Chapter 1:
Darkness. Absolute darkness. And the feeling of falling. A few minutes ago, Veronica, exhausted by her homework, fell on her soft, comfy bed, and decided to take a desperately needed nap...And this is to what the fourteen year old girl woke up to see, or should I say, "feel". Suddenly, it came to Veronica's mind that she was truly falling. As she contemplated her surroundings, the feeling of falling became more and more real. The sky was fading into a brighter blue. It seemed rather boring to Veronica; she was now falling for a good five minutes, and nothing interesting nor exciting was happening. The chocolate-haired teenager suddenly thought: "Where will I land?" Of course, she hasn't thought of any smarter questions. Right when she thought about it, she felt a puffy mass, she later on realized was green. They were leaves, of a tree, in which she was stuck, and around were more trees. As she observed her surroundings, she noticed the neatly cut bushes, the magnificent flowers, clearly taken of with care, which were also arranged into small circle-like sections.
She was in a Victorian garden, facing a large white 19th century British country mansion. Veronica didn't even have time to realize where the hell was she, when a clear, sweet voice disturbed her thoughts: "Miss, what are you doing in my Master's garden? Do you need any help?" asked a small, young boy that could not be older than her, but was definitely stronger, as he was carying a large part of a statue.
-Finnian? mumbled inaudibly Veronica, wonder piercing in her unique blue-grey eyes everyone at school was so fascinated with.
"Am I starting to hallucinate? Oh Boy, I must've been very tired after that homework." thought the short and very fragile-looking teenager."I swear I already saw this guy somewhere!" though Veronica, donning her smile. That's what she always did in uneasy situation; pretended like nothing happened. Some might say it's running away from the problem, while others see it as a diplomatic and calm way to fix a situation.
-Ma'am, would you need a ladder? I don't think you would be able to answer any of my questions in this state. answered the boy, his straw hat bouncing to the middle of this skinny back as he easily dropped the large piece of the statue. It easily fell on the garden pathway, stirring a little circle of dust, the red youth coughed but his blue eyes did not stop starring a Veronica, awaiting an answer, like a servant would.
-Y-yes, Ummmm....C-c-c-could you p-please g-get a ladder o-or f-f-find a way t-t-t-to get me down? I'm not particularly fond of heights-even if they're rather small, stuttered Veronica.
-Finnian, I thought you were past the age of having an imaginary friend. With who are you talking? And why is this young miss tangled on one of bocchan's trees? asked a voice surprisingly calm and poised. A tall shape with dark clothing and demonic eyes suddenly appeared behind the gardener. Veronica didn't have time to respond to anything when she heard a cracking sound, and the feeling of falling, again, only this time, her head felt a hard, sharp surface as her vision became blurry.
Some rays of sunshine came to tickle Veronica's face, causing her to wake up.
-Ma'am, we were worried about you! We're so glad you're alright...right? croaked the maid
-Yes, we were worried about Miss...Miss? continued Finnian.
-Veronica. Pleased to meet you, said the teenager with an angelic smile.
A tall, handsome butler in an impeccable suit appeared in the room from the shadows of the hallway. Veronica recognized the same silhouette and the same crimson eyes as before.
- My lord wishes to see you, he simply said with an unemotional tone but eyes blazing with questions, follow me, continued the mysterious man.
Yet again, that strange feeling of déjà vu invaded Veronica's heart.
The short teenager looked down at her clothing; a plain, grey dress with a natural waistline meant to be worn with a cage crinoline was on her. Who had dressed her? Veronica silently followed that man into a cabinet, richly but plainly decorated with a green carpet cover the floor, a mahogany carved desk behind which was a glorious bay window. It was tall, the length of the wall and open a view on most of outer front yard and garden, the one in which the girl found herself earlier.
-I have a few questions to ask you; announced a frail boy looking teenager from behind the master desk whose age was given away by his mature manners. His eye was crystal cold, the other one hidden, under a silk eye patch. The small maitre of the house was not alone. Another boy whose age was hard to define as his mannerism was childish, frivolous, satirical even, but his build suggested he and Veronica had the same age was sitting in a mahogany armchair. The boy was accompanied by all evidence by his butler: a gloom sidekick for what seemed to be a spoiled rich blond brat who stared Veronica down shamelessly.
"Why couldn't Ciel ask this brat with his emotionless creep to get the hell out of here?" thought Veronica, unwillingly looking at the duo with eyes full of smoldering embarrassment .
They were intimidating Veronica so badly, that the easily embarrassed teenager felt her ears turn crimson. Veronica hated having all the attention targeted on her. Thought, only thanks to this cold glare Veronica realized what was going on.
"Looks like someone would need a lesson on how a proper gentleman's behavior should look like" noticed Veronica.
"When a Lady enters a room, all the men should stand. A veritable gentleman would also propose his seat to the Lady, if none is available, and there are only two chairs, one occupied by one of the blond and the other one by Bocchan." stated Veronica, but decided to keep this thought to herself.
Afterwards, she had to listen a great amount of relevant, or plain bizarre questions. They were obvious, rather typical, as "Why were you in my garden?" or "Where are you from?". He even asked her how old was she...The grey-haired Earl didn't expect an answer after every question, as if he was just letting her know that those things bugged him.
Finally, when the young Earl stopped his interrogatory,he looked right into her eyes.
"Who are you?" he demanded in a voice that made it clear he was expecting her to not know what to answer.
Veronica wondered what to respond to all of these questions for a few seconds, then she bit her lip; the situation she was facing was tough. The teenage thought it's better not to lie, and calmly, firmly, and as coldly as Ciel greeted her, she told everything; she explained she is from the future, that she doesn't know how she ended up here, that she doesn't know yet how she feels about everything that has happened, basically the truth.
-How do I know you're not-"
"How do you know I'm not lying?" she finished his sentence for him. She had already determined her answer to that. The girl stood up with the best she could make poker face, approached the young Earl's ear and whispered "I know that your "butler" is a demon and the location of your contract seal."
Yes, she was indeed in the Black Butler Dimension.