Lilliana used her song to summon air. A light breeze danced through her hair and caressed her skin. It felt amazing to release her magick and reconnect with the elements. A weight lifted from her shoulders. She continued singing in the ancient language, keeping her voice soft and gentle. The breeze played with the papers on the Earl's desk, rustling them. Shifting her focus, she summoned earth and the breeze now carried flower petals and the scent of wet trees. Lilliana almost giggled as a few petals stuck in the young boy's hair. Next, she summoned fire and held it tenderly in her hands. The dancing flames warmed her and chased away the shadows in the room and in her mind. A glance at the little Earl told Lilliana that he was fascinated and mildly afraid. Her magick flowed with the life of her song, gentle and controlled. The fire danced with the movement of her hands. Finally, she summoned water. A ribbon of brilliant blue appeared, weaving around her body. Lilliana's spirit was rejoicing at the intimate embraces of all four elements. She felt happy. After a moment more, Lilliana shifted her song to thanking each element as she released them.
Her song ended. Ciel was standing behind his desk, staring at her. It seemed he was beyond words and Lilliana took pity on him.
"I am a witch, Lord Phantomhive. There is much to explain, but I would greatly appreciate your discretion in this matter." At his absent nod, Lilliana gestured for him to sit as she helped herself to one of the chairs in front of his desk. When he was seated, she continued.
"My family fled England 16 years ago under threat of persecution by those who feared magick. In my coven, our magick comes from our bloodline which is rooted here in England. I am stronger here than I was back in America. My coven holds a tradition of performing a coming-of-age ritual on a young witch's 18th birthday. During this ritual, we ask our ancestors to unlock the magick in our blood, we receive our familiar, and we are given a vision revealing the identity of our soulmate." Here, Lilliana trailed off, remembering again the haunting red eyes of the raven/crow. "My vision led me here to England. I left my coven and travelled here in search of my soulmate, Lord Phantomhive."
Lilliana waited for the Earl to process all she had revealed. As expected, he had questions.
"What language was that earlier?" he started.
"The ancient language of my ancestors, my Lord."
"What kind of things can you do?"
"Many, many things. My limitation are my knowledge, my skill, and the amount of energy the magick requires."
"Your magick requires energy?"
"Most of it. The magick lives in my blood, you could even say it is part of my life force. As my skill using my magick increases, the less energy each spell will require."
"You said 'most of it', what are the exceptions?"
Lilliana smiled. "My elemental magick. It takes energy to summon the elements, but the elements also provide me with their life force which then lessens the toll it takes on me. It is a very rare affinity in my coven to be connected to elemental magick. There is such limited information on it that I am essentially learning as I go."
"Are you saying you can create the elements?" Ciel asked, trying to process all this information.
She chuckled. "Of course not, Lord Phantomhive. I merely summon them."
"What did you use your magick for when you spoke it before you sang?"
"I sealed the room for privacy, sir. No one can enter or leave without my permission and no sound can travel outside of it."
He frowned at that but didn't comment. "Is there a difference between when you speak the language and when you sing it?"
She smiled. "Another rarity among my coven. My ancestors used music to strengthen their magick. However, that practice was abandoned for the sake of protecting our people in times of persecution. I am the first witch in many generations that has been able to channel my magick through music."
"You mentioned a familiar and a vision of your soulmate?"
"Yes, my Lord. My familiar is a companion, a guide who will remain with me for as long as the magick flows in my blood. They are spirits with corporeal animal forms."
"And the vision of your soulmate?"
Lilliana hesitated. "Our magick grants us with mate markings after receiving the vision on our 18th birthday. These markings symbolize or represent your soulmate and they are how the other being recognizes their mate. The more powerful the mate, the more extensive the markings. Part of my vision showed your mansion, though I didn't know it was yours until I arrived yesterday. There is a forest path behind here that I walked down to find a tree. In the tree was a large black bird with red eyes." She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap and took a deep breath to steady herself. "It was the animal form of a very powerful demon."
A frown creased his brow as he made the connection. "If your soulmate is as powerful as you say, shouldn't your mate markings be more visible?"
"Yes. I very quickly learned to conceal them. Society doesn't take too kindly to women who appear to have tattoos from head to toe," she answered ruefully.
Ciel remained quiet for a time, processing all he just learned. When he spoke again, he asked if she would use her magick to protect him and she felt her face turn red. It was time for her to reveal another truth.
"I already have, my Lord. When Madam Red raised the knife to kill you, I used my magick to prevent her from delivering the blow. When your butler was struck in the chest with the reaper's scythe, I closed his wounds and healed him."
Ciel looked absolutely shocked. He obviously hadn't been expecting that. Lilliana could sense the butler making his way to them and she desperately made one final plea to the little Lord. "Ciel, I ask one thing. Please do not share my secrets with anyone. I promise to help you whenever you ask and to the best of my ability, but I beg you not to reveal me, not even to your butler. Give me time to decide when I want to make my truth known," she pleaded. Lilliana could have easily used her magick to prevent the little Earl from telling her secrets, but she hoped he would recognize this gesture and trust her a little.
His eye was wide as he looked at her. She could tell he was startled by her sudden pleas, but she was running out of time. He finally nodded his acquiescence. Lilliana exhaled in relief, quickly ending the spell sealing the room and once again concealing her magick. She stood and curtsied to the dazed boy slumped back in his chair before taking her leave on shaky legs. Her heart was still pounding as she opened the door to find the butler standing on the other side, hand raised to knock. Her cheeks flushed and she murmured an apology as she pushed past him and fled to her room.
Sebastian suppressed a comment about the young woman's manners and entered the study with the tea trolley. He served his master's tea and noticed he seemed preoccupied. "Is everything alright, Master? You seem distracted." He inquired.
The boy finally focused on the butler. "Everything is fine. I am merely reviewing everything I just learned about Lady Rosenberg, that is all."
Sebastian bowed. "Of course, my Lord. What were you able to learn?"
His master straightened and took a sip of tea before answering. "I've never met anyone like her. All you need to know is that she has returned to England in search of someone and will be staying with us until she finds them. In the meantime, she has agreed to assist me however I see fit."
He felt surprised. "And how will you have her assist you, Master?"
A smirk crossed the boy's face. "Let us see how she handles accompanying the Queen's Guard Dog at work."
Sebastian grinned at his master's new game. "You wish to test her resolve, sir, or her stomach?"
"Both," he answered.
Reaching under the trolley, Sebastian pulled out what had just been delivered to the mansion this morning. "In that case, young master, I believe this might interest you." He extended the letter with the infamous red wax seal facing up and bowed. The boy took it and broke the seal, reading his newest orders from the Queen. Sebastian refilled the teacup and caught the frown on his master's face. "It appears we will be going on holiday," the boy said when he finished reading the letter.
"A holiday, young master, in this season?" Sebastian felt mildly appalled.
"Yes, indeed. Tell me, have you ever heard of a past-time known as bear-baiting?"
They discussed the particulars of his master's latest orders from the Queen while the young lord ate his Charlotte cake. Sebastian could hardly hide his distaste at the thought of spending time in a village full of dogs, though he skillfully diverted the conversation away from his discomfort. No need to give the brat any more leverage to make my life miserable, he thought bitterly. He had no idea what about the village his master was so interested in, but he was determined to play his role flawlessly.
Sebastian removed the used dishes from his master's desk and left the study to go inform the other servants of their impending 'holiday'. Bardroy was in the kitchen when he returned the trolley and Sebastian passed along the news that they would be leaving tomorrow morning, tasking the cook to go tell Finnian, the gardener. In the hallway, Sebastian found Mey-Rin cleaning the windows. After telling her the news, he said, "Additionally, Mey-Rin, I would like you to inform Lady Rosenberg of our trip and assist her in packing for it. You will be assigned to her for the duration of our holiday, so do be sure to carry out your duties well as a Phantomhive servant."
The red-haired maid became so excited that she could not put words together to form a proper sentence. Sebastian sighed and waved her off, watching her haphazardly run in the direction of Lady Rosenberg's room. Alone now, he allowed himself to replay the beginning of his earlier conversation with his master. There were several things that stood out to him. Clearly, his master was intentionally keeping him in the dark about the specifics of her story, though he couldn't fathom why. Filing away his suspicions, Sebastian knew he would have to wait until his master or Lady Rosenberg saw fit to fill him in.
Lunch was served within the hour and then Sebastian had his hands full cleaning up after the servants who seemed even less competent than usual with the added excitement of the 'holiday' trip. By the time evening rolled around, he was in a foul mood and the other servants were doing their best to avoid being in the same room as him. He sighed and went to help his master prepare for bed. They would be leaving early the next morning and there was still so much he had left to do.
His thoughts returned to what his master had told him of Lady Rosenberg. She had returned to England? She was so young, when had she been here before? Why had she left? Who is she searching for? Are they really important enough for her to risk crossing the ocean by herself? How could she possibly assist his master? She seemed rather ordinary. Was she hiding something? How had she convinced his master that she could be helpful?
Sebastian loathed being kept in the dark. How was he supposed to keep his master safe if he purposefully withheld information from him? Sebastian was beyond irritated as he continued to move around the mansion in the dark, finishing the necessary preparations for their departure.