A/N:Here's chapter five for you guys. I don't have much to talk about in here so let's just get to the disclaimer.
DISCLAIMER:I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji in any way, shape, or form.
I moaned as the morning light hid my eyes when Sebastian opened the curtains, turning over so my back faced him. "Good morning my lord." I felt exhausted still, which I knew was going to prove itself as a challenge today with Elizabeth here. If I tell her I didn't sleep well then she'd go and lecture Sebastian on how it's a butler's job to make sure his master gets all his required sleep, and if I just told her I was tired, she'd find a way to stay over at my manorand make me take unnecessary breaks and I'll never get any work done. I love her dearly, I truly do, but I don't have time to deal with her antics when time's running out.
As I sat up in bed, accepting the cup of tea presented before me. "Today your schedule is fairly clear for Lady Midfordsvisit. After it finishes, Lord Trancy will be arriving around six due to complications at his manor. His butler rang this morning to announce his visit, so I apologize for not being able to inform you earlier." I nodded and handed the teacup and saucer back to Sebastian as he named off the selection for breakfast, and as always I chose a simple scone. Complications at the Trancy manor? I wonder if he experienced the same thing as me last night, causing his hasty departure.
After breakfast I was handed the morning paper, still warm from when Sebastian ironed it this morning. As I read Sebastian refilled my teacup, handing it back to me before going back to clean up the trolley. A knock sounded through the manor, causing me to look up with surprise, only to see Sebastian equally surprised. He left the room to go answer the door as I continued to read. To my pleasant surprise there were no murders making the headline, so I folded the paper back up and finished my tea. Who was our surprise visitor? Maybe Alois decided to arrive early due to the complications, but there was no way to be certain. I heard an ever so familiar squeal from downstairs, accompanied by footsteps running up the stairs at full speed until they stopped right before my door. "Lady Midford, my apologies for appearing to be rude, but it is highly improper for you to enter young masters room before you two are wed. You have arrived earlier than expected so my lord isn't ready to be seen yet."
"Nonsense Sebastian, surely he wouldn't mind seeing me! I haven't seen him in so long!" I could hear her trying to get into my room, only to be stopped again.
"Please my lady, if you would be so kind as to wait in the parlor, young master should be down shortly." I moved to sit on the edge of my bed after hearing Elizabeth finally give in and leave. She arrived two hours earlier than expected. Who knows what would happen if her mother were to find out about what happened when she had arrived. Sebastian walked back in, making sure to close and lock the door behind him, and grabbed the outfit he had pressed and laid out at the end of my bed. As unbuttoned my nightshirt he began to apologize about Elizabeth, explaining how he would find a way to fill in the extra two she had gained to her visit.
"As long as she isn't here when Trancy arrives it'll be fine Sebastian. After setting out breakfast for Elizabeth, prepare a carriage. I feel that she would be more than happy to spend most of her time shopping and as long as she's happy there shouldn't be any problems." I stood from the side of my bed as he continued to dress me for the day. "When we prepare to leave, you need to return here once the carriage has left in order to prepare the guest room for Alois." After he had finished dressing me, slipping my blazer onto my shoulders as I began to leave the room, I made my way down to the parlor where a very bored looking Elizabeth sat patiently.
"Good morning Elizabeth, Sebastian has breakfast prepared for you if you would walk with me to the dining room. Afterwards I have planned to bring you to town where you can shop all afternoon if it pleases you." I could see a smile find its way onto her face as she got up to walk with me to the next room.
"Oh Ciel, you don't have to try so hard to please me. If you wanted to, we could just stay here and sit out in your garden all morning." I moved the chair out for her to sit in before I made my way around the table to take my place in front of her.
"Anything that makes you happy I'm willing to do. It's only my duty as your fiancé to make you happy." I tried to throw in a smile to go with it, which only made her smile grow bigger as she went to tell me that just being here with me made her happy. After breakfast was served, we sat in silence as Elizabeth ate and I read the book Sebastian had brought down for me from my study. Afterwards we moved to go sit in the carriage, Elizabeth watching through the window in joy as she gazed at our surroundings and I sat reading the case findings Sebastian had given me. When we had first gotten in the carriage, Elizabeth complained seeing the stack of papers but after five minutes of explaining I was only going to read them during the carriage ride she finally accepted and chose to watch through her window.
London was bustling with people for such an early hour. Shops were just opening, children ran around laughing, mothers shook duty rugs out through their windows and the bakery owners got rid of old food. I stepped out of the carriage first, extending my hand to help Elizabeth out and then held my arm up for her to hold onto as we walked, as a proper gentleman would. We walked from shop to shop, stopping at almost every dress and jewelry shop. I ended up buying a pair of new gold earrings, a silver locket necklace and a few bracelets and then more than just few dresses for her to wear with her new jewelry. Sebastian tied the boxes up to the top of the carriage while we went to go sit in the bakery, hunting for a pastry Elizabeth said she saw the week before. After ten minutes of gazing through the display, she realized with a pout that they didn't have what she was searching for. We left the shop and out into the cold air of November as we made our way back to the carriage, just as Sebastian was preparing to leave.
"I really enjoyed today Ciel, maybe we can schedule another day out like this sometime when the weather warms up." We stood outside my manor awaiting the arrival of her maid, Paula, to take her back home. I helped her into her carriage when it arrived, waving goodbye with a small smile. Once the carriage was out of view I sighed and turned back to my manor. The grandfather clock in my parlor showed the time as four o'clock, only two hours before the arrival of my next guest. After walking around all afternoon I was more exhausted than I was this morning. Maybe I should just go rest in my room for the next two hours…
"Sebastian, I'm going to go rest while my schedule is still free for the next two hours. Come wake me up when Trancyarrives. Make sure the servants don't go around breaking everything as well, I don't wish to be disturbed." He agreed to my terms before going back to preparing the guest room. I turned and walked down the hall down to my room, instantly falling onto my bed. I fell asleep within a matter of minutes.
I had actually slept rather peacefully, something I don't usually do, so I wasn't very pleased when I was awoken by Sebastian. "Young Master, Lord Trancy has arrived. He's currently in the billiards room." I nodded and sat up, stretching as I got up. Candles were lit throughout the entire manor due to the evenings close approach, but when I got to the billiards room the light was shocking. Candles were lit so no corner was left untouched by the light. "Trancywhy must you light every candle?"
"Because, I don't like knowing what lingers in the darkness. It's unsettling." He was practicing his pool, hitting the cue and sending all the balls in every direction, clacking against each other and bouncing off the edges of the pool table. "I appreciate letting me stay. See and this whole time I thought you hated me." I could see his smirk as he lined up to make another shot.
"I do, but when you call before I'm even awake and say you're coming over I don't have much say in what happens. Why are you here? What happened at your manor?" I needed answer, I need to get to the bottom of the strange events that have happened lately.
"This morning when I woke I felt as though someone was watching me as I ate breakfast. Then later as I sat in mydrawing-room, a round of bullets came through my window and impaled the back of my chair. As you can imagine, I bolted out of the room and I haven't gone back to my manor since. Last night I could have sworn on my life that someone was watching me, but Claude didn't find anyone on the premises." He hit the cue ball again, this time sinking three of the balls.
"I felt the same feeling last night, but when I got up to investigate I didn't see anything. When Sebastian came to ask what I was doing, the feeling went away. If this is the same person who tried to shoot us at Lord Carnol's manor, then we have a problem, because that means they know where we live and most likely our schedule." Alois stopped mid shot as I said this and I could see his eyes go wide. I realized to the full extent of what I said too soon after him. That means they saw Elizabeth, which could make her and whoever visited Alois yesterday a new target for the killer to strike. This was going to be a problem.