She was young but not naïve
Always wise beyond her years
Hoping that no one will see
Everytime she dried her tears

In the Rose Garden
Where the rain is falling
And the thorns are sharpened
Rose Garden
Yeah
Rose Garden

~~~ooo~~~O*O~~~ooo~~~

Anya squinted, the sun momentarily blinding her as the three made their way through the parking lot. She looked down, trying to regain her eyesight. As her eyes got used to the bright light, she looked forward again. Sebastian's words from earlier kept bouncing around in her head, echoing off each side.

"You are the sole survivor from the fire."

Sole survivor... The only one...

She wondered if her house was one of the ones destroyed, or if it still stood. And she didn't want to know, but would need to so she could tell them she didn't want to go back there anyway.

Anya looked up and tugged on Sebastian's sleeve. "What time is it?"

He pulled a silver pocket watch out of his pocket and popped it open. "To be exact, my lady, it is 9:03 in the morning."

"You don't have to call me that." she told him as he put the watch back.

"Pardon?"

"My lady. You don't have to call me that." She looked between the two demons. "I respond to Anya better. And besides, having you call me 'my lady' makes me sound old." Ciel scoffed at that. "I'm only six."

Sebastian smirked, before leading the two towards a shiny blue car waiting patiently in the last parking space of the lot. Even Anya could tell it was new.

"How... When... You got a car?"

"And a booster seat, to follow safety regulations, and an apartment across town, and we have already begun rebuilding your wardrobe." Sebastian answered as he opened the back seat and helped Anya up.

She looked at him in amazement while he buckled her in.

"How long was I out?"

"About two days." Ciel answered, climbing in on the other side.

Two days? She thought, but let that go for now. "Apartment... Wait, so was my house one of the ones that was destroyed?"

"Completely. According to the news, all that's left is the concrete foundation. Police assume that your house was where the fire originated."

"Would you have rather gone back to your house?" Sebastian asked from the driver's seat.

Anya stopped to think. Did she want to go back the where she almost died? The place she was forced to live in for six years? She took a deep breath and shook her head a little. "No. No, I don't wanna go back."

"We carry on then."

The drive was silent. Not even the radio was on. Each one was lost in their own thoughts.

Ciel was thinking about Anya. There was something about her that reminded him of himself. Maybe the way she didn't cry, even though she had to be in pain. Or maybe how she only talked when she needed to. One thing was certain: this was a strange girl, even if she was only six.

Anya couldn't help but replay her memories. What happened before, during, and after the fire wasn't connecting the right way. The police said they thought the fire started at her house - that was something she could confirm. Then there was Ciel and Sebastian, who mysteriously appear after she was sure she couldn't get out of the house. And after two days she woke up to the same two people watching her, telling her she's the only survivor of the fire. Whereas this would be enough to satisfy most children, Anya liked seeing every piece of the puzzle before starting putting them together.

Sebastian worried about his new master, as such a butler should do. The nurse said Anya had been through a lot, but as far as he knew, the only thing she'd been through was the fire. Maybe he could get the answer out of her. And of course, there was his first master he still wondered about. Ciel had been a demon for more than a hundred years now. This had been only his fourth contract within that time limit, and the first younger than him.

Eventually Anya got tired of trying to sort everything out. She was only six, after all. She couldn't possibly understand everything all at once. It was just one puzzle that would have to be put on hold. She simply leaned her head against the window, staring out at the blurring scenery.

There was something else that bothered Sebastian about Anya. Ciel had told him while they waited for her to change that he was having difficulties reading who or what she hated. Sebastian's first reaction was that the boy was still young as a demon, and maybe all he needed was a little more experience. But even Sebastian couldn't make out where the young girl's hatred was directed. It was there, that much both demons could sense. But who, or what, did she despise that much?

Sebastian knew that the question would eventually be asked, and that it was most likely going to be out of frustration from his young master. 'Anya, just what do you hate?' seemed like such a normal question that a person would ask to someone, but the answer could never be predicted. Especially from a six-year-old.

Finally they came upon the apartment complex. Anya had never been on this side of town - she had hardly ever been past her on street - but from what she could tell it seemed fairly decent.

Ciel unbuckled his seatbelt as Sebastian parked, then reach over to unbuckle Anya. Sebastian was already opening her door for her. She slipped out of the car, wincing when her feet hit the ground too hard. He closed the door and locked the car as Ciel took her hand again.

"My apologies, m- Anya, but the only available apartment two days ago was the one at the top." Sebastian said. Anya looked at the three flights of metal stairs that led to her new home. "Would you like me to carry you? Walking this much can't be good for the burns on your feet."

She shook her head and pulled forward. "No, it's okay. I can walk."

Anya put her free hand on the cold metal railing. Her eyes were focused upward as she tried to ignore the pain in her feet.

Ciel was impressed with every step she took. She was a tough little six-year-old. Tough and brave. He could tell that she couldn't completely hide the pain she felt, though, because every time she did take a step, she squeezed his hand a little harder.

Finally they made it up, and Sebastian unlocked and opened the door, holding it open for them. Anya took a deep breath and stepped into her new life.

It was small, probably about the size of her old living room and kitchen combined. The living room here had two couches, set at 90-degree angles with a coffee table set the perfect distance from them and still lined up exactly. The large television sat at an offset angle from the table. The living room and the kitchen were split apart by where the carpet ended and the wooden floor started.

The kitchen/dining room were connected by a small area of space between the counter and the back of one of the couches. The table was circular and in the corner adjacent to the television, with three chairs surrounding it.

Between and back a little from the living room and kitchen was the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Two rooms on the left, the bathroom on the left, and at the end of the hall was the master bedroom.

But what shocked Anya the most was how everything sparkled and shined. She had a hunch...

"You did all of this in just two days?"

"Please. If I couldn't do this much, what kind of butler would I be?" Sebastian smiled, and Ciel rolled his eye. Anya figured it was something he said a lot. "Now, on to breakfast. Is there anything in particular you would like, Anya?"

"Cereal."

He hesitated - just for a split second - but long enough for Anya to catch it. Ciel smirked as he sat down at the table.

"Very good. Will that be all?"

"You don't know how to make cereal, do you?"

"He doesn't have a clue," Ciel answered,

"Do we even have cereal?" she asked, pulling a chair over to the counter.

"Plenty. He just doesn't know how to prepare it."

"Well, it's not that hard. Here, I'll show you. Where's the cereal?" Sebastian opened a cupboard lined with bright boxes of cereal. Anya thought for a moment, then pointed at the one she wanted. "The blue one." Sebastian pulled it down and put it in front of her on the counter. "Now a bowl, the milk, and a spoon. First, you pour the cereal in the bowl, then you pour the milk." She pulled the bowl across the counter from him, then grabbed the spoon and dug right in. She swallowed her first bite, then said, "You just learned how to make cereal. Pretty easy, huh?"

"Quite. Now, if that will be all -"

"Yep. I'm fine."

"Very good." In a flash he was over by Ciel, waiting on him. "Today's tea is New Moon Drop. For breakfast, I have prepared Belgian crêpes with your choice of scones with blueberry jam or chocolate muffins. Which would you prefer, sir?"

"Scones," Ciel said, sipping the tea Sebastian just poured for him.

"Very good, sir."

Anya stared into her cereal at the conversation the two just had behind her. Is it always like this?

"Anya, is something wrong?" Sebastian asked.

Yes! "Nope, I'm fine." She took another bite of cereal to prove it. This is gonna be a long ride.

Sebastian nodded, and didn't question it further. She's not like most children her are. This will be a very interesting contractor.

Ciel's thoughts weren't unlike is butler's. She's a strange child. Young, but not naïve. I wonder how long we'll be stuck here.

~~~ooo~~~O*O~~~ooo~~~

Rose Garden by Nick Jonas and the Administration. And thus this chapter is completed. Hope you liked it! And if you're truly wondering, 'the blue box' is Frosted Flakes. Please review! Au revoir!

~~~ Up next: That Butler, Breakaway

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