That Butler, Deceased


I own nothing but my OC.

≤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


Previously:

SHHHH.

CLICK. CLICK.

Sebastian's footsteps could be heard just above the sound of the rain as he walked down the dark and empty hall. The only source of light was the candelabra in his hand. He reached Siemens' room.

"—Now then," Sebastian said. He stopped in front of the fireplace. "To 'make sure there is enough coke to keep going through the night'… was it?" He set to work on clearing away the ashes so he could add fresh coke to the fire. He stopped. "I should have known… This is—" A dark figure rose up behind him.

THOK!


{Downstairs...}

"… rd. Bard!"

"!!" Bard gasped, startled awake when someone touched him. He rolled over in bed, gun drawn from beneath his pillow, only to be stopped by none other than Sebastian. It was the butler who had called him. "What the heck! It's just you!" Bard said, relaxing. "Don't sneak up on me all silent, like! I near took you for a ghost or somethin'! What d'ya want?"

"It is about the menu for tomorrow," Sebastian said.

"We can talk about that stuff in the mornin', can't we!?" Bard said, rolling over to go back to sleep. "I'm beat, y'know." Sebastian grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him back to face him again.

"I want you to listen now," Sebastian told him. The butler and chef stared at each other. Bard could see Sebastian was serious.

"Yeeeah, aaall right," Bard said, scratching his head. Sebastian smiled.

"First, tomorrow's breakfast," the butler said. "As I think the guests will be eating around noon, please prepare something somewhat filling. I have prepared herring pie and spinach quiche and put them in the larder, so please serve those to the guests. Please be vigilant and avoid serving something like kidney pie. There is a stockpot full of curry that I have made on the stove, so serve that for dinner. For hors d'oeuvres, there are chopped vegetables..."

"Hey, hey! Even if ya spout all that off at me in one go, I ain't some secretary! I'll never remember it all!" Bard said.

"Quite," Sebastian agreed. "Thus I have seen to the menu for the next three days, taken care of preliminary arrangements… and written a memo detailing where the foodstuffs may be found and the procedure for warming them up," he said with a sigh, holding the paper instructions out for him to take. "If there is anything you don't understand, please ask Chêne to help you. I'm sure she'll be able to muddle through."

"Hunh? I don't need this," Bard said, taking it. "You just gotta tell me straight what you want done..."

"Nnnnn! Wha's goink ooon?" Finni asked sleepily, sitting up in his bed.

"Finni. I am sorry to have woken you," Sebastian told him.

"Mister Sebastian? What're you doin' at this hour…?" Finni asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Finni, due to the storm, you will be unable to work on the garden for some time. Starting tomorrow, I would like you to see to replacing the coke for the fires," Sebastian instructed him. "Do it first thing in the morning. Understood?"

"Yesssh!!" Finni said, yawning.

"Now to bed with you. Tomorrow will be another early start," Sebastian said, tucking him in. He paused as he turned to leave and looked back at Bard. "Well then, I entrust tomorrow to you… Chef."

"Yep!" Bard said as the butler left, getting ready to sleep again. "Whew, brother." He pulled the covers up and rolled over. "…" All of a sudden what Sebastian said finished sinking in, and he bolted upright with wide eyes. "Did he say chef!?"

^—^—^—

SHHHH.

Mei-Rin was trying to sleep, but her bed was right next to a window, and she could hear the rain beating against it. She had just succeeded when there was a knock on her door.

TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

"Who is it, who is there…?" Mei-Rin asked as she sat up, feeling dazed.

TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

"I… I will be right there, I wiiill!" she said, scrambling to find her glasses in the dark. She slipped and fell out of the bed. "Gyaaah!!"

CRASH. CLATTER.

She somehow managed to find her glasses in the chaos and made her way to the door.

"I beg your pardon for keeping you waiting, I do," she said, opening it. She was greeted by the sight of Sebastian standing there holding and owl in a cage. "!!"

"Forgive me for disturbing you at this late hour," he said.

"M-M-M-M-M-M-Mister Sebastian!?" she exclaimed, shocked to see him there. "Wh-wh-wh-wh-what brings you here at this time of night!? Does M-M-M-Missus Chêne kno—"

"There is something I would like you to do first thing in the morning. Chêne has already taken a sleeping draught, so I cannot ask her," Sebastian said.

"Eh? Oh! Yes," Mei-Rin answered. Yes, of course it was something like that.

"When dawn breaks, please promptly set this bird free," Sebastian told her. "There is a letter tied to its leg."

"A letter, you say? For whom…?" Mei-Rin asked, accepting the cage.

"It is not essential for you to know that," Sebastian replied. "However… it will prove useful in the future without fail." His expression seemed to grow grimmer. "As soon as dawn breaks now. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir," she answered.

"Then I shall take my leave," Sebastian said, turning to leave. "Please forgive the late intrusion."

"Ah," Mei-Rin said. That was pretty abrupt.

"Oh yes, one more thing…" He looked back at her. "From now on, you must refrain from carelessly opening your door at this time of night without confirming the identity of the caller first."

"Heh?"

"For you are a young woman."

Mei-Rin watched him walk away.

"Mister Sebastian…?" she said, feeling a little confused and concerned. What had gotten into him?

—^—^—^—

Sebastian opened the door of the room he shared with Chêne. He walked straight to the night table and started winding the alarm clock sitting there, setting it to wake her up at a reasonable hour. He hoped the sleeping draught wouldn't make her sleep through it. Sometimes it made her a little slow in the mornings. He looked down at her peacefully sleeping on her side in the bed. He sat down next to her. And gently brushed away the hair that had fallen in her face. He let his hand linger. He leaned down and kissed her.

"I do love you," he whispered, even though he knew she couldn't hear.

=†=†=†=†=†=

'Uhhn…. I can't sleep...' Arthur thought, opening his eyes. He glanced sideways at the earl. '… In any case, he's thirteen, huh? The same age as my little brother, Ed.' He pictured that brother for a moment. 'That one's still a snot-nosed brat...' He looked back at Ciel. 'What long eyelashes...'

"Nn..." Ciel groaned, turning in his sleep.

"When he's asleep, he looks more like a boy his age. How cute!" Arthur mused with a good-natured smile. "It's more 'little master Ciel' than 'Earl Phantomhive'..."

"Haaah… He is indeed adorable when he is asleep," Sebastian agreed with a sigh, standing behind him with a pillow in his arms. What a shame the effect was ruined as soon as he woke.

"Eh!?" Arthur exclaimed, shocked, flinching. "Hey…! You were still here!?"

"You're late, Sebastian," Ciel said, sitting up.

"Hnh?" Arthur said, surprised he was awake. "E-E-E-Earl Phantomhive!? You were awake!?" He blushed out of embarrassment. "D-Did you hear me talking to mysel—"

"Hand over my pillow quick," Ciel ordered Sebastian, holding his hand out.

"Huh? Pillow?" Arthur asked.

"I suppose you could say this is Young Master's security blanket at present?" Sebastian replied, switching the one in his arms with the one on the bed.

"Not hardly!" Ciel said, flopping onto his back with his head on the new pillow. "I just happen to like this pillow!"

"Do you desire a lullaby as well?" Sebastian teased him. "Chêne already took her sleeping draught, so I'm afraid you'll have to settle for me instead."

"No!!" Ciel said as he bolted upright again, denying it with all his might. "You creep! And let's get this straight, I've never had you sing one in the first place! Stop saying things that'll cause misunderstandings!!" Arthur sweat-dropped as he watched. Ciel seemed to have become a completely different person…

"Get back to your quarters at once!" Ciel ordered and promptly lay back down. "I'm going to sleep!"

"Excuse me," said Sebastian, looking far too amused for Ciel's liking. "Then I shall return to my work."

"Hmph," Ciel huffed. He fell asleep right then and there.

"..." Sebastian said.

'Whoa! That was quick!' Arthur thought, surprised. 'So he really does need this pillow to fall asleep. But he hadn't said a word about it. I'm sure he was making do with the pillow he had.' He felt sorry for Ciel. He really was just a kid after all.

"Professor," Sebastian said, getting his attention. "I apologize for the inconvenience that has occurred."

"No," Arthur said.

"The young master is stoutly conducting himself as the head of the family, but he is still only thirteen. Still very young," Sebastian said.

"You're right," Arthur agreed sympathetically. "He must be feeling helpless with anxiety, having been caught up in this incident."

"Do you also believe in the young master's innocence then, Professor?" Sebastian asked.

"I do," Arthur answered. "I can't believe that the earl would do such a thing." Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled slightly.

"I thank you for it," the butler said. "It is truly fortunate that you are the one to be watching over the young master."

"Eh?" said Arthur.

"—Professor." Sebastian tightened his grip on the pillow. "Please. Do take care of the young master," he asked the doctor, smiling a little sadly.

"Ah…!" Arthur said, at a loss for words as he watched Sebastian leave and shut the door behind him. Was it just him or had there been something tragic about the butler…? 'But ultimately, the situation only allows for the earl to be the culprit,' he thought. 'However, my gut is telling me there is no way that's true. Is someone among the rest lying? If so, who? The people I was with did not leave the room at all. In which case… is the murderer one of the servants, who were allegedly off working together… or one of those three?' He pictured Lau, Ran-Mao, and Woodley. '… I find those three very suspicious indeed. But I'm sure they came out of the lounge when we all gathered in the hall. Which brings us to the most suspicious of the lot being the servants—And of them… the two who first discovered the corpse especially. Say they set up that locked room in the time between Lord Siemens' scream and us running in… but to what end? Don't tell me they intended to pin the crime on the earl and flee? A butler must offer up every aspect of his life to his master and thus cannot marry without his master's permission. After long tormenting themselves with a love not condoned by their master, maybe they got to thinking—? It's a common plot amongst mystery novels of this sort… and it's not entirely implausible. But then… the head maid was wearing what appeared to be a wedding ring, so could she already be married? It looked suspiciously expensive… But she did try to defend her master when he was accused, unlike the butler, Sebastian, who was curiously calm when Lord Siemens died. Was that because he was the perpetrator of the crime? —Wait… Why am I advancing the story with no more than a bunch of IFs that have nothing to do with the facts!?' He suddenly felt very glum. 'And I, an author of mystery novels at that!! My reasoning has been flawed from the very beginning...' He lay back in bed. "Haah..." he sighed. 'to begin with, however you approach the situation, it's impossible to think someone could've hidden the murder weapon and created a locked room with needle and thread in the brief period it took us all to come running to that door. And why am I assuming the earl did not commit the murder from the start? Aah… but I really don't know…' He started to feel drowsy. 'Who did it… and why...' With that last thought, he drifted off to sleep.

=†=†=†=†=†=

Sebastian returned to Siemens' room. He stood before the fireplace.

"… Now then."

=†=†=†=†=†=

BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRIIING! BRRRI—

Chêne's hand instinctively reached out to the nightstand, where it found the alarm and shut it off.

"Agh! … What the hell... was that!?" Chêne wondered out loud as she lay face down in her bed, feeling terrible after such an obnoxious awakening. 'Was that the alarm clock Sebastian randomly bought two weeks ago…? Did he set it?' Chêne did not approve. Why did they even need the stupid thing when he always woke her up himself anyway!? "Sebastian..." She picked her head up to look at her husband only to find the bed empty on his side. "..." Chêne looked around the rest of the room. He wasn't there. "… Did he pull an all-nighter again?" Looking at the clock again she saw that it was actually later than she had expected. What was going on? She decided to get dressed and find out.

—^—^—^—

Chêne was just opening her door to leave the room, when she heard a scream. It sounded like Finni. She threw it open, ready to run to his aid, when he came barreling down the hall and nearly ripped the door to his room off its hinges.

"M-M-M-M-M-M-M-Mister… It's M-Mister Sebastian!!!" he cried with tears streaming down his face. For a moment Chêne just stared at him, dumbfounded. What on earth did Sebastian do to reduce him to such a state?

"Huh? What about Sebastian?" she heard Bard ask from inside the room.

"I-Is something wrong?" Mei-Rin asked as she came running.

"H-H-H-H-H-He—!!" Finni was crying so hard, he had started to hyperventilate and couldn't answer properly.

"Finni, what's wrong?" Chêne asked gently, approaching him. She started rubbing soothing circles on his back, trying to calm him down. "It's going to be okay—"

"I-It's not!" Finni managed to choke out, shedding more tears. But he seemed to have snapped out of it, because he was speaking more clearly. "M-Mister Sebastian… is dead!!" Chêne felt her stomach drop as her whole body went cold. A million things flew through her mind but the one she decided to focus on was how incredibly implausible that was. It couldn't be true. It couldn't.

"W-What…!?" Bard asked, also shocked. Mei-Rin was too stunned to speak. "How can—"

"Where is he?" Chêne asked, grabbing Finni by the shoulders. She could hear a slight tremor in her voice, even though she had convinced herself it had to be a mistake. "Take me to him, Finni!"

—^—^—^—

They rushed through the hall to Siemens' room. The door was still wide open. Chêne ran through first and stopped in her tracks. Her whole body froze. The first thing her mind let her process was the deep crimson bloodstains on the floor. Then she saw his face, eyes wide and unseeing, with trails of blood coming out of his mouth and blood splatter on his chin. Her eyes widened in shock. She followed the direction of the splatter back to its origin, and she saw it, the whole gruesome picture in its entirety. There was her husband, lying on the floor, covered in splashes of his own blood with the room's fire poker sticking out of his chest. She thought she might faint or scream or throw up. But she didn't. Instead, she took one shaky step forward, then another, until she was standing over him. She dropped to her knees beside him.

"This is a trick, right?" she pleaded. "Sebastian?" She reached out a trembling hand to feel his neck for a pulse. Nothing. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and as they fell, she did scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"—ne! Chêne!!" Bard yelled, shaking her. She looked at him with wide eyes. He was pale and clearly trying hard to keep it together. Chêne realized she could hear Finni and Mei-Rin crying. Something about that made her clench her fists and steel her nerve.

"Help me up," she told Bard, and he did. He helped her stand back up, and Chêne forced herself to stop shaking as he guided her back to Mei-Rin and Finni. "We need to wake up Mr. Tanaka. Ask him to wake Ciel."

"The young master!?" Finni said.

"But that's…!" Mei-Rin gasped.

"We can't hide this from him," Chêne said sadly. He needed to know. Bard left to carry out her orders. Chêne looked back at Sebastian. She wanted to close his eyes, but she didn't think she should disturb the crime scene anymore than she already had. She couldn't think clearly, but maybe someone else might see something she was missing, something that would help them catch his killer. That was all she could do for him now. How could she not have seen this!? Why did she have to start taking the sleeping draught more frequently? She didn't know how long she stood there staring with tears running down her cheeks, but eventually her vision became too blurred with tears, and she had to wipe her eyes. "We should wake the guests, too..."

"Bit late for that," Grey said as he strolled into the room, leading the rest of the guests, minus Arthur and Phelps. They were all fully dressed.

"Yes, we all heard a frightening scream!" Grimsby said. "Just what—" The words died in his throat when he realized what he was looking at.

—^—^—^—

"—r. Professor."

Arthur heard a voice that he vaguely recognized. He opened his eyes. Ciel was leaning over him.

"Professor, please wake up," Ciel repeated himself.

"MWHA!!" the doctor exclaimed, lurching into an upright position in his surprise. "Good morning!"

"Professor," Ciel said again. "Something isn't right with the manor."

"Eh?" said Arthur.

"Sebastian should've come to wake me a long time ago, but… he has not come yet," Ciel explained.

"Wha—!?" Arthur said, shocked. 'It can't be,' he thought. 'Has he really run away!?'

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Pardon me, Sir," Tanaka greeted Ciel, stepping into the room. "Please forgive me for my untoward lateness." He bowed.

"Tanaka..." Ciel said, surprised to see him. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he furrowed his brow. "… Where is Sebastian?"

—^—^—^—

As soon as Tanaka finished explaining and unchaining them, Ciel and Arthur took off running down the hall.

—^—^—^—

"What on earth is going on!?" Grimsby demanded.

"This is terrible..." Irene said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I never imagined something like this would happen..." Grey said, furrowing his brow. Lau and Ran-Mao stared quietly at the butler's body, while beads of sweat rolled down Woodley's distressed face.

"H-How should we break the news—!? To Young Master…!?" Mei-Rin sobbed, holding her face in her hands while she cried.

"Hic! Uuu~! Hic!" Finni sobbed, crying so hard that he gave himself the hiccups.

"We should warn him… before he sees—!" Chêne started to say, leaning against the wall for support with one hand and holding her face with the other, hoping to lessen the shock for him. She just couldn't bring herself to finish.

"… Ah!" Bard said when Ciel arrived. "Young…! Master!" The young earl came to halt in the open doorway, staring at the violent scene before him with wide eyes.

"Ah..." Chêne said quietly. They were too late to warn him.

"—Se… bas...tia...n?" Ciel asked slowly in disbelief. He staggered forward.

"N—No, stop!!" Mei-Rin said, quickly grabbing him to prevent him from going further into the room. "Young Master, you must not enter, not at all!!"

"Let me go!!!" Ciel yelled at her.

"No, Young Master!" Finni said, moving to help her. Chêne also stepped forth to help, about to tell Ciel that he didn't have to do this to himself, when he slapped their hands away.

"Stay back!!" Ciel shouted. "Don't order your master around!!"

"…!" Mei-Rin gasped.

"Young Master…!" Finni cried.

SPLAT.

Sebastian's blood squished in the carpet when Ciel stepped on it.

"Sebastian, how much longer are you going to keep up this childish prank?" Ciel asked his butler sternly. "Once again, I can't imagine the floor makes for comfortable slumber." Ciel looked down at him, face cast in shadow. "Just how much longer do you plan to feign sleep, hm?"

"Young Master," Bard said grimly. He didn't want to accept it either, but they needed to face facts. Chêne was startled when Ciel kicked Sebastian's body.

"Can you not hear me, Sebastian?" Ciel asked coldly, poised with his foot still on him. "I'm telling you to get up." He stared down at Sebastian's corpse and gritted his teeth. "Why, you..." He ripped the poker from his body and threw it aside.

"Don—" Chêne cried, but it was too late.

SLISH! CLATTER!

"My lord…!" Arthur exclaimed. That was vital evidence! Ciel didn't care. He kneeled down over his dead butler a grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"Sebastian! You get up right now, you hear me!!?" Ciel yelled, shaking him. "I command you!!" The crease in Ciel's brow deepened and he gritted his teeth harder when nothing happened. "…!" There was a terrifying look in his eye. "Did you fail to hear my command!?"

SMACK!

Ciel slapped him hard across the face. Chêne flinched.

"Who in the name of hell gave you permission to die!?" he demanded.

SMACK!

"I'll never forgive you for this, Sebastian!" he screamed.

SMACK!

"Open your damn—!"

"Stop it, Ciel!!" Chêne cried, throwing her arms around him to stop him from hitting her husband again. "That's enough—this won't bring him back! Just stop it!" Her tears started flowing again. "Please. Please. I can't take it anymore!!"

"Young Master," Bard said, stepping forward to back her up. "She's right. Please stop. We really can't take any more of this. He… He's already dead..." He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in frustration. Losing a comrade never got easier. Ciel looked from Chêne's crying face to Bard to Mei-Rin and Finni, who were both a complete and utter mess. Chêne loosened her grip on Ciel so he could move, but she kept one arm around him.

"This… must be some kind of joke, right?" Ciel said, reaching out a trembling hand. "Are you really dead? Sebastian." He touched his butler's face with his hand and gently moved his hair out of his face, closing his eyes. "You, my butler… You… and you alone, who— … who promised you would stay at, my side until the very end—" Ciel leaned down over Sebastian and said something Chêne couldn't quite catch.

"The corpse will rot if we leave it here, so it would be a good idea to move it quickly," Grey said, speaking practically.

"!" Bard flinched a little at the thought. "… Yeah." But it had to be done.

"Come on… Missus Chêne… Young Master," Mei-Rin said as she and Finni tried to help them up. Chêne let Finni support her, but Ciel fought Mei-Rin.

"We need… We need to move him," Chêne said gently, bitting her lip.

"No! Let me go!" Ciel yelled, struggling. "Don't leave me behind, Sebastian!! Sebastian! I command you." He reached out for his butler and managed to grab the pin off his chest. "I command you…! I command you!!!"

"Hnn?" said Lau, making Arthur glance curiously at him. "Committing this last murder would have been impossible for the confined earl, hmm?"

"!" Arthur gasped when he realized he was right, but then something about the look in the Chinese man's eyes when he opened them gave him a chill.

"This is all turning out to be very amusing indeed," Lau said with dark smile. A bead of cold sweat slid down the side of Arthur's face as he stared at him. Arthur slowly turned his attention away to the young earl. He could see the boy was trembling while his servants tried to comfort him. Finni put his jacket over his shoulders.

[He endured his sorrow, his small shoulders shaking with each racking sob. Yet no tears fell from his lone eyes, not even at the very end. Did his pride as head of the family lead him to act that way—or was it that… his tears had dried up completely…?]