The Phantomhive Nightmare

Chapter One

Ciel found himself at his usual post, his office, on a cold fall evening. There was a downpour on all of England that hadn't let up for literal days. The brooks were flooded and his lower courtyard was the equivalent of a river. This year's weather was extremely sporadic and many residents had already lost so much property as well as livestock, not to mention the countless missing children that had made the paper in the past couple of days. He always read the paper, daily, mainly for the comics in the back. He didn't really care for all of the other rubbish. However when it came to missing children he became a little paranoid.

His daughter, Celine, was edging on six years old and she was just as rambunctious as the rest of England's youth. He couldn't imagine allowing her out to play in weather like this.

"Dottie! Dottie!" His little raven haired pride and joy came barreling into his office, never once knocking, "I want to give going outside a go, yeah? The wash isn't all that bad and I'll dress snugly."

"No, you'll contract something."

"But, mum said I had to convince you first then trolley it back to her."

"The answer is no, Celine."

"But dottie..!"

"No." He shook his head and he pouted angrily, "Well I can't stay in this bin much longer, mum has woke Elroy up and he won't stop bloody squealing. I can't take it no more, dottie." Ciel looked up from his newspaper, very unimpressed, "What did I tell you about that word? You're too young to be using it."

"But Bard says bloody all of the time, it doesn't sound bad on him."

"How old is Bard? Do I look like Bard's father?"

"Well I dunno' and I certainly hope not or mum's gonna' give your neck a good thrashing."

"Celine."

"Sorry.." She crossed her little arms in front of her, "But bub is crying a lot and it does make my ears hurt."

"Another thing, your brother's name is not Elroy."

"Well it is to me, he's annoying and he cries way too much. I never cried like that, did I, dottie?"

"When you were his age, yes."

"How did you stand me??" Ciel chuckled and motioned for her to sit on his knees. She pranced over, blue ribbons bouncing in her long black hair, and he hoisted her onto his knee. "Well you were my little girl, I loved to hear you cry."

"That doesn't sound very nice."

"Yes but if you were crying that meant you were still breathing, you were alive."

"Well that's stupid, bub breathes way too much."

"You should be thankful he's healthy and he's your little brother whether you fancy it or not."

"He's so rude. He always cries when mum is reading my midday poems to me."

"Well maybe you should try reading them yourself, your mother is very busy with him. He's small and needs a lot of attention."

"Do all Phantomhive babies cry like that?"

"It's the Midford in you, darling."

"But bampa says-"

"I don't care what grandpa says, you tell him it's the Midford's that do all of the crying." Celine nodded, fully prepared to pass the message on. "Dottie, when is uncle Eddie coming in?"

"I don't know, sweetie."

"I hope he brings Leighton with him.."

"You scared the poor boy to death last time they visited."

"It was funny!" Celine grinned, unknowingly showing off her three missing baby teeth. "Dottie, uncle Eddie says that Leighton and I are s'posed to be married. Ain't that weird?"

"Isn't and you can marry whomever you see fit, when the time comes."

"What about bubba?" Ciel shook his head, "It's different for him."

"How you reckon that?"

"He has to marry who we say."

"Well that's not very fair! What is he don't like her?" Ciel sighed, "It's complicated, you'll understand when you're older."

"Well what if I don't like her? She can't marry me brother just cause you and mum says so. She'll have to talk to me first!" Ciel laughed and shook his head, "You need to pay more attention to your studies, little lady."

"I do pay attention! What if I don't want a husband?? What if I like my last name?"

"Then keep it." Ciel smiled, "You don't have to be married."

"Okay! Well.. well.. well - then I won't be! Then I can take over the family business and give you a rest, huh dottie?"

"If that's what you wish, Celine, you are smart enough to do anything you set your mind to." Celine smiled and hopped off of her father's knee. Without another word, she skipped out while humming cheerfully. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, he really had his hands full with her. She was smart and completely capable -even at her young age. She wasn't as obnoxious as she sounded, thanks to her home school teacher she picked up an odd accent. It was somewhat of a strong Welsh-English accent, Sebastian was currently trying to break her of it before it became a learned habit. He absolutely despised the accent for whatever reason. Ciel just assumed it would go away of its own accord.

So far she hadn't been too much trouble but it was quite obvious she favored demonic traits a tad bit more than human. She had explainable powers of telepathy, though they were underdeveloped Sebastian said it was probably a good thing for the entire household if she not be taught how to use them properly.

Celine was the beginning of a new generation of Phantomhive, a generation he knew would surpass him tenfold- if not more. It was too early to tell what type of personality his son would develop, but he could read his daughter like an open book. That's how she presented herself, she had nothing to hide and she feared literally nothing. Most children her age had a few phobias that required mommy and daddy's attention- not Celine. She never cried out of fear -not saying she never cried, just never out of fear- and she had never been shy to walk around the manor in the dark, alone. Sebastian had suggested to Ciel that she may not be afraid of the dark because there was a possibility that she could see in the dark -she was too young to really be tested and Ciel didn't want to make he feel different than the other children by experimenting and pointing it out to her. Other than the obvious demonic dispositions about her, she looked exactly like Ciel. Both of his children did, not a shred of Elizabeth in either of them. He was a little proud of himself but he knew not to brag, Elizabeth always wanted a child that resembled her and she was just liable to make him try for it again.