Author's notes: Oh my goodness! So many positive responses! I'm just so asdfhhklgklgf! Literally I've been walking around today with a massive grin, I'm just so happy! Thank you to my kind reviewer and the two anonymous people for their kudos!
So now Ciel has finally made it to the all girls' school, but the headmistress was not what he'd expected. Whilst he and Rachel adapt to school life, Sebastian has been left to find out what he can from the surrounding area. Unfortunately though, he'll have to do this alone as Sitri has run off.
Warnings: Sebaciel (implied), swearing and gore
That Butler, Planning
Ciel felt like his head was going to pop off from the strangling grip of the headmistress. This coupled with the tight corset he was wearing meant the room was now spinning and he felt like he was turning blue. He was barely able to take in a word as they toured the lecture halls, dining area, library, common rooms, gardens and teachers' office. All of it was vast and sparsely decorated,
"So as to not distract the girls from their studies and to show that not everything around them need be frivolously decorated!" cried Madame Gagnon. Ciel couldn't help thinking his fiancée would have something to say about that and this led him to wonder if she was currently at his manor, decorating everything she could including the servants. Ciel sighed internally at the thought before turning his attention back on the headmistress. Despite her lapses into passion of how women should break social stereotypes, her views of how girls should behave in the classroom were strict and traditional.
Finally Madame Gagnon released Ciel's neck, allowing him to gasp for air, and pointed up at a heavy wooden sign hanging from the wall in the central hall. Once Ciel had regained enough breath, he looked up at the sign. On it, in strict black handwriting, was a list of school rules.
1. Students will treat each other as equals, regardless of class or family. 2. Students will be quiet and mindful in both lectures and the Library. 3. Students will not involve themselves with any illicit activities, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, gambling or prostitution. 4. NO MEN IN THE DORMITORIES.
The last point was practically carved into the wood and shone out so much it look like it would cause the sign to burst into flames at any minute. Ciel gulped and hesitantly raised a hand,
"Um… I do have one question, Madame. That last point, does that also include male servants? Only my butler may visit from time to time to check on my progress" his voice was laced with sweetness and innocence to the point it sickened himself to hear it. However, the effect had no sway over the headmistress who rounded on him with eyes aflame with rage. She towered over the boy like a shadowy menace, causing him to reel back,
"There are to be NO men whatsoever in this school's dorms! Men are a poison to the female soul! They distract the mind with promises of sweetness and honey then crush the woman's heart to dust! All in their bid to chain our freedom to their whim!" the woman's fury seemed to know no bounds. Ciel found this sentiment flawed though,
"But… what about the men who work here? Like the servants who collected my belongings from the coach?" his voice kept up the innocent tone, hoping this act would save him from being flayed alive by those vicious eyes. The headmistress paused in her outrage and scoffed,
"Oh those men are nothing. Underlings designed to fulfil a purpose, just like men should be! We have taken special… precautions to prevent them from temptation." Madame Gagnon gestured vaguely. Ciel narrowed his eyes,
"Precautions…?" he asked, eager to learn more, but the headmistress waved her hand dismissively.
"Enough questions for now! The answer to your question is no, your butler may not visit you in your dorms. All family visits must be arranged in advance at any rate! Now, come! I will show you to your room. You must be tired after such a long journey" The headmistress headed for a staircase, beckoning Ciel to follow.
At that moment, Ciel heard running footsteps and panting. He turned back to find Rachel had finally caught up with them. She stopped in front of him, breathing heavily and face flushed,
"I…I finally… caught… up! Please… forgive my… poor… appearance!" she gasped out. She stood up and regained her composure, "This school is quite vast, it took me some time to find you, my Young Lady. I apologise"
Ciel raised an eyebrow,
'I thought Sebastian said she could fix whole sections of the manor in seconds? Why is she out of breath from simply running after us?' his gaze fell on the black bands just visible under Rachel's cuffs. They seemed to be glowing a little. The boy frowned more but realised that Madame Gagnon was waiting impatiently for them.
"It's fine, Rachel. I'm sorry we didn't wait for you" Ciel said impassively before turning to the headmistress again. Madame Gagnon sniffed disapprovingly before continuing her ascent of the stairs followed by the pair.
They continued up two flights of stairs until they were up in the attics of the huge building. Partition walls, flooring and doors had all been built up here to create a corridor of rooms, each with one small window and a small bed and wardrobe. Clearly, the headmistress' ideas of sparse decoration extended as far as the girls' bedrooms.
"Each girl has her own room, which she must tidy herself. No personal decoration is allowed! The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Lights out is at 11pm. Your waiting servant may come up to assist you with dressing in the morning and evening, but must otherwise stay in the servants' quarters. Is this understood?" Madame Gagnon glared fiercely at Rachel before focusing on Ciel again. Rachel curtsied and Ciel nodded,
"Yes Madame Gagnon" they replied in unison. This seemed to placate her and she opened the door to one of the rooms; Ciel's baggage was already laid out on the bed for him. He noticed it looked like someone had rifled through it.
'So they even check the baggage in case of anything suspicious? This place has too much security to not be hiding something!' he thought. The pair curtsied to Madame Gagnon once more and watched the woman take her leave before entering the room.
Ciel heaved a sigh of relief; they'd made it this far with no problems. He looked at Rachel, who was quietly unpacking the bags into the drawers and wardrobe, and remembered something.
"Why are those bands on your arms glowing, Rachel? Are they the reason you seem so tired?" he asked, causing the girl to jump. She spun around in surprise,
"M-My Lord?" she asked, forgetting herself. Ciel stared at her intensely, eyes piercing into her matching blue ones.
"Sebastian has told me you fixed the kitchen in seconds after Bard destroyed it. He has also told me of what a diligent worker you are. I find it odd that you would not be able to catch up with us for so long and would end up so out of breath as well" he stated, all the time his eyes fixed on hers. Rachel bit her lip nervously and her hands began fidgeting.
"Ah my Lord, the thing is… I wanted to check the grounds were safe, so I ran around the perimeter. However something here seems to be draining my energy. Something connected with my chains" she explained. Ciel raised an eyebrow,
"Do you know what it could be?" he asked, to which Rachel shook her head.
"All I could tell you, my Lord, is that it would be something inhuman and not of this plane. Since my chains are connected to Heaven and Hell, it would have to be someone from one of these places"
"So… a demon or an angel has something to do with this place?" Ciel clarified. Rachel nodded and Ciel felt uneasy as he thought about this,
'We know something is happening to the girls here to cause them to attack the public. But what benefit would this bring to a demon or an angel? And also…' Ciel pictured how easily Sitri had held Sebastian before, despite how much his butler had struggled. Clearly, there were stronger beings than his butler out there. They would have to be careful.
"We need to speak with Sebastian and Sitri, perhaps they've found something too" Ciel continued. Rachel blinked,
"But, sir… what about the rule of no men in the dorms?" she asked. Ciel smirked deviously,
"Well they aren't men, are they? So it's fine" the boy replied, his smirk making him look like an imp. Rachel was surprised at her master's way of finding loopholes and smiled slightly,
"Then I shall fetch them" she stated, curtsying and heading for the door.
"There is no need for you to leave, Rachel" came a voice, causing the pair to jump a mile and look around fervently. A knocking came from one of the trunks; the pair looked at each other in shock before Rachel rushed over and opened it. There, chuckling to himself and looking quite content, sat Sebastian amongst the clothes. Ciel scowled, so the rifling in the bags had actually been his butler fitting himself into the trunk? He sighed in irritation at the demon's ridiculous appearance,
"Get out of there this minute!" he snapped. Sebastian stretched lavishly before climbing out of the trunk. He smirked at his annoyed master and bowed,
"Yes My Lord" he replied simply. Ciel tutted at this,
"I take it since you've been lolling about in there; you haven't investigated at all yet?" he snapped.
Sebastian grinned and reached into his breast pocket, he pulled out a large folded piece of paper.
"This is a map of the original school grounds" he explained, laying it out on the floor. He produced another large folded piece of paper and laid it out beside the first. "And this is a more recent one from this year. It would seem they have made some modifications since the opening of the school. Interestingly though, the new building has not been opened to the students yet, despite the fact electricity and water are plumbed in and quite used" the butler continued. Ciel looked at the maps,
"So a new building to cover up what they're actually doing? How long ago was it built?" the boy asked.
"Last year, my Lord. The official reason is that they are using it for training teachers and research, hence no students being allowed in" Sebastian explained. Ciel looked more closely at the new map; the new building was over the far side of the court yard, right next to the guard house, and built onto the outer wall that ran parallel to the high street. Which made it easy enough to build in a secret tunnel to the outside and deliver supplies without anyone noticing and made it hard to sneak by without getting noticed by the armed guards. Ciel was impressed; someone had thought this through.
"Then I guess we know where our next move will be" Ciel said, mind still busy thinking through all the possibilities. Sebastian nodded,
"I take it you would wish to see what there is in this building, my Lord?" the butler asked, smirk still in place. "So eager to close this case. What a shame, you look so lovely in that dress"
Ciel blushed to the roots of his hair,
"I-idiot! Don't say such useless, perverted things!" he snapped, cheeks glowing. He then blinked, realising something, "and where is that stupid crazy demon? Wasn't he with you when we left?"
Ciel looked over at the trunk, that wouldn't fit two full grown men. He heard Sebastian sigh in irritation,
"Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared. I did say we couldn't trust him to stay put. He's no doubt wandered off to explore, since he's so keen to learn everything about humans. However, I felt it more prudent to continue with the investigation rather than look for him" the butler replied, scowling. Ciel felt a dark foreboding over this and looked at Rachel,
"I take it you wouldn't know where he's run off to, do you Rachel?" he asked, hoping against hope. Rachel looked apologetic, shook her head and bowed deeply,
"Forgive me, my Lord. Sitri isn't under my control so he could very well have wandered off like Sebastian says" Rachel could feel Ciel's anger even before she looked up again. As she straightened, she saw the irritation visible through the twitching of his eye and felt the sweat accumulate on the back of her head. "I-if it helps, I had asked him to behave before I left, so he shouldn't be getting into too much trouble!"
Ciel felt a headache coming on and sighed heavily. Somehow, he imagined that demon could still cause trouble even whilst 'behaving'.
"Well we can't help it for now. Sebastian, go out and see if you can find the idiot before nightfall. Be back here for 11pm." He ordered, watching his butler bow deeply,
"Yes My Lord" came the familiar reply before the demon vanished quickly out the window. Ciel nodded then became thoughtful,
"So new grounds built just for 'research' as they call it? This reminds me a little too much of the last time we ran into people doing research" he shuddered as he remembered the Bizarre Dolls on the ship. 'If this were to be a similar case, no doubt Undertaker will be close by. And there's also the matter of Rachel's chains… so there is some unhuman influence behind the scenes'
Rachel left her master to his thoughts and continued to put away the clothes. She was troubled that Sitri had run off, but at least he wasn't causing chaos on the school grounds.
A shattering of something fragile plus girls screaming resounded through the hall.
'…Why do I get the feeling he's there?' the girl lamented before she and her young master ran out of the room and towards the bathroom at the end of the hall.
And that's it for now! What could have caused the ruckus? Will it impede Ciel's plan to investigate the new building? Why are there other beings involved? Find out next time! Please review, like and favourite this, it makes me ridiculously happy! Until next time!