Blaire's Guide on How to Make Tea

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?"

The frigid, cobbled stone was what she felt first, followed by the prickle of snowflakes as they landed on her face. Feeling someone poke her cheek, she flinched and opened her eyes. It was icy silver eyes that greeted her.

"I recognise that woman, she's the one that ran away from the Englishmen."

Her eyes flickered to the prince, who stood staring at her. She sat up, blinking away the phantoms swirling around her vision. "I'm his maid." Was all she said.

"What happened to you miss?" Came from the white-haired butler, helping the woman to stand.

Her chest still felt tight and her legs were weak, however she refused to be a damsel in distress. She kept a hold of the wall and prayed that she wouldn't be sick everywhere. "I must've passed out. I was running and I couldn't get enough air in." She swallowed thickly. Her head was still buzzing and she suspected she had sustained a few bruises from falling on the cobbled road.

"I apologise for scaring you, miss. I was merely following my prince's orders."

The price in question shrugged. "It was a simple misunderstanding. We should very much like to apologise to your master however."

Agni nodded. "Indeed, and we should return you to him as well. I'm sure you are missed."

Blaire snorted, despite herself. "Oh, I don't think I am."

"Nonsense! We will return you to your master immediately." Came from the young prince. Blaire's skin crawled at the word master. If any distaste was apparent on her face, neither prince nor butler commented on the fact.

"You know I really think you ought to do just that. Immediately." The dark voice, words spoken like the growl of a beast sent reverberations through the brick walls at either side of the narrow pathway. A crooked silhouette appeared at the entrance to the dismal passageway, then another, smaller figure. Blaire recognised the voice of her tormentor and the figure at his side, however something was very wrong. And when the two approached, Blaire swallowed thickly.

"Your arm…" She started.

"My arm." Ciel replied. It hung limply at his side, his shoulder sitting at an impossible angle.

"Thank you for looking after her for us." The demon spoke calmly. Behind his eyes however, was nothing but malice.

Paying no heed to the warning in the black butler's tone, or perhaps not registering its existence, Soma sent the duo a grin. "It was no trouble at all. In return I have a favour to ask however,-"

Sebastian held up a hand, his mouth turned up into grin which could also be mistaken for a snarl. "I said thank you. That will be all. Blaire." His voice dropped an octave as he said the trembling woman's name, very much reminding her of when her cat used to growl at her.

She turned to Soma and sent him an awkward smile in thanks, before turning and trudging towards her superiors. Sebastian did not turn until she was right in front of him. They walked back onto the main street in silence. The tension in the air was almost tangible. Nevertheless, Blaire kept a steady pace behind the two, stealing an occasional glance at Ciel's mutilated arm. A feeling of unease crept up her throat.

It was not until they were seated that Sebastian spoke again, blazing eyes peering right through the woman. "Why did you run away?"

It certainly was not what she expected to come from his mouth but she stumbled her way through an answer anyway. "I…I knew what Agni was capable of and I didn't think you would be able to protect me and Ciel both, I took matters into my own hands to get away."

Ciel snorted. Sebastian glared at the two of them, who were apparently now ganging up on him. "Well, you were correct, as it transpires." Came from Ciel. His face was taught in discomfort and his forehead, what of it was visible beneath his fringe, had a slick shine to it.

"What happened...?" Asked Blaire.

"Dislocated. It is nothing Sebastian can't deal with." His eyes wondered over to the demon. "Though you wouldn't have to deal with it if you were competent at your job." He spat at him.

"You… aren't angry with me?" Blaire raised her eyebrows.

"Why? Should I be? Was it you who allowed me to be injured?"

Sebastian bristled. "My lord, if it wasn't for Blaire, I would have been able to protect yo-"

Ciel held up a hand – the one he could still hold up – his glare was icy. "Do not try and use such a pathetic excuse. Could you seriously not handle protecting two mere humans from another human? I'm having doubts that you are as worthy of my soul as I thought."

"Birds of a feather." Sebastian hissed under his breath. Neither human heard him.

The carriage ride home after that was exceedingly awkward. She felt Sebastian's bloody gaze on her all the way home and she couldn't say she particularly enjoyed the sensation of someone mentally murdering her in every way imaginable to demon-kind. By the time they got back to the town house, darkness had long-since fallen. The orange light from the house and what few kindled street lamps there was reflected off the falling snow. Blaire was relieved upon stepping inside the house.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Ciel muttered as they stepped in through the door.

"At least it would seem as though we have our culprit. All we need now is evidence." Sebastian looked to the woman, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Thanks to Blaire pointing him out. And its thanks to you I got batty-fanged!" Ciel snapped back.

"Such language is unbecoming of you. You sound like a peasant." Was the demon's stiff reply.

"Oh, that is the least of my concern. I'll never get any peace at this rate if I'm called to London for every silly little thing." He grumbled.

"Silly little thing?" Blaire echoed incredulously. "Those people had been butchered. And you think that's silly?"

Apparently having had enough idle chatter, the earl scowled in her direction. "Hold your tongue, servant. Sebastian, it would appear as though your underling does not yet know its place. See to it that she is reminded."

The demon smirked, sending a shudder through the woman. "Certainly." All tension had left the butler and he now looked extremely satisfied. Blaire could not even muster a frown in his direction.

"Before that though, I need to set your arm. Thankfully, it was only detached at the joint. The bones will be easier to set." Came from the demon, beginning to lead Ciel away. As they left, Blaire could hear the Earl's pained grumbling. A terrible feeling settled itself in the pit of her stomach.

She had no time to feel guilty though, as it was then that the door opened. It was Lau and Ran-Mao. The former of whom was dressed more conservatively than her fictional counterpart.

"Ah, hello servant. Is the young lord here?"

"He's here. But he's… indisposed. " Blaire replied.

The door opened wider to reveal prince Soma and Agni stood behind the Japanese man. It was Agni who spoke next.

"I would like to apologise to the master of this house for breaking his arm. And... my young prince has pertinent matters to discuss eith his Lord following the safe return of his servant. If I may?"

The maid blinked. "Oh, um. That might be okay. Please, come in, I'll get some tea." She offered awkwardly, not at all sure if she should invite them in on behalf of Ciel or not. She sent the biggest, falsest smile she could muster and lead them upstairs

Down in the kitchen, Bard had shown Blaire where the tea was. She stood, staring at the box of loose tea leaves. "Why can't they just use tea bags...?" Shrugging, she placed the tea leaves in the tiny silver sieve, placed it over the tea-cup and poured hot water through the tea leaves and into the cups. When she was done, she scratched her head. "That doesn't look right…" She muttered. It looked like she was serving polluted water. Turning, she found that Bard was nowhere to be seen. She didn't want to have to resort to her next course of action, given their interactions earlier. However, she would be much worse off in the demons bad-books if he caught her serving that to guests of the Phantomhive family.

Sighing, she spoke at a normal volume; "Sebastian, if you're nearly done fixing up Ciel's arm, I don't know how to make loose-leaf tea and I'm about to serve our guests, what looks like toxic scum in a stagnant pond."

It only took a moment before she heard the familiar condescending tones of the butler.

"Really now, for an educated woman, you cannot even brew a simple pot of tea?" His voice came from behind her and she turned, catching the demon coming over to assess the damage.

"Tea brewing wasn't part of the curriculum."

"And why not? Surely, making tea is a valuable skill for a woman to have."

"…oh."

"Oh?"

Blaire gazed at him. "I just didn't expect you to say that."

I guess he's just as much a product of his time as any human.

Sebastian, who had begun remaking the tea, correctly, hummed in response. "I grow tired of your riddles. Tell me, is Agni human?"

"Yes." She grinned. "A lowly human was a match for you."

She flinched when the demon suddenly moved towards her, anticipating a slap. However instead, he placed a jug of murky water on the counter in front of her. At her frown, he smirked. "Your abysmal attempt at tea. We can't serve it to the guests; however, you don't think I will allow you to waste tea leaves, do you?"

Wordlessly, she picked up the jug of piping hot water. The steam licked at her face and as she brought the jug to her lips, she felt the burn of the liquid as it momentarily made contact with her lips. She could not recall having made the water that hot. "I'll drink it when it's cooled down."

"No, you will drink it now."

Her mouth turned down in a grimace. "I can't, it's scalding hot!"

The demon chuckled, seizing his oppertunity and snatching the jug from her hands. In an instant, she was pinned to the counter, head yanked back by the hair tied at her nape and the rim of the jug pressed against her lips.

"Mmph!" She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to let the water touch the inside of her mouth. However she stood still, knowing better than to struggle. It would only waste her energy for nothing.

"Drink it you ignorant wench." He hissed. She felt his cool breath against her ear, could sense the danger he emitted. He lifted a hand to pry her mouth open, ignoring her feeble attempts to bite him, before pouring the steaming liqiud into her mouth. The pained moans emitted from her combined with sputtering as she lurched forward and spat the scalding water everywhere. Sebastian tutted. "Now look what you've done. And you haven't even finished your tea yet. I wonder, should I pour it regardless if your mouth is open or not?" He smirked, gloved hand moving to probe at her lips and cheeks, as if mirroring where the water would burn in its wake if he decided to tip it over her. "Though I suppose…" He leaned in to whisper into her ear, drinking in her delicious fear. "It would be a shame to ruin such a pretty face. We would have to hide you away from sight and that would be most inconvenient. Perhaps we could pour it elsewhere. How about here?" His fingertips gently brushed the skin of her neck, tracing down lower, to her collar bone, fingertips toying eith the fabric of her garment. "Your dress would stick to you as it got wetter, scalding your, oh so delicate skin underneath." He purred. "I wonder, would you rip it off right here? Or would you be able to take the pain?" Before his hands could go any further, she snapped, unable to take anymore of his taunting.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed through tearful eyes.

"…pardon?"

"You're just doing this because you blame me for Ciel getting hurt." She turned to face him. He did not afford her the freedom of moving away from him, however his hold slackened. His cruel red eyes seemed to give her just enough way to allow her to continue. She hung her head. "And you're taking out your anger with Ciel on me too. I'm sorry I ran. I'm r-really sorry it's all my fault he's h-hurt he shouldn't be…" She stopped herself before her voice could break. Having the demon see her cry was a humiliation she detested the thought of re-living, however she suspected it was too late for that.

The demon blinked. Never, had he experienced anyone apologising to him. He stared at the trembling woman before him, unsure of how to proceed. He was surprised at the ease of which his rage had dissipated after the utterance of a simple word. Did she even mean it? Or was her terror speaking for her?

"You accept the blame for what you have done?" His tone was one of victory as he tilted his head to the side, taking note of her involuntary body-language.

"Yeah. I got him hurt. It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't…h-here." She wiped her eyes.

"Then you will declare this to the young master." He commanded.

"Sure." She whispered. When she looked up, he was gazing at her intently. All malice had left his demeanour, and something else had replaced it. His eyes fixed on her burned, reddened lips and he seemed to be pondering something. He leaned closer slightly, and she leaned away from him in kind.

Before she could ask what the hell he was doing, he straightened up, finally giving her personal space.

"It's his hand." Her voice was timid. She suddenly felt as though she had to remind him of her her worth.

Sebastian cocked an eyebrow.

"Agni's hand. It's blessed by a Hindu goddess…Kal….Kali?"

"Very well." He left with the tea without another word, leaving Blaire to her own devices. Her tongue grazed the inside of her mouth, feeling the rough sensation of flakes of skin peeling from her gums and the roof of her mouth. She could still feel his hands on her and she squirmed at the thought of what his hands had done. What he had said, How much further would he have gone? Suddenly feeling quite ill, she made her way back to her room, pinching A Study in Scarlet from the library on the way and it was there she stayed for the remainder of the evening.

Can anyone tell I hate writing things based on episodes? I keep managing to avoid it. Original content is much more fun.

I was motivated to write this chapter in part, thanks to a movie called Last Night in Soho. In it the character is obsessed with London in the 60's, however gets transported back to that time period and very quickly learns that the 60s wasn't all the glamour they had come to appreciate the period for. Sound familiar? Also - can thank the soundtrack for inspiring this chapter.