A Demons Mate

Someone .........

Serena stood at the bottom of the stairs while Sebastian coaxed his Master out of his room. During dinner, Soma had attempted to put himself into the mission. After much arguing, Agni had reminded the Prince that he had already promised to attend Druitt's Christmas soiree. The invitation having come from the lord's nephew at the theater last night. Thankfully, the two had already left when Ciel went up to get ready.

She heard something and saw Ciel coming in full disguise. The outfit may have been appealing earlier, but with the addition of the gold dust and jewelry, the Earl was absolutely gorgeous.

Sebastian was a dark shadow behind the teen as they descended the stairs. He caught her staring and growled. Serena brushed it off as they hit the foyer and walked around Ciel to get the whole of his disguise. When she faced him again, the girl smiled and let out a low whistle.

"Well, I'd buy you if I had the money."

Sebastian growled again, louder.

"You couldn't afford me."

"Oh, could I trade?" She smirked at the demon standing over her. He towered over her, eyes glowing and teeth bared. "Oh, calm down Feathers. It's a joke. You know, funny, ha ha."

"Again, are you two done yet?"

Serena smiled and came back to the Earl. "The point is you look great. So, we're ready to go then."

"You're not going."

"What?!" She looked back to Sebastian.

"I cannot search the mansion and watch you both at the same time."

Ciel raised a hand to stop her protest. "Serena, the men there tonight would expect you to be for sale. This is no game. It is far too dangerous for you to go."

"But..."

"No." Ciel glared. "My answer is final."

Serena huffed at both of them and turned her back.

"Well, this sucks."

Ciel walked around her headed for the door. Sebastian had already readied the carriage with plenty of hot bricks since any cloak would smudge the gold dust on the Earl's skin and any shoes were out of the question as well. The demon picked up his Master at the door and gave Serena a nod before going out into the cold.

When the door closed, she pouted.

"Sexist bastards."

What to do now?" Serena leaned against the door for a pouting moment. "No wonder these people throw parties all the time. They were bored out their minds."

She started away from the door when an idea struck. Looking around the hallway, she ducked her head out the door to make sure that the carriage was well on its way. An evil smirk took over her face as she shut the door.

'What are you up to, my mate?'

Serena jumped at the smooth voice that seemed to come from all around her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said to the empty house.

'I detect a faint hint of evil through your mind.'

"Evil is your thing, isn't it? Besides, aren't you supposed to be watching Ciel?"

'We are picking up Mr. Lau now.'

"Well, shouldn't you concentrate on what you're doing versus what I'm doing?"

'What are you doing? Thinking about the London sights?'

"I'm not doing anything and I'm not going anywhere. Scout's honor."

'What does honor have to do with scouting?' The demon's confusion was easy to hear and she shook her head.

"Oh, nevermind."

The red head waited until she was sure that the conversation was over and raced for the door she had seen Sebastian come out of when calling them for dinner that night.

The servants' part of the townhouse was just as stripped down as the manor's. Her footsteps echoed off the simple, plaster walls and bare, wood floors. The kitchen was larger than she would have thought and imagined that it had originally been intended for far more servants than the earldom currently employed.

'How many servants do you need when you have a demonic butler at your beck and call?'

Serena winced at the thought and waited for some kind of reply. She had tried to not think of anything while on this little adventure so as not to draw Sebastian's notice.

'Nothing. I wonder if there is a distance limit to his little mind reading trick?'

Attached to the kitchen was a pantry that could have easily held one of the large bedrooms. Shelves lined the room, mostly stocked with foods that she figured Agni had purchased for Soma. She didn't think the large amount of spices were something that Sebastian would use for Ciel and there wasn't nearly as much sugar as the manor's kitchens. The door off the pantry led to a much smaller dining room for the servants.

Back in the hall, another door led to an office. Just as stripped down, the shelves behind a large, standing desk were filled with books that had no titles. She pulled one down and opened the cover. All of the pages were filled with rows upon rows of numbers. At the bottom of each page was an initial that she realized was Ciel's.

'Must be the estate office.'

Not understanding the notations, Serena slipped the book back on the shelf and turned to the desk. It was almost as large as the earl's desk at the manor and stocked with fresh account books, pots of ink, and steel fountain pens. She found the book that was currently being used but still didn't know what the headings were.

'Okay history buff likes it, the rest of me is still bored.'

The door across the hall opened into the Earl's dining room and she saw the back of it looked like the paneling that lined the room. Going further down the hall, there were several doors that led to the noble's part of the house.

'Well, no wonder there's never really a wait for anything. It's still kind of creepy that the servants could pop up anywhere in the house. That's probably why the authorities always suspect servants first when anyone is murdered in this time period.'

The sound of the front door slamming carried through the hallway and Serena turned to go back.

'That was quick. Ciel must have chickened out.'

With a sigh, the red head looked to the set of stairs nestled in the corner but went through the door in front of her that led into the main hallway.

"Ciel?" She called while walking toward the front doors