AN: Hello, my lovely readers! I'm glad you're back! :D I really was so happy with all the reviews I got for the last chapter, as well as all you wonderful folks who favorited this or put it on story alerts! ^.^ I never thought people would really like this little fic.
On another note, I'm searching for a beta! :D Not just a beta to catch spelling or grammatical errors though, somebody who really isn't afraid to critique my writing and that sort of thing. If you or somebody you know might be interested in the job, let me know!
Oh, I'm also thinking that I'll be updating this story about every two weeks or so, probably on weekends, just so you know. I can't promise a rigid schedule though… life is a bit too demanding for something like that.
By the way, I've decided that "~X~X~X~X~X~X~" is how I'll signify a scene change.
So, without any further ado, I give you chapter 1 of the Solution! The one before this was the prologue… confusing, I know.
Disclaimers: I own Kuroshitsuji! In my dreams, anyways. Those are dreams I'm certainly not trying to find a solution to.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~
Ciel despised carriage rides. No matter how fine the coach, no matter how well-trained the horses, no matter how skilled the coachman, the rides were always excruciating. The carriage always ran over rocks and roots on the country roads, and terribly bumpy cobblestone roads when approaching London, the horses always smelled strongly of excrement and God-knows-what-else, and even the most well-cushioned of seats always made his behind quite sore after an hour of sitting in one. None of that even took into account the matter of boredom, either, something that plagued him constantly on such trips.
This carriage ride was particularly agonizing for young Ciel. As of late, he had taken to avoiding his butler as often as possible so as to avoid thinking of his unfortunate dreams. However, whilst traveling it was utterly unavoidable that he was to be stuck in the same small space as Sebastian for several hours. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but under the circumstances, Ciel was none too pleased. Sebastian, on his part, seemed to be picking up on that fact. Such a thing was bound to happen really, Ciel's scowl and complete silence would make even the dullest of folk wonder at his mood.
"Is something the matter, young master?" Sebastian inquired, eyes glimmering, his voice betraying nothing but curiosity. If he were indeed at all aware of what had his master on edge (something Ciel doubted), he gave no sign of it.
"Nothing other than the fact that I care for neither carriage rides nor the social season in general," Ciel responded dryly, his steely gaze fixed to the bit of velvet-covered cushion directly to the right of Sebastian's head. The carriage chose that moment to run over a particularly large pothole or something of the sort, and Ciel nearly flew out of his seat. He gritted his teeth in an almost barely noticeable manner, delicately shifting back to his previous position. Across from him, he heard Sebastian release a low chuckle of amusement, the sound of which was somehow reminiscent of the finest silk. Ciel's jaw clenched a bit tighter momentarily.
"Ah, but young master, such things are quite necessary for a noble of your status. Most people, especially those your age, would be quite excited at the prospect of staying in London to attend dances, dinners, and the like." Sebastian's voice was teasing, and his customary smirk contained just a tad more amusement than usual.
"You would do well to keep in mind that I am not most people, Sebastian," Ciel snapped. It was a useless warning, as he was certain they both knew exactly how different he was from the majority of humanity. Sebastian especially knew full well which buttons to push when it came to Ciel, and he knew exactly how hard he was allowed to push them. Ciel was certain that most of the joy in the demon's day-to-day life came merely from subtly provoking his master. The thought caused him to dig his perfectly manicured fingernails into the padded velvet beside him ever so slightly. Such barely noticeable mockery was merely a part of the game the two of them played, but it was only fun so long as Ciel was winning.
Sebastian leaned over and straightened a few of the young earl's clothes, which had been rumpled ever so slightly by the previous unwelcome jolt. Ciel concentrated all his will on preventing his body from reacting in any unwanted way.
"I know, young master," the demon murmured, eyes gleaming, "if that were the case, I would not be here at all, would I?"
~X~X~X~X~X~X~
It had been painfully obvious the very moment the carriage had entered London. Even being in the vicinity of the city caused everything to appear just a bit more gray and dark from the soot that constantly infested the air, and matters only worsened the closer one got. The sooty smoke was heavy stuff, and it outweighed regular air by a good bit, so it had a nasty tendency to roll down into the streets. It was always at its worst during the summer, too, and it didn't help that Ciel was never fond of that sort of environment in any way. In his opinion, it was beneath his dignity to be subjected to the foul darkening of the sky that industrialization had wrought upon the city.
In addition to that happy characteristic of England's capital, there was always the matter of the smell. The streets of London were by no means clean, and there was always something rotting in an alley nearby, no matter what part of town you were in. There was also the matter of the open sewer grates, which did little to stop the smell of the waste below them from reaching the noses of everyone who passed. In poorer parts of town, there even occasionally were open sewers, and Ciel could hardly bear it every time they passed by one. The carriage went by a market place with what must have been several street vendors, and Ciel noted that even though the scents that originated from such an area might have been pleasant enough on their own, when they mixed with of the smell of the soot and the stench that was ever-present as a part of London it somehow created something that was even worse than without the aroma of the food.
Ciel suspected that Sebastian secretly hated these aspects of London even more than he himself did, for from the time they even came within a mile of the place Ciel noticed that the demon's nose would wrinkle ever so slightly on occasion, and the smallest tinge of distaste would enter Sebastian's eyes. Such things were also quite a bit more likely to occur when a breeze rolled in from the city's direction. These reactions also supported yet another theory Ciel had about his butler; he believed that Sebastian's senses were far more adept than any human's ever would be. Such a thing was only practical, of course, why on earth would a demon have senses as inferior as a human's? There was no feasible reason. Still, it gave Ciel a hint of sadistic pleasure every time he thought of the possibility that Sebastian suffered from these unpleasant smells of London far more than he.
Ciel was jolted from his thoughts as the carriage came to a halt. He was quite certain that this was not where they where meant to stop. He had not seen half of the landmarks they usually passed by. The perplexed young earl scooted closer to the window of his carriage, peering out and narrowing his eyes in annoyance at what he saw.
"Sebastian."
"Yes, young master?"
"I was under the impression that I owned an estate in London. Has that changed?"
"No, young master, I believe that is still the case."
"Then why," Ciel snarled, his gaze more icy than winter itself, "Have we stopped in front of a decrepit hotel such as this?" The adolescent fixed his penetrating view directly on Sebastian, but the demon appeared to be utterly unfazed in the most irritating of ways.
"You see, young master," Sebastian elaborated with a slight sigh of exasperation, "I received a letter from Sohma and Agni this morning. They reside in the London house for most of the year, as I'm sure you are aware. It seems that somehow or another, there was something of a... mishap late last night, and the house itself is in no state for anyone to stay in. Therefore, I took the liberty of arranging for accommodation at this," Sebastian glanced at the hideous aged grayish building, "establishment. I'm afraid no hotels that are more prestigious were available." Sebastian had a slightly apologetic expression, and if it were in his nature, Ciel was sure he would have shrugged. Regardless, Ciel was not at all pleased with the butler.
"What mishap, Sebastian? Might I remind you that this is my house we are discussing?" The boy's tone had only grown more frigid, if that were possible, and his visible eye was chilled to match.
Sebastian grimaced ever so slightly, as though he were hoping not to have to answer that question. He drummed his spindly, elegant fingers against his knee absently.
"I'm afraid that Sohma had decided to try his hand at cooking, unsupervised. I got the impression from the letter that he had, perhaps, picked up most of his cooking skills from what he overheard from Bard whilst staying at the young master's primary residence. The letter also mentioned that he might have doubled the amount of gunpowder in the original recipe, to try to give the dish a bit more... kick, I believe he called it. Needless to say, the outcome was rather dramatic."
Ciel wasn't sure whether to be more dismayed at the destruction of his townhouse or at the fact that Bard's recipes evidently contained gunpowder. He decided he was going to have a talk with the "cook" about that upon returning. Perhaps he should have Sebastian do it though; the demon was quite skilled at intimidating others, and it was a task more appropriate for his station, after all. Yes, he would have Sebastian do it.
"If that is the case, I suppose it can't be helped," Ciel admitted, though he was still sure it was Sebastian's fault somehow. He always seemed to be getting under Ciel's skin any way that he could. "We might as well get on with it then. Fetch my luggage and we shall go and stay at this...abode."
It was settled. Clearly, there was no helping the situation, and while it almost felt as though he was giving in to Sebastian, Ciel could see the ebony haired man (if he could be called that) was hardly pleased himself with what they had been forced to resort to.
The carriage driver opened the door for Ciel at the boy's carelessly smooth gesture, and he daintily took a few steps on the filthy ground before him, giving it a look that suggested it had grievously insulted his mother. Sebastian was quick to follow him, a few paces behind, of course, before momentarily stepping in front to pull open the door for his master. Ciel stepped in, willing himself not to glance at the deep red eyes that constantly tracked his every move. It was more easily said than done.
Upon entering, he gave the room a once-over, and found himself rather pleasantly surprised. The hotel appeared to be quite a bit more respectable from the inside than from the outside. It sported a safe, homey feel and an aroma of wood, ale, and warmth. Everything was quite clean, and though little light shone through the rather grimy windows, there were several gas lamps throughout the room that shone with an orangish, comforting glow. Overall, it was better than he was expecting considering the exterior of the building. Ciel strode up to a dark wooden counter that was had a couple of scuffs on it, waiting for the man behind it to notice him.
The older fellow took a few moments before glancing up, and he looked quite surprised to see anyone there.
"Oh! Scuse me! I didn't s'pect a customer, we been gettin so few of 'em! You are 'ere t' rent a room, aren't you?" The man spoke in a raspy voice with a thick Cockney accent. He had a grizzled look about him, and when he smiled it was clear to see he had lost a few of his teeth over the years. Something about him didn't seem quite genuine, and Ciel regarded him warily.
"Yes, I am. You do have rooms free, I presume?"
"Rooms? 'Ell, the 'ole building's unoccupied, if you'll pardon m'language. I just bought up this 'ere business, and so far it 'asn't been going so well fer me. But yea, you can rent any room you damn well want to."
Ciel attempted to resist the urge to sneer at how crass the man was, but he wasn't entirely sure he kept the expression from showing in some way.
"Yes, I suppose I would like to rent a room. Two, in fact," he added, glancing at Sebastian. He certainly did not want Sebastian in the same room as he when he slept, for many reasons. One, however, was a bit more influential than the rest.
"Two? 'Course, 'course! Tha'll be 'bout five shillins per room if you don't mind. Thas jus for one nigh', though, if yer gunna stay fer more, you can pay when you do."
Ciel nodded to Sebastian, who proceeded to pull out a small bag that was fat with money. He handed the man the exact amount, the slight smile that eternally mocked those around him present on his face, as usual. The old man grinned again, revealing even more of his decrepit mouth.
"Well thas jus great, then! 'Ere, lemme call m' granddaughter, she'll show you around. Jill! Jill, c'mere love! We got a couple customers!" He sprayed saliva all over the desk as he shouted, and Ciel didn't even bother attempting to veil his disgust this time. Sebastian appeared equally displeased with the display, but the corners of his mouth remained tilted up nonetheless. Ciel felt a sudden desire to somehow rip that hideously artificial expression from the demon's face, but he had no idea how, and now probably wasn't the time to attempt to do so.
It wasn't long before a girl of about sixteen or seventeen appeared from a doorway that presumably led to a hall. She would have probably been extremely pretty, but the body draped in the drab brown dress she wore was so gaunt, she more resembled a skeleton than anything else, and her ebony hair didn't appear to have been washed for quite some time. The way she held herself did not suggest that she was even aware of her shortcomings in terms of appearance; in fact, she leaned on her hip in a manner much like she considered herself the most desirable woman in all of England. Her dress was shockingly low-cut as well, not that there was much to reveal, anyway. Her eyes held a glint to them that seemed quite confident and manipulative, and yet somehow entirely desperate.
"Take these 'ere gentleman to rooms one an' two, love. They'll be staying for a li'le while."
Jill's eyes traced the bodies of the two, lingering especially long on Sebastian before turning back to her grandfather and smiling.
"'Course, Grandpa," here she looked back at Ciel and Sebastian to address them, "Right this way then."
With that, they were off. The pace was annoyingly slow though, mostly due to the fact that Jill was barely even leading the way. She was lagging at a rate that placed her almost directly beside Ciel and Sebastian, and anyone who could see her rake her gaze along Sebastian's body would realize why. She suddenly came to a stop, and with a sultry smile directed at the butler announced,
"This is rooms one and two, then. Rather silly of 'ooever made the place to put 'em at the back 'o the building, don't you think?"
"Very foolish, indeed," Ciel hissed, responding for the demon. He was getting more and more fed up with the girl's antics by the second. Her whorish behavior was disgustingly inappropriate, and he would not put up with it. The black haired girl turned to him and blinked, as though she had forgotten he was there.
"Y-yea, thas wut I think, anyhow. But...here you are anyway. Well," she turned back to Sebastian and curtsied in a manner that provided a very generous view down her bodice, "Jus' call if you need anything. I'll be off, then." She smiled and nodded once more before walking down the hall, presumably back to wherever she had been before being called by the man at the entrance. Every stride the girl took was clearly aimed to add as much seductive sway to the movement of her bony hips as possible, but Ciel decided it made her look like more of a duck than anything else. Soon she turned round a corner, and Ciel took the opportunity to mutter to Sebastian,
"The way she acts, you would think she would be found in an alley somewhere as opposed to a hotel." Ciel's voice had more than a hint of venom to it, and Sebastian raised an eyebrow at his tone.
"Young master, you do seem to abhor the girl to rather strong degree. Is there any particular reason?" If Ciel were anything less than what he was, he would have sputtered. As it was though, he was the Earl of Phantomhive, and he was above such inane reactions.
"Don't be daft, Sebastian. I don't dislike her any more than I would any other person who so disgustingly failed in her attempt to carry out her ridiculously simple post." Ciel's tone had grown even more spiteful, if it were possible, and his visible blue orb conveyed the same message.
Sebastian seemed slightly amused.
"With all due respect, she did carry out her task, young master. For that matter, many of the servants at the young master's abode fail to do just that on a regular basis, yet I have never seen you become quite as agitated when they do so as you are now." Sebastian's voice was prying, inquisitive. He appeared to be genuinely interested in his master's violent reaction toward the girl. Ciel took note of this and decided it was high time for a change of subject.
"It is just as I said, nothing more. I don't know why you think it is even appropriate to be discussing such things with me when you have not even begun to get my belongings in order." Ciel's voice was firm, final, and it was clear to anyone what the underlying command was. Sebastian blinked, then bowed.
"You are right. I shall take care of it immediately. After all," the corners of the demon's mouth pointed skyward once more, a little bit more than usual, "we can always discuss this later." Ciel was about to reprimand him and let him know that no such thing would be occurring any time soon, but the butler had already set himself to work, pulling open the door and arranging all of Ciel's things into the appropriate drawers of the rather plain dresser the hotel had so generously provided. The boy absentmindedly watched Sebastian as he worked, folding all of Ciel's embarrassingly small clothes neatly as he set them away.
As he observed Sebastian, he couldn't help but think over the question the demon had asked him, but he found he didn't really know the answer himself.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~
The carriage ride had taken almost all day, so by the time the two had arrived at the hotel, there had been very few hours of daylight left. Those hours quickly passed full of paperwork, and frustration with a certain butler. There was dinner as well, but that consisted of foods bought from a few local stores, as they did not have any sort of kitchen in the hotel room. Ciel hadn't realized how accustomed he was to Sebastian's expert cooking until he was attempting to choke down a half-scorched meat pie with as much dignity as he could muster. Despite this, he had soon found himself covered in grease and crumbs, much to Sebastian's amusement, he was sure. He had done his best to clean himself off, but his pathetic attempts were soon interrupted by a certain butler with a condescending smirk attacking his face with a handkerchief. After the rather traumatic experience, Ciel opted out of eating whatever kind of desert Sebastian could manage to find around here.
It wasn't long after that when Sebastian decided to inform him of the hour.
"Young master, it is time for you to sleep. The first of many social visits you must attend is tomorrow, and if you are to get enough sleep for such a thing I'm afraid you must go to bed now." Though the words Sebastian spoke were perfectly acceptable and really sounded a tad submissive, Ciel noted that the demon's gaze was direct, unwavering, and firm.
Ciel glanced through the window. There was still a tinge of reddish light visible on the horizon. It couldn't possibly have been long since eight o'clock.
"Sebastian, it is far too early for bed. It can't be very late at all; the sun has just barely set." Ciel shot the demon an irritated look. It was quite unlike Sebastian to deter from whatever schedule the demon had decided on, and Ciel didn't appreciate the abnormality in behavior one bit.
Sebastian tilted his head ever so slightly to the side in a manner that seemed almost coy.
"On the contrary, young master, I think it best that you start to retire a bit earlier than you have been. As of late, I have noticed that you have not been looking quite as well rested as you should be, and I believe a bit more sleep might be beneficial to you and your health."
Ciel tensed. Sebastian had been noticing that he hadn't been getting properly rested? That added a whole new aspect to the issue Ciel had been dealing with for the past month. If the butler knew that Ciel wasn't sleeping well, how long would it be before he tried finding out the cause of the problem himself?
"Perhaps you're right, Sebastian. I suppose now is as good a time to go to bed as any." It almost physically hurt Ciel to let the butler have his way. However, he could not allow Sebastian to continue to worry about the quality of Ciel's sleep. It could lead to disastrous consequences.
Sebastian nodded, apparently pleased.
"That may be a wise decision, young master." With that, the butler strode over to the dresser in the corner of the room, pulled out one of the drawers, and picked up Ciel's nightgown from inside. It seemed as though Sebastian had already memorized where everything was kept. If asked about it, the he would probably make some sort of "hell of a butler" related comment.
Sebastian approached Ciel once more, and nodded at him.
"If you would stand, young master, so that I might be able to dress you in your night clothes." Ciel stood, albeit reluctantly, taking a few moments longer to do so than was strictly necessary. He was truly growing to dread the small portions of the day in which Sebastian dressed and undressed him. He would have to find some way out of the ritual rather soon.
The moment the young earl's back was straightened, long cloth-covered fingers were slipping off the ribbon around his neck and releasing the small round buttons from their buttonholes. Within less than a minute, Ciel was completely nude before the demon. Just as quickly though, Sebastian was dressing him once more, this time in pale, thinner, rather shapeless fabric. Ciel kept his eyes trained on the wall behind Sebastian. He couldn't bear to make any eye contact with Sebastian when he wasn't fully clothed. God knew what would happen if he stared into those fiery eyes that haunted him so.
Sebastian finished dressing the boy, and he stood up straight once more. Ciel was hit with the bitter reminder of his height as he stared up about a foot to look at the demon. Sebastian was smiling, as always, and Ciel found himself more furious with the demon for the expression than he ever had been. The butler stared down at Ciel with blazing yet somehow uncaring eyes for what seemed like eternity, but was in reality probably no more than half of a second. The adolescent turned away, and climbed into the hotel's excuse for a bed, listening with slight annoyance to the springs of the mattress squeal in protest. He pulled the sheets over himself, ever conscious of the demon's gaze that never seemed to leave him. Once the boy was visibly settled into bed, Sebastian walked over and picked up the gas lamp lighting the room from Ciel's bedside.
"Goodnight, young master," bid the butler, bowing. Ciel remained silent. Sebastian pulled open the door to the room and left, taking the gas lamp with him. It was not until Ciel heard the demon's steps quiet as Sebastian presumably walked into his own room that the boy spoke.
"Goodnight, Sebastian," he murmured under his breath.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~
AN: Hi again! Sorry, I feel like this chapter was a rather boring. I tried adding in a bit of entertainment here and there, but I think this was more of a necessary transition than anything else. Anyways, please review! I read and reply to every review I get that isn't anonymous, and I would reply to those as well if I could. Reviews really inspire me to write every time I get one. :D