Christmas day had been quite boring. Ciel had no Christmas spirit, he was such a scrooge. The servants and I had decorated, making the house bursting with cheer, but Ciel didn't do anything about it. No present exchanges, no Christmas parties.
Nothing.
Nada.
Anyway, the boat to Sweden was leaving in 2 hours at 10 tonight, and I had the perfect excuse to sneak out, as I walk into the courtyard to my carriage, where Sebastian was standing in front of.
"And where are you off to at this hour?" He asks, as he blocks the entrance to the carriage.
"Sebastian, I am going to visit Grell in the city, before staying at Madame Red's for a few nights or so," I say, as he looks at me in the corner of his eye, before stepping aside/. Even though Grell and Sebastian's fight never happened, Sebastian still hated how that butler flirted with him.
"Shall I send an escort?" He asks, but I shake my head. "No need, no need, I'll just be on my merry way." I explain, holding up my two suitcases, as I step into the carriage I had summoned.
"See you in a few days time, and please let Ciel know I am leaving!" I cry out cheerfully, as Sebastian lifts up a wave.
"Farewell, Ivy." He says, smirk on face.
I sit back in my chair, smile falling off face. This part will be complicated, if Sebastian even catches wind of me leaving England he'll stop me in a heartbeat. But, of course, the game is set up. The Christmas Scavenger hunt I set up, to be exact, and I know how Ciel loves his games.
The carriage arrives at the port with 30 minutes to spare, and I board the ship, entering the room, before I fall asleep with a smile on my face. This would be so fun, and so hilarious for their reactions when I return.
-day 1, December 26th-
I had finally arrived at Sweden, around noon! It was snowing outside, and felt wonderful! I had traveled to an inn near the woods, where I was the only one residing there, but who cares! The owners of the inn say a big party is coming in later, but I might not see them much. The food was great, I felt great, what could possibly go wrong?
-Ciel and Sebastian-
"Sebastian," Ciel drawled, as Sebastian poured him his morning tea. "Yes, young master?" Sebastian inquired.
"It is quite odd that Ivy has not called us to let her know she's currently at Madame Red's..." Ciel says, as Sebastian stopped pouring the tea, a curious look coming to face. "I suppose it is, shall I call her using the telephone?" Sebastian inquired, as Ciel stood up, still donned in nightgown. "Yes, and I'll come with." A neutral face overcame Sebastian, he wanted to talk to Ivy, one-on-one. "Very well." Sebastian sighed, before they both walked to the phone room, only to find...
"What is this!?" Ciel declared, picking up the phone with the cut wire, as a piece of paper fell down from it. "Young master, look at this." Sebastian says, swiftly picking up the paper before it hit the ground. Ciel snatched it from Sebastian with a grumble, as he opened up the paper and read aloud.
"So you decided to call to see if Ivy is fine,
After she went to visit Madame Red.
But you have found a cut in the line,
and you wonder if she is dead." Ciel read aloud, as Sebastian grimaced. "I suppose this is a riddle we must follow, I suppose we should start our investigation at Madame Red's estate. Though, it is an odd riddle." Sebastian says, and Ciel nods. "Sebastian, prepare for us to go, and we shall find Ivy with the riddles. What an idiotic girl, I have plenty of things I could be doing right now." Ciel grumbles, as Sebastian's eyes quickly flash pink. "Yes, my lord."
-BACK to Sweden-
"I'm~ready to go~!" I say with a sing-song voice, as I enter the woods, donned in protective winter's clothing, (for males, of course. Female clothing doesn't do shit in this time period). It was comprised of: Elmer Fudd hat, snowpants, long underwear, sports bra, sweater, poofy jacket, thick wool socks, boots, thin gloves, thick gloves on top, and a facial mask. It takes me about an hour to find the tracks in the woods, and I finally see reindeer tracks, as a victorious smirk comes to face. The game is on! Stealthily, I follow the tracks, until I hear a snort. A snort of a reindeer. Hiding behind a pine tree, I look down the valley to see a herd of reindeer grazing there.
Victory! Only took 3 hours to find them, now the real fun begins!
BANG!
The bullet misses a reindeer, as the rest flee, and I hear a groan of frustration to my left, 10 o' clock. I look up at a tree to see a young-looking figure with a shot gun aimed at the ground, sitting on a pine tree branch.
"Hey! Get down from there, right now!" I say, taking a pebble on the ground, throwing it at the tree, where it hits the guy in the forehead as he falls from the tree about 10 feet, before landing on his butt in the 18 inch snow.
"Hey! Who goes there!" He calls out, voice cracking.
Ugh. Puberty.
-Madame Red's Casa around 4:00 in the afternoon-
"Oh, if it isn't my darling nephew, Ciel!" She declares, trying to give Ciel a hug, but he pushes her away, causing a frown on her face. "I wish to find Ivy, has she shown up here? We cannot find her anywhere, and she was supposed to be here." Ciel declares, as Madame Red scrunches her eyebrows in worry.
"Ivy's gone missing? How dreadful! Now Ciel, have a seat in my parlor." She declares, quickly changing the subject. Sebastian quietly notes this, but stays silent.
"Fine, we can discuss our information there," he says, following Madame Red to her red-filled parlor, with a big Christmas tree in the center, surrounded by gifts and the Phantomhive servants.
"Happy-Happy Christmas!" They declare (A/N-apparently people in England say Happy instead of Merry?), as Tanaka blows one of this roll-up party favors that shoots out a noise. Ciel's eyebrow twitches, "What are you doing here?! And why are there presents around the tree?" Sebastian smirks slightly, Ivy had certainly arranged this, to arise Christmas cheer in his young master. Why, he didn't know, but he'll let this play on for now. Besides, Sebastian may as well be in for the ride, it was amusing to see his young master be irked.
"We wanted to have a Christmas with you, with presents and family, yes!" Mey-Rin declares, holding up a present, passing it to Ciel, who warily looked at it in his hands.
"We're exchanging presents now!" Finny says, a happy look coming onto his face. "It'll be great! It's always interesting having British Christmases, and it's 'Merry Christmas!' Not Happy Christmas, this ain't some bloke's birthday!" Bard says, a pipe hanging out of his mouth in the spirit of Christmas. Now that Ciel had noticed, everyone was wearing very Christmas-y outfits. Bard was wearing Santa Clause clothes, Finny was wearing a red and green elf hat with his usual clothes, and Mey-Rin sported a pair of reindeer antlers on her head as she wore a simple red dress lined with white fur. Tanaka...Tanaka was dressed as a penguin. Madame Red is wearing a floor-length red cashmere dress, with a dark red shawl draped on her shoulders.
"Well, thank you? I guess." Ciel says as he kneels down, before hastily unwrapping his present like the child he was, and Sebastian smirked at his actions. Still a child.
The present from Mey-Rin was a horribly knitted eye patch that was red and puke green, with uneven stitchings and random holes.
"..." Ciel says, before Sebastian nudges him slightly. "I mean, thank you for this wonderful gift." Ciel says, as Sebastian wished that the eye patch was blue.
Ciel continued to receive handmade (horrible) gifts from his servants, save for Tanaka who gave him a Japanese tea pot. Bard gave him a bunch of "DIY-Dynamite!" and Finny got him a straw hat he bought from the store to match his. Only problem was that the hat was for babies, and for baby girls, so it had pink ribbons strewn on it, and it didn't fit Ciel's head.
Sebastian had no idea how he didn't laugh at all. But, he did smirk. He had to hand it to Ivy, it seemed the young master liked being the center of attention.
And finally, Ciel received a navy blue coat from Madame Red, a red rose inserted into the pocket.
"Oh, there's more presents here!" Finny says, looking behind the tree, pulling out presents wrapped with purple wrapping paper.
"I don't remember setting those out," Madame Red says, but Sebastian notices she's half-lying. This must mean that she set them out, but the presents aren't from her.
"Our names are on them, yes!" Mey-Rin, says picking up one that has curly cursive on the tag, reading 'Mey-Rin, from Ivy.'
"You're right, and there's one for Sebastian, Tanaka and Madame Red too! Oooh, and me!" Bard says, pushing out boxes labelled with the names of those people, as they each picked up their corresponding boxes, even Sebastian, whose curiosity had been piqued. Ciel's eyebrow twitched, and like the selfish child he is "Is there one with my name?"
Everyone's faces fall, before Bard shakes his head. "We won't have to open the gifts now," Finny offers, but Ciel holds up a hand to silence him "Don't let me stop you."
"I won't let you stop me than, yes!" Mey-Rin exclaims, ripping her package open. "Oohh! The new book I've been wanting!" Mey-Rin exclaims, holding up the book, looking at it before clenching it to her chest tightly. "This is the image edition. Drawings of the scenes included! Yes!" She exclaims, before pulling out a handkerchief, holding it over her nose. "Ivy totally gets me! Yes she does!"
"I wanna see what I got!" Finny says, unwrapping his package, to reveal a fashionable straw hat and new barrettes. "Ooh, blue! These match my eyes! Ivy is amazing, too bad she wasn't here to open up her presents. Oh well, when we find her, we'll give them to her."
Ciel thought, had he gotten Ivy a package? He certainly had started to take a fancy to her, and the easiest way to a woman's heart is through money and possessions to make them feel secure. Once he sees what type of woman Ivy truly is, than he'll start courting her. So far, he wasn't too happy when she left without a trace, that annoyed him extremely.
Sebastian's thoughts remain the same as Ciel's-he wanted to court Ivy. Sebastian wants Ivy to be his and his only. And, Ciel wouldn't stop him, no matter how hard he tried.
"Lovely," Sebastian remarks, as Ciel looks at him out of the corner of his eye, turning to the package in Tanaka's hand that had been unwrapped, to reveal the tea leaves.
"Ho, ho, ho!"
"Woah, a beginner's cookbook! And, a history of explosives book!" Bard exclaims, holding up his books in excitement.
"What a beautiful, red handbag Ivy has gotten me! Oh, the fashion sense this girl has! I cannot believe she isn't married yet, yes, I must start lining up suitable suitors!" Madame Red declares valiantly, and Ciel and Sebastian repress a snort.
"Oh, I'll see what Ivy has gotten me." Sebastian says, purposely calling her by her first name only to irk Ciel, as he carefully unwrapped the box, to reveal a black and gray striped scarf, with the letters 'SM' knitted on the end. This was only a reminder that he still had to follow Ciel's every order under this name, but Sebastian had liked this name slightly more now. Ivy had knitted his initials into it, and one day, he hoped that Ivy would knit him a sweater that had his name on it.
Maybe.
"This is a lovely scarf, I shall wear it." Sebastian says coolly, draping it across his shoulders, looking like a Vogue model, with the SM proudly displayed on the end of the scarf, as Ciel scowled. Why had he not received a present from Ivy?!
"We'll take our leave now," Ciel says, as Madame Red's jaw dropped. "No, it is snowing outside, so please don't be hasty. Please, stay, I have dinner already made for us." Madame Red declares, as Ciel sighs, before taking off his coat and hat, draping them on a couch. "I suppose we'll stay." Ciel says, as Sebastian smirked. Everyone else's eyes lit up, as Madame Red clapped her hands once together. "Great!"
"Well isn't this just bloody great," the body in the snow declares, as I pad carefully to it through the thick snow. He has a tuft of red hair sticking out of his hat, with pale, blue eyes to match, and a bit of an Irish accent. He also seems very tall and lanky.
"Who are you, and why are you hunting reindeer?" I ask, offering them a hand to pull themself up. "I'm...none of your concern! And I'm going to hunt the most reindeer to be the very best of my hunting cla-oompf!" The bundle declares, attempting to stand up before they fall back into the snow.
"Hunting class?" I ask, interpreting what he was saying, as I grabbed him by the sides and picked him up, setting him on the ground.
"Yes," a deeper voice declares, with a thick German accent lacing it, and I turn my head to see about 20-30 boys decked out in the same gear as the person I just picked up. "We are from St. Samael's in America, and we are group Lelantos this year and we have decided to hunt reindeer for sport." The voice continues, and my eyes widen. St Samael's was the old name of the school I went to, later renamed Archangels of Samael. Samael was, ironically, the archangel of Death and fetching of souls. How fitting for an assassin school. Sure enough, the crest of two angel wings intersecting with a two blades crossed was embelished on their pockets.
"Well than, I have something more exciting, and more fun than hunting reindeer." I declare, puffing out my chest. "Really, is that so, woman? What would be more fun than catching and killing for sport?" The person guffaws, as the other people behind him snicker. I smirk, but it's hidden under my mask. Their group draws closer, and the person who spoke had bright, brown eyes, and was a smidgen taller than me. Ha, ha. Shortie.
Wait, I was short too.
"Ever heard of reindeer-hopping?" I ask, and the person pauses.
"No, what is that?"
"Follow me," I say, as I silently pad through the snow, as the men behind me slosh through the snow.
"Boys, be more quiet, you must use skills to do this, it's not as easy as pulling out a gun and shooting an animal," I tell them, as I continue to walk, while they walked quietly behind me, until I saw a reindeer in a clearing about 10 feet at the bottom of a hill.
"Now, you must observe your surroundings, and you have two options now. 1) Which is more practical, and 2), which one looks cooler to do." I say quietly, looking at the reindeer, and my surroundings, an idea sparking to my mind.
"And, I'm going with option two," I say, pulling a rope out of my backpack, looking at the reindeer, the tree 5 feet behind it standing on a slippery platform of ice, that is on solid ground.
"What is reindeer hopping, Ivy?" Brown-eyes asks, and I smirk. "You'll see," I say, as I grab a stone from the ground, tying it around one of the ends of my rope, as I look at the branch of the tree behind the reindeer.
"This is ridiculous! I have a perfect sho-" the boy who fell down from the tree exclaims, pulling out his gun, but brown eyes stops him. "No, not yet Lee."
I quickly hold onto the opposite end of the rope, as I throw the stone-end at the branch, as it wraps itself around the branch. Adjusting the rope, I inhale and exhale, before my eyes lit up.
"Geromino!" I whisper, as I back up a few steps, before I run, than jump in the air. Feeling the whoosh of air around me, I swing downwards like Tarzan, towards the tree, and I lift up my legs. I'm about 8 feet in the air, as the reindeer remains still, as I let go of the rope about a foot away from the reindeer, as the momentum carries me forward, and onto the reindeer's back. Quickly, I squeeze my legs to the side of the reindeer, grabbing its' antlers as it tries to knock me off.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, I won't hurt you..." I mumble, taking my left hand off its antlers, stroking its neck, and the reindeer relaxes. I've always had a way with animals, it's quite odd but has helped me in multiple situations, so I don't question it.
"Woah! How did you do that?" The brown-eyes guy calls out, as their group tumbles down the hill. I urge the reindeer forward, as it approaches the group hesitantly.
"I did it with special skills I acquired, idiots. You boys go to a special school, so you gotta use those skills, no matter how dumb they seem, or else you won't survive." I respond, clucking my tongue at them.
"How'd-" Brown eyes asks, but I hold up a hand.
"I know that logo from anywhere." I respond, cutting them off. "Besides, I've never been much of a blabber mouth." They clamp their mouths shut.
Good.
"Now, I'll teach you men how to do this, but you'll have to incorporate the skills you learned to be even remotely successful," I say, stroking the soft fur of the reindeer. "One cannot just follow out the actions perfectly, there's too many factors. What the environment is, how deep the snow is, male or female reindeer, how thick it's coat is. Now, listen up."
"I'm Ivy Adams, and I'm going to show you how to reindeer-hop!"
-Morning of December 27th, 1888-
"Thank you for last night, I had a...nice time." Ciel says honestly, tipping his red hat (from Madame Red, of course) to Madame Red, as she waves him off, when Ciel's about to step inside the carriage.
"Oh, don't worry about it. And, I almost forgot, Ivy left you a present! It was in a kitchen cupboard, and I forgot to get it. Sorry!" She exclaims, passing Ciel the purple box, as his eyebrow twitched, but he took it from her anyway.
"Thank you...see you soon." Ciel says, getting in the carriage, eager to open the box.
Sebastian is waiting inside, and raises a brow. Ciel is acting awfully...child-like, which is different from his usual spoiled-'I know best because I have a hella good butler'-attitude. Of course, Sebastian is wearing his scarf.
Ciel unwraps the gift, and is shocked to see a black felt hat, with a white band and decorative blue roses.
"This hat is...lovely," he says, taking off his red hat, replacing it with Ivy's, when a note falls out of it, and Sebastian snatches it mid-air, opening it up to read, as a smirk crosses his face.
"So you've seen Red
Now to figure out this next clue you must be smart,
To find the reason why Ivy fled,
Next go to the woman who has lost half of her heart." Sebastian reads, and Ciel's eyebrow twitches.
"That's literally thousands of widows in all of England!" Ciel exclaims, as Sebastian smirks. "Shall we head back to the manor?" Sebastian asks, but Ciel shakes his head.
"I have an idea..." Ciel says, before tapping the roof with his cane.
"Go to the Queen's castle!"
Unknown to Sebastian and Ciel, after they had left, Madame Red pulls out the letter she had received from Ivy.
"Dear Auntie Red, you shall be the first person to go. Ciel and Sebastian shall come to you after a boring Christmas, so I hope you can put some joy into their hearts, and they into yours. The servants of the Phantomhive manor will be there to invoke it a bit, Ciel cares for them a bit more than he lets on. Make sure to give Ciel the present I got for him the morning after he spends the night when he is leaving, or he will be antsy. Merry Christmas, and burn this letter when you are done with it! -Ivy Adams."
-27th of December, 1888, somewhere in upper Sweden-
"Falkkkkkk," I mutter, as I'm in the lodge of the cabin I'm staying at, looking at the 30-something boys in front of me.
"Ivy~!" A boy with curly, chin-length hair pulled in a ponytail, and pale blue eyes pulled in a ponytail shouts out to me with an Irish accent. He had a jawline that could cut diamonds, and cute freckles.
Overall, he was pretty hot. But: he was the guy who fell out of the tree.
"What do you want Lee..." I mutter, as he slings his arm around my shoulder. He's only a bit taller, he's around 5'5".
Not a bit, more like almost half a foot taller than me -_-;
"Arno wants to talk to you about today." He says cheerfully, and I sigh. Arno, short for Arnold, was the bright, brown-eyed boy with the deep German voice, and was the leader. Arno was about 5'3", and was the proclaimed leader of this expedition of students from 8th grade to 11th grade. Arno is a junior, and Lee is too, but Lee is the second-in-command.
"Ugh...I just want some orange juice..." I mutter, scratching my head absent-mindedly. I was currently wearing a pair of black sweat pants, a big, green Christmas sweater with Santa sticking his butt out with a glass of milk balanced on top of it, with milk streaming into it from a carton. The Santa-Kardashian sweater, as I call it. It broke the internet, and my dignity, but I love it. Of course, the boys were all confused by clothing choice, but didn't question it.
"Wellllllll..." Lee says wistfully, "There's rumors going around that you're stronger than Arno, so he wants to challenge you to a fight to see who's the new leader."
"Woah..." I say, looking at the ground.
"I know, it may be hard for a girl to fi-" Lee says, rubbing my back, but I ignore him.
"This is so exciting!" I say, jumping up in the air in excitement, as Lee falls back. "I haven't had a good sparring partner in forever, the most action I've gotten was when I was kidnapped, drugged, and almost sold on the black market! Four months of nothing!" I roll my neck, cracking it, which sounded SO satisfying.
Lee's pale blue eyes widen, "You wanna fight Arno? He's the top of the 11th year class! He's crazy good, and...wait, slow down. You were kidnapped, drugged, and almost sold on the black market?!"
I roll my eyes, looking back at Lee. "Well, duh, I wanna fight him! I was on the top of my class for 3 years in a row, good times!" I respond, smiling, as he sweat drops. "Besides, it's all water under the bridge, with my being kidnapped and all..." I respond, gathering my hair, quickly putting it in my signature twin buns, curls bursting out.
"You're certainly not very ladylike..." Arno says from behind me, and I turn around to see him crossing his arms, tapping his feet patiently.
"Hey Arno! I think we should get into the woods by...11:00 at latest, so let's get this on the road!" I say, as Arno snaps his fingers, and the rest of the boys who were sitting down at the tables in the lodge start pushing them to the side of the walls.
"We fight until submission," Arno says, walking into the center of the clearing, getting into the offensive-position. I sigh, he's gonna try to win it in the first minute.
"Fine, but one moment," I say, taking off my sweater, as all the guys eyes widen. Arno blushes, putting his hands over his nose as he looks away.
"Was zur Hölle?! Cover up, schlampe!" He exclaims, and my eyes narrow. (What the hell?! Cover up prostitute!)
"Don't call me a prostitute!" I say, "That's rude to all prostitutes, that's their profession!"
He sweat drops, as the boys sit on top of the tables, watching us. Some hold posters that say 'Go Arno!' but all of them are looking at me, more specifically, my bra. I guess they've never seen a bra before, or a sports bra.
I sit down, criss-cross applesauce, before gesturing him to come towards me.
"Fight me now." I say, as he crosses his arms, smirking.
"I can tell you're already surrendering because you-"
"Fight me, du dummkopf!" I exclaim, and his eyes narrow at me. (
"Girl or not, I will whoop your ass for your insults!" He says, rushing forward, as I smirk, preparing for his attack.
"Oh, what a surprise! It's my young boy, Ciel!" The Queen says in her parlor, as Ciel and his butler, Sebastian sat across from her.
"Hello, your majesty, it is wonderful to see you again," Ciel said, lying through his teeth. He just wanted Ivy right now, but he had absolutely no idea how to get her location.
"It is lovely to see you again, Your Majesty," Sebastian says, giving a deep bow to the Queen, who giggles, waving him off, with her blue eyes sparkling.
"I've been...able to deal with my husband's death much better than I have been before, with the help of Ivy's advice. So, I wish to give my thanks to her personally, but...where is she?" The Queen asks, looking confused, as Ciel sighs, looking at the ground.
"We've been looking for Ivy, but all we have are clues leading us place to place, it seems. Like... a riddle, a riddle-scavenger hunt. It seems almost like a game set up to find Ivy's location." Ciel says, as the Queen fights to hide a smirk. So, this must be what Ivy was talking about in her letter.
"Oh, well, since Ivy isn't here, can you spend the day with me? My nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren have left early, and it gets quite lonely when you're older...and when your husband dies..." she says, clenching her hand to prevent herself from crying, as Ciel sighs.
You know, Sebastian says to Ciel telepathically (which is a bond all demons and humans with a contract share) you should spend the day with the sad, old, pitiable woman. She is the Queen, after all.
Ciel sighs, "Sure, why not." The Queen smiles, the plan had worked.
Arno rushes towards me, fists raised to swing, as I lean my hands back behind me, as I look at him lazily, only making him mad. Good, anger makes one lose control of their actions.
He was a foot away from me, fist raised to punch me, and I straighten my legs, kicking him straight in the jaw, as I push off the ground, flipping backwards in the air, before landing on my feet. Arno falls back a foot, as I tried not to kick him too hard, but he looks back at me angrily, flames practically blazing in his eyes.
"You'll regret that!" he exclaims, before running towards me, hands ready to punch. First, he swings at my head on the right side with his right fist, and I shift my body's left side downward, kicking my leg upward to kick him. He catches my right leg, holding it hard, before he picks me up, thrashing me hard against the ground, sending pain throughout my body, as I land on my stomach.
Ew, I was somewhat rusty.
Letting go, he stands above me triumphantly. "You're right, we'd be done by 11:00!" He exclaims victoriously, panting heavily, as I smirk.
"It goes..." I say, pushing my arms beneath me, standing myself back up, turning around my head to look up at a shocked Arno, "until submission!"
He smirks, "Of course. You fight like a girl, so we'll be done soon." He says, and the boys in the crowd ''oooo!" at his failed roast.
"You're right, I do fight like a girl, and that's why we'll be done soon, because I'll beat you!" I say, as his eyebrow twitched, as all the guys laughed at him, including Lee.
"Du gehst mir voll auf den Sack!" He says, and I laugh at his choice of words. (You're really busting my balls!)
"Ist was? Sei doch nicht so macho, eh." I say, and he cracks his knuckles, rolling his shoulders as those joints crack. (Got a problem? Enough with the tough guy act.)
"Schluss mit lustig!" He exclaims, now pissed, as he rushes towards me. Good. (Okay, playtime's over!)
If he was too serious about this, I might slip into assassin mode, and that's not a very fun thing to do.
He raises a fist to punch me, and when he swings, I jump backwards, almost in a seemingly defensive position, as Arno laughs.
"Fight me, chicken!" He shouts, holding his hands out to the side, as his blonde, ear-length locks of white blonde hair are falling out of place, making him seem crazy. "Look, I'll even let yo-"
I rush towards him, punching him in the stomach, as he yelps out, blindly swinging at me, as I jump up in the air, and do a half-spin to build velocity, sticking my right foot out as I land on top of Arno with my right foot at an angle, knocking him to the ground a few feet away from me. Landing back on the ground, I watch as Arno shakily gets up, before spitting saliva at my feet.
"Fight me," he mutters, and I smirk.
"I should be saying that to you," I say, as he runs towards me again, jumping in air, but I do a half turn to the side, taking my right hand and chopping it down slightly hard on his back at a direct angle, knocking him down to his hands and knees like a frog. He spins around, jumping back up to attempt an uppercut, but I lean my head back as he misses by almost an inch. He grounds his feet, trying to punch my right side of my face, than left, but I simply move side to side. He does a round house kick, and I bend my left knee, drawing back my right leg to the right side, as I lean far back almost on the ground onto my back, where I pivot on my left side in an anti-clockwork direction at his feet, where he narrowly avoids it by jumping back. I stand back up, as he faces me, a bruise starting to form on his jaw.
He rushes towards me again, and I hold up my hand, attempting to slap his face in a feign manner, as he avoids it, while I swiftly roundhouse kick him with my left leg into his right side, sending him a few feet away from me, where he lands in the frog-crouch.
"You haven't surrendered yet, no?" I ask, as he stands up again, courage welling up inside of him.
"Fight me like you mean it! I can tell you're only half-assing it!" he shouts, as everyone's eyes widen. Ivy...was able to beat their leader while barely trying?!
"Eh, don't wanna break a nail. They're all pretty even right now, and I hate filing my nails." I reply honestly, and Arno face was being...beaten by a girl!
Arno runs in a half circle, and I dully watch him, before he runs at me, swinging at my face. I smirk, side-stepping him, as he is mid-air in the position I was in, and as he slightly falls, I push upwards with a flat hand (I don't wanna hurt him TOO much) into his stomach at an angle, pushing him away. For being so muscular, he's really light!
He frog-lands again, before turning at me again, charging with his left fist raised. I run forward to meet him, jumping up slightly as I grab his arm's bicep, turning around quickly to face the area I was just standing in, which twisted his hand upwards into the air, as I flip him over on to his back, when I put my foot on his chest.
"Surrender," I say, leaning down, putting my hand to his throat like a knife, as he throws back his head on to the ground.
"I...surrender." He says, as I take my foot off his chest, pulling back my hand, holding it out to him.
"Good job!" I say cheerfully, as he grabs my hand and pulls himself up, as we shake hands. "You're pretty good, but you should know your defensive is weak, and you only use your left arm to punch when your right arm starts to tire." I say, and he sweat drops.
"Well, I guess you're the leader of this expedition now..." he says, breathing heavily, as I laugh.
"Silly goose, I never wanted to be leader! I just wanted to have fun!" I say cheerfully, and he sweat drops again.
No...I also wanted the respect of the other boys. Lee and Arno have enough respect for me, but those boys only saw me as a girl who can use a rope. But now, I've impressed them, and have earned their respect.
"Come on now, let's take a photo everyone to commemorate this!" Lee declares, as he sets up the camera.
"I'll take the photo," a boy with short black hair, and dark brown eyes says. All the boys stand next to eachother, going by rows of height by 10, with Lee and Arno standing on the right side by themselves, and me on the left by myself.
"Stand still!" The boy declares, as we all smile for the photo, and I urge myself to not blink.
"Got it!" He says, and all the other boys start talking again, going off on their own.
"Lee, Arno, let's take a photo of the 3 of us!" I say, slinging my arm around their shoulder. "Fine, fine," Arno says grumpily, as he goes on my left side and Lee on my right. We take 3 photos, and the boy goes off to develop them.
-Queen's Castle, London, England, evening of December 27th, 1888-
"Sooo, I've dined with you, I made tea, I went horseback riding, and you want me to..." Ciel asks the Queen, eyebrow twitching, as she nods.
"Yes, I need you fitted for a pair of sunglasses so we can match," The Queen explains like she was talking to a toddler, as Ciel's eyebrow twitched.
"Do I have to? I don't need sunglasses, I already have an eye accessory," Ciel says, pointing to his eyepatch while Sebastian smirked.
"No offense, Your Highness, but I agree with Ciel. He would have a harder time seeing." Sebastian explains, as the Queen sighs in dissatisfaction.
"Well, can we at least get tatted up so we can match? I was thinking you could get a tiny tea cup while I get a pot of tea-" The Queen starts, but Ciel shakes his head quickly.
"That doesn't sound...very appealing to me. How about we make Christmas cookies?" Ciel suggests, and like a dog, the Queen's attention was diverted, as the trio went off to the kitchen,
"W-what's this?!" I exclaim, my face paling as I step into the valley were reindeer roamed freely to get the boys an idea on how it worked.
"Someone must have hunted the reindeer and decided they didn't want the parts," Arno says with a shrug, looking at the bloodied valley.
"No, they took the antlers." Lee says, looking closely at the reindeer bodies in the valley.
Inside the valley was at least 15 reindeer dead, with their antlers chopped off. Reindeer are killed through a small electric shot to their forehead, but no, these reindeer seemed to have been stabbed multiple times. The snow is stained a heavy, dark crimson, and the stench of flesh rotting was the ugly perfume in the air. These have been dead for about...12 hours?
"I'm...I'm going to investigate, and get to the bottom of this!" I exclaim, as I slid down into the valley, walking up to the closest reindeer.
"Boys, head back to the cabin! Arno and I are going to help Ivy, and we'll be back soon." Lee ordered, as Arno slid down the hill to join me. "What do we do from there?" A boy in the crowd says.
"Do...whatever you want, just stay in the cabin." Lee says, as he slid down the hill, as the boys turned around, trekking back to the cabin.
"What's in the corpse?" Arno asks, looking at the reindeer in front of me. I grasp the hilt of the object, pulling it out.
"It's a...ritual tool, for summoning demons." I say, looking at the strange blade that looks like it came straight out of Harry Potter. It has a curved black blade with odd symbols on it, and the hilt is cherry wood.
"Why would someone use a ritual knife to kill animals? Demonology states that the summoners typically don't do that," Lee says, and I shrug.
"Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this..." I say, throwing the knife in the snow. Arno arches a brow, but Lee nods in confirmation.
"Good idea, Ivy." He says, as Arno looks confused. "Why did you throw away the knife? That's evidence! And, what's with the talk of devils?!" Arno exclaims, as Lee's eyes harden.
"I'm studying to be an exorcist, Arno. Demons, angels, reapers, all of them are very much real." Lee explains, as I nod in agreement.
"Angels of course are real, because there's one heaven, but demons are just the shadows of evil, and reapers are the stuff of fairytales!" Arno says, standing up, brushing his pants of snow. "I'm going to get that knife, now."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you cut yourself with a ritual knife, the symbols belonging to that demon might activate, and you'll end up summoning a demon." Lee says, as he stands up and grabs Arno's hand, pulling him back.
"I work with demons occasionally, too," I say, standing up, "they'll come even if you don't summon them, but there's the tools for summoning them."
"You're-you're all crazy!" Arno says, as Lee reaches into his pocket, pulling out 2 items.
"Take your pick, these will ward off minor demons. Major ones, which would be rankings equivalent of lords and ladies, or the Queen for that matter, are immune." Lee explains, and I note this.
"I'll take the ring," Arno says, taking a thick, silver ring with a big, bright blue zircon and symbols on it, taking off his glove and slips it on to his middle finger. It seems to glow blue for a moment, before it fades, as Arno slides his glove back over the ring.
"I guess I'll take...the leather cord one." I say, taking the leather choker from his palm. I look at it, entranced by its wild beauty. It has a smoky quartz point crystal, with the base dipped in bronze, so only the point sticks out. Embedded in the bronze is little symbols etched into it, with tiny citrine and peridot stones on it too.
"Wait, isn't peridot, citrine, smoky quartz and zircon supposed to be protection stones?" I ask, as Lee nods, pushing aside his ear-flap hat and hair, revealing piercings in his ear with little pyramid shaped fluorites.
"These are all protection crystals, so please, don't take them off." He finished, putting his hat back to the position it was in, while I wrap the choker around my neck, clasping it together, before letting go. True to the choker name, it hung like a choker, yet a smidge looser, but I can still breathe.
"How are we to conduct our investigation?" I ask, walking back to where the knife is, picking it up by the hilt, examining the symbols on the blade, as Arno and Lee look at it with me.
"The ritual knife has symbols rural to the areas of Sweden, so we don't have to search very far," Lee notes, "and, the knife is obviously the last choice of weapon, as it took multiple stab wounds to kill the reindeer. But this many in one area...it must be a cult."
"We should head back to the cabin, it's getting late, and the boys are probably back now." Arno says, as we nod, and Arno pulls out a cloth, and we wrap the knife in cloth, before we head back to the cabin.
-back to Queen's castle-
"Good night, my young lord," Sebastian says with a smile, bowing to Ciel, as he turns and leaves, smile falling off face, replaced with an annoyed expression. Where in the world was Ivy? Sebastian thought she'd at least show up with a big smile, and a "surprise!" as she threw confetti everywhere for him to clean up later, but Sebastian wouldn't mind as long as she was happy.
Sebastian rather liked Ivy's smile.
Sebastian briskly sped up, and was soon in his servant's quarters for the night, as he looked at the scarf from Ivy, as he wrapped it around his shoulders.
Yes, this was...this was nice. Is this the human emotion that is similar to 'joy'? Of course, it'd be more joyful if he got it from Ivy himself, but still. Sebastian can practically feel the warmth put into the stitching of his letters on the end of the scarf, how Ivy was probably thinking about building snowmen or asking Sebastian to make cakes. Sighing, Sebastian ran his long, gloved fingers through his hair.
"Ohhh, I just can't wait to make you mine, Ivy," he says, biting the finger of one of his gloves, ripping it from his hand (as he winks at the fanfiction audience lol).
-back at the cabin-
"Where's everyone?" I shout, looking through the rooms at the cabin.
"I have no idea!" Lee shouts back, as he too searches for people.
"I found a note!" Arno shouts out, and I perk up. A note means a clue, and that is good.
"Coming!" Lee and I shout, as we rush to where the sound came from, to see Arno with a letter in his hand.
"What's it say?" Lee asks, as we rush over, looking over Arno's shoulder.
The Odd Trio, we have noticed you have noticed our little mess. We want our ritual knife back, and I suspect you want your friends back. We will give it to you if you arrive at this address by New Years day at 12:00 AM.
-RoV.
"We're the...odd trio?" I ask, confused, before I reach up and squeeze my hair buns, as a smile comes onto my face. "Oh yeah, my hair is purple, which is a bit odd."
"I think they mean by abilities, Lee is training to be an exorcist, I'm a short person that's really good at everything, and Ivy..." Arno trails off, looking at me.
"Oh, well, I went to a school similar to Arch-I mean, St. Samael's, but I went on a scholarship, but I have no idea what I want to do...this week I want to be a chemist, honestly. Every week or so it changes, but there's so many possibilities! But, are you really good at everything? I mean, I beat you and all." I say, and Arno sighs.
"Fine, you beat me. So, Lee, me, and the eccentric girl who has mad skills. Now, the address..." Arno trails off, looking at the paper. "That's a about a day from here if we go all the way, but the horses will need rest and so will the carriage driver..."
I won't make it back to England in time.
"Shit guys, I have to make it back to England by the second, and it's the evening of the 27th. We'd only have a half day to rescue the boys and get back here..." I say, before an idea came to mind.
"Wait, I need to call someone, give me a moment," I say, rushing to the phone in the corner of the room.
"What are you doing, Ivy?" Lee asks, as I spin the dial, and wait a moment, when a familiar, somewhat snotty but yet happy voice.
"Undertaker? Are you sick?" I ask, as he sneezes. "Bless you," I mutter, and he chuckles.
"That's quite funny, 'bless you.' Ha! Anyway, what's making you call me at this hour?" He asks, and I smirk. "Can you put Grell on the line?"
"... you got it," Undertaker says, and I wait, than hear a click. "Ivyyyyy? Darling~ is that you? Have you decided to join the red side and ditch purple?" Grell asks, and I smile, Grell is so sassy.
And I love that!
"Sorry Grell, but I'm keeping my purple hair until the dye wears out. Now, since it's the Christmas season, I'm currently out of town, and I'll be out longer than expected. Can you spend some time with Ciel and Sebastian until I come back so they don't get lonesome?"
"You had me at Sebastian!" He coos, "What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to fuck shit up," I say, and he laughs. "Foul language, but I shall do this."
"Great! Just make sure to slow them down so it takes them longer to achieve things, thanks!" I say, explaining what to do, before clicking it close, so he doesn't ask too many questions.
"Who was that?" Lee asks, and I smirk. "A friend, a reaper, to be exact. Well, two. Nevermind that, we have work to do."
Lee's jaw dropped, and Arno walks up to me. "I have summoned for a carriage, it will be here in about an hour. We should be prepared to leave." He says, and I nod, as we all disperse to get packing.
Reindeer hopping is exciting and all, but this, THIS was real action!
-morning of the 28th, 1888, Queen's castle, London, England-
"It was lovely seeing you, Your Highness," Ciel says, as the Queen glomps him, rubbing his head affectionately, knocking his hat off in the process. Her butler John quickly slipped a piece of paper onto the ribbon band of his hat, tucked away but clearly noticeable.
"See you again soon, my boy!" She says, as Ciel pulls away from the hug, bending down to pick up his hat, than putting on his new hat from Ivy, before turning towards the carriage and leaving, as the Queen smirks.
Plan: carried out successfully on her part! It was marvelous too, she had a wonderful time with her dear boy.
Ciel sighed, as he plopped into the seat of his carriage. "Well, that was a nuisance." He says, as Sebastian smirks at him, before his gaze wavers up to Ciel's hat's band, the smirk falling off his face.
"Why, I wonder what this is." Sebastian says, plucking it from Ciel's hat, unfolding it, as he reads aloud.
"To seek the next clue,
Is to find the man who reaches incredible highs.
From his mouth, smoke he blew
And he never opens his eyes." Sebastian reads, as Ciel face palms.
"Lau..." Ciel mutters, as he hits the roof of the carriage. "To Lau's!"
"Of course, anything for the master of my darling Bassy~!" A muffled voice chimes, as Sebastian and Ciel sweat drop.
"Bassy?" Sebastian and Ciel ask, vein marks appearing on forehead, but Ciel shakes it off. "Stop this carriage immediately, and reveal yourself!" He calls out, and the carriage abruptly stops, shaking Ciel out of his plush seat, as the carriage door opens, revealing a very-red Grell. Of course, the battle had not occurred, so Ciel and Sebastian are very confused.
"Who...are you?!" Ciel asks, as Sebastian glares at Grell, who shivers under his intense glare.
"It is I, the second best butler around, but first in terms of fashion!" The person exclaims, flipping their shiny, red hair, shifting their red glasses up their face. "I am the fabulous Grell Sutcliff!" Grell finishes with a fancy spin, doing the rock sign with his fingers. Since he never got Madame Red's jacket, he was now wearing his own outfit, which consisted of long khaki colored pants with black riding boots, a black vest with a white colored button up shirt underneath that's tied with a red bow, and a fitted red coat with brass buttons was donned over all of this. On Grell's left side of his head, a few strands of braided red hair fell down, tied with dark red bands, and to finish off the look, Grell wore black leather gloves.
"Sutcliff?! You hardly resemble that boring brown haired idiot!" Ciel exclaims, as Grell proudly presses his hand against his chest.
"Bless your compliments, when I was disguised as a butler for the purposes of being Ja-helping solve the Jack the Ripper cases for Reaper-Kind, I had to go under disguise as that retched boring butler. But, now I am the kick-ass Grell Sutcliff, reaper, and butler for the time being!"
"Reaper?" Ciel asks, as Sebastian nodded. "Yes, reapers are creatures that harvest the souls of the dead, and look at their Cinematic Records, aka memories, deciding if they should die or live. Grell is one of them." Sebastian says, as hearts appear in Grell's eyes.
"Of course my dear Bassy comes up with the best way of explaining things! Kya~! This gets me all excited!" Grell says, shaking his groove-thing in the air, as Sebastian covers Ciel's eyes. "Please, my young master is still a virgin."
"Cut it out!" Ciel says, face flushing red as he slaps Sebastian's hand away, as Sebastian smirked. "Why are you saying you're butler for the time being?" Ciel demanded, looking at Grell, who stopped shaking his ass that would rival Nicki Minaj's, and Grell pushed up his glasses.
"A friend's request, she believed it would help you." Grell explains, as Sebastian and Ciel imagined an evilly-laughing Ivy as she was talking to Grell about ways to annoy the duo, and the-said duo than sweat drop.
"Now, back in the carriage, both of ya'! I'm taking you to the next spot now for the next part of the scavenger hunt!" Grell says, pushing the two in the carriage and slamming the door closed, than proceeding to hop on to the platform for the carriage driver, a smirk crossing his face.
"Hya!" He says, whipping the reigns of the horses, as they start trotting forward to the direction Grell was leading them to.
-Evening of 28th-
"We're here!" Grell says, opening the door to the carriage, letting Ciel and Sebastian step out.
"Took longer than usual, I wonder wh-" Ciel says, opening his eye to look at the surroundings, and his jaw dropped.
"Where the hell are we?!" Ciel says, looking at his surroundings, as Sebastian sweat drops.
"Mooooooooooo!" A cow groans out from the field, looking at Grell, Ciel and Sebastian.
"You said cow's! And, this is Conall's Cow Farm, and they make the best milk and meat in all of Dunton!" Grell exclaims, stars twinkling around him, as he waves his arms wildly at the cow farm.
"We said Lau, actually." Sebastian says, as Grell sweat drops, looking nervous, as Ciel and Sebastian glower over him. "Ohhhh..."
Ciel sighs, looking at the painted red farm, with a small house, which is more like a small shack for Ciel.
"The lights are on, let's see if we can request lodging for the night." Ciel says, taking a step forward, but his foot lodges into cow dung.
"Ack!" Ciel exclaims, trying to shift his foot out of it, but he ends up tripping and landing face first into cow manure. Sebastian smirks, as Ciel almost immediately pushes himself out of the butt nugget, a mustache of it on his face, which Ciel promptly wipes away.
"Why did you not prevent me from falling in the cow waste?!" Ciel exclaims, pushing himself into a standing position. Sebastian gives him the 'eat-my-shit(or the cow's shit)-smile'. "Why, you weren't in any danger. But, if you will complain the whole time..." Sebastian says, before picking Ciel up in a bridal position, leaping into the air over to the front door of the shack, as Grell stomps his foot angrily.
"Why can't you do that for m-oompf!" Grell complains, as he stomps his foot at an angle and trips himself into the cow's toxic turkeys.
"Ewwwww! This shade doesn't compliment red at all!" Grell complains, as Ciel and Sebastian sweat drop.
"Young master, I shall set you down now, and clean you up." Sebastian says, setting Ciel down on his feet, and in the blink of an eye Ciel is clean of all cow poop.
"That was disgusting," Ciel says, knocking on the door, as Sebastian smirked.
"Ivy would have been dying of laughter if she saw you now," Sebastian says, as Ciel frowns, attempting to smack Sebastian on the arm with his itty bitty baby hands.
"Quit it!" He says, face flushing red. "And, besides, she is of higher rank than you, so call her Miss Ivy! One day, she'll be your mistress!"
Sebastian raised a brow, "Mistress as in my bed mate? I wouldn't mind that at all." He smirks, as Ciel's brows furrow.
"No, one day, she'll be mine, making her your mistress to serve!" Ciel declares, and the smirk falls off Sebastian's face.
And with those two sentences between the two, it was made clear that they were both going to pursue Ivy.
"Oi! If you boys have something to do, come in!" A raspy voice calls out from the shack, as Ciel opens the door to reveal an older woman with knitting needles and a big lopsided brown sweater being made.
"Hello, Miss. We were wondering if we can stay the night, for we seek shelter as it is col-" Sebastian states coolly, like the previous conversation had never happened, as the old lady glares at the duo.
"Shut it! No need to sugar coat it, just come in, ya lettin' the cold in! My old bones don't have time for this shit!" She yells, as Sebastian and Ciel step inside fully, closing the door behind them, shutting Grell out.
"Is this your farm?" Ciel asks, as she nods. Now that Ciel could look at her features, she oddly resembled Ivy in a way. She was short, for one thing, but she had curly white hair that rested at her shoulder, with brown streaks blended in there, and the same shaped eyes, save for hers being grey. Her skin was paler, but she had strong cheekbones and thin lips, with a large nose. A pair of circular glasses made her eyes seem large, and her brown eyebrows were thick but had an arch. She looked as wild as Ivy did, but the difference was this woman was riddled with old age.
"Yes, this is my farm. I'm Conall, Conall Taylor. And I run this farm here." She says, and Ciel arches a brow.
"Do you currently run this farm? Don't you have any children, or a husband to run it for you?" He asks, as the short woman stands up, and walks over to Ciel. Ciel is a few inches taller than her, but the power the little, old woman holds makes her taller than Sebastian.
"You listen up little runt, I am 58 years old, and I'm not dead yet. I will run my farm until I die. I married, had a child, who had 9 children, and they each had 9 children. As you can tell from the photos on my wall. And, they didn't want to stay on the farm, so I let them go. They chose to live their life they want, like I want to run my cow farm as my life." Conall Taylor says, gesturing towards her wall filled with pictures of babies, adults, and older people, and Sebastian smirked at the old woman.
Definitely related to Ivy.
"Do you possibly have a grandchild named Ivy Adams?" Sebastian asks, looking at the old woman, as she whips her head over to him.
"Squat down, I don't want to arch my neck looking up at you since my face is currently poised towards your peni-"
"Don't have to tell me twice," Sebastian mutters, bending on his knee so he's eye-to-eye with Conall.
"I don't have any grandchildren named Ivy, or with the last name Adams, sorry to disappoint." She says, and Sebastian pulled a poker-face.
This woman was clearly related to Ivy, so does Ivy have a different name? Is Ivy Adams her real name?
"You didn't disappoint, trust me. You have a large family," Sebastian says, giving his shit-eating smile, as a frown crosses Conall's face.
"Don't smile like that, ya' little shit." She says, as Sebastian stands to his full height.
"Correction, ya' tall shit." She says, as she waddles off into another room, legs moving quickly. "Follow me string bean, I need you to do some stuff for me with your tall height, for we all know the runt over there can't do anything."
"You're shorter than me!" Ciel calls out, as Sebastian gives a genuine smile. This old woman has spunk.
"Well at least I didn't make a contract with a demon! Gah!" She says, sticking her head out of the door hole, sticking her tongue out at Ciel.
"How did you know that?" Sebastian inquires, as he reaches for the object that Conall had pointed out to him, which was a large fly swatter. She took it from him, and hobbled over to the couch.
"Once you get to my age, you pick up on things, about the world around you, and yourself." Conall says, sitting down.
"And, what is this about yourself?" Sebastian asked, and Conall's eyes glow silver.
"I'm a witch." She says, and her eyes fade back to their normal grey, and she leans back into her couch. "I also have an extended life period, so I'll probably live to 200 with the way my life is going. And, by that, I'm not pulling any Hansel and Gretel magic where I steal and eat the souls of youth to remain young forever. I'll probably only do that to people who deserve to die, or are on their death bed, or are criminals...nevermind all my blabber."
"So, does this mean your descendants are witches?" Ciel asks, leaning forward. This is interesting, if Ivy is related to this woman she's probably a witch.
Of course, the idea of this woman in front of Sebastian and Ciel was odd, but if reapers and demons exist, why not witches?
"Not necessarily, like how neither of my parents are wizard or witches. See, magic is somewhat crazy... it bounces around the family tree. I did some digging, and it turns out my second aunt was a witch, and I earned the magic from her since I had the magic gene. Magic can not be direct, so none of my children have it, but it's possible that my great grandchildren, or another branch might have it. And, this gene is dormant unless somehow provoked, like..."
"An encounter with the non-human world can make the dormant magic gene awaken." Sebastian says, and Conall nods.
"Yes, or a 'push' could reveal the gene. Now, I've run this farm for 20 years, and since it is near the woods I gather herbs there, and I make ointments for my cows so they produce good milk that is beneficial. Keeps the germs out, amplifies nutrients..." Conall starts, but sees the confused look on the visitors' faces, and sighs.
"Fancy words, keeps the ickiness out basically, and makes it healthier." Conall says, making a face."Where can we spend the night?" Ciel asks, and she nods to a door on the side. "Guest room has 2 singles. The red head grim reaper can sleep in there, I know how they need sleep." She says, training her eyes on the sweater.
"I'll return with our luggage for the night, young lord." Sebastian says with a bow, before quickly exiting the house.
"So, you're a lord, gnome?"Conall asks, as Ciel's eyebrow twitched.
"I'm no gnome-"
"Yeah, I shoulda said shrimp. Gnomes are pretty great people, and referring to you as a gnome is an insult to their species." Conall says seriously, and Ciel sweat drops.
"I am the Earl Ciel Phantomhive, and I own the Funtom company. We make candy and toys, basically, and we're starting to get into the food business with our invention-the curry bun." Ciel boasts, but Conall isn't rattled.
"A pipsqueak making products for other pipsqueaks, basically?" She asks, and Ciel falls back against the couch, seemingly defeated.
"Man, you really resemble Cloudia, and with the name 'Phantomhive...'" she mumbles, as if she's recalling a friend. "You're Vincent's boy, ain'tcha?" She asks, and Ciel's eyes widen.
"You knew my father?" he asks, and Conall nods. "I knew him when he was in diapers, your age, heck, I remember when he was with that Rachel-chick and she was pregnant! I was at the baby christening, so I guess we have already met." She responds, and Ciel's visible eye widens.
Just who exactly is this old woman, and what secrets does she hold?
"But I chose to distance myself from the Phantomhives after Cloudia died, for the best. I was always a background character, it seems." Conall says, eyes turning stormy. After all, the Undertaker...
No, Conall will never wish to see that man for the rest of her life. He holds a tender place in her heart, but for the people she'd keep away from him for the rest of time.
"I have returned with our luggage, and Grell." Sebastian says, distaste at the end of his sentence, as he holds luggage in his left arm and Grell in his right. Sebastian was holding Grell by the scruff of his coat, much like a cat holds her kitten.
"Oh, my Bassy has rescued me from the smelly cows!" Grell says, sparkles in his eyes.
"Why do you wish to be rescued from your own kind?" Conall asks, and Grell looks over at the old woman.
"What does that mean?" He asks, confused expression turning to one of anger, as Sebastian smirks slightly and Ciel chuckles.
"Nothing, don't worry." She waves off.
"Whatever, I'm Grell." He says, before wrapping his arms around Sebastian. "And this is my hubby Bassy~!" he says gayly, waggling his booty.
Sebastian pushes Grell off. "I am actually Sebastian Michaellis, and not Grell's husband." Distaste is obvious in Sebastian's voice.
"Well, that's great to know. Now, I'm going to knit. If you wanna do something, there's a kitchen. There's a farm. There's a bedroom. There's a bathroom. Do whatever you please, as long as you don't piss on my floor and y'all have to clean after your messes. I ain't no janitor..." Conall says, as Sebastian leads Ciel to the bedroom, preparing him for bed.
-morning of 29th around 10:00 o'clock, 1888, Dunton, England-
"My...kitchen is sparkling clean..." Conall says, as Sebastian looks at Conall with a smirk, crossing his arms. "Are you satisfied with the service I have provided?" He asks, and Conall sighs.
"No, I'm afraid not. You see, I've been conducted an experiment for 3 years now to see if dust makes spirits wander through, but..." Conall says seriously, and Sebastian's eyes widen.
"I had no idea, I am deep-"
"Just kidding, I'm too lazy to clean most of the time." Conall replies jokingly, walking over to the counter, opening a cabinet, grabbing a metal bowl.
"Clean this with warm water, than completely dry it" she says, before walking over to another counter, grabbing spices, and an...
"Is that an...amethyst skull?" Ciel asks, confused look on face as Conall holds the life-size amethyst skull in her hand.
"Yes, now I was thinking last night and I came to the conclusion you're looking for your friend Ivy Adams. I can scry for you for a bit so you can see what's going on, but it's not effective at finding locations. It's best to see what people are up to, usually." She says, opening up her window, setting the amethyst on the windowsill in the sun.
"Really? That's great!" Ciel says, as Grell stumbles into the kitchen with bed head, and red plaid pajamas.
"What's happening?" He asks, rubbing his eyes when he sees Sebastian, and jumps back in fright. "EEK! I have no makeup on and my hair's a mess! I'll be back in 2 hours!" Grell rushes out of the kitchen as Ciel and Sebastian sigh in relief.
"You boys, everything will be ready at about...3:00 this afternoon, but the best time for scrying is midnight, so you'll have to stick around until than." Conall says, and the boys nod. "Is there anything we can do to help the work load here?" Sebastian inquires politely, as Conall thinks.
"Well..." Conall trails off.
For the rest of the day, Ciel was made to clean the house and gather herbs, Sebastian was to cook meals and clean the barn, and Grell cleaned the cow manure (much to his displeasure).
Finally, it was 30 minutes until the scrying time of midnight, and the trio had begun to prepare.
-December 30th, 1888, Somewhere in Sweden, 12:50 AM (Sweden is an hour ahead of Dunton) -
"This is the address." I say, looking up at the warehouse-like building, as Arno shudders. "Not very nice looking..." Arno says, as Lee nods in agreement.
"I have an idea," Arno says, and I arch a brow. "That's new, your head is usually empty." I say, as Lee laughs.
"Yeah, whatever. My plan is we get in there, kick the bad guy's asses, than we save our friends." Arno says, a smile on face, and Lee and I sweat drop.
"Worst. Idea. Ever." Lee says, and I nod in agreement. "This is what we're gonna do," I say, telling them the plan.
"First, give me the bowl." Conall says, as Sebastian passes her the bowl, which Conall fills with cold water.
"Than, I add the amethyst skull..." Conall sets the skull in, before adding a variety of herbs in there, erupting a puff of yellow smoke from the bowl, than proceeds to grab a paper set on the side of the table.
"This letter was written by Ivy, correct?" Conall asks, looking at the riddled papers that Ivy wrote.
"Yes, it is. We've been on a wild goose chase with them." Ciel answers, as Conall nods in understandment.
"I see," she says, ripping them into shreds, before promptly throwing them in the bowl, as a puff of pink smoke emits from the bowl.
"Now..." Conall says, pressing her left hand into a fist against the palm of her right hand. She closes her eyes for a split second, opening them to an smoldering silver.
"Ivy Adams!" She exclaims, as the bowl lifts up in the air, the metal morphing into a silver sphere, before floating above her extended hands, as an image comes across.
"Woah..." Ciel says, as images flicker onto the bowl, with a closeup of Ivy's face. Sebastian looked at the outfit she was wearing, and nearly face palmed. Even far away from them, she refuses to wear normal clothing for a lady.
"Now, let's go." I say, taking off my hat.
"Aren't your clothes a bit...scandalous?" Arno asks, looking at my outfit, and I scoff. "We're facing a cult that kidnapped your peers and you're concerned about her outfit?" Lee asks, and I nod in agreement. "You tell him Lee!" I chime.
I was wearing skin tight black stretch pants with dark purple lines on the rims, with a leather belt strewn over it. It had two pouches on each side with pepper powder on my left, and itching powder on my left. Of course, once I graduated from the school I would get deadlier powders, but we just stunned the enemies basically. I have loops in my belts for weapons, including my two twin blades with purple hilts and a silver-hued blade. I call them 'Spongebob and Patrick', because they match and are on point together. I have a few extra throwing knives, which will help for long distance. I have black tennis shoes with a thicker heel, which I take out to reveal a spare knife under each shoe. Than, I was wearing a shirt where it was tight on my chest, but it restricted it from bouncing. It was grey and had a black turtleneck-like neck hole, but it was looser. I put my cords in there for talking with teammates, and I also had a purple bomber jacket over it with lots of hidden pockets, and my favorite handgun and pistol. It made me sad to think that once I run out of bullets for both of them, I'd have to get an old Victorian gun which is less accurate, since the bullets for my babies are custom. Wait, I have a spare set at home, and I can get Sebastian to just make more later! To top off the outfit, I had leather fingerless gloves.
"Are we ready to storm?" I ask, pulling my black and purple bandana over my nose and mouth, as Arno and Lee nod, each pulling up their own bandanas, Lee black and red, and Arno black and yellow."We're ready." They chime, pulling their weapons into hand.
Arno has two sickles, with two pistols strapped to his sides. He's wearing a large black overcoat, with a brown vest and black pants with it, and nice black shoes. He's wearing a black bowler hat over his hair, mussing it up slightly. Lee is wearing a navy blue large overcoat, with shiny gold buttons. He's wearing a white button up long sleeve shirt underneath, and a pair of long khaki colored pants, with brown leather loafers. Lee's weapons of choice is a war flail, with an extra chain added with a large silver ball, crosses piercing outwards from it. He also had his two guns.
"Why the crosses?" I ask, as he smirks. "In case minor unholies attack." He responds, as he whips it around, looking epic. "It's happened before."
"I see...now let's go." I say, running towards the door, kicking it open to reveal an empty warehouse with most of the boys in the group are all unconscious, tied together and gagged. But what shocked me more is that there was the bloody bodies of 5 distributed to the side, and 1 in the center of the circle, facing upwards as a large reindeer antler pierced through their stomach. He's surrounded by 10 people, all wearing black cloaks with hoods drawn over face, lowering their hands from a raised position.
"This one was a waste of time as well... what a shame..." a person with a raspy voice says, and I groan.
"Ugh, this is disgusting! This place is dusty AND blood stained now?" I ask, turning the hooded people to face me.
Best way to invoke fear is to not show fear...but I was afraid that Arno and Lee might get hurt in this.
"You are the people we have sent for, correct? We'd like our ritual knife back now," Raspy McRasp says, holding his hand out expectantly.
"NO, we're Pizza Hut. Anyone order?" I ask sarcastically, putting my hands on my hips, inching my fingers towards my throwing knives.
"You shall not leave with your lives if you continue onwards like this." Raspy Voice says, as Arno's eyes harden.
"Now, we're going to take everyone back with us." Arno says, not noticing the bodies of his comrades on the side, and Lee quietly nudges him, forcing Arno to look at the bodies, and Arno's eyes widen.
"The arrangements have changed. We'll be taking our ritual knife back, and you three get to leave with your lives. This is a good deal, is it not?" The raspy voice says, and my eyes harden, fingers twitching slightly.
"We'll be taking everyone back with us, no change in arrangements. And we'll keep the knife as a Sweden souvenir," I declare, as the raspy voice and the others in the cult laugh. Security guards emerge from the shadows, silently and deadly.
Much like a fart.
"Sebastian..." Ciel says, as he watches security guards with guns step out of the shadows, and Sebastian stands up from his chair. Ciel knew this cult wasn't the one that took out his family and tortured him those years ago, but Ivy was in danger.
"No, sit down. The purple haired girl knows something they don't..." Conall says, and Sebastian hesitantly sits back down, gaze on the sphere.
Be safe, Ivy.
The sphere suddenly drops to the ground, and the image flickers off. "What the-?!" Ciel starts, as he looks towards the old woman, who shrugs.
"Magic is a fickle thing," she bluntly states, looking out the window at the moon, a cloud covering it. "And the view is atrocious, too."
Ciel's eyebrow twitched, "Sebastian, I'm just going to go to bed now. I've had enough disappointment for the day." He says, as Sebastian stands up, bowing. "I shall prepare you for bed now, young master."
"Culties...drats. There's possibly 20...30?" Lee says, and the guards pull out daggers. I sigh in relief, I can this get over quicker than I expected it would take if they had guns.
"Our cult does not believe in the usage of guns, it contaminates the pure body." The cult's leader says, as I roll my eyes. "Shaddup!" I say, as the security guards rush forward. Quickly, Arno pulls out his sickles, and Lee his war flail.
"Competition, whoever takes out the most is called 'Supreme Leader' by the losers for a week." I say, as I see Arno nod in the corner of his eye. "Deal! I am already Supreme, I just need the title now." Lee quirks, and I smile from under my mask.
A beat plays in my head, and I fight the urge to break out dancing. This is my jam!
(PLAY THIS KICK-ASS SONG: Caravan Palace, Wonderland)
Just imagine a trip to a wonderful land...Of candy, and jam, and ice cream
Flipping my daggers out of my pocket, I rub my fingers over Spongebob and Patrick's hilts as I whip them out, twirling them 'round my finger.
"I gotta hit that street you better watch it
With a gun that I cock with a full clip," I rap/sing/mumble, as we center our backs to each other, before splitting up, charging at the security guards.
"I got the whip, got the pitch thought I'd keep it undercover
All up in the club just to live it up."
4/30."See the stone cold face, try to knock it I can't be stopped, never walk, I'm a rocket."
"I gotta be in it, I gotta be in it
I gotta be-ba-da-be-ba-da-be-da-be-it,"One lunges forward at me with a knife, and I knock it out of his hand with Patrick, before kicking him in the chest, sending him flying into 3 other security guards knocking them unconscious. I rush at the next security guard just as he lunges at my right side with the knife; and I shift my body to the left, kicking the knife forward and into his leg, where he falls to the ground.
"See the big gold chain that I'm rockin', I got the ring for the bling, not a problem"
"I got a stash full of cash that I owe to my brother, All up in the club, just to live it up"
8/30.
"Look how the streets turn cold when I walk it...It's my rules no man can stop it."
"I'll tap out for a moment, you guys continue with the security guards..." I say, punching one in the face that's rushing towards me, as I run towards the cult that's attempting to escape.
"I throw a kick so quick that'll leave you in the gutter Leave you in the gutter, gutter, gutter..." I hear the pattering of feet behind me, and I stand still for a moment. When it closes in, I drop to the ground and do a spin kick, knocking the three security guards after me onto their butts. I jump on their chest for a moment, knocking them out, before I continue onwards.
"I'll tap out for a moment, you guys continue with the security guards..." I shout out to Arno and Lee, punching one in the face that's rushing towards me, as I run towards the cult that's attempting to escape.
My fingers twitch, and I grab my throwing daggers, throwing one at a cult member close to the door in between his shoulder blades on their spine, another one to my left, and another to my right.
3/10 down, and I whirl around seeing one of the cult members close in on me, ritual knife in hand.
"All up in the gut, all up in the gutter... Just imagine, wonderful land!"
"A virgin sacrifice!" He declares with a deep voice, swinging the knife down on me. I scrunch my face, kicking him in the balls sending him falling to the ground, knocking the knife out of his hands.
"Who said I was a virgin?!" I asked, picking up the ritual knife, throwing it at one of the cult members, which landed with a thud in their chest.
I am a virgin...
6/10 culties. "Now, who's next?" I ask, cracking my fingers, looking at the remaining four. They all gulp, as I spot the leader with the raspy voice, who bears a gold mark on their cloak's front.
"I know all these things never happen, I'm just a random girl with gentle manners, If my dreams aren't rocked and I rule the wonderland..." I shout loudly, looking around.
"I see..." I say, when I take my babies Spongebob and Patrick, throwing Patrick at one of the guild members. Patrick and Spongebob aren't throwing knives, therefore are less accurate, but my throwing knives are in the bodies of goons.
"Jeremiah!" The woman in the cloak declares, stopping right by the fallen body that has Patrick sticking out of his chest. I run over to her, kicking her in the titties, sending her flying off the body.
Note: If a woman ever tries to rob you, hit her in the knockers or in the crotch area: it hurts like hell.
I pull Patrick out, turning to the cult member standing in front of their leader, arms spread out protectively.
"You'll have to get thro-" He starts, but I take Patrick and behead him, kicking his body to the side. I turn to the leader, who lets out a large gulp, and I take my fist, bopping him on the head which knocks him out.
"Eww...Patrick is all bloody now..." I say, taking Patrick and wiping it off on the leader's cloak.
"We're done, Ivy!" Lee says, coming over to me with some blood on his coat, Arno following behind.
"How many?" I ask, and Arno holds up 10 fingers."10, Lee got 12. You?" He asks, and I pump my fist in the air.
"18! I win! Haha!" I say cheerfully, as the boys sweat drop.
"Now, help me tie this perp up," I say, grabbing rope that was on a chair, as Arno and Lee help me tie the cloaked man's hand's and feet together, when he starts to stir.
"Guys, let me do the investigation, I'm really good at this stuff!" I say cheerfully, as Arno raises an eyebrow. "How? I wouldn't be able to be afraid of a happy, short girl." He says, and I smile under the bandana.
"I'm quite a good actress, I'll just pretend to be mean and scary, though I don't like it. I find that being cheerful invokes more fear into the opponent, which is odd." I say, scratching my head.
After a few minutes, the guy slowly opens his eyes. "Hey punk," I say in a dark, scary voice, imagining he's Donald Trump after saying all those sexist comments. "You're gonna reveal what happened, or else..." I say, swiping his hood off his face. I nearly gasp at his face, it looks like handsome Squidward and Lord Farquad had a love child. High, defined cheek bones with half-lidded icey blue eyes, thick lips, a large Roman-Nose, black silky hair like Farquad's i a perfect bowl-cut shape, and stubble coating his chin.
Very ugly...very scary too...
Wait- he looked like the twin of Ichiya from Fairy Tail but 'handsomer'!
Ahhh!
"And what if I don't?" he asks, a smirk coming onto his face. My eyes blaze with fury, as I pull out tweezers from my pocket. "Or I'll pluck each individual hair out of your body, eyelashes, hair, leg hair, nose hair, eyebrows. It's all the same to me."
"Nooooo! I'll be a hideous bald creature than, worst than the blobfish of the sea! I'll tell you everything!" He exclaims squirming, and Arno, Lee and I sweat drop.
"I am Jason Bombt, leader of this cult. We wished to summon the demon Furfur, to start a war to let us control the world." Jason Bombt says, and Arno's eyes widen. "This guy is wanted in 30 different countries for kidnap, arson and murder." He mutters, and I raise an eyebrow. "But why are you attempting to summon this demon?" I question and he sighs, looking at the ground.
"We wished to summon the demon Malphas originally, but...he appeared before us, letting us know he already had a master, than he proceeded to kill 20 of our men." Bombt says, and I shudder.
Malphas is Sebastian.
Sebastian's eyes flash a pink as he tucks Ciel into his bed for the night, and he recognizes this as someone mentioning his name. With a smirk, he leaves the room, opening the window.
He knew the location immediately once his name had been spoken, after all.
"You've been mentioned, haven't you?" The old hag asks as she sips her hot chocolate (she HATED tea). "Yes...and, I'd like to see this close up. I'll return soon." He says, as he morphs into the form of a crow, flying out the window. The old woman sighs, taking another sip.
"Dramatic much..." she mutters, as Sebastian flutters to the outside the window of a warehouse using the speed of sound, peering through the window to witness a scene different from what he had imagined. Bodies were strewn everywhere, with a serious-looking Ivy covered in blood standing above an ugly-looking man, two boys flanked behind her. Sebastian's eyes widen, is this the angry Ivy that Ivy mentioned?! No, this must be a serious emotion instead, one which is rare, but angry is the ultimate rare emotion for Ivy.
"You wished to create a war to have power?" I ask seriously, my eyes stony.
"Yes! Problems lead to power, power leads to problems, leading to more power. I wish to be the most powerful person alive with my cult, and the only way to achieve such power is through problems, therefore a war is the solution to this!" He cackles, seemingly crazy. "War is amazing! The rush of the kill, the smell of blood! And than, once I am ruler of the world, peace shall rei-"
I take my knife, swiftly cutting off his head, before turning around to face a shocked Lee and Arno. "Ivy...why did you do that? We could have turned him in for a reward! I could probably have bought a couple mansions with my split!" Lee says, and I look up at them, a serious look on my face.
"All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal. He wanted power, and would have gone crazy for his lust for this power. It is un-achievable, believe me, I'd know." Hitler as he tried to rise to power, for example. "I've studied countless dictators and their march to power, and they all topple in the end, either by the people's, or their own. And, this man, Jason Bombt, had declared peace the following of war. But, making peace is harder than making war because of people like Bombt, so, I stay cheerful everyday, hoping that my actions will affect my surroundings positively, and I work everyday to make life better!" I say, wiping my weapon on Bombt's cloak. "Peace may be a temporary lie after the war is gone, but there is still unease. That's why peace is nearly impossible..." I mumble. "Now, let's take everyone back to the cabin! To us!" I exclaim louder, raising my knife in the air, as Arno and Lee raise their weapons.
"To us!" They chant, and I smile, looking up at the windows in the warehouse as the full moon peaks through. A lone crow watches through the window, and the smile falls of my face. The crow...it is very eerie, and familiar.
"I'll call the local police after we collect everyone, we don't want to be questioned too much." Arno says, making his way to the captives, slapping their faces awake as he unties them.
"What do we do about our, uh, fallen comrades?" Lee asks, looking at the bodies of the boys who we couldn't rescue.
"They're the ones...who killed the cult. They deserve the recognition." I think, as Lee and Arno nod in agreement. "Yeah..." Arno says, as tears well up in his eyes, running down his cheeks. "I'm sorry... I couldn't save you all." He says, as Lee and I bow our heads in a final showing of respect.
Everyone wakes up, and they're glad we rescued them before Lee calls the local police, and we take our leave. Lee left a message about both sides being defeated, with the fallen people not from the cult the saviors. The boys will be buried with honors of a high-ranking person.
"Time to go back to the cabin, do you think we'll have enough carriages?" Lee asks, as 10 carriages await us.
"Yeah...how did we get so many?" I ask, arching a brow, and Lee and Arno both shrug/
"Some fellow in black hailed them for us," Arno says, and I feel my eyes widen.
Sebastian?
"Did he have longish, shaggy black hair, brown eyes, pasty, and was he kinda tall?" I ask, as Lee sputters.
"'Kinda tall?!' This man is a giant!" Lee says, and I sigh.
Definitely Sebastian. Whatever, at least he got us a carriage.
"Okay, do we have carriage assignments?" I ask, as Arno nods. "We're all still in the same carriage, lucky you!" Lee says teasingly, rubbing my head.
"Noo! My hair!" I whine, swatting his hands away, as he laughs at my position. He's way taller than me, that asshole!
"You're both acting like toddlers..." Arno scoffs, walking over to a carriage, as Lee and I trail behind.
"Thank you!" I say cheerfully, when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and see the footman of the carriage.
"Yes?" I ask, as he passes me a letter. "I was told to give this to you, from your tall friend in black. He's quite the looker!" The footman says, waggling his toosch excitedly.
"Oh, uh, thanks." I say, as he nods in a serious manner, before going back over to his perch on the carriage.
"Come on Ivy! Everyone is leaving already!" Lee says, as I look up. "Yeah, I know. Stop complaining!" I say, pulling myself in, as the carriage starts.
"Here..." Arno says, giving me a furry blanket which I promptly wrapped around myself. It's freaking 5:00 in the morning, and it's so cold! Brrrr~!
"Thanks!" I say, as I look at the letter with the Phantomhive wax crest stamped on it. Of course. I pull out a pocket blade from my shoe, getting glances from a confused Arno and a curious Lee, and I use it as a letter opener, looking at the sprawling cursive handwriting of Sebastian.
Dear Ivy Adams,
Well, the mysterious scavenger hunt we have been sent on is at it's close, since I have found you. But, the young master has been having a grand time, so I shall continue this game you have set up and pretend I have not found your location. But- we did find a witch you might be related to, her name is Conall Taylor. And, Ciel, Grell, Conall and I witnessed you begin the fighting through her magical scrying sphere, and I must say you fight marvelously. And, I heard your remarks about war and peace, and though it is a feasting ground for me, like a buffet, one could say, I could somewhat agree with your statement. You are rather well read for a human.
From, Head Butler Sebastian Michaellis of the Phantomhive Estate.
How formal...but at least I'll have more time. I figured Grell must have messed it up pretty bad, but he must've taken them to the wrong location...genius!
Wait...Conall Taylor?!
Conall Taylor is my great x10 grandma, and she was rumored to have been a witch. In my regular world, no magic existed, but in this one there was magic...
Sweet! I have a witchy grandma!
"We're taking the long way back so we can go to the New Year's festival in Stockholm, it'll be so exciting!" Lee says, and I smile.
"That sounds great, so I'm going to get some shut-eye now." I say, leaning against Lee's shoulder, dozing off quickly.
