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"Sebastian, why did you of all people bring Grell here?" Ciel hisses in his butler's ear.
Amu was attending to the unconscious Grell who was lying on the couch, wiping his forehead from sweat with a cool cloth. She was glad that she managed to convince Sebastian to bring him back to the manor and now, she very much wanted to help the man.
Sebastian watches this from afar and answers his master softly, "The little Misus insisted. Even a butler such as myself couldn't deny how awfully sweet and concerned she looked when Grell fainted."
"Hn, bull. You didn't bring him back because Amu asked you to. You brought him here because you want to know why he called Amu Alice."
Sebastian merely smiles, "Speaking of which, I thought we agreed that she is to be referred to by her English name?"
"Amu fits her more. Everyone else has to call her that but I don't. She is my employee so I will call her how I please."
Before the demon manservant could respond, Amu interrupts him, "Sebastian? Does your acquaintance normally change his hair color and length while unconscious?"
The two males turn and recognized the form that Grell's body had taken. He looked as he was before he revealed that he was a Grim Reaper for the first time.
What caused brunette Grell to return?
The grim reaper stirs suddenly and everyone watches him slowly wake and sit up, wondering what was going to happen next. Amber was the first to speak, "Sir? Do you know where you are?"
He turns, rubbing the back of his head irritably but stops short when he sees Amu. If the pinkette could describe his expression, she would say it looked like the man saw a ghost.
Grell wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not because the resemblance was rather uncanny. The girl in front of him had a remarkable facial likeness to his late sister Alice minus the hair and eye colour. The brunette's eyes glazed over the familiar features; cute little button nose, heart-shaped face, small ears, rosebud lips and rosy cheeks.
"I am Grell Sutcliff little child. What is your name?"
"Amelia but you can call me Amy too if you like" she answers and flushes as he kisses her hand without warning.
The grim reaper then moves his hand to brush his gloved fingers in her hair in an affectionate manner, "Such a pretty girl you are. You're a maid here yes?"
Amy nods shyly and blushes red as Grell gets down on knee, "Do you dislike me?"
"Erm I don't really know you...so that is not something for me to say yet."
"If that is the case, will you do me the esteemed honor of being my companion Amelia?"
Before the pinkette could even think of a response, Ciel puts a stop to their conversation.
"Amy, leave and fetch us some tea. I need to speak with Mr Sutcliff."
Embarrassed, the teenage maid curtsies and leaves the room in a quick but not unseemly manner. Grell watches her go with a soft smile on his face.
"Who is Alice?" Sebastian asks, not missing a beat.
"That was the name of my sister that I used to have long time ago." Grell answers as he stands, dusting himself off.
"Used to?" Ciel repeats. "Did you kill her?"
Grell's expression darkens in an instant and his killer intent becomes so evident that Sebastian raises his hand in front of Ciel in defense as if expecting the grim reaper to pounce any second, "Alice did not die by my hand."
Ciel was intrigued by the odd demeanor the usually flamboyant grim reaper was displaying but decided it was best not to aggravate him especially not when Amu was supposed to come back any minute.
"What interest do you have in my maid?"
Grell takes a deep breath and his intense look disappears from his handsome face in a moment before raising his head to meet eyes with the young Earl, "I merely seek a platonic friendship with her."
"Why?"
"Surely you have done things merely out of want haven't you little Earl?"
A soft knock sounds from the door and Sebastian tells the pinkette to enter. She enters the room with a tray in hand and everyone looks on as she carefully handles the teapot and gracefully pour the tea into each cup. After setting the table and the saucers for the teacups, she curtsies respectfully and picks up the tray before leaving the room quietly.
"She really is a pretty girl, where did you find her Phantomhive?" Grell asks once the door closed behind her.
"None of your damn business. I don't want you near her."
Grell raises an eyebrow and tilts his head, his lips forming a smirk, "That child is not from this time now is she?"
Their expressions gave it away making Grell snicker.
"You forget that I am a grim reaper earl. When I kissed her hand, I got a faint vision of her essence. 20th century teenager. Young, free-spirited and a friendly little soul."
Ciel frowned, asking the grim reaper doubtfully a question he wondered in his mind. "Is there anything you can do to take her back to her own time? "Since you are aware of her origins, could you help her with your abilities?"
"I'm afraid I can't help her. Humans who have found themselves lost in time are doomed to never return home. I'm sorry."
Grell did actually sincerely sound apologetic but Sebastian merely just nods nonchalantly and turns to Ciel who looked thoughtful until Grell speaks up again, "I want to have tea with her 4 o clock everyday for half an hour."
"Everyday?" repeats Ciel, shocked.
"Why not?"
Sebastian shakes his head, unsurprised, "You really have nothing better to do do you?"
"Deal or not?" Grell asks, ignoring Sebastian for once.
"Why should I agree to this?"
"What do you have against it?" he retorts hotly.
Ciel scowls, irate now, "She is only a mere teenager. I don't want her anywhere near anything dangerous which includes a serial killer like yourself."
"If that is the case, she is obviously much better off in an orphanage or a scullery maid somewhere far away isn't it? Serving the Queen's guard dog isn't an easy task."
Ciel's scowl deepens and clenches his fist at the smirk Grell was giving him.
"Tell you what. If you agree to this deal, I will be provide you intel indefinitely when asked. Fair trade?"
Sebastian raises an eyebrow, obviously distrustful, "Wouldn't Mr Spears be angry with you? Surely this arrangement be against the rules?"
Grell nods, shrugging his shoulders, "True. But obviously the Earl is unwilling to let me spend time with the pretty pink maid unless I provide him something of value to him."
"Correct. This arrangement would suffice."
Before the demon butler could protest, his master and the grim reaper were already shaking hands."
"Very good. I will see myself out. Thank you Earl."
Ciel watches him, a bitter taste in his mouth seeing the brunette smugly walk out the door.
Why did he feel guilty?
On the other side of the door, Grell smiles softly after closing the door at the sight of Amu on the ground, rubbing her forehead irritably. He suspected that the pinkette was trying to listen in. He helps her up with an amused smirk on face.
"You know Amy, it is bad manners to do those sorts of things. What will you do if you get sacked?"
Amu flushes in embarrassment before giving a deep curtsy, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Grell chuckles, seeing her rosy cheeks redden to the shade of a tomato, "It's alright as long as you learn. Now then, won't you accompany me out child?"
Amu takes his large hand in hers and shyly guides him out making Grell smile genuinely for the first time in years.
She really is a lot like Alice...
Later at dinner, Ciel sullenly plays with his food, rolling his peas back and forth; feeling irritable about the whole ordeal. Amu was his maid. He did not want to share her. She was his. But he knew that this arrangement with Grell would benefit him. He was always having encounters with the man in his missions, it was only natural to have something over Grell that would make the grim reaper spill what he knew. Most of the time there was an odd link or another that the two cases shared anyway. Lost in thought, he was naturally caught completely off-guard when he hears a loud shout.
"CIELLLLL!"
The earl groans in distaste before Prince Souma appears before him grinning cheerfully, dressed in his usual heavily embroidered sherwani and tight fitting churadi, "How are you my friend?"
Ciel sighs, not in the mood to answer until a certain someone catches the eye of the prince, "Ciel! Who is that fair maiden with the pink hair coming through the kitchen doors?"
The one-eyed teen turns just in time to see Souma rush up to the the pinkette, holding her hands in his, "Please tell me your name!"
"A-amy..."
"What a cute name! I am Prince Souma!"
With a jolt, Amu remembers the Indian prince that visited her school a few months after she had just transferred. Maybe she was seeing things but there was an eerily resemblance between the handsome Indian prince in front of her and the brat she met in her time.
Possible decedent maybe?
"Won't you please dine with me tonight?!"
"EHHH?!"
Ciel had enough so when he notices Agni enter the room from the kitchen behind Amu, he screams at the turban wearing manservant to restrain his master. Agni observes the bad mood that the earl is in and in one quick look, he politely encourages his prince to stop touching the shy maid. Souma pouts but lets go and Amu rushes past him and behind an irate Ciel with his arm outstretched as if blocking anybody else that dared come near.
"I would appreciate it if people stop touching her without my damn permission! She is mine!"
Without another word, he takes the pinkette by the hand and leaves the dining hall with her much to the amusement of Sebastian and to the disappointment of Souma.
Much later in the evening after Souma had left, miserable that his friend was upset with him, Ciel chose to relax in some quiet in his home's library only instead, he spends less time and reading and more time silently watching Amu from his seat whom sat comfortably on the armchair close to the fire as she did her competency test. Sebastian was assigned as her tutor by Ciel only just because he didn't want Amu to have too much free time on her hands and most importantly decrease the chances of other men that wasn't him touching her so casually.
Ciel sighs deeply, not understanding his fierce need to keep her away from other people. Was it because she was an innocent girl who had no business in the underworld?
Or was it something else?
He watched as she bit the end of her pencil, stumped by a question and marveled at how soft and moist her lips looked. He noticed often that sometimes Lizzy's lips becoming chapped rather frequently but Amu's lips always looked to be luscious and inviting every time he stole a glance at them.
He blinked, realizing what he had just thought and flushed in embarrassment. It was then he also realized that the reason Lizzy's were always chapped because she always talked whereas Amu barely spoke unless spoken to.
Maybe...if he tried...
"Amu?"
"Yes master?"
There it was, that feeling that prickled his skin in a pleasant way. He needed to understand why and how she got this odd effect on him.
"You have been here for 2 days. What do you think thus far?"
"Milord it has only been 2 days. There isn't much I can say except I do wonder how you got to be acquaintances with a grim reaper."
Ciel literally froze, completely off guard that she knew that.
"How did you-?"
"I had an encounter with one of them once before in my own time. The eye colour was a dead giveaway really." she answers, almost bored with the question.
"How much do you know about them?" Ciel asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Not a lot. But for you to be able to see them and interact with them so plainly means that you had brushed against death and its delicate balance before am I right?"
She raises her head for the first time since he started speaking to her and finally meets eyes with him. Ciel could see a little twinkle in her golden honey coloured eyes realizing that she was curious on what he had to say but she was also teasing him almost.
"Amelia, are you finished?"
Ciel watches Sebastian come in and take the paper that Amu nonchalantly hands to him.
"What may I do now Sebastian while I wait?"
"You may get a small snack or relieve yourself if you wish. It will not take me long to grade this."
The pinkette nods, gets up from the chair and curtsies to Ciel before leaving the room. Sebastian turns to his master noting the look on his face and asked if something was the matter after adjusting his glasses.
"She is a lot more than what she seems Sebastian. We need to keep an eye on her."
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