"It is time for you to wake up, Miss Arachne." Sebastian's velvet voice was what woke her, as he pulled the curtains from the window to unleash a flood of sunlight which strained her eyes.
"Mm, thank you, Sebastian." She mumbled, he simply smiled at her and left the room.
She stretched her arms and back, yawning, and getting out of bed slowly. She put the pretty black dress back on, the corset proved quite the challenge.
She wasn't sure what she had to do now, and as if on cue, Sebastian returned.
"Breakfast is ready in the dining room, shall I show you to it?"
She nodded slowly, walking to him.
She pushed her hair behind her shoulders, silently scolding herself for forgetting to put it up.
"You look lovely this morning, Arachne. I do hope you slept well last night." He said casually.
"I did." She stated blandly, ignoring his compliment.
"Wonderful." He smiled, with closed eyes.
They arrived at the dining room, a long table, set with fine china sat in the middle of the room. Ciel sat at the head of the table. Sebastian pulled a chair out for Arachne, rather close to Ciel.
"Good morning, mister Phantomhive." She said formally.
"Please, call me Ciel." He said, not looking at her.
"Today we are serving poached salmon, mint salad, with sides of scones, toast, and champagne." Sebastian reappeared with a display of marvelous dishes and served them quite gracefully, with no mistakes.
"Come to the garden with me, Arachne!" A small boy, still larger than she, with blonde hair and a bright smile beckoned.
"Oh... Excuse me, may I ask who you are?" She inquired.
Sebastian interrupted before the boy could speak, "Oh my, I am so sorry. You deserve a formal introduction. This is Finian, or Finny. He's our gardener. This is Bard, he's our chef, and you have already met MeyRin, but she is our house maid." Sebastian bowed deeply.
"Oh," She smiled cheerfully, "What a pleasure to meet you all. And Finian, I will most certainly go to the garden with you."
Finian grinned in excitement, "Call me Finny. Now, come on! Let's go!" He grasped her wrist roughly and began running, practically dragging her as she could barely keep up.
Sebastian watched the two leave, as Finny was all too excited to see her. It was peculiar, he didn't know this girl, she was rather charming, but it still perplexed even Sebastian.
He then noticed MeyRin and Bard standing awkwardly silent, "Get back to work, you two!" They scurried away instantly.
Sebastian, now satisfied with the peacefulness, decided to return to his young masters office, only to find him staring out his window... Whatever was he looking at? The garden...
"Why are you watching the two, if I may ask, young master?" Sebastian spoke, startling Ciel.
"That girl, she does so well with Finny, even Pluto..." He spoke softly.
"I see you have grown a liking towards our guest, my lord." Sebastian smirked.
Ciel turned around quickly, "A liking? Whatever do you mean? I am simply wondering about her. A strange girl who showed up at my estate late at night in the pouring rain. It is only necessary thinking."
Sebastian laughed lightly, noting his masters embarrassment, "Indeed, my lord."
She, again, was perched upon the branch.
"Progress on our deal, Arachne..." The man in white inquired.
"Why on earth do you need me to kill this man? He is simply a butler, he poses no threat to anybody." Arachne defended.
"My dear, there is much you don't understand. Now, if you are truly in desperate need of this opium, fulfill my task, and you shall have it. I can always find someone else... I don't have time to waste on games." His voice masked his emotions, he was angry, and quite irritated.
She sighed loudly, "Okay."
"Goodmorning, Lady Arachne. It is time to wake up." Sebastian pulled the curtains in Arachnes room.
She sat up slowly, yawning, and stretching her arms, "Good morning, Sebastian." She replied groggily.
"I do hope you had an enjoyable slumber, breakfast preparations are ready." He turned to leave the room, "Wait!" Arachne cried, getting out of bed quickly, somewhat forgetting her being dressed in solely a shirt, which didn't seem to phase him.
"How may I assist you?" He smiled, closed eyed.
She had planned on making a move, pushing him through the window to his death. She had already wasted too much time here, she'd almost forgot what she needed to do. She took a few steps closer to him, trembling lightly, his rustic gaze studied her movements. She closed her eyes, stepping closer and closer, lifting her hands slowly out in front of her. Then, she made a mistake, forgetting to focus on her steps. She tripped and fell forward, she fell into Sebastian, her face buried in his chest.
She tilted her head to look up at him, humiliated, he smiled down at her, "Ah, be more careful, lady Arachne. You could have been hurt. How fortunate I was here, now what did you need?"
She closed her eyes, letting go of the momentary bliss being this close to him brought. How foolish. She was to kill this man, these emotions are irrelevant. She quickly composed herself, and stood up on her own, avoiding eye contact with him.
"Nothing, nevermind. Thank you for helping me, I don't need anything."
He looked down at the small girl, she looked so very fragile, and she smelled wonderful. Like honey, and spring flowers, her touch was tingling, and a strange sense of loss consumed him as she pulled away, which was very odd as he wasn't very used to feeling any emotion at all.
"Yes, Arachne. Please come to me if you do need assistance," he bowed and walked silently out of the room.
She watched him leave, growing tired of the dress she had to wear everyday, and she truly did desire a new one. Alas, she had no funding, and it would be pathetic to ask.
Ciel Phantomhive walked by her room when she had finished changing and walked in, "Goodmorning, Arachne."
She smiled warmly at the boy, "Goodmorning, Ciel."
"Hm, do you wish for any sort of new attire, I can imagine you grow tired of wearing the same thing everyday." He asked, as if he read her thoughts.
"Oh, how considerate, but that is much too much to ask of you, you've already been so kind." She shook her head.
"Oh, it isn't anything at all. I will have Sebastian take you to town to get fitted for a new gown. Worry not of the cost, I have an abundance of funds." He looked at her, with ocean blue eyes sparkling.
"Thank you so much, Ciel. You're being so generous to me. I truly do appreciate it." She curtsied.
"You're welcome, Arachne, please join me for breakfast." He waited for her.
"Of course." She walked with him to the dining room. Ciel couldn't be much younger than she, maybe 13 or 14 from the looks of it. She herself was 16.
"Sebastian, after we eat, you are to take Arachne to the town to be fitted for a new dress, she is permitted to choose whatever she pleases, no matter the cost, understood?" Ciel ordered as they arrived.
"Yes, young master." He bowed his head, moving his gaze to Arachne, she blushed slightly, causing a smirk to emerge from his ghostly face.
"My young master seems to have grown quite fond of you." Sebastian spoke calmly to Arachne as the sat in the carriage on their way to town.
"Has he? Isn't he this hospitable to all of his guests?" She inquired.
"Not usually, we don't typically get guests, but when we do, they're barely on speaking terms with the young master." He stared at her as she watched outside.
"Well, I am grateful to have earned such an honor." She turned to him and smiled.
They arrived in town, at Nina's shop, "Well hello there, Sebastian. Quite the surprise seeing you here. And who on earth is this lovely lady?" The women smiled widely, speaking loudly.
"This is our guest, Arachne. Lord Phantomhive has ordered for her to come and be fitted for a new gown." Sebastian explained.
"Oh. Well good afternoon, Arachne. Anything specific you are looking for?" Nina walked over to the girl, studying her.
"Oh, just... A black gown... But anything you think would look good will do." She offered Nina a smile.
"Ah! I could do so much to a gown for such a beautiful young lady, black would look more than lovely with your skin." She swept her behind a curtain, to stand on a platform to be fitted, Sebastian following casually.
"I have the perfect gown! I made it long ago waiting for the right girl to come in, because it does not look good on just anybody. And I think you would look wonderful." She disappeared.
"Nina seems to like you, in fact, many people seem to like you." Sebastian commented.
She simply shrugged, "I don't quite understand why."
Nina returned with bundle of black silk, stripping Arachne down to her petticoat and fitting the dress to her, it was a gorgeous dress. A corset top, covered in lace, with a ruffled fringe at the neck line, sleeveless. A long black skirt, ruffled elegantly, with a solid black fabric draped over it. It complimented her silver hair and pale white skin finely. She even knew she looked gorgeous.
"My god, simply stunning. Too bad it doesn't quite fit... You're so small, I'll need to make some adjustments." Nina stared at her, "What do you think Sebastian?".
After a few seconds of close studying, he spoke, "I think she looks flawless, absolutely perfect."
Arachne gasped quietly, she didn't expect such high praise from him, Nina also looked surprised.
"Oh my, I must ask, please let me assist you in jewelry and other things as well, it would also be an honor to style your hair. Free of charge." Nina grinned.
Arachne looked to Sebastian.
"Do as you please, lady Arachne."
Nina smiled widely, "Okay, follow me!"
Nina had added long black gloves and a black choker, she had also put her hair into an elaborate mess of curls on top of her head, leaving strands out and it was beautiful.
"My goodness, you are such a beauty. Return in an hour and I will have the adjustments finished." Nina smiled at her, and Arachne changed back into the other dress.
"She's really done you up," Sebastian stated when they were back outside.
"She is a sweetheart." Arachne said.
"She really likes you."
"I can tell."
He nodded.
"She told me to return in an hour to retrieve the finished gown."
"Then, shall we do something to pass the time until then? Perhaps take a walk around the town, it would be very useless to return to the manor as we would have to leave as soon as we arrived."
"Sounds lovely."
They walked through the town, as Arachne watched as the citizens streamed in and out of the many shops and homes lining the crowded streets. Many of the smiling population seemed to recognize Sebastian, as hollow greetings were exchanged. Soon enough, an hour had passed and they returned to the tailor.
"Ah, the dress is finished, would you like to wear it home, or bring it separately?" Nina, as frivolous as before, sang as they appeared.
"I would like to wear it home." Arachne stated blandly.
"Wonderful," Nina brought her back to the fitting area and helped her in dressing, the dress fit perfectly, hugging her small build.
Once in the carriage, Sebastian said, "That dress fits you well."
"I do love it very, very much." Arachne smiled.
"I hope so, my young master will be very pleased with your choosing."
Once they arrived back home, Sebastian escorted her to the room in which Ciel was reclining.
"This is the dress she chose, young master."
Ciel rose from his seat, and studied her carefully, "I am pleased with your choice, you look lovely. Alas, I regret to tell you I am retiring to bed early tonight. Sebastian, do not assist me as I can manage on my own." Ciel bid goodnight and disappeared.
Sebastian looked at her, "I have some business to attend to, such as dinner preparations. Do as you please, lady Arachne."