FInal chapter for now until more manga updates~
April 23rd, 1888. 9:00 PM
"Another long tutoring day at the library completed," I say, stepping into the red common room, setting in a letter at the postal box for Arno and Lee. I rustle my short curly hair, I've grown to like the short look, but every once in awhile I'll try to reach up and squeeze my hair buns only to find them not there.
A phantom-bun.
"Oh my, Ivan, can you do me a favor, please?" A soft voice asks from behind me, and I look behind me to see Maurice Cole, the traitor to Red House and secretly ugly bitch. While reading the manga, I had a large distaste for this character. With soft blonde ringlets and glimmering ruby eyes, he faked innocence easily.
"Depends, I would really like to help but if it's too hard I might not be able to, as I'm usually really busy," I reply nonchalantly, and he smiles softly.
"That's alright. Can you make me some of your cookies, please? They are absolutely delicious!" He voices, and my thoughts drift to Edgar.
Gah! He's trying to steal my recipe!
"What for?" I ask, and he looks slightly to the left, before his gaze snaps back to me. "I'd like to share some with my friends, that is all~!"
The way to catch someone in the act of lying is to observe their body language. If they tense slightly, glance elsewhere, or do not meet your eyes at first, it means they have to think of an answer. This means that 75% time they need to think of a lie, or the other 25% of the time they are nervous or afraid of talking to you.
If they're in the 25%, this generally means they're afraid how you'll view them if you find out they lie.
"Well, if you wish to share it with your friends, I can always bring it to them from me. Farm to table, you see?" I ask, and his smile falters for a moment, before going back up.
This was his second falter, meaning his appearance will slip soon. It's usually 2-3 probes and pokes at the target, but Maurice seems easy to mss with.
"It wouldn't be too hard, you see. And, I can get you an invitation to the Swan Gazebo if you help me~" He says, a small smirk growing on his face and I smile victoriously as I go in for the finishing blow.
"Eh, not really interested. Swan Gazebo doesn't seem very special. Thanks for the offer, though." I say, and the smile wipes off his face.
"Ivan, you will make me those cookies. You see, my family is very influential, and we can ruin your life. I don't think you'd want your life to be ruined by some cookies, would you?" He asks, and I laugh.
"Darling, your family couldn't hurt a gnat. If you attempt to ruin my life, I wouldn't care, because it's my own opinion of myself that matters, not yours. That's why I'm fine with the way I look and act, darling. You can learn a thing or two, honestly." I say, adding a wink at the end. "And, your eyelash glue is fading, as some of your eyelashes are falling off on your right eye."
His hand instinctively reaches up to his eye, only to find the glue intact. "What!? No it's not! How girly are you to tell that I wear fake eyelashes?!" He whispers menacingly, and I wink.
"You have blonde hair and black, eyelashes that are way too long and thick to be natural. It's pretty obvious. Anyway, you can learn some life skills by figuring out a cookie recipe, good night Maurice." I say, as I walk to my dorm room, mentally fist pumping.
Changing into my pajamas, I slump into my bed, falling asleep immediately.
Adjusting my top hat as I walk outside for my first class on the morning of the 24th, I look up at the bright blue sky.
"Great weather for once," I narrate to myself, as I walk past the front gates as they start to close, "for England, though. God, I miss California and Michiga-"
Suddenly, a large force rams into me, sending me falling over and the culprit on top of me. "Oompf!"
"My apologies," a small voice says, breathing heavily as I look at the culprit, eyes widening. "I was in a rush as I almost missed my first day, and I wasn't watching where I was going."
Damn Ciel Phantomhive! I can't get caught on his first day here!
"No worries," I say, "but can you get off of me please?"
He looks me in the eyes, and his eyes widen. "Ivy?"
"Who's Ivy?" I ask, placing false-confusion in my voice and he shakes his head. "Sorry, I thought you were someone I knew. Similar eyes, that's all/" He says, getting off of me and I stand up, dusting myself off.
"No worries, once again. Since today's your first day, I recommend relaxing a bit. The mountain only gets higher from here." I look down at Ciel.
He's a few inches shorter, ha ha! What a garden gnome...
Turning my gaze down to his fallen hat, I bend down and pick it up. "Here," I say, placing it on his head. "All apart of the uniform."
"Thanks," he says, "I'm Earl Ciel Phantomhive." He says, and I sweat drop. Of course he shows off his title.
"Never heard of you, sorry." I apologize, and he sweat drops. "Anyway, I don't think you need to flaunt that title much here."
"And, what is your name?" He asks, and I smile, sticking out my hand.
"Ivan Taylor, I'm in Scarlet Fox," I say, and he shakes my hand. "Well, I best be off or I'll be late." I say, letting go of his hand. "See you later alligator!"
"Bye..." he says, as we walk in separate directions. I smirk, he's definitely going to be in trouble for the lawn incident.
"Cookies in calculus~" I say with a sing-song voice, as I unveil cookies on a paper platter from my bag, which everyone looks at greedily.
"Woah Ivan! These look scrumptious!" Herman exclaims, as I smile, looking at the chocolate chip cookies on the plate.
"Thanks!" I say, "Take as many as you wish, everyone."
Everyone took 3, leaving a cookie for me, and I throw the paper platter in the trash can.
"Don't you guys have a recycling bin?" I ask, and they look at me confused.
"Recycling bin? What is this?" Clayton asks, pushing up his glasses. "Well, it's basically used consumer goods are collected after being placed in the 'recycling bin', converted back into raw materials and remade into new consumer products." I explain, "You can take a variety of materials, such as paper, and have it recycled as it is made into products again. It's really good for the environment too~"
"Interesting, we can always introduce that to our school as a use of power. When the Queen visits, she'll be very pleased as she always blabbers about us helping the future of England." Lawrence says, and I sweat drop. "That can be a reason to do it," I mutter, as everyone nods in agreement to Lawrence's statement,
"We can bring it up at our Monday meeting tonight, good thinking Ivan!" Edgar praises, and I smile. "It was no big deal, but thank you!"
"Alright, next question. Edward is at 600 points, and is tied with Cheslock. For the winning point, what is an atom?" I ask, looking at the confused boys as they try to remember the definition.
"Is it...uh, proton?" Edward asks, and I shake my head. "Beep! Incorrect! Cheslock has the chance to steal for the win!" I say, looking at a nervous Cheslock.
He bites his painted black nails in thought, before his eyes light up. "Oh! I know, it's a molecule!"
"Beep! Incorrect, the correct answer is 'an atom is the basic building block of matter.' Both of you were really close though, atoms combined make molecules. And, atoms are made up of protons, electrons and neutrons." I say with a smile, as Edward sighs, and Cheslock slams the back of his head against the wall of Swan Gazebo.
Our trio was currently there during Edward and Cheslock's free time, and they asked me to help them study for their science test. The library was too crowded today to get a table, so we ended up coming her during their free time.
"Ack! All this science stuff is stupid! I won't need it when I'm going to be a famous artist one day!" He says, and I laugh. "Cheslock, what if you need to paint a picture of an atom, or sing a song about atoms?"
"I'll burn that damn painting, and I'll refuse to sing that song!" He exclaims, "You're acting like a bookworm, but at least you know how to have fun, but God! This is horrible!"
"What does that make me? A fun-worm?" I ask teasingly, and Edward chuckles. "You're a rich-bitch Ivan, not a bookworm or a fun worm." Cheslock says, and I laugh.
There's slang for each house off their stereotypes or reverse-stereotypes. Bookworm is for the Sapphire Owls, Rich-Bitch for Scarlet Fox, Junkie for Green Lion, and Hippie for Violet Wolf.
"Calm your tits Hippie," I say, as Edward swats at my leg. "Language Ivan!"
"God, you sound like my mother!" I grumble, as Cheslock laughs at me.
"Oh," a sickly-sweet voice says from behind me, and I turn around to see Maurice. "You fags are hanging out with the transfer?"
"Transfer? What does that mean?" I say with a laugh, as Maurice holds up a piece of paper, and I look at it.
"My family has records of the previous school you got kicked out of for bad behavior, sexual relations with whores and opium use. That's why you got sent over from America to here, am I right?" he asks, as I look at Edward and Cheslock who have shocked looks on their face, not to mention slight disgust.
"Maurice, are you kidding me right now?" I ask with a sigh, rolling my eyes. "I did go to a mixed school before I came here, but I've never done any drugs and I'm a virgin. I came over here with my cousin because I wanted a tougher education and she wanted freedoms. Besides, the school on there doesn't even exist, it's a fake record. St. Mary's of Sacramento was the name of a church in our town," I say, looking at Maurice who has a shocked look on his face.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He apologizes quickly, "I found these records floating around the school, and I wanted to make sure you knew. Gossip is awfully horrible, isn't it?"
"Didn't you just say that your family had the records?" Edward asks, and I laugh. "Maurice is just trying to cover up his lies," I say, looking at Maurice. "You're not blended properly on your chin, by the way."
His hand reaches up his chin, before moving away. "I'll be going now," he says, turning red in the face as he quickly walks away.
"What was that about? He seems like a little punk," Cheslock says, sticking his tongue out, making a 'blegh' sound. "He doesn't like me very much, don't worry." I say, and Edward looks over at me.
"Aren't you going to tell your prefect about what Cole did?" Edward asks, and I shake my head, a smirk growing on face. "I'm a strong believer in karma, besides, we should get back to studying. Unless you both wish to fail your science exam?"
"No!" They yelp, as I laugh, pulling out my notecards again.
April 28th, 1888
"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, as I walk down the purple-pathway leading to the Violet-Wolf dorms to talk to Cheslock, as I watch an upset Ciel walk away quickly.
"Nothing," he says quickly, rubbing his head, and I laugh, walking over to him. "It's not nothing if you have a pebble stuck in your hair," I say, flicking a small pebble out of his blue hair, and he sighs.
"I was trying to talk to the Violet Wolf's prefect," he says, and I arch a brow, even though I already know the reason.
"You trynna transfer to Violet Wolf?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "No, I'm fine with Sapphire Owl, it's just that I was going to ask some questions."
"Alrighty Ciely~" I say, rubbing his hair. "Whatever you say~"
"Knock it off!" He says, swatting at my hands, and I chuckle. "Well, I'm heading over to Violet Wolf right now, I can ask the question for you." I say, and he looks up at me, confused expression on face.
"You knew that I got stoned, but now you wish to go over to them? Are you a mad man or just stupid?" He asks, and I chuckle.
Ciel got stoned. Ha ha.
"Both, if anything. Besides, I'm on good terms with mostly everyone at this school, save for Maurice Cole. Sometimes Clayton and I will bicker, but in all reality he's pretty wholesome," I say, as I lean into Ciel's ear. "Watch out for Maurice Cole, there's more to him than you know." I whisper, as I straighten up, a smile on face.
"Ivan, do you have Mr. Michaellis as a math professor?" He asks, and I shake my head. "Sorry bub, I'm in Calculus, so I don't have him. But, I heard he is a very good teacher."
And a very sexy one at that~!
"Oh, you're one of the older students?" He asks, and I shake my head. "I'm only sixteen, I'm just in 'advanced' classes." I say, and he nods.
"Alright, farewell," he says. "Are you sure you don't want me to ask a question on your behalf for Greg-Egg?" I ask, and he looks confused.
"Gregory is the Violet Wolf prefect, but he's pretty great. A skilled artist, an amazing one, actually." I explain, and he sighs. "No, thank you though."
"Alright Ciel, I'll see you later," I say, as I walk away from him, a smile growing on face. He's so oblivious that I'm Ivy, only because I don't have visible boobs!
Having no boobs is actually quite enjoyable, I can lay on my chest without it feeling sore! I can go down the stairs braless, and I can wear those cute bralettes (that haven't been invented yet, sadly. And I probably shouldn't wear bralettes as a dude though...). The only part I miss is, you know, being a girl. Though, I really like this hairstyle. If I can do anything I'd dye the tips of it purple, but I cannot do that. 1- it's Violet Wolf colors, and 2-Ciel will get all weird.
"Ches-looooooock!" I say, as I step onto the ground, and he pokes his head out the window. "What you want Ivan?!"
"You asked me yesterday to help you with geometry! I'm here for that now~" I say, walking up the staircase and he sighs, rolling his eyes.
"Fine! Just get in here already!"
"Coming Goldilocks!" I call out as I enter the house. I hear the large stomping of feet down the stairs as Cheslock runs down the stairs.
"It's Cheslock! Not Goldilocks! Now come to my room so we can work already." He complains, and I laugh, reaching up and ruffling his hair.
"Alright Goldy."
"ACK!"
April 29th, 1888
"Oh, hello again Ciel, I heard you've been invited to the Swan Gazebo at 4:00 tomorrow," I say to him in the passing time, and he nods.
"Yes, I am quite excited to go," he responds, as we make our way to the dorm road where it begins to split.
"Well, Ciel, did Maurice tell you this information?" I ask, and he nods, a confused look on face. "Yes...why is that relevant?"
"Go at 2:00," I respond, walking away from him. "It'll do you some good."
3rd person POV
"I was invited to meet the P4 tomorrow at 4:00 PM," Ciel says, as Sebastian removes his outer jacket. "Yes, I have heard." He responds, as Ciel leans back into the chair.
"But, something odd occurred," he responds, and Sebastian arches a brow. "How so?"
"A student from the Red House named Ivan Taylor, who I have inquired you of, has told me to go at 2:00 PM instead," Ciel says, "he seems to harbor distrust for Maurice Cole."
"Do you plan on going at the time this 'Ivan Taylor' told you?" Sebastian asks, intrigued. "No...it's odd though. Maurice Cole seems like such a honest, truthful individual who speaks unhesitantly. Ivan Taylor seems odd, a bit bonkers too..."
"Alright, young master." Sebastian responds, as Ciel sighs. "Any news on Ivy?"
Sebastian eyes flash, as he looks down at his paper. "No, she's vanished without a trace since her birthday. She left clues previously when she went off to Sweden, but there's no way of tracking her. The only clue I had was a faint trace of her scent back at the mansion on the 2nd when she took all of her items in her room, but that's it."
Sebastian in all honesty has been worrying for Ivy. After the incident where she almost drowned (on his behalf, too) and the revelation of her memories and her witchness, she caused a destructive wake in her path. The servants have been performing worst than their usual, Ciel is grumpier, those Indian idiots had been bawling for weeks, the Americans she had at the party no longer wrote as if they knew where she went off too...and most of all, Ivy disappearing has affected Sebastian himself. An odd ache has cramped his chest, and Sebastian knew it was not heartburn as he had no heart. He still could not figure out what it was, was it his master's anger that could be channeled through Sebastian? Though, this had not happened when Sebastian had masters who were angry before...
"Damn it! Why won't she show up already?!" Ciel exclaims in rage, baby hands balling into fists. "I should have just locked her up at the mansion a long time ago, she's too damn free spirited."
"Isn't that why you harbor feelings for her? Her free-spiritedness drew you in, did it not?" Sebastian asks with a smirk, as Ciel looks angrily at him. "Says the emotionless demon who seems to care deeply for Ivy."
The smirk fell off Sebastian's face at Ciel's words, as he wondered if he did harbor emotions for Ivy.
"Sebastian, have you also found out information on Ivan Taylor?" Ciel asked lazily, as Sebastian nodded slightly.
"He seems very close with the P4 and their fags, and is often seen helping other students in their studies. He is in advanced classes, and that's all I know. Nothing suspicious about him," Sebastian laments, as Ciel nods.
"Good, keep an eye out for suspicious activity."
"Yes, my lord."
May 1st, 1888
I was in the library, reading my book when a hand set itself on my desk in front of me. Looking up from the baby hand, my eyes connect with Ciel's large blue orb.
"How did you know?" He asks, and I arch a brow, slightly confused. "Know of what? Why the sky is blue? Why the dirt smells like dirt, but when wet it smells like mud?"
"How Maurice gave me the wrong time!" He whisper-yells, and I chuckle, standing up from my chair. "I take it you didn't listen, oh well, life goes on," I make my way out of the library, Ciel storming close behind me.
"Stop running away!" He whispers angrily, as I step out of the library. "No talking loudly in the library, but we are free to talk louder now," I say, as I walk to a bench, sitting down. "Maurice Cole is a lying, vindictive bitch. That's how I know."
"He seems so...sweet though," Ciel responds, as I sigh. "Maurice Cole is not sweet! He's a scum-sucking road whore, that's what he is." I respond, and his eye widens.
"Strange language, why use such strong language?"
"Oh, I'm quoting Mean Girls a bit. But seriously, don't trust Maurice Cole. He wants to seem like top dog," I respond, "you just gotta get evidence of this to take him down. You also look like you want revenge, what's your plan?"
"How did you know of my intentions?" He asks, and I smirk, looking up at him.
I read your manga!
"It's in your eyes, well, eye. The crave for revenge, for vengeance." I respond, standing up. "If I were you, I'd take the unused eye and slap it on my back. The ocean is deeper than what it appears like on the surface, after all. And Maurice Cole sucks at applying his mascara."
May 2nd, 1888
"Joanne, what's wrong?" I ask, waking up in my dorm room and seeing a crying Joanne on his bed at 4:30 AM. This was unusual for him to be up so early...
"C-Cole said he gave me an invitation to Swan Gazebo...b-but I never received it. Even so, the i-invitation was in my desk. Everyone's calling me a liar now, even though I'm not lying!" He sobs out, as I walk over to his side of the room, rubbing his back.
"I don't think you're a liar, Joanne. You are the nicest, most literate person I've ever met. Cole is just a dumbass who can't do shit on his own and relies on other people by constructing lies." I say, as he puts his head on my shoulder, hiccuping slightly.
"It-it's not manly to cry, I'm sorry," he apologizes, and I sigh. "Joanne, anyone can cry. I cry, but that doesn't make me any less of a man. If anything, it shows that I can feel emotion, and the ladies absolutely dig that."
"Ha..." he says, as I continue to rub his back until he falls asleep. I'll wake him up later before classes. Setting him in his bed, I walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Walking to the door, I glance in and see Maurice freaking Cole's reflection in the mirror, him putting on mascara and making a dumb face, With a smirk, I go back to my room, sitting on my bed and drawing the curtain on it close.
Closing my eyes and envisioning the image, I pull out a spare piece of paper. Opening my eyes, I look at the paper, Maurice Cole's face plastered on it. With a smirk, I open the curtain, and grab a quill. On the back, I scribble a few words before I place it in an envelope, going down to the post where the postman for the college was collecting.
"Excuse me, but can you deliver this envelope to Ciel Phantomhive of the Sapphire Owl house, please?" I ask, and the postman nods, putting it in his sack. A smirk growing on face, I hear thundering in the distance.
Soma is here.
May 5th, 1888
"Hello, fellow Scarlet House member!" A thick, Indian accent says from behind me, and I turn to see Prince Soma himself. "Oh! Hello!" I respond, looking at him with a smile.
"IVY!?" He exclaims, as he envelops me in a hug, sobbing all the way. "Ivy?!" I ask, placing false confusion in my eyes. "My name is Ivan Taylor!"
"Ivan...?" He asks, pulling away. "Forgive me! I thought you were a friend I have not seen in a very long time," he says, and I chuckle.
"You're not the first to call me Ivy. I have a cousin named Ivy Adams, though, is that who you think I am?" I ask, and he nods. "Yes! That's who you look like, you both have the same blue eyes and curly hair!"
"Yeah," I say with a chuckle. "Do you need help with anything?"
"Oh! Yes, I was wondering if you can lead me to the library entrance, I cannot seem to find it," he says, and I nod. "Yup! I'll take you," I say, as we step out of the dorm room and make our way to the library.
Suddenly, I hear the fluttering of paper and I look up to see a dark figure on the top of the bell tower, throwing papers down at us.
"What are those?" I ask, as one flutters down to my feet, and I bend down, picking it up.
"'The reason Maurice Cole's hair is so big is because it holds so many secrets,'" I read aloud, smirking at the clever caption I wrote on the image. "I want to frame this, it's quite a beautiful photo," I say, as I set it inside my coat pocket.
"He was being rude to Ciel, so I do not feel so bad..." Soma says, "Oh! I haven't greeted myself yet, I am Prince Soma."
"Nice to meet you, Prince Soma," I respond with a laugh, "Now, let's be on our way to the library now, shall we?"
May 10th, 1888
"You will never betray me, and always be moderate. Let's swear to St. George that we will maintain a relationship that benefits each other until the day we leave this school. I request that you become my fag, Ivan Taylor." Edgar says, holding out a red rose to me.
I get down on my knee, placing my hand above my heart. "I humbly accept."
Taking the red rose from Edgar delicately, I pin it to my jacket, as I stand up and shake Edgar's baby softhand.
"You better keep making those great cookies," Edgar says jokingly, and I smile. "Of course, but it should only be on Friday's or else we'll have to be rolled to Calculus." I respond, and he laughs light-heartedly.
Damn, he really is hot. Damn Viscount genes!
The day before, I had made Joanne my fag, but in all truth I probably won't have him do much. It's more so no one beats him up because they all FEAR me! Muahahahahahaha!
Now, I can get into the Midnight Tea Party. Though tea isn't my thing, I can always transfigure the drink.
"Violet! How long do I have to maintain this pose?!" Herman Greenhill asks, as he does a back-bend with his bat balanced on his stomach, leg fabulously lifted in the air.
"Until I'm finished with the drawing," Violet responds, as Herman's eyebrow twitches. "But when is that?!"
I'm standing next to the other fags of the prefects, and I stand behind Edgar, with a nervous Ciel next to me.
"Think of it as training, Herman." I respond, a light smile on face. Out of all the fags, I had the most freedom of speech, I think it's just because of my amazingness~! Also, I think everyone knows by now this is just my personality...
"Every year when we get close to June 4th the students of the Green House get restless." Edgar says, leaning back on the couch.
"Hmmph! It's the same for Red House!" Herman quips. Lawrence sighs, "Every time we get close to June 4th, the students' grades get worse as they get more anxious."
"Hmm? What's on June 4th?" Ciel asks, as I smile.
"Well...there's the absolute fa-bu-lous dormitories' cricket tournament!" I exclaim, doing jazz hands and a little spin, tripping in the process as I back bend onto Edgar's couch. I laugh, "Oops! Anyway, it's our school's traditional tournament that's been held for a century. It happens only once a year and the Queen watches the boat parade of the winning team from Windsor Castle."
"Such a silly boy," Edgar says with a sigh, and I give a thumbs up. "That's me!"
"The dormitories have always been super competitive, so of course everyone gets tense around these times." Herman explains.
"I couldn't care less though..." Gregory says with a sigh, as Cheslock makes a fist. "I hate the students of the other dorms, I cannot wait to crush them!"
"Hey! I thought we were friends Chestilocks!" I exclaim, sitting upright on the couch, glaring playfully at Cheslock who shudders, a slight blush coming to face.
"Sorry! I hate MOSTLY all the students, save for Ivan!" He apologizes quickly, as I nod. "That's what I thought..."
"I dislike the amount of people that come, though..." Gregory says, continuing to draw.
"I thought non-students aren't allowed to come?" Ciel asks, and Clayton shakes his head. "There are 2 events that celebrate: The Eve and the End of the Tournament. On these days, family and important acquaintances are allowed to come." he explains.
"On these days women come too! Escorting a beautiful woman will show your status!" Edgar laments, and I sigh. He sounds like the Viscount!
"I've never seen you with a woman before, Redmond." Gregory pipes up. "I don't have a fixed partner yet," Edgar says, and I laugh.
"Or you're gay," I say, as Herman snorts, falling from his position. "Oh! I must get up quickly!" He says, as he gets back into the backbend position, yet shakily.
They get into little-sister talk, and Edgar looks at me. "What of you, Ivan?"
"I have a couple cousins who are girls, but I'm only close with one as we are closer in age." I say with a shrug. "She's pretty cool, I guess."
"Ah, yes, I forgot you're cousins with Ivy Adams." Edward says, and Ciel's interest pikes as he hears those two words.
"Yeah, but I haven't seen her in almost a year," I say with a sigh, "I wonder how she's doing."
"Ooh! Ciel, I see you turning red at the mention of Ivy Adams, is she your fiance?" Edgar says, and I nearly choke on my spit.
"Ehh?!" Ciel and I say at the same time. "Boy, you ain't marrying my cousin until you no longer look like a scrawny 12 year old!" I exclaim, fighting to hide the blush on my face.
"If she's to be anyone's fiance, she'd be mine! And she'd come support me at the tournament! Alongside my precious sister Elizabeth!" Edward declares proudly as his face burns red and my jaw drops.
Wtf Edward?! My face turns red as I bury my face in my hands.
"Well, she's closer to being fiances with the one she's kissed. So, who is it?" Edgar asks, and I fall off the couch. "Re-re-re-redmond?!" Edward asks in pure shock and sweat...ew. And Ciel looks dead inside.
"Maybe she'll cheer for her cousin, it'll be interesting to see who she cheers for." Lawrence says, and I give him the thumbs up. "She should stay away from those shady boys!" I say weakly, as Cheslock grabs Ciel by the collar.
This is too embarrassing, even though I'm supposed to be Ivan!
"You're a guy too, you can't say nothing has happened," he says, and Ciel's face turns red. "No...well..." he says weakly, as I slam my head into the floor.
Nothing has happened!
"CHESLOOOOOOCK!" Edward says angrily. "Ivy is an angel, who would never do that!" Tears form in his eyes, as Cheslock shudders. "Don't get all teary eyed on me!"
"This is so gross guys~ I'm her cousin, it feels so weird to hear you talk about her in front of me! I'm out, I'll see most of you in Calculus tomorrow," I say, hiding the blush on my face as I run from the gazebo, wishing to be away from all the problems.
Unknown to me, Gregory was drawing my silhouette in a ball gown, a single rose shadow held in hand. A confused look crosses Gregory's face, before he starts a new drawing.
He always had drawn odd drawings, so he never payed mind to his doodles.
May 12th, 1888, 9:00 PM
"Edgar, you wish me to play cricket at the tournament?" I ask, and he nods. "You seem like you'd be a great addition to the team! It would be amazing if you could join, I'm sure Scarlet Fox will win with you on our side!"
"Alright, I'll join. Thank you, Edgar!" I say, and he smiles, patting me on the head before walking away.
If I remember correctly, Ciel should be committing arson tonight as he burns Violet Wolf! God, Ciel is such an idiot...
Sitting down in the parlor room, I pull out a book and begin to read until midnight, when the smell of smoke leaks through the window as students rush down.
"What's going on?!" Joanne asks, bewildered.
"It smells like something is burning," I say, standing up and opening the door. "Let's all leave in an organized manner, I believe it's not the red house that's burning."
We all walk out of the house and onto the pathway, looking at Violet Wolf's house in shock as it burns.
"Edgar, Ivan!" Herman says, as the Green Lion group runs up to us. "Do you know what's going on?!"
"Someone might've knocked over a gas lamp in Violet Wolf, but we need to act quickly." I say, and Herman nods. "Sapphire Owl is already getting water, what should we do?" Edward says, as I look at Soma.
"Soma! We can borrow your elephant and have it spurt water over Violet Wolf like a watering hose!" I say, and his eyes light up. "Got it!"
"Everyone else, go retrieve buckets of water while Soma and I get the elephant, before meeting us at the stable. Does this work with everyone?" I ask, as they all nod.
"Alright men, let's get going!" Herman exclaims, "We'll show everyone that Green Lion is best at putting out fires!"
"Hey! Scarlet Fox will do it best!" Edgar argues back, as Soma and I make our way to the stables.
"We can take the fountain and have the elephant drain it, then we can go to Violet Wolf." I explain, as I take a running jump, landing on top of the elephant.
Closing my eyes, I place my hand on it's head. Please help us, I think outwards to the elephant, imagining it as if it's a text message.
The elephant starts walking towards the fountain, slurping up water in it's snout until the fountain is dry. Scarlet Fox members quickly tie buckets of water to the elephant, and I grab one in my hand.
"Onwards Aoshima!" I say, as the elephant runs to Violet House, feet thundering.
"IVAN?!" Everyone asks confused, as the elephant runs close to the Violet House, spewing water all over it.
"Quickly everyone!" I say, beginning to sweat from the heat the fire exhausted. "We should put out the fire before it spreads! Everyone who has nothing to do, grab a spare bucket and reuse it! Fill up the empty buckets at the main fountain!"
Jumping from the elephant's back, I take the buckets and start pouring them on the house. Aoshima the elephant spews the last bits of water from its trunk, before it runs out. Coughing from the smoke, I run back from the house, elephant following behind.
"I'm going to retrieve more water," I tell Edward, who nods, passing me a rag. "Tie it around your mouth, I don't want you to inhale any smoke."
"Thanks Eddy," I say, tying it around my mouth, and his eyes widen. "Eddy?"
"Gotta blast, thanks again!" I say, as I take a few steps back, before doing a running jump to climb the elephant again. "Let's go!" I say, rubbing the elephant's back as the elephant thunders to a now-refilled fountain, before slurping it dry, and the elephant thunders back to Violet Wolf, putting out the last flame.
"I'll remember this, you bastards," Cheslock says angrily (what a cutie patootie tsundere) "I don't like being in debt, so I will definitely make it up to you!"
"Oh, you're so precious!" I exclaimed, glomping him in a hug. "Friends will do anything for friends, so don't overthink it!"
"Friends?" He asks, and I nod. "Of course!"
He turns pink, before pushing me off, walking away quickly. "Purple House, don't just stand around!" He yells at purple house members, and I chuckle.
June 3rd, 1888. 8:00 PM
(A/N-I'm changing up the manga's events a bit for the storyline. It was supposedly happening in 1889, but I will have it set in 1888. Oops!)
"The second placed dorm was on the Green House's heels until the end of last year! They charm their visitors with beautiful play-" the VP announces, as Scarlet Fox's doors open with swirling roses, looking like it came straight out of Ouran Host Club.
"Scarlet Fox!" At this, Edgar, Joanne, Soma, the others and I exit the doors, dressed like royals and holding candles.
All the ladies cheer, and I look over at one, winking. She swoons and falls over, and I look away, trying not to laugh.
Oh, if only she knew I was a girl!
Some ladies throw roses at us, and I catch one, looking at it. Should I...?
I should! Placing the rose between my teeth, a large collective swoon echoes. The rose stem doesn't taste very good, but it looks really sexy I bet.
Everyone else enters, and the goblet-of-fire lookalike blazes, and the tournament begins.
June 4th, 1888, Weston's Field
"The first cricket match of the dormitories tournament of Sapphire Owl vs Scarlet Fox dormitory will now start!" The announcer declares.
"How unlucky to end up against red house right away, Lawrence," Edgar taunts.
"I might lose in chess, but I won't in cricket!" Soma taunts alongside Edgar, and Ciel scoffs. "We'll see."
"It's on like Donkey Kong, mofos!" I say, as we get to our areas, ready to play.
"Go elephant king!" The people on the red stands scream, as Soma throws a fastball, knocking out Lawrence first try.
Soma throws it again, and when Lawrence hits it he makes it a foul ball, making it 2 out.
Edgar kisses the ball, and the ladies squeal.
"Soma, give a curve ball next," I whisper, and he nods, throwing it at Lawrence, and when Lawrence swings to hit it the direction changes slightly, bouncing off an edge instead into Edgar's glove.
"Got 'em! 3rd out!" I say, and the red stands cheer.
We continue to wreck blue team when it's my turn to bat. "I've always done baseball, this cricket thing is all new to me," I say to Lawrence who's catcher. "Of course, a bat is a bat and a ball is a ball," I say, setting the bat over my shoulder. The ball is thrown close to the ground, and I swing downwards like a golf club, slamming the ball into the stands.
"Woah! It's a boundary 6!" Someone in the stands declares, as I run the bases.
"Alright friends, we gotta stay healthy!" I declare, taking the meat pies and slamming them on the ground. The pot around the meat pie shatters, leaving a large meaty pile of beef and decorative glass trays. "What?! Why did you do that Ivan?!" Edgar says.
"Because we can have a healthy vegetable platter I prepared instead!" I say, brandishing a vegetable platter I had prepared in the kitchen.
Of course, I knew how Ciel drugged the meat pies with laxatives, so I wasn't going to let that happen. He's going to have to win through determination, or lose with pride.
Besides, I have faith he'll make it to the tea party.
"Thanks Ivan!" Soma says, taking a celery stick and dipping it in the ranch. "No problem! It's an American tradition to eat healthy," I say, lying because America is one of the fattest countries in the world...but they don't need to know that."I'm going to the bathroom!" I say, taking a couple glasses of water, as I make my way into the bathroom for Red. It was finely decorated for some reason even though it's only used once a year, but I ignore the directions as I step into a stall (which is a full-size bathroom for one person, if I may add) and I sit down in a plush chair in it, looking into the vanity mirror.
Dumping the glasses of water into the flower vase, I look at the two glasses, and my eyes glow blue as they both shrink into two blue eye contacts that match my eye color. Smirking, I place each into my eye, and look into the mirror. There's no visible distance. Holding up my middle finger, a puff of red sparks comes out, but there's no visible flash in my eyes. Great! They hide the magic 'fingerprint', so no one sees my eyes glow. I can use magic during the competition without arousing too much suspicion now...
"Bottom half of the second innings, start!" The referee declares, as Joanne takes the ball.
"Let's do our best, Phantomhive," he says with a smile. Ciel smiles slightly, thinking he's already won. "Of course, Harcourt."
Joanne throws a spin ball, messing Ciel up. "GO JO-JO!" I cheer, clapping my hands. "Woah! That was a nice ball," Soma says. "That's Jo-Jo for you," I say, as Jo keeps throwing the ball.
"It's getting better! Deliver the final blow, Harcourt!" Edgar cries out, and I smile. "Yeah Jo-Jo, you got this!"
Jo inhales through his nose and throws the ball at Ciel, who tries to hit it with his bat and it hits a wicket.
"3 outs!" The referee says, and Ciel's visible eye widens. How did they not fall from the meat pie filled with laxatives?! It was extra strength, and it's been almost 30 minutes!
"Ciel," I muttered so quietly not even a mouse can hear, changing my voice to my regular pitch of Ivy Adams, willing the wind to carry my voice to Ciek, "to get into the Midnight Tea party, do an act that is honorable. One of the Scarlet Fox members will hit a ball at a spectator...you should figure out the rest."
Ciel looks around bewildered, walking away as we continue playing until our teams switch sides.
Going up to bat, I make eye contact with Ciel, flashing a wink as Lawrence throws the ball. Doing my baseball swing, I aim it outside the ring to where it would be 6 points, and my eyes land on Lizzie, the perfect target.
I hope she'll forgive me if Ciel is incompetent and doesn't block the hit... When Lawrence throws the ball, I swing it upwards, and slow down the ball slightly as it makes its way to Lizzie. Ciel rushes over there, and I speed up the ball slightly. Jumping in front of Lizzie most dramatically, the ball bounces off of Ciel's chest, landing on the ground. I've already run the bases, and I watch as Ciel asks Lizzie if she's alright like a true gentleman...
You go Ciel!
Everyone politely applauds Blue House as I walk over to Red Team, exchanging batters.
With a final score of 16-205, Red House wins! We all cheer, and I walk over to Ciel who is currently by his servants.
"Hey Ciel, sorry for the bogey-hit," I say with a slight laugh, and I turn to Lizzie. "I'm also sorry for hitting it by you! That was never my intention, I'm Ivan Taylor," her cheeks tint pink. "I-it's alright! I'm L-lizzie!" She titters, laughing nervously as she looks away.
"Don't worry," Ciel says. "Are you alright, though?" I ask, and he nods. "Yeah, there's no bruise, it must've been a slower ball."
I laugh, "That's good. Thanks for an exciting first match, I've never played cricket before!"
"Really, now? You Americans do baseball, correct?" He asks, and I nod. "It's a great game, and at half-time instead of having a fancy tea-party we have a track race of the mascots!"
He sweat drops, but shakes it off. "What did you eat for your half time today? I had tea and crackers," he says, and I nearly facepalm. Wow Ciel, way to be obvious about drugging us. I should tell him that we had a vegetable platter...nah.
"We had this delicious meat pie!" I declare, "It was soooo good, and I ate at least 4 slices." I see him shiver, and I nearly snort in laughter.
"And the best part about it was this different flavor...like most meat pies don't taste like it, but this one had something different about it... I can't decide what it is, though." I say, almost thoughtfully. "Can I sit with you guys while I stretch?"
"No! I mean, uh, we don't have enough space, sorry..." Ciel says, shuddering at the thought of me, full of laxatives by him.
"Don't worry, I didn't eat the meat-pie," I admit, "In fact, I made a vegetable platter that everyone ate from as a healthy alternative."
"You knew...?" He asks, and I laugh. "Of course I knew, what kind of person would I be to let my team eat laxatives when I saw the Blue coach, disguised as a server, switch out the meat pies? But, being an American, I didn't tell anyone." I respond, causing him to pale considerably, and he nervously laughs.
"Oops..." He says, and I sigh. "Next time, think of a strategy that doesn't involve food poising. Next year, let's meet on a fair battlefield, alright?" I ask, and he smiles slightly, finishing with a nod. "Alright, I'll look forward to that."
After shaking each other's hands, I turn from him and go to where the red team's base was, where we calmly prepared for the real battle to come...
Red vs Green match. And, I was ready to use some magic for this...
"We will now commence the final match of Scarlet Fox Dormitory versus Green Lion Dormitory. Start!"
"Go for it Ivan!" Lizzie cheers out, blushing, and my eyes widen. What?
"What?! Lizzie!" Edward cries out, as Herman sweat drops. "That's unsightly, Midford."
"We're going to wipe the floor with you guys, you hear?!" Edward says, attempting to be intimidating.
"Oh Eddy, the only thing you're going to wipe the floor with is the tears you cry after our team wins." I respond, as Scarlet Fox chuckles.
"I'm gonna go all out, I expect Scarlet Fox to do the same." Herman says, as Edgar nods. "Of course."
"First offence is with Red House!"" The Ref says, "Play!"
Edgar steps up, and the ball is thrown, and Edgar knocks it far into the six point range. After him, I step up, and Edward looks at Herman.
"Let me throw," he says to Herman, and I recall how he does the Cheslock-copycat move. Inhaling through my nose, my eyes lock on the ball.
Edward does a series of spins before releasing it at high speeds. Eyes locked on the ball, I slow it down slightly before I crack it far out into the six point line, causing Edward's jaw to drop.
"H-how?!" he mutters, watching me run the bases.
While Edward's truest strength is his respect for others, allowing him to try hard and attempt their abilities, Ivan seems like his true ability is the one to not be intimidated. He smiles as he looks straight in the eyes of danger, and even Edward cannot copy that.
But...this ability means something so drastic has happened before that nothing else compares to that.
Looking over at Ciel, he winks at me, nodding his head over to Lau. That means Ciel is in my corner with his unused plan...hahaha...
Soon, we are tied 60-60, and we are nearing the end of the inning when Soma hits the ball when the ladies from Lau's harem unveil their legs. Edward wasn't paying attention and misses catching the ball, making it 64-60.
Ha ha ha... Edward and Herman Greenhill look over at the group of ladies, seemingly very distracted.
"I told you to leave!" The ref declares, looking at Lau and his friends. "Oh! Me no undastan Engrish well very!" Lau says innocently, as the ref blushes heavily. "It's forbidden to watch the games in such lecherous clothing!"
It's too late for Green now, as we are now 125-63 thanks to Lau...hahaha! From the corner of my eye, I watch as Maurice Cole leans up against the pole, smirking. What an asshole, betraying his own house like that!
Soon, Green catches up in the second inning, as we are now 150-144, and I have the ball, when Herman is up to hit.
"There is no ball I cannot hit! Green has already won!" He declares, as I prepare to throw, an idea coming to my head. "Wait, Soma, throw for me," I say, as he looks over at me. "Are you sure?"
"Of course, I have a plan." I say, as I toss him the ball. "We have 2 chances left, we better use it to make sure we stay in the lead."
"Alright, Ivan..." he says, as Soma throws the ball at Herman, who knocks it out for 6 points. While he does this, I sneak behind his wicker in an usher-position, getting into a defensive position.
This is going to hurt like hell...
"For Kali~!" Soma says, throwing the final ball. "Too soft!" Herman declares, as he swings his bat back.
"HUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Herman screams Super-Saiyan style.
SMACK!
Feeling a large hit in my forehead, I fall to the ground, and everyone gasps.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" I scream in pain, clutching the wet, bleeding spot on my forehead, a painful thrum coming from where it hit.
"This wins it! Run Herman!" A Greenhouse member shouts out.
"Are you okay?!" Herman says, ignoring the member of his house, as he walks towards me, asking if I was okay. Looking a few feet away from me where the ball lay, I crawled over to it, and my shaky hand grasps around the ball. Looking at where the closest wicker was, I throw the ball at it, knocking the wicker off the little pole things. Herman looks at it in shock, as I look at the empire.
"OUT!" The umpire declares, as we go from 150-150 to 151-150. "Green House: 10 out! The match is over! Red House won!"
Everyone is silent for a moment, before everyone starts cheering. "IVAN! IVAN!" Joanne cheers, as the red team rush toward me. "You won us the game with your injury! How manly~" Edgar says as he sobs, and Soma joins in. "Manly! Manly!"
They pick me up, throwing me up in the air as I laugh. "Scarlet Fox for the win!" I cheer out, pumping my fist, barely feeling the dull throb in my forehead.
Honestly, I've gotten worst injuries then this.
"You're the cox for the boat parade! I'm so jealous!" Joanne says in our dorm room, as I place the hat on my head, which is adorned with red roses and ivy vines. "You don't have to be jealous, Joanne, you'll probably be the cox next year.' I say with a laugh, as I ruffle his hair.
Ha ha... 'cox'.
We make our way to the Victory Boat parade, and I was in this tacky-looking red admiral uniform. But, I made it work, and my ass looked fantastic in it too.
We all take a picture together with large smiles on our faces, and I have a light bulb idea flash through my head. "Guys! For our next pose, let's lean back to back and make handguns with our hands! It'll look super cool and badass!" I exclaim, and they laugh.
"Why not," Edgar says, as we lean back to back, making the 'finger rifles' (as they called it). The sun begins to set, as people throw paper lanterns into the air, and they float around us as our winning team drifts through the river. It's so beautiful, so wondrous and pure...
It looks like it was straight out of Tangled!
"Catch!" I say, as the men row. "Row!" They shout back, as we make our way down the river.
As we near the palace, I look at the Queen on the balcony, dressed in fine robes.
"Your majesty," I say, standing up. "Long live the Queen!" Turning towards the men in the boat, I raise my decorative sword. "Salute the Queen!" I exclaim, pointing my sword forward at them as they stand up, holding their paddles upwards in their hand.
Soma, who was in front of me, had his hand nervously twitch. "Soma, are you alright?" I ask, as he shakes his head. "I...I think I'm going to be sick!" He exclaims, as he turns to the side of the boat, and my eyes widen.
"No Soma! You're going to throw the whole boat off bala-" I say, as the boat tips over, thrusting us all into the water. Pulling out of the water and holding onto the boat, I laugh as all the men pop out of the water, spewing water from their mouths.
A large crack is heard as the fireworks start, lighting up the sky with their bright and vivid colors.
At the celebration, we eat lots of food as Cheslock plays a happy tune on the violin. I dance with random women, Lizzie, Mey-Rin, and Madame Red (who said I looked 'very handsome'). As I went to the dorm room to retire for the night, I find a teacup with a flower next to it.
"Have fun at the tea party tonight, Ivan!" Joanne says, as he sits on his bed. I remember now...since I'm Edgar's fag, Joanne won't be going to the tea party.
"I will, thanks Jojo. We did well today, you earned a goodnight of sleep." I say as he snuggles beneath his sheets, falling asleep instantaneously.
Sighing, I feel as if I may be revealed as Ivy tonight...wait, I have an idea. Grabbing the spare bedsheet, I transfigure it into a male wig similar to my current hair as I let my hair grow out to how it used to be, tinting itself purple at the end.
Oohhh...magic is still weird and tingly. Taking a red ribbon and tying my hair into a squished-up bun, I place the wig over my hair, securing it tight. Next, I draw my curtains around my bed as my whole body feels as if its on fire. Information about transfiguring one's body floods my head...
Shrinking is more painful than growing because the body has to re-adjust the bones. Grabbing my pillow, I hold it up to my face, screaming slightly into it as pins-and needles feelings flood my body. After it fades, I notice that my clothes are baggier on my legs but tighter on my top. Sighing, I grab the pillow and it transfigures into chest bindings, and I painfully wrap my chest before putting on my clothes again, pinning the flower on my chest.
A few minutes later, I make my way down to the common room, where Edgar awaits me. He nods at me as he adjusts the flower on his vest.
"Are you ready for your first tea party?" He asks, as we make our way out of the dorm room. "I believe so..." I say, looking at my flower as it unfurls from the little bundle it was in under the moon's glow. "You seem shorter, suddenly..." he says, and my eyes widen and I chuckle, "Probably the lighting." I lie, as he shrugs.
We make our way to the Principal's office, where the other prefects, fags and Ciel wait. The P4 go up to a platform by the organs.
"Welcome to the elegant, traditional, high class and bizarre Midnight Tea Party," the men greet, as Cheslock presses a series of keys on the organs as the clock strikes midnight. The bell tower's ringing drowning out the sound of the bellowing organ and the scraping of stones as a hidden door slides open. Larence grabs a gas lamp, and walks inside the stone tunnel, leading us to a wooden door at the end of it. Swinging the creaky hinges open, he reveals a lavish garden where flowers and shrubs bloom under a crescent moon, an ornately decorated table set out before us surrounded by a stone wall. At the foot of the table was the Principal, donned in a top hat, and beside him is the Vice Principal.
"Everyone, thank you for coming. Please sit down." The Vice Principal says, as we all sit down. I sit down in between Cheslock and Clayton, as Edgar sits in front of me. Ciel, being the 'guest of honor' sits at the opposite end of the table from the Principal.
"Everyone, the tea is done. It's a bit irksome, but I guess we should toast with tea," Edgar says, as we each poured ourselves a cup of tea. "Edgar, if you please."
"Well then, to having a successfully protected tradition, and finishing June 4th for another school year. To Weston, a toa-" Edgar says, as we all raise our cups.
"Wait." Ciel says, "I cannot toast from the bottom of my heart like this."
"What's wrong?" I ask, and Ciel looks at me. "There's something wrong, it's about Derek Arden and his friends."
The P4's eyes widen, as Ciel sets his teacup down, a little clink ringing out in the silent environment. "I cannot toast until I've met them."
"Ciel...?" Edward starts, clearly confused. Ciel looks towards the principal. "Mr. Principal, will you hear my story?"
"Phantomhive! That's rude!" Lawrence declares, sweating nervously. "I know it is, but the 15th school rule states that 'At all times, you should share your heart with your friends, and help them out with love.'"
Lawrence sighs, before nodding, and Ciel turns from him, looking at all of us.. "Derek Arden, Richard Greenson, Hans Hardy, Robert Isaac and Ewan Thewlis. I have heard that since about a year ago none of them have returned home even once and have been cooped up in their dormitories during that time. Actually, when I entered this school, I was asked by their parents to persuade them to come home at once."
"Oh?" The Vice Principal asks. "But when I tried to meet them, I was met with the most bizarre circumstances. I couldn't lay eyes on them. The sudden transfer from Red House to Purple House. What was even more bizarre was the day of the fire, because all of Purple House evacuated, but those men weren't present. But, Violet said this: 'They're all safe.'"
Violet's eyes widen, before he looks down at his cup of tea. "...Violet?" Cheslock asks, worrying for his mentor.
"I'm sure Violet was upset at the time." Edgar replies, testifying for Violet.
"You mean a prefect in charge of governing the prestigious Weston High would make such a grave mistake?" Ciel asks, almost offended-sounding.
"Well, who knows." The Vice Principal lamely notes.
"In any case," Ciel says, slamming both of his hands on the table as he stands up. "It's the truth they weren't in Purple House! 5 people have disappeared from a strictly supervised public school, this is obviously quite strange! I'm going to dig up all that you're hiding! There's a big chance they've become in some large incident, so Mr. Principal, I'd like to call in the yard!"
"That won't be necessary," the Vice Principal says, causing all heads to turn to him. Ooh! This is getting exciting!
But wait...Herman is going to be bit by one of those zombie creatures...so I better prepare to make sure he doesn't get injured...
"What?" Ciel asks, confused. "That's because they're right here. Look," VP says, pointing to a door in the garden, where the knobs slowly opens. Shocked eyes look at the figure that slowly emerges...
"Hey...this tea smells good." Derick Arden says as he emerges from the door, dressed to the nines as he dons a similar flower on his vest.
"What the hell, he's right there." Cheslock says, as Arden slowly walks to Herman, feet clacking on the ground. Herman's eyes widen, as I stand up.
"Arden? Are you really...?"
"Hey, this tea smells good." Derick repeats, insanity-filled eyes leering down on Herman.
Jumping across the table, I tackle Derick Arden as he is about to bite Herman.
"Someone get me a knife!" I scream, as Derick thrashes in my arms, knocking off his top hat and revealing stitching placed upon his forehead...
He's a bizarre doll.
"You're going to kill Derick, Ivan!" Edward exclaims, as I look back at him. "Derick's already dead!" I shout back, as I see his eyes widen.
"Sebastian, come!" Ciel exclaims, ripping off his eye patch. Suddenly, Sebastian drops down from behind Ciel, donned in his butler clothes.
"Mr. Michaelis!" Lawrence asks in shock, as Ciel points at Derick underneath me. "This is an order, capture Derick!"
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian says, as he grabs the table cloth, yanking it out from underneath the plates. Everyone stands up, standing on the opposite side of the table from me. Derick continues to thrash in my arms, as I keep holding him down as I sit on him.
Derick is a little punk ass bitch! Stop resisting me holding you down!
Jumping up from Derick, I move out of the way as Sebastian makes his way over to Derick in a flash.
"What the?!" Clayton exclaims, looking at the table. "An English gentleman should know that if one is to keep manners at a tea party..." Sebastian starts, as he wraps Derick into a mummy, a bow on the front. "This won't do!"
Derick slams head first into the ground, and Sebastian places him face first as Derick wiggles like a worm.
"Why the hell is Mr. Michaelis here?" Cheslock asks, confused. "What is the meaning of this!?" Clayton echoes, as Sebastian adjusts his gloves.
"So...the episode will run wild after all..." The VP starts, looking down.
"Mr. Michaelis...no, Sebastian here is my butler." Ciel says, as he readjusts a new eyepatch.
"Mr. Michaelis is a butler?" I ask, pretending to be confused. "What?"
"And the reason I entered the school was to find Derick and the rest. However...Sebastian could not get ahold of his whereabouts...because Derick is already dead."
"Dead...what do you mean? He was just moving..." Clayton says, as Derick turns his head at a 180 degree, looking at us. "Th...e...tea...smelllzzzz...goooooddd..." he grunts out like Harambe, and Cheslock jumps back. "Holy shite!"
"Well," Ciel says, pulling out a handgun, aiming it at the principal. "Let's have you explain what's going on here."
"Phantomhive, what is the meaning of-" Clayton starts, sweating. "Clayton!" Edward exclaims, interrupting Clayton, "Earl Phantomhive should not be opposed!"
"Wha?!" Clayton starts, "Shite! What's even going on here?!" Cheslock swears, as I run my fingers through my wig-hair. "This is confusing, someone, please explain..." I mumble.
"I've seen people become like Derick before. Spit it out, what did you do to Derick?" Ciel asks, finger twitching on the trigger. Herman sighs, as he looks at Ciel. "We...we just wanted to protect..."
"Protect?" Sebastian asks.
"The saint that symbolizes our school is Saint George...the legend goes that he defeated the dragon in order to protect his country." Herman says, as Lawrence pushes up his glasses. "In other words, if you don't cut it off from the source you won't be able to run from disaster. We obeyed those teachings." Lawrence continues, as Edgar ruffles his hair.
"That's why we..." He says, and Violet remains silent. "That's why we set out to kill Derick." Edgar finishes.
(Here's the flashback for y'all)
"He's not breathes anymore..." Violet says, as he touches a bleeding-from-head Edward, feeling for his pulse.
"I...it's all my fault! What have we-" Herman starts, as Edgar shakes his shoulder. "Calm down Greenhill! We had no other choice," Edgar says, as Lawrence nods.
"Yes, but now what do we do? The way it is now, Greenhill will take the blame." Lawrence says, as Edgar has a dark look cross his face.
"I have an idea, leave it to me." He responds, as the scene shifts to the gates of Weston, a horse drawn carriage entering.
"Hey! You're the Viscount's Nephew, aren't you? Not only your status, but your features look quite healthy too!" A brunette man says who's dressed in a labcoat, a small phoenix pinned on his coat. He positions himself in a bird pose. "Phoenix!" He caws, "I'm Ryan Stoker, officially the Director of Karnstein Hospital! And...that is my research partner," he says, pointing to a man exiting the carriage.
(Back to the future...well...not the future, but 1888)
"No way..." Ciel says, as Edgar sighs. "And so, we set up a contract with him."
"I see...now everything falls into place. The student who disappeared with body and soul:Derick Arden. The one who was able to escape from my pursuit: The Principal. The association researching human regeneration: The Aurora Society. To figure this out should have been a trivial task, but the one who wrapped all of this in such a difficult mystery was you...wasn't it?" Sebastian says, pointing at a nonchalant principal as the P4's fags gasp.
"The principal has nothing to do with it! Us prefects did it all by ourselves an-" Edgar stops.
"No one said it was the Principal. Why don't we both drop our teacher acts, now?" Sebastian asks, a smirk on face.
But...Sebby was so hot as a teacher~!
The 'Principal' smirks, a sarcastic voice ringing out. "Ah man...I really liked this job too."
Everyone's eyes widen as the Principal points at Ciel. "It was truly pleasant to watch you struggle from the Grande Tier. You offered me the best of laughs..." He takes off his top hat.
"Hee...hee...hee..." The revealed Undertaker says, as silver hair pours from his hat as Ciel's eyes widen in recognition. "You're the Undertaker!"
The Undertaker leans back in his chair, propping his legs up on the table, flashing a Chesire grin at us.
"Hello Earl, you're as tiny as ever," he says, spinning the top hat on his hand. "But I'm pleased to see you're doing well. Did you enjoy your first experience with group life?"
Sebastian's eyes lower as he looks down at the Undertaker. "I was wondering where you disappeared to after closing up shop, to tink you started to work at a school of all places." The Undertaker tips his hat. "Only temporary, though~"
"My my...it seems our little investigation got out of hand." Sebastian says, smirking, as he turns to the P4. "Your four assassinated Lord Derrick. And then, requested his resurrection from the Aurora Society. What was so important to protect that you would resort to such means?"
Lawrence looks up at Sebastian, a pained expression on face. "Derrick Arden was not supposed to be at this school."
(1 year ago)
"I will now announce this year's prefects. For Scarlet Fox: Edgar Redmond. For Sapphire Owl: Lawrence Bluer. Green Lion is Herman Greenhill, and Violet Wolf is Gregory Violet," The VP announced the prefects for the year, and he swears in the prefects to tradition and pride.
"Bullying?" Edgar asks, as Derick nods. "Yes, it was put into the complaints box. They want us to have eyes in every nook and cranny." Derick responds, and Lawrence nods. "School rule #15, every student has to be equal under the principal."
"We cannot allow this! Let me stand watch," Derick says, as Edgar smiles. "How admirable of you, Derick. We'll leave this to you."
"Yes, thank you!" He replies, as Edgar smiles. Derick was the perfect student, he's reliable, captain of the local cricket team, poetry genius and always receives high marks on reports. He was of a marquis bloodline, a cheerful personality, and overflowed with talent. He was dazzling. But...no one noticed the dark shadow the light had cast...
"A poem in the bullying inbox for the prefects: 'When Thor was lying beside the lake of integrity with a torch by his side, lending his ear to a benevolent apostle playing a harp of bent pearl, a naughty fairy appeared to toss his torch into the lake. When he did so, the torch went out and filled the lake with stars. The beautiful lake became legendary for its healing powers, but the god who had been deprived of light could only wander through the night.' A poem dedicated to the prefects...huh." Derick says, passing the paper to Edgar who scans over it. He noticed something, but did not let Derick know of this.
"Calling us out so suddenly-that poem was. It was a message. Thursday is a word derived from the god of thunder, 'Thor.' 'A benevolent apostle' refers to the apostle John, whose name means 'the lord is merciful' in Hebrew. 'A harp of bent pearl' refers to baroque music. A John within Baroque music would be Johann Sebastian Bach, his bust is in the music room. And 'Torch went out' refers to after lights out. The poem was weaved skillfully, and if you look at the ink, only the words with special meaning were written in blue, but if you didn't look carefully it appears black," Edgar says, as the other P4 looked over the poem.
"With some education of poetry you should pick up on a message like that, but I do not understand what deprived of light mean-" Edgar says, as he hears a cry. "Hey, get up!" A gruff voice shouts, as the P4 rush into the music room. "What are you doing in here?!" Herman shouts, as he walks into a room of Scarlet Fox members with cricket bats surrounding black-and-blue Sapphire Owl members who are shirtless, 2 with a wooden block balanced on their shoulders, ready to be broken by a cricket bat, while the other was under the feet of a snarling Scarlet Fox member.
Deprived of light meant that Derrick's dazzling results were all fake...everything was. He took other's talents through despicable, horrendous means and used them to make himself shine in the entire four years he had been at the school.
Lawrence helped the Sapphire Owl members up, handing them their clothes, telling them to go back to their room.
"I should have known when you couldn't decipher that poem..." Edgar says, looking at a wincing Derick.
"Sheesh," he says, eyes snapping open to reveal empty orbs and a crazy grin. "I only needed one more year. See, I'm the heir to a famous marquis, right? My family have been prefects here for generations."
Herman dons an angry look on his face, as Derick continues, "I'm so~ over that. I don't even want to go, but they just threw me into this hell hole."
"You bastard," Herman snarls, as Derick leans back, seemingly proud of himself. "So, can't you just overlook it when I want to let off some steam? In return I'll supply you with a much bigger donation than everyone else from my dad. If you like, I'll even accept a Y-"
"Stop fooling around!" Herman shouts, "The principal will hear about this from the Vice Principal, so be prepared for a fitting punishment!"
Derick leans back, looking into the dark shadow. "Ya hear that?"
Everyone gasps as the Vice Principal steps out. "Vice Principal Agares?! What is the meaning of this, why are yo-" Herman starts, as the VP holds up a hand to silence them. "I've understood the situation. Derick Arden and the four others... you will receive 2 Y for being out at night."
"I'm sooooo sorry," Derick says sarcastically, as the P4 gasp.
"Being out at night?! That's not right!" Violet says.
"Vice Principal, they were bullying!" Edgar says, and Lawrence nods.
"Tomorrow we have to report this to the principal an-" The VP turns his head back to them, a shadow cast over his eyes. "This year's prefects are quite rude...voicing your opinion against the Vice-Principal?"
"N-no, we didn't mean to-" Herman starts, as the VP turns from them. "Then there is no problem, you can all return to your rooms."
Under his large cloak, Herman spots a bottle of fine whiskey, and he tightens his hand into a fist, trying not to scream.
"Ah man, I feel so down. Next year, I'll have to be a prefect, huh." Derick says, as Herman's eyes widen.
This can't happen. Turning around, he takes a cricket bat, smacking it at the back of Derick's head, sending him to the floor, half-dead from the impact.
As long as they are here, the school's tradition will crumble. And that cannot happen.
Violet rushes to the door, slamming it close.
Edgar and Lawrence rush at the Vice Principal, picking up up, causing him to drop the bottle of whiskey on the floor. As the VP is held steady, Herman raises his cricket bat, bringing it down on the VP's head.
Tradition is everything.
"We are sworn to protect this school," Lawrence says, as Violet picks up the bloody bat. "You are not the only prefect here who has committed a crime."
"For that purpose, we will proudly commit one for this school," Edgar continues, as Herman breaths heavily. "You guys..."
Each of them grab the handle of the cricket bat. "For our traditional Weston High." They say, before bringing it down over Derick's head as the finishing blow.
"Our actions are inexcusable to our relatives, but there was nothing else we could have done to protect our traditional order. We didn't want to stir things up and damage the school's good name...you understand, don't you understand Phantomhive?" Lawrence finishes in 1888, as we all look at him in shock.
"JUst killing someone like that...what are you saying?" He asks, and I sigh. I've killed so many men...men who have led lives. I was told of their crimes, and I did it to protect the country, to protect the lives of others...and Phantomhive should know that too as the Queen's guard dog...
There's some things that aren't very nice and are nasty...but that may be the only route sometimes.
"Gyahahaha!" The Undertaker says, leaning back in his chair letting out belly laughs. "That's amazing! Ahahaha!"
"Really? That's rare, it seems we agree on a point..." Sebastian says, smirking slightly to reveal his fangs.
"...Our school is famed for producing great numbers of elite students that will take on pivotal roles within the country. We cannot let out generation desecrate the traditions that have been held in honor for hundreds of years since the founding of the school. The history of Weston is the history of England!" Lawrence says, as Ciel nods.
"I see... to be honest, I was asked to investigate this incident by a certain high-ranking individual, they won't sit by and do nothing after hearing the truth of this matter. However...I'll ask them to consider the circumstances," Ciel finishes with a smile, and I sigh in relief.
"Well then, that just leaves you," Ciel says, looking towards Undertaker, and he smirks, twirling his braid around his forefinger. "What do you want Undertaker?!"
"Well, since I received a copious amount of payment just now, I'll tell you for old time's sake." Undertaker says, piking up a strawberry tart and taking a bite.
"Derick was certainly conscious, if only for a moment. It was clearly different from previous moving corpses...they've evolved." Ciel says, as Undertaker gulps down the tart.
"It makes me happy to hear that. Yes, you are right. Even the dead can evolve as long as they are episodes. Episodes are their yearning for the future. In their dying moments, humans review their past life. Images come and go of the memories they have lived, and at the same time they crave the future they were supposed to have. These are fragmentary of course, but these...these are like a predictive map of the future. My self-created memories are nothing compared to these future memories. So, if we stuck these to the record, wouldn't it become complete?" Undertaker says with a chuckle, as Ciel's finger twitches on the trigger of the gun facing the Undertaker. "Well, the succession rate is still pretty low, it's dependent on the quality and quantity of episodes."
"I don't understand...why would you even do that?!" Ciel bellows, "What purpose does bringing back the dead serve?!"
As everyone is caught up in their argument, I reach on the table, grabbing a blueberry tart and taking a bite. Hmmm...yummy.
Undertaker lifts up his head slightly, revealing his reaper-eyes. "I just want to see what comes after the pre-determined end...and to find the faceless woman."
Slightly choking on my tart, I cover it up with a cough. Faceless woman...is he talking about Conall? From the memories, I can tell the scars across Undertaker's face might be the mark of the spell on the Undertaker since it was such a large section of memory Conall removed...but does this mean Undertaker has remembered more? It may be so if he's started the experiments...
"After...the end?" I ask, changing my question last minute.
Undertaker's electric green eyes meet mine, "You've never thought of it? There might be an interesting development lurking behind the ending credits!"
If I think about it, I could be considered a bizarre doll...but not at the same time. My ending wasn't supposed to be on that day, and I was sent back to a time where I don't exist...but if I don't exist, how can I die?
I'm overthinking this...gah.
"That's where we differ," Sebastian says with a sigh, "exactly because 'death' is such a hopeless and definite 'end.'"
Speak for yourself you sonofabitch. "It is beautiful," Sebastian finishes, eyes flashing red as fangs expose slightly.
"I've told you all I can for the current pri-" Undertaker starts, standing up. "Stop right there!" I say, and he turns to me. "Yes, Mr. Taylor?"
"If I give you a method of payment, will you give us more information? I have valuable information." I ask, as Edward puts a hand on my shoulder. "Ivan, what are you doing?" he whispers, as I brush him off.
"What needs to be done," I whisper back, as I look to the Undertaker who's leaning against his chair. "I'm listening," he says, and I smirk. "I see we have a deal, then."
"Ivan, you don't know what kind of affairs you're meddling in-" Ciel starts, and I laugh. "Don't worry, I've been in this hole for a while. If you can't beat it, why not join it?"
"Wha-?" He asks, and I place my hand on his head. "I'm back," I whisper, as I turn towards confused-looking spectators.
"And, to everyone, I apologize for lying this whole time!" I say honestly, removing my hand from Ciel's head as I give a short bow. "And after the whole speech of tradition, it makes me feel even worse."
"What do you speak of Ivan?" Edgar asks, turning pale. Realizing suddenly that he's never had a good fag during the manga period, save for Joanne, my heart wilts slightly.
"I'm not really Ivan Taylor..." I say, as I reach my hand up to my head, tearing the wig off my head revealing my hair in a squished bun. As everyone's eyes widen, I tug the red ribbon out of my hair, curls bouncing out of the smushed bun. "I'm Ivy Adams, pleasure."
"IVY?!" Edward and Ciel exclaim, as the Undertaker snorts a laugh, clutching his stomach. "Oh, isn't this just great?" Undertaker asks sarcastically, "The tradition's been broken, seemingly multiple times."
"I...I hit a woman..." Herman says quietly, remembering the cricket event. "Oh! That was a complete accident, please don't think of it that way!" I tell him, as Clayton flushes. "A woman bested me in academics!"
"A woman entered our academy! What of the tradition?!" Herman asks, running his fingers through his short hair. "I wanted to pursue an education, and St. George had everything I was pursuing. If I went to a mixed school, I would still be considered inferior," I admit honestly.
"Ivy...why did you leave?" Ciel asks quietly, and I turn to him to see the gun now facing me. "Now Ciel, we can discuss this like adults later, but I don't need the gun facing me at the moment. We're all on the same side of this game of chess. And, I also have questions..." Turning towards the Undertaker.
"Who is this faceless woman, and what does she have to do with the experimentation of bizarre dolls?" I ask, and Undertaker smirked, sitting back down in his chair.
"So glad you would ask. This faceless woman...well, I have no idea who she is, but I seem to be having lots of blank spaces in my memory, or flashes will appear of the memory, but this woman has no face, it's just a blur. And the more I find out about the bizarre dolls, the more random things that I seem to remember. Like how I was the best man at a wedding with her as the maid-of-honor, I remember she loved lilacs but terribly hated pineapples...and I remember one woman she was the best of friends with..." Undertaker lifts a clawed-finger towards Ciel. "Cloudia Phantomhive. The moment I remembered Cloudia, bits and pieces come back. This is a large puzzle with thousands...no, millions of pieces, and Cloudia Phantomhive can bring it all back to me."
"So, you plan to revive my grandmother to find a way to get your memories back?" Ciel asks, eyes widening, and Undertaker smirks. "Some of the reason. If I could remember bits and pieces when she's dead, how much can I remember when she's alive?! And, if Cloudia Phantomhive is able to remember, that means she is the first, completely successful bizarre doll! Hahahaha!"
My eyes widen...Conall is involved.
"It's seems my payment is all dried up, I should go." Undertaker says, standing up and walking away.
"I won't let you get away again! Get him Sebastian!" Ciel declares, and Sebastian lunges forward towards Undertaker. "Yes my lord!"
"Watch out Seb!" I scream out as VP Agares blocks Sebastian's way, hat falling off to reveal stitchings on his forehead. "As I thought...you're dead as well Mr. Agares." Sebastian says, as Undertaker sits on the garden wall. "He was full of episodes, he's my masterpiece...for now at least."
With the snap of the fingers, the ground trembles. "More are coming! Flee if you cannot fight!" I say, as I run to the wall of the garden, rushing towards the sword on the wall.
"You cannot fight!" Cheslock says, "You're too weak to even hold the sword!" Picking up the sword with my right hand, I turn towards Cheslock. "I could say the same to you!"
"A respectable man defends any woman!" Herman declares, as he rushes towards me as a zombie rises from behind him.
"Christmas holidays..." A zombie grumbles from behind Herman, and he freezes.
"Move!" I shout, as I shove Herman to the side, shifting the sword to the side as it decapitates the zombie. Herman looks at me with wide eyes,"Get your head out of your ass! A woman can defend a man too! Now, go!"
Looking away from Ciel, my gaze finds a shell-shocked Ciel;s.
"Ciel! Lead them to the passageway out!" I shout out, as I decapitate a zombie by the table. "I don't want to leave you again! I don't want you to leave me again!" He shouts back, as I turn to him, a zombie closing in behind him.
"Move it!" I shout, running towards it, cutting off its legs and head as Ciel moves away, looking at me with a frightened eye.
"Ivy..."
"Everyone, leave!" I shout, "I have my duties to serve out, and it's rather gruesome!"
"Even though they're all Phantomhives, Ciel is different from his father and what I could remember of his grandmother...interesting." Undertaker says as he observes Ciel usher the P4 and fags out the door.
A goblet knocks over as Ciel falls over, and Sebastian runs towards him after quickly ripping Agares head off.
Feeling arms lift me up, I look and see the Undertaker with a particular strong grip on me. "Wha-?!" I ask, as I struggle to get free and he chuckles.
"As expected of you, butler." Undertaker chuckles, face close enough to my head so I could feel his hot breath on my neck.
"Sebastian?!" Ciel exclaims, as the duo look up at me in shock. "Help! I can't get free!" I yell out to them, as I struggle in Undertaker's tight grasp. I have a strong body...why can't I get free?! Is a reaper of Undertaker's age that much superior?!
"You protect your Earl with such devotion, too bad you cannot save the only woman you can love~" Undertaker says with a chuckle, "And she'll leave you once again. Isn't that hilarious?"
He won't love me...he's just a demon...
"Let go of me glitterdick!" I swear, as I slam my head back into the Undertaker's, making his grip falter. Using this as an advantage, I elbow him in the gut, causing him to drop me to the ground.
Smirking, I whisper the words "Bubonem" in air. I close my eyes as pain momentarily flashes through my body as it reconstructs itself quickly, and I spread out my arms, and I open my eyes to see the dark world in a brighter state of mind.
I...I transformed into a freaking barn owl. Why didn't I use a damn different spell?! I could have used a transformation one...or a bouncy castle one...but NOOOOOOOO I just had to chose a freaking owl spell.
Wait...did my clothes drop? Turning my head at an astounding 180 degrees, I watch the wall of the garden become smaller, but with my enhanced night vision I don't see any clothes...hahaha... I guess you could say I went 'Over the Garden Wall'.
Wait...damn it! I think my clothes disappear after I transform!
Should I turn back? The Undertaker should be gone...screw it. Turning back to the wall, I flutter to it, landing on top of the stone wall.
I watch as Sebastian crushes the head of another zombie, and Ciel's brow twitches.
"Sebastian! Why did you come to me?! I ordered you to capture him and return Ivy to m-"
"As per our contract, your life has first priority. I went through the trouble of captivating it, so I won't let myself be robbed of it." He finishes, as his eyes flash demon-like. "Besides, Ivy's come back to us."
"Wha-?" He says, and I hoot happily, and he looks at me with a wide eye. "Ivy?" He asks, as if he was going crazy, and I fly off the wall, landing on top of Sebastian's head, and Sebastian sweat drops.
Hehe, I'm sitting on Sebastian's head. I guess he could be called...Staff-bastian...
Ha!
"No way that's Ivy, she wasn't an owl last time I checked." he says, and if I could I would roll my eyes. "But...the owl has her eye color.. But sheesh, I don't know how to explain this to her majesty..." Ciel says, and I take a long blink. I could do that...actually. As the Queen's Owl, it's my duty to take care of all supernatural ordeals. I'll make sure to inform the Queen of this immediately before Ciel does...
Lifting my wings, I take off to fly, and as I'm about to leave Sebastian grabs me by the foot. "You aren't leaving anytime soon, little owl," he says, and I let out a hoot, scrunching my neck as I bite down on his finger.
He just blankly stares at me, removing his finger from my mouth. Blah, didn't even leave a mark!
"Can't you just tell her the truth? 'A former shinigami is reviving the dead.'" Sebastian says, and Ciel scoffs. "As if she'd believe-"
"Ciel!" A voice shouts, as Sebastian quickly lets go of me, and I flutter to the table, pecking at a strawberry tart. Edward bursts into the room. "Everyone has safely evacuated!"
"We're done her, too." Ciel says, as Edward grimaces, looking at the bodies. "...yeah. Ciel...I'm scared, if this had continued I might have become like these prefects." His hand around the hilt tightens slightly, shaking as he looks at it. "The kind of person that mistakes the sin of murder for justice."
If I could, I would sigh. I felt that at first...but justice is different from what's right. A villain could think they were saving the world with their justice, only to be completely wrong. It's all about perspective...besides, what's 'right' benefits the most people.
"Don't worry, as long as you're afraid of that you're still normal...unlike me." Ciel says, as Edward looks around, a scared expression on face. "Where's Ivan-I mean, Ivy?!"
"We had her collect things for us," Sebastian says with a smile, as Edward nods. "I'll go..." He says, before leaving the garden, and I loudly hoot.
"Damn owl..." Sebastian swears, and I wink at him as I fly to the wall of the garden, hopping off of it, a flash of blue lighting up my blue eyes as I feel pins and needles run up and down my needle, as gross sensations flood my body as it regrows-and changes my bone structure.
Soon, I'm on my feet again...but completely naked. Blushing, I grab a pink rose in the outergarden, and it transforms into a full sized dress that ombres from light pink to a darker pink on the bottom, with sleeves like flower petals that delicately flair outwards. (A/N-basically Rose Quartz dress with sleeves).
Putting it on quickly, I grab a petal and it turns into a pair of underwear, and I slip it on.
"Ivy, you have 30 seconds to get back over here or I'll send Sebastian to retrieve you!" Ciel's voice says from the other side of the wall, and I roll my eyes.
"Whatever mom," I yell back, as I shift my skirts aside to look at my feet. Eyes flashing, I smirk. "Leviosa~" I whisper, as my feet glow blue for a moment before fading, and I jump up from the ground high into the air, and I float above the wall and see Sebastian and Ciel looking up at me.
Drifting down to them, the spell wears off and I land on my feet. "Howdy fellas," I say, smoothing out my silky skirts. "How ya doin'?"
"What the hell? What the hell?!" Ciel exclaims, "You were an owl? Than you're wearing a dress and floating out of the ai-"
"Ciel, just shut it por favor~" I say, as I watch him blush slightly. "The reason I left was because I recently discovered that I was a witch." I continue, as I watch Sebastian smirk and Ciel's eye widens. "A...witch?"
"Yes, right around the Murder Mystery Ar- I mean, when the German pig got murdered," I say, quickly covering up, "I didn't know much of it, and decided I required proper training, or I might be a risk to everyone around me. I visited my grandmother, then came here." I finish with a lie, and Ciel sighs.
"So you have bewitched my feelings towards you? To give you an adva-" I scoff, cutting him off. "Ciel, I would never create false emotions to my friends. Besides, that's a potion~"
"But where did you get the Taylor name from for your disguise as Ivan?" He continues, and I put my hands on my hips, cracking my back. "Taylor is my real last name. My full name is actually 'Taylor Ivy Taylor', it's extremely dumb sounding so I go by Ivy, which is my middle name. When I came to Britain, I took my ex's last name, which is British sounding, and went by Ivy Adams. It has a nice ring to it, does it not?"
"So...your name is a lie, and your species is a lie?" He asks, "I thought you wouldn't ever lie to me!"
"Ugh!" I say, "I never said I wouldn't lie to you, I just chose not to lie to you. Two, my middle name is Ivy, and I've always gone by Ivy. Also, witches are the closest species to human, shinigami not far behind. Besides, you never ASKED for my species type, and if you did I would tell you! Including this, I have the rights to go about as I please." He sighs, running his fingers through his hair.
"You...you are correct, I apologize. But you never told me where you were going," he says, and I smile, placing my hand on his shoulder, an earnest smile on my face.
"I forgive you, if you wish I will come back to Phantomhive Manor again. And, I promise to let you know of my whereabouts, and if I don't than you have all rights to seek me out," I say, and he nods.
"All right, I'd love for you to come back to the manor with me again. But we'll have to discuss where you go more before you leave. You have no idea how hard this is for me to not chain you up after 8:00 at night." he says, than his eyes flash and his face burns red. "Young master, is everything alright?" Sebastian says, looking concerned as Ciel shrugs off my hand.
"I-I-I talked about yo-you in front of y-you as Ivan Ta-taylor..." Ciel says shakily, and I flash back to the conversation with Edward and Ciel.
"Oh! Yeah! Don't worry about it, besides, I think it was kinda cute~" I say, and his face burns brighter as Sebastian frowns slightly.
"Ivy, while that dress is 'kinda cute', you are absolutely lovely in it," Sebastian says smoothly, and I laugh lightly. "Oh Sebastian, always one to charm a ladies knickers off. Now, where are we off to now?"
June 6th, 1888
"I am going to London today!" I shout out to the manor, as I adjust my gray trenchcoat, rubbing the Taylor ring on my pinkie finger (which is a habit I have adopted.) "Alright!" Ciel shouts from his study, "Be back by dinner, or Sebastian will retrieve you!"
"I'll try, but no promises~" I shout back with a sing-song voice as I skip out of the manor to the carriage, a serious look crossing my face as it sets off to Buckingham Palace. Pulling out a thick, worn leather notebook from my pocket, I pull out a ballpoint pen alongside it, as I open the book to a fresh page. Glancing out the window, I see a sheep wandering our yard...the old neighbor's fence must have broke. Turning towards my book, I place my pen against the page, and begin to write...
Hello, Your Majesty. I am coming to the palace today to discuss important manners with you. I have adopted the Queen's Owl title in April from my grandmother Conall Taylor, and I am dearly excited to meet with you in a formal meeting. -Q.O
The carriage clambers onto the palace, where a white, gloved hand opens the door, and I step out and smooth out my grey trenchcoat.
"Ivy? What are you doing here?" Charles Phipps asks, "Especially riding in a carriage emblazened with the Phantomhive crest, but no Phantomhive is in sight."
"Are you still salty from when I kicked your ass in that duel?" I ask, as I walk to the front door, nodding at the guards as Phipps runs slightly to catch up with me. "No! I'm just wonderi-"
"No need to worry." I say, as he opens the door, holding it open for me as I step inside.
"But...why wear such baggy trousers?" He asks, and I shrug, looking at my forest green sweat pants. "These are just sweat pants... but why don't you wear a dress, Phipps?"
"Because I don't want to, that's why." He replies, and I nod. "Exactly why. I don't want to wear dresses today."/
We walk in silence, until he leads me to a door, giving a short bow. "Queen Victoria is inside, to keep this in between us there is no guards in this room because of the amount of secrecy of this meeting. Is there anything drastic I should know about?"
"Nope, maybe because we're planning a party," I say, and he puts a hand on his chest. "I...I didn't think the Queen would know it's my birthday tomorrow! I'll just, uh, pretend I don't know."
I smile slightly, pretending like I knew what was going on. Poor butler. "Alright, thank you." I say, as I step inside the room, closing the door behind me as I look at a serious-looking Queen Victoria.
"Ivy Adams, so you have replaced Conall," she notes, and I curtsy to her. "Yes, and I am honored to accept this title from you and Conall Taylor."
Rising from the curtsy, I smile. "Now that all formalities are aside, we have many matters to discuss." I say, and she nods. "I could agree, let us begin."
Sitting across from her, I unbutton my coat. "A former shinigami has been attempting resurrection of the dead. Though these new creatures can shamble about, they are still soul-less creatures," I say, as I take off the coat, it pooling on the back of my chair, revealing a plain black long-sleeved shirt.
"I see...does Emerio have anything to do with this?" She asks, and I shake my head. "No, it is a completely different shinigami," I respond, and she sighs.
"Resurrection of the dead, I will say it's hard to believe, but I do not doubt your words. To bring back the dead and control them, it is a frightening skill, it will certainly become a threat to the kingdom." She says, and I nod. "I will certainly restrain it as much as possible until annihilated completely, and I will report any new information."
"You are also a witch, correct?" Queen Victoria asks, and I nod. "I have recently become aware of this power, and I use it to serve."
"That is good, thank you." She says, "Do you think you could possibly make these monsters our allies? That would be wonderful," Queen Victoria says, placing her fingers together. My eyes widen, she was up-front asking me to get these dead creatures on our side?
"I'm afraid not, your majesty. These creatures have only one goal, and that is to find a soul to fill their empty body. But, they cannot simply snatch it and walk away, the body needs to die for the soul to be replaced. They cannot reach the soul through killing their prey, as every soul belongs to a specific body and cannot switch bodies, so they eat their prey's flesh as a substance to make up for the soul, which is extremely painful, killing their prey. This is their only goal, and they would terrorize England. If we turned it to enemies, the force of these creatures would grow, eventually turning towards England. I'm afraid that is a horrible idea...no offense." I finish, and her eyes widen in terror.
"I see...now, you know that in this role, you cannot let anyone know of this besides other Evil Noblemen, correct? Besides, I'd be wary of them if I were you, I'd only tell very few..." she says, trailing off, and I nod.
She sighs, "Anything else I should know before we conclude this meeting?"
"Tomorrow is Charles Phipps' birthday, and that's pretty much." I respond, standing up and putting on my jacket.
"Oh! I didn't know this, I'll make sure to have the chef make him a pastry or the likes of it," Queen Victoria says, and I bow shortly to her.
"Any issues you have, please write to me." I say, and she nods in response, a light smile on face. "All right, thank you."
Turning from her, I walk from the room, a sigh of relief escaping me. I sounded so...serious. Ew! And the zombie conversation, I really hope she listens to me.
"Woooow! That's a huge clock, it looks super strong!" Finny says, as he gazes up in wonder at the clock. Giggling, I point at it. "That's Ben Ten," I say, and Bard scoffs. "That's Big Ben, even an American like me would know that," he responds, and I sigh. "It was a joke, Bard."
"Ben Ten! Ben Ten!" Finny chants, and Mey-Rin laughs. While I was in London meeting with the Queen, Ciel had decided to bring the servants into the city, so we met up and we were all walking the streets of London.
We all walked to the Opticians', wear Mey-Rin was trying on new glasses.
"How is it?" The optician asks, placing the glasses on her face. "Ah! I can see well, yes I can!"
"We'll take it then," Sebastian says, placing a hand on her shoulder, peeking into her area of vision. "Right!"
"Eek!"
(a le hat shop)
"Were you looking at something in particular?" a clerk asks a happy-looking Finny.
"Gimme a straw hat as cool as Ben Ten!" Finny says to a confused clerk. "Ehh?"
"We'll have a plain straw hat, please." Sebastian says, patting Finny on the head. Ciel looks at where the male servants, minus Finny, and I stood.
"Do any of you want anything? This is your chance." Ciel says, as the three of us exchanged glances.
Snake picked out a super large totebag, looking proud of himself.
"Do you want such a large one?" Ciel asks, and Snake nods. "Yes." He says, without using a snake name. "With this, I can take everyone out when I go out, says Wordsworth." There's the snake name. A little snake poked his head out, and the clerk let out an "eek!" as I cooed.
The snakey-baby is so cute!
(book shop)
"Hm? A historical novel by our old friend Arthur," Ciel says, "Ivy, do you want a copy?"
"No need! He sends me signed copies of his new work, something about being an 'inspiration' and 'friend,'" I say with a smile, and Sebastian and Ciel frowned.
"Whatever," Ciel grumbled, placing it in Sebastian's hand. "To kill time."
"Young master! Can I take this?" Bard asks with rosy cheeks, holding up a magazine of a 'scantily' dressed woman with the title 'Sexy Girl!' on it. Sebastian placed a hand on Ciel's eye, "Definitely not!"
"Tch..." Bard grumbles, going back to where the magazine was. "I probably dress worse than that, but I'm definitely not sexy. I'm fucking fabulous!" I say with a spin, as my fingers roll over the books lazily.
"Ivy, you are always sexy, do not worry," Sebastian says, and I didn't see Ciel elbow him, as I am too busy turning from him to hide my blush, holding up a book, pretending to examine it.
"Ah, this book seems very interesting," I say robotically, and Ciel sweat drops. "It's upside down, Ivy."
"If you read it upside down, it's a very interesting story written in pig Latin," I casually remark, and Ciel face palms.
(badum tshhhh-candy shop!)
"Woah! It's odd to see all these odd candies," I say, looking around the shop. "I know, British candy is different to Amer-"
"There's no Snickers bars! That's quite an oddity, at least there's gum, but I've dropped the habit and I don't feel like starting it again..." I ramble, as I look through the candy, eyes widening in recognition. "Oh Ciel, I forgot that Funtom Company makes chocolate," I say, holding up the chocolate bar with a little cat on it. Ciel nods, "Yes, you can get one if you wish."
"I'm good, thanks though!" I say, setting down the chocolate bar. His eyebrow twitches, but he sighs. "Alright," he says, as I leave the shop, talking with Bard who stands outside.
(3rd person really quick)
Meanwhile, in the shop, Ciel looked at Sebastian. "I've gotten everyone something, and the person I want to get something most for is Ivy. All I've gotten her a chocolate bar for her birthday, and nothing for Christmas. I just want to-"
"Shower her with admiration? Young master, though I wish to show no disrespect when I say this, you wanted to get her something from your own company. You already have gotten her something from your own company, too."
Ciel scoffs, rolling his visible eye. "You got her a pair of wool socks, ones meant for older ladies at that-"
"Humans have a very low tolerance to the cold, it was a kind gesture showing her that I didn't want her to freeze and die." Sebastian says cheerfully, and Ciel sighs. "But, what can I get her?"
"Well, do you know of her interests? Favorite color? What she dislikes?" Sebastian asks with a smirk, and Ciel deadpans. "Uh..."
Sebastian raises a brow, "Do you even know what her favorite color is?"
"Blue...?" Ciel asks, and Sebastian face palms. "Purple, young master. For example, did you know it was also the color of her hair? Or her ex-lover's eyes? How about the color she wo-"
"EX-LOVER?!"
"-re under disguise for the Jack the Ripper case. The list goes on, and you just need to find what to get." Sebastian finishes with a smirk, and Ciel sighs.
"Can I just order you to find the perfect gi-?"
"My apologies, young master, but I have already found the perfect gift for her. And I've already given it to her." Sebastian says, and Ciel's eye widens.
"What?!"
"The woolen socks, young master. Under disguise, I noticed around Weston that 'Ivan' wore them quite frequently." Sebastian says with a happy smile.
(back to Ivy 1 hour later~)
"Harrod's stores?" I ask, aloud and I step inside. A woman dressed in black and white stripes stands in front of a large display that holds the emblem 'Funtom, since 1880' next to a unicorn in a dressed-up suit.
"Yes, this store is selling my newest product," Ciel says proudly, as the woman approaches us. "It's Funtom's new product! Please try our new perfume for young ladies, do take a sample!"
She proceeds to pass it to everyone but Mey-Rin and I. I giggle. "Sebastian, I bet you'll smell delightful now!"
"Did I not smell pleasing before?" He asks, almost offended-sounding, but I brush it off. "You can now smell like..." I say, leaning over to look at Bard's sample. "Lilies, vanilla, and strawberries. What a most delightful, feminine fragrance."
"What scents do you like, Ivy? I mean, this is for the next brand idea, it's not like I'm going to buy you anything..." Ciel rambles, and I think.
"Well...I like smelling fresh, not heavy, if you know what I mean. I like fruits that aren't known to be the sweetest, like mangoes or lemons mixed with raspberries or blueberries...but I don't really use perfumes, just bodywash." I say, "And it's pretty generic, just some Dove soap."
Ciel nods, thinking those fruits accurately represented Ivy. Sebastian took a subtle whiff of the air, and smelt Ivy. Ivy...Ivy smelt like sweet and slightly sour lemonade on a hot day in the summer, while her soul smelt like camellias with the oh-so-subtle hint of magic that belonged to a witch. But, than there was something else that he couldn't place his finger on...it was like a fingerprint on her eyelids, ever so faint and so easy to miss.
"But the character...it is a bit creepy. Why a unicorn? Why not a camel, or a bald eagle?" I ask, looking at the creepy unicorn.
"The Funtom Company has different icons for its different lines. We already have a cat, a rabbit, a frog. So for the young lady image the young master came up with...a unicorn." Sebastian says, sweat dropping.
"I was scolded by Lizzie already," Ciel grumbles, as Sebastian looks down on him. "It is great that you chose to expand the business with female products, but it seems that it was a bit hard to capture the women's hearts with just data and quality."
"Yeah! Give us females what we want!" I say, and Ciel looks at me, and sighs. "What do females want?"
"Well...we want high quality purses and bags for starters!" I say, and Ciel raises a brow. "Aren't those the same thing?"
"No! Now, we also want leather jackets and sunglasses that make us look badass. Possibly a samurai sword to scare a man, if you know what I mean," I say, wiggling my eyebrows.
Chop-chop up the bananas! Fruit ninja style!
"No... I don't know what you mean..." Ciel says, looking at a shrugging Sebastian.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A voice screams from outside, and Sebastian runs outside. Oh yeah, the Irene Diaz thing...
"I'm going to look at the fountain outside..." I say, walking outside, hearing thundering extending outwards into the distance. Ah, that must be Sebastian running to the Romeo and Juliet performance. Pulling out a book I had purchased at the book store (unknown to Ciel, of course), I began to read 'The Raven'.
Soon, a horde of women entered the perfume shop, and I rolled my eyes. Women, amirite?
Arriving at the Manor of Phantomhive from town, we see a long haired man outside on the lawn, wearing striped robes. Is this...?
"Sebastian, I have a man here today to prove your worth as a butler," Ciel says, as he steps out of the carriage, looking at the man as his hair billows in the wind. "Do you have any problems with this?"
"Of course not, young master." Sebastian says, as he helps me out of the carriage. He quickly pulls out a table and chair, and has me sit down. Ciel's eyebrow twitches, "What about me?!"
"Of course, you master. But being a gentleman comes first, so the lady sits down first," Sebastian says, winking at me, and I giggle slightly.
What a cheeky bastard.
Soon, the long-haired man faces Sebstian, and he does a series of hand motions.
"Take This! Secret Technique! Flower Bird Wind Moon All Kinds Of Flowers Profusion Fist!" He shouts out, and I clutch my forward. "The only secret technique that is, is that it gives me a headache with all the capitalization! Just decide already!" I shout out, rolling my eyes.
Running towards Sebastian at high speeds, he grabs Sebastian by the wrist. Sebastian's eyes flash as he flings him upwards, sending him flying upwards into the air, before crashing to the ground.
"Th-that's is our school's last hidden secret mega technique! Super Tiger Dragon Gun Ten Thousand Blossom Scattering Fissure Fist! What in the world are you?!" The man asks, turning to Sebastian in shock.
"I'm simply one hell of a butler, the butler of the house of Phantomhive," Sebastian says, looking back at the man, dusting himself off, then he turns to Ciel, fake-smiling. "And that's how it is, young master. Because I won, please do today's review and tomorrow's pre-lesson."
"Tch, alright." He responds, as I clap. "Well done, Sebastian!"
"Yeah Sebastian! That was amazing!" The servants cheer, and Snake nods. "Yes, quite great! Says Wordsworth."
June 29th, 1888
"A note from the Queen... I wonder..." I say, looking at my leather notebook. "Dear Q.O, I'd like for you to establish personal connections with the Trancy house, who is the Queen's Spider in the Underworld. Their business is to destroy all issues in the underworld, which may be a useful relationship with you both. Do not worry, this is the only person I will ask you to establish connections with. Send my good wishes to my boy, -Queen Victoria, June 29th."
Looking back at the note, I look at the word again: Trancy.
Hmm...where is that last name from...? It seems familiar, but out of place at the same time...
The blonde devilish boy about Ciel's age flashes through my mind, alongside his butler and servants. Book dropping from my hands as they shake, I sit down on my bed. The 2nd season of the anime would have never happened because the London Fire in Season 1 didn't happen because Angelica stayed in that dog-goned town...so what's the conflict? Is there none...or am I just going to go into this unprepared?
Racking my fingers through my hair, I stand up, walking to Ciel's study and I knock once. "Come in, Ivy." Ciel says, and I step in to see him and Sebastian conversing over a pile of papers.
"Oh Ivy, I was just about to talk to you! We're planning a trip to Germany for an inspection for the Quee-"
"I can't go," I mumble, and Ciel looks up in shock. "Oh? Why not?"
"I have business to do...work to do. The reason I came in here was because I was going to tell you I was going to leave again, but I don't know for how long. His personality is mumbled-jumbled, and I don't know how long I'll need to stay..." I say, and Sebastian's eyebrows crease.
"Who...?"
"I need to explain something first," I say, inhaling through my nose, looking up at the confused-duo. "I, too, work for the Queen. I am the Queen's Owl, and have been recently been appointed this title. I overwatch all supernatural works in the underworld relating to crime, keeping it under wraps so the general public do not learn of these events, and annihilate anything that may affect Britain."
Ciel's eye widens, before going back to a normal state. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"The Queen has written to me, asking for me to establish more personal connections..." I grumble, as Sebastian raises a brow. "And...why would this be a problem?"
"I have to make personal connections with the Earl of Trancy, the holder of the Spider title..." I say, as Ciel's eye is filled with hate. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ivy. He's bad news..."
"I know of this, that's why I hope to be in-and-out of there as fast as possible. I'll come back to the manor when I'm done, possibly leave for Dunton where my grandmother is if I have time." I say, and Sebastian nods.
"But you literally just came back to us, can you wait?" Ciel asks, and I shake my head. "This would be a good time to do it, I'm horrible at German." I wave off, and Ciel runs his fingers through his hair.
"I want you to write me daily, or do some witch-thingie to let me know if you're fine. If something goes awry, contact me immediately and I'll send Sebastian for you. I've only had to deal with the Earl of Trancy in an exchange of letters...but he seems very arrogant."
"Yeah...there's something I need to tell you before I go there, but he also has a demon butler..." I say, as Sebastian's eyes flash red, fangs pointing out slightly.
"What." he says in a deep voice, and I step back slightly, "Woah Seb, that's a bit odd for yo-"
"I would never trust another demon around my Ivy," he says in a strange language that Ivy had no idea was, but she assumed it was a demonic or a satanic language. The room grows dark, as all the lights extinguish and the shadows around Sebastian grow, leaving a swirling black mass around him with blazing red eyes.
"Ciel?" I squeak, but it seems as if he's no longer there. The lights are back on, and it seems as if nothing's changed. Ciel is still in the same position, in the middle of sipping his tea. I blink, and suddenly I'm looking at myself as if I'm watching myself on a movie screen, my vision tinted red. I'm viewing myself from a higher point of view, and the occasional black filters into the corner of my eye. Blinking once again, I'm no longer there, and am instead where I was previously.
"-u," I finish automatically, and I cough suddenly. What was that? Did I just...peek into Sebastian's mind or something? Weird!
Sebastian looked at me calmly, and I shuddered slightly.
"Use a witch protection spell and you'll be fine, besides, Sebastian will protect you," Ciel says nonchalantly, and I raise a brow. "Woah Ciel, you're giving me lots of freedom...I appreciate it, thanks." I say with a smile, and he blushes.
"As long as you're happy, that makes me happy." He says, and I smile back, causing Sebastian to have a nasty look cross his face briefly before turning neutral again.
Briefly hugging the servants farewell and passing Sebastian my letters to the mailbox, informing all my friends that I'll be elsewhere, I don my trenchcoat, giving a long hug to Ciel.
"I'll miss you, Ciel," I say, as he relaxes in my grip, fingers twitching slightly.
"Ciel, I linked our rings together, the Taylor and Phantomhive one. I can tap morse code into it to communicate to you instantly, no matter what magical barriers," I whisper to him, before we pull away. Turning to Sebastian, I give him a hug, which he returns.
"Farewell, Ivy." He says, his face above the top of my head because of height differences. Wait...I heard a sniff. Did he just... sniff my hair?!
Smiling, I pull away from the hug. "I will see you all soon," I say with a wave, as I step out of the mansion.
"FAREWELL IVY~!" The servants bawl, as I close the door behind me, sighing. Walking to the side of the mansion, a blue glow sparkles over my body, cleaning itself of all scents.
Hey, better safe than sorry!
Gripping my suitcase tightly, I dust off my floral-patterned pink camelia dress before I breathe in, closing my eyes as the apparition spell does it's work.
Trancy Manor...Trancy Manor...
With a whirlwind of blue glow, my feet feel weightless for a moment before landing on the cobblestone pathway up to the mansion's doorway. Sighing, I grip my suitcase, and start the death march to the manor.
(PLAY SONG: GOODBYE-by Krewella)
This can't be how it ends, wasted in ignorance, I still lack information, information about the Undertaker and Conall's connections, reading the emotions of the people around me...
The bullets in your breath are all I know, all I know, the bullet hole in Michael's chest, and I wince, pausing a moment as I walked, but kept going.
I'll never comprehend why you left me for dead
Promises broke and bent I'm all alone, all alone The vision of me on the beach next to Michael's body flashes through my mind, and I sigh.
Future...not the past dammit!
One more word before I break
Look before you fall from grace
Read my lips and shut your face
Maybe you're the one to blame, Michael was the reason I was here...wasn't it?
Same old story every day
Trip and fall and run away
The truth is gonna find you, the truth...the truth of who I am? Or where I came from...
It still kills me
That I can't change things, How Ciel stays on the path of revenge, how the murders still took place...
But I'm still dreaming... I am still here, technically.
I'll rewrite the ending, that sounds nice...maybe Ciel can live slightly longer before he is soul-sucked.
So you'll take back the lies,
Before we say our goodbyes, say our goodbyes... I hope this wasn't the last goodbye between my London friends and I...
The demons in your head
Whispering sweet revenge, Sebastian insisting on taking Ciel's soul for the purpose of revenge..
The hands around your neck
Take control, take control, visions of Sebastian dangling me over the edge of the manor's roof, the terrifying red glint sending shivers down my spine.
My fingers on the ledge
Slipping with every threat
I won't succumb to this
So let me go, let me go, did Sebastian actually care for me? Or did he care for my soul...
Finally reaching the large door, I look up at it and sigh, raising my hand to the large dark, wooden door, and I knock once.
The lock on the other side is heard unlocking, as the door is swung open. Gripping my suitcase, I smile upwards.
"Hello, I'm Ivy, Ivy Adams."
.THE END OF PART ONE.
