Author's notes: I know I only uploaded the first chapter yesterday, but I couldn't wait to write this next one! I know I haven't received any reviews yet but I couldn't resist! The pace is still a bit slow, but I promise it'll be worth it! More Sebaciel in this one and the mystery person meets Ciel!
Warnings: Sebaciel implied, points to events from the manga so I apologise for anime fans who haven't read it! Will get more gory and sweary in later chapters
That Butler, Reporting
Ciel sighed in agitation, laying the paperwork down on his desk. Two explosions in one morning? He really wasn't sure why he kept those three around sometimes. Ciel frowned,
'And just what is Sebastian doing whilst those three run amok?' As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in" he stated, watching as the door opened and Sebastian walked. Ciel blinked in confusion when he noticed another person following the butler. He couldn't see them properly as they were obscured by Sebastian. Sebastian dipped into a small bow,
"Apologies for the intrusion, my lord" he said. "We have a person who requests a position here. She has already shown some… skill" he was careful to keep the disbelief from his voice. "However, I thought it prudent that you meet her before she is set any tasks"
Ciel scowled,
"You're hiring new servants without my knowledge now? We need competent staff not just more of the same-" Sebastian held up a hand,
"With all due respect sir, this person managed to fix all this morning's damage as well as I could and in just as quick a time" he countered, glancing back at the quiet figure still obscured behind him. Ciel started and looked surprised. Then his expression grew solemn,
'As fast and as skilled as a demon? Does that mean she's…' Sebastian broke his train of thought,
"At any rate, Young Master, it would be beneficial to have more skilled staff. Who knows" his trademark smirk came back "She may prove… interesting". As he said this he moved aside to allow the quiet figure to move forward, whilst Ciel was still in the middle of scrutinising his butler's words,
"What do you mean- huh?!" Ciel gaped at the figure. The woman was young, maybe eighteen at most, with extremely pale skin, long auburn hair and blue eyes. She was slender, her body hadn't developed curves yet and her black uniform contrasting harshly against the white skin. But her eyes, they seemed to suck the young earl into them.
'They're just like…'
He stared openly and then, finding his voice again, glared darkly "Sebastian, is this some kind of sick joke?"
Sebastian looked confused at the young earl's sudden rage,
"My lord?" he watched as Ciel quickly rose from his chair and hurried to the door to his private chambers, "M-my lord, where are you going?" He winced as the door slammed.
Sebastian stared at the closed door, his face becoming flat and emotionless to mask his true feelings.
"Um…" came the quiet voice from next to him. Sebastian remembered where he was and quickly put on a cheerful smile,
"I apologise. The Young Master has been under a lot of stress recently. Please do not think badly of him" he smoothly recovered. The girl waved slightly, looking embarrassed,
"O-oh no! Of course not. But… just then, he seemed so upset when he saw me" the girl mused, looking down. She jumped when she felt a hand under her chin, lifting it. She gazed up into the face smiling warmly at her,
'S-so close!' she blushed slightly at the proximity and looked to the side. Sebastian smirked to himself at this reaction,
"Please, do not fret. The Young Master is… difficult to understand. He has been through a lot in his young life and it sometimes causes him to act out in strange ways". He beamed as he finished saying this, purposefully stroking the soft skin of the girl's jaw. The girl gulped,
"O-oh, I… I see. Then… perhaps I should wait downstairs, whilst you speak with him" the girl's voice sounded weak. Sebastian grinned,
"That sounds like a good idea. Well then, if you'll excuse me" he ushered the girl out and towards the back stairs that led to the kitchen. He watched her go.
'With a reaction like that, she's either a very good actress or a normal human after all' He mulled this over before his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of something soft, like a pillow, being punched repeatedly in the next room. He turned and faced the door the earl has stormed through.
Ciel was viciously hitting a cushion when he heard the knocking; he ground his teeth,
"I bet you think this is hilarious, don't you you damn demon!" he spat the last two words with more venom, punctuated with two harder hits. His glare intensified as Sebastian entered. "Just what sort of sick game are you trying to play here?" Sebastian took in the angry countenance of the young earl, who practically vibrated with rage, and sighed,
"My Lord, I do not understand what has made you so angry about this girl. She was simply looking for work" he stated, trying to bring Ciel back to being rational. The cushion was thrown his way as a response; he caught it deftly and continued watching the young earl's movements. The boy sat on the edge of his bed,
"Are you kidding me?" he murmured, head bowed into his hands and gripping his navy locks. Sebastian looked confused,
"My Lord…?"
Ciel started shaking slightly,
"It's those eyes…" he bit his sleeve for a moment to regain some composure and glanced at a photo on the mantelpiece. It was obscured by toys and books, but it shone out to Ciel now. A photo of his deceased parents. "Those eyes… there just like… my mother's"
Sebastian stared in disbelief at the young earl. He went to move closer,
"Young Master…" Ciel raised his hand, silencing the demon.
"I know, it seems… illogical. But it's not just her eyes. Her hair, her skin, it all reminds me of… her" he finished lamely. He stared down, staring into empty space, before recollecting himself and sighing. He turned to his butler, the usual prideful expression back in its place,
"You said she managed to fix everything as quickly and as well as you. Does this mean she's like you?" his serious tone designed to erase the weakness he had just shown in front of his demon. Sebastian almost felt like laughing at this but kept it from showing. He smirked at the insinuation,
"She is not one hell of a servant, if that's what you're asking, my lord" he heard the tut from the earl and smirked wider. "However it is safe to say she isn't normal. With Undertaker still at large and other unknown enemies out there, I thought it prudent to keep this one where I can see her" Ciel raised an eyebrow,
"You think she is a threat?" The butler shrugged slightly,
"I do not know what she is. But as the saying goes "Keep your friends close"" he suddenly approached the earl and leaned in close, their noses almost touching. He grinned at the shock on the earl's face, feeling the boy's cheeks heat up from embarrassment. He held Ciel's stare, allowing his breath to softly roll over the earl's cheeks until the boy finally gave in and looked away. He smirked at this small victory ""and your enemies closer"" he whispered huskily against the shell of Ciel's ear. He enjoyed the shiver that went through the boy. He stood up straight and gave an innocent smile. "I believe this will be the best course of action for now"
Ciel glared at the butler, fighting the redness from his cheeks.
"Very well. I'll allow this new girl to work here. Bring her in again"
The girl listened as footsteps approached; she looked up at the stairs in time to see Sebastian appear. She stood up,
"Has the Young Master made a decision?" she asked tentatively. Sebastian began to speak and then noticed the kitchen was rebuilt and sparkling.
"You've… kept busy, I see" he said, turning to the girl. She looked down sheepishly,
"I… I try to keep busy when I'm anxious. Otherwise I don't know what to do with myself! A-as they say "the devil makes work for idle hands" so I uh… I hope you don't mind" she looked down at the floor. Sebastian chuckled to himself at the choice of saying,
"Idle hands indeed. I doubt yours ever stopped, did they? In your last post, I mean" he beamed at the girl brightly.
"I'm afraid I've never worked in a stately home before" the girl replied. Sebastian frowned,
"But… didn't you say earlier that you were recently unemployed?" he noted the flash of fear in the girl's face.
"O-oh well that uh… no when I said that, I didn't mean I'd done work like this before!" the excuse was poor; Sebastian had guessed she would know this. He stared quietly as she fumbled for reasons,
'Well if she's an assassin, she made a poor job of making a history for her character. Unless this is her character and she wants me to suspect her? I'm still not sure what to make of her' He held up a hand to silence the girl,
"Well, no matter. The Young Master would like to speak with you now" he watched the girl pause in her excuses then look amazed.
"Really?" she replied, eyes widening. Sebastian smirked at her,
'Yes this will definitely be interesting'
Ciel heard the knock and called them in, this time prepared to see the girl. He felt his heart clench slightly despite this. She reminded him so much of his mother! And yet… there were one or two slight differences, just enough to make her not a carbon copy. He mulled over this; was it just a coincidence? If Sebastian said she could perform tasks as well as he but wasn't a demon then what was she?
"My lord?" a white gloved hand waved in front of his face. Ciel blinked then swatted the hand away, glaring at Sebastian before turning to the girl. He coughed quietly,
"I owe you an apology for my previous outburst. It's just that… you look very similar to someone I used to know" he started, tone serious. The girl raised her hands in dismay,
"Please do not apologise" Ciel shook his head at this and continued,
"My butler has told me that you're quite skilled and looking for employment, is this correct?" The girl lowered her hands, placing them together in front of her and nodded,
"Yes, Young Master" Ciel stared at the impassive face. There didn't seem to be any malicious intent in her expression. Ciel clenched his hand slightly; but he'd been tricked before. The Undertaker, a rogue Shinigami, who had deceived them all of his true intentions. A light bulb went in Ciel's mind and he stared harder at the girl.
'There is the possibility that she could be a Shinigami. Except… her eyes are blue, not green like theirs' Ciel realised he had been staring too long and covered the long pause with another cough,
"The work isn't easy. I demand absolute loyalty and my butler, Sebastian, ensures everything runs smoothly. Knowing this, you still wish to serve me?"
The girl's face showed no sign of lying and looked determined at the young earl,
"Yes, Young Master" Ciel observed this and nodded in approval.
"Very well, then I assign you to be housekeeper. You will work alongside Sebastian and perform all cleaning duties, supervising the other servants. If Sebastian is ever not available, you are to report to Tanaka, the house steward" he explained, watching her intently still. The new housekeeper curtsied low,
"I look forward to the challenge and appreciate the Young Master's kindness" she stated, standing up again and smiling at her now employer "Shall I go begin work now?" Ciel raised a hand,
"No need to rush. Rather, I'd prefer to know more about you" he smiled almost impishly.
'Let's see what story she comes up with'
"More about me?" the girl looked confused then looked down, lost in thought for a moment "What… would you like to know?" Ciel smiled again,
"Well, what is your name? I must know what to call you" he explained, enjoying the upper hand he had.
"I don't have one" she stated simply. Both Ciel and Sebastian looked confused,
"Eh?" they said in unison. The girl shrugged,
"I mean I… used to have one. A long time ago. In another lifetime you could say. But currently I… don't have one" the girl was purposefully being elusive and Ciel frowned at this development. She suddenly smiled, "Of course, Young Master, you could always give me a name"
Ciel started at this suggestion.
'Give her a name? It's almost like…'
A dank dark cellar. The tiered seating. The cage. The altar. The bloodied remains. The stench of blood and death everywhere. The clicking of those heels.
And that voice…
"What is it you desire?" The silky ethereal voice. His hands clenched the bars tightly as he reached out,
"I want… power!" he cried out. The demon smirked.
"My Lord?" the gloved hand waved in front of his face again, snapping out of his reverie. Ciel started, grabbing the hand and realised he was panting. As he remembered where he was, his gaze followed the hand he was grasping up to the face of its owner, who smirked back down. Ciel tutted and threw the demon's hand out of his own,
"Damn demon" he muttered quietly. He could feel Sebastian smirking.
"Uh… my Lord?" came the tentative voice and Ciel felt embarrassed, remembering they weren't alone.
"Forgive me, I was thinking" he smoothly recovered, smiling genially at the girl. He then became thoughtful "Your name…" he seemed to fighting an internal war before coming to a decision "it will be Rachel"
Rachel smiled and curtsied low.
"Yes, my Lord".
As they watched Rachel leave, with instructions to move any personal items into the room next to Meyrin's and relax until she was formally introduced tomorrow morning, Sebastian found himself frowning.
"My Lord, if I may ask, you were so perturbed at her similarity to your late mother. Do you believe naming her after the Lady is wise?" He noticed Ciel seemed deep in thought and waited patiently for an answer. Ciel sighed,
"It seemed fitting to name her that and also… I can't keep letting the past get the better of me. I am the Earl of Phantomhive, as such I must not show weakness at such things" he glared at the butler who seemed to be stifling a laugh, "Do you find something amusing?"
Sebastian grinned in amusement,
"It seems you still are no more honest with yourself than when I first met you. You claim that this is to show no weakness, but you felt for a second this girl was your mother, no?"
The slap stung for only a second, but the reaction was worth it. The demon continued to grin mockingly, this time with glowing pink eyes. The cat like eyes watched the earl panting at the exertion and rage as he got up to pace the room. Sebastian smirked, he knew what buttons to press to enrage the child and found him still so amusing.
"So, now that you have made this connection with her, getting rid of her will be all that harder should she eventually turn to bite you" Ciel glared hard then his expression turned haughty. He walked over with head held high and poked the demon in the chest,
"That's why you will have to do your job and protect me. That includes from threats inside as well as outside this estate!" he lifted the eye patch that was covering the purple mark of the contract, which glowed. "Sebastian, this is an order. Find out everything you can about this new girl! I don't want another slip up like before". His mind flashed images of Undertaker; the laughing fool, the moment they discovered he was behind the Bizarre Dolls, the almost endearing look at him at Weston's. Then the words he said to Deidritch,
'The Earl of Phantomhive… is still with us though, isn't he?' His teeth clenched in determination,
"No, no more slip ups! Don't leave out any details, no matter how small!" He watched the demon sink into a deep bow,
"Yes my Lord" came the murmured reply.
Ciel nodded before sitting back down. He felt exhausted and it was barely 10 o'clock. "Although…" he heard Sebastian start, the rustling of paper following this. He looked back at the envelope held by the grinning demon with the royal seal marked into the wax, "What shall we do about this?"
Ciel blinked in surprise then growled, snatching the envelope,
"Bastard! How long have you had that for?" he reached for his letter opener and debated throwing it at his butler when he heard the chuckling. Sebastian grinned widely,
"It came this morning and has been on your desk this entire time, my Lord. A gentleman should be able to spot any important documents himself" Ciel growled again at the mocking tone, tearing open the letter.
"Idiot demon" he spat, starting to read. His expression grew tense as he read, "This is…!"
And I shall leave it at that for now! I apologise that this chapter seemed very OC orientated but I wanted to introduce her. Next stop: the Queen's mission! Please review as always as they help massively!