Welcome back to A Rose With Many Thorns!

Words cannot describe how bad I feel for abandoning all of my stories- and you, my lovely audience members. I will try to update as much as I can in the future…which I hope will be a lot.

So without further ado, enjoy!

Love, Fallen/Raven/May (I forgot what you know me as XD)

Sunday Afternoon- The Phantomhive Manor

Before Rosalind knew it, it was the end of her first week at the Phantomhive manor and it was time for her competition to arrive. The BMF trio scurried around the manor, attempting to prepare the manor at the last minute for their arrival. You see, there was one thing that Rosalind learned very quickly upon her arrival at the manor.

EVERYTHING falls apart when Sebastian is not around.

And where is Sebastian you might ask? He went on a last minute business trip with Lord Phantomhive a couple of days ago and has yet to return.

Rosalind watched from the top of the staircase as Mey-Rin attempted to clean a window. The clumsy maid tripped on the leg of the chair in front of it and crashed through the window. Glass fell all over the floor.

At the same time, a fire erupted in the kitchen and an explosion could be heard as the fire started to make its way down the hall from the servants' quarters.

Rosalind had just turned in the direction of the explosion when a tree flew through one of the higher windows of the foyer, hit the chandelier, and crashed onto the stairs in front of her. 'Great, it looks like Finny is weeding the garden again.' Her upper lip curled in disgust at the incompetency of the servants of the household. 'How dare they call themselves servants? They are the saddest excuse for them that I have ever seen! No wonder why the Earl is holding a competition for new servants…' As she opened her mouth to yell at the trio, who had appeared in the foyer shortly after the tree flew through the window, Sebastian and Ciel burst through the front door.

Rosalind watched as Ciel's face turned a bright red as he took in his destroyed home. "The maids will be here any minute now" He muttered quietly to himself. "Sebastian! Fix this immediately!" He glared at the BMF trio. "You three…get out of my sight."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian answered, bowing slightly as the three servants scurried to their rooms, using a different hallway than the one that was on fire.

Rosalind turned around and started to head back towards her room- she needed to get ready for when the others showed up, but then the Earl caught her out of the corner of his eye.

"Stop right there, Miss Cantatio." Rosalind turned around to face the young earl as he slowly ascended the stairs, drawing closer to her. "Are you alright? Did my servants cause you harm?"

"I am fine, Lord Phantomhive. They could not harm me even if it was intentional." She replied.

"Good, I could not risk having one of my potential maids being harmed by the likes of them." A small smile appeared on Ciel's face as he looked into Rosalind's eyes. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to be prepared to greet my applicants. You should get ready, Miss Cantatio. They will be arriving any moment now."

"Yes, my lord." She curtsied to the earl, waiting for him to disappear down the hallway. When he did, she stepped out of her pose and hurried to her room. She threw open the door and started stripping, her clothes flying in different directions as she made her way to the short, plain black dress that Sebastian had provided. Apparently it was the uniform that all of the potential maids were supposed to wear. She quickly pulled on her thigh-high white tights and re-tightened her corset. Rosalind grabbed the dress off of the hanger and threw it on.

"Wait a minute….why is this thing so short?!" A blush crept onto her face as she tugged down on the dress, attempting to pull it lower as she peered at herself in the mirror. She noticed that the dress was about knee-length instead of floor-length, like most dresses were, but when she put it on it turned out to only fall down to her mid-thigh…Which meant…

She lifted her arms up into the air and pretended to dust something. "Oh shit!" She could clearly see her black panties in the mirror.

"That language is not becoming of a lady." Rosalind's eyes widened as she spun around and saw Sebastian standing in the doorway, that lady-killer smirk plastered onto his face.

"What the?! How long have you been standing there?!" She tugged on her skirt, trying to cover herself. "You know what, forget that. You did this on purpose!" She shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"You made my dress this short on purpose!"

"No I did not. I may have given the seamstress the wrong measurements, but I did not do it on purpose." His smirk grows into a smile as he watches her fiddle with the dress.

"Get me a new one this instant!"

"I'm afraid that that cannot be done."

Rosalind huffed and pushed past Sebastian, walking out of the room.

"You are going the wrong way, Miss Cantatio."

She turned around and waked in the opposite direction, Sebastian following her with that sly smile still slapped across his face. Rosalind stomped down the stairs and walked down the hallway to Ciel's office, not stopping to admire the fact that the manor was back in its original state in such a small amount of time. She flung open the door of the office and then slammed it shut again, turning around to face Sebastian with a deep blush in her cheeks.

"Do not make me go in there."

"You have to, Miss. You are currently preventing the young master from addressing his applicants." Rosalind bit her bottom lip and looked up at Sebastian.

"I hate you."

"Hate is a strong word, not quite becoming of your delicate nature, Miss Cantatio." He opened the door and pushed Rosalind inside; she stumbled into the line that the maids were in, but did not lose her balance. Sebastian stepped into the room behind her and closed the door.

"You're late." Ciel deadpanned, taking a sip of his tea. "I was just about to dismiss you from the household."

"Please forgive me, Master, it will not happen again." She kept her eyes focused onto the ground.

"Only this once." Ciel replied. When Rosalind looked up, she saw the ghost of a smile on his face before he looked to the other maids, who were eying the length of her gown. 'Well that is just splendid…Judge me on someone else's cruelty.' She thought.

"Now where were we? Ah, that's right, introductions. As you know, I am the Earl Phantomhive and the man behind me is my butler, Sebastian Michaelis.' He pointed to the maid farthest away from Rosalind. "State your name and age. I know that it is already on your application, but do it anyway."

"M-Madeline Brooks, age seventeen." A tall brunette said quietly, looking everywhere besides Ciel's face.

"María de Santiago, have….twenty years." A small woman with a thick Spanish accent said proudly, most likely because she believed that she had said her sentence fluently.

"Luna Vasilisa Barnes, age eighteen." She stepped out of line and curtsied in front of desk, some of her platinum blonde hair falling into his face. Ciel started into her striking silver eyes for a moment, seeming captivated by them. He managed to tear his eyes away from her and the girl walked back to her place in the line, smirking at Sebastian. When she noticed Rosalind staring she bared her teeth.

Rosalind never heard the names of the next two women, she was too busy fiddling with her skirt and processing Luna's introduction.

"Miss? Excuse me, Miss?" Rosalind jumped slightly when she realized that Sebastian was calling her and quickly pulled down her dress as far as it could go.

"Yes?"

"Please state your name and age for the young master."

"Rosalind Cantatio, age sixteen." Ciel, who was staring at her, looked away and started to address the group, his delicate hands resting underneath his chin as he did so.

"I will be observing you for a week. During this time, you will complete a different task every day to the best of your abilities in attempt to impress me. Those of you caught trying to sabotage another maid's chance will be asked to leave the premises immediately. Do you understand?" Ciel deadpanned, carefully sizing up each one of the women as he said the last sentence.

"Yes, Lord Phantomhive." The women chorused, all curtsying in sync with the exception of María, who was a beat late.

"Now then, follow me to your first task." Ciel got up and walked out of the room, Madeline, María and the other two women scrambling to place behind him (for Luna was already there). Behind her, Rosalind heard Sebastian let out a quiet chuckle. She spun around and looked at him.

"Run along now, Rosalind, or you'll make the young master mad…again. He might just have you give everyone a show in as a punishment." Rosalind blushed deeply and ran after Ciel, not turning around because she knew what she would find there…That irritating, blood-scorching smirk.

"I don't know how he expects us to cook for a guest when we are so tired from traveling! This is nerve wracking!" Madeline exclaimed as she struggled to fry vegetables…again. Somehow everything she tries to cook ends up in smoke.

"Sí…" María said quietly as she slipped her cake into the oven.

Rosalind said nothing as she continued to prepare her own dessert. Ciel had ordered Luna, Madeline and Kayla (she found out that that was the blonde haired woman's name) to prepare an entrée and María, Megan (which was the black haired woman's name) and herself to prepare a dessert in less than an hour for guests that were supposed to be arriving at the manor at any minute. While some of the others were not used to this kind of demand, Rosalind was not. She had to make meals on demand twenty-four seven for Master Lucian.

Rosalind slipped her cupcakes into the oven and then started to prepare the chocolate pudding. She hummed an old nursery rhyme to herself as she put the ingredients into a bowl and stirred them. Slowly, the women stopped what they were doing and started at Rosalind. Their eyes became cloudy and looks of bliss fell upon their faces as she hummed. Rosalind, thinking nothing of their strange behavior, smiled to herself and continued to stir the pudding. When she had whipped the pudding to perfection, she set the bowl aside and stopped humming. She opened the oven and stuck a fork in one of the cupcakes, testing to see if it was fully cooked. Meanwhile, the women's eyes became less foggy and they became aware of their surroundings once again.

"Oh no, my vegetables! Not again…Sebastian is not going to let me have any more of them…" Madeline turned off the gas and moved to the garbage can, scrapping the blacked vegetables off of the pan.

"Mi torta!" María quickly took her cake out of the oven…it was far past golden brown, but it was still salvageable.

"My flan!"

"My meatballs!"

Rosalind looked over at Luna, waiting for her to say something, but Luna was just smiling to herself as she stirred her pasta. She frowned and took out the cupcakes.

Sebastian and Ciel looked at the dishes set down in front of them. Some of them they automatically dismissed, like Madeline's sloppily made, sort of burnt pork that had no side dish and others they dismissed after tasting, like María's cake. In the end, it was Luna's fettuccine alfredo and Rosalind's vanilla cupcakes filled with chocolate pudding that were served to the guests, who were really just Lau and Ran Mao.

"You are all dismissed for the evening. Goodnight." Sebastian said, following his young master out of the room. As soon as they left, sighs of relief echoed in the room. Rosalind followed the other women to the servant's quarters, having to sleep there with them for as long as this little competition went on. When she got there, she found out that Sebastian had placed all of her things (which is not much) on her bed along with a new dress and an apology. Kayla, who was looking over her shoulder when she read the note and saw who it was from, smirked.

"Don't ya think that that butler isa looker?" She said casually, looking at Rosalind.

"Oh definitely!" Madeline said, jumping into the conversation. "I bet you that he could make a nun revoke her vows with one glance!" She paused. "I'd break my vows for him."

"Madeline! Don't say things that you do not mean!" Megan exclaimed, looking scandalized at Madeline's statement.

"But I do mean it." The whole room burst into laughter at Madeline's statement, with the exception of Megan, who just shook her head and smiled, and Rosalind, who looked absolutely horrified of the thought of sleeping with that…'thing.'

Monday Morning- The Servant's Quarters

"Rise and shine ladies." Baldroy flung open the curtains of the room that they were staying in, causing more than one groan to ring out. "Sebastian has requested that you meet him in the kitchen for breakfast in five minutes. He told me to tell you that if you are not there on time, that you will not get any food for the rest of the day.

"….GET OUT!" Kayla and Megan shoved Baldroy out of the room and slammed the door behind him. A few seconds later, clothes were flying all over the room…literally.

Rosalind was the first to arrive at the kitchen, only to find Sebastian not there. 'That little…'

"Hey, where's Madeline?" Kayla said loudly, interrupting Rosalind's train of thought.

"Huh, that's strange, she wasn't in the room this morning either…Maybe Sebastian had her do something before we woke up?"

"Good morning." Kayla, Megan and María jumped when they heard Sebastian's voice behind them.

"Good morning, Mister Sebastian!" They said quickly.

"I had already served you your food, did you not see it on the table?"

"No, we didn't. Thank you, Mister Sebastian." Megan smiled a little.

"You're welcome." The women slowly took their respective seats at the table, not sure what to say to the man. They just started at the food until Sebastian spoke up. "Is it not satisfactory?"

"No, it's just that…you're sort of making us uncomfortable, Mister Sebastian." Megan said quietly, looking at Kayla, who nodded in encouragement. "I think that it would make us more comfortable if you sat with us."

"Yes, sit, sit." María patted the seat between herself and Rosalind, who tensed up at the thought of Sebastian sitting next to her.

'Please say no, God make him say no.'

"Gladly." Sebastian smiled as he slipped in between them.

'Damn.'

"While you eat, may I tell you your task for today?"

"Of course." Kayla said, smiling.

"Today you will each clean two rooms that have not seen a soul in months and make sure that they are spotless from top to bottom. Rosalind, Luna and Megan will be in the East Wing on the second floor and Kayla and María will be in the West Wing on the first floor. You have two hours to clean each room. Afterwards come see me for your next, easier task."

"What about Madeline, Mister Sebastian?" Luna asked innocently; to Rosalind, the amount of false sweetness in her voice was revolting.

"Madeline has been sent home."

Kayla gasped. "Why?!"

"…..She attempted to sexually assault me last night."

"…." While the others sat dumbfounded, Luna smirked while once again, Rosalind's face was filled with disgust.

Tuesday Afternoon- The Phantomhive Stables

"This is so disgusting! Why do we have to clean up horse dung? Isn't that a stable boy's job?!" Kayla huffed, pushing some freshly dropped dung towards the wheelbarrow. She didn't notice that the horse behind her was slowly moving closer. "I mean- we're supposed to be maids and yet-!" The horse bit her hair and started to tug on it, causing her to scream.

"Kayla!" Megan rushed to help her, but not quickly enough, because the horse gave one mighty tug and down Kayla went…into more horse dung.

Rosalind couldn't stop herself from laughing this time.

Wednesday Morning- Somewhere in the Garden

"Today, you are going to throw knifes at that target." Ciel said, pointing to a target roughly about fifty feet away from where they were standing. "You have three tries. No more, no less. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why do we have to do this?" Kayla whined. "It's impossible."

"Sebastian." Without hesitation, Sebastian stepped up to a marker on the ground and threw three knifes in rapid succession, hitting the target right in the center. Ciel turned back to Kayla, a smirk on his face.

"W-Well he's a man."

"I would not ask you to do it if you did not have the capability to do it." He turned his eye to Rosalind. "Would you like to go first, Rosalind?"

"It would be my pleasure." She stepped up to the marker on the ground and held out her hand for a knife. As soon as she held it, she ran her fingers along the blade, feeling how sharp it was, and gripped the sturdy handle with her right hand, trying to get a good grip. She removed her fingers and planted her left leg behind her right. She dug her left heel into the ground and stared at the target. With a quick flick of her wrist, the knife sailed towards the target and hit it in the dead center.

"Next." She held out her hand for the other knife. When Sebastian gave it to her, she switched it to her left hand and held out her hand once more. "Next." Sebastian looked at her with a smirk on his face as he handed it to her. She flung the next two one after the other and they both hit on either slide of the first blade, still in the center. Megan and María clapped and Rosalind turned around and smiled at them.

"See, Kayla? Women can throw knifes too." Ciel smirked again; Kayla blushed deeply, embarrassed.

"….fine, I'll try it." She got into position, and copying Rosalind's movements, threw the knives at the target…She missed every time. Luna snickered and Kayla turned to her, tears in her eyes because she was just about to die of embarrassment. "If you think that it's so easy, then why don't you try it?!" She thrust the knives at Luna and stepped away from the marker.

Luna stared at Kayla as she threw the knives at the target; all of them made it in the center without her even looking. Kayla clenched her teeth and balled her fists.

"You see why I laugh now?" Luna smirked.

"Stop your bickering." Ciel deadpanned. "María, you're next."

María, like Kayla, missed the target completely and Megan, who went after her, hit the outside of the target once.

"That will be all. You are all free to do as you please for the rest of the evening." Ciel walked away from the group.

Thursday Afternoon- The Phantomhive Library

"As you know, the Phantomhives are famous for their hospitality. Furthermore, as servants of this estate you must know how to keep guests calm and distracted during times of crisis. Today, you will all perform…a talent, if you want to call it that- to the young master and his fiancée. You have until after dinner to get your acts together. That is all." Sebastian walked out of the room.

"Talent? I don't have a talent!" Kayla wailed. "I'm definitely not going to get this job!" As Megan and María went to go comfort Kayla, Rosalind smiled.

'I know exactly what to do. I am so glad that I can finally show them what I am really capable of…Okay, maybe not. I cannot go that far…I have to control it.'

Rosalind glanced at Luna out of the corner of her eye, and frowned when she saw the expression on her face. It was one of confidence…and borderline arrogance. Luna chose that precise moment to look at her and she grinned; Rosalind snarled.

'I will definitely beat her.'

Thursday Evening- The Ballroom

"Oh, Ciel! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see what your maids are going to do!"

"None of them are my maids yet, Elizabeth."

"I wonder if they will-Oh! There is Sebastian now!"

"Young master, Lady Elizabeth." He bowed to them. "Unfortunately, one of the maids will be unable to perform tonight."

"Oh that's just terrible! Is she alright?"

"I'm sure that she's fine, Elizabeth." Ciel replied. "Who is going first, Sebastian?"

"María de Santiago and Megan Johnson."

"Two of them?"

"Miss Santiago is going to paint, young master. She will probably take a while."

"I see. Tell them to start." Upon hearing his words, Megan (who was waiting to start) placed her violin on her shoulder and lifted her bow. A few seconds later, out drifted the first haunting notes of Bach's Chaconne. In the meantime, María had dipped her paintbrush in black paint and had begun to make small, delicate strokes on her canvas. Elizabeth's eyes widened at the melody of the Chaconne and her eyes were fixed on Megan. Ciel, on the other hand, wished that he could one day, play violin at that level. When the song ended, the couple clapped, Elizabeth's more enthusiastically than Ciel's.

"That was amazing!" She exclaimed. Megan blushed in return.

"Thank you, milady. I truly am not worthy of such high praise."

"Nonsense! That was fantastic!" Elizabeth smiled at her; Sebastian cleared his throat.

"If you would be so kind to send Miss Barnes out, Miss Johnson?"

"Of course." Megan curtsied to Ciel and Elizabeth, then left the room. A few seconds later, Luna, dressed in all black, walked into the room and curtsied to Ciel and Elizabeth before sitting on the stool of the white baby grand piano.

She placed her fingers on the delicate keys and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, out flowed the first notes of Glinka's-Balakirev's The Lark. Graceful arpeggios soon followed, a small, tinkling melody fluttering over the top of them, before the bass pattern and the chords set in and the piece truly began. The melody was delicate, melancholy, and it grew louder and louder yet did not lose its elegance. Suddenly the piece was interrupted by a flurry of notes, Luna's fingers racing up and down the keys until the music came to a standstill. This was short-lived, because all of a sudden the main theme came back, but this time it was more brilliant, more passionate, as she got lost in the music that she was playing. The music suddenly grew quieter, more intimate, and at last came to an end. It was only when the notes had completely died away that Luna's hands left the keys.

Rosalind clenched her fists, there was no way that was going to lose to that demon. Before Ciel or Elizabeth could even open their mouths, let alone clap, Rosalind walked into the ballroom, determined to win them over. Luna got up off of the piano bench; her beaming smile said it all. She thought that there was no way that Rosalind could top her.

And then Rosalind started to sing Ave Maria.

Her clear, angelic voice echoed around the room as she sung the delicate melody. Her voice was so pure that it truly sounded like it had come from above. All eyes in the room were on her. María had stopped painting, Elizabeth with crying, Ciel was awe-struck…and Sebastian and Luna were frozen in place. No matter how hard they tried, they could not tear their eyes off of her…especially when the haunting melody returned. She ended quietly, her voice fading into nothing as she finished the last "Ave Maria". She smiled at everyone and curtsied. Then she left the room, leaving everyone awe-struck behind her.

Ugh. I finally finished…this is probably the most I've ever typed in my life (I know that it's not a lot, but whatever).

I'm sorry if my descriptions at the end were a bit awkward, it's late and I'm tired.

In addition, I am not going to proofread this, so if you catch any mistakes, TELL ME!

As always, leave a review. They keep me going!

See you next time!