Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorite or story alerts!*Hands out early Halloween celebration.* Speaking of Halloween, I wanted this chapter to be especially creepy and scary, and since I am currently writing the Houndsworth Arc, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. However, I did include a couple of surprises just in case…
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler / Kuroshitsuji.
Chapter 21: Someone's in the Basement with Batty...
If the town outside the mansion was creepy, the inside of the mansion was equally as disturbing. Angela led Ciel, Sebastian, and the Rosemary sisters inside the mansion. She led them down to long, narrow, winding hallways that were eerily quiet, and had a draft blowing. Their footsteps sounded a good deal louder than usual, and Batty found her already excruciatingly firm grip against Rosalind's hand tighten as they walked down the halls, thinking to herself this would be the perfect setting for a vampire or a werewolf or some other horrid monster to attack them. Surely no one nearby would hear their screams, being as they were located on the outskirts of town, relatively far away from the village.
Finally they reached the room, and Batty froze in horror upon entering it: The room had an assortment of animal heads hanging from the walls.
"Why don't you go back outside and keep Bard, Maylene, Finny, and Mr. Tanaka company?" Rosalind suggested, she herself feeling slightly sickened at the sight of the animal heads lining the walls but refusing to show any signs of disgust so as not to worry Batty further. Batty nodded in agreement to this suggestion and dashed out of the room.
Suddenly, a shrill feminine scream sliced through the air that pierced like a knife: All four of the guests in the room looked around to find Angela cowering on her knees as a man whipped her. The man as relatively large though not anywhere near as tall as Sebastian, possessed black hair and sideburns, and had brown eyes. His brown eyes were not like Sebastian's though, which were enchanting, or Rosalind's eyes, which although were not particularly striking in the sense of standing out or being very noticeable, still possessed a wonderful aura of warmth. No, this man's eyes were cold and reminded one of endless tunnels.
"Who the Hell is this Chihuahua? I told you to receive the Queen's messenger!"The man roared furiously as he aggressively whipped the poor maid, who was sobbing at this point.
"Chihuahua?" Ciel deadpanned. "Sebastian-"He was about to order Sebastian to cease the man from beating Angela, but Rosalind and Thyme got there first. Thyme wrapped her arms around the man's hands in a grip so tight he could not move them as Rosalind yanked the whip out of his hand… and promptly tossed it out the window.
"What in hell do you two think you are doing you little-" The man was not able to complete that sentence being as Thyme had shifted her grip on the man from his hands to around his neck and she was grabbing him so tightly he had started to choke. Thyme remembered how she sometimes had difficulty managing her super strength and hastily relinquished her grip on the man, for although it may seem quite satisfactory at the time for her to break this man's neck, she suspected it may turn out to be a less than wise idea later on, and may involve a lot of paper work and law suits.
"How dare you!"Rosalind yelled at him. "Hitting a maid for doing no wrong! You will stop this abhorrent behavior immediately!"
"You know naught Woman "The man had regained his breath and evidently his temper."She has committed a great wrong against me, insulting my intelligence! I ask for her to send me the Queen's messenger and his colleagues, and she brings me this Chihuahua of a boy, and women!"
"While I am certain that it would indeed be a great sin for one to insult a mind such as yours, "Rosalind's voice dripped with sarcasm." We are the people you requested to see, believe it or not."
The man spluttered. He suspected this woman might have just implied that he was an idiot, although he could not be certain. Regardless, there was positively no way this group could be the ones who worked for Her Majesty, surely not.
"It sounds as though you got my letter," Ciel broke the silence, taking a seat as the two sisters did the same while Sebastian remained standing behind him, unable to refrain from smirking at the man's quite comical expression of bewilderment. "I am Ciel Phantomhive."
"So you mean to tell me a little toy poodle like you is Her Majesty's messenger?"The man snarled, taking a seat behind the desk.
"You disapprove of small breeds, Lord Henry?" Ciel smiled mockingly. "Am I to be correct in assuming that that is your name, Lord Henry Barrymore?"
"You are" he replied, still glowering."However there is no way possible that a Chihuahua such as yourself and these women can possibly assist me in anyway shape or form."
"On the contrary, I have a letter from the Queen herself confirming we are who we claim to be."Ciel pulled said letter out of his pocket and handed it to Lord Barrymore who read it thrice, needing to confirm it actually said what he thought it said and looked at them all grudgingly once he finally looked up.
"Fine, so you are who you claim to be, let's get down to business then."
R~R~R~
Ciel and Lord Barrymore talked business as Angela attempted to pour them some tea. Her hands-which were covered in bruises-, were shaking as she picked up the tea pot. Sebastian, sensing that perhaps she would be so shaken that she would accidentally spill the tea and ignite Lord Barrymore's rage again, offered to do it for her.
"Please miss, allow me."He whispered gently taking the pots and tea cups away from her and proceeded to carry out the task himself.
"It's not worth discussing," Lord Henry was saying now, hands crossed over his chest stubbornly."No matter what the terms, I can't sell this place."
"Let me hear your reason," Ciel pressed.
"The curse, "Lord Henry stated gravely.
"Curse?" Rosalind, Thyme, and Ciel chorused in skeptical unison.
"This village has lived alongside its dogs since ancient times. Those who interfere with it are cursed by a fearsome scourge…" He informed them, standing up and proceeding to slam his hands on the desk top. "Even the Queen cannot change that! Great calamity befalls anyone who goes against the Barrymore family!"
"Oh, interestingly put," Ciel drawled, closing his eyes.
"What?"Lord Henry sneered.
"Let's have a nice, close look at this 'calamity' then, shall we?"Ciel folded his hands under his chin.
R~R~R~
Meanwhile, Batty had run outside like Rosalind had suggested she do. She was happy to leave the house and was at the moment trying not to think about how long she would have to stay there. Hmm, maybe if she asked Rosalind really politely they might be able to leave. Batty didn't like the feeling of not sleeping in her own bed, but at least when they had went to Ciel's townhouse that summer it had looked pleasant enough, unlike this house. This house gave her an eerie feeling.
"Oh look, it's Miss Batty!"Maylene exclaimed once Batty arrived.
"Can I,um, help you with anything?"Batty offered shyly, staring at her feet.
Bard looked at the luggage they needed to carry. He didn't think there was anything light enough for the child to carry. "We're fine kiddo, but you can watch if you want. Why did you run out of the house?"
"It's scary."Batty answered quietly."There were these animal heads in one of the rooms, and the hallways look like the perfect place for a ghost to be hiding, and I really want to go home.
When will we go home?"
"I dunno," Bard replied."But we'll go home sooner or later."Then turning to Finny, who wasn't paying any attention to the situation at hand and appeared to be off daydreaming ,"OY! These bags aren't going to carry themselves you know!" Finny snapped out of his trance and helped carry the luggage indoors with the rest of the servants. Batty was left outside temporarily. She was alone outside a creepy house on a rather cloudy day with the kind of weather perfect for telling scary stories, but if she went indoors she's be inside said frightening house. She pondered what her options were for a moment, and ran inside.
Unbeknownst to her, a figure in the forest surrounding the house watched her run in.
R~R~R~
Batty followed the servants around everywhere as they went about putting away the suitcases. She tried to focus on them, and not her current surroundings. Tried, however, was the key word in that sentence.
"It's like a scary story, "Batty murmured to herself as Maylene started unpacking her own suitcase.
"I beg your pardon?" Maylene took a couple of dresses out of her suitcase as she spoke, overhearing Batty's comment.
"This house," Batty clarified."It reminds me of places where scary stories take place."
"Ooh, I love scary stories, yes I do!"Maylene clapped suddenly and enthusiastically, throwing Batty off guard.
"You like spooky stories, Miss Maylene?"Batty had never pegged her for being that type of person, due to how easily Maylene got anxious or frightened.
"Oh, yes, I love how they send shivers down my spine and give me goose bumps! Those are my favorite types of stories! Oh, and you don't need to call me Miss, Miss Batty. Maylene's just fine! It's what I prefer to be called anyway. Oh, do you want me to to tell you a scary story?"
"No," Batty whispered in a voice so quiet Maylene could not hear her this time.
Maylene, taking to her what sounded like Batty's silence, as a yes, she began," Once, in an old mansion, there lived-"
Batty ran out of the room, too scared to hear any more after those first few words. She retreated out into the hallway, and ran until she was certain she was out of earshot of Maylene's story. She ran down a flight of stairs that lead to a basement. She was alone now, and looked around. The hallway was very dark for this time of day-it would soon be sunset- and had a silence that would be disrupted drastically if someone so much as sighed. Batty took a moment to catch her breath, when she heard it; the sound of somebody else breathing.
Batty whirled her head around, searching for the location of the noise. Then she heard a loud, creaking noise that pierced the dreadful silence, although this new loudness was even worse. Now she heard footsteps approaching right behind her. She stood petrified, too scared to turn around.
"Miss Batty-"
"AAAHHH!"Batty screamed at the sudden voice. "P—Please don't h-hurt me!"
"Miss Batty, it's just me, Maylene."Maylene told her. Batty turned around slowly and realized that this was true, and that that creaking noise must have been Maylene opening the door. "I'm sorry I frightened you dear, I didn't know you would be this upset if I told you a scary story! Oh my, I am so dreadfully sorry!"And with that being said Maylene exerted a series of strenuous sincere apologies.
"It's okay," Batty assured her once both of them had calmed down slightly.
"I'll take you upstairs now, yes I will!"Maylene declared, taking her by the hand and leading her up the stairs. It did not occur to Batty until later that the sound of somebody else breathing had she had before Maylene opened the door to the cellar, and that someone other than Maylene must have been in the room with her.
R~R~R~
"Wow, so you're the only maid at this estate?" Bard- who had just spoken- Maylene, Finny, Tanaka, Thyme, Angela, and Batty were all seated at a table in the kitchen. It had been a few hours now since the time they had arrived at the estate and they were all eating dinner. The servants never dined with Ciel, so they were eating in the kitchen. Thyme had opted out of eating with Ciel, preferring to be with Finny. Ciel would have been dining by himself had Rosalind not offered to join him out of politeness. Batty had been originally been eating with them but had decided to go join the others after finishing early. Lord Barrymore was not in either room, much to everyone's relief. They were now conversing with Angela, who was the only servant in the entire estate.
"That's amazing! That's really impressive, Angela, yes it is!" Maylene admired.
"Nonsense. I'm utterly unsatisfactory…" Angela lowered her head bashfully.
"I doubt that," Said Thyme. "You must be good, or else you would probably have been fired or Lord Barrymore- or GOAT, as I like to call him- would have hired more people to help."
Angela blinked. "Goat?" She repeated.
Thyme nodded."Git Of All Time. Wait a moment, maybe I should come up with a better nickname; the current name be offensive to goat kind, and when I say goat I mean the adorable animal, not the git."
There was some chucking at this; even Angela cracked a smile. However, Batty was confused. "What's a git?"She asked.
"A git," Thyme said in her best Rosalind imitation, which admittedly was rather impressive."Is a thoroughly dislikeable person, often times very foolish. There is another synonym for this word that I may not say in the presence of a five year old. "
"What's the word?"Batty inquired.
"What word?"Thyme pretended she was oblivious as to what Batty was talking about.
"The syno- synan- cinnamon?" Batty stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
"Aww, you're so cute!"Thyme squealed, giving a perplexed Batty a hug, giggling over her innocent mistake. Everyone around the table grinned.
"The correct pronunciation of that word is synonym Batty, not cinnamon,"
Angela informed her, smiling gently. "A synonym is-"
"I've got this," Thyme interrupted. " A synonym means two words that have similar meanings."
"Okay, "Batty understood this definition. The other occupants at the table sans Thyme were stunned.
"You actually understood that definition?"Bard turned to Batty, stunned.
"Yes, "Batty confirmed.
"I wouldn't have been able to understand half that explanation when I was your age," Bard reflected. "So how-"
"Rosalind, "Thyme interjected."She has a very advanced vocabulary and is currently teaching Batty how to read."
"Anyway Angela, Let us know if there's anythin' we can help you with," Bard added. "We servants gotta stick together. Right, Finny?"
"Yes! Of course!"Finny agreed.
"You're all so kind," Angela murmured, smiling at them appreciatively. A small golden bell on the wall then rang above one of the small nameplates- this one reading bedroom- resulting in
Angela standing up and bowing slightly."Please excuse me. My master is calling." She evacuated the room. Finny stared at her, cheeks pink and eyes shining.
Meanwhile Thyme's blue eyes were narrowed in distaste. Finny had been ignoring her ever since they had arrived, so fixated on Angela was he, and it made Thyme's heart burn with jealousy. That was why she was being curt with Angela earlier. Although Thyme felt immense pity for Angela due to her abhorrent master, she still could no t help but feel that there was something suspicious about Angela, but she was certain that it was merely her jealousy talking.
Thyme knew it was not Angela's fault that Finny had been enthralled by her, but it did nothing to soothe her envy. So Thyme had tried to make herself seem as witty, sophisticated and all around interesting and entertaining as possible during dinner, but it did not appear to be working. She would not give up though.
"Finny, would you care to join Batty and I on an excursion within the basement?"Thyme attempted to make her voice sound like Angela's: Deep, charming, and smooth as velvet.
Before Finny could answer, Batty gasped."Thyme, I already told you about what happened today. I really don't want to go back there!"
"Very well Batty, if you do not feel prepared to go down there, you may retire for bed, I suspect it is your bedtime at home right about now anyways. Meanwhile, the elder and more mature adults may proceed on down to the basement. Care to join me, Finny?"Thyme was not legally an adult yet, but she wanted to demonstrate to Finny that she could be mature. (Whether or not she was actually more mature than her five year old sister is debatable.)
Batty glared at her, and stalked off. She did not like being spoken to as if she were an idiot.
"Will you accompany me, Finny?"Thyme unintentionally rhymed.
"Hm? No thanks Thyme, I think I'll just go to bed."Finny dismissed her, thoughts still on Angela. Thyme scowled, and stormed off, leaving Finny puzzled about her reaction.
R~R~R~
Meanwhile, Maylene decided to take a walk upstairs when she heard noises coming through one of the bedrooms. The door was open a crack and she peered through it, curios as to what was going on. She could make out Lord Henry and Angela from inside.
"Angela… Angela… The Queen wants my village!" Lord Henry moaned. He was on his knees in front of Angela, who was seated in a chair. He had rolled up her skirts, exposing her bare calves, which he was currently rubbing with his hands. "You understand, don't you? I'll protect the village!"
Angela stared on, emotionless.
"Angela, my angel… my angel." Lord Henry moaned as his hands traveled up and down her lower legs.
Maylene jumped backwards in shock, clutching her nose, which was bleeding as it often did when she witnessed something that could be classified as even mildly erotic.
"I shouldn't have seen! Oh, I shouldn't have seen!" She groaned running away.
R~R~R~
The Rosemary females had already finished unpacking earlier that day. Rosalind was at the moment sitting in a chair in the bedroom she had selected for herself, reading a book when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
Thyme entered the room. "Rosalind, can I talk you to you for a moment?"
Rosalind put her book down. "Of course."
"Finny has been ignoring me ever since we've arrived, and only pays attention to Angela."Thyme sat down on the bed."Is there anything I can do that will get him to pay attention to me, his loyal best friend, again?"
"Thyme, we have not been here for a day, I am sure he will pay more attention to you tomorrow. However, if he continues to act this why, I recommend talking to him when you get the chance and tell him how you feel." Rosalind advised her. " I am sure the only reason he is paying attention to Angela is because she is an attractive older woman. But if what you have told me about Finny is correct, he is a good friend and will soon treat you just as well as usual."
"Are you saying I'm not attractive?"Thyme demanded.
"Not at all, "Rosalind was slightly miffed by her response."Beauty is subjective and I am sure that I am not the only one who thinks you are equally attractive as Angela. However Thyme, it is vital to remember that a person's true beauty lies on the inside."
"I just thought of something, "Thyme mused."How old is Finny exactly?"
Rosalind stared at her."You mean you don't know?"
"No, "Thyme replied."Do you have any idea?"
"Well, I assume he's your age, certainly no more than a year or two older, if he is at all older than you are. At least, I hope not: If Finny is actually more than a few years older than you, there will be complications and awkwardness on my part in witnessing your wedding in five or ten years from now." Rosalind pondered.
"Rosy, you mean to tell me you've set a date and everything?"Thyme joked.
"Of course I have not Thyme; you know I would never plan out your entire life for you. Actually, I do not care what you do or who you marry as long as you are happy in doing so… although it would certainly bring me great comfort in knowing that there is not a substantial age difference between you two. "Rosalind stated both sincerely and lightheartedly.
"I feel better now, thanks Rosy."Thyme stood up and made way to the door.
"You're welcome, Thyme." Rosalind was about to return to her book when Thyme remembered something.
"Rosalind, this may just be my feeling envious of Angela earlier, but do you get the feeling that there is something a little… Oh, I don't know… unnatural about that maid, possibly even a bit suspicious?"
Rosalind looked thoughtful."You know, when I first saw Angela, she seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I cannot recall why. I do not think I would call her suspicious, but she does seem to possess an other- worldly sort of air about her."
"It's probably nothing, "Thyme decided.
"Perhaps, "Rosalind stated dubiously. "Well, either way, good night Thyme."
"Good night." Thyme left the room for real this time and Rosalind returned to her book. Once Thyme was in the hallway, she remembered her suggesting exploring the basement earlier. Batty had told her about her little excursion that day and the strawberry blonde haired teenager was rather curious as to what was in the basement. She made her way down to the basement, opened the door, and went inside.
R~R~R~
Sebastian and Ciel were now in Ciel's bedroom as Sebastian laid Ciel's night clothes out on the bed, ready to prepare his young master for bed, but before he could do so there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."Ciel called. Angela opened the door and entered the room shiftily.
"I apologize for the lateness of the hour."
"My young master is about to retire, "Sebastian said to Angela in a tone of voice indicating whatever her reason for coming here be of the utmost importance.
"I have a request. Please leave this village. You mustn't be here."Angela begged voice shaky.
"Why not?"Ciel suspected that what she had to say was not different in the slightest form what Lord Henry had been harping on about earlier.
"I can't-" Angela was interrupted by Rosalind walking into the room.
"Excuse me, but has anyone seen Thyme-"
Just then a loud howl sounded from outside as though its owner was in a dreadful state of pain.
Angela cowered in fear. "N-no. It's the D-Demon Hound!"
"Demon Hound?"Ciel echoed interestedly.
Angela shrieked as Rosalind let out a slight gasp as the shadow of a large dog suddenly appeared behind the window curtains.
"Sebastian! What is that?"Ciel demanded. Sebastian threw back the curtains to find the window empty.
"What on Earth was that?"Rosalind wondered.
"Look, "Sebastian pointed to a glowing sprinting blob in the distance headed towards the village. Suddenly, another scream echoed throughout the house, its owner clearly terrified. It was positively bloodcurdling, and the occupants of the room felt their blood turn cold as ice as it could only belong to one person:
"Thyme."Rosalind breathed, and ran out of the room.
A/N:Cliffhanger! What do you think has happened to Thyme? In this ThymexFinnyxAngela love triangle, who are you rooting for? Who do you think was watching Batty earlier? What do you think is in the basement? Why do you think Angela seems familiar to Rosalind? By the way, does anyone know how old Finny actually is? I imagine him being around Thyme's age, maybe a little older, but not by much.
Please review, and have a happy Halloween!:D