Chapter 2

For Ceceila Phantomhive these parties were a duller affair than England's weather. The young pretty nobles her age were boring, their talk of tea and fashion was insipid and petty and she could not relate to any of the hobbies her peers took interest in. Most of the time she stood of to the side of whatever room had been chosen within the obscenely large townhouses and tried not to talk to anyone. Her grandmother constantly chastised her for this behaviour. Apparently it was a known rumour that Ceceila Phantomhive was 'odd', and that this behaviour was not the way a young lady in fashionable society should be behaving. Warren on the other hand took to these events like a fish to water; he enjoyed them and had the attention of most of the young ladies in the room. Ceceila always envied her brother's natural talent at socialising. He could fake a smile better than anyone she knew and his ability to feign interest in mind-numbing conversation was second to none. It also helped that he was incredibly charming, he could make almost anyone like him, Ceceila on the other hand was simply just, not charming - not that she had a problem with that. She spoke in short sentences with a low monotone that sounded like boredom 9 times out of 10 and threatening the rest of the time. If she did not like someone she made it painfully clear and she had little time for irrelevant conversation. Her appearance was also a contributing factor, she was taller than most and thinner, she struggled to fill out a corset and was fairly flat chested which was a constant source of annoyance for her because when she looked around the room she not only felt out of placed she so obviously looked it. On the way to the party she had untied her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. It would not curl no matter what she did to it; her hair was eternally straight, flat and pitch black. Warren had convinced her to let it down as he said she looked pretty and more feminine with it framing her face. She would never say aloud, but she had a secret wish to fit in with the other girls, she sometimes tried, but no matter what something always went wrong.

She stood observing the room as she always did drink in hand, sipping quietly not bothering anyone and not wishing to be bothered. Apparently though the young men approaching her could not read her obvious body language and approached her with swagger and obnoxious smirks that she would have happily knocked off of their faces.

"Well as I live and breath it's the elusive Ceceila Phantomhive, why don't you come and join the conversation Miss Phantomhive, I'm sure the girls would love to hear what you do for fun." the one that spoke was obviously the head of the pack he was large, loud and clearly wealthy.

"Thank you, but I'm fine where I am." Ceceila's lips were the only thing that moved her bored expression not changing and her body remaining stock straight. The three young men moved so that one was flanking her on each side essentially trapping her where she was. She did not like this one bit and could feel herself getting angry.

"Come now Miss Phantomhive, it's merely polite to engage in conversation at social events." The thinner man to her left said as he leaned closer, so close she could smell his whiskey laden breath "And you are quite the mysterious beauty, I would love to get to know you better if you understand my implication."

Ceceila simply stared straight at him, her temper was bubbling just below her skin, and in her head she was envisioning how she would destroy these obnoxious flesh bags in the most painful way possible. Then suddenly the young man to her left, proceeded to loop his arm around hers without permission and attempt to drag her from her space. She in turn planted her feet on the ground, grabbed his looped arm with her free hand and squeezed. The young man clearly wanted to shout in pain but his pride disallowed him. The other two stared at their friend wondering why he wasn't moving with them and why his face was turning red. They looked to Ceceila and were slightly taken aback by the fact that her expression had changed. It was no longer bored and lax, instead her eyes had lit up with mirth and she had a small mischievous smile on her face that grew the redder the young mans face became. Strangled noises were coming from the young man and he was probably on the verge of passing out from pain when there was an interruption.

"Milward, Jones, Cameron I haven't spoken to you all night!" Warren waltzed over his charming façade firmly in place and Ceceila instantly let go and untangled herself. "Fine vintage you have here Milward, and a cracking party as always. Cameron how is your sister? She recently got married did she not? To James Bently yes? I do hope she is doing well, one should always look out for one's family," Warren took a drag of his rolled cigarette "no matter how far away they are."

Cameron, the one whom Ceceila had had in a vice grip turned to the man who had interrupted and was about to thank him for the welcome intrusion before he noticed that his pleasant tone of voice did not match his face. His blue eyes were ice cold and piercing and his charming smile was nowhere to be seen. Milward, the large and loud one, threw his arm over Warren's shoulder.

"Oh come now Warren, Cameron was just having a little fun and forgive him this is his first party, no need to be so serious. Cameron, allow me to introduce Warren Phantomhive the most charming man in London and quite possibly the most well connected. Ceceila here is his sister, twin sister to be precise." He eyed Ceceila in a manner that she did not like, but she kept silent and let Warren handle this.

Warren's smile instantly reappeared and he held out a hand to Cameron and he shook it before removing Milward's arm from his person.

"So this is your first party Cameron, I could have sworn I saw you at the American ambassadors party with your parents 5 weeks ago, no?" Cameron visibly paled and his mouth opened and closed before Warren continued "Actually perhaps I was mistaken, it was probably someone else, there were so many people there it was difficult to keep track of everyone was it not Ceceila?"

"Not that difficult." Ceceila deadpanned. Warren shot her an annoyed look before turning back to the three men.

"Yes well, my sister does have a talent for remembering faces and their names, whereas I can remember names and not the faces that go with them. In that sense we make a good team" he chuckled along with his conversation partners before inhaling the last of his cigarette. "So Cameron, what is your business?"

Milward Interjected "Phantomhive it's a party! Must we talk business? If anything we should be enjoying the fine liquor and the company of pretty young ladies. Come I'll introduce you to Miss Daphne Ingram a stellar beauty if you ever did see one." And with that Warren was dragged away into the throng of people casting a final look at Ceceila as a warning to behave. Ceceila turned to Cameron before he left back for the crowd.

"Sorry I hurt your arm, you startled me is all." She said in a rather blunt manner, she still had not mastered apologies. Cameron looked at her with slight fear in his eyes before realising her attempt at an apology was genuine, he sighed.

"No I am the one who should be apologising, I grabbed the arm of a lady who clearly did not want to join the crowd. I'm terribly sorry for my behaviour Miss Phantomhive." He gave a small bow and with that he left to find his friends.

The party then continued without incident for both siblings, Warren very much enjoyed himself and Ceceila kept to herself observing from the sidelines as always. The hansom ride back to the townhouse was uneventful as both siblings were quiet. Warren was silent because he was drunk and Ceceila was silent because that was her natural state. As they reached the townhouse Warren stumbled out of the hansom and onto the pathway with as little grace as possible and tried to light a cigarette as he staggered towards the door. Ceceila walked past her drunken brother and up to the door and a man dressed in a butler's uniform with pale hair and unnaturally scaly skin opened it before she reached it. She walked straight into the house and spoke to Snake without glancing at him.

"Warren's had too much to drink, help him into bed Snake. I'll be staying up in the library." Ceceila strode straight for the library without waiting for an response from the butler. She entered the room, closed the door and relaxed. She sighed a deep sigh and felt every muscle in her body loosen. She hated being around people it caused a deep unease in her and she did not know why. She felt most comfortable when she was alone and there was barely anyone else around. The only person she was entirely comfortable around was Warren, even her own mother made her feel like she was out of her own skin. Ceceila sat in the silent darkness for a while before picking up a book on Greek mythology. She enjoyed these stories, with their wild plots and the Gods behaving in whatever way they desired. She saw these stories as a true reflection of human behaviour with the hero's of the stories not having the stereotypical perfect qualities of a hero but many flaws and misguided judgment.

She read for she knew not how long before she felt something off. The room was still, unusually so. She felt another presence in the room, but it wasn't Warren she could tell when he was near, it wasn't Snake either and there was no one else in the house. Ceceila silently put her book down and without making a sound pulled out a dagger from the garter under her skirts. She could see well in darkness and could move silently when she wanted to, but she could not see who was in the room with her. As she stood she turned and her eyes scanned the room, the townhouse library was not large and she could see all corners from her current position.

"I would put that down if I were you, a blade such as that will not hurt me." A disembodied voice spoke from somewhere in the darkness. It had a deep smooth timbre and sounded familiar to her.

"Show yourself." Posturing with words was Warren's forte not hers and as such she was not good at making verbal threats. The grip on her dagger tightened and her footing switched so that if someone came at her she would be able to strike swiftly. Then from the corner of the room she heard the clack of shoe heels on the wooden floor. She turned on her own heel faster than the human eye could catch and made quick for the intruder but was stopped short in her attack by the intruders speed matching her own. Her wrist was grabbed as she tried to slice at him, so she jumped up and kicked off his legs before back flipping and landing on the table behind her.

From this vantage point she got a good look at him. He was tall with pitch-black hair that was longish and styled to sharp points. His clothing(?) was skin tight and reflected what little light there was. His trousers were also skin tight and smooth and his shoes were unnaturally high. His nails were long almost talon like and they were painted black; it was a stark contrast against his skin. His skin was pale; paler than hers, but the most striking thing was his eyes. They were glowing red and she found herself staring intently into them. As she stared she realised that this person was different she did not feel the same revulsion she did around everyone else. Ceceila knew – somehow - he wasn't a threat to her she was also surprised to find that she wasn't scared of whatever this person was.

"Who are you?" Ceceila felt herself dropping her dagger as she stared longer into the creature's eyes.

"Me? I am whomever you wish me to be, but I believe the question should be who are you?" his voice sounded to her like music after a long period of deathly silence and she wanted to hear more of his words, so she did something she rarely did, she started a conversation.

"I am Ceceila Phantomhive." She said timidly she was not sure how to have a friendly conversation with a stranger. The strange creature chuckled deep and low.

"My dearest I know your name, but who are you? Are you a good person, or a bad one? A philanthropist or a conman? A truth teller or an illusionist?" he paused at her lack of response. "Perhaps it is too early yet, then tell me Ceceila Phantomhive what is it that you want, right now in this moment, what is it that you truly want?" the creature stood staring into what felt like her soul for a long time. Ceceila stared back and then she felt something trickle down her cheek, she swiped her hand thinking it to be blood, but when there was no red on her palm she realised she was crying. Why would she be crying? She never cried.

"I want a friend, someone who understands me." She spoke without really giving the words much thought.

"You have your brother does he not understand you little one?" the familiarity with which he spoke to her felt normal although she knew it wasn't. The tears were now flowing freely and she couldn't stop them.

"Warren loves me, I know but I am different, I try hard not to be but I just am, I hate people I feel so much anger all the time. I just want to...uh!" Her breathing was heavy and increasing in speed and she wanted to scream.

"You want to what little one? Tell me." The creature was smiling and a dark aura was emanating from him and Ceceila only subconsciously noticed that he had fangs.

"I want to kill them all! All the time! I want to rip their bodies apart and eat their hearts and I hate that I think this! I understand it is not sane for someone to have these thoughts, but what can I do…my own family would lock me up in bedlam if I said anything." Deflated she slumped down on top of the table she was standing on and stared off into nothingness questioning her sudden outburst. What was she doing? She should be scared or at least fighting whatever this was.

Suddenly the creature's talon grip was around her cheeks and his face was inches from hers.

"My precious, black, little bird…tomorrow you will have no memory of this, but you will have what you desire, you will not see it straight away, but you will have a friend." The creature closed his pale eyelids and brought her forehead to his black lips and placed a small kiss there. "I have always watched over you and you have grown to be darker than I could have wished for."

Ceceila felt her mind melting away, but she also felt warmth and a belonging that she had never experienced in her life. So her next words were said in a unconscious, delirious mumble, but were heard by the creature none the less.

"I love you father…" darkness enveloped her and she drifted off with Morpheus into the land of dreams, forgetting any visions of dark raven like creatures in libraries.

A/N Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon and be a darling and give us a follow and review. Cheers.