Black Butler: The Stellar Dove

5.3

  Sebastian pulled out a chair for me when I finally arrived at dinner, wearing the blue dress. He had given me a pair of white gloves to cover my scratched elbows, as well as insisting on wrapping them with bandages underneath.

"I apologize for being fashionably late, master," Sebastian told Ciel with a low bow. "The task of finding her wasn't as simple as I had first planned."

Ciel nodded, showing no emotion whatsoever as he did. He then looked to me. I instinctively tensed up. I had to act my absolute very best. With no family name to go by for now, I was establishing my own reputation with him. Making friends apparently came naturally to me, but he seemed to be a rather difficult person. It was almost overwhelming to think about, but I pushed the thought away.

Sebastian gave us an overview of our dinner courses, then proceeded to bring the food. I didn't feel the least bit awkward eating or following basic table manners. It was as if it was all second nature to me. Whoever I was, I guess I had been well taught.

"How are you enjoying your stay here?" Ciel asked me, beginning the conversation.

"It's pleasant. This place is gorgeous," I told him with a bright, genuine smile. "The courtyard absolutely stunned me. Your gardener is very talented!"

"Oh? When did you go there?" He asked with a hint of something like annoyance.

"The gardener escorted me earlier today." I thought I saw his head snap up towards me in shock. I ignored it and continued as if nothing had happened while trying to ease him. "Your servants are polite. I find them to be nice company."

"Yes, they do make this place interesting," Ciel sighed ever so slightly, looking to his butler. Sebastian smiled back at him, shrugging so discreetly that I would have never seen it if I wasn't attempting to observe their silent conversation.

"Pardon me for being uninformed," I asked, finding another subject. "But what business does the Phantomhive family run?"

"It's quite alright. I wouldn't expect someone who can't even remember their own surname to recall the business of another family." Even though his expression seemed grave, his tone reflected understanding and even a bit of amusement. "I am the head of the Funtom toy company."

"Oh, wow, Funtom..." I repeated the name, my eyes wide.

"You look surprised," Ciel smiled slightly. "Is it that you never expected a twelve year old child to be in charge of such a business?"

"Well, I can't say that doesn't surprise me," I laughed softly. "I was more surprised to have remembered the name. Funtom toys... perhaps I played with them when I was a child." I began to zone out, attempting to recall my earliest memories.

"My family has been in this business for ages. We're very proud of our work," he continued.

"I almost want to say my family consisted of artists of some sort," I mentioned, another memory beginning to surface. "Well, I'm not sure if we're in the business of art, but I'm sure that it has a significance."

"I see," Ciel nodded, looking to Sebastian, who exchanged the gesture. They seemed to have their own language!

There was only a moment of awkward silence before the butler spoke. "If you'll please excuse me for a moment, I believe there is someone at the door." With that, the butler went out of the room, leaving only Ciel and I.

"So, Lady Estella, do you have any hobbies?"

I shrugged slightly. "I've forgotten. I'm sure I do, but..."

"Then I shouldn't ask in such a straight-forward manner."

"Trying to pull a stone out of the ground all at once is difficult..." I mused.

"Personally, I enjoy playing games—of all kinds, really. Anything that involves competition."

"Then I suppose you have some perks to owning a toy company. You get to play all the new ones first."

"True," Ceil nodded with a slight smile. "But out of all the new games my company comes up with, my all-time favorite remains to be chess."

"Chess," I said quietly. "I've played the game before. Though, I'm not very good at all..."

"It takes much time to master," he told me. "And a lot of focus, and learning yourself and your opponent, and occasionally making sacrifices and taking chances."

"That's where I fail," I laughed softly, looking down. "I have the focus, and I am able to read my opponent, but I cower away from chances and sacrifices, and I always end up losing."

"I'm honestly ruthless in my game," he shrugged, smirking. "It's just the way I am. We all have our weaknesses. I suppose you could say mine is overly competiveness."

"No, I believe yours would be dancing," Sebastian cut in, having just reentered the room. "Though, that is a big one, too."

"You're not in this conversation!" Ciel shot back at him with a glare.

They continued on, but my attention was not on them. Dancing. "I... I believe I know how to dance. I enjoy it, even. Waltzes, ballets, folk dances..." I blushed, realizing I may have interrupted them. "It just comes naturally to me..." I finished quietly.

"You're lucky," Ciel sighed, averting his butler's eyes. "I've had multiple tutors, and none of them successful."

"If you'd like, I could attempt to work with you," I offered. Both looked at me. "That is... if you'd like to."

"Perhaps. I suppose my butler can evaluate your skills first. If that goes well then I don't mind the idea."

"I think it's an excellent idea," Sebastian agreed.

My smile brightened, though I tried not letting my pride show through too much.

"I take it you like the idea of teaching," Ciel observed. "Do you know if you have education of any kind, as in training?"

I had to think for a moment before answering. "Possibly," I said. "But, ah, I'm really not sure. I'm literate..."

"Well, that counts for English. What about arithmetic?"

"Um..." I looked down, my palms growing sweaty. "Well, I can count... add... multiply? What's five times three again...?" It didn't take me long to figure out how much I dreaded the subject. "I hate numbers..." I sighed heavily, rubbing my temple.

"Don't give yourself a headache," Ceil said, his expression softening into the hint of a friendly smile. "Let's try to have a comfortable conversation for now on. We've made enough progress for the night. Anyway, Sebastian," Ciel looked to his butler. "Who was at the door?"

"A messenger, sir," he answered. "Lady Elizabeth will be arriving for a visit tomorrow."

"I see," Ciel appeared to sigh as the hint of a smile he had gained turned into a frown. "At least she warned us this time."

"Um, who is Lady Elizabeth?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Lady Elizabeth is my fiancé."

My fork dropped to the floor with a clatter. The two of them looked right at me. I suppose my face went awfully pale since I nearly got chills.

Sebastian was beside me in no time, retrieving the silverware and giving me a new one. I tried to casually take it from him, but his hand not only touched mine—it covered it. He did a good job of making the color return to my face.

"Are you alright, my lady?" he asked me quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine," I assured him.

He nodded and stood. I turned back towards Ciel as I began thinking.

Fiancé?What about that word made me cringe like that? Did I have a fiancé? Was Iworried about him? Missing him? No, there was something else. Something muchsmaller than that, but close to the name. An odd, dreadful feeling offamiliarity. 

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