((Thanks so much for all the support in the comment section, guys! I really appreciate it. Anyways, yes, Alois and Claude are entering, my babies will soon not know what to do with themselves XD))
Kimberly smiled as she picked up the book she was reading. She enjoyed her schedule. It mostly consisted of wandering the hallways after reading a few chapters of her favorite book. Then she normally would help Ciel with anything or annoy him by talking to him when he needed to get work done. Sometimes, her schedule would get interrupted, like if the Queen gives Ciel an order, or they needed to go to town for something, or if they had guests over.
Today, she decided, would be one of those days her schedule would be interrupted. However, it didn't bother her too much. She wanted to have at least a little bit of alone time to think things through. It was much harder than she thought it would be to take something like this in all at once. Not to mention that question about what was different with Ciel was still swimming around in her mind. She couldn't get the thoughts of what might be missing out of her imagination. But what was really ticking away at her mind was how she had become fully human. She bit her bottom lip and knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate on more than a sentence of the book with her mind all over the place, so she decided it would be best to skip reading and instead walk around the hallways until the earl left. She set her book down and stood up, leaving her room and began her normal route, deciding to walk past Ciel's study and see if she could find that room Sebastian brought her to when she confessed her love for him. She blushed lightly and smiled at the memory, finding it made her heart flutter and her stomach churn.
As she walked, she was glad to be unable to hear a sound. Silence comforted her. She was glad it was the only thing meeting her ears at the moment. However, soon silence was not all that she heard. Her eyes were closed lightly as she walked slowly down the hallway, taking her time. She knew the manor like the back of her hand and knew exactly how many steps to take before turning. However, her eyes shot open when she heard a second set of footsteps. These footsteps were not unlike Sebastian's, however, Sebastian had a lighter tread than these ones. Without making it too noticeable that she knew someone was following her, she moved closer to the wall to make her turn, and when she turned, she looked behind her quickly.
What she saw, though, surprised her. It was nothing. No one was there. When she turned back around, though, her eyes widened with shock and she had to stop quickly in her tracks to stop herself from bumping into a tall figure wearing black. She took a small step back and looked up at the figure and immediately recognized him as the butler of Earl Trancy's. Sebastian's warning from earlier rang through her mind and for a fleeting moment, she thought about making a run for her room. However, the man didn't seem to look too threatening. In fact, he looked lost.
His golden eyes met hers for a moment and she was sure she saw them change color. However, they were still the same golden she had seen when she first looked up at him. Figuring it was just a trick of the light, she took another small step back so she wouldn't be so close to him, smiling politely.
"I'm sorry, are you lost?" she asked, looking up at him, "Where is my brother?" she asked, biting her bottom lip and hoping he was okay. Sebastian was with him, so he should have been, however she knew that Sebastian had a habit of leaving Ciel alone in the worst of times.
He didn't smile back, but he did look down at her and faked a concerned expression. She knew the look was fake because she had seen it so much on Sebastian's face, "Yes it appears I am, my lady," he said, placing a hand over his chest the way Sebastian did, "Would you mind directing me towards Lord Phantomhive's study?" he asked, straining to sound innocent.
She slowly nodded, though Sebastian's warning still swam through her mind, "Yes. In fact, I was just going that way myself… I can show you," she said, wondering whether or not she should actually trust this man. Sebastian said not to. He had never steered her wrong before, but at the same time, she didn't see the harm in leading him back to his master. Once he nodded, she took that as a 'yes please' and she side-stepped him and began to walk down the hall that lead to Ciel's study. She could feel his eyes on her and it creeped her out, but she didn't say anything about it.
She was growing closer to the study, but she suddenly felt her body being slammed into the wall. All the wind was knocked from her lungs and she attempted to shout out, but all that escaped her was a sound of breathless confusion. She felt his breath by her ear and trailing down her neck and she shuddered with disgust. What was he doing? What was even going on? She didn't know until she heard his voice. The moment his soft, emotionless voice was heard, it was as if she couldn't remember where she was. Who she was. Nothing else was important. The only thing that mattered was answering what she was being asked. Her body felt heavy, like lead. She heard a deep, smooth voice in her ear.
"Tell me, what is your status with the young earl?" the voice asked. She didn't know why the voice wanted to know, but she could feel her lips moving to form the words that left her mouth of their own accord.
"Ciel Phantomhive is my younger half-brother," she answered. Her voice was strangely monotone. But why? Why was she speaking at all? There was simply no reason for her to answer these questions, still she automatically did so.
She heard a bit of muttering that sounded almost like the voice was glad she answered. She then heard another question, this one more personal, "What is your status with the butler, Sebastian Michealis?" she heard the question. She knew it would be wrong to answer it. However, her lips moved again and the monotone voice sounded once again.
"Sebastian Michealis and I are lovers. We keep it secret from Ciel Phantomhive," she replied once more. She could feel her body becoming more and more stiff, but still heavy. It was like her blood had suddenly hardened and been replaced with led.
She heard a small chuckle and one final question was asked, "Are you important to Sebastian Michealis?" the voice asked. Without thinking, Kimberly knew she would answer. She knew the answer to this question.
"Yes."
Suddenly, she felt as though a good portion of her memory faded. She fell to the ground, her vision blacking out. She rubbed her eyes and coughed a bit, though she didn't know why she was on the floor. She didn't know why she felt so heavy. On top of that, she didn't know why she was in the middle of the hallway. The last thing she remembered, she had left her room and began her walk. She slowly stood up, frowning a bit and blinking a few times to let her eyes fully adjust to her surroundings. She could hear again, though she didn't realize her hearing had been affected.
"Sebastian, go fetch Kimberly from wherever she is," she could hear Ciel's voice. She frowned and realized she was right outside of Ciel's study. Her memory became less foggy and she remembered that she was taking a stroll through the manor the way she always did, but the earl Alois Trancy was visiting Ciel, so she was to steer clear of the two. So then why was she at his study? Why did he need her? She frowned and tried to stagger away from the room, but her body still felt oddly heavy.
She sighed and leaned against the wall, taking a few deep breaths to help herself collect her thoughts and herself. She didn't even realize Sebastian was standing right in front of her with a worried look.
"My lady, is everything alright?" he asked, the study door shut, though he was still being cautious. She looked up into his eyes and slowly nodded.
His oddly colored crimson eyes reminded her of someone. Of something. But she couldn't recall what. It was as if a blank space was in her memory, blocking her from the information needed. She bit her bottom lip gently and found her voice.
"Yes, Sebastian. I'm fine. What is it you need?" she asked, already forgetting she had just heard Ciel ordering him to bring her to him.
"My lord requests your audience," he answered, looking at her, still not buying her being alright, but didn't press the subject further, probably mentally deciding to ask her about it in private rather than in the middle of the hallway.
She nodded and followed Sebastian into Ciel's study, trying to keep her attention to the ground. She didn't know why, but she was bothered by the presence of the golden eyed butler standing by the blonde earl's side. She slowly looked up and saw Ciel's stare looking straight through her and he must see what Sebastian did. She looked almost as though she had been harassed. Her hair was no longer flat or smooth, instead it looked like she had been running - pieces of her hair sticking this way and that. She blushed softly upon realizing this but made no attempt at fixing it.
"You needed me, Ciel?" she asked, looking down at him with the best poker face she could muster.
"Yes, I did. It seems the Queen wishes for Earl Trancy and I to work together. We have come to the conclusion that the easiest way to do that is to allow Sir Trancy to remain here, in the manor, for only a few days. As you will be seeing much more of the Earl, it has been decided it would be best for you to properly meet our guest," he explained, the look on his face describing how much he hated having Alois in the manor for any longer than an hour or so.
Kimberly slowly nodded and turned to the Earl and smiled sweetly down at him, "Once more, my name is Kimberly Phantomhive. It is nice to meet you," she greeted him, unsure how else she could greet him.
Alois looked up at her and once again grinned, interest sparking in his eyes, "My name is Alois Trancy, as you already know. Now really, Ciel. We already met, why must we do it again?" he asked with a bubbly voice. It was odd hearing it - though she didn't know why. The boy looked rather bubbly so it didn't surprise her that she heard the tone of voice.
Ciel looked at him boredly before managing to utter words out, "I figured if you will be staying with us, we should be as kind and hospitable as possible. That is why if you need any help, simply ask one of my servants. However, if you are lost, simply ask Kimberly here. She knows the manor like the back of her hand," he said, nodding slightly to Kimberly as though to point out who she was.
Kimberly smiled and nodded down at the boy, "Of course. If you ever need to know how to get somewhere, I would be happy to help you, Earl Trancy-" she said to agree with Ciel, however she was interrupted by Alois.
"Alois. Call me Alois, Miss Kimberly. Earl Trancy is much too formal," he said, his grin widening a bit. He then turned to Ciel, "Well then, Ciel. Are you going to entertain me?" he asked. Kimberly could have sworn she saw a Ciel twitch a bit in annoyance before seeming to get an idea.
"I am sorry, but I have too much work to do for me to properly entertain you. However, I am sure Kimberly would be glad to entertain you while I do my work," he said, giving Kimberly a warning glance.
Taking this as yet another warning to be careful around the Earl and his butler, Kimberly nodded a bit, "Yes, if you like I can give you a tour of our manor. Or I can lead you out to the gardens if you like," she suggested, smiling politely at Alois.
She wasn't sure what the big deal was with him. To her, he was a harmless young boy. There was no need to continually warn her to watch her back around him. However, she decided it would be in her best interest to stay on guard when around him.
"The garden sounds like a good idea," he said with a small giggle, seeming to be excited to be staying in the manor, though she figured it was just in his personality. She nodded a curt goodbye to Ciel before leading him out of the study. She knew Sebastian was staring her down, but she couldn't turn to him to talk to him just yet.
Leading Alois down the hallway, she decided to lead him out of the west side door of the manor - she found it the easiest way to get to the gardens. She answered several odd questions Alois asked. She wasn't sure why he was so curious, but she remained polite to the guest. But one question he asked caught her off guard and made her stop in her tracks to help the question to fully comprehend.
"Miss Kimberly, do you believe in demons?"
((Thanks for the support, you guys! I worked hard on this chapter. I know Claude has never actually hypnotized anyone like that, but I feel he probably could. Anyways, tell me what you think in the comments!))