Ciel's Boring Mansion

The following day, Blaire cannot say that she expected to be woken up at 5am. A rough shake ripped her from sleep, causing her to groan. Forcing her still-heavy eyelids to peel slightly open revealed that the sun had still yet to rise, and would not do so for hours yet. She was unsurprised to find a pair of ruby eyes glowing down at her in the dark. Still half asleep, she let her eyes drop closed once more, muttering about how she doesn't start her duties as a maid until next week. She let out another groan, this time much louder as the blanket was suddenly ripped from her and the chill of the unheated room immediately engulfed her. She drew her knees up to her chest with a huff, telling the demon to go away.

"You must get used to waking up at this time. I will not tolerate lazy servants in this house, now rise. Your training shall commence this morning." He commanded, dropping the blanket to the stone ground and leaning over to light the candle which was sat in its brass holder on the bedside table.

"Time's it?" She muttered, so desperately wishing to be left alone.

She heard a click, presumably his pocket watch. "5.01am. Already a minute behind schedule, this is unacceptable." He tutted, watching as she grudgingly sat up, shivering and teeth chattering even under the white fabric of the night dress she was stuffed into.

"Why so early?" She yawned, sluggishly bending down to retrieve the blanket which Sebastian had so carelessly dropped.

"This is the time you will be expected to rise every morning. Consider this week your trial run, as it must be assumed you have never tended to a manor before." He took her silence as confirmation, then continued. "You will not be expected to over-exsert yourself this week, however you will not be sitting idle. You are to wash and dress yourself, make your bed then make your way to the kitchen by five-thirty. You have twenty-eight minutes now. Do not keep me waiting."

"Where is the bathroom then?" She drawled.

He raised a scathing eyebrow. "Bath? Women do not bathe, that water over there will suffice." He gestured to the jug, bowl and cloth which had appeared beside her bed. Throwing her one final look as though she had grown a second head, he took his leave, closing the door behind him and leaving Blaire sat on the edge of the bed, utterly stumped. The dim candlelight was of barely any use, the flame flickering occasionally with the slight draft which seemed to hover within the frigid room.

Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, she stood and wandered over to the fogged window. It did not take her long to discover that the reason why the room was so cold was because the window had been left ajar through the night. Frowning, she pulled it closed with a creak and kneeled beside her bed as best she could beside the jug and bowl. She sighed as she poured the cold water into the bowl and began to wipe herself down, not even having any soap to wash properly with. The cool air and the still-colder water formed a horrid concoction on her skin, goosebumps rippling over her flesh. After haphazardly making her bed, shivering all the while, she assumed she would find her uniform in the small wooden closet which sat adjacent to the bed.

She assumed correctly, the ugly uniform having multiplied like a bacterium, all of them causing her to grimace. There would be no beautiful gowns for the likes of her. Sighing, she took the items of clothing out which she needed – except the corset. She daresay that after she had worn it once, she had gotten used to the feel of one, in fact it helped her posture. Though no doubt, she would spend much too long attempting to lace it up and had no interest in being chastised for her time keeping. Trying her best to remember how Mey-Rin had helped her to dress a couple of days ago, she pulled on the layers of clothing. She struggled a little with the bust portion of the black dress, as it buttoned up the back. Being unable to reach the top few buttons, she shrugged and opted to tie the apron around her waist and shove the bonnet atop of her head which was pulled up into a bun. Finally, she slipped on the boots she was still "loaning" from Finny, silently doubting he would ever actually get them back.

Leaving her room, she sighed. When Sebastian claimed she was to start next week, she imagined that she would have the week to herself.

I stand corrected. She thought glumly, though she had to learn what to do somehow. No, what Sebastian had actually meant, was that she would start earning a salary from next week.

Moving down the narrow steps from her small room in the attic, she tried to remember the way into the kitchen. The hallways were dimly lit by kindled gas lamps lining the walls, and the faint smell of coal lingered in the air. It was still quite cool in the mansion, and as she passed by a grand window in the hallway, she could see the fog outside, swirling in the dim moonlight. It did not take her very long to remember the way to kitchen. As expected, Sebastian was already stood there in the centre of the room with his arms folded across his chest and a steely gaze aimed in her direction. He took out his pocket watch and sighed.

"Five minutes late."

She scowled and opened her mouth to snap at him – then thought better of it. Biting her tongue and averting her gaze down to the ground to avoid having to look at his smug face (which would only enrage her even more), she bit out an apology.

Hearing his footsteps approach, her head snapped up, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious. He walked right around her, looking her up and down with his evolutionary enhanced eyes. "Five minutes late, and you aren't even properly dressed." He scalded.

She clenched her fist, desperately willing herself not to say anything that would earn her another smack. "I couldn't reach the buttons at the back." She barely suppressed a terrified yelp when she felt his hands come to grope the sides of her abdomen.

"Could you not reach any of the corsets in your wardrobe either?" He asked sardonically, smirking as he watched her internally struggle.

She took a step back from him. "I can't do the laces; I would have been even more late."

"You will need to learn. If you cannot even dress yourself, what does that say about your abilities to do your daily tasks?" He chided, spinning her around to clip the remaining buttons on her dress into place and adjust her bonnet so that all of her hair was completely covered. "Don't let this happen again, is that understood?" He narrowed his eyes at her as he spun her back around, bending down so that they were level.

"…yes." She grumbled, much too tired to rise to his games.

"Good. Now, your first task is to boil water for the servant's morning tea. Do you think you could manage such a task?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, where's the kettle?"

"On the stove." He replied bluntly, watching expressionless as she wondered over to the oven, looking around helplessly for some kind of switch or plug. "You may wish to put in some coal or it won't boil." The demon brought up a hand to rub at his forehead. How could this woman be so clueless yet at the same time, seem to know far too much for her own good?

"…right." She stammered, following him out to the coal room.

The rest of the morning dragged on accordingly. Her duties appeared never ending, and this was only a trial run? How could she be expected to remember all of this?

She had to clean what was seemingly the entire kitchen from top to bottom, the pantry and the scullery. Her arms were positively aching from scrubbing, her back and legs hurt from being hunched over and the sweat was dripping off of her in all of her clothing. The entire time, Sebastian merely stood and watched, an amused glint in his eye. Oh, he could quite easily do everything himself. Though he quite liked having something to boss around like a loyal dog. The scullery maid was a servant for the servants, a slave. Nothing more. As she worked on all fours, scrubbing the floor, he thought about how amusing it would be to walk over and press his boot down on her back until she collapsed to the ground from the pressure, weak and teary eyed. Chuckling internally, he checked his watch. It was approaching quarter to eight which meant that it was time for the next task of the day.

"Once you are done, you must set the table in the servants hall for breakfast."

She grunted in acceptance, her stomach rumbling.

By the time the table was finally set, Finnian and Bardroy had only just emerged from bed. Mey-Rin had been up for a while, and was only just done kindling all of the fire places in the manor.

"Good morning." Blaire greeted, trying her best to muster up a smile. She felt utterly exhausted, and it was only eight o'clock!

Finny and Mey-Rin smiled their pleasantries, the latter of whom gestured for Blaire to sit down beside her. Blaire glanced at Sebastian to silently ask if it was okay to sit. However, he was already gone, much to her relief, so she sat down with a tired sigh.

"'Ello, we 'aven't met yet. I'm Bardroy, nice to meet ya." He smiled pleasantly as he pulled on his chefs' hat, coming forward to offer Blaire his hand. As he approached, she caught a whiff of smoke and coughed lightly.

She shook his offered hand limply, offering him a tired "hello". Any excitement she may have felt towards meeting more fictional characters had been withered away and in its place was a strong desire for a hot bath and a nap.

As the chef disappeared into the kitchen, Mey-Rin leaned over. "Are you alright?" Her brows furrowed in concern.

"I'm fi…. Well, to be honest I feel completely worn out. And it's only eight."

Mey-Rin smiled sympathetically. "I understand, it took me a while to get used to the work load. You'll get through it, yes."

Blaire nodded tiredly. "I hope so."

Finny, who had remained quiet suddenly spoke. "Is Mister Sebastian being nice to you?"

Well, he hasn't tried to hurt me today. She thought bitterly. "As nice as he can be." She said simply.

While they waited for Bardroy to finish making breakfast they chatted idly, Blaire grew silent as Mey-Rin and Finny delved into discussion, making references and jokes about working in the manor which she simply couldn't join in on. As she sat there, she wondered where the hell Tanaka was, making a mental note to ask about him later.

Bard's cooking was… not exactly what Blaire was expecting. The inedible, charred remains of what may once have been considered food, was what Blaire was expecting. Instead, what she got was some slightly burned toast, over-done mushrooms and fried eggs which looked slightly undercooked. Having not eaten properly in days, she didn't waste any more time examining it. It tasted as good as it looked.

The time which Blaire was able to sit down was incredibly brief, for no sooner had the four finished and the other three had to dash off and set about their duties for the day. It was Blaire who had to wash all of the dishes too. While she washed up, she caught a whiff of the food which Sebastian had returned to prepare for Ciel. She frowned internally, envious of all the dishes she would never be able to try.

It was her job to wash up those dishes too.

"The Master and I will be heading out this afternoon, I trust you can manage while we are away?" Came from Sebastian, his coat already on.

"What do you want me to do while you're gone?" The brunette asked with a sigh.

Sebastian sent her an uncharacteristically pleasant expression, which immediately made her feel uneasy. "You have much to learn still. However, I would thank you to take the remainder of the afternoon off. Wait in the library for me to return, there's something I would like to discuss with you."

And there it is.

And with that, Sebastian took his leave, leaving Blaire to wonder what on earth he wanted to talk to her about.

Sighing to herself, she came to realise that the majority of days would be like this. Mundane, full of hard work and sub-par food. Confined to the mansion and called upon only when her masters want information.

Tearing her dirty apron and bonnet off, her stomach twisted horribly. "Right. Now to find the stupid library."

If I'm a corner that the dark backs into

You're the darkness that this corner clings to

Sorry it's so short - I just wanted to get something out ;-;

The Book of Household Management by Mrs Beeton is a good resource if anyone is curious about the work of the servants in the Victorian era. It's available for free on Kindle.

I only recently discovered that Victorian women did not take baths – the men and children would. Women would do as Blaire did here. I plan to go back and revise one of the previous chapters where Blaire was shown having a bath.