Hey, welcome back! I had hoped to have this chapter out a lot sooner, but work was being a pain as per usual. Thank you so much to those who have left reviews! They're a huge help and inspire me to keep writing! Also, thank you to everyone who has followed this story or added it to their list of favourites already. It's really sweet of you. I hope that you all enjoy this next instalment!


3: His Lordship and His Butler


Flora wasn't sure how long she was stood there, held in a trance by his hypnotic eyes. Up close, there was a definite hint of deep red in his irises that shone like rubies in certain angles of the light. His skin was paler than her own, if that was even possible. But it also looked soft and completely free of calluses or any hint of strenuous manual labour. His posture was straight, holding himself like the dandy-man gentlemen she would sometimes occasionally see walking around the city. Though his appearance was pristine, there was also a casual air that surrounded him. Maybe casual was the wrong word. In fact, smug was the first word that came to Flora's mind. Wild hair, for a secret wild attitude.

As if sensing her thoughts, the butler smirked down at her, his grip on her tightening even more. His eyes betrayed a ravenous excitement, like a man who had been starved in a prison for years, before his eyes became like steel shutters, forcing Flora out. It all happened in a split second, but it was enough for Flora to capture and send her heart into another fearful frenzy.

Trembling again, Flora pulled herself away from him, and much to her relief, he let her go. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his lips pressed into a tight thin line before seeming to sweep over her. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't seem to like it as his eyes narrowed even more. The young blonde wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously, feeling like she was being appraised like the big bosses at the mills and factories would do to see if she was fit enough for work.

He had yet to say another word to her, and Flora was starting to feel the silence between them grow awkward. Was she supposed to do something? He'd managed to get her out from her hiding place, so now what was he going to do? Would he question her? Good luck with that one, Flora couldn't help but think with an inward, humourless chuckle. Already she could feel her throat closing itself up as a huge lump formed and blocked the passageway of her voice. She tried to listen to see if there was any sign of John or that bratty Earl making their way back in; her ears were only met with silence.

However, her thoughts were interrupted by the butler placing a hand on his chest and bowing respectfully, a grin now plastered back onto his face. "I'm sure you know already, but my name is Sebastian Michaelis, head Butler of the Phantomhive estate."

Flora blinked at him as he rose once again to smirk at her. There was an air of arrogance around him that made her feel both uncomfortable, yet safe at the same time. It was a very odd combination that had frozen her in place once again. Her chest was hurting, just like it had been by the bridge, but it was nowhere near as bad this time. Like someone had placed a cool cloth over a burning fever. She disliked his arrogance, but at the same time, it was like she instinctively knew that he wouldn't hurt her. That nothing else could hurt her with him around. No matter how much her brain screamed at her for allowing herself to be left alone with a complete stranger.

"And you are Flora Byrne, correct?"

Flora nodded slowly. What would be the point in denying it?

"I apologise if my master or myself scared you; that was not our intention." His smirk grew. "We simply wish to ask you a few questions regarding a case that my young lord is investigating. You are not in any trouble, nor will I allow you to become so."

Flora frowned in confusion before shrinking away slightly when the dark butler grabbed hold of one of her hands again, snaking his fingers between her own and holding them in place with his much stronger grip. Sebastian let a quiet breath escape through his nose as both of them shivered at the other's touch. However, Flora found herself more worried about ruining his clean white gloves with her dirty hands. Yet the butler either didn't notice or care.

"If you would like to follow me," he practically purred.

All the girl could do was follow along to wherever he was leading her, too scared to try and run and hide again. Something told her that he would find her again easily enough, and that maybe next time, he wouldn't be so patient with her. Flora sighed, supposing that the sooner she cooperated, the sooner these strange people would leave her alone.

Sebastian led her back into the main workshop where both the Earl and John were waiting, standing yards apart from each other. The Earl's one good eye was scanning the room with a sour expression on his face, looking completely out of place among the tools, dirt and grime. Meanwhile, John was leaned back against a workbench, tapping his fingers against it with a worried expression on his face. Luckily that worry soon disappeared when he caught sight of Sebastian and Flora making their way back into the room.

"It took you long enough," the Earl huffed, and Flora could barely contain her frown.

"I apologise, master." Sebastian placed his other free hand on his chest and gave a small bow again. "I was simply reassuring her that she will not be harmed."

The Earl's blue eye remained blank before he frowned, seemingly watching his butler carefully. Sebastian stared back with the same usual smirk on his face, and Flora watched apprehensively as they appeared to be locked in some sort of mental game with each other. Seizing her opportunity, the young blonde pulled her fingers from Sebastian's grip, and although he frowned slightly at her action, he let her go again. With her whole hand feeling like it was on fire, Flora did her best to ignore the sensation as she moved to stand next to John, before biting her dry lower lip and looking down at her feet.

The Phantomhive finally cleared his throat, bringing everybody's minds back into the room and the discussion at hand. "I am to assume that we have the right address and you are in fact Flora Byrne?"

Flora nodded, not once looking up at him. Her whole body still trembled in fear.

"You were sighted by witnesses on the banks of the River Thames at approximately five o'clock this morning, close to where a body was found but a few hours later. What were you doing there and what did you see?" Ciel asked.

John sighed as Flora remained silent, tears burning the corner of her eyes. Did John not explain to the Earl?

"Well?" Ciel probed.

Flora looked up very briefly to see the Earl glaring at her impatiently. Her eyes also found themselves gravitating towards Sebastian who had also narrowed his eyes at her, though his appeared to be the result of deep thought rather than the impatience the Earl was displaying. She quickly looked down again, digging her nails into the palms of her hands as that familiar lump formed in her throat again, blocking anything from escaping.

"Why do you not speak, Ms. Byrne?" Ciel tried questioning.

"Perhaps…" His Butler chimed in. "She can't…"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, my lord," John explained, pushing himself away from the table slightly. He placed a comforting hand on Flora's shoulder as she shrivelled up further under everybody's gaze. "Sometimes… Flora can't always talk," he tried his best to explain.

"I see," Ciel mumbled, and Flora could feel his blue eye narrowing on her even more.

"She can talk, and sometimes it's hard to shut her up –" Flora wanted to elbow John for that remark "– but it's only with certain people who are very close to her. Any other time, she remains silent."

"Why?" It seemed that the Earl was finding this almost hard to believe.

John shrugged. "I'm not sure, my lord. She wasn't always like this. It was around the age of six when she stopped being able to talk to strangers."

Flora knew why, she just never spoke of it. The mere mention of it brought back memories of water cascading down her throat, the disgusting detergent burning her insides. She shook her head to quickly dispel those thoughts. She refused to think about it. Her mother had been so stressed and exhausted from work that she didn't want to add the extra burden of revealing what had happened.

"I believe modern medicine refers to it as selective mutism, my lord," Sebastian explained, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "I shall have to research the topic."

The Earl threw Sebastian an odd look before turning back towards John and Flora. "Then did she explain to you what she was doing by the river this morning?"

John sighed. "Though I have forbidden it due to the danger, Flora sometimes goes scavenging by the river when the tide is at its lowest. Supplies there can be plentiful. I can assure you that if Flora had seen anything suspicious, she would have told me straight away."

That wasn't exactly a lie, Flora thought to herself. She had found something weird, she just wasn't sure if it was significant at all. She certainly didn't view it as such. It was just a piece of broken glass. Yet those thugs from before had seemed very keen on seizing the object from her. What would they want with a piece of glass from a mirror? Perhaps they had mistaken it for something else? The box in her pocket suddenly felt ten times heavier. She had almost forgotten that in her panic she had shoved it back in there when those thugs began chasing her. Should she take it out and show them? Could these two be trusted? For all Flora knew, they could be the bad guys. Besides, it was just some useless rubbish. Wasn't it?

"Can I offer you a drink, my lord?" John attempted to be polite while Ciel's eye inspected the projects around him. At the very moment John voiced his offer, Flora noticed Ciel catch sight of one of the plain clay mugs that lay upon a workbench, no doubt full of old coffee stains. Well… a coffee substitute anyway. There was no way John would ever be able to afford the real thing. Ciel scrunched up his nose like a child being forced to eat something they didn't like before turning away.

"No, thank you." He then turned back to Flora. "So you didn't see anything suspicious."

Flora shook her head.

The Earl's frown only deepened, and Flora could have sworn that the boy was staring directly into her soul. Despite his young age and spoilt demeanour, there was a very high level of intelligence behind those eyes. Every single move he made, from the small steps to his right to the tap of his finger on his cane, appeared to be calculated. Though this really shouldn't be a surprise to her. A boy of his station would have received the finest education that money could buy, with access to the most prestigious private tutors. Flora could only dream of such a thing. She had always wanted to be able to learn and go to school, but she could never afford it. Instead, she had been in and out of jobs since was she three-years-old just to survive. Whatever money she did earn had to be spent on food and lodgings. There was never anything left spare.

Flora frowned back at the Earl, unable to stamp down the jealousy building up inside her. This kid didn't know how lucky he was. Why was he going around so miserable? If Flora had his fortune, she would have a permanent smile on her face. He no doubt owned multiple homes just like most members of the aristocracy did. He never went to bed hungry, had access to clean water from country springs, could afford an education, and no doubt he had a house full of staff at his beck and call. Sebastian was a prime example. A butler like him no doubt didn't come cheap. It wasn't fair. Why was life so kind to others while people like Flora were left to rot?

However, Flora was instantly snapped out of her thoughts by the Earl's next question.

"So then pray tell what it was you were running from earlier this afternoon?"

Flora gulped. Even if she could speak about the event in front of him right now, what would she say? That a bunch of men were chasing her over a piece of glass? The more Flora thought about it, the crazier the whole situation sounded. His lordship would probably never believe her, no matter what story she gave him. They were investigating a murder. That piece of mirror had nothing to do with anything.

"Flora?" John seemed shocked. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Great, now John had dropped her right in it even further. Now it looked like she was purposefully hiding things. Flora had simply not wanted to worry him. Besides, she had lost them and would never see them again, so what was the point?

Once again, Flora felt her eyes drifting back towards the Earl's butler. He was watching her carefully, but his mask appeared to be slipping. His eyes were shining dangerously, looking redder and more menacing than ever. She flinched back at the sight and quickly averted her eyes. There was something about that look that reminded her of the horrific vision she had seen in the mirror's reflection. A shiver ran up her spine at the memory. No. That would be impossible. Flora was just tired and overwhelmed by everything that had happened today. She just wished that the Earl and his butler would leave. Then maybe everything would go back to normal and Flora could banish this day to the deepest pits of her memory.

"We ran into Ms. Byrne earlier on, or more appropriately, she ran into us," Sebastian explained. "She appeared rather panicked at the time and quickly fled again."

"Flora?" John's voice was sterner now.

Ciel sighed. "If you two need some time alone to talk to each other about what happened, I will permit you five minutes and wait outside until then. I need to have a quick word with my butler anyway."

Permit? Flora frowned. He was in their house and was permitting them some time alone? Flora really hated the nobility sometimes. They acted like they owned everything and acted like they were gods while the poor were mere mortals. She found herself disliking the Earl more and more. What made it even more annoying was that he was just a child. A spoilt and entitled brat. If any other child had been behaving this way with Flora, she would have whacked them over the head by now. But because this boy was an Earl, he was special, and Flora would get into huge trouble for doing such a thing. He was her superior in every way, whether she liked it or not.

"Thank you, my lord." John bowed, his brow sweating slightly as he watched the Earl turned to leave and make his way to the door. The boy paused next to the door before turning back around slightly to glare at his butler.

"Sebastian!" He snapped as if talking to a dog.

The butler in question finally reverted his eyes from Flora, who hadn't even realised he had been staring at her, before smirking and making his way towards the door. He opened it for the little lord before Ciel huffed in annoyance, throwing Sebastian another suspicious glance as he walked past. Sebastian's smirk merely widened in reply before pulling his index finger up to his lips, the lord and his butler communicating silently with each other before the door closed and sealed them from Flora's view.

What a strange pair, she couldn't help but think. She felt more relaxed with the Earl away from her, however, she couldn't ignore the weird pull that beckoned her to follow them. In fact, Flora hadn't even realised she was about to follow like a little lost puppy when John's voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Young lady, there better be a good explanation." He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently, looking very much like the parent that Flora had always viewed him as.

Flora looked back towards the door, checking to make sure it was shut properly and that the two strangers weren't listening in. She could see their shadows moving and they appeared to be distracted talking to each other. So, releasing a breath she didn't realise she was holding, Flora began to whisper her replies, the lump in her throat now having vanished.

"I have no idea what happened," she began explaining, tugging nervously on her dress. "I was just throwing some rubbish away when these two thugs grabbed me. They threatened me, so I fought back and fled. That was when I ran into those two before I ran off again. That's all there is to it."

John narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before his facial features relaxed, one of his large hands moving to her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "And you really know nothing about this body that was found by the river?"

Flora stared into his eyes. "I promise that I didn't see anything suspicious by the river this morning. All I found was wood and rubbish. It was that very rubbish that I was tossing away when the thugs attacked me. The first I heard of a body being found was when I was hanging around the city after you sent me away for the day. I didn't stick around long to find out more information."

John smiled. "Just checking. I know how much of a magnet for trouble you can be."

Flora playfully swatted his hand off her shoulder before pulling him into a tight embrace. No matter how much of a strange day she'd had, John always managed to make her feel safe and like everything was going to be okay. Now that she had explained everything to him, hopefully he could finally send the Earl away and life could continue on as normal. No more bratty Earls and no more creepy butlers that put her into weird trances.

The door to the shop opened again, and the Earl stepped back in followed by his loyal butler. Flora and John pulled apart, though he kept one hand wrapped around her shoulder. It was impossible to miss the glare that Sebastian shot in their direction before he schooled his features once again. What was it with this man? He was probably the strangest out of the two of them.

"Well?" Ciel got straight to the point.

"Mindless thugs attacked her," John re-told her story. "Nothing more. She was running from them when she bumped into you, which I apologise for. My daughter's manners and grace are not exactly well-renowned." He bowed slightly again, trying to be as polite as possible to the Earl, and ease any potential tension.

"Daughter?" Ciel looked momentarily confused. "I thought she was your apprentice?"

"She is," John replied. "But I helped raise her since she was baby and have always viewed her as if she was my own flesh and blood."

"I see." The Earl looked like he had grown bored, and to be honest, so had Flora. She was growing really tired from all of the running around she had been doing, which was finally catching up to her. Her muscles were aching and her eyelids were growing heavy. Hopefully they had now proved that there was nothing special about her, and they could all finally go their separate ways.

Her eyes momentarily met Sebastian's to find that he was, once again, staring at her. She quickly looked away as her cheeks heated up. Was there something on her face? She brought her sleeve up to wipe her cheek, but all that came off was the usual soot. Then again, Flora supposed she should have expected it. Rich people tended to stare at her all the time, some with pity, some with disgust, and others with curiosity. Yet Sebastian's expression betrayed nothing. He kept his thoughts well hidden, leaving Flora to assume that he maybe just hadn't seen a poor person before. After all, he likely lived a cushy life in the countryside, even if he was a servant.

Still, his gaze made her uncomfortable, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She wanted to snap at him, but that lump had returned to her throat, preventing her from speaking. Her whole body tensed up with anxiety at the thought of these two strangers hearing her voice. Each anxious thought was like food to the lump and it swelled in size until Flora felt like she was about to choke. It gorged itself on every panicked emotion that shot through her. Oh how much she wished that she was normal, but that thought always only seemed to aggravate things even further.

"If that is all, then we will be on our way," the young Earl announced, marching his way towards the door again. This time, Sebastian followed without needing to be told, though his eyes never left Flora. Ciel as well turned back to stare at her. "I am correct in assuming that that is all?" His blue eye bored into her intensely.

Flora let out a small, sharp gasp, her ice blue eyes once again locking with royal blue. Pressing her lips together and frowning, Flora nodded once before watching with relief as Sebastian opened the door for his master. The two of them left without another word and Flora could finally fully relax.

"What a strange bunch," John mused, sitting back down by his work.

Flora hummed in agreement before taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"The butler seemed to have a sweet spot for you."

Flora froze. "Meaning?"

"The poor bloke couldn't take his eyes off you. I'd say he was well and truly smitten. Then again, you are very beautiful." He chuckled.

"Stop trying to tease me," Flora grumbled, "I'm already anxious enough as it is."

"But if he thinks he can come anywhere near you without courting you properly, he can think again." John slammed his hammer down onto some heavy metal. "I've already warned you not to marry until you're thirty!"

"John, please!" Flora begged, feeling a stress headache coming on. "I've already told you, I have no interest in getting married, and I think you're looking too much into things. He's probably lived such a sheltered life that he's never seen someone who lives in the slums before."

Before John could retort, Flora was already running up the creaky wooden stairs to her tiny bedroom. For a moment of two, she simply stood there, waiting for her brain to finally catch up with everything that had just happened. Why did John have to always make jokes like that? They were never funny.

Her blurry reflection in the small mirror on her desk caught her eye and she sighed to herself. Beautiful? Unfortunately not. Years of poverty had likely destroyed any natural beauty she may have been blessed with. Maybe once you scrubbed through the layers of dirt there might be something there that vaguely resembled a pretty girl, but everybody knew that regular baths were bad for you. Plus, they couldn't afford to waste all that water. That just made John's claim even more ridiculous. In fact, it wasn't even a claim; it was a joke. One in poor taste in fact.

Growling to herself in annoyance, Flora finally moved towards her window, only for her arm to brush against the box that was in her pocket. Reaching inside, she pulled the wretched thing out that seemed to bring her nothing but bad luck. Once more she opened the box to see the shard of mirror glinting in the very limited light from the oil lamps outside and the single candle in her room. Her own reflection gazed back at her, no sign of the monster she had seen earlier in the day. She twisted it this way and that way, narrowing her eyes as her own reflection remained in place. Maybe she had finally cracked and was going crazy. What was she even still doing with this thing? That strange feeling she got from the mirror beforehand remained. All her instincts were telling her not to go anywhere near it, yet a part of it called to her to investigate and continue gazing upon herself.

Sighing, Flora closed the box again before tossing it onto her desk. She could always get rid of it tomorrow. Right now, she was much too tired. So she sank down into her pile of fabric that made up what was supposed to be her bed, and allowed herself to finally relax. No doubt John would have her working hard tomorrow to make up for her being idle all day today, but Flora didn't mind. It should provide her with a nice distraction.

Flora blinked sleepily as she turned to look out her window, through the cracks in the wooden boards and into the night. It was still freezing, and she pulled her cloak tighter around herself, her body involuntarily shivering. Her stomach growled in hunger, the pain of which was something nobody ever truly got used to. You just got better at ignoring it.

She allowed herself to lose the tired battle with her eyelids, and before she knew it, they were drifting shut. It felt like barely a few seconds had passed before she felt something brush up against her cheek. She furrowed her eyebrows and swatted whatever it was away, but kept her eyes closed the whole time. It felt like a thin piece of silk, almost like a spider's web had brushed by her skin. The sensation returned, no matter how much Flora tried to push it away.

With a groan, she finally opened her eyes slightly to find what looked like wispy black shadows dancing around her. Immediately, she froze in fear as two glowing red orbs blinked into existence in front of her, just a few centimetres from her face. Slit black pupils appeared in the middle, locking onto her and watching her every move. Not that Flora could even bring herself to move. The black shadows continued to curl around her and caress every inch of her body, seemingly paying extra care and attention to any exposed areas of skin.

Her blue eyes followed one of the tendrils, horrified yet fascinated as she watched it move. They looked like little black flames, but they gave off no heat as they wrapped themselves around her. Each individual tendril seemed to have a mind of its own as some wrapped around her arms and others nuzzled themselves against her cheek. Her mind became blank as she was unable to process what was going on. All the while, the red eyes continued to watch her, growing more and heated and hungry the longer they watched her.

"Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting for you?" A deep growl of a voice made Flora jump. "How lonely and cold it has been? The pain of the thousands of years I have spent without you?"

Flora swallowed, but otherwise didn't dare move a muscle. The shadows gripped her tighter, but they never ceased in their gentle caresses. The cold night air that had previously surrounded her was forgotten about as she was wrapped in this dark cocoon, almost as if the creature before her was trying to absorb her into itself. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears, and all of her human instincts were screaming at her to flee. However, there appeared to be something dormant hidden inside her that had briefly taken control, forcing her to stay still. To allow what was going on to happen as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was like a hole in her chest that she had never noticed before was finally being filled up, allowing her to breathe again.

"I was beginning to think you didn't exist, and that the legends weren't true. That my emptiness would never be filled no matter how many souls I consumed. But here you are, my little flower," the voice continued, and Flora's eyes widened at the nickname. The very same nickname that the butler had given her.

"You have not taken very good care of yourself," it began to chide her.

Flora frowned in confusion and offense. The terrifying being before her merely chuckled.

"Someone of your station should have been born a princess – an empress! I would have found you and worshipped the very ground you walked on, my darling flower. Instead here you are wasting away among the world's filth!"

Flora shifted uncomfortably, but the shadows held her in place. Large fangs appeared as the formless creature smirked at her. Her blue eyes locked onto them and she shivered in fear. They looked sharp and deadly. Like they could snap her neck with a single bite. This only caused her to thrash around in the monster's grip even more, desperate to get away. Her mother and the church had always told her stories about unholy monsters. Had this one come to get her? Come to eat her soul and drag her down to hell?

Shadows brushed over her cheeks, freezing the girl in place again. "Stop fighting me," it ordered in a hypnotic purr. "I'm not going to let anything take you away from me again. Not the demonic curse, not my master, and not even yourself! You are mine, Flora, always and forever. Do you understand?

Flora didn't move. She felt sick to her stomach. The creature's words disgusted her beyond words.

"I suppose this must be very confusing to your human self." The creature let out a sigh. "No matter. No obstacle is too great. I'll see to it that all will be well and as it should be in the end. After all…"

The red eyes moved back slightly and rose into the air. The dark outline of a figure appeared, towering over her as a deadly high-heeled boot took a step towards her, the wood creaking in protest under the force. The shadows wrapped around her even tighter like coils of rope, pinning her in place. If it was possible to die of fright, Flora was convinced that it would happen to her at any second.

A nightmare. This had to be a nightmare!

The creature grinned, showing off all of its sharp teeth. Its voice took on a deeper and more demonic edge. "I am one hell of a butler."


Cheesy ending, I know. Sue me, lol. Sorry if this chapter was a little on the shorter side compared to the others, but this was originally meant to be part of the previous chapter, which I ended up having to split in half as it was getting too long. So yeah, this is the result of that. I'll try and update again very soon, and in the meantime, pretty please share your thoughts with me to let me know how I'm doing. I'll see you again soon, and make sure to take care of yourselves! Ciao!