Who's Alice? (A Black Butler/Ciel Love Story)

Chapter 17

Two months later....

Wonderland was forgotten to me. I couldn't remember anything that had happened there. I wrote down everything I could remember at one point, and I still had the book, but I had trouble picturing everything. I gave up on any thought that even a small part of it was true. Especially about the boy. It was just a dream.

I was down in the candy shop my parents owned, Eat Me. My grandfather started the store decades ago and named it after Alice in Wonderland. When he passed, he gave it to my father. It was rather large and very successful. My house was on the second floor of the building. I helped often with the business. Not so much the finances, but I was good at running the front and helping customers find their way to the sweet they wanted. I was finally allowed to work there again the month after my miraculous recovery.

My father bursted through the front door, making the bells ring violently. He stopped at the counter I was standing behind and called up the stairs, "Lillie! Come down here! I have something to tell you!"

Mother rushed, "Howard, what is all the commotion?"

I asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Hopefully not! I just heard that Earl Phantomhive, owner of Funtom, might be coming here today. We need to get ready!" Father said. My eyes widened. At the same time, I thought, Earl Phantomhive is such a mouth full. I wish I could call him Ciel, instead....

She gaped, "This would be his first return to London since he fell ill, right?"

He nodded, "If not the first, then one of the very few he trips he's taken. We have to do everything we can to make a good impression. Now, I must go out and buy wood. There's a shelf that's about to break, and I don't wish Earl Phantomhive to see it. I'll be back quickly. I don't expect him to come by while I'm gone, so do not worry. I'm leaving the store in your hands. Take care of it!" He rushed back out the door.

"Oh, I must go finish making lunch. You can run the store by yourself for a short while, can't you, Alice?" she asked.

"Of course, I can. Don't worry," I assured her. She nodded and hesitated before going back upstairs. It was only me once again.

A few minutes later, I heard the bells on the door chime. If it had been Father, I would have heard his heavy footsteps. I assumed it was a customer and rushed to greet them. "Welcome to Eat Me!" I smiled and froze when I saw them. Hurriedly, I curtsied. "It's a pleasure to have you here, my lord!"

Father said we had time before Ciel got there! But there he was, standing in front of me. He looked exactly as he did in the newspaper a few months ago. Strangely, the man dressed in black with him was incredibly familiar to me. I tried not to make my panic noticeable.

Ciel removed his hat and looked around the store, "Hello. May I speak with the owner of the store?"

I apologized, "I'm sorry, but he isn't here at the moment. I'm his daughter, and I'm in charge until he gets back." He didn't say anything and kept observing the different candies. I was getting really nervous. I joked, "You can taste anything you like. Don't worry, it won't turn you into the Eiffel Tower!"

He finally looked at me, "Excuse me?"

"You-You know, Alice in Wonderland? The food had tags that said, 'Eat me,' and when you ate it... you... grew taller...." I stumbled. He must think I'm so strange!

"Yes, I know the story, and while the Eiffel Tower somehow sounds familiar, I don't recall that happening when someone ate the food there," he clarified.

I paused, "I... I don't, either. I'm not sure why I said that."

Ciel cleared his throat awkwardly, "Yes, well, um, can you point me in the direction of the Funtom confectionaries?"

Without thinking, I frowned, "Oh, you must be product-testing, yeah? That sounds so dreadfully boring." What was I doing? Was I trying to get him to hate me?

He seemed unfazed as he sighed, "It is. Luckily, I have a sweet tooth, so it doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. Anyways, do you know where they are?"

I pointed to a section of shelves against the wall, "Right over there, mate." I put a hand over my mouth as my eyes widened. I rushed, "I'm so terribly sorry, Earl Phantomhive! I don't know what's wrong with me today!"

Ciel gave me an odd look I could not decipher, "No... don't be. It's alright."

I shook my head, "No, I've been terribly disrespectful. Take any amount of candy you like, no matter if it's your own or another company's, free of charge as an apology." I curtsied before beginning to walk away.

"That doesn't make much sense. I surely have more money than you," he stopped me. I turned back to look at him.

"Your social standing and money amount do not matter to me, my lord. If you were poor or a prince, I would have offered you the same deal. As long as you are kind to people, they will be kind in return. I have been rude, so this is my way of making up for it. Please, enjoy," I smiled and started walking back to the counter.

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I was face to face with the Earl. He demanded, "Who's Alice?"

I answered, a little stunned, "Oh, th-that'd be me. I apologize for not introducing myself properly before. I'm Alice Um. Uh, I mean Husher; nice to meet you." Where had that other last name come from? And why did I feel as though my real last name was the one that was the lie?

"No, you're not," he shook his head.

"Pardon?" I squeaked nervously.

"If you're who I think you are, then you'll know the answer. Now, who's Alice?" he repeated slowly. He stared straight into my eyes. I had seen that look before.

I blinked and everything around me flashed to a different scene. It was only for a second, but I saw it. The courtroom in the Queen's Palace. And the boy in front of me was there, but in a light blue dress. It was the same look of desperation and nervousness. I began picking up bits and pieces of my dream in Wonderland. But it wasn't just a dream, was it? It couldn't have been. Not if he was right in front of me.

The Caterpillar had asked me that same question, and I had no answer. That was not the case that time. I began to smile, "It depends where you are, mate. Here, you're Earl Ciel Phantomhive. In Wonderland, to everyone but me, you're Alice. Still, I don't believe that was a proper quiz question."

"I beg to differ," he smirked and kissed me. I think we were both afraid to let go. We thought the other might disappear into thin air again. When I finally pulled away, he said breathlessly, "I told you."

I laughed, "You told me a lot of things, mate. You'll have to be a bit more specific than that."

Ciel gave me a Cheshire grin, "I told you I would find you."

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This is the end! I hoped you enjoyed it, and thank you for reading!