Hello everyone! Here is another chapter! I hope everyone who celebrates it had a Merry Christmas, and everyone else had fun too with whatever holiday (or lack thereof) that they participate in! :) Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I got distracted and forgot to post this chapter when I had planned to. *bows*

Notes that pertain to this chapter:

Aristocratic women generally didn't have the rights to their own property around this time period, but a woman wealthy enough to be married to a member of the English peerage would have inherited plenty of wealth from her own family.

Black ribbon: Victorian England was very superstitious about death. One of their superstitions dictated that if there had been several deaths within a family, those still living should tie a black ribbon to every living thing that entered the house, even animals, to prevent death from spreading further. At this point, Ciel's entire immediate family except for Lydia has perished, so it's a concern.

"I'm not a dowager.": When Lydia says this, she means "There's no need to address me so formally."

As a gift for my readers, I wrote a flashback story that revolves around little Lydia and Sebastian. It doesn't actually take place at Christmas, but it's still pretty cute! :3 It should be posted sometime tomorrow, as I want to edit it and make it perfect.

Reviews will be appreciated as Christmas gifts! They will make me dance will happiness! :D

Lastly, I'd like to thank Starbit, whose input helped me to write the last chapter. :)

It was like a nightmare had unfolded out of thin air. Lydia screamed Sebastian's name as his body crashed limply against the stone walkway. Still embracing her, Elizabeth cried out at the sound of the gunshot and tried to turn her head toward it, but Lydia instinctively pulled her more firmly into her arms and braced her head against her own shoulder, not wanting the naïve girl to see the blood-spattered scene before her. Dropping his cane, Tanaka rushed toward Ciel and threw his body over the young Earl like a cover. Lydia glanced around frantically. "Where'd it come from?" she yelled.

Another shot rang out and shattered against the ground a few feet away from them. Elizabeth gave a tiny moan of terror. "They're shooting from the Church!" Tanaka called out, adjusting his monocle and glancing in that direction. Another shot was fired. This time she couldn't even tell where it landed.

"Run!" she screamed, pushing Elizabeth ahead of her as every member of their party who was still standing began to race back down the walkway toward the rows of carriages which would provide some cover. Ciel seized Elizabeth's arm and helped her stay upright as she hurtled along in high heels, and Lydia supported Tanaka with her right arm as the old servant ran as fast as he could. Lydia fervently hoped that Sebastian was unconscious and therefore insensitive to pain. He had been shot right in the head. Holy Mary. Who on earth was shooting at them, and where….?

Lydia felt no pain, but she heard a crack! and was suddenly aware that she was falling. She let go of Tanaka so she wouldn't drag him down with her. Gusts of air rushed all around her, and she suddenly thought of Kentish Street in all its Springtime glory, the wind blowing the petals off the cherry trees and sucking them into the sky….her father and her, walking down Kentish Street together….her father at home right now, wondering what she was doing at this very moment….this moment….was she going to die? The next instant, Lydia felt pain as she hit the ground on her knees, a heavy body on top of her. She twisted her torso around and found herself staring wide-eyed into the familiar face of Sebastian, completely conscious and smiling. Both of his shoulders were drenched in blood, but his head was whole and undamaged. His white-gloved hand was directly beside her temple, and he clutched a tiny, smoking piece of metal between his fingertips.

Another shot rang out, and Sebastian closed his eyes and grunted softly as it knocked him slightly forward onto her. The next second, he had hooked his arms around her and moved with lightning speed, depositing her behind the carriage which the rest of her party had just thrown themselves underneath. Still in shock, she crouched down and helped Ciel and Elizabeth climb out from under the vehicle, ducking lower as another shot shattered the carriage's window. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Ciel demanded, and Lydia shook her head, her beleaguered mourning veil falling off her bonnet as she whispered, "Quick, where's the carriage?"

"This way, master. Come!" Sebastian directed, seizing all three of them. With Tanaka hurrying behind, he practically dragged them, hunched-over, through the maze of gilded carriages until they found their own. Stumbling dumbly, they threw themselves inside and Lydia flung her arms protectively over Ciel and Elizabeth.

"Get on the floor! Get into the corners!" she whispered intensely, and she swiftly knelt down with them as they huddled among the foot-pillows and underseat cupboards of the carriage. Sebastian materialized next to her, and positioned his dark body over all of them. "Please be very still and do not scream, Miss Elizabeth. Their chances of hitting us are very slim now that they cannot pinpoint our position. Besides, I will protect you."

"I th-thought you had been killed!" Elizabeth warbled through her gushing tears. "Your head-"

"You are very kind to think of me, but it was merely a flesh wound. What would I do as a butler of the Phantomhive family if I could not deal with such a simple thing?" the demon asked calmly. A few more shots were fired, but Lydia could tell that they were not hitting close to them.

"Where's Tanaka?" she murmured, breathing out as Sebastian tucked her more securely under his arm.

"He is hiding behind the horses and keeping them calm. Master, what would you like me to do?"

From outside, Lydia could hear the defined screams of the frightened funeral-goers, most rushing out of the Church and toward the mess of carriages. Ciel bit his lip in exasperation. "Why on earth are those idiots running right across the line of fire? The gunmen aren't shooting into the Church. They were safer where they were!"

"They're panicking," Lydia murmured, raising her head to peer out the bottom of the window. The scene looked like a field full of flying shadows- people dressed all in black were running helter-skelter through the cemetery, tripping over gravestones or cowering behind them. Some cried out to the Lord for mercy. Dear God, please don't let the innocent be hurt, she thought as her heart fluttered. "When they get here in a few seconds, it'll be a mess. They'll all be taking off at once. We'll go with the crowd and be concealed among them. When we're satisfied that we're safe, Sebastian can go back and try to apprehend the shooters."

"Yes, master." Sebastian bowed his head, and then called out the window, "Mr. Tanaka! Please prepare the carriage to drive! I will stay inside and ensure that these ones are safe from harm."

Lydia listened hard, but she could hear no more shots being fired as the fleeing crowd washed over the rows of carriages. Poor Elizabeth was trembling like an aspen leaf and clutching onto Ciel and Lydia's clothing with all her might. She heard Tanaka climb into the driver's seat, and then they waited. After several bumps and amidst multitudes of shouting, the carriage finally swung onto the cobblestone street and began its long journey to safety. No one particularly seemed to want to climb back into the seats, so they stayed bunched together on the floor. "Where are we going?" Lydia questioned, still feeling the need to whisper even though no one could have possibly heard her voice amongst the rattling of dozens of carriages around them.

"I think that we should return to Phantomhive manor posthaste." Sebastian opined. The blood on his shoulders was still wet, and it almost glittered in the weak light from the sun.

"Why not the town house?" Ciel asked, glaring ferociously back in the direction of the Church.

"The manor will be much easier for me to secure against further attacks. We will be safer if we are operating from our home base, so to speak."

"All right, all right." Ciel acquiesced, glancing sideways toward Sebastian. "When we reach the limits of this Borough, I want you to disembark and return to the Church to seek out the shooters. I want to know who they are, who they're working for, and what their motive was for this vicious attack. If there is any further trouble along the road, I shall call for you."

"Very good, young master."

Sebastian left them at the edge of the Borough after securing the window shades and prying the plaque which bore the Phantomhive family crest off of the carriage door so they could make it home inconspicuously. Eventually, the carriage's inhabitants slid carefully back up into the padded seats. Elizabeth sniffled the whole way to the manor, and she only stopped trembling when Ciel finally put his arms around her (after several meaningful looks from Lydia.) The two looked oddly picturesque together, so young and pretty and alive. The shock was slowly wearing off, and now Lydia felt terrible. How could she have possibly agreed to venture out in public with such a prominent family? She had been wrong- grandfather might be dead, but other people were clearly not done with trying to kill her. She should have said no to Aunt Angelina, no matter how forceful she had been. She had put everyone at risk.

Ciel and Lydia barely spoke as they rode through the peaceful countryside, slowly progressing toward the manor. Their only exchange of words occurred as they were passing by a duck pond. "D'you think everyone will be safe there?" Lydia murmured, gazing up ahead.

Ciel nodded briskly. "My servants are very capable of protecting the manor in case of an emergency. That is why I hired them. What I'm more concerned with is uncovering the correct interpretation of the situation at hand."

"Interpretation….?" Lydia trailed off, frowning.

Ciel traced his hand along the wooden edge of the armrest. "Were they shooting at you….or at me?"

The two siblings gazed at each other with identical pairs of blue eyes, each set reflecting the trouble harbored within the other.

/

Sebastian appeared at the door of the carriage as soon as it stopped in front of the manor. He quickly ushered the three of them inside, glancing about to either side as he did so. As Tanaka helped them out of their coats in the entrance hall, Sebastian disappeared down the hall and did not return for several minutes. Lydia did not realize what he was doing until the party proceeded into the manor and she noticed that all the curtains had been tightly drawn. They were walking entirely in the dark; it was almost like floating.

The servants rushed out to greet them, and Lydia stepped back and allowed Ciel to handle the giving of the orders. He entrusted Meirin to put Elizabeth to bed immediately, as she was in shock, and to keep smelling salts on hand in case she fainted. He explicitly directed the gardener and cook to lock all the doors and windows, stay inside, and not respond to the knocks of any visitors. They were clearly confused, but they scurried to do as they were told. Lydia noticed briefly that they all had thin black ribbons tied around their wrists, and wondered what that was about. She hugged Elizabeth and promised to call her house straight away, then allowed Meirin to lead the younger girl upstairs as gently as she could. A moment later, Ciel had seized her wrist and was pulling her down an adjacent hallway, determination evident in his visible eye. The two remaining servants followed. Ciel halted at the door of yet another sitting room; if she lived long enough, Lydia thought, she would really have to number the different types of rooms which this manor possessed. So far she had not ever been in the same bedroom or parlor twice.

"Tanaka, please go and ensure that Finnian and Bard are acting appropriately on the orders I gave them. Sebastian, get inside." Lydia followed Sebastian and Ciel into the new sitting room, in which a fire was already burning in the fireplace. Ciel sat down on the centerpiece couch, and motioned for Lydia to join him. He pulled the black eyepatch off his eye in a sharp motion, revealing the sign of the contract.

"Shouldn't we call Elizabeth's house and let them know that she's all right? And I need to call my father as well…." Lydia asked, slumping down into the couch's cushions in sudden exhaustion. The fire made every corner of the room comfortably warm, and it gave her a sense of security which she knew was false.

"First we need to figure out what has happened here. We can give out better information once we know what this incident was about." Ciel reasoned, jerking his head toward Sebastian. "You, give your report without delay. And while you're at it, unlace these boots and get them off my feet. Such thick-soled footwear was not intended to be worn while running for one's life."

The demon drifted forward, murmuring "Yes, master," and kneeling down at Ciel's feet. Lydia noticed an embossed piece of paper sticking out of his suit pocket, bearing the Phantomhive crest seal. "I returned to the Church as you ordered and proceeded to locate the men who had conducted the shooting. They were still on the structure's roof."

"Did you wring every last drop of information out of them before turning them over to the authorities?" Ciel demanded, arching his eyebrow regally.

The demon pursed his lips, beginning to untie the laces of Ciel's elegant black boots. "Unfortunately, this was not possible, as they were already deceased when I reached them."

"What?" Ciel exclaimed, and Lydia's nails dug into the plush surface of the couch. "Someone killed the shooters?" He rubbed his forehead for a moment, then relaxed again. "Ironic. How did it happen?"

"There were two of them, and they died of gunshot wounds to the back and the head; the same method which they tried to use to dispatch us." Sebastian relayed, smirking slightly. "As I was there before the authorities, I conducted a thorough search of their persons. I then left the scene and further investigated the information which I had found. One was named Seamus Heaney, a recent immigrant from Ireland. He had been working odd jobs in London before his death, and seemed to have limited skills as a tradesman. The other was William McCall; he did not seem to have an official occupation, which probably means that he engaged in criminal activities to provide for himself. Heaney was an inner-city drifter, but McCall had a residence in Camden Town- near to you master, although he probably did not recognize you at the time of the shooting."

"Holy Mary- I hope I didn't know him." Lydia groaned, imitating her brother and pressing a hand to her forehead. "Were they trying to kill me, then?"

"I think that their target was indeed most probably you." Sebastian stared up at Lydia while tugging a boot off of Ciel's thin leg.

Lydia sighed gustily. "Who put them up to it? I don't recognize either of their names- I doubt they could have had a personal grudge against me without my knowing it. They were probably hired, yes?"

"Yes, master. They were likely offered money to kill you. Determining who the contractor of their services was will require more investigation. However-"

"But what about Heaney and McCall's killers? What do we know about them?" Ciel interrupted, leaning forward intently as the second boot released its hold on his foot. "It doesn't make sense. Did they kill them because they were trying to help us, or are they also our enemies?"

"At the moment, I cannot be sure of that. My first priority after gathering the available information was to catch up with the carriage, in case you were threatened while on the road. However, I believe that this may shine some light on the matter." Sebastian removed the embossed piece of paper from his front pocket and pressed it into Lydia's hand. "It arrived only this afternoon, while we were at the funeral. I discovered it in the young master's office only a moment ago. I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of opening it."

Lydia stared at Sebastian in puzzlement, then flipped open the folded piece of paper. She read it together with Ciel. After a moment, both siblings recoiled from it, and Lydia pushed it away. "It's got to be a fake. Who on earth would-"

"It is not a fake, master. It is your grandmother's last will and testament."

"But grandmother died almost three years ago!" Lydia protested, gesturing vividly toward London, where her maternal grandmother was laid to rest. She had heard that the family had managed to pay someone off to allow her to be interred in the Churchyard cemetery, even though she had died by her own hand, a deed which was considered a great sin. Grandfather would be interred next to her in the cemetery which they had just come from, if there was anyone left to attend his funeral.

"If you read the above section, she strictly instructs that this letter is to be delivered to you after her husband has died." Sebastian explained, pointing to the top of the paper. "Another copy has apparently been filed with an office of the law."

"She says that she's left me a share of her estate." Lydia announced in a faint voice.

Still kneeling on the floor, Sebastian smiled up at her. "To my only grandson and heir, Ciel Phantomhive, I bequeath a full half of my independent estate, including monies, properties, company shares, and personal possessions, to be used and disposed of according to his will and pleasure. Of the remaining half, I will two-thirds to my eldest granddaughter, Lydia Aberlaine, who has henceforth been unacknowledged in our family line, but whom I acknowledge now. The remaining one-third will be dispensed equally among my remaining relatives, whom I name here…." Sebastian recited by memory, tracing his finger down the page. "If any of these parties should become deceased or otherwise unreachable before the time that this will takes effect, the unclaimed share of my estate will be distributed amongst my remaining relatives, as named above."

Lydia shook her head in denial, pulling off her bonnet and letting her brown locks tumble past her shoulders. "It's got to be a fake. You know, I barely even knew Grandma Phantomhive. She avoided me like the plague when we lived in the manor together. I don't even remember her middle name, or her birthday, or…."

"It is not a fake." Sebastian insisted, draping an arm across her legs to support himself. "I believe that her original plan was to give the young master half of her estate, and bequeath the other half to be divided among her further relations. Apparently, she changed her mind before her death."

"Why would she do that?" Lydia was trying to grasp at reason, but reason seemed to have retreated from the conversation.

"Atonement can be a powerful motivating force." Ciel cut in suddenly, gazing sternly at the paper. "She never did anything to help you in life, even when she knew that she should have. Perhaps she wanted to help you in death."

"It doesn't say why she did it," Lydia muttered, turning the paper over; the underside was blank. "People always think that they can just create a problem and then throw a bunch of money at it…."

"Indeed." Sebastian agreed. "And now we seem to have an even greater problem on our hands. If I were to begin to look for suspects in the hiring of those two murderers, I would definitely begin with these people." He traced his finger down the list of names of those who were to receive the remaining one-third of the estate. "Money is a powerful motivating force for human beings. Furthermore, I believe that whoever is behind this attack probably instructed their men to shoot me through the head before attempting to kill you. They were hoping that I would be out if commission for just long enough to leave you unprotected. No one but fellow members of the Phantomhive family are aware of my immortality."

"So apparently, now my distant relatives are trying to kill me so they can receive my share of this estate which I didn't even know I had until five minutes ago?" Lydia groaned, feeling like collapsing upon the couch. "I suppose that's better than wanting to kill me for merely existing….but it's not much of an improvement."

"Master, I will not allow it to happen." Sebastian declared, his red eyes glinting. Lydia thought that he looked a bit overly eager.

"That still doesn't answer the question of who killed those men, though, or what they meant by it." Ciel murmured, staring deeply into the flames. "That aside, this could be declared an act of aggression against the noble house of Phantomhive. Such crimes are not punished lightly."

"I don't think it can, actually. I'm illegitimate, remember?" Lydia told Ciel gently as she straightened up out of her slump. "Anyway, I seriously doubt that they would try to murder the true heir, not even to gain half of the estate. They could probably get away with it if they killed me, but Queen Victoria herself would become their enemy if they killed you."

"Nobody is going to get away with anything." Ciel declared angrily, rising up and tossing his top hat onto an armchair beside the fire. "We're going to apprehend these bastards before they do any more harm. First, we need to call the Midford manor and Lydia's residence in Camden Town. After that, Sebastian- go and prepare a dossier on all of the individuals which my grandmother named as beneficiaries of the remaining portion of her estate. Also, find out which office the copy of the will has been filed at. Gather any other information pertinent to this case in an adjacent file. And monitor the security in and around the manor, as always."

For the first time she had seen thus far, Sebastian seemed genuinely pleased to answer an order of his master's. He stood and bowed deeply, a devilish smirk playing across his features and the depth of his voice rumbling about the room as he intoned, "Yes, my Lord."

/

Lydia was heading down the hall to where the telephone was located when she was stopped by the timid, red-haired maid, who was peering out from behind a corner at her. "Yes?" she asked curiously.

"Ah, hello, Miss Phantomhi- I mean, Miss Lydia, I mean-"

"Lydia will be fine. I'm not a dowager." The brunette tried to smile cheerfully.

"Yes, well- I mean, I know that! Obviously, you're very young and pretty and….you're really Ciel's sister, aren't you?" the slightly older girl inquired abruptly, adjusting her glasses and coming a step closer. "I mean, I know you are! Because the young master told me, but it's just….the eyes….they're the same."

Lydia opened her blue eyes wider, and Meirin smiled. "I never even knew that Ciel had a sister. Where've you been? Why haven't you ever called at the manor before?"

"It's….kind of a long story, actually." Lydia admitted balefully. "I have to make an important phone call right now, but I could tell you more about it later on…."

"Oh, of course, I mean, that's fine!" Meirin spluttered, fumbling around with her glasses again with both hands. Lydia wondered if she was like this around everyone, or if she was just nervous because they had never met before. She seemed quite sweet, if a tad air-headed. Lydia was curious as to what skills this girl possessed that made Ciel so confident in her ability to protect the manor.

"Oh, that's right! I came here to give you this." Meirin advanced forward another step, holding out a thin black ribbon identical to the one upon her own wrist. "To hold off death."

"Ah." Lydia took the ribbon and stared at it closely. She was not particularly superstitious, but she could tell that it was offered in goodwill. She looped it around her own wrist and Meirin shyly helped her tie it. She noticed two other ribbons hanging from the girl's hand, probably meant for Ciel and Sebastian. Meirin's concern touched her. "Thank you for caring for my brother while I've been away."

"Of course!" Meirin exclaimed, blushing furiously. "I'm glad you're back, though. I think he needs family. I just hope that your family isn't afflicted with any more death."

"I hope so too." Lydia told her quietly. She could not see out the curtained window beside them, but she could tell by the tiny taps against the glass that it had begun to rain.