Smoke Filled Room

With entry having been granted and Sebastian holding the door open, Blaire took several hesitant steps into what she assumed to be Ciel's study.

"Here she is, young Master." Came from behind her.

The musty smell of aged books greeted her, the scent emanating from the high oak bookshelf in the corner of the room. The sound of a pendulum clock echoed, amplified no doubt by the high arching ceiling, Blaire's tension building with each clamorous tick that passed, signifying another second of awkward silence. The floorboards were encumbered with a red arabesque carpet and the walls were papered with a brilliant emerald green. The kindled fireplace lay perpendicular to the bookshelves, in front of which lay one tawny leather armchair and one cabriole chair. Between the chairs was the famous table and chess set, which made a miniature smile break out across her face. Innocent golden light cascaded in through a leaded window which rose to meet the ceiling and was lined with burgundy velvet curtains. Beside the substantial writing desk in front of the window lay an abominable world globe seated on four wooden legs. It was certainly old fashioned by Blaire's standards. Vintage - though no doubt perfectly modern for the period. With her surroundings paired with her outfit, she felt like she was on the set of a historical drama film. It was surreal. Completely alien.

Her heart clenched with the reminder of how far gone her home now was.

Finally, her eyes came to rest on Ciel. He sat at his desk, posture rigid against a high-backed chair and hands clasped beneath his chin as he observed her. Tracking her every hesitant movement, taking mental note of any change in facial expression. When she smiled as she looked towards his chess set, he frowned, wondering what she could be looking at. Had she sensed something? He wracked his brain, trying to think of what she could possibly be seeing.

"Miss Coleman, might I introduce the right honourable gentleman, the earl of Phantomhive." Sebastian's voice cut through the tense silence as he closed the door behind him with an audible click and strode over to stand behind his Master. He had observed how her head turned, how her eyes had wandered the room and seemed to linger on certain parts. Like Ciel, he too, wondered what she saw.

In reality, Blaire was simply curious about what Ciel's study was really like and was trying to commit the place to memory.

She nodded towards the -older than she thought- boy, clasping her hands behind her back to hide the fact that they were shaking as she desperately tried to think of a suitable response. This was an Earl. On par with royalty, who was currently gazing at her in perturbed curiosity. Would a simple "hello" suffice? He certainly was older than twelve - she could tell that much. Most of the baby fat around his face was gone, revealing the bone structure of one who was becoming a man, with a strong jaw and pronounced cheekbones. His brown - almost black hair framed his rugged, yet somehow lovable face and was parted to the side, shorter locks resting over his silken eye patch. He was wearing a blue silk waistcoat and shirt, brought together with a black ascot tie. While he was pale, he wasn't quite as ghostly as Sebastian, who was stood towering over the boy like a shadow. A constant companion with beaming crimson eyes. Frankly, Blaire wondered how no one had caught on to the fact that he wasn't human yet.

Sebastian's looming presence was suffocating. Even though his role was that of a mere servant, he was a formidable figure to whom power was given. And his young master would rise to do his bidding while being completely oblivious. Despite the eeriness that seemed to radiate from the two, they also radiated power and commanded reverence. Together they were a terrifying force to be reckoned with, and they were both peering at her with unwavering, hungry gazes.

In an unnatural show of embarrassment, she couldn't help how her cheeks burned under their intolerable scrutiny.

Ciel continued to stare at her, his one visible sapphire orb glistening in wonder and anticipation. "Do come closer, Miss Coleman. Or can I call you Blaire? That's your name, is it not?" He purred, deep voice beckoning and a smirk gracing his features.

In that moment, it transpired that Blaire had failed to say anything. She cleared her throat nervously, gingerly approaching the front of Ciel's desk.

"Yeah, that's fine. Nice to meet you..." She said quietly, gazing at his alabaster face.

"This is a great improvement." He began, motioning to her attire and scrubbed skin. Yes, he conceded she was quite prepossessing now that propriety allowed him to find her so. Even still, a secretive part within him wanted to see her in the attire she was wearing before.

Blaire paused, unsure if she should be insulted or not. Regardless, she sent him a fabricated smile and bowed her head slightly in his direction.

"Sebastian, leave us." He commanded; eye still fixed upon the suddenly very sheepish looking woman.

Sebastian faltered, peering down at the back of his master's head. "Are you sure that's wise, my Lord?"

Ciel turned to look up at him sharply, a hard glare set on his face. "Need I repeat myself? Go. That's an order." He spat. He wanted to test her for himself.

Blaire glanced between the two warily. She bit the inside of her mouth, watching as Sebastian's gaze wandered between her and Ciel before he hesitantly left and threw her a final glance, eyes narrowed in warning. Like he was trying to convey a secret message. Possibly telling her not to mess this up. She felt some of the tension leave with his presence, though no doubt, he would be listening.

"Tell me," Ciel brought back her attention to him as the door was closed. "Are you truly as gifted as my butler believes you to be?"

Well, I knew that was coming...

This was it. This was her last chance to back out. To confess that she really didn't have the slightest psychic ability at all. But the thought of being left to fend for herself terrified her, possibly even more than the idea of being under the constant scrutiny of the demon and the earl.

Here goes. She sighed internally.

"Yeah, I am." She said, before pointing towards his eye patch. "That eye patch you wear over your eye. That's where your contract mark with Sebastian is. He's a demon, isn't he?" She tilted her head to the side, not needing an answer. When he opened his mouth to respond she cut him off, aware of the fact that he could kick her out in an instant. But this was her one shot to make a lasting impression. She had to impress him. "You signed over your soul to him because you wanted revenge against the people who..." She trailed off at the expression on his face. Rather than being filled with awe, he was glaring.

"Sebastian could have told you that." His said coldly. "Why he would, I don't know but you'll have to do better than that."

"He didn't!" She exclaimed, affronted.

Ciel stood up abruptly, slamming his hands down on his desk with a resounding thud, causing Blaire to flinch. "I would be mindful of how you address your superiors!" He barked. A lowly street urchin would dare raise her voice to him? A woman? He was positively outraged - charged by the notion that his bastard demon butler would try to play tricks on him. He wouldn't fall for it.

Blaire let out a shuddered breath, bowing her head and begrudgingly uttering an apology. Now that he was stood up, she took note of the visible silver chain of a pocket watch on his waistcoat and that he was wearing black trousers - not the shorts and high socks which the animation presented.

She squared her shoulders."Your servants. Mey-Rin, Finny and Bardroy were hired to protect the Manor. So, they aren't great at doing actual chores-"

Still standing, Ciel waved off her statement in a dismissive gesture. "Sebastian complains about them a lot. Tell me something that he couldn't have told you..." He finished, narrowing his eyes at her.

She frowned, mind racing. Ciel remained staring right at her but she couldn't break eye contact. Doing so would be submitting to him and admitting to being intimidated. Was there even anything that Sebastian didn't know about? Where are they in terms of chronology? She cast her mind back to the ice sculpture and the Hope Diamond, and if she remembered roughly where that placed her then...regardless of whether these were the events of the anime or the manga taking place, there was one thing that Sebastian shouldn't know.

She raised her chin slightly. "You have asthma. You haven't had an attack in years but you still have the condition." She smiled, quite pleased with herself.

Ciel faltered, visible eye widening momentarily as he took a step back. The only people who knew that were dead... His eyes ran over her before he regained his composure swiftly, gaze sharpening. He turned and made his way to stand by the window, gazing out into the gardens. "Tell me, have you got a job?" He asked suddenly. If he could get an idea of her background, perhaps he might feel more at ease. As it stood, he knew nothing about this woman and yet she appeared to somehow know all about him. It was unnerving. She must have had to work - she was clearly too poor not to.

The question caught her off guard. Why would he want to know about that? "I... work in a shop while attending col-." She cut herself off, realising that she had no idea how schooling worked in this time, though one thing she did have a vague idea of was that a woman in education surely must have been improbable. Especially a working-class woman.

He laughed. "Oh, really? Then how do you explain your attire at the frost fair?" He turned to look at her, his eyes dancing in mirth. If she had a respectable way of gaining income then she would have been wearing at least some semblance of proper clothing. No, that wasn't the answer he was hoping for.

Blaire faltered. Nobody here believed she was from the future. It was pointless even trying to explain. If Sebastian, an actual demon didn't believe her then there's no way Ciel would. He thought she was a peasant, didn't he? What do the decrepit do for money, besides begging? What answer was he expecting?

Mistaking her silence for unspoken confirmation, he continued. "Even for a prostitute, you certainly top the most scandalous of which I've had the pleasure of meeting."

She froze. Surely, he wasn't serious? A glance at his face revealed he was perfectly stoic. She waited for a smile to break out across his face - for him to admit that he was merely jesting. When that didn't happen, she tried to choke out. "Wh... I'm not..." She didn't like his tone of voice nor the predatory expression he harboured.

Ciel continued, advancing towards her. She took several steps away from his descending form, a new kind of unease filling her wide eyes. "You need money, don't you? You certainly aren't wealthy." That had to be it. She was probably some nutter who had grown tired of working in the poor house and had turned to prostitution and con-artistry. Yes, that had to be it. She had simply gotten lucky at guessing his chronic illness and Sebastian had provided her with the other information to trick him. Already, Sebastian had shown himself to be capable of twisting the meaning of his orders and if this was some kind of game, he would play to win. Maybe Sebastian could even tell that he has asthma with his demonic powers.

"I'm not a prostitute." She said clearly, brow furrowing and hands clenching into fists. Her chest began to heave in sheer outrage but she couldn't get enough air in with the corset clenching her ribs together. She wanted nothing more than to rip it off, though that wouldn't help her case.

He didn't even pause in his advance - he simply didn't believe her. "Come now, there's no need to deny it anymore." He stood right over her, an unusual glint in his eye. She gazed back up at him. He was about a head taller than she was - she was simply unable to believe the height of him. The top of her head came up to his chin, by comparison with Sebastian she was about as tall as his chest. Ciel was standing way too close for comfort, she could feel his analytical stare boring into her flesh and she suddenly realised that his company was no less oppressive than Sebastian's. His entire life, Ciel had been privileged, likely to always have gotten his way growing up. Pompous and arrogant, the way he treated Sebastian - demon or not - was but a reflection of his self-assured right to rule over those he deemed inferior to him. The question of how old he really was burned on her tongue, but she didn't dare ask this aloud. He would laugh in her face if she, a supposed psychic would ask his age. He clearly didn't believe her - nobody here believed a word she said. Regardless if she was speaking the truth or not.

Completely stunned and insulted, she finally snapped, sick of being looked down on like she was a crushed bug stuck on the bottom of a shoe. "I'm not a prostitute! You fucking prick!"

It all happened so fast. Blaire suddenly felt a harsh sting across her cheek, crying out and flinching back as the earl's rings tore across her flesh and in the next moment, a shadowy figure was stood between them.

"My lord, please control yourself!" Sebastian had heard their entire exchange. When Blaire said that his master had asthma, the lord's reaction was telling that she had been correct. And being able to point out where his contract mark is, was quite impressive as most people assumed it was an injury. He had scowled at his master's assertion that he had told the woman about him. The little ingrate was infuriating at the best of times. Blaire was like a shiny new toy - one which he wanted to keep in good condition. Injuring her simply wouldn't do.

"Who said you could come in here?! I didn't call on you!" Ciel spat, eyes blazing.

Blaire reached up to rub her stinging cheek. She scowled at him, lips curling up into a sneer. She knew that Sebastian would surely end her for lashing out at Ciel but she didn't care anymore. Rage boiled beneath her skin like molten rock, she was shaking but this time it wasn't from nerves. "You hypocrite! You'd look down on me for thinking I'm a whore, yet would happily suggest buying me out?! What about Lizzie? You stinking pig!"

And with that, Blaire saw him in a new light. He had an evil face but it was smothered by hypocrisy. A child of his time, simplified and dumbed down for the sake of TV and having truly lost any innocence he may once have possessed. Of course, he would have experience with prostitutes, he was wealthy and a hormonal adolescent. His reputation would be shattered if he tried anything with his fiancé before they were wed. Prostitutes wouldn't gossip about their clients, most didn't know who he was and thus, he could rely on their silence. And if not, Sebastian would clean up after him. Even still, Ciel wasn't one for being challenged, nor for being called out on. He issued orders and wasn't questioned on them, as far as he was concerned.

Ciel snarled and made to grab her again, only for Sebastian's hand to encircle his wrist. His crimson eyes were narrowed in warning, but Ciel paid this no mind "Get her out of here!"

The demon shook his head. "But we could use-"

"I don't care! Get that wench out of my sight! Now! She isn't psychic at all is she?! I'm not playing your damned games Sebastian!"

Not needing to be told twice, Blaire turned to storm out of the study. Where exactly she was going, she had no clue but if she stayed, she knew she would end up with Sebastian having to restrain her from wringing the little imp's throat.

Her strides were cut short when the door that was open inexplicably slammed shut by way of some invisible force. She didn't even need to wonder who was responsible.

"Where do you think you are going?" Sebastian's stern voice permeated the air. She turned to find his eyes firmly fixed upon her, tracking her every movement and Ciel glaring up at the butler who still held onto him.

If she was under the impression that he would let her go after what she just revealed to know, she was sorely mistaken. He fully intended to find out what else she was capable of and his master couldn't stop him in that.

"You heard his highness, didn't you?!" She snarled, Ciel promptly leering right back at her. "I'm leaving."

Trying to pull the doorknob, she was disheartened to find it wouldn't budge.

"To go where?"

She faltered; hand remaining rested on the handle as she thought that perhaps if she threw herself in front of a carriage at the right moment, she would finally be free from this pit of hell.

"Let her leave." Ciel muttered, most of his initial rage having been replaced with dull irritation. But he didn't follow up his words with an explicit call of order - which left Sebastian free to ignore his whims. And he gladly would until he got his own way.

Sebastian turned to Ciel. "If anyone caught wind of what has transpired here today, your engagement with Lady Midford would surely be severed. The Phantomhive name would stink from one side of London to the other."

"Oh, what do I care about her? The idiot showed up today just to ring some bells."

Blaire's head perked up. Now, that sounded familiar.

So that's who's carriage it was...

She turned, hesitant to speak, yet after finding that Sebastian seemed to want to keep her unharmed and was interested in what she had to say, she boldly asked the sour-looking earl; "Did she hand you a gift too? A small gift and then immediately take it back off of you?"

Ciel's scathing glare flickered. How could she know that? Her and Sebastian were out of the house. He huffed. "Yes, as a matter of fact, she did."

She swallowed thickly as both males gazed at her in astoundment.

"Do you know what the gift was?" Ciel challenged. He would give her a run for her money to make her prove herself. He now badly wanted to see her fail.

"It was a new ring. An exact replica of your own after she smashed it. She felt really bad..." She answered. This wasn't right. Her presence here was already changing things. Sebastian should have been with Ciel when Lizzie arrived and instead, he was driving her back from that blasted hospital.

Ciel gazed down at the sparkling blue ring on his thumb, then up to the butler. "Have you told Blaire anything? Don't lie to me, demon I command it."

Sebastian took great pleasure in denying this, grinning darkly all the while.

Ciel looked back to the supposed seer, who was keeping her distance. A frown creased his face. "Then that means..."

"Elizabeth has the Hope Diamond." Sebastian finished.

"She's in danger." Blaire began, a terrifying realisation dawning on her that this wasn't fiction. Elizabeth was a real person and would be turned into a doll if she didn't do something. "You have to go after her."

"Is it immediate?" Ciel asked seriously, his rage forgotten and replaced with traces of worry.

"...yes." She said carefully, watching Ciel closely. How he could make advances on her, then moments later be worried about his fiancée baffled her. She pressed her lips together, taking note of Sebastian's unwavering gaze. She locked eyes with him, about to demand to know what his problem was when Ciel marched towards her.

Jumping out of the way, she frowned when he bypassed her and opened the door with ease. "We're going after her." He looked towards Blaire. "All of us." Sebastian had said this morning that she wasn't a spy. And he had ordered him never to lie, it was part of their contract. And in that case, there was no rational explanation he could attribute to her knowledge. If Sebastian said that he believed she had some kind of transcendental powers - and he was unable to lie, then wouldn't it stand to reason that perhaps, she might be...? The sceptical side of him pushed against the idea that she may be genuine. But if demons and grim reapers were real, why not psychics?

Blaire sighed. She barely had the energy to remain standing upright as it was, never mind running through the wintry streets of London.

Before making to follow the earl from the room, she turned to see that Sebastian was still gazing at her. When their eyes met, he sent her a false smile. "Come along, Blaire."

If they only knew

What makes us human