A/N: I've known how I've wanted to end this fic for a while, but I've been struggling with how to get to that point. I finally figured it out tonight and that motivated me to get another chapter out! (The ending is still around 7 chapters away though).
Disclaimer: I only own Faye.
Weston College
"What do you mean I need to return to the manor?" Faye asked indignantly. "What kind of sister would I be to not stay and support my only brother in the biggest event held by Weston College? What will the Midfords think?"
"They will think you are sick," Sebastian explained patiently. It was the morning of the cricket tournament and the games were a mere hour away from starting.
"Well, that came on rather quick, didn't it?" Faye asked sarcastically.
"Not at all," Sebastian countered. "You haven't been feeling your best for days. That's why you went to stay with the Midfords a few nights before the tournament, but you said nothing because you didn't wish to worry them." Faye didn't bother asking how Sebastian knew she'd spent the past few nights at her aunt's manor. There were any number of ways he could have found out.
"All of the servants are here," Faye said. "I'll be entirely alone at Phantomhive Manor."
"Only for today," Sebastian placated. "I'm sure Lord Trancy will not pick this particular moment to strike."
Faye crossed her arms to aid in her attempt to stare down Sebastian. He returned her look with a patient smile. "Would you care to explain why I'm not allowed to stay for the cricket tournament?" Faye asked. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she couldn't attend. She didn't much care for sports, and since this event wasn't important to Ciel other than furthering his mission as the Queen's Watchdog, he didn't care whether she was there or not. However, watching Ciel play in a cricket tournament was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"I'm afraid you have attracted too much male attention by coming here," Sebastian said, picking up some of Faye's hair and bringing it to his lips. "And as I recall, I dictate all your interactions with members of the opposite gender."
Faye huffed. "So that means sending me away?"
"Either that or having you act so atrociously towards the young men that you deter their interest, but the second option might damage the Phantomhive reputation. The choice is yours, of course."
"Very well," Faye reluctantly agreed. "I suppose I already know the outcome of the tournament anyway with you on Ciel's side."
"You flatter me, my Lady," Sebastian said with a bow. "Shall I make your excuses for you?"
"And have Aunt Francis yell at me afterwards for my rudeness in not talking to her myself? I think not. Besides, the other servants will worry terribly if I don't speak with them personally. I'd rather they be able to enjoy the game without any guilt over my absence."
Phantomhive Manor
Faye rolled from her place on the ground to her feet and swung around, flinging her knife as she turned. The knife flew straight to the center of the target. Sebastian had set up a system of targets for her among the trees on Phantomhive grounds. She hadn't been training as much as she should lately, so this was a good time to practice. Baldroy, Finnian, and Mey-Rin had each tried to insist that one of them should accompany her back to the manor, but she'd refused them all. It was a rare treat for them to be able to go out and enjoy something like this. She didn't want to take the opportunity away from them.
Faye turned to kick an imaginary opponent before throwing a knife at a target behind her. Faye tsked in annoyance when she saw the knife hit two inches away from the center of the target. Taking a smaller knife from her boot, Faye aimed for a target higher up. She smiled when it hit dead center and climbed the tree to retrieve it, grateful for her loose skirts and solid boots. If she kept climbing trees like this, she might need to request that Nina make her some loose pants.
Pulling the knife from the target, Faye aimed for a target lower down. The knife flew true until a white haired woman wearing purple appeared from the forest. Faye gasped, her hand reaching out uselessly as though she could somehow stop the dagger. However, before the knife imbedded itself in the woman's face, she caught it between two fingers.
Faye stared in stunned silence until she realized something along the edge of her senses. The woman was a demon. Faye felt her stomach sink. Why were these creatures crawling out of the woodwork? How many could there be in England? The woman stared up at Faye impassively as Faye stayed balanced on her tree limb. What did this demon want?
"You might be more comfortable having this conversation if you came down from there," the demon called up.
Faye gripped the tree branch she was holding for support tighter. She didn't imagine a conversation with a demon was comfortable no matter where you stood. She was tempted to say such, but then she'd give away that she knew what the woman was and then the demon would want to know how Faye knew. It would be better to keep her magic a secret for the time being, though if she needed to use it she'd probably wind up dead regardless.
Faye kept her attention on the demon as she slowly climbed down. "You're on Phantomhive grounds," Faye said as she reached the grass.
"Then I'm in the right place," the demon said with a smile before throwing the knife back at Faye. She caught it, despite her heart racing from fear and gripped the dagger tightly. "Pity," the demon said. "I was hoping to scar that pretty face of yours as a warning."
"A warning of what?" Faye demanded. There was something wrong here. Something felt off about this demon. Her essence didn't feel like Sebastian's or even like Claude's. Why was it different?
"Stay away from Earl Alois Trancy," the demon declared. Faye blinked in confusion. The Phantomhives had one demon trying to force them to help Trancy, and now there was a new one who wanted to threaten them into not helping Trancy? "His business is none of your family's. Stay out of it."
"We would be delighted to," Faye said with a mocking bow. "Though such a thing is easier said than done. Perhaps if you feel so strongly about this you should speak to Lord Trancyabout leaving my family alone. His frequent attempts and threats to garner the Phantomhives' aid is quite a nuisance."
The demon narrowed her eyes as she began to pace slowly back and forth. "Lord Trancy is a special case. I know he thinks he needs your help, but truly I am the only one who can give him what he desires."
"Surprisingly enough, I have no interest in what Lord Trancy desires and whether he gets it or not. The Phantomhives have no wish to be embroiled in any schemes of his."
"Good," the demon said, glaring fiercely at Faye. "Keep it that way." She disappeared in an instance.
Faye sank to the ground, her hand held over her racing heart. Sebastian was going to get an earful over this, though technically he was correct in that Trancy wouldn't make his move today. No, some other player in this game they knew nothing about had.
Ciel's Study
Faye was sitting in Ciel's luxurious leather desk chair when Ciel and Sebastian returned home the next morning. "I take it your safe return means you solved the case of the missing students?" Faye asked archly. Surprisingly, Ciel made not comment about Faye taking his chair. Instead, he plopped onto the couch and stared off into space.
"Ciel, are you all right?" Faye asked in concern, getting up and kneeling on the floor next to Ciel. She placed her hand on his knee and looked up at him. He looked down at Faye, a horrified, haunted look in his eye.
"I'm afraid the young Master experienced a bit of a shock last night," Sebastian said airily, walking to the window behind the desk to fling open the curtains and let in light.
"What happened?" Faye asked. "Is this about the Queen's assignment?" She couldn't imagine what else it could have been, but what outcome would upset a Phantomhive so badly?
"I'll go make tea," Sebastian said with a look at Ciel. When Sebastian left the room, Ciel finally exhaled a breath and shook his head.
"What happened?" Faye repeated. "Did you find Derek and the others?"
"More or less," Ciel said sardonically, looking down at Faye. "We also found the principal. The Undertaker."
"The Undertaker is the principle of Weston College?" Faye asked in disbelief. That made no sense. The last time they'd seen the Undertaker was when he helped them to infiltrate the cult being run by the fallen angel Angela. Everything had seemed normal with him then.
"He's not the real principal of Weston College," Ciel clarified, "but it's a role he's been playing ever since Derek and his friends were murdered."
"So, they were killed at the college?" Faye asked slowly. Ciel's story still wasn't making any sense. Finding dead students wouldn't upset Ciel like this.
"Killed and brought back," Ciel said, his gaze intent on Faye. Ciel said nothing more and Faye could only stare in silence, not sure what to say or ask. Sebastian entered with a cart and set out the tea.
"Really, my Lady, do get up off the floor. Kneeling on the rug is hardly befitting of one in your station." Rather than argue, Faye took Sebastian's offered hand and sat next to Ciel, grabbing a coffee cake. She was glad Sebastian had brought tea. Perhaps it would bring order to Ciel's thoughts.
When Ciel still didn't continue his tale, Faye turned to Sebastian. "What happened last night?"
"Blue House won the cricket tournament, as you so astutely predicted. Ciel was deemed the all-around most impressive player for his conduct and invited to the midnight tea party with the principal, the prefects, and their fags. That is where we discovered Derek and the other students. Months ago, the prefects murdered Derek and his friends for their bullying, lying, and general rule breaking. The prefects were afraid of Weston College's reputation being besmirched by those wayward youths. Afterwards, the implications of what they had done entered their minds and they sought a solution. They contacted an organization called the Phoenix, run by the Undertaker, who bring the dead back to life so to speak."
Faye put the half-eaten cake back on its plate, having lost her appetite. She had a dark, foreboding feeling about this. "What do you mean when you say 'brought back to life'?"
"They moved," Ciel said. "They were dead, but they moved and spoke. Vaguely. Then they attacked everyone at the party, trying to eat them. They seemed to feel no pain. Nothing deterred them from seeking to eat the living around them. Sebastian could only stop them by crushing their brains."
"How does the Undertaker fit into all this?" Faye asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"He's the one creating them," Sebastian answered.
"There are more?" Faye asked in horror. "What does he want them for?"
Sebastian shrugged. "We were unable to ascertain that, my Lady, other than that he wishes to know what comes after death. He appears to have extended the death record, and by doing that is able to animate corpses to some degree."
"That must be what I sensed," Faye said, thinking back to the previous night. The souls inside the administrative building had felt so odd. Now she knew why.
"Indeed, my Lady," Sebastian agreed. "It is curious that you can sense their presence when I cannot."
"Not even you are perfect," Faye said absent-mindedly before turning to Ciel. She ignored Sebastian's offended look. "What do you plan to do now?"
"I will make my report to the Queen and have our contacts in the underworld keep their eyes open for the Undertaker. Or for stories of the dead coming back to life. The moment he's spotted, we'll know."
Silence reigned again as both Phantomhives lost themselves in their own thoughts. A part of Faye was glad she hadn't been present at the midnight tea party. The undead creatures sounded terrifying. A larger part wished she had been there to see these creatures. Faye hated the unknown and not knowing what these creatures were like in reality made them more frightening. At least, Faye hoped they weren't as frightening as she was imagining them.
"My Lady," Sebastian said, drawing Faye out of her thoughts, "was it my imagination, or were you upset when the young Lord and I returned this morning?"
"Oh, yes, I was," Faye admitted, Ciel's obvious horror and the fuss over the undead students had made her forget her encounter with a demon the day before. "I was confronted yesterday by a white-haired female demon. She demanded we stay away from Alois Trancy."
For the first time since meeting Sebastian, Faye saw him panic as his face paled and he looked Faye over. "Are you all right? Did she hurt you?" He rushed to Faye's side and took one of her hands in his.
"I'm fine," Faye said after a surprised pause. "But I'm afraid we may need to figure out exactly what Earl Trancy's story is. Regardless of how we may feel about helping him, if his problems are affecting us this much, we need to be aware of what's going on."
"Agreed," Ciel said, looking very unhappy. "We'll soon need to pay the dear Earl an unexpected visit."
A/N: You weren't expecting that, were you?! I bet you all thought Claude would make a reappearance rather than Hannah showing up. However, 'tis time for the plot to thicken. Of course, the one stalking Faye in the previous chapter was Claude. Would anyone be interested in a special side chapter showing those scenes from Claude's point of view or would that just be creepy? Also, chapter 15 will have the best Faye/Sebastian interaction yet in this story (in my opinion, anyway).