I own nothing but my OC.
That Butler, Onstage
≤speech in Indian language≥
'thoughts'
"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
{Inside one of Scotland Yard's evidence rooms…}
"…I must say… Lord Randall's absence is quite a boon for us." Ciel said as he glanced around at all the neatly organized files lining the shelves of the room.
"Yeah, normally, we'd have been kicked out by now." Chêne said as she helped Sebastian read through the police files and take notes on things they thought might be important. However, just because Lord Randall wasn't there, didn't mean the three of them were left alone in there.
"Please, I'm begging you! If the Commissioner found out about this…" Abberline pleaded nervously with Ciel, fretting as he watched the two servants skillfully and efficiently scan over the classified documents. This room was supposed to have restricted access––not even most policemen could freely come and go in this room!
"It would be better if you didn't leave him to find out." Ciel advised the detective carelessly, as though their actions were no more serious than taking a leisurely stroll through the park.
"First of all––!" Abberline interjected. "How in the world did you manage to get into the third floor file room!?" He demanded incredulously, clearly not taking notice of the open window behind them.
"… Was it supposed to be hard?" Chêne asked innocently. The window hadn't even been locked…
"Miss LeBeau––!?" Abberline exclaimed, looking rather scandalized that such a sweet girl could say something so terrible so easily.
"Ah, it's actually 'Mrs. Michaelis' now." Chêne corrected him, smiling brightly, like an angel.
"Y-You don't say…?" Abberline asked weakly, looking like he just had his heart broken. "I suppose 'congratulations' are in order, then…"
"…" Sebastian and Ciel said as they glanced at the crestfallen man. Sebastian was really glad he had snatched Chêne up while he had such a perfect opportunity. It seemed Chêne had even more secret admirers than he had realized...
"Well, Sebastian?" Ciel asked, moving on to a less awkward topic, by prompting his butler to explain what he and Chêne had found so far.
"Of the children we have been asked to investigate, not one has been found dead." Sebastian reported.
"We're leaving as soon as you've copied it all down." Ciel said decisively.
"Yes, sir." Sebastian replied dutifully.
"Perhaps we ought to borrow the photographs just in case?" Chêne suggested. It would make identifying the children so much easier.
"That would be most troublesome!!" Abberline objected strongly. He was already in enough trouble for letting them see the files in the first place!
"If their loss is discovered, feel free to say I made off with them." Ciel said boredly.
"I'll get even more of a scolding!" Abberline protested, paling slightly at the thought.
"Don't worry, Mister Abberline. We won't keep them long. They'll be returned once I've had a chance to copy them all." Chêne reassured him.
'Ah, that's right… this girl is an artistic genius…' Abberline thought, sweat dropping. She could probably duplicate the likeness of those photographs perfectly.
"You… erm, Master Underline?" Ciel addressed Abberline tentatively, as he turned to face him after taking Sebastian's stack of notes.
"It's Abberline." Abberline deadpanned, chagrined, as he sweat dropped again. Hadn't Mrs. Michaelis just said his name correctly a moment ago? Was he really so far beneath the earl's notice that he couldn't even remember his name over the span of a couple of seconds…?
"You've been a great help today." Ciel continued on while he read over their notes, as though he hadn't just been corrected. He waved his hand at Sebastian, gesturing for his butler to do something. "Your cooperation is much appreciated."
"…?" Abberline said, puzzled when Sebastian took his hand and pressed something into it. The detective's eyes widened in shock when he saw the coins that were now sitting in the palm of his hand. Was this supposed to be some kind of bribe!? "I require nothing of the sort!!" Abberline shouted as he seized Sebastian's hand and tried to return the money, feeling insulted that they would even try such a ploy on him. "I simply thought it would be best to employ any methods necessary to get to the bottom of this matter quickly. This is just––!!"
"Any methods necessary… hm? Your flexibility shows promise." Ciel told the straight-laced detective as he passed him by on his way out. "Hurry up on that promotion of yours… Master Abberline."
=†=†=†=†=
"We may still consider all the children missing." Sebastian said as they walked back to where they had left their carriage.
"That may be the case in polite society, but… in the underworld…" Ciel said thoughtfully as they all climbed back into the carriage, and he tapped on the roof with his walking stick to signal to the coachman that they were ready to go.
"Right, the first twelve hours when a child goes missing are the most critical." Chêne said knowingly, as she gazed sadly out the window. "The possibility exists that they may already be…" Sebastian squeezed her hand gently to reassure her. He knew this particular case must be bringing painful memories of her own abduction to the surface again. Chêne smiled gratefully at him and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling closer to her hubby for comfort.
"…" Ciel said as he watched them. He was glad Sebastian really was taking care of Chêne, like he should, but… he wished the stupid couple would just get a room. He decided to be tactful and pretend he couldn't see the lovebirds by rereading his letter from the queen. It seemed there truly was no rest for the wicked, because this latest case had been brought to their attention shortly after Christmas. In addition to his usual instructions, three tickets to a circus called 'Noah's Ark' had been enclosed in the envelope. Much to Ciel's chagrin, Sebastian had proposed they might be a Christmas present for a 'darling little boy'. However, it was obvious that the inclusion of three tickets, when it would've normally been only two, was the queen's own subtle way of saying she approved of the match between Chêne and Sebastian.
To my darling boy,
Did you have a Merry Christmas? I made Christmas pudding with Phillip.
It turned out splendidly, and even John and Grey heaped their praises upon it too. I hope you will join us next time, my dear boy. Please give my regards to Mr. and Mrs. Michaelis as well.
Now to the matter of the tickets I have enclosed. Have you heard about the traveling circus making its way to London in the coming days?
They are a traveling troupe that visits various locales. However, the troupe's travels appear to coincide with any number of children going missing from the towns where they call. The police are doing everything they can to locate them, but the whereabouts of the children are as yet unknown. It seems the children suddenly disappear in the dead of the night… Almost as if… they have been taken away by the Pied Piper of Hamelin… The sorrow of losing a loved one is insufferable. I pray for the swift and safe return of these children to their families.
~Victoria
"Young Master." Sebastian said, getting Ciel's attention as he folded the letter up and tucked it away in his coat. "If you are attributing this case to the underworld, will we be calling on him again?"
"Asking him is always the quickest way to get the best information about these kinds of things…" Chêne said, smiling wryly.
"To be honest, I would prefer to avoid it, but…" Ciel said, sighing tiredly just thinking about it. "…" He said when he remembered something equally unpleasant.
=Flashback=
{An hour ago at the townhouse…}
"Why, if it isn't Ciel~! You miss me already!?" Soma asked excitedly, smiling indulgently at Ciel as he laughed jovially, and Agni smiled happily in the background. "Why, you little boy blue, yooou~!!" He teased good-naturedly, treating Ciel like a helpless child.
=End Flashback=
"I want to get back to the manor as soon as possible." Ciel muttered irritably, vein throbbing on his face, as he started to emit a dark aura, clearly irked by how he had been treated in his own townhouse. "Let's go."
"Very well…" Sebastian said as Chêne sweat dropped. So, it really was bothering him, after all…
=†=†=†=†=
"––Are you in… Undertaker?" Ciel asked as the three of them entered the creepy and dimly lit shop.
"… Hee! Heee…" The undertaker cackled eerily from somewhere in the shadows. "I bid yeeee weelcome, Lord Earl…"
GORO, GORO, GORO, GORO!
Ciel flinched in shock when a skull suddenly rolled past his feet at top speed.
PAKAAAAN––!!
The skull slammed into a bunch of mini tombstones that had been lined up like bowling pins, knocking them all down.
"Ooh, it's a strike…" Chêne said, impressed. She knew firsthand that bowling with a skull was trickier than it looked, because Lacey had a similar set up at her house… only her plastic skull didn't look anywhere near as realistic as the Undertaker's…
"Does your Lordship finally feel like stepping into the coffin that I've made specially for yoooou, hmm?" Undertaker teased Ciel.
"Why, you…" Ciel muttered, chagrined, as the three of them turned to face the cackling man, who was carelessly tossing another skull up and down in one hand.
"In any case, I hear congratulations are in order for the happy new couple…?" He asked Chêne and Sebastian, grinning like a demented Cheshire cat. "Congratulations, 'Mrs. Michaelis'! Have a seat. I've just baked some cookies!"
=†=†=†=†=
"––The corpses of children, hmmm…" Undertaker said thoughtfully once they were all seated and the cookie urn had been passed around, and they had explained the situation some.
"They are treated as being missing in polite society, and no bodies or the like have been found yet." Sebastian explained.
"Well, in the underworld, you see dead children everyday after all…" Undertaker said as he bit a bone-shaped cookie in half. "You're weeeell aware of that, aren't you, Earl?"
"…" Ciel said as he furrowed his brow slightly. He felt someone gently place their hand on his shoulder reassuringly. It was Chêne. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to. There was a silent understanding between the two past kidnapees. "I've brought the files along. Among them, are there any you've cleaned up?" Ciel asked Undertaker calmly as Sebastian stood and handed the copied files and photos over for him.
"Whooo caaan saaay? Maaayhaps there aaare? Maybe seeing something amuuusing will bring it aaaaaaall baaaaack?" Undertaker drawled slyly as he started looking over the information. "You understand what I'm getting at, Milord…? Give it to me… Bestooow upon meeee the choicest laughter! Theeen I shall tell you aaanything!" He declared manically as he crawled over his desk, closer to Ciel, before turning over onto his back so that he was hanging over the edge upside down, like a bat. Just thinking about laughing again was starting to make him drool.
"Ugh…" Ciel groaned, clearly disturbed, as he leaned back, putting himself just out of reach of Undertakers long nails as the creepy man giggled and tried to touch his face. "… Sebastian."
Sebastian sighed. So, Ciel was passing the buck after all. Chêne smiled wryly and sweat dropped as she patted her husband on the back sympathetically. She still didn't know what he had done to make Undertaker laugh so hard the last time, but judging by her own personal experience, it must have been humiliating…
"Very well." Sebastian replied dutifully as he readjusted his gloves, prepared to do his worst.
"Hmmm? Relying on him again, are yooou?" Undertaker asked mockingly, grinning. "Guh fu fu! Is Milord a child who cannot do a thing unless Master Butler or Miss Maid is around, hmmm? Well… I don't care who it is so long as they are amusing."
"!!" Ciel said, flinching at the accusation. Undertaker's words were startlingly similar to certain prince's…
=Flashback=
{Also at the townhouse…}
"You're hopeless without me, eh!?" Soma asked affectionately, not meaning any harm. He laughed jovially. "Really, what am I going to do with yooou! Fine, you can call me big brother, if you'd like!" He declared proudly.
=End Flashback=
'Ah… he's really done it now…' Chêne thought, sweat dropping as she and Sebastian glanced between Undertaker and Ciel. That dark aura from earlier was back again, and a vein mark was throbbing on the young earl's forehead as he remembered how insufferable Soma's behavior had been… running around like an idiot, while saying 'Little mister lonely pants, you~!'… How utterly humiliating!
"I'll do it." Ciel said darkly as even more vein marks pulsed on his head. He looked ready to commit murder. Chêne wasn't sure they should leave the two of them alone…
"Are you sure?" Sebastian asked as Ciel rose from his seat on the coffin beside Chêne.
"You get out. Do not peek. I command you!" Ciel ordered Sebastian gravely, vein throbbing on his forehead as he continued to emit a murderous aura. "That goes for you too, Chêne!"
"… Yes, my lord." Sebastian replied, bowing dutifully, to his master. He was more than happy to get a reprieve from playing the fool, but Chêne looked slightly concerned about the boy's black mood.
"…Okay, just don't become a murderer while we're gone." Chêne said, sweat dropping, as she followed Sebastian outside.
PATAN.
The door slammed shut behind them, leaving the butler and maid waiting patiently outside.
=†=†=†=†=
{Twenty minutes later…}
"… Do you think maybe we should check to see if they're alright in there?" Chêne asked, furrowing her brow slightly out of concern. They couldn't hear any laughter going on inside, and they had been standing there for a while now… Should it really be taking this long?
"Young Master gave us specific orders to wait here. While it is possible for you to break his orders, as a result of our contract, I cannot." Sebastian reminded her. "You may peek inside if you wish, but I doubt he would thank you for it."
"Ah, that's true…" Chêne said, smiling wryly as she pictured how Ciel would react if she caught him making a fool of himself. "I guess I'd better give him a little more time before resorting to tha––"
GRUMBLE~
Chêne blushed a little out of embarrassment as she held her growling stomach.
"I guess I'm hungrier than I realized..." She apologized meekly. That had been pretty loud… Much to her chagrin, Sebastian smirked slightly in amusement. 'Ah, that's right… He's been so nice to me lately, that I almost started to forget what a sadist he is…' She thought, sweat dropping.
"He never said we had to stay here while we waited for him. Shall we take this opportunity to feed you and have ourselves a small date?" Sebastian asked slyly as he took her hand.
"Oh, you." Chêne said, smiling ruefully and blushing slightly, as she stood on her tippy toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I like the way you think~!" she said, winking playfully.
=†=†=†=†=
{Long after they had returned from their lunch date…}
Some crows were cawing overhead as they flew off into the sunset.
"… Are they even still in there?" Chêne asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. As she and Sebastian stared boredly at the shop's closed door. "Just what is Ciel doing?" They had been waiting for ages… "I think it's worth the risk to check now, because this is just getting ridiculous." Sebastian watched as she rolled up her sleeves determinedly and slipped into the shop… before being tossed right back out. Chêne yelped in surprise when she stumbled, but Sebastian caught her.
"Haha… nice catch." Chêne said, smiling wryly. She couldn't believe Ciel had just shoved her like that… He really meant it when he said he didn't want any witnesses to his humiliation…
"Indeed." Sebastian said, flashing her a brilliant shit-eating grin as he enjoyed having his hands on her waist. Before their marriage, Chêne would've removed his hands by now. He didn't appreciate anyone else bullying Chêne, but at least Ciel's failure to entertain was giving him and her some alone time… even if it did put them a tad behind schedule.
=†=†=†=†=
{Even later…}
Chêne sighed as she gazed up at the night sky with Sebastian and leaned her head on his shoulder. The moon seemed to look especially bright that night.
"It's beautiful…" She said softly. Sebastian glanced down at his wife. Her light green eyes were shining, twinkling warmly in the cool moonlight. He smiled.
"Yes, very." He agreed suavely as he leaned down to kiss her.
"… Pfft!" They heard Undertaker laugh from inside the shop, totally ruining the moment. A vein mark throbbed on Sebastian's forehead. Chêne sweat dropped. Looks like their date was over…
CREEAAK.
The shops door creaked opened slowly. The two of them peeked inside, curious about what had happened during the whole time they had been waiting.
"Fu-guh…!" Undertaker laughed, flushed in the face, and shaking all over, as he held his sides. There was a little drool sliding down the corner of his mouth. Poor Ciel was huffing and puffing, clearly exhausted after trying to make the creep laugh for so long. He had removed his jacket and role duo his sleeves… even his hair was disheveled and sticking up in places. "Oh I say… to think that Earl Phantomhive would go that faaaar! Bfft…"
"Whoa, look at your hair…" Chêne said, amazed. It was like Ciel had developed three new idiot hairs and five insane cowlicks while they were gone.
"What on earth did you do?" Sebastian asked, sighing as he started trying to fix Ciel's messy bird nest.
"Don't ask." Ciel muttered, blushing out of embarrassment, clearly chagrined.
"Still, for you to resort to performing tricks if it is in the name of the queen… You really are a dog." Sebastian told Ciel, smirking.
"Enough. Shut your mouth." Ciel said darkly, his partially cast in shadow as a vein throbbed on his head.
"Play nice, boys." Chêne scolded them lightly as Sebastian tried to conquer a particularly stubborn cowlick that refused to stay down. "Yeah, we're gonna need the comb for that..." She said, smiling wryly, as she took over teasing Ciel's hair back into place, while Sebastian helped him put his jacket back on.
"…" Ciel said when he noticed something was different about Chêne, now that she was closer to him. "Did you change perfumes, Chêne?" He asked curiously. She didn't smell like her usual jasmine… The light and refreshing scent reminded him of a budding rose on a cool summer night… it really suited her.
"Yep! Isn't it pretty? Sebastian gave it to me for Christmas. It's Yardley's new damask rose perfume." Chêne said, smiling.
"!" Ciel said when he suddenly felt someone pinch his cheek. It was Sebastian, and his demon butler's shit-eating grin wasn't as friendly(?) as it normally was. "… What are you doing?" Ciel asked, chagrined.
"Young Master… Please refrain from flirting with my wife." Sebastian deadpanned as he pulled lightly on the young earl's cheek. A vein mark throbbed on Ciel's forehead while Chêne sweat dropped. Just how had that been flirting? Undertaker chuckled.
"Fufuh… Careful, Milord, I see Master Butler is the jealous type…" Undertaker cackled.
"Now I've paid your fee. So let's hear about the children." Ciel said crossly as he pushed Sebastian's hand away.
"There aren't any." Undertaker said, grinning.
"Huh?" Ciel, Sebastian, and Chêne said, dumbstruck.
"None of these children were among my customers… nor have I heard rumors about them in the underworld." Undertaker explained.
"None of them?" Chêne asked, as she furrowed her brow slightly in concern. Just what on earth happened to these kids…?
"So you didn't know anything about this incident at all?" Ciel asked sternly. He'd better have not just humiliated himself for nothing…
"Not quite." Undertaker said, grinning, as he waved his finger in disapproval at Ciel. "I know that I 'do not know' about it."
"Did you deceive me?" Ciel demanded coldly.
"Not at all. This is terribly useful information, is it not?" Undertaker said meaningfully as he dangled one of the files in front of him.
"Indeed. If you do not know, the fact remains that the children have not been killed in the underworld." Sebastian said thoughtfully.
"If their bodies haven't been found in either the outside world or the underworld, it means the odds of the children still being alive are pretty good." Chêne said hopefully, brightening. "The circus might even still have them, if they're the ones responsible."
"In which case… We have no other option left to us but to investigate said circus troupe directly." Ciel concluded solemnly. "Well, that decides it. Come, Sebastian, Chêne. Undertaker, contact me if you come across any information." He said as he turned to leave.
"Milord." Undertaker said, causing Ciel to pause glance back at him, as Chêne handed him his top hat. "A person has but one soul. Take good care of yours."
"?" Chêne said, confused. Why did she feel like there was something a little ominous about the way he said that…?
"I already know that." Ciel said as he place his hat on his head, also feeling a little puzzled by Undertaker's parting advice.
BATAN.
"Hee! Hee! Do you reaaally?" Undertaker asked as the door shut behind them. "Well, the earl should be fine so long as Miss Maid is there…"
