A Soul's Tourniquet
The Hunt Begins
Shadows: *waves like a maniac*
Shio: Sorry everyone, Shadows had her wisdom teeth taken out yesterday so she can't really talk on the account that her lower jaw hurts at the moment. Granted she SHOULD be taking her pain medication isn't of trying to brave it.
Shadows: *glares* *grabs pencil and paper; starts writing; hands paper to Shio*
Shio: 'I'm not taking that Vicodin stuff when my mom isn't home!' Why not? And it's Vicodin stupid, it's a substitute for it.
Shadows: *grabs back paper; starts writing again; hands it back to Shio*
Shio: 'I don't care. And besides, if I don't eat before taking whatever the hell it is the doc gave me, I get sick… I learned that the hard way yesterday.' *sigh* Your just looking for an excuse not to take it… Well, seeing as how Shadows won't be able to visit her guests today, I'll just have to do the disclaimer again. Shadows does not own Kuroshitsuji or any characters affiliated with the series. All rights belong to Toboso Yana. She does however, own her OC's.
Shadows: *hands Shio another paper*
Shio: Huh? Uh, Shadows wanted me to tell you this before the story begins… 'I want to know what you all think about a lemon in a later chapter once things really start moving? I'll put up a poll on my profile so, when you get the chance, submit your vote or you can do so via comment. Now on with the story!'
KAISHI!
Once upon a dreary eve… At midnight when all hopes and dreams had been lost… I who had been possessed by an apparition, spied a stately raven happen overhead… And with dreaming eyes quoth the raven… "That which is lost shall never return. NEVER MORE."
"—ster."
Slowly, Ciel stirred awake as a voice called out to him.
"—Young Master." They called again.
"Young Master."
Before the boy stood two ominous figures, one reaching out towards him. Scared out of his wits, the bluenette quickly reaches under his pillow and pulls out the hidden revolver he normally keeps in his bedside nightstand.
Sebastian pauses in his advances in waking up the young Earl, surprised by how quickly the boy had put the gun to his head.
"Do not—! Touch me—!" Ciel panted, shakily holding the weapon out before him as if it was his last life line.
The demon simply smirked after the initial shock had worn off. "For today's morning tea, I have prepared Assam with plenty of milk." He replied, walking over to the trolley and pouring his young Master's tea. "The milk will serve to relax you. It will calm you do."
The young Phantomhive still held onto the gun tightly, unsure if he was still dreaming, or he was truly back within the living hellhole many called reality.
"Especially after a bad dream…" Sebastian added, giving the boy a reassuring smile as he handed him the tea cup.
Ciel finally took a deep breath, calming his nerves. Placing the gun down next to him, the Earl took his cup from the butler.
"Heh. It's all because you read Poe before going to bed." Sebastian chuckled, picking up the book off of the mattress.
"I do as I please." Ciel shot back, taking a sip of his tea. "What of the day's schedule?"
"Today you must review the documents sent from headquarters. And in the afternoon, the Marchioness of Midford and Lady Elizabeth will be visiting. And Young Master's— "
"Damn!" The bluenette spat, jumping out of bed and handing his demonic servant back the tea before fumbling with the buttons on his nightshirt. "Begin preparations right away!" He panicked.
Sebastian raised a brow at the boy in confusion. "You do not need to hurry so. The Marchioness will be here this afternoon—"
"Fool! We're talking about Aunt Francis here!" Ciel shouted
"Good Morning everyone." Rebecca yawned as she walked into the servant's kitchen. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and one of her bootlaces had come undone on her walk down from the room she shared with Mey-Rin.
"Yer up late." Benjamin smirked, taking a sip of the coffee Bard had somehow successfully made not long after waking up.
"I didn't finish my chores till late last night. Sebastian keeps givin' me too much." The ebony haired teen huffed, taking a seat next to the half awake chef.
Benjamin nodded once. It seemed that lately, the Phantomhive butler had been giving Rebecca more chores than any of the others got and each day she would wake up a bit later than the day before.
"Loves me… loves me not…" Mey-Rin repeated quietly to herself, plucking off the petals of one of the flowers she had picked this morning.
"Hm, where's Finny?" Rebecca inquired, noticing the absents of the happy go lucky gardener.
"He's outside getting' something' from th' shed." The dirty blonde teen replied, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the door behind him.
As if on cue, the strawberry blonde gardener came bursting though the door. "You guys! You guuuuys! Omigosh!"
"Urrrgh… What is it, Finny… This early in the morning. Quiet dowwwwn wouldja?" Bard groaned.
The red haired maid looked up from her flower to regard her co-worker. "What happened, hmmm?
"Sheesh, have you all forgotten? Today's a special day!" Finny scolded.
Benjamin and Rebecca exchanged glances before turning back to the senior Phantomhive servants. "A special day?" They repeated in unison.
Bard, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka all looked up at the calendar momentarily before it finally hit them.
"Oh my! How could we've forgotten, yes!"
"It's the fourteenth already?" Bard blanched.
"Uh… Are we missin' somethin'?" Rebecca wondered, sweat dropping as the others continued to ignore her.
"Today's the young Master's birthday, yes it is!" Mey-Rin finally stated.
Sebastian and Ciel stood on the front steps of the Manor as the Marchioness carriage pulled up. The demonic butler had just barely enough time to get the young Earl ready let alone presentable by the time the carriage came into view from the boy's bedroom.
"It has been awhile since I saw you last, Marchioness of Midford. You have arrived earlier than expected today as well…" Ciel sweat dropped.
"Spare me the formalities. You look as if you've just risen, Earl Phantomhive." Francis scolded.
"No I—" Before the Earl could finish speaking, Elizabeth rushed over to her fiancé and cousin and promptly wrapped her arms around the male in a bear hug.
"Gosssh! Ciel's cute even when he has just woken up!" The blonde swooned.
"Gueh!"
"ELIZABETH!" Francis shouted. "Do not behave so rudely before you've even greeted him. I have always told you that a lady must observe the proprieties even when she's at her mother's family home…"
"I'm sorry, mother!" Elizabeth shrieked, huddling closer to Ciel.
"It has been a while since I saw you last. Welcome, Marchioness and Lady Elizabeth." Sebastian bowed. "You have traveled a great distance today—?" The demon paused, finally noticing the looking that the Marchioness had been giving him. "Ah… Erm… Might there be something on my fa—"
"You look… Lecherous! Per usual." Francis hissed, causing the young Earl to hold in his laughter. Aunt Francis never did take a liking to Sebastian.
"I am afraid I was born this way—" Sebastian began before once again being cut off by the Marchioness.
"MOREOVER! Both YOU and YOUR MASTER are both sporting long bangs, though you are both male. How unseemly! You need to learn a thing or two from Tanaka there!" She hissed, grabbing the demon by his hair.
"A-! Aunt Francis!"
"Please just wai-"
"Hang on—"
"Huh? H-Hey, was it just me, or did I just hear someone scream?" Rebecca asked, looking up from sweeping the hallway to regard the male teen next to her.
Benjamin shrugged before walking over to the window and looking outside. "Looks like we got guests." He pointed out.
Rebecca walked over to her friend and her gaze followed where the male was pointing. Outside stood Sebastian and Ciel, as well as two blonde females that she didn't recognize. "Perhaps their family members here to wish him a Happy Birthday."
"Th' Earl don't take me as a 'Happy Birthday' kinda person." Ben admitted.
Rebecca sighed. "I suppose you're right." She agreed, turning away from the window.
"I apologize for troubling you… Aunt Francis…" Ciel replied, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Hmph! Indeed." Francis nodded, holding onto her comb as she observed to two gentlemen before her.
"They don't look too cute." Elizabeth pouted, not liking how her mother had combed their hair back.
Lady Francis, the younger sister of the former Earl Phantomhive, is a strict disciplinarian, and detests the forces of habit and desire. She values strength and purity. The rumor goes that at the Queen's fencing tourney… Lady Francis defeated the Head of the Order of Knights—The Marquess of Midford—with superhuman strength, which led to their marriage. Though now married, she still trains daily… and has maintained her youthful strength and beauty. She is quite the outrageous noblewoman.
"I drop in on you, and you're still a layabout. Not to mention your butler looks ever the degenerate!"
'Degenerate…'
"You are to marry my daughter. On this day of days your reformation begins! Nothing will escape my notice, is that clear!" Francis shouted, pointing angrily at the two males. "We'll start with the Manor! A disorderly home reflects a distracted mind!"
"Then I shall guide you." Sebastian bowed, trying to forget about the Marchioness earlier comment.
"H-Hey…!" Ciel whispered, grabbing the demon's coat sleeve.
Sebastian turned to his master, holding his right forefinger to his lips. "Leave it to me. I made certain everything was perfect yesterday."
"It's been fairly quiet around here since this morning." Rebecca pointed out as she continued dusting the book shelves in the Library.
"That can't be a good sign. 'Member what 'appened th' other day?"
A flash back of the nearly destroyed Manor and the trio of idiots crying in fear of Sebastian popped into both teen's heads. Rebecca was still stunned by how much damage those three could create in so little time. They hadn't been gone an hour and the Manor had been turned into a heap of smoldering ashes.
"M-Maybe it would be best if we check on those three. Just in case." The female recommended.
Benjamin nodded in agreement. "I'll check on Finny. You check on Mey-Rin."
Forgetting about their own chores for the moment, both teens left the room and headed down the hall in opposite directions to check on two of the three morons.
Benjamin walked down the hall towards the courtyard in hopes of finding the gardener before something happened. Unfortunately, that didn't seem the case when the male spotted the black clad butler slamming the courtyard doors closed after briefly opening them. 'Somethin' tells me I'm gonna get yelled at fer this one too.' He groaned internally.
"My mistake. I wanted to show you the living room first." Sebastian smiled.
"Why? Now that we're here, we can begin with the inner courtyard—"
"The living room, I insist. I made a simple mistake, really! The 'Party dress' Christmas rose and the Winter roses we ordered from Germany are at their best now, but we would like you to see them around noon when they all bloom, so please come to the living room… We will be able to show you the beautiful inner courtyard at another time." Sebastian replied, trying to usher the group away from the disaster Finny had created.
Benjamin sighed, opening the courtyard doors once Sebastian and the other's disappeared down the hall. "FINNY! WHAT THE BLOODY 'ELL ARE YA DOIN'?"
"Ah! Bard, Mey-Rin, and I are helping to make the young Master a birthday cake and dinner! I'm cutting the Christmas roses to put on top the cake." The gardener replied, giving the teen a child like smile.
Benjamin felt his eyebrow twitch from the boy's response. He hoped to god that Rebecca reached Mey-Rin before something else went wrong.
"Oh, Mey-Rin there you are."
"Ah, Rebecca! Can you help me take down some of the china?" Mey-Rin asked, turning slightly to face the teen that had just walked into the living room.
"S-sure I guess…" Rebecca nodded, walking over to the clumsy maid. "Why are you taking down the china anyway?"
"Bard, Finny, and I are preparing the young Master a Birthday dinner, yes we are!" She replied happily, handing the teen one of the plates.
"A Birthday dinner?" Rebecca repeated, slightly confused as she place the dishes one by one on the table.
"We want to cheer up the young Master by giving him a surprise birthday party, yes we do!" Mey-Rin smiled. Without watching her footing, the red haired maid slipped of the chair she was using to reach the plates and fell into the ebony haired teen next to her, knocking down a few plates in the process.
The sound of shattering china plates soon hit their ears.
Both females started at the shattered pieces for a moment before both entering a panic mood.
"Gah! Sebastian's going to kill us when he sees this!" Rebecca shrieked.
"Waaah! I- I'm sooooo sorry, yes I am!" Mey-Rin cried.
"Ah…! Um…! Aha! H-Help me pick up all the pieces before someone sees us!" The teen stated franticly, grabbing the broom and dustpan that the clumsy maid had been using earlier.
"Yes, ma'am!"
While the two rushed to clean everything up, both had failed to notice the newcomers standing in the doorway.
"Hm, I see that you've hired new staff, Ciel." A feminine voice replied, causing both maids to jump.
"Mey-Rin, Rebecca, what are you two doing?" Sebastian sighed, sounding none too happy to either woman.
The ebony haired teen immediately jumped up at bowed to the butler and company while Mey-Rin still franticly swept the broken china into the dust pan.
"I-I was helping Mey-Rin take down th' china when one o' th' plates slipped and hit th' floor." She lied. Rebecca knew that Sebastian would probably scolded her for lying later on, and Mey-Rin for being the clumsy servant that she is.
"Clean this up right away." Sebastian ordered.
"Y-Yes, sir." Both maids replied, and returned to cleaning up the mess they had wanted to hide from the black butler.
"You ladies must be exhausted from riding in a cramped carriage for those long hours. I apologize for not realizing sooner. I cannot believe my audacity… There is space for you to relax in the conservatory, so please enjoy tea while snacking on something light…" Sebastian replied, once again leading the group away from another, yet smaller, disaster zone. He would have to find a way to thank Rebecca later on for keeping Mey-Rin's damage to a minimum, granted that she did lie and say it was her own fault.
"We just had the most exquisite oranges delivered from Spain, so perhaps a Shalimar tea from Dimbula—" Before he could continue, a loud explosion rattled the Manor, causing the butler to force his fake smile to stay plastered on his face.
If that explosion didn't kill that idiot chef, he sure as hell would.
"Yet another mistake was it? You just CANNOT make up your mind, can you!" Francis hissed.
Sebastian bowed deeply before the Marchioness. "I beg your forgiveness. One such as I—I had forgotten that there was something I wanted the Marchioness to see. Though it is no place to be guiding a Lady… Let us visit the stables." He suggested, remembering the stallion they had only recently purchased for Ciel to use during his hunting trips. Perhaps that would give the only two capable servant's time to clean up at least SOME of the mess.
"How do you like this, Marchioness? We sent for a horse with a magnificent blueish-black coat to serve as our Master's steed… and we have been looking forward to the day you might take a look at it, Marchioness."
"Ohh… A fine horse, indeed" Francis replied, nodding with approvement. "The hip is sturdy, and it looks well. I have it! Ciel. What say we do a little hunting together?" She suggested, looking down at her nephew, surprising the boy slightly.
"With you, Aunt Francis?"
"It will be a good opportunity to see how good a man my daughter's fiancé is. Or… Is 'hunting' too demanding for Earl Phantomhive, who possesses a constitution more common to the fairer sex?" Francis teased, knowing that her nephew despised being considered a girl. Especially now since he's the head of the Household. Vincent had been the same way when they were growing up as well. Like father like son she supposed.
"Very well. Sebastian, prepare for the hunt." Ciel growled.
The butler bowed. He knew how much the boy liked a good challenge. Maybe this would do him so good.
"The game is afoot, Ciel."
"A huntin' trip? Sounds interestin'." Benjamin nodded, watching as the butler prepared the Master's hunting rifle.
"Yes, Lady Francis has requested it. You and your sister will be in charge of the Manor until the Young Master and I return later this afternoon. Seeing as that you're the only two capable of not destroying anything." Sebastian sighed.
Ben leaned back against his chair. "If ya say so…" He shrugged.
Sebastian continued with his preparations as ordered and left the room when he was done.
"He's gone now." The teen called, once he was sure the butler was out of hearing distance.
Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finny all popped out of their hiding spots. "Operation: Surprise the young Master is a go!" They cheered quietly.
"Does your butler double as a hound?" Francis snickered as Sebastian continued to led the way.
"He… Is sort of like that." Was the boy's response.
"Then we shall begin here." Sebastian stated, bringing the horses to a stop. "The rules are as follows: Maintain your territory, twenty-five meters on either side… And avoid shooting at birds flying lower than the prescribed altitude… Are we agreed?" Sebastian inquired, turning to the Marchioness and his young Master.
"Yes." Both replied in unison.
The demon smirked before taking out his pocket watch. "The game is now underway. The time limit shall be three hours."
"See you, Ciel!" Francis grinned, and took off on her horse, intent on winning this child's game.
And so the hunt begins…
And that's all for this chapter. Not a lot of Sebby and Rebecca this chapter, but the next chapter, which will be the conclusion of this chapter, will have a surprise for the story's heroine XD Not gonna spoil what it is though!
I'll probably start typing the next chapter once I wake up. The pain meds I was given make me sleepy, which is why this chapter is kinda short.
Thank you I Am Pandora and Noface for reviewing last chapter^^
Ciao for now^^