( chapter sixteen ! )
"My Lady, it is time—"
The morning is bright despite the events of the night prior, shining streams of sunlight into Leah's temporary bedroom. The day could seem near perfect if it wasn't for her inability to sleep. Sadly, the faint sound of chirping birds does nothing to calm her nerves as she sits at the vanity, keeping her breaths steady.
Leah, to much surprise, "awoke" quite early, prompting Thomas' to stop in his tracks when he enters the room with the goal of waking the girl. She dressed herself, albeit not particularly well, but the Barrett decided it best to attempt herself. Any plan to avoid being in close proximity to the butler is clear, even in the way she keeps her gaze away from his presence standing in the doorway.
"My.. What have you done, My Lady?" Thomas speaks slowly, taking a moment to observe the sight of Leah in a delicate lilac dress, the back open to expose a poorly tied corset. "I do not mean to offend but you look a mess."
Grabbing a puff, Leah lightly powders her face and tries to ignore the way her hair sits out of place in a terrible attempt at recreating a hairstyle Anna has done on her numerous times. "You are a man, you should not be in a lady's room."
Stepping further inside the room, Thomas quietly shuts the door behind himself and approaches the seated teenager. He examines the damage, certainly fixable, but mildly entertaining to him. Reaching down to undo Leah's dress, the demon is met by a near shove.
"Do not touch me!" yells Leah, her breaths staggering.
Thomas glances at the brunette through the mirror, making no move to step away. If anything, he gets closer to pull on the laces of her corset, pushing the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders.
"You certainly cannot step out of the room like this. Do you intend to hide all day?" asks Thomas.
Staring in apprehension, Leah allows the butler to adjust her mistakes but keeps a watchful eye on his movements. "I could not find Meyrin.." she murmurs.
Thomas gently forces Leah out of her seat to get a better view of what needs fixing, already working on the dress aspect of her outfit. The atmosphere of the room is chilling and full of one-sided discomfort, only the sound of fabrics moving against each other fills the space.
"Are you going to pretend last night did not happen?" Leah's voice is quiet but is easily heard through the silence of the room.
Thomas eyes his master's face through the mirror with a smirk. "Why explain what you cannot comprehend?"
The young Barrett takes in a deep breath through her nose. "Well it is clear you are not human," her voice shakes.
"You are correct," chuckles Thomas. "I am what you could call.. a demon."
Leah's hands grip the table tightly upon hearing his words, flinching when Thomas reaches up a hand to fix her hair. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she closes her eyes to think before quickly opening them back up with a glare, watching the pieces of brown strands fall across her shoulder.
"Do you not find that quite pathetic?" she keeps her voice firm despite the fear she holds within her.
Braiding chunks of silky hair, Thomas raises a brow in interest. "What do you mean?"
She shivers when feels his cold fingers brush against the back of her neck. "It is obvious you can be anything you would like, yet you choose to be a butler."
"I do it for you," a ghost of a smile appears on Thomas' face. "I choose to care for you. It is the perfect way to be close to you and observe your every move. You've piqued my interest, after all."
"You could have been anything. You could have trapped me in a marriage with you," Leah turns her head over her shoulder. "Yet you decided to be nothing more than a mere butler."
Thomas fights back a chuckle, reveling in her attempts to hide her fear. "I suppose you have always been quite smart, haven't you?" he recalls all the times he has seen her excel in her studies.
Silence befalls the two but it is short-lived. Taking a step away from Leah, Thomas looks down at his work.
"There. Don't you look much better now?" he tilts his head almost in a way of mocking her.
Leah glances into the mirror, upset to acknowledge that he did a good job. All the butler receives in return is a silent 'hmph'.
"I want something entertaining to do," complains Leah, feeling drained after days worth of events with Elizabeth. "Perhaps I shall return home today?"
Cleaning up the small mess, Thomas takes a step back to approach the door and open it to allow the girl out. "Lord Phantomhive has returned today. Surely you would like to spend time with him?" he suggests.
The Barrett steps out of the room and watches Thomas follow after her, strangely feeling at ease despite her recent discovery. "I'm not sure if I would.." she mumbles and recalls the blue-haired boy sleeping in the bed with Doll.
Thomas raises a brow but makes no further move to question the girl, knowing that she is easy to become upset. He instead chooses to follow her down the hall as he regularly would, going about his work as if Leah hasn't made a terrible discovery about his true identity. Not that she can do much anyway.
"I believe they are in here."
Opening the door, Thomas steps aside to allow Leah to pass him by, only for them to be met by Sebastian and Nina Hopkins going head to head. The aura in the room is full of displeasure, which Leah can only assume is from a disagreement.
Perking up at the sound of the door, Elizabeth smiles upon seeing her friend. "Leah! You have been gone all morning!" she exclaims, bounding over to the door.
"There was a small problem but it has been fixed now," Leah reassures her friend and places her hands in the smaller pair.
Ciel, now walking over as well, stares down the butler behind Leah before offering a small smile to the Barrett and observing her in the color she hardly wears. "I tr—"
"And who is this?!"
Running over unnaturally fast, Nina grabs ahold of Leah's arms and causes the teen to stiffen, looking at every crevice her eyes can gaze upon. She moves Leah every which way, observing her from numerous different angles.
"This is my betrothed.." Ciel grimaces as he watches Nina pull at Leah's face, gushing over her features.
Clearing his throat, Thomas speaks up from his spot behind Leah. "Lady Leah Barrett is the daughter of Marquess Barrett."
"Marquess Barrett?" Nina raises a brow, her face uncomfortably close to Leah's. "That businessman from America?"
Leah nods with a forced smile. "I was born in America."
Marveling at the Barrett's intricately decorated dress and the accessories that accentuate her features, Nina turns to Ciel with an almost harsh look. "Why did you never mention a fiancé?! She is absolutely breathtaking, look at her!" she grabs ahold of Leah's cheeks and brings her face closer to Ciel's.
"I never deemed it necessary. You are a tailor, why would I mention my betrothed if it is not needed," says Ciel, looking at the way Leah's cheeks squish under the hand.
Nina shakes her head and releases the girl's face, only to drag her further into the room. She pulls out a line of measuring tape and immediately attempts to get to work, disregarding the clothes constricting her efforts.
"I rarely see women so tall, I must measure you!" Nina wraps the tape around Leah's arm, "And your face, those eyes. Marvelous!"
Face heating up amidst the praise, Leah shifts awkwardly before the interaction is interrupted by the blonde butler behind her.
Thomas clears his throat. "I'm afraid it is time for the Lady to eat," he stares down at the tailor.
Despite the hope, Nina doesn't take this entirely well. Her face contorts into a glare as she challenges Thomas, standing her ground despite the situation involving another person.
"There is plenty of time in the day for that! Can you please go waste time somewhere else until the fitting?" The tailor promptly grabs the other people in the room to shove them out of the door, keeping Leah behind. "Well, get out, get out!"
The Barret's lips purse as she fiddles with her hands. "Where is the rest of your attire..?" she asks, eyes slipping to Nina's legs which are partially exposed due to her shorts. 'That is.. unladylike.'
She gets no response in return though as Nina rushes to get her clothes off for accurate measurements, leaving her stuck in the room.
After much gushing over Leah's features, Nina is finished recording numbers and sees the teenager off, only to announce that Ciel and Elizabeth are ready for their fittings.
Leah walks out of the room slightly disheveled but better than what she had done with herself in the morning, brushing past Elizabeth who runs inside. She hardly notices the glance Ciel spares for her or the fact that he doesn't move from his seat.
"I have prepared tea and pastries, Lady Leah. Do help yourself," Sebastian perks up at her entrance.
She pouts, "I don't want your tea."
Both Ciel and Sebastian seem a bit surprised by Leah's attitude, typically only seeing it extended towards Thomas. However, today it appears to be open for everyone she crosses.
Watching her take a seat at the table, Thomas approaches to lean down but keeps a respectable distance. "My Lady, you haven't eaten in three days. Please do consider something to fill your stomach," he doesn't even try to whisper, only slightly lowering his tone.
"Three days?" Ciel asks in exasperation.
Inhaling in irritation, Leah shuts her eyes to pretend the world isn't around her. "Do you ever stop talking?" she questions the butler.
"Three days?!" Ciel once again asks, raising his voice a little higher after being ignored.
Thomas straightens his back. "The Lady does not like to eat often. She believes she will become too big and that you won't think she is beautiful anymore," he almost gleefully spills Leah's thoughts.
Shoving her head onto the table, Leah releases a sound that almost sounds like a groan and covers her head with her arms. "Thomas!" she yells.
The Phantomhive's face softens for a moment, "Leah.. that is ridiculous."
Leah doesn't respond to his attempts at comforting her, keeping her head buried in the table. She can hardly bring herself to even peek over her arms, not wanting to face potential scrutiny for her actions. 'This is so embarrassing..'
Thomas glances down and pushes a teacup in her direction. "Someone would have found out eventually, My Lady. You need food to replenish your body," he says firmly.
Making no further attempts to argue, Leah instead opts for smacking Thomas upside his head with the strength she can muster. The sound travels through the room before she simply settles on repeatedly hitting him, ignoring the looks she receives as she watches Thomas fall to his knees.
"All you do is irritate me!" she yells, feeling the fear for the demon dissipate.
Keeping himself on the floor, Thomas takes the blows to his head with a content aura and nearly smiles. "Yes, My Lady. I am very sorry."
Leah continues to hit Thomas before she pauses, gripping him by the hair to see his face. The girl pouts as she observes his smile and drops his head from her hand, turning around with a huff.
"Why have you stopped, My Lady?" asks Thomas.
"I'm not going to hit you if you clearly enjoy it! You are so pathetic, it is disgusting. Get out of my face!" Leah yells and crosses her arms, sitting down once again.
Both Sebastian and Ciel share a glance, unsure of how to react to the situation playing out before them.
"Ciel! Make haste, we do not have all day for the fitting!"
Elizabeth's voice rings out from a few rooms away, breaking the atmosphere in the room. The Phantomhive rises from his chair and backs out of the room, leaving Leah with the two demons as one slides her a plate of food, almost earning a slap.
"Oh, you look stunning!"
Back within the walls of the fitting room, Nina is beyond joyed at the sight of Leah in the clothes she made. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is a perfect fit, hugging her figure and complimenting her features.
Leah, unlike the tailor, is far from happy as she keeps her gaze firmly planted on the wall, hellbent on not looking at shirtless Ciel mere feet away from her. Although occasionally her eyes flicker to Elizabeth who stands in front of the folding screen with a giggle, only now not looking at Ciel after he voiced his embarrassment. 'I truly don't understand how Elizabeth could just look at him. I might as well die in here.'
"Look!" Nina shifts Leah around to face a full-length mirror, "What do you think?"
Staring into the depths of the mirror, the Barrett's eyes wander, taking in the outfit adoring her body. It is red, very red. Ruffles decorate the outside going down to the bottom, a thin chocker wraps around her neck, and a flower cut from fabric is entwined with strands of her hair. 'This looks awfully familiar.'
She gazes down at her unlowered hems, still exposing a tiny portion of her ankles. "I look like— Madame Red.." Leah whispers.
Nina's eyebrows furrow for a moment before they rest once again, almost as if she recognizes the name. However before she has the chance to respond, the door is slammed open.
"Hey, Ciel!" Prince Soma stands in the doorway with Agni behind him, a look of pure anger painted across his face and a clenched fist, "Why did you secretly return to the main house?!"
There is hardly a moment to react when Sebastian swings a drape and Ciel is suddenly wearing a shirt again, but the demon is not fast enough for the mark on Ciel's back to go unnoticed by Leah. She knows better than to comment on it though, keeping her mouth shut to avoid potentially offending her fiancé.
Soma and Agni move to passively meet Elizabeth, who they seem to naturally be kind to. It isn't until that the Prince notices Leah that the room perks up.
"Ah! Little sister!" he smiles brightly and runs over to envelop Leah in an unexpected hug.
Leah awkwardly gives Soma an askew glance. "Prince Soma?"
"Little sister?" questions Ciel.
Keeping his hold on Leah, Soma chuckles. "She is your fiancé, of course, that makes her my little sister!" he nods.
"How does it make her that?!" Ciel shouts, now beginning to get irritated.
To no one's surprise, the Phantomhive's words are ignored in return for Soma immediately wanting to enter the dining hall, Elizabeth also joining in. Agni is stationed beside them with a pot of curry, prompting Leah to attempt to run away but Thomas is quick to catch her.
"Wait, the dining hall is still damaged," Ciel sweats.
"Please relax," Sebastian places a hand on his chest. "Dinner preparations have already been made. It cost an arm and a leg, but it's perfect as always."
Stars shine above Phantomhive Manor, casting a calming glow through the windows. But it is tough to beat the fire that crackles in the fireplace, illuminating the room and the numerous bodies occupying chairs and lounges.
Soma and Elizabeth hold a discussion over a game of cards, the Prince telling the blonde all about the few things he can recall from the past days.
"He was bedridden?!" Elizabeth yells in surprise.
Staring down at the cards in his hand, Soma nods. "Yep, that's why I thought I should give him something nutritious and make curry."
The Midford has little chance to protest to her cousin before a teacup is placed in front of her, ignoring Leah's rather loud whispers to Thomas who hardly seems to be listening. Leah's attention is not even caught until Sebastian points out that Ciel is sleeping in his chair, leaning to the left with a slightly ajar mouth.
"It's been a long time since I have seen the Master's face this relaxed," Sebastian allows a smile to cross his face. "It's probably because he was able to spend a nice, free day with everyone."
For a split moment, the Barrett's eyes soften but harden just as quickly.
Elizabeth smiles, "Goodnight, Ciel."
"I want to go home," Leah deadpans.
Thomas shakes his head, fighting a sigh as he glances down at the girl in her seat.
"Sometimes you ruin the mood."