I own nothing.
That Butler, Very Skilled2
'thoughts'
"speech"
{setting/stage directions?}
*sound effect*
An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for deams or stuff like written letters.
=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift
Previously:
"What is going on!" Sebastian asked as they clung to him and sobbed hysterically. "Rather… why are you two dressed like that!" Bard was wearing a baby bonnet and a bib, and Finni was wearing bunny ears and oversized bunny paws for gloves. Mei-Rin was actually perfectly fine and still in her maid uniform. She had just taken advantage of the confusion to hug Sebastian.
'Can't say I blame her…' Chêne thought, '…wait, what!' Though that thought worried Chêne since it was clearly a Freudian slip-up, now was not the time for a self-psychoanalysis.
"Ask that crazy girl!" Bard said angrily jabbing his thumb towards the door of the salon.
"Crazy girl…?" Chêne asked, blinking. Sebastian, Ciel, and Chêne peeked into the salon.
"This ribbon looks good on you… but this rose looks so cute on you too! I can't make up my mind! But this one definitely looks best! It's really cuuuute~!" A young girl said to Tanaka. "You look just like Marie Antoinette! " The girl was wearing her blond, curly hair in pigtails, and she was dressed in a cute and frilly orange dress. Her emerald green eyes sparkled in happiness.
"Do I? Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!" Tanaka said good-naturedly. Tanaka… Tanaka was wearing a curly wig that was pulled into an up-do and had wispy tendrils of curly hair loose here and there to frame his face and soften the look. He was wearing a caplet that had a high, lacey collar and bows to tie it shut.
"!? Mister Tana—" Chêne exclaimed before face-faulting onto the floor. She couldn't help it the situation was just so ridiculous.
"Oi, Chêne!" Ciel whispered, trying not to catch the blond girl's attention. Too late, the bubbly girl had turned when she heard the thud.
"Ah! " She said happily lighting up when she saw Ciel.
"Geh!" Ciel paled a bit, and the girl glomped him.
"Ciiiiieeeel~! I missed yooou sooo! " The girl proclaimed as she happily embraced him.
"E-Elizabeth!" Ciel exclaimed nervously. Elizabeth squeezed Ciel tighter and rubbed her cheek against his in a rather aggressive display of affection. Ciel could not even speak. Chêne winced when she heard Ciel's back crack. "Come ooon! I'm always telling you to call me Lizzie! Aaaahn~! You're soooo cuuuute as always! " Lizzie gushed. Sebastian cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Miss Elizabeth…" Sebastian said, taking pity on Ciel for once and distracting Lizzie.
"Oh my! Good day, Sebastian!" Elizabeth greeted Sebastian, releasing Ciel and curtseying.
"It has been quite some time since we last saw you Miss." Sebastian said bowing, perfect manners as always. Chêne knelt down next to Ciel who was panting and wheezing, still trying to recover.
"Just breathe Ciel, breathe." Chêne said rubbing his back gently for emotional support.
"Oh! Chêne is here too!" Ciel quickly shuffled away from Chêne, not wanting to be in Lizzie's line of sight so soon after he had just gotten his breath back.
'Traitor.' Chêne thought wryly.
"Hey, Lizzie!" Chêne said, smiling at the girl. Chêne really did like Lizzie… just in small doses. Lizzie had a tendency to…
"Look, Chêne! I saw this and thought it would look absolutely adorable on you~! " Lizzie said excitedly as she swiftly put a frilly cat-ear-head band on Chêne's head before she could even blink.
They were white, fluffy, and had pink ribbons and bows hanging on the sides of the headband, just under the ears. Yes, that's right… Lizzie had a tendency to force people into cute costumes… Chêne didn't really mind, after all, she was from Louisiana. They dressed up in costumes every year for Mardi Gras… She just didn't like giving Sebastian any ammunition to use against her.
"Sooo cuuute~! I want to pet you!" Lizzie gushed happily.
"Um… Thanks?" Chêne said. 'Why do people like to pet me?' She wondered.
Her old friends used to pet her on the head because her hair was soft, and they claimed she reminded them of a cute and faithful little puppy. She had actually elbowed one of her guy friends in the stomach for it once… he had called her chienne instead of Chêne. It meant female dog. So she decided to turn him into her female dog for the day. Sebastian smirked at Chêne.
"It suits you." Sebastian teased her. He was clearly enjoying himself. Chêne narrowed her eyes at him. As much as she wanted to, it simply wouldn't do to let Lizzie overhear the few choice words she had picked out for Sebastian.
"I've brought a present for you too! " Lizzie told Sebastian as she once again used her secret ninja skills to place a bonnet on Sebastian's head.
"Eh…?" Sebastian said a little stunned. Chêne's eyes widened in surprise. She knew Lizzie could be fast when she wanted to, but to pull one over on Sebastian…
"There we go! " Lizzie said happily, satisfied with her handiwork.
It wasn't just any old bonnet. No, this bonnet put Bard's to shame. It was exceptionally frilly, with lace trim, and adorned with flowers. It was also pink. Ciel and Chêne stared—stunned. Ciel's idiot hair had curled back out again. Sebastian looked sufficiently chagrinned.
"Aaahn, sooo cuuute~!" Lizzie gushed, eyes sparkling. "You're always wearing black, so I thought some color might would be good for you!"
Tanaka was chill as always, but Ciel, Chêne, and the three stooges were shaking, trying to control their laughter. Chêne had doubled over onto the floor. The image of Sebastian, a demon in a pink bonnet, had conjured up the image of an 'LOL Cat' picture she had seen when she was younger. It was an extremely disgruntled looking fluffy black cat that was shooting a death glare at the camera. It had been forced into a pink bonnet and the caption said 'Evil does not wear a fluffy pink bonnet!' Chêne couldn't hold it in anymore. She laughed, but Chêne had already passed the point of LOL and was laughing so hard, no sound came out because she couldn't breathe. The three stooges were not so lucky, they cracked, and Sebastian heard it. He gave them a death glare, his face half cast in shadow, that probably would've killed the 'LOL Cat' photographer right through the camera lense. They were lucky looks couldn't actually kill. Chêne took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. She noticed Finni, bard, and Mei-Rin were still alive, but barely. They were all on the ground, stacked on top of each other as though they were bloody corpses…Sebastian hadn't moved an inch…okay…maybe looks couldn't kill you, but they could get pretty close…
"I am exceedingly… grateful… for you kindness toward someone such as myself." Sebastian said politely to Lizzie.
"Don't mention it! " Lizzie said happily, oblivious to Sebastian's suffering.
"Ahem." Ciel cleared his throat to got Lizzie's attention, repaying Sebastian for saving him earlier.
Poor Sebastian was in the 'corner of woe' as Chêne liked to call it. He was even attracting ghost lights…While Chêne's initial thoughts had been something along the lines of 'Hah! Serves you right!' Sebastian really did have it much worse than she did…Chêne was at least a girl. She patted Sebastian on the back in a comforting 'there, there' manner.
"By the way, Lizzie… Why are you here? Where is your mother?" Ciel asked. Lizzie hugged Ciel and nuzzled him again.
"I wanted to see you, so I came here without telling her! " Lizzie said.
"Oh, so you're finally going to elope?" Chêne asked, joking.
"What!?" Ciel snapped at Chêne. "What were you thinking…?" Ciel asked Lizzie and sweat dropped.
"…Hey, Sebastian, who's the girl?" Bard asked curiously.
Sebastian, though still wearing it, had fully recovered from the bonnet incident. He had revived after teasing Chêne, and he was currently undermining her dignity as a human being by holding her in place while he petted her. Chêne was doing her best to struggle for her freedom, but was getting nowhere fast. She sighed and hung her head in defeat.
'Damn that man.' Chêne thought. She should've known better by now not to let her defenses down.
"Ah. Lady Elizabeth is the young master's Fiancée." Sebastian said bluntly.
"Fi…!?" Bard, Mei-Rin and Finni gasped. "Fiancéeeeeee!?"
"Yeah, I was shocked too." Chêne said. "But it seems many British aristocrats are betrothed from birth."
"The young master, Earl Phantomhive, is no exception." Sebastian said. "An aristocrat's wife must be of noble birth as well, and Miss Elizabeth is the daughter of a Marquess."
"Your mother must be worried if you came here without informing her." Ciel told Lizzie. He turned to address his butler. "Sebastian, call—"
"Cieeeel~! Come over heeeere~!" Lizzie said, grabbing Ciel and pulling him away from Sebastian and Chêne. "Look, look! I've made the salon cute too!" They had been too distracted by Tanaka's recent fashion statement and Lizzie's appearance to notice before, but… like the previous room…the salon was lovely. There were even stuffed animals in the chandelier. The glare from all the sparkles made Chêne wonder how they could have possibly missed it before.
"My manor, it's…" Ciel said numbly. He looked slightly ill, like he might be going into shock again.
"Oh! I know! Saaay, Ciel? Since the salon is all lovely now, let's have a dance party today!" Lizzie suggested.
"!?" Ciel flinched.
"My fiancé will escort me, and together, we'll dance the night away! Kyaaah~! " Lizzie said dreamily.
"Wha…" Ciel said, twitching. A small vein mark had formed.
"A dance, is it?" Sebastian said.
"Sounds fun." Chêne said.
"Make sure you wear the clothes I chose for you, Ciel!" Lizzie said, clasping Ciel's hands in her own. Ciel sweat dropped.
"Hey…" Ciel tried to say.
"They'll look really cute on yooou!" Lizzie gushed.
"Hey, I never said I'd…" Ciel tried to interrupt her. Lizzie continued on, oblivious to his objections.
"Dancing with Ciel, who'll be wearing an outfit I picked out. It'll be like a dream come true! I have to dress up and look my most stylish toooo~! " Lizzie said dreamily. She was starry eyed, and her aura was positively sparkling. Lizzie had passed the point of no return. Nothing could reach her now that she was in her own little fantasy world.
"Listen when people are talking to you…Hey! Elizabeth!?" Ciel said, reaching out to try and grab the bubbly girl to get her attention.
Sebastian put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head at Ciel. The butler's expression clearly said 'my condolences,but arguing is simply pointless.' Ciel weren't so clearly suffering, Chêne might have found the situation, especially the look on Sebastian's face, funny… no, scratch that, it was still funny. Chêne felt some grab her wrist. She looked and saw Lizzie staring her right in the eyes. It startled Chêne for a moment, not because the direct eye contact, Chêne was used to that because she and Lizzie were the same height. No, what made Chêne nervous was the way Lizzie's eyes sparkled when they met hers.
'Uh-oh… this won't end well for me, will it?' Chêne thought warily.
"Come one Chen, I'll make you even cuter too! There's a tail and a really cuuute dress to go with your ears~!" Lizzie said, grabbing Chêne and whisking the older girl out the room.
"Eh!?" Chêne said startled. "There's more!?"
"Hey!" Ciel shouted after Lizzie multiple vain marks throbbing on his temple. "Listen to meeee!"
=†=†=†=†=
{The Study}
Ciel was slumped onto his desk, his head buried in his arms. He was drained from the mental and physical exhaustion Lizzie had already put him through. Sebastian poured him a cup of tea.
"Miss Elizabeth is the daughter of the Middleford Marquesstate, the family into which Lady Frances, the younger sister of the previous head of this family, married. There is nothing to be done. You cannot brusquely turn your fiancée away." Sebastian reminded Ciel. "Their rank in the peerage is higher, not to mention their wealth."
"I did not want to become her fiancé." Ciel said, sitting up and propping his chin upon on arm. "I was forced to."
"Regardless… the best course of action for today would be to simply acquiesce to her fancy and then ask her to leave." Sebastian said. "After all, you have yet to finish playing that game." Sebastian set the tea down in front of Ciel, who picked it up and took a sip.
"Exactly. So just stuff some food in that mouth of hers and send her on her way." Ciel said dismissively. He picked up one of the documents on his desk to read. "I have no time to deal with a little girl's whims."
"But Miss Elizabeth wishes to dance with you…" Sebastian said. Ciel twitched. Sebastian stared at him. "… Young Master." Ciel avoided Sebastian's eyes as he put his cup back down on the table and pretended to read the document.
"What is it?" Ciel asked.
"I have never seen you do so myself… but you do know how to dance, do you not, Sir?" Sebastian said.
"…" Ciel replied as he abruptly spun his chair to face away from Sebastian.
"Haah…I see." Sebastian sighed, slicing Ciel a portion of today's dessert, Orchard Fruitcake with pears, plums, and blackberries. "That would explain why you are such a wallflower even when invited to parties." Ciel, still sitting in his chair with his back to Sebastian sweat dropped and clenched the document in his hands, partially covering his face with it, chagrinned.
"…I am busy with work." Ciel said trying to brush it off. "I haven't the time to waste on such sport…"
Sebastian swung the chair back around again.
"I beg to differ, Young Master. Social dancing is called 'social' for a reason." Sebastian told Ciel as he shoved the desert in front of his face. "It is a necessary skill at balls and banquets. A gentleman of the aristocracy must be able to dance." Sebastian said, looming over Ciel in a very imposing manner, smirking. "For if you were to refuse the daughter of a business acquaintance a dance, Young Master's reputation in social circles would plummet…"
"All right, fine! I'll just have to do it then." Ciel said grudgingly, not wanting to hear anymore on the matter. "Call for a tutor, like Madame Bright or Madame Rodkin."
"We do not have time to enlist one of the madams as your dance instructor." Sebastian said after briefly glancing at his pocket watch. "A pretense of skills is enough for today, so let us have you master the waltz, a basic ballroom dance."
"Who would you have teach me then?" Ciel asked sarcastically, "Any way you look at it, the people of this house are out of the question…Chêne at least knows what the waltz is, but she has told me before that dancing is different where she is from, so I doubt she would know."
"Not to worry, Sir." Sebastian said snapping his pocket watch shut. "Brazen though it may be of me, I shall teach you how to dance." Sebastian said. His shit-eating grin was radiant.
"Don't be ridiculous! I can't dance with a tall fellow like you!" Ciel said indignantly. He bristled, feeling as though he might actually break out in hives at the thought of dancing with another man. "You cannot dance the waltz anyway…" Ciel said. Sebastian held a finger out, silencing Ciel.
"Permit me to teach you the Viennese Waltz, as I have often visited the Schönbrunn Palace in the past." Sebastian said smirking. "Will you not grant me this dance, My Lord?" Sebastian stood and gracefully extended his arm, holding his hand out to Ciel in invitation.
