He knew his human form was appealing. People were so agreeable to the good-looking. His demon form would send them screaming, even though he thought it had it's own dark appeal. To those willing to not run screaming. We're in for one HELL of a surp...
Serena came into the dining room with Mei-Rin to see the other servants still there, but dressed to go out. They all crowded around the red head as soon as she entered to thank her for their presents. Finny and Bard's voices blended together as Tanaka and Snake stood back. Finally, Sebastian swooped in to shoo them away.
"Miss Serena needs to sit for breakfast. And the rest of you need to get going if you're planning to be on time for the service." The butler guided Serena to her seat and set a plate in front of her. One of the cookies they had made the night before sat on the saucer of the fresh fruit cup.
"Service?"
"Yes, they go to church on Christmas Day."
The red head started to greet Ciel and noticed that the Earl was currently munching on one of the cookies. Nothing else on his plate had been touched yet. She laughed and he stopped nibbling on the chocolate portion.
"A part of me is not surprised that you went for the cookie first."
"I do wonder why Sebastian is serving cookies with breakfast." The Earl took another bite of his cookie.
"Because it's tradition." She smiled and took a bite of her own.
"You made them?"
"Well, Sebastian took over about halfway through."
"Ha, he pushed you out of the kitchen too." Bard exclaimed from his place beside the window.
"He did." She slid a glance to the demon. "I think he was worried about the mess that I was making."
"Not at all, my lady. I merely worried after your health. You did not seem to be doing well with the knives." He turned back to the other servants. "Speaking of which. There are cookies for you all as well in the kitchen. Miss Serena informed me that they are to be shared with everyone."
Everyone could see the look on Finny's face as he kept looking to the door leading to the kitchen. He obviously wanted to bolt and Bard wasn't far behind him. Ciel watched the two as he took another bite and swore he saw drool come from the gardener.
"Go on."
Sebastian pulled the cart out of the way as all that was left of the servants was a trail of dust leading to the kitchen. The only one left was Tanaka and even he was headed that way, at a more sedate pace. After a moment, Finny's head popped back out of the door.
"Do you want to come with us, Miss Serena?"
"That's alright. I think I'll stay here and keep the heathens company."
"If you're sure." The gardener held up one of her cookies. "Thank you for the cookies, Miss Serena. They're delicious."
Another was stuffed in his mouth, making the man look like a large chipmunk, as he turned away and shut the door behind him.
"Do you think he even tasted that or did he just inhale it?" Serena stared at the door for a moment.
"I'm certain that he just inhaled it. We normally keep Finny away from sweets, as they have a tendency to make him excitable." Sebastian leaned down to refill her teacup.
"Yeah, his personality leads me to believe that he would ride one hell of a sugar high." She turned to Ciel. "I'm surprised that you don't."
The Earl coughed and turned his attention to the rest of his breakfast without answering.
"I saw that massive container of sugar in the pantry and I think that it is all for you."
"To be honest, I do not believe that I have ever seen my Master affected by sugar."
"You've eaten far too much for far too long." She laughed as she brought her cookie up for a bite. "I should know. It doesn't affect me anymore either
After breakfast, Ciel escaped to his office while Serena opted to stay in the dining room. She had said that she wanted to finish her tea. He was certain it was because she wished to talk to the demon. At least one relationship seemed to be working. The letter from Elizabeth, he had found waiting when they returned from London, remained in the top drawer of his desk, still unopened. The Earl acknowledged that there was a part of him, a small part, that was afraid of what that missive contained.
Pulling it out, he flipped it over in his hand to look at the address written by his fiancé. His thumb traced the letters that were starting to fade with handling. The letter had been a constant weight on him since they returned to the manor and he had picked it up several times throughout the day before, only to put it back down and go on to another report.
Ciel opened the drawer again and pulled out the gift he had received from Serena. Before going to breakfast, he had stopped to secure it in his office. The second drawing he had burned as per her sound advice. There was a part of him that didn't want to think of the demon's face if he saw that particular rendering. He looked at Lizzy, standing so proud in the queen's space of his side of the board and back to the letter in his other hand.
'That space may be unoccupied as well soon.'
A knock pulled the Earl from his thoughts. He had put the letter away as Serena's head popped into the room.
"Hey, I was wondering what you doing?"
"Nothing as of yet. There haven't been any new reports delivered."
She shook her head as she came into the room and took a seat in front of his desk.
"Those lazy bastards. How dare they not want to work on Christmas?"
Ciel glared at her smiling face for a moment before looking down at the sketch on his desktop.
"I wanted to thank you. For the gift."
"Your welcome." The red head smiled. "To be honest, I wasn't sure if it would upset you or not."
"No, it's beautiful." His hands traced the lines that made up his parents once more. Realizing what he was doing, the Earl coughed into his hand. "You have a real talent for making an image on paper come to life."
"Thank you. I've always loved to draw and thankfully I was good at it." She looked to the open door before turning back and whispering, "Did you like the other one?"
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To her amazement, Ciel actually laughed. It didn't take long for her to join him and that was how Sebastian found them. The demon stood in the doorway, shocked at the display. When the two noticed him, both tried to stop. Ciel coughed into his hand several times before he could resume his normal demeanor. Serena couldn't do it and snickered occasionally.
"What has brought this on?"
Both of them started laughing again as the demon stood confused.
