I'm so sorry!

I actually wanted to upload this chapter last week on Christmas because it's a Christmas Special after all, but I got distracted with writing a chapter for the second arc of this story, and people kept me busy during Christmas... Also, the research for this chapter reached ridiculous lengths and ate a lot of time, so I had to push back this chapter's publishing date farther back... . And then, most of my research cannot even be clearly seen in this chapter, but whatever...

In the end, I couldn't even follow my "weekends-update" promise... . Hopefully, this will never happen again. (Also, it's not even Christmas anymore... -.-)

At least this chapter turned out to be super long (even though it's quite ridiculous), so you have at least something from it!

(Also, because of that, there will be two updates this week.)

I hope that you will enjoy this chapter nevertheless!

Christmas Special:

The Business Partners, Jolly

"Sometimes, you even had work to do on Christmas."

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom ‒ December 1847

~Cloudia~

The snow was falling upon them when they walked through the streets of Edinburgh. Some people were gathering in the large shops and the small markets to purchase gifts for their relatives and friends. Others were having fun just taking a walk through the wonderful little market stands, and perhaps buying some sweets or playing games. Everyone was in absolute joy – except the woman with the midnight blue dress and the red coat. Furiously, she hurried through the streets of Edinburgh alongside a tall man with long grey hair and glasses, who wore an elegant dark suit under a finely tailored black coat. Two footmen were following them, carrying their suitcases.

In two days it would be Christmas Eve, and Countess Cloudia Phantomhive, the Watchdog of Queen Victoria, had been assigned a new case. Not being able to spend the holidays in her comfortable manor in the countryside was bad enough, but halfway through arriving at the hotel, where she and Grim Reaper Cedric Rossdale would stay in during their time in Edinburgh, a wheel of their carriage had broken. Cloudia had sent the third servant, the coachman, Victoria had provided her for her stay, to get the carriage fixed while looking after the two horses. Then, she had ordered the other two footmen to grab the suitcases and follow her to the hotel as she had memorised the way beforehand.

"My, my, Countess. Don't walk so fast. Our two poor little footmen will lose us otherwise," Cedric said to her with a grin on his lips.

"Balderdash!" she replied, even increasing her pace. "They will manage it. Also, we wouldn't have to walk the rest of the way if these morons had thoroughly checked the wheels."

"Your language, Lady Cloudia."

"To hell with my language. I just want to take a long bath, read a good book, get a wonderful meal, and go to sleep."

Cedric giggled.

After fifteen minutes, they were finally able to book into the hotel and head to their respective rooms. The last time, Cloudia and Cedric had travelled together had been in July when they had been forced to go to Wales for holidays. In Wales, they had lived in a little cottage for two weeks. Now, they stayed in a luxurious hotel – and hopefully, the food here was as good as the food which had been provided in the cottage.

With a sigh, Cloudia freshened herself up after entering her room. Snow had fallen into her hair and wet it, messing up her hair-do. She left her red velvet coat to dry on a chair while fixing her messy hair. Lisa Greene, her loyal maid, wasn't with her, and Cloudia definitely didn't want to rely on some of these useless maids the hotel provided for its guests who were all of the nobility. They would most likely just worsen everything.

Cloudia undid her hair-do, dried her hair with a towel and brushed it. It took a while because her black hair was quite long. When she was done, she plaited it but didn't fix the braid to a wreath on the back of her head. Then, Cloudia washed her face and put on a little bit of make-up. Afterwards, she changed into a fresh dress and headed downstairs to the dining hall.

Cedric was already sitting at a table, honestly eating dessert first. He grinned at her when she sat down at the table with a sigh.

"I hope you know that it is improper to eat dessert before the starter and the main dish?"

"I do, but the cake is just better than the food here." He grimaced. "I tasted the starter – horrible thing. The cook has to be hanged for poisoning people."

"Well..." Cloudia began. "Not everyone can be Mr Owens."

"Arwyn! You cannot compare an ordinary cook to Arwyn. This guy's a genius." Cedric took another spoonful of his cream cake with strawberries.

"Armstrong's cooking is also quite good," Cloudia replied.

Jean-Luc Armstrong was my cook at the manor – I wished I could switch places with him.

Cedric wrinkled his nose. "Armstrong's quite good, but not a genius." He finished the cake. "To be honest, the cake's only a bit better than the starter. Perhaps, the main dish is even worse." He leaned back. "Perhaps it would kill me. Me – a person who has already experienced death."

Cloudia sighed.

Apparently, my wish to savour a formidable dinner had just vanished into thin air.

"There are a few restaurants around," she said. "If the food here is really that bad, I won't eat it. I despise bad food. Every time I stumble upon a horrible cook, I want to meet the person who taught them everything, or the person who employed such a no-good. Then, I want to torture them by letting them eat their own horrible food day by day until they break. And even when they break, I will continue torturing them."

Cedric laughed, and if they hadn't been in public, he would have laughed until he was rolling on the floor, holding his belly. "You're just too gruesome, Lady Cloudia."

He could have called her "Countess" like he usually did without anyone noticing it. The people in the dining room were too busy with their own works and conversations to pay attention to them. They could have danced on the tables without anyone even taking a glimpse at them.

"I am not gruesome. I am hungry." Cloudia stood up. "And a worshiper of good food. Now, let's go and find ourselves some proper meal. I am starving."

And, hopefully, I would be able to eat it without feeling the urge to vomit again, I added in my mind.

Cloudia and Cedric had found a decent restaurant a few streets away, and Cedric had just finished the main dish – salmon with vegetables and a mushroom sauce – while Cloudia still picked into it. She hadn't even completed her fish yet.

"Now... why exactly are we here, Lady Cloudia?" Cedric asked while eating dessert – this time it was berry custard.

"One week ago, the only son of Ladarius Parks, the Earl of Ceybury, Joseph Parks, the Viscount of Weston, was kidnapped," Cloudia told him, putting her fork down. "The Earl's wife and little daughter passed away a few years ago in a boat accident. Therefore, he is very sensitive when it comes to his son."

"What a tragedy," Cedric commented, continuing to eat the custard with pleasure.

"Again, Scotland Yard failed to find Joseph. Therefore, the Queen assigned me to this case." She sighed. "If the Yard wasn't so useless, I would have more spare time. But to be a member of Scotland Yard, you apparently needed to be a distinguished moron."

Cedric nearly choked on the berry custard. "Distinguished moron! Hihi. That's a good one, Lady Cloudia."

"Unfortunately, this seemingly isn't even a joke." Cloudia sighed again. "The Yard surely needs to employ competent people and not fools. I know, there are more fools than competent persons in the world, but it couldn't be that difficult to find some. Whatever, let's talk about the case again before we accidentally talk about the Yard's idiocy all night long.

"Well... I talked with Ladarius, and he told me about the day Joseph vanished. On the day of his kidnapping, Joseph was out riding, but only his horse returned to the Parks Manor some time later. Besides, someone put a note on the horse's fur: 'Bring twenty thousand pounds to Edinburgh Castle's St. Margaret's Chapel exactly on Christmas Eve or your beloved son's throat will be cut. And don't dare to bring anyone with you,' it said. Immediately, Ladarius went to Scotland Yard, but, well, we already clarified that only idiots work there, so they are still as clueless as they were at the beginning. Christmas Eve is only two days away. And while Ladarius is more than willing to sacrifice some of his wealth for the safety of his son, we cannot be certain that the kidnappers will let Joseph go after receiving the ransom.

"Because we simply do not have the security that Joseph will return to his father after the ransom's paid, we are here. The kidnappers have to collect the money, after all. Thus they need to go to Edinburgh. So we know for certain that at least one of the kidnappers will be at Edinburgh Castle on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, we will have time to examine St. Margaret's Chapel so that I can finalise my plan."

"I see," Cedric said with a nod, finishing his custard. "Do you still want to eat that?" he asked, pointing his spoon at Cloudia's berry custard.

She sighed. "You can have it." With shining eyes, Cedric took the plate with the custard and started to eat it with a smile on his face.

"If we get back to England, we definitely need to talk about your eating habit," Cloudia mumbled, sighing for the second time.

Edinburgh Castle was a fortress on the Castle Rock, which was a volcanic plug located in the middle of Edinburgh. A volcanic plug got created when magma hardened within a vent of an active volcano. It was assumed that the Castle Rock was occupied by people since the late Bronze Age.

In 1757, Edinburgh Castle had been turned into a big prison for prisoners of war from the Seven Years War – occurring between 1755 and 1764, with the main conflict having taken place from 1756 to 1763 –, the American Revolution which had happened between 1765 and 1783, and the Napoleonic War which had lasted from 1803 to 1815. However, in 1811, 49 prisoners had escaped from the castle, thus ending its time as a prison. Now, the castle was "just" a national monument.

Cloudia had read this and far more about Edinburgh Castle at the age of seven, and she was happy that she now had the opportunity to tell someone about her knowledge. Cedric, on the other hand, wasn't really pleased to hear detailed descriptions about how Castle Rock had been formed in 340 million B.C., how English people had captured the City of Din Eidyn and renamed it to Edinburgh in 638 B.C., or how Edinburgh Castle had got captured by various people over and over again.

"Did you know that King George IV visited this castle in 1822, thus making him the second monarch to visit it? The first one was King Charles III in 1651," Cloudia lectured him while they were walking over the court.

"No, I didn't," Cedric replied. "And actually, I don't really want to know."

"Why? It's quite interesting, don't you think?"

"Actually, I don't."

Cloudia sighed. "I have never thought that you would have so much floccinaucinihilipilification for interesting subjects."

"I will just nod because I have no clue what this overly long word should mean." Cedric nodded with a smile on his face, and Cloudia sighed again.

We walked through Edinburgh Castle the whole day and inspected every nook and cranny of St. Margaret's Chapel. Cedric made silly jokes all the time and ate something from every booth selling sweets we saw until I stopped him by saying that it was time to go to eat dinner and to return to the hotel.

~Cedric~

Cloudia and I had gone to a very nice restaurant yesterday, eating plenty of food. At least, I had eaten plenty. She had tried to fool me by picking her food, putting a bit of it into her mouth every five to ten minutes, and distracting me with more Edinburgh Castle lectures, but I had still noticed that she had just cut her food into tiny, tiny pieces all the time. She hadn't really eaten anything and given me her dessert again.

She had done the same worrisome thing the day before yesterday. And back then, in Wales.

I needed to talk to her. Therefore, I sneaked into her hotel room just a few minutes after midnight. Cloudia was already asleep – which was quite unusual for her because I would always find her reading when I went to see her during the night.

Besides, it didn't seem like she was sleeping peacefully right now.

Something was wrong; I knew that.

Cedric turned on a petroleum lamp and dragged a chair next to Cloudia's bed, before hovering over her and poking her cheek. Straightaway, Cloudia woke up, pulling out her gun underneath the pillow and aiming it directly into Cedric's face. She was panting heavily for air, and he saw her body shivering a bit.

"What are you doing here?" Cloudia yelled at him when she had calmed down a bit, putting her gun back under the pillow. "Why do you always have to trespass into my room when I am fast asleep?"

"To be honest, Countess," Cedric said, sitting down on the chair, "I usually trespass into your room when you aren't asleep as you're mostly reading through the night rather than sleeping through it."

She scowled at him. "We're going to be very busy tomorrow. Thus, I couldn't read through this night."

"And is us being enormously busy today – it's already Christmas Eve – the reason why you haven't actually eaten anything, or at least not much in the last couple of days, Countess of Phantomhive?"

Cloudia flinched.

I took a deep breath.

"It's none of your business," Cloudia replied, glaring at him. But for once, she didn't look unflinching while glaring at him. "Now go and leave me alone, Undertaker."

Cedric stood up and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I won't tell you how old I am," he said in an eerily cold and bitter voice. "But I tell you that I have lived for so long to have enough of that shit. You're having a problem, so don't brush it away and tell it to me."

She stared at him in utter shock before she freed herself from his grip. "What is wrong with you?" Cloudia asked without vigour.

"What is wrong with you?" Cedric yelled at her before taking a deep breath. "I don't want to yell at you again," he stated softly, fumbling with four little lockets in his right trouser pocket. "But if you die from starvation or something – who else should provide me such fine laugh like you do?"

"If my name's not listed in your Death Book, I won't die in the foreseeable future, Undertaker. You know that." Cloudia rolled her eyes.

"We're in Scotland now, Countess," Cedric gave a testy reply. "My Death Book only covers the deaths of people in London and surroundings."

She sighed, closing her eyes and sinking her fingers into the blanket.

Cloudia looked so fragile at this moment, reminding me of that certain day in July when we had been in Wales.

I hated me for having yelled at her, for having been so rough with her.

"I'm just having nightmares," Cloudia confessed silently, not opening her eyes. Her narrow shoulders trembled, and Cedric sat down on her bed. He put his arms around her and pulled her to him. She stiffened, but he didn't stop holding her. "My..." He bit his lip. "I also have nightmares," Cedric admitted, leaning his head on Cloudia's. "And a very, very long time ago, someone used to hug me when I woke up from them. For some reason, it always calmed me down, so I'll just try it with you. I hope you don't mind."

For a while, nobody said anything before Cedric raised his voice again. "This... this person also thought that it would help to tell somebody else about your nightmares. Want to try it out, Countess? What are you dreaming of? What is haunting you?"

Cloudia didn't answer for a very long period of time, but he didn't mind.

I could hold her like this forever – my head on hers, smelling the fragrance of her hair, feeling her warmth against my own cold dead body.

"I don't know why," Cloudia eventually began, her voice nothing more than a faint whisper, "but, lately, I have the same nightmare over and over again. I often have nightmares all over the year, but... this time they are different. Because for some point, I have them about my grandmother."

Cedric frowned. "Your grandmother?" He hesitated before asking his next question, and when he finally said it aloud, something in his chest ached. "Did she do anything to you?"

Cloudia weakly shook her head. "No. My paternal grandmother loved me. She had always wanted to have two children: a son and a daughter, but she never got a daughter. When my parents got married, she was happy to finally have a 'daughter,' not caring if it was just a 'daughter-in-law.' And when I was born, she was overjoyed again."

"What was her name?" Cedric asked her, pulling her a bit closer to him.

"Genevieve Phantomhive. She was formerly known as Genevieve Hetherington, the Lady of Avagon," she mumbled into the fabric of his shirt. "She died on December 25, 1832."

Cedric's eyes widened. "Could it be that you have these nightmares because of your grandmother's death?"

She shook her head again. "I liked her a lot. She was my favourite grandmother, but I see no reason why I should have nightmares because she died when I was two years old. It just doesn't add up."

"At least, I'm not at home," Cloudia said after a while, sounding awfully miserable.

"Wait – what? Usually, you seem like you want to sell me on getting an extra fast ride home."

She took a deep breath. "It's just that I wouldn't get any rest if I was home. I would have to go to my Aunt Felicity's manor in Ireland for Christmas according to Houghton family tradition. And they all will be there... my aunts, my uncles, my cousins... my grandmother." Cloudia dug her fingers into the fabric of Cedric's shirt. "They are too noisy," she whispered.

He rubbed her back. "It's all right. Tell me... how long do you have these nightmares about your grandmother?"

She thought about it for a while. "Since around the time when I took charge of the kidnapping case."

"I see," Cedric replied. "Do you think that there is some kind of connection? That the kidnapping case has somehow reminded you of your grandmother?"

"No," Cloudia answered him, and he bit his lips. He didn't like her being like this.

I wanted to have the Normal Cloudia back.

"And why?"

"I just see no connection between my grandmother and some random kidnapping. As I know it, my grandmother was never kidnapped. Thus, she was never kidnapped and then murdered or something."

Cedric closed his eyes. "What exactly do you see in these nightmares?" he wanted to know.

She didn't answer straightaway. "It's quite blurry," Cloudia told him. "I cannot remember it very well."

"Just tell me what you can remember."

"Someone is trying to get me," she whispered. "I... I... I try to get away. Somebody screams. I don't know who. They get closer... closer and closer..."

He rubbed her back again when she started to shiver. "It's okay. I am here. Just continue."

"It's dark. I have no idea where I am. I... I say something, but I don't hear my own voice. I only hear others. But I cannot make out the words because they mumble. Someone tries to reach out to me... I cannot move anymore. And some time later... my grandmother appears." She paused. "She's... she's trying to tell me something, but I cannot hear her, I can only hear the mumbling which grows louder and louder with every second. And then... and then..."

Cedric knew that she wouldn't go any further with her story, but he still kept holding her in his arms, and Cloudia didn't protest against it. They stayed in this position for a long time until Cloudia fell asleep. Carefully, Cedric laid her down and put the blanket over her. Now, she didn't look restless anymore.

Cedric sat back down on his chair, turning off the lamp. It was now pitch-black in the hotel room, but he didn't go back to his own room to sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Countess," Cedric whispered in the dark and stayed sitting on his chair for the rest of the night.

~Cloudia~

Cedric and I went very early to Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden. It had been founded in 1670 at St. Anne's Yard near Holyrood Palace for the purpose of growing medical plants, making it the second oldest botanical garden in Great Britain after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden which had been founded in 1621. In 1820, the Royal Botanic Garden had moved to its current location in Inverleith.

We went to the Glasshouse for the Orchids and Cycads where we would meet with Ladarius Parks to discuss our plan for today. While we were waiting, Cedric and I marvelled over the wonderful cycads which dominated the glasshouse.

"Did you know that cycads had already existed when dinosaurs walked on the planet?" Cloudia asked Cedric while opening her coat and putting out her Japanese fan to cool herself down. Outside, it had been freezing, but inside the glasshouse, it was quite hot – or at least it seemed like it was as it was very humid.

"No, I didn't," Cedric answered her and inspected the little plants which grew on the ground.

"Cycads grow very, very slowly," Cloudia continued her lecture. "Also, I've read once that some cycads in this glasshouse are over two hundred years old."

"That's quite old," he meant. "I'm not even two hundred years old."

Cloudia froze and stared at Cedric who examined the plants while humming something. It was some Christmas song.

This was the first time that he had given me a hint for his true age. My heart beat faster in my chest.

"My, my, Lady Cloudia," Cedric suddenly said behind her. Cloudia faintly flinched and whirled around to look into his grinning face. She would have loved to punch him for suddenly appearing behind her, even though he had been standing several metres in front her a few seconds ago. Unfortunately, she couldn't as they weren't the only ones who visited the Royal Botanic Garden on Christmas Eve. The ward hadn't been very pleased to see any guests today.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Cedric stated, holding a little tote bag under her nose. "Want to have a biscuit?"

Cloudia scowled. "I would prefer punching your grin from your face."

He chuckled. "My, my..." He leaned closer to her so that nobody could hear him except her. "... Countess. Don't be so grumpy. Have a biscuit, please."

Cedric stepped a bit back and looked directly into Cloudia's eyes. His wonderful green eyes shone in the glasshouse's light in the way which always made her forget everything for a second.

"You need to eat something," Cedric said. "You haven't eaten breakfast properly again."

Oh. That's what he wanted.

Cloudia sighed and took the tote bag from him. "Very well, Duke. I will eat your biscuits. Are you satisfied now?"

He grinned widely. "I am." Cheerily, Cedric linked arms with her. "After all, if you don't eat and starve to death, I won't have anyone to talk to anymore."

"I apologise for letting you wait, Lady Phantomhive," Ladarius Parks said when he approached Cloudia and Cedric approximately twenty minutes later. He was a very tall and thin man with shoulder-long black hair which was kept in a ponytail and light green eyes behind circular glasses.

He knew about me. About my true title and my position as the Watchdog. Because of the Yard's stupidity, I had been forced to tell Ladarius everything so that he would entrust me with everything he knew. After all, why should he trust some noblewoman with the task to find his beloved son, if said noblewoman wasn't way more competent than Scotland Yard, and secretly working for the Queen as her personal detective and assassin?

But, of course, I had told him – even threatened him a bit – not to reveal my "secret identity" to anyone. Hence, he referred to me as "Lady Phantomhive" as we weren't alone.

"It's all right, Earl of Ceybury," Cloudia told him, a sweet smile on her lips. "May I introduce my colleague and partner, Duke Kristopher Underwood, to you?"

Cedric and Ladarius shook hands. "It's an honour to meet you, Earl," Cedric said.

"The honour's all mine," Ladarius replied politely, although he was looking quite distressed.

The poor man. Definitely, he hadn't slept through a single night since his son's disappearance.

Cloudia tilted her head and grinned widely at Ladarius and Cedric. "With us all here, I can finally instruct you about the brilliant plan I have come up with to rescue your beloved Joey, Earl..."

~Cedric~

Cloudia hadn't told me anything about her plan beforehand. And when I looked at her while she had this wicked grin on her lips, I was quite afraid what she would let me do.

The Earl of Ceybury also seemed fairly nervous about it. He might not know Cloudia, but he surely did notice the strange aura coming from her – or at least my uneasiness.

~Cloudia~

St. Margaret's Chapel was the oldest building in Scotland. The chapel had been built during the reign of David I, the fourth son of Saint Margaret of Scotland, to honour his mother. Saint Margaret or "The Pearl of Scotland" had married Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070 at the age of twenty-five which had been quite old for a person at that time. Together, they had had eight children. Prior to their marriage, Saint Margaret had held the title of "Princess of Wessex." She had been a very pious woman who had done charitable works. In 1250, 157 years after her death, Margaret had even been canonised by Pope Innocent IV "for her personal holiness," her charitable works, and her religious reforms.

And, now, we would use her little chapel for a ransom transfer, to catch a few criminals, and, eventually, to beat the hell out of them during the interrogation.

The place where I was hiding in was quite narrow. However, I had still managed to fit in it, but it was horribly uncomfortable. At least, I had chosen to wear pants instead of a dress for this mission.

In this very moment, while I was hiding, Ladarius was standing in front of the chancel with a suitcase containing the ransom. He was surely nervous, even though I had instructed him to be calm as everything would go well.

Such a pity that there was no way to secretly communicate with him.

~Ladarius~

Ladarius Parks, the Earl of Ceybury, heard steps. His grip on the suitcase tightened. If he wasn't getting Joseph back, he wouldn't pay a single penny. Some time later, a man entered the chapel. He was wearing a mask and plain clothes but was huge and broad. It was quite dark in the chapel so that Ladarius could only dimly see the man. There wasn't anybody with him. Not in the chapel, not outside of it. Ladarius loudly stamped on the ground.

"Are you alone?" the man demanded to know.

Ladarius had taken a deep breath before he spoke. "I am. This is a fairly small chapel, so there is no way that someone could be hiding in here. Also, I assume that you've examined the area around the chapel for police officers? Then, you shouldn't have found anyone. I came alone like you wanted."

The man grinned. "Let's see. And, hopefully, you didn't dare to lie to me. If I don't return to my pals in an hour, they will murder your boy immediately." He examined the chapel and even looked behind the altar before he went back to his old position in front of the entrance. While he had inspected everything, the man hadn't forgotten to keep an eye on Ladarius.

"See? No one's here except you and me," Ladarius said. "And did someone tell you that you're slightly paranoiac?"

"Do you have the money?" the man asked, ignoring the remark.

Ladarius gulped. "It's all here," he replied, lifting the suitcase. "Now, tell me where Joseph is."

The man shook his head. "Not before you've shown me that the money is really in the suitcase."

With trembling fingers, Ladarius carefully opened the suitcase a bit and showed the content to the man before closing it again. "See? It's all there. Now, give me Joseph back."

"First the money, then the boy." The man waved with a folded piece of paper. "I've written down your boy's location. Give me the money, and I give you the paper."

Ladarius narrowed his eyes. His green eyes shone behind the glasses. "Show me that there is really something written on it."

The man unfolded the piece of paper, stepped closer, and held it out to Ladarius so that he could see the paper's content in the dark. He took a glimpse at it – indeed, there was an address on it –, but the man withdrew the paper and went back to his original position before Ladarius could memorise the address.

"Now, the money." The man reached out to the suitcase, but Ladarius quickly stepped back and put the suitcase behind him, not loosening his grip on it.

"No," he firmly said. "I want the paper first. After all, what ensures me that you will certainly hand the paper over after I've given you the suitcase with the ransom? Right – nothing. I, on the other hand, am quite desperate to have Joseph back, so I would definitely give you the suitcase after receiving the paper. Besides, you're broader and surely stronger than me, and you are blocking the exit, so I could neither fight you nor flee after getting the paper."

The man was silent for a moment. "Very well," he eventually replied and stepped forward to give Ladarius the paper, but Ladarius walked backwards and inside the chancel.

"I've thought about it," Ladarius announced. "What ensures me that I can find Joseph at the place whose address is written on the paper? It could be the address of any place. It could even be a fictional address. And what ensures me that Joseph is still alive? You could have already slit his throat and thrown his corpse into the Thames. No, no. If I don't have any security that I will definitely get Joseph back, I will keep my money. I won't finance some moro... I mean criminals so that they can keep on kidnapping innocent children." He shook his head. "I wish you a merry Christmas, the merriest in your entire life, even though our deal just died like the squirrel in your coat. Hopefully, there is a dead squirrel in your coat. If there's not, you urgently need to bath."

Ladarius could see a vein pulsing on the man's forehead, while the man furiously took out a knife from his smelly coat pocket and sprinted towards Ladarius. Apparently, the man had lost his patience with Ladarius and was fine with killing him and taking the money. But before the man could stab Ladarius, the Earl jumped backwards until his back collided with the altar. Now, he couldn't go any further, and the man still blocked the way to the exit. Ladarius was trapped.

"You can't escape anymore, Earl," the man hissed and struck out with his knife, but the knife's blade never sunk into Ladarius' chest. Instead, the man cut the altar cloth.

"I am here!" Ladarius shouted from the exit. The suitcase was standing right next to him. When the man turned around to face him, Ladarius happily waved at him.

"How did you..." the man began, absolutely puzzled, but was cut off when someone came out of the altar.

"You should definitely take a bath," Countess Cloudia Phantomhive whispered into the man's ear, pressing the cold blade of the dagger against his throat while his horrible fragrance invaded her nose.

~Cloudia~

The altar had been a fake.

I had told Ladarius to meet Cedric and me at the Botanic Garden at a very early hour so that we could make the needed preparations for getting a fake altar and switching it out with the real one. It had been quite easy because the altar wasn't very large and not in-ground. The fake altar was more like a large and heavy box with a lid. Right before the exchange, I had gone into the box, and Ladarius had closed the lid and put the altar cloth on it so that everything would seem normal.

The kidnappers had demanded in their note that Ladarius should come alone, but we didn't have any way to ensure Ladarius' safety. Therefore, I had come up with the little "trick with the box." No one would check if someone was sitting inside an altar after all. And, of course, no one would suspect that someone had switched out an altar with a fake one.

If the kidnapper was alone, Ladarius had to stamp on the ground so that I would know it. And if the kidnapper attacked Ladarius, I had instructed him to "shake" the box in a possible way so that I would know and come to his rescue. I couldn't hear anything when I was inside the box after all.

Or at least not everything.

Now, the kidnapper was lying on the ground, hogtied.

Cloudia sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest when Ladarius approached her and stopped when he was standing next to her. "Please," she said, looking up at him, "tell me that you have never thought about becoming an actor."

Ladarius laughed. "Was I that bad?"

She nodded. "Yes, you were. You kept making so many mistakes that I nearly passed out in the box. And then, I couldn't even hear everything you've said."

"But I did as you told me and fought the urge to laugh all the time."

"'And did someone tell you that you're slightly paranoiac?' Ladarius would never say such a thing. Or anything else you've said. 'It could be the address of any place. It could even be a fictional address.' is another example. Or 'I won't finance some moro... I mean criminals so that they can keep on kidnapping innocent children.'" Cloudia scowled at him. "Do you want me to continue?"

"Ladarius" laughed. "I was just trying to imitate you, Countess. I don't really know Ladarius, so I thought that I could try doing the same hilarious thing you always do when you've cornered a culprit and are about to murder him or her."

Her scowl deepened. If gazes could kill, he would have surely died numerous times in the past months. "I never say such things. And now, please take off that silly disguise."

"Ladarius" giggled and took off the wig. Immediately, long grey hair fell over his shoulders.

"As you wish, Countess," Cedric Rossdale replied before he burst into laughter.

Naturally, I in the box wasn't the only way to secure that nothing would happen to Ladarius. Especially, if it came to happen that Ladarius and Cedric were physically quite similar: They were about the same height, both were quite slender, both were pale, had green eyes, and wore glasses. Of course, Cedric's eyes didn't have the same green tone as Ladarius' as Cedric's were phosphorescent and actually chartreuse. Besides, Cedric wore rectangular glasses while Ladarius' had round ones. But glasses could be switched – in this case, we even had to get Cedric a pair of circular glasses as Ladarius was far-sighted and not near-sighted – and regular people usually couldn't tell apart faint hue differences. Particularly when it was dark.

For the "phosphorescent part," I had just hoped that the kidnapper simply wouldn't notice. Due to the fact that I hadn't slept very well lately, I hadn't been able to figure anything out for that.

Besides, as a Grim Reaper, Cedric could sense people, so he was the only one who could say if someone was with the man, but waiting outside the chapel. And him being a Grim Reaper was another reason why I had to hide in the box: The rules of the Grim Reapers said that they weren't allowed to interfere with life and death, meaning i.a. that they couldn't kill anyone. Although Cedric kept telling me that he could fight people as long as he didn't kill them, I still didn't let him engage in any fights if it could be avoided.

Cloudia kicked against the man's head. "We don't have forever, so tell us where we can find Joseph Parks, the Viscount of Weston."

The man grinned at her. "I won't tell you anything, you dirty bi..."

She kicked him again. "I said that we don't have forever. Actually, I am not in the mood to torture you right now, but if you don't start talking right now, I will rip out your finger- and toenails one by one. I will do it slowly and as painfully as I manage. And when you still don't want to speak, I will peel off your skin. Just like a potato. Except that, you're not eatable. Not even cooked." Cloudia bent down to the man and smiled wickedly. "I can practically hear you peeing in your pants. You don't want to be peeled, do you? You want to keep your nails, do you? You don't want to die looking like a pile of flesh, right? If you don't want to lose your nails and skin, I suggest that you'll tell me where I can find Joseph Parks."

"That was easy," Cedric said while Cloudia and he headed to David's Tower, another part of Edinburgh Castle.

"Wasn't it? This man surely has no will power," she replied, glancing at the unconscious man Cedric carried on his shoulder. Like a little baby, the man had told them that the address on the paper was indeed misleading and that his accomplices held Joseph captive in David's Tower. Then, he had passed out which had made Cloudia sigh. Nevertheless, she had instructed Cedric to take the man with them – just in case that if he had lied to them, she could wake him up and torture him this time for sure.

"I still cannot believe it that you've compared him to a potato." Cedric chuckled.

Cloudia shrugged. "I reckon that you put something in your biscuits."

"And why, Countess?"

"It would explain your behaviour. Or why even I did such a foolish thing as comparing someone to a potato."

Cedric burst into laughter.

If the other kidnappers heard his laughter and surprise attacked us because of it, I would kill Cedric before they could.

It had been far too easy for Cloudia to knock out all kidnappers. It had been outright boring to fight them. With a sigh, Cloudia told Cedric to tie them up.

"You won't kill them?" he asked her with a frown.

"Why should I? I'm not in the mood to dirty my hands. Also, it's Christmas Eve, and a few Scotland Yard officers are waiting at the Botanic Garden to get these criminals. They can deal with them. And when we're back in London, I will personally go to the Queen and request her to get the kidnappers isolated so that they would dehydrate and starve. It will be a long and painful death."

Cedric shook his head with a grin on his lips. "You almost let me think that you would simply let them get imprisoned."

Cloudia raised an eyebrow. "For kidnapping an innocent boy? For separating a poor ten-year-old child from his beloved family on Christmas Eve? No. I would never just let them get imprisoned. I don't like people who try hurting others through their loved ones. They're just pathetic." She grinned widely. "Therefore, I don't let them get isolated right now. I love the thought of them thinking that they will only get imprisoned." As soon as she finished her sentence, Cloudia let Cedric alone with the criminals and went to search for Joseph. Before she had knocked out the last kidnapper, she had got her to confess that Joseph was alive in another room of David's Tower.

Finally, she got any good news.

Joseph Parks looked horrified when Cloudia found him in a small room in David's Tower. He was shackled to the wall, and his big blue eyes stared at her. He was absolutely frightened and was desperately trying to figure out if she was here to help him or to end his short life.

It broke her heart.

Cloudia slowly walked towards him and hunkered down next to him. She extended an arm, and lovingly ruffled his dirty black hair. Joseph flinched under her touch, and she quickly pulled her hand away. His blue eyes reflected nothing but fear. She bit her lips.

"Your father sent me to find you," she softly told him, and Joseph's eyes widened. "Father?" he whispered.

Cloudia nodded. "Yes, your father. He's waiting for you. You're safe now, Joseph. You don't need to be afraid anymore." She smiled sweetly, and this time it was an honest, sweet smile. "I am here now. And I secure you that no one will hurt you."

She offered him her hand. "Do you trust me?"

Joseph gazed at her for a long time, until he moved one of his shackled hands as close as possible to her hand so that he could press his palm against hers. Cloudia could feel the coldness of his little hand and the faint shudder running through Joseph's body, but the boy looked as determined as he could at this moment, when he gazed at her and said: "I do."

After Cloudia had freed Joseph from the shackles, she carefully helped him to stand up. She took his small hand in hers, and together they walked to the room where Cedric was. He was done hogtying the kidnappers and waved at Cloudia when she and Joseph approached. The little boy's grip tightened when he saw his kidnappers.

"It's okay," she gently told him. "Didn't I promise that I will ensure that no one will hurt you?" Again, she smiled at him and felt Joseph relaxing. He even struggled to smile faintly at her.

"Duke," Cloudia said to Cedric. "Could you please go and tell the Scotland Yard officers that they should come and fetch the culprits? Oh, and please make sure that they bring the Earl."

Cedric blinked at her and Joseph. "Are you sure that you want to wait here?"

She nodded. "Sure. We cannot leave the criminals unguarded after all. Even if they are tied up." Cloudia grinned at Joseph. "Also, it's not like I don't have company, so don't worry about me."

Cedric looked at them for a while before he left David's Tower and headed to the Royal Botanic Garden.

Joseph hesitantly pulled on Cloudia's coat. "W... what is your name?" he asked her with trembling lips.

"Cloudia," she answered him, sounding as friendly as she could.

"Th... thank you for saving me, Cloudia." His face lit up for a second.

She chuckled lightly. "You're welcome, Joseph."

"You're very pretty," he murmured and made Cloudia chuckle again.

"Thank you very much." She ruffled his hair. "You're a very cute boy, did anybody tell you that? Surely, you'll grow to be a very handsome man."

"Thank you." His cheeks slightly turned red.

They sat down on the ground, and Cloudia leaned against the cold wall while Joseph leaned against her.

"Will my father come?" he wanted to know. He was asking so silently, she could barely understand him, although they were sitting so closely.

I almost regretted not to have killed the kidnappers immediately.

"He will. The man with the grey hair, Duke Underwood, went to get him." Cloudia patted Joseph's head.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Joseph blurted out. Immediately, he put a hand in front of his mouth and apologised. Cloudia chuckled. "Do you know how many people have already asked me this question? I got used to it, so you don't need to apologise."

"And is he?"

She sighed. "You're a very curious boy, aren't you?"

Joseph grinned at her, and she was happy that he was already able to do something like that again.

"No, he's not," Cloudia replied and brushed a streak of hair out of his face. "He's not my boyfriend, nor he's my fiancé or my husband. We're colleagues."

The little boy's cheeks reddened again. "If you're not going to marry him," he shyly asked her. "Can I marry you?"

With a sad expression on her face, Cloudia ruffled his hair again.

"Believe me – you don't want to marry me."

Half an hour later, Cedric returned with the Scotland Yard officers who hauled off the kidnappers and, of course, Cedric had also brought Ladarius with him.

"Joey!" the Earl shouted, and tears of joy glittered in the corners of his eyes when he saw his little son safe and sound in Cloudia's arms.

Hearing his name, Joseph, who had dozed off a few minutes ago, woke up and raised his head. "Father!" he exclaimed with widened eyes. He stood up and father and son embraced each other.

Cloudia sat up and watched Ladarius' and Joseph's happy reunion. Cedric walked towards her and helped her up.

"My, my," he said, an amused smile on his lips. "Are you becoming emotional?"

She scowled at him.

"Lady Phantomhive," Ladarius suddenly said, making them turn towards him. The Earl had scoped up his son and tightly pressed his small frame against him. As if he was afraid, that if he stopped holding him, he would lose him again. And perhaps he was.

"There are no words in the world to express my gratitude to you, Lady Phantomhive," Ladarius told her, on the edge of breaking out in tears. "But I still want to thank you for bringing back my son. I will forever owe you something."

Cloudia smiled, and when Joseph reached out to her, she took his small hand in hers. "I just did my job, Earl of Ceybury," she replied. "You don't need to owe me something. Just... just promise me that you will be the best father in the world for Joseph, and that... and that you will never let him go."

Tears flowed down Ladarius' cheeks. "I will, I will!"

Cloudia pressed a soft kiss on Joseph's forehead. "Please don't make any trouble, okay, Joseph?"

His ears turned bright red. "I... I... yes! Yes, I will never do any trouble. I promise."

She smiled at him.

"I think it's time for us to go," Ladarius announced, looking terribly sad. "It has got quite late. Thank you, Duke Underwood, Lady Phantomhive, for everything that you've done. I hope that, someday, we will meet again. I wish you two a merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Cloudia!" Joseph yelled after her, frantically waving at her.

"Merry Christmas, Joseph," she replied, returning his wave.

Then, they left the tower and were gone.

Cedric burst out into laughter.

"Got yourself a new admirer, didn't you?"

"Oh, just shut up."

He chuckled. "I guess, it's time for us to go too. The night's still young. We will go back to the hotel, take a bath, change into some fresh clothes, and then I'll invite you to a fine restaurant. How do you like this idea?"

Cloudia sighed. "It would be nice if it wasn't my money you would waste."

Cedric grinned at her. "Don't be so grumpy. It's Christmas after all."

"And we're going back to London in three days, so we can go to a restaurant tomorrow. I just want to sleep right now."

He shook his head. "No. Because you didn't eat properly lately, I cannot let you skip dinner."

She sighed. "You just want to have dessert, admit it."

"You know me so well, Countess. Hihi," he giggled.

Cloudia rolled her eyes. "Good heavens, will you ever stop being annoying?"

"Never," he answered her with a chuckle.

She sighed again. "I cannot believe it that I have managed to endure you for almost a year now."

He grinned widely at her, even showing his teeth. "And another year will come!"

With a theatrically horrified look, Cloudia stared at him. "And another year will come!"

Cedric laughed loudly and put an arm around her waist.

Then, they vanished.

Puh. A few references for future chapters were in this one, but hopefully you didn't mind. (These future chapters still belong to the Inner London Murders Arc.)

I mapped out what Cloudia and Cedric would do during their first Christmas together a long time ago, but never really thought about writing it down. Well, but I also always do crazy Christmas chapters for at least one of my ongoing stories, and my other ideas included characters who didn't even appear yet... so I stuck to this one.

Actually, this chapter was finished yesterday, but I didn't want to publish it without having looked over it at least once. (It was finished quite late yesterday, so I couldn't do it yesterday.) I'm actually quite happy for my decision not to update it panic-fulled, because there were really silly mistakes in it... like "The poor man. Definitely he hadn't slept through a single night since his son's death.".

Well... I hope you liked this chapter! See you this weekend! :D

(I hope you all had a nice Christmas! And I wish you a very happy new year!)