Forgotten Sebastian X Reader

Chapter Two: Personification of Fear

As we worked, I realized we hadn't properly introduced ourselves. After the line of people at the register had dispersed, he came back and flopped down in a chair near me.

"You have some kind of batter on your forehead," he said, smiling slightly from embarrassment.

He had given me an emergency request for another batch of muffins and to put some Danishes in the oven as well. I lifted up the edge of my apron and wiped my forehead, also relieved to have wiped off some of the sweat that had accumulated from working in the hot kitchen.

"Hey, I realized, I forgot to ask for your name," I said.

He jumped up, "Right. I didn't even ask for your name or introduce myself. I'm Franklin Smith. What's your name Miss?"

"Chiyo Kurenai. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Smith."

"Just Franklin is fine. But Chiyo Kurenai. That sounds foreign. Where are you from?"

"From London I suppose. I've never met my parents and neither has the Matron at the orphanage. She found me left on the steps in a basket, swaddled tight in blankets. She said the blankets were made of silk, which isn't easy to come by unless your a noble. She said that her best guess was that some kind of danger befell my family and they gave me away to protect me. With how bundled up I was, she said they must have cared for me a lot, even though they gave me up."

"Wow," Franklin breathed, looking off into the distance.

"I didn't mean to make things depressing," I said, "It doesn't even bother me that much anymore, really."

"It's just amazing, is all. You're so bright-eyed and happy, even though you were raised without your parents."

"Well, the Matron is strict, but she's not cruel and she doesn't ask for much more than that we clean up after ourselves and take turns with dishes and cooking. She says that we ladies need to know such important life skills so that we can care for a family of our own." 

Franklin was about to speak when the bell on the door rang. I cringed only slightly at the sound.

"I know. It does get annoying after a morning of it going off nearly constantly. You'll grow numb to the sound, though."

Franklin hurried up to the front. I listened carefully from the kitchen, attempting to hear the order so that I could try to get a head start on it. I peered out around the corner to see a man dressed in black and wearing a heavy coat and white gloves.

"My Lord has requested a cake for his fiancé's birthday. She is immensely frustrated with how busy he's been and how little attention he's given her and his peace offering was throwing her a ball."

"Of course," Franklin said. I noted that he was anxiously rubbing the back of one ankle with the toe of his shoe, "When do you need it by?"

"Tomorrow night, if that's not too much trouble."

"No, not at all. We've had far worse asked of us. What flavor and are there any design specifications?"

"Strawberry and elegant looking. From there, you can, to quote my Lord, 'Figure it out.'" 

'He must be a butler,' I thought.

"Alright then, is that everything?" Franklin asked. I could see him nervously rolling the pen with which he had been writing down the order between his fingers.

"I suppose this goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. Since this cake is for a noble, I expect there not to be any tricks. If there is any form of poison or a murder planned through the delivery of the cake, I will find out about it and it will be dealt with before you can even comprehend your failure. Is that understood." The darkness that had seemed to suddenly surround the butler contrasted dramatically with his jovial tone and expression. As goosebumps tickled my skin, I was certain the same was happening to Franklin as he rather messily tore off the sheet of paper from his notepad.

"If that's all, then we will be getting back to work," Franklin said.

"Thank you very much," the butler said, "And to you as well."

I realized he was talking to me and that I had subconsciously moved closer from my own curiosity. I nodded and bit the inside of my lower lip.

"Oh, and will it be too much trouble to request that you deliver this cake to the manor? My master has instructed me to stay by his and his fiancé's sides during the event."  

Franklin stuttered slightly and I realized his anxiety was finally closing down his brain.

"It will be no problem at all, Sir," I said brightly, stepping forward, "Is there a specific time you would like us to be there."

"At five p.m. One of the manor's servants will be waiting at the front to bring you in through the kitchen. Is all the information I have given you enough to work with?"

Even though it was a question, in the back of my mind, it felt more like he was saying, "this is all the information you need, whether you like it or not."

"Yes, Sir, it is. I suppose we will see you at five p.m. tomorrow." I smiled brightly.

"Alright. Then I must be off. My master told me to make this trip quick and I have to make sure the manor is clean and begin decorating for tomorrow." He picked up the pen from the counter and wrote in the notepad before turning and leaving. "Good day."

"Good day," I said, staying glued in place until the bell had rung and the man was gone. Wherever that sudden confidence had come from, it was gone, and it felt like a weight had suddenly lifted from my body. Meanwhile, it seemed like Franklin's body had gained a hundred pounds as he fainted and collapsed heavily on the floor. I knelt down and tapped on his cheek gently before taking the cloth off my arm and putting it on his forehead. I lifted his head onto my knees so he wasn't fully on the hard, wooden floor and bent over to make sure I could still hear him breathing.

"Is he alright, dear?" I heard a female voice ask. I looked up to see a woman with bright red hair leaning over the counter.

"I'm sure he's fine," I said, my eyebrows knitting together.

"Let me look at him. I'm a doctor. My name is Angelina Dalles."

"Alright. Thank you Miss Dalles," I said.

"My pleasure," she said, smiling.