Chapter 20
Her eyes drifted up to find herself staring up at a pair of green that were too bright for eyes, through the lenses of a red glasses.
"Who are you?"
A flash of surprise in them was all before they narrowed at her, looking menacingly down at her. The male flipped his hair haughtily. "Grell Sutcliff, the most beautiful shinigami of all!"
"Now, Sebas-chan…" His red long hair slapping against the side of her face when he abruptly snapped his head over to Sebastian had her cringing away from the dangling hair. "…WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS WOMAN?" She winced at the outburst.
Her eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed glare. A tap on his arm had Grell turning back to her again. "Mind you…Are you trying to make me deaf?" She asked with an incredulous look. "Get off, will you?"
A stare at her, he pouted. "Hmph. Not like you're that comfortable to sit on anyway." Immediately after he got off, he spun to Sebastian with a hurt look. "Sebas-chan! How can you do this to me? Got another red head to replace me?" Dramatic tears welling up in his eyes as he leaped towards Sebastian, throwing his arms open. "My dear Sebas-chan! What have beautiful Grell ever done to you?"
Estella grimaced when Grell landed hard on the spot where the butler supposedly stood. Sebastian just stood there, staring down at the red head with irk on his face. "You assaulted our carriage man, wasted our time and won't stop with your antics." He said, ticking off monotonously.
The red head leaped up and grabbed Sebastian by his shoulders, shaking him. "We loved each other! We even planned to have five kids! How can you…say that?" He said tearfully.
Watching the scene with a raised eyebrow, she turned to Ciel who was staring at the duo with disgust, his eye particularly on the red head. He turned to her when she uttered for his attention. "What?"
"They planned to have five kids? Isn't that person a male?" She whispered, eyes still fixed on Sebastian and Grell.
"He is. That idiot is just very annoyingly infatuated with that stupid demon…I meant butler." Ciel cleared his throat, cussing inwardly at himself for his slip." By the way, why are you whispering…?" He frowned.
"Well…" She shrugged. "…I don't know."
She winced when Sebastian sent Grell flying into the trees behind them, feeling a little sympathy for the red head.
"Sebastian." Ciel behind her started the moment the said butler stopped in front of them."Get Mr. Albert into the carriage with us. You take the front." He ordered.
A bow from Sebastian was all before Ciel strolled towards the carriage door and disappeared into the carriage.
Estella turned back once again to Sebastian after watching her master disappear into the carriage. "Need help with that man?" She gestured at their unconscious carriage man who lay sprawled on the ground.
Sebastian shook his head. "Just head in."
"Alright then." With a nod, she turned to join Ciel.
…..
A soft slam of the door had Estella turning away from the window to see Sebastian taking a seat beside Ciel who too turned to the sound.
Sebastian explained the moment he saw their confused frown. "Mr. Albert has awakened."
As if on cue, a jerk that came from the carriage under them was all before the vehicle started moving again.
'What a waste of time…" Ciel leaned back with a sigh.
A yawn from Estella, the carriage fell into silence.
…..
"Sebastian. Get in there and do what you have to do." Ciel said the moment they got out of the carriage.
The said butler nodded. "Of course." He pulled opened the door and entered the shop, disappearing behind the closing door.
Estella glanced up at the shop banner above them. "The Undertaker…" She read out. She turned to Ciel beside her. "Why are we getting information from an Undertaker?"
"He knows things." Ciel said curtly with his eye fixated on the door, waiting for Sebastian to get his assigned task done.
"Then…why aren't we going into the shop with Sebastian?"
Ciel was about to reply when a fit of laughter cut in from the other side of the door. "Oh…? He's done."
"What…?" Estella frowned, confused.
She turned to the door when it swung opened. Sebastian stood at the doorway with a serene smile. "Come in."
…..
Coffins, coffins, and coffins. Stacks of coffins were the first thing that greeted her the moment she stepped into the shop. Obviously something like this was a common sight to see in an Undertaker shop, but she was still surprised, never have she stepped into one.
Glancing over at a skeleton- thankfully fake- that stood a few feet away from her, she turned back to the front to Ciel and Sebastian approach a chuckling grey long haired person. Frowning as she inwardly debated with herself on the gender of the person. A man, she figured from the deep chuckle.
"Undertaker, enough laughing. Don't waste my time." She heard Ciel say to the person when she joined them. She glanced over at the Undertaker, surprised to find her staring a fringe of thick gray, his eyes were hidden. Her eyes flicked down to the very visible scars on his face and neck. She spotted another scar on his left pinky finger when his long sleeve fell back as he brought up his hand to the creepy wide smile on his face.
"Yes, yes. Earl…." The Undertaker spoke with a husky drawl as he did it. "I see you brought something interesting with you…." He gestured at Estella who gave him a strange look. "She has a unique scent, doesn't she?" He turned back to Ciel.
"What? Wha-What do you mean by 'unique scent'?" Estella frowned, hastily sniffing at herself. Do I smell?
But there was no odor; the smell of the lavender soup she used to wash herself before they set out, was all that lingered on her body.
The Undertaker chuckled, amused at her antic. He turned to all. "Tea for anyone?"
When no one took that offer, she languidly raised up an arm. "Me."
"Tea? I thought you hate drinking tea?" Ciel turned to her with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, but I don't care. I'm feeling damn thirsty now."
Ciel shrugged nonchalantly. "Still, I wouldn't ask one from him if I were you."
"Why?"
They turned back to the Undertaker when he returned with a cup of hot tea and put it down on the lid of the nearest coffin. He then gestured at the opened sugar bowl in his hand. "Sugar for you, miss?"
She nodded. "A bit will do."
"Alright."
Her eyes widened in horror when the Undertaker grabbed a handful of sugar cubes and threw it into the cup, having the tea spilling out. "That's too much! Does that seem like a bit to you?" She glanced up at him with an incredulous frown.
"Yep!" The Undertaker said cheerfully, hopping away.
Gaping at the man, she eyed the brewing tea on the coffin with a grimace. "Well, at least, I think I know why now..." She nodded numbly at the tea.
….
Ciel ran the information they retrieved from the Undertaker through his mind the moment they were back in the carriage and was on the way back to the manor.
The Undertaker told them that he heard strange things going on in the Black Market. There was a large bulk of ordered by a single customer; the item of purchase was kept so confidential that even the Undertaker does not know what that large bulk was.
There was no information on the intruder though.
And that led to the need to focus on their successfully obtained information about that mysterious customer. Extra information on the description of the customer and when he was going to return for the collection of his items which was two weeks away, given to them was all they need before they head down to visit the Black Market themselves to find out what was that large bulk and its purchaser.
A possible link to SIGMA was all he could think about.
Ciel heaved a sigh and slumped back on the backrest behind. A trip down to the Black Market was as good as walking into a lion's den. They will have to be ready. Even though with his demon butler accompanying them, it was still unnerving to know that they were going to enter the Underworld.
An image of Grell flashing past in his mind had him grimacing. The scowl on his face faltered as quickly as it came.
Annoying but somehow useful….
He stifled a yawn and stared tiredly out at the night sky, a mere thought of that red-haired shinigami sounded so annoyingly loud for his tired mind to think about. He could save the planning for other days; two weeks was plenty to form one.
….
Watching as the carriage trudged its way down to the busy street, she glanced over at the second-hand bookstore which she finally managed to persuade her master drop her off, sparing her from another visit to the Undertaker. Thank god.
The way the Undertaker kept smiling that creepy smile at her yesterday was unnerving. His remark of her having an 'unique' scent was just plain weird. Even though his eyes were hidden, she could feel him studying her, like a mad scientist to a specimen.
Even after-
The familiar smell of books hit her the moment she stepped into the second-hand bookstore, broke into her thoughts. A chime from the tiny bell sounded throughout the store as the door swung back shut, but she didn't hear it as she stared in awe at the shelves which were full of books. Strolling down towards the shelves, she came to stop in front of one.
Detective novels, her favorite.
Estella ran her fingers across the books, ghosting over their spines. Why didn't books like this exist in the Phantomhive manor?
She has always been fond of books. However, recently she developed to hate the ones back in the manor- they were so boooring. The fact that they were the ones she had to dust thrice a week made her contributed to the hatred.
Financial, business, economic... Basically a library and shelves of super boring non-fictional books were all her master owned. There was nothing, not a single book that was a read for people of their age.
But again, she can clearly understand why. Darkness had left a big hole in his life that can never be mended again, ripped of his childhood and adolescence. He was practically an adult in a teenager's body.
She jolted out from her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning at that, surprise passed her face.
A male with messy brown hair in a button-down shirt and black trousers who looked about her age, eyed somewhat amused at her. She noticed the perfectly arched eyebrow on his handsome face, reminding her of Sebastian right away. She frowned when her eyes drifted down from that perfectly arched eyebrow and found a pair of amethyst eyes staring back at her.
Realizing she was staring, her eyes flicked to the books and back to him once again when he chuckled. "I have never seen people gaping at books before. Overwhelmed by the number of books here?" He mused.
Her eyes widened. I was gaping?
Nodding at him, an awkward smile crept across her face. "Erm…Yeah, kind of. This is quite a sight." She gestured at the shelves around them.
He nodded, dragging his eyes away from the shelves she gestured at, to her. "I'm a regular customer. So if you need recommendations for the books here, I'm your man." He grinned, slapping his chest.
Blushing when she noticed how that grin just seemed adorned his handsome face, she smiled shyly at him. "That will be great. I would like some now."
"Right away, miss!" He winked, spinning towards the shelf beside them. His eyes skimmed across the spine of the books and finally came to stop at a black one. He slid it out and handed it to her.
"Angels and Demons?" She glanced up from the book.
He eyed the book in her hands with a smile. "Yep. I hope you don't mind reading paranormal because that's a very good book to read."
Estella shook her head. "Oh, not at all." She smiled back. "Thanks." She then glanced past him and spotted a familiar carriage waiting outside the store, through the windows.
Phantomhive's finally here.
She turned to the male to see him about to turn to find out what she was looking at. However, before he could even identify that object, he turned back to her when she spoke. "Sorry, I gotta go now." She smiled apologetically.
"Oh…" The smile on his face faltered but then his face quickly brightened again with a grin. "Alright. I'm planning to work here. So when you come back next time, I'll recommend more books to you, yeah?"
"I will try." Her eyes dropped to the book in her hands before flicking up to him again. Estella extended the book towards him. "I guess I'll give this back first. I'll buy it when I visit again. Thanks."
He shook his head. "No, take it. I'll pay it for you. As a gift from a new friend."
"But…" She sighed when he shook his head stubbornly. "Alright. Thank you, erm…what's your name?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot!" He smacked his forehead. A sheepish grin appeared on his face. "Brandon Christensen."
That grin on his face had her grinning too. "Estella Blancbaston."
A flash of recognition in his amethyst eyes disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Oh. Cool name." He nodded knowingly.
"Thanks, yours too. Anyway, I shall leave now." She said, starting to turn away. "See you, Brandon. It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah. See you too." A smile from Brandon was all before she started her way towards the door.
"By the way, thanks for the book!" She yelled over her shoulder.
"Sure!"
The chime of the tiny bell at the door was all he had in returned when she opened it and walked out, the door swung shut with another chime.
Through the window, Brandon quietly watched the girl greet a man clad in black who said a few words to her before pulling the carriage door opened. The man shut the door after the girl was in, and turned. A brief eye contact with him, the man broke the contact when he started off towards the horses at the front.
A jerk of the whole carriage was all before it started moving.
"Angels and Demons, eh….? His eyes flashed dangerously as he watched the carriage trudged off and disappeared from sight.
"Well," A lopsided smirk slowly crept its way across his face, "Enjoy that book, Estella Blancbaston…."
He let out a dark chuckle.