move in time with Sebastian's steps, but even he knew it wasn't just a new-found strength he had developed. He could easily feel the pair of gloved hands resting on the outsides of his helping him push the cart.

"It looked as though you needed a little help, Sebastian." An elderly voice told him.

"I did." Sebastian sighed, feeling utterly humiliated at the fact that it was old Tanaka who was helping him push the cart forward, "Thank you."

"Don't beat yourself up, Sebastian. It's something you simply cannot help."

"I wish I could, though. It would make my work so much easier."