The Ship of Luxury

Its been two weeks since that farce of a party.

Life resumed as normal.

Snake eventually understood what Linnea meant in a short time and as spring came, some of their flowers blossomed in season.

'Oh my!'

It so happens that everyone but two people has a free day.

The mansion is clean and everything washed...

Now its time for ironing, this time, with revolutionary new irons that are NO LONGER A PAIN TO USE!

'Ohohoho! These new irons no longer hurt my hands anymore!' Maylene marveled in delight in glee as the two maids ironed the linens together.

'I'm just glad my invention works!' said Linnea happily. 'Those burned palms are a thing of the past now! I hate iron duty the most!'

'So does any woman in the house!' the maids laughed at that.

Linnea has many projects.

One, was the school reform years ago. Second to be accomplished...a revolutionary iron.

This was because while used to electric irons in the future, the past irons...pissed her off that she asked Sebastian how irons are made, and what metals that conduct heat and materials that don't...so she began making designs and studying to make a brand new iron.

It was the second idea she presented to Ciel as of New Year, a week after Ciel's 13th birthday. Now, all that's needed is making it. It comes in three irons and one portable stove fed with either firewood or coal. Once its used a hundred times through study, it could be fully marketed safely.

Ciel advertised the revolutionary irons as a Funtom Company product but he made it clear that 'his irate Head Maid designed it, he just financed it because its useful to society' because ironing made many a homemaker and maids palms hurt with burns and since working for his house, she was hard at work brainstorming for years because yes, Ironing hurts. Bad! Even when the new Iron from America was bought, its still too heavy!

Considering what the irons are made of, a mix of 30% iron for the frame and 60% copper-filled with a handle made of non-heat conducting materials, a single iron costs a Guinea to break even. Linnea's iron was compared to the invention of Mary Potts of America that was later succeeded by a much hazardous gas-fueled irons(which was why only the former was allowed in the country and the latter BANNED) and hers was better and safer, not to mention cleaner because Linnea's iron conducts heat easily and the heat lasts longer because of Copper inside the iron that's connected to the flat sheet of iron that makes contact with the stove, so five minutes of letting it sit on the hot stove and the heat lasts as long as 15-20 minutes when tested. The irons no longer need coal so its also no longer 5.6 kg heavy due to how its made. Instead, its now 1kg in weight.

The poor people's iron was also made, but only allowed to them. The problem was due to how its made to be affordable(also making it lighter as a result), the heat lasts only 5 minutes at the cost of ten pennies(2 pounds in 1990s) but the poor housewives would rather spend that much than still put up with the old heavy, hot, charcoal-fueled iron that still needed a stove to heat faster.

The new iron sold TOO fast demand was bigger than supply, so orders were made in advance and there's a lot of positive reviews in the newspapers.

Upon ironing out the laundry, they can finally have their free time.

The only ones who doesn't have a free time, is their master, steward, cook(who's training under Tanaka), butler and footman.

Linnea pretty much spent her free time sleeping as maids start at the crack of dawn, and are the last to turn in that she valued all sleep she could get because she still trains to stay in shape. But rest is also important.

At night, when Snake came back from training...he's exhausted and bruised in his training outfit which was a plain shirt, trousers and chinese flats. And he's filthy.

'Welcome back.' Linnea smiled, in her sleepwear which was no more than a very loose cropped top, and shorts. 'Come here.' he sat beside her so she could heal him while comforting him. 'Are you getting used to it now?'

'Well, I'm getting used to those hard hits.' Snake gasped out tiredly. 'And getting thrown at walls, at wood, at rock...' and that was while learning how to fight, and hide weapons on his person other than his lethal snakes.

'Well, that's what Tanaka, Sebastian and I put up with.' Linnea giggled. 'Now its your turn.'

'...'

There was one thing Snake noticed as he used her lap as a makeshift pillow. Her breasts have gotten bigger.

'You're becoming more of a woman each day.' he noted.

'People grow up in years. Girls grow faster than boys until puberty kicks in and before we know it, boys shoot up like bamboo.' Linnea sighed. 'For now I'm enjoying it. That, and I cheat with magical products you know.'

'Ah.'

All servants, and even the Earl benefited off it.

Tanaka, Bard, Finny and Maylene just don't know she sneaks it in their soaps and shampoos in the baths while Snake is fully-aware.

Then Snake finally managed freedom from being a freak, but they wondered of his future children will inherit the snakey features he'd had for years. She had taken to scanning his body with Psychometry and he is apparently, a rare case that would never happen again. So he's the only odd duck out and his future children will be normal. He is 'just cursed' most likely through his mother, whoever she is. Given the existence of magicals, its very likely so a blood test was done...he's related to the Malfoy Family, a magical family from France!

Linnea wisely didn't tell him he came from a Magical Family as he is a Squib. He's better off not knowing.

But his hands reached to cup one of her breasts when she was done healing him, causing her to meep from the sensation of being groped. But as she doesn't know of any existence of sexual advances yet, she just thought he's giving her a massage there...but what's the weird feeling that came with it?

But it felt...good.

'Snake...is massaging my chest a part of courting? It feels nice.' said Linnea while blushing. 'But I feel a good kind of weird for some reason.'

'I just wanted to do it.' said Snake, really wanting to take it up a notch more. They got to know each other, she's comfortable with him and cares for him back, and she lets him shower her with his idea of love and trusts him.

'Oh...carry on then...I just wish I know why something so good also feels so weird...' she gasped out as it feels waaaay too good...his touches and fondling are so gentle, while playing with her nipples.

He then planted chaste kisses on her neck.

She leaned further into his touches...and his hands continued to wander.

He must be patient.

She must want him more.

He will continually tease her until its time. For now, he'll settle with this.

He'll do it sparingly since bonds are more important than physicals, according to Webster. Human women like loving relationships more than they like sexual intimacy. Too much of the latter will annoy the female. And given as this is Linnea they're talking about...yes. More of the former than the latter indeed.

Come April 16, however...

'Listen up.' said Ciel as he faced his front-line servants. Tanaka, Sebastian, Linnea and now, Snake(because he's a Footman) 'There's something illegal going on in the Luxury Cruise Campania and I'm investigating.' he said.

'Illegal on a cruise ship?' Linnea asked him.

'Yes. Karnstein Hospital has been buying slaves by the bulk using Underground Channels, performing experiments that apparently revive the dead.' Ciel twitched. 'The upper-rank doctors, including the director Ryan Stoker have founded a group called 'Aurora Society'. They hold presentations for the nobles regularly and collect incredible donations to fund this.' he said. 'Their true face is that solely of doctors is that of a secret society that consists solely of doctors who have the 'complete salvation of mankind through medicine' as their motto. Illegal experiments have been occurring as Lau told me that the hospital has been purchasing a huge number of slaves, a large number that cannot possibly fit in that hospital. Of course, they are 'made to disappear'.'

'I don't like the sound of that...' said Linnea wryly. 'In fiction horror stories, this often screws up and the so-called revived humans become flesh-hungry Zombies who feel the need to eat the living...and since they no longer feel pain nor need a heartbeat, they can do feats the living cannot do out of hesitation due to pain, and the only way to stop them would be to bash their brains or lop it off.' she said. 'Something sinister may be involved...and its no longer medicine at this point.'

'I hope it doesn't go that way or I'll be royally angry if fiction became reality.' Ciel growled with a scowl. 'Tanaka, if anyone comes giving me a Love Letter, please reply back that I'm investigating this and therefore cannot answer to whatever's in it at the moment. You will lead the others in the house while we're gone. The others cannot know this until we confirm facts.'

'Yes, young master.' Tanaka nodded.

'And has new katar gauntlets and shoe knives arrived for Snake yet?'

'Just yesterday.'

'Good. Then we'll have no problems should anything happen.' said Ciel. 'Sebastian, Snake, Linnea, get packing. We leave tomorrow after breakfast.' he instructed.

'Yes, my lord!'

xxx

'Zombies huh?' Ciel swore as the other servants left. 'Did Linnea have something like that in her past?'

'Yes but little knowledge as usual, no thanks to her relatives. She just hears of it as movies from school peers out of interest, and they all share a common theme: eating humans.' Sebastian explained. 'There's one movie that had zombies focus on brains, not flesh for reasons beyond me but in that movie, 'brain makes the pain go away' and yes, that's fictional, that never happens in my experience.'

'We'll have to be armed to the teeth and if worse comes to worse...I may have you and Linnea use your powers.' Ciel informed him stiffly.

'Of course.'

xxx

Bedroom...

'Zombies huh? How bad are they?' Snake asked his intended as they packed up things they wouldn't miss if the worst happened.

'Zombies and nowhere to run on the ship? That's just a recipe for disaster.' Linnea shivered. 'I'm just glad those new katars came so we can fully focus. I'll teach you how to use them through mine.' she said as she took off her uniform with a snap of her fingers, showing only her undergarments and corset. She taught him how to use the gauntlets, the do's and don'ts.

Then they went back to bed.

NOT really looking forward to the trip at all.

xxx

And so...

At the port...the massive white and blue ship loomed over them, with the name Campania in white, big, bold letters.

As the servants bid them farewell...

'Ahem, before you guys go...have you forgotten who we might meet?' Linnea grinned, holding up a fine-toothed comb and some hair gel. 'While young master Edward can get away with it as he's not a titled lord yet, the young master, Sebastian and Snake don't have such leeway.'

Ciel choked as Sebastian twitched. Snake who hasn't met Marchioness Midford yet only heard horror stories of her that he was quick to allow himself to be combed.

After a few minutes, their hair is combed neatly and they were able to safely meet the Marchioness after getting their rooms. Sebastian and Ciel shared one, Snake and Linnea in another.

'Well, Linnea?' Ciel asked her as she scanned the whole ship.

'...the two freight storages, front and back are full of coffins of these damned creatures.' Linnea reported. '100 at the back, 1000 at front.' she said, showing images of the slumbering zombies within the coffins marked with the Aurora Society symbol.

'1000?!' Ciel sputtered, ashen faced. 'Where the hell did they get...' he demanded before pausing in horror. '...oh shit...those slaves?!' he realized it piece by piece as he remembered Lau's words from breakfast days ago.

'That would seem to be the case.' said Sebastian. 'They must have been purchased, then killed for the sake of these revival experiments. We have already traced the source, we just need to cut off the head of the problem.'

'Linnea, take care of the front.' Ciel swore. 'Do it stealthily. I'd rather we deal with a hundred than a thousand. That'll be a nightmare! Sebastian and I will take care of the Aurora Society. Go with Snake.'

'Yes, my lord.' the two lower-ranking servants answered with a subservient bow.

'It seems a higher power is involved I suspect.' said Sebastian. 'Because no human technology I know of, is capable of this. Be careful.' he added as a warning.

xxx

For one Ronald Knox...he came here with a job: to investigate the moving corpses.

Granted, no one on this ship will die thanks to a witch. But still, a demon is present because he is contracted to a human who is also on this ship. Interestingly enough, both serve this person. William spoke highly of the witch whom he gave the benefit of the doubt that paid off as she managed to delete the nine deaths on his list in the Noah's Ark Circus case. Her presence lessens or erases their workload entirely in cases the Phantomhives were involved in, making them wonder what she is as not even her own kind can cause such alterations in Death List Distributions. In fact, they cause them so much work due to their racial prejudice mentality, doing 'Muggle Hunting'! If her presence can edit their lists based on her morals alone when the only way to 'edit' a list that humans on their list survive(unless she was late in getting to them was the theory), is that these rare individuals must have potential to be beneficial to the world and sadly, no human possesses this trait as no Death God has found such a human in their long careers.

She has morals and humanity her kind presently lacked.

He then got orders.

'Whoops, I better get to it.' and he scampered to...the front freight storage.

xxx

The Front Freight Storage...

'Sense anyone here?' Linnea whispered to Snake as a Pit Viper came out.

'Well, nobody here.' said Snake as the Viper with him shook its head. 'All we know is that it horribly stinks in here.'

'That's weird, I can't smell anything...' Linnea raised an eyebrow. 'Are your sense of smell better than normal humans?' she asked Snake and his snaky companions.

'Probably. Been like this for years.' said Snake. 'Dead bodies stink worse to me and my snakes. We smell it first before anyone else does.'

'...after I use psychometry on a body, I'll lop off their heads from the inside.' Linnea whispered as she touched a Coffin. 'Lessee...' and she closed her eyes. 'They're dead alright. But something I cannot see is 'moving' them. But I can determine that it has a condition for it to move...a live person must be nearby.'

'But we're alive and nothing is reacting.' Snake pointed out.

'Because I'm concealing us with magic. Sebastian said a higher power is involved if they could make Zombies so I took precautions. Makes me wonder if a doctor made a deal or something to be able to create Zombies.' Linnea explained. 'I'll continue...they have softer bodies since they're long dead, as well as having no sense whatsoever. Being dead they're blind, deaf, unable to smell, taste and feel pain. They don't have intelligence either. But they have the urge to go for something they lack. Which is why they react to a live person.'

'That's interesting.' the two meeped to see a blonde man in a suit with tell-tale green eyes.

'Death God!' Linnea gasped out in recognition.

'Bing-bong~!' Ronald winked. 'I'm here to see this case too!' he harrumphed. 'We're being nagged at by Management, saying we don't do our jobs and made to redo it!' he scowled. 'But what I heard is interesting. But I'd like a peek of this something 'you don't understand'.' he said. 'Can ya bring out the thing you called a Zombie?' he asked, getting his Death Scythe, a lawn mower ready.

'Are Death Gods technologically advanced, and favor gardening tools of the future as a weapon?' Linnea sweatdropped, but her words were something Ronald took note of. 'A tree pruner, a chainsaw and now a lawn mower?' she sputtered helplessly in utter bemusement and disbelief.

'Whaaat, we're unique!' Ronald grinned as he revved up the engines. 'Now let out one body, will ya?'

'Let me take precautions first!' Linnea huffed as she released one Zombie for Ronald to look at, and looked at his list.

'Wilson Smith, died at March 31, death by a stab in the heart.' he said, looking at his notes as the zombie made jerking, sluggish movements before going for Linnea and Snake.

'Hurry up and determine the other power damnit!' Linnea shrieked in freakout as Snake got in front of her, his own blades out, but Ronald bashed it with his weapon...making Snake throw up from the stench.

'I-it stinks!' he gasped out in tears, and looking sick. 'It really stinks! Uggggh!' Linnea quickly filtered his air, giving him relief. 'T-thank you...'

'...Death Records?' he sputtered. 'What the hell, this was collected three weeks ago! Someone's raiding the damn library for this!' he cried. 'These are just memories, but we definitely collected the souls so these guys are still dead! Someone is breaking a dozen rules to do this!'

'...we can't see a thing though.' Linnea and Snake chorused. To them, Ronald just bashed the body on its upper half, squashing it.

'Of course you can't. Only Death Gods, Gods, Demons and whoever human they're contracted with can see Death Records.' said Ronald airily with a hand wave. 'Think of it like a looooong camera film, showing memories of when they're alive. That's what a Death Record is.' he explained. 'I'm collecting it and that should stop it.' he said. 'These bodies are given back their memories from birth to death which is why they move but they don't have souls...so the reason they react to a living person must mean they want a soul to be whole, to really be alive again but they can't have the souls of others.' he said. 'Everyone's souls are unique. As unique as fingerprints. You can't just take a replacement so easily ya know!'

'Ohhh...but I have to lop their heads off as cutting their heads off stops them from moving.' Linnea pointed out. 'That's my job to prevent the death of this ship while the young Master and Sebastian investigate the Aurora Society, a group comprised of upper-ranking doctors of Karnstein Hospital, financially supported by interested nobles. Your rule-breaker is helping them out, most likely.'

Linnea filled Ronald in and Ronald took note.

'I see...man, they're gonna be pissed.' Ronald groaned. 'Lop em' off.' Linnea flared her magic but limited into the storage, and soon enough, blood began dripping off the coffins, creating a flood of blood, and she had to vanish the flood while a complaining Death God swore about being swamped as a flood of records also came out.

'Hey! You just had to do them all at once!' Ronald wailed helplessly. 'I don't even know where to start and my senior isn't even here yeeeet!'

'Orders are orders and a job is a job.' Linnea grinned. 'Have fuuun~!' and they were gone, leaving Ronald swearing.

xxx

'Is that so?' they reported to Ciel. 'There's a rogue Death God helping the hospital out?'

'I wonder how are you going to edit this to report it to the queen.' said Linnea wryly.

'This is a case she doesn't know of. So she doesn't have to know.' Ciel grunted. 'But still, with Uncle Alexis on board, the Head Knight of the Palace...yeah, do the back storage too so we can conceal this.' he instructed with a sigh. 'Use that blonde guy you found. After letting him retrieve the records, get rid of the coffins and the bodies. The sharks would feed well today with our help.'

'Yessir.' and they ran off.

'This just got more interesting doesn't it?' Ciel mused with a frown as Sebastian looked thoughtful.

'That rogue should be here too then.' said Sebastian. 'This just got complicated.'

'That, and avoiding the Midfords in the process because of Lizzie is already complicated.' Ciel said wearily before narrowing his eyes. 'And we have to solve this before we get to New York. The perpetrators must NOT get away with this.' they can only meet with the Marchioness and Marquis, while hiding from Edward and Elizabeth.

xxx

Front Storage...

'Hey! We're doing the Back Storage too OK?' Linnea called out to the irate reaper. 'There's 100 Zombies over there! A total of 1100!'

'Thanks a bunch!' Ronald grumbled, collecting the records that were all over the place.

'When you're done we are to get rid of the bodies too so please move faster!' Linnea enjoyed annoying the blonde.

'Ahhh shaddap!'

Needless to say, only Sebastian and Ciel has work left.