Chapter 36 - Danse Macabre
His flu came and gone rather quickly under the care of his red-haired servant, however, he still felt sick, disturbed by what happened a few days ago. Something that was foreign. A discovery which he simply could not bring himself to believe in.
It has already been two days since Elizabeth visited him, and yet, he still could not get her words out of his mind.
"Do you have any special feelings for her?"
It was hard to believe but he realized, much to his dismay, that there was a possibility lying somewhere deep inside himself.
And, this realization was grinding on his nerve. He was utterly disturbed by his own emotions and actions. No matter how much he tried to stay professional, his body just seemed to be driven by his emotions than his thoughts whenever he was around the servant girl. Those actions were, as though, instincts.
Being the last Phantomhive, he had a duty on his shoulders. It was morally wrong for someone like him to harbor feelings for a servant. Morally wrong for someone who was supposed to only live for revenge, to develop special feelings for someone like any other ordinary humans.
What was the matter with him?
With so much frustration, Ciel leaned fully into his chair and tipped his head back with a groan. He had been feeling so terribly restless and frustrated, and had been like this ever since he discovered that possibility. What he thought about all day was that disturbing possibility.
Get a hang of yourself, Ciel! He thought irritably as he pushed himself off the chair before maneuvering his way around his desk and to the door.
It has been already the fourth time he went out for a walk around his manor, but he still badly needed another.
….
The Trancy Manor.
Under the watch of a pair of golden eyes and a pair of curious pale blue eyes, the black fountain pen elegantly danced its way across the paper, producing words after words which looked as elegant as it danced. The golden eyes belonging to Claude stared dully at the article. He was remained completely unfazed despite being poked continuously at the side by young Trancy who was leaning over the desk nosily, watching him write the invitation with child-like curiosity.
The butler did not even blink an eye at his master's childish antics.
Dear Lord Ciel Phantomhive,
On behalf of the Count Alois Trancy, I write to Lord Ciel Phantomhive to apologize for my master's discourtesy at the ball at the other day and request your most honored presence at the ball to be held here at the Trancy Mansion tomorrow afternoon at four o'clock. Count Alois Trancy hopes for Miss Estella Blancbaston, your servant, to attend this special event as well.
We all hope you will be able to join us.
Sincerely yours,
Count Alois Trancy
As written by Claude Faustus, The Butler of the Trancy Household
Just as Claude was about to reach for the letter he had written, a hand invaded his vision and rudely snatched up the paper. "It's done! It's done!" His eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance as he looked up to watch his master dance around with the paper. "Claude~" Alois paused in the midst of his dance and turned to the butler. "Have you set up the stage?"
"Yes, My Highness." Claude stood away from the desk and bowed stiffly.
"Really?" Alois excitedly darted over to the window with the letter in his hand. A grin cracked across his face at the sight of the colossal chessboard he was referring to as the 'stage' sitting near the porch of the manor. "Wonderful! Ciel and Luka will definitely love it!" Grinning ear-to-ear, he threw his arms up into the air. "This is going to be so fun!"
"Pardon me, Your Highness." Claude adjusted the spectacles sitting on his nose and walked over to his master, plucking the letter out of young Trancy's hand. "In order for our guests to come for the ball, you will need to let me send out this invitation to Lord Ciel Phantomhive."
Alois's eyes shone at the instant 'guests' was mentioned. "Good Claude, go and send it out!" He spun around to face the butler and sashayed away from the window, before throwing himself on the chair Claude previously occupied.
The grin on Alois's face flattered quickly, only for a dark crazed look in the form of narrowed eyes to take its place. "Ciel Phantomhive…" He shuddered, slyly running his tongue lightly across his upper lip as he watched his butler disappear behind the door.
….
The Phantomhive Manor.
Sebastian delicately placed the teacup on the desk in front of Ciel. "Your next lesson on today's schedule is politics. Professor Macmillan will be here by 6pm."
Ciel made a face at his butler's announcement and muttered disdainfully. "As though that dance lesson wasn't enough…" He let out a yawn before picking up the cup before him.
Amused, Sebastian made a barely noticeable raise of an eyebrow in return before turning back to pick up a silver tray from the food cart beside him. "Also," The butler extended the tray towards the boy to pass him the single letter on it. "There is a letter for you."
The boy froze for a second at those words before lifting the cup away from his lips. "From who?" He set aside the cup and glanced down at the tray, only to widen his eye in mild surprise when he casted his gaze onto the letter.
On the wax seal of the envelope held the symbol of a spider which he knew so well. It represents The 'Spider', also known as the Trancy. Investigations had been done on the Trancy ever since the last time he encountered Alois Trancy and his demon butler, Claude Faustus. After thorough investigation on the subject, suspicions were casted on the Trancy of being involved in the Phantomhive's tragedy.
Taking the letter in his hand, Ciel narrowed his eyes in suspicion, glaring at it as though it was Alois Trancy himself. "What does that imbecile wants now?" He grabbed up the letter opener and expertly cut through the wax seal on the envelope before slipping out the letter in it.
Ciel pulled open the paper and ran his eye across the words on it, reading aloud.
"Count Trancy apologizes for his impoliteness at the ball the other day, and requests my most honored presence at a ball to be held at Trancy Mansion tomorrow after at four o'clock. He wants me to bring Blancbaston along too."
The glare on his face intensified when he was done reading. Closing his eye in annoyance, Ciel wordlessly tore the paper into four before carelessly dropping them onto the desk. "Alois Trancy…" He muttered hatefully, opening his eye once again to reveal another glare.
"What is your decision?" Sebastian inquired.
"We are going tomorrow." Ciel crossed his arms across his chest. "We'll see what Trancy is up to this time." His eye drifted down to the torn letter in front of him and narrowed. "But Blancbaston will not be coming along."
….
It was already three in the noon and they were ready to set off for the Trancy's.
"The Young Master and I will be going out in a bit." Sebastian announced to the servants. He turned his head to Bard. "I'll put you in charge of Estella's training."
"Yes sir!" The chef immediately saluted to his order.
Estella raised her eyebrows at the butler. "I'm not coming along this time? Where are you two going?"
"To Trancy." A voice which did not belong to Sebastian replied.
All eyes swiveled over to the direction of the voice to see Ciel standing by the door, right outside the kitchen they were currently occupying. "Young Master!" The three servants who was standing in a line beside Estella, chorused at the sight of their master.
"That loony?" A grimace appeared on Estella's face. "You know what? Thank you for not letting me come along."
Meyrin snickered at her comment and nudged her teasingly. "That boy seemed rather infatuated with you. He was clinging onto you the last time we visited his manor!" This comment drew smirks on Bard and Finny's faces.
"Argh," Estella pulled a face. "Don't remind me."
A feint cough from Ciel brought their attention back to him. "Complete your chores and you are free to call it a day."
"Yes master!"
Ciel nodded and turned to Sebastian. "Let's go Sebastian."
….
The moment their master and Sebastian drove away in a carriage, the servants dispersed to carry out their duties. Finny disappeared out into the garden while Meyrin eagerly dashed out of the kitchen and to the grand staircase to polish its bannisters. They were all eager to call it a day.
"Was it only me who feels that the Young Master seemed a little bit different?" Bard suddenly asked Estella when they were on their way to the training room.
Estella quirked an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean?"
"How should I put it?" Bard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He seemed…warmer." He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair in frustration at the lack of word to describe what he really wanted to say.
An incredulous look appeared on Estella's face. "Warmer…?"
Frowning at the incredulous look on her face, Bard waved his hand lazily at her and paced forward when he realized that the training room was just a few more steps away. "Nevermind..." He stopped before the door and pushed it open. "Alright, let's get this training over with!"
….
Ciel sat alone in the dimly-lit carriage compartment, but that was something he couldn't care less about. In fact, quiet times like these are his favorite moment to enter his mind palace.
He and Sebastian had done several investigations on the Trancys ever since the Halloween ball they attended at their manor. Right now, behind closed eyes, he was busy digging up what they had gathered about Trancys from the depth of his mind.
Many incidents that had endangered Her Majesty occurred in England's underworld.
The Queen's Watchdog – the Phantomhive household – covertly settles such matters while the Queen's Spider – the Trancy household – covertly erases any evidence.
Both households have earned the Queen's trust as 'Evil Noblemen', but Alois Trancy wasn't satisfied with that.
He wanted the Queen's favor all to himself, so he schemed against the Watchdog, spreading a rumor that he was possessed by a demon.
At that time, the late Phantomhive head was investigating a case of spontaneous human combustion in which the cause was unknown. Alois spread words that the Phantomhive themselves were behind the incidents and arbitrarily decided to eliminate them. He called his actions an exorcism.
Alois Trancy was the one soiled his pride. He was the reason behind the fall of the Phantomhives.
That's it.
The world around him faded back into his consciousness just as he arrived to a conclusion.
With his mind finally made up, Ciel opened his eyes. "Alois Trancy…" Glaring at the wall across him, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "So, it is you who I need to kill then."
A murderous gleam flashed across his eye as he turned his head to look out at the orange evening sky which looked like it was burning in fierce flames.
Just like the resolve within him. "This time, they will be the ones to perform the Danse Macabre."
….
"I have to admit… *pant*…you are getting better… *pant*… at this!" Bard hastily retreated and dodged the leg that was swinging towards his head.
"I-I am?" A cocky smirk played across her face at his declaration as she bend backwards, enough to allow herself to evade the fist the chef tried to deck her in the face.
Bard narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the smug look forming on her face. "Don't get cocky yet, brat!" He swung an uppercut towards her.
She panicked a little at the sight of the fist flying towards her but quickly and rather clumsily caught the fist before it could get to her. "No one's *pant* getting cocky, old man!"
"Old man?!" Bard roared in bewilderment as he tugged his hand out of her grip. "For god's sake, I'm only twenty–"
Suddenly, the door of the training room burst opened.
Both stopped in their spar and swung their heads over to the door, in time to see a panicking Finny dashing in.
"Finny?" Estella tilted her head in puzzlement at the boy's odd behavior.
"No time!" Finny shook his head frantically at them. His eyes were wide and moving to and fro between them wildly. "The manor is…*pant*… UNDER ATTACK!"
Pause.
"What?!"
….
"So, you came?" A very familiar cheerful voice he hates greeted him as he stepped out of his carriage.
Ciel turned his body towards the direction it came from with a glare on his face and made a step forward, out of the way of the carriage's door so that Sebastian could close it.
"Alois Trancy." He merely said in a hostile tone as his glare stayed unwaveringly on the two figures by the giant doors of the manor.
Alois smiled widely in return, waving with both hands enthusiastically before glancing behind Ciel for the redhead girl.
Ciel narrowed his eye darkly when he noticed this and realized what Alois was doing. "Don't bother. I didn't bring her along." He said, a touch of impatience creeping into his voice.
"No Luka…?" Alois pouted and shrugged, which was a calm reaction much to Ciel's surprise. He was expecting a tantrum. "Oh well…." Ciel watched him turn to his butler. "C'mon Claude, greet our guests."
His butler beside him, nodded and bowed to them. "Welcome, and thank you for coming."
An unreadable gleam flashed across Sebastian's eyes just as they met with Claude's.
"Ciel! Ciel!" The two butlers broke the intense stare-down at that to see Alois skipping excitedly over to the other boy. "Look at what Claude has set up for you!" He began to lead Ciel towards the left patio of his manor, tugging childishly at the left sleeve of his coat.
With an irritated look on his face, Ciel pulled his arm away from the boy and hissed coldly. "Don't touch me so carelessly."
Alois pouted, looking like a dejected puppy. "Ciel is so meannnnn…"
Ciel remained unmoved. "Quit wasting time, what is the thing you want me to look at?"
Young Trancy's face lit up. "Come, a special stage has been set up for you!" He let out a giggle and skipped forward.
As they continued walking, a large chess board came into view. It was surrounded by three equally huge war statues.
"This is…" Ciel paused in his steps at the sight of the impressive 'stage' before him.
Sebastian shifted his gaze away from the chessboard and to his master. "An ancient battleground."
"Listen, Ciel."
The two turned their heads to Alois to see him standing by his butler.
"How about this? Our butlers will fight in our place. The one who is able to dance until the end wins. The loser will have to obey any of the winner's orders." With a playful smirk, Alois did a little spin. "Would you be happy with such a ball?"
Sebastian bend down so his mouth was next to Ciel's left ear. "It seems they were also planning a fight to the death."
With raised eyebrows, an amused smirk grew across the boy's face. "Well, I'd say that is a ball that will suit us."
Ciel glanced over to Alois with boldness in his eyes, just in time to lock eyes with the other boy.
"It's on, Trancy."
….
She knew the manor had underwent this sort of thing before, but it still felt strange to her. Maybe because this was her first time fighting together with the other servants against attackers. But who was attacking them this time?Trying to push down the fear and nervousness, Estella watched Bard pull the lid of the box off to reveal six identical sets of well-polished silver revolvers.
The three others servants were really bad at doing mundane things, seeing how they always messed up in their chores. But she knew, she knew thatthey were good, extremely good in this area. Combat was their true strength.
She would hate to be a burden to them.
"Brat, take these." Estella broke out of her thoughts at that voice and raised her head to see Bard holding out all six revolvers to her.
"Thanks…" She mumbled as she hesitantly took the weapons in her hands before securing them into the holsters she fastened against the sides of her thighs, her hips and near her rear earlier. Her fear and nervousness escalated at the thought of her first battle and they were now all written on her face.
"What's with that face?" Bard raised an eyebrow at her. "Not so cocky anymore, huh?"
"That's not it." Estella averted her eyes away stubbornly. "I'm just a little worried."
"Oh yeah, it's your first time aye?" A grin cracked across the chef's face. "Trust me, you are ready for this. C'mon, what are all these training for? Show them what you are made of!" He clamped his hands down on her shoulders. "My advice to you is to just be yourself. Let that fighting spirit in you do the fighting for you, brat!"
With stoic determination on her face, she stared hard at the older male and nodded fiercely.
Satisfied to see that he had managed to relieve the girl's uneasiness, a hard look took its place on his face. "Alright, off you go! Join the others! Help them to eliminate the enemies!" As if on cue, a loud 'boom' sounded from downstairs and was followed by a tremor which shook the manor up a little.
They glanced about wildly as the short-lived tremor came and gone.
"That must be Finny!" Bard exclaimed before glancing down at Estella with an urgent look. "Go now!"
"Right!" Estella spun on her heels to face the door behind and sprinted towards it. "You better not die, old man!" She yelled over her shoulders just as she swerved around the door and disappeared out of sight.
Rolling his eyes heavenwards exasperatedly at the usage of his disdainful new nickname, Bard turned around to snatch up the rifle he had prepared for himself with an unimpressed look. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that…"
….
As soon as Estella turned in at the next corner of the hallway, she was greeted by a stretch of hallway infested with dark-clothed figures. When they were alerted to her presence, she realized that she could not identify them as the only visible part of their faces were their eyes.
But she was not going to stop to ponder over that. Just eliminate, as Bard had told her.
With her feet firmly planted shoulder-width apart to the ground like what she did during countless training, she yanked the revolvers at her thighs out of their holsters and pointed them at the enemies. "Eat this!" She fired, yelling fiercely.
The weapons in her hands fired off powerfully, ripping holes into their bodies.
That's right. Just like how I practiced!
Estella watched the advancing invaders fell one after another as she paced down the hallway.
Okay, time to switch! She ceased the firing when she realized that the number was small enough for her to handle, and kept the smoking revolvers in their holsters.
Noticing an attacker from the side of her eyes, she curled her hand into a fist and deftly knocked the attacker down before pulling out one of the revolvers she previously kept and fired at his head. Now that she was sure that the attacker was going to permanently stay on the floor, she put away her weapon once again before moving her way down the hallway to meet the other approaching attackers.
….
Ciel was absolutely disgusted with the vulgar display Claude put up trying to retrieve a deadly-looking sword right out of the maid's mouth. He didn't fail to notice the droplets of saliva that flew off from the saliva-soaked sword when it was completely free from Hannah. However, his interest in the sword took its place in the form of wide eyes, instead of a grimace.
Ciel watched the two butlers dance across the checkered floor of the giant chessboard below. What are you going do now, Sebastian? His eye narrowed at the sword in Claude's hand.
"Ciel~" The cushion underneath him shifted slightly to the additional weight as Alois plopped down next to him with an excited grin on his face. "Look at Claude's sword, Ciel."
"Yeah." The dark-haired boy's did not even spare a glance at Alois. "It's pretty scary." He said monotonously as he continued watching the ongoing duel.
Silence once again filled the air between them as Alois too turned his attention back to the duel.
However, the silence was broken shortly when a sly idea struck Ciel. "Hey," The boy turned to the Trancy Earl. "Would you mind showing me your house, Alois Trancy?"
….
Estella gave a finishing blow to the last of the attackers she found on the few stretches of hallways with a harsh uppercut to the underside of his chin and watched the clothed figure crumbled to the floor in front of her. Panting heavily, she looked over her shoulder only to realize she had created a mess, but at the same time, she was amazed by the scene she had created.
Behind her was a mixture of either dead or unconscious people, scattered all over the hallway.
Dropping her stance with a relieved smile on her face, she hunched over with a loud tired sigh. Looking down wearily at her hands, she noted the redness in her knuckles from too much punching, as well as the soreness in her body which resulted from getting hit so many times.
"Alright, time to find the others…" The red-haired girl murmured to herself as she busied herself with the revolvers at her thighs. Reloading new bullets into them, she set them back into their holsters once she was done.
Taking a deep breath, stoic determination took its place over her face as she sprinted forward.
….
Adrenaline was burning in her blood as she swerved into another corner. Her ice blue eyes looked even sharper with caution as they darted from side to side.
Looks like I'm near the entrance hall! Estella thought as she raced down the hallway.
Gunshots could be heard as she got nearer to the place in mind.
Almost instinctively, her hands flew to the revolvers at her moving thighs at the sound of gunshots as she picked up her pace. At the same time, the look in her eyes was hardened with a fierce gleam. With her heart pounding wildly in her chest and her muscles clenched with readiness, Estella pulled out the revolvers in one swift move as she skidded to a stop before the next stretch of the hallway.
Cautiously, she eased herself into the hallway with a wary look. Seeing that the hallway was empty, Estella slid the revolvers back into the holsters and made her way down the hallway to the entrance hall where the gunshots were emitting from. She could feel the protest from her blistered feet and aches in her limbs as she padded down.
As the red-haired girl got closer to the commotion, she watched a lone figure suddenly come into view ahead. Breath hitching in surprise, her survival instincts in the form of tensed shoulders and rigid muscles kicked in when she caught sight of it.
Who is that?
Her hands hovered over the revolvers at her thighs as she crept fixed on the figure ahead, the details on it became clearer as she moved down the hallway.
Is that…
Her eyes widen in recognition at the familiar cherry red hair which was tied up in pigtails and the maid uniform the person has.
It's Meyrin!
Relief to see a familiar face, she sprinted forward but only to stop in her tracks when she noticed the breath-taking scene before her.
On the top of the grand staircase, Meyrin was darting around nimbly while firing at a jaw-dropping speed at the enemies down at the entrance hall with a pair of handguns. She was relentless.
Estella gawked in amazement as she continued following the maid with her eyes. Knowing that Meyrin was an incredible sniper and seeing Meyrin in action was completely different.
Right now in front of her was a stunning display of her skills. Skills of a professional.
She watched the maid toss aside the handguns once they ran out of bullets and did a quick cartwheel towards the pair of long-range handguns she left lying on the floor a few feet away, swiping them up with swiftness before moving again to engage the enemies once she was on her feet again. She-
Oh right, a realization snapped her back to present, I forgot about the study!
Turning away from Meyrin, Estella retreated from the scene with her legs picking up to a sprint.
I'm leaving this to you, Meyrin!
….
The study was surprisingly empty of dark-clothed enemies when she pushed open its door. Everything in the room was the same as what she saw hours ago. With a shrug, Estella closed the door and made her way down to the hallway.
Now for Phantomhive's room- She came to an abrupt stop, struck by the contrast she noticed before her.
While the rest of the manor was looking like a battlefield, the level she was walking on looked so quiet and peaceful. The way the hallway was bathed in the bright light of the late afternoon sun filtering through the windows painted a scene of tranquility right in front of her eyes. It was as though there was no such attack happening right now.
But something about it just did not feel right.
Is this an ambush? The prickling sensation on her skin intensified as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Placing her hands on the revolvers at her thighs, her eyes darted from side to side warily as she turned into the corner and glanced around before entering the next stretch of hallway. There was still no signs of enemies and this tranquility continued even as she turned into the next corner, entering the hallway where the bedrooms were located in.
Pausing, she glanced around at the two rows of doors that extended down the hallway.
Again, there was nobody.
'No danger' was what her brain assimilated, but her body was telling her otherwise.
The burning adrenaline in her blood was making her twitchy and breathless. Her eyes could not stop darting around to every little movements and sound, even though they were not really there. The hair over her body was prickling to the 'eyes' she could feel on her being. She felt like a cornered mice.
It was odd of her to be reacting like this even though there was nothing to be afraid of, but she could not help it.
The scowl between her eyebrows faltered as she quickly brushed it off as paranoia. "Damn it, snap out of this right now!" Estella growled to herself. "There's nothing here, stupid!"
Breathing deeply, she marched her way down the hallway, heading towards a particular door.
….
The door burst opened to reveal Sebastian, Claude and the Viscount rushing in.
"Young Master!" Sebastian cried out, looking bewildered at the scene before him.
With a sword hovering dangerously over his master's face, Alois Trancy was straddling on his master.
This overall scene had painted Alois's dominance over his master, but the situation turned out to be otherwise when the butler's eyes drifted down to Ciel on the floor and saw that a sword held in his master's hand was impaled into the other boy's abdomen.
It seemed that the Trancy boy also did not realize that the situation has changed because his body was shaking in shock when he looked down with a pained look. As Alois fell away from the boy below, the sword slid out of his body simultaneously, causing blood to spill out.
Alois clutched on his abdomen and rolled over in agony, screaming. "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Hot tears ran down his face as he looked at his butler with desperate wide eyes. "Help me, Claude, help me!
"Oh my, blood!" The Viscount staggered backwards dramatically but he was already completely forgotten by the others.
At his master's pleas, Claude who also had a bewildered look on his face, began to run forward. Sebastian who realize what his rival was doing, did the same. "Yes, your High–"
"Stop there, Sebastian!" The two butlers stopped in their tracks at that and stared in surprise at glaring Ciel who was now standing over Alois. "Don't approach before I've killed him!"
With an amused smirk, Sebastian bowed. "Of course."
Turning his attention back to Alois, Ciel glanced down at the boy with a murderous gleam in his eyes and said in a voice full of menace. "Die, Alois Trancy."
….
Estella slowed down and came to a stop at the door. The door was shut tight against its frame like usual. Nothing seemed disturbed so far.
Tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear, Estella edged her hand toward the door knob and twisted as silently as she could. She gave the door a gentle push and the first thing that met her eyes was a very well-made bed. She saw that the room was untouched after a glance around her master's room, and pulled the door close, securing it against its frame once again.
Those three must be really difficult to penetrate to the point that no one was able to make it to this level. A hum of amazement went through her as she continued down the carpeted path. No wonder Phantomhive trust them so much with his manor…
As she moved along, she thought fleetingly of Bard's earlier comment on her improvement in combat, absentmindedly sparing a glance into her room through its ajared door before pulling her attention back to the front–
Hold on. She paused in her steps and glanced back over her shoulder to the room she went past. Didn't I close it before I went out?
With her head cocked to the side, Estella wore a puzzled look as she cautiously approached the room.
During her first few days working here, she had always been reminded by Sebastian to keep her door closed at all times. It is unsightly, he said. But, she eventually understood why. It would make anyone walking past her exposed room uncomfortable when they incidentally look into such a private room. Leaving her door open had been her habit, even back in her old life at her family manor. This habit was eventually eradicated and replaced with the habit of closing her door at all times, even though it took her up to two weeks to instill the latter into herself.
It was unlikely that she would leave her door open like this.
Her stomach went cold. Someone's here, Estella realized with a jolt, eyes wide. Every nerve in her body was screaming that there was something wrong.
Her shoulders were tensed and her hands were clenching and unclenching at her sides as she nimbly crept closer and stopped right outside the door. Her throat was tight, her nerves was singing, her muscles rigid and the familiar jolt of adrenaline pulsing through her body - the way her body always prepares itself right before a fight.
She felt a flicker of unease as she pushed the door aside. Sliding out a revolver, the look in her ice blue eyes were as hard and flat as glass as she swept the room with the revolver pointing at wherever she fixed her eyes on.
There was no one in the room.
The things that caught her attention when she took another step deeper into her room was the drawn curtains and the burning candle on her dresser.
Did someone enter my room just to draw the curtains and light a candle? She frowned as a wave of absurdity went through her with her thoughts. Poking her head out into the hallway, she glanced around for the culprit before turning back to her room.
With a shrug, Estella padded deeper into her room, heading toward her dresser where the curious candle stood on. She stared at the small flame, a little mesmerized by the small dance it did.
As she approached the dresser, there was nothing but silence in the room around her. Silence was like a weight.
She was only four steps away from the candle when she suddenly felt tired and nauseated. Her head was starting to spin and her breathing becoming heavier and slower.
But why?
Stretching a hand out for the dresser before her, she caught herself just as she was about to collapse onto the furniture. "What's happening…?" The revolver which suddenly felt like it weighted a thousand pound, slid out of her weak grip and fell onto the floor as she croaked out weakly.
Clinging onto the edge of the dresser, she frowned at the candle with an unfocused stare, watching the candle spilt into three. Sliding down to her knees, she blinked hard, staring at the candle as it joined back into one again.
"Just close your eyes. You will feel better."
Eyes widening in shock, Estella whipped her head around to the voice, but immediately regretted her action when a wave of nausea followed. "Who…?" She blurted, clutching her head, trying to fight nausea.
"Why not just raise your head and see for yourself?" The person said lightly, a touch of amusement creeping into his voice.
Swallowing hard, the girl weakly opened her eyes and let her hand that cradling her head drop aside. "Urghhhh…." She groaned and raised her head agonizingly. Her head felt like it was made of lead! "My head…" She sniffled and glanced up to identify the speaker, only to meet a pair of amethyst eyes.
Those eyes…
She felt the breath puff out of her in a gasp. "B-Brandon…?"
"Ta-da!" Brandon grinned as though appearing in the manor while it was under attack was perfectly normal. "Missed me?" He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the door frame behind.
Estella blinked. "What in the world are you doing here?" She said weakly in a half whisper.
The look on Brandon's face softened. "I came here to set this up for you." He wore a look of amused satisfaction as he gestured all around. "Don't you like it?" His eyes met hers.
She gave him a long look and shook her head. "You did not answer my question, Brandon. I meant, what are you doing in this manor?" She choked out between heavy pants. "Y-You're not supposed to be here."
"I'm here to bring you home, silly little Blancbaston." Brandon scoffed as though that was the most obvious thing in the world. His mouth twisted into a smile.
She stared at the twisted smile on the male's face, stunned. The same familiar handsome face she knew looked so…He suddenly looked like bad news.
Suspicion was starting to take its shape in her mind. "Home?" She gave him an incredulous look. "What are you talking about?" Her head was pounding. It felt as though someone was beating a drum inside it.
Brandon let out a lazy yawn. "SIGMA." He sounded bored. "Where else?"
"SIGMA?" Her voice broke with a jump of disbelief and bewilderment.
An icy hand closed around her heart. She already had her suspicion on Brandon, given his odd timing to appear. Despite that, she just did not want believe it or even want her suspicion to be proven right. He IS with SIGMA. At that realization, her head felt worse than ever and her stomach felt as though someone squeezed and twisted it.
Estella felt tears sting the back of her eyes but she held it all in and shut her eyes in anguish. It looked like God did not seem to think he has tortured her enough.
"Brandon…" She opened her eyes and shot him a poisonous look. "Then you were the one who led this attack?"
"Well, I thought that was pretty obvious." He smiled crookedly at her. "Comparing to the attack I led against that bunch of Blancbaston sheeps, I have to admit that Phantomhive… or should I say, that raven demon has chosen the right people to guard the manor." The male ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair, eyeing her thoughtfully.
Her mouth went dry. "B-Blancbaston…?" The only word she caught was her family name, the rest just seemed to have lost their meaning in her ears. He was the one who attacked my manor that night?
A wave of rage went through her body, lighting up every nerve in her body like fire. "You murdered my family?!" Her voice was full of naked hatred. "You were the one who took everything from me? Go to hell-" Estella broke off into fits of cough. Her anger and hatred seemed to have make her forget that her body was not in the condition to do anything drastic like shouting.
Brandon looked down at her with amusement dancing in his amethyst eyes. "Indeed." He smiled serenely, as if her life was merely a spectacle for him to enjoy.
"You'll…You'll PAY!" She pushed herself off the ground and dived toward him with a hand ready to deliver a punch, only to tumble onto the male when a sudden shot of pain went through her head.
Brandon quickly caught her by the waist before she could knock them both over.
"Try again next time." He glanced down at Estella who lifted her head off his chest with a groan. "You are a stubborn one, aren't you? You should already be knocked out by that poison you inhaled." He said in a voice so gentle, sounding almost like the Brandon she thought knew.
"You…" Her voice was small and weak. She could feel herself on the verge of passing out. "…bastard." She fought against the darkness that was threatening to shut her out of consciousness in desperation.
However to no avail, her eyes fell closed.
Phantomhive…
The dark-haired boy was the last thing she thought of before she fell limp against Brandon.
….
"Hey, where are you guys going?!"
Finny lowered the garden statue he was preparing to fling at the sight around him. The dark-clothed figures which were making their advance toward him were suddenly fleeing. Even the ones like them who managed to break into the manor were pouring out of the manor's entrance and broken windows, dashing across the compound, past him, and disappearing into the blanket of trees behind him, completely ignoring him. Some of them paused to pick up their unconscious comrades that littered across the compound.
Slamming the statue in his hands down on the floor, Finny gazed around him in bewilderment. What's going on? Leaving just like this? He watched them disappear into the trees with a perplexed furrow between his eyebrows. Why did they attack us? What is their purpose-
A sharp loud sound of shattering glass cut rudely into his thought and had him turning back to the manor.
What he saw made his jaw drop.
A boy about his age was leaping out of a third storey window with another person carried bridal style in his arms. Finny watched with a gaping mouth as the boy landed gracefully on the ground level before pushing off the ground once again, dashing off in his direction. His movement was fast, no swift. As swift as the wind.
Staring dumbly as he watched the boy came closer, Finny's eyes sprang wide at the sight before him.
Time seemed to have suddenly slowed down because he could see despite the boy's speed. Everything was seemingly in slow motion as the boy dashed past him. Every sound and movement seemed to have ceased all around him. It was like he has entered another world.
With hair being ruffled in the wind, the boy was fixated on the trees ahead.
The gardener let out a silent gasp. Isn't that Estella's friend, Brandon?
Finny let his eyes drift down to Brandon's occupied arms, only to let out another gasp, but loudly this time. In his arms was Estella, curled up against his chest with her eyes closed like she was dead. Her hair which was bundled into a ponytail were swaying to the wind as the boy moved. He could not keep his eyes off her. Her unsupported arms and legs which were hanging lifelessly at the side like she was really dead.
He felt sick to the stomach and his head was spinning. Why…
Finny flickered his eyes up to Brandon once again with a scowl, in time to watch a smirk creep across the boy's face as the boy tilted his head slightly over to him and gave him a curt nod.
Then everything was back to how it was.
The sound and movement around which had seemed to cease, faded back to his senses. It was like a spell has been broken.
Letting out a shuddering breath, Finny watched with a stunned look as the boy before him pushed off the ground and flew past him, disappearing into the trees like the dark-clothed figures.
"What…?" His heart tightened as he glanced around him in bewilderment to see that the dark-clothed figures were also gone. "Why is Brandon taking Estella away? Where are they going?" His forehead creased as he panicked. "Did he kill her?" He gasped in horror as the image of the lifeless-looking redhead he just saw popped into his head.
"I'd better inform the others!" Whipping around, the gardener sprinted towards the manor.
….
Ciel returned to his manor, highly anticipating a good nap after putting Alois Trancy on the verge of death. He won the Danse Macabre. But, he did not feel as he had thought he would, triumphant and accomplishment. Instead, he felt sick and hollow to his stomach.
Thinking he would be greeted by the neat and proper façade his land always bore, he was shocked to find it in a mess.
"What happened here?" Ciel with Sebastian following behind, burst through the doors and into the entrance hall to see his three servants standing around aimlessly, looking helpless. Tanaka who has come out of his inactive form during the attack, had a solemn face.
All three rushed over to them with distraught worn all over their faces while Tanaka followed behind. "Young Master! Sebastian!" They stopped before the two. The three servants looked like they were about to burst into tears.
"Tanaka," Sebastian turned to the Tanaka, seeing he was the only one calm enough to answer his master's question. "What happened while we were away?"
Tanaka cleared his throat. "The manor was under attack. We are not sure who did it but this could perhaps answer our question." The elder man uncurled his gloved hand to reveal a ring with a '∑' symbol on it. "I managed to get my hand on this during the attack."
Eyes widening in recognition, Ciel and Sebastian shared a look before turning back to the ring in the elder man's hand. "SIGMA…" Ciel's eye darkened as he took the ring in his hand.
"And not to forget," He snapped his head over to see Bard looking at him with a dead serious look. "Finny saw them take Estella with them too, but we have no idea why."
The ring rolled off Ciel's hand and dropped to the floor.
"What?"