A/N:Longest chapter yet! Woo! Huge thanks to fallenangel888 for reviewing, I absolutely loved reading your comments. I really appreciate your enthusiasm for my story! Also, for this story there won't be any pairings, aside fromLizzyxCiel due to their adorable little engagement, so I thought I'd make Ciel and Alois friends. Since this is chapter seven you can already tell that the tension is gonna get heavier and the action is gonna heat up since the ending is coming near. Hang in there!
UPDATE: So sorry! I realised today for some reason chapter 7 was chapter 2! Fixed it!
Warnings:Once again, slight swearing.
DISCLAIMER:I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji in any way, shape or form.
The townhouse was alive with movement as we arrived, the shadows of servants passing by windows illuminated by the fires lit in the rooms. The carriage door was opened as I stood, a hand-held out to help me out. "I don't need your assistance Sebastian." I growled, swatting his hand away. I don't need to be escorted out like a lady, and hopefully I won't ever have too like I had to for that blasted ball at the Viscount Druitt's manor. I shuddered at the memories of that ball.
My boots crunched against the cobblestone as I bounded my way to the steps, crunching turned into a soft clicking as the terrain I walked on changed from cobblestone to smooth marble. I sighed as I stepped into the warmth of my townhouse, the grips of the November winds finally releasing their grasp as the warmth scared it away. A light click clack sounded behind me, the thin heels of my guest's boots made such a light noise as he moved lightly on his feet. Sebastian kneeled before me, untying my winter cloak I decided to put on before entering the carriage, and took my top hat before disappearing to put said objects away. The fire crackled and left a dull orange glow trailing up the floor, the shadows of the living room furniture stretching out towards the edge of the glow.
"Young master, it's a fairly late hour, would you like to retire for the night or would you care to spend some time in your study?" Sebastian followed behind me silently. I agreed to retire for the night, I was still exhausted from the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before. As I turned to announce my departure to Alois, like any host would, I discovered that he and his butler had already fled the room without my knowledge. Perhaps that was the reason they were given the name The Queens Spiders, they could be as silent as one would be.
The master bedroom was warmed with a fire, which was currently being fed more wood by Sebastian while I sat on the edge of my bed sipping at a cup of Earl Grey. "This case is certainly an odd one indeed Sebastian. After I have fallen asleep, I order you to check the manor grounds thoroughly for any trace of an angel or any other being that wasn't scheduled to be here." He stood and bowed, eyes changing to their demonic colour as he agreed. Son after he was preparing me for bed, unlacing my boots, rolling off stocking and so on until I was dressed in my night-shirt and ready to crawl under the covers of my bed. The sheets were cool, giving a soothing feeling as the air outside of them was warm. I let my eyes close, seeing Sebastian turn to leave the room before letting sleep pull me into its grasp.
The light from the moon spilled in through a crack in the drapes, dusting the room in its soft pearl glow. I opened my eyes slowly, seeing the white sheets turn a slight shade of purple from the light my contract mark gave off. The light wasn't what woke me though, I wasn't sure what did. The moon hung high in the sky, signalling that the hour was close to midnight, maybe even passed. I must've been asleep for only a couple of hours, so what disturbed my sleep enough to bring me back into consciousness? It took me a few minutes to finally get the sleep out of my system and recognize the muffled noise of music creep throughout the manor, under the door frames and through the floorboards. The sound was chilling, the sound of piano notes being struck so gracefully and piercing the silence that I had grown accustomed to. Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and planted my feet on the now cold floor beneath me. The fire had died out, only sputtering a spark every so often. Sebastian was still out checking for any pests so no one was present to feed the flames, eventually leading to it being reduced to just smoke. I made my way through the hallways, a hand against the wall at all times as I searched for the source of the melody that glided through the air. The moon lit up the hallway, leaving my path visible for me to make my way through with no injury. At the end of the hallway, light seeped out from underneath a door. It wasn't a bright light, but more like a subtle glow that a dwindling candle flame produced. The notes seemed to get louder the closer I got to the door, and finally became clear and clearer as I opened the door slightly to see who was playing piano at this ungodly hour. Sat at the bench, dressed in just a simple night-gown, was none other than Alois. Fingers moved quickly over the polished keys, a sad melody coming from the instrument as a result. Listening closely, I could hear a quiet humming to go along with the tune. I crept into the room as quietly as I could, standing by the door as I watched. He had his back turned to me so unless I made a noise he would have no idea I was in here. Eventually the humming stopped and the song was halted as he just started repeating the same line over and over. I walked closer and off to his side only to see him glancing at the keys but he wasn't actually looking at them. My eyebrows grew closer together as I looked closer to see exactly what he was, or rather wasn't, doing. He looked dazed, completely still aside from the fingers still pushing at the same four notes once again.
"Alois?" I tried to say it as quietly as i could, but he slammed down on the keys slightly before jumping up off of the seat, succeeding in knocking it over in the process. The noise the seat made as it collided with the floor only startled him more, managing to get him to jump again before he finally snapped a glare up at me.
"Don't sneak up on me! If Claude was here then you would've gotten attacked." He was breathing heavily, most likely trying to calm his heart rate. I only quirked an eyebrow in response.
"I never snuck up on you Trancy, I merely approached you. You're the one who decided to freak out when you finally acknowledged my presence." I huffed, crossing my arms and putting a stern expression onto my face. "Don't get angry at me, I wasn't the one playing piano in the middle of the night."
"I couldn't sleep, this case is driving me crazy with paranoia. I got up to find Claude, but the candle I held went out so I ran in here to get away from the dark. I figured since Claude hadn't returned, and since there was no way you would ever get me to go in that corridor while it was pitch black, I'd entertain myself. I didn't know you had a piano, I thought you only knew how to play the violin horribly. Who knows how badly you are on such an instrument like this." He started laughing, a haunting sound. Even his laugh sounded malicious, Alois in general is enough to send chills down my spine at times.
"Shut up Trancy. It's only expected that a noble such as myself would possess a piano for formal events. I'm rather surprised you know how to play, considering the fact that you can barely read." I smirked at his expression, my comment didn't make him happy at all. He huffed and snapped the cover back over the keys, the deafening sound of wood slamming against wood caused me to jump slightly.
"I can, in fact, read, thank you very much. I'm just slow considering the fact that I had little to no education when I was younger, if you wish to know." I just rolled my eyes and turned to leave the room, but a hand tugging on my sleeve stopped me.
"What ever could you want now?" I snapped, quickly turning to shoot an icy glare at him. He stared right back at me and mumbled something about leading him back to his room since he was afraid of going by himself in he dark. What's with him? Just a second ago he was furious at me, now he's begging for me to help him. His frequent mood swings would be enough to even aggravate Sebastian, who knows how Claude deals with it considering his patience is as thin as a hair none the less, I still grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him through the hallways and back to his room, muttering under my breath how childish this is. He still followed in silence, like a dog would follow its master. I laughed silently, Sebastian must be the dog in our contract. How ironic.
Nothing else happened after that, and before I knew it Sebastian was waking me up once again by opening those blasted curtains and filling the room with blinding light. "Not now Sebastian." I buried my head further into my pillow.
"Would my lord prefer I awaken him earlier then?" I could practically hear that damned smirk on his face. I'd give him such a tedious task as punishment for being just a general nuisance at times, but with him being a demon almost everything is as easy as blinking for him, it's infuriating. If I wasn't a noble I would tell him to piss off, but it's highly improper for an earl to swear and he would just tease me about it.
"Is breakfast ready Sebastian? I would like to eat as soon as I'm dressed so I have longer to think of my plan." He agreed with me, moving to my wardrobe to get my outfit as I sat up. Once my shirt was tucked into my trousers, he began to put on my stockings before starting conversation.
"Shall I stand with you in your study in case the angel appears my lord?" I nodded. He finished rolling up my stocking, fastening the garters in place, before moving to tying a ribbon around my neck.
"Of course, if you don't confirm that there's no angel, then Alois has convinced himself that he'll go crazy. I don't think you can get any crazier than he already is though." Sebastian let out a small chuckle, tying my eye-patch in place and placing my rings onto my hand. I stood and started for the door as he slipped my blazer onto my shoulders. My boots tapped against the polished wood of the floor as I walked to the dining hall. "Actually Sebastian, bring my chess board to the dining table. If Trancy shows up, I need to show him what I have planned." He bowed and retrieved the board, placing the stainless pieces in their proper spots before disappearing into the kitchen. Alois made an appearance only a few minutes later, taking his place on my right side of the table.
"Morning Ciel!" He chirped, wide smile plastered onto his face as he stretched his arms above his head, messing up the blonde hair that was already a mess atop his head. He looked down to the chess board, tilting his head. "What's this? Plan to play a game of chess this morning?"
I shook my head. "No Alois, you wished to see my plan so here you go. I have it all planned out." He just nodded, propping his elbow up on the table to rest his cheek against his fist. He watched intently as I moved each black piece, both white and black pieces starting to disappear the further into the plan I got. Eventually only a handful of black pieces remained, cornered by the opponent.
"Wait, Ciel, look- If you're the king, that means that you're going to lose. Unless…" His eyes widened as he figured out the only move we could make. Slowly, he reached his hand forward and grabbed the queen, slowly moving it across the board and right into the open to create an opening for the king. Finally, it dawned on me the move he just showed me. "The only way you could win, is if we made a queen's sacrifice."