His Butler, Elizabeth
Chapter XXI: His Butler, Arachne
A/N: The first part of the chapter where Grell teaches the kids about Arachne has me and two of my...erm...best acquaintances. They are kind of weird. And so am I! And let's pretend we're five! It is not necessary you read it, especially if you know the tale of Arachne, but it is there for your entertainment.
Once again, Grell is male, but wants to be referred to as a woman. (Though, if you ask my buddy Edward Suoh, he is neither he nor she; Grell is a Grell.)
Last Time:
He, [Sebastian] still dresses as she, laughed, "I'll be back for your soul in a fortnight!"
Grell: Good morning, kids!
NerdsRule, EQ, and Steve: Good morning, Ms. Sutcliffe!
Grell: Today, I'm going to teach you the tale of Arachne.
Steve: (Raises hand) I know everything about Arachne! I know everything about everything! You see, Arachne-
NerdsRule: Shut up, Steve!
Grell: Thank you. Now, there once was a girl named Arachne. She was a talented weaver who had been taught by the Greek Goddess, Athena.
EQ: I didn't know Athena could weave.
Steve: I did! Athena was the-
NerdsRule: Shut up, Steve!
Grell: Continuing, Arachne's work was beautiful! It was always marveled at. Even the forest nymphs would come to watch her work.
Steve: Forest nymphs were-
NerdsRule: Fairies. Now would you stop talking?
Grell: Her friends and parents were practically her slaves. They were so in awe by her they did everything she asked for. Her friends praised her, her parents boasted about how their daughter was the most amazing weaver in the world. Arachne's confidence soon skyrocketed. She thought she was better than Athena.
EQ: Why would she have the audacity think she was better than someone who had lived many years longer, and had many more years of experience, and who could not even be killed?
NerdsRule: (Scoots closer to EQ.) Good point.
EQ: (Scoots away.) Stranger danger!
Grell: One day, Arachne challenged Athena, believing she was better than her. An old woman then came, and told Arachne that if she took it back now, she would not have to face Athena's wrath. Arachne, however, continues, saying she still believes she could beat her. Then, the old woman reveals herself to be Athena!
NerdsRule, EQ, and Steve: What?! Plot twist!
Grell: Athena accepts Arachne's challenge. They decided that in one year, they would present their best work. The other one would never weave or even touch a spindle ever again.
Still Grell: During that year, Arachne shut herself off from the rest of the world. She didn't eat and drink as much as she needed, all she did was work. Her hair was messy and she had become so very pale. And she deeply regretted ever challenging Athena. Alas, she kept spinning, in hopes that she could miraculously win, and she wouldn't lose the most important thing in her life...
His Butler, Arachne
'Tomorrow...' He thought. Tomorrow, was the day he was going to die.
And they both knew it.
The fortnight Sebastian had promised to wait would be over in the morning. He was going to take Ciel's soul. Elizabeth, however, wasn't going to let him win that easily. She had told him that. So, Sebastian decided that if she could kill him, Ciel would not have his soul eaten. If Sebastian won, on the other hand, he would eat both of their souls.
Ciel, however, did not know the last of it.
He knew she was training though, she was too hot-headed to not try to defend him, and she had done nothing but training the past thirteen days.
'Tomorrow...' He thought once more. Tomorrow, was the day he was going to die.
And they both hated to know it.
He sighed heavily; his nearly certain death was a heavy subject for the bathtub. Where were his towels?
As if on cue, Elizabeth marched into the room, eyes closed, carrying towels. She sat them on the stand beside of the tub. As she turned around, Ciel interrupted her, "Lizzie? Are you okay?"
She turned around and grin, her eyes still closed, "What ever do you mean, Ciel? I'm fine."
She was lying, lying straight through that gleaming, fake smile.
Her blonde hair was sticking out in a thousand different directions, she looked paler, and she looked so tired; it made him want to sleep. And she looked so...'fragile,' Ciel decided. She looked like she would burst into tears at the drop of a hat (well, more so than usual, anyway). She was not fine. She was going to kill herself before Sebastian could get anywhere near either of them.
She was gone. She was gone when Ciel turned around. She was gone when Ciel turned around to ask her why. Why was she training so hard to fight a demon, something older than her, smarter than her, stronger than her, and that could not be killed by her?
'It's because off you, you idiot,' his brain suggested, 'She's trying to protect you. It is your fault she's killing herself. She cares about you enough to fight a demon, and what are you doing?'
Nothing.
Ab-
sou-
freaking-
lute-
ly
nothing.
It wasn't his intention to get her involved with Sebastian, at all. And it wasn't that he didn't care, because he cared. A lot. He just...didn't know... How is a person supposed to get out of a situation as intricate as this one? How was he supposed to fix...this...? He had to fix this.
He had to fix Elizabeth.
Slice.
Strike.
Sigh.
Sip.
Slice.
Sweat.
Smile.
Sleep.
This had been Elizabeth's life for the past thirteen days.
She was training. She was a butler. She was fake smiling. She was sleeping at most four hours every night. She was saying she was okay. She was falling apart. No matter the cost, she had to stay together with metaphorical super glue and duct tape. No matter the cost, she had to try to protect Ciel from Sebastian.
Maybe, this was a lost cause. Maybe, Sebastian was a lost cause. Maybe, Ciel was a lost cause. Maybe, she was a lost cause. Maybe, life was a lost cause.
Woah, that's some suicidal stuff right there. Though, I'm retrospect, fighting a demon after your fiancé's soul was pretty suicidal in itself.
"Lizzie."
Elizabeth's head whipped around to the door, "C-Ciel? What is it? Wait a second, your clothes are wet. And that's the same outfit you wore today."
He didn't respond. He just walked up to her. "C-C-Ciel? What are you-" She quickly found herself melting in Ciel's warm embrace. And they just stood there for 's arms stayed on her side while Ciel's body clung to her's.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, nearly inaudibly into her ear.
And then she broke.
She fell to her knees, and Ciel backed away from her. She looked at him fearful and breathed shakily for a few moments. Ciel extended his arm toward her, but he stopped when she busted into tears. She inched up to him and put her head on his chest. He hugged her, "Lizzie."
"I-I-I...'m so-sorry," she muttered into his shirt, tears still streaming down her face, "I could-n't be str-rong enough to prote-ect you."
"No," his voice didn't have as strong as a presence as it usually had, "I'm sorry I couldn't be strong enough to protect you."
She wanted to tell him he was forgiven, but, she couldn't. The only thing she could do was cry. And she was too tired. She was going to fall asleep at any moment.
She would never say it, knowing full well he would deny it, bit right before she fell asleep, still clinging to Ciel for dear life, she felt a tear hit the top of her head.
A/N: Wow, extremely late update. But, I liked this chapter, hope you did, too.
Hey, does anyone want to enter a CielElizabeth wring challenge? Please, there are only three of us! Please! It'll be fun. PM me for details.
Next Time:
His Butler, White