Black Butler; The Episodic Story of the Fox, the Time Keeper, and the Songbird

The Fox and the Guard Dog

It has been almost a month since I have begun living at the Phantomhive Manor. I honestly believed that I was only staying for a few days, but her majesty seemed to have other plans. After our first successful mission together to bring in a notorious drug lord, her majesty has decided that we make a good team and that we continue working together. This, of course, was an incredible blow to Earl Phantomhive's ego.

"Poppycock! I don't need this damned vixen chasing my tailcoats as we go on missions!" He grumbled, crumpling up the letter in question and tossing it to the waist bin. Displeasure prominent on my features, I silently excused myself from the room. Though, I can't stand to be near the Earl himself, I have come to appreciate the accommodates of his luxury home. Most notably, the library.

When not out strolling in the garden, one can simply find me in the library with a cup of tea and a good book in hand, sitting comfortably in one of the many plush chairs. The room is my favorite because it is most definitely the quietest, far away from the daily havoc of the manor.

I have met the servants of the manor on multiple occasions, all of them being extremely kind and welcoming. Though, something that Mey-Rin, Bard, and Finnian all have in common is that they leave a trail of destruction in their path.

Sebastian, it seems, is always reprimanding them and fixing their mistakes, as a head butler does, I suppose. Then there is the case of Mr. Tanaka. He his a quiet, elderly man who enjoys nothing more then a cup of tea. He is also a very good listener and sometimes accompanies me in the library.

It is very rare that the Earl and I are in the Library at the same time, but when we are, we attempt to ignore each other. Attempt is the key word here. The last occasion was not like the others...

It was a normal day. I was in my favorite chair in the library, quietly reading the works of Willam Shakespeare's Hamlet, when the Guard Dog himself strolled into the library. Like always, I ignored him, but this time was very different.

Without picking a book, he sat down in the chair across from mine. It was silent for a moment, before he finally spoke up. "So.... what are you reading..?"

Off-taken for a moment, I looked up at him, bewildered. Then my bewilderment faded and I shot a glare at him. "Why are you talking to me?" I questioned.

He let out a small huff. "I do not wish to engage in petty conversation myself, but, Sebastian insisted I come in here and talk with you. Now, I will repeat myself, what are you reading?"

I let out my own annoyed huff. "Shakespeare's Hamlet"

The Guard Dog nodded. "An excellent choice. Though, I'm more a fan of the works of Edgar Allen Poe myself."

I raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "Are you now...?"

He nodded once again. "I am. The Raven is probably my favorite... so, anyways... what part are you at?"

Briefly, I looked down at the book in my hands, before meeting his eyes once more. "I am just about to read the Soliloquy."

"Ah, I see..."

Thinking for a moment, I looked back down at the book and began to recite the passage smoothly.

"To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered."

Pursing my lips slightly, I looked up at Lord Phantomhive. His visible eye was wide in shock and, slowly, he began to clap for me.

"That was... wow...!"

I gave him a swift nod. "Thank you."

"Where did you learn to read like that?"

"Well, my father was a writer and my mother was a teacher, so I was taught how to read at a young age, what with being surrounded by books and all..."

The Guard Dog nodded and stood. "Thank you for allowing me to speak with you... and for indulging me in your performance."

"Your welcome, Lord Phantomhive." I said as he began to walk towards the doors of the library.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned to me. "Come now... you are a guest here Miss Bodiguard." He said, and then did something unexpected. He smiled.

"Call me Ciel."