The Queen's New Pet (A Black Butler Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty Six

Maria looked out the window as they drove through town, she had missed the excitement and frenzy of the townspeople. She had not been back here since she had come back a Fallen angel, and was content to see that not much had changed. Actually, not a lot would have changed. It had only been a few weeks.

Duh, she thought to herself, and was slightly surprised that the whole ordeal had only lasted a few weeks. It had seemed like years.

They went through the town and on to the countryside, to another large estate where the ball was being held.

Stepping out of the carriage, Maria felt a little shiver traveling across her skin. It unsettled her slightly, but she kept her composed face on and continued.

They entered the ball room and Maria couldn't help but smile at the scene of normal people doing normal people things like they had no care in the world. She briefly wondered if this was how Sebastian saw her when she was human, or Ciel now, even though they both knew of supernatural beings. Just being one was...different in a way.

She relished this, this normality of everything. She took in a deep breath of air and sighed contentedly. Here there were no demons or fallen angels, no wings, and no Casti-

The shiver rippled down her spine and she shuddered it away. That was the second time in the last five minutes. Something was definitely up here, she would have to keep her guard up even if she just wanted to let loose and be human for the night.

"Maria? You're blocking the entryway." Ciel said as he pushed her forward, obviously not as into the ball as she was.

"Apologies." She said formally to the guests behind them, and they nodded in acceptance before walking away.

A new song came on and she grinned before turning to Ciel. "Dance with me!"

"Wha-? Wait, Maria!" Ciel complained, face red, as Maria pulled him into the sea of dancing people. She laughed at how flustered he was, and he kept his gaze on his feet to make sure he was doing it right.

The shiver raced down her body once more; it was more vicious in a way this time, and she looked around sharply. Something was near, or was it someone?

Him? No, it can't be.

"Maria? Are you cold?" Ciel had apparently noticed the shiver and studied her with wary blue eyes.

"No, but thank you for your concern. I just cannot contain my excitement and it is showing itself in excited shivers." She replied smoothly before purposefully making a slight misstep, making Ciel focus on his feet again as he tried syncing their steps again.

Ciel narrowed his eyes, noticing the obvious lie in Maria's all-too-formal response. He didn't respond.

Maria looked over at where Sebastian stood, wondering if he had sensed something too.

The demon, however, seemed perfectly at ease, standing on the edge of the dance floor playing his part as butler to Earl Phantomhive.

I'll ask him about it after the dance, maybe together we can both find something. Maria decided.

After the dance ended the two headed back over to Sebastian.

"I need to talk to you." Maria muttered, too low for the Earl's ears but perfect for the demon's. Ciel was distracted with the table of desserts nearby anyway.

Sebastian looked at her, confusion crossing his face slightly. So he didn't sense anything at all?

The two slipped away from Ciel and went to a discreet corner, where hopefully no eyes would follow them and make greedy gossip for the wealthy.

"What is it, Maria?" Sebastian whispered, his voice as smooth and seductive as ever. She couldn't deny the little tremor that made its way down her spine when he said her name like that.

First Castizel, now Sebastian? She thought in exasperation, telling herself that she shouldn't be focusing on how alluring the two men were.

"I'm sensing something weird. It's like someone is watching me. I can't explain it." The shiver went down her spine again, the feeling of that somebody watching her again. It was more vicious, as if it didn't like the sight of her and Sebastian standing together...

"I haven't sensed anything," Sebastian murmured in confusion, "so it can't be any supernatural creature except for..."

Their eyes both widened at the same time as they both made their realizations.

"A Fallen angel." Maria whispered in shock.

-------------------

"It has to be Castizel." She spoke again, after composing herself. Sebastian was now on high alert as they walked back to Ciel.

"Act like nothing's wrong. We can't risk the humans finding out."

"Including Ciel?"

Sebastian hesitated before finally nodding.

Ciel looked up accusingly as they approached. "Where were you two?" His eyes darted between them as they spoke, and Maria desperately hoped her face wasn't flushed from her and the demon's conversation and closeness.

"Sebastian escorted me to the powder room, since I have no clue where I'm going." She lied, flinching inwardly as she lied yet again to the Earl. Someday she would come clean, after all of this was over.

Her mind instantly thought back to Cas's numerous warnings that he would never give up. Is this ever going to end?

It had to be the bond between them that drew her to Castizel. She knew absolutely nothing about him, and he knew nothing about her. It just didn't add up that he would be this obsessed with her.

Then again, you know nothing about Sebastian either, her brain jabbed harshly, but that was different. It had to be. She had been living under the same roof with him for a while now.

"Maria?" Sebastian's concerned tone broke her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry I just... Got caught up in the excitement. I haven't been in this scene for a while." She apologized. Ciel seemed to buy it, but Sebastian knew what was up. His concerned look never seemed to stray too far from her face.

The Fallen angel forced herself into normalcy as a young rich man asked her to dance. She answered his questions with short, curt answers. The dance moved into an upbeat one where the lady was passed from male partner to partner.

It was a whirlwind of laughter and fun, but all Maria could focus on was getting the steps down right, and trying not to have a mental breakdown or an anxiety attack. Either one would be a disaster.

The song finally ended, and the next man pulled her into the next song, which was unluckily a waltz.

She looked down, not wanting to deal with another annoying man who asked her pointless questions.

A low chuckle made her look up, and with a gasp she tried to step away. The man pulled her back to him with a tsk tsk.

"Wouldn't want to cause a scene," Castizel murmured, "so, Miss Maria, will you dance with me?"

Woahhh hiya there everyone! Shiz is about to drop like Daquan's next mixtape am I right? (I'm a sucker for memes)
So, here's your update. It's short, and is an unholy mess because I wrote it in one night lol. Summer break is turning out to be less of a break as I have literally no time to write. Sorryyyyy! Have a great summer my loyal readers! I will try to update as much as possible!
Vote! :)