And Black Was the Color of His Soul [Black Butler]

Chapter Five: Face the Music

Ch. Five: Face the Music

We walked the dark halls in silence. I kept my hands in my pockets, fingering my rosary. Just being around him made me uneasy, but I couldn’t pinpoint a reason why. He was just a butler, I told myself. But it felt like a lie. I knew in my heart he was much more than that.

“What are your motives?”

I glanced up. Sebastian steadily held a candle in his hands. I lowered my head.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My master seems to be on edge about you.” He commented. “I would simply like to inquire your angle.”

“My angle?” I asked in a whisper. Did I have an angle? “I am who I say I am. My only angle is to make Ciel see that.”

“You address the master so informally.”

I gave a dull nod. Small talk seemed out of character for him. I felt obligated to answer anyways. “We grew up together.” I started. “The Phantomhives took me in as a maid after my family died in a carriage accident. Lord Phantomhive treated me more like a daughter than a maid. They were my second family. I loved them.”

“I see.” Something in the way he grinned made me wonder what he was thinking. “So then who is Ana?”

I felt like someone had a hand on my heart. I couldn’t breathe. Sebastian continued to smile. His eerie reddish brown eyes scanned me. I licked my lips. “Ana is a girl I met on the streets. I took her under my wing until she was kidnapped by Lord Donovan Michaels. I’d been working for him until today in hopes of winning her back. You can see how well that worked out.”

“People close to you seem to meet untimely deaths.” He noted. I opened my mouth to responded but Sebastian stopped. He wrapped his free hand around the door handle and twisted it open. “Your chambers, Miss Edwards.” He stated motioning me inside. Besides the candle light Sebastian held, the room was shrouded in a black mask. He handed me the candle. My eyes met him for the first time. Fear, uncertainty, and evil washed through me like a tsunami. I staggered backwards.

“How did you come to work for Ciel, Sebastian?” I questioned. “He seems rather fond of you. You never leave his side.”

“I am simply one hell of a butler.” He smirked slipping back into the hallway.

I wanted to say more.

I wanted to question him.

To figure out the double meaning

Drenched in his words.

But he had vanished.

I frowned, crinkling my nose. One hell of a butler he had said. I walked to the corner and lit the first lamp. What did he mean by that? And why did I care? I shook my head following the wall to the next lamp and lit it. Together, the three candles offered just enough light to cast the room in a dim veil. My heart clamped up in my chest.

“This is-“ I whispered to myself. “My old…my old room.”

I must have been so wrapped up in unmasking the man who is Sebastian that I had neglected to notice where he was leading me.

 My old room.

It was exactly as I left it. Wardrobe in the far end, fireplace next to the bed, tall mirror opposite to it, and my very own bathroom with a beautiful, claw foot tub. A small smile crept across my face as I inched closer to the wardrobe. With shaky hands, I pried open the antique doors. Dust poured out of the interior in a thick smoke cloud. I waved it away, letting my entire frame freeze over as my eyes met what the wardrobe was hiding.