Ayumi POV

I woke up early on November 5th, 1888. I usually wake up incredibly early despite the fact I was the second to last person to be up. I groaned and fell back in my bed as I remembered the date.

It was Alois Trancy's birthday today.

I pulled myself out of bed as I thought about how my next few hours of no bruises would go. I would have to figure out how to make a perfect cake in less than 2 hours since Alois would've woken up by that time. If it wasn't perfect, I would have to suffer punishment from Claude, his demon butler.

I knew about demons for simply one reason. If I had questioned why they never slept or why they were so highly skilled, Alois would have me killed but since Claude has taken a...liking to me, I was told the truth. Now that I thought about it, it never bothered me honestly. I didn't exactly believe in God.

I slipped out of my nightgown and stood in front of my small mirror and brushed my messy bed hair. I always wondered why people admire themselves in the mirrors so much, it wasn't like the more they admired, the more beautiful they'd become. If that was true, I definitely would've tried it.

My body was nothing special. I had some curves that were accented when I wore a dress but underneath all those curves were lean muscle and bruises from punishment and training.

No matter how hard I try to pull my hair back, it always falls back into place, the bangs framing my face and drifting down my shoulders. I considered my best feature to be my blue eyes.

I finished brushing my hair and pulled on my maid's outfit along with a pure silver flower clip that slipped into my hair and accented it perfectly with its sapphire center. I stood back and checked my outfit, making sure it was perfect. If it wasn't, Alois would throw a fit.

I grabbed my daggers which I slid into the hidden pockets of my dress and set my bed before heading out the door. In my hurry to get out, I bumped into someone who steadied me with hands on my waist.

"Watch where you're going there, little butterfly" Claude chided and I pushed him off. I may be a naturally cheerful person, but not in the mornings and especially not around that little spider bastard.

"I am not a butterfly" I replied harshly and walked past him only to have my arm grabbed and me shoved against a wall.

"Oh, but I think you are..." Claude whispered in my ear, his hands stroking up and down my arm. "You're so delicate and fragile...so delicious"

I pulled away harshly, stumbling back and straightening up again. I dusted off my dress and pretended to reach for my dagger. Claude scared the living crap out of me and I had been tempted to use the dagger on him.

"Claude, today is Alois's birthday, you might wanna get ready for it" I said and walked off, my pace picking up as I reached the kitchen. His eyes pierced into my back, into my soul and I felt my blood turn to ice. I felt my heart beating faster as I burst into the kitchen and I felt crying. I wasn't a weak person but why me?

I had the perfect life, a perfect mother and father. My servants all died along with them. The nobles adored me yet when I was orphaned, they didn't give a flying damn about me. I felt like curling up into a ball but instead I stood up and put a smile on my face as I neared the cabinet.

I enjoyed cooking, it was an amazing thing and a favorite pastime of mine. It was one of the only good things about this godforsaken place. I pulled out the ingredients and glanced at the clock. 5:59 AM, oh here we go.

Timeskip brought to you by a fangirling Grell~

2 hours later, it was exactly 7:59 and I heard Alois running downstairs and bursting into the dining hall at 8 AM exactly where I was standing in the corner, the chocolate cake sitting on a plate and a chair of silk that resembled a throne was pulled out.

Hannah, Claude and the triplets followed and Claude bowed to Alois as he settled into his throne. They all did the same but I didn't. Alois may have given me a stable life but I didn't have to bow down to him. Passiveness didn't run in my blood, stubbornness did.

"Ayumi!" Alois called and I walked out. I walked toward him and looked into the teenager's icy blue eyes, a kid that was just a year younger than I was. And then I curtsied to him. I wasn't an idiot, I didn't want to be hurt again.

"Yes?" I asked straightening up and Alois looked at me as he ate his chocolate cake. He wasn't complaining so it looks like I did well. Thank god but I felt uneasy as Alois smiled so brightly that it surprised me.

"We will be throwing a ball, I would like you to get the ballroom ready!" Alois ordered and I nodded sighing internally.

"I should've expected this..." I muttered under my breath as Alois gave out the rest of his orders.

Hannah was to send out invitations, the triplets were to make sure the ballroom and all hallways in a certain radius were absolutely clean and Claude was to tend to all of Alois's whims.

"Oh, and do remember!" Alois called out after Hannah, the triplets and I as we walked out. "The Earl Phantomhive is invited so I would ask that you behave yourself" He smiled sadistically and I shuddered as I walked out.

Phantomhive huh? I tried to search my memory for that particular name. My parents had mentioned them with my father often muttering under his breath "Those bloody dogs..." Then I remembered as I walked into the ballroom.

The Phantomhives were the "Queens Guard Dogs" while my family was the "Queen's Birds". They checked up on the underworld while my mother and my father flitted around the country checking upon above world relations and problems. Of course with murder mysteries, the Phantomhives and the Waterbirds were forced to work together.

I started grabbing the golden banners and I stared up at where I was supposed to hang them. It was a high arched wall and the only way I could get to it was climbing over the railing upstairs and delicately putting them there. Yep, that was totally safe.

"Dang it..." I muttered and I reluctantly climbed the stairs before walking to that spot and leaning over. I sighed and swung a leg over and I looked around making sure no one was around. It would be embarrassing if someone saw me from below. They would see my underwear.

I flushed slightly at this and swung my other leg over, grabbing the railing in fear as I was now balancing on a thin piece of marble that could break at any moment. I grabbed the banners through the holes in the railing and delicately pinned the banners against the arch, one of my hands holding onto the railing while the other pinned the banners.

I had to lean to get the far edge of the banner pinned and I felt myself losing my balance as I pulled back. I whipped out my dagger and dug it into the marble. Thank god it had been just redone and the soft marble gave way to my knife as it lodged itself in between hard and soft marble.

I looked down and inhaled sharply. I was hanging by my dagger and my dress billowed around me. I gritted my teeth and felt my hand growing sweaty. I needed to use the other hand otherwise I'd fall while trying to climb up. I counted down for when I'd switch.

"3...2...1!" I let go of the dagger and my left hand darted in and grabbed the dagger and I sighed in relief. I then grabbed a part of the railing and hauled myself up. I swung myself over the railing and panted, sinking down against the wall on the other side.

I then got up and walked downstairs to check and see if the banner was in place. I stood on the polished ballroom floor and admired my handiwork before realizing what I just did.

Did I just risk my life for a birthday banner?

The next few hours we all spent making the manor prestigious and perfect. Well, more specifically, the ballroom. Then Alois made us go upstairs 30 minutes before the ball to go and get dressed.

So here I was spinning in front of a mirror to make sure my dress fit. Since I was a servant, I wasn't supposed to be dressed in a prestigious way. But that was okay with me since those corsets always looked uncomfortable.

I wore a simple blue dress with lace on the bottom and it flowed around me, loose but hugging my curves. I put the flower clip in my hair and slid on the black gloves I had secretly purchased a few days ago. For events like these, Alois had wanted us to wear icy blue gloves with the Trancy crest to distinguish us as servants to the Trancys

I don't think icy blue suits me that well, do you?

I checked myself once more before walking out and downstairs. My black heels, which were not that big actually, clicked against the ballroom floor as I walked to the door to greet guests.

"Hello!" "Thank you for coming!" "May I take your coat?" "Dance away the night~"

I had said all these things before a prestigious carriage pulled in the front of the manor. A boy with a cane stepped out, his eyepatch making him look dangerous and his cane clicked against the ground.

He smirked as the man who had been driving the carriage stood next to him and the boys one sapphire eye gleamed in the darkness, his blue ring echoing the same color.

Earl Phantomhive had arrived.

OH MY GOSH I MANAGED TO UPDATE WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! GASP! So, I am typing the next chapter now because studying is making me sick. BLEGH... The next update can be tomorrow, the next day or the next. But definitely before Sunday, December 21st

Whale, bye!