" We saved an English nobleman today and his butler, Agni was awesome again wasn't he ! " Prince Soma gushed and Agni smiled nodded. I sat at the table and ate the curry in silence. Almost a week had passed since I'd last seen Ciel. These two ... foreigners, one of which was the 26th Prince of Bengal and Agni was just like what Sebastian was to Ciel --- a butler.
They'd brought me back, taken me here to London because I looked like some ' Meena ' Prince Soma knew [ Remind me that the black hair dye still hadn't washed off please ] and I was injured rather badly ... courtesy of Ciel ... so after Agni had stitched up the wound, I'd slept for a few days straight before I woke up to find myself in London. From the newspaper delivered to the inn's doorstep every single day, I deduced Ciel had most likely been called to London too for some case. They didn't have to look for me, I didn't intend to go back just yet. It wasn't everyday you got a foreigner to pay in full for your expenses and didn't mind British nobles much, most foreigners from India hated the British nobles' guts.
" Alice ! Why don't we go to the nobleman's manor ! Agni followed him all the way back and now we know where he lives ! I don't fancy sleeping on this hard bed again tomorrow, " Prince Soma suggested with a silly grin plastered on his face and I nodded absent-mindedly, shaking that nagging feeling from the back of my head. Many noblemen had butlers, Ciel wasn't the only one and if I didn't follow them, where was I to go ? Now was somewhere in the middle of winter, even if I wanted to leave, I doubt Prince Soma would allow me to.
" Hey Alice ! I was talking to you ! " Prince Soma shouted in my ear and the spoon dropped to the ground with a clang.
" I'm sorry, " I whispered an apology as I hurriedly picked up the spoon and attempted wiping the curry stain from the floor. I was being too worried, nothing like ' fate ' ever happened in real life but that feeling that I'd just meet Ciel again if I go ... that's too bad.
" I bought this outside while we were at it, check if it fits you, " Prince Soma muttered and blushed as a pale pink dress was thrown in my face. I stared at the bundle in my arms before I stared at Prince Soma whom by now was looking out of the window, the tips of his ears still red and I smiled softly. However dumb this Prince was, the least was that he still had a heart, I wondered if Ciel still had his ... why was I thinking about Ciel again ?
+ + + +
" Young Mistress ... are you sure you don't want to tell the Young Master just yet ? I know he can make mistakes at times but ... " Sebastian started and I tucked a strand of black hair behind my ear as I walked. The dye still hadn't faded yet, damn Lau for choosing such a dye in the first place. By now, Ciel should be entertained enough by Prince Soma and Agni since I could hear they were making quite a fuss upstairs. It was fortunate I didn't have to bump into him as I came in since he was already busy chasing Prince Soma upstairs when I walked through the doors. So the ' English nobleman and butler ' was Ciel and Sebastian afterall ... I remembered how frozen I had been when I saw the manor. And now how I was desperately crossing both fingers and toes while oppresing that feeling of dread whenever I turned another corner or heard footsteps.
" Ciel actually told me not to step on the grounds again so that totally cancels out the option of returning. I only came because Prince Soma and Agni insisted on coming, " I reasoned and bent down to tend to a drooping daisy. Ciel shouldn't abandon the flowers growing in the London manor, he could take time off his ' busy ' schedule to at least hire some gardeners if he himself was too lazy to water the flowers or ask Sebastian to do it.
" As you wish then Young Mistress, " Sebastian said with a sigh and folded his arms, absolutely not pleased but he couldn't disobey something the Mistress decided on.
" And one more thing Sebastian ... "
" Yes Young Mistress ? "
" Don't call me that in front of everyone else, especially Ciel, " I requested as I weaved two small blue flowers to make some sort of ring which got picked up by the wind and blew away from sight.
" ... As you wish then ... Alice ... "
" That's much better, " I smiled again as I headed for the back door, first instinct being to find Prince Soma and Agni before hiding behind them ... of course I wouldn't do that. Father always said Phantomhives absolutely did not hide behind the protection of others, they had to depend on themselves. Talk about stress.
- - - -
Today's breakfast was prawn curry and french toast with ginger. Quite some weird combination of British and Indian food and spices but fortunately, it was still passable. I prodded at the prawns silently before smashing them flat like pancakes with the back of the spoon. I couldn't explain the reason why I felt so uncomfortable with the silence here while everyone else seemed to enjoy it just fine. I wonder if Ciel was eating well, he acted spoiled and refused to eat vegetables at times. At times, he insisted on a snack before sleeping. I remembered how Father and Mother would laugh, their flickering shadows against the walls while I watched from the only window of the room. If only we could spend time together like that.
" Excuse me ... " I apologized and left the table, no one bothered to stop me, I didn't expect them to. I turned two left corners and one right which brought me in front of a long flight of stairs. I was familiar with this place so I walked up, the creaking of the stairs felt unnaturally calming but every time I got more than 10 steps, the boards under my feet will seem to buckle under and I'd grip the handles so hard. Ciel should repair this part of the manor as well, even if it was only temporary, it shouldn't be left the way it was.
A violin ...? The same violin back at the original Phantomhive manor, or at least it looked almost the same. The same polished white wood, the beautiful strings. My hand moved on its own towards the bow and violin and I started playing once I had adjusted the position comfortably. The wind caressed my neck and I attempted playing a more forceful song I'd somehow learnt in the past. From someone whom now, remained as only a dark silhouette but yet burned strongly in my head. I could see it, a string of notes encircling the figure, just had to reach out my hand, grab that song and play it. But it was always cut off at the end, another part which was strangely snipped. I always wanted to find the other parts of that song but no matter how much I asked around, no one ever seemed to hear of this song before but were immediately enchanted when I started playing. I couldn't put a finger on why this was so.
" That was a good song. Absolutely better than what those two are playing downstairs. Can you teach me ? " Ciel asked with a smile and his head slightly tilted to one side as he held another violin and bow in his hand. My insides turned to stone, obviously Ciel was already suspecting something of me already, fortunately he hadn't recognised me yet. With a short bob, I nodded silently as we had a lesson on the edge of the roof, Ciel never being able to get the correct rhythm however hard he tried. I understood why, because this song only opened itself up to me, no one else would be able to play this song the way I could. I laughed with Ciel as I reminded him to relax his shoulders and arms, he was a good musician but he would never be able to master this song. The clock chimed noon and Ciel turned to give a short bow of appreciation before he left.
" How long are you going to smirk there Sebastian ? " I demanded once Ciel was out of earshot and Sebastian walked from behind the gigantic clock hanging on the highest tower of the manor, trying his best to hide his laughter and I glared really really really blunt daggers at him, blunt daggers hurt more since you'll need to drive it in harder to actually kill the person. Sadly, Sebastian just couldn't die. Such a pity, he could be a real pain at times.
" Lacrimose no Akuma, a song from the devil and for the devil. The full song is rumored to be able to twist minds and bend souls to the player's will, making the player strong enough to rule the whole world, you don't seem to have the full sheet yet though. The song was lost a few thousand years ago and no one has succeeded in finding the original piece since. There are some replicas but they have different tunes entirely. Players who play this piece of music, if continue playing for too long will eventually die because the power of this song feeds off a person's life and soul, " Sebastian said and I attempted stuffing all that information in my head, I had asked for his held since it didn't seem I could ask anyone else, especially not any of the servants who only thought about food ... those idiots, didn't understand why Ciel decided to bring them over to London as well.
" Ok, I see, thank you Sebastian, " I yawned before twirling a lock of the still-black hair around my index finger, maybe the colour was fading already at the end, I could see a few strands of my hair turning to its usual colour and the black was starting to come off, maybe a few more washes and it would be gone. But what would I do when that happens ? What will I tell Prince Soma ? What will I tell Ciel ? ' Hey, I'm your sister whom ran away from the manor because you shot me and told me to get the heck out, I got picked up by a prince who brought me to England. ' Sounded rather much like some tall tale to me.
" By the way, tell Ciel the new ideas he has is completely horrible. Suggest it to him and tell him to attempt producing more flavoured candies, " I suggested and Sebastian nodded before leaping off the edge of the building, he actually leapt off the edge but either way, he'd make it back alive, demons couldn't die. Sebastian told me Ciel had fencing in the mid-evenings, I hope he wouldn't mind a game, a small game with his sister.
+ + + +
" Five bouts in three minutes, the one with the highest score wins, " Sebastian announced and Ciel smirked, looking mightily haughty that this was going to be a sure-win. That was the reason why he'd challenged Prince Soma to it in the first place, he was sure it was going to be his victory. Of course, Prince Soma [ who didn't even know what fencing was ] gladly accepted the challenge but decided to sent out some ' representive ' ... which was how I ended up in some duel with Ciel, something which I hadn't planned.
" Leave the room, come back in three minutes, " Ciel ordered with a stony glare and everyone piled out of the room dutifully, no one dared talk back but Sebastian left with a smirk, obvious sign he'd told Ciel something. Thanks a lot Sebastian, watch out for blunt knives later at night. I'm going to blunt them for the sake of it after this match and place it on the ceiling so they'd drop into his face while he's sleeping. I didn't even know if Sebastian slept, did demons sleep ?
" Focus Alice, " Ciel said as he trusted the foil and I side-stepped it easily.
" You are the one not focusing ; your torso is wide open, " I smiled as I jabbed lightly and drew the foil back before Ciel had the chance to retaliate with another attack of his own.
" Are you coming back or are you going to stay with them ? " Ciel continued, his eyes fastened on the foil as if he could anticipate its next movement, seems he really never did back out of a challenge ... stubborn.
" Tchh, give me a reason why I have to come back, I don't seem very welcomed here, " I laughed as I parried a blow, my hand was surprisingly flexible. I didn't expect it to still be able to skim that fast since I hadn't been fencing for quite a bit already. Perhaps it was just because I was fencing with this brat who needed to be taught a lesson from time to time.
" Fine, I'm just going to say this once. Come back ... please ... " Ciel muttered and his cheeks flushed a slight crimson. I almost laughed. There was this feeling that I could take over the whole world, people who would come at my beck and call, I felt like a Queen. I didn't want to say this, I hadn't wanted to even notice it but it felt like a dark trail of smoke, murky and swallowed by feelings which were everywhere in this world. With every breath I took, I just felt more of that smoke cramming itself into my lungs, worming its way through, my chest felt tight, I couldn't breathe. I forced myself to take in more air, more oxygen but the smoke made me feel light-headed and dizzy, my world was spinning but I couldn't help but love and hate this feeling at the same time.
Give me everything.
The foil slipped out of my hand as I fell to my knees. The voice was pounding on my skull like a sledgehammer, the voice which sent my ears ringing. What was this ? What did it want ? I couldn't stand, everywhere hurt.
I want everything, this is not enough.
I wanted to scream for the voice to shut up, to stop, to leave me alone. I pressed my palms over my ears but my head was still spinning. The voice mocked me, mocked me from the shadows, they laughed, they jeered, they teased, it was making me crazy. I didn't have everything, I had nothing. I had nothing to let them take away anymore ... so why were they still haunting me ?
The doors flew open and the pattering of feet like rain, that. Ahh, it was making fun of me again. It was as though there was a boulder pressing upon my shoulders, breaking my bones, crushing me lower still, body doubled over as if in pain, I felt like I was on fire but was being doused with icy cold water. The voice sneered.
Till next time.
It promised before it disappeared. My vision cleared, I could breathe. God, I never thought air could be this sweet before. I looked at the shadows which had gathered on the ground, clustered around me, voices layered over one another but they didn't reach my ears. What was that feeling that I'd gone through something similar ? A figure completely clad in white with two wings sprouting from his back balanced perfectly on the balcony ledge, he smiled and mouthed.
" You're strong, I will come for you soon, " and he disappeared into the night. No one had noticed him yet, why did no one notice him except me ? I had the urge to stand and scream while pointing a finger but even if I wanted to, I couldn't anyway. I couldn't stand but was somebody dimming the lights already ? Now the shouts were clearer but it was already too late, a shudder ran through my body, switching off any working systems before my world finally went black.
Peace at last.