You Can't Hide Forever

His Butler, Offering (part 1)

~~Third Person POV~~

Undertaker lifted the lid from a coffin and looked at the corpse inside.

"Oh, now this is a nicely mangled corpse", he commented aloud. He reached down and touched the body. "Instead of covering up these wounds, maybe I should accentuate them with pink dye, like flower petals."

Undertaker practically skipped over to a small table with a dish of water, a rag, a candle, and a small mirror on it.

"Ah, what fun it is to be an undertaker!", he said while dipping his fingers in the water repeatedly and examining them between dips. He went to the next coffin and opened its lid to see the next corpse. "Now then, who do we have next?" He grimaced at the sight from behind his hair. "This corpse is a bit unsatisfying...no, very unsatisfying."

In the coffin lay Grell. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open slightly, enough to see his teeth.

"He's got such a weak mouth for someone who didn't drown...", Undertaker said. Grell's eyes opened and his face quickly morphed into a glare, barely giving Undertaker any time to look shocked or surprised before wrapping his hands around his neck. His glare intensified.

"What did you just say?!", Grell asked. He shook Undertaker's head back and forth as he tightened his grip, attempting to strangle him.

~~Claire's POV~~

"This morning you have a dance lesson with Mrs. Bright, and this afternoon Lord Wensler, who has an import-export business...", Sebastian trailed off. "Are you listening, young master?"

Ciel, Sebastian, and I were walking down the hallway of the manor. It was early morning at the moment. Ciel looked over his shoulder at Sebastian.

"I told you, I'm sick of dancing", he said before turning his head forward again. "I'm not cut out for it."

"You are too modest", Sebastian replied. "Your dancing soothes the hearts of those who watch."

"You mean it makes them laugh", Ciel clarified without looking back.

"I would never say such a thing", Sebastian said.

"But what if I wanted you to dance with me, Ciel?", I asked. He didn't reply for a moment.

"That's a completely different matter", he replied. I smiled before we heard laughter coming from another room in the manor. We all stopped at the sudden noise and followed it to another room.

"Look, Tanaka, there are three upright tea stalks!", a man said happily. It was the same man with white hair that had been with the Queen at the curry festival. "It promises to be a good day!" Tanaka laughed his signature laugh in return.

"You're...", Ciel began. "...Her Majesty's butler?!" The man looked over at us.

"Ah, Lord Phantomhive. I apologize for this embarrassing display", he said while standing. Sebastian closed the door to the room.

"Why is the Queen's butler drinking tea in my mansion?", Ciel asked.

"You didn't know, young master?", Sebastian asked. "Ash has been the one delivering Her Majesty's orders all this time." Ciel turned back to Sebastian.

"That's no job for a butler...", Ciel said.

"A butler who can't...", Ash began calmly before lunging on a knee in a dramatic pose,"...use Her Majesty's naptime to check the Doomsday Book for those requesting an audience, come straight to deliver an envelope to Lord Phantomhive, and stop for an elegant tea with Tanaka while he's at it isn't worth his salt." He had started talking at a rather fast pace after he struck his pose. He then took a drink of tea.