A Soul's Tourniquet
Devil's Lullaby
Shadows: Hey hey! Like I said, I have yet another chapter for you all to enjoy^^
Lelouch: Milly, you're actually letting her do this?
Milly: Oh calm down Lelouch. It was Kallen's idea, and we all agreed on it.
Shadows: Yep^^ And besides, I'm finally well enough to actually go around and visit all my guests again. You should consider yerself lucky Lulu, you'll be able to get this out of the way sooner than later.
Lelouch: *blushes* D-Don't call me that!
Shadows: But Shirley calls you Lulu doesn't she?
Rivalz: That's because Shirley really likes Lelouch.
Shadows: I know that Rivalz… I was only messing with Lelouch… Now then, you wanna do the disclaimer for me Lulu.
Lelouch: No way! W-Why should I help you?!
Shadows:*whispers* Do it, or I tell everyone that you're a Britannian prince and that your also Zero.
Lelouch:*flinches* Sh-Shadows does not own Kuroshitsuji or any character's affiliated with the series… A-All right's belong to Toboso Yana.
Shadows:*smiles innocently* See, that wasn't so hard!
Nunnally: Shadows only owns her OC's.
Shadows: Aww! Thank you Nunnally, you didn't have to do that.
Nunnally: I don't mind. I really like your story. Sayoko reads me the new updates when they come out.
Shadows: Wha-! I wish I had known that before, I wouldn't have missed the last two weekends then if I knew that you like my story, Nunnally.
Nunnally: It's alright Shadows.
Shadows: Kya! You're so sweet Nunna! Thanks again for letting me come here Milly.
Milly: No problem. You're welcome here any time.
Shadows: Kallen, Suzaku, would you do the honors?
Kallen: S-sure.
Suzaku: I don't mind.
Shadows: Awesome! You guys are the best!
Kallen and Suzaku: KAISHI!
Rebecca stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. She didn't fall asleep until almost four o'clock this morning. Now it was almost nine and no one had come to wake her up yet. Normally if she slept in even by a minute, someone would have come to get her by now. The teen sighed, finally getting out of bed, only to notice a tray sitting on her nightstand.
"Huh? When did this get here?" Rebecca mused, eyeing the silver object in confusion. If someone had brought this in while she was asleep, why didn't they just wake her up instead? The teen shook her head, deciding to pay no mind to the tray as she continued to get ready for the rest of the day. No doubt she was going to end up with a ton of chores as punishment for sleeping in. Rebecca walked over to the armoire that was pushed up against the opposite wall. Upon opening the doors, a black flower fell out onto the floor. "Huh? A flower…?" She wondered, examining the plant after picking it up off the floor and holding it up to her face. "Don't think I've ever seen a black rose before…" Rebecca sighed, tossing the flower onto her bed haphazardly and continued to get ready.
After getting dressed in her usual trousers, button down shirt and vest, Rebecca stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Truthfully, the teen hardly recognized herself anymore. She didn't wear lavish gowns that signified her status in life, nor did she wear her hair in elegant braids or curls. For the last eight months Rebecca had been pretending to be someone she wasn't so she could travel without any trouble.
Clothes that were a size to big, worn out boots that couldn't keep the cold out. Even though Benjamin's parents had been kind enough to buy her new clothes before the two went out on their own to travel, they had just barely fit her. She didn't have tailors around to make her clothes that would fit her perfectly anymore. And after seeing what life was like for both the middle and lower classes, Rebecca was just grateful for the clothes on her back, regardless of how worn out they were or how big the were on her.
"Mother would probably lock me away in my room till I'm married off if she saw me like this." She laughed to herself. Grabbing her messenger boy's cap, Rebecca stuffed her hair inside before nodding in approval to the reflection in the mirror.
Turning on her heel, the ebony haired teen made her way out of the room, grabbing the silver tray that had been placed on her nightstand and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Rebecca wanted to get a jump on her chores as soon as possible so Sebastian wouldn't find out she slept in. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near the butler after last night.
"Lord Ciel. It is time for you to wake up." A voice came, waking up the young Phantomhive.
Ciel rubbed his eyes, sleep still heavily clouding his mind. "Nn…? Lord…Ciel?" He questioned sleepily.
"Good morning!" Agni smiled happily, surprising the bluenette.
Ciel's scream reverberated throughout the entire town house, causing the servants to stop what they were doing briefly and look up towards the ceiling.
"Namaste jii… Lord Ciel. Breakfast is ready." The white haired Indian replied, greeting the Earl in Hindi.
Ciel immediately slapped a hand over his right eye. The last thing he needed was for someone to see the 'Mark of the Covenant' that Sebastian had placed when the contract was made. "WH—! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM!?" The boy panicked. Where the hell was Sebastian?!
Almost as if on cue, the aforementioned demon knocked on the door and stepped into the room. "Pardon me… Young—" Sebastian stopped at the sight of the Indian butler trying to get his young Master ready for breakfast and the boy struggling against the foreign males hold.
"Breakfast will get cold if you do not hurry. Come, let us go now!"Agni added, paying no mind to the black clad butler standing in the doorway.
"GYAAAAH! NOW JUST HANG ON! WHAT THE HELL!? JUST LET ME DOWN!" Ciel continued to protest.
Sebastian stood, completely surprised.
"Oh? Things are already lively at this hour!" Lau smirked, looking into the room from around the threshold.
"MISTER SEBASTIAAAAAN!" Mey-Rin, Finni, and Bard shouted, running down the hall towards the butler in a panic.
"Morniiiing!" Lau greeted the three.
"You three, you are in the presence of our guests. What is it? Has something happened again—"
"S-SOMETHING'S WRONG! REALLY REALLY WRONG!" Bard panicked, cutting Sebastian off.
"CRAZY WRONG!" Finni added.
"WRONG, IT IS!" Mey-Rin nodded.
"THE FOOD, IT'S—!"
"THE GARDEN IT'S—!"
"THE LAUNDRY IT'S—!"
"Wrong…?" The raven haired demon questioned, forgetting about the young Master and Agni.
Rebecca looked around the dining room, not sure what to actually think of everything. Nothing had been destroyed or charred black for that matter. She doubted that Sebastian was the one who did all of this considering he had put herself and Benjamin in charge of overseeing the idiot trio. "G-Guess I don't need ta worry about breakfast being late…" Rebecca sweat dropped. If Agni was the one who made breakfast for everyone, there was no doubt that she would get scolded for allowing a guest to work.
"What in the world…?" Sebastian's sudden voice caused a cold shiver to race up the teen's spine. And he didn't sound too happy either.
"Ah! I have taken the liberty of handling the morning chores!" Agni explained, apparently oblivious to the aura surrounding the butler.
Rebecca shook her head. No, of course there wasn't an aura around Sebastian. She was just being paranoid. She didn't find it surprising that her subconscious was trying to think of every little excuse it could to get her away from the black butler.
"You should not have! You are our guest, so please make yourself at home." Sebastian insisted.
"I could never! My Prince aside, I am merely a butler, so… I felt it my duty to help Mister Sebastian." Agni explained.
The Indian butler's response actually surprised Sebastian. "Mister Agni…" The demon thought for a moment. He could possible use Agni's want to help around the town house to his advantage. Sebastian's gaze turned to the trio of idiots behind him. Now if only he could just get rid of those three, then he would have an easier time trying to figure out how he would apologize to Rebecca for last night. "Why do you three not kowtow and beg Mister Agni for the dirt under his nails? Your lives might gain a little value that way." Sebastian suggested, giving the three members of the senior staff a brilliant shit-eating grin.
Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finni were lost in thought for a moment. In the split second following Sebastian's obviously sarcastic suggestion, the three servants jumped Agni like a pack of rabid dogs.
"GIMME THE DIRT UNDER YOUR NAILS, DIRT!" Finni shouted.
"ME TOOOOO!" Mey-Rin begged.
"ME THREE!" Bard agreed.
"Eeh!? What is going on!?" Agni panicked, trying to fight off the Phantomhive servants without hurting them.
Rebecca sweat dropped. "Are they really that dense?"
"Unfortunately…" Sebastian sighed, shaking his head as he walked out of the room.
"…So? How long do you intend to stay here?" Ciel groaned, watching the Indian Prince at the other end of the table as he stuffed his face with his butler's cooking. The young Phantomhive never did like anything spicy, and unfortunately the Indian butler had made shrimp curry and French toast with ginger.
"We'll leave when we've finished our errand." Soma explained as he continued to munch away on his breakfast without so much as a care in the world.
"That—" Ciel started, only to be cut off by Lau.
"You mean the person you were looking for before, right?"
"And why are you staying over as w—" Ciel hissed glaring at the oriental when he was cut off again.
"Ah ha ha, why not?" Lau ginned.
"Yes. I'm in search of a certain woman." Soma nodded, pulling out the child's drawing they had seen the other day. "This one." He added, handing the paper to the boy Earl. "Her name is Mina… and she was a servant in my palace."
"This is…" Ciel couldn't finish his sentence. This was something a six year old would have given to their father to have in his study.
"I drew it. You'll know right away when you see her because I drew her so well! Isn't she lovely?"
Ciel sighed and turned to his butler. "Sebastian, will you be able to seek her out with this…?"
"Even for me, this is a bit, erm… well I shall try." Sebastian sweat dropped.
Rebecca walked down the hall towards the townhouses main sitting room after dusting and sweeping the town house's library as she continued with her days chores. She hadn't really seen Benjamin all morning long and was starting to wonder if the dirty blonde male might have left to get something for Ciel in town.
"Ah! Miss Rebecca!" Mey-Rin's voice called out, running to catch up to the teen.
Rebecca stopped walking and turned to regard the maid. "Is something wrong Mey-Rin?"
"Look what I found, yes!" The red head squealed happily, forcing the piece of paper into the teen's hands.
Rebecca stared at the folded piece of paper, slightly confused by the maid sudden excitement about her find.
"It's a letta from Mister Sebastian, yes it is! He wants to see me afta the young Master is put to bed, he does."
"Ah! Th-That's great, Mey-Rin. You two do make a cute couple." Rebecca smiled, trying not to get upset in front of her co-worker. Wait, upset?! Why should she be upset about Sebastian wanting to see Mey-Rin after everyone goes to bed? Hell, why should she even care about the black clad butler. He was just another typical male, and heaven forbid she developed feelings for a mere servant. Her parents would disown her for sure. "Oh, by the way, Mey-Rin… Have you seen Benjamin at all today?"
The red haired maid was snapped out of her scandalous thoughts when Rebecca addressed her again. "The young Masta sent 'im to get somethin' in town, he did." Mey-Rin replied.
"Okay… Thank you Mey-Rin. And good luck with Sebastian tonight." Nodding to the red haired maid, Rebecca turned on her heel and continued on to the sitting room.
"What are they doing, all of a sudden? Where did they get that statue from!?" Ciel sweat dropped, watching as the two Indian's appeared to be praying to the statue.
"They seem to be praying, but their object of worship seems quite surreal." Lau suggested, eyeing the statue of the Hindi Goddess.
"You would call that an object of worship? It looks nothing so much as a statue of a woman dancing in a frenzy on the abdomen of a man whilst carrying severed heads and wearing a necklace of said heads…to me…" Sebastian admitted, not seeing how something like that could really be considered an 'object of worship'.
"Pretty much." Lau smiled.
"This is a statue of the Goddess Kali, a deity of Hinduism, our faith." Agni explained, pausing in his prayers.
"So it is an Indian God." Ciel mused. Being born Catholic, though granted he didn't practice it anymore, he was taught that there was only one 'God' in the world who 'righteously' judged his children. What a joke that was.
"Our Goddess Kali is the wife of the God Shiva and the Goddess of strength. She protects against misfortunes. There are also other divine favors. In ancient times… a devil dared to challenge the Goddess in a battle. Of course the Goddess Kali was victorious. However, she could not stop raging… and continued to destroy and kill. She kept on killing, made a necklace of severed heads, drank blood…"
"It sounds as if the Goddess caused more harm than the devil. Truly amazing." Lau nodded.
"Even the Gods could not stop the Goddess Kali, and the earth was about to fall in ruin, when… at that very moment—!" Agni struck a dramatic pose as he continued on with his story. "Her husband, the God Shiva, lay down at her feet to protect the land."
"Aah! That is why she is stepping on him. I had assumed they were simply having a lovers' quarrel." Sebastian joked. Unfortunately, he could probably relate to that more now after last night.
"The husband was very slow to act. Wasn't he too late? In a whole number of ways?" Ciel smirked, side glancing towards his butler.
The action didn't go unnoticed by the demon either. Sebastian groaned internally. No wonder the brat had sent the only other capable servant in the house to do all those errands in town.
"When she stepped on her husband with her unclean foot, the Goddess Kali returned to her senses and peace returned to the land. Therefore, the Goddess Kali is a supreme deity who engaged in mortal combat to defeat the devil. That is why she holds the severed head of the devil." Agni concluded.
"…So that's the story." Ciel sighed.
"I was not aware that such a strong Goddess existed… I must be careful when I go to India." Sebastian mused. He kind of felt sorry for the poor moron who actually challenged the 'Goddess'. Then again, lower level devils were always the stupid ones.
Agni looked at the butler in confusion. He was about to ask Sebastian what he had meant, but Soma had interrupted before a word could leave his mouth.
"Well, we're done praying…" He declared, standing up. "… So let's go, Runt! You'll guide us!" Soma demanded.
"Why me!? Ciel growled, squirming in the Prince's hold. "And furthermore, I am not 'Runt.' I am Ciel…"
"Then, Ciel! I order you to guide us. Come."
Soma paused in his advance as Sebastian blocked his only means of escape.
"Forgive me, but… the young Master has a full schedule with his studies and work today."
Soma pouted, releasing the young Earl.
"As you can see, I'm busy. Find your quarry on your own." Ciel sighed, following Sebastian out of the room.
Rebecca continued to sweep the main sitting room, humming to herself as she worked. She hadn't been asked to clean the room, but seeing as how Sebastian had yet to scold her for sleeping in, she just assumed to do the work now instead of waiting until the very end. Her humming slowly morphed into soft singing.
~Fairy blue
It is only for you
I blew up all the stars
And put up in their place
A Black Paper Moon
If you really put your faith in me
When you're lost "HERE" I am
"FOREVER" with your soul
Waiting here above you patiently
Just like the shining moon.
A symbol rises to the surface
Of the crimson sweetness that I had submerged it deep within
Your destiny isn't so immutable
Anything that you can dream
Can also be the fate that you will have
Don't try to use deceit on me
I will not break, I won't surrender…~
Rebecca abruptly stopped when she heard the infamous click of the door handle turning. She looked up briefly, only to see that it was Ciel and Sebastian. The teen sighed internally, deciding to ignore the two and continue on with her chores. Or at least her 'would be' chores.
Neither male paid her much attention as they continued on with the day's schedule.
~ AM 10:00 Violin lesson~
"—Now. While you are in London, I shall tutor you in place of the Lady Governesses." Sebastian explained.
Ciel groaned internally. Sebastian's 'lessons' were the worst.
"First, let us practice the 'Partita No. 2' for solo violin." The demon continued, placing the sheet music on the music stand.
Ciel looked over the piece of paper placed before him. "Bach's Chaconne… Geh! I won't be able to play such a hard piece—!"
Sebastian cut his young Master off by using the bow to raise the boy's chin. "You will gain confidence if you begin by mastering the difficult pieces first. I lay down the rules here. And naturally, I am very strict. Do you have any issues with my teaching method?" He chuckled, giving the Earl an 'innocent' smile.
Ciel didn't reply. Even if he had said something, Sebastian would have just given him that 'too bad' look.
"Good. Now hold the bow ready." The demon instructed.
Ciel did as told and Sebastian continued. "With the key of D minor it is important to express solemnity and reverence with your timbre."
The young Phantomhive Earl played the notes printed on the sheet music as he read it, doing the best he could with keeping the tempo. "Just like that. Express the timbre with emotion." Sebastian added. Ciel did as told once again. "Express anger occasionally. Yes…"
The lesson was interrupted when another sound unsuccessfully melded with the sound of the violin, causing everyone in the room to turn in the direction of the sound.
"Erm, and what might you be doing?" Sebastian groaned, glaring at Soma and Agni.
"Nn? I thought I'd spend the day with Ciel today. I'm a dab hand at playing string instruments too." Soma smirked.
"What kinda instrument is that?" Rebecca finally asked, looking to the Indian Prince for an answer. Agni however was the one to answer her question.
"It is called a 'sitar.'" The white haired male smiled.
Before Rebecca could say another word, Sebastian threw both men out of the room.
"GET OUT!" Ciel growled.
~AM 11:00 Drawing lesson~
"Now it is time for drawing." Sebastian stated, showing off the classical set up that almost every novice artist started out drawing. "Look at how things are balanced and give depth to your drawing." He added.
Rebecca rolled her eyes as she stared at the set up. She couldn't understand why it was that nobles considered it important for their sons to know how to draw and such. It wasn't as if any of them really used the skill once they were older anyway.
"What is this? Drawing a bottle is dull!" Soma groaned, staring at the unappealing art display.
"Why does it matter… you do not have to draw it if you do not wish you daft fool." Rebecca mumbled under her breath, hoping that it was low enough that no one else heard her.
"You must draw naked women. Therefore, WOMAN! STRIP!" Soma demanded, pointing to Rebecca and effectively startling the teen.
"Wh—WHAT?!" Rebecca shrieked.
"Oh, shall I undress her?" Lau mused, holding the ebony haired teen by her shoulders so she wouldn't run.
"Get yer 'ands off me!" She growled, sending a hard glare over her shoulder towards the China man.
"GET OUT!" Ciel hissed angrily, ordering Sebastian to once again throw out the two Indian's. "Do they not understand that I'm busy!?"
"I don't think Soma understands that… Spoiled brat. I'm goin' ta me room till dinner, Ciel." Rebecca replied, trying to hide the blush that refused to leave her cheeks.
"Very well. When Benjamin returns you will help him with supervising those three." The young Phantomhive stated.
"Right." And with that Rebecca left the room to head for her own.
Heaving a sigh, Rebecca flopped onto the bed that she had been using since arriving at the townhouse with the others.
The day wasn't even close to being finished, and already she felt drained just from being in the vicinity of that bratty Indian Prince. Lau had only made it worse with his comment about assisting in undressing her.
Rebecca had never felt so embarrassed in her life.
"Was this all really worth it…?" She mused to herself, staring up at the ceiling. Groaning, Rebecca rolled over onto her stomach, arms folded under her chin. "Working for the Earl has had more problems than when Benjamin and I were on our own. Guess this really hadn't been the best of choices after all."
The small room fell silent, causing Rebecca's thoughts to return to the evening before.
A bright blush immediately spread across the teens face as the black butler's words echoed throughout her head. Groaning out of embarrassment and slight frustration, Rebecca buried her face in her arms, hoping to hide herself from whatever invisible force was out there trying to torture her. Why did life have to be so cruel sometimes?
As the room's silence dragged on, Rebecca slowly drifted off into a dreamless state, unaware of the rather large spider watching her as it sat on its web in the upper corner of her room.
**((I apologize in advance for taking such a long hiatus from this story. My writers block has refused to go away and I've just been unable to type ANYTHING. I edited this chapter quite a bit so it would flow easier into the next chapter, and the original dream sequence that I was going to have was taken out because I was unable to think of anything for it.))
Gaugh! Damn you L Lawliet for being so damn hot D
I'm really sorry guys. I saw a Death Note AMV last week and unfortunately it screwed up my Kuroshitsuji muse, which doesn't want to return to me anytime soon. Of course listening to the Titanic OST doesn't help that much either. Ugh, guess I'll be watching Kuro again really soon to help recover my lost muse.
Anyway, on to more pressing matters. My birthday is Saturday, which also happens to be the same day that the last F.Y.E Con is being held in my state. So given that fact, I must reluctantly take another hiatus from POSTING my story. I will however be trying to type up the next two or three chapters during my free time when school isn't being annoying as all hell. And I also happened to get a job for the summer this year at a local amusement park so from the middle of May until November, my updates are going to become very sporadic and few. Very sorry ):
Thank you Noface, Daniella, Eclipsica, and I Am Pandora for reviewing the last chapter. And Thank you to everyone who added my story to their fav/subs.
Ciao for now.