"Why would you announce that to the entire table?!"
I flinched as Ciel again hissed the question out into the bedroom. The curtains had been pulled shut and a single candle was lit, just enough for me to be able to see his clear disbelief. Nervously, my hands grazed across the dresser I was beside and clutched onto the nearest item there, which happened to be a perfume bottle.
"And now look what they've done; given us a bedroom to share."
Of course, they had.
I sighed heavily and slammed the bottle back onto the dresser, at the moment not caring about the dent I probably had made.
"I didn't know what else to say!" I snapped, now more aggravated than embarrassed. "You would not understand my circumstances, you have never been in my situations!"
"Then do tell," Ciel said with a wave of his arm and a shake of his head.
He was obviously drained.
The idle show we put on when everyone began asking about our 'engagement' certainly did tire me out as well, but I wouldn't let him off that easily. This would be hard for me as well.
Clearing my throat, I decided that the easiest way to assure maximum cooperation would be to tell him the truth.
"Well," I began, straightening my back, "as you can clearly tell, I am a lady."
He rolled his eye.
"And so a lady is not looked upon-- kindly for taking over and owning a large business."
As Ciel blinked, I sighed and realized he wouldn't be too quick to understand.
Taking a strand of my hair in between my fingers, I rolled it back and forth and braced my teeth to spit out the unattractive truth.
"My family and the absurd society we live in would not approve of me maintaining the business, so you came in order to act as the head of my company." I muttered, narrowing my eyes at the ugly rose perfume bottle in rising anger, "However, I did not account for them to ask about how we knew each other and panicked when it came to responding."
A sudden knock coming from the window cut Ciel's comment off and I rushed over to open it, relieved to see Sebastian holding a second mattress and set of covers for one of us to sleep in.
"My Lady," He said with a small smile, hopping inside. "I've the second bed you've requested."
He began to assemble the mattress together and I walked over to Ciel who seemed to be in quite the sour mood.
"Oh, what's the matter now, Ciel?"
Again, he rolled his eyes and scowled.
"I don't know what could be worse: you announcing our engagement or my demon taking orders from you."
My cheeks warmed. Behind us, Sebastian fluffed the pillows in silence and I turned away from them both and the candlelight. The constant put-downs from Ciel certainly did not provide any comfort and I was too stubborn to ask for his cooperation.
"Well, I'm terribly sorry that you disliked my mistake so much," I mumbled as I began undoing the ribbon in my hair, "but you're just going to have to accommodate just as everyone else is."
I saw Ciel blink and open his mouth to respond but a soft knock on the bedroom door stopped us both from moving. Sebastian was quick to hide and I rushed over to make sure whomever it was didn't open it completely and Ciel hurried over to pick up a book and sit down. If anyone saw the extra bed, more questions would arise before morning could stretch over the horizon.
Yuki stood at the other side of the opening with an exhausted yawn and frazzled hair. With one eye open and the other closed, she gently placed her hand atop my head and began mumbling out her message that I barely comprehended.
"Time to sleep now, hm?" she repeated with another soft, lazy pat.
I was a bit confused but, nevertheless, smiled and nodded at her, signaling for Sebastian to come out from under the bed so he could direct her safely back into her bedroom. Yuki allowed him to do so and I realized how tired she must have been since she hadn't even put up a fight.
The door clicked shut and Ciel stood up from the small couch with a sigh.
I went back to undoing my hair without a word and as I dropped the lace ribbon onto the dresser, it then hit me that I would have to undress in the same room as him without a servant around to help me.
"What now?" Ciel's voice asked behind me, making me jump up a bit in my place.
Through the mirror, I could see him watching me from the smaller of the two beds and I blinked.
He had taken the mattress Sebastian had made for himself.
Ciel continued to stare at me and I coughed shyly.
"I-I... need to change into... my night-robes."
Ciel and I both exchanged an embarrassed expression and suddenly, the candle's small flickering flame that was our only source of light blew out, leaving us in the dark with our reddening faces.
Hesitantly after a few seconds, I reached out to the pale candlestick to try and relight it when my hand wrapped itself around a second freezing cold hand.
Something buzzed throughout my arm and my head snapped up, bumping into Ciel's nose in the process. He groaned and I winced harshly.
"I am so sorry!" I whispered into the dark, reaching out blindly to try and fix my mistake.
Ciel's second hand stopped my own from possibly hurting him any further and our fingers laced together, increasing the ongoing rush that my body was beginning to feel.
"Just find the matches," he said, pushing the candlestick towards me gently, "and go ahead and change, I'll stay in the washroom until you're done."
Once he had spoken, the weight of the candle once again was in my hands alone and I heard him scuffle towards the bath. When the door shut, I hurried to find the matches and change, my skin already on fire at the contact I had made with him.
My hands shook slightly as I tried to strike the match with the box, eventually taking me three tries until the small little flame appeared once again. The candle burned brightly once it met the match head and I hastily set everything down so I could start finding my change of clothes.
At the corner of the room, a number of suitcases were neatly piled up, each one stacked upon the other in a menacing tower. Fortunately, the one I was searching for was propped up against the tall high-rise. I clicked it open and snatched out the longest dress I could find before placing it back where it had been.
As I rushed to unbutton as many buttons as I could so I would be able to slip out of my rather tight dress, two soft knocks came from the bathroom door.
"Are you almost done in there, Adelina?"
I glanced at the remaining buttons and ribbons and frowned, hoping that I wasn't taking too long.
Giving up on the rest of the bindings, I wiggled awkwardly out of the skirt and petticoat quickly before responding.
"Just a minute!"
The fabric began to stretch slightly as I finally pulled it off completely and I shimmied into the waiting pale rose night-robe instantly, tossing the used dress into a small hamper nearby along with its several gratuitous layers.
I walked over to the bathroom door and tapped on it lightly.
"I've finished, Ciel," I said quietly.
The door creaked open and he stepped out in his own nightwear as well, black eyepatch undone and in his hand. I nodded in approval when I realized that he must've taken his own clothes into the bathroom and stepped aside for him to make his way into the room.
"Thank you for waiting," I told him as I went over to the basin by the window. Lathering up a nearby cloth, I turned to him and offered the candlestick. When he shook his head, I shrugged and blew the flame away so I could begin to wash my face.
"Aren't you going to take that ribbon off?"
I paused midway whilst I patted my skin dry and lifted a finger to my neck, tugging at the lace that hid my scars away.
He had already seen them and it was dark...
"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I would think that sleeping with that around your neck could cause some irritation overnight." Ciel elaborated.
Silently, I undid the bow and set the ribbon down beside the basin. I was rooted to my spot for a few moments once my scars were visible before finally being able to move and make my way towards the bed, tucking myself in between the warm blankets and turning my head away from Ciel's side calmly.
My eyes fluttered shut and I let out a deep breath.
THUMP
Ciel and I both jolted up from our beds, exchanging quick, shocked glances in the dark before scrambling to get up and reach the bedroom door to hurry and figure out what could have happened. It sounded like something incredibly heavy had fallen on the floor above us and the faint sound of something being dragged soon followed it, increasing our uneasiness even more.
However, before Ciel's hands could touch the doorknob, the door cracked open itself and Rodric stood on the other side with a calm and reassuring smile, both hands behind his back and head tilted. The light from the hallway blinded me slightly and I covered my eyes a bit so my sight could adjust.
"What was that?" Ciel demanded firmly, hand at his right eye as his head poked out of the room to look left and right. "Is everything--"
"Everything is quite alright," Rodric responded smoothly, "I apologize for the disruption, it seems as though someone has knocked over one of the statuettes in the hallway."
I blinked several times before the news settled in and I yawned, nodding at him before turning to return to bed. Ciel stood where he was for a few more seconds before he too began to head back.
"Sweet dreams, my Lady and young Sir. Trust that all will be fine," Rodric's voice promised before the door closed softly.
I pulled the covers up a bit and curled up slightly.
"All will be fine..." I echoed softly in a yawn, eyes closing.
Another, softer thump came again from above, but I paid it no mind.
Rodric would make sure all would be fine.
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CERTAIN THINGS ARE VERY SYMBOLIC SINCE I AM A FIRM-BELIEVING WRITER IN REGARDS THAT ANYTHING I WRITE HAS A PURPOSE. FOR EXAMPLE: THE SHOCK ADELINA FELT IS IMPORTANT. EVERYTHING IN THIS ARC/STORY IS ,DAMN IT!!
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...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...