"So I tells him, why 'sit you gots to be so stingy? It's just a couple of meats." Merianna recalled. "It's just gonna end up being the rats'."
She laughed and almost fell onto Finny.
"Merianna, are you sure you haven't had too much?" He whimpered.
She shook her head, as well as the glass flute in her hands. She muttered a 'can never have too much of a good thing' and drank it down. She leaned back on the divan set out for the guests. Sebastian had come by earlier, muttering a 'my, my' upon seeing Merianna's state. She replied with a heavy stomp on his foot and a 'lighten up, friend'. He promised her revenge.
"M-Maybe you want to dance? It might clear your head." Finny suggested.
He got to his feet and extended a hand out to invite her, his boyish grin showing. She smiled and took it, being pulled up and onto her feet. She had been practicing her steps, although her practice-dancing-partner was much skinner and didn't seem to mind when she trod on his bristles. Nervously, she tried to focus on her feet. Finny didn't seem to mind. So far, he had no injury, but the dancing seemed slow and too stiff.
"Don't become too self-consious about your steps. Look up here." He advised her.
She tried to keep her eyes on Finnian's face, grimacing as she felt a shoe underneath hers and muttered an apology. She did better when she could watch her steps. Eventually, she felt the flow of the dance and with the lovely music, was swinging out with more fluidity than before. The song ended and the partners bowed and curtsied to each other.
"I didn't know you danced so well." Finny said, effectively delivering a compliment.
"I learned from a book. I'm surprised I did that well too...It's like I learned it overnight!" She laughed.
Suddenly, Ciel and Sebastian appeared in front of them.
"Do you still want to sail the seas, Merianna?" he asked.
She looked at him with a quizzical look, but nodded.
He stepped aside and a Chinese man in a long green robe stepped forward. His eyes seemed to be closed, but focused on Merianna. Behind him was a beautiful girl with a pink flower on her styled hair who starerd at her in silence.
"This is one of my clients, Lau. He comes from that country you were drawing." Ciel introduced.
Merianna stood up and took his hand, shaking it excitedly.
"Uh...Uh...! N-Nice to meet you! I'm...I'm Merianna!" she greeted.
She wanted to ask him what kind of creatures came from his hometown, if there indeed were ships that travelled across land and magnificent buildings that sat atop the clouds. However, she contained herself.
"So you're really serious about this, are you?" Lau asked.
She nodded her head with zeal.
"You know that there's no way to back out...once you're in..."
She stayed silent.
"And whatever trouble happens to you...life will go on. A Chinese philosophist once said...the bird that spreads its wings against arrows will have no chance flying between them..."
She was now a bit intimidated by this man. His tone of voice and frowning face was not a good impression.
"So, what is it we're talking about?" He suddenly burst.
"...Lau...!" Ciel grumbled.
Suddenly, a strong gale rushed into the room through the front doors. Nothing stood there, yet the room went eerily quiet. A man in black garb walked in. He had a black blindfold over his eyes and a long beard. The only splotch of colour was a red cravat tied around his neck. He bowed before the people, who murmured suspiciously. The man seemed to be in a strange garb, one not of european design.
"W-What's happening?" Finny whimpered.
The man walked his way to where the musicians were, people getting out of his way. He took hold of the pianist and threw him aside. He yelled and fell onto the floor in a heap. Cracking his knuckles, he slammed his wormy fingers on the keys. Merianna wasn't sure what came first, the huge shockwave of a note she couldn't hear, or the darkness coming to envelop her.
Sebastian took his hands off of his master's ears.
"That was dangerous, Young Master. He is no normal person." he warned.
"Correct, Mr. Butler!" Lau cheered. "That technique originates in a country close to mine."
"Elizabeth!" Ciel cried.
"No worries, Earl. It only knocks out people, that one wave."
He pulled a wad of cotton out of his ears, Ran-Mao doing the same.
"The second ones...usually kill the ears of whoever is listening..."
Everyone around them was knocked out cold and sprawled everywhere. Suddenly, a heavy crack sounded from the front door and the same black bandits ran inside. They were clothed in all black except for a splash of red somewhere on their chest.
"Those people again!" Ciel grumbled. "Sebastian, this is an order! Stop these thieves and that pianist!"
"Yes, my Lord."
Sebastian stepped out in clear view of the blind pianist, kicking over the unconcious body of the Earl of Sandwich (...google it...). The shockwave he sent bursted the piano open, the strings and mallets open for the strange warrior. Sebastian got out the silverware, as always, and threw them at him. The pianist ran to the side of the piano and plucked the strings with his fingers. The knives thrown at him were blown back by a wave of sound.
Behind him, Lau and Ran-Mao were taking care of the bandits, delivering powerful kicks and hits. Sebastian had to deal with the pianist. It was hard to maneuover with all the bodies around him. Suddenly, he felt a prick behind him and heard his master's voice.
He looked back to see Merianna standing up again, limp. Ciel pointed a finger at her and commanded her to help Sebastian. She muttered something, probably the incantation like the night before. Suddenly, her hand flew up and slammed onto Ciel's head, grabbing his face.
"Shut up, little child." He made out, although he was sure the other humans heard garbled noises.
He wasn't even sure if his mind translated the dialect corrrectly, but Sebastian was curious to see what she would do.
Number 9 heard an order by the Empress to take hold of the mortal body. Merianna had called them all out with the incantation, and it was number 9 that chose to react first. The mission he set out was to clear all those unwanted bodies out. He forced his name out through Merianna's lips.
"Nafuru"
The Hermit took charge of Merianna now. He focused his energy on the sole reason he was who he was. He wanted everyone out. He wanted those unwanted to be out of the area. It seemed that Merianna was in a heavily populated place, and he needed much more power. He found the core of Merianna's powers and opened them. The sound of knuckles crackling erupted the air as her wings unfolded and spread out, drawing in more power for the Hermit.
He pushed the souls of everyone away, the ones unconcious from the sound. Only able to leave the concious ones. 3 humans that Merianna knew, one human she recognized as a bad one, 16 humans she did not recognize and one demon. One demon she hated. There were more on the outside of his ability too, though he could sense them. One human with the scent of death on it, and one being she felt a static shock with.
With that, he retreated back into the deck with his associates. One other was pushing his way through with a 'let me deal with the rest'. It was number 1, determined that he could help Merianna. It was an order by the Empress, so the Magician couldn't help it. He, too forced his name out.
"An"
"Look at that." Ash whispered. "Look at what she can do."
"Quite entertaining, Ash. What exactly is she?" the Queen applauded.
"...I've only ever seen one other angel with wings like that...and she was a mutant, thrown out of heaven."
They watched as the bandits tried to grab at her, only to be hit with the flaming morningstars. Her dress was ripped and some were eaten away by the flames. Her hair was free of the complicated plaits and ties only to fly around and give her the appearance of a frightening witch. Only one morningstar would be swinging around the angel at a time, but every time it latched onto an attacker, it separated and another would appear. They stuck like burrs on the bandits, and hurt even if they weren't on fire. The fire only melded the metal spikes onto their body.
Ciel was standing to the side of course, watching his two servants battle it out. Lau and Ran-Mao stood by, occasionally knocking away various thugs.
Sebastian was dealing with the pianist, who could shoot various waves of air vacuums by plucking the piano strings. Both were at a standstill. All knives that Sebastian could shoot were deflected by the waves, and all waves were stopped by his amazing dodging skills. They tried again to gain a hit on each other, this time the knife was deflected and shot right at Ash.
It cut a bit of his hair, and he grimaced with annoyance.
"How terribly clumsy of me," Sebastian chuckled. "To almost let a poor defenceless bystander be hurt."
Ash took the challenge and jumped down beside him, brandishing his golden rapier. The pianist looked around, and sniffed the air. He smiled and stared at Ash, apparently happy that he was now outnumbered. Sebastian took the lead and charged at the pianist, taking him by surprise.
The pianist was familiar with the last element of the periodic table (element of surprise yo) and slid his fingers along the strings, producing a high-pitched screech that made everyone stop and clap their hands over their ears. He then took the pianist bench between his legs and kicked it at Sebastian. It collided and sent him crashing against the wall.
"Sebastian! Stop playing around!" Ciel commanded.
He wiped the blood from his lips and watched as Ash was trying to dispell the sound waves with his rapier. Idiot, he thought, those kinds of swords are not meant to be swung. And he was right. Ash's golden blade flew out of his hands and clattered on the tile floor a distance away. The pianist ran his hands along the strings and played a beautiful but deadly melody. Sebastian could see the blades of wind being sent towards him and Ash. They leapt out of the way, but the floor and walls were sliced, sporting a scar shaped dent in them.
Only Merianna didn't seem bothered, as she grabbed up a bandit with a flaming morningstar stuck to his leg. It was a strength she did not have normally. The bandit was choking on her vice-like grip, begging to be let go.
"Merianna! Do something!" Ciel said.
She was doing something, something that seemed trivial. She stepped towards the pianist, holding the bandit in front of her and she closed her wings as tight against her body. The pianist fired wind blades from the piano. Using the man as a shield, she stepped closer and closer to engage in close combat. The man screamed as the wind blades were tearing at his body, twitching and struggling aginst the hold.
"Hah, that's quite resourceful." Lau commented.
When she was close enough, she pushed the dead corpse forward, crashing into the piano. Wooden pieces and metal were flung out, and Merianna continued hurling morningstars at the dust cloud.
"Hey, don't you think that's enough?" Sebastian said, landing beside her.
"vicardi hen, flusak weyar" she replied.
She jumped back just as piano wires were whipped, shooing away the dust and debris. Sebastian was caught in the attack, but it only tore a small cut into his glove.
"It appears we still have work to do."
He looked back at Merianna, and the flaming morningstars and her wings were gone. She stood there, head limp, like she died standing up. By then, Ash had grabbed his rapier and was on the attack once more, thusting it at the pianist. The pianist had made a cat-o-nine-tails with the strong piano wires and whipped them viciously in his right hand. The other hand had piano wires tied to his fingers as whips.
"I don't suppose you play cricket in your country." Sebastian said.
He picked up a morningstar left smoking and on the ground and flung it at the pianist. Although the piano wires would effectively tear against human...or demon...or angel...flesh, it was much too weak against metal. The pianist could only dodge as a suddenly rain of fourty-two spiked balls were being chucked at him, each creating its own little nest in the walls or wherever it landed. He caught one in his thigh and fell mercy to the others that grabbed the side of his head and arms.
"Humph. Beaten by the Phantomhive butler once again." Ash muttered as he sheathed his rapier.
He turned to Merianna and waved a hand in front of her face. No response. Sebastian had gone to see how his master had enjoyed the show...in which he didn't. Stepping over bodies, the survivors (except the Queen, who had retreated somewhere) walked over to Merianna.
"Hey! Where did you put everyone else?" Ciel demanded.
"Perhaps she spirited them away, Earl." Lau suggested.
She didn't answer, and only stood there with unwavering eyes.
"She's not normal." Ash commented.
"Would you like to expand on that?" Sebastian challenged.
Ash said nothing, but bent down to take Merianna's wrist. He held it up and it showed that she was holding two tarot cards. He tried to yank them from her fingers, but they held still. Not only because of her grip, but it was like they were sealed to her hand by glue.
Ash continued "Where did she get these?"
"Her mother gave them to her...or something like that."
He let go and told them that he would fetch the Queen and deal with the clean up and lookout for everyone at the party that disappeared. Seeing no other way of waking her up, Ciel had told Sebastian to carry both of them home.
When the servants awoke the following day, nothing had changed. They sat down to breakfast once they woke up from their beds and chatted. Bardroy had heard news that various people turned up all over the city, some not near home at all. They laughed at that strange news.
"I must have drunken a bit too much." Bardroy admitted. "I don't remember anything...but man does my head hurt this morning."
"I had a nightmare." Merianna said.
She prodded lightly at the bacon and bread on her plate.
"You too?" Finny asked. "I had a bad dream that this man crashed the ball last night and killed us all with his magical instrument. Is that what you saw?"
"That's weird indeed!" Meirin added. "I had the same dream! I even pinched myself awake this morning!"
Merianna poked her fingers. "Actually...It was just that my pirate ship was oerturned by a sunfish...I don't like sunfish."
They all laughed and finished their breakfast. (Sunfish are terrifying. This author does not like them either)
"Hurry up and finish up, guys. Young Master said he is going to visit that creepy undertaker today." Bardroy said. "We'll go see him off."
Merianna almost spat out the water she was drinking.
"I did not mean what I said before!" she cried, still not believing she survived the fancy ball.
Although Ciel assured them that the trip would be a short one, they still all assembled at the front of the steps to wave him, Sebastian and Tanaka off. Even Pluto came in his human form to lick at Sebastian's face. Merianna folded up the pearl necklace and asked Sebastian to return it to Ms. Culloch, annoyed when he made her repeat her request with a sugar-coated 'please'. Bardroy helped Tanaka up on front of the carriage and handed him the reins.
"Merianna, what is your mother's name?" Ciel asked.
She was surprised at such a personal question (he's trying to hack her email).
"Uh...Ulchina Carolce...why?"
He didn't answer, only boarding into the carriage with the help of Sebastian. They soon left the servants in a cloud of dust and unanswered questions.
Undertaker's laughter shook the whole building and he was rolling on the floor hysterically. Passerbys hurried away from the area, certain that it was a bad omen. Ciel waited patiently for him to recover himself from his sort of 'payment'. Apparently Sebastian was quite the comedian.
"You want to look at the records...is that all?" he snickered.
"For a certain name." Ciel replied.
"That would take a long time, Young Master." Sebastian said. "Let us see the records...we'll start at 15 years ago."
Ciel nodded as Undertaker went to the back of his shop to fetch the death records. There was the crash and thunk of coffins crashing and things spilling over, but Undertaker returned with a large book covered in dust. He slammed it on the counter and the dust spread everywhere, forcing Ciel back. He opened it up to a random page and asked them the name.
"Carolce, first name Ulchina." Ciel answered.
"Ahhhh...that one in particular..." he mumbled.
The Undertaker closed the book and took it back into the back of the store. The same noises and sounds occured before he brought back a similar book. This one seemed a bit newer.
"This one was...about only ten years...ago..." He explained.
He flipped from page to page, his head lolling around the pages. It listed their names, date of birth, date of death and cause of death. He gave a creepy giggle as he turned the book around to face the Earl and his butler, pointing at one entry.
"Is this some sort of joke?!" Ciel yelled.
He giggled. "I'm not paying you, Earl, to read this..."
The entry only had the name. The other catagories were blank.
"That day, twelve rather fat men came to my store telling me that a local governess had died...I went to take her measurements and the men paid me in that house's furniture and everything else..."
He continued. "By the time I brought the woman's body in to...prepare it...it disintegrated at the touch."
"Disintergrated?" Ciel repeated.
"Yes, being an honest businessman, I prepared a fake body and covered over the face...That was fine though, only two little brats were present at the funeral."
"Only two children...one of them looked like that woman, right?" Ciel asked.
"Of course, Earl. One boy and one girl... I suppose the girl must have been a relative...because her hair was the same unusual colour..."
"Who was the boy?"
"I don't know, Earl. Both children looked so raggedy and plain I did not give a second thought.
"Did you find a cause of death?" Sebastian questioned.
"No...the body disintergrated before I could examine the... ehehehe... organs...But...on my first checkup, I could tell that the woman did not die of disease... or any body wounds...Very few beings would leave a corpse behind after they die... right, Mr. Butler? "
Sebastian only narrowed his eyes in response.
"But that only means these beings are so much more susceptible to things like insanity...grief...remorse..."
"What do you mean, Undertaker?" Ciel demanded.
He threw his giant sleeves up and whispered "This is just my guess...but the body looked like it died from a quieter insanity. The kind that finds the cracks in your mind instead of tearing it through...I suppose women are more prone to heartbreak, after all."
He recoiled and closed the record book up with a strong slam, grinning like a madman.
"Come back soon, Earl."
When Ciel was driving up to his mansion, certain that a bath was waiting for him, he saw Meirin and Finny waving and shoting from outside the carriage. Tanaka pulled the horses to a halt and Sebastian opened the door for him to step out.
"What's the matter?" He asked, trying to calm them down.
Both of them were trying to talk simultaniously, he rubbed his forehead and told them to speak more slowly.
"It's the police!" Finny cried. "They came to arrest Merianna! This strange kid...I recognize him as one the butlers at the party yesterday...he pointed at her and said she stole Lady Midford's ring!"
"And did she?" He asked, a small fury rising in his voice.
He looked down, unable to speak.
"Well, sir..." Meirin spoke up. "She did have it...but...she promised me she wouldn't steal from this house...We have to go to town and clear her name!"
Ciel stepped down from the carriage, with no help and stepped up the stairs.
"Bardroy has gone to town to try to settle this...Young Master? Are we going as well?"
He stopped and looked back at his servants.
"Listen here. The Phantomhive household has no place for rats. If she sets foot here again, I order you all to kill her!"
Merianna explained the situation to Bardroy as clearly as she could, even though it was hard with the knot in her throat and sobs escaping her heart. She told him that she was playing games with the butlers outside, which was where she got the ring. She didn't know it belonged to anyone. However, the boy she called Marco claimed to not recognize her at all and refused her claims. Bardroy's hot-headed threats to both the boy and the policemen did not help the situation either.
The ring was returned home. However, Merianna was not. After being handcuffed, she was thrown into the smallest cell. The only other occupant was the corpse of a drunkard long forgotten. She shrieked and backed away to the furthest corner from it, shuddering in fear. Bardroy was kicked out of the jail, but promised that the Young Master would see that she would return back to them.
The jail was made of rough stone and the only light came from a window that shone from the other side of the bars, on the right of the cells. The other cells held public nuisances deemed dangerous, accused thieves and killers and people who seemed to have lost their mind. Their feral screaming and low-sounding howling scared Merianna, as if their strange condition would rub off on her like dirt. The police searched her and she only had a thin dress on. Not even her mother's last gift could comfort her from the other side of the room.
It seemed only yesterday that she had the richest clothes on, her hair shimmering and adorned with perfumes and flowers. Her stomach was full with sweets of every flavour and food who's aroma could send people into a kind of limerance. But today she was stuffed into a cramped cell with a skeleton for a companion and in the threadbare clothes one would never wear in public. When she was done crying, she felt hungry and lost in the world.
She tried to bang the handcuffs against the jail bars, but that only turned her wrists as sore and red as her eyes. Suddenly, the doors to the front of the office opened and a red-haired man entered, taking a look at the cells in front of him. He had a youthful appearance and a naive aura around him. She backed away from the cells and to the corner to avoid being noticed by this new policeman.
He paced through the cells, some of the people come out to try to lash at him, but he stayed a fair distance away. He stopped at her cell and bent down.
"Hey, why is this young lady locked up here?" He asked.
"Heh, she's stolen a ring from the Midford house, can you believe it? And I thought the Phantomhive house was supposed to be a grand name." a voice answered.
"What's that? You come from the Phantomhive mansion?"
Merianna's ears perked up from that name, but she didn't answer the question.
"I'm a...friend...of Ciel Phantomhive. You know him, don't you?" he introduced. "I'm Fred Aberline."
The other policeman pulled his friend away from the cell. "Don't get too friendly with her. I've personally hanged some of the friends she makes. Goddamn pickpockets."
She closed her eyes and forced the memory away from her mind, only focusing on the dream she was creating. That Ciel Phantomhive would arrive on a magical boat that travels on land. Once important from Cathay that had cannons to shoot down the cold stone bricks. Bardroy and Meirin would be armed with flintlock pistols and Finny would be riding Pluto and knocking everyone out.
Merianna found herself in a crowd of people. It seemed that everyone towered over her and were mumbling in incoherant words. She felt very small and very cramped between them. It felt like a very familiar scene, the same dusty and rotten smell rushing through her noise and she tried to squeeze out of the crowd. When she finally did, she found that she was at the front of the crowd, her head barely able to glance over the wooden platform. The policeman stood there and suddenly the crowd of people seemed transparent, unrecognizable.
"We found the thief! We found the thief!" He announced.
Two men were battling and roaring, held by handcuffs. Two strong men pushed them up on the platform and Merianna recognized them as her old friends. It was Spades and Shots. They seemed to be frothing at the mouth and had graying hair. It was a horrible scene as suddenly a rope with a knot appeared before them. Merianna had seen this before. She started to scramble up the platform to stop them, but she felt someone grab her waist and pull her back.
It was Cuffs, a younger version of him, pulling her and yelling that they can't interfere. She screamed and tried to wrench away, but he held fast. None of the other people seemed to have heard her and her voice seemed to be drowned out. Spades and Shots were lead to the rope and the men gave them a shove. Their heads fell right into the loop and the platform gave way.
Their skeletons fell to the group in a heap, no longer held up by the rope and everything else disappeared.
When Merianna awoke, she screamed when she saw the skeleton at the other end of the cell. She calmed herself upon learning that it was just a dream, but such a real one. She buried her head between her knees and had to recall it all.
Spades and Shots were the original mentors of their gang of rogues, back before there were so many additions and adults in the business. Their real names were Cayden and Alexander, but they had a love for gambling that could only be the birth for their street names. They took care of other kids and taught them the art of light fingers. Merianna was only Ghost back then, recalling how pale and light she was when she joined. Cuffs was, well, just Jake Hawkins.
It wasn't long before Step-Strings joined, followed by Piggy, Screech and Tommy-Boy. It also wasn't long before the leaders of their group was caught by the authorities. They were hung in public and their bodies were never recovered from wherever sinners went. After this, Tommy-Boy and Cuffs took over as head of the group, recruiting a must vaster army of thieves.
It wasn't the same though, without Spades and Shots. Merianna wondered if they too, had to spend nights in the same jail cell. In the darkness, the skeleton was even more scary, not because of the shape. She could not make out where the skeleton was, yet knowing that it was there, somewhere in the darkness, scared her the most.
She was sure somewhere, that the spirits of Cayden and Alexander were urging her to find a way out of the cell. She wished that her name was true and that she could've floated out through the jail like a ghost passed through the walls. She searched herself for anything that could be used as a wire.
Nothing, so she started thinking about things inside the cell. Her mind could only think about the skeleton in the corner. There was a rock nearby, but it was too small to try to break a cell bar. She suddenly turned to the faint outline of the corpse in the corner and nudged herself closer to it. Tears brimmed over her eyes and she reached for its hand. Feeling the dirty bones, she took one and snatched a finger. The threw it on the floor, disgusted with it and smashed the rock over it with both her hands. It broke open the bone and left jagged edges and bits of calcium pieces. She took the biggest piece and stepped over the carnage, to the lock of the door.