Face the Raven
"Not this one...no. ...certainly not..." A countless number of books circled around the demon butler, hovering almost tauntingly. The darkened library was highlighted only by the blood-red drills of his eyes which were currently narrowed in frustration. With a flick of his wrist, every book scampered back to its rightful shelf, passing by him in a blur which no mortal eye could see.
Pride and Prejudice. Jekyll and Hyde. Frankenstein. The Picture of Dorian Grey.
Sebastian sighed. Hours. Hours he'd been at it, not one book matched Blaire's description or even bore the slightest similarity. Every library in the shadowy streets of London, he'd searched them all. Of course, at the young hours in the morning, they were all closed. Though that didn't stop him. High and low he'd scoured the shelves, double-checking every book title, skimming over every blurb until eventually, dawn had begun to rear its head.
The dimmed sky was held under the pale face of the fogged moon, the hours of solitude still looming over the vast hum and clatter of the city which seemed so alive, in spite of the dusk beginning to fitter away. Sebastian glided stealthily over the sleeping houses, moving swiftly through the wider labyrinths of the lamp lighted districts and into the countryside as he made his return to the Phantomhive Manor.
He made quick work of checking the library there too, before having to wake up the young lord. Nothing there either. It was as he expected. No such book existed. Blaire was merely a human struggling to cope with her transcendental abilities.
As he entered his master's chambers and opened the heavy cobalt-coloured curtains, a wide smirk plastered itself across his face. Hearing Ciel begin to stir from slumber, he made his way to the bedside, taking the pot of freshly brewed tea in his gloved hand. "Earl Grey this morning, my Lord."
Throwing the fluffy white quilt off of himself, Ciel sat up with a yawn and accepted the cup and saucer from his servant. "Did you find out about that girl?" He wondered; voice thick with sleep as he took a tentative sip.
Sebastian gazed at him, quite pleased with himself. If this was the first thing on Ciel's mind when he awoke, he was clearly invested in the case of the mystery woman. "Indeed. Her name is Blaire-"
Ciel snorted. "What kind of name is that?"
"-She isn't a spy by any means. In fact, she appears to have some kind of psychic ability."
Ciel looked up sharply towards the demon, placing his cup on the bedside table. "Don't be so ridiculous." He scoffed. "You moron, she's clearly a lunatic. plain and simple."
Bending down and beginning to dress the boy, Sebastian forced himself to withhold a glare. "On the contrary, she seemed of sound mind to me. She also knows about the contract we hold; with great detail may I add. She was simply unable to stop herself from telling, after a little... Persuading." He sent his dubious young master a broad grin. "And while she claimed to have read this in a book, I can safely say that no such book exists."
"A book?" Ciel wrinkled his nose. "How stupid."
"Yes, I suspect because she is human, it's how she makes sense of her visions. After all, humans are weak animals, in both body and spirit." The butler sounded his remark with the intent to get under the boy's skin. To manipulate him. To make him feel the need to prove himself and his species which he had suddenly been called upon to defend.
Ciel frowned. "And you're certain she isn't a spy? For an enemy of the state, perhaps?"
Sebastian looked up at him as he began to tie a silken bow around Ciel's neck. What pleasure he would take from using it to choke the little brat.
Why did he have to be so difficult? Need he honestly doubt a butler of his calibre? A demon, no less? "Young lord, if she were a spy, I would have sensed her long ago."
Standing up, Ciel placed his ring on his thumb, making to venture to his study as he usually did. "Clear my schedule for today. I wish to meet this supposed psychic." He sneered as he marched out of his sleeping chamber. "And I'll take breakfast in the study today." He haphazardly called over his shoulder, his mind elsewhere as he pondered what he could do with someone of such potential.
Sebastian rose an eyebrow at his Master's retreating form. "Yes, my Lord." He muttered.
Blaire's eyes snapped open as the distressing sound of the steel door swinging open on its hinges grated on her eardrums. She hadn't been able to sleep fully and had instead spent the night laying in a somewhat dormant state, occasionally opening her eyes to find daylight gradually beginning to creep forward and light the cramped cell. She was besieged by far too many questions to find it in herself to fall asleep as she lay toiling in the darkness. With her head remaining on the towel-pillow she had made for herself, she turned and came face to face with a pair of black, well-polished shoes. She grunted as she struggled to sit up, feeling immensely stiff all over. Her eyes squinted as she peered up into the familiar gaunt face of Sebastian. She inhaled sharply. Was he going to torture her again?
"Good morning. I trust you slept well?"
She only looked at him tiredly, eyes dropping to the uncomfortable ground on which she sat. She shrugged, feeling as rough as nails.
Seemingly bored with pleasantries, Sebastian was quick to get to the point. "If you would, I would appreciate if you would come with me." He stared down at the somnolent woman, who only just seemed to realise that his lab coat and glasses were gone and had been replaced with his usual butler uniform.
"Come where?" She asked, voice quiet and hoarse with fatigue.
"My young Lord wishes to see you." He stated.
"Ciel wants to see me?" She raised her eyebrows, truly flabbergasted. What would he want with her?
When she phrased this aloud, his reply was swift. "If you can offer your psychic abilities to the manor, I believe Lord Phantomhive would be more than happy to welcome you in," Sebastian claimed.
Blaire sighed. "But I'm not a fortune teller."
"Well, if you would rather stay here until they realise that you don't belong and then inevitably kick you back out onto the streets, by all means..." He raised an eyebrow at her stubbornness.
She gazed up at him, at a loss of what to do. He appeared particularly wicked-looking in the deep shadows of the early morning, seeming almost like a corpse with his long slender nose and prominent cheekbones set beneath a sickly-looking ivory complexion. Blaire couldn't help the knot in her stomach that formed at the way his predatory gaze was fixed upon her. Like a butcher eyeing up a carcass to determine its worth. She shuddered. Just what would she be getting herself into if she agreed to go with him?
A lifetime of bullshitting my way through being psychic while solely relying on my memory of the show...
There's no way she could pull it off! They would find out she wasn't really psychic eventually; she was sure of it! Then what would they do with her? Sebastian would absolutely murder her in cold blood if she wasn't useful to him. Would it be better than the alternative? When it came down to it, it was a choice between rotting in here until being thrown out, abandoned and homeless in an era she knew next to nothing about, and going with him. A selfish, narcissistic, apathetic creature capable of crushing her skull without effort. But it was her only chance...her only hope of possibly surviving in this strange new world she found herself in. She couldn't bear to remain confined to the dingy padded walls any longer.
And I'll get to see Ciel's house... His real-life house!
"...fine. I'll go." She relented.
He sent her a tight-lipped smile. "Very good." It wasn't as though she truly had a say in the matter anyway. Though he had eventually learned that sometimes giving humans the illusion of free will was much more effective than outright forcing them. "Do you require assistance walking?"
The brunette scoffed, making to stand. "From you? No, I'm f- ah!" He observed her as she dropped to the ground like a boulder crashing into a pool of water, clutching her swollen leg and gritting her teeth.
"Are you sure?" He pressed.
Dick. Blaire thought, glowering up at the beast, who was failing to hide his amusement.
"Yes." She bit out. "I'm fine."
Sebastian's eyes widened briefly, before he quickly recovered. He watched, mildly surprised as she forced herself to stand, a sheen of sweat coating her forehead and her face twisting in strangled anguish as she hobbled towards him. "If you insist." He sharply turned and left, hearing her struggle to keep up with his long strides.
"Where are my bag and clothes?" She had to shout at him amidst the ongoing, chilling racket of the hospital.
"I can't say. Why would you want those rags back anyway?" He glanced over his shoulder towards her, before sniggering. "Besides, I think this is a great improvement."
She glanced down at the unsightly white (almost yellow) dress she wore which was at least a size too big. She clutched the large towel she had used as a blanket tighter around herself, sticking her tongue out towards the back of Sebastian's head.
While relieved, Blaire was surprised at the ease of which they bypassed the front entrance, as no one was present in the early hours of the day. She limped down the steps of the hospital, turning to observe the gothic architecture. The looming institution appeared as a black shadow over a colourless sky, a mere silhouette. A falsely innocent front to disguise the true horrors inside. The granite steps led down towards an open courtyard, decorated with thin trees neatly laid on its outskirts and leading the way to a wide-open pathway in the middle, at the far end of which lay a sturdy brass gate. A cab was parked in the centre of the yard, which the demon butler was stalking towards.
The carriage was larger than she would have imagined, the back wheels alone rose to Sebastian's chest. The glossy black and golden accented wagon was varnished to perfection and engraved with the word "Landau". Two rather sizeable black horses were also drawn on the end. She paused to gape at the sight.
...I'm really in another time...I'm breathing in air from the past...
She paused in her gawking as a question had risen from within her. "Won't they wonder where I went?" She called after him, waddling down the steps one at a time, careful to put her good leg down first.
"You aren't a registered patient. I'm sure once they realise, they'll be glad to be rid of you. After all, no one is paying for your treatment."
Blaire snorted. Treatment? Their treatment had left her with a swollen tongue and a fractured leg - which she was starkly aware of currently.
Sebastian opened the carriage door, waiting on her with feigned patience. "I would have been quicker carrying you." He noted as she approached, her eyes filled from sheer agony as she struggled, practically dragging her leg behind her but she allowed no tears to fall in front of him.
"Fuck you." She ground out. Only to flinch as the demon suddenly grabbed hold of her upper arm in a brutish grip.
"I've had just about enough of the foul language from you. Am I to beat it out of you before you take audience with earl Phantomhive?" He leaned into her face, his eyes flashing in vexation at her awful manners. She had better not embarrass him in front of his master after he had gone to all the trouble of trying to convince the little brat that she was worthwhile.
She sneered up at him. "And need I remind you that it's your fault for making me have a damn seizure?" She scowled as a wide grin spread out across his face.
Ignoring his offered hand, she shrugged out of his hold and hauled herself up into the cab, which took more effort than she would care to admit. She threw herself down on the leather seat as the door was slammed shut behind her. Her stiff back came to rest against the back of the seat before she was suddenly lurched forward as the carriage began to be pulled. She gazed out of the window at the foreboding structure of the hospital which had started to move away. She noted with dismay that the carriage was much jerkier than was ever made out on TV. She sighed, wondering just how long the journey would be to the estate.
Blaire kept drifting in and out of consciousness as the cab crawled through the narrow streets of London, journeying towards the outskirts of the city and further into the countryside. In a spout of wakefulness, peaking out the window of the carriage had horrified her. The dismal sky was blank and smothering, highlighted with street lamps which remained kindled. This was likely to combat the swirling wreaths of rust coloured fog which had engulfed the city and successfully kept any daylight hidden from view. Blaire fell into a violent bout of coughing as some of the smog had invaded and now lingered within the carriage.
The streets were disgusting, littered with raggedy beggars, many of whom were children. Some were begging, while others were diving to gather coal strewn over the ground, despite the thin blanket of snow which was steadily growing in mass. The vast majority of the people there, if not all were clearly malnourished. They were mere skin and bone, laden with deformities caused by vitamin deficiencies. One little girl in particular, didn't even have shoes. Blaire tore her gaze away, bringing a hand to cover her mouth.
She wondered how so many people - real people could be living in such horrific conditions and yet, no one was doing anything to help. She thought of Ciel and his Manor with an entirely new loathing. The brat probably had enough capital to feed this entire street for weeks. And she would have to meet him? The real-life Ciel Phantomhive?
Somehow, the thought now only filled her with dread. She had imagined that it would be more exciting, being inside the world of Black Butler. But this was brutal. This was real life, and right outside the wooden doors, several centimetres to her right, lay the harsh reality of Victorian London.
Suddenly feeling more homesick than ever, she broke away from the window entirely, falling back against the leather seat once more. Her mind was a muddle. She swallowed the lump in her throat. That bastard demon had stomped on her phone - it wasn't even as if she had access to pictures of her family and friends anymore. Even if her phone hadn't been smashed to pieces, it wasn't as though she would be able to charge the damn thing here. Her thoughts drifted as she wondered what they would be doing now.
Frowning, she clenched her teeth in an attempt to combat her burning eyes. Attempting to blink the tears away proved a failure, for she couldn't help but come to the devastating realisation that she would likely never see any of her friends and family ever again. Not her mother or her father, not her friends. Not her dog Lotte. They wouldn't be doing anything now, because they wouldn't be born yet for a hundred-odd years. And she wasn't just stuck in the past. Black Butler wasn't real in her world - this surely wasn't even her own universe.
An image of everyone she had lost flashed before her eyes like a broken picture frame. Once the first tear had slipped, she found herself unable to stop. Her shoulders shook as she sat there and wept silently. She leaned forward, her back hunching over and her hands coming up to cover her damp face. "What did I do wrong?" She cast her bleary eyes upwards, her voice thick with tears and her words garbled together. "I just want to go home..." She said in a broken whisper, no longer caring about the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was alone, it wasn't like anyone would hear her.
Unbeknownst to her, the demon outside was listening intently, curiosity beginning to fester within him.
"Blaire..." He ran her name over his tongue, his brows furrowing as he continued to listen to the weeping seer. "Blaire who?" He murmured to himself.
Night is a stealthy, evil raven
Wrapped to the eyes in its black wings
Poverty, a Study of Town Life by Seebohm Rowntree is a good source for researching levels of poverty in the Victorian era.