...
Dancing in the Violet Moon
...
Estella gave out a heavy sigh as she continued following the girl's movements with eyes flicking from side to side. The said girl darted around the closet room, going from side to side, with a pile of dresses hung limply on a forearm. Elizabeth hummed as she continued picking and adding dresses onto the pile of dresses in her arm. Leaning back onto the door frame behind her, Estella continued watching her every movement. Flicking her eyes away from the female, they slowly flicked about the room as she looked around to study it once again.
The narrow long room stretched up all the way to the end where a large window was located at the wall opposite the entrance where she was now standing at. The other female moved through the two rows of clothes that stood at the sides against the two stretches of walls, which were covered with olive green wallpaper. The click-clack of Elizabeth's shoes echoed throughout the room as the girl darted from side to side excitedly. Shadows were casted across the room by the two lamps of light which hung on the either walls.
She snapped her head over to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name to see her gesturing for her to come over. Giving a curt nod, Estella pushed her away from the door frame to an upright standing position and strolled obligingly over to the girl.
The minute she reached Elizabeth, the girl turned to her with a smile and extending the pile of dresses towards her. "Estella, can you help me hold these…? Thank you!"
When Estella took the pile of dresses from Elizabeth, her breath puffed out in surprise as her knees buckled slightly under the unexpected heavy weight of the dresses. Another arm shooting out to support the heavy weight, Estella steadied herself to straighten to an upright position and looked up to see that Elizabeth already have another smaller pile of newly added dresses in her arms. Grimacing in disgust when the girl took out a pink frilly dress, she eyed the dress as it got added onto the pile of dresses in the arm of the other female.
Gaping in bewilderment as her widened eyes flicked down to the enormous pile of dresses in her hand and then to the other pile in Elizabeth's arm, Estella raised both eyebrows at the exaggerating number of dresses which the girl picked.
"La-Lady Elizabeth…. I'm sure that these numbers of dresses you have picked would be enough…I suggest that we go straight into preparing…."
Elizabeth, who was scanning through the rows of dresses, turned to her and tilted her head with a smile. Her green eyes then flicked down to the enormous pile of dresses in the arms of Estella before they went wide in realization. She looked up at her with a sheepish smile.
"Oh no…I got so carried away that I didn't realize that I have already picked so many! Sorry, Estella….Oh dear, they must be heavy! Let me help you with some of those dresses…." Elizabeth extended her unoccupied hand towards her.
Estella flicked her eyes down to the hand before looking up at the girl. "No, it's okay. I can manage….So want to head back to my room now…?"
Elizabeth stared back for awhile before giving her a nod. "Alright….Let's go!"
Returning the gesture, Estella spun around and exited the room. Spinning around, just in time to see Elizabeth too stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
The girl turned around to face her with a wide smile on her face and chirped. "Let's head to my room instead!"
Tilting her head at the sudden change of venue, Estella shot back a smile before giving Elizabeth a curt nod. "Alright…."
'Let's go' was Elizabeth's only response before she started forward to lead them to their destination. Estella raised an eyebrow at how the girl hopped excitedly down the hallway before taking a step forward to follow.
...
…..
Eyes widened as Estella stepped into the room after its owner; she gaped in awe at the size of the room. Following after Elizabeth further into the room, Estella glanced around the room while they were at it. The room looked about the size of two of her room. The huge crimson draped curtains hung at the either sides of the large window at the wall across the entrance, blocked the most of the sunlight from the outside, making the whole room dim. The bit of sunlight which shone through the gap between the two curtains was the only source of light, leaving the room not in total darkness. The bed which stood against the side wall of the left looked about the size of a king-sized bed. Its cover was a sea of pink and four soft toys sat slumped against the head board of the bed. Flicking her eyes down to the other end of the bed, she noted a cushioned bench which stood against its wooden board.
Padding across the beige carpeted floor, she noted the make-up equipments which sat on a dressing table located diagonally across the bed at the side wall on the right. Next to the dressing table, there stood a huge wardrobe.
Snapping her head back to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name, she saw that the girl was already across the room, standing by the side of the bed which now have a pile of dresses on it. Strolling over when Elizabeth waved her over, she stopped at the side of the bed and too placed the large pile of dresses in her arms down on the bed before turning to face Elizabeth.
"Alright. Let's get started!"
Elizabeth strolled over to the huge wardrobe the minute she said that and yanked the doors of it opened to reveal a large collection of clothes in it. While Elizabeth was strolling back, her eyes flicked down to the object that was clutched in her hands. The instant feelings of dread and disgust came swirling within her at the sight of the object which was one of the culprit that made her dislike wearing dresses. To be more specific, the type which she dislike wearing the most are the ones that are usually worn for formal events such as balls.
She gingerly reached out to receive that object from Elizabeth before lifting it to her eye level. Her eyes then narrowed at it as she shot it a look of disgust. Corset, the hateful bind which are worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for beauty. Its tightness was the one that made her dislike wearing it.
Letting the arm which had the corset held by it, drop limply to her side, Estella shot the watching girl a pleading look and questioned. "Do I really have to wear this…?"
"Of course! I'm going to make sure you look extremely gorgeous, and that would be my welcome gift to you! So you have to wear it!..." Elizabeth extended a hand towards her and continued. "Come one, give that to me. I'll help you put it on."
"B-but I-"
"Please, Estella! Please! Just let me do this for you as a welcome gift! Come on, Estella, please…." Estella was about to protest as an attempt to convince her but gave in when Elizabeth shot her puppy eyes.
"Alright, alright...But I'll put it on myself."
Sighing in resignation, Estella glanced down at the corset in her hand and threw it a disgusted look.
"Alright! Thank you, Estella! Now, go and put that on!" Elizabeth ordered cheerfully.
Giving out another sigh of resignation, Estella asked halfheartedly. "Alright….May I use your bathroom…?"
"Of course! Go ahead!..." The girl chirped.
Turning to the direction of toilet which its entrance was located at the far left of the same wall as the one the bed stood against, Estella padded across the carpeted floor towards the toilet.
...
…..
After much struggle, the corset was successfully worn. Now She was standing stiffly at the side as she tugged at the hem of the corset which was now bind tightly around her torso, in discomfort. Tugging at the corset, Estella eyed the other female who was flipping through the pile of dresses on the bed. Standing there with a bored look, she watched on as Elizabeth continued flipping through them for the fifth piece of dress for her to try. Sighing heavily, Estella glanced down at the pile of worn dresses. She continued tugging at the hem of corset as she waited for her fifth piece.
Turning her head up over to Elizabeth when she gave an excited outcry, her eyes widened at the piece of dress the girl was holding by its hanger. It was a dark purple tube long dress with silver studs at its top and as well as on the ruffled designs which they were holding at near its end. She could not help but gape in awe at it. It was a simple yet beautiful piece of dress. Unlike the previous few dresses which have either too many complex designs or just too plain. This dress looks just right, not too plain or too complex.
Elizabeth walked towards her and handed it to her before she exclaimed excitedly. "I bet this dress will be the perfect one for you! Go on….try it!"
Carefully taking a hold on the dress, Estella gave the girl a curt nod before turning to the toilet to do what Elizabeth told her to do.
...
…..
Blushing when an excited squeal emitted from Elizabeth the moment she stepped out of the toilet, Estella could not help but smile at her excitement.
"Oh my god! That dress definitely fits you! See, I knew it's the perfect dress for you!" Elizabeth chirped.
Estella only nodded in agreement at her. What Elizabeth said was true, it was indeed the perfect dress for her. She liked how the dress fitted just right for her and how it brought out her curves. Now that she have finally got used to the tight corset, Estella could move about with ease. Moving a hand down across the dress, she grew fond of its smoothness.
Looking up at Elizabeth, she nodded at her gratefully. "Thank you, Lady Elizabeth….You were right."
The girl only nodded in response before she spoke. "Alright, let's get your hair and make-ups done!..." Elizabeth strolled over to the dressing table and pulled out its cushioned stool before continuing. "….Come, sit down!"
Nodding at her, Estella strolled over and settled down on the stool and looked up to face the mirror. Staring at her reflection, it made her truly believe that it was indeed the perfect dress for her.
She then flicked her eyes away from hers to Elizabeth's when she spoke. "You have such a nice hair! Hmm…But something seems missing…Let me think…."
While Elizabeth was pondering over the matter, Estella studied her own reflection in the mirror, or more particularly the subject of the matter….. Her hair. She could not help but agree with Elizabeth, her fiery red hair was neither too straight nor too curly. By the look of her hair, they probably fall between the category of straight and curly. In other words, they are semi-straight. Still studying them, a feeling of pride for them swelled within her. She noted that her fiery red hair reached down to a satisfying length at the middle of her back, not too long or not too short.
Liking the feeling of her hair as she ran her fingers through a bunch of her side hair, Estella continued combing through them, still studying them at the same time. Frowning when she noted and realized that what Elizabeth said was true, something about it was indeed missing. Frown deepening in concentration, Estella flicked her eyes about her hair to search hard for answers to answer the nagging at the back of her mind.
Her eyes then flicked over to the other female's reflection in the mirror when Elizabeth gave out an outcry of realization.
"I know! Your hair looks fine….but since you are attending a ball, your hair needs to suit you for a ball…! I know….!" Raising an eyebrow at how overexcited the female looked, Estella gingerly returned the wide excited-looking smile Elizabeth shot her through the reflection in the mirror. Turning her attention back to her reflection in the mirror when Elizabeth strolled away, it took her a few moments to realize what Elizabeth stated was true. Her hair did look too plain for a ball.
Flicking her eyes away when a 'Found it!' emitted from somewhere behind her, the other girl spoke again in an excited tone.
"Alright, let's get started….!"
...
…..
With an excited chirp of 'Done', her eyes widened at her reflection the moment Elizabeth stepped away. The either sides of her hair were pulled back to be swept up with the bit of the top portion of her back hair into a high puffy hair bun, making an up-swept hairstyle. The rest of her hair which were swept over her shoulder to the front, they trailed down to her chest, ending with loose curls. The light make-up which Elizabeth help her to put on made the skin on her face seemed to glow. The eyeliner and mascara made her ice blue eyes stand out even more. Her bright fiery red hair contrasted with the dark purple dress, was a compatible match despite of their contrast.
Turning to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name, Estella watched her strolled over to her with a pair of black flats clutched in one hand and a pair of silver high heels in the other.
"Do you prefer flats or high heels?..." The girl tilted her head at her in question with a smile.
Glancing from side to side at the two pairs in her hand, they landed on the flats before flicking up to the girl. "Flats."
Elizabeth nodded at her before extending the mentioned shoes to her. "Alright!...Hope they fits! Go on, put it on...!"
Accepting the shoes from her, Estella slipped her feet into them and was surprised to find out how comfortable they were. Frowning when she realized that they were a little loose, she shrugged indifferently at the slight looseness before looking up at the watching girl.
Nodding at her, she spoke. "It fits."
Elizabeth shot her an excited smile. "Great! Alright, stand up. Let me see…."
Obligingly standing up, Estella instantly cringed away when Elizabeth came too close to admire her work. Wincing when the girl gave out a high-pitched excited squeal, Estella fought hard to keep from clapping her hands over her ears at the high-pitched squeal.
Then letting a soft sigh of relief when Elizabeth stepped away with still the awed look on her face. Then the girl gave her a head-to-toes glance and chirped.
"You look CUTE!~…. Hmm…Wait, no…you look more of beautiful than cute. Aww….I was thinking of making you look cute but…." Elizabeth gave her another head-to-toes glance. When her green eyes flicked back up, the pout on her face instantly slipped into a smile and she spoke.
"Oh well…I still did make you look good!..So….Estella, do you like it…?"
Glancing down at her dress, Estella looked up again and nodded. "Of course. Thank you…"
The girl returned the nod with a wide smile before she turned to look at the clock which was hung on the wall beside the dressing table. Shooting the girl at a puzzled raised eyebrow when Elizabeth gasped, she questioned.
"Wha-What is it, Lady Elizabeth…?
"It's already 5:26pm! I've better go change!"
Snapping her head over to the clock behind, Estella widened her eyes at the time before turning back to Elizabeth. "I think I better head back to my room now…."
Elizabeth nodded and instantly marched to her wardrobe. Yanking open the doors, Elizabeth turned back to Estella who was about to turn towards the door. "Hope you like my gift!"
The girl shot her a wink before disappearing behind the doors of the wardrobe.
Nodding, Estella spoke to reply. "Like it. Thank you!"
Reaching out towards the handle of the door when she stopped in front of it, a 'You're welcome' chirped back in reply from the other girl.
Pulling open the door, Estella nodded at her response before stepping out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, Estella hurried down the hallway towards her room.
...
…..
In the process of strolling down the flight of stair, Ciel glanced over to the source of the only chatter in the entrance hall to see all three of his incompetent servants chattering away excitedly beside the foot of the stairs. His eye widened slightly in surprise to see that all three has already prepared and assembled at their meeting point as he was half-expecting one of them to be the one who will be late to assemble. Nodding to himself with satisfaction at their readiness, Ciel strolled down the last few steps of the stair and landed at its foot.
The loud chatter from the trio instantly hushed down when they noticed his presence the minute he landed at the foot of the stair. The trio spun to face him and responded to his presence with bows.
"Young Master!" They greeted in unison.
Nodding back in return at their bows of acknowledgment, his eye flicked from each servant to another as he took head-to-toes glances at each of them.
Meirin, the only female servant currently present, was clad in a navy blue long strap dress which ends with slight puffiness at near its hem, reaching right above her knees. Her purple long hair was up in a puffy bun. Her attire made her look right for the coming ball. The only thing that made her overall appearance seemed slightly odd were her usual pair of glasses. But other than that, her appearance looked suitable for the ball.
Nodding at her overall appearance, Ciel flicked his eye over to the gardener of his household.
Finny was clad in a typical tuxedo of black. His hair was in their usual mess but looking at his overall appearance, he looked decent for a ball.
His eye flicked over to the last of his three incompetent servants and raised an eyebrow at his attire.
Bard was clad too in same outfit as Finny. However, it looked sloppy comparing to the other male. His not-very-properly-tucked inner piece, a button-down shirt which could be seen from the unbutton wide opened suit, had some part of its hem hanging loose from his black pants. His hair, like Finny's, was too in their usual mess. But overall, his attire was suitable for a ball besides the untucked bit of his button-down shirt and his unbuttoned suit.
Sighing at the sloppy dressing of the blond male, his eye flicked up to look at Bard. Then he spoke to order.
"Bard. Tuck in that shirt and button up your suit now."
Bard instantly responded with a salute. "Yes, Young Master!"
Once Bard was done with he was told to do, Ciel nodded satisfyingly at his newly tucked and buttoned suit. Then turning to the other younger blond male when he heard an utter of the name how his servants always address him as.
Shooting a raised eyebrow at him, Ciel spoke. "What is it….?"
Finny then spoke to question. "Erm….Whose ball are we attending….?"
Ciel stared at him for moment before speaking to answer. "Alois Trancy's…."
All three had their eyes widened at the information. Finny then nodded knowingly at his master.
Snapping his head over to a sound of approaching footsteps, Ciel nodded curtly at its owner in acknowledgment.
"Sebastian."
The said butler stopped at the outside of the circle of the group and uttered a 'Young Master' in reply, returning the gesture with a bow. "The carriages are prepared and are ready to go."
Nodding at his report, Ciel asked. "What is the time now, Sebastian…?"
The mentioned butler instantly took out his pocket watch and flipped it open to glance at the answer before snapping it back close. Slipping it back into his tailcoat, Sebastian glanced up at his master to answer that question.
"It's now 5:42pm…."
Frowning at the said time, Ciel turned to face the stairs. Looking up at the top of it, Ciel asked in frustration to no one in particular. "Then where are those two?..."
...
…..
Lifting up the hair which slipped back down to her back, Estella swept that bunch of hair over her shoulder like how it was like before it slipped down to her back. Her eyes then instantly went wide in realization as a feeling of dread fell upon her.
The tattoo...
Her mind was too occupied by the ball that she had completely forgot that sickening tattoo which SIGMA had gave her. A hand flew to the back of her neck in one swift motion to where it bears the tattoo, she let out a small gasp of horror.
Oh no...Did Lady Elizabeth see that tattoo...?... No...I don't think so...Or else she could have asked me about it...
Giving out a sigh of relief, she strolled over to her dressing table and reached out to yank one of its drawer out. Picking out a black ribbon, she closed the drawer and started tying it around her neck. When she checked that the tattoo was completely concealed by the ribbon, she nodded satisfyingly at the mirror.
Estella then took an overall glance once last time at her reflection in the mirror. Nodding satisfyingly again to her reflection, she turned towards the door and strolled towards it. Yanking its handle down, she pulled it opened before slipping through the gap to exit her room. Closing the door behind her with a small 'thump', she strolled off towards the direction of stairs. Holding up her dress a little as she moved across the carpeted floor, Estella could not help but suddenly feel a swell of excitement within her.
She then quickened her pace towards the direction of the meeting point.
...
…..
Ciel snapped his head over and looked up at the stair when a squeal of his name sounded from it. His eye widened when Elizabeth with her untied blond curly hair, clad in a light blue strap dress, ran excitedly down the stairs towards him. Sebastian instantly responded by greeting her with a bow. A choir of greetings followed after from the trio from somewhere behind him the minute they know of her arrival. The next thing he found himself in was in the arms of his fiancé, receiving his usual bone-crushing hug. Wincing at how she had hugged him too tightly, Ciel patted her back in return of the hug before struggling to peel her arms off him.
Managing to free himself from her bone-crushing hug, Ciel scooted slightly away from his fiancée before looking down to see her give him a head-to-toes glance.
He raised an eyebrow when the girl gave out a squeal. "What is it….?"
A smile cracked across her face as she spoke to answer. "It's just that…you look very handsome in that…"
The raised eyebrow rose even higher as Ciel glanced down at his attire.
He was now clad in a button-down shirt with a high-collared black jacket worn on the outside had a silver chain hung across his chest, and black shorts which reached right above his knees, with knee-high black gartered socks and boots.
"How a-"
Looking up to over to Elizabeth, Ciel frowned when he realized that he had no longer her attention as she had her back facing him. He then noticed at how her head was slightly inclined upwards towards the stairs. The next thing that Elizabeth chirped in excitement identified the reason for it.
"Estella! You're here!"
A choir of exclaimed acknowledgments came after, from the trio.
His head snapped up to the said girl, only to have his eye widened in response the moment it landed on her. There was the said girl clutching tightly onto the railing of the stair with one hand and another hand grabbing onto the fabric of her dark purple tube dress tightly in her fist as she took cautious steps down the stair. His eye could not help but catch the curves that this dress had showed off. Her fiery red hair stood out even more against the dark color of purple of her dress. The light make-up on her face seemed to bring out a glow on her skin.
Flicking his eye away to his butler, Ciel watched him extended his arm to offer a hand towards Estella which was instantly clutched on by her as she continued with still cautious steps down the stair, but, this time, with ease. The moment she landed at the foot of the stair, Estella let go of his hand and uttered a 'Thank you' to him, which Sebastian bowed with a 'Welcome' in return.
The trio led by Meirin then rushed over to her the moment Sebastian stepped away from her. The leader, who led them over to her, Meirin, turned to Elizabeth when she was done gushing over Estella, and exclaimed in amazement.
"Wo-Wow, La-Lady Elizabeth!... You've done an incredible job!..."
His fiancée beside him beamed in pride at her work and chirped. "Well, of course!..."
She turned to him and tilted her head at him with a wide smile on her face. "Don't you agree, Ciel?..."
His eye flicked over to the subject of the topic and gave her an overall glance before it flicked back to his fiancée. Giving her a curt nod in agreement, Ciel answered with a curt 'Aa.'
Then his eye flicked back to Estella and gave another gaze. His fiancée had indeed done an incredible job. As his eye slowly moved down from her head, he felt a small of surprise as he thought of how her fiancée was obsessed with making things or people 'cute', helped her prepared and the result turned out to be something of what he did not expected. Instead of being 'cute', Ciel could not deny that his fiancée had really done a good job in making her new victim look….he could not help but admit….so elegantly beautiful. Ciel fought hard to not gape in amazement at how the dress, her hairstyle and make-up could do this much enhancing to her appearance.
After he had finished with the overall gaze from her head to toes, Ciel looked up to see her head turning away from Meirin, spinning towards his direction. A feeling of panic perked up within him as Ciel tried to tear his gaze away from the girl as fast as possible. Not flicking it away from her fast enough for her to not notice his stare, Ciel grew rigid when Estella stared back with a raised eyebrow.
To hide his embarrassment of being caught staring, his eye flicked back to the girl and he shot back a raised eyebrow. Her raised eyebrow was then replaced by a look of indifference.
"Phantomhive…..Is thi-"
She then stopped in her midst of her question when Ciel narrowed his eye at her.
"…Oh….erm…I mean, Master…..Is this okay for the ball?..."
Ciel paused for a moment before giving a curt answer in reply. "Decent."
Narrowing his eye again at the girl when she snorted at his answer, Ciel gave out a heavy sigh as he thought of how she was still the same Blancbaston girl afterall even under that dress and all that make-up.
Frowning when Finny nudged her at her side, she turned to see how he gave her an incredulous look with eyes flicking over to gesture at Ciel. Then turning to the person he was gesturing at, Estella noticed how Ciel had his visible eye narrowed at her and instantly know the reason for it. She shot Finny a sheepish look, and she turned back to Ciel.
"Oh….Erm….I'm now having a runny nose, don't mind that….."
Scoffing at her obvious attempt of trying to cover up her disrespect to him, Ciel shot her a cold glare. "Know your place, Blancbaston…."
Not bothering for a response, Ciel turned to all and spoke. "Alright. We now shall get going!"
Grunting in response at the choir of 'Yes, sir', Ciel turned to watch Sebastian directed an order to Bard. "Bard, take the second carriage…."
When Bard nodded firmly at that order, Ciel spoke again. "Let's head out!"
With that, he spun towards the door and started towards it with all the others following behind him. Estella, who trailed behind the excited trio, snorted and rolled her eyes at the retreating back of her master.
...
…..
Estella watched in amusement at how excited Meirin and Finny were as they continued chatting on about the coming ball which they were now heading off to, on this carriage. It was hard to not to be amused by how they gestured their hands around dramatically as they went on with the chatter. In fact, their excitement was so contagious that now she herself was also starting to feel excited for the ball too. It had been about two years since she had ever attended a ball or any other social gatherings. She could not help but admit to herself that she did really miss it all.
Then slumping back on her seat, she flicked her eyes away from the two who sat opposite her, and gazed out of the window. The sky was filled with mixed patches of blazing color of reddish-orange and dominating color of dark blue as the celestial source of the reddish-orange begun its descend into the horizon, indicating dusk.
The carriage driven by Bard, trudged along a stone path behind the other carriage where her master and his fiancée occupied now. Estella then straightened up into an upright position against her seat when she caught sight of a manor from a distance. The golden-ish yellow light which shone through its windows made sighting of the manor even easier. Fondling with the velvet fabric of her dress, she watched as the fast flashes of dark and looming trees flashed passed, through the window.
With her head resting on the knuckles of an arm which was propped the arm of the seat she was now on, her gaze stayed fixed on the distant manor.
Is that the manor….?
Her unspoken question was then answered when Meirin who was pressing her face against the glass of the very same window she was looking through, chirped excitedly.
"There it is!"
She then leaned away from the glass and turned to Estella with an eager smile on her face, with an index finger jabbing repeatedly in an eager manner at the spot on the glass where the said manor was seen through.
"Estella….Do you see that manor there? That's the Trancy manor!"
An 'Oh' was Estella's only response as she frowned in concentration. Something nagged at the back of her mind at the mentioned name; she just simply could not figure out the reason for the nagging.
Hmm…..Trancy…?
Shrugging it off, Estella turned to Finny who sat beside her female co-worker when he uttered her name.
"Seriously, Estella….I'm still really surprised that Lady Elizabeth didn't dress you up in her weird 'cute' clothes! Do you know that I was even praying for you just now?...So how did it actually go….?"
Estella stared back at him for a moment before bursting into chuckles.
"Pray….? It was not that bad….The only thing that scares me about her was her overwhelming enthusiasm, that's all…" She shrugged.
Both of her and Finny then turned to look at the outside through the window when Meirin announced their arrival at their destination. It was true. Estella watched as the carriage trudged through the wide opened huge gates, following after the leading carriage where their master and his fiancée sat in. Leaning in closer to the window, Estella studied the approaching manor and the land which it stood on. The lawns at the either sides of the stone path were seas of yellow flowers with a line of violet flower framing them. Her eyes then flicked over to the building. The enormous violet-roofed building with yellowish brown outer walls stood majestically tall in the shine of blazing reddish orange. The building looked seemly more majestic than her new home, the Phantomhive manor. Then she noted a small patch of the very same pattern as the two patches of lawn which the carriage had just trudged through, when the carriage rounded around it and stopped at the huge steps of stair at the manor's porch.
They had finally truly reached their destination, the Trancy manor.
When the door of the carriage swung opened to reveal Bard, Estella pushed herself up to a stand along with her two other fellow passengers. Finny then strolled over to the door with Meirin and her following behind. Watching as Finny landed with a heavy 'thump' on the ground, Meirin too followed suit with the help of the older blond man. Grasping the man's hand in hers, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress into tight fist and awkwardly got down from the carriage. Strolling a little away from the door so Bard can close its door, she snapped her head up to see that her companions from the both carriages had already assembled at the foot of the stairs. She turned and watched as the two carriages which were now led by Sebastian and Bard respectively on each, trudged off and away to allow any other entering carriages to take their places.
Turning back to her other companions, she saw that they were already starting to move, led by her master and his fiancée, towards the wide opened doors of the manor. Gathering the fabric of her dress in fists, Estella walked up beside to her co-workers and followed the two at the front along with them.
...
…..
The melodic tune of violins and cellos instantly greeted them the moment they stepped through the wide opened doors of the building. Dances could instantly be seen from at the mouth of the doors as duos in different colors danced across the purple carpeted floor. The chandeliers with glints of golden-ish yellow which were hung from the high ceiling bathed the room in golden-ish yellow light. The sides of entrance hall which were bustled with well-dressed businessmen and ladies were where most the chatters could heard from. Lines of tables on the either sides of the room were occupied with plates of food. Estella noted the three of purple-haired who all stood in the same upright standing position against the wall on the left of the room were dressed up in uniforms in the exact same way. They were all clad in a white long sleeved shirt with a brown vest on the outside and black pants.
She then snapped her head back to the front when an outcry of her master's name emitted from that direction. A boy came running up to greet her master in eagerness.
"Ciel~"
"Trancy." The said boy addressed the other male adolescent with a poison-laced voice. The look of utter disgust was clearly shown on his face; it was obvious that he have a great dislike for the boy. The Trancy boy was apparently oblivious to that look of disgust as he spun around in circles childishly, yelling in repetition.
"Ciel has arrived! ~"
Estella raised an eyebrow at his child-like behavior as she watched him continue with it. She then leaned in towards Finny who too shot a raised eyebrow at the ruckus and whispered in question.
"Is he okay….?"
Finny whispered back in response with eyes still fixed on the subject of the question. "….Erm…I don't think so…He also behaved like that when we were invited to his Halloween party last October. "
"What's his full name…?"
"I only know him as 'Alois Trancy'…..
"Alois….?"
The male only nodded in confirmation as a response. Estella then flicked her eyes over to the subject and studied him.
The sides of his light blond hair curled inwards, curtaining his creamy porcelain-looking face. His eyes were a light shade pair of blue. The white button-down shirt underneath a green vest that he was clad in can been seen through his unbuttoned long plum purple frock coat. A black shorts and long black stockings with brown high heel boots clad the lower half of his body. She also noticed that he was a few inches taller than her master.
She then flicked her eyes back to Ciel when he spoke coldly, responding to Alois's childish behavior with an annoyed look on his face.
"Shut up, Trancy."
Obviously oblivious to that, Alois continued with his ruckus. He then abruptly stopped and threw out both arms in a welcoming gesture at something behind them.
"Oh! Sebastian, you're here! ~"
Attentions from the group turned at this to see the said butler strolling in with Bard following behind. The said butler then only narrowed his eyes at the Trancy and uttered in acknowledgment. "Trancy."
Alois then suddenly burst out into a fit of giggles in response before giving out an enthusiastic yell of a name. "Claude! ~"
Estella could not help but stared dumbfounded at that odd behavior. She then decided that this Trancy boy was indeed mentally unstable. Then flicking her eyes over to an approaching butler, they followed him as he strolled towards them and stopped beside the boy. They then widened at how that butler reminds her of Sebastian when she got a better view of the butler.
The tall man, who was addressed by Alois as 'Claude', had raven black hair which length was similar to Sebastian's. The only difference in his hair was that his fringe was swept back, unlike Sebastian's. Another thing that made him looked similar to Sebastian was his height. The other thing that made him look different from Sebastian was the pair of glasses which sat on the bridge of his nose.
The butler bowed at Alois with a gloved hand on a chest. "What is it, Your Highness…?"
The eyes of the boy lit up as he turned to the man beside him. "Claude! Come, greet your dear friend, Sebastian!"
Claude stared stonily down at him and spoke. "I'm afraid you have mistaken, he is never my friend."
He then turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian."
The said butler narrowed his eyes at him with intense hatred and returned the acknowledgment menacingly. "Claude."
Estella eyed the both butlers and shuddered at the tense atmosphere between them. The tense atmosphere was then broken by Alois when he spoke.
"Ciel~ so you brought your servants? ~"
Estella instantly grew rigid when the eyes of the boy flicked from each of her co-workers and finally stop fixed on her. He turned to Ciel and spoke. "A new one? ~"
Alois skipped over and stopped in front of her. Frowning, Estella leaned away in discomfort when the boy came too close to her, leaving only a small gap between their noses. Clutching the fabric of her dress in tight fists, she fought hard against the strong urge of wanting to punch his face away. Her eyebrows moved down to form into a heated glare when the boy took a small bunch of her hair and twirled them between his fingers. Estella gave out an exasperated sigh and with a swift movement, she slapped his hand away.
Stepping away to break the close proximity, she snapped her head up at the boy to see him stare surprised at her. She glared at him and spoke in a menace-laced voice.
"Do. Not. Touch. Me…..Understood, Trancy?"
She then ignored the small gasp which emitted from Finny who gave her a look of bewilderment from her side. Well, no conditions in her contract with her master said anything about needing to respect others, and in this case, she felt that it was not a need to give this boy any.
Ciel and Elizabeth stared shock with widened eyes along with her co-workers at her.
A small unnoticeable smirk then cracked across Ciel's face. He was kind of glad for the girl's braveness, could not help but admit that he actually liked how she got back at the hateful boy. Maybe her defiance was not exactly a bad thing afterall….
The surprised look on Alois's face changed into an amused smirk as he tugged hard at her hair causing the glaring girl to wince. "Feisty, aren't you? ~"
"You-"
Her eyes instantly widened at him when he suddenly reached out and snatched up one of her arm. With a tug on her arm, the next thing she felt was her head colliding onto something hard and an instant feeling of warmth could be felt radiating from it. Estella then gave out a small shriek of surprise when she felt an arm snaked around her waist. Head moving up against it in a swift motion, she snapped her head up to see Alois staring down at her with an amused smirk.
Blinking frantically at him, Estella stammered between a snarl as her eyebrows moved down to form a heated glare.
"Wha-what the hell are you doing?"
She raised an eyebrow at him when he suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. Once the giggles died down, the boy chirped.
"Why are you asking such a stupid question? Of course, to dance! ~"
She shot him an incredulous look in return. "Dance…? Who wants to dance with you….? Now….Let go of me!"
Squirming, Estella struggled to break herself out of the arm which was enclosed around her. Her attempt was obviously fruitless when the arm around her tightened even more in response as Alois watched her struggle in amusement with a lopsided smirk.
Snapping her head up at him with a glare, she said menacingly. "Let. Me. Go."
"No." The lopsided smirk cracked even wider across his face.
Estella narrowed her eyes dangerously at him and growled. "Why you…."
Estella then gave out an exasperated sigh at another failed attempt of trying to free herself; she turned to her co-workers with a pleading look, but only to return with apologetic looks. Then she flicked her eyes over to Sebastian who watched with an emotionless look plastered on his face before flicking them back up to glare at Alois.
Obviously oblivious to it, Alois gave out chuckles of amusement at her struggle and looked away from her over to her master.
"Ciel~ let me borrow her, will you? ~"
Not bothering for any response, Alois dragged the protesting girl in his arm away to join the dances in the centre of the room.
Glaring at Alois's retreating back, his eye followed the duo until they disappeared out of sight into the dance which was located in the middle. Frowning in concentration, Ciel tried to figure out the reason for the sudden of unexplained feeling of bitterness stirred within him during the moment when he saw the hateful mad boy pulled that girl into his arm. Sighing in frustration when he simply just could not answer the nagging at the back of his mind, Ciel decided that the redundant matter was not a worth of his time and shrugged it off.
He then turned to the remaining of his servants and spoke. "Meet back here at 8pm. One of you is to make sure that Blancbaston is informed of this. Understood?..."
When the trio responded with a choir of 'Yes, sir', Ciel nodded curtly and spoke again. "Alright, go ahead and enjoy this ball."
Another choir of 'Yes, sir' responded in return. Ciel then turned to his watching fiancée beside him with an extended hand towards her. "Let's dance."
Her eyes lit up at this and Elizabeth instantly grabbed hold of the waiting hand and chirped with an eager smile. "Of course!"
Nodding curtly at her, Ciel pulled her by her hand in his and led them to the center of the room to join the dance.
...
…..
The way his arm snaked around her in a tight hold, made her head press constricted against his chest. Her feet fought hard to keep up with the male's pace as he dragged her, weaving through dancing duos into the inner circle of the dance. The moment they were done weaving through and stopped at a spot, Estella instantly pulled her head away from his chest and shot him a glare. Alois who was apparently oblivious to it, reached to her arms. Ignoring her protests, he placed one on his shoulder and grabbed the other in his hand. His other hand rested on the lower part of her back before started moving to sway them to the music.
Estella gave him an irritated glare. "Hey, didn't I already told you that I- "
"Just dance." Alois curtly snapped at her.
Frowning at him, she gave out a sigh of resignation and gave in to him. An expression of utter sullen plastered on her face as she continued swaying with him to the music. Estella spun her head to the side to observe the other duos.
The small orchestra of violins and cellos, playing at the corner of the room, filled the room with a light and melodious tune. Dancing duos around them twirled about the dance floor to the music. Faces of contentment and joy could be seen on almost of all dancers, her face was the only one that held a sullen one. Her eyes flicked to the sound of girly giggles to see her master and his fiancée dancing across the dance floor. The look on her master's face and the look on Elizabeth's were a complete contrast. An emotionless look remained plastered on his face as her master gazed down at his smiling fiancée, twirling her around to the music.
Her eyes flicked back up at Alois when she felt him release his hold on her hand, she watched as the hand reached out to a curled lock of her hair and started fondling with it. She then frowned at him when he lifted it up to a side of his face and started brushing the lock of hair repeatedly against it.
She shot him an incredulous look as she watched him continued with his caressing. "Trancy. Seriously, what's with you and my hair….?"
Alois flicked his eyes over to her and burst out into a fit of giggles. He then chirped happily. "Nothing~"
Estella tried to cringe her head away when the boy suddenly leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, but her attempt to do so failed when the hand on her lower back slide up to a little higher up on her back, constricted her, only enabling her to cringe her head slightly away. Grimacing in discomfort at how close was his face was to hers, she glared at him and was ready to yell. However, she suddenly grew rigid when a whisper of a name emitted from the male.
"Luca…"
She still remained rigid even when the boy finally broke the uncomfortable close proximity, pulling back to a standing position. The faraway look on his face was then into an eager one. The hand on her back then slid back down to the lower part of her back as he eagerly snatched up her hand to hold it up in his free hand to continue with their dancing.
Estella raised both eyebrows in question at the eager look on his face. The next thing Alois said was the reason for it when his eyes lit up and exclaimed excitedly.
"I know, I know! I'll call you Luca!"
She then blinked at him in bewilderment. "Luca?..."
Alois nodded his head in an eager manner. "Yes,yes~ Now, say it!"
Estella frowned up at him in question. "Say what?..."
A lopsided grin broke across his face. "Yes, Your Highness….!"
She eyed him in bewilderment and scoffed.
"No. Why should I-"
"I said now!" Alois screeched impatiently, interrupting her. His lopsided grin drooped down into gritted teeth as he shot her a dark scowl.
Estella could only blink at him, stunned by his sudden outburst. She then winced when the hand which held hers tightened its grip into a painful hold. Her attempt to pull her hand out of the hold, only made his grip on hers tighten even more.
The male narrowed his eyes dangerously at her and snarled. "NOW!"
The further tightening of his grip on her hand made the already present pain become an even more excruciating one. Whimpering in pain, her vision blurred as tears started forming at the brim of her eyes. Not able to withstand the pain any longer, her breath puffed out in resignation and she gave in to his request.
"Y-Yes, Your Highness….."
Eyes lighting up at this, a grin cracked across his face. "Aa….That's better, Luca!"
Estella frowned, irking at how he kept addressing her with that foreign name. Her eyebrows then moved down to shoot him an irritated glare. "My name isn't Luca! It's Estella! So will you stop calling me 'Luca'?..."
Alois threw a grimace of disgust at the girl in his arm. "Estella….? How disgusting!"
His hand released his hold on hers and reached out to give her hair a hard tug before lifting it up closer to his face. His head snapped back down to her face with the look of disgust still plastered on his.
"This stupid red hair of yours reminds me too much of Luca. How annoying…..!"
He then released his hold on her hair and reached down to seize her hand again to hold it up in his like earlier again. The disgusted look on his face then lit up with a deranged lopsided smile.
"Hmm….Then it's settled, I'll call you Luca~" He chirped happily.
When she was about to open her mouth to protest, Alois threw her an annoyed scowl. "Be quiet!"
The scowl then slipped into a wide eager smile as his eyes lit up at something behind. The next thing that made her grow rigid was when the male suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. When he pulled away, her eyes flicked up to his face in bewilderment.
"Wha-What the h-"
"Sorry, Luca~ I'll dance with you later!" He said in a sing-song voice, interrupting her.
Not bothering for a response, Alois released her from his arm and skipped away to somewhere behind her, yelling in the same sing-song voice. "Claude~"
Estella just turned and stared dumbfounded as the boy pulled his stoic butler into the dance floor, chirping aloud. "Claude, dance with me~"
She could see the glint of annoyance in the eyes of the said butler. Alois who was apparently oblivious to it, burst into a fit of giddy giggles as he leaned his head against the said butler's chest with arms wrapped around him. Claude just peered down at him wordlessly, no hint of emotions apparent on his face.
Estella shook her head in bewilderment at the giggling male. She then frowned in annoyance at the thought of he had just casually gave her a name when he was already well aware that she already have one. The frown deepened in ire at the peck the boy had given her on her forehead. Her face then distorted with a grimace of disgust as she reached up to the spot on her forehead where Alois had kissed on, and started rubbing at it. She shuddered at the lingering feeling of his lips on it.
Sighing heavily, Estella turned away from the duo and weaved her way through the other dancing duos to leave the dance floor.
Crazy weirdo…I'm surprised that the Trancy boy was not yet captured to be sent to the mental hospital…..Hn.
Her eyes lit up when they spotted the familiar face of her new home's butler, Sebastian who stood stoically at the side, watching the whole on-going dance.
Sighing in relief to see someone she know, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress up in fists and quickened her pace towards him.
...
…..
A familiar unexplained feeling of bitterness came as a stab just at the time when Ciel witnessed the hateful mad boy leaned forward and pecked on his partner's forehead, which he somehow managed to face the direction of the dancing duo and witness while he was twirling around with Elizabeth in his arm to the music. Ciel frowned irritably at the nagging feeling which stirred within him as his eye followed the girl as she weaved out to leave the dance floor. The moment she disappeared out into the outer layer of it, Ciel flicked his eye to the mad boy to see him dancing with his stoic butler. He instantly scoffed at the boy's childish and inappropriate behavior.
He then flicked his eye down to peer down at his fiancée when Elizabeth spoke.
"Ciel….That Trancy friend of yours..."
Ciel threw her an insulted look and scoffed even before she could finish. "Friend….? That mad boy is never my friend….."
Elizabeth tilted her head at him in question. "Then what is he….?"
"Just somebody who is really annoying…" He replied nonchalantly.
Elizabeth nodded knowingly in response and spoke again. "He seemed really…..enthusiastic…."
"Enthusiastic…? Hn. That would be an understatement. 'Insane' would suit him better….." Ciel replied matter-of-factly.
"Hmm….Why 'Insane'?..."
Ciel peered down at her for a brief moment before speaking to give her a curt answer. "You will have to see for yourself."
He raised an eyebrow when his fiancée only pouted at him in response as he half-expected her to keep pushing him for answers.
Shrugging to himself, the pair resumed focusing on their dance in silence.
...
…..
Sensing an approaching presence, Sebastian peered over to the direction of it to see his new subordinate strolling towards him. He returned a curt nod when she nodded at him in acknowledgment. When she stopped beside him, she greeted him with a small smile.
"Sebastian."
The said butler returned the smile with a gentlemanly one of his. "Estella."
He shot a raised eyebrow at her when she suddenly shook her in bewilderment at him for an unknown reason. Tilting his head at her odd behavior, he questioned with the gentlemanly smile still plastered on his face. "What is it….?"
The girl gave out an exasperated sigh before speaking to answer him. "That Trancy….Is he always like that….? This crazy….?"
Sebastian stared down at her for moment before nodding. "Unfortunately, yes."
Another exasperated sigh was the girl's only response before she snapped her head up at him again. "Sebastian….What time is it….?"
Instantly taking out his pocket watch, Sebastian flipped it opened and glanced at the answer for her question before snapping it back close. Slipping it back into his jacket, Sebastian flicked his eyes to the girl and gave her a curt answer. "7:26pm."
Estella frowned at the answer and sighed. How she wish she could leave now, she definitely does not want another torturous dance with Alois.
Snapping her head back up at the silent butler, she asked irritably. "What time are we going to leave this place…?"
Sebastian peered down at her with raised eyebrows. "Didn't any of the three tell you…? We are supposed to meet at the entrance at 8pm….."
She gaped at him in surprise. "8pm….?"
When Sebastian nodded in confirmation, Estella gave out a sigh of relief. A few more minutes to go before they leave this place, and when it's time, she would be safe from another dance with the Trancy boy.
Silence prevail the air between them as her eyes flicked around the hall in search for her co-workers. They then stopped when she spotted them sitting at a table, chatting away merrily with each other.
Turning to the butler when she heard an utter of her name, Estella flicked her eyes down to see the waiting hand which was extended towards her before flicking them up to its owner with a questioning look.
Sebastian bowed to her with a gentlemanly smile and spoke. "Shall we dance…..?
Staring at the waiting hand, Estella looked back up at the butler and accepted it with a smile. "Alright."
Estella then frowned when she realized she was too short to place her hand on his shoulder. "Sebastian….you're too tall for me…."
It was true. She was indeed too short for the tall man as she only did reached his chest.
The said butler peered down at her in amusement and chuckled before he reached for the smaller hand which was clung onto his shoulder by its fingers, and slid it to his side, resting it on the part of his arm right under his shoulder.
"Aa…this should be fine."
The girl just shrugged and let him lead them to blend into the group of dancing duos at the dance floor to join the dance.
...
…..
Strolling back to the side with Sebastian, Estella thanked him for the dance. When a gentlemanly smile returned as response, she turned to the front to focus on their progress towards the side. The dance was enjoyable, unlike her first one with Alois. She indeed did enjoy it. Sebastian was the one who had expertly led them through the dance. It was definitely much better than her first one with her first dance partner who annoyingly kept addressing her 'Luca' for whatsoever reason.
Slumping against the purple wall with arms folded across her chest, Estella surveyed the on-going dance in the middle of the room along with the silent butler. Her eyes scanned across the group of dancing duos and spotted her master and his fiancée who were still twirling around together to the melodious tune of the violins and cellos. She then grew rigid when her eyes flicked away from the two and spotted her first dance partner, who stood at the inner of the dance group, glancing around in search for something.
A heavy feeling of dread fell upon her when he started chirping loudly in a sing-song voice, enough to be heard over the music.
"Luca~"
Watching with wide opened eyes as the boy weaved around dancing duos, she snapped her head over to the silent butler beside and hastily spoke. "Aa…I need to go to the bathroom….See you at 8!"
Not waiting for any response, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress in tight fists and sprinted off to get as far from the dance floor as possible.
Coming to an abrupt halt at the other side of the room, Estella turned her head behind and her eyes instantly shot wide opened when she saw the boy strolled towards her direction, not noticing that the person he was looking for was actually just ahead of him.
Shit…He's coming!
Glancing around with her eyes flicking about wildly, they stopped and fixed at the huge door which stood across her. Without a second thought, Estella sprinted towards and yank it open before disappearing into the gap between the doors.
...
…..
The ragged sound of her breath could only be heard as she slumped against the door, breathing hard to calm herself.
Whew! Nearly got caught by that stupid Trancy…!
Straightening to an upright standing position after she had calmed herself down, Estella instantly grew rigid with wide opened eyes at the familiar sight of a dimly lit deserted hallway in front of her. Gingerly taking a few steps forward, her wide opened eyes flicked to the stretch of the lavender carpeted floor, then to the stretches of golden-ish yellow wallpaper at the walls at the either sides of the hallway.
Gasping, her knees buckled under her and she fell hard on the floor when flashbacks started flashing across her mind as her eyes flicked side to side at these two features of the hallway.
Sound of broken glass….-flash-….Fleeing down the hall, padding along the lavender carpeted floor with her mother….-flash-….. Her mother whispered, "Don't. Don't look back, don't ever look back."…..-flash-…. The anxious look on her mother's face….-flash-….Bloodcurdling screams….. –flash-…"…And it looks like…I won't be able to see you turn twelve…"….-flash- ….her mother turning her back to her…-flash-…..Golden-ish yellow walls splattered with blo-
Hands flying to her head, a shriek emitted from the trembling girl as she shook her head, trying to shake off those tormenting flashes of memories. Tears trailed down her cheeks in rivulets as Estella collapsed on all fours with her elbows propped on the carpeted floor.
"Enough….Stop….Go away…." She whimpered between sobs.
The grips of her hands on her head tightened as she continued to fight off the haunting flashes of her memories.
...
…..
Ciel tapped his foot impatiently as his eyes flicked about at each of his companions to find one of them missing. Frowning at the absence of the missing person, he spun to the three of his servants and narrowed his eyes at them.
"Did you guys inform her that she was supposed to meet with us at this time….?" He asked irritably.
The trio looked nervously at each other before the younger blond male of the trio spoke up. "We coul-"
Finny was interrupted when Sebastian held a hand at him as a sign for him to stop talking. Sebastian then turned to Ciel with a small bow.
"I have already informed her of that, Young Master."
Ciel frowned at his butler. "Then where is she now…?"
"She told me that she needed to go to the bathroom and rushed off…" Sebastian gestured to a huge door at the left side of the door and continued."…..I saw her disappear through these doors. However, that was about twenty minutes ago when I witnessed her exit the hall through them…."
Ciel threw his butler an incredulous look. "Twenty minutes…?"
Elizabeth beside him too exclaimed in disbelief at this. "That long…?"
"Why isn't she back yet….?" Ciel asked to no one in particular.
His eye then suddenly widened at a thought of a very possible reason for her lateness. Growing rigid at that thought, a small stab of worry nagged at him. Don't tell me...again…."
He then decided that he would better go find her himself as he thought of how the girl would not like it if other people saw her vulnerability, and since he had encountered it himself once, so it would better as he will be the one who will see it again.
Turning his attention to his silent companions, he cleared his throat and ordered. "Stay here. I'll go find her since I'm the only one that had been to the other parts of this manor before…."
He then spun to Sebastian who shot an eyebrow at his order, and continued. "….Sebastian, you stay here too…"
Ciel was about to start off towards the huge door when a happy loud chirp came from the front. "Ciel~"
His eyebrows moved down into a glare the instant he saw Alois skipping over to him from the dance floor.
Ciel then snarled out at him in annoyance. "Get lost, Trancy!..."
Not bothering about the approaching boy, Ciel stalked off to the left side of the room towards the huge doors.
...
…..
Closing the door behind him, Ciel looked around at the dimly lit deserted hallway before cautiously moving down it. Gingerly taking steps forward, Ciel continued glancing around the hallway. His breath then puffed out in surprised when he felt his foot hit something. Stepping back a little, he looked down hastily to identify the object. The instant he looked down, his eyes widened to see the girl he was searching, knelled on the carpeted floor with her elbows which hands are clutching her head, were propped on the floor. Her dress spreading around her on the floor laid in a crumpled mess as her whole body shook to her soft sobs. The top part of her hair which was in a puff bun was now hung loose.
He gazed sadly down at her trembling form. He was right, it has happened again. Relieved that he was here alone to witness this portray of her vulnerability, he thought of how the girl will feel if other people saw her vulnerability. It was the same for him too last time when he had his own vulnerable period of time, right after the time he had finally escaped from the sickening cult. And his most vulnerable period of time lasted for weeks. During that period of time, he did not want people to see his vulnerability, and even now, he still did not want his still-present vulnerability to be apparent to others. The last thing he wants is pity. Stupid unnecessary pity. And he was sure that this girl would not want it too.
Strolling to kneel in front of her, Ciel clutched both hands onto her shoulders and shook her. "Blancbaston….It's okay….I'm here…"
He then heard a hitch of her rasped breath. The girl then slowly let her hands which was clutched onto her head slip off to her sides before lifting her head up to face the male. Ciel widened his eyes at the sight of the ruined make-up on her face as tears continued trailing down her cheeks. Slipping his handkerchief out from the inner pocket of his jacket, Ciel reached it out towards her face and started wiping her tears and the smudged make-up on her face.
His hand then stopped when the girl clutched onto the wrist of it. She spoke in a rasped whimper. "It's okay…I'll do that by myself…thank you…."
Ciel instantly offered the handkerchief which was clutched in his hand that hovered over mid-air, to her. Estella gratefully accepted it and continued the action he did earlier before she stopped him.
When she was done cleaning her face, leaving not a single hint of smudged make-up and tears on it, Estella looked up at him and whimpered pleadingly. "Can we please get out of this place now…?"
Nodding at her request, Ciel got up from his kneeling position before extending a hand towards her. "Let's go."
Grasping the waiting hand, Estella shakily stood up, and uttered a 'Thanks' to him when she got up. The boy nodded back in return and ushered her to start walking first.
She then obligingly strolled over to the huge door with Ciel trailing behind.
Ciel raised an eyebrow at her when her hand which was reaching out to the handle, paused, hovering over mid-air.
"What is it…?"
The girl hesitantly spun her head to look over at him over her shoulder. "Phantomhive….Sorry…I mean...erm... Master….Please do not tell anyone of this…."
Ciel stared back at her for a moment before giving her a nod. "Of course."
The girl uttered. "Thank you, Master…."
She then turned back to the door and yanked its handle down. They then stepped out of the dimly lit hallway into the bright entrance hall.
....
………..
-End of Chapter-
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