Chapter 7
A smirk could not help but cracked across his face as Sebastian stared at the Blancbaston girl with raised eyebrow. Noting the glint of fierce determine in her eyes, his smirk cracked wider as he studied the girl.
An avenger….Hmm... Interesting.
His smirk slipping off back into his usual poker face as Sebastian flicked his eyes over to his master. He watched him narrowed his visible eye at the girl, the narrowed eye then reverted back to one with interest and amusement as his master nodded knowingly to himself. His master's mouth then opened to speak.
"Alright then, suit yourself. Since you really want this bodyguard job, be sure that you train hard. Understood?"
Sebastian flicked his eyes over to the other adolescent for her reply. The female adolescent frowned at his master before giving a determined curt nod in return. Flicking his eyes back to his master when Ciel turned to him, he waited for an order to be emitted out of his master.
"Sebastian, you know what to do. Get her to her room and get whatever that needs to be done, done. You know what, right? Now, get going."
Nodding at his order, Sebastian gave him a small bow, uttering a 'Yes, my lord."
Turning to the girl to see her watching them with a bored look, Sebastian returned the look with the same poker face as he nodded his head at her and spoke.
"Miss Blancbaston, let's get you settled."
The girl returned the nod and got up before moving to the door. When she stopped at the door and turned to jut her chin towards the door, Sebastian nodded again at her before turning to his master with a bow.
"Then we shall be going, Young Master."
When a grunt was returned as the response, Sebastian turned back to the girl and strolled towards where she was waiting.
"Let's go, Miss Blancbaston."
….
Strolling down the hallway with the girl beside him, Sebastian glanced down at her when she spoke.
"So…Where are you taking me now?"
Sebastian instantly spoke to answer her question. "Now we are heading to your room, Miss Blancbaston…."
"Oh, okay…" Her eyebrows moved down to form a frown as she stopped in her tracks. Sebastian raised an eyebrow and questioned at her sudden halt. "What is it, Miss Blancbaston…?"
With hands resting at the either sides of her hip, Estella frowned at the butler in annoyance before she sighed.
His already raised eyebrow shot up even higher at this as Sebastian tilted his head at her in question with an amused smile planted his face. "Yes….?"
The girl sighed again before looking up at him with the frown of annoyance on her face.
"Seriously…Mr. Butler, you've got to stop going 'Miss Blancbaston that…Miss Blancbaston this'…. Enough with those damn formalities already, it all sounds so…weird. Plus, 'Miss Blancbaston' sounds like some kind of old hag or something…Just address me as 'Estella', alright? It sounds so much more like me… What am I talking about?... I am 'Estella'…."
She shook her head to herself at her useless babbling and continued. "….Okay, okay…back to the point, just call me 'Estella'. Short and simple….."
Snapping her head up when a chuckle emitted from the butler, she cocked an eyebrow at him. Sebastian chuckled at her babble in amusement and spoke when she shot a raised eyebrow at him.
"Alright then…'Estella' will be what I will call you from now onwards. Then in exchange, just address me as 'Sebastian'…. Oh and by the way, mind your language."
Estella shot him an incredulous look in return. "What's with you and….vulgarities? I am really starting to think that you're some kind of saint…."
Sebastian returned the girl with an insulted look. "Saint…? Hn. Far from it….Just mind the language. Now, let's get moving."
As they continued their way down the hallway, Sebastian glanced down at the girl and questioned, when he was returned with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you sure that you can really take up this bodyguard job?..."
Both of her eyebrows moved down to a determined frown. "Of course! I am going to avenge my family, make them PAY! I want to be ready for revenge when the time comes. It is my very duty for revenge as an avenger afterall..."
His eyes widened at her words before it reverted back to one with interest. "Alright…We will be starting our training tomorrow. Be prepared to be tested."
The girl nodded and turned her head back to the hallway. Sebastian lingered his eyes on her before turning back to the hallway too, with a smirk on his face.
Indeed, an interesting one….
…..
Pausing outside a door, Sebastian turned to the girl behind him. "Estella….Since you are a bodyguard, you will be assigned to this room…."
He jutted his chin towards at the doors which were further down the hallway before he continued. "…That is the young master's room. It is your duty to ensure the young master is always safe…But…. Of course, with me…his safety will always be guaranteed."
Not waiting for a response, Sebastian yanked down the handle of the door and swung it opened to reveal a room which was about the same size as the one she was locked in, only a little bigger and spacious. Moving aside so that Estella could enter the room, he uttered her name to have her attention spun back to him.
"Wait here for a moment; I will go get your stuffs…."
When Estella gave a curt nod, Sebastian spun on his heels before striding down the hall to do the exact thing he told the girl.
...
Flicking her eyes around, she studied her new room in awe. Walking to get further into the room, her feet padded across the almond brown carpeted floor as she took steps towards the poster bed which stood in the middle of the room and plopped down on it. Sinking slightly into its soft cover as she sat on a side of the bed,
Estella continued to study her room. The four surrounding walls were covered with golden yellow wallpaper. A small dressing table and a wardrobe stood next to each other against a wall where the entrance of the room was located.
She also noted a toilet which could be identified through its wide opened door, located near the dressing table and wardrobe at the same wall as where her new poster bed also stood against. Spinning around on the bed to study the details behind her, she shrugged at the window which was similar to the one in the previous room where she was first waked up in.
Turning back to face the door when the sound of footsteps entered the room, she watched as Sebastian strolled into the room with a stack of neatly folded clothes balanced in his hands.
"Sebastian." Estella uttered his name as an acknowledgement of his arrival.
The butler nodded in return and strolled towards the bed to place some of the clothes on it. Then he turned to her with the remaining ones in his hands and extended them towards her.
When Estella shot him a questioning raised eyebrow, Sebastian spoke to answer her unspoken question. "Here is your maid uniform. Go and try it on."
"Maid? Aren't I working as a bodyguard…?" She cocked her head at him in question.
"I am afraid that you have mistaken…You work as both maid and bodyguard. Until you are well-trained and ready to be a bodyguard, then I shall give you your bodyguard's uniform when I deem that you're ready. For the time being, you will wear this."
Estella accepted her uniform from the hand extended towards her before flicking her eyes up to Sebastian. "Then what am I going to wear for training? This? No way…"
Sebastian picked up the other stack of clothes from the bed which he placed one earlier before turning back to her. "No. This will be the one you will be wearing."
"Oh…let me see…"
Reaching over to take the clothes from the offering hand, she unfolded it with a quick flick of her wrists to reveal a white V-neck Japanese Martial Arts uniform, before reaching out to return it. "Hmm…not bad…"
"Alright, now change into those uniform, we need to hurry."
"Okay, okay…" With a nod, she spun around on her heels and padded across the floor, towards the toilet.
...
Sebastian spun his head towards the toilet door when it swung opened. A girl pulling onto the hem of her maid uniform stepped out of the toilet. A frustrated sigh emitted from her as she continued pulling onto the hem of her uniform.
An eyebrow rose at her odd behavior. "What are you doing…?"
Another sigh of frustration emitted from the girl again. "It's so…short!"
His raised eyebrow rose even higher when he glanced down and saw that the uniform reached an appropriate length to right above her knees. "Don't worry…It does not look short on you. You look fine."
Estella shot him a look of disbelief. "Are you sure…? It feels weird…."
He replied firmly. "Yes. You will get used to it….Where is your head gear?"
The girl held up a white fabric in her hand and shot it a look of disgust. "You mean this….? It will definitely look weird on me, it looks so…never mind, you get the point… Plus, I don't know to…."
"Come over here and give it to me. You have to wear it… Let me help you put it on."
Estella was about to protest but stopped and sighed in resignation. "Fine."
Dragging herself over to Sebastian who was waiting at the dressing table, she gave it to him and plopped down on the small chair to let him do his job.
...
After Sebastian uttered a 'Done' and stepped back, Estella stood up from the chair and got behind it to study her reflection. Looking into the mirror, a maid stared back. Her fiery red hair was tied up in a high ponytail with her fringe curtaining her face. The white fabric rested on the top of her head. Glancing down, she studied her new uniform. It was a typical maid uniform of black and white. She blushed at how the body-hugging uniform brought out the curves which she had never notice before. Then her eyes flicked down to the hem of the uniform and found out that what the butler said was true. This uniform does not look short on her. She sighed, fingering the hem of the uniform. This uniform was going to be the one which will bind her to this manor and its master. Her new home where her new life will be.
Giving a last head-to-toes glance, she nodded satisfyingly at her reflection before turning back to Sebastian. "Hn. Guess you're right, it does not look short on me….."
Sebastian nodded and spoke. "Two other sets of this uniform and your training attire are in your wardrobe….Now that you're done, let's get moving."
Tightening the hold of her hair band on her hair, she questioned. "Where are we going now?"
Sebastian slipped his pocket watch back into his breast pocket before looking up to answer. "For you to meet the other servants and to brief you on your chores. Come on, let's go. We've wasted enough time."
Not bothering to wait for any response, Sebastian spun towards the door and swung it opened. Gesturing at the girl to exit the room first, he ordered. "Come on."
Estella started forward to do what she was told with Sebastian trailing behind. Watching as Sebastian shut the door close, she asked. "So other servants….? What are they like…?"
Sebastian done shutting the door ushered her to start walking. Moving down the hallway along beside her, Sebastian could not help but sighed at the thoughts of those incompetent servants.
"You will have to see for yourself."
Estella raised an eyebrow at his answer and shrugged before turning back to the hallway. Sebastian, who was half-expecting that she will keep pushing him for more answers, raised an eyebrow at her opposite response.
...
Sebastian gave out a soft sigh of relief when he saw that there were no charred pieces of whatsoever scattered everywhere in the kitchen caused by the supposed chief of the manor. Bardroy or known as just 'Bard', always have this extremely unique booming way of 'cooking' which would often causes Sebastian a very booming headache. His unique attempt to 'cook' always ended up having Sebastian cooking instead.
Giving out another soft sigh, Sebastian pushed the doors even wider to reveal all three of those incompetent servants chattering away at the table at the centre of the huge kitchen. Their chattering instantly hushed down and they scrambled off their seats the instant Sebastian took a step into the room.
"Sebastian!" They exclaimed in unison.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at them with arms folded across his chest. "Slacking, aren't we…? Hn. Never mind that. Since you're all here, I'll then introduce the new servant altogether."
The trio widened their eyes at the newcomer who stepped out beside Sebastian the minute he was done with the announcement.
Sebastian turned to the girl beside him. "Go on and introduce yourself to them. I'll need to carry out some task, I'll be back to assign you to your chores."
Turning back to the trio, Sebastian ordered. "Get down to your chores after you guys have familiarized with her. Enough slacking!"
"Yes, sir!" The trio instantly responded in unison with salutes.
Sebastian nodded before spinning around to exit the kitchen.
...
Flicking his eye across the paper from behind the gaps between his fingers, Ciel gave out a big yawn before glancing back down to the paper to study its content. Like usual, paperwork. Cropped up in his study, doing his daily boring routine.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Ciel pulled off the cap of the pen which was clutched in his hand before it descended down onto the piece of paper. With a quick movement against the paper, he signed on it before adding it onto a pile of signed papers. Dropping the pen in his hand, he slumped down onto his chair and gave out another big yawn with arms stretched out. He then let his arms drop back onto his laps when a knock sounded from the door.
"Come in." He leaned forward to rest his arms on the furniture he was doing his paperwork on. The doors then swung opened to reveal Sebastian.
"What is it…?" Ciel asked as his eye followed Sebastian as he strolled towards his desk.
Sebastian responded by placing a stack of letters in front of his master. "Your letters, young master."
"Alright. You may go now." Ciel nodded at his butler before reaching out to the stack. Sebastian bowed at him in return before heading out of the room.
Watching as the doors shut closed; Ciel glanced down on the stack and started to flip through it.
Anderson Trading… Funtom Headquarter….. Lao…. His eye widened at a small expensive-looking envelope. The one which caught him off guard was the name of the sender on it. …. Trancy….
"What does he want this time?..." Ciel glared at the envelope in annoyance. Clutching a penknife in his hand, he expertly cut off its flap to take out the content enclosed in the envelope. Fingering a small expensive-looking parchment in his hand, Ciel flipped in it over to read its content which is on the other side.
To: Earl Ciel Phantomhive,
You are invited to an evening ball which will be held at the Trancy Manor, servants are also welcomed to attend too.
The ball will start at 6:30pm on 5th April 1888.
Hope to see you there.
Head Butler of the Trancy Household,
Claude Faustus
Eye lingering on the word, 'servants', Ciel rose an eyebrow at the piece of parchment. His eyebrows then moved down to form a frown.
Servants too…? What is he up to this time?...That Trancy….
Fingers tapping against the surface of his desk in a rhythmic manner, he thought hard on various things of what that other adolescent would be scheming. Then a smirk cracked across his face.
Alright then….Those servants are coming with me. Then we shall see….
Setting the invitation aside, he reached out towards the earlier few letters and ripped open their flaps to attend to their contents inside.
...
Watching until Sebastian was out of sight; Estella turned back to her co-workers and took steps into the kitchen to get closer to them. The shorter male of the trio, the one with blond hair and a hat hung at his back, instantly stepped out towards her with a wide eager smile.
"Hello! I'm Finnian! You can call me 'Finny' instead! I'm the gardener of the Phantomhive household. What's your name?"
Estella could not help but a smile cracked across her face. That smile on the male's face was too contagious for her to not return the smile and the way his eyes seemed to sparkle made it even more contagious to return it.
"Erm…Hey….Finny. I'm Estella Blancbaston, just call me 'Estella' will do….Nice to meet you."
Her eyes flicked over to the other two when they stepped towards her. The two others were a dark purple-haired spectacled girl and a blond-haired man clad in a chef outfit.
"I'm Meirin! Nice to meet you! As you can see from my outfit, I'm a maid." Returning the smile the girl shot her, her eyes flicked over to the taller male when he too introduced himself.
"Bardroy or simply 'Bard'….I'm the chef of the manor…..By the way, how old are you?"
Estella stared back for a brief moment before speaking to answer. "Turning fourteen this year."
"Fourteen?"
"Aa….Yeah?" She then raised an eyebrow at them when a choir of surprised outcries emitted from the trio.
Then Meirin spoke to explain the reason for their outcries. "You see….Young Master is going to turn fourteen by the end of this year. We were just surpised to find out that you're of the same age as Young Master."
"He's of the same age as me?" Her eyes widened at this new information. Then she continued. "He's the same age as me and he already has so many people who are older than him, working under him?...Wow, seriously…."
The trio nodded at this in unison before Finny shot out a question. "So you are a maid too, huh?"
He then nudged Meirin and spoke. "Meirin! Looks like you have someone else to share your chores with!"
Estella nodded at this. "Actually…I'm working as both a maid and a bodyguard…"
"Bodyguard?"
She nodded in confirmation. "Sebastian is going to train me on martial arts to prepare me to be one…"
Frowning in puzzlement when the trio snapped their heads to look at each other with widened eyes. "What is it….?"
"You've better be careful. Sebastian….He's scary…." Finny answered her.
"Scary…How?"
"Erm….Just scary." Meirin replied.
Nodding and shrugging at this information, her eyes swiped around the kitchen. Estella then paused as they landed on a small smiling old man with a Japanese cup in his hand sitting crossed-legs against a wall beside a cupboard.
Then she turned back to the trio and gestured at the old man as she questioned. "Who's that…?"
Finny's eyes lit up at her gesture. "Oh yeah, that's Tanaka-san!"
"Oh…" She nodded knowingly. "What does he do?"
Both eyebrows shot up at the trio when they turned their heads to give each other a questioning look. Then Finny spoke. "Erm….He….drinks tea."
"No,no….What I meant was…. What is he supposed to do as his duty?"
"Like I said….Drinks tea."
Tilting her head at the old man's weird duty, she repeated the answer at Finny with an incredulous look. "Drinks tea…? Seriously?"
Instead, a 'Oh ho ho ho" replied her. Spinning her head around to the old man, she stared in puzzlement at him before turning back to the trio. "Okay…that's unique. Drinking teas, huh."
Finny nodded at her comment. Then suddenly gave out an outcry. The two others along with her shot him a puzzled look.
"What? What? What is it, Finny?" Bard exclaimed in question at his outcry.
Finny turned to him with a panicked look. "I've forgot to turn off the hose which I used earlier to water the plants! Oh no, oh no! I've better get going!" With a yell of 'Later, guys!", Finny broke into a run out through the kitchen door.
Watching as Finny disappeared out of sight, Estella turned back to the other two with head tilting at them in puzzlement, only to have them shrugging back at her.
"Don't worry, he's always this forgetful." Bard shrugged again.
Then there was sudden scream from where Finny exited from. The next thing that happened was the gardener running back into the kitchen, yelling in a panicked tone. "AHHH!~~~ I MUST HIDE! SHE'S HERE!"
While still yelling the same words repeatedly, Finny ran across the kitchen before disappearing again through another door at the corner leading to the outside.
"What, what? Who's here? FINNY!" Bard questioned in a panicked exclaim, but could not be given an answer since Finny had already disappeared through that door.
Estella shot a bewildered look at the wide opened door which Finny disappeared through. "O-Okay…? What the hell was that?"
Meirin adjusting her glasses shrugged at her question. "I don't know….And who is that 'she' was Finny screaming about anyway?
The only response she got were shrugs of shoulders.
Then Bard cried out. "Could the 'she' that he was screaming about…be…" The chef trailed on and gulped nervously.
Meirin only widened her eyes at him in response.
Estella frowned at the two in question. "Who, who….?"
…..
-End of Chapter-