"Sebastian, will you play me something?" Arachne asked when Ciel had gone to bed.
"Of course. Outside or inside?" He smiled at her.
She stared out the window, the night looked calm, alluring, "Outside."
He took her hand and led her to the white gazebo, she loved it there.
She sat next to him on the bench of the piano as he began moving his fingers quickly across the keys, making sounds as beautiful as the first time she'd heard him play.
She yawned quietly, watching his hands, and resting her head on his shoulder.
She found herself falling asleep to the blissful melody.
Sebastian had finished, and realized Arachne had fallen asleep. He did not want to wake her. So he took her head and put it in his lap, until she was completely laying down. She looked so angelic in her sleep, her smooth features looked at peace. He hadn't slept in so long, it sounded wonderful. He laid his head down on the piano, and slowly drifted away.
"By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have reached these lands by newly
From an ultimate dim Thule-
From a wild climb that lieth, sublime,
Out of SPACE-out of TIME.
"Bottomless values and boundless floods,
And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,
With forms that no man can discover
For the tears that drip all over;
Mountains toppling evermore,
Into seas without a shore;
Seas that restlessly aspire,
Surging, unto skies of fire;
Lakes that endlessly outspread
Their lone waters-lone and dead,-
Their still waters-still and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily.
"With the lakes that thus outspread
Their lone waters, lone and dead,-
Their sad waters, sad and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily,-
By the mountains-near the river
Murmuring lowly, murmuring ever,-
By the grey woods,-by the swamp
Where the toad and the newt encamp-
By the dismal tarns and pools
Where dwell the ghouls,-
Each spot the most unholy-
In each nook most melancholy-
There the traveller meets aghast
Sheeted memories of the past-
Shrouded forms that start and sigh
As they pass the wanderer by-
White-robed forms of friends long given,
In agony, to the Earth- and Heaven.
"For the heart whose woes are legion
'Tis peaceful, soothing region-
For the spirit that walks in shadow
'Tis-oh! 'Tis an Eldorado!
But the traveller, traveling through it,
May not- dare not openly view it!
Never its mysteries are exposed
To the week human eye unclosed;
So will its king, who hath forbid
The uplifting of the fringed lid;
And thus the sad soul that here passes
Beholds it but through darkened glasses.
"By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have wandered home but newly
From this ultimate dim Thule."
Dreamland
Edgar Allan Poe
Those were the words Arachne woke to, being accurately recited by Sebastian, "Dreamland..." She whispered.
He smiled down at her, "You're awake, good morning. And you were correct, that was the poem Dreamland written by Edgar Allan Poe."
"Good morning," she sat up, looking around, they were outside, the air was cool and the sun was bright. "I fell asleep out here?"
"You did."
"And you stayed all night?"
"I did."
She grinned at him, "Have you woken Ciel?"
"I have."
"Then you came back?"
"Indeed."
"Thank you so much... But I think I should go inside now. It's rather improper to have slept out here in the first place." She stood up, smoothing out her dress.
"As you wish."
"Sebastian!" She heard Ciel call.
Sebastian quickly ran to his call, and Arachne lingered behind, walking slowly up to her room.
She dressed in the black dress they purchased for her and soon after, Sebastian returned, "My master would like me to inform you of the visitation of his fiancé, Lady Elizabeth. She will be arriving shortly."
"Thank you for informing me, I assure you I am more than happy to bear the honor of meeting her."
"CIEL!" A loud, girl voice shrieked.
"It appears she's arriving sooner than we expected, nonetheless, shall we go meet her?" Sebastian smiled, closed eyed.
"Indeed we shall," Arachne followed him out.
In the foyer, stood a girl with blond pigtails which curled into spirals, she wore a red headband with roses that matched her red and pink dress well. She had emerald green eyes and wore a large smile.
"Who is that?" She asked immediately when she saw Arachne.
"Ah, this is our guest, she's been staying at the Mansion for a little less than a week. Her name is Arachne Knight."
"Oh. Hello, Arachne. Pleasure to meet you, my name is Elizabeth." She curtsied.
"Likewise."
"Gee, Arachne! Why are you dressed so blandly! You look as if you're attending a funeral!" She exclaimed suddenly, taking Arachne by surprise.
"I... I apologize..."
"Let's get you into something cute!" Elizabeth pulled Arachne to a room in the mansion that she didn't even know existed, there were rows of dresses, which then caused Arachne to question why on earth they purchased a new one for her when they had all these.
Elizabeth sorted through all the dresses, until she pulled out a light pink and white one. It was quite different from Arachne's personality and quite frankly, she did not fancy the thing at all.
After Elizabeth had gotten the dress on her, Arachne caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she did not like this on her, it did not fit who she was.
She walked awkwardly back into the foyer and earned surprised glances from Sebastian and Ciel.
"Isn't she just adorable?! Much cuter without all that black." Elizabeth grinned, grabbing Ciel by the arm and pulling him away.
"This is so odd..." Arachne smoothed out the dress.
"It does not seem fitting, pleasant nonetheless, but not you, Arachne. I prefer black myself." He flashed a wicked smile, and a instant of blood red bolted through his eyes.
"I can tell," Arachne grinned.
He looked at her, and returned her grin.
"Sebastian?"
"Yes, Lady Arachne."
"Play for me..."
"As you wish."
They were in the music room, and she waited for his fingers to dance upon the keys, and as soon as they did, she was once again amazed. He created a very difficult, fast paced melody, his fingers flinging about the whole keyboard. Achieving a speed nearly impossible, but he looked so at ease. It was simply amazing.
"Bravo! That was wonderful, Sebastian!" Elizabeth cried and ran to the piano, "I wish I knew how to play..."
"Thank you, Lady Elizabeth. It takes many, many years of practice. I'm sure you could accomplish it in time." Sebastian offered her a smile.
"You really think so?" Her eyes sparkled.
"Why, of course." He stood up, straightening his clothes.
Ciel cleared his throat, "Lady Elizabeth, I am afraid we have some business to attend to, and I am going to have to cut this visit short."
"Ciiieeeellllllll..." Her face fell as she let out an obnoxious whine.
"It was pleasant seeing you today, I hope to see you again soon." He bowed lightly.
"Fine! Bye Ciel!" She ran and embraced him tightly, summoning a look of annoyance from him.
After she let him go, she disappeared out the door.
"We are going to town, Sebastian. The queen has informed me of a series of murders taking place, and being who I am, she has called me to investigate." Ciel addressed Sebastian, he then looked to Arachne, "Please join us."
"Um, am I allowed to change?" She shifted uncomfortably.
"Yes, of course, my lady. You are entitled to any dress you like in the room Lady Elizabeth brought you in." Sebastian offered.
"Thank you, I will return shortly."
She walked off to the room sifting through the many, many dresses. She found a dark scarlet and black dress made from silk, with ruffles and a bow, it was very pretty and fit her personality well. She put the dress on and examined herself in the mirror.
Her hair had fallen out of its braid in various places, she put it up in an elegant updo and walked out to greet Ciel and Sebastian once more.
"Lovely, this fits you well." Sebastian smiled, and she nodded at him.
"Shall we go?" Ciel said coldly.
"Yes, master."
"So far, 8 women have been killed. The odd part being that they all have some kind of symbol carved into their forehead, and they've been deprived of a heart. The chest wounds show their hearts have obviously been taken by some sort of amateur surgeon." Ciel stated calmly.
"Do they have any leads?" Sebastian asked.
"As far as I know, all they have for leads are the symbols on their foreheads."
"That's interesting, are we headed to the crime scene then?"
"Yes. Then we are headed to the Undertaker to see if we can view the bodies."
Sebastian nodded. Arachne wondered why this was their responsibility. What did this have to do with either of them?
They arrived at a crime scene, surrounded by pedestrians and guarded by police, Arachne stayed silent following Sebastian and Ciel to the investigators.
"Ah. Not the guard dog." She heard one of the men say under his breath.
"Greetings, have you any leads?"
"Besides the marking on their forehead and the lack of hearts? No. But we're still investigating." The man scoffed.
"Let me view the body." Ciel ordered.
The man sighed and moved aside, Arachne followed Sebastian and Ciel beyond the guards.
The body was gruesome looking, Arachne could already tell as they approached, the ground stained scarlet red around her. As they grew closer, Arachne noticed a striking resemblance to herself. With the same silver hair in a tangled mass around her head, she wore a blood stained black dress.
She was not the only one who noticed this, as she earned concerned gazes from both boys.
She looked at them, confused, choking on her own breath.
"Lady Arachne, do you know anything about this?" Ciel drew out his words carefully.
"I do not, My Lord. But, I must say it is rather unusual for me, as I have never met anybody with a haircolor similar to mine." She spoke softly.
Ciel nodded, and retreated from the scene.
A/N: ok this may make up for my absence, I apologize though as I can't upload another chapter until next week. But I'm having a bit of a writers block, got ideas? Let me know!