Behold, a double chapter because I love all of you so much! *blows kisses* I don't own Black Butler whatsoever!

Arrogance and Sword Fights

The Indian guests we had made dinner rather awkward. First Soma wanted to sit at the head of the table where Ciel usually sat, which just caused a full minute of intense eye contact, and then Ciel arched an eyebrow and asked the kid "what do you think you are doing?"

In the end, after a few more glares, some muttered insults, and some serious diplomatic wrangling by Sebastian and Agni, Soma finally consented to sitting at Ciel's right. I didn't say a word, as I was still on Ciel's side. I didn't care for Soma much. He acted spoiled, like the whole world had to defer to him just because he happened to be a prince. He hadn't worked to gain the title, and it didn't look like he was doing anything to be worthy of it.

Unfortunately, he seemed to hold a sort of childlike fascination with my hair. He kept staring at my braid while I was cleaning up the dining table. It was a bit creepy, but not much. It was mostly just a tad disconcerting.

The next morning, I woke up a full thirty minutes earlier than usual the next morning, which was odd considering for me because I really liked sleeping. There were only three reasons for me to wake up very early in the morning:

One, Sebastian came to wake me up in his typical I'm-taking-great-pleasure-in-your-pain sort of way.

Two, Pluto came to wake me up by howling randomly outside my window until I came outside and scratched his belly.

Finally three, something was intrinsically different about the day.

This time, it had to be three. We had guests staying over. I sighed and flopped backwards onto my pillow. Even if I didn't care much, my body said otherwise. A part of me was interested about the Indian guests we had, even if I didn't care too much for them. Or, at least, I didn't care much for the prince. I didn't know enough about Agni to form a reasonable impression, other than that he was extremely loyal. I guess that's a good thing, right?

After lying in bed for ten minutes, just staring at the ceiling and trying to fall back asleep, I finally rolled out from underneath my covers and stretched. I bathed quickly, paying special attention to the back of my neck. Whatever Sebastian had seen there, and whatever that puppet had known, it had to be something weird.

I ran a hand over the skin with a frown, and then I sighed and climbed out of the bath. I quickly donned my uniform and met Sebastian in front of my door. "Oh," he blinked. "I see that you're already up."

Was it just me, or did he look disappointed. I smirked and folded my arms across my chest. "Yeah, sorry I denied you our daily pleasure of kicking me out of bed," I walked out the room and watched him shut the door behind me. "Are you going to wake Ciel up now?" I quizzed him. Sebastian nodded. I followed him to Ciel's bedroom.

"Hmm," Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Why is the door already open? It is unlikely the young master actually woke up by himself…"

We got closer to the open door, and I was nearly tackled by Prince Soma on his way out. He was holding Ciel in his arms. The poor kid was still in his bedclothes, and he looked really put out by all of this. I giggled quietly, and neatly plucked him out of Soma's hands. "Yeah, I'll be taking him, thank you." Even though Ciel didn't like being carried by me, he definitely preferred it to being carted around by the prince. "Good morning young master!" I cooed.

He scowled at me. "Be quiet."

I pouted and stuck my tongue out at him. "You know, you could stand to be a bit nicer. You're going to get a lot of wrinkles if you keep scowling at everything."

He just scowled some more. "Shut up, Thalia," he repeated.

"See? I can see some forming already!"

"I said shut up! It's too early for all of this!"

Sebastian sighed at the two of us, and then he smiled politely at Soma and Agni. "I'm sorry to intrude," he said. "But the young master has studies and work duties to attend to today, and so will be busy for most of the day."

"See, the young master is a very busy person right now," I smiled prettily at them. "So, if you don't mind, I'll take you to the dining room for breakfast." I handed Ciel to Sebastian and walked out of the room. When I glanced behind me, the two of them were following me.

Almost as soon as we were out of the room, Soma jogged to catch up with me. He was smiling widely at me. "I've never seen hair like yours before," he commented curiously. "It's two different colours. Is this common in your country?"

"No," I replied. "My hair is actually one of a kind, as far as I can tell." I couldn't help reaching back and grabbing the long braid I had tied my hair into. White, pure white, all the way down to the blood-red tips.

Soma jumped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. "It's very beautiful," he complimented me warmly. "Don't you think so, Agni?" He turned to the man behind us.

Agni turned to me with an equally warm, if not as careless, smile and a bow. "Your hair is very unique and lovely, Miss Thalia."

I thawed just a tad. For all Prince Soma's rude actions, he seemed honest enough, and he could be rather nice. Agni also seemed to be quite sweet as well. Certainly he was loyal, and willing to do anything for his master. He was a bit like Sebastian, only he wasn't an evil, soul-sucking demon forced into pre-determined submission by a Faustian contract.

I gave the two of them a less fake smile, and we resumed the walk to the dining room.

oOo

The first lesson Ciel had after breakfast was a violin lesson, with Sebastian as his teacher. I was sitting on a cheer a few feet away watching Ciel tune the stringed instrument, and then eye the sheet music resting on the stand with irritation. "Bach's Chaconne?" He glared up at Sebastian. "There is no way I can play a melody as complex as-!"

Sebastian tipped his chin up with the tip of his own violin bow. "While we are here, I make the rules," he smirked down at Ciel, probably basking in the flip in power. "Do you have a problem with my teaching methods?"

Ciel scowled and pushed Sebastian's bow away from his face. I giggled quietly, and he turned and glared at me. "And why are you here?" He snapped. "Don't you have chores to do?"

"In fact, I do not," I smiled and lifted my hands in a shrug. "I like music. Think of me as an unofficial judge. If I wince, scream, and run out of the room with my hands over my ears, then you know you've done something wrong."The scowl on his face only became more pronounced. "At any rate, I'm sure you can play it."

Ciel turned his back on me and arranged the instrument under his chin. He took a deep breath and placed the bow to the strings. My eyes slid shut as the music began to flow from the violin's strings. It was beautiful, not entirely flawless, but still very well played. I had always wanted to be able to play proper songs on an instrument. Sadly, all I knew how to play were raunchy tunes on the piano.

A sudden sound snapped me out of my thoughts. It sounded like loud chanting, and low hums. I glanced around the room and quickly spotted the source of the strange sounds.

The prince and Agni had managed to carry a huge statue into the music room. They had placed it on top of the piano, and were currently kneeling at its feet and praying. "Did anyone see how they got that in here?" I wondered.

The violin music cut off sharply. "What on earth?" Ciel stared at the statue.

"It seems like they're praying," Lau said. "But that is a rather fantastic idol, isn't it?" I walked over to it, curiousity overtaking me for a moment. He was right, it was rather fantastic to look at. It was also a bit terrifying. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I didn't.

Sebastian came to stand next to me. "All I can see is a statue of a woman carrying a head," he said, nonplussed. "With a necklace of heads around her neck, and dancing on the belly of a man."

"She has four arms," I noted with interest. "I've seen a picture of her somewhere before. Is she one of the Hindu goddesses?" Sometimes, if I managed to get cleaned up enough, and I had nothing to do, I would spend time in libraries reading the books. They helped kill time, and provided me with something to muse on later.

Agni looked at me, apparently impressed. "You know a little about Hindu culture," he smiled. I blushed slightly at his praise, and deliberately avoided Ciel's gaze. "She is the goddess Kali," he explained. "She is one of the Hindu gods we worship.

Ciel stopped staring at me so pointedly, and I relaxed. "Indian goddesses, huh?"

"Kali is the wife of Shiva, the god of power," Agni went on. "In far distant times, a demon recklessly challenged her to a fight. Of course, the goddess Kali won. However, she was unable to quell her destructive urges and she went on a rampage of death and destruction!"

Though neither Ciel nor Sebastian seemed to care too much, I was spellbound by the story. I could almost see it in my mind's eye. Flames, darkness, and a woman with a necklace of newly beheaded heads around her neck.

"In a bid to defend the earth," Agni pointed at the statue. "Her husband, the god Shiva, lay down at her feet. Having stepped on her husband with her unclean feet, the goddess Kali returned to her senses and the earth became peaceful once again," he resumed his prayerful pose once again. "Kali is a great goddess who defeated a demon after a mighty battle. As proof of this, she holds the demon's head in her hands."

"Whoa…" I gaped up at the statue, seeing it in a new light.

Ciel glanced back at Sebastian. "Is there any truth to this story?"

"To think there was someone as strong as that," Sebastian looked thoughtful. "I will have to be careful if I ever go to India." I couldn't help snickering at that.

The prince got up. "Well, our prayers are concluded," he beamed and suddenly hooked his arms around both Ciel and I. "Well then, let's go out!"

"What?" I yelped. "Why am I included in this now?"

Ciel struggled wildly in his grip. "Like I said before, I'm busy today!" He yelled at Soma. "So could you kindly let go?"

Soma stopped and pouted. "But I want to go out," he frowned, and then he beamed. "Oh, could your maid show us around instead?" He released Ciel and turned to me. "I want to talk to her more." I simultaneously blushed and sweatdropped. The first reaction was because what he said was kind of flirtatious and I have no idea how to respond to non-lecherous flirting. I either stare blankly and then shoot the person down like a bison during hunting season, or I blush. There is no in-between.

The second reaction was because I could nearly feel the evil aura pouring off Sebastian. Even though he was still wearing that calm, polite smile, there was an undertone to it that said I-will-slaughter-you-violently-and-then-burn-everything-you-hold-dear.

Fortunately, he managed to hold himself in check. "I'm sorry, but Thalia will also be busy today with chores," he said. I blinked and stared at him with confusion. Since when do I have chores? He turned his smile to me, only this time it mostly resembled a smirk. "Her first set of chores will be fetching the fencing swords for the next part of the young master's lesson."

I pouted and twisted myself out of Soma's hold to walk over to the set of fencing swords parked in the corner near the window. "Huh," I pulled out one and eyed the blunt, rounded tip. "I've never seen one of these in real life before." It was lighter than I expected, and rather flexible. I pulled out another one and twirled both of them experimentally.

Ciel cleared his throat. "Sometime today, perhaps?" He arched an eyebrow meaningfully. I stuck my tongue out at him and tossed one of the swords to him. The other went to Sebastian. I went to stand beside Agni while they trained. Ciel was quite talented with the sword, I noted. I smiled slightly as I watched him dodge and parry the attacks.

"Tea?" I blinked and stared at Agni. He was holding out a cup of tea to me. It smelled very aromatic, very different from the English teas Ciel drank all the time. I accepted the cup with a grateful smile and took a sip. It tasted like flowers and hot nectar.

Agni and I sipped and watched Ciel and Sebastian. Soma, on the other hand, lay flopped down on a floor pillow. "Hey, when are you going to be finished?" He moaned occasionally. "Hey, what are you doing anyway?" He sounded like a spoiled child. He is a spoiled child, I reminded myself.

His groans were getting to Ciel, who nearly missed a parry. "Be quiet!" He snapped. "You'll distract us!"

Soma sighed and leaned his chin against his hand. "English people are very short-tempered, aren't they?" He commented. "They're always snapping all the time." I twitched, but concentrated on my tea. That tea was the only thing keeping me calm, and preventing me from throwing him out of the room. Well, the tea and Agni's scary-fast right hand.

Ciel cracked. He snatched the other fencing sword out of Sebastian's hand. "Enough!" He yelled, turning to Prince Soma with a furious glare. "I get it! You want my attention so badly, then here!" He tossed the sword to Soma. "I'll be your opponent!"

Soma caught the sword by the hilt with a pleased smirk, even though I had wished that it would knock him in the face. "So, if I win, you'll come out with us?" He asked. Ciel agreed to the terms with a reluctant nod. "Then I accept!"

"Good luck," Agni said.

"Go Ciel!" I cheered, and then I held out my cup to Agni. "More tea please." I was going to need it. I sipped more of the fragrant liquid as Sebastian made his way between them and raised his hand for the start of the match. The look on his face was amusing, I thought. He looked so done with everything.

"Well then," he brought his hand down. "Begin!"

Soma immediately rushed Ciel, and tried to trip him up with the sword, which bent. The shocked look on his face made me wonder if he had even looked at the thing in his hands. At least he can dodge, I thought as he proceeded to duck most of Ciel's attacks. "This is unfair!" He yelled. "I don't know the rules to this!"

Then you should have asked. "A match is a match," Ciel made a false jab and pulled back. "It's your fault for not knowing." He suddenly rushed Soma, and would probably have flipped the prince's weapon out of his hands, if not for a rather sudden interference.

"Prince!" Suddenly, Agni was no longer beside me. The white haired Indian blocked the tip of the foil with a cup, and the jabbed Ciel in the arm. Once he realised what he had done, he gasped. "Master Ciel!"

Unfortunately for him, I was faster than his remorse. I was at Ciel's side in the next second, and I slapped his hands away when he reached for the boy. "Don't touch him!" I snapped, not sure who I was more angry with: Agni, or Soma. I helped Ciel cradle his partially paralysed arm to his chest, before turning my anger on them. "What the hell?" I snapped at Agni. "Why would you do that?"

He, at least, looked penitent. "I'm sorry," he bowed. "When I thought that the prince was about to lose, my body moved on its own."

Like I said, at least he seemed truly sorry for what he had done. Soma, on the other hand, burst out laughing. "Well done Agni," he praised. "You protected me well! I commend you!" He smirked proudly. "Agni is my khansama, and he belongs to me, therefore the win was mine."

I bristled. No, actually, I developed spines like a porcupine and then those spines lit on fire. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," I snarled, getting to my feet. "You would have lost if Agni hadn't stepped in, and he shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place! Or don't you understand the point of one-on-one competitions?"

Agni blinked at me, clearly surprised by my anger, but I couldn't help it. Soma was really getting on my nerves. Ciel reached out and tugged on my skirt. With great reluctance, I stopped glaring at Prince Soma and leaned down to help my young master to his feet. "My, my," Lau picked up a foil with a smile. "The maid is quite upset. It looks like you will have to take your master's revenge, Mr. Butler," he flipped the blade to Sebastian, who caught it expertly.

"Good grief," he sighed. "This happened because you teased an amateur." No, this happened because Soma was acting like a brat! Both Ciel and I turned to glare at Sebastian simultaneously. "Nonetheless, as a Phantomhive butler, now that my master has been injured I cannot merely sit back and watch." I relaxed and folded my arms across my chest. "At any rate, we are ten minutes behind schedule."

Ciel facepalmed. "So that's what you were really worried about."

"This is not the time to be worried about that!" I snapped at the glanced down at me out of the corner of his eyes with a smirk on his face.

Soma rested the fencing sword on his shoulder. "Fine," he acquiesced. "I will allow a duel. Agni," he passed the sword to the man. "In the name of the goddess Kali, do not lose!"

Ciel touched his eye-patch and glared at Soma. "Sebastian, this is an order," he said. "Shut that brat up!" Well that could be construed in many ways, I thought as the two men stood opposite each other. It could range from winning this fight, to sewing his mouth shut with a red hot, sterilised needle.

"Jo ajna."

"Yes, my lord."

I moved between them and raised my arm to mark the beginning of the fight. "Begin!"