Ch. 5:
The next morning Theresa woke up with the sun streaming in through the window. She stretched and got out of bed, putting on her vest and her shoes. 'I wonder what time it is?' she thought to herself. The door to her room opened and Undertaker tilted his head through the doorway. "Oh good, you're awake," he said with a grin. "Well it's time to go."
"Go where?" Theresa asked. Undertaker simply left the room, forcing Theresa to follow. They walked out the door and climbed into a carriage that was waiting outside. Theresa felt uneasy as she climbed inside, as if there were somebody nearby that was a danger to her. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. Undertaker simply nodded and leaned back in his seat. The ride didn't last long and soon the door to the carriage opened. A man with raven black hair and deep red eyes extended his hand.
"You must be Theresa. My name is Sebastian Michaelis, the butler of the Phantomhive family." Theresa took his hand and stepped down from the carriage. "If you will follow me miss, my master is waiting for you." Theresa looked back at Undertaker who nodded again and waved her off. She followed the butler into the front doors of the manor. It was truly beautiful, but she had no time to stare as Sebastian was moving at a brisk pace and she didn't want to get lost. They moved up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. The butler stopped in front of a set of wooden double doors. He opened them and walked into the room, gesturing for Theresa to follow. She entered and saw a young boy seated at a desk on the far side of the room. He had dark hair and his one eye that was visible was a sapphire blue. "May I introduce the head of the Phantomhive family, the Earl Ciel Phantomhive." Theresa gave a small nod. The boy stood up and looked at Theresa.
"So this is the one Undertaker recommended for our service. Tell me, what's your name?"
"Theresa Blackheart."
"So Theresa, do you have any experience with espionage?"
"Umm…. Not really." Ciel sighed.
"Really, did he expect me to hire her even though she has no experience in the field?" Suddenly there was a few seconds of laughter in the room. The three people turned and saw Undertaker sitting in one of the chairs against the wall.
"Oh young earl, you really are amusing. She has the skills I assure you. Why else would I bring her to you?"
"What I don't understand is why you won't just have her work for you."
"I think she deserves better than dealing with corpses all day. Her skills would go to waste working for me. Trust me, she can be a valuable asset to you."
"Okay, can I ask what's going on?" Theresa said. This conversation was not making any sense to her. Undertaker laughed again.
"I asked the Earl here to give you a job as an informant."
"I told him I'd have to meet you first to see if you'd be up to the task. So far you seem like you'd be suitable. Your reaper skills will give you an advantage, and it seems by your appearance you aren't exactly a dainty woman." Theresa looked down at her outfit; a men's shirt with the shoulders cut off, a dark vest that ended a few inches above her waist, and men's pants and shoes. Her hair was pulled up into a bun to keep it out of the way. Sure she didn't look like most women, but did that mean she was qualified to be a spy? Wait a minute. He knew she was a reaper? That wasn't possible, unless Undertaker told him. But he didn't seem like the kind of person to just give out that sort of information. So how did he know? She looked at the boy, but something drew her attention to his butler, who had moved to stand behind Ciel. His eyes were locked with hers, and she saw them glow a vicious bright red.
"He's a demon," Theresa said, not fully aware she said it out loud.
"Yes he is. Is there a problem with that?" Ciel asked, sounding like he was getting bored of the conversation.
"Possibly. I haven't really known any demons, but this one makes me feel on edge."
"That could end up complicating things. I can't have you working and living here if you're just going to be constantly on edge about Sebastian. I need somebody who can stay focused."
"Well then I guess this little arrangement isn't going to work out." Theresa said. Suddenly Undertaker stood up and walked so he was positioned between Theresa and Ciel.
"Now hold on a minute. I think I might have a solution here." Both Ciel and Theresa looked at him and waited. "What if Theresa were to live with me? That way she could work for you but not have to hang around the butler here. No offense. That would also be convenient for you my lord, seeing as both of your informants would be in the same place." Ciel thought about it; it was a convenient proposition.
"Very well, that will be the arrangement. Theresa, from this moment on you will either address me as 'young master' or 'my lord', is that clear?" Theresa decided that it was in her best interest to take the job. She gave a bow and said, "Yes, young master." Ciel smirked. "Good. I will call for you when I have need of you. Sebastian, take these two back to Undertaker's parlor." Sebastian nodded his head and showed Theresa and Undertaker back outside where the carriage was still waiting. He opened the door and allowed them to climb inside before driving the carriage back to Undertaker's shop. He dropped them off and returned to the manor.
At the funeral parlor, Theresa turned to Undertaker. "Um, Undertaker?"
"Yes?"
"I…. well, I um…. uh… thank you."
"Think nothing of it my dear. I believe this arrangement will be beneficial to all of us. Now, how about some tea?" Theresa nodded and watched Undertaker make a pot of tea. When it was done the two of them sat on coffins as they drank. After a few sips Undertaker started up a conversation. "So, earlier when I asked you about your time at the harbor you told me it wasn't important, but I have a feeling that's not entirely true."
"So?"
"Well, we don't have anything to talk about now. How about you tell me some of the details of that adventure."
Theresa shrugged. "There's not much to tell. For a while I had considered running away, so I spent time at the harbor to try and book passage to another country. But nobody wanted a penniless woman on board their ship, so I ended up staying here."
"Now why would you want to run away?"
"For a long time I felt really lonely here. None of the other reapers wanted to talk to me, and I couldn't hold a normal conversation with anybody else. Why is this important to you?"
"Well if you're going to be living with me I thought it would be good for us to not be strangers."
"That's a good point."
"It is. You know, I think it's a good thing you never got to run away."
"Why is that?" Theresa asked.
"Because if you did, you never would have met me." Undertaker said with another giggle.
Theresa let out a small chuckle. "I suppose you're right. I've never met anybody like you before." She set down her beaker and stretched. "I'm going to get to bed. Goodnight Undertaker."
"Goodnight dear." Theresa climbed the stairs and entered the room she had stayed in the previous night. She laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Back downstairs Undertaker sat in a dream-like state. He was thrilled that Theresa was going to be living with him; ever since he had met her Undertaker wanted Theresa to be his own. He loved her fiery personality, independence, and intelligence, and he could make her laugh so easily. His heart ached a little when he saw her upset and being treated unfairly, which was part of why he was so willing to help her out. When he said that the new arrangement would be beneficial to everybody, he meant it. He would finally have somebody to share his lonely world with, and she would have a chance to use her skills and be accepted. Now all that was left was for Undertaker to show Theresa how he felt, and hopefully the love would be mutual. As he continued to think about it, a voice in the back of his head kept telling him not to try. 'She's too good for you,' the voice told him. 'What makes you think a girl like that would fall for someone like you.' For now Undertaker pushed those thoughts away. Theresa was going to be around for a long time; who knows what could happen?