.
.: Chapter I :.
Ciel Phantomhive
Sebastian Michaelis
"New and Old Flames"
. . .
As gracefully as the sun rose, morning wasn't very merciful on Ciel Phantomhive's lidded eyes. He yanked the covers over his head and turned away, muttering to Sebastian to pull the curtains together again.
"You have a busy day today, young master." The man clad in black approached the disheveled bedside. "You must have an early start to fit your date in the schedule."
Ciel groaned from beneath the blankets. "Tell...tell Lizzy that...the uh...the wedding plans can wait. It's going to be months from—"
"It is not Lady Elizabeth who will be visiting you today." Sebastian's usually wry smile was gone, replaced with a small grimace. For whatever reason, he wasn't in the mood to play any games. "Lady Riliane Kingsley and her butler—" his brow twitched at the word—"will be arriving within three hours."
The young noble emerged from the layers of bedding, surprise breaking his fatigue. "Kingsley?" he repeated, to make sure he was hearing right. A long, frustrated sigh expelled from his lungs. He threw the covers from his body, which was now broadened with maturity.
Several years had passed since he had formed the contract with his demon, Sebastian, who guised himself as an ordinary butler. Several years had passed, and very little progress has been made. Several years had passed, and Ciel Phantomhive still hasn't dealt with his pests. Today he stands, now 17 years and idling through the chapter of adulthood—a chapter which he already read a long time ago. Now his body has finally caught up.
Now if only he could catch up with the incline of cases around England. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so dejected in his position.
He swung his feet over the edge of the mattress and stood, allowing Sebastian to start the morning routine.
9:30am and the mansion was sparkling. Sebastian had wiped down every blemish only after turning it right-side up when the other servants had tossed it up-side down. This chaos repeats every time the Phantomhive manor expects a guest. Every time. It was as if idiocy was a plague and only he and his master were immune. Perhaps Snake had some resistance to it as well.
The sound of ceramic shattering into a million pieces shot through the demon's ears. "Oops, says Dan..."
'Perhaps.'
Within minutes said servants were all aligned at the front doors, anxiously poised like figurines. Still, they couldn't help but gossip in hushed voices.
"I heard Earl Kingsley was quite handsome, yes I did!" Mey-rin gushed.
"But it's his kid sister that's visiting, right? What if nasty rumors start goin' around 'bout her and the young master?" Bard smirked, arms crossed as he earned himself an "ooh" from Finny.
Snake, as usual, stayed silent but still committed to the conversation.
The lively chatter was quickly hammered down. Sebastian berated their fears with his solid eyes. "These guests are not to be bothered—not to be bothered—under any circumstances." In truth, he just didn't want the servants to be messing around with the likes of him.
The double doors opened as soon as a carriage trotted onto the premises. The servants peeked eagerly through the gap between Sebastian and Ciel, watching a familiar black tail-coat step out. The man wearing it may have been just a few years younger than Sebastian. He sported tousled, red-maroon hair and strikingly dark eyes.
Ciel stared flatly. While there was something curious about the man, something out of place, he was not the person that Ciel was so fervent on seeing. He was dead set on the concept that the kind of person Wynn Kingsley was would be the same kind of person he was about to meet. His eyes were completely affixed on the inside of the carriage.
What bobbed out of it was a petite, fair-skinned figure in a dress of pearl white. A rose pink capelet hung around her shoulders. Long, raven locks cascaded from a half-updo into gentle curls as a few loose ringlets framed her delicate jawline.
Ciel wasn't going to lie. This girl was attractive, but he wasn't one to admit such things. He tried to appear unmoved, but his eyes drifted to her lips as they curved into bewitching smile.
Sebastian paid no mind to the object of everyone's attentions. The only presence he acknowledged was the girl's red-headed butler, who flashed him a sardonic grin.
"Lord Phantomhive," the butler began. "I present you my lady, Riliane Kingsley."
Riliane executed a flawless curtsy before speaking. "Pleased to meet you, Ciel Phantomhive."
Ciel nodded, hoping it would keep his gaze from dropping lower. It wasn't too difficult to keep it there. He found it incredibly hard to break eye-contact with her—with her crystalline eyes. They were doll-like, a misty gray with a bluish tint. There was something strange and familiar about them, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Their fixed gazes were only broken when Riliane moved to allow herself inside. It was then that Ciel realized he had completely tuned out Sebastian's introductions.
"-If I may, I'd like to escort you both inside to the drawing room."
Ciel watched her give his servants a generous bow and a sugary "nice to meet you", to which they reacted bashfully.
'My business is with her brother. Why is she here?'
He recalled the afternoon of yesterday. He received a very unexpected and unwelcomed visit from Phipps and Grey, with the latter smashing right through a second story window while the other took the front door.
The message they relayed soured his mood even more than the broken glass: "You may have a rival, Phantomhive. Her majesty is worried. All these cases may just be too much for you, or perhaps she's disappointed in your laziness."
Then Grey proceeded to hand Ciel a letter, from the queen herself, that told him about the Kingsleys' promotion.
It bothered him greatly, how he must have dismayed the queen so much that she would seek help elsewhere. Things in England have been chaotic. There were so many cases he didn't really have to look into, and those were pushed into the hands of Scotland Yard. However, there were twice as many assignments that actually needed the Watchdog's attention.
When they arrived at the drawing room he let all these chiding thoughts fly to the back of his mind. Sebastian opened the door, smiled at Riliane, and gave her a nice "ladies first" before throwing a look of disdain at the other butler. Ciel quirked a brow at Sebastian.
"Would you like some refreshments, Lady Riliane?" Sebastian asked, still at the doorway.
"Tea would be just fine, thank you. Damian, will help you."
He threw a quick glance at the man beside him before asking Ciel the same question, who requested the same thing with a chocolate mousse cake on the side.
"As you wish." Sebastian bowed. He closed the door behind him, leaving the two in their privacy and him to deal with Damian.
The walk to the kitchen was a quiet one, save for the moments where they silently passed the other servants continuing their mindless babble. It was only when they found themselves in the privacy of the kitchen that a conversation finally ensued.
Damian shattered his own dignified facade, loosening his posture and giving Sebastian a hard pat on the back. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, old pal?"
The corners of Sebastian's mouth were pulled lower. "I am not your pal."
"Aw, come on, mate. Don't be like that. We were partners in crime after all."
"Until your greedy stomach got the best of you."
This time it was Damian's turn to frown. "I was fresh out of hell. What did you expect?"
Sebastian didn't answer. He moved diligently about the kitchen, taking a box of the preferred tea from its shelf while he let a kettle full of water simmer on the stove. He picked out the most elegantly decored tea set, a porcelain white with floral embellishments, and arranged it neatly on a sterling silver tray.
"Please also include a small pitcher of milk."
"Milk?"
"She can't stand tea without milk."
The charcoal-haired man grinned. "You seem to be paying rather close attention to this one."
"Granted, I was never blessed with being able to serve to such a cute girl before. And you know how fond I was of cute girls."
"But she is not the contractor."
Sebastian caught a peculiar gleam in Damian's eyes as he spoke. "The contractor is her older brother. I've just been given orders to watch Riliane, not that I mind. Lucky me~"
"A bit too baby-faced, in my opinion. But do what you want, as long as you keep your hands off my plate."
"Hah. Don't worry, I'm not interested in that slab of meat. By the way, I thought you'd have eaten that by now."
"I was reckless before, just taking what I can get." As Sebastian fixed the ceramics around the tray, a devious, violet glow grew wild in his eyes. "But that soul. A pure soul marinated by despair, suffering, and hate. And then you take the time to spice it with with fulfillment. That is a soul worth eating."
Damian propped an elbow onto the counter, resting his jaw in his palm as he listened to the kettle's boiling whistle.
. . .
"Your visit is quite a surprise." Ciel relaxed into his seat, one leg over the other as his arms lazed across the armrests.
Riliane smiled. "Let's not beat around the bush, Ciel. While we're at it, let's drop formalities."
He caught himself trapped in her eyes again and noticed what was so off about them before. Past her stunning irises were abyss-like pupils. He'd fallen in that type of darkness before. He recognized it elsewhere and once he heard the faint hostility in her voice, it all clicked in his head.
He'd seen the same kind of blackness in his own reflection. It donned on him that both he and Riliane had surpassed boundaries beyond their age. There was once a light behind their eyes, but someone blew out their candles long ago. This made him even more curious as to what she wanted to discuss.
"What's this all about?"
"Her majesty is gravely disappointed in your inadequacy, so we'll be fetching those vermin now."
In that moment he accessed everything he recalled about Earl Kingsley, which wasn't very much. Everything he knew relating to the name was from that brief, and somewhat vague, letter from her majesty. There was also the fact that the late Countess Kingsley, who had died with her husband years before, never reported a second pregnancy.
In other words, Riliane Kingsley shouldn't even exist.
"Just who are you?"
Another curve of her lips. "Her majesty has kept the Kingsley household at her side in case the Phantomhives ever fail. So I sincerely hope you've been wanting an early retirement."
Ciel narrowed his eyes. This girl had the audacity to think they could replace him, that her brother was capable of becoming a better Watchdog! His jaw tightened, teeth scraping together and when he noticed he took in a silent breath and calmed himself down. A grin that rivaled Riliane's placed itself on his face.
"Say whatever you need to inflate your egos, but in the end you're basically my subordinates."
"An arrogant way to put it, and that arrogance may be the end of you."
"What makes you think that you could best me?"
"Because I have Damian."
"Your butler?"
"In the same way you have Sebastian."
The silenced air became heavily coated in his discomfort. For a second, he almost doubted her being human. He should be one to know if she wasn't, but the only odd thing about her, aside from her akiness to him, was that a smile never seemed to leave her face.
"Who are you?" He repeated, his tone trying to solicit a satisfying answer.
"I am Riliane Kingsley."
"I'm not in the mood for games."
"Aw~ But I want to play so badly."
At that moment Sebastian returned, toting a cart carrying the refreshments and Damian following behind.
"Are you challenging me, Riliane?"
"Do you want a challenge, Ciel?"
"Sebastian."
"Damian."
Both demons, eye glimmering as their pupils reduced to slits, abided by their masters' sides.
"Put them in their place."
"Teach them a lesson."
"Yes, my lord."
"My pleasure."