Author's note: Hey, ya'll! Iknow you're all looking forward to the quick wedding arc coming up, but I'm still trying to figure it out, so I'm using this bit to buy time. I should have a wedding gown design for you soon. ^_^
I own nothing but my OC.
That Butler, Agitated 2
≤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
—^—^—^— change of perspective/area of action within one specific time frame/location
Previously:
"B—But—" Agni said anxiously as his guilty conscience battled against his loyalty to Soma.
"Mister Agni, everything has been settled already, and those incidents will never happen again, right?" Chêne said, trying to reassure him.
"Leave the rest to us, and make for your quarters. All right?" Sebastian told him calmly but firmly. The last thing they needed was for the Commissioner of the Yard to find out Ciel was housing a criminal.
"..." Agni said reluctantly, still not entirely convinced this was the best course of action.
{Later that evening...}
Sebastian waited patiently as a hansom carriage pulled up in front of the Phantomhive manor. Normally Chêne would be with him, but she was currently working on a bridesmaid dress for Mei-Rin. She had decided to spare her fellow maid the hassle of dealing with their strange tailor's unwanted advances since she was too tired from having to defend herself from them to guard Mei-Rin as well. She had managed to convince Nina to allow this with the excuse that since Mei-Rin was her bridesmaid, she wanted to make it herself, as a gift to her fellow maid for her help. Needless to say, Mei-Rin was grateful for the rescue, though they hadn't really told her why she needed a new dress yet...
The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the main entrance, so Sebastian stepped forward to open the door for its passengers, as was expected of any butler worth his salt. He was slightly surprised to find that the first person to emerge was not Lord Randall, but the inspector that had been with him when they visited one of the crime scenes... Mister Abberline, if his memory served him correctly. How unusual.
"It must have been a long journey. Welcome." Sebastian greeted both men politely as he helped them down from the carriage.
"Uwaaaah! What a wonderful manor...!!" Abberline exclaimed, gazing up at the manor in awe.
"Cease your wide-eyed wonderment at once, you ought to be ashamed!!" Lord Randall scolded him sternly. "I have no desire to even set foot in this hive of phantoms that is the Phantomhive manor!" He huffed as Sebastian led them inside.
"I shall fetch my master, so please wait a moment in this room if you would..." Sebastian said respectfully, suppressing a smirk. Lord Randall had no idea just how close that last statement had been to the truth. After all, at least three of the inhabitants of this manor were connected with the supernatural in one way or another...
KACHAK.
Sebastian slowly opened the door to the hallway... and was greeted with the sight of Agni's guilt-ridden face.
BATAM.
Sebastian immediately shut the door again, hoping the police officers behind him hadn't seen what he had. Thankfully, Lord Randall was too busy scolding Abberline for 'slacking', and Abberline was too busy apologizing to pay him any heed. Agni started to push against the door, trying to open it, but Sebastian pushed back, keeping it shut. He was surprised once again by Agni's strength, as he was actually putting up a rather decent fight against the demon butler.
"Mister Agni, What is the matter?" Sebastian demanded calmly, speaking just loud enough for Agni to hear through the door without alerting the two men behind him, feeling slightly chagrined. A tiny bead of sweat actually formed on his face. Why was this man being so irritatingly stubborn?
"I have given much thought to the matter since then, and I believe I should surrender to the police...!!" Agni replied anxiously as he shook slightly from his little contest of strength with Sebastian, breaking out into a sweat as he strained himself to try to force the door open so that he could confess to his crimes.
"Listen to me. If you turn yourself in here, you will inconvenience not just Prince Soma, but you will also be causing an enormous inconvenience to the young master." Sebastian insisted, trying to make the distraught man see reason. "You do understand, don't you?"
"Well, well. Lord commissioner." They all heard Ciel say, causing Randall to end the lecture he was giving Abberline. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Sebastian sweat dropped. At least they still hadn't noticed the butler's tug of war with the door. "Welcome to Phantomhive manor." Ciel said graciously as he descended the stairs to greet his guest, like a good host. Although, a closer look revealed that Ciel's expression seemed more like he was mocking them.
"Dinner is served. If you would please come this way..." Chêne announced, smiling politely as she too joined them. She must have finished with Mei-Rin already.
"Tch!" Lord Randall clicked his tongue in irritation as he and Abberline followed them. Someone was in a foul mood tonight. Sebastian was glad Chêne had come down to guide their guests, as it gave him a little more time to deal with Agni.
"So do as I say and stay in your room!" Sebastian told the Indian man firmly. Agni didn't answer, and Sebastian didn't feel him trying to push the door open anymore, so he must have decided to behave himself. With that taken care of, Sebastian quickened his pace and caught up with Ciel and company, taking the lead back from Chêne. It was his duty as the butler to be the main servant to wait on important guests, after all.
"I'm well aware that you do not wish to dine with the likes of me, but... This has been tradition for generations." Ciel told Randall smugly. "It is rare to see you bring someone along. Is he a candidate for your successor? You are at that age, after all." Chêne sweat dropped. Why did Ciel always have to provoke people like this? It was no small wonder that Randall hated his guts.
"If you hadn't made an appearance at the crime scene, he would never have come to know anything." Randall replied sternly, clearly chagrined.
"I don't mind having him know, but..." Ciel said as he, Sebastian and Chêne paused to turn and face him. Sebastian and Chêne's eyes widened slightly when they saw what was behind them. "... You're the one who cannot afford to have our relationship become public, right?" Ciel continued calmly as he quickly turned around and continued on his way, acting as though he hadn't seen the doors behind them start to open again.
"!?" Chêne said, surprised when an out of breath Agni stood in the now completely open doorway. Sebastian seconded that emotion. It looked like Agni had sprinted all the way there... he must have climbed out of a window and run around to enter through the front door, in order to escape the hallway when he couldn't win against Sebastian's inhuman strength. Impressive. Too bad he had such rotten timing. Before Agni could get a second wind, Sebastian and Chêne zoomed across the room and slammed the doors shut in his face.
BANG!
"!?" Ciel said, startled, as he, Randall, and Abberline all jumped slightly at the unexpected and loud sound. They all slowly turned to glance back at the butler and maid, giving them identical expressions that showed they were wondering what the hell that had been all about. Chêne smiled wryly and sweat dropped, not quite sure what excuse she should make.
"I beg your pardon. The door was open, so..." Sebastian stated calmly, smiling a wry shit-eating grin, as he leaned against the doors to keep Agni from opening them again. He hadn't anticipated that it would be so loud.
"It seems to have gotten more difficult to close correctly." Chêne added, backing him up. "Shall I take a closer look later to see what the problem is?"
"If the door fits poorly, have it fixed at once." Ciel told her.
"Yes, Sir." Sebastian and Chêne replied respectfully as they let the others walk a little further ahead before confronting Agni.
"... Mister Agni...!!" Sebastian stated darkly, his face cast in shadow as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. He was starting to run out of patience. "Please stop this immediately!"
"I have made my decision. Otherwise, god—" Agni started to plead his case, but Chêne cut him off.
"So have we!" Chêne whisper-yelled as she locked the doors while Sebastian held them shut. She admired Agni's strong sense of ethics and justice, but now was not the time for that!
Sebastian and Chêne quickly caught up with the others as they came to the section of the manor that Chêne had set up as a kind of art gallery to show off the best paintings in the Phantomhive family's collection.
"Myyy... But this is a gorgeous gallery. There are so many paintings..." Abberline said, deeply impressed by all the exquisite artwork hanging on the walls.
"Hmph! All of these paintings are gloomy!! They are indeed worthy of a hive of phantoms!" Randall huffed. Chêne frowned slightly. It was true some of the paintings had less than happy themes for their subject matter, but they were all masterpieces that deserved respect. Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean it isn't art.
"This!" Abberline gasped suddenly when he spotted one particular painting of a beautiful giver floating in water. "Why, if it's not Hamlet's Ophelia! Is it a... Millais?" He asked excitedly. Chêne smiled. At least someone here knew art when they saw it!
"Correct. Do you like the Pre-Raphaelites?" Ciel asked.
"I do! The muted colors have atmosphere, and..." Abberline chattered away cheerfully, happy to find someone willing to listen. Sebastian stopped listening after that when something else caught his attention out the corner of his eye.
"!?" He said when he saw that Agni was now outside the window on the opposite wall of the room, with his hands and face pressed up against the glass.
SHHK!
Sebastian immediately pulled the curtains closed, hiding the unreasonably persistent man from view.
"!?" Chêne said when she saw Sebastian swiftly but silently dash to one window after another, hastily shutting the curtains as Agni tried to peek through each one. She sweat dropped. She'd give him an 'A' for effort, but she wished he'd stop trying to get caught already... "Is that so? Perhaps you will find this painting interesting as well..." Chêne suggested politely as she gestured to a similar painting by another Pre-Raphaelite artist, trying to keep their attention on the wall to their right, so that they wouldn't see what was happening with Sebastian and Agni to their left.
"You own a Waterhouse too!" Abberline exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. It was absolutely beautiful!
"He appreciates art. Should you not seriously consider a transition of power?" Ciel asked Lord Randall, smirking slightly.
"Appreciating art does not make him of any use as a detective!" Lord Randall huffed indignantly, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. Really, now!
"Sorry, Sir..." Abberline apologized meekly, sweating nervously. He really didn't like being scolded by his boss...
"You're harsh." Ciel said, smirking slyly in amusement.
"Oh!" Abberline said suddenly, perking up again when he spotted an exquisite still life painting of a glass flower vase that was filled with tulips of various warm colors. It had been placed on a shiny, wooden table in front of a window. The artist had managed to capture even the minutest of details, including each individual leaf on the tree in the background, outside the window. "Which artist painted this one!? The attention to detail is amazing! It looks like one of the Pre-Raphaelites, but it has a much warmer and more inviting feel to it..."
"Thank you, Inspector. I'm flattered to hear such praise." Chêne said, smiling brightly at him.
"... Eh?" Abberline said as he and Lord Randall both stared at her, stunned.
"Chêne painted that as part of a demonstration during one of my art lessons. There was a blank space on the wall, so it is currently being used to fill the void until I find another painting that catches my eye." Ciel explained nonchalantly.
'Something that amazing is just being used as a placeholder...!?' Abberline thought, flinching in shock. She was better than some of the professionals! Why was this woman working quietly as a maid when she had the talent to become a famous artist!?
"Everyone, this way please." Sebastian said calmly, holding the next door open for them as Ciel and Chêne continued on, undaunted. Sebastian showed them into a large foyer with more doors that lead to different rooms. Above them, a section of the hallway on the second floor was open, with a just a wooden railing in place, so that passersby could look down on the foyer as though they were standing on a balcony. "The table has already been set." Sebastian informed them as he gestured to the dining room's door.
"!?" Chêne said, doing a double take, when she saw Soma casually strolling in the open hallway, sticking out like a sore thumb. "Sebastian...!" Chêne whispered urgently, tugging subtly on the sleeve of his coat.
"!?" Sebastian said when he looked up and spotted him too. If it wasn't one, it was the other! Chêne started trying to silently motion for Soma to leave when he stopped walking, and he seemed to understand, because he smiled and nodded. Chêne and Sebastian sighed in relief.
"Heey, Ciiiel—!" Soma suddenly called out cheerfully, smiling as he waved at them. "I've had my fill of that box! Let's play cards tog—Mph!"
WOOOSH!
Before Soma could say anymore, Sebastian leaped high into the air, and onto the pseudo balcony. He covered Soma's mouth with his hand, silencing him, as he pulled him out of sight.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What!?" Soma managed to stutter as Sebastian gripped his face firmly with one hand, turning blue with shock as he broke out in a nervous sweat. He was practically paralyzed with fear. 'Have I done something wrong!?' He cried internally as the demon butler loomed over him ominously.
"Prince Soma." Sebastian said in an eerily calm voice.
"I thought I heard someone..." Lord Randall said suspiciously from below them.
"Is that so... Did you hear anything, Young Master?" Chêne asked Ciel, playing it cool, as she tried to cover for them. Thank God no one noticed when Sebastian jumped a whole story in a single bound...!
"It was simply your imagination." Ciel stated coolly, playing along.
"As we have guests this evening, would you please keep quietly to your room?" Sebastian asked (more like ordered) Soma as he removed the hand he had placed over the prince's mouth so that he could hear his response. He needn't have bothered, because Soma was too terrified to speak.
"...!!" Soma said, nodding his head vigorously to show that he understood. He was a white as a sheet.
"Now there is a good lad." Sebastian said, smirking. "Goodness." He said, sighing as he stood up again, releasing Soma. Soma sighed in relief as he held a hand to his chest, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Ciel's khansama was even scarier than the goddess Kali on a rampage!
KACHACK.
Sebastian froze when another door opened. It was Agni again. Chêne froze like a deer in the headlights when she turned to see who it was. Agni was just standing there in the open doorway, bold as brass. Before she had time to even think, Ciel and the two policemen had already started to turn towards him.
WSH.
The room was suddenly plunged into total darkness. Every single one of the candles in the room had gone out.
'This must be Sebastian's doing...' Chêne thought as she heard someone moving about the room. With her slightly super-human vision, she could just make out the figures of Ciel, Lord Randall, and Abberline, so it definitely wasn't them shuffling around like that.
"What!? What is going on!?" Ciel demanded, caught off guard by the sudden change in his surroundings. Chêne gently squeezed his hand to let him know it was all right. Sometimes being in the dark reminded Ciel of things that would be best forgotten.
CLATTER! STOMP. THUD.
"Ah–wah-wah-wah-wah! It's pitch dark! I'm scared!" Abberline cried fearfully as he latched onto the nearest person, whoever they might be.
"And you call yourself a detective!? You should be ashamed of yourself!" Randall shouted at his subordinate incredulously as he tried to push whoever had grabbed onto him away with little success. It had better not be that Abberline!
FWSHM.
Chêne heard the faint, but distinct sound of a candle being lit on fire. Sebastian was now once again on the first floor with them, and he was now holding a candelabra in his hand to give the large, dark room some type of light source.
"My apologies. The lights seem to have gone out." Sebastian stated smoothly, just barely surpassing a smirk.
"Was it the wind or something, Sebastian?" Ciel asked as Lord Randall gave Abberline two lumps on the head for clinging to him, silently fuming over how pathetic his subordinate had acted in front of Ciel. Chêne sweat dropped. Maybe Ciel hadn't seen Agni after all, if he didn't realize the timely blackout was Sebastian's work. Besides, how could it be the wind when there were no open windows in this room?
"Yes. It was something... other than the wind..." Sebastian replied cryptically. Chêne sweat dropped. Was that supposed to be subtle? "The dining room is that way. Come, let us go." The demon butler said calmly as he ushered them out of the room. As she closed the doors behind them, Chêne could have sworn she heard Agni's muffled voice, but she just shrugged it off. Had Chêne bothered to investigate, she would have found Agni hidden out of view from the inside of the foyer, struggling to try to break free from all the rope Sebastian had used to tie him up, and to get rid of the gag had been stuffed in his mouth to keep him from calling attention to himself until after their guests had left. Sebastian wasn't taking any chances this time.
