WELCOME BACK LONG TIME FOLLOWERS AND KONICHIWA NEW READERS
SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT...I KINDA JUST DIDNT WANT TO WRITE ANYTHING X.X
THANKS FOR ALL THE GET WELL MESSAGES :)
SORRY ITS SHORT BUT HERES THE NEXT CHAPTER...AND I THINK IVE GOT ONE OR TWO MORE AFTER THIS TO TELL THE TRUTH
ANYWAYS ENJOY R&R
"Bad luck" Ceil snorted as Sebastian removed the glass immediately and replaced the cracked glass with a shinning new one.
"Yes" the Chinese man responded leaning back against his whicker seat "The cracking of a cup symbolizes bad luck, an ill omen if you will. It means that something bad is going to happen usually in an upcoming event" he said peering at the earl from over his sky blue fan.
"Ah so one of your eastern superstitions" he sighed taking the tea cup into his hands and rolled it back and forth sucking the warmth from the glass. "I do not believe in such things" he closed his eyes calmly as he brought the cup to his lips ending the conversation.
"Do you have a lot of superstitions in your country Mr. Lau?" Elizabeth asked looking at the Asian man.
"Yes many. But it's not like my country is the only one that has them" he smiled at her "Your country also has some if I am correct"
"Oh yes of course we do" the blonde smiled "Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder. Seven years bad luck to break a mirror Unlucky to see one magpie. Unlucky to spill salt. Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors. The number thirteen is unlucky. Unlucky to put new shoes on the table. Unlucky topass someone on the stairs." She ticked off each one of her small gloved fingers "and that's all I can remember right now" she said placing her hands back in her lap. "But we also have some good luck ones.
"Ah so do we don't we Ran Mou" he looked at the women who nodded yes in silence.
"Oh do tell" Elizabeth said excitedly and the man chuckled.
"Ah yes..let's see..that is a very difficult tasks for there are not that many superstitions that are what you would call good luck. It's more like our bad luck ones tell us what not to do so that we avoid bad luck"
"Oh…but can't that become rather confusing then" she said tilting her head to the side
"Why yes…it is quite possible for that to happen" he smiled
"I would still like to hear some though" she said placing her hands upon the glass table
"Well…Hitting a person with a broom will bring bad luck to the hitter himself and thus ruining his own life. One should be clean shaved or if sporting a moustache, it should be well trimmed. Breaking this norm brings bad luck. If a dog howls at late night, someone has died somewhere. Building a house facing the north rings bad luck and ruin according to another Chinese belief. Crying of a baby for no specific reason indicates the presence of ghosts around the house and that the baby is disturbed and scared by them. Dreaming of teeth or snow indicated the death of that person's parents. Clipping of toe nails or finger nails at night invites ghosts to the house." He finished only realizing that every one of them was staring at him. "What?"
"Those are strange. Very strange" Ceil stated flatly his cup still being nursed inside of his hands.
"Well, what about you young earl" he said smiling as Sebastian laid out the plates for the afternoon meal "Do tell me some of your countries as well"
"Fine" he sighed setting the cup down "Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luck greetings cards and birthday cards in England. Lucky to touch wood. We touch; knock on wood, to make something come true. Lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves. White heather is lucky. A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horseshoe if it is upside down. Horseshoes are generally a sign of good luck and feature on many good luck cards. On the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbits white rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day. Catch falling leaves in autumn and you will have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky month next year. Cut your hair when the moon is waxing and you will have good luck. Putting money in the pocket of new clothes brings good luck." He breathed out a sigh looking up at the Asian man as Elizabeth clapped in awe.
"Oh Ceil you are so smart. You know so much" she chirped and the Chinese man raised his eyebrows in amusment.
"Yes quite knowledgeable" he smiled
"OF COURSE CIEL IS SMART!" came a loud voice and the English earl groaned in horror while his butler grabbed one more chair a slight smile of amusement settling on his features. Coming through the garden gate in Indian garb strode Prince Soma, his ever present butler Agni at his heals."What are all of you talking about? Huh? Tell me!" he demanded sitting down as Agni went to assist the black butler.
"We are talking about Superstitions" Elizabeth said giddily as she recognized the prince from a previous encounter "Does your country also have some?"
"Have superstitions! Of course we do!" jumping to his feet his fist clenched in determination "We have many superstitions! For my country is bountiful! AGNI!"
"Yes my prince?" Agni stepped forward with a bow
"List of some of our wonderful countries superstitions for Ceils fiancée!"
"Yes my prince" with a bow the white haired man cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back "No moon day is inauspicious, Right eye twitching is good for men, left eye twitching is good for women. Never sleep with your head facing north or west, cawing of crow or itching of right palm indicates arrival of guests, Never wash the front courtyard immediately after someone leaves the house, If there is itching on the right palm (left for female) you can get some money or favors, Unusual winking of eyes is a symptom of ill, luck or decease, Going below the ladder is jinx, Never cross or jump across the worshiped pumpkins or coconuts on the road. During house warming ceremony, the milk is heated in a vessel in such a way that it will overflow towards east direction, If you see cat giving birth, then it brings the good luck Open the front door during dusk, so that Lakshmi (fortune) enters the house Never sweep the house during night time or Lakshmi (fortune) will not enter your house."
"Enough Agni" Soma said proudly and his butler bowed going back to assist Sebastian. "See? We have a large amount and that wasn't even all of them!" he plopped down pushing his violet colored hair over his shoulder with a chuckle as food was placed in front of them. At this the guests of the Phantomhive household began to eat the afternoon meal with appropriate gusto.
However the earl sat quietly pondering something, something felt off. His blue eye scanned the scene around him; green grass surrounded the warm shaded patio. Birds were chirping in the distance and there were no explosions or yells signifying that his servants were destroying anything around the mansion. The food was delicious and the tea was hot, everything seemed in order. He watched as his fiancée chatted gaily with the two men also seated at the table. His partner in under hand business and Indian prince who seemed practically hell bent on becoming his friend. 'Wait just a second' it hit him "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING AT MY HOUSE!"…...
"N-" protests were killed in horror 'what the hell' her mind could barley process the situation as the red headed boy pressed his mouth to hers.
BANG! If possible her eyes widened despite the bright sun as dirt crashed onto the pair of them.
"Dammit!" Carter yelled his small arms flying up to cover his face like makeshift shields. He looked around for the cause of the disruption. Yet the trained assassin found the source of the problem before the small child did. Inside a pocket of dirt and grass shined a bullet. Someone had shot at them.
"Forgive me My liege but it seems as if our picnic must come to an abrupt ending" Deane appeared behind them and before either of the humans could protest they were yanked from the ground , the only thing holding them against gravity was a pair of lean arms. Then it seemed as if they were flying, the demon butler took off at a run as bullets rang and screamed through the air missing their target as the man dressed in finery dodged to and fro.
"Deane what is going on!" Carter shrieked grabbing onto the butlers arm for dear life.
"Forgive me but it seems as if we are under attack my liege." He apologized as he leapt up into the trees. The boy shrieked as he leapt into the trees. "I will take you too back to the manor and go back to deal with the problem." He announced and looked down at the red headed woman dangling beneath his other arm. "It also seems that the drug was not as potent as I had originally intended. It seems that she will be regaining mobility a lot sooner than I had intended. Possibly by the time we get back to the manor she shall be mobile" he dropped to the forest floor the branch he had been on shattering via bullet impact.
"Asshole" Meylene suddenly grunted as she watched the ground. The sun warmed her back with a constant build in heat as the wind whipped around her face. Deane was right, she was once again beginning to gain feeling and mobility of her limbs 'for the first time in my life I am glad to be under attack. Who knows what might have happened if these assassins hadn't attacked when they did' flexing her fingers her mind snapped into attention 'this could be my chance to escape from this crazy place' "shit" she winced in pain as she hit stone floor. Being so immersed in her thoughts to notice that they had made it back to the manor
"Stay here my young master" Deane smiled and turned his eyes training on the maid "Forgive me but you might do something once you can move. Pain shoot through her senses knocking her unconscious before she even hit the ground…..
"That meal was most annoying" was the complaint from the Phantomhive earl as his slim body settled in the large office chair
"But you seemed to be enjoying yourself young master. That is the most energetic I have seen you in weeks" he commented quietly as he brought in the stack of mail for the day. "You had a couple more items arrive today while you were dinning" he lowered the silver tray to his masters level and the boy pulled the heavy envelopes to himself flipping through them in mild agitation.
"There is still no letter from the queen about the current case we are working on even though I have yet to turn in a letter of conclusion on the case"
"Maybe she assumes that you have it all under control due to the fact that the murders have come to a stop" he straightened his free arm coming to rest behind the middle of his back in proper stance. The Phantomhive boy broke open the seals of the letters with a golden letter opener his eyes skimming over the information presented to him.
"Are you procrastinating with me Sebastian" Ceil questioned in annoyance
"Whatever do you mean young master?"
"I expect that you have at least narrowed down the areas for the murderer's place of residence" he dropped the letters to the desk and rested his elbows on the wooden arm rests of the chair. He glared up at the man shadows crossing over his face sharpening his young features.
"Forgive me I will present the information now"…...
When consciousness once again came to the young maid the source of light had changed. The afternoon sun no longer beat down upon her but now she lay inside her bed the light from candles danced across the sheets. It had been hours since she had passed out and the darkness outside her stone prison showed this. Moving to sit up a cry of pain tumbled past her lips her hands flying to her temple 'oh yes that asshole Deane sent me a blow to the head to knock me out' she looked at her surroundings her eyes falling upon the door 'there is no doubt that the door is barred and locked. There is no doubt about it that I will be able to get out of her now, it seems as if my capture is no on high alert….footsteps!' Her attention narrowed down as footsteps echoed inside the walls growing in volume as they got closer. With a creak the door opened revealing a black butler dressed in shadows
"I take that you wish to bathe Ma'am"
"…yes"
"I suspected as much so I have prepared a hot bath for you downstairs. I am to escort you"
"Fine" she sighed getting to her feet and followed him down the curling stone staircase. The man left no opening for her to even try launching an attack. She looked around while they walked, there was not a sign that carter was in the vicinity at all.
"Where is Carter?"
"He has already retired for the night"
"oh" she responded quietly. Deane stopped outside the wooden door grasping the metal doorknob he twisted it opening the door steam unfurling from the room
"Here I will return momentarily with soaps and such" he bowed and she entered. The floor remained cold to the bottoms of her feet even though the water in the tub was steaming. She stopped at the tub and stood there only moving once the door had closed behind her and she was positive that she was alone….
"You'll be coming back soon young master right?" Finny asked as he and Bard loaded luggage into the back of the carriage.
"Yes" he nodded allowing Sebastian to assist him in through the doorway and into the dark vehicle. Night had fallen and the only light offered was from the moon and the stars that hung in the sky like ornaments on a Christmas tree.
"And you'll be b'inging back Meylene was well"
"Yes we shall now you two return to the house for the evening so that we can leave" Sebastian smiled as he shut the door behind the door and leapt up into the seat.
"A'ight" he sighed exhaling the smoke from his cigarette and pushed Finny ahead of him "Alright off to bed. Let's go" he ordered and he ushered the boy inside, closing the door behind them
"Sebastian lets go. I want to get this done and over with" came the impatient order from inside.
"Of course young master" the butler replied and snapped the reins over the flanks of the horses sending them off…...
With nimble fingers she reached around behind her grasping at strings and buttons to begin the process of releasing her body from the confinement of the heavy dress. Folds of clothing dropped like leaves off of branches letting them hit to the floor softly hissing. She snatched the pins that held her hair back up in a knot, drooping the pins to the top of the pile while stepping into the tub. The richness of the building was once again shown as she waded into the tub which allowed the water to curl up licking at her hips. Dropping down she dipped beneath the surface running her fingers through her hair.
"Much better" the sigh tumbled from her lips as she surface. Reaching over the edge of the tub she grabbed a half towel from the stack on the floor and perched herself on the side of the tub. Wringing the water from her hair she draped it over her shoulder humming. Holding the towel up she covered her breasts with the towel that fell down to barely kiss her hips. 'warm and comfortable and the promise of soaps and such on the way….now if I wasn't a prisoner than this wouldn't be half bad' once again she began to hum to herself. Kicking her feet gently she watched the ripples of the water bounced around the tub like rabbits in the early morning.
It was the shattering of glass that woke her and her head flung up to see Deane standing in the doorway, shock scrawled across his face like the words of a letter. A silver tray with glass bottles and cups oozing soaps and shampoos leaked across the floor. Instinctively she clutched the towel making sure she was covered.
"Don't you knock!" she snapped "How dare you walk in on a lady in the bath!" she inhaled to scream at him but her voice died in her throat as she the situation pieced itself together like a puzzle in her mind as he stared at the naked skin of her upper thigh. She knew why he was shocked, in the last month or so men had broken into the bathroom on more than one occasion yet every time she had been covered breast to almost her knees, covered, hidden. That was until now, and now black eyes were fixated in surprise and almost disbelief. The butlers attention darted upwards as he spoke.
"That is it isn't it."
"…"
"That's what I thought. That's a seal, the seal of a demon contract"
BIBLIOGRAPHY (SO SOMEBODY DOSENT THROW A FIT)
"British Superstitions." Woodlands Junior School, Tonbridge, Kent UK. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. .
"Superstitions in India." The Nirmukta Freethought Community. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. /Thread-Superstitions-in-India.
Wackx, Honey B. "Some Common Chinese Superstitions." Wish Good Luck. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. /superstitions/ms/chinese-superstitions/.