"What the devil do you think you're doing?" Ciel snarled at the Queen's butler. "I order you to move out of my way this instant!"
"Sorry, little guard dog," Charles Grey gently turned his sword over in his hands, glancing down at the earl. "I'm not your butler. I do not answer to your feeble orders. Now I shall ask again: where are you off to in such a hurry? Surely Her Majesty would not be happy to find you bounding off through the theatre in such a cumbersome fashion, drawing attention to yourself and your work." He sneered, waiting for an answer.
Ciel glared at Grey, clenching his fists and finding it harder than normal to contain his anger. "Her Majesty would certainly not be happy with you for interfering with my ability to put her mind at ease," he practically spat. "I told you to get out of my way!"
Without thinking, Ciel shoved the butler with both hands. Ordinarily the earl's thin arms would not have been able to move the butler one bit. Now, with his new demonic strength, Ciel sent Grey flying into the wall; not hard enough to crack the wall, or even to knock him out, but enough to stun him into brief paralysis and give the earl enough time to run into the bottom floor audience and get lost in the crowd.
Grey sat against the wall, a pained groan escaping his wide-open mouth. His eyes - as large as dinner plates in his fear - followed Ciel through the theatre. Her Majesty will want to know of this, he thought to himself.
Ciel reached the stage just as he saw Matilda helping Bryony to her feet. Pushing through the last of the dancers, he made his way to the women with enraged strides that were almost stomps. Matilda saw him and pointed him out to Bryony before he was very close, and they met him in the middle of the stage near where the trapdoor remained open.
"What do you mean by running off like that?" Ciel demanded.
"Forgive me, young master," Matilda apologized sheepishly. "But I'm afraid you have another guest tonight."
The earl's eyes shifted to the ballerina. "Bryony Redruth, I presume." His voice was flat. "Yes, certainly. Come back to Phantomhive Manor with us; I have some questions for you anyhow."
Just then, Sebastian appeared at Ciel's side; startling all three quite a bit, for they had not seen him walk in their direction. "Young Master," he began. "I was unable to locate the Loric sisters themselves; however, I found their butler, and between the two of us we have arranged a business meeting over afternoon tea tomorrow."
"Thank you, Sebastian." Ciel replied, not taking his eyes off Bryony. He stared a moment longer before turning his attention to the gaping hole in the stage. He drew closer to it, intending to inspect it, but a gloved hand held him back by his shoulder.
"Perhaps I should perform this task, my lord," the butler suggested, though it was obvious that it was far from a genuine suggestion. If the earl protested, Sebastian would find excuse after excuse to keep him away from the trapdoor. "This is too dangerous for you."
Ciel glared but said nothing, giving the butler a passive nod after a brief standoff. Sebastian passed the party to the trapdoor and bent over it, cocking his head from one side to the other before motioning over his shoulder.
"Matilda," he said. "Come here please."
Matilda reached the butler in less than five long steps, peering into the opening with him. She had to blink once for her eyes to pierce the darkness, but slowly she began to perceive the wood flooring where performers would ordinarily land during a production.
"Am I seeing this correctly?" Sebastian asked her, trying not to show how disconcerted he really was. "I'm afraid my eyesight is... well, fading, insofar as my supernatural sight."
"I see what looks like the outline of a square right below us, where Bryony would have landed," the maid answered. "But it's too far away to get a very detailed look. What do you see?"
"There appears to be splinters around the square," Sebastian told her, bringing a gloved hand to his chin in thought. "But that's all I can make out at this distance. I used to be able to discern the details on a signet ring in a photograph... now it is as if I can barely see." he glanced over his shoulder across the theatre to see employees ushering audience members outside. Time was running short. "If there are splinters, perhaps Bryony was meant to fall through another layer of flooring; perhaps there is something else lower underground."
Sebastian and Matilda turned to see Sir Arthur approaching them, looking distinctly aggravated, while Edward Abberline followed him with an air of relief. Ciel and Bryony spotted him as well; the earl narrowed his eyes in anticipation.
"We've ordered the whole theatre to clear out," the police commissioner explained to the four of them. "We will have men guarding the theatre overnight, and we will conduct a thorough investigation tomorrow. Lord Phantomhive," he turned his attention to the boy earl. "I have a deal to make with you."
"As it happens, I am rather fond of deals," Ciel said, sharing a smirk with Sebastian. "What can we do for you, Sir Arthur?"
"I will give you access to all files and restricted areas related to this case," he proposed. "If you will share all information you and your monster of a butler discover with the Yard."
"I am no monster, Sir Arthur," Sebastian corrected. "Rather, I am one hell of a butler."
Ciel rolled his eyes at his butler, returning his attention to Sir Arthur. "I believe that will work in both of our favors. Very well; it's a deal."
The commissioner nodded curtly before turning and leaving as quickly as he decently could, with Abberline following.
The earl jerked his head towards the exit. "Come," he commanded the other three. "Let's rejoin the others; they're probably already outside and waiting for us by now."
Charles Grey had, it seemed, left the premises after his altercation with the earl, so Charles Phipps had sent for Snake to draw the second carriage. Ciel and Sebastian climbed into Phipps's carriage with Elizabeth and Paula, leaving Lau, Ran Mao, Soma, Agni, Matilda and Bryony to cram into Snake's carriage. After a moment of silence, Bryony volunteered to sit next to the footman. She climbed nimbly up to the top seat of the carriage, where a stunned Snake sat frozen, unsure how to respond. After a brief awkward exchange of glances - in which Bryony smiled timidly and Snake's eyes grew wide - the footman snapped the reigns and sent the carriage moving towards home, with Phipps's carriage following.
When they arrived back at the Phantomhive manor, they were greeted by a surprised Grell Sutcliffe. "What on earth are you doing back so soon? Surely the ballet isn't over yet?"
"Good evening to you, Grell," Sebastian said ever-so-placidly as he held the carriage door open for Ciel, Elizabeth, and Paula. "I'm afraid we had to return early thanks to an attempt on the life of the prima ballerina. As a matter of fact, it's good that we have a reaper among us tonight; we may have to ask you some questions, Grell."
Grell cast the butler a questioning look but said nothing, which was unusual for her.
Ciel and Matilda led Bryony into the parlor, followed by Lau, Ran Mao, Prince Soma, Lady Elizabeth, and Grell. Paula left to attend to her godson, and Agni and Sebastian left to prepare tea for the nobles. Sebastian entered minutes later with a steaming pot and seven teacups, but Agni decided to search for work elsewhere in the house.
"Here you are, Miss Redruth," Sebastian handed the ballerina a cup of tea, taking care that her hands were not still shaking. "I have chosen a special herbal blend that I believe will help calm your nerves."
"Thank you," Bryony said, taking a sip while Matilda patted her friend's knee.
Ciel took a sip from his own cup before speaking in his usual bored, commanding voice. "Miss Redruth, if you wouldn't mind telling us everything you know about these attempts on your life, we would very much like to help you."
"As soon as you feel ready to say anything," Matilda added, taking care not to send the earl a withering glance.
With a deep breath, Bryony began. "It's always a different method and a different show, but for the entire tour I've been in danger. It's like I told Matilda; guns going off, chandeliers falling from the ceiling, the stage burning, trapdoors opening like tonight. We've taken the issue to Scotland Yard, but because every attempt happened with a different method and in a different city, they have no way of connecting anyone to the crimes." she took another sip of tea and continued. "What I don't understand is why anyone would want to kill me. All I do is dance! Ask Matilda here, she'll tell you; dancing is all I've ever done."
Matilda's eyes lit up suddenly, as if a lightbulb had gone off above her head. "Bry," she grasped her friend's shoulders. "Did anything strange happen between your move to the city and the first murder attempt? Did you witness anything criminal, did you fall on someone's bad side on accident...?"
"I daresay members of any of the many mafias in the Underworld would have a reason to come after you if saw something you shouldn't have," Lau grinned from the sofa.
"Speaking from experience, are you?" the earl muttered. Turning to Bryony, he said, "Matilda has the right idea. If you can think of anything that would give someone a motive, let us know immediately. Meanwhile, we must look for other connections. Sebastian!"
The butler had been lost in thought, worrying about his fading vision, but the sound of his name from his master's voice brought him back to the present. "Sir?"
"You may not be able to do this tonight, but go over the attendance of every show from this troupe and see if anyone went to every show. I want alibis from anyone matching that criteria." Suddenly the earl turned to Bryony, his brow furrowed. "Wait. Viscount Druitt wrote tonight's ballet. Has he written any of the other shows your troupe has performed?"
Bryony looked at Ciel as if he had grown an additional head. "Of course, Lord Phantomhive," she confirmed. "The Viscount is our benefactor. He funds everything we do, and recently he has started writing our ballets. I think he's calling the next one The Lobster Quadrille, and it's supposedly based off of his real experiences a few years ago but also draws a good deal from the works of Lewis Carroll..." she trailed off and narrowed her eyes at everyone. "Wait... you don't think the Viscount is behind this?"
The earl shook his head. "Not necessarily the culprit, no. But I think he may have something to do with it, whether or not he knows it."
Prince Soma stood and paced by the window. Elizabeth followed him with her eyes. "So what should we do to investigate?" he asked.
Sebastian smirked to himself. "I expect this calls for another undercover mission on your part, my lord?"
Ciel's face turned purple and red as he glared in rage at his butler. Before he could retort, Elizabeth spoke up.
"That's an idea, Sebastian! You're brilliant! You saying that, plus thinking of the events that ballet was portraying... it all gives me an idea."
"Oh?" Lau's interest was piqued. "You have an idea, Lady Elizabeth? I'm sure whatever it is, the little earl will be unable to deny you."
"Not a bit," Ran Mao added in monotone, shaking her head.
Everyone in the room blinked at Lau before Ciel rolled his eyes. "What is your idea, Lizzy?"
"It is well known that Viscount Druitt has a proclivity for girls and young women," Elizabeth put her hand to her chin in thought. "What if we attend one of his parties and I try to get close to Viscount? Surely he would be more open with a young lady, as opposed to any of you trying to interrogate him."
Ciel and Prince Soma both reacted in shock.
"Absolutely not, Lizzy!" the earl exclaimed. "I won't allow it!"
"Lady Elizabeth, surely that is too dangerous for you," Prince Soma's reply was calmer than Ciel's, but no less concerned for the lady.
"It won't be too dangerous if all of us attend the ball together," Elizabeth replied calmly. This was not enough for Ciel, however, and the two of them began arguing.
"Surely we can get Bryony to question the Viscount? They know each other, after all."
"Hasn't Bryony suffered enough?"
"What about Matilda, then?"
"She performed well tonight, but all she really had to do was sit still. In a fancy ball with lots of moving about and talking to people, she might give us away."
"Alright, fine. Well... maybe Grell could do it?"
Grell herself interjected. "Absolutely not," she said. "I have to get back to my real job. I only came by to check on Mathilde for Adrien."
Elizabeth folded her arms and held her head high. "I can do this, Ciel. Don't worry about me."
Ciel glowered at her, but he had to relent.
***author's note: the picture is an avatar I made for Bryony