"Umm Ciel." You peered into his study room, your gaze trailing over to glance at the said boy who sat behind his desk, a pen in his hand while he went over several papers. He instantly glanced up once he heard you call his name, placing the pen to the side while he focused his full attention on you.
"I'm going to be heading out now," you informed him, stepping a bit further into the door, but remaining near it as you didn't intend on staying long.
"Okay thanks for letting me know," he responded watching your face to see any break in your composed nature. "You said that you were planning on going to Weston, correct?"
"Yeah, Edward invited me to come visit him at the school since its been a while," you confirmed, turning back around to step out of the room.
"(Y/N)," Ciel suddenly called, making you halt in your pace and turn around once again. "How are you doing? Are you sure about this? You haven't left the house in a while."
You were quiet, your gaze examining the lines of the door before giving Ciel your full attention. Although you wanted to lie, you had promised Ciel that you were going to be honest with him. "Things are better," you faintly told him, your fingers tugging on the edge of your shirt. "I wouldn't say perfectly fine, but alright. I'm sure about doing this. It's been a while since I've gone out, I think it would be best for myself if I get some fresh air for a while."
"Well if you believe that this is the best for you then I won't hold you back any longer," Ciel stated carefully watching your meek figure with calculating eyes the work besides him discarded to the side as he focused his full attention onto you. "I'm glad though, that things are at least getting a little bit better for you. When you come back you can come spend some time with me."
You gave him a small happy smile, glad that he had suggested this and looking forward to getting the chance to talk to Ciel after all this time. "Sure. I'll look forward to it. I'll see you later Ciel."
With a small wave, you headed out of the room closing the door behind you and leaving Ciel behind with his work. As you made your way down the hall, you could only wonder where Sebastian was in the manor since you were accustomed to seeing him with Ciel. You hadn't seen him for the entirety of the day, but you could only guess that he was somewhere most likely finishing up his other duties that he usually had for the day.
With a shrug of your shoulders, you continued your way down the hall only guessing that he was either cleaning or fixing Ciel's next meal for the day. You had crossed the paths of the other servants earlier taking the time to assist them with what ever duties they had, before telling them your goodbyes for the day. Locking the front door, you headed down the steps of the Manor, your line of steps directed towards the carriage that was parked out front. "Thank you again for taking me Tanaka!" You called up to the coach.
There sitting up in coach in his normal form was Tanaka already gripping the reigns of the horses while he waited for you. "Oh it was nothing at all," he cheerfully hummed. "I have nothing to do all day so it would be good to go out for a change. Might go walk around the town nearby while you're at the college."
"Well as long as I'm not preventing you from doing anything," you said giving him a small smile before climbing up into the carriage. As the carriage pulled away from the manor, a wave of uncertainty washed over you causing you to ball your hands into fist in your lap. It had been a while since you had left the manor without anyone in a while. Truth be told the last time you had left the manor was back when Alois had come and that had been two weeks ago.
Much as you didn't want to admit it, you were slightly beginning to regret agreeing to meet Edward at Weston. It would be nice to see Edward, but Weston College was such a crowded area and you didn't exactly want to be surrounded by so many people. It took a while before the carriage finally came to a stop outside the gates of Weston. "Thanks for driving me here Tanaka," you thanked the elderly man, watching as he slowly made his way down from the carriage. You helped him make his way down the older man thanking you once he had reached the ground.
"Like I said it was no worries at all," he stated giving you a small wave of his hand as he made sure the carriage was fully placed before turning back to you. "I'll be back by five. You don't have to meet me there specifically at that time, I'm fine with waiting until you return." With a polite smile, he gave you a wave before making his way down the street. "Have fun while you're there."
You watched him go before turning to look at the sign that marked the entrance of the college. A heavy sigh left you as you peered past the entrance to the campus watching as dozens of college students headed along its walkways to their clubs or classes. Knowing that standing here would only keep Edward waiting, you pulled up the hood of your outfit, crossing your way onto the premises. The campus life was bustling as always, students who rushed past you seemed busy with the duties they had their mind set on doing. You stayed to yourself on the far side of the sidewalks keeping your hood fully over your head as to not draw any attention to yourself though you knew this would only make you appear suspicious to the eyes of others.
The both of you had decided to meet at the entrance of the Green Lion as it was closer to the front of the school. That was where you were currently heading. By now, you were halfway to the Green House, the area you were in was an intermediary between two smaller buildings on the west side of the college. There were only a small numbering of students here as most of them were at the main area of the campus. A group of students walked past you, but your hood was to pulled down to fully pay attention to them as you crossed past them. It was then that you heard their footsteps stop behind you, yet you kept your pace towards the Green House. Their footsteps were heard again, this time beginning to trail after you and you slightly peered back catching a glimpse of their faces.
You kept your pace, leading them to a secluded section behind the buildings, their steps never once faltering from behind you. Finally you stopped in the shadows of the building, turning around to face your pursuers who subsequently stopped themselves. "I had a feeling that you six would come searching for me," you began bluntly. "It's been a while Sakamakis."
"I'm sure you know why we're here," Pigeon - Reiji - was the first to speak stepping forward in front of all his brothers. The others crowded closer, their gaze keenly watching your every movement.
"Yeah I do, I'm sure you guys want to go back to your world," you commented thinking back to what you had done to them when you had teleported yourself back to their dimension.
"You've had us stranded in this damn world for a year," Ayato fumed, taking an irritated step towards you a heavy scowl deeply set in his face. "You think we don't want to go back."
"Yeah yeah I hear you," you sarcastically said as you disregarded his comment with a wave of your hand. Your gaze swept across all of the Sakamaki brothers remembering all the occurrences when you had run into the Sakamaki brothers throughout your time here in the Black Butler dimension. "All these times I've run into you all yet never connected who you were. Man I really feel stupid now."
"So are you going to send us back?" Subaru asked impatiently while Kanato nodded his head next to him.
"Yeah, try not to give my past self any trouble," you remarked thinking back to the spell that had first sent them here.
"Although you're attractive, I can say for certain I'm glad if I never met you again," Laito stated causing you to roll your eyes at his comment.
"Say, day to night I send them with flight to their place which I took them from," you chanted, stepping back to watch as one by one they begin to vanish back to their dimension until Shu was the last one standing. His bored gaze remained locked onto your own before he gave a small wave disappearing as well. You sighed glad that you had gotten that over with before setting out once again to the Green House. It took only a couple minutes before you made it to the Green House. Edward still wasn't there making you conclude that something must have been holding him up so you leaned against the wall of the building waiting for him to show up.
"(Y/N)!" A voice exclaimed and you glanced over to see Edward hurrying over waving his hand in the air as he approached. You pushed yourself off from the wall slowly heading over to him with a small smile on your face. "Sorry I was late. I got held up at chorus club," he stated giving you an apologetic expression.
"Ah, it's okay Edward I don't mind waiting for you," you told him waiting for him to catch his breath from his running. "Especially if it's for anything important. How have you've been though?" You asked once he had righted himself up giving you another grin.
"Been a bit busy with club and school work. Not to mention both Elizabeth and my mother been complaining to me about coming to visit them more often at the manor," Edward chuckled, unconsciously ruffling his hair as he turn to glance over at you. "Other then that things been pretty fine," he stated and it was then that you noticed that he was examining your outfit, noting the hood that you had pulled over your head. "How have you been?" He asked uneasily seeming worried that he'll get an answer he wouldn't like.
"I've been doing alright," you replied to him, giving him a soft smile, but instead of returning one, the corner of his lips shifted down into a soft frown. Not wanting him to think anything unusual about you wearing the hood, you pulled it back displaying the hair that you had pulled back for the day not wanting to have styled it.
"I don't think so," Edward remarked, bending down so his face was leveled with yours as he intently peered into your eyes. Both of his hands reached out, grasping each of your cheeks as he softly brought your face closer to his. He slightly tilted your head and you were to surprised at his action to move away from his close face. Being this close to him made you notice features that you never noticed before noting that his eyes were actually speckled with tiny dots of honey, jade and hazel. You were to focus on examining his face to realize that he had pulled away and you snapped yourself out of your daze focusing your attention back on him. "There are dark lines underneath your eyes and you look paler than usual," he indicated, slightly gesturing to your face. "I don't think you're as fine as you say you are (Y/N)."
With a sigh, you glanced down to the ground not wanting to make eye contact with Edward a bit ashamed with your appearance. Leave it to a knight of England and a member of the Midford family to be so perceptive. "I've just found some things out that have been hard to accept. I'm still trying to come to amends with everything. Sorry about this and for my appearance. It's probably not a good look when being here at Weston."
Edward was quiet for a moment making you worry for what he was going to say and your gaze remained on the ground simply examining the black shoes that he had wore for the day. "(Y/N)," he softly coaxed, his mellow voice making you glance up at him. "You don't have to apologize for anything. There's nothing wrong with your outfit or the way you look especially if things aren't going well for you. I'm sorry I wish I could do something to help you, but I'm guessing you don't want to tell me everything which I can understand." He paused for a second as if in deep thought before glancing back down at you. "Here would you accompany me?" Edward asked, holding his arm out to you to your surprise.
You peered questionably at him, but still gave him your arm. "Where to?"
"You know that park I took you to for the concert?" He asked watching as you nodded his head to his question. "I figured that would be a good place to take you to for the day. It'd be a nice atmosphere right now especially with it being spring."
"Ah, thank you Edward," you told him glancing up at the knight and giving him a genuine smile.
"Of course! You're a good friend of mine (Y/N). I would do anything to help a friend," he stated, before slowly leading you through the campus. You noticed that he was taking less crowded parts as if he knew that you didn't want to be around a crowd and you silently thanked him for this. You were glad that you had met the knight, thankful for that time he was rushed in to save you in that alleyway and you wished you had a way to truly thank him for all that he has done.
"The park isn't that far from Weston, so it shouldn't take us that long to get there," Edward remarked taking a quick second to glance down at you as you both reached the entrance of the campus. "I'm sure that your coach will be back to take you back to the Phantomhive Manor later so I'll bring you back later."
"Alright," you agreed as you followed alongside him before glancing to your left upon noticing commotion further down the walkway. You reasoned that there was a small argument going on, as some students seemed to be slightly agitated at a person who wasn't wearing the Weston uniform.
"Some people come to view the school if they're thinking about applying," Edward explained having glanced in the direction and you noticed that his eyes had narrowed as he gave an irritated shake of his head in the direction. "The Fags or the Prefects will come and get things handled if anything escalates. Let's hurry to get to the park. I'm sure you don't want to be around this much commotion."
"(Y/N)!!"
You immediately froze, glancing back over to where the commotion was as you stared in surprise upon seeing an overly jubilant person racing your way, their hand high in the air as they excitedly raced over to you. "It's been too long!" They yelled as they jumped at you making you stiffen automatically and they pulled you into a tight hug, but you had recognized the plum colored hair and you slightly relaxed, patting the person on their back.
"It's been a while since I've last seen you Soma." You gave the prince a small, yet jubilant smile glad that you two had met again after all of these months. "I'm glad to see that you're just the same."
Soma pulled away from you just as you heard another voice shouting from the direction he had dashed from. "Young prince, you shouldn't run off like that. Especially from an issue you had instigated," another familiar voice called and you peered around Soma's shoulder in time to find Agni racing in your direction. "Ahh (Y/N)!" He exclaimed surprised upon seeing you standing next to his prince. "It's been a while since I've last seen you. It is good to see an old friend again."
"You as well Agni. It's good to see both you and Soma after all this time," you began giving both of them a smile. "I hope things have been good with your travels."
"Ah! Of course!" Soma excitedly started, a large happy smile on his face as he relished in his journeys. "It's been so fun getting the chance experience England and all the things that they have here! Agni and I visited many carnivals, dance halls and we even got to see the Oxford-Cambridge boat race on the Thames. While I was there I noticed this giant school and thought to take a look into it!"
"I'm not surprised. Weston is a pretty nice college just from my time being here," you remarked. "I'm sure that you'll like it if you come here."
"Agni go get me some application papers!" Soma demanded to his butler, the strong man immediately coming to attention and with a word of acknowledgement raced off in the direction of the administration building. "If you say it is a good college Soniye then I will look into it."
"Of course," you said with a small smile.
"You know this guy?" Edward briskly asked, glancing Soma up and down with an exasperated expression, his jaw locked in place as he stopped besides you. He had been silently standing beside you simply glancing between your interaction with Soma and Agni and you could only assume he wasn't fond of Soma's immoderate behavior. Soma immediately glance over to the knight a puzzled expression on his face.
"He's an old friend of both Ciel and I," you informed him, Soma eyeing the prince as well his gaze flickering between both you and Edward. "Edward this is Prince Soma, Soma this is Edward Midford another good friend of mine who attends this school."
"A prince?" Edward questioned looking over the attire that Soma was wearing.
"Yes, call me Prince Soma, it is nice to meet you," Soma said reaching a hand out to Edward who slowly, but certainly took it. "I apologize am I interrupting something here?" He asked turning back to look at you, his gaze indicating to Edward.
"Oh, we were just about to head to a park that's nearby," you answered before glancing up at Edward curious what he was planning on doing now that Soma was here.
"A park? That sounds like fun," Soma began. "But..."
"It was just going to be us two... but if you're a friend of hers and the two of you haven't seen each other in a long time then I guess you can tag along," Edward slowly stated keeping a steady locked gaze with Soma though you noticed that the muscles of his cheek had tightened as if he didn't agree with his own words.
"Really! If you would have me then I would love to join!" Soma happily exclaimed, grabbing onto your hand and pulling you to the entrance of the campus. Edward trailed behind the two of you and you gave him an apologetic smile from over your shoulder, yet Soma didn't notice the tension that Edward was emitting. "So Edward, how is it attending Weston?" He curiously asked the male who had begun to walk on your other side.
"It's a privileged to have gotten the chance to have gone here. Weston college offers me a plethora of opportunities that I wouldn't have experienced if I had gone to another college," Edward answered proudly and you knew that he had a lot of respect for the college and the people he knew, but you could understand this for the minimum time you had become acquainted with the people there.
"So how long have you've known (Y/N)?" Edward suddenly asked and Soma glanced puzzlingly over you to the knight.
"About several months now," Soma answered.
"So I'm guessing the two of you are close?" Edward also asked making you looked over at him confused with where he was going.
"Umm yes I would say that we are," Soma stated.
"Hey look we're at the park," you pointed out and Edward glanced over to the side making you shake your head at their interaction. You didn't need this at this time. Edward must have noticed your exasperated expression as he rubbed the back of his head before murmuring a soft apology to you. You sighed before giving him a slight pat on the side to show that you accepted it.
The weather today was warm hence it being the spring season and a light breeze drifted through the trees marking a perfect atmosphere for being outside. The three of you headed into the park which was surprisingly empty for the day especially with it being so warm out. From where you walked underneath the cedar and jacaranda trees, you noticed that they were covered with heavy foliage and the small purple buds you had seen earlier had sprouted over the branches. "So how long are you going to be in the area?" You asked Soma when the three of you had stopped at a bench and sat down.
"I'll be staying in London for a couple months," Soma happily stated. "I'm just taking a short break from vacationing around the other parts of England and I figured we can have time to spend together."
"That sounds really nice," you told him. "It'd be nice to get together after all of this time apart. But, is it alright that we left Agni behind like that?" You asked, slightly worried about the fact that the three of you had left him behind without telling him that you were leaving.
"Yeah, Agni will realize that I'll be coming back to the campus later on," he remarked without a care in thought and you sighed slightly feeling bad for Agni right about now. You wondered if it was almost five o'clock about now, it hadn't been too early in the day when Tanaka had brought you to Weston and you were sure the day was about over. It would be nice to head back to the manor and rest for the day. Although it had been nice to see both Edward and Soma, it was a bit over exhausting being out in public for such a long time.
"(Y/N)?" Edward called snapping out of your daze and you glanced over to find that both he and Soma were both worriedly watching you. "You okay?"
"Ah, sorry about that you two. I got lost in my thoughts for a minute," you sheepishly told them before glancing the area and standing to your feet. "There's a popsicle stand just over there, I'll go get something for the three of us." With a small wave, you left the two of them heading over to the popsicle stand telling them that you would be back soon.
The two of them watched you go silently before Soma sighed. "She isn't acting like herself is she," the prince noted worriedly. "I'm guessing there's something bothering her."
"Something like that," Edward responded with a small nod of his head. "She won't tell me what, but I can only assume that it was traumatic to her."
"I hope things get better for you Soniye," Soma whispered.