The Devil's Bride *Sebastian Love*

Her Butler, Coworker

  "Somethings definitely dodgy about this circus. It seems worth trying to question him Sebas--" Dagger grabs him from behind, giving him an affectionate smile
"Come on Smile, look lively! Time to practice so you can keep up with the others." While Ciel is locked in Daggers arms, Sebastian trails off toward William.
"Pardon me. I have a few questions for you, as my senior" Sebastian grunts this last part through gritted teeth as William adjusts his glasses.
"I have nothing to say to you." William hisses. Sebastian grabs his arm as he tries to depart.
"Don't be like that. Let's step outside." William resists his touch, feeling violated by the touch of the putrescent demon. Selima giggles as Alette and Ciel look on.
"Well, look at them! Best mates already!" chuckles Dagger. Beast peeks around the curtain, and grimaces, the slight incline of her eyebrows makes it flagrant that she is upset.
"All the new recruits are freaks these days." She huffs to Joker.
"But so talented!" adds Joker. "Ah, right, listen Beast, and the rest of ye, too." Everyone's attention flickers to their makeshift leader. "Father says there aren't enough sweets for the main event." Everyone perks up in apprehension, anticipation, trepidation. "We'll do it tonight. Tell Dagger and Doll for me."
* * *
"Why am I here, you ask? Asks William, adjusting his glasses; light reflects off his chartreuse eyes as the lamp is lit. "To think I, an administrator, would be impressed into field duty to clean up after a certain prat Collection while he's suspended! I curse my luck..." William sounds exasperated, and extremely tired. "I didn't think graduating with him entailed travelling round fixing his mistakes."
"I assume that a grim reaper personally doing undercover work implies special circumstances?" inquires Sebastian.
"Do you think I'd reveal soul related information to two demons? That would be like setting rabbits before a wolf."
"As if I would feast on any inferior dirty soul I could get my hands on." Huffs Selima. Sebastian smiles and slips a comforting arm around her waist.
"We have no interest in cheap souls."
"Fine words for two starving demons. I know you're both half mad with hunger." Selima rolls her eyes; true she had waited five, no now it had been six, Alette was fifteen now, years for one not so petty soul. But she still had her senses about her; this man obviously underestimated demons, which was a grave mistake.
"Some souls aren't worth the trouble. It becomes a bore after a while, ripping into every possible soul."
"The hungrier one is, the more satisfying one's dinner." Selima smiles as he licks his lips. She knew he was thinking of eating more than souls, and he was hungry in more than one way. But she was hungry too. William tilts his head and a smile tugs at his thin lips.
"How perverse."
"Not as perverse as your temp worker." Shoots back Sebastian. "You can rest easy."
"I'm chained down at the moment, so is he." Selima whips off her glove to reveal her glowing, pulsing covenant park. It was evergreen and ebony, as usual and complimented her eyes. Sebastian on the contrary removed his glove slowly, revealing his throbbing violet pentagram.
"Very well." William trusts his death scythe into the ground. "I'll speak plainly. In the next few days, we plan to review a large number of souls in this area. This is a very special case, so I'd appreciate it if you, her included, did not interfere." Will and Selima make solid eye contact, she tilts her head and smiles, making Will shudder.
"That sounds very taxing, why don't I assist you?" Will snatches up his death scythe and prods it forward, missing Sebastian by only centimeters. Selima nearly jumps into action, knives at the ready, but Sebastian holds up his hand, sending a very clear message; wait.
"I can't abide unpaid overtime. If either of you interfere , I'll cut you down." he warns.
"I don't associate with reapers for the fun of it, in any case." Responds Sebastian as his hat floats downward into his hand. "Particularly as we have no interest in cheap souls."
"Ay! Show's about to start!" Barks Alette. Alette and Ciel walk forward, Alette with hands on her hips.
"They don't look particularly special."
"Then your ignorance must be bliss." Will frowns, he did not like demons but this woman and her sass were off the chart.
"Really, I'll never understand demons." He mutters.
"Are you daft?" spat Alette
"Don't call them that there! They took it for a joke earlier but still. If you can't blend in with humans, then you're worse than that ginger riff raff."
"Indeed. Now we won't interfere with your work and you won't interfere with ours, agreed?"
"Excellent, since I despise the very sight of you." He glares at Selima especially.
"Perfect, then it's decided; we'll stay far out of each other's way."
"Well then, Smile, Siren. Please keep your little dogs firmly reined in." he growls.
"I don't want to hear that from a man who can't even properly go undercover, four eyes. Alette stifles a laugh and Selima must admit, she did gain a bit of respect for the boy.
"I'm not Four eyes; I'm Suit."
"Care you leave, Alette?"
"Certainly."
* * *
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" announces Joker. "It's the tent assignments!"
"Right..." sighs Ciel.
"Well don't 'ee look down in the mouth. Smile, Smile!"
"Right!" Ciel fakes perking up and Alette notices it. Life here is even harder than I imagined Ciel thinks. He hated how close he was to Joker, he hated being touched in general.
"The results of our impartial lottery. Smile, 'ee be in Tent eight, Siren 'ee be in Tent 15. Here's 'ee roommates." Ciel looks up to find a rather cute girl with freckles staring at him. Now I'm suddenly rooming with a stranger? This will be rough He thinks. Alette notices two people; one, a female who was fixated on her makes her think of an enraged bear. She has almond-shaped violet eyes that are like two windows on the evening sky. Her silky, straight, sand-colored hair is worn in a style that reminds Alette of a pile of shredded paper. She has an elegant build and her skin is cream-colored. She is captured by this older girls, maybe a girl of seventeen, eighteen...her beauty almost made her envious. The younger boy with the same almond shaped eyes look away, he is not nearly so bold as the girl. His iron grey eyes remind her of a storm, he was keeping something in and it was brewing. His fine straight ebony hair sways as the wind blows, he raises his bushy eyebrows as Alette stares.
"Black 'ee be in Tent nine, and Lady of Pyre 'ee be in Tent Thirteen" So they were completely split up, fantastic.
"Black isn't rooming with me?" cries Ciel.
"No, why?" So much for staying cool, Ciel.
"Smile, you're fairly tied to Black's apron strings! Time to be independent!" Alette was not violent but even she would have hit the man called Dagger if he had said that to her, Luckily Ciel had some self-control.
"Th--that's not what I-" This is no good, without a demon by their side how would they be able to snoop and not get caught?
"I'd really rather if Black.."
"And Blacks roommate is Suit!" Selima giggles, poor Sebastian, getting stuck with that uptight little...
"And Lady of Pyre's roommate is Deep Throat!" Ciel chokes on his lemonade that he had been sipping, while Alette bursts into a fit of laughter. This woman has soft toffee colored skin that matches her eyes. She had the features of a scuttling lizard, bulging eyes included, Her luxurious, straight, soot-black hair is worn in a style that looks like a holy halo. She is very tall and has an athletic build, but most of all she has a wide mouth. Ciel shudders to think how she got that name. She spins a sword around then tosses it over her shoulder casually.
"Don't worry, I'm just a sword swallower."
"Look, they're delighted!" exclaims Joker as the two exchange malice filled glares. "Right, let's be off, Dagger. We'll leave the young lads and ladies to it!"
"Good night!" calls Dagger over his shoulder. The wind blows, but the aura could not get any icier. Alette sick of the animosity, steps inside the tent. For a chilly night, it is surprisingly warm inside the tent. She rubs her arms, embracing the warmth as the two stage hands quarrel over who gets top bunk. Personally she didn't care and took the middle one.
"So you and that boy speak really proper English!"
"You guys must be from the same area, ay?"
"We've both been in service positions most of our lives. You cannot take on an informal attitude with a master." Alette looks around and is shocked to see a jar of Funtom sweets. Everything else however, was branded by the Indicum company. The clothes, the blankets, the mattresses... everything. That night, Selima did not enjoy recreational sleep. She his herself in shadow, became one with the darkness and concealed herself in the treetops. She watched as the first rates gathered, led by none other than Joker.
"Time to go." He instructs and everyone takes off at once,
"Most suspicious, am I correct?" Selima looks up at her man, smiles.
"You are correct."
* * *
The next morning, Alette was not pleased. She hated mornings, so when the beautiful girl from the other night pounced on her like a wolf on a rabbit at around six a.m. she was not pleased.
"What do you mean we have to cook breakfast?" she groaned. As she dressed in her peasant clothes, smells from the outside tent wafted in, the uncooked vegetables and brewing stew. She could immediately spot Ciel , where everyone looked somewhat social and cheery, he sat shivering, in a corner peeling potatoes.
"Pull yourself together, man." She instructed. He glares up at her. "If I can do it you certainly can." She'd never admit it but he knew Ciel was much stronger than her mentally.
"You look a right mess." Commented Sebastian, who had just arrived on the scene holding hands with Selima. "I see you can't even dress yourself properly without help.."
"I was in a hurry." He dismisses him. The next part seemed to happen in slow motion, Sebastian reached forward and slowly tugged at the obviously clumsily tied knot.
"Dear me, you'll have a hard time untying this yourself if you knot it too tight, my lord." Even Selima face palms at his lack of concern for appearances. Everyone stares and Ciel's stomach does a flip as everyone bursts out into laughter; he was so used to be superior he never considered what it was like to be laughed at.
"Smile, Black isn't your mum you know!"
"No...it's just a habit, no a coincidence!" he squeaks out.
"You shouldn't joke about that. His mother is dead. Black is all he had for a long time." Alette leaves on that depressing note while Ciel scolds Sebastian.
"Sebastian! Don't treat me as your master while we're here. Leave me be!"
"Very well, I'll start right away. Smile! How do you plan to use those potatoes? You peeled them to bits."
"Smile! What's wrong with you!"
"I'm sorry!"
"It cannot be helped." Sighs Selima. "There must be some kind of meat." Sebastian almost makes a very inappropriate joke, but if he did what kind of butler would he be?
"I know I saw some fish, so let's fry these up and make some fish and chips!" suggests Sebastian. After nearly an hour Sebastian and Selima have prepared enough food to literally a whole circus.
"Foods ready!" sang Selima, it was as if an entire stampede of elephants was coming their way. By the time Alette and Ciel had fought through the crowd, they had managed to only retrieve scraps. Afterwards, training was rough. Everyone requested to see Alette's opening act but she had to decline, no clue how Selima even did it in the first place. She could see Selima and Beast had developed a fierce rivalry. Selima's costume was not nearly as showy, but left more to the imagination. But Selima did have an advantage, Beast's talent was fairly limited whereas hers was universal. She worked the pole professionally, causing many to stare. When it came to shower, both almost fainted when they were faced with several hot sweaty men. A slow trickle of blood leaked from Alette's nostril. To call I a trickle would give it some grace, it was really more a spray. And when Freckles told them to undress so casually, both nearly had a heart attack. Once Freckles revealed Ciel's scar however and he took off running, Alette was every bit as irritated as she should have been.
"Now you've gone and done it." She berated. She took off after him, snatched the towel and clothes from Sebastian, and trailed him. When she found him, she simply slid down next to him, and draped the blanket over him. They sat in silence for a while, until he finally laid his head on her shoulder. They simply sat like that, enjoying the others company for the longest time, until dusk broke.