I own nothing but my OC's. So sorry for the late update but I had finals and, life so I hope this makes up for it. It's over 7,000 words long so, enjoy.
Mei-rin, Finny and Bard stood in front of their young master. They stood at attention, backs straight as arrows but were making little nervous sounds.
"So young master, you wanted to speak with us about something?" Mei-rin asked, pushing her fingers together nervously.
"Yes I have a little job for the three of you to take care of." Ciel said calmly.
"J? O? B?" Bard, Mei-rin and Finny asked in the exact order. They then enveloped each other in a group hug crying with relief.
"See we didn't have to worry!" Finny cheered.
"When he called us I thought for sure we were fired yes I did!" Mei-rin exclaimed.
Ciel pulled out a camera and placed it on his desk. "This is a camera from the famous Talbot collection. It has a story behind it. It had been missing from the collection all together for some time. When it suddenly came up for auction I bid immediately." Ciel informed.
"Who's Talbot?" Finny asked, voicing the other servant's questions.
That's when the real Tanaka appeared in full size. "Full name William Henry Fox Talbot; let's see... he was a renowned English scientist and one of the inventors of photographic technology. There were some strange rumors about the last camera he used, the one our young master has acquired. Legend has it that if you use this camera to photograph someone, whomever or whatever that person cares about most in the world will appear in the photograph as well."
"Oh my, that sounds too incredible to be true!" Mei-rin swooned.
"Can such a camera really exist or is it just a rumor?" Bard asked as Tanaka went back to chibi form.
"Perhaps we should take a picture and find out." Ciel said, peeking out from the black cloth over his head. Finny froze. "Don't move, the exposure takes ten seconds." He removed the lens cover. Finny stood very still with a serious look on his face.
"Uh, what exactly is exposure?" Mei-rin asked.
"Basically the camera is copying down an image of Finny." Bard said.
"Stay still, or the image would blur and we won't get a good picture." Ciel said. "Eight... nine... ten." Ciel put the lens cover back on and took the black cloth off his head. "All done."
Finny let out the breath he had been holding. "You didn't have to hold your breath the whole time."
In a make shift dark room Ciel was finishing the photograph. He pulled out the dripping picture for everyone to examine.
"Wow! Look at that! It's my bird!" Finny gasped. Sure enough in the background there was a bird in midflight.
"Since when do you have a pet bird?" Bard asked.
"Oh it's so cute!" Mei-rin gushed.
"I gave it food every day... eventually it started eating out of my hand... I was so happy I went to give it a gentle pat and..." Finny grabbed a wooden bear statue and patted its head, causing the head to break off. "My little friend never moved again..." Finny finished sadly.
"Are you saying that he..?" Mei-rin asked, not wanting to finish.
Tanaka took a sip of his tea, ho'ed and then turned into the real Tanaka again. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention something. The camera has one other unique attribute. The new soul that it will show is not of this world. To put it plainly, the dead appear."
"The dead?" Bard asked.
"You mean ghosts?" Mei-rin asked excitedly.
"You can see why I would be so interested in this camera." Ciel smirked. "Not only does it know who you care for the most but it reaches into the other world to photograph them."
Bard and Mei-rin whined in fear. Bard gripped the back of the young master's chair. "But this is the nineteenth century! Surely no one believes a story like that now!"
"That sounds amazing, what an incredible camera master!" Mei-rin squealed.
Finny, who had sunken into a little corner of woe suddenly burst into tears, "Waaaahhh! I miss my poor little birdie!"
"Take a picture of both Nyra and Sebastian with this camera. But do it discreetly, I don't want them to know what you're up to." Ciel ordered.
"You want us to take a candid photo?" Bard asked.
"That's right." Ciel replied.
"Really? The photograph will show us who Sebastian cares for the most?" Mei-rin asked,
"That's something I'd like to see." Finny said.
"Bloody right Finny!" Bard said enthusiastically. "He's always bossing us around and mocking my artistic cooking methods. He's as human as we are!" Ciel smirked at this. "He's got to have at least a weakness or two! And now's our chance to see them!" Bard said enthusiastically.
"You'll handle it?" Ciel asked.
The servants stood at attention and chorused seriously. "As you wish, young master!" They then grinned and applauded themselves for their impression of Sebastian. It seemed as though they were more interested in finding out what Sebastian cared for most than what Nyra cared for most.
"That was a pretty good impression of him, eh?" Bard asked.
"Just like him!" Finny clapped.
'There's no telling what will appear if we take a picture of those two with this camera.' Ciel thought, before an evil grin spread across his face. "This should be interesting."
It was nine thirty am. Ciel had a doll house on his desk with little toy soldiers and a black sheep. It was easier to know where Sebastian was in the manor, because Nyra wasn't technically a servant. A governess existed in a kind of social limbo. Typically they were unmarried daughters of gentlemen who for one reason or another had to go into service to support themselves.
Because they officially belonged to the genteel class it would be unspeakable for them to accept service as a maid. As a governess they were able to make use of their education and in theory retain a little of their dignity. In reality their lives were miserable. They were looked down on by the house's family as being from a failed family. Equally, the staff looked down on them because they represented hypocrisy: they worked for wages like any servant yet were supposed to be genteel. Their job was to care for the family's teenage girls. (Teenage males were sent off to boarding school.) Their salaries were 25 pounds ($2,700) per year.
But that was not the case with Nyra. Ciel respect her and did not look down on her. If anyone disrespected her she was quick to show them why she deserved to be respected. And the servants considered her a good friend, even if she did not interact with them as much on a regular basis as Sebastian did. She taught them when they first arrived at the manor, to read, write and do math. She could eat with either the servants or Ciel whenever she pleased and she had quite a bit of freedom compared to what other households offered their governesses.
Ciel positioned three little toy soldiers around the black sheep figurine. "Let's see, at this time of day, he's in the library."
Mei-rin, Bard and Finny hid behind a book case with the camera, watching Sebastian.
"He needs to stay still." Bard said.
"For a full ten seconds, yes." Mei-rin replied.
"I hope this works." Finny said.
Sebastian smirked as he adjusted his white gloves. He knew they were there. He figured he would find amusement in their frustration. In a flash he began carrying out his tasks. The servants gasped at the speed the butler possessed. He dusted the books, he swept the floors.
"He's fast!" They gasped.
"He's so fast I can't even see him!" Mei-rin said in awe as Sebastian polished a globe, washed the windows and hung a picture.
"Damn! We'll never get that photo!" Bard scowled.
Sebastian was arranging flowers when he stopped to look at them.
"Look he's stopped!" Mei-rin said excitedly.
"Great! Let's go!" Bard said.
That's when the sound of heels could be heard from outside the door. The door opened to reveal a smiling Nyra. The moment she walked in she knew that the servants were in there, hiding. She could smell Bard's cigarette smoke.
"Morning feather brain!" Nyra said cheerfully, already devising a plan to put the three stooges out for a while. If they were hiding, they were obviously up to something and Nyra didn't want to know.
"Good morning Nyra." Sebastian replied.
"Almost done?" The witch asked.
"Almost." The butler replied, pulled out his pocket hanky and with a quick flick of his wrist he instead held a rose in his hand, which he placed in the vase. Nyra heard the other servants gasp in awe from behind the bookshelf. The witch then decided they should probably take a nap.
"I've been working on something; I'd like your opinion on what I have so far." Nyra said, her green eyes sparking with mischief.
"Of course." The demon butler replied. When the witch opened her mouth Sebastian felt a bit of magic fill the air. It had an effect that made the demon feel sleepy but not nearly enough for it to have any real effect on him. It was only strong enough for him to notice the effect. It may not have an effect on the demon but he knew that it would surely affect the servants.
"Hold it together, birds of a feather.
Nothing but lies and crooked wings.
I have the answer, spreading the cancer.
You are the faith inside me."
"No, Don't,
Leave me to die here, help me survive here,
Alone, don't, remember, remember."
Once Nyra's beautiful soprano voice became silent, the two of them heard three distinct thumps followed by the sound of snoring. It seemed Nyra had sung them to sleep.
"Lovely as always." Sebastian said, smirking. The witch knew that Sebastian realized what she did and smirked right back. She dipped into a deep curtsey.
"Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day, crow." She said with teasing politeness. With that the two walked out the door.
Back with Ciel, he seemed to be arranging the figurines based on the servants trying to photograph Sebastian. "Next, he'll straighten up every room."
Sebastian was holding a red table cloth when the doors burst open. Finny was bushing the billiards table towards Sebastian.
"LOOK OUT!" The gardener yelled. Sebastian held the cloth like a matador. He waved it around Finny like he was a charging bull. Finny screamed when he accidentally ran through the wall. Sebastian carried on straightening the room as if nothing happened. Bard and Mei-rin sighed.
"And after that he'll work on records in the office." Sebastian was indeed working on records when he heard the bell ring for the young master's study. Sebastian went over and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Ciel's voice responded. Sebastian entered.
"Yes, did you need something master?" He asked.
"It came undone." Ciel said simply. Sebastian stared in confusion before he realized he was talking about his neck tie.
"Of course my lord." Sebastian said, starting to tie it.
Meanwhile outside Bard and Finny were on a ladder.
"He's beautiful in profile too, yes he is!" Mei-rin said excitedly.
"Alright now just stay there." Bard said as he held the camera.
Finny was counting while he held the ladder for them. "Four... five... six..." Sebastian turned, causing Mei-rin to climb down the ladder and Bard to bend over backwards to avoid being seen.
Sebastian opened up the French windows. "Let's air this room out a bit shall we?"
Nyra sat on the couch in her room, she was writing in a leather bound journal. The cover was a black and white picture of a crying woman with a black hood, she was pressing her hands together like she was praying and in her hands was a rosary.
It was Nyra's song book. She wrote in it before bed when she wasn't preoccupied, like she had been with the puzzle box. With this new home, the witch had gained many new ideas. Most of the songs nowadays made use of the word devil in some way or another. She was currently working on the song she had sung earlier but if she thought of a good line that she could not use, she put it on a separate page to use for later, like she just had now.
Here I stand, helpless and left for dead.
Close your eyes, so many days go by.
Easy to find what's wrong, harder to find what's right.
Those lines were not for the song she had sung earlier. The witch briefly wondered how the three servants were doing. She figured she'd let Sebastian deal with them, since they seemed intent on bothering him. Nyra let her mind wander and before long, she had another piece for her song that she was originally working on.
I'm a believer, nothing could be worse,
All these imaginary friends.
Hiding betrayal, driving the nail,
Hoping to find a savior.
Nyra closed her book and put her pencil away. The witch walked up to the bookshelf in her room. In front of her, top to bottom, were journals. They were all written by her. They detailed her stays in various countries, she wrote about the sights, the food, the people and what she learned. They were in chronological order. In the books she wrote during her time in Egypt she wrote about her experiences as the Pharaoh's scholar and advisor. She had also written about how to mummify a body and the Egyptian pantheon. In her books for Japan she wrote about being a Geisha girl and all that entailed.
Nyra walked up and pulled a lever on her bookshelf, causing it to spin around. Now in front of her were all the spell books written by her. From the simplest of attacks to conjuring a blizzard, she had written all the moves down, except her own special and personal moves that she would never give out to anyone.
Nyra had these books for training her students. Back in the future, she had set up a coven in her home that she ran with two other witches and close friends, Yanmei and a witch named Brianna. Once a year, when all the witches gathered, Nyra, Brianna and Yanmei would examine the witches searching for a higher teaching to see if any of them interested them. If they did, they would invite them to live with them and they would teach them. To be taught by one of the Seven Sisters, technically three of the Seven Sisters, was a great honor. Nyra placed her song book with her spell books and pulled the lever again, causing the bookshelf to spin around. With that Nyra decided to take an early nap. She had trouble falling asleep last night and figured that since Ciel hadn't asked for a lesson, it was okay to take a short nap.
Later the servants were all sitting in the middle of the hallway. They were exhausted, even though they had taken an unplanned nap at some point; they still didn't know how that happened.
"This is turning out to be a lot tougher than I thought. Getting one measly photograph shouldn't be so tough." Bard said. The servants sighed in unison when Sebastian opened the doors, startling them.
"There you are. I have a task for the three of you." The butler said.
"What is it Sebastian?" The clumsy maid asked.
"Over there." Sebastian said. The servants turned in the direction of Sebastian's gaze and saw the large silvery form of Pluto, the demon hound through the window. Sparkles surrounded Finny at the sight of the large dog.
"The mangy pooch, what do you want us to do?" Bard asked.
"We'll be receiving a guest this afternoon. That thing is offensive. You are to transfer it out of sight before the guest arrives." Sebastian said.
"He's kind of a big fellow, where should we put him?" Bard asked as Finny ran up to the window with a big smile.
"I'll let you three figure that out." Sebastian said as he began to walk away.
"Oi! We've got our own jobs to take care of too, you know!" Bard said in annoyance.
Sebastian turned with a brilliant shit eating grin. "You do have until this afternoon. I'm sure you can take care of it between your other tasks." After Sebastian closed the door he sighed. "Maybe now I can do my own job without interruption."
"Plu-Plu, come here!" Finny said as the demon hound pulled and strained against his leash. Finny just laughed as he continued to effortlessly continue to pull the demon hound along, despite the measure Pluto took to try and escape. "Up you go!" Then with an almighty tug Finny pulled Pluto into the air.
While directly over the gardener Pluto opened his jaws and breathed fire onto the poor gardener, who screamed. The leash burned away and Pluto ran back to the mansion.
"Oh well now there's a surprise." Mei-rin said. "Who knew Pluto could breathe fire?"
"Well that's a demon hound for you." Bard smirked, before snapping back to the task at hand. "Hold on! We don't have time for standing around!" Finny mean while was crying in pain.
Sebastian was serving Ciel his lunch. 'Honestly, what's taking them so long?' Ciel thought.
"Something wrong?" Sebastian asked.
"No." Ciel replied. "It's nothing. I think I'll take my supper in here today."
Sebastian placed a hand over his heart and bowed. "Of course my lord." He looked down at the toys and smirked.
Later Sebastian stood in the garden, looking at the giant sleeping form of Pluto, who was curled up so peacefully, dozing in the sun.
"They couldn't handle one simply task." Sebastian sighed in annoyance. "I'm beginning to think that those three would be more useful as dog food." That's when the demon heard a meow and saw the black cat walking by. "How lovely." The demon said.
Another meow caused Pluto's ears to twitch. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Sebastian holding the cat. The demon laughed and began to pet the feline. "A lithe supple body." He then squeezed the feline's paws, causing her claws to slide out. "And paws, such soft paws." Sebastian sighed in bliss, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Cats are perfect."
Pluto reverted back to a human form and tossed the cat away from Sebastian. The demon hound then snuggled into the butler's chest, whimpering. Sebastian sighed in aggravation. "Interrupted again, can a butler get no peace around here?"
"Oh! Bastet!" A surprised voice said. You guessed it! It was Nyra. She knew about the cat that Sebastian kept in the garden and had grown quite fond of it as well. She had apparently named it after the Egyptian goddess of cats.
Nyra crouched down and picked up the little black feline. She looked over at Sebastian and smirked in amusement when the demon butler pushed Pluto away, causing the demon hound to whimper even more. Nyra stroked the feline behind the ears.
"Having trouble Birdbrain?" Nyra smirked.
"No." Sebastian said firmly. "Apparently they couldn't handle the simple task of transferring this mongrel out of sight before our guest arrives." Sebastian said in aggravation, throwing Pluto off his leg when the hound latched onto it.
"He probably doesn't want to go because he knows he'll be all alone." Nyra said, handing Bastet back to Sebastian who immediately became happy again. Nyra smiled at the adorable sight of Sebastian cuddling a kitty. The witch then turned to the demon hound.
"Sorry Pluto, but you have to go into the forest for a while." Nyra said. The demon hound whimpered.
"No, I want to stay with master and mistress." The demon hound said telepathically, nuzzling her legs through her skirt. Nyra then came up with an idea.
"How about I call some friends for you to play with and when we're done we'll come and get you, kay?" Nyra smiled.
Pluto grinned and barked excitedly. Nyra giggled and then threw her head back in a wolf's howl. A few moments passed before a wolf howled out in the distance to answer her call. The witch smiled.
"Come on Pluto!" Nyra said, jogging down the end of the garden, the demon hound right on her heels behind her.
When they reached the edge of the garden a large female dire wolf was waiting for them. She had snowy white fur and big dark blue eyes.
"Good afternoon Moonflower." Nyra said cheerfully.
"Good afternoon daughter of Stark." The she-wolf said telepathically.
"Can you look after my friend here for a little while?" Nyra asked, gesturing to Pluto.
Moonflower sniffed the man curiously and sensed he was a demon hound. She was about to respectfully decline when he playfully pounced on her, much like an excited pup. Moonflower laughed. She was an experienced mother and took in wild cat cubs that had no mother. Said cats grew quite large on dire wolf's milk.
"Yes, this should be fine." The she-wolf said before dipping her head in respect to the witch and leading the excited demon hound out into the forest. Nyra turned to the demon butler.
"We should be okay now. No need to get your feathers in a bunch." The witch said.
Ciel tossed the useless and blurry pictures back on his desk.
"We're so sorry master." Finny said sadly.
"But-but Bard thought up a really good plan, yes he did!" Mei-rin said.
"The idea came to me earlier when I saw the dog breathe fire." Bard said.
"I hope this new plan doesn't involve a flamethrower." Ciel said sternly, causing the servants the lower their heads in disappointment.
"My lord, hello." Lau said. Madam Red walked in behind him. Said woman was doing much better now. She had gone back to being the cheerful and sometimes temperamental woman we all know and love.
"Afternoon dear." Madam red said walking around Ciel's desk and giving him a quick hug. Ever since he whole Jack the Ripper thing, Ciel had been a bit more tolerable with Madam Red's affections.
"Oh it's mister Lau and Madam Red." Mei-rin said.
"And what are you doing here?" Ciel asked.
"I heard what you were up to and I thought I'd might assist. I ran into Madam Red on the way and decided to bring her along." Lau said.
"Go away." Ciel said.
"My lord, please don't be so hasty, why not relax and leave this up to me?" Lau asked. Ciel looked surprised at the Asian man. "I have already woven a spider's web to trap him, and the more he tries to struggle, the more entangled he will become, escape is impossible." Lau was stroking the black sheep figurine. "Against me, no pray stands a chance. It is only a matter of time."
"Very well," Ciel conceded. "But I will not tolerate any failure. Is that understood?" Ciel asked seriously.
"Yes, of course my lord. I would not allow failure to sully the Phantomhive name. I would surely be booted out of the country if I did such a thing." He then snapped out of serious mode. "So what are you up to?" Lau asked. Ciel growled in annoyance.
"Stop doing that!" Madam Red said angrily.
Meanwhile, outside a carriage was pulling up to the manor. A blonde gentleman in a gray suit and top hat arrived. "Welcome sir." Sebastian bowed.
The man took off his hat. "Hello, I'm the writer from Brit Business. Paul Jones, sir." He said politely.
"Indeed Mr. Jones." Sebastian replied. "We've been awaiting your arrival. If you would follow me inside." Sebastian gestured.
He and Mr. Jones walked into the manor while Ciel, Lau and Madam Red hid behind a pillar.
"Now our plan begins." Lau said.
Sebastian and Jones walked up the main staircase. Sebastian walked ahead but Mr. Jones stopped to stare with a massive blush at Ran-Mao. Said Chinese girl was sitting on the railing, crossing and uncrossing her legs. Sebastian however just walked by, completely unaffected as if he hadn't seen anything.
"That was your plan?" Madam Red whisper yelled angrily while Ciel scowled and blushed.
"Quite odd. How could it have failed? Just look at her my lord I was sure even the butler would stop a moment to stare." Lau said as Ran-Mao preformed other sexy poses.
"I was a fool for ever believing you could handle something like this." Ciel grumbled.
"I have only begun to fight." Lau said. He then made various signals with his arms. Finny and Mei-rin started fanning Ran-mao who was standing on one leg. The breeze caused her skirt to reveal her lack of underwear. Madam Red quickly covered Ciel's eyes and glared at Lau with such ferocity it wouldn't surprise anyone if he suddenly turned to stone. Jones blushed and giggled. Bard chuckled and turned the camera towards Ran-mao. He then shook his head furiously.
"Not her! Now where is Sebastian?" Sebastian was simply standing at the top of the stairs.
"Coming sir?" The butler asked.
"Oh! Yes, of course." He chuckled nervously and headed up the stairs.
"How strange, I don't understand." Lau said. He didn't have much more time o think because Madam Red tackled him and started beating the perverted Chinese man.
"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THAT WAS OKAY TO DO IN FRONT OF MY DARLING NEPHEW!?" She screamed angrily while she continued to attack Lau.
"What a spectacular waste of time that was." Ciel muttered darkly. Although he smirked in amusement at his aunt beating up Lau.
In another room Jones sat on one end of the table with some paper and a fountain pen and on the other hand was Tanaka, who was not in his chibi form.
"If I may sir, allow me to introduce Funtom's general director Tanaka." Sebastian said. Tanaka 'ho, ho, ho'ed'.
"I'll start in on my questions then." Jones said politely.
Madam Red, Mei-rin Bard, Finny and Lau sat by Ciel's office. There was a Do Not Disturb sign on the handle. Lau had bags of ice he was holding on various parts of his body. Madam Red was still glaring a Lau but she didn't make a move to get at him again. I had taken a while for everyone to pull the red woman off of the Chinese man. She felt pretty smug about her work.
"What's wrong? Why is he in there all by himself?" Lau asked, wincing as he shifted in his spot. Apparently Madam Red packed quite the punch. That woman was 122lbs of white hot fury. "Is he sulking or something?" Lau asked.
"He said he wanted a little time to think things over alone." Mei-rin said.
"He seems to be taking this quite seriously." Bard said.
"Ciel always takes games seriously." Madam Red said simply.
Inside his study Ciel sat at his desk, looking at the sheep figurines that were surrounded by six soldiers. "We need him to sit still for ten full seconds." Ciel said. It seemed he was more focused on Sebastian's picture instead of Nyra's. Then again, it probably made more sense to get the more difficult picture first. Ciel sighed. "This is the one thing I didn't want to resort to." He clenched his fist in determination. "But he's left me with no other choice." He said seriously.
Sebastian smirked and chuckled.
"And now could you please tell me about Funtom's business strategy moving forward." Jones asked. But it seemed Tanka was about to overheat. Sebastian noticed this and decided to take charge.
"Allow me, sir. Currently we are focusing on toys and confections but we plan on expanding into other areas." Sebastian said. Tanaka then deflated, causing Jones to look up in surprise.
Sebastian slammed his hands on the table. "As I was saying sir."
"Oh yes." Jones said, refocusing.
"The company is working on plans to build outlets across Europe. We'll begin with branches in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam and Athens. We intend to expand into over 30 countries in the next five years including those in North America." Sebastian said while Mr. Jones struggled to keep up.
"We'll also build a confections factory in Provence in the south of France and a Toy factory in Salzburg Austria. This will ensure than an ample supply of our goods in available."
"We at the Funtom Company always strive to maintain and improve the quality of goods and services in supply to our customers. No item leaves one of our factories without first being subjected to numerous quality assurance tests. Only then can a product bear the name Funtom."
"Our motto is the customer always comes first. Our delivery system allows us to arrive at your business or residence, product in hand in record time, however remote the location! Customer satisfaction is guaranteed! That is the Phantomhive way! See?" Jones was writing as fast as he could. "That's everything."
Jones dabbed his forehead with a towel. "Thank you very much. But before I go I would like to get a photograph if I may?" Jones asked.
"A photo?" Sebastian asked.
"I would like to have you in the shot to." Jones said.
"I'm afraid I must decline. You see I am simply one hell of a butler." Sebastian said. Fine minutes later James was sitting in the carriage radiating depression.
"Today we are serving Demon Hound bean cakes, manufactured in Houndsworth." Sebastian said.
"Why are you serving me this rubbish?" Ciel asked, examining the bean cake before eating it.
"Bard and the others purchased quite a few of them." Sebastian replied
"How was the interview this afternoon?" Ciel asked.
"I only wish you could've been there my lord, Tanaka was really quite extraordinary." Sebastian said.
"Oh, was he?" Nyra asked as she walked in. She was wearing a very light and flowy white Egyptian dress, her cloak, had her broom in one hand and a letter in the other. The letter was from Yanmei and it held important news.
"Where are you going?" Ciel asked.
"One of the Seven Sisters, Jezile of Africa, has been killed." Nyra said nonchalantly.
"Is this a bad thing?" Ciel asked, since Nyra didn't seem to upset about this he didn't know how to react to this news.
"No, it's normal. Sisters are chosen by who is strongest. First you need to become the Head Witch of a country and then you can challenge one of the Seven Sisters. For example, Claudia, the current Head Witch of England, could challenge me for my position if she so desired. We would fight until either one of us quits, or one of us kills the other." Nyra said.
"Not a very sophisticated system." Sebastian said.
"Maybe not, but it works." Nyra shrugged. "I need to go to Africa and welcome our new Sister. Think of it as her, coming out party. I should be back either tonight or by tomorrow morning." Nyra said, opening Ciel's study windows. Hoping up onto the windowsill she turned back to them and smiled.
"See ya later!" She said cheerfully before jumping from the window, situating herself on her broom and taking off a top speed towards Africa.
(We're gonna stick with Nyra for a while. You wanna see what Ciel does while she's gone? Watch the freakin' show!)
Nyra sped over the grasslands. She did not wear her mask, her white skin, black veins, fangs and all other abnormal features by human standards were showing. Trees and animals were like speaks on the ground from Nyra's point of view. The wind whipped through her black hair as she soared under the night sky. Before long the landscape showed signs of a great battle. There were large craters in the earth, mountainous ice spikes and most noticeably it looked like a fire had raged the planes and based on the orange glow from ahead, the fire was raging on.
Thunder boomed up above and Nyra saw storm clouds gathering over her and heading towards the orange glow in the distance. The Sister Witch of Europe could tell the storm was not caused by natural means, it was caused by magic. Before long there was a heavy down pour and five minutes later Nyra was landing, with her face covered by her cloak, on the soaked and scorched grass. Around her stood five other hooded figures, the other witches. Even in this close knit group there wasn't much socialization, few knew each other's name and even if they did there was no guarantee it was their true name. The all stood around a large rock jutting out from the ground, it was at least 25 feet tall.
Spying the familiar talon rings, Nyra walked over to Yanmei. "I see you've reclaimed your title Dragon of the East." Nyra said.
"Of course, she was mere child's play." Yanmei said, smirking underneath her hood.
"I would expect nothing less." Nyra replied.
"Have you had any challengers recently?" Yanmei asked.
"Not for nearly a year." Nyra mused.
"Perhaps they know better than to challenge Scylla, Horror of the Deep." A voice said jokingly.
Nyra turned and recognized the Jaguar fastening on the black cloak on one of the other witches. She called herself Ixtab after the Mayan suicide goddess. Said goddess was always depicted with a rope around her neck. The Mayans believed that suicides would lead you to heaven. Hence, it was very common for suicides to happen because of depression or even for something trivial. Ixtab was the Sister for South America.
"Hello Ixtab. Have you seen our new sister?" Nyra asked.
"No but-there she is now." Ixtab said, pointing a finger up at the rock.
Nyra looked up and saw an interesting figure. Soon their new sister stood at the top of the rock. To her surprise, two witches stood on top of the rock. They stood back to back, and wore a very basic black, knee length dress. One of the girls had her dark brown hair up in a pony tail and she wore a Maang Tikka with a blue stone. She had no mouth and she had an extra set of eyes underneath her own. The other girl wore her hair down; she had no eyes, had a mouth like Venom from Spider Man and her Maang Tikka had a purple stone. The skin on both of them seemed like a grayish pearl color and it looked slimy. Nyra thought that perhaps they were conjoined twins.
The one with a mouth opened her jaws, revealing long sharp teeth and roared. Nyra took a deep breath and roared in return with her sisters on the ground. Before long other witches from all over Africa flooded in, even a couple of Warlocks showed up. In the end the new sister, or was it sisters, shot lightning into the sky, as a symbol of dominance.
Most of the witches had left and the sun was rising. Nyra and Yanmei had stayed behind and Nyra had pulled her friend to the side. Nyra pulled her behind a tree and looked into her friends eyes. She could see the horns poking out of her hair and she could see the lumps on her back underneath her cloak that was her wings. The reason she was called the Dragon of the East was because of her draconic features, which became even more dragon like when she took on her ultimate form.
"So how have you been? Where do you live now?" Nyra asked.
"I've been well. I'm fully healed and I've been staying with the reapers." Yanmei said.
"Why stay?" Nyra asked. She knew Yanmei was perfectly capable of making it on her own. In fact, before she was imprisoned she was the emperor's advisor. Even more so with no heir to the throne Yanmei would have taken over and ruled China.
"Why leave?" Yanmei countered. "I help around the office, I'm free to go whenever I want and I've met some amazing people." Yanmei's lime green eyes seemed to light up and she smiled a pointy toothed grin.
"People like who?" Nyra asked curiously.
"Ronald Knox is a riot and Grell, yes yes I know." Yanmei said when Nyra looked at her incredulously. "Is as great as any friend."
"What about the one who picked you up?" Nyra started snapping her fingers, trying to recall the name.
"William?" Yanmei supplied Nyra nodded. "He's been gracious enough to let me live with him."
"There's one more question that I've been needing to ask you." Nyra said seriously. "You were in that box for seventeen years. Have you ever thought about looking for him?" When the Chinese witch looked confused Nyra placed a gentle hand on her friend's stomach and she immediately understood.
"I couldn't." Yanmei shook her head. "It's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible!" Nyra argued. "What if your son is still alive?" Unlike Nyra, Yanmei had had a couple of children before. But she had possibly lost one when she was imprisoned in the box.
"It has been seventeen years!" Yanmei said, starting to get clearly upset. "How could he possibly still be alive?"
"Perhaps someone found him and took him in?" Nyra suggested.
"Let's say he is alive." Yanmei said her voice breaking. "What if he hates me for what I did?"
"You expelled him from the box." Nyra said. "You didn't know if the box would kill him, you gave him a real shot at life!"
"What if he doesn't see it that way?!" Yanmei asked, with tears pouring down her face. "What if, if he saw me all he would see is his mother who abandoned him? The mother that didn't want him?"
"Well did you abandon him?" Nyra challenged.
"No! I loved my son with all my heart even though he was only a day old." Yanmei said. "I just wouldn't be able to deal with rejection; you know what it's like to fear that!" The witch said. Yanmei realized that it was a low blow, bringing up how Nyra feared about Andrew's reaction to her being a witch. "What if his reaction is just as bad?" Yanmei asked.
"Even though I never truly met your son." Nyra said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know he could never hate you."
"I just can't take that chance." Yanmei said, before collapsing against her and sobbing. Nyra sat on her knees, holding her friend tightly and letting her cry on her shoulder, a few of her own tears leaking out, both lost inside their own horrible memories.
"By the way, what are you doing in England? I thought you were in Greece." Yanmei said.
(Alright, time to clear up some confusion. In 1530 she was in Italy, in right about 1704 Andrew betrayed her and killed their daughter, 1754 she was in Vienna, in around 1888 she was in Greece, from 1926 to 1930 she was in America, then she was in England until 1939, then she did a little country hopping until she was in America for a few years until about 2010, she was in Greece until 2014 and then she got sent back to 1886 where she met Ciel and Sebastian. She has been to many other countries spread out in there but this is just a rough outline of a timeline.)
"I decided to take a look around England and met Ciel and Sebastian. I decided to stay with them." Nyra said.
"The child and his butler?" Yanmei asked. Nyra nodded. Yanmei smiled. "Well I'm glad you're happy."
"You too. We should probably head back." Nyra said.
Yanmei hugged her friend. "I'll see you soon."
"Of course." Nyra said before mounting her broom and taking flight. The sun was high in the sky by the time she got back and Nyra was exhausted. She didn't even bother to change she just took off her shoes, put her broom away, got under the covers and fell asleep.
"I should've expected she would appear in the photo if we took a picture of her." Ciel said examining the picture.
"I suppose that human saying is true. 'Love never dies.'" Sebastian mused.
They found Nyra when she got back, curled up under the covers. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity Ciel snapped a picture of the witch. After finishing the picture they found out the thing Nyra cared for most that had passed on. In the picture, Nyra laid snuggled up in bed but sitting beside her was a young girl, about the age of ten, sitting by her bedside. She had blonde hair but other than that she looked like a mirror image of Nyra. She wore a little black and lacy dress and around her neck was the emerald choker. It was Arya, sitting beside her mother.