Hello everyone~
I feel really bad that it's been taking me so long to update lately. Summer is actually screwing me over for laptop time. I barely have any chance to go on the thing at all TT-TT Hopefully the length of this chapter (29 pages compared to the usual 12 or 13) will make up for my sluggish updates. I'm hoping I can get the next one out a lot sooner.
Before I begin, some people seem to be worried about Sarah showing up and trying to win Sebastian's heart… or something like that. Trust me, I never in any way EVER planned on having her become infatuated with or even liking Sebastian… at all. I have the whole plot planned out in my noggin and I never even bothered to consider that option. So don't worry! Sarah won't even show up at the Phantomhive manor. I hope that dissolves any worries about this turning into a cliché soap opera fanfic.
Oh, yes! I almost forgot.
ericksangelofmusic : yeaaaahhhh… I know I left out that episode… and I love that one too so I was pretty upset when I had to cut it out. It wasn't a mistake, it wouldn't fit into the plotline. In my story, Sam's first few days at the manor and the dance fits into the spot where the ice-skating episode and the camera episode would go. Elizabeth gives Ciel his present then and not on some random visit like in the anime. I really couldn't have the ice festival where she finds the ring (the ring that the whole episode is pretty much centered around) after she gives it to Ciel. That would be silly ^^' I hope that explains why I skipped over that episode. Love your username by the way :D
…
The link for my drawing is kind of… wacky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Photobucket loathes me TT-TT Sorry to anyone who the link also dislikes. It should work if you try it a few times or so… I think…
…
Onward!
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Sam yawned and rolled over in her bed. The sheets were toasty warm. Avalon was curled comfortably by her head, but not so that his fur covered her nose and cut off her oxygen supply. The curtains were closed tightly so no light could leak through and the soothing smell of Sebastian's cooking floated down the hall and into the maids' quarters. Sam smiled, burying her face into her plush pillow. I wish I could wake up like this every morning…
"Happy Christmas Eve!"
And with that, a bucket of snow and ice was dumped on the disoriented strawberry blonde.
A cat yowled, a girl shrieked, a gardener and cook laughed.
"BAAARRRRRDDDDD! FIIIIINNNNNNNNNIIIII! I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU TWO!"
Thus, the chaos of Christmas Eve began.
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"Ow!"
"Sam, maybe you should just give Mister Sebastian something else, yes," Mey-Rin mumbled, handing the frustrated strawberry blonde another wad of bandages. Sam nodded in thanks and wrapped the white gauze around her bloody finger.
"I hate needles. I hate sowing. I hate this stupid hat," Sam scowled, tying the bandage tighter. "…but it's Christmas Eve. There's no way Sebastian would take me back to London. Plus, I have absolutely no idea what else I could give him… Sebastian's so difficult, if you know what I mean."
"I don't, no," Mey-Rin confessed, playing with the edge of her puffy maid skirt. "I think you know him the best out of all of us other than the young master, yes. Mister Sebastian was never very… open with the rest of us, no he wasn't…"
Sam shrugged and stuck the needle back through the underside of the red fabric, pulling it back through with a rough tug. She adjusted the triangle of black fabric and continued sowing.
"He's not all that open with me either."
Mey-Rin hummed, shaking her head slightly in disagreement.
Sam sighed and placed the needle down. She held up the hybrid hat so she and Mey-Rin could judge it.
"It looks…"
"Uhm…"
"Okay, Mey-Rin," Sam grimaced, placing the hat on her head, "give me your honest opinion."
"O-On what exactly, yes?"
"The hat."
"O-Oh, okay… it still looks like a hat, yes it does… sort of."
Sam let out an annoyed huff and the fluffy cotton ball attached to the end of the Santa hat bobbed.
"Can you tell what's on the hat?"
"…triangles?"
Sam ripped the hat off her head and placed it back on the table.
"Close enough."
She handed the borrowed needle carefully back to Mey-Rin and tossed the excess cloth and thread into a drawer.
"Never again will I attempt to sow… or make my own presents," Sam sighed, flopping back down in her chair.
The strawberry blonde glanced over distastefully at the empty frame of her bed. The mattress and sheets had to be taken out and left to dry due to Finni and Bard's little 'wakeup call.' I would've gladly strangled the two of them to death if I'd had the chance, but no. Sebastian had to "properly deal with the two" because he's in charge of the servants. God, could that man be any more cocky or infuriating?
Sam sighed and leaned back, head falling over the back of the chair.
"Mey-Rin, why do men have to be so damn frustrating?"
There was no answer.
"Mey-Rin?"
Sam sat up, looking around the room. The maid had practically vanished into thin air.
"Wow. For being as clumsy as she is, Mey-Rin got out of here without making a sound…"
Sam stood up, stretching. She grabbed Sebastian's Santa hat off of the table and placed it with the other gifts. She sat back down, bringing her knees up to her chest and looking around the room with tired, grayish blue eyes. The strawberry blonde yawned and adjusted her body position so that she was curled up into a tiny ball, head resting comfortably on the plush backside of the chair. She let out a gigantic yawn and closed her eyes.
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"Hello?" Sam called, straining her ears for some kind of response. She'd fallen asleep for a few hours and when she'd woken up, Tada! Mey-Rin, Finni, and Bard had all disappeared. Sam gnawed anxiously on her bottom lip. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried, they are all adults after all… okay. Yes, I should be worried.
"Helloooo? Mey-Rin? Bard? Finni?"
There was still no answer.
Sam frowned, continuing to chew on her lip. Where the heck could they possibly be? The mansion's only so big. She paused by a familiar office door. I know I promised I wouldn't bother him, but… Sam opened Ciel's office door, peering inside.
"What?"
The strawberry blonde sighed in relief.
"Phew… At least you're here. I thought everyone disappeared."
The young earl raised an eyebrow at her in curiosity.
"Disappeared?"
Sam nodded vigorously.
"Uh-huh. Bard, Finni, and Mey-Rin are all gone!"
Ciel sighed and a tick mark appeared on his forehead.
"Sam, did it ever occur to you that I'd give them the same option to go Christmas shopping that I gave you?"
"No…"
"Well I did. All three of those idiots are on their way to London as we speak."
Sam nodded awkwardly, shifting back and forth on the balls of her feet.
"So… How's… life?"
Ciel raised an eyebrow at her.
"Life?"
"Uhm… not the best topic for small talk?" Sam paused, tapping on her chin lightly in thought. "What about-"
The young earl lifted his hand, signaling the strawberry blonde to be quiet.
"I do believe part of our agreement yesterday was that you wouldn't bother me for two days."
Sam frowned and opened her mouth to speak; however, Ciel's glare instantly squashed any retort that she was about to toss out. She frowned and let out a huge sigh.
"Who else am I supposed to bug then?"
"How about Sebastian?" Ciel offered, a small, maniacal grin spreading over his lips. "He was in a pretty foul mood this morning. I think it has something to do with Christmas being a sacred, religious holiday and him being a soul sucking demon."
Sam rolled her eyes at the last part but smiled all the same.
"Well, I'll have to change that!" She declared, sticking a fist in the air in determination. "Everyone deserves to enjoy the wonderful, gift giving, sugary-treat-filled holiday that is Christmas!"
Sam saluted the Earl before walking out of the office and towards the kitchen. She grinned, inwardly preparing for the struggle that was to come.
During all her fantasizing and mental planning Sam had conducted in preparation for her favorite holiday, she'd overlooked the simple fact that Sebastian was a demon. A demon from Hell who most likely worships the devil as his king plus one of the most holy Christian Holidays which involves the birth of the prophet destined to lead the human race out of Hell and towards the gates of Heaven… This isn't going to be pretty.
Sam pushed open the double doors of the kitchen to find Sebastian frosting a large, vanilla, triple layered cake. She walked over and attempted to peer over his shoulder; the key word being attempted. Gah! Why does Sebastian have to be so damn tall?
"Is there something you need, Sam?"
"For you to shrink about half a foot…" She grumbled before clearing her throat. "Actually, yes. Tomorrow's Christmas and I've decided to help put you in a festive spirit!" She cheered, grinning up at him.
Sebastian frowned and continued frosting the cake.
Sam cleared her throat again and the black clad butler glanced at her over his shoulder, raising one raven black eyebrow in question.
"I said: I'm going to help put you in the festive spirit."
Sebastian rolled his golden eyes and turned away from her. Sam scowled and peered around the kitchen. What to do… What to do… Her eyes fell on the bowl of white frosting perched on the counter next to Sebastian and grinned. Okay, Sebastian. How about I give you a beard to match the Santa hat?
She reached forward to snatch the bowl when it suddenly disappeared. Sam froze and looked up at the demon butler. He held the bowl of frosting in his hands and as he continued to frost the cake, indifferent to her presence. Sam scowled and stretched as far forward as she could, trying to snatch the bowl from his hands. Sebastian only continued to ignore her, skillfully maneuvering the bowl away from her hands each time they came close to grasping it.
Sam sighed and gave up, walking over the kitchen table and plopping down in one of the rickety, wooden chairs.
"I'm bored."
There was no response.
"Can you please give me something to do, or at least talk to me?"
Again, Sebastian ignored her.
Sam scowled and leaned back in the chair so it balanced on its two hind legs.
"I could always work on my impressions," she suggested, noticing Sebastian's eyes flicker in her direction for a second. She cleared her throat and sat back up. "Okay then, I'll take your silence as a 'yes.' Here it goes…"
Sam stood and walked quietly over to Sebastian. She looked up at him timidly and took a deep breath.
"Oh, my darling, Bassy~ I've missed you so!" Sam squeaked, voice high pitched and gritty sounding.
Sebastian froze.
"Why yes, it's me! Your darling lover, Grell!" He flinched and Sam smiled wider when she noticed his uncomfortable posture and slight twitch. "I know you've missed me as much as I've missed you, Bassy dearest! I'll be here for as long as you choose to ignore Sam. You see, she's only trying to help you get into the Christmas spirit and both her and I see no reason why you should be ignoring me- I mean, her. So, until you decide to quit being a sour puss and pay attention to her, I'll just cling to you! Maybe we can cuddle! Oh~ and the mistletoe is right outside-"
Sam was abruptly cut off by Sebastian's gloved hand clamping over her mouth. She met his enraged glare with an extremely smug look.
"I will remove my hand if you promise to stop imitating that… monstrosity."
Sam sent him a hard glare and Sebastian sighed, running his free hand through his hair.
"And I will give you something to do that will relieve you of your boredom."
Sam grinned from behind the demon's glove and nodded. Sebastian removed his hand from over her mouth and Sam closed her eyes, sending the butler one of his own closed-eyed smiles.
"Bested by the human girl yet again, Sebby."
A glob of frosting smacked Sam in the face and she stumbled back in surprise, wiping away the sticky substance as best as she could. She opened her eyes and leered up at Sebastian in shock.
"You! You just chucked frosting in my face!"
"You have no proof," Sebastian replied monotonously, but a smug smirk graced his lips. "Your eyes were closed, after all."
"You're the only one in this room other than me!"
"Even if I did do it… what kind of retaliation could you possibly come up with?" he jeered, returning to frosting the cake. "I am a demon after all. You should know better than to taunt me."
Sam scowled and looked around the kitchen. Her eyes fell on a sack of flour Sebastian must have used when making the cake batter. She grinned and walked over to it, picking up the heavy, cloth bag with some difficulty.
"You're absolutely right. What kind of revenge could I possible think up?"
The strawberry blonde watched the butler's face carefully to make sure he was completely ignoring her before making her way back over to him, sack of flour in hand.
"Other than this!"
Sam jumped forward, hurling the flour sack at Sebastian's face. She cried in shock and disappointment when he caught it with ease, sending a light glare her way.
"What did I tell you?" he chided.
Sam ran forward, attaching herself to the bag and tugged.
"What the Hell! Why do you get freakishly fast reflexes?" she snarled, pulling on the cloth sack, trying to remove it from Sebastian's iron like grip. "It's not fair!"
There was a loud rip and the bag of flour exploded in a burst of white. Sam shrieked as she and Sebastian were surrounded by a thick cloud of flour. She coughed a few times, rubbing at her eyes. The flour had clumped around her forehead where the frosting had hit earlier, but other than that and the fact the she was most likely coated in the stuff, Sam felt fine.
Slowly, the cloud of flour cleared and the strawberry blonde looked up, squinting in the general direction she'd last seen Sebastian in. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and burst out laughing.
The usually black clad butler was now covered from head to toe in a snow white cloak of flour. He shook his head and the white powder flew from his hair in all directions. The one, solitary, long bang that hung in Sebastian's face released a miniature cloud of flour every time he breathed. Sam giggled and the demon sent a vicious death glare her way.
"I guess this is one of those times that people who say long bangs are impractical are absolutely right."
Sebastian took a step forward, lips twisted in a menacing snarl. Sam closed her eyes and smiled sweetly up at him.
"And I guess this is also one of those times that people who say dumping flour all over someone who can easily maim you is a bad idea are also absolutely right."
"You are correct," Sebastian glowered.
"And am I also right in guessing that my life is in danger at the moment?"
"I suppose you could put it that way."
"Ah, I see…" Sam seemed to hesitate for a moment, tapping a finger lightly against her flour covered chin. "In that case…"
She took off, sprinting out of the kitchen and down the hall with Sebastian on her heels.
"CIEL! YOUR BUTLER IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"
There was no response from behind the closed door as Sam darted past it and she panicked. The only person in the world that Sebastian would listen to was Ciel. This wasn't good in the least. Then again, she thought sourly, if Sebastian really wanted me dead, I'd have keeled over already. I mean, come on! He's not even seriously chasing me right now! I'm not all that fast to begin with, so there's absolutely no way in Hell I that I could outrun a demon.
Sam made a sharp turn down a short hallway, hoping to throw Sebastian off; however, luck was not on her side. She skid on the slippery wood floor and rammed face first into the wall.
"Ow," she groaned, falling to the floor. Sam rubbed at her sore nose and sighed. I'm doomed. She opened her eyes to see a familiar pair of black dress shoes before her. The strawberry blonde looked up to see a perfectly flour-free Sebastian and her eyes widened in confusion. Sebastian smirked down at her.
"B-But, you were covered in… How?" Sam stuttered, taking in his perfect appearance. Not a hair or thread was out of place.
"Did you forget, Sam? I am the Phantomhive butler after all, and what kind of butler would I be if I allowed a little thing such as spilled flour to obscure myself or my duties?"
"So… you're not mad at me?"
Sebastian frowned and picked up the flour coated girl by the scruff of her neck, looking at the white powder covering her and the area around her with extreme distaste.
"On the contrary." His familiar closed-eyed smile loomed down at her. "You have utterly ruined my day free from the other three."
Sam looked away, biting on her lip.
"I-I'm sorry… I was just trying to put you in the Christmas spirit. I'll clean up the mess and do anything I can to help you," she promised. "I won't even bug you for being so grumpy."
Sebastian sighed and placed her back on the ground.
"I accept your apology."
Sam smiled and nodded. Flour flew from her hair with the movement and all over Sebastian's freshly cleaned vest. She blanched and stepped backwards.
"S-Sorry! I d-didn't mean to…" she trailed off, raising a hand to scratch at the back of her head. She froze, realizing that it probably wouldn't be the best idea, and let her hand drop back to her side. Even that tiny movement sent out a miniature cloud of flour and Sam laughed sheepishly.
Sebastian sighed again and dusted off the front of his vest.
"I suppose we should get you cleaned up then."
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"HOT! TOO HOT!"
Sam shrieked, her soaked clothes sticking to her as she lunged out of the bath tub. Water splashed onto the floor and Sebastian frowned.
"You are only making more of a mess."
"Well maybe if you hadn't tried to boil me alive there wouldn't be a mess!"
"And you should not be wearing clothes while taking a bath," Sebastian chastised, rolling up his sleeves further to avoid getting them wet as he added cold water from a large jug to the bath.
"Right," Sam drawled, rolling her eyes, "because I'll let you near me while I'm completely naked. I don't think so, pervert."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her.
"Pervert?"
"Hey, it's better than other things I could've called you," she pointed out, plopping down on the linoleum floor of the bathroom. Sam hummed to herself, playing with a stray string on her flour caked shirt. "Be grateful I'm even allowing you in here with me. I don't even get why you have to help me take a bath in the first place…"
"Because you barely put any effort into making yourself presentable, thus, I can only presume that you would spend a similar amount of effort devoted to your hygiene. Besides, you would not spend the proper amount of time necessary to remove all traces of flour from your hair."
Sam scowled.
"Hey! My hygiene is perfectly fine, thank you very much! I take perfect care of myself!"
"Of course."
Her scowl deepened.
"If I could, I would strangle you, you know that?"
Sebastian smirked.
"I know; however, you do not have the physical or mental strength to do so."
The strawberry blonde tilted her head to the side in confusion. She stood up and walked over to the bath tub, dipping her hand in the warm water. It was the perfect temperature now. She swirled it lightly with her fingers.
"Mental strength? How does that matter?"
Sebastian grinned.
"Even though you claim to, I know for a fact that you would never actually want me to die."
Silvery-blue eyes narrowed at the demon's smug smirk and her cheeks dusted a light pink.
"Oh really. And what do you base that hypothesis off of?"
"You are not denying it."
"You're not supporting it."
"Do you deny it, Sam?" Sebastian asked.
The strawberry blonde sent her best death glare at black clad butler. Slowly, it began to wilt and she jumped back into the bath tub with a splash, hiding her flushed face in the water. Sebastian chuckled.
"I suppose that's a no then."
His only answer was the gurgling of bubbles. The demon smirked and dumped the remainders of the ice water over Sam's head. The strawberry blonde automatically shot up with a screech and spluttered, spitting out mouthfuls of the freezing liquid. She turned a fiery glare at Sebastian but the effect was altogether ruined by the rest of her half drowned appearance. Sebastian chuckled and Sam swatted strands of water logged hair from her face. The once dusty flour now dripped down her drenched form in thick, goopy, liquid streaks.
"GAH! You bastard!"
Even though she was coated in a protective layer of white goop, Sam still felt the full impact of the familiar slap to the back of her head.
"Language."
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It was late at night and Sam was sitting by the kitchen fire, wrapped in a thick, wool blanket. Sebastian was up in the maids' quarters reassembling her bed. She'd practically killed herself trying to heave the ridiculously overweight mattress up the stairs from the laundry room where it'd been drying all day.
Sam yawned and stretched, readjusting the blanket. She looked up when she heard the clack of men's dress shoes and smiled lightly at up at Sebastian when he walked through the kitchen door.
"Is my bed fixed?"
"Yes."
"Thank God. Now I can finally go to sleep."
Sebastian walked past her and over to the counter. He reached forward and plucked an old grey mug from the countertop. He walked back over to Sam and handed her the mug. The strawberry blonde gave him a curious look and took a hesitant sip from the contents of the cup. Her face instantly brightened.
"You made hot chocolate!"
Sebastian smirked.
"You did suggest I try and get into the holiday mood after all."
Sam grinned up at him, eyes sparkling. She took another gulp of the steaming, brown liquid.
"Well, I'm shocked you actually listened to me, but thank you for making an attempt." She took another swig of the beverage sent from chocolate Heaven. "A pretty successful attempt at that."
Sebastian paused, as if he was thinking something over.
"Perhaps because I made an attempt to follow your request, you can make an attempt to tell me about the mistletoe incident you so adamantly avoid."
Sam froze mid-gulp. She swallowed heavily.
"Uhm… well… You see, Sebastian…"
"Yes?"
The strawberry blonde looked away, scratching sheepishly at the back of her head. Think, self, think! Should I tell him…? Maybe that can be his present considering the other one looks like a blob of mutated fabric gone wrong. Think about it, it's not like he can really use it against you for blackmail… Okay, I'll tell him.
Sam sighed and walked over to the kitchen table, plopping down in one of the rickety wooden chairs. She motioned for Sebastian to come sit with a gesture of her head and the butler sat down across from her.
The strawberry blonde sighed and ran a hand through her hair before leaning back crossing her arms over her chest. She took a deep breath.
"I was fourteen and it was my parents' Christmas Eve party. My fiancé and I were about to be introduced to the large group of nobles present, and of course, both families were all hyped up."
"Your fiancé?" Sebastian repeated. He looked absolutely shocked, if not a bit irked.
Sam glared at him.
"Yes. Most nobles are betrothed. I was too."
"Was?"
"Let me finish the story!" Sam snapped. She cleared her throat and continued. "Well, neither me nor my fiancé were all that thrilled about each other. Actually, we loathed each other. Devon, that was his name, was more enamored with my brother than he was with me, if you get what I mean… andI just hated him in general because… I'm not even really sure why. Both of us wanted out of the engagement and were willing to do anything to get that. Because we were still pretty young and didn't understand that we were betrothed for business and political reasons, we thought we were engaged because adults said we made a 'cute couple.' Well, we figured that if the adults thought we looked terrible together, they would break the engagement.
"So, half an hour before we were going to be introduced, Devon drank spoiled milk to make himself look green and sickly and I smeared our faces and hair with mud.
Unfortunately, my family maid Rosemary found us and cleaned us up before sending us out… but she didn't know that Devon had drank the spoiled milk. When we got out there, everyone clapped and awed and complimented out parents. My brother, the idiot that he is, climbed up the banister and held mistletoe over me and Devon. The crowd did the typical 'kiss' chant. Both of us freaked and Devon went really green. Our parents sort of shoved us together and we were leaning in to get it over with and Devon threw up all over me. My mom shrieked and then all the other noblewomen started to scream… Personally, I can look at vomit and be fine but the sound of someone retching really makes me sick… so I threw up too. It wasn't pleasant.
"Later that night, both of our family heads got together and pretty much chewed the two of us out for hours on end. When they were done yelling at us about how we disgraced the entire Quenell and Everett family names, they broke off our engagement. In the end, we got what we wanted and neither of us has talked to the other since then," she grinned, radiating smugness. "From that day forward, I've been extremely paranoid around mistletoe and have been able to avoid it… until yesterday that is."
Sam leaned back in her chair and uncrossed her arms so she could reach forward and grab her now cool hot chocolate. She took a gulp and placed it back on the table, wiping the brown foam from her upper lip.
"So, that's it."
When Sebastian didn't respond, Sam sighed.
"What? Were you expecting some traumatic rape scene or something?"
"Quite honestly, yes."
Sam reached forward and whacked the butler upside the head. She brushed off Sebastian's sour glare, stood up, and walked to the door, dragging her blanket behind her. The strawberry blonde turned to send Sebastian an icy look.
"I have said it, Lady Francis has said it, Ciel has probably thought it, others will probably say it at some point: you are a lecherous creep, Sebastian Michaelis."
Sebastian chuckled and Sam grinned.
"Ah, but if I changed I wouldn't be as… what do you say when I criticize your unladylike habits?… Ah, that's right: interesting."
Sam laughed and mock saluted the butler.
"Good night, Sebastian."
"Good night."
Sam smiled and walked out of the kitchen, shutting the door firmly behind her. She turned down the dimly lit hall that led to the maids' quarters and pulled the blanket more tightly around her shoulders. The long, deserted, hallways were drafty and at least ten degrees colder than the kitchen.
She opened the door to her and Mey-Rin's room and stepped inside. Sam peered around, noticing her friend had yet to return. I hope the three of them get back all right, she thought, yawning as she climbed into bed. Avalon hopped up onto the mattress with a pathetic mewl and Sam reached out to run her fingers through his orange fur.
"And where have you been all day, you sly ol' tom cat?"
Avalon let out a sort of depressed sounding meow and Sam grinned.
"Preening yourself after being drenched, I assume?"
The tabby cat purred and rubbed against her chin lovingly.
"Well I'm very sorry you had to go through that Avi. You have my express permission to gouge Bard's and/or Finni's eyes out if you ever so desire."
Avalon mewled and Sam smiled, cuddling into her pillow. The orange feline padded over to the fluffy object, nudging at it slightly until he had full access to the grove between Sam's collar bone and throat. He curled into the warm space happily, settling in for a good night's rest. His strawberry blonde companion yawned loudly and closed her eyes, a contented smile on her lips.
"Nighty, night, Avi…"
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"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"
Ciel frowned, rolling over in his plush bed and rubbing tiredly at his sleep filled eyes. Who the devil is in here at this hour of the morning? The familiar scowl etched itself onto his lips and he heard someone make a sound of annoyance at his lack of response.
"Come on, sleepy head! It's Christmas for crying out loud!"
His bed dipped as another person hopped onto it, jumping up and down.
"Chr-ist-mas! Chr-ist-mas! Chr-ist-mas!" the voice cheered. Ciel's scowl deepened when his groggy mind matched the voice to a face and name. "Your two days of non-bothering are over! Up! Up! Up!"
"Sam, what the Hell are you doing in my room? It's four thirty in the morning!" he shrieked, sending the strawberry blonde an icy death glare through his messy bangs. Sam only smiled merrily back at him.
"Waking you up, of course! We can't waste a minute of Christmas! There's presents, food-"
"Sebastian!"
"Yes, my lord?"
"Why the Hell did you let her in here?"
"She asked nicely, my Lord," the demon butler replied, his mocking smile in place. "I could not resist."
"GAH! Just get her out of here!"
"But, Ciel," Sam whined, crocodile tears gleaming in her wide eyes, "I brought you your present."
The young Earl paused, looking up as the hyper strawberry blonde offered him a brightly wrapped box. He reached out for it hesitantly. Sam smiled warmly at him and pressed the gift into his hands.
"Merry Christmas!"
Ciel tore into the thin, colorful, paper. The wrapping was stripped away, leaving the large, printed cover of a board game. He observed the game with a critical eye, carefully scanning the box's cover art and large, blocky, title: WAR. His quickly read through the provided description and a smirk formed on his lips. The game was all about killing every other player… and as brutally as possible if the gory cover art was anything to go by. It was a game for a bloodthirsty strategist, not something a person would generally consider giving a thirteen year old.
He nodded his head in thanks and Sam grinned, leaning in quickly to give him a one armed hug before darting to the door.
"Merry Christmas, Ciel! Sorry for waking you up so early!"
She sprinted out the door and Sebastian followed after her, shaking his head with a small smirk spread across his lips. Ciel watched them go before plopping back down onto his bed.
Not quite worth being woken up at four thirty… maybe if she'd waited another half an hour...
He carefully separated the cardboard top of the box from the rest of the game and looked at the contents. He pulled out the instructions booklet and began to read.
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Sam gleefully skipped down the hallway with her bag of gifts slung over her shoulder. Even though it was an ungodly hour of the morning and the hallways of the Phantomhive manor were as cold as an icebox, she was as happy as could be. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday. Perhaps she loved it so much because it was the one holiday that her parents let her relax and didn't bug her about being proper.
Sam tossed a smile over her shoulder at Sebastian before sprinting to the kitchen. She heard the butler sigh in annoyance but he continued to follow her non the less. The double doors to the kitchen burst open and Sam ran over to the table, plopping her bag of presents down rather ungracefully before sprinting over to the oven. She peered inside eagerly at the gingerbread men she'd practically begged Sebastian to make.
Once she was done inspecting the cookies to make sure they weren't burned or being burned, Sam walked back over to her discarded bag of gifts. She reached inside, feeling around for a minute before smiling in satisfaction and pulling out a soft package. She skipped over to Sebastian and jabbed him in the shoulder. The butler turned from his task of preparing Ciel's breakfast to send her a sour look.
"You're next!" Sam smiled, shoving the present into his hands. "It's not really that good of a present, but I figure that this plus telling you about the mistletoe incident can add up to being an okay gift."
Sebastian raised one sleek, black eyebrow at her in curiosity.
"You got me a present?" He sounded skeptical, eyeing the package with caution.
Sam rolled her eyes.
"It's not going to explode, Sebastian," she snorted. "I might have to explain what it is though…"
Sebastian slowly unwrapped the gift and stared at the present before sending Sam an odd look.
"A hat?"
"Not just a hat," Sam corrected, taking it from the butler's hands and placing it firmly on his head. "It's a Santa hat with cat ears on it… you know, for a personal touch."
Sebastian sent her another funny look before turning back to preparing Ciel's breakfast.
"I appreciate the thought, Sam."
The strawberry blonde grinned.
"That's all that matters!" She gave the demon the same one armed hug she'd given to Ciel before darting back over to her bag of presents. She slung it over her shoulder and headed over to the door. "I'm going to go give Finni and Bard the same wake up call they gave me the other day, if you don't mind."
"Be my guest."
"And, uh, you can take the hat off now if you want to," she mumbled, rubbing at the back of her head. "… it looks pretty awful."
Sebastian chuckled.
"I have received far worse hats for gifts than this," he said, thoughts drifting to the hideously pink and frilly bonnet Lady Elizabeth had forced him to wear.
Sam smiled.
"Well… okay then! See ya' later, Sebastian… and make sure my gingerbread men don't fry!"
Sebastian chuckled and Sam dashed out of the kitchen.
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"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a five A.M. wakeup call~"
"GAH!"
"WAAAH!"
Sam cackled as she finished emptying the pitcher of ice water over the Phantomhive gardener and chef.
"Ah~ Revenge is definitely best served cold," she laughed.
"W-Wench!" Bard screeched, teeth chattering. "I sh-should strangle y-ya'!"
"What was that?" Sam asked, holding a hand up to her ear. She plucked another pitcher of ice water off of the floor. "Your words are all garbled together, Bard. I don't think you're quite awake yet."
"N-No! S-Sam, don' e-even thin-"
Splash!
"GAH!"
"Whoops, my hand slipped."
"I-I'm gonna' k-k-kill you, d-demon! We j-jus' got back th-three hours a-ago!"
Sam snorted.
"Like I give a flying shit."
"S-Sam," Finni stuttered, "M-Mister S-Sebastian's going to be r-really m-m-mad at you. He l-looked like he was g-going to str-strangle us yesterday."
The strawberry blonde laughed heartily at them and wagged her finger.
"Nuh-uh, Finni. Sebastian dearest gave me express permission."
Bard grinned evilly up at her and Sam raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?"
"Sebastian dearest, huh?"
Splash!
"WAAHHH!"
"You shouldn't test me, Bardroy. There's many more pitchers where that came from."
"BITCH!"
Splash!
"GAAAAHHHH!"
"What'd I tell you?"
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"Mey-Rin… Mey-Riiin… Mey-Riiiiiiiin…"
Said maid groaned and rolled over, burying her face into her pillow.
"Five more minutes, yes…"
"But, Mey-Rin," Sam cried. "Sebastian's wearing his Santa-Kitty hat! Quick, you gotta' come see it before he takes it off!"
"But I want to sleep, yes I do," she whined, pulling her blankets tighter around herself.
"But this is a once in a lifetime thing!"
"Just ask him to put it on later, yes…"
Sam huffed and sat down on the edge of Mey-Rin's bed.
"Please?"
"Later, yes…" she yawned, rolling over so her back faced the strawberry blonde.
"Why is everyone so tired this morning?"
Mey-Rin gave a half hearted shrug in reply. Sam sighed and stood up.
"If I come back in an hour will you be ready to wake up?"
Mey-Rin's quiet snores were her only answer and Sam left the room with a depleted sigh. She headed back down the hallway towards the kitchen. She opened the double doors and sent a smug grin at Bard and Finni. The two were wrapped in quite a few layers of blankets and huddled by the fire. Bard sent her a scathing glare and Sam idly walked over to the them.
"So… still angry at me?"
"Yes."
"No…"
Sam smiled.
"Then the one doesn't want to maim me gets his present first." She placed her bag of gifts on the floor and began fishing through it. She pulled out one small and one medium sized wrapped box that were bundled together with a ribbon. She handed them to Finni. The gardener's aquamarine eyes widened and filled with excitement.
"Oh! Oh! What is it? What is it?"
Sam laughed.
"Just open it, Finni!"
The blonde boy tore into the gifts. He pulled out the hairclips first. Grinning, he stuck them into his messy hair. Next, Finni went to the big box. When he opened it and peered inside, his eyes started to sparkle.
He pulled out the stuffed dog with a giant smile.
"It looks just like Plu-Plu!"
"That was kind of the point," Sam laughed. "You're the only one here who likes that accursed demon hound after all."
Finni jumped forward and gave Sam a large hug. From his position at the counter, Sebastian frowned, silently glaring at the gardener.
When Finni released his strawberry blonde friend, she smiled, ruffling his hair.
"You remind me so much of my brother. You two even look like," Sam grinned. Suddenly, she froze, a thoughtful look coming across her face. "Oh, that's right!"
Sam jumped up and dashed out of the kitchen, turning briefly to shout over her shoulder.
"Be right back!"
Bard and Finni sent her odd looks and Sebastian rolled his eyes. Bard looked up at Phantomhive butler to say something and froze, staring at the red object perched on Sebastian's head. He covered his mouth to muffle his laughter.
"What's th-that?" he choked.
Sebastian's golden eyes narrowed.
"What is what, Bardroy?"
"That thing… on your head."
Sebastian turned away, bending down to pull the tray of gingerbread men from the oven.
"Sam's present."
"And you're still wearing it?"
The demon's icy glare stopped the cook's laughter short and Bard paled, turning back towards the fire. The sound of heavy, rushed footsteps echoed down the hall and Sam burst back into the kitchen, letter in hand. She ran up to the butler, bouncing on the balls of her feet,
"Sebastian, how soon would you be able to get this to the post office?"
"Five minutes or so."
"Could you bring this there for me then?" Sam asked. "It's the letter to my brother.
Sebastian nodded and excepted the letter. He headed for the door and paused.
"Sam, weren't you going to write a letter to your sister as well?"
The strawberry blonde winced and her eyes seemed to fill with remorse for a second before a goofy smile spread across her lips.
"I couldn't really think of anything to write to her. She won't miss my letter anyway," she laughed. "Apparently, I don't write formally enough for her taste."
Sebastian frowned lightly but nodded and exited the kitchen. Sam watched him leave, waiting for the door to shut firmly behind him. When Sebastian had vanished from her sight, she walked back over to Finni and Bard. She reached into the almost empty bag and withdrew Bard's gift. She handed it to him cautiously.
"I couldn't really give this to you when Sebastian was in here… he might slaughter me."
Bard gave her a curious look and tore through the paper. His eyes widened and a maniacal grin spread across his lips.
"Ta' think, Sebastian jus' got rid of the rest o' my explosives."
"Well, you can enjoy blowing stuff up again… I think."
"You think?"
Sam held up her hands in defense.
"Hey, who knows if the blacksmith guy I bought it from was being honest with me about this stuff being authentic."
"Well, let's see then…" Bard grinned, whipping out a matchbook. Sam and Finni took a cautionary step back when he plucked one of the matches from the tiny package, setting fire to the tip almost instantaneously. The cook touched the flaming tip to the dynamite's fuse and watched gleefully as the string began to disintegrate.
"Uh, Bard," Sam said, taking another hesitant step backwards, "maybe you should, you know, put that somewhere where it won't kill us when it goes kaboom."
"Perhaps."
The strawberry blonde's eyes widened slightly as the fuse grew shorter and shorter.
"Uhm, now?"
"Well, it could jus' be a dud, like ya' suggested."
"Well, it could also be a deadly explosive."
"But maybe not."
"Bard, I swear to God, if you don't get rid of the freaking dynamite-"
"All righ', all righ.' Don't go gettin' your panties in a twist."
The cook walked over to the opposite side of the kitchen and opened the door that led to the backyard. He carelessly tossed the stick of dynamite into a pile of snow. He waited for a moment, watching the pile with a careful eye, before turning back to the other two with a heavy sigh.
"Should 'a known it'd be a-"
BOOM!
The mansion shook, snow flew in all directions, and Sam and Finni screeched, clinging to each other for dear life. The blast lit up the still dark sky and dislodged icicles from their places on branches and gutters where they fell to the frozen ground and shattered. Snow and ice flew around in a miniature blizzard, berating the sides of the house and blowing through the open kitchen door. Bard slammed it shut as fast as he could. Once it was firmly closed, he sunk down against the cold wood and into a small layer of snow.
When they felt that they were no longer in any danger of being blown to smithereens, Sam and Finni slowly moved away from each, walking cautiously towards the cook.
"Bard…?" Sam whispered, reaching out to poke his shoulder. Bard began to shake and she sent him a worried look. "Bard-"
He threw his head back, bursting into raucous laughter.
"Man, this stuff is bloody brilliant!"
Sam and Finni sweat dropped.
"Yeah," the strawberry blonde grumbled. "Brilliant."
"I don't think that's the word I would have used…" Finni mumbled, hugging his stuffed Plu-Plu close.
"Whatever. This stuff beats my ol' ones by a mile!" Bard cackled, holding the dynamite proudly above his head.
Sam sighed, picked up her bag, and walked to the kitchen door.
"Well… uh, glad to know you like your gift. I'm going to give Mey-Rin her gift now… There's no way she could have slept through that," Sam snorted. She sent Bard a pointed look. "Just don't light any inside the manor. I can't really protect you from Sebastian if he decides to murder you."
"Riiight," Bard drawled. "It's not like Sebastian dearest listens t' everything you say or anything.'"
Sam scowled, forcing down a light blush.
"You know, Bardroy," she hissed, eyes dark, "this bag I'm carrying isn't just good for carting around gifts. It could probably do a pretty decent job at suffocating a person… perhaps a chef who keeps bugging me about a certain butler."
"Whatever you say," he replied nonchalantly, moving to sit down at the kitchen table. He picked at the fuse on one of the sticks of TNT absentmindedly. Sam sent him and icy glare and turned to leave, waving to Finni as she exited.
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
"Sam, why did the house shake earlier, yes?" Mey-Rin asked groggily, pushing her glasses up her nose. The strawberry blonde shrugged from her perch on the windowsill. She stroked Avalon's head once more before removing him from her lap so she could walk over to the fumbling maid.
"You probably just dreamed it or something-"
"SAM DID IT! SHE BOUGHT IT FOR ME! DON'T KILL ME!"
Bard's voice echoed throughout the Phantomhive manor and Sam scowled, eyebrow twitching in irritation.
"Barely six in the morning and he already ratted on me…"
Mey-Rin sent her a curious look.
"Bought what, yes?"
"…Dynamite."
Mey-Rin shook her head with a heavy sigh.
"I should've guessed, yes I should've," she frowned, tying her hair up and covering it with her familiar frilly, white, maid's bonnet. "I'm kind of afraid to see what you got me, yes I am."
Sam laughed and tossed Mey-Rin the gift bag.
"Go ahead then."
The clumsy maid reached into the bag, pulling out a brightly wrapped rectangle. She pulled the tape off of the edges of the package and the crinkled wrapping paper fell to the floor. Sam couldn't see Mey-Rin's eyes widen behind her thick glasses but the slight nosebleed gave away her shock.
"Th-This is…"
Sam grinned.
"You have no idea how much trouble that stupid book caused. I almost passed out from embarrassment."
Mey-Rin smiled, glancing through the pages. She paused to stare at one of the pages in particular and her nose bleed escalated.
"I-It has pictures, yes it does…"
Sam blanched.
"O-Oh… I didn't know that. Uhm… Is that good or bad?"
"…"
Mey-Rin didn't answer, only flipped back to the beginning of the novel and began to read furiously. Sam sweat dropped and forced a smile.
"Uh… I'll… just… leave you be then…"
The maid paused for a moment, folding the corner of the page she was on of her new book to reach underneath her bed. She pulled out a bright red and green box tied with a white ribbon.
"Merry Christmas, Sam!"
The strawberry blonde smiled widely, taking the box in her hands and untying the bow. She reached inside, pulling out a stuffed, blue and purple striped, cat. There was a large cursive, S stitched onto it's chest and Sam grinned, hugging it to her chest.
"It's so cute!"
"I would've gotten you the orange one because it looked like Avalon, yes…" she mumbled, pushing her fingers together, "but it had a J on it, yes it did."
"Thank you, Mey-Rin!" Sam chirped, hugging her quickly before rushing over to Avalon. "Look, Avi! You've got a little buddy!"
The feline meowed, disinterested, and rolled over onto his other side.
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
"Merry Christmas~" Finni's voice cheered. He handed Sam a wrapped, green package. There was a sloppy cartoon dog drawn on the corner.
"Here. Take it before I'm found dead in a gutter somewhere."
A black box landed in her lap. She placed Finni's gift down and picked at the wrapping paper on Bard's.
"Not that I mind, but for curiosity's sake, why is it black? Shouldn't it be bright and colorful for Christmas?"
Bard grinned.
"It's t' match your heart… and th' butler you so fancy."
Sam scowled but ripped through the paper all the same. She sighed, eyebrow twitching as she pulled the same book she'd given Mey-Rin out of the box.
"Really, Bard?"
"Figured you'd need some lessons in tha' particular area."
"Be glad it's Christmas or I would feed you to Pluto."
"Well, you're very welcome, Sam," he snorted.
The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes.
"Thank you, Bardroy."
"Open mine, open mine!" Finni cheered. Sam grinned, placing the novel back in the box before reaching for Finni's gift. The wrapping paper crinkled and ripped easily, falling into a messy pile on the floor.
She pulled out a light blue scarf with an S.Q. sowed on the bottom. There was a miniature version tucked inside of it. Finni's eyes sparkled.
"It's so you and your new kitty can match!"
Sam chuckled, wrapping the scarf loosely around her neck.
"Thank-"
"Wait! There's one more thing!"
Sam looked at him curiously, reaching back into the box. She pulled out a small pamphlet titled Your Dog and You along with a box of dog treats. She turned to Finni, raising an eyebrow.
"It's so you and Plu-Plu can get on better terms…"
Sam burst into laughter, enwrapping both the cook and gardener in a bear hug.
"Thanks, you guys."
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"So…" Sam mumbled. She took a large bite out of a gingerbread man, decapitating it. "What's my punishment this time?"
Sebastian frowned.
"Punishment?"
Sam nodded.
"I already said I'd take the blame for Bard's gift, so here I am."
The butler sighed, putting the finishing touches on a large, chocolate-cherry, triple layered, cake.
"Because there were no real damages, I will let it slide this once… considering it is… the holidays." He bit out the last part like the words pained him. The strawberry blonde smiled, hugging Woof (the name she graced upon her new stuffed cat) tighter to her chest.
"Thanks, Sebastian! That's got to be the best present I'll get… No extra work!" She looked down at Woof. "Not that you're not awesome, Woof. I just feel really lazy today."
The butler 'hnned' and began to take plates and cups out of the cabinet. He placed a stack of each on the counter before turning back to Sam.
"Actually, because I didn't have the time to purchase anything like the others, I took down all of the mistletoe and disposed of it properly as your gift."
Sam's smile widened.
"Did you incinerate it?"
The butler smirked.
"Of course."
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Thus, ends the Holiday Arc.
Man, that was loooooong *sweat drop* I was going to update right after I finished the Christmas Eve part, but I felt like I had to put Christmas day in there (even if it was kind of short…). Also, I really wanted to be done with the Holiday Arc. It's got me humming Christmas Carols in July and my family and friends are getting pretty pissed. I really wanted to move on with the actual plot. The plot bunnies for the different upcoming arcs were bugging me to death.
I hope I can update soon, but I'm going on vacation for two weeks (one week with my mom, one with my dad) and that could be a bit of a problem. I'll try to type while I'm frying away on some beach or rotting away in my step-mother's family's cabin in New Hampshire that's stuck square in the middle of no where with no internet, cable, or cell service. It rains practically every second when we're up there so generally that would mean plenty of laptop time but no. internet. What. So. Ever. This is gonna suck...
Hope to see you all soon! Hope everyone's enjoying their summer~