Sebastian goes to the office in the after noon only to end up receiving a letter from Sterling. Expecting it to be about a contract Sebastian opens it, only to find an interesting project has just been proposed to them. Alex is expected to not only come up with the theme for the gala but to plan it from the ground up.

Grell is chasing William again, however it isn't what Ronald thinks, Grell wants to know what William feels from Ronald. Ronald ends up doing Grell's job at the abandoned Trancy estate, however he is greeted by an interesting party or "guards".

Will Alex be able to pull off the party planning?

How does William feel toward Ronald?

What's essentially in the house that Claude had guarding it?

What's a girl to do with you two, Claude and Sebastian?

I hope you enjoy,

~The Dark Ringmaster

I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 27: Sterling's Game

Sebastian smiled as he entered his office, once again he was back in London and this time he had one of the best Graphic Designers in his hand once again. He looked out the landscape windows, the vacation was fresh in his mind as was the night before, his chest still ached a little however that wasn't the part that was in the most pain. His hips were killing him from how rough Claude had been, Sebastian sighed. He didn't understand why whenever he was upset he asked Claude to ravage him, which naturally Claude took advantage of. He closed his eyes for a moment; he could still feel Claude's large hands travel down his skin and his soft lips as they caressed his. The taste of Claude's kisses and power in each thrust, that sultry voice tickling his ear, Sebastian moaned a little and then snapped to attention. He hated it when he thought about Claude during the time he was supposed to be working. He groaned and was about to say something when he heard the doors of his office open. "Sir, we have a problem," said Allen. Sebastian turned to him with an inquisitive expression on his face, "What?" he asked in confusion. Allen held out a parchment envelope with Sebastian's name written on the front in green ink. Sebastian paused before taking the envelope from Allen's thick fingers.

"What could Sterling possibly want?" he asked in confusion as he pulled a letter opener from his desk and slipped it under the lip of the envelope. Allen shook his head and said, "I have no idea, all I know is that it was dropped off yesterday." Sebastian's fingers slipped into the envelope as he pulled out the note. "A proposition?" asked Sebastian with a hint of confusion, he glanced at the letter and froze; it was to design a ball which would be held by the Earl of Essex, Campbell. However it wasn't merely and invitation, it was a proposition. Once again Sterling had intrigued him. He looked at Allen and tapped the letter to his chin for a moment. "Interesting," he whispered before tossing the envelope on the desk. "Mr. Straus, please send Mrs. Stark in," he said cordially. He threw in another devilish smirk which simply suggested that Allen do as Sebastian said. Allen nodded nervously and Sebastian leaned against the front of his desk, and waited for her to enter.

She slowly pushed open one of the glass doors to his office and noticed the devious look in Sebastian's crimson eyes. He was clearly up to something; "Yes?" she asked softly and watched as Sebastian picked up the envelope off the desk. "Do you know who this is from?" asked Sebastian playfully and Alex shook her head. She scowled how on earth would she know who it was from, she watched a smirking Sebastian tuck the envelope between two fingers and hold it out to Alex. She slowly took the envelope and stared at the handwriting, it was clearly Arnold Sterling's penmanship. "What happened?" she asked in confusion as she opened the envelope, Sebastian smirked again and replied smugly, "It's not what happened but what's going to happen."

She was even more confused until she looked at the letter which had been tucked inside, Sterling was ask that she design a gala for the Campbell family, one of the most powerful Lord's in the court. Her lips parted and her gaze darted up to Sebastian, "I'm a graphic designer not a coordinator," she replied sharply. Sebastian sat on his desk and crossed his legs, "You can do it, believe me," he said with a note of confidence. Alex was even more confused as she watched Sebastian hop off his desk, "Sterling needs you to premier in society as a person and not just a name, you're work has become iconic however now he wants to push you even further," he said smoothly. His lush voice resonated in her ears and Alex shivered involuntarily, "It's customary for artists to hold gallery expeditions and runway shows, however you aren't that kind of artist," he continued. Alex stared up at him, his devilish smirk was still curled on his lips and he stood next to her. She looked at the note and noticed the request, "Mysterious, that's the only word I get to work with?" she asked. Sebastian nodded and she sighed, once again he was pushing the limits of her creativity. Alex had never been in charge of something like this; usually party coordinators were called for things of this nature. Sebastian detected the discomfort on her face and said, "I'll help you, and I'm sure I can rope Claude in as well." Alex dropped the note and looked up at Sebastian, "Claude?" she asked.

Sebastian was slightly confused until he realized that he had never told her what Claude used to do. If Alex were to learn that they both served 13 year old masters at one point as butlers she would probably laugh hysterically. He sighed and said, "Believe me Claude and I can handle what ever you need, you're job will be concept, floor design, props, theme and naturally selecting things like food and wine. Leave the heavy lifting and trivial matters to us," said Sebastian. Alex paused and muttered, "Um there's a slight problem, I don't drink and I don't know wine." At that second she swore she could hear something in Sebastian snap. "What?" he asked in shock, his red eyes grew wider and his face paled even more.

Grell sighed as he walked into the morgue, "Hello?" he asked cautiously, the doors slid open behind him and Grell jumped as he heard something crunch behind him. He turned around to find the silver haired Undertaker standing there, a dog bone shaped cookie was sticking out of his lips and he had a clear mug of tea. "Oh Grell how nice to see you," said the Undertaker. Grell slowly moved out of the doorway and said, "Nice to see you too, so you said you found something." The Undertaker set his mug down and opened a cookie jar to pull another dog biscuit, "What one?" he asked as he held one of the brown milk bones up. Grell wrinkled his nose and said, "Eww no." The Undertaker shrugged, "Suite you're self," he replied before closing the lid and popping the cooking in his mouth. He had changed a bit since the first time Grell had meat him, he had a hard time believing that the Shinigami standing there was the legendary grim reaper. "Um so what did you have to tell William?" asked Grell after a moment, as he took note of the Undertaker's trimmed nails. "Well this," he said holding up a piece of parchment with the letter's A. S. on the bottom, it was written in green ink. "Arnold Sterling, the owner of Intrigue and the guy who contracted both Sebastian and Claude?" he asked in confusion. The Undertaker smirked and nodded. "From what it looks like he wants a little more than just that pitiful contract he had them sign to work for him," said the Undertaker. Grell slowly took the letter and noticed the one word which must have been why William sent him. "Zion," he said, "They're back?" The Undertaker nodded and Grell looked at the glass mug, "You wouldn't happen to have anymore of that would you?" he asked. The Undertaker nodded and said, "Well I'm going to need a refill if we keep this conversation up anyway."

Claude placed the file on his desk; he had just interviewed the twentieth person to fill Hannah's post. He honestly didn't expect this to happen; none of them were as qualified as Hannah. "So complicated," he sighed as he looked at the stack. Claude was fairly good at staying organized and such, however with his schedule and constant demand to work on contracts and his ability to negotiate terms without a judge was a skill in high demand. On top of his knowledge of patents, Claude was always being called away to work another case. Claude reclined in his chair and heard his cell phone ring, he picked it up and was about to toss it aside when he noticed it was Alex's number. "What's wrong?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice. She never called him, "Help," she squeaked and Claude heard Sebastian shout in the background, "How can you not know about something so important!" Claude was even more confused and he asked, "What happened?" Alex was quiet and she replied, "He flipped out over wine."

Claude chucked a little, he could remember the time Claude had attempted to put together a wine list and Sebastian happened to be in the manor. They spent the day discussing different wines; he found it to be a pleasure to have someone who understood as much about the liquor as he did. However he could also remember the time Sebastian had hired a smonier for a party, which ended horribly. While they shared similar tastes and knowledge the smonier didn't which made Sebastian unbelievably irritated. Claude smiled; he loved it when Sebastian got irritated he made the cutest face. "You don't even know the basics!" Sebastian shouted and Claude was snapped back to reality, it would appear that he would have to calm Sebastian back down. "I'm coming, I'm finished here anyway," said Claude as he got out of his chair. He was about to leave when he looked back at his desk, the piles of paperwork was annoying him. He sighed and then said, "See you in ten," before hanging up. He shook his head and walked away briskly, the paperwork could stay there for a while.

Claude was quick to sprint from his office to Sebastian's to find he lover glaring at Alex, it was as if he was throwing knives at her. Claude sighed and asked, "Mr. Machealis what's wrong?" Alex looked up to find Claude standing before Sebastian, "She doesn't know wine," said Sebastian with a hint of disgust and irritation. Claude sighed, he knew very well this had nothing to do with the wine selection. He smiled softly and asked, "What's the wine list for?" Sebastian replied with irritation, "Sterling has requested that we put together a Gala to be held by the Earl of Essex." Claude paused, he knew the Campbell family wanted to meet their lost grandchild, however he hadn't even had the time to tell them who she was. All they knew was that Claude knew the girl's identity, nothing more. He looked over to Alex, she did look like a Campbell with those ocean blue eyes and her father's hair color, he was uncertain how this would go. On one hand this could go wonderfully and the other it could be a nightmare. She was a graphic designer which most nobles didn't value highly. "Sebastian, perhaps we should put the wine list together," said Claude after a moment. He couldn't afford this to end poorly, Sebastian looked up at Claude, his anger had cool however what remained was confusion.

Sebastian had expected Claude to agree, however it should have taken half an hour of coaxing, which this didn't. "I guess I'll leave you guys to the wine list," said Alex and Sebastian snapped back to reality. He simply nodded and looked at her, "I would like to see the drafts of the invitations before you present them to Sterling," said Sebastian. Alex nodded and was quick to get out of the office; the tension in the air was stifling. "Do you think Sterling is playing a game?" asked Sebastian after a moment, and Claude paused. "Perhaps, he doesn't realize who he's against though, last time I checked not even I could keep you in check for long," he replied. Sebastian tugged on Claude's tie and smirked, "That's because you don't use your Bishops well enough," he replied as he looked into Claude's eyes, "Oh, that's a little difficult when you take them first." Sebastian hummed and crossed his legs. Claude stared he always admired Sebastian's legs, they were slender but powerful, however he had to admit they looks so much better in heels. "What aren't you telling me?" asked Sebastian coldly, Claude snapped to attention. Once again Claude was keeping secrets. Sebastian allowed Claude to keep some secrets especially since he had them too; however when it came to Alex secrets weren't a good thing.

Ronald looked down at his book and then back up at a massive mansion which was covered in vines. The windows were broken and the façade was falling off, "There's no way this is right," said Ronald in confusion. He slowly tapped his hand against the massive wooden door, there was a large bang as the door hit the floor of the foyer and Ronald stared in shock. His hand was still in the air as though he was going to knock. "Wow," said Ronald slowly as he slowly stepped over the door and into the house, "Hello?" he called. The interior was covered with dust and he could smell mold. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls and the ceilings were covered with spider webs. He sighed the house was massive on the inside, "Why does Grell Sempai always do this to me?" he whined. Once again the redhead was chasing after William, leaving Ronald to do his work. He continued through the house and called, "Is anyone there?" There was silence and he shrugged until he saw something flicker out of the corner of his eye. He hated it when people played games, it made his job all the harder.

Ronald pivoted and slung the lawnmower over his shoulder as he sprinted through the halls. "Wait!" he called as he continued after the figure which moved as quickly as a demon. He rounded another corner and found himself standing in what looked like had been a study. The paper was nearly all off the walls and the once violet curtains had bleached and were moth eaten. He looked about until he spotted something on the desk, it was a small sphere about the size of a tennis ball. "Eh?" he muttered as the thin blond slowly picked it up. It was clear and he noticed the envelope which had been under it. "Faustus?" he asked in confusion as he read who it was addressed to. He looked up to find a massive spider descending from the ceiling. It landed on the desk and Ronald stared, it took up the entire table top and he panicked. "What the?" he asked in confusion as the spider jumped off the desk and attempted to bite him. "You've got to be kidding!" he shouted as he sprinted down the hall and the spider fallowed.

Ronald skidded around the corner and nearly collided with a table in the hallway. He looked over his shoulder to find it wasn't only the single spider chasing him, but a group of them. His eyes widened as he ran even faster, there was no way a spider could keep up if he was sprinting. Shinigami were much faster than humans, the only thing which could beat them was a demon. He rounded the bend and said happily, "Stairs!" he continued down the hall only to find the stairs had vanished, all that remained with a ledge where they had been. "Where did they go?" he shouted and then glanced back over his shoulder. The spiders were no where to be seen, he was about to sigh with relief when he looked up to find them on the ceiling, "Oh not good," he said as he noted that there was much more than a few spiders, it was actually a few thousand.

He glared and revved his lawnmower before attempting to hack the spiders to pieces. As the blades sliced through one, limbs went flying and he noticed a purple ooze spilling from them. "Conjured?" he mused before noticing something sticky around his ankles. He looked down to find sticky white spider silk wrapped around them, "Why does this always happen to me?" he asked as he was hoisted up side down. He stared in shock at the eight eyes his met with. His glasses slipped off his nose and fell to the floor bellow, "Damn it!" he cried as he felt the webs wrap around him, not only was he without a scythe but his glasses were a few hundred feet bellow. The spiders continued to spin their web around him and Ronald closed his eyes, no matter how he struggled the webs simply became tighter. The blood was rushing to his head and he began feeling dizzy, "William," he muttered before loosing consciousness.

Grell ran after William and said, "Oh come on you have to feel just a little something for him, I mean you did cry on his shoulder." William's eyes narrowed and he responded coldly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Grell smirked, he knew William had cried on Ronald's shoulder literally, the damp spot on his suite gave it away. Grell continued, "You know that soft side is kind of cute, a definite turn on." William grit his teeth and said, "Mr. Sutcliff, what should you be doing now?" Grell paused and tapped his finger to the side of his face, "Viewing the cinematic record of some pour soul in the Trancy turn Campbell Estate." William adjusted his glasses and said, "Then please do so and be careful, Claude's spiders are a bit overly protective, however he gave me a charm to prevent them from trying to kill you." Grell stopped dead in his tracks and paled, "What did you say?" he asked.

William replied simply, "Claude set up a security system of spiders while Earl Trancy was there, it was the reason why the Campbell Family couldn't move in, even though it became their estate in name." Grell shook his head, his red hair flew as he did so, "Not that, the part about the spiders trying to kill you," he said quickly. William sighed and replied, "They're conjured for the purpose of protecting the house by Claude, he gave me his Ascot Broach from his previous uniform to ward them." Grell looked at William nervously and said, "Um Will we might have a problem." William looked at him with a hint of confusion and asked, "What's the problem?" Grell replied sheepishly, "I sent Ronald to the mansion." William's eyes widened, he shook and Grell knew that William was about to go lateral. "You," he stammered, it was clear William was beyond furious. Grell laughed nervously and was about to run away when William grabbed his shirt collar and said, "You're doing overtime." He smiled and Grell shivered, he knew William was going to kill him.

I would like to thank all of you for subscribing recently and your comments. They've been very helpful! I have a question thought I would love to know what you think, PM me with your answer.

For Sebastian and Claude's relationship should I write a separate story for them or weave it into this one?

I would love to hear from you!

~DRM