And... here's another unoriginal idea~ (yes, I admit it. I got the idea from one of the Kuro eps.)
Also, you might realize that I changed the summary (I finally thought of something more interesting.. or not.. *shrugs*)
Anyway, Kuroshitsuji isn't mine. Thanks for the reviews and views! =D
PRAY FOR JAPAN PEEPS! THAT'S AN ORDER! (lol joking about the order part)
"What… in heaven's name is this..?"
Rune stared at the plate of burnt god-knows-what that was presented before her, gulping.
"That's Bard's special strawberry scones, Young Mistress!" the chef proudly replied. Rune continued staring at the black charcoal-like food in front of her. Normally, she would just pinch her nose and swallow everything whole. But after some unfortunate experiences, the girl decided that wasting just a little won't do much harm.
"Look, Bard… I know you spent a lot of effort to cook this but.." she hesitated. Luckily for her, Sebastian came in that moment and presented her with more edible looking goods.
"How many times have I told you?" he nagged the chef. "You do not use a flamethrower no matter what dish you're cooking. And you do not serve the Young Mistress things like these."
The mistress chuckled. It'd been already two weeks since the Phantomhive servants agreed to work in her mansion. She was already used to getting her garden destroyed, her kitchen blown up and getting most of her plates broken in one day – heck, if it wasn't for Sebastian and Ciel, her mansion would be blown to pieces by now.
Rune was just heading to her study to do some work after her breakfast when the sound of hastened footsteps sounded along the corridor.
"Young Mistreeeeeeesssssssssss!"
Rune turned, and to her surprise, she got tackled head-on by Maylene.
"Whoa, whoa! What's wrong?" the girl asked, struggling from the servant's grip.
"T-The cellar.. there's a… there's a..!" Maylene stammered.
"Calm down, Maylene. Tell me what's wrong."
The maid took a deep breath and tried to do as she said.
"I was going around cleaning the house," she started. "I was dusting the servants' rooms when I noticed there was a door just outside, near the kitchen. I thought I wanted to ask you about it later, but.." she paused and braced herself for her mistress's fury. But Rune's expression remained unchanged.
"Ahem..curiosity got the better of me and I..um.. decided to explore it," Maylene continued. "The doorknob was rusty, as if it hasn't been used in a long while. I turned it with a little difficulty and pushed the door open. I was expecting to see a room, but instead, it was a flight of stairs that leads further underground. Without thinking, I went down. Strangely, the temperature dropped as I descended. By the time I reached the end, it felt as if it was winter in that very place." She took another deep breath. "The stairs led to the cellar. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing.. then suddenly.." she shuddered. "I saw a figure."
"It might've just been some unused furniture of something.." Rune reasoned.
"No! It wasn't!" the maid sounded scared now. "It was a figure of a human… and it was glowing."
"Glowing?" the mistress raised an eyebrow. "As in 'giving out light' glowing?"
Maylene nodded. "Before I could turn and run, it told me one thing."
"What was it?"
"Get out of my home."
xXx
"And so, we are going to investigate this tonight." Rune gathered every one of her servants as she explained what she was going to do. Days had passed since Maylene's encounter with the apparition. Rune had left it alone, but strange activities began to happen in her mansion. Plates were taken out of the cupboard and were broken by themselves. Furniture moved. The servants all swore that they could hear banging sounds coming from the door that led to the cellar in the middle of the nights. Rune beared with the happenings at first, but it was the last straw when the documents she spent hours sorting were mysteriously thrown all over her study.
"You aren't planning on going down there alone are you, Young Mistress?" Finny asked shakily.
"No, but don't worry. I don't plan on dragging the three of you down there with me," Rune replied coolly. She then turned to her demon butlers. "But Ciel and Sebastian will be going with me. Is that alright?"
The demons lifted their right hands over their left chests and bowed stiffly before giving their reply.
"Yes, my lady."
Rune smiled. "Okay then. For now, let's have dinner. I'm starving."
Right after dinner, the mistress went to straight to the place her maid mentioned to carry out her plan.
"Are you sure this is a good idea..?" Maylene nervously asked. "I mean… it's a spirit you're dealing with.."
Rune gave her a confident smile. "I sold my soul to two demons, and I'm still not regretting it." she said. "How could I be afraid of a lowly ghost?"
She said it, but she couldn't help feeling a little afraid herself. Pushing the feeling away, she approached the door and turned the knob. As soon as the door opened, a blast of cold wind hit her. Rune waited until it calmed down before descending into the darkness.
The mistress carefully made her way down step by step for she carried no illumination. Every time a candle was lit, a breeze would extinguish it just as fast. As Maylene said; the temperature dropped with every step they took. Their breaths soon became steamy.
"…What are you going to do when you're confronting it down there?" Ciel asked suddenly from somewhere behind his mistress. The sudden sound after a long silence almost startled Rune out of her wits.
"…D-Don't k-know.." Her teeth were chattering from the coldness of the surrounding. "I'll p-probably j-just t-t-talk h-him o-or h-h-her o-out o-of i-i-t.."
"How do you know if it'll work?"
"I-I r-read a l-lot o-of b-books. I-It's a-always t-the b-b-best w-way.."
"Except those are all fiction." The young demon said matter-of-factly. "In case you haven't notice, this is a real-life situation."
Rune sighed. "..Lets j-just s-see what h-happens, okay?"
The girl was practically shivering by the time they reached the bottom. Even though her eyes should already be accustomed to the darkness, she couldn't see a thing. Rune squinted, but all in vain. Swallowing, she called out in her steadiest voice.
"Is there anyone here?"
Silence.
"If there is," Rune continued. "Answer me NOW!"
Silence still.
"There's no use trying to hide. I know you're here. My maid saw you."
The temperature suddenly dropped dramatically. A faint glow began to form in the middle of the room. Slowly, it took the shape of an old hunch-backed man. His forehead had layers of wrinkles and his head was almost bald. His eyes were glassy and lifeless.
"Leave my home." he said, anger echoing in his tone.
Mustering all her courage, Rune took a step forward.
"This is my home now, and it had always been."
"Leave now, girl. Or else you'll suffer."
"I won't. It is you who has to leave."
The spirit laughed darkly at this. "Me? Leave? If only that's possible!"
Rune tilted her head aside a little. "What do you mean?"
"Its non of your business."
"No.. I might be able to help.." the girl said, already forgetting about her initial reason to be there. "Tell me, why can't you leave?"
"Hmph.. its all you humans' fault!" he spat. "I died very suddenly in the 1750s and was buried here at this very spot. My family was poor, and they could not afford an actual burial so they just dumped my body into a hole that was dug in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't accept the fact that I was dead so I was unable to pass on. I thought there must be a mistake. But when I finally came to my senses, it was too late. You humans had already begun to build this mansion without knowing about my grave. And just like that, I'm forever trapped here."
The mistress was silent for a moment as she thought. Finally, she snapped her fingers and said;
"Let me light a candle."
The ghost was surprised by her odd request. "Why?"
"Just let me. I think I know a way to release you."
"You think? That doesn't seem convincing…" he mumbled but granted it anyway. He waved his hand and just like that, the darkness lifted from the cellar. Rune could see figures of racks and other old unused things. But it still wasn't enough. She spun around and faced her butlers.
"Sebastian, give me some light."
The demon nodded. "Understood."
Without even using a match, he lighted the candle he brought along earlier. A small flame flickered to life and Rune took the candle by its holder. She explored the whole cellar, despite the chilling glares she got from the ghost. Finally, she bent down and knocked on the wooden floor. She then did the same to some other places.
"This… is where you were buried, right?" the girl said as she knocked the part of the floor that sounded particularly hollow. The ghost nodded.
"I see…" Rune stood up. "Your remains should already be gone by now.."
"What does that mean?"
Rune did not answer. Instead, she searched everywhere for something.
"…I found it!" the girl exclaimed out loud as she held up a small piece of yellowish paper.
"What the hell is that supposed to be?" the spirit snorted.
"This… is the only memory of you left in this world.." Rune said as she walked over and showed him the item she held. It was a small photograph of an old man. He was smiling and his eyes had that sparkle in them, like he was the happiest man in the world at that time. And it was the photograph of the ghost.
"That's.." he mumbled, almost too stunned for words. "I thought they.."
"The reason you couldn't pass on… wasn't because you couldn't accept your death.." Rune said softly. "It was because you were angry. You thought your family buried you and completely forgot about you. You wanted to at least be a memory; to be remembered. But you didn't realize, there was a memory of you after all."
The ghost faltered before regaining his composure. "And what if its true?" he asked coldy. The mistress smiled.
"I'll help you. I'll help you pass on."
"How?"
"You'll see.." She then turned to climb up the stairs. The demons followed.
"..Where are you going?" the spirit asked.
"..To the backyard." Rune answered. "Meet me there."
So they reunited in the backyard. Rune was standing in the middle of an empty land with a spade in her hands. She ordered her butlers to find her a suitable sized stone before bending down and proceeding to dig a small hole. The demons did as she asked and came back with a moderately big stone. Rune gingerly placed the photograph into the hole she dug and covered it. She took the stone from her servants and laid it just above the buried photograph.
"..There.." she said. "I hope that's enough to satisfy you."
The spirit's form shimmered and he stared at his own fading hands.
"..What..?" he murmured in slight disbelief.
"I just gave you a proper burial, stupid!" Rune said with a grin.
"But… why?"
"I want your soul to rest properly and return from where it came from. I don't want you to be bound to earth." she said. "..and I don't really appreciate you messing with my home..."
Fortunately for the mistress, the spirit did not hear the last sentence. He stared at Rune and his expression softened.
"I guess.. I should thank you.." he said.
"You're welcome." Rune replied. "But before you leave.. may I know your name?"
The ghost blinked.
"…Its Peter.. Peter Wilkinson."
"I'm Rune. Rune Whitefield."
"..Rune.." Peter's spirit repeated. "..That's a nice name."
The girl smiled. Then her expression turned a little sad. "Goodbye, … Mr. Peter."
Peter closed his eyes and mumbled. "Finally…I'm free…" Then his form faded into the night skies.
Rune stood there in silence for a moment before suddenly letting out an enormous yawn.
"Well! Now that that's over.. I think I'm going to bed.." she said as she stretched her stiff limbs before turning on her heels.
"…Return to where he came from, huh?" Ciel remarked as he trailed behind his mistress. Rune looked back and laughed slightly.
"What else did you expect me to say?"
But actually, the girl found it quite ironic. Fancy her saying it to a ghost; while there was absolutely no chance for her to go to heaven herself. She meant what she had said earlier. She had made a pact with demons, and she still hasn't regretted it.