ACT IV


Roses and Cypress


The ship sank.

It sank, of course it sank. Even if one could somehow ignore the flesh-devouring monsters that had eaten approximately half the passengers and crew including the captain, there was also the unfortunate fact that the liner had also crashed into a gigantic iceberg.

Charlotte and the Phantomhives watched the giant ship sink below the waves like a dying beast still sending out red sparks and fiery blooms from where the living were attempting to shoot out emergency flares. The lights reflected off the surface of the inky water that thrashed beneath them, churning with the waves and the monsters still hidden within. Suddenly a slimy white hand shot out and groped about for the side of the boat. With a huff, Sebastian briefly released the oars and hacked the offending limb off at the elbow.

"So..." Ciel started after a very long moment of silence. "Are we going to discuss anything that just happened?"

"No," Charlotte replied absentmindedly. "I think I'll just repress this as hard as I can and never think about it until one day I'll burst and some halfwit doctor will diagnose me with Female Hysteria, after which I will murder him in a fit of madness and be placed in an asylum where I will write a bestselling novel and become someone's fancy attraction."

The demon let out a snort that might have been an aborted snicker while the boy pressed his lips together. "As fascinating as that sounds Charlotte, no one is waiting that long."

Charlotte's eyes flickered. Her lips tipped up in a sad smile. "No...I suppose not." She touched her neck and flinched when she felt the rough seam where the skin met the porcelain. Her ribbon was gone and with it went her family. Her father, the only one who had ever loved her unconditionally, who had given her a whole new life and asked for nothing in return...

At least the blood and saltwater kept the tears from being seen.

"Why are we talking about me anyway?" She rolled her eyes and gestured widely in Sebastian's direction. "Didn't he get cut in half or something?"

"Or something," Sebastian agreed with a wry smile.

"He's fine," Ciel replied impatiently, and then he added a belated, "Good job by the way."

"Yes, good job Mephistopheles," Charlotte leaned over and patted him on the shoulder a little harder than was strictly necessary. "I suppose I do forgive you for getting my team members murdered that one time."

Sebastian refrained from wincing as her fingers dug into the exposed sinews that hadn't quite finished healing and simply gave her a wide, close-mouthed smile. "Thank you Miss Charlotte. I live for your approval."

"Speaking of things worth living for," Ciel interrupted loudly, "what is this?" He held up the locket that had been left behind. It was heavy and made of a silver alloy. Each circular piece was carved with swirls and flowering vines. It was clear that a lot of work had gone into crafting it and even more care had gone into handling it.

Charlotte shrugged and fiddled with her fingers. "It's a mourning locket. Papa used to wear it under his cloak all the time so I've only seen it a few times. I don't know who any them are for though"

The boy pressed his lips together and ran his fingers along the edges for the switch. The lockets clicked open very easily which was somewhat anticlimactic after what they'd done to get it. Charlotte scooted closer to peer into it and even Sebastian leaned over curiously.

Inside each locket was a small picture of a person along with some memento tucked with them. There were locks of hair; brittle now from the lack of moisture and oils, and one of them was even dotted with drops of blood. Ciel wrinkled his nose and pressed that one shut. Then his eyes landed on the next one and he froze.

Claudia P. 13th July 1866

Inside the locket, a lady's face with sharp, knowing eyes smiled up at him from beneath a snip of auburn hair. Ciel knew he had never seen this face before, but still it felt familiar. There was something in the knowing glint in the eyes and the curl of the smile. Then he realized the source of those feelings and it was as if someone had punched him in the chest. What was his grandmother's name doing amidst this string of names? What connection did she have to the Undertaker? What link did his family have to this rogue reaper?!

"-iel? Ciel?" He jumped and looked up at Charlotte. She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were on the horizon, turning bright and orange with the rising sun. They could see the other boats floating in the water, safe from the bloated corpses that now floated visibly in the brightening light.

The knowledge that they had prevented more casualties made his breaths come a little easier. "What?" He replied.

She said nothing for a moment, and then she asked, "...do you think the Viscount survived?"

"God I fucking hope not."


oOo


"I knew you should have let Sebastian go check," Charlotte ranted five days later over breakfast. "I knew we should have made sure! We could have had it all!"

Sebastian hummed as he set a teacup in front of the earl and then in front of Charlotte. "It was a terrible maiden voyage, wasn't it?" He said, also setting out a tray of cakes. The woman blinked down at it in surprise. Usually she had to make herself an absolute nuisance before the demon deigned to give her snacks.

Ciel huffed. Terrible was an understatement. He flipped through the rest of the paper but there wasn't anything of interest. There was an interview with an artist, a sensation piece about a foreign businessman, a drug bust in the East End. It seemed that while tragedy occurred, life continued as always for others. That was both depressing and somewhat heart-warming. He huffed and pushed the paper away. Charlotte snatched it up, skipping immediately to the entertainment pages.

"At least life seems to have returned to normal," Sebastian said, refilling his teacup.

"Normal huh?" Ciel scoffed and took a sip of his tea. It was black with a splash of milk and more sugar than was probably healthy. It was perfect. Still, it wasn't enough to quell the thoughts that had taken up residence in his mind since the moment he'd opened the locket. In addition to that... "exactly what is normal about this?"

Charlotte and Sebastian blinked at him bemusedly. Atop their heads rested colourful bunny ears sticking straight up into the air. Charlotte cocked her head, causing one ear to fold over. "I have no idea what you mean. Sebastian?"

"Yes young master, everything seems to be in order. What are you referring to?"

"I hate the two of you. Why are you both wearing rabbit ears?"

"Oh, these!" Sebastian nodded, causing both ears to fold over. He readjusted them primly. "Well since it is Easter, Elizabeth insisted that we get into the spirit of things by wearing festive clothing."

That made sense. After Elizabeth had recovered from the ordeal – with zero trauma apparently – she'd gone into a frenzy trying to prepare for Easter. Today the entire mansion was filled with noises from whatever she was doing upstairs. Grimacing, Ciel finished his tea and stood up. "Well let's go see what she's doing."

The sounds of merriment grew louder as Sebastian led him to one of the parlour rooms. Ciel braced himself for whatever pastel monstrosity was beyond those doors but even with that he wasn't prepared for the riot of colours and shouts that greeted him.

"Ciel!" Elizabeth flew at him and he had to hold himself from flinching backwards. She was dressed in a bright pink ensemble that had more ruffs and ribbons than were needed. She was also wearing a pair of bunny ears. Actually, everyone was wearing them. It was vaguely terrifying, mostly it was just creepy.

His eyes landed on Prince Soma and Agni and widened. "Why are you here?!"

The prince grinned widely. He was dressed in a white tunic with gold accents that matched the sash over Agni's shoulder. "We may have a different faith but we can still celebrate with friends! What is Easter about anyway?"

Sebastian opened his mouth to answer but Charlotte slapped a hand over his face. "Si vous répondez à cette question, je vais mourir d'ironie. donc fermes là bouche," she hissed before directing a huge grin at the prince. "Easter is a time when we celebrate the Christian religious figure that died and rose from the dead three days later! We eat foods with lots of eggs, sugar and milk, and play lots of games!"

"And, and!" Elizabeth jumped in excitedly. "It's also a time when we all get new clothes and shoes!"

"Well said little miss!" A woman Charlotte had never seen before appeared. She was tall, with glasses, and most surprising of all: she was wearing shorts and long stockings. Charlotte blinked at the woman's legs and then at her own. "I, Nina Hopkins, will unveil my brand new spring designs!"

Ciel scowled. "This is so unnecessary..."

"Too late, it's already happening!" Nina cackled wildly, producing a stack of clothes wrapped in brown paper seemingly out of nowhere. "Now get changed!"

In the end, even Ciel was forced into a suit. The boy grimaced and adjusted the ruffled collar. There were flowers sewn into the pocket and the band of the hat. He felt like a walking botany experiment. At least Elizabeth looked happy about it though. She squealed and bounced up and down. "Everyone looks so cute! Wait," she frowned, "where's Charlotte?"

Nina stopped flirting with a blushing Mey-Rin to glance at the impromptu changing room. "Oh, well I didn't have her measurements so she's probably having trouble putting on the suit."

"'The suit?'" Edward repeated with a frown just as the door opened and Charlotte stepped out.

If Ciel had seen Charlotte like this upon their first meeting, he would have believed she was male. She was wearing a cream-coloured double-breasted waistcoat over a white shirt. Her suit blazer was dark black with a yellow flower sewn into the pocket and around her neck was a black bowtie with a matching yellow rose. Her long hair had been tied back into a low ponytail that hung past her waist.

In that get-up she could pass for either an incredibly pretty boy. Ciel had a flashback to the time he had to dress as a girl and almost broke out in disgusted hives. He took several deep breaths to push away the looming spectre of a panic attack and came back to himself in time to hear Edward yelling something about improper dressing.

"I think she looks great!" Elizabeth defended staunchly. "You look very handsome Charlotte!"

"Aw, thank you Lizzy!" Charlotte beamed at her. "And you look extremely pretty!"

A pleased gasp, "thank you! Let's get this egg hunt started!" Elizabeth placed a basket of colourful eggs on the table. They were all painted in a myriad of bright hues and decorated with little gems and concertinas. "Ciel, look at this one! Doesn't it bring back fond memories!"

The boy froze for a second, "uh, yeah..." he quickly turned around and marched away, calling out for Sebastian to hide the eggs. He didn't see the smile drop from Elizabeth's face, replaced by confusion and then disappointment.

Still she bounced back and grabbed another egg from the basket. "I just had an idea! This is the egg I made, so how about we have the winner be whoever finds this egg? I just know you'll find my egg first though, won't you Ciel?"

"It wasn't meant to be a competition in the first place..."

Suddenly the window smashed open as something, or someone came flying in. A man dressed entirely in white stood smirking in the midst of the broken window. "This sounds interesting! We'd like to join in!"

"Earl Grey?" Ciel screeched.

Charlotte eyed the shattered glass wonderingly. "Was the door not an option or something?"

Sebastian let out an imperceptibly quiet sigh. "Why are the Queen's personal butlers here?"

"Just a delivery from Her Majesty," Phipps appeared with a basket tied with ribbons. Inside it were more painted eggs. "A gift for the earl."

Grey grinned at Ciel. "If we're having a competition then I want to participate too!" Then he caught sight of Charlotte and Sebastian and his brow furrowed. "I could have sworn you died. And aren't you a woman?"

"I am an existential threat in a flesh suit."

"Your concern is touching, Earl Grey," Sebastian smiled benignly as he herded Charlotte away. "You're not even made of meat," he muttered to her as he pushed her towards Elizabeth.

"He doesn't know that though," Charlotte replied. "Can we start this egg hunt now?"

"Not quite," Sebastian turned to face the intruders, "considering the nature of the players, why don't we establish a new rule?" He picked up an unpainted, uncooked egg and held it up. "Each team will be given an egg and a ladle. Members can exchange eggs with the ladles but any team with a broken egg will be immediately disqualified. How does that sound?"

The teams were divided as such: Ciel and Sebastian, Prince Soma and Agni, Nina and Edward, Snake and Finny, Bard and Mey-Rin, and finally the two interlopers. Charlotte pouted. "Aw, does that mean I can't participate? Lizzy, you're not playing?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You want to team up with me? Mr. Tanaka hid the eggs so I don't know where any of them are."

"I don't want to team up with you to cheat," Charlotte grinned. "I just think you're a lot more skilled than you let on. We'll give everyone here a run for their money, won't we?"

Elizabeth Midford had always been a competitive girl. She'd hidden it beneath the veneer of demure maidenly manners but now with Charlotte holding out a hand to her, she felt her blood stir for the excitement of a good fight. She grinned. "Let's do it!"

Across the room Edward winced and Ciel covered his face. "This was a mistake"

"On your mark!" Tanaka called out. "Get ready! Go!"


Sorry for the delay. I like Kuroshitsuji, I do, but I had to take time away from it because as interesting as it is, it uses so many gross tropes. From queer people are all creepy molesters who don't understand consent (Grell, Nina, practically every villain), pedophilia (the Sebastian x Ciel subtext, practically every villain again, Nina again), rape as a backstory etc.

It's 2018 and this is the year of loving yourself and your emotional health!

Also, while looking for a title for this chapter I found out that there is a spider shaped like a rabbit and I feel the need to personally ask God why this was allowed.