Here comes the next chapter ^_^
Enjoy :D
P.S.: Sorry for being late and as an apology I have written an extra long chapter. I hope I'm forgiven –grins sheepishly-
~Previously~
"I have to work things slowly…spoiling things when I'm this close to my goals is simply unacceptable"
He regained his stoic expression and began collecting the cups to deliver the tea. A dove pecked on the window trying to gain his attention. He turned to look at it and realized it had a note attached to its leg. He opened the window and took the note from its leg not giving it a second glance as it flew away.
A slow smile spread on his lips as he read the invitation,
"Perfect"
~Currently~
Sebastian had woken up long before Siera and he was admiring how beautiful she was…the way her eyelashes fluttered in her sleep…the soft sounds of her breathing…the way a stray strand always managed to fall back on her face…
Unknown to himself, he had hovered over her and kissed her forehead. She grunted softly clutching his sleeve in her sleep. His eyes widened when he realized she had unconsciously held on to him. He kissed her cheek a small smile spreading on his lips, the shock wearing off quickly as he looked at her sleeping face.
"Sebastian" she muttered in her sleep.
Sebastian's eyes widened in shock that she had called out his name in her sleep even though she had claimed to forget everything about him. His eyes softened and he kissed her forehead again.
"Siera" he said softly.
Siera's eyes snapped open and she stared right into the crimson red of his eyes. His eyes widened slightly as he stared into her chocolate brown ones.
"What-what're you doing?" she mumbled softly her voice barely leaving her.
She attempted to push him away but he kept himself in place as he gently cupped her left cheek,
"Siera…you look so beautiful" he said softly.
Unknown to herself her cheeks reddened.
"Nee san! Sebastian!" Kimi's voice was heard.
His loud call managed to pull Siera out of her stupor and she pushed Sebastian away sitting up and quickly getting out of bed. Sebastian sighed as he got up and stood behind her.
The loud pounding of her heartbeat didn't slow as she realized he stood behind her.
"Claude is coming today for lunch nee san" Kimi said.
Sebastian stared at Kimi and narrowed his eyes. Kimi's eyes flashed as he looked at Sebastian before turning to Siera's excited face.
"Really? He's really coming here to eat with us?" she asked breathlessly her earlier heart pounding completely disappearing.
"Yes he is. Ciel had ordered me to give him only light snacks as his lunch today as he has a lot of work. I have to give it to him directly in his study. I thought it would be a good opportunity and decided to call Claude over for lunch" Kimi explained.
"That's wonderful Kimi! Oh my god…I haven't seen in a long time" she said looking excited.
Kimi looked forlorn and it immediately struck her, her parents were still there in the house.
"The First and Second didn't oppose your idea?" she said her voice suddenly growing icy cold.
"They didn't…they agreed to it but there's a condition you need to agree to…" Kimi began looking a bit distressed.
Siera's eyes burned with controlled rage and she realized Sebastian had been standing behind her the whole time. She pulled Kimi by his arm and led him outside the rom closing the door shut behind her.
"What is the condition?" Siera questioned stepping closer to Kimi her voice piercing.
"You and I will both be you" Kimi said looking directly into her eyes his own pleading.
"What?!" Siera exploded absolute rage burning in her tone.
"Please nee san…you said he was your Meito…if he really is the one who won the ceremony he will be able to recognize you…besides weren't you so happy when I said he would be coming over?" Kimi pleaded.
Siera's body trembled with rage but she looked at Kimi's pleading gaze and decided to relent but she needed to know the real intentions behind the test.
"Fine…but" she said looking right at Kimi.
"But-but what nee san?" Kimi said flinching slightly at her intense gaze.
"Tell me the real intentions behind the test" she demanded.
"We want to know if he will be able to recognize you between the two of us. My imitations are absolutely perfect…only we can recognize each other. If he really is your Meito he must be able to pass at least this simple test. I had wanted to keep it as a game…but now since Mama and Papa are against accepting Claude I volunteered to do it so that they will accept Claude like you wanted" Kimi said softly not meeting her eye.
Siera's eyes softened and she stepped forward holding Kimi in her arms,
"Thank you Kimi" she whispered softly.
Kimi hugged her back breathing out in relief.
"Let's go get ready nee san" he said grinning.
Siera nodded smiling,
"Go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute" she said patting Kimi's back.
Kimi nodded and left. Siera went into the room and glared at Sebastian,
"My Meito is coming to have lunch with me. Don't repeat what you did earlier" she warned.
To her utter surprise Sebastian only smiled,
"Your Meito has the right to do that to you though, doesn't he?" he said smiling as he left the room, before she could finish her reply.
Siera heart thumped loudly and she exhaled deeply,
"I need to keep a tight leash" she thought to herself as she went to where Kimi was.
-With Claude-
"I never thought the Fifth would accept me as her Meito this easily…this could be a trap but then again it seems like he is too close to Siera than the others. Which means that as long as I have Siera on my side I have him on my side too" Claude thought to himself as he entered the carriage.
He already made arrangements for Hannah to look after Alois while he was gone. He hadn't told anyone what his plans were. He didn't have time to deal with Alois's selfish demands right now. Not when he had almost secured one of his targets.
"Wait for me Siera…I'm on my way" Claude thought to himself the subtle sick grin on his lips morphing into his stoic façade.
-Back at the mansion-
Kayla had sent a letter to Samuel to return for lunch but he declined the invitation saying he was too close to Siera's antidote to return now. Kayla sighed as she looked out of the window,
"How troublesome…that lowly insect…with not even a hundredth of our power he dares to try and disrupt our Circle…"
"Mama, it's almost time" Kimi said walking into the room Kayla and Samuel shared.
Kimi's voice made Kayla break out of her thoughts. The quill in her hand had shattered to pieces with the leftover ink splattered across her palm and fingers. Kayla sighed as she stood up,
"I'll be down in a minute after washing up and checking on Kiki. Go ahead and make the preparations Kimi" she commanded.
"Yes Mama"
-An hour later-
"Claude's carriage will be arriving soon Mama" Siera's voice was heard.
"Make sure Siera acts as she is ordered" Kayla said instantly seeing through Kimi's imitation.
"Yes Mama"
-At the main entrance-
Sebastian waited at the main door as per the instructions given to him by Kayla. He had a vague idea as to what was going to happen but he knew it won't be as easy as he thought it would be. The fact that he had to greet Claude and lead him to the dining hall was a test Kayla had kept for him.
Two sharp knocks were heard on the doors and Sebastian kept his usual smile as he opened the door,
"Welcome to the Phantomhive mansion. I am assigned to lead you to the dining hall. Please come with me" Sebastian said with perfect hospitality.
"Of course" Claude replied with his usual stoic expression.
-In the kitchen-
Siera couldn't explain or understand what she felt. Looking at Kimi felt like looking into a mirror…a perfect reflection of herself. Right from head to toe, Kimi had managed a perfect imitation of herself.
"All those of years of being with me…making a copy of one of us is a piece of cake for him" Siera thought to herself a smirk on her lips.
"It feels like looking into a mirror…I'm amazed Kimi" Siera said praising him.
"Oh don't make me blush" Kimi said.
"But it does feel really creepy to hear my own voice coming from you when you look exactly like me" Siera said raising an eyebrow.
"We don't have a choice here nee san…are you ready?" Kimi asked.
"Of course" Siera answered tightening her fists and looking away as she hugged herself.
"This is the Second's order nee san…we can't fight it" Kimi reminded her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Well…let's get over with this" Siera said pushing one food tray, her voice turning cold.
Kimi nodded as he pushed the second tray containing the exact same food in the exact same order.
"I truly hope you can see through this Sebastian…you won't get another chance"
-At the dining hall-
Kayla came down the stairs wearing a baby blue halter neck ankle length gown, her hair bouncing in soft curls past her shoulders. She saw Sebastian and Claude standing on one side of the staircase.
"You look absolutely beautiful Kayla" Claude said a small smile on his lips that soon morphed into his stoic expression when he noticed her disgusted expression.
"Unnecessary flattery is not required and it is Vankroff san or The Second to you Claude" Kayla said her voice deadly.
"Please forgive my impudence Vankroff san" Claude said bowing with Kayla waving off his comment.
"Both of you will be dining with me, unfortunately as you have noticed Samuel isn't there with us today. I will be watching over the meal in his place. More than meal you could call this my test" Kayla said as she stood on the last stair one step above both of them.
"Test?" Claude said looking confused.
"Yes, my test. I know for a fact that the two of you were contenders for my daughter's hand but due to some reason she doesn't seem to remember it" Kayla continued trying to keep the malice in her voice directed at Claude to a minimum.
"She definitely doesn't favor me…she knows I manipulated Siera's memories using the potion" Claude thought to himself catching on the malice in Kayla's voice.
"I will be conducting this test to see who truly deserves my daughter. The Five know each other like we know the back of our hands and the same should apply to the Meitos who are worthy of the Circle" Kayla said noticing the confusion in Claude's eyes.
"Enter" Kayla commanded.
Siera entered the hall pushing the tray of food. Claude's eyes immediately followed her, but shock filled his core when he saw another Siera enter the hallway with another tray of food. Sebastian was equally surprised though his eyes slightly widening was the only thing that gave away his surprise.
"Th-This can't be possible! How're there two of her?!" Claude thought to himself having a panic attack.
"This is my test. The one who can figure out who the real Siera is wins my favor. The two of you have two hours to figure who the real Siera is between the two of them" Kayla commanded.
Sebastian's usual smile returned,
"Yes The Second" he said bowing and straightening as he turned to the one in front to set the food on the table.
"Just call me Vankroff san Sebastian and you don't have to do anything besides accompanying me in this meal. The two of you will be eating while all the serving will be looked after by my daughters" Kayla said as she walked towards the head of the table with Claude and Sebastian on either side of her.
"As you command" Sebastian said bowing once again before sitting in his respective seat opposite Claude on the right side of Kayla, who was seated at the head of the table.
"Begin" Kayla said waving her hand motioning to the two.
"Yes The Second" two cold voices responded.
"So Kimi gave in to Siera I see…she is as stubborn as me…" Kayla thought to herself a small smile on her lips.
"Even though hearing the same cold words from both of them is piercing a hole in my heart…this is for her own good…now let's see how well you fare Claude…you dug your own grave…though should you sweet talk to her she might overlook this…how annoying…that potion is utterly annoying" Kayla thought to herself as she watched Kimi and Siera serve Sebastian and Claude.
"I will ask the both of you to decide who you think the actual Siera is at the end of the meal, till then neither will give away their favor" she commanded.
"You may eat now"
Both of them were told to keep a neutral outlook towards both of them but Kayla knew that Siera would have a slightly favorable look over Claude. She instructed Kimi to keep a very close look on her actions and Kimi had been doing just that. She was marveled at how perfectly Kimi had managed to impersonate Siera. Had she not known otherwise it would seem like she had two daughters instead of one.
"What an incredible incident Samuel is missing" Kayla thought to herself as she watched her two daughters serve Sebastian and Claude.
"I hope this test goes the way I hope it would"
Kayla has brought about her own test and declared that the one who passes the test will gain her favor. Will Claude pass the test and gain her favor against her will? Will Kimi's plan go as planned? Will Sebastian be able to recognize who the real Siera is?
Wait for my next update to find out ^-^
Until then adios amigos :D