"You're what?" Least to say, you were surprised by his statement, seeing how isolated he tended to be. You took a drink of the Earl Grey tea that Claude had provided for you, Alois gently sipping on his Japanese Blossom tea every now and again.
"I said that I'm having a masquerade ball here tonight." Alois repeated, not understanding why you were so shocked, "And I'm throwing it in your honor."
You choked on the tea that you had just swallowed and coughed as it harshly went down your throat. Alois was startled by your outburst, but waited for you to finish your episode before he said anything else. Your coughing died down, and you were able to recover yourself slightly and process what he had just said.
"In my honor? Why?" You asked, feeling a bit nervous about the sudden notice.
"Relax. All I need you to do is dance for a while with the guests and look pretty. That shouldn't be too hard, right?" He said with a smirk. Though, you didn't notice it as you were staring intensely at your hands that laid in your lap.
"I mean, I-I guess, but-"
"Wonderful! I'll have Hannah prepare you for tonight. Hannah!"
Upon hearing his shout, the maid rushed through the door and stood in the middle of the room, preparing herself for her master's command.
"Go and clean up (Y/n) and get her ready for the ball tonight. I expect her done before dusk, or there will be dire consequences. Understood?" He asked harshly, causing you to bite on your tongue. You did hold the belief that servants were serving as a lower authorities, but they were still human. You wondered why Alois seemed so hard on them, but you kept yourself from asking.
"Yes, my master." Hannah said with a bow and turned to you.
"Please, follow me, young lady." She said politely as she began to walk out of the room. You quickly got out of your chair and followed her, wondering why the Earl of Trancy was so determined to have this ball. Once you closed the door behind you, Alois spoke quietly to Claude, who had been standing next to him to whole time.
"Did Phantomhive get my invitation?" Alois asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes." Claude simply replied. Alois pouted up at him, his arms behind his head as he propped up his feet on his desk.
"Oh Claude," He whined, "The Earl of Phantomhive hasn't declined it, has he?"
Claude smirked and pushed up his glasses with one finger.
"Of course not. In fact, he has committed to coming." Claude announced, causing Alois's mocking pout to fade away as a grin formed on his face.
"Perfect."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You struggled to adjust in your dress that Alois had bought for you in town, seeing as it was strapless. Hannah must have sensed your discomfort, as she began helping you adjust the fabric.
"Why is Alois throwing a party tonight?" You asked, hoping to get an answer out of her. You had been keeping your mouth shut, knowing that if Hannah told too much, Alois would surely punish her. You didn't normally push this much, but this was a little ridiculous in your opinion. Everything was seeming to be a little too coincidental, and it didn't settle well with you. As a matter of fact, as dusk approached, you became even more anxious. You could feel your hands becoming clammy with your nervousness, but you received only silence from the maid.
A knock resonated from your door and you answered:
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing Alois standing there with his usual green and purple attire. He eyed you as he walked in, an approving look on his face.
"You look good." He commented. He glanced over to Hannah and gave her an intimidating scowl, "You can leave now."
Hannah immediately did as her master commanded and exited the room, quickly shutting the door behind her.
"What is it?" You asked, curious as to why he was in your room. He walked over to you and grabbed your arm.
"We're going to the main hall." With the grip that he had on your limb, he easily started dragging you along with him.
"W-Wait! Why?" You asked, trying to resist his attempts in moving you.
"I'm going to teach you how to dance."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is this really necessary?" You asked with a groan as Alois held your hand with his.
"Of course it is. You're going to be the star tonight, so you need to know how to dance properly." He explained, putting his other hand on your waist.
"I don't think you understand. I don't want to be the star. I would much rather just stay out of the way. Besides, I'm not much of a dancer." You pleaded. Though, Claude had already started playing a violin in the background, along with Hannah and the triplets picking up their own sorts of instruments and joining him.
"I believe that you don't really have a choice." He announced as began to lead you in a dancing routine.
You became a little more panicked with his reluctant attitude, causing you to step all over his feet as he slowly led you on the dance floor.
"A-Alois! I can't do this! Please, just let me—"
"(Y/n)." He took his hand off of your waist and rested his on the back of your neck, hoping to calm you by his gentle touch, "All you have to do is follow my lead, okay?"
You looked up at him. You felt tense concerning his affection, but you nodded your head in agreement regardless as you both stepped back and forth.
He smiled and resumed the dance, leading you across the dance floor: front step, back step; one movement at a time. His hand dropped back down to your waist, but you were too focused on the movements to really notice.
The music picked up, causing your dancing to go faster. At this point, you didn't have to look at your feet to recognize what you were doing. This was actually... a little fun. You laughed as you quickly picked up the dance, causing Alois to smile as well.
In this moment, all of your troubles faded off with the noise of the music. It felt nice to be able to have the illusion that you were under control for once.
"You're a fast learner, heh?" He held on to your left hand and held it up, allowing you to suddenly spin around in a circle. You held your head back as you laughed, Alois catching you perfectly as he led you back into the dance. You tripped over his feet a few times after, but you were having too much fun to care.
The music soon faded off, signalling to you and Alois that the dance as ended. In consideration, you both bowed to one another. You stood back up, a forced frown on your face.
"I can't believe you made me do that..."
"And enjoy it too." He added, smirking at you. He really did delight in your presence. As much as he enjoyed teasing you, he really felt something deep within him yearn for your presence. Not something that he normally felt when it came to attractive women, but you were someone that seemed to have a real resistance towards him. It made him curious, but more than that: he felt like he wasn't alone anymore. That maybe - just maybe - somebody truly cared about him.
And just as well, he knew exactly how he felt to lose a brother, and he felt very compassionate towards you.
"I didn't enjoy it." You said, huffing as you crossed your arms dramatically and smirked at him. "It was quite a bore, if you ask me."
Alois chuckled.
"Whatever you say. Now come, we're going to get you prepared for tonight's event."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You looked out over the onslaught of people that had gathered in the main hall as you peered down at them from a hidden vantage point on the second floor. Everyone here was so pristine and noble - things that you definitely expected - but you didn't feel like it was necessary to make you the honorable guest of it. Though, to ease your troubles, he said that he wouldn't require you to stand up on the balcony with him, but to just act obligingly to the guests below and dance with them.
You sighed as the mansion's doors shut, confirming to yourself that you were not going to be able to get out of this.
You noticed Alois out of the corner of your eye, but for the time, he paid no mind to you. For now, he was determined to keep his guests happy. You looked out into the crowd as Trancy welcomed them, hoping to see any sort of familiar faces.
Then, a sharp pain hit you like a brick hurdled at your chest.
'What if Ciel is here..?'
This ringing thought that crept up into your mind sent you a splitting headache. Even though you would be speechless and almost angry at the Earl, you truly missed him. And the look that he had frozen on his face as you ran from him on that fateful day still haunts you, even when you tried to push it back.
"Lady (Y/n), the dance is about to begin. You should go downstairs." A smooth, yet lethal voice commanded from behind you. You spun around, your eyes connecting with a pair of golden ones. For a moment, you were left speechless at the glimmer in his irises, but you soon masked that emotion.
"I guess you're right. I'll be going then—"
You attempted to diffuse yourself from the demon by walking away, but you soon found your arm in his iron tight grasp, making you cringe at the sudden pain.
"Let me help you with your mask."
He held up your blue and black masquerade mask by it's ribbon. You sighed, noting your incompetence for future situations as you only nodded in response. Claude did just as he said and tied your mask to the back of your head, your vision being partially blinded by larger parts of the mask.
You could hear the music begin to play as Claude adjusted your accessory. He soon finished and bowed politely. Afterwards, he pushed up his glasses by one finger.
You took that as your cue to leave, so you did so, hoping not to cause too much attention to yourself by running into the crowd. Luckily, you didn't seem to attract any unwanted onlookers, so you blended in with the crowd—looking up to where Alois was standing as he welcomed the people around you.
"Since I've gotten the formalities out of the way, I must declare that this ball is not affiliated with me, but to a woman that I've come to cherish deeply. I will not say her name, but if you can tell me what she looks like before the end of the night, I shall give you a splendid reward. Oh, how I love games! I'm assuming the rest of you would like to play it too, yes?"
He didn't wait for the crowd to answer as his servants stood behind him, instruments in their hands.
"Now, everyone have a wonderful time!" He shouted, commencing the beautiful, energetic melody that began to resonate from the musicians.
The music was absolutely lovely, and you could see that everyone around you seemed to have a sudden energy boost to keep up to the tempo, but you were a little surprised at the speech that he gave. Of course, you knew him to be fairly affectionate, but to admit to everyone that this mystery girl was someone whom he truly 'cherished'?
"Young lady, would you like this dance?" A familiar voice cooed in your ear. You froze in your spot, not really wanting to turn around, "I thought that I might have ran into my beautiful robin, but this is much better!"
You gritted your teeth as Alois's words repeated through your head.
"Relax. All I need you to do is dance for a while with the guests and look pretty. That shouldn't be too hard, right?"
You growled, clenching your fists together.
'Not hard at all, Alois.'
You turned around, quickly changing your upset attitude into a naive, cheerful facade as you faced Viscount Druitt, who stood before you.
"Viscount! I had no idea that you were going to be here!" You yelled, holding your hand up to your face as to seem surprised and innocent. He chuckled.
"I know. I know, my dear. You're so happy to see me, but I seem to have a date tonight, so I cannot keep her waiting for long. So please, would you have this dance with me?" He asked, holding out his hand. You cringed at the fact that he was probably with multiple women, but pushed that thought out of your head and laid your hand gently in his. He pulled you towards him, putting his other hand on your waist, a little too delicately for your liking.
"I must say," Druitt whispered in your ear as you danced, "You look absolutely lovely tonight."
You kept yourself from completely losing your lunch and looked at him bashfully.
"Oh my.. Thank you, Viscount." You said forcefully.
The dance seemed to last for hours with him, as he talked about how if you had requested to go somewhere private, then he would leave all of his other women behind. And he mentioned how good you looked, basically undressing you with his eyes.
The music switched suddenly, signalling for the dancers to switch their partners. You mentally sighed in relief as he moved onto another girl beside you, whispering the same sweet nothing's in her ear, making her giggle.
Another hand grabbed yours, and you were surprised to be grabbed by the host himself, seeing as he wanted people to 'guess' your identity.
"I thought that you wanted to keep things little less suspicious so they could guess." You said, teasingly. Alois smirked at you as he held his hand up, causing you to twirl around before he grabbed you by the waist and led you back into the original dance.
"I just couldn't help myself. Especially when I saw that idiot drooling over you." He gestured over to the Viscount, who had been pulled to the side by the said girl to talk privately.
"Aww. Is somebody jealous?" You asked. He shrugged and looked down at you with a grin.
"Maybe."
You tried to keep in your laughter as the male spun you around again, your happy, melodious voice ringing pleasantly in his ear.
The music changed once again, causing Alois to release his grip on yours and change partners. You raised an eyebrow at his unusual behavior, but soon pushed it out of your mind as another hand grabbed yours.
"Damn demon."
You froze, recognizing the upset voice of the person that had grabbed your hand. You didn't dare look up as he led you into the dance, rather clumsily. You stayed silent.
"You know, it's not very polite to look at the ground while your partner tries to dance, (Y/n)." Ciel said ironically. You looked up at him, confusion written all over your face. His blue eye stared delicately into your (e/c) ones, convicting you of every doubt and thought that you had ever had about him. He was wearing his usual green noblemen attire, while he was wearing an intricate green and gold mask.
"C-Ciel, what are you-"
He shushed you, putting his finger against your lips. You did as he wanted as the boy concentrated on getting his moves right. So many thoughts rang through your head as he cursed to himself for missing some of the steps. Pains began to shoot into your chest. Looking at him was a constant reminder of your brother's sudden death, but his horrified, defeated face was all you could see after you had slapped him, causing him to fall onto the concrete below him.
'What is Ciel even doing here?.. and why would he want to see me again? After what I said to him, everything that he had done for me, completely forgotten in my mind. What made him come here? Am I important to him, or is he just trying to toy with my heart; manipulate me like he and I do so well?.. Maybe he was forced to be here. Knowing him, he would never want to come to anything like this.'
"Stop thinking so much. Help me out here." Ciel grumbled, continuing to get the steps wrong. You giggled a little to yourself, causing Ciel to glance up at you with a relieved look on his face. Not because you were going to help him, but because he was able to make you laugh, even if it wasn't for long.
Back at his manor, Ciel had been cooped up in his office for all of those days that you were gone. He couldn't get any of his paperwork done, he cancelled several important meetings, and even managed to yell at Elizabeth, causing her to go home crying to her care taker.
When Alois sent him the invitation, he actually was about to throw it away, until he saw a line on the letter that had your name written on it.
He quickly read the invitation, and demanded for Sebastian to give him a message that he would be there.
He wasn't going to miss a chance to make amends with you, and maybe even earn your trust back.
"Just... Follow my lead." You said hesitantly, Alois's advice ringing in your memories.
You held up your arms to its proper structure, but you did so nervously. Your mind was ringing with uncertainty and sorrow and it was hitting your chest like a bowling ball. You had to bite down on your tongue, as to suppress your rising emotions - one's that you had completely forgotten with the help of Alois, and you were starting to regret that.
You felt guilty—so guilty. You had replaced the memories of Ciel in your mind and substituted them with Alois, hoping in some way that it would keep you sane, when in reality, you had almost no reason to believe that he was at fault for your brother's death. You tried to re-imagine the way that he was killed, in hopes to see someone other than the Earl, but your mind stayed restricted, not wanting to endure that amount of emotional pain by bringing it back up.
You began the moves to the dance, knowing that it was slowly starting to come to an end by the way that the instruments were starting to fade off. You led Ciel - right step forward, left foot forward, right foot to the right, left foot to the left. Ciel still seemed to struggle, but he seemed to be more fluid and graceful than he was to begin with.
"You've really got the hang of this." He grumbled, his snarl apparent towards his foolishness when it came to dancing. It caused a small, sad smile to grace your features.
~~~~~~
"Why are you dressed as a woman?!" You shouted, snorting afterwards. You may have been a noble, but this was definitely an amusing surprise, as Jeremy had predicted.
"Honestly. The Queen sent you.." Ciel said, putting his pigtails and hat back on, "Just don't get in my way."
~~~~~~~
"Wait! Ciel! I almost forgot your cake!" Elizabeth yelled, disappearing into the kitchen. Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Honestly, why is this necessary?"
You playfully hit Ciel with your elbow, catching his attention.
"It's your seventeenth birthday, idiot."
~~~~~~~~~
"It's just an age, (Y/n). I don't understand why it makes everyone so happy." He complained.
"... Because it marks the day that you were born." You commented, grabbing his shoulder, "I'm happy about it."
~~~~~~~~~
The music stopped. You had apparently got too lost into your own thoughts to notice, until you no longer felt Ciel's presence. You snapped out of it, seeing as all of the other guests around were talking among themselves as they took a break before the next dance would start. You looked around, feeling yourself begin to long for those feelings of safety again. The memories that you had shared with Ciel were not replaceable. With your heightened emotions over and done, you had come to deeply regret how you ran from him and how you blamed him. He was obviously, in your mind, not the cause of it.
You began to panic, as you could not see the boy anywhere. Everyone seemed to get closer to you. You had get out. You had to get out of here. You needed to find Ciel.
You began to push your way past the nobles, earning a 'Hey, watch it!' or a shriek from one of the unsuspecting ladies that you passed by.
You made it to an opening and saw that the castle's door was now open, allowing guest to come and go if they wished. You breathed heavily, not expecting your heavy dress and tall heels to cause your early exhaustion. You looked around more, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy.
"Let's go, Sebastian."
You whipped your head towards the voice and saw Ciel climbing into his carriage. You didn't see him before, as his escape was aided by the darkness outside. Sebastian attempted to let the Earl to use his hand as leverage to help the boy get in, but Ciel smacked it away, seemingly disgusted by his gesture. But Sebastian simply smiled at his master's growing independence.
You walked out onto the patio, planning to run and try to catch him before he left. But, before you could do that, a hand gripped your arm, keeping you from following through with your plan.
"You can't leave so soon! We've barely gotten any time to dance." Alois pouted, turning you around to face him by holding you by both of your wrists.
"Alois, I—"
"Please, let's just go back inside and—"
"No." You countered, momentarily stunning the boy, an unreadable expression on his face.
"... Why?" He asked, though he knew the answer.
You stood there, not wanting to tell Alois your reasoning.
But then another part of you felt guilty for feeling that way. Alois graciously opened up his home to you, so the least you could do is tell him why you were going to leave. He surely wouldn't get angry, would he?
"I... I miss Ciel. I really miss him a lot. I want to go and see him. I really appreciate your hospitality, but I think that it's time for me to leave—"
You attempted to pull away from Alois's loosened grasp, but once he felt you move, he readjusted his grip. This hold was no longer one of care and love, but left a searing pain in your wrist, causing you to cry out in agony as he squeezed it tightly.
"No!" He shouted, his eyes beginning to glisten. You turned back towards him, concerned at his new behavior.
"Alois. This hurts." You begged, hoping the faked aggressiveness in your voice would tear him away, but he continued to squeeze harder, making your fingers twitch.
"No... You can't leave me... You can't leave!" He yelled, small, desperate tears beginning to slide down his cheek.
He was beyond hurt. he thought that he had you—that you would never want to leave. He had treated you nicely, and had given you everything that you had wanted. Why couldn't you just accept him for the way that he was and just forget about that idiot that you cared for so much?
"Please, Alois. I'm really just overstaying my welcome—"
"Why can't you love me..?" He asked, making your blood run cold by the threat that laid underneath his sorrow. You winced as his grip became stronger on your two limbs. You bit the inside of your cheek, hoping that you could distract yourself from the pain.
"Just... let me go." You pleaded, hoping to hit some sort of soft spot, but every word that you said just made him even angrier, "I'm sure that there are a lot more girls that like you. And they're probably way better than I am. Why don't you just forget about me so we—"
Your sentence was interrupted as you went silent when one of his hands released your wrist. Even in the darkness, along with the help from the dim light that came from inside, you could see the red ring that went around it like a bracelet. But he didn't let go of your other wrist. No, that one he kept in an even tighter grip.
"Alois?"
Immediately after you spoke his name, a sharp, powerful pain shot from your cheek. You staggered back as much as you could, Alois's hand still tight around your limb. You held your cheek with your free hand, hoping to stop some of the pain.
"You're not leaving. And don't you ever say such things to me again." Alois said as he dropped his hand, satisfied with the slap that he gave you. He turned on his heel and back into the castle, dragging you behind him.
"Why are you—"
"Be quiet!" He screamed, his yell bouncing off of the walls of his manor's interior. You and all of the guests around you went deathly quiet, not wanting to provoke the boy, "Now that everyone's listening, I would like to announce that this party is now over. Claude, show them out."
Claude appeared behind his master.
"But, Your Highness—"
"Show. Them. Out."
Hearing the anger laced in his master's tone, he quickly began to gather up the guests. You stood there, utterly frightened by his behavior.
"We're going upstairs." He said blandly, dragging you with him as he walked up to the second floor. You tried to resist, but you didn't dare speak - not knowing if what you said would be used against you.
He drug you upstairs and to your room. Without warning, he threw you into the room, causing you to collide harshly with the floor. You sat up, hissing at the injuries that you had sustained in just a couple of moments.
You looked up only to see Alois's darkened form gripping the doorknob, almost bending the item as his anger seeped through him.
"You're staying here. You're not leaving, so don't even try. If you do, I'll have my servants tear you to pieces."
He slammed the door shut, locking the door on his side as to prevent you from leaving.
You took a moment to process what just happened, but every way that you looked at it put a feeling of fear and sorrow in the pit of your stomach. Not only that, but you were angry. Who was he to say that you couldn't leave? I mean, if you tried, maybe it would included some cuts and bruises, but by his behavior, you were willing to do whatever it took to get out of that house.
For the time being, you decided that it would be the best just to sleep it off. Maybe he would be better in the morning, though you doubted it.
As you laid in bed, all you had was your conflicting thoughts to keep you company. So, when your thoughts rang harshly in your mind, it caused tears to roll down your face in response until you delicately fell asleep, preparing yourself for the hell that awaited you in the morning.