I own nothing but my OC.


That Butler, Competitive 4


≤speech in Indian language≥

'thoughts'

"speech"

"Demonic speech"

{setting/stage directions?}

SOUND EFFECTS

An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.

=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift


Previously:

"Well, a lot of actual gods are good–for–nothings." Sebastian mumbled darkly as he thought about some of the idiotic 'divine beings' that he had encountered in the past. Chêne sweat dropped. She could only imagine what Sebastian must have gone through...

"Eh? Did you say something?" Agni asked Sebastian innocently. He didn't have slightly super-human hearing, like Chêne did now, so he hadn't heard anything other than some very faint mumbling.

"No, no, nothing." Sebastian said casually as he stirred the sauce. There were some things that were better left unsaid...


{Later that evening, in the Dinning Room...}

Ciel, Lau, and Soma were all seated at the dining table, and were enjoying their supper of mackerel with gooseberry sauce and chicken cottage pie. There was also rice, soup, and some flatbread to accompany it. Well, not everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves...

"—And so? Who is this woman you are looking for?" Ciel asked as he placed his elbow on the table, and leaned his head in his hand. 'Why is there a flag on this pie...?' Ciel wondered, sweat dropping.

"She has waited on me since I was born. She's like my nanny. We've been together ever since I can remember." Soma explained as he chomped on his cottage pie, using his hands to eat instead of the European silverware. "Father has no interest in me... and Mother is so desperate for his attention, she has no time for me." Soma said. Agni bowed his head slightly out of sadness for his prince. "I was always alone in the palace..." Soma said solemnly as he remembered feeling so alone in that large palace, despite the many people that lived and worked in it. "But Mina was always by my side. She was cheerful, beautiful, and taught me many things, just as an older sister might." Soma said, brightening up again as he thought of his beloved nanny. Sebastian noticed that although Ciel seemed to be gazing at Soma emotionlessly as he listened, the young earls eyes flickered briefly in Chêne's direction for a second when he heard Soma's description of his relationship with Mina, and it was no wonder why. From the sound of things, Mina had been Soma's 'Chêne.' "I was never lonely if Mina was with me. I loved Mina, and Mina loved me." Soma's smile darkened slightly, as he clenched his fists. "But... he... a British noble came... and took Mina away to Great Britain!" Soma yelled furiously as he slammed his fist angrily against the table.

"What do you mean?" Lau asked.

"Queen Victoria, Empress of India, recognizes the domestic administrative rights of Bengal, but... In truth, the political advisor sent from Great Britain controls most of the politics." Soma said as he picked his fork up an twirled it between his fingers. "So the reality is we're not much different from a colony. An three months ago, he came as a guest of that political advisor!" Soma said, stabbing his mackerel with the fork. "That fellow set his eyes on Mina at my palace... and took Mina away to Great Britain by force... while I was out inspecting the town!!" Soma yelled, frustrated that Mina had been stolen from him. If only he hadn't left that day!

"So you came to Great Britain to retrieve your woman." Ciel stated calmly as Sebastian poured him more tea.

"Yes! I'll get her back, and we'll all go home together." Soma said firmly as he ate the piece of fish he had stabbed with his fork.

"Still, you are going a bit overboard just for one servant girl—" Ciel said, sighing.

WHAM!

"There is no such thing as 'overboard' in this case!! The palace without Mina is an empty box!!" Soma shouted, outraged by Ciel's cold indifference, as he slammed his hands down on the table, and shot out of his chair, rushing towards Ciel. "Can you understand the despair I felt when I was forcibly separated from Mina!?" Soma yelled as he grabbed the young earl roughly by shoulders.

"Hey, wait a—!" Chêne said, about to intervene, when Sebastian placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Chêne glanced at him, wondering why he had stopped her. She understood why Soma was upset, but he shouldn't have grabbed Ciel so violently...

"Can you understand just how sad I—!" Soma yelled at Ciel again, but the young earl cut him off.

"Can't say I do." Ciel said coldly.

"...!" Soma said nervously, staring down at Ciel. He was shocked at how... frightening the younger boy suddenly seemed to be... He hadn't raised his voice, but there was something about the harsh look in his eyes that chilled Soma to the bone.

"The despair caused by such a trivial occurrence doesn't amount to much. I don't understand it, nor do I want to." Ciel said harshly as he glared icily at Soma, his pupils almost seemed slitted, like a cold cobra snake that was paralyzing its weak prey with eerily hypnotic eyes. "There are things that cannot be recovered, no matter how much one may struggle. There is also despair from which one cannot escape. You might not quite be able to grasp that, though." Ciel said as he yanked himself free from Soma's grip, and started to walk away, heading for the dinning room doors. Soma clenched his fists as he watched Ciel. He could somewhat understand what Ciel had said, but...

"But... but still, I... don't want... to be alone in that palace anymore..." Soma said sadly. Ciel paused briefly, before opening the dinning room door, and slamming it shut behind him. Sebastian stood there in the silent dining room, staring at the doors... Their young master hated being lied to, but it appears he could still be quite the little liar himself...

=†=†=†=†=

"..." Ciel said as he stood alone in the empty hallway. 'There are things that cannot be recovered, no matter how much one may struggle—' Ciel thought, as an image of his lost loved ones—his parents, Madam Red, and... even his old dog appeared in his mind. Ciel clenched his fist in frustration.

=†=†=†=†=

"... You know..." Chêne said, getting everyone's attention. "What our young master said just now wasn't wrong, but... that being said, we won't know what's recoverable and what's been lost forever, unless we try, right? There are some things that can be recovered, rebuilt, and re-forged over and over again, as many times as we need to, until we finally get it right—Some bonds cannot be broken or cut, by even the sharpest blade in the world." Chêne said smiling a strong but gentle smile as she left the room to follow after Ciel. Sebastian smirked. It appeared Chêne was not convinced by his little act either, if she was leaving their guests to follow after him. He would have his own talk with the boy later...

=†=†=†=†=

"Ciel." Chêne called out to the young earl when she caught up to him in the hallway. "Some things can be recovered... Some people do come back." Chêne said, causing Ciel to pause, and glance back at her. "I'm here, aren't I." Chêne said, smiling warmly at him. Ciel's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "It was a close call, but I'm still here, and I have no intention of leaving. Thanks to Sebastian, I'm indestructible now, so you're stuck with me forever, kiddo~!" Chêne said, grinning impishly as she hugged Ciel and ruffled his hair.

"W-Wha—!?" Ciel sputtered indignantly, blushing, as Chêne treated him like the kid he was... the way his mother use to... "What are you saying!? You can still die, you know!" He said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I know..." Chêne said solemnly. Ciel stopped struggling to escape from her hug when he heard how serious she had gotten all of a sudden. "I'm sorry I was so selfish, Ciel... I didn't mean to scare you..." Chêne said, smiling apologetically at him. Ciel's eyes widened slightly in surprise again. It never ceased to amaze him how perceptive Chêne could be... She always seemed to see right through him. "... But don't worry. I have no intention of dying anytime soon. I don't want to put you through that again, so I'm going to protect both of us—you and myself, so that we can have lots more fun times together, okay. I promise." Chêne said, smiling at him.

"You' better not break that promise." Ciel said seriously, biting his lip nervously.

"Of course not! I don't make promises I can't keep, remember?" Chêne said, smiling as she slung an arm around his neck playfully.

"Yes... however, you seem incapable of remembering that I don't do hugs..." Ciel muttered, chagrined. Chêne grinned impishly at him and laughed brightly as they walked along the dim corridor together. Ciel smiled wryly, sweat dropping. He supposed he could let it slide... but only just for this moment...

=†=†=†=†=

{Ciel's bedroom}

"Heh." Sebastian said, smirking, as he helped Ciel get dressed for bed. Ciel was wearing pajama pants to be this time, since he didn't want to be in just a nightshirt if Agni tried to wake him up and carry him like that again the next morning...

"What are you smirking about?" Ciel demanded, scowling at the demon butler.

"Nothing of consequence, I was merely thinking about how ironic it is that you insist on having Chêne and I tell you no lies, when you yourself are quite the liar." Sebastian said, giving him a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"!" Ciel said. He glared sharply at Sebastian. "I—"

"Do not try to deny it." Sebastian said, cutting him off. "Before, in regards to Soma's feelings towards that woman, he said 'Mina was always by my side. She was cheerful, beautiful, and taught me many things, just as an older sister might. I was never lonely if Mina was with me.'" Sebastian said, smirking as he repeated Soma's words. You understand perfectly, do you not? His relationship with that woman parallels your own with Chêne. 'Chêne was always by my side. She was cheerful, beautiful, and taught me many things, just as an older sister might. I was never lonely if Chêne was with me'... Those are your true feelings, correct. Otherwise, you would not have been so desperate to make a deal with me to save her life without first hearing the price." Ciel narrowed his eyes and glared at Sebastian. He didn't appreciate the way Sebastian was looking down on him like this. "So what?" Ciel said haughtily, throwing his head back defiantly. He decided he wasn't going to let Sebastian tease him about this anymore. He was the master, and Sebastian was his butler. Sebastian was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Ciel to actually admit it... the boy had always tried to hide his attachment to Chêne before out of embarrassment.

"You admit to it, then? ... You care for Chêne?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow at him... for some reason, hearing Ciel admit to having... 'feelings' for Chêne was slightly unsettling to him... Ciel smirked when he saw a flicker of emotion flash through Sebastian's crimson eyes.

"What is the matter, Sebastian—feeling jealous? Are you afraid I will take Chêne from you?" Ciel asked, smirking evilly. Of course, he only cared for Chêne as one might for a strange... really strange, older sister, but he couldn't resist possibly getting a little revenge on Sebastian for earlier...

"Jealous...?" Sebastian said, blinking in surprise, as he stared at Ciel, confused. "Whatever for?" He asked bluntly. Ciel nearly face-faulted.

"Don't play dumb! You care for Chêne, do you not?" Ciel said incredulously, sweat dropping. "You are always teasing her, but at the same time, you can be nicer to her and more protective of her than you are of anyone else."

"Oh, so that is what you meant..." Sebastian said thoughtfully. "I have told both you and Chêne countless times that demons such as I do not have 'feelings' the way humans do." Sebastian finished buttoning Ciel's shirt, rendering the boy fully dressed for the evening. "However... I do admit that I seem to be developing a certain type of, dare I say... 'affection' for Chêne?" The demon butler said thoughtfully, surprising Ciel a little. So he really did have feelings for her then...!

"What kind of 'affection'?" Ciel prodded.

"Lately, I cannot help but feel that Chêne has become very lovely, and adorable, so I cannot help but tease her... to me she is a precious existence... Like a pet cat." Sebastian said bluntly, smiling a blindingly bright shit-eating grin. This time, Ciel actually did face fault.

CHK.

"... Um... Are you all right, Ciel?" Chêne asked, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion when she opened the door to see Ciel lying on the floor, and Sebastian grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I am fine. You, on the other hand, are going to need a miracle..." Ciel mumbled, chagrined. Chêne tilted her head slightly, frowning a little in confusion.

"Okaaay... I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I have a feeling I'm better off not knowing..." Chêne said, sweat dropping. "Anyway, I know it's close to bedtime, and you're probably tired from dueling Soma so many times earlier, but I have a new deck of cards here, and I was hoping you'd help me break them in... by playing with Soma." Chêne said, smiling brightly at Ciel as she tossed the pack of cards to him. The box bounced off of the young earl's head as he stared blankly at her.

"And why the bloody hell should I do that?" Ciel demanded, crossing his arms. "Go play with him yourself!"

"But I'm not the one who's feeling slightly guilty for being harsh and venting my own frustrations out on him, am I?" Chêne said, placing her hands on her hips, and raising an eyebrow at Ciel.

"..." Ciel said, avoiding her gaze. "You are not going to leave me alone until I apologize, are you...?"

"Nope~!" Chêne said, flashing him a brilliant shit-eating grin. "I'm not saying you have to actually tell him 'I'm sorry' since you weren't actually wrong... but you should at least make nice with him. You'll sleep easier once you do, too." Ciel sighed and grabbed the pack of cards as he stood up.

"Fine, but I am blaming you if this doesn't work." Ciel huffed as he marched out of his room to find Soma. Chêne giggled.

"He's so cute when he acts stubborn like that, even though we all know he probably would've done something like that on his own, anyway..." Chêne said, smiling fondly as she too exited the room.

"Yes... adorable..." Sebastian said, smirking slyly, as he watched Chêne skip out of Ciel's room, before following after her. "Chêne, do not forget that you are supposed to help me tonight with the preparations for tomorrow." He warned her.

=†=†=†=†=

Ciel eventually found Soma lounging in a chair, listening to the crackling fire that Chêne had lit in the fireplace for him, as the prince stared out the window into the dark and cold English winter night.

TMP.

Soma glanced at the table in front of his chair when he heard something land lightly on it. Someone had tossed a pack of English playing cards onto it. It was Ciel.

"You wouldn't know the rules of chess, but you should know how to play Old Maid, right?" Ciel said nonchalantly as he sat down in the chair opposite to Soma's.

"Eh..." Soma said. He had thought Ciel was angry with him...

"I'm done for the day... I'll play with you until bedtime." Ciel said as he removed the deck of cards from its pack and began to shuffle them.

"Ciel..." Soma said, touched.

"I'm not doing this for you. It's only because I've nothing better to do at the moment, that's all." Ciel said calmly, playing it cool. Soma watched Ciel shuffle the cards for a moment. Well, in that case...

"Ah. Sorry, but I have plans for the evening. I'm busy, unlike you!" Soma said flatly, holding up a hand to stop Ciel. Ciel froze, stunned, as an idiot hair stuck out on the young earl's head. He what...? "Agni, we're leaving!" Soma announced as he stood up from hi chair abruptly, and Agni suddenly zoomed into the room, holding Soma's cloak.

"Yes, Sir!" Agni said seriously as he helped his prince prepare for their departure to search for the missing Mina.

"..." Ciel said, still frozen in place, holding the cards mid-shuffle.

"You've got to go to bed early, or else you'll never grow any taller, little runt Ciel~! Ha! Ha! Ha! Seee yaaa!!" Soma said, laughing as he waved goodbye to Ciel over his shoulder as he and Agni departed.

"..." Ciel said as he watched them leave.

"Ah." Lau said as he poked his head into the room right after Agni and Soma left. "Here you are, Earl~! Say—Nn?" The Chinese man said curiously, halting in asking his question when he noticed that there was a dark and dangerous aura radiating from the young earl. Something interesting must have happened...

"Hnh?" Ciel asked dangerously as he furrowed his brow and glared darkly at Lau, crushing one of the cards he was holding in his hand. Multiple vein marks were throbbing on the outraged earl's forehead. How dare that bratty prince—!

"Ohhh~? Whatever is the matter, my lord~?" Lau asked curiously, tiptoeing closer to Ciel. "Feeling a bit blue, are we, hmmm?"

"Shut up! Don't follow me!!" Ciel shouted angrily, vein mark throbbing on his forehead as he stomped off.

So much for Chêne's 'brilliant' plan...


Author's note:

Since I know a few of you are looking forward to the circus arc, I went ahead and posted a link to a picture of the costume Chene will be wearing for it, since I got inspired to draw it all of a sudden~! ^_^