Ugh back to school tomorrow…
To My Dear Ciel,
I humbly request your appearance at my birthday masquerade gala. The festivities will be held at the Chateau Fontaine this coming Thursday. In addition to seeing me, your dear friend, many of my family's business associates will be attending as well. You would do well to make some more international contacts for your company.
Sincerely,
Alice Fontaine
"What do you think, master? Should we attend?" Sebastian's impassive voice belied the fact that he truly did not want to go. If they went, Gabrielle would be there. It had been a few days since he had figured out what was wrong with him and every now and then he had caught glimpses of her about the countryside and town. The book had been right; each time he saw her, the tug was more and more intense, bordering on pain. He was sure he would implode if he saw her at the ball.
Ciel put the invitation, written beautifully on parchment and enclosed in a baby blue envelope, down on his desk. "We shall attend. After all, Alice is my friend. And she is right; we do need to make more contacts."
Sebastian bowed. "Yes, master. I shall acquire suitable costumes for the event."
The Chateau Fontaine definitely showed the French background of the Fontaine family. It was sprawling, circling around a great courtyard. The entire estate was lit up this evening for the birthday girl's celebration. The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the manor and Sebastian stepped out to help Ciel down. Bardroy, Meyrin, and Finny took the carriage to the back entrance, following the white haired demon from before.
Standing before Sebastian and Ciel were Duchess Fontaine and Gabrielle. The young lady was clad in a bright pink frock with a sparkling pink and white masquerade mask. She made a beeline for Ciel, embracing him. However, Sebastian's attention was on the demon who followed her mistress at a slower pace. A beautiful midnight blue and violet dress adorned her body, the bottom of a purple mask hidden beneath her long bangs.
"Welcome to Chateau Fontaine! Thank you for coming, Ciel. Please, do head on in. I will be after you shortly." Alice said.
"Let's go, Sebastian." Ciel commanded, breaking Sebastian's intense focus on the female.
Inside, the decorations were as grand as the manor itself. Bouquets of flowers adorned the tables, a symphony played on a small stage, and there was plenty of food and guests. Among the guests, Sebastian noticed with slight distaste, were Alois Trancy and his butler Claude Faustus. Ciel had given Sebastian free will for tonight as he juggled the tasks of spending time with his fiancée, conversing with his friend, and introducing himself to potential business partners.
Immediately Sebastian's mind went to finding his Gabrielle. He smoothly cut his way through the crowd, dancing with a few of the young ladies who asked him. He spotted the Phantomhive servants. They seemed to be having fun and weren't destroying anything so he left them alone. Alois was off with the twin Fontaine servants. They were dressed in matching blue gowns with white masks and butterfly pins in their hair. Sebastian remembered Ciel talking about the twins; they were actually male but preferred dressing as females during social events to trick guests. Fitting Alois was taken with them. He also noticed that Claude was not with Alois.
"That's strange." Sebastian thought, subtly watching the three of them.
"Oh, Bassy!" came an annoyingly fake feminine voice.
"Hello, Grell." Sebastian said plainly as the reaper came ever closer. He noticed Grell wasn't the only reaper there. Undertaker, clad surprisingly in nice evening wear, was chatting with a female reaper. They were awfully close, which suggested intimacy between the two. She had black bangs but extremely long red hair like Grell. When she smiled, her teeth were jagged like a shark's. Sebastian saw a way around Grell and smirked.
"Oh, Grell. Isn't that your sister over there?" he asked casually. Grell immediately burst into a rage. How he loathed when people mistook him and Novella for siblings.
"Why, we don't even have the same last name! Or even the slightest common interest in men…"Grell muttered to himself as Sebastian excused himself from the reaper's company.
"Where could she be?" Sebastian thought.
"Looking for your mate?" Claude asked cooly. Even behind the dark blue mask, Sebastian could make out the amber eyes.
Yes. "What makes you think she's my mate?"
Claude adjusted his mask. "Please. She positively reeks of you. And you yourself are emitting pheromones. Every demon in the room can smell them."
"Be that as it may, it is none of your concern." Sebastian countered.
"Hmph. We shall see." And with that, Claude was gone and Sebastian continued his search. The symphony began a waltz, one of Sebastian's personal favorites. He stopped a moment to enjoy the music.
"Care to dance, Sebastian?" asked a very familiar voice. Sebastian looked first at the outstretched hand, covered in a purple glove, and then at the person it was attached to. His beautiful Gabrielle.
He took her hand. "Yes, but ordinarily it is the gentleman who asks the lady."
She giggled; it sounded like tingling bells. "I am anything but ordinary."
The two demons danced to the waltz and several songs afterwards, silently enjoying each other's company. The tug Sebastian felt was almost unbearable, but he held his tongue. After all, what if the entire feeling was onesided? He would look absolutely foolish. Suddenly Gabrielle spoke up. The two had seated themselves on one of the ornate benches and she was leaned into him.
"Sebastian, do you feel…this weird tug when I'm around you?" She pulled back to look up at him.
Sebastian chuckled. "Why yes, I do. It grows stronger each time I see you. I think it is because we are…"
"Mates?" Gabrielle finished before smirking at him.
"Yes." Sebastian leaned in, hoping what he was about to do would be reciprocated. To his joy, the female tilted her head to the side and leaned closer as well…
"Somebody has kidnapped the Earl Phantomhive and Duchess Fontaine!"
