Disclaimer: I only own Faye.

Chapter 7: Of Plots and Assassins

Trancy Manor

"Is this Sebastian Michaelis really as good as you say he is?" Alois demanded. "We've been after him and Ciel for months now to no avail. I'm tired of wasting my time trying to obtain their help."

Claude adjusted his glasses, trying to contain his irritation. Alois truly was an annoying whelp. He had no class, no skills to speak of, and a weak determination. All he did was whine and pine for things he didn't have the ambition to reach for. Claude nearly regretted contracting with him, though not as much as he regretted leaving the circus when Alois demanded it. Claude wished he had stayed and followed the alluring scent. Perhaps it would have cured this madness creeping in.

"Well?" Alois demanded, slamming one hand on the dinner table. "It's bad enough that I made a deal with a demon who can't even carry out my wishes by his own power. Will Sebastian really be able to help us or not?"

"If you doubt my word, why not test the Earl and his butler?" Claude suggested mildly.

A slow smirk crept over Alois' face. "That's the best idea you've had in months. I'll test Ciel and Sebastian and see if they're worthy enough to help us! If not, Ciel will be dead and I'll be no worse off."

Phantomhive Manor

"She's here, Ciel," Faye said, staring out the window as a carriage stopped in front of their home.

"Early, as usual," Ciel commented, getting up from his desk.

"She just wants to spend as much time with you as she can," Faye said with a smile. "All the time in the world with you wouldn't be enough for her."

"Yes, well, let's go down and greet her. I don't suppose you could keep her busy while I try to get some work down before the party tonight?"

"You want me to act as hostess?" Faye asked in feigned horror. "I haven't done anything so ladylike in over three years. I'm sure I would botch the attempt terribly. Surely, you'd do a much better job of entertaining our dear cousin."

Ciel threw a glare at Faye as he walked out of the library. Faye smiled serenely and followed along behind.

When they reached the front room, Sebastian was already letting Elizabeth into their home. Plus one.

"Who is your companion, Elizabeth?" Faye asked tentatively. She didn't like having strangers in the house more than necessary.

"She is my new friend!" Elizabeth gushed, her eyes sparkling in her excitement. "Her name is Lucy and I met her just last week at a ball. She's wonderful and I'm sure you and Ciel will love her just as much as I do. I so very wanted the two of you to meet her. I'd like her to stay the night here, just as I plan to!"

Lucy was taller than Elizabeth and had long brown hair. The woman gave a little curtsy and meekly said, "It's wonderful to meet the renowned Phantomhives. I'm sorry for intruding unexpectedly."

"Don't apologize," Ciel said, putting on a false air of courtesy. "Any friend of Lizzie's is more than welcome here. We'll show you the famed Phantomhive hospitality. Sebastian, show the ladies to their rooms, would you?"

"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian said with a bow before ushering the ladies away. Faye watched them go with a frown. There was something off about Lucy's soul. Something very duplicitous. She'd have to keep an eye on her cousin's new friend.

As Elizabeth and Lucy got settled in their rooms, Faye went to her own room to ensure her dress was ready for the ball. Mey-Rin was supposed to lay it out for Faye, and one never knew how well things would go when Mey-Rin was involved. Faye found the burgundy dress laid out on her bed with purple heels placed on the floor. Faye stared at the heels in consternation, wondering if Mey-Rin actually thought the two colors matched, or if Mey-Rin had grabbed the purple shoes by accident. Knowing Mey-Rin's poor eyesight, either option was equally likely.

Replacing the purple heels with black boots (boots were always better since Faye could carry more knives when she wore them). Faye stepped outside her room to seek out her cousin. Instead, she walked out of her room to find Woodsworth. Faye sighed and crossed her arms in irritation. Sebastian assured Faye that Snake's serpents wouldn't bit anyone without an order from Snake, but it still made her nervous to have poisonous snakes slithering about the house. Particularly when they had guests present, and especially when they would have a ballroom full of guests later that evening.

Faye stalked around the corner and found Snake with two of his serpents curled around his neck and shoulders. "Snake," she chastised, "please don't let your friends roam around the house by themselves. Either keep them on your person or in your room unless you're outside. All right?"

Wordlessly, Snake pointed behind Faye. Faye whirled to find Lucy staring at Snake's slithery companions in consternation. Since there hadn't been any screams, Lucy must not have caught sight of Woodsworth in the hall.

"What are you doing wandering around the manor by yourself?" Faye asked more sharply than she intended.

Lucy quivered and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, Lady Phantomhive. It's just that I've never been in a big mansion before. I was curious."

Faye narrowed her eyes. Hadn't Elizabeth said she met Lucy at a ball? Where else could that ball have taken place but in a mansion? "Very well then. I shall have Sebastian give you a tour of the manor. I would hate to be remiss in our duty of making this visit enjoyable for you." Faye turned to Snake and gave him a significant look. Faye hated to reprimand him. It always felt like kicking a puppy, but they couldn't have his serpents all over the manor. For one, it was bound to give either Mey-Rin or Baldroy a heart attack if they kept unexpectedly discovering snakes around the house. The linen closet and potato bin were entirely inappropriate napping spots for serpents.

Faye found Sebastian downstairs and passed Lucy off to him. Sebastian gave her an unhappy look, no doubt because, ultimately, all the preparations for tonight's ball fell to him. "I have paperwork I need to read over for our current case," Faye said quietly as an excuse, referring to the recent rash of kidnappings of beautiful young women from balls. If they were lucky, the kidnapper would show himself at Phantomhive Manor tonight. "I'm sure you'll be able to manage it all, as you always do. Elsewise, how could you call yourself a Phantomhive butler?"

Faye's heart raced involuntarily at the look Sebastian gave her. The look promised he would exact some type of payment from her.

Sebastian watched Faye walk off for a moment before turning and smiling at Lucy. He would catch Faye alone at some point this night. "Allow me to show you around the manor, Miss Lucy. Phantomhive Manor is a prime example of an ancestral noble home and has many charming features." His Phantomhive masters loved to pile task after task upon Sebastian. Ciel enjoyed it because he hoped to overwhelm the demon and catch Sebastian in a fault, while Faye did it with the hope of irritating Sebastian. He preferred to look upon it as Faye's version of showing affection for him.

Sebastian began the tour by showing the gardens and veranda. Lucy made polite noises and followed along, but didn't say anything. At one point, she froze, mouth hanging open in shock. Sebastian turned to see Finny carrying a full sized tree that he had cut down. Sebastian sighed. Honestly, the stupidity of these servants. He gave Lucy a brilliant smile. "Yes, our gardener is full of energy this morning, isn't he? Why don't we move our tour back inside." He placed a hand on Lucy's back and gently guided her through the doors.

He had just shown her the billiards rooms when a great cry was heard from the kitchen. Sebastian shook his head, sure of what he would find. On today of all days, couldn't Bard have stayed out of the kitchen? "Please remain here while I take care of this, Miss Lucy," Sebastian said, though he felt the guest following behind him despite his words to her.

Bard came out of the kitchen, waving his flamethrower around. "Don' you worry, Sebastian! I got this all taken care of!"

Sebastian gave Bard a severe look. "And by taken care of, do you mean that you have charred everything past the point of edibility?"

"Don't you have an oven?" Lucy asked.

"'Course we have an oven!" Bard exclaimed, looking offended. "We wouldn't we?"

Lucy gave a pointed look to the flamethrower. Bard looked at the flamethrower before looking at Lucy again and shrugging. "There's more than one way to cook a turkey."

"Let us finish your tour quickly so I may get back to helping with the meal preparations," Sebastian said, ushering Lucy away.

He was showing Lucy the library when she asked, "Where do the Earl and the Countess sleep?" Her tone was carefully casual, as though she didn't truly care about the answer. "The sleeping quarters of nobles such as they must be quite sumptuous."

"My Lord and Lady sleep on the second floor," Sebastian said by way of an answer. "All the bedrooms for guests are on this floor. I'm afraid this now concludes our tour. Please, allow me to escort you back to your room."

He still had time to pull off the extravagant meal and decorations expected of a Phantomhive ball. If he rushed.

Half an hour later, the three nobles plus Lucy were taking tea outside.

"Phantomhives!" A voice called. "I am here!" Ciel froze, tea cup halfway to his mouth and an irritated look on his face. Soma rounded the corner a moment later. "Ah, here you are! Sebastian told me I would find you here."

"What are you doing here, Soma?" Ciel questioned.

"I'm here for the ball," Soma said, clearly offended. "Where else would I be when you invited me?"

"The ball is not until tonight."

"Yes, but I have not seen you in weeks. I thought we might use the time to talk. And look, Lady Elizabeth is already here! And…who might you be?" Soma zoomed in on Lucy, walking around to stand next to her. He was clearly dazzled as he took Lucy's hand in his own. "You are a vision of loveliness such as I have never seen! You may be my first wife."

Lucy looked panic-stricken, her hand still in Soma's grasp. She threw a pleading look to Ciel, Faye, and Elizabeth, but it was Sebastian who saved her. "I'm afraid you're overwhelming our guest," Sebastian said, appearing out of nowhere. He placed another seat at the table and pushed Soma into it. Then Sebastian turned to Ciel and in one smooth motion removed the cup in Ciel's hand and replaced it with another. "I must apologize, my Lord, I brought you the wrong tea to complement today's dessert," Sebastian said mournfully.

"That's quite all right," Ciel said magnanimously. "So long as you corrected your error before any harm was down." Sebastian gave a bow before returning to the manor. Faye watched her brother with narrowed eyes. What had that been about?

Faye's Room

Mey-Rin chatted happily as she did up the hooks on the back of Faye's dress. It was rare for the Phantomhives to host balls, and Mey-Rin was excited. She talked about Ciel and Elizabeth dancing, and about all the fancy food that Sebastian had made.

"There!" Mey-Rin finally proclaimed after ten minutes. "All done. Now, please sit on the bed so I can tie your boots, milady!" Faye obediently sat down and watched in consternation as Mey-Rin tangled Faye's laces into a hopeless mess. Faye was sure Mey-Rin knew how to tie shoes, just not when she had her glasses on. As usual, there was only one way out of this mess.

"Thank you, Mey-Rin," Faye said with a smile. "You're always such a help to me. Would you please fetch Sebastian for me, though? I'm concerned that we don't have enough variety in our desserts."

"Yes, my Lady!" Mey-Rin said, mimicking Sebastian's erect posture as she said so. Faye walked over to her mirror once Mey-Rin was gone and turned around, craning her head to look at the back of her dress through the mirror. Just as she feared. Mey-Rin hadn't hooked her dress properly and it was skewed.

"How may I be of service to you, my Lady?" Sebastian asked a moment later. "Mey-Rin said something about desserts?"

"You know very well desserts have nothing to do with why I called you up here," Faye scowled, lifting her skirts. "Please fix my boots." Sebastian knelt in front of her and patiently pulled out the myriad of knots before retying the shoes properly. For some reason, it felt oddly intimate to have Sebastian kneel in front of her.

"Will that by all, my Lady?" Sebastian asked, standing.

Faye felt a blush creeping up her face. She didn't want to ask for this, but she could hardly go to the ball with her dress looking as it did. "I need you to fix the back of my dress," Faye said, struggling to maintain a neutral face. "Mey-Rin fastened it incorrectly."

"It would be my pleasure, my Lady," Sebastian said, his velvety voice sending shivers up Faye's spine. Faye just knew Sebastian was going to use this opportunity to get back at her for making him give Lucy a tour of the manor. It was too perfect for him not to.

Sebastian slowly undid the hooks at the back of Faye's dress, his breath brushing her neck. When he reached the end, he bent down to kiss Faye's shoulder as he ran one gloved finger up Faye's bare back. "Shouldn't you be wearing undergarments, my Lady?" Sebastian asked in amusement.

"They get in the way of my knives," Faye justified; sure her face must be redder than the scarlet cravat Ciel would be wearing that evening. "And Nina Hopkins was able to reinforce the front of the dress with support using metal wires."

"Fascinating," Sebastian intoned as he kissed his was across Faye's shoulders, one hand splayed against her back underneath the dress.

"Do you really have time for this?" Faye asked sharply. "You have a ball to prepare for."

Sebastian chuckled as he moved his lips up by her ear. "Of course I do. How could I call myself a Phantomhive butler if I was unable to prepare for a ball and make time to serve my Lady?"

Sebastian began hooking the back of the dress as he kissed Faye's neck. He gave one kiss for every hook he fastened. There were a lot of hooks. By the end, Faye was trembling and her breath was coming fast. Sebastian cupped the back of Faye's head and turned her face towards him. Faye's lids were half lowered as she let Sebastian move closer, but she sprang away when a loud crash sounded downstairs and yelling was heard. "I—I need to go check on that," Faye said, running out of the room without a backward glance.

Sebastian's eyes glowed red. In that moment, he could have killed whoever made the noise downstairs.

A/N: In case anyone is wondering where Agni was during teatime, he was inside helping setup for the ball, because that's just the sort of man he is. Also, can anyone guess why Sebastian switched Ciel's tea?