A
Veiled Threat
Moving on. This will be one of my shorter ones.
I added more since I was displeased with the previous ending. Enjoy
At the behest of his Lordship and Head of House - Earl Alois Trancy - Lord Earl Ciel Phantomhive, and Lady Earless Alliahnna Phantomhive are cordially invited to attend a Masquerade Ball being hosted by the Trancy Household this coming weekend.
Come and revel in all the Trancy have to offer this, sure to be, auspicious and ominous night. The fright, the chills, and the thrills projected by the night wear, and the decor. Food and drink imported from the most magnanimous and illustrious of countries shall be served. Along with the promise of dancing, and mingling with the most prominent Lords, Ladies, and other attendees.
The Ball begins promptly at four in the evening. Guests may arrive earlier if desired. Rooms are being prepared. It is Lord Alois's fondest hope you will be in attendance. The night promises to unveil much lurking within the shadows of the imagination.
We look forward to your visit.
Sincerely,
Claude Faustus.
Claude's calligraphy certainly makes the abhorred letter enticing. The majestic flow of the lettering, the elegance of his wordsmithing. And, let's not forget, the graceful insertion of the poetic Unveiling darkness towards the end. Truly, to any other receiving this awfully gorgeous letter, it excites the imagination. Raises the expectations. Hooks the unsuspecting and reels them in.
Unfortunately for Claude, Alliahnna is not any other. She is a Phantomhive. Their demon. Ciel's sworn protector. The affront Claude's letter presents pales only to his demeanor on board the train. How he goaded her with the damning smirk. Mocking her. Treating her like a speck on his boot. Insulting her honor and pride. And here he has the unwavering nerve to invite them - her brother whom he wronged in the most heinous of fashions - to a ball. Where they are expected to dine, mingle, and be locked in an enclosed space by the Phantomhive's current Rival.
"No!" Alliahnna threw the opened letter. It slid to the desk's edge, stopped by Sebastian's fingertips. Alliahnna leaned with a begrudged chin on her knuckles. Her chair arm might actually crack under the weight of her swelling anger.
"My Lady..." Sebastian drawled, not amused by her rather childish reaction to the letter.
"No!" She grit her teeth. She'll not hear of it. For Sebastian to be considering accepting was an outrage.
"If this goes unread by the young master he'll become agitated."
That's Sebastian. Hiding his true motives behind duties and obligations. "Then we give him his favorite tea and pacify him!" She fortified herself in the chair, throwing a glare at the stoic butler. "I'll not send Ciel back to the Hell we worked over a year to rescue him from! I refuse to help Alois and Claude hatch whatever scheme they have in place!"
"Are you familiar with the phrase involving friends and enemies?" Sebastian countered, pretending to skim the letter's contents. "How one should be kept close," He fold the paper, flipping the spider insignia to Alliahnna's contemptuous line of sight, "And the latter closer?"
Alliahnna hated his equivocating psychology. A favored method for him to inevitably get what he wants. Not this time. "I'm sure the philosopher who spent hours concocting those few words was unaware of demons in his midst!" Just how much of the world believed angels walked beside them, but never the counterparts? Alliahnna gazed abysmally at her palm. Blood from years oof blood spilt rotted her seemingly clean skin to the marrow. "For years I've allowed my family's enemies to run rampant throughout all of Britain and Europe alike. Rats in suits scurrying about, thinking themselves safe in the guttery shadows." Those rats laughed heartily for many years. Dining in illustrious establishments. The most expensive of drink quenching their parched throats. And all the pleasurable company they could afford. "I let them walk by me in the streets. Shake my hand at gatherings. Listened to their callous tales of how they've climbed on the corpses of their adversaries to be where they are." All the times Alliahnna has worn her signature smile. Laughter gleefully for another's satisfaction. Inside, brewing in her darkest pits, was the covetous yearning to pry tongues from the mouths. "Waiting for the right moment to spring my trap," She extended a hand to those very figures, "And snuff them out one," Daggers have slit their throats, "By," Those who fled received a bullet in the back, "One." More were hung, drowned, lit ablaze, and stoned. One by one the Phantomhive enemies perished. Two more in their place have surely blossomed. "For all my hard work, those enemies continue their siege to drag my family and their name through the dirt. Alois Trancy is no different. As such, his end will be no different." And, of that, she will personally see to.
"And I am in support of your plans. As I always have been." There was an ambiguous addition to that proclamation. "However," Sebastian regretfully added. Alliahnna sardonically braced herself, "Your plans to abscond the ball, and informing the young come with a hefty price. One, even you, can ill afford to make during this fragile juncture."
"I'm sure you've forewarned me of similar actions before." She unenthusiastically retorted.
"This time is by far more dire as there are demons at play. And, as you well know, demons tip the scale drastically." Alliahnna did not respond, but shifted attention to the ground. Her earlier comment on demons is about to be used against her. "Infiltrating the Trancy Manor by deceitful means was a trial in itself, as you undoubtedly recall." Alliahnna was still stiff from hiding in that case for hours on end. "Escape was nigh impossible without swift improvisation, and the Earl's distaste for the dark." A personal favorite Alliahnna will relish using. "This time we are being invited in. No subterfuge, no misdirections, no lying. We simply walk through the front door, and allow the Trancy Household to unravel its secrets to us."
"Why should that matter?" "We have Ciel. We foiled their plans. Whatever they are. It's over." "Claude's message is moot."
Sebastian sighed, irked by his Lady's aggravating closed mind. "This is where I call you an impotent child." He tediously remarked. "How is it the Lady whom I've grown to love, and cultivated into a tactician is behaving like a boar?" He remained impassive to the hands grasping his collar.
Alliahnna on the desk, knees planted to the edge, boring hateful daggers into her lover. "What the Hell are you on about now, Michaelis?" She snarled.
Sebastian pinched a thumb and index finger on either side of her forehead. "Strain the muscle between your ears and think logically." He shrank her to a sitting position. "The Young Master is not well. He goes about his days in a typical fashion, yes. But you and I know full well it is a facade not even he himself is aware of." Sebastian didn't need to remind her. Alliahnna knows something is wrong with him. His memories of the last six years are erased entirely. As far as Ciel is concerned, he and Alliahnna may as well be 12 year olds in adult bodies. "The Young Master is internally fragmented. The soul I am meant to claim lingers incomplete." Alliahnna bit her lip, breaking skin. Sebastian understood it upset her. The harsh reality of her situation. Nonetheless, it is pertinent she hears this. "What completed his soul was the obtainment of your family's revenge. By you claiming it in his stead, his soul became satisfied. Our contract was complete. The revenge you struggled to achieve was lost that night on demon isle."
"Need I remind you that it is because of them we're even at this point?!" Claude's ill timed and idiotic interference caused irreparAble damage to Ciel. Half his head is lost, and Alliahnna has to suffer for who knows how much longer. "We wouldn't be dealing with any of this had they just minded their own business!" Ciel would finally be at rest and far from her sorrows had the Trancy's kept to themselves. Alliahnna hugged her elbows, quivering like a frightened child. Precisely what she is deep down.
"Attending may be the key to unraveling what their intentions were. Those plans may very well be in motion. Regardless of our acceptance."
"No." Alliahnna shook her head. "I won't take Ciel back there. I won't let Alois get his filthy hands on him...not again." Her voice cracked.
Sebastian rested hands to her shoulders, "On my word, Alliahnna," He dipped his head to gain the smallest glance from her, "The Trancy Manor will not hold the Young Master hostage twice." Alliahnna gave him a dubious glance. It wasn't intentional. She's too used to having her cherished taken. "But I implore you to reconsider your brash, emotion based decision. A challenge has been issued. It is unwise to ignore it."
"I'm tired of challenges, Sebastian." She gasped exasperated. "I'm tired of demons, angels, reapers, and death." Her forehead rested to his shoulder. "I just...I just want…" Tears trickled down her cheek. "Be over...let it be over…" She clawed at her aching chest. Let Ciel's soul be taken, and let it all be over with. It was too much to ask. Fate's sick sense of humor was going to bleed her dry for as long as it could. "I want it all to be over!" She wailed.
"I know...I know…" Sebastian embraced her in a tender hug. The hand massaging her back coaxed her tears to keep flowing. "Were it within my power, I would end your pain now." He snuck a glance at the damnable letter. Words, so much mightier than the sword, shredded Alliahnna waning resolve to ribbons. "It is regrettable to say, My Lady. But it is within the indirect aid of the Trancy's your agony will come to an end." Alliahnna dug her nails into his chest. Her body went rigid. "We must tread upon the spider's web, and then - one by one," Sebastian's demonic eyes glowed vibrantly, "We will pluck their legs, leaving an immobile carcass for the maggots to feast upon."
Alliahnna ground her teeth so hard blood vessels burst in her mouth. Red, hot liquid trickled on either side of her jaw, staining to her white uniform. It was happening all over again. Ciel is being nutured; attentively cared for. All so another demon and his pet can swoop in and steal him away from her. The Trancy House is driving their disgusting claws, hooking Ciel by his fragile throat. Inch by inch, the slightest twitch closes that grasp, choking what little life lingers in him. A body to accompany the soul they claimed for one whole, agonizing year. Again they seek to claim him. To steal him right from under their nose, and prolong Alliahnna's suffering.
Rage burned in her eyes. A strong desire to kill. To drink the tainted soul of Alois Trancy, and allow Claude to suffer a humiliation worse than all others. Losing his prize to a new born pup. Preferrable to uing her bother as bait to weed the Trancy's ambiguous schemes into the light. In spite of him showing indifference to thrusting himself in the line of fire to get what he wants.
What he wants. Alliahnna muttered in her mind. Ciel wants his revenge. He will not be satisfied until he's gotten it. A small chuckle baffled Sebastian. He edge her away, seeing her covering an eye with a most peculiar smile. "Ciel...he would get an unhealthy cheer out of doing this, wouldn't he?" Suddenly, Alliahnna chastised herself. This is no longer about what she wants. Her time as Sebastian's Master has ended. Ciel is the new Master. And he swore to drag all those who wounded his and her pride into the open, and make them pay dearly. If they are amongst the dead, he will rip the answers from their corpse. Alois Trancy will be no different. For reasons only known to that unstable boy, he instructed Claude to take Ciel's soul. Possessing Ciel's body was a plus in his eyes. The answers too this mystery lie at the Trancy Manor. "Ever since we were children, Ciel would use himself as a distraction. Providing me ample time to unleash my attack from the shadows." She dreamily reveled in the memory. The twins of Phantomhive always three moves ahead. "He will see this as nothing different. He will abide by the Trancy's request, all so you and I can deliver them to his feet, and force them to pay for the crimes they've committed."
"My Lady?" Sebastian helped her off the desk. "Have you reconsidered?" He asked hopefully.
"I have." She removed her stained blazer, throwing it to the hamper she had by the window. "While my own personal fears wish for me too keep Ciel at bay, the tactician has grudgingly agreed to your request." She clapped her cheeks, adding a pink tint. She rubbed the glossiness from her eyes, pulling herself together. "
"I am glad to hear you've come to your senses."
However," She interceded his victory priase, "We're not the only ones in England who will be in attendance." She stated with an ominous hum. Sebastian arched a bewildered brow. "Elizabeth aside, there are others who have yet to see Ciel since his awakening. Not all of them are in on the fact half his memory is missing."
"Lady Elizabeth has braced herself for the outcome." Sebastian informed her.
Elizabeth was one of the first few to notice Ciel wasn't himself. Finnian, Bardroy, and Mey-Rin soon followed suit. While they may have relentlessly pressed Alliahnna and Sebastian for answers, the pair humbly implored they are grant them time to assess the situation. Recent jaunts at the Queen's behest have revealed much to be true to the suspicions.
"I fear this news will ruin the evening should she be attending."
"She will be. As will our other friends who have come to England for the Trancy ball." The Trancy house is as notorious and famous as the Phantomhive's. Soical circles ran up and down the food chain. From Kings and dukes to merchants and common folk. "They're all going to be heart broken when they hear of this. Ciel was gone from their lives for years. Now he's back and he barely remembers any of them."
"Then it will be pertinent to persuade them to mindful around him." Sebastian declared.
"What do you mean?" She exclaimed.
"It'll be troublesome if they reveal too much. Spark memories that - for all purposes - never existed."
"How could it be troubesome?" She begged him to reconsider. "If Ciel remembers everything it could help put his soul back together."
"Are shatter it entirely." Alliahnna grimaced. "The Young Master's soul is in a very fragile state. No doubt seeing Madam Red's coat on Grell, and our tale of his coma have ushered blurs." That he is willing to accept. They are coming naturally. "But for unfamiliar or familiar faces to begin forcing lost memories upon him could overwhelm him. Return him to the deathless slumber he just recently awoke from."
"Are you telling me to keep lying to my brother?" Please...I can't lie to him anymore. "Sebastian..."
"Do you trust me?" He hugged hish ands to her shoulders.
"Of course I do."
"Then trust that I know what I am doing." He whispered, touching his forehead to hers. "No harm shall befall your beloved brother."
"I take that to mean you have a plan in mind."
Sebastian smirked foxily. "Don't I always?" He licked her ear, earning an adorable squeak. He hungrily lathered his lips, savoring her taste. "The night promises to be one to remember."
Egh. Not much. But it'll do for now.