Reader in the World of Black Butler - Chapter 8

Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler Fanfic

Chapter 8: A Prince and his Princess

“Come oooon! I’m always telling you to call me Lizzie!” Like a human combination of both bear and cat, Lizzie squeezed Ciel and rubbed him with her head. “AHHNN!! You’re SOOO CUUUTE as always!” A chorus of cracks sang from Ciel’s back. He didn’t even have the breath left to tell her to let go.

Sebastian, probably noticing Ciel was about to be crushed to death, coughed into his glove. “Ahem. Miss Elizabeth...”

At the sound of Sebastian’s voice, Lizzie released Ciel and turned to greet him. “Why, good day, Sebastian!” With the attention off him, Ciel stumbled away. You watched as he wheezed and panted the air back into his lungs. How strong was that girl? Perhaps it was her love that made her powerful...?

Sebastian sunk into his standard bow. “It has been quite some time since we last saw you, miss.”

Elizabeth bunched her skirts up and gave a little bob. “I’ve brought a present for you too!”

Sebastian’s eyes widened uncertainly while his polite smile remained frozen on his face. “Eh...?” Mistresses didn’t give servants presents. Did they? But judging from Lizzie’s preference in decorations and accessories, whatever this present might be could not be good for a man like Sebastian.

He watched with mounting trepidation as Elizabeth turned and riffled through the contents of a box. When she removed her hand, something pink and frilly emerged along with it. The trepidation morphed into mortification when the pink, frilly something found its way onto his head.

“There we go!” Lizzie chirped as she placed the bonnet on Sebastian’s deep black hair and tied it securely at his chin in a big pink bow. “Aahn, SOOOOO CUUUTE!”

Well, ‘cute’ wasn’t really how you would have described it. ‘Ridiculous’ came to mind, along with ‘hilarious’.

The look on Sebastian’s stiff smiling face was not one of happiness. You thought he looked like he was trying to forget about the hat’s existence through sheer force of will. This fact coupled with the stark scene before you of a grown man in black wearing a bright pink lady’s bonnet, with flower trimmings, and the look of contained horror made you want to laugh out loud. Your reaction was shared by the others who were all trying to contain their mirth with covered mouths and shaking bodies. You had to look away before your laugh escaped.

Lizzie was continuing her praise: “It’s fabulous on you. You’re always wearing black so I thought some colour would be good for you!” And what a colour to pick, you thought, snorting in your throat before you could help it. But a second later the smile was scared off your face by the supremely dark look Sebastian sent towards you and the others. Oops, I knew I shouldn’t have laughed. You were sure that if Lizzie hadn’t been present Sebastian would have clobbered you all. Never laugh at the expense of a man’s manly pride.

His threat delivered swiftly and successfully, Sebastian turned back to Lizzie, the picture of servile politeness. “I am exceedingly . . . grateful . . .” – the word sounded like it was dredged up from the depths of his soul, kicking and screaming – “for your kindness toward someone such as myself.”

“Don’t mention it!” Lizzie beamed, completely oblivious to his discomfort.

Ciel, recovered from his near-death experience and hesitant to draw Lizzie’s attention to himself, had a question to ask. He cleared his throat. “By the way, Lizzie ... why are you here? Where is your mother?”

Ciel was right to be hesitant because he was subsequently glomped and nuzzled by a Lizzie-cat. “I wanted to see you so I came here without telling her!” He was not impressed.

“What?! What were you thinking...?”

You staff members had borne witness to the interactions between Lizzie and Ciel, and the affection so openly lavished by Lizzie on Ciel had raised a question in Bard’s mind. He paused a moment, then lurched ahead with it. “Hey.” He directed his question to Sebastian, lowering his voice. “Sebastian, who’s the girl?”

With the bonnet still perched on his head like a content pet bird, Sebastian’s face turned serious and subdued. “Aah. Miss Elizabeth is the young master’s ... betrothed.”

Four heads whipped around at once to fix Sebastian with matching looks of astonishment. Tanaka, with his head of blonde curls, continued smiling in the background.

“B...?!! BETROOOTHED!!?” The piercing cry from four mouths echoed in the large room, rushed out of the room like exorcised spirits and out into the world, scaring a few unfortunate birds that happened to be roosting in a nearby tree.

Sebastian proceeded then to patiently explain: “Many British aristocrats are betrothed from birth.” Matches between wealthy families ensured that both parties benefited from the combined property and income of the other and was used as a way to prevent young reckless nobles from falling in love with peasants and squandering their wealth or marrying below their station. “The young master, Earl Phantomhive, is no exception. He too has a fiancée. An aristocrat’s wife must be of noble birth as well. And Miss Elizabeth is the daughter of a marquess.” His explanation given, he turned away.

If he had looked at you, he would have seen plainly that something was troubling you, because in fact it was. The knowledge that Ciel had a fiancée shouldn’t have surprised you. It shouldn’t have bothered you. You shouldn’t care. But you did. You did care. You were bothered. You couldn’t explain the feeling to yourself or understand why you felt that way.

You shook the strange feeling off and tried to tune into your surroundings. Ciel was speaking: “Your mother must be worried if you came here without informing her. Sebastian, call—” That was as far as he got, however, because Lizzie was having none of it. She acted like she hadn’t even heard. Well, perhaps she hadn’t.

“Cieeeeel! Come over heeeere!” She didn’t give him the option, instead dragging him bodily across the room. Everyone else followed. You instantly knew where she was headed. “Look, look!” she cried as you entered the ballroom. “I’ve made the salon cute too.” As his eyes took in the sight before him, Ciel’s face seemed to visably age. You heard him mutter mournfully, “My manor, it’s ...”

Lizzie danced into the room, twirling with her arms spread to encompass the whole room. “Oh!” She stopped suddenly, swaying on her feet as she regained her balance. “I know! Saaay, Ciel? Since the salon is all lovely now . . .” The air tightened with tension like the room held its breath along with the people in it – you all dreaded the words that would come from her mouth next. “Let’s have a dance party today!!” Lizzie got a dreamy faraway look on her face as she squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “My fiancé will escort me, and together, we’ll dance the night away!” You could only imagine the visions of her wild teenage-girl mind. Actually, it wasn’t that hard. You had been at dances before when you served at the ones your old master hosted, and you’d watched young ladies dancing with dashing young men. You too could imagine yourself in someone’s arms, swaying and spinning to the soft playing of string instruments. Then again, you didn’t know how to dance. But it looked like fun.

Ciel, however, looked like he couldn’t think of anything less fun. He actually twitched. “Wh– !”

“A dance, is it?” Sebastian sounded mildly interested. You assumed it had to do with the food he would be preparing for it. You could almost see him sifting through possible menu options.

Lizzie latched onto Ciel’s hands with both of her own. “Make sure you wear the clothes I chose for you, Ciel!”

“Hey . . .” he began to protest.

“They’ll look really cute on yooou!”

“Hey, I never said I’d . . .”

“Dancing with Ciel, who’ll be wearing an outfit I picked out. It’ll be like a dream come true!”

Becoming more and more desperate, Ciel tried to speak over her. “Listen up when people are talking to you . . .” It was like speaking to someone who was stone-deaf. She clasped her hands close to her chest and kicked a leg up behind her. “I have to dress up and look my most stylish toooooo!”

Ciel took a step forward, his hand outstretched but Sebastian caught him by one shoulder, shaking his head. He knew it was pointless, but Ciel wasn’t ready to give up yet. “HEY!! Elizabeth!? Listen to meee!”

Needless to say, she didn’t.

* * *

“There. You look perfect, Miss Lizzie,” you said, straightening one of her sleeves. Lizzie had enlisted you and Mey-Rin to help her ‘look her most stylish’. So you helped her don her red party outfit, admiring the cute design. The dress and short jacket were red, the jacket lined with frills at the neckline and hemline with a pink bow that tied the jacket closed. The shoulders were puffy but the sleeves were tight to the elbows where it was cinched with lace detailing that left the lower sleeves loose to the wrist. The dress had a tight bodice underneath the jacket but at the hips it flared over a hoop skirt and opened at the front to show the pretty pink underskirt and white silk layering underneath. She wore white stockings and red heeled shoes and a matching red and pink flower fascinator and necktie to replace her headband and neck ribbon from earlier. The whole ensemble looked to be the latest fashion and must have been expensive. I’ll probably never wear anything even half as expensive as this, you thought without resentment. To you, it was just a fact.

Lizzie looked at herself in the elegant floor-length mirror in the room and gave an experimental twirl. Then she giggled. “Yay! I look so cuuuute!” You smiled at her. You’d spent the better part of the day with this girl and, rather than despising her for her constant cheeriness and childishness, you found it refreshing and endearing. She made you think of your own sister . . .

Your smile dimmed a little at the thought and you turned away to tidy up Elizabeth’s discarded clothes. “I wonder if Ciel is ready yet,” Lizzie mused, and then, satisfied with her appearance, she left for the ballroom, Mey-Rin close at her heels. You looked at the mess of clothes and accessories and boxes and decided you’d have to come back to tidy them up.

When you entered the ballroom shortly after Lizzie and Mey-Rin, Lizzie was talking to Mey-Rin who was on her knees smoothing out the creases in her skirt. “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted Ciel to wear. At first I thought he should wear something that matched my own but then I decided it has to be blue. You see, I think Ciel looks best in blue! When I was out shopping in London today, I fell in love at first sight with the clothes I bought for him. OH, I know!” Lizzie looked over her shoulder at you both in turn. “You should both attend the party too!” Mey-Rin looked up, wide-eyed and awe-struck, at her and you were carefully trying to cover your reaction with polite disinterest. Because despite yourself, you were intrigued by the idea. You’d always wanted to attend a party. Really attend a party, not just look on from the sidelines as a servant. But . . .

“(Y/n)?” Lizzie had noticed your lack of a visible reaction.

You answered with an apologetic look on your face, “I’m sorry, Miss Lizzie, but I really do have a lot to do. I can’t put it off much longer or I’ll be behind tomorrow.” It was as good an excuse as you could muster without more time. But Lizzie wasn’t satisfied with that and opened her mouth to argue when you quickly continued, “But I’m sure Mey-Rin would love to.”

Lizzie diverted her attention to Mey-Rin, her enthusiasm given a new target. “Mey-Rin! Why don’t you attend the party too? I’ll make you cute! Let’s take off your glasses first.” Mey-Rin had seemed shocked and pleased at the invitation but at the mention of removing her glasses, she wavered.

“B-but, um . . .” Already, Lizzie was reaching with both hands to pull them off and Mey-Rin’s hands flew to hold them on. “I am terribly far-sighted, miss. I can see nary a thing without my glasses!”

Lizzie grabbed hold of Mey-Rin’s wrists and tried to pull both her hands and glasses away but Mey-Rin was holding fast. You watched in concern and wondered if you should intervene. Lizzie, while still pulling, tried to persuade her: “If you can see far away, that’ll do just fine!”

“That’s enough.”

The voice wasn’t loud but it broke through the two girls’ struggle. At the sound of Ciel’s voice, Lizzie forgot Mey-Rin and turned to gaze at him. He really did look handsome in the stylish deep blue coat, vest and trousers. Around his neck was a cream-coloured bow with lace ends tied above a cravat of the same colour and lace design. The cream material was also used as the undershirt with a lacy collar around his neck above the bow and cravat, and lace trimming on the ends of the sleeves that showed at the end of the coat sleeves. But her admiration was short-lived before she flew across the room to take hold of Ciel’s hands and started spinning in a circle, sweeping Ciel along with her so that his feet left the floor! “YOU’RE SOOO CUUUTE! I knew I was right!” You weren’t sure whether to be amused or concerned. Maybe a little of both.

Finally setting a slightly dizzy Ciel on the floor, Lizzie motioned with a dainty hand to Bard, Tanaka and Finny who had gone unnoticed until this point. “Look, look! Everyone’s turned cute! I’m having them attend the party too!”

You took one look at the boys and burst out laughing, your hands flying to your mouth to cut it off. The three males of various ages were dressed up in women’s clothes. Bard was dressed in a school girl’s blouse and pleated skirt. The top was too short and bared his midriff. He wore a blonde curly-haired wig with bows by his ears and an expression of resigned humiliation. Finny wore a dress in a tartan pattern to his knees and a white apron with frilly trimmings along its edges. He also wore cat’s ears with a maid cap atop his head and a bell around his neck. And if that weren’t enough, you could see a tail peeking around from behind him with a bow attached to its end. His face was frozen in an embarrassed smile, his eyes closed, bravely bearing the undignified treatment. And beside Finny stood Tanaka. Even dressed like an Oriental in a kimono robe and a kind of small hat you couldn’t identify that looked almost like a crown, a long black-haired wig and a spread fan held between his hands, he acted exactly like he normally would. And was that . . . lipstick on Tanaka’s lips . . . ? That man was made of steel.

But Lizzie’s attention had only been on the boys briefly before homing back in on Ciel. “But Ciel is certainly the cutest of a—” Lizzie’s voice stopped abruptly and she grabbed hold of Ciel’s hand, bending over it. “What’s this?” she demanded. You angled your body in a better attempt to see what it was she was looking at but, unable to see anything, you looked on in confusion as the atmosphere grew tense. “Ciel!” Lizzie hissed. “Where is the ring I got you!? The cute one that matched your clothes?”

A ring? She was this mad over a ring?

“Huuh? What ring?”  Ciel ripped his hand out of Lizzie’s grasp and turned away. You weren’t certain if he truly didn’t know about the ring or was pretending ignorance. “This ring is just fine.”

There was a moment of silence as Lizzie glared daggers at Ciel. You were concerned about where this seemed to be heading and, while you wanted to step in, it really wasn’t your place. You could only watch with mounting trepidation as Lizzie snapped, “I THINK NOT!! I’ve made you all cute!” She jabbed a finger at him with all the authority of a judge at her bench, passing down a sentence. “But that ring isn’t cute at all!!” As abruptly as she’d started yelling, she stopped and broke down with self-pity. “So you don’t want to wear the one I brought, Ciel!! You’re so MEAAAN!” Her sobs grew louder and she raised her gloved hands to her eyes.

You found you felt a little sorry for Lizzie. She’d wanted so much for everything to go just as she’d envisioned it, the daydream of a young girl in love. But while there was the part of you that pitied her, another part wanted to tell her she couldn’t have everything her way, even someone like her who’d never had to work a day in her life and everything she had ever wanted had been given to her like it was owed her. You would never get used to these bluebloods and their ways.

Ciel also seemed touched by Lizzie’s tears. “That’s not it,” he said wearily and released a long-suffering sigh. “This ring is . . .” he began, closing his eyes. In the moment he was distracted, Lizzie took her chance and, as quick as a pick-pocket, slid the ring off his thumb and held it up triumphantly. “There!” So she’d been faking? That’s . . . ruthless. And probably a skill you should learn.

Ciel’s wide eyes followed Lizzie as she moved away from him with her prize. “L—”

“GOT IIIIT! See, this ring is much too big for you!” she pointed out, looking through the ring’s centre. “The one I chose is just the right size—” With her back to Ciel, she hadn’t seen his face slowly darkening like a storm cloud sliding across the sun. And like a deer held in thrall by the hunter’s arrow aimed at its vital point, you waited for the kill.

“GIVE IT BACK!” The words cracked around the room like thunder.

The storm had hit.