Chapter 14: A Little Game
When I woke the next morning, my head felt like it was spinning. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the previous night. I never imagined that I'd ever get that close to Sebastian…nor had I ever imagined he'd be so attracted to my soul. I kept trying to convince myself that he only was interested in Ciel's soul, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted a piece of mine too. My uneasy feelings were hard to put to rest, especially since Sebastian came up to my room in the morning.
''Did you sleep well, my lady?'' Sebastian asked in a cheerful tone. I was still waking up when he had come in, so I hadn't even heard him open the door. I watched him walk over to me, wheeling a tray with a teapot and teacups on it.
''I slept alright, I guess.'' I said as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.
''I take it you had a good time at the ball?'' Sebastian asked as he poured some tea into a cup.
''Well, it was certainly...adventurous.'' I replied with a nervous smile.
Sebastian handed the cup to me. ''Here you go, my lady. It's Earl Grey.'' I took a sip and smiled. Despite my worries, I still felt slightly giddy knowing that Sebastian had poured the tea I was drinking. Sebastian started to rearrange some of the cups on the tray when he said, ''I was also wondering if you enjoyed what happened last night after we got back from the ball.''
I nearly spit out my tea. Why is he bringing that up? ''Well…that was, um…very surprising.'' I stammered, too flustered to say anything more.
Sebastian chuckled. ''I must admit,'' he continued, ''I was not expecting that to happen either. But as I've said before, I'm attracted towards you whenever pleasurable feelings pass through your body. So I know you must have enjoyed it to some extent.''
I bit my lip. Despite the fears I had, part of me did enjoy the experience. In fact, just about any Black Butler fangirl would have enjoyed it. But since my soul could be at stake, most of the fun got taken out of it. I took another sip of tea. ''Well I did…a little bit. But Sebastian,'' I said, as I looked down at my feet, ''you…you can't have my soul.'' Then I closed my eyes. I shouldn't have said anything. There's no way Sebastian is going to react well to an outburst like that.But instead of the harsh response I was expecting from him, I heard Sebastian chuckle again. Immediately I opened my eyes. Only, Sebastian was no longer standing in front of me. I stood up and scanned the room, and found he was halfway out the door.
''Actually my lady,'' Sebastian began, ''the only soul I desire is my young master's. I do not need any other soul.'' He turned his back towards me and said, ''But that doesn't mean I'll let Claude get a taste of yours either.'' And with that, he shut the door.
After breakfast, Ciel had Sebastian prepare a carriage. And before I knew it, we were headed back to the Trancy manor. Even though I had been dreading the trip since Ciel had made plans to go back there, I was too preoccupied thinking about what Sebastian said to me to give it much thought. I just don't understand—this morning, Sebastian made it sound like he didn't want my soul. But that contradicts his actions from last night. The only thing I know for sure now is that he doesn't want Claude to have it.
''So,'' Ciel began, breaking my train of thought, ''are you ready to hear what I have in store for you?''
''Ready as I'll ever be.'' I said with a weak smile.
Ciel clasped his hands together and said, ''As you might have guessed, the initial idea behind this plan is for you to stay close to Alois so you can lure him into a trap. I want you to take him back to the office room that we were in the other day, and lock him inside. Naturally, I'll be in the room too, as that is where I will carry on my part of the plan. Only, he won't know of my whereabouts until it's too late.'' The uneasiness I felt when I first heard that Ciel was planning to use me to get rid of Alois began to come back. Even though I had agreed to help Ciel, the whole idea of deceiving him made me sick. Alois definitely wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, but hurting him on purpose felt so…wrong.
''How are you going to get into the room without Alois knowing?'' I asked. ''I mean, I know he gets distracted when I'm near him, but he can be pretty clingy around you too.''
''Simple.'' Ciel replied. ''We're going to play hide and seek. Only I'll be the one hiding, and you and Alois will be the ones seeking. You are familiar with this game, right?''
''Of course I am.'' I replied. ''I'm just not sure how it's going to come into play with this plan.''
''I think you'll be able to figure it out,'' Ciel said, ''after all, you've already figured out a lot of other things that I didn't think you could.''
''I hope you're right." Then I squinted in Ciel's direction. ''What is your part of the plan going to be anyway? Besides hiding in that room?''
Ciel closed his eyes. ''I think it's best if I don't let you in on all of those details.'' I winced. He's probably right, I thought, as I tried to suppress the sickening feeling that was growing in my stomach.
Just then, the carriage pulled up to the Trancy manor. Right before we go out, Ciel put his hand on my shoulder and said, ''You might need this.'' I looked down at Ciel's hand and saw he was holding a small knife. ''Use this just in case things don't go as we intend them too.'' Just seeing the knife gave me the chills. My hand shook as I took it from Ciel and put it in my pocket.
When we stepped out of the carriage, Alois and Claude were standing at the front of the mansion waiting to greet us. Alois had a mischievous smile in his face while Claude was wearing the same, monotone expression he had on when saw him the other day. However, I could sense Claude was keeping his eyes on me as I walked up to where he and Alois were standing.
''Welcome back.'' Alois said in a cheerful tone. ''I promise that this visit will be much more exciting than that boring old ball was.'' He stepped closer to me and whispered, ''And I can show you some realfun later, if you want.''
''Don't even think about it.'' I snapped.
''I have a feeling this will be most exciting, indeed.'' Sebastian said, looking directly at Claude. Claude returned Sebastian's comment with a cold glare.
Ciel grunted. ''Just show as where our butlers are going to be dueling.''
Alois smiled. ''Certainly. Follow me.''
Alois led us around the mansion, towards the backyard where the garden was. ''Here we are,'' Alois said as he gestured towards a wide open yard surrounded by plants, ''this is where they will duel.'' Sebastian and Claude exchanged glances and made their way over to the center of the yard. I looked towards my left and saw The Triplets arranging seats for Ciel, Alois, and I. As we sat down, Hannah passed us, trotting towards Claude.
We watched as Claude reach into Hannah's mouth to take out his signature weapon-a demonic sword. As soon as Hannah stepped off to the side, the battle began. Claude took a swing at Sebastian with his sword, and Sebastian jumped over him. Then Sebastian pulled out various forks and knives from his tailcoat, and threw them at Claude's head. Despite Sebastian's perfect aim, Claude managed to dodge the silverware with ease. Normally I enjoyed watching Sebastian and Claude fight, but I knew I wouldn't be sitting here for long. Any moment now, Ciel was going to set is plan in motion. And I had to go along with it.
''Isn't this fun?'' Alois asked Ciel, keeping his eyes on the fight.
Ciel yawned. ''I've seen better."
Claude took another swing at Sebastian, this time nicking his shoulder. Sebastian put his hand over the cut, dodging another one of Claude's blows.
Ciel spoke again. "Why don't we do something a little more engaging? After all, I brought Cynthia along as you've requested.''
Alois looked over at me and smiled. ''That's true. Cynthia, since you're the guest of honor, what would you like to do?''
I looked over at Ciel, who gave me a hard, knowing look. It was time. ''How about a game of hide and seek?'' I suggested meekly.
Alois clasped his hands together. ''Oooh, that's perfect. Ciel and I can hide, and you can try to find us.''
''Actually,'' Ciel said. ''I was thinking I should be the only person who hides. That way whoever finds me gets to keep the prize.''
Alois' expression brightened. ''That's a great idea. And since I'm a master at these games, I have a feeling I'll be keeping two prizes in the end.'' Alois turned his head towards me and winked. ''So are you two ready to play?'' he asked
Ciel and I nodded.
Alois smiled. ''Well then, let the game begin.''