Disclaimer: I do now own Kuroshitsuji!
But I DO own Juliet (Katheryn)!
Chapter 12!
Will Ciel find out about Katheryn's real identity? Read to find out!
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Enjoy!
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I stared out the window as we rode back to Ciel's manor. For some reason, Sebastian was unusually quiet when he was around me, ever since the incident in the alleyway. Does it have to do with that? Or, is it something else? Ciel was a bit quieter than usual as well; he seemed deep in thought as he stared at the ring on his thumb.
Once we finally arrived at the manor, I went to the library, only limping ever-so-slightly. I picked out a random book from the shelf and began to read. It was a very interesting book about the history of Britain, most of which I already knew.
After some time, Sebastian came into the library, saying Ciel wanted to see me- about what he would not say. He walked with me to his study, remaining only a few feet behind me. I was starting to get a bit scared.
When we approached the door, Sebastian opened it for me and I stepped inside. He shut the door behind him after stepping into the room. 'Why is he staying? He usually goes about his business somewhere else when Ciel talks to me.' I asked myself, getting more and more nervous by the second.
I stepped up to Ciel's desk. He was staring down at a few papers, looking a bit dumbfounded about something. He looked up when I approached, and didn't smile like he usually does. He sat forward in his seat and laced his hands together, placing them on the desk and looking me straight in the eye.
"I have a few things I would like to ask you." he said seriously. It was just then that I noticed Sebastian was standing right beside him, looking at me with slightly narrowed eyes. Did I do something wrong?
"Of course." I said, holding my hands together behind my back, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.
"Who are you?" he asked. I felt myself pale at this question.
"Katheryn Brooks." I answered.
"I'm sorry, that is the incorrect answer." he said, sitting back in his seat and resting his hands on the armrests. "I'll ask it once more for clarification: who are you?" he said, almost cruelly.
I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. Does he know who I really am? Is he going to do something to me. "K-Katheryn Brooks." I answered, my whole body starting to shake.
"According to these papers," he said, holding up a small stack of papers. "your name is Juliet Rubin." on the papers was a lot of information about me, and a picture; matching my face now.
I felt trapped. Was he working with those people that hurt me and killed my parents? Was he going to hand me over to them? Was he going to hurt me himself? I couldn't run, he would send Sebastian after me, and I'm no match for a demon. I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I lost the feeling in my legs. I collapsed to the ground, on all fours.
"Please! Please, don't hurt me!" I said, a few tears running down my cheeks. "I don't want to go back! They're going to kill me if I do! Please! I'm begging you, Ciel!" I cried out, looking up to meet his gaze, his image fuzzy from the tears in my eyes.
"What are you going on about?" he asked, standing and placing his hands on his desk, looking down at me.
"I don't want to go back." I said, voice strained, sitting back on my knees and burying my face in my palms. "I can't." I said, my voice wavering uncontrollably.
"Go back where? What are you talking about?" he asked, now standing in front of me. I peeked at his face, lifting my head to look up at him.
"Y-you're not going to hurt m-me?" I asked in a small voice.
"No. Why would I?" he asked, crouching down in front of me. "Tell me what's happened to you, and why you lied about your name." he said, gently taking hold of my wrists and helping me up. "I want to know what happened to make you end up like this."
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Ciel's POV
As we were riding back to the manor, I thought of several different reasons as to why Sebastian said to wait until we arrived back at the mansion. He told me he had very important information, and he would prefer to wait. Why could that be?
When we arrived at the mansion, Katheryn went to the library, and Sebastian and I went to my study. He closed the door firmly behind him and walked up to my desk, pulling out a few papers.
"Katheryn is not who she says she is, my Lord." he said. I quirked an eyebrow and started to look at the papers.
The first page had a picture of a girl with long hair and a beautiful smile. Katheryn. I looked at the name beside the picture, and instead of Katheryn Brooks, it read, "Juliet Rubin". The name sounded a bit familiar. I raised my eyebrows at this. Did she lie about her name? But why?
As I continued to read, I discovered that the name should indeed be familiar. There was a newspaper article about Maxwell Rubin and his wife Caroline being found dead from bullet wounds in their mansion. Their one and only daughter, Juliet Rubin,was not found- dead or alive. Police searched for her, but she was never found. Investigations were conducted, but no one could come to a conclusion on who murdered Maxwell and his wife, and possibly their daughter.
Another article talked about how well-known Maxwell Rubin and his family were. He was the head of a very prestigious business company. He had a younger brother named William, whom he wasn't very close to. That would make him Katheryn- err, Juliet's uncle. His wife had a sister, but she had died in an accident a few years earlier. Juliet was an only child and to be the successor of head of the company, but it was put into the hands of her Uncle William because she went missing. Well, she's not missing anymore.
I felt my mouth drop slightly. A girl whom was thought dead, and her parents found dead, was alive and in my mansion. What were the odds of that happening? But, why didn't she show herself? Why did she lie about her name?
"Sebastian." I said, looking up to him.
"Yes, my Lord?" he asked.
"Go fetch Katheryn from the library. I wish to speak with her. I want you to remain in the room while she is in here, in case she tries to run away, or something of that sort." I said, looking back to the papers and re-reading them.
"Yes, my Lord." he said, and he left the room.
A few moments later, Katheryn came through the door with Sebastian right behind her. She looked a bit confused, and a bit scared.
After asking her who she was, she claimed to be Katheryn Brooks, which I knew was not true. After I confronted her and told her I knew of her real identity, she broke down into tears. 'Why is she crying?' I asked myself as I walked towards her. 'And what's all this about 'going back' and 'being killed'?'
I suddenly felt very angry. Who could have done something to her to make her this afraid, lie about herself, and fear for her life? I wasn't quite sure why I was angry about this. 'She's just another girl.' I told myself. 'No need to get excited about anything.'
After calming her and letting her sit down in my chair, she told me the whole story, as if she was lifting a great burden off of her shoulders. "It's true. I am Juliet Rubin." she began. "When my parents were killed right before my eyes, I was taken to a strange place. People tortured me there. Whipped me, beat me, leaving scars on my body." she said, and I unwillingly clenched my fists. 'Who would do such a thing to an innocent young girl?' "I eventually managed to escape with my life, but they're searching for me; the people who ruined my life. I was forced to live on the streets and go by an assumed name, lucky if I got a meal that day. And then, I met you." she said, looking up at me with a small smile. My heart skipped a beat. She said it so kindly, as if it were a miracle. And that smile. . . "Even though I was kicked by a horse, I am still very grateful. If not for you taking me in, I may as well be dead right now. So, thank you, Ciel Phantomhive." she said, and I saw her eyes glaze over with tears. All I wanted to do was hug her. I have no idea why, but the sudden urge filled my body, and it took all of my willpower and strength to not do it.
"There's no need to thank me." I said, feeling my lips curve upwards. "I'm just glad you are alright." I said.
"I will do whatever I can to help you." a voice said, and I realized it was mine. I didn't even mean to say it! Of course, I want to help, but I wasn't planning on verbally saying it!
"Really?" she asked, hope filling her voice and eyes.
"Yes, of course." I involuntarily said. She beamed and exclaimed, "Thank you, Ciel!" in the blink of an eye, she had jumped up and thrown her arms around my neck. I was tense at first, but eventually, and slowly, wrapped my arms around her, feeling my face heat up slightly.
"It's not a problem." I said.
"I-I'm sorry." she said as she pulled away, her cheeks pink.
"It's quite alright." I said, trying to force the heat in my own cheeks to leave. Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion coming from somewhere else in the mansion.
"Bardroy!" she exclaimed before dashing out of the room. I stared out of the open door, confused. 'What is this strange feeling? I've never felt it before. What does it mean?'
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Katheryn's POV
After explaining the whole story to Ciel, I had found myself wrapping my arms around him. I hadn't even meant to; it was as if my actions had a mind of its own! But, I couldn't bring myself to pull away- especially when I felt him hug me back.
I finally gained the strength to back away, and I felt myself blush. 'Is he blushing?' I asked myself as I looked at him. Then, there was an explosion. Just what I was looking for; a distraction.
I fled from the room and ran towards the kitchen. I threw open the door to find Bardroy coughing and fanning the smoke away from his face.
"What did you do this time?" I asked as I stood in the doorway.
"Oh, Katheryn! Well, I-" he started, but I cut him off.
"Never mind that, just give it to me." I said, holding out my hand. He slumped his shoulders and handed me a stick of dynamite. "All of it." I said. So then, we went around the kitchen gathering up all of Bardroy's explosives and weapons. By the time we had finished with that, we had a whole crate full of things.
"My goodness, Bardroy!" I said, closing the nearly full crate. "Are you sure that's it?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Yep. That's it." he said, looking a little disappointed.
"It's time to teach you how to cook without explosives." I said, taking his arm and leading him back into the kitchen.
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"See, Bardroy? You can cook without explosives!" I said, smiling at him just as we pulled dinner out of the oven.
"Somewhat." he said, putting the food on a plate. "I couldn't have done it without you, although!" he said, returning my smile.
"Now, you can!" I said. "But, no more explosives!" I said, walking out of the kitchen.
"Got it!" he said, just before I shut the door. I turned to see Sebastian walking down the hallway.
"Hello, Sebastian." I said.
"Hello, Miss Katheryn." he said, giving a small smile.
"Can you do a small favor for me?" I asked. He stopped walking and inclined his head slightly to look at me better.
"Of course. What is it?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Can you dispose of this here crate for me?" I asked, gently patting the top of the crate beside the kitchen door.
"What for?" he asked.
"It has all of Bardroy's explosives in it. At least, I hope it's all of them." I said.
"Pardon me?" he asked, looking very shocked. I opened the crate and he peered inside. "My word! How did you ever get him to hand these over?" he asked, gently rummaging through the contents.
"I'm not quite sure myself." I said, smiling nervously. He looked up at me, his eyes widened. Then, he smiled at me.
"You truly are one of a kind." he said, closing the crate and cautiously lifting it up.
"Thank you." I said, blushing slightly from his kind compliment.
"I'll be sure to take these far away from here. Thank you, Miss Katheryn." he said with one last smile, walking away.
"It wasn't a problem." I said, going about on my way.
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I was walking down the hallway, when I heard a loud scream just around the corner. I rushed down the hallway and came to the foyer, where Mey-Rin was standing on the stairs, looking very panicked.
"Mey-Rin!" I said, rushing down the stairs to where she was standing. "What happened!" I asked.
"I accidentally polished the banister with shoe shiner!" she said, hysterical. I looked at the banister in front of her, and it was blackened.
"How could you get it mixed up?" I asked.
"I must have read it wrong!" she said, getting more and more worried. "Oh, dear! The young Master is not going to be very happy about this!" she said, looking as if she were about to cry.
"Give me your glasses." I said, holding out my hand.
"What?" she asked, placing her hand son her glasses. "The young Master gave me these!" she yelled.
"I'll give them right back. I promise." I said, giving a small smile. She hesitantly took off her glasses and handed them to me. I wiped them off with my dress skirt and held them up. Crystal clear. "Here." I said, handing them back to her.
She placed them on her face, and her eyes widened. I could actually see past her glasses now. "I can see so much better now! Thank you so much! Everything is so clear now!" she said, hugging me tightly.
"It's not a problem, Mey-Rin. Just be sure to keep those clean, alright?" I said, walking down to the doors.
"Yes, Katheryn! Thank you!" she said, waving goodbye.
I stepped outside into the fresh, cool afternoon air. I walked around to the backyard, where Finny supposedly was. Sure enough, he was sitting among the white roses, tending to them.
"Hello, Finny!" I said cheerfully.
He turned and gave a big smile. "Hello, Katheryn!" he said with a wave. "What brings you out here?" he asked, turning back to the flowers.
"I just came to see how you were doing." I answered, getting on my knees beside him. "Do you need any help?" I asked.
"Can you pull those few weeds right there?" he asked, pointing towards them and handing me a pair of gloves.
"Of course." I said, sliding the gloves onto my fingers and pulling the weeds for him.
"Thank you for helping!" Finny said cheerfully.
"I'm glad to help out!" I said as I pulled a weed from the ground.
"Can. . . I tell you something?" Finny asked, slowing down on his work.
"Sure."
Finny leaned in a bit closer and said in a low voice, "We're all really happy that you're here." he said, then looked over his shoulder and turned back to me. "I think the master especially likes having you here." my eyes widened and I leaned in a bit closer and nodded for him to continue. "He seems to be a lot happier ever since you came. He smiles now. He never used to." he said, backing away and working again. I felt my face heat up from what he had just said. 'Is all of that true?'
"Oh?" I asked, turning back to the weeds and pulling another one.
"It's true!" he said with a smile, and I returned it. After a few more minutes of working, he said, "Did you know that the young Master's favorite flower is the white rose?" he asked.
"No, I did not." I answered. "That's interesting." I said, pulling another weed.
"What's your favorite flower?" he asked.
"My favorite is the red rose." I said, smiling softly at the thought. "For two reasons: one, it stands for love. Two: my father would give my mother a red rose every day out of love." I said, my eyes welling up in tears at the thought of my parents.
Finny smiled and said, "He must have really loved her." he said.
"He did."
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That's the end of chapter 12!
They finally hugged!
Also, sorry about the lateness of this chapter, I've been pretty busy lately, and I had writer's block. Again. Ugh.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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Byeeeeeeeeee! :)