Hey sorry for the lack of updating, I'm such a procrastinator and is known to have writer's block. But no matter I finished this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Also, for those how don't know my Collab story The Demon's Child Story, I am including Ben however, he will be acting a bit different and actually have his memory. Please Give me Review! :D
Black walls, covered with aged painting, artifacts and draperies. Tall, dark marble pillars were spread in both sides of the main hallway. There were at least one or two statues of a foreign animal's skeleton on each side as well. It could be described as many things. Morbid, gothic, disturbing and all means haunting, but then again it was in a castle in Hell. In this hallway, a tall dark figure was walking through. His skin was as pale as the moon's light and hair darker than shadows. His wardrobe consisted of a casual flowy dark grey long sleeved shirt, dark leather pants with matching heeled boots.
The young man walked through the dark halls with a bored expression knowing that he's been through them many times before. It was his home after all. As the young man continued his stroll, he heard something. Curious of what it was, he started to walk to the source. As he become closer, he started to hear small yelps of pain and whimpering. He quickened his pace recognizing the owner of the pained sounds. Once he arrived to the source, his heart dropped at what he was seeing. Before him was a man; a bit younger than him, kicking and stomping on a small child; who looked about eight years old. The child was scared and clearly in-pain seeing small tears flowing down his pale cheeks. His attacker paid no mind as he continued his harsh actions along with spitting out cruel words to the small child. The man couldn't stand this; he can't let this go by. Without thinking, he grabbed the attacker by his long, dark, dreaded locks and pulled it roughly and made him turn to face him. The attacker looked at him with disgust in his blood red eyes and his slim features.
"What are you doing", the man said with a serious tone in his voice. The younger growled at the sound at his voice.
"Why would it concern you brother", the other said with venom. The elder was not amused and continued to stare at him intensely. The younger let out a sigh, knowing that he wasn't getting away until he gave his elder brother a reply. "Alright", he started with a sigh, "well if you must know, that little pest entered my chambers and took a few of my belongings".
"I-I-I didn't mean to", said the small child, his voice cracking with every word. The other looked back to the child with a ragged look that caused the small boy to whimper and to hold himself. The elder was not pleased by this at all and grabbed the beast in front of him by the neck and choked him. The other began to struggle and felt his neck being crushed by the other's hand. The elder held the other's neck tighter every minute, but not enough to break it. After a while he let the man go, causing him to fall to the floor gasping for air. The elder smirked at the other's misery, enjoying the sight. He knelt down to his younger's height close to his ear.
"If I ever see you hurting Malphas, for a pathetic reason again, I'll be sure to crush your neck next time. Is that understood". The other just looked to his elder with a hateful glare. He didn't respond as he stood up and walked away from the two. The elder let out a sigh seeing his brother leave. He looked back to the child, who was still in his huddled position. He gently sat in front of the child and held him close in his arms, letting his youngest brother cry into his chest. The elder began to rub the youngest back and whispered comforting words to help calm him down. "Shhh, it's alright little one. It's over now. I'm here".
"I-I didn't mean to get him angry. I-I just wanted to do something special".
"Special?", the elder said as he faced his child. "What were you planning to do?"
"W-Well, I knew that Lucifer had some books of the h-human language. A-and I know that it's important for us to know all of the known languages, so...I wanted to learn on my own and show you. As a surprise", the younger said as he rubbed his eyes. The elder couldn't help, but smile at his younger brother.
"Well I'm very proud of you to take the initiative to learn this own your own Malphas", he said with a kind smile. The younger smiled back and gave his elder brother a hug.
"I love you Balam", Malphas said with a small smile on his face. Balam smiled even wider, seeing his younger brother smile to him.
"I love you too. Now let's get you cleaned up ok". Malphas nodded as Balam picked him up and started to head towards another room to clean up his wounds.
/
Mmmmmmhmmm. Man this feels so good. I never thought the ground would feel so soft and warm. Wait….grounds aren't soft and warm. Oh wait, that's right….
I opened my eyes slowly and saw that I was still in the bedroom that Sebastian had given me. I still can't believe that I have a job at this amazing manor. I looked out the window and saw that the sun was about to rise. Well time to get dressed I guess. I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.
It's probably been about a month or two since the last time I bathed, so I probably smell really bad. I turned on the water and waited until the tub was full. Once that was done I began to undress myself. After taking off my dirty clothes, I stepped into the tub and it felt so good. I couldn't remember the last time I was in a bath this warm. But, I can't enjoy it for too long I have to work. I began to wash myself from my body to my hair, which I have to say might be the hardest. It's really thick, really long and unmanageable (think of a lion's mane or Fairy Tail's Gajeel's hair but a bit shorter). However, not matter how unmanageable it can get, it's always so soft and feathery.
After about thirty minutes of thoroughly cleaning myself, I drained the tub and wrapped a towel around my waist. As I was about to walk out, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
I looked back and I was surprised to see that my skin tone was really white. Not like Sebastian pale, but very close. I also saw that I was a bit skinnier than I thought, but oddly I still have my six-pack (weird I know). Probably because you rarely took a bath and that you had a hard time looking for food being a homeless peasant, I concluded in my head. I looked up from my body and stared at my face. It wasn't anything too extraordinary about it. It's a solid structure, very narrow and I can admit it was an attractive face. I've even seen noblewomen gawk at my appearance regardless of me being dirt poor. My hair, it seemed lighter than before. Even though it's black long hair, it just looks different somehow. Now finally to my eyes. They are probably the most favorite part of my body because they just look so beautiful to look at. They reminded me of heaven or just a really clear summer's day. Sometimes I imagine being it that paradise, just relaxing in some field and just looking at that clear sky. I let out a sigh, and left the bathroom to get dressed. As I went back into my room, I heard something that made me jump a little.
"I can see that you clean up nicely". I sighed knowing who the voice was from and looked to the door to see Sebastian with his well-known smirk.
"Well good morning to you too", I told him. "Hey is that my uniform", I continued pointing to the folded clothes in his hands. He nodded to me and placed them on my bed.
"You will be working with the other servants today, but if the young master says, you will be working with me".
"So, I'm like a helper", I concluded.
"In a way yes", he told me with a nod, "Also I have something that I think you'd like". I was a bit confused at first, but then I became speechless with what he was showing me. In his hand was my sack. He actually found my sack! I quickly took it and opened it. I smiled seeing that everything was still there. Nothing was taken or even damaged.
"I-I don't believe this...you actually found my sack…"
"Well if I couldn't do this what kind of-", I cut him off by giving him a huge hug. I was so happy that I didn't even care that I was half-naked. I felt Sebastian stiffen a bit before awkwardly returning the hug. It sort of felt like he never even gotten a hug before. After a while we both let go of each other and I rubbed the back of my neck out of embarrassment.
"Uh sorry about that. I-I just couldn't contain myself I guess" I told him with a shy smile.
"I-It's alright", he told me, "i-it felt nice. I-I haven't had an embrace like that for a while". I noticed that he said the last bit a little sadly. It made me feel a bit bad for him. He must have been through some tough times. I placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused him to get a confused look.
"Well if you ever want another hug...or just talk come to me and I'll be happy to talk and listen". Sebastian chuckled a bit and smiled.
"I'd appreciate that...now you should probably get dressed you wouldn't to be late for work would you". I nodded to him and with that he left the room to leave me to dress.
/
About fifteen minutes later, I walked out of my room and headed to the kitchen area to get my assigned job. When I entered the room, I saw that the other servants including Sebastian and Tanka were also in the room. And for some reason were all giving me an odd look.
"Uh, is there something on my face?" I asked, really confused.
"Oh no, it's just….you look so handsome", Mey-Rin said with a blush on her face. And oh, if I hadn't told you what the uniform was like it was fairly simple. It consisted of a white dress shirt, to which I rolled the sleeves to my elbows, a vest similar to Sebastian's and Tanka's except it had a dark blue tint to it, dark dress pants with dress shoes and a simple black tie. I also attempted to pull my hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way, but the hair tie broke before I got into the kitchen.
Damn this hair!
"Yeah compared to yesterday, you liked a complete bum. But now you look more proper", Bard commented, but I'm pretty sure that he insulted me.
"Alright, now onto today's duties", Sebastian started, causing everyone to get into a line. Not wanting to feel out of place I stood next Bard, facing towards Sebastian. "Finny, make sure that the weeds are pulled, Mey-Rin clean the linings and the young master's clothes, Bard begin to prepare the young master's afternoon treat, Ben be sure that the servants are doing their duties and assist them if necessary and Tanka….what you are doing is just fine", the butler said going down the line. These all these didn't seem that hard. With that said the servants went to their duties, Sebastian went to give Master Ciel his breakfast and Tanaka...he just sat in the corner drinking green tea.
Well no use in standing here doing nothing, I thought to myself. I decided to check on the other servants. I walked to where Mey-Rin was washing the linings and saw that she was putting in some detergent in the washer. I walked into the room, unnoticed by the maid until she turned to me. She jumped a little not expecting to see me.
"Oh, Mister Ben I-I didn't see you there", she told me, still a bit jittery.
"I'm just checking on you and seeing if you're doing your task", I told her simply. She nodded to me with a smile.
"Oh yes, I was about to add some more detergent like the instructions told me. Yes I was."
"Okay then. How much does it ask for?"
"Thirty cups of detergent". With that I gave her a confused look.
There's just one kid living here and some servants. There's no need for that much detergent. "Are you are that's right Mey-Rin", I asked her. She gave me a confused look and took out the directions.
"Well it told me here to put in thirty cups", she said pointing to it. I took the instructions from her and looked at it more closely.
"Uh Mey-Rin I think you need new glasses. This says three cups not thirty". Shock was written all over her face as she quickly grabbed the instructions back and looked to it more closely.
"Oh dear you're right! Oh what a maid am I!" she said a bit ashamed.
"Hey, hey it was a mistake, it happens. How much did you put in already?" Mey-Rin thought for a bit before answering.
"Only about four cups", she told me, "you think that might be too much".
"I don't think an extra cup will do any harm", I told her with a reassuring smile, "let me help you". She happily agreed and within a few minutes we finished up washing the clothes and hung up the last of it on the drying lines outside. "Phew, that wasn't too hard; well I'm going to check on Finny. You should get back to work". She nodded with a smile as I waved goodbye and went to check on Finny. I walked towards the garden and I had to say it was beautiful. White roses were blooming and hedges and other plants looked so healthy and green. I soon saw Finny carrying a weed killer and was about to use it.
"Hey Finny" I said as I waved to him. Finny turned to me and gave me a huge friendly smile.
"Hi Ben!" he said to me, "are you going to help me?" I nodded to him and then noticed something about the weed killer. Finny gave me a curious look seeing my gaze changed.
"Finny can I see the weed killer for a second". He nodded and gave me it. As I was able to look at the weed killer closely I realized what was wrong. "Finny, did you know that this was broken?" Finny was confused for a bit and then realized that I was right.
"Oh yeah. Thank goodness that you caught that or else I would have messed up the garden like last time", he said rubbing the back of his head with a shy smile.
Like last time...I wonder how bad it was when he did it.... "Well since the weed killer is broken, how about we pull them by hand", I suggested. The young gardener nodded and smiled a little. I smiled back and we began to pull the weeds by hand. After about an hour of pulling weeds, we were placing the last bit of the weeds into the weed sack.
"Wow, it usually takes a lot longer with just me", Finny said wiping the sweat of his brow.
"Well now you have me to help if you need it", I told him with a smile, "I'm going to check on Bard okay". He nodded to me and continued to work. I headed my way into the kitchen and I was able to see Bard preparing the Master's lunch. I would have left him be, but then I saw him take out a flamethrower and place his goggles on.
"Okay let's light this thing", he said about to torch the about to be lunch. Before he was able to torch the food into oblivion, I placed my hand to lower the weapon.
"Bard, not to question the chef, but we have a working oven", I told him. Bard lifted his goggles to look at me more clearly and I could see that he was a little annoyed.
"Well the oven would take too long. But if I used my flamethrower, it will cut cooking time in half", he argued with a confident smile. Now I'm no cook, but I highly doubt that using a flamethrower is ever allowed. I let out a sigh and turned to Bard.
"Though that may sound like a good idea in a sense, it truly isn't". Bard just gave me an even more annoyed look. Obviously he doesn't like me that well. Well on to plan B. Instead of trying to reason first, I decided to take the flame thrower away from him. Bard was obviously shocked and annoyed.
"What the hell! You had-"
"Let me just stop you there", I interrupted, "now think about this logically for a moment. If you use this flamethrower, you could make a huge mess. Think about Sebastian's or even Ciel's reaction to the mess". Bard to a minute and thought about what I just said. About a few minutes after, he let out a sigh realizing I was right.
"Alright, I'll use the oven", he said in a bummed out tone. He then muttered something incoherently, but I kind of assumed that it was a negative comment about me. Knowing that he doesn't like me that well I decided to watch instead of helping. After a while he finished the meal and I had to admit it came out pretty good. I smiled at his work and decided to give this to Master Ciel. I walked up to a pair of brown oak doors, rolling a silver cart with his meal. I gently knocked at the door to which I heard a muffled enter. I opened the door and had to stifle a laugh seeing that the head of a major company, was building a house of cards instead of doing paperwork. I gently walked over and placed the meal onto the table making sure not to knock down the paper castle. Ciel stopped what he was doing and began to eat his meal. He had a blank expression when he was eating, but I think he enjoyed it.
"Did Sebastian make this", he asked boredly.
"No, your chef did...after I took the flame thrower away from him", I said muttering the last bit. Ciel chuckled a little at my comment.
"Yes, he seems to forget that he can't use weapons for cooking", he told me, "it's usually much more chaotic here. I assume that's your doing". I got confused for a second and then realized what he meant.
"Well I was told to assist the other servants so as a fellow servant, how could I not follow the order". He nodded to me as he continued to eat. After he was done he turned to me with a serious gaze.
"Did Sebastian give back your things?"
"Yes he did. And...I just don't know what to say. Thank you so much my Lord", I told him smiling widely. "But how did he even find my things? It must have taken him hours to find it".
"On the contrary", he said taking a sip of his tea, "it actually took him about 20 minutes". That sort of surprised me, and also sounded a bit far-fetched. However I didn't care how long it took, I was happy to have them back. "Now that you have your things, we can begin with finding out who you actually are. I've already saw your personal items, I hope you don't mind".
"No, no it's alright", I told him feeling a little anxious, "d-did you find anything interesting".
"Well, the picture is a little bit worn down, but I was able to tell that you could have a son or younger brother. And with the locket, I can assume that you had a lover and also that you were a part of high society". I nodded to him knowing some of those things beforehand, but being told that I could have been a noble was new to me.
"I've assumed that with the pictures. What makes you think that I was a noble?" Ciel just shrugged and continued to drink his tea.
"There was a crest on the back. I don't know what family it is from, but Sebastian will take a look. You may go, I have work to do".
Sure you do..hehe, I thought to myself stifling another laugh. I bowed down to him and rolled the cart out and went back to the kitchen. As I walked back to the kitchen, I couldn't help but smile knowing that one I have my things back and two Ciel is really keeping his word on trying to find out who I really am. This is fantastic! I just hope that I liked the life that I had forgotten.
