The four plus Rai, waited outside, in the sun, for the man to arrive; Finnian leaning on Bard to get some sleep, Mey-rin slouching slightly, Tanaka sipping his tea, and Rai standing straight, looking off into the distance and hands behind her back. Rai heard a carriage in the distance. Over the hill and through the trees and under the gate came a carriage with extremely tired horses. Rai glared slightly at the carriage driver as they pulled up. The horses' heads were locked high; they were sweating profusely, and breathing rapidly. The driver jumped down and opened the door, everyone bowed deeply, except Rai who only bowed slightly at the waist.
"Good evening sir," They chimed together.
"Ah, yes, very good evening indeed." A male voice stated. Everyone straightened and the driver shut the door. Mey-rin took the liberty of walking up to the man and guiding him into the manor. Rai walked down the steps to the carriage, and began to unhook the poor equines.
"What in bloody hell are you doing to those horses?" The driver yelled fiercely to Rai as she detached their heads and they immediately dropped them down low, almost to the ground.
"These poor animals are tired and worn out from you running them all this way." Rai stated as she reached to unhook the straps from the harnesses which connected the two horses to the carriage. His large hairy hand shot out and grabbed Rai's thin wrist.
"Awe, no you don't missy! These here horses belong to my lord and ain't nobody be touching them but me and my stable boys!" Rai glared at him as he yanked her hand away. Bard and Finnian watched in horror as this fat man tried to boss Rai around. Rai quickly yanked her hand out of his chubby fingers and continued to unhook the horses.
"They are on Phantomhive property and are in the care of the Phantomhive servants," Rai stated sternly. The shafts hit the ground and the horses were about to collapse. "I'll be taking care of the horses now. Bard, Finni, Tanaka!" Rai called to the men. "Take these two and get them a stall, water and untack them, they need to be rested." Tanaka was there in a heartbeat and took one of the horses by the reins and began to walk it to the stable.
"Awe, no you don't!" The man lashed out and grabbed Rai by the collar of her shirt and lifted her up into the air slightly. "A little wench don't tell me what to do." He growled at her through clenched teeth.
"I request that you remove your hand promptly from my collar before this turns ugly," Rai stated in a monotone voice, looking dead at him with her brown eyes.
"Rai-sama!" Finnian cried. The horse they were trying to lead suddenly went down and was in the midst of a heat stroke. It was heavily breathing and sweating continuously. Rai glanced to her right and saw the poor steed down. Bard was trying to get the horse to stand up, while Finnian was trying to push the beast from behind, but it wasn't budging.
"Bard," Rai called out to him. He stopped pulling and looked at her before starting to panic slightly.
"Rai-sama, what the hell are you doing!?" Bard yelled.
"Calm down and listen to me," Rai sighed. "Bard, take off the harness and bridle. Finny, go get some buckets of water and towels." Finnian looked at Rai and nodded before taking off to get buckets of water. Bard began to take the heavy harness off the poor animal. Rai turned back to the man holding her up by her collar. "This is the last time I am going to ask nicely for you to put me down."
"Hahaha, you think that will make me drop ya?" The man sneered behind his mustache.
"Oh well, you asked for it," Rai sighed, closing her eyes. She opened them again and glared right into his. She brought her hand up and grabbed his hand, giving it a slight twist to the outside. His hand let go of her collar and she landed on her feet.
"What the?" The man's mouth went slack as his hand disobeyed him. He stared at his hand that he couldn't control anymore. Rai took her free left hand and did a quick, barely noticeable, knife hand to the pressure point on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out, falling flat on his fat face. Rai turned her attention to the poor animal lying helplessly on the ground. It was on its stomach and Bard was having a hard time trying to get the main harness off, with all the buckles and pieces of leather, it was tricky. Rai came over and began to help out.
"Bard, here, let me help." Rai said as she dragged the long reins through the loops and handed them to Bard to hold. Tanaka came back. Rai knelt on the ground and began to unbuckle the main harness, before sliding it back and taking off the crupper from under the horse's tail, and unbuckling the last pieces before setting the entire harness down on the ground. "Tanaka, how's the other horse?" She looked to her right at the chibi man who chuckled and nodded. "Can you go get a halter and rope for me please?" She asked Tanaka as she reached for the bridle and took it off the horse's head. Tanaka nodded and skipped back off to the stabling area. Finnian came running back with multiple buckets and several towels. "Good job, Finny." Rai stated as she rolled up her sleeves to above her elbows, took a bucket and began to slowly pour it on the overheating bay. "Finny, can you and Bard wet the towels and drape them across the horse's back to keep her kidneys cool?"
"No problem," Bard said as he dunked several towels into the water buckets and draped them over the horse's back.
"Now, slowly poor the water over the horse's back, if you run out, go get more, make sure it is cool, not cold or hot." Rai instructed as she knelt by the horse's head and scooped up some water and began to splash water on its neck and chest. "Do we have any more towels?" She suddenly felt a presence behind her and several towels drape over her left shoulder. She looked at the towels before looking up at the person who gave them to her. It was Sebastian. "Sebastian?" She asked.
"Uwah! What happened here!?" Mey-rin cried out over the railing as she saw the horse laying on the ground and the man lying face down.
"The horses were overheating; unfortunately, this one is the worst out of the two of them." Rai stated as she dunked a towel and draped it around the horse's neck. She took a couple scoops of water and let the water run down the horse's face. The other towel she wet and was wiping down the horse's face and nose.
"What's going on here?" A male voice called out over everyone. Rai just focused on the horse and kept splashing cool water on it. "I demand that you release my horse, this instant!"
"It seems your driver over exhausted your horses," Sebastian stated as he took off his tail coat and white gloves before pulling on rubber gloves and rolling up his sleeves to help. He grabbed the last towel off Rai's left shoulder and drenched it in water before running it up and down the horse's neck. Tanaka came back with a halter and rope for the horse, which he held onto.
"Tanaka, how is the other, still good?" Rai glanced over at him. He gave a thumbs up, which meant he was being taken care of and not in as bad of a condition as this one. "That's a relief." Rai sighed and wrapped her right arm around the massive animal's head and held it close to her, placing her cheek on its forehead. She didn't care if her clothes got wet, they would dry; she didn't care that her white shirt was almost see through and covered in horse hair along with the rest of her clothing. "Everything is going to be alright. We're here to take care of you." Rai told the horse. The horse let out a grunted sigh. She began to feel it push on her right arm. She pulled her face back to see it start to roll over onto its left side. "Don't you dare give up on me!" She stated sternly to the horse as she quickly wedged herself by its side and pushing on it so it couldn't roll over onto its left side.
"Oh, no! Rai-sama!" Mey-rin shouted as she saw Rai trying to hold up the 1,500 lbs. beast. Finnian saw what was happening and dropped his bucket and helped Rai to push the horse back up onto its stomach.
"I got him Rai-sama!" Finny stated with a slight grunt.
"Her, Finnian, it's a mare." Rai stated. "Here, come over here and support her neck, that way she won't roll over." Finnian slowly shifted to where Rai was and supported the horse by its shoulder and neck area. "You got her?" She asked as their space got fairly close.
"Yep, no problem," Finnian smiled at Rai. "You go and take care of her," Finnian stated as Rai let off the horse so her weight could be supported by Finnian, who seemed to take the weight quite easily. She went back to the mare's head and began to splash water on her neck and chest. Sometimes she put a little water on her head. Rai monitored the horse's labored breathing and heart rate, it wasn't good, but it was down from several minutes ago. Sebastian and Bard continued to put cool water on the mare. Rai wrapped her right arm around the horse's head again and pulled it close to her, placing her right cheek on its forehead.
She shushed it, like it was a scared child, "Everything is going to be alright. You're safe; we're not going to let anything happen to you." Rai whispered soothingly to the animal. "After this last bucket, that's enough water for now." Rai stated to Bard who was pouring water onto the horse's back. He nodded. Sebastian also nodded as he finished wetting a towel and wiping down the horse's neck.
"Should we try and give her some water?" Finnian asked.
"No, she would accidentally inhale it with her ragged breathing." Rai stated before shushing the animal again. It snorted. "There's a good girl." Rai said and it snorted several more times. Rai wiped the nasal discharge from the mare's nose. Rai's eyes closed and she turned her head so her nose and cheek were touching the horse. Her body language changed slightly. Several minutes passed and the horse let out a grunted sigh and went to lay down again. "No no no, don't do that." Rai quietly demanded. Finnian had to push to keep the mare from flattening him. The horse's breathing slowed down more, but it was still heaving. The workers stood there watching Rai and the horse. Rai just kept whispering to the horse. "Finnian," Rai said softly. "You can back up now." Finnian nodded and slowly moved away from the mare. "Can you try and stand up for me?" Rai whispered to the horse, stroking its head. As soon as Rai released the mare's head, the mare shoved her feet out in front of her and began to sit up. Rai stood up and watched the mare grunt and groan and stand up. "Good girl." Rai praised, coming back to the mare and wrapping her arms around its neck.
"Yahoo!" Finnian cheered. Tanaka walked up to Rai and wordlessly handed her the rope and halter. Rai quietly put the halter on the horse and led the horse to the stabling area, where she monitored the other horse while she walked the mare around to catch her breath. She made sure that both of the horses were alright; checking their pulse and guttural sounds before giving them food and feeling satisfied to leave them alone for a little while.
As soon as Rai returned to the manor, she quickly went inside and looked at the man who came into talk to Ciel. The man had blonde hair that went to his shoulders tied back into a low ponytail and blue eyes. He was clothed in rich purples with a white frilly ascot. He came over to Rai and bowed slightly. "I have to thank you for taking good care of my horses," He said. "I never knew they were in such poor condition." He stood up and looked at Rai, who looked at him. Puzzlement washed over his face. "Have we met before? You look awfully familiar." The man said as he looked Rai up and down. She knew where she had seen him before, but she didn't want to tell him.
"I'm sorry, sir. You must have me mistaken for someone else," She said and smiled at him. "I get that a lot." She faked her dialect very well to match the areas.
"Ah, I see, I must be mistaken. You looked like someone I used to work with." He said before turning to watch over his knocked out driver. Rai walked over to Ciel who wanted to talk to Rai in private anyways, since the incident.
"May I have a word with you, in private?" Rai leaned down and whispered into Ciel's ear, cupping her hand by the side of her mouth so nobody could read her lips. He nodded and followed her into a nearby room with Sebastian in tow. Once the door was shut she began to speak in a hushed voice. "I know that man," Rai stated flat out. She crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder at the closed doors as if she could see right through them, glaring.
"Yes, he is very well known because of his wealth and ways with trade." Ciel stated.
"No, he was part of an organization that was uprooted by my colleagues and myself a while ago." Rai cautiously stated as she turned and looked at Ciel. "They tried to ban together and over throw certain governments by using their power and money to fund private militaries." Ciel eyed her carefully. "Look, he's bad news if you're dealing with him. I wouldn't trust what he says."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ciel asked her.
Rai sighed, dropping her head, "Just because I am focused on one job doesn't mean I'm not on the lookout for my other jobs." Rai looked back up at him. "This guy is known for causing bankruptcy in major companies, yet nobody can prove it, until recently. All I have to do is bring him in to where my colleagues can get a hold of him and he'll be dealt with properly from there on out." Rai stated to Ciel.
"What proof do you have?" Ciel asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Financial records before and after he entered the company," Rai stated, still in a hushed tone.
"I see," Ciel stated, looking down to the floor.
"His buddy that passed out is also part of the scheme." Rai motioned her head to the door. She was meaning the driver.
"What shall we do with him then?" Ciel asked Rai. Rai turned and looked at him with a blank face before giving him a lopsided smirk.
"Let me contact my colleagues," Rai stated, "we'll handle things from there."
"We are very sorry about this dilemma, but we assure you that Sebastian here will take you straight to the town inn for you to stay at." Ciel stated to the man as Bard and Finnian threw his still unconscious driver into the back of a carriage several hours later.
"It's no trouble at all," the man stated. "I actually should be thanking you for the use of your steeds for transport." The man turned to look at the carriage. He turned back to Ciel and bowed. "It's a pleasure doing business with such a well-established young man." Ciel just nodded in return. The man hopped into the carriage and Tanaka closed the door. "It's getting dark, so we must be on our way," The man leaned out the carriage and spoke to Sebastian.
"Yes, sir," Sebastian stated and bowed slightly. He clucked the horses up to a walk and maneuvered them out to the road to the town.
"Bye!" The Phantomhive servants waved to the carriage. Rai was sitting on the back end of the carriage facing the manor as they left.
"What is Rai-sama doing up there!? And-" Mey-rin shouted out but Bard covered her mouth quickly to hush her. Rai just waved her black gloved hand and smiled as they pulled away. For the ride, Rai sat on the back edge of the carriage, watching the road pass by her in reverse. She sighed before looking down at her body wrapped in her black trench coat and laid back, her hands behind her head as she looked up at the twilit sky between the branches. She didn't want to make any noise, making the man in the cab suspicious may cause some trouble for her. Sebastian glanced over his right shoulder at the woman lying on the top of the carriage. She closed her eyes and fell into a light daze between sleep and awake.
'What is she up to?' He wondered as he forced himself to look forward.
The driver groaned as he came to. He then shot up, "Gah! Where is she? That devil woman!" He quickly looked back and forth around the cabin. "Huh? Why are we in a carriage?"
The man next to him sighed. "You idiot, you got knocked out, that's why." He kept his eyes closed and faced forward. It wasn't long until the carriage hit cobble stone and then came to a halt. "Ah, we must be here," The man said as he heard someone hop down from the carriage and come towards the door. Sebastian opened up the door and smiled at them.
"Hello, sir, we have arrived." Sebastian smiled. He stepped back and let the man climb out of the carriage, right into a circle of policemen with their guns drawn.
"I still want to know where the hell that devil wench went," The driver stated as he got out of the carriage and looked at the driver's seat before bumping into the back of the man in front of him. The door closed behind them. The driver backed up slightly before looking around. He was about to jump out of his skin.
"James F. Anderson and Thomas G. Thymes, you are hereby under arrest." The Sheriff stated as he cuffed both of them. The police had their hands full trying to drag them into the jail house. The Sheriff stood by Sebastian as he watched the two men get dragged into the building.
"We are innocent, you can't prove anything!" The driver shouted. He tried to squirm out of their grip back to the carriage.
"My, my, such a noisy bunch aren't they." Sebastian stated, his right index finger curing around his chin. Rai walked up next to him and stood there, watching the two try to struggle free from the law's grip.
"Huh? There! There she is! It's that devil woman! She's the one that did this to us!" The driver yelled at the cops who didn't even listen and kept pushing. The man looked over at what his driver was yelling about and saw that brown haired woman standing next to Sebastian. He glared at her as the doors shut tight behind the crowd.
"Well, that's going to be this year's best catch by far." The Sheriff stated before turning to Rai and tilting his dome like hat. "Pleasure doing business with ya, ma'am; It's always an honor to work with such a high ranking official as yourself."
"It's no problem, really," Rai turned to him and smiled slightly.
"You and your partner did good, ma'am. You both must be proud." The Sheriff bowed a little bit. "Give my regards to the heads of state and council men." He stated before he stood straight.
"Oh, he's not my partner," Rai said, correcting him. "He just helped. This is kind of a solo duty…" Rai said, looking off to the side.
"Ah, I see," The Sheriff stuck his thumbs in his belt. "Well, in that case, thank you sir. And, my lady," The Sheriff tipped his hat to Sebastian before bowing to Rai, who winced slightly. He turned and walked into the jail house. Rai stood there and watched the doors shut as Sebastian eyed her suspiciously.
"What?" Rai asked in a monotone and annoyed voice as she looked at him.
"Heads of state? Council men?" Sebastian asked.
"I told you I'm highly regarded, didn't I?" Rai asked, as she crossed her arms and looked at Sebastian who shrugged and got up onto the driver's platform. He grabbed the reins and sat down. Rai quickly hopped up there too.
"What are you doing?" He asked dully as she sat down beside him.
"What? Can't I sit up here with you?" Rai asked, slightly teasing. "Or do I have to sit on the roof again?" Sebastian just shook his head slightly and sighed. He moved his hands to get the horses to head for home. Rai folded her hands behind her head, crossed her left leg over her right, and leaned back to examine the stars as they exited the city. "The sky sure is beautiful at night." Rai muttered, letting out a sigh. Her breath clouding slightly, "I love it. It is so quiet, everyone is asleep, and you can just feel nature wrapping around you." Rai sighed as she closed her eyes. Sebastian glanced at her curiously out of the corner of his eyes. She opened them slowly. "I wonder why people are scared of the dark and afraid of night." There was a slight pause for about a minute, "But then again, they really don't know the night like I do." Rai started to drift off in thought letting the silence of the night take over between sentences. "They haven't seen its beauty like I have…" Rai then shook her head and sat up, uncrossing her legs. "Why am I telling you these things? You don't even care." Rai stated and then sighed. She placed her elbows on her knees and her chin in her right hand.
"Humans are fragile creatures and tend to fear the unknown and what they don't understand." Sebastian calmly told Rai after several seconds of silence. Rai glanced at him out of the corner of her left eye. Roughly half way to the manor Rai stood up suddenly and jumped off the carriage. Sebastian, not expecting this, pulled the horses to a halt. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked in a stern voice. Rai began to walk into the forest. She stopped and turned around to look at him.
"I need to go for a walk. I'll meet you back at the manor." Rai stated before she headed into the shadows she knew so well. Sebastian sighed, shaking his head. He watched the area where she disappeared a little longer before facing forward and clucking the horses onward. It was roughly several minutes before he heard a howl emanate from his right side. It didn't spook the horses like it normally would have, which he found odd. He listened to the howl, it was beautifully pitched and he was sure the tone could carry for miles. He heard several more howls creep up from nowhere. Several he could tell were dogs, while the others may actually have been wolves. It was almost a sad tune they sang, but they fluctuated the pitch and tone, causing it to carry a life of its own, like someone hitting a different key on the piano or running the bow across a different string on a violin. Though he detested the vile creatures, he still was amazed by their beauteous sound, except for the high pitched howls from the dogs. The serenade died down fairly quickly. Sebastian didn't realize he was looking around and locating where each individual voice came from until they stopped and he faced forward. They rounded a final curve before he was able to see the outline of the Phantomhive manor. He saw something in the middle of the road. It sat there, staring at the oncoming carriage. The horses stopped, not afraid of this large, four legged animal in the road. They, actually, seemed quite content with it being there. Sebastian was only able to look at it for so long before it stood up and headed off to the edge of the road and followed it towards the household. It appeared to be a large dog of some kind, perhaps a wolf hound? No, it was more muscular and larger than that. Could it have been a wolf? Nah, they didn't get that big, did they? The horses were urged on by Sebastian's command and they followed the trail back to their home.
Rai had slipped into the manor, undetected by the servants. She quickly changed, getting into her sleep wear and pulling on a thick grey blanket. She waited for a while until she heard footsteps pass her door. She waited for roughly fifteen minutes before she quickly and quietly opened her balcony doors, shut them and jumped down to the ground below. She stayed in the shadows and moved to the stable. She opened the door and shut it, making sure it locked. She slowly walked the isle and found where the two horses were stabled. "Hey, there," She called to the mare who was laying on the ground on her stomach. The mare lifted her head and looked behind her at Rai who then ducked under the wooden plank that kept the horses from coming out of their stalls. She came closer and wedged herself in the corner, by the mare's head. "I see they put a blanket on you and your buddy." She stated as the mare laid her head on top of Rai's lap. Rai stroked the mare's head and forelock before she wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and began to fall asleep.