Author's note: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had finals, and my mom is having an operation sometime this week, so I'll be taking care of her for a while, but I'll try not to take too long to update ^_^ Hope you like it!
I own nothing but my OC.
That Butler, Engaged
≤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:
She sighed as she stared at her handsome 'fiancé'. It was kind of a shame the wedding was just pretend, but on the other hand… thinking about what her future might be like with a sadistic demon as a husband, she wasn't sure how long she'd survive a relationship like that… Chêne had a feeling that she probably didn't want to know…
{The following Morning…}
"Bye! Take care!" Chêne called after Agni and Soma as they left in the carriage Ciel was lending them in order to ensure their swift departure from his manor to the London townhouse.
"Don't forget to write, yes!" Mei-Rin called, waving her handkerchief. She was really going to miss their strange but very nice new friends.
"Bye-bye~!" Finni said cheerfully, smiling brightly as he waved energetically at them.
"Don't hesitate to call us if ya need somethin'!" Bard shouted, grinning.
"Goodbye, Ciel! Feel free to come visit me if you get lonely~!" Soma shouted back at them as he leaned out of the carriage, grinning.
"As if I would! It's my townhouse, remember!" Ciel snapped incredulously, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.
"Thank you for everything, friends! Farewell, until we meet again~!" Agni called cheerfully as he too waved goodbye.
"Yes, until then." Sebastian said, smiling slightly as he snickered at Ciel's reaction. He wouldn't miss the prince's troublesome behavior, but it was a shame he wouldn't be able to witness such amusing reactions from Ciel as often now. Ciel turned to his servants, vein mark throbbing on his head.
"Sebastian, prepare the other carriage." The young earl ordered sternly. "Chêne, I want you and the others to fetch the luggage. We shall depart for our own destination immediately."
"Are you going somewhere, young master?" Finni asked curiously.
"Yes." Ciel stated calmly as Sebastian drove up in the carriage, having already accomplished the simple task with his usual inhuman speed and efficiency. "And you lot are coming along as well."
"Eeeh!?" The other servants shouted in surprise. They were being allowed to come along on two trips in row!? Was this really the young master, or some kind of imposter!?
"Hoh, hoh, hoh." Mister Tanaka laughed softly as he sipped his tea.
=†=†=†=†=
{On the road, inside Ciel's carriage…}
"Are you sure about this?" Ciel asked Chêne. She was going over the facts of the case with him again while Sebastian drove their carriage. She nodded.
"Yes. We've narrowed it down to three possible suspects. Based on the information Sebastian has gathered already, I'd say we're looking at someone who meets the following requirements: A person who was present at all four wedding ceremonies, A person whom the wedding parties would not find suspicious if they were seated among them inside the church, someone who had spoken to at least one member of the couple before or at least saw the bride, and someone capable of concealing a gun on their person before anyone even noticed they had drawn it and where the cops wouldn't find it after searching them." Chêne explained.
"Wait, you said inside the church… Does that mean you disagree with the local police's theory that this was done by a sniper? I do not see how someone could avoid being spotted when pulling a gun in a crowded church." Ciel asked, furrowing his brow slightly. Sebastian had said the couples had been shot just before they passed through the doors to leave the church.
"Yes, but all of the victims, except the one groom, were shot in their backs." Chêne explained significantly. "If the shooter was firing into the church from the outside, then they should have been facing towards the shooter and been hit in the front." Ciel's eyes widened slightly in realization.
"In other words, they were shot after passing the shooter by…" Ciel said thoughtfully as he held his chin. "The shooter must have been sitting in one of the church pews, towards the back. And the reason the groom was shot in the front, was because he turned to face his bride when he tried to shield her.
"Yes, that couple was targeted third, so there were already theories about a sniper circulating through the town. He probably just assumed the bullet was coming from the outside, but the shooter panicked and took him out too when he moved unexpectedly. He would've been in a position to look the killer right in the face once he had turned around." Chêne said, nodding in agreement. "That means the cameraman can't be the shooter, because he was already set up outside the church to take their pictures as they came out, but the blinding flashes from his camera had probably helped keep people from seeing the killer pull out their gun. If the photographer was using a flash pan, then no one would be trying to look directly at the couple, or those close to them, as a precaution to prevent getting an eyeful of that painful glare. The couple normally wouldn't be looking back at their guests either, because Sebastian told me it's currently a custom for the newly married couple to look forward and not stop to greet anyone on their way out."
"So, the shooter probably had an aisle seat at the back and waited just until they had been passed by, and the flash went off, to shoot…" Ciel said thoughtfully. "I assume Sebastian has already obtained the guest lists of each wedding party, then?" Chêne nodded.
"There weren't any common guests officially registered on the lists of invites, but the photographer was present at most of the weddings. Sebastian said the priest remembered seeing the florist there too, but that's because she has a habit of staying to watch the ceremonies once she finished setting up all of the floral arrangements. However, the priest didn't find that suspicious, because she was also present at weddings where there were no incidents." Chêne explained. She sighed as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "More than that, just when did you tell Sebastian to look into this? And won't people be suspicious that he was asking so many questions before just suddenly disappearing to return to us?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Perhaps, but as Sebastian decided to lead them to believe he was concerned for the safety of his… bride… it wouldn't be too far fetched for him to behave in such a manner." Ciel said, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Wait, what's with that extremely awkward pause you just made before saying 'bride'? And from what you just said, it sounded like Sebastian put this wedding charade in motion on his own… I thought this was your idea, to end this investigation faster?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly in suspicion. Ciel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding her gaze.
"Yes, well… I had only ordered him to investigate without letting anyone know the Queen's Watchdog was on the case, until we knew more. I never thought he would pull something like this…" Ciel explained reluctantly, chagrined by Sebastian's willful actions. "As for why I paused, well… It seems he implied that there were circumstances where he felt uneasy leaving you on your own for too long." He mumbled, blushing slightly out of embarrassment as he remembered what Sebastian had told him when asking for permission to carry out the little act he had already set into motion, before they had even informed Chêne of their new mission. He wasn't sure he wanted to be in such a confined space with Chêne when he told her this part of the cover-story.
"And these 'circumstances' are…?" Chêne asked, crossing her arms as she stared at the younger boy expectantly. She had a feeling Sebastian and Ciel had neglected to tell her something that she probably wasn't going to appreciate hearing, but needed to know.
"… It seems he implied that, like the other victims, your wedding is a rushed one, due to your being afflicted with a certain… condition…" Ciel explained, sweating nervously as he avoided eye contact with her. Why did he suddenly feel like he was being interrogated? He was just barely managing not to squirm guiltily in his seat under the pressure. He doubted Chêne even realized the effect she was having…
"… You mean, I'm supposed to be ill or something?" Chêne asked, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion. "I didn't realize the other brides had 'conditions' like that. Sebastian said they were 'rushed weddings' but he didn't say why." Ciel nearly face-palmed. Why did Chêne have to be so dense today, when she was normally so sharp about these things? Was she purposefully playing dumb to mess with him!?
"No, in this case, a 'rushed wedding' implies that those women were… They were… pre-pre-preg––with child." Ciel stuttered awkwardly, blushing furiously. He couldn't believe she actually made him say such a scandalous thing! There were just some things you didn't talk about in polite conversation in Victorian era England!
"…" Chêne stared at him, stunned. "You don't mean… Sebastian… Sebastian told them I was pregnant!?" She shouted, beyond shocked as she shot up off the seat with so much force, that she hit her head on the roof of the carriage. "Agh!" She winced in pain, and rubbed the bump on her head as she recklessly threw the door open and leaned out.
"Wait, Chêne! Be care––" Ciel started to shout, but his warning fell on deaf ears, because Chêne used her own momentum to swing herself up and over, landing gracefully on the coach's seat beside Sebastian, as the carriage door slammed shut again, leaving Ciel alone inside of it. "…" Ciel said as he stared at the closed door. Was it just him, or was Chêne getting more reckless by the day…? Normally, she would avoid doing something so outrageous and dangerous…
—^—^—^—
"Sebastian Michaelis… you've got some 'splaining to do!!" She scolded him dangerously, vein mark throbbing on her forehead as she grabbed him roughly by the collar of his black overcoat. "What the hell have you been telling people!? They're gonna think I'm some kind of cheap harlot!!"
"My, there is no need to be so shy, Chêne." Sebastian deadpanned, not the least bit perturbed by her outburst, as he continued to calmly drive the carriage on. "I don't mind you holding on to me, but it does make it a tad more difficult to steer." He added slyly, smirking coyly at her.
"I'm not being shy––I'm ticked!" Chêne snapped, blushing furiously, as she released her grip on him. She huffed indignantly as she crossed her arms and turned away from him as much as the limited space on the driver's seat would allow. "It might be fun for you to joke around like this, but this is my reputation you're ruining here! Even if it's a lie, people are gonna look at me funny from now on, you know. This time period is pretty harsh on women. A woman's reputation is the only thing she's got going for her in this pre-women's rights world!" She added seriously. If she were back in her own world, she wouldn't really give a damn what people thought, since she could make it on her own there as an independent woman, no problem. She noticed Sebastian had a strangely serious expression on his face as he glanced at her. "…What…?" She asked, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable under his unwavering gaze. Sebastian exhaled and closed his eyes briefly before glancing back at the road again. In a way, it amazed him how someone who could exhibit such sharp intuition and keen reasoning skills could be so slow sometimes, but that was just part of what made Chêne 'Chêne'.
"Chêne, as butler of the Phantomhive manor, do you really believe I would do anything to besmirch the Phantomhive family name? If the butler and the head maid had an affair that resulted in a child conceived out of wedlock, it would indeed be quite the scandal. I never once said anything to that effect to any of the villagers I spoke to. I simply expressed concern for my fiancée's safety after hearing a nasty rumor of the recent murders, and a wish to return to your side as soon as possible." He explained calmly. "They were the ones who inferred you were in a delicate 'condition'. I simply did not correct them after overhearing them gossip amongst themselves."
"… Oh." Chêne said, feeling a little embarrassed for over-reacting now. She should've known better. Even if Sebastian loved to mess with her and Ciel, he wouldn't do anything that would interfere with his aesthetics as a butler of Phantomhive. "Um, sorry for jumping to conclusions, then?" She apologized meekly, still a little confused about the discrepancies between the demon butler's and Ciel's stories, as she rubbed the back of her neck and smiled wryly at Sebastian.
"So long as you understand." Sebastian replied calmly. He glanced at her again. Chêne appeared to be reflecting on her actions properly as she twiddled her thumbs, and pouted a little, unconsciously. Sebastian smiled slightly. She resembled a sulking kitten when she looked like that, rather adorable. "Also…" Sebastian continued, drawing Chêne's attention again. "I would not let just anyone bear my offspring, you know." He said softly as gently caressed her face with one of his hands.
"?" Chêne said as she stared up into his steady crimson eyes, slightly taken aback. She couldn't bring herself to do anything other than gaze back at him. She had never seen such a look in the demon's eyes before… not even when he was cuddling an entire herd of adorable kittens… Sebastian was staring at her as though she were something he truly wished to treasure. "… Sebastian, you…?" Chêne started to ask softly, almost afraid that speaking up would break this moment between them, and she might never see him look at her like that again.
"Ah! I think I can see the village~!" Finni shouted excitedly as he leaned out of the horse-drawn cart that the others were riding in behind them, shattering Chêne and Sebastian's brief moment to themselves. Chêne blushed furiously when she realized the others were catching up, and they were no longer alone. "I-I'll go let Ciel know we're almost there!" She nervously mumbled, excusing herself, as she carefully climbed back inside the carriage to rejoin Ciel, too embarrassed to remain sitting next to Sebastian after their little moment. Sebastian sighed in disappointment as he readjusted his grip on the reins again.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue in irritation at the others' horrible timing.
Really, just when things were getting good… Perhaps they should have left the others behind, after all?
Another note: I tried finding some info about Victorian wedding ceremonies, but other than some of the customs for what to do on the way to church and after you leave, it was pretty vague about what actually happened inside the church for some reason, so I'll probably just wing it when we get to that part... Let me know if you have any suggestions?
