The following morning was no better than the day before. As per usual, the twins began their morning by bickering over something minuscule, (which this morning was who would have the first batch of melon bread), and Yuki had to separate them by force. Luckily, Rodric had already planned for the trip off to the docks before I could develop another headache. A few days after Lau's visit, he had sent a telegram indicating that today was the day a full shipment of Pixie Dust was to be delivered, which was our signal to appear and end the pathetic sales.
"Madame, I have a feeling this will be a rather simple task," Rodric said once I was in the carriage, adjusting the hem of my dress so it would not get caught in the door, "Are you certain you wish to come along?"
I glared at him from the corner of my eye, a scowl threatening to appear upon my face, but I replaced it with a look of shock.
"Must I repeat myself, Rodric?" I asked, feigning concern. Lately, he had been tugging at my patience, and if he wanted to play, then the game would begin. After all, no one knew what cards I had under my sleeves besides myself. Sarcasm was one of my best defense mechanisms.
"Of course not, Countess. My apologies."
Rodric gave a bow with a faint smirk, his dark hair hiding the feature as soon as his head was below waist level. I ignored his reaction and waved my hand to indicate for him to shut the door. My word was law, and could not be overruled. What kind of Countess would I be if I couldn't keep my butler in place? The carriage bent over ever so slightly as Rodric climbed onto the driver's seat and I adjusted myself on the cushions, making myself comfortable for the two-hour-long ride. I reached my hand over to my left, expecting to find the rather tedious book I was in the middle of, but found nothing. Before I could call out to Rodric, the familiar yell of my servants rang out behind us.
"COUNTEEESSSS!"
I instantly unhooked the door and swung it open, quickly going outside to see what they could be screaming about. Salvador, Yuki, Eren, and Erin were sprinting towards us, each holding something high in their hands. I couldn't stop the smile that grew across my face as I lifted a hand to my cheek in satisfaction. Yuki was rushing towards me with a small platter held above her head, while the other hand held her dress to keep her from tripping. Eren and Erin held an umbrella, and Salvador held my book, each running as fast as their legs could carry. Not a moment later, all four were at my feet, panting and doubled over. The twins fell to their knees exhausted, leaning against each other for support as they weakly held up the umbrella.
Eren looked up at me and spoke in gasps. "You might..."
"...need it..." finished Erin, pointing a trembling finger towards the umbrella.
I took the umbrella and placed it inside the carriage, shaking my head. There was not a cloud in the sky, but the twins had a gift of some sort; they would always be right about a prediction, and it could be correct in several ways. Rodric was immediately behind them, pulling both to their feet with two tall glasses of water that he seemed to pull out of thin air.
"Condesa, se le olvido su libro1," Salvador added, panting slightly less than the twins, stretching his arms out to me with the book in hand, "You said you wanted to finish it today, verdad2?"
Just as I had with the umbrella, I took it with care and placed it inside, giving him a small nod of gratitude. Afterward, my glance turned to Yuki, who seemed to have not lost any breath. The only indication that proved she had made an extreme physical effort was the accumulating sweat across her forehead.
"You forgot your snacks, Madame Adelina." she scolded, handing the tray over to Rodric, "You know you get hungry around this time of the day."
Yuki was the only one that frequently called me by my first name. She acted somewhat as a parental figure, with limited rights. She was still the cook, but one that would reprimand me for not eating my vegetables --which I did quite often. Everything she did was for my best, and I could not ask for anyone better. Nevertheless, she sometimes aggravated me, but out of respect I stayed quiet and let her go on with her lectures. I glanced towards the silver platter and noticed that there was a variety of small pastel-colored sweets. Grinning, I looked at her and put a hand on my hip. She had prepared my favorite Japanese snacks.
"Thank you Yuki," I said, tipping my fan towards her, "They look perfect."
She scoffed with her usual teasing smile. "Oh course they are, nothing less would suit you!"
After a short moment, everyone seemed to have caught their breath, and once again I boarded the carriage with Eren's help. Rodric was already seated in front of the coach, holding the horse's reins. Erin closed the door gently and they all waved at us as we rode away, wishing me luck and reminding me to stay close to the demon butler. They were all aware that Rodric was indeed not a human, yet did not pay much attention to it since there was no use arguing or fighting the subject. Of course, there was some fear laced in between the lines. We soon arrived at the docks as the sun was at its peak, and the umbrella proved to be of actual good use as Rodric held it above my head to keep the sunlight off me. We calmly walked along the ports of London, keeping an eye out for anyone that could be suspicion of holding the large shipment of Pixie Dust. To anyone else, it would just seem like a young lady going for a walk with her butler. This was one of the advantages of being a woman. Our motives never seemed out of the ordinary, even if they were. As we reached the end of the docks, I saw a young man running back to his boat, glancing around in alarm before rushing back in. A few seconds after, he emerged with a rather big box and went to place it where several other wooden crates were stationed in a wagon. Eureka.
"Rodric, do you see that man with the red trousers?" I asked him under my breath, nodding towards the big cart.
"I am to guess that is our target?"
I didn't get a chance to reply, because as soon as Rodric spoke, the man tripped over the pavement and dropped the wooden box he had in his arms. The wood snapped and split into various sized pieces, piercing into the giant sack that was inside. The cloth ripped and a lustrous shade of rose began to trickle out onto the dirty port floor. He froze in his place, arms outstretched and his face contorted in a mix of fear and panic. His head snapped to his right and looked at me straight in the eye before jumping over the powder and sprinting away, his hat falling off in the process.
"Well now, I don't see what other evidence we could possibly need. Go fetch him, Rodric." I sighed, waving my hand, "I'll wait here. Now, allez3. "
The umbrella snapped shut and was placed in my hands. With a quick bow, Rodric was off, rushing off with inhuman speed to catch the man. I glanced towards the broken crate with curiosity, walking casually over and using the umbrella as a cane. It seemed to shine even brighter in the sun.
"Oi, what d'ya think ya doin' lass?"
A sudden hand firmly grasped my shoulder and I snapped my head back to see who dared to touch me. It was an older looking man, with a scruffy mustache and a patchy beard. He had a fat cigar hanging from his dry lips, and with each word, the cigar shook, causing ash to fall between us.
"I suggest you let me go," I threatened with malice, "You don't want to know what will happen to you."
He seemed quite amused with my words and was about to place another hand on me when a whizzing sound flew in the space separating us. I looked back towards the Pixie Dust in disinterest and the man began to yell out in pain, cursing and stumbling backward. He held his hand close to him, the blood beginning to seep through his sleeves and drip to the floor.
"I would ask you to please refrain from laying any of your repulsive fingers on my Countess," a familiar voice said with extreme coolness, "or you will lose another digit."
I raised a hand, holding it in the air to stop Rodric. All we were getting paid for was to rid the docks of the dust. Nothing more, nothing less. This worm was not worth lifting a muscle for, even if my body had begun to shake again because of the sudden aggression.
"Rodric, that's enough, thank you. Get rid of all this dust, will you? It's irritating."
"Wh-What..!?" The man exclaimed with a pant, struggling to stand on his feet, "Y-Ya can't, tha' right there is worth a lot o' mo--"
"--Shut up," I told him cruelly, spinning on my heels to face him, "Go home, or you'll lose much more than your hand."
Rodric didn't hesitate and set off to quickly work on ridding the dust. He began to crack open the crates with his hands and dumping them into the water, swiftly finishing off the thirteen crates that had been in the wagon along with the one that had fallen on the floor. As soon as he finished, he brushed his gloves off and walked to my side, smirk once again on his face. It all had taken no more than two minutes.
"I-Impossible...!"
I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes, stalking up to the man and jabbing him hard in the chest with my umbrella. He tripped back, but the wall behind him kept him steady.
"Did I stutter?" I hissed, digging the tip of the umbrella deeper, "I said to leave. And don't you dare try to bring in any more of this appalling merchandise. Do I make myself clear?"
I pulled my umbrella away with disgust, shoving him away with it. He gasped in horror, stumbling as he began to run away, his hand still cradled and dripping ruby. As he faded away, I turned to Rodric with boredom.
"Home then," I ordered, holding the umbrella away from me and towards him, "Burn this while you're at it."
"And why, my Lady, would you want to burn such an intricately detailed parasol?"
I lifted my gaze towards him in shock, ready to chastise him when I noticed his lips hadn't moved at all, and he had a similar expression as me. His eyes, however, were locked behind me. I walked towards Rodric and turned around to see what he was glaring at. Or better yet, whom. There was a rather tall and handsome man standing a few feet before us, his serene expression unnerving me as I saw his features more clearly. He had dark hair, darker than his black butler ensemble, with white gloves and an oddly familiar pale skin. His eyes were crimson red and seemed to always watch your every move. There was a crest on his tie, but I didn't dare look away from his gaze.
"My Lady," He said, bowing down and stepping towards me. "It seems you have gone through quite a scuffle."
He indicated towards the bloody umbrella, and out of instinct, I raised it, jabbing it at him. I couldn't stand odd strangers speaking to me. To my utter displeasure and astonishment, he managed to step out of the way before the tip could even brush against him. It was if I had completely missed.
"I've come to inquire about the recent events here," he said, completely ignoring the fact that I had tried to stab him, "My Master wishes to know why you are working for Lau."
At this, I scoffed, my astonishment rising. Even Rodric tensed his jaw, stepping forward. He continued to glare at the man until finally his frown melted away and developed into a faint smile.
"You must be gravely mistaken. My Countess works for no one, even less so to Lau." Rodric clarified, his tone indicating a hint of spite, "Surely, you would not think that the DelMare's would agree to such a thing."
The small clicks of heels were heard, and a young boy came into view, around my stature and age. He had hair covering his right eye, but his uncovered one was a rich, deep blue; the absolute opposite eye color of the man beside him. Even under all that black hair, I could tell he had a black eye-patch on, which spiked my curiosity. His wardrobe clearly marked his nobleman position and his azure ring even more so confirmed it.
"We don't speak of our ways without a spoken premium," I said, raising an eyebrow at the boy, "That's the way Queen's Snake works."
"And the Queen's Guard does not hesitate to use force in order to receive our desired answers." The boy retorted, his stare locking with mine. We stayed like this, glaring at each other silently for a few moments. I could feel his observations and calculations, but I made no move to stand down. If anything, I attempted to intensify my stare. Abruptly, Rodric stepped forward, pulling me back and giving the short boy a bow.
"Our apologies. We were not aware another one of the Queen's Court was in the area. I presume you are in charge of Lau?" he said, kindness dripping with every word, "My Countess was only doing what he had asked of us."
I took this as my cue to begin another performance of gratitude. Biting back my scowl, I curtsied down to him gracefully, letting my long ringlets of dark brown hair fall forward.
"I sincerely apologize, I hadn't the slightest idea Lau had sent us to do harm." I stood up slowly and extending my hand to him, keeping my manners in mind, "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Adelina DelMare, proprietor of the DelMare Industry, and Countess to the DelMare Estate. This is my butler, Rodric."
The boy took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly as manners would dictate before letting go and standing straight again, his expression stern.
"Lau is a fool; I am Ciel Phantomhive, the current owner of the Funtum Company. This is Sebastian, my butler."
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| R E F E R E N C E P O I N T S |
1.) "Condesa, se le olvido su libro." means Countess, you forgot your book in Spanish
2.) "Verdad?" means Right? in Spanish
3.) "Allez." means Go in French
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...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...