Amor Fati

Agonizing kindness

What kind of a joke is this?

The dance was almost over but the Earl of the Phantomhives and the Marchioness of the Liontons didn't exchange a single word after their first acknowledgement of each other.

No matter how one looked at it, they felt like an odd couple: The distance between them was bigger than usual and instead of looking at each other they looked at opposite directions, their movements felt unsteady and unsynchronized and every now and then the man would step on the lady's foot and she would grimace silently, that, until the pain became unbearable.

«Your dancing abilities aren't so much lacking as they are non existent. » Elena stated with a stoic expression.

«You are too short, it's not working, » Ciel responded with a stoic expression as well.

She always mocked him for being short, was he trying to get back at her now?

Elena turned her face to look at him and Ciel looked back at her with the same unhappy expression before a grimace etched its way into his face when a sharp pain struck his right foot.

«Be grateful I'm wearing slippers instead of high heels today. »

The young man looked at her with narrow eyes as they continued dancing.

What on earth was he thinking? Looking at the glaring young woman in his arms and recalling the tomboyish feisty young girl from few years ago, yeah, the two images do definitely match now. Elena Lionton changing to become a delicate lady? Not in a million years... She did always put a sweet facade in front of others and now her lady-like looks are included in that sweet image, that is all what is there to it. Ciel felt a mixture of frustration and irritation for almost getting fooled by it. In the mean while, the girl's head drifted to drown in a not very different kind of thoughts...

Elena's eyes roamed avidly over the manly figure towering over her: The Earl's frail body turned into a gracefully toned one that the sight of his silhouette alone could be a sin, a firm chest, enticingly broad shoulders, the slender neck that turned into a thick structure -although it still kept some air of gentleness about it- was towered by a strong and defined face, adorned with white porcelain features and framed perfectly with rich smooth navy blue bangs.

The current image in front of her matched more that of Vincent Phantomhive from her memories than the one of the Ciel she knew. The only difference was Ciel's eye colour that he inherited from his mother. Even with the leather eyepatch hidding one of them, Ciel's eyes drew the girl like magnets.

The bright lights reflected by the colorful glass, the fluid whispers of the violin, the heat seeping to her body through the Earl's hand. Time seemed to stop ticking away as Elena felt herself get lost in that dream-like moment.

«Finally! » The deep voice of the Earl dissipated Elena's magical world announcing the end of the dance. Yes, she as well, was anticipating supper time but for some reason, the sigh of relief coming from the Earl along with this word irritated the girl beyond limits.

Stepping on his left foot before to go, Elena headed towards the nearest refreshment room.

«What in the world is wrong with you Lionton? » Ciel exclaimed in a mixture of pain and confusion before to follow her.

...

What kind of luck is this?

«What do you want to eat? » Ciel nonchalantly asked the grumpy girl. As her last dance partner he was stuck with her till supper time was up. The Ladies sit in the chairs and the gentlemen stand behind them tending to their every need. Who set such stupid rules? that's one of the many reasons why Ciel hated balls. It's a servant's job and not his! speaking of it... where are their butlers?