Imperfections & Flaws
Chapter 7: Close Connections
Disclaimer: You know the usual. I don't own Kuroshitsuji, and sadly never will. Now excuse my while I go find a corner to cry in~.
Also, thank you to my amazing beta (Phantom Hitman 1412) for being able to put up with my long series of too-lazy-to-updateitis. :3
Parties were just not my kind of thing. As soon as I stepped down the first flight of stairs, eyes began to wander to me. I began to become uncomfortable, my palms felt sweaty, and it just felt as if I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The looks on the guests' faces made me even more self conscious. They looked at me as if I were fresh meat, something they could easily devour and get rid of effortlessly. I was about to turn around and run back up the stairs, but a gloved hand caught mine and held on tightly. I looked over to my left to see none other than Claude at my side, where he should have been from the beginning. I let out another breath to try to calm myself down and looked back up at him. He nodded at me, as if to say 'Don't worry about it, it'll be over soon'. He led me down the rest of the stairs and quickly mingled us into the crowd.
Once everybody began to socialize again, Claude pulled me aside gently and whispered, "Are you alright Ophelia? You are not looking well."
I pulled my arm away and scoffed, "I'm fine. And for your information, Hannah spent quite a while on my hair. My scalp didn't suffer just so you can insult my looks."
His frown was replaced with a small smirk. "That was not what I was trying to say, Ophelia." Before he could say any more, an obnoxious looking couple strutted over, looking smug and arrogant.
"Why, you must be Earl Faustus." The man said, letting out a guttural chuckle. His 'lady' at his side seemed to compliment his laughter with her own shrill cackle. "And you must be Lady Faustus! Very wonderful, indeed!" I inwardly cringed, but gave them a small smile. I turned my head towards to Claude. "Dearest, don't you think you should introduce me to your new acquaintances?"
"Of course, this is Baron William Mardeford and his lady, Isabella Mardeford." His smirk had disappeared once he had heard the loud, obnoxious voice of the old man.
"Come now, Earl Faustus; this is a party! Now isn't the time for you to be all gloom and doom!" His raspy chuckle made Claude almost cringe as well, but was maintained with a face that showed his joy for the Baron's appearance. "My, I must say, how come I have never heard of your family lines before?" The Baron's smile slowly disappeared and was replaced with a look of curiosity mixed with suspicion. "After all, my family has been around longer than yours, and all of the sudden you are bestowed with the title of 'Earl' rather than 'Baron'. Weird, don't you think?"
"Now dear, I thought we came here to make new friends and hopefully new business partners." His wife, Isabella, interrupted. She seemed nervous as well, and twice as finicky.
"A question here and there, will not hurt, Baroness Mardeford." Claude began, addressing Isabella. "If your husband has questions, I will gladly answer them. Let us talk over here, though." He lifted an arm to guide the Baron over to a more secluded area away from the party. As the Baron and his wife began to leave to wait for Claude, Claude turned to me and whispered, "Go mingle and try to make as many allies as possible while I deal with the Baron. It will not take me long." I nodded quickly and turned around to go back to the party.
As I was rushing back into the crowds, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder which caused me to nearly whip around due to my paranoia. It seems that I am not very good with crowds.
"Ah, what a beautiful blue jay fluttering in the crowd, yet standing out completely on her own." The voice distinctly sounded masculine, and had an eerie vibe to it. Once I got a good look of the man, I began to calm down somewhat. The man smiled, which almost captivated a group of girls in another direction as their 'oohs' and 'ahhs' were heard.
"O-Oh, may I ask who you are?" I questioned, utterly and completely filled with anxiety of meeting a complete stranger.
"Oh? You've never heard of me? I must say, that is remarkable. I am Viscount Druitt—the one and only!" He replied, as he grabbed my hand and gently kissed it. I added a reminder to myself to scrub my hand raw with hot water later just to get rid of the feeling of his chapped lips touching my skin. His lips felt like two pieces of rubber creating friction against my hand; UNWANTED friction, might I add. I tried not to cringe or scowl, and instead graced him with a charming smile.
"Why, thank you Viscount! I must say, you are a charming man!" 'Do it for revenge. Do it for Ret. Do it for the purpose of this mission!' I kept repeating those thoughts over and over in my head.
"Of course, I am short of nothing else. Now how about we find a secluded place in this manor to talk about our, uh, interests?" My eyes went a little wide and I think he took it as a good sign because he began dragging me away from the crowd.
"WH-What! Wait, no!" I tried shouting, but it seemed as though he couldn't hear me or didn't want to hear me. As I was being dragged to my impending doom, I started to lose hope in myself. 'Oh gosh, this is how I die. He's going to rape me. No, he's going to mutilate me or amputate parts of my body. He's going to sell me on the black market! No, he's going to deliver my head on a platter to Gideon…wait, does he even know Gideon? Well, never mind about that!' My ramblings kept going on and on about what he was going to do.
"Earl Phantomhive! I didn't know you were invited to this party!" The Viscount's voice snapped me out of me daze (yet again) and caused me to start yanking my hand away from his. It seemed I had run into a former ally of mine that I met just a few days ago.
"Ooh, Ciel!" I exclaimed as I pretended to swoon. "I haven't seen you in so long! It seems like only yesterday was the first day I ever laid my eyes on you~!" The Viscount's confusion caused his grip to loosen up considerably enough for me to slip out of it and hug Ciel. I mean, I owed this kid. My body was about to be chopped into pieces or possibly violated worse and whatnot if not for Ciel coming to my rescue.
"What are you talking about, Ophelia? I saw you JUST yesterday." He scowled, trying to get me off of him. By now, the Viscount was even more confused. Once Ciel was able to pry me off and keep me at a reasonable distance, he turned to the Viscount.
"You know her, Earl Phantomhive?" The Viscount asked, a large smile adorning his face that hid the malice behind that smile.
A/N: I hope this chapter was lengthy enough. ." I always worry about the smallest things ; u ; Please review and whatnot! C:
And now, here is me typing with my elbow:
Cu bbhvgf cd vb bvcvbvbnmngvbgfvcfb bnnjmh (means "I love you readers for keeping me motivated" ;D).
