A/N: Sorry this took so long. I just haven't been in a writing mood. :(
XxxxxX
When I was alive, I did not sleep much.
As a butler, there is always something to be done. More so for I, since I was the only capable servant in the house. Every night, after I put the young master to bed, I would inspect the manor one last time, making sure it was clear of everything from burglars to dust mites to mice. I would then spend a few hours guarding the young master's room. That way I could make sure no one came through his door and I could hear if someone came in through a window. I would reluctantly retire to my bed at two in the morning. I did require some rest, after all.
But now, I could guard his room all night. It was funny, how being dead actually made protecting the young master easier.
I was at my post at his door early one morning, like usual, when I was startled by this odd, screeching sound coming from inside the room. I quickly went inside. Was my master in danger? Was someone, or something, attacking him? But to my confusion, he was getting out of bed, looking completely unharmed.
"Young master?" I asked, concerned. What was going on?
"What is it?" he asked as he climbed out of bed. He did not seem worried or panicked at all.
"What on earth was that loud noise?" I demanded. "And why are you getting out of bed so early? Is something wrong?" I certainly did not hear anyone come in...
To my surprise, he gave me a soft smile. "No, I'm fine Sebastian," he said. "That noise was my wake-up call. It's time for me to get ready for school."
"School?" I echoed. "Why are you going there? And why so early?"
"Did they not have schools in the 1800's?" he asked as he started to walk toward the bathroom. I noticed that he stumbled a bit as he walked, most likely still sleepy. Though he never seemed too tired to show me some cheek.
"Well, yes," I answered "but the upper classes usually went to boarding schools. This seems a rather odd time to go."
"I go to public school," he explained. "That means I go Monday through Friday for about seven hours. I usually get home around four in the evening."
"I see," I said. This seemed like a very odd system. At least he would be back in time for afternoon tea. "You have a bit of a way to travel though, don't you?" The closest school was mostly likely in London.
"It's not that bad," he said. I must say, this new master complained far less than my previous one. I decided to run a lukewarm bath for him. He had to look presentable if he was going to be in public. "Wouldn't it be easier to obtain a tutor?"
"Maybe if I was a total recluse," he replied. Oh, so he wasn't? That seemed surprising. "School's one of the only times I leave home. I'm not that much for crowds. Why do you bring it up?"
"It's just that my previous master always hired tutors," I explained. "In fact, I would often teach him myself." I felt pride swell up in me at the memories. I thought I was rather good at teaching the young master.
"Really?" he asked. "And he was actually able to put up with you enough to allow that?" Ah, yes. He definitely had cheek.
"Yes," I replied, hiding my annoyance "and I did a better job than his tutors did anyway, I might add."
"Hn," was all he replied with. How rude. He then started to take off his shirt.
"Does the young master require my assistance with bathing?" I asked. He did not seem to need it before, but maybe he required it now, since he was still tired.
"Of course not!" he snapped. "Go make me breakfast or something."
I repressed a smile at his temper. "Yes, my lord," I said.
I then went to the kitchen to fulfill my order. As I cooked, I thought about our conversation. It seemed as though my tutoring skills would not be needed. A pity, that was. I had particularly missed that duty. It was always amusing to see my proud master have to struggle at anything. He always used to complain that most of his lessons were pointless, which was just a way of masking his frustration when he had troubles with them.
I sighed at the memories. Despite how hard I tried, I could not stop hoping that things would go back to the way things were before. I expected the boy to simply become my old master. And even though they were very similar, it just was not the same.
What had being here for so long done to me, that I would fixate over such a trivial matter? I had a master. I had a purpose again. I was in no position to complain.
I could not seem to shake this mindset, even as I rejoined my master and served him his morning meal. As much as I did not want him to leave, I understood that he was needed elsewhere. Or that is what I told myself, at least. As the Phantomhive family left, I knew that I was going to face a long day.
XxxxxX
It was...rather difficult to have the house empty again. The young master was off at his school and his parents were in town, too, I assumed. I found myself wandering the halls, as I had so often over the years. I thought that it would be easy to go back to the habit, but it wasn't. Now that I had a taste of "life", one might say, again, I was eager for more. I was no longer content to simply wander the manor and clean. I wanted my master back here where I could serve and protect him.
The longing eventually brought me back to my previous master's room. Unable to resist the urge, I rapped the door with my knuckles twice before entering. I winced when I saw the dust covering the furnishings. I had not stepped foot in here since the manor was being - what was the word the workmen used? - "updated". I quickly procured a duster and began to get rid of the dust. It was rather shameful that I let my master's room become so dusty. If he were still alive he would have surely perished of an asthma attack by now.
I hesitated when I came to the covered coffin. I did not want to remove the cloth, but it would have been disrespectful to not shake the dust off. I also needed to make sure the coffin was still in good condition.
It's age was certainly starting to show. The parts that were not burnt were starting to darken and break off. But it was not entirely dilapidated yet. I would not have to build a new one for a few more years. Hopefully with better materials this time.
I simple looked at it for a few long moments. Then, very slowly, I opened the lid. The fabric inside had yellowed with age, but it was still fulfilling its purpose. My eyes slowly drifted to my master's remains. They had not changed at all, really. Although the suit I had dressed him was showing its years.
I sighed and ran a hand fondly over the dry skull. After all this time, it still hurt me to see him like this. He should have been buried near his parents in the family cemetery.
A dull shine caught my eye. I observed that it was coming from the blue diamond ring on my master's thumb. It had become a bit tarnished and dull, but it wasn't anything I couldn't fix. I gently grasped it between two fingers with the intent of removing it, but something stopped me.
I heard a faint whisper from somewhere close to me. "Sebastian..."
I quickly looked around the room, searching for whoever addressed me. "Who is there?" I demanded.
"Sebastian, are you listening to me?" The voice was stronger now, and sounded impatient.
I looked back down to the skeleton and the ring I was touching. "Y-Young master? Is that you?" I whispered.
"Yes, you idiot," the voice answered. "And it's about bloody time you found me here."
"Have you been here this entire time, my lord?" I asked quietly. How could he have been here without my knowing? Surely we would have crossed paths over the course of a century! But wait...perhaps... "Are you...in the ring, young master?"
"I...believe so," he answered. "At least, I think it's only a small piece of me."
"Have you been...aware this entire time?" I asked. It would have been horrible if I had left him in a coffin all these years.
"Sometimes," he answered. "It's hard to stay conscious. All I remember since the fire is you rebuilding the manor and my apparent relatives moving in."
"Are you satisfied with them living here?" I asked. It would be a shame if I had to chase out my new master. I was already becoming attached to him.
"No," he answered. "I'm glad that there are Phantomhives living here again. But enough about that. How are you going to get me out of here?"
"Get you out?" I echoed. "How on earth are we going to do that?"
"I'm sure you'll figure something out," he said. Leave it to him to assume I would think of a solution easily. "Wait, I have an idea!"
"What is it, my lord?" I asked.
"You recall all those nonsense stories about ghosts possessing people that Mey-Rin enjoyed, yes?" he said. "Well, what if they were true?"
"Young master, you want to try and possess a person?" I asked incredulously. This whole situation was ridiculous. My master was a ghost that wanted to possess a living body. How preposterous. I almost burst out laughing at the notion.
"Ah, I don't know how much longer I can stay awake," he suddenly groaned. "Sebastian, this is an order: get someone to wear my ring so I can enter their body."
And with that, it became silent again.
"Young master?" I called. "Young master?"
But alas, I was alone again. The young master's spirit must be much more weaker than mine. It if even was his whole spirit, that is.
I was now facing an issue. I had to find a body for my young master to possess. Of course, my thoughts first drifted to my new master. But, I was hesitant to use him. He was already very much like the young master, but different in some ways. He was much more independent, obviously. And I suppose that was exactly why I decided to use him. A butler cannot have a master who does not require his services, can he? It was only a matter of time before the boy asked to come see to this room again. I would then fulfill my order.
I was brought out of my musings by the sound of someone approaching the manor. Assuming it must be my new master, I went to the door to greet him. But to my surprise, he had two other boys with him. I supposed they were his acquaintances. Maybe even his friends. But just to be safe, I held the door shut from the inside. One boy was blond, and the other seemed to be of Indian descent.
"Holy crap, this place is huge!" the Indian one cried. He didn't strike me as particularly intelligent.
"Yes, it is. And make sure you guys don't brake anything," I heard the young master warn. It was good to know he was protective of his home.
"Yeah, yeah," the blond one said as he tugged on the door handle. How rude of him. He certainly did not have to compliment the manor, but it was not acceptable for him to be rude. "Hey Ciel, is this thing locked or something?" So, they were close enough to use each other's given name?
When the young master reach for the door, I let it open. He turned to smirk at his companion. "You know, Alois, they say that in order to open a door, you must first be smarter than the door," he smirked. I was also amused at the quib.
"Shut up, you ass!" the blond retorted as he stormed inside. That made the small smile disappear from my face. How dare he disrespect my master in his own home? It only became worse as the young master showed them around the manor. I expected my lord to snap at any moment. Being a good host was mandatory, of course, but he did not have to tolerate this.
I managed to catch his eye and beckoned him to my side.
"What is it?" he asked me.
"Young master, who are those two?" I asked. I wanted permission to toss them out.
"They're my friends," he said wearily. "They insisted upon seeing the manor today."
"Even if they are your guests, they seem to be bothering you," I stated. I decided not to mention that they were also annoying me.
"Yes, they do that," he said. "I should probably go before they brake something." He then went back to his guests. He called those vagrants "friends"? They were completely unsuited to be in my master's company! And would they really brake something? I followed them to make sure they wouldn't.
"I think it just got colder in here," I heard the Indian one say. He looked about him as if to spot me. "H-hey Ciel, t-there's no way t-this place could be h-haunted, right?"
"Of course not," the young master replied. If it weren't for the fact that my lord would become angry, I would give these boys a bit of a scare. Especially the blond one.
"Who the hell'd want to haunt Ciel?" that damned brat said. That was the final straw. There was only so much disrespect to the Phantomhive family that I could tolerate. I decided to teach the boy a lesson. So I stepped behind him and pushed him down the staircase. His leg made a wonderful snapping sound as it broke, and his agonized screams were like music to my ears.
I do hope this taught him a lesson.
XxxxxxX
A/N: Thanks for reading! And thanks to Raverlynn for betaing.
Also, I've been wondering if I should change the genre of this and A Butler Needs A Master from "horror" to "supernatural". I'm just not sure if they're scary or gruesome enough to be counted as horror. What do you guys think?