[Ciel's P.O.V]
His leg crossed in an elegant manner, Ciel glanced outside the open window, the moon shining brightly as the carriage jostled him lightly and bounced him on his seat. His expression was that of indifference and boredom, but little did he know, in a few moments he would be anything but bored.
A few hours ago he had decided that sleep wasn't an option, and had instead opted for gazing at the sunset that was irritatingly being hidden by the trees of the forest they were passing. He had considered conversation with Sebastian, but that never ended well. Ciel studied the stars with a disinterested gaze.
And that was when a bright, almost pink pentagram appeared flat in the sky, and two figures fell out. It disappeared a moment later.
"Sebastian! Stop the carriage! Catch them!" Ciel shouted frantically. He wasn't normally charitable to strangers, in fact he was quite cruel, but this was a strange happening indeed.
"Yes, my lord."
Ciel almost yelped when the carriage abruptly stopped and he was thrown against the opposite wall. He groaned and imagined Sebastian teasing him about not being specific enough with his orders. He could practically see the smirk on that butler's face.
After recovering, he glanced at the tree tops in time to see Sebastian catch the two figures, who he still could not make out in the mere moonlight. They were so far away that he could only see silhouettes, but he knew there were two from the light of the glow.
While he pondered, Sebastian was already heading back with the two mysterious people in his arms. Now that he was laying them inside the carriage, Ciel could tell very easily that they were girls. Two items, some sort of sacks, were also tossed into the carriage by their feet.
Ciel was speechless as Sebastian cracked the reins and began driving the carriage again. These two girls were wearing less clothing than a prostitute! They wore some sort of short sleeved, loose shirts that only men should be wearing and pants that were shorter than underwear! Heck, the taller one even had purple hair!
He sputtered, attempting to assess the situation as a dark blush covered his face. The girls were obviously unconscious, and from the way they had fallen out of the sky from that pentagram and their odd appearances, they might not have even been human. Now that he had saved them, what was he going to do?
Ciel's thoughts were interrupted, however, by a small sniffle. It came from the shorter girl, who only looked about his age. The two girls were situated so they were slouched, but sitting side by side on the opposite bench. This changed, however, when the younger of the two leaned over and rested her head on the purple haired girl's chest. The latter unconsciously complied, resting her chin on top of the girl's head. They didn't stir afterward. Ciel wiped some blood that had trickled out of his nose and looked away.
"In case you are wondering, young master, those two are indeed human," Sebastian said from the front of the carriage. "May I suggest that you wait until they awaken and question them then?"
Ciel could practically hear his smirk, for the second time that night even. He rolled his eye and huffed childishly, opting to stare out the window again, lest anything else unusual turn up. This was going to be a long ride.
~{Scattered Petals}~
[Nirvana's P.O.V]
She woke up with her hair matted to her face, clutching her arm like it was last life-source, her nails digging into the sensitive brown skin of hers.
Drunk-check.
Clothes on?
She looked down and was surprised to see a beautiful silk nightgown instead of the clothes she had previously worn. This implies that she was either taken in by a stranger, everything was a dream, or she had drunk-sex with someone and they were nice enough put on clothes for her.
She'd just have to ask.
Next, any privates hurting?
She closed her eyes and simply allowed the aches from her hurting body register in her mind. She didn't really feel anything. The high quality silk felt like water against her heated skin and aching skin, her brain was pounding as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
Alrighty, step three of Drunk-Check.
Threesome?
She looked to her side and her eyes widened when she didn't see her best friend beside her, and her head immediately flew upwards as her hand went to grab her sheets and jumped out of bed.
Suddenly, the door was hesitantly open, and a man with a stalk in his mouth and blond hair opened the door, a first aid kit in his hand.
"Gah, why do I gots' to get stuc' with di - oh, why 'ello there lil' missy. I'm -"
"A RAPIST!"
"Wait, wh-"
She threw the nearby lit candle at the male, and quickly glanced at the window, surprised to find the sun peeking out from the horizon. The male screamed - rather girlishly, and she quickly shoved past him and ran out of the door.
There were too many doors, she couldn't check them all. By the time that guy had gotten back to his senses, it would be too late.
"CAMMIE? CAMMIE, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"
Just as she was rounding the corner, she fell face first into a pretty maid with big glasses, the plates that she was previously holding all clattering and breaking onto the ground on impact. The shards of glass entered her leg as well as a larger piece left a long cut on her face. She growled as the maid apologized profusely. So the rapist was rich eh?
"CAMMIE?"
"Oh dear, oh my goodness, terribly sorry, a-and...wait, are you looking for your friend-"
"NIRVANA!" a voice echoed from the other side of the hall. She shoved the maid to the side and ran. What she did not expect however, was for a very tall, handsome male carrying Camellia by her underwear, the expression on her face giving all that she had to know... Cammie had an extreme wedgie.
Even though the younger girl was shy, she had learned from her experience with Nirvana how to curse like a sailor.
"LET GO OFF ME YOU TINY-COCKED BASTARD OR I SWEAR I WILL CUT OFF YOUR BALLS WITH A RUSTY PAIR OF SCISSORS AND MAKE YOU EAT THEM!" Camellia screeched, kicking the man in the place-that-shall-not-be-named. She leapt out of his arms and dived behind Nirvana's body, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's waist and quivering.
"Shhh... it's ok, Cammie, it's ok..." Nirvana cooed, facing her friend and rubbing her back soothingly to calm her down. The pretty maid from before was now next to the man, who looked like some sort of Victorian era butler, repeatedly asking if he was alright, but he seemed as stoic as ever.
Camellia sniffled, hugging tighter. "Y-you weren't there, and I was so scared, and this guy started taking off my clothes-"
"I was simply attempting to dress you in something more appropriate, ma'am," the butler interrupted. Nirvana gave him a steely glare and his left eye, which was an unnatural wine-red, twitched. "What kind of an idiot are you? Kidnapping us and attempting to take off her clothing without any explanation!? You bastard! This is the 21st century, not some stupid Victorian Era!" she shouted, enraged.
The butler and maid both looked extremely disturbed by that sentence. Camellia continued to sniffle into her chest, and Nirvana glared. "What?" she snapped.
The maid backed away a few steps, and the butler gave a small 'ahem' and regained his composure. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, ma'am. I am Sebastian, butler of the Phantomhive household. This is Mey-Rin, a Phantomhive maid." He bowed, then glanced at them. "The year is 1888."
Nirvana paled, speechless. At this point, Camellia lifted her head, finally making eye contact with the butler, who tried to look sympathetic once he saw her wide, doe-like blue orbs. "No it's not! You're lying! I swear, it's 2014! I swear!" she exclaimed, tears flooding her gaze.
The taller girl finally snapped out of her trance and nodded firmly. "We even have proof in our purses! We have cellphones, and you don't have those in 1888!"
Camellia nodded, but stopped her movements a realization slowly settled in her head. "Wait...where are our purses?" she whispered. Somehow, Sebastian heard this low tone, and gave a smile. Nirvana and Camellia both cringed at how fake it seemed.
"Your bags are back Lady Nirvana's room, I believe. Wait, n-"
They both immediately rose to their feet and darted down the hall toward the room Nirvana had emerged from. However, Camellia paused and glanced back at Sebastian, changing direction and sprinting toward him.
Before he could realize what was happening, Camellia's arms were around his waist, squeezing him in a tight hug. Her arms didn't even wrap all the way about him, but she didn't seem to care. Red eyes met watery blue.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Sebastian!" she exclaimed, and then she was gone again, following after Nirvana, who had seen the whole scene and was now glaring at him. She pointed two fingers at her emerald eyes, then at his rubies before disappearing into the room.
A few hairs sprung out of place on his head. Never had he been so bewildered. Since when did he seem... huggable?
Whatever it was would have to change, he thought, denying any notion that he kind of, sort of, maybe, possibly enjoyed the hug a tiny bit.
"Oh my god, I have never, ever been so happy to see this," Nirvana gasped, lifting her phone into the air like it was a delicate treasure to be viewed. Camellia giggled, checking her own phone. After several seconds of silence, they gave up trying to find a signal and turned their phones to airplane mode.
Camellia's breathing shallowed. "Do you really think..."
Nirvana nodded solemnly, turning to stare into her friends' eyes. "Yes. It can't be a coincidence, unless all of this is a dream, which I doubt if that wedgy seriously hurt. Speaking of that, you can check my closet for another dress like this... Didn't you used to wear these kinds of things as pajamas before you and Peter moved out?"
Cammie silently nodded in response. "Yeah, I did... You saw it too, right? The platform, the ruins... the lights?" she asked in a quiet, cautious tone. While waiting for a response, she stood up and dropped her phone back into her purse, deciding to take Nirvana up on the offer of more clothing. More... clothing...
She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the doorway. She had hugged that butler... in her underwear....
"Yeah, I saw it. I also saw you hug Sebastian in your undies. I won't hold it against you, I would have done it too if I were you. He was pretty hot."
Camellia threw a pitiful glare at her teasing best friend and continued walking towards the closet. Once she got there she opened the wooden door and almost gaped. Dresses of every Victorian fashion she had heard of, all lined up on a rack... There!
She spotted a nightgown similar to Nirvana's and slipped it over her head. "There we go. For now it will have to do. I hope we don't have to wear corsets..."
Before Nirvana could state her opinion- which probably wouldn't be very kid friendly- a knock echoed through the room. The purple-haired girl finally got off the bed, purse hooked on her arm, and called out. "Come on in, the door's unlocked."
Sebastian opened the door with a smile. "The young master wishes to see you. I have informed him of your... situation."
Nirvana nodded and walked over to the door, ready to follow him to wherever this 'young master' was. Camellia blushed heavily upon seeing him, remembering the hug from earlier, but cautiously did the same.
"Right this way," Sebastian stated, holding down a smirk at Camellia's reaction. In his hand were the two purses, previously scattered across the room. They both blinked in disbelief, but the butler was already walking down the hall.
The best friends made eye contact and Nirvana shrugged in a 'Just don't question it.' kind of way. They then hurried to catch up with the butler.
After a few minutes of silence, Camellia timidly spoke up. They were walking down an archway of stairs, only to walk up another set of symmetrical stairs instead of travelling to a lower floor. On the flat area between the two staircases, a large painting was hung.
"Mr. Sebastian, who are those people?" she asked curiously, stopping to examine the man and woman in the painting.
Nirvana and Sebastian stopped as well. "Oh, those are the young master's parents. They passed away two years ago in a fire. I suggest you do not bring this up with the young master. It is a sensitive subject," he explained calmly, then continued walking.
Nirvana glanced at the painting, then back at Camellia. Her light blue eyes had glazed over in melancholy thought. It saddened the taller girl, but she knew exactly what she was thinking about. "Cammie, come on," she called out, her tone displaying the sympathy she felt. If Sebastian cared about the small scene, he didn't show it.
Soon after that, they were standing in front of one of the many doors of a new hallway. Nirvana and Camellia gulped. It was already intimidating, and they hadn't even met this 'young master' yet.
Sebastian knocked on the door with a perfectly sculpted fist. "Young master, Miss Nirvana and Miss Camellia are ready to see you," he called out. After a few moments of silence, the sound of a chair being pushed back reverberated through the door, followed by a surprisingly youthful male voice. "Come in."
The butler opened the door and the two girls walked inside. After a few steps, they both stopped. The room was elegant, almost luxurious if not for the many stacks of papers scattered across the floor. Against the walls were lines of books on tall bookshelves, and standing in front of a large desk was a young boy, maybe 12 or 13, with navy blue, well kept hair and one eye of a matching color. The other was hidden by an eye-patch. Behind the desk was a balcony, but neither girl seemed to notice that.
Camellia looked absolutely flabbergasted. Instead of saying something she might have regretted later, she just gaped at him with a half horrified, half amused expression.
Nirvana was a whole different story.
The purple haired teenager kept a straight face after her initial shock and solemnly walked up to the young earl, simply staring into his hard blue eye. She then lifted her right hand above his head and let it hover there, signalling the extreme height difference. She must have been at least a head taller.
After a long silence, Nirvana finally spoke. "Somehow... The size is still small."
The young earl became red in the face and sputtered out incoherent words of absolute rage, completely caught off guard by the modern girl's reaction. Camellia had immediately understood the reference and began to giggle, which quickly turned into a quiet fit of laughter. Even Sebastian had an amused smirk on his face.
After several minutes of a mixture of amusement and irritation, everyone finally calmed down, and the boy cleared his throat. "Greetings, I am Ciel Phantomhive, head of the Phantomhive family. Before I go any further, I must ask why you are both in such clothing outside of moonlit hours."
Sebastian bowed. "I apologize, my lord. I wished to make them as comfortable as possible, so I let them wear something loose-fitting and short, like their previously articles of... clothing," he seemed to think that using the word 'clothing' as the correct term was debatable. "But still something decent to this... era."
Nirvana scoffed. "I am not wearing a corset. That is where I draw the line. I don't care about a wasp waist or whatever they taught us in history class, I am not wearing one of those death traps," she stated.
Ciel sputtered angrily, forming an indignant reply, but Camellia cut him off with her timid voice. The young earl had forgotten she was there, hiding behind her friend. "U-um, I wouldn't argue with her... She tried to castrate my brother once..." she mumbled shyly. Sebastian raised an eyebrow, and Nirvana nodded in confirmation.
Ciel sighed and cleared his throat again, catching the attention of the others. "Well then, now that formalities are out of the way, I must bring up the topic of why you fell from the sky yesterday."
Nirvana crossed her arms and shrugged. "We were running through the woods near our hometown, got lost, and found these weird ruins. The moon was this really weird red color, and we stepped on the platform. Next thing I knew, I was in that bedroom," she explained. Cammie nodded in confirmation, and noticed the curious spark in Sebastian's wine-colored eyes... Recognition, maybe?
Ciel was silent for a few minutes. "Well... Until you find a way back, I suppose you may stay here..." he mumbled. Sensing the excited squeals and thank-you hugs, he held up a hand. "But, you must think of your own cover story. If there is any suspicion on your true identities, I will have no part in digging you out of your grave, or breaking you out of an asylum. Understand?"
Camellia nodded silently, though her face contained a blinding smile. Nirvana just hmmed, a small smirk forming on her lips. They made eye contact, then turned to Ciel again, a predatory gleam in their eyes, and they pounced.
"THANK YOUUUUUUU!" they squealed, tackling him to the ground.
"AHHH! SEBASTIAN, GET THEM OFF OF ME!"
~{Scattered Petals}~
Although the two had separate rooms, the two teenagers currently sat quietly on Nirvana's large bed, both allowing the fact that they had traveled back in time to sink in.
"Hey, 'Vana! It's not that bad!-"
"I know...but that's not what I'm thinking about."
"Eh? Nirvana? Thinking?"
Her older friend gave a hard 'THWACK' on her head, and she stood up to look at the moon, sighing.
"The one time I didn't lug around my huge ass book-bag..."
"What's in your book-bag that you need so much?"
"My storybook."
Silence engulfed the room and Cammie looked at Vana with utter surprise.
"Storybook? We're stuck in the Victorian Era, where murders were so common, no one was surprised when there was a dead body in the middle of the street!"
"That's not what I'm talking about! I mean, we need a cover story on how we got here, and we need to know it by heart...I don't need to be stumbling around my words when someone asks me 'How do you know Ciel?' and I respond 'Oh, well, see, I dropped out of the sky due to a magic portal from the future!'"
She nodded with understanding. "But what should the 'cover story' be..."
The two girls sat in silence for a moment before Camellia's eyes got a sudden glint in them. Nirvana knew the look all too well. Her best friend was about to go into robot-dictionary mode, as she called it.
"We are Lady Nirvana Azraiel and Camellia Versaille of America, close friends through letters of Earl Ciel Phantomhive. We are the young co-owners of a famous toy company in America, and since Ciel has a successful company here in England, we decided to stay at his mansion until further notice to learn about the business and British culture."
Nirvana stared at her friend, her mouth agape. No matter how many times she did it, she never got used to Cammie's sudden inspiration. After a few moments of silence, she tilted her head. "How do you know that shorty owns a company? Or is that just a lie?"
Cammie gave an innocent smile. "The maid, Mey-Rin was talking about it when she lead us back here. Speaking of which, you cut me off earlier. I was going to say it wasn't that bad because look what I found in my purse!" the younger of the two girls exclaimed, taking out her sketchbook. Before Nirvana could respond, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Camellia said. Her friend groaned at the sweet, polite tone she used. This was why formalities were left to the shorter girl.
"Sebastian, milady."
The girls shared eye contact, Cammie asking permission and Nirvana complying, before the brunette called out again. "Come in."
A pristine glove turned the doorknob and entered the room with several dresses over his shoulder, along with other items that seemed very... unmodern. He had a friendly smile plastered on his face, but both girls saw right through it.
"Though the Young Master has allowed you to stay in such improper clothing until now, he wishes for you to now wear the garments of a proper lady," he explained, holding up a corset. "For example, this- Who wishes to go first?"
Camellia's blue eyes widened immediately and she stepped back a bit, staring at it. Her hands ghosting over her stomach, she tried to choke out a response, but Nirvana beat her to it.
"She is not wearing that death trap," the purple-haired girl stated firmly. Sebastian's eyes opened, his smile replaced by a troubled frown. He began to politely protest. "Unfortunately, it is the style of this era, so i-"
Nirvana's eyes narrowed into a cold glare, and a sniffle could be heard from behind her from the smaller female. "I will wear one, but if you try to put that on my friend, I will castrate you in your sleep with a rusty knife and make you choke on it. Do I make myself clear?"
The butler let out a sigh. "Perfectly so, my lady."
Camellia's eyes immediately brightened and her fear completely forgotten. Hastily wiping the unshed tears from her crystal eyes, she leapt toward the butler and hugged his waist. Their height difference was impossible to overlook. She was at least two heads shorter than him, which meant she was burying her face into his chest as she embraced him. "Oh, thank you so much!" she exclaimed, then pulled back and returned to her best friend's side. Said friend was snickering, already imagining Cammie's reaction when she realized what she did. Fortunately, that would happen much later.
The short girl twirled a bit of hair in her fingers sheepishly. "I apologize if it's an inconvenience. It's a... health problem, you know?"
Sebastian's mouth formed an 'O' of understanding and he nodded his head. That made much more sense- If the young lady had an illness causing her pain in her stomach area, a corset would triple the pain, at the very least. These two were smarter than he gave them credit for. "It's not an inconvenience at all, milady. I will inform the Young Master of this. Unfortunately, unless Miss Nirvana also has a..." he paused, considering what to call it, his smile flickering for a moment. "...health problem, she will have to wear the corset like a proper lady."
Nirvana shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "As long as Cammie's not wearing one of those, I'm all for it," she agreed, despite the worried look her friend was giving her, for she had failed to notice the smirk that was growing wider and wider on the butler's face with every word. Something told the innocent girl that Sebastian and Nirvana would not be the closest of friends.
~{Scattered Petals}~
"AGH! TOO TIGHT!"
"You will grow used to it in a moment, Miss Nirvana."
"JUST STOP FOR A SECOND! IT HURTS!"
Camellia giggled from where she sat on the bed. Sebastian was currently helping Nirvana into a corset while the smaller girl was snuggled up in the sea of pillows on her huge bed. She glanced at Sebastian's face as he smirked, obviously picking up on the innuendos that were being shouted just as clearly as Cammie was. Said teenager blushed lightly. Before now, there had been so much going on, and she hadn't really noticed, but... Sebastian was really good looking. He was tall, not overly muscle-y, but not skinny either. His hair was a velvety black that framed his face in an elegant way.
Oh, and his eyes. She could never, ever forget those eyes. They reminded her of wine; Tempting, yet dangerous if you indulged in them for too long.
Sebastian turned his head suddenly, away from the panting Nirvana, meeting the small girl's gaze. She blushed deeply and looked back down at her sketch pad, almost missing the smirk on his face. The sight of his eyes burned into her mind, and she flipped to an empty page on her sketch pad, smiling.
"It's finished, Miss Nirvana. You may stand and choose a dress," the butler stated and finally released her. The tall girl wobbled, but slowly stood and walked over to the line of dresses. After a few seconds of looking over the options, she looked over at her best friend. "Cammie, what do you think I should wear?" she asked, a subtle way of asking her opinion because she could not decide.
"The purple one to your left," Camellia replied without looking up, still drawing feverishly. Nirvana nodded and accepted the choice, gesturing for Sebastian to help her slip it on.
As he helped her put on the many complicated layers of a Victorian outfit, Nirvana studied the dress. The 'sleeves' were bunched up and only covered her shoulders and a tiny bit of her upper arm, leaving the area above her chest open in a square-cut and showing a tiny bit of cleavage. She tsked at this- the corset made her boobs look even bigger, and honestly, that was very inconvenient.
The entire torso was purple, but the skirt parted in ruffles, revealing an upside-down 'V' of black layers. Overall, it was a very pretty dress, and went perfectly with her long purple hair which was now loose and fell to her lower back. Nirvana tsked again. If they didn't get home soon enough, the dye would wear off.
"If I may be so bold, may I ask how your hair is that color? To my knowledge, it is not possible for a human to have that color... Rather, such a bright version of the color," Sebastian asked. Nirvana and Cammie shivered and glanced at each other. The way he said 'human' sounded like he was referring to himself as something else. SU-SPIC-IOUS.
Camellia snapped out of it quickly, though Nirvana continued to glare at him suspiciously. "It's fairly common to dye your hair different colors in our time. I know several people that have red tips or blue braids," she explained. "It involves various chemicals, but washes out after a while, so you have to reapply."
The butler nodded in understanding, and Nirvana piped up cheerfully. "Contacts are part of our time, too. You put them over your eyes and it makes them look like a different color. Unfortunately, those don't exist in this time, so may I ask why your eyes are an unnatural shade of red?" she interrogated, copying his 'sincere' closed-eyed smile.
...
The butler stiffened and blinked, simply staring for a while. The wheels were turning in his head very quickly, but he did not want to risk deepening the hole he was sinking in. Nirvana's futuristic knowledge was rather... irritating.
So Sebastian simply frowned at the girl. Without replying, he stood up and walked toward Camellia, taking the sketchbook from her hands and placing it on the dresser without looking at its contents. "Miss Camellia, please choose a dress," the butler requested with a smile. Nirvana tsked at that fake smile, trying to think of a mocking name for it. Surely a smile like that deserved a name.
Camellia blushed deeply, letting the fact that this god of a man was about to help her change clothes. Well, at least he hadn't looked at what she was drawing. The butler seemed to do unexpected things, she noted as she hopped off the bed and examined the dresses. She would have to be more protective of her sketchbook in the future.
After several moments of pondering, she chose a pretty dress off to the side. It was a gentle baby blue with short, puffed sleeves like Nirvana's. The neckline was similar to the purple dress, but it was a bit less sharp, more curved. There was a large bow on the right side.
In the chest and stomach area, the dress had no designs or patterns, but the skirt made up for that. It was ruffled and curved upward, stopping at her hip with another bow. The lack of blue fabric revealed two layers of white. Cammie smiled, admiring it, but was snapped back into reality when Sebastian took it from her hands.
"I will help you put it on, Miss Camellia," the butler said with that blinding smile. The small girl was speechless, her blush reaching the tips of ears at the thought of him seeing her in her underwear. Again.
Suddenly, the dress was snatched from Sebastian's hands by Nirvana as she mimicked his smile. "I paid close attention while you helped me get dressed, so I remember all the layers. I'll help her."
The butler frowned for a moment before letting out a small sigh and bowed. "As you wish, milady. I will wait outside to guide you to the dining room when you are finished. Ah..." he looked up, "Would you like me to help you put up your hair...?"
Camellia gave her friend a grateful smile, her blush lessening, before turning to the handsome butler. "We'll be alright, thank you."
Just as Sebastian was about to knock on the door, he heard giggles.
"You'll look bootiful!"
"Vana, wait - no!"
There was a sound of crashing and the man could no longer wait. He raised his hand to knock on the door.
"Are you done, miladies?"
The sounds immediately stopped and the door slowly creaked to reveal the embarrassed face of Camellia.
"Y-Yeah. We'll be out really soon."
The door slammed shut, but not before he heard the loud laughter of her older friend.
~{Scattered Petals}~
Her stomach 'smelled' the food before her own nose.
Camellia hadn't realized how hungry she was until the smell of food encircled her. She gulped sheepishly when her stomach let out a soft growl, just as timid as the rest of her was, but still wanting to get a point across. Sebastian glanced at her and smirked before turning away again to open the large double doors.
The doors parted to reveal a large dining table with a white table cloth, surrounded by plush red chairs. To the right was a large fire place, two candelabras resting on the mantle, with a large decorative mirror above it and an old-fashion coo-coo clock in-between. The silver walls were covered in beautiful paintings with ornate frames. Since there were no special guests, the table had no exotic flowers or flashy feasts, but Ciel sat at the head of the table, eating a scone.
Instinctively, she shied away behind Nirvana, who strode into the dining room with a confident aura and took the seat to Ciel's right. Camellia took the opposite seat, both of the spaces already having plates set out in front of them.
Nirvana scanned the beautiful arrangement of brunch foods skeptically as Sebastian closed the door. Finally, after a good eye-full of the platter, she looked up at Sebastian. "Do you mind showing me where the kitchen is after we eat?" she asked.
Cammie and Ciel continued to eat in silence, but Sebastian seemed genuinely surprised at the request. He attempted to sway her.
"The kitchens are no place for a lady-"
Nirvana held up her hand, frowning. "Are you saying that it is your place as a servant to tell a lady where she can and cannot go in the house?" she replied, smirking. Cammie gave her a smile- she had been saving that argument for a good year or so.
The butler hesitantly bowed. "Of course not, milady."
"That's what I thought."
The meal continued in silence, neither American even glancing at the tea and even requesting cold milk instead, which again surprised both Ciel and Sebastian. After the young earl finished his scone, he finally began to speak.
"If you are to stay at my manor, you can't very well go around telling people the truth. Do you have any ideas for a cover story?" he asked calmly, handing his teacup to Sebastian for a refill.
Nirvana and Cammie filled him in on their idea, adding a few new minor details just for fun. The young earl nodded in approval, clearly impressed at their quick thinking. "As guests of the Phantomhive household, know for our hospitality, you have access to any room in the house and will even be given a small allowance every week. Please note," he paused, glancing up at each teenager. His blue eyes held wisdom far beyond their years, no matter the age difference between them. "I have a daily schedule of my own, so I ask that you do not interfere unless it is helpful and deemed necessary."
The two teens nodded. Camellia's was more polite and docile while Nirvana's was firm and solemn. They both stood, and the shorter of the two gave Sebastian a pleasant smile. "Do you mind giving us a short tour on the way to the kitchen?" she asked.
Sebastian bowed. "It would be my pleasure, milady. Right this way," he replied and bowed towards Ciel before opening the double doors again and allowing the two girls to walk through. Nirvana gave a nonchalant wave and started walking, but Camellia gave a small curtsy. Ciel 'hmmed' in response, wondering why the small one was so in tune with etiquette while her companion was not.
"We recently ordered several books from Spain. Our library is quite vast, though the young master rarely enters, so it is not cleaned often," Sebastian explained as he lead Camellia down the hall. "It is surely quite dusty... perhaps milady should wait a small time for me to clean it?" the butler suggested.
Cammie shook her head with a shy, yet eager smile. "No, no it's quite alright. My apartment back home is rarely dusted, so I'm used to it," she replied. They had dropped Nirvana off at the kitchen several minutes earlier. The cook, Bard had been about to use a flamethrower to cook, which lead to Nirvana giving him a lecture on proper cooking. At that point both her friend and the mysterious butler slipped away and continued the tour.
Sebastian gave one of his pleasant smiles in return, making Cammie blush slightly. This did not go unnoticed by the butler, but he chose not to mention it. Instead, he opened the doors to the large library. "As you wish, milady."
The brunette attempted to stifle a gasp with her hands as she looked around. The library was absolutely massive. Screw Google, this place had double the knowledge!
As she sped through the room and scanned the shelves, her sapphire eyes glistening like that of a child's on Christmas Day. Sebastian smirked and chuckled.
After a few moments, she turned to face him, positively beaming. "Thank you so much, Sebastian!" Camellia exclaimed, surprising him a bit. She then grew a bit shy, clutching her skirts. "I wouldn't want to keep you from your duties any longer. Surely, as a butler, you have many responsibilities," she paused and gave a small 'ahem,' changing her tone to one that was mockingly proper. "You are dismissed."
The butler couldn't help but chuckle a second time at the girl's childish antics and bowed. "Of course, milady. You are most kind," he said and straightened, opening the door again.
"Sebastian?"
He paused, glancing back at the girl who was staring at him innocently, her fingers brushing over the bindings of several books on a large shelf. "Yes, milady?"
Camellia stuck her tongue out at the term, showing her distaste. "Don't call me 'milady,' it makes me feel really old," she explained, then paused thoughtfully. A kind smile stretched across her face. "Call me Camellia, or Cammie!"
The butler nodded, smirking. "Of course, Camellia."
And with that, he was gone. The door closed silently behind him, and the teenage girl skipped through the library with innocent curiosity. She had mistaken his smirk for a smile, and did not see the mischievous side of it that would have easily made her shiver and blush.
"How the fucking fuck do you fucking think using a motherfucking flamethrower will make a fucking steak cook faster in a fucking extremely fucking flammable environment, you fucking idiot?!" Nirvana screeched, staring incredulously at the box of dynamite that Bard had been about to 'cook' with.
The cook, Bardroy was just as enraged. "Oi, what right do you have to insult my cooking?!" he shouted in return, punching the air with a clenched fist. "Cooking is art, and art is EXPLOSION!"
"Actually, Bardroy, Lady Nirvana has every right to question your cooking techniques. She is a long-term guest of the Phantomhives, and so you will treat her politely," a cold voice stated from the doorway. Sebastian stood there with a calm smile, his wine-colored eyes closed and a menacing aura surrounding him.
The cook shrunk back, obviously frightened, so Nirvana decided to do a favor. She gave an indifferent wave to the butler. "Nah, it's all good here. In America, shouting at each other is the equivalent of a pleasant conversation. It's nice to meet a fellow foreigner, you know?" the girl said with a smile.
Sebastian frowned skeptically before turning and leaving the kitchen. Bard stared at Nirvana like she was some sort of goddess. She half expected him to say 'You saved my life, I am eternally grateful.' Hopefully that wouldn't happen, she was too young to adopt.
The caramel-skinned teen exhaled loudly, shaking her head. "Ok, how about this- You can watch me cook dinner and I'll teach you how to make some different dishes," she offered.
Still speechless, he nodded eagerly. The cook cleared his throat and smiled. "You're not half bad."
Nirvana stood on her toes as she looked through the cabinets, smirking at him. "Yeah, I know. Go after Sebastian to let him know I'll handle dinner," she replied smugly. Bard saluted her and jogged out the door.
"Wait!"
He froze.
Nirvana's smirk grew wider. "After you tell him, run back as fast as you can so he can't say no."
Bard nodded with a devious smile. It was nice to have another American in the house.
HEY! SFL here.~
This chapter was really just setting things up. Without the actual episodes/chapters, I get a bit lost and just add little fluffy oneshots instead of super long scenes like the pros. Next chapter, there'll be a time-skip to Chapter/Episode one, with CHLAUS, not that guy that gets half burned alive. I want to stick to the manga mostly, but maybe I'll add the Hell Hound thing for funzies, because I adore Pluto.
Anyone who gets the reference about Ciel's height and reviews what anime it is from gets a digital cookie hand-made by Sebastian!