One thing I did not anticipate after the manor was rebuilt was intruders. Honestly, you would think that a house that had been ignored for so long would stay that way. I suppose I should have known that eventually somebody would notice an empty manor house.

The first time it happen, it was a summer evening. I had spent the day cleaning the manor, as usual. I must admit, I had come to dread cleaning the kitchen. It was a reminder that I had nobody to cook for. (Oh, how I missed cooking...)

I was in the pathetically stocked library when I heard the front door creak open. I almost dropped my feather duster in surprise.

"Who could that be?" I wondered aloud. "It isn't as if we were expecting any guests." I winced as I heard the bitterness of my own voice.

I quickly ventured downstairs to see who had invaded my home. To my surprise, it was a pair of youths. But not like any youths I had ever seen. The girl of the pair wore her long auburn hair loosely and wore very indecent clothing. Her shirt was comprised of many different colors in a spiral pattern. It almost hurt to look at. I had to avert my eyes when I saw her lower half. She dawned a pair of light blue shorts that stopped mid-thigh, and besides those her legs were bare. Her shoes, if they could even be called that, were comprised of a flat bottom and a strap between the toes. Did undergarments pass as suitable outer wear for ladies in the world of the living these days?

The boy was also dressed strangely. He wore his shaggy black hair long enough to cover his eyes. He wore a long blue shirt that was tucked into tight trousers that fanned out at the bottom. He looked around nervously.

"Rianna, I don't think we should be here," he stated. "I'm getting the weirdest vibes from this place."

"C'mon Chris, don't be such a 'fraidy cat!" the girl now known as Rianna answered. "You said you wanted to do something exciting, right? Well, what's more exciting than a haunted mansion?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Chris exclaimed. "Haunted?"

"Well, I don't know that for sure," the girl amended. "But it's a giant mansion that's been empty for over eighty years! How could there not be something special about it?"

My eyes widened at that. Eighty years had passed? I had long since lost track of time. It felt like I could have been dead for a second or a hundred years. Apparently, it was closer to the latter.

Rianna grabbed Chris's arm and made and tried to hug him forward. "Let's have a look around. There has to be some groovy stuff in here!"

"Fine," Chris sighed, defeated.

I decided to let them have a look around. I will admit that it was nice to have someone admiring my hard work. I followed them closely as they explored. Even though I was a spirit, it would be most unbecoming for me to leave the guests unattended.

"It's fuckin' freezing in here," Chris commented at one point while they were exploring the upper floor.

"Yeah, you're right," Rianna answered. "Maybe it's a good thing Delia didn't come. This probably would have made her cold worse."

"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Hey, I wonder what's in there?" He was pointed to the door where I kept my young master.

I tensed up a bit. But I quickly calmed myself. The door was firmly locked. I thought for sure that they would leave it when they discovered that fact.

"This damn door is locked," Chris announced. He began to obnoxiously pound on it.

"Ooh, maybe there's treasure inside!" Rianna cried. "We could get rich!"

That was where I drew the line. I could not abide a thief in my master's household. It was time to chase off these hooligans. Focusing my energy, I made the temperature drop ten degrees cooler.

"Hey, did it suddenly get colder in here?" Chris asked, a hint of fear in his voice. Good.

I smirked as I continued my plan. All of the doors in the hallway began to bang open and closed. As expected, the troublesome youths cried out in fear and quickly made for the door.

"Let's get out of here!" Rianna screamed. She didn't think that this place would actually be haunted!

I also made several candles blow in and out as they ran past. As the final note, I made an illusion that the chandelier in the front entrance almost crashed on them. It was best to make sure they didn't come back. If so, there would be...consequences.

I watched, bemused, from a window as they made their way off the property. I hoped they learned that they could never do anything against the house of Phantomhive without answering to its butler.

After they were gone, I mulled over their strange behavior and the year. If my estimations were right, it should be sometime in the late nineteen-sixties or early nineteen-seventies. I wondered how much longer I would spend alone in this house.

XxxxxxX

Unfortunately, they weren't the last uninvited guest to come by. I'm not sure how long had passed, but the man who came was very different from the youths. I watched from a window as he came up to the manor in an odd sort of carriage. It took me a moment to recognize it as some sort of automobile.

Out of it stepped a man with white hair who was wearing an equally white suit. In his hands he held a clipboard and what looked like a pen. He spent a few long moments observing the outside of the manor, occasionally writing something down on the clipboard. I tilted my head a bit in confusion. How could he write with no ink?

He continued to walk around the grounds, examining everything he came across. By the time he actually entered the manor, he had a pleased smile on his face. I followed him as he wandered around, continuing to write things on his clipboard. The sun was beginning to set by the time he finished his examination. By this point, confusion had worked its way onto his face.

"I don't get it," he muttered as he made his way outside. "How could a house that's been abandoned for so long be in such good condition?"

I continued to watch as he drove away. What on earth was all that about?

XxxxxX

It wasn't very long before the man returned, this time with company. With him was a tall man with blue hair who was wearing a simple brown suit. Something about him stirred my memory. He looked...familiar. But where had I seen him before? The man in white eagerly showed his guest inside.

"Well, Mr. Landers, you weren't lying when you said this place was in good shape!" the blue haired man exclaimed. He looked around admirably.

"I know, Mr. Phantomhive," the man, Landers, replied. "What do you say we look around? I'm sure you'll find that this will be a suitable home for your family."

I froze upon hearing those words. Phantomhive? This man was of relation to the young master? I supposed that was why he looked familiar. He certainly had the same hair as him.

Once again, I followed the men as they made their way through the manor. The Phantomhive man seemed to be very impressed with what he saw.

"You said that this house was over a hundred years old, right?" he asked Mr. Landers at one point. "Does that mean that it isn't equipped with electricity and plumbing?"

"No, it isn't," Landers admitted. "But we can easily have those installed. I know a great team of people who are excellent at restoring old houses. If you want, you can move in about two months."

"That would be great," Phantomhive stated. "My poor wife's doctor says that she could really use some country air. I'm sure this would be the perfect place for her. And I'm sure my son would love it here, too."

"I'm sure he would," Landers agreed with a smile. "Now, would you mind heading back to the office with me? We have some paper work to look over."

"Yes, of course," Phantomhive agreed before they left together.

My thoughts were beginning to move rapidly. It was hard to comprehend the fact that there were going to be people moving into the manor. Of course, if they were Phantomhives, then they had every right to be here. I must admit that I was worrying about myself. How could I be useful to them as a ghost? What if they already had a butler, anyway? And did I even want to serve someone who wasn't the young master?

It seemed I had no choice, though. In a matter of months, this manor would have living occupants for the first time in over a century.

XxxxxxX

It was both fascinating and stressful to watch the workmen "improve" the manor. I always winced when they tore the walls so they could install either some sort of wiring or pipe. I only managed to calm myself when they repaired the damage they caused. I rather liked the light fixtures they installed. A room could be lit up with a simple flick of a switch. It seemed much easier than having to light candles.

As predicted, the new owners of the manor arrived in a couple of months. A vehicle I did not recognize drove up to the manor, closely followed by Mr. Lander's automobile and another shockingly huge one.

I recognized Phantomhive as he climbed out as the first vehicle. He was quickly followed by what I assume to be his wife and son. Time seemed to stand still as I laid eyes upon the boy.

It was the young master!

I quickly corrected myself. This couldn't possibly be my master, who died so long ago. But the boy seemed to be the mirror image of my master, with the exception of this boy having both eyes. I moved away from the window I was watching from and quickly went downstairs. I had to see more of this boy.

As the boy came up to the front door, I opened it for him. It was a butler's job to open the door to his master and guests, was it not. I momentarily paused. Was I already thinking of the boy as my new master?

He seemed confused when the door seemingly opened by itself, but he chose to ignore it. He shivered upon stepping inside. It must have been my presence. It seemed as though I was going to have to find a way to control that. It wouldn't do to have him catch cold.

It seemed as though I was making a habit of following people as they wandered through the manor. But I had to keep an eye on all the house's inhabitants at all times, or so I told myself. I was happy to see that the boy appeared pleased with his new home. I suppressed a giggle as I watched him childishly rummage through everything he could get his small hands on.

My eyes widened suddenly when he came to the young master's room. It had been marked so he could find it, so I supposed it was now his room. How fitting, that my new master should reside where my previous one did.

I once again opened the door for him. After years of solitude, I was eager to serve in any way I could. I could not keep a smirk off my face as I watched him become more confused and frustrated as I opened every door for him. Like my previous master, he was rather adorable when he was annoyed.

It was very unbecoming of me, but I decided to give him a bit of a scare in the bathroom. As he looked in the mirror, I made myself visible for just a moment. He gasped and turned to face the already invisible me.

"I must be seeing things," he muttered as he left the room to go downstairs. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

Ah, so he didn't believe in spirits? That was something that would soon change. I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy serving this new master very much.

XxxxxX

A/N: Thanks to Raverlynn for beta-ing. I hope you enjoyed your cameo in the beginning. :)

I think one day I'm going to write a story where Sebastian fights hippies. Yeah.

Please let me know what you think!