Black Swan Rising - A Black Butler Fan-Fic

1 - Such is Life

The chores. Oh, there were so many of them. I couldn't possibly think to do all of them on my own. However, such was the task and such was my occupation.

"Good morning, everyone," I said distractedly, washing some extra dishes and setting them aside to dry.

"Mornin', Quinn," Bardroy called, cleaning up his area and getting it ready for the day. He pulled out pots and pans, his usual utensils and even brought out a rather large rather dangerous flamethrower, setting everything down on the counter nonchalantly. Though his cooking methods were a bit ... odd, to the say the least, I wasn't going to argue with the designated chef.

"G'mornin'~" Finny sang, sleep coating his tired eyes and making his head a bit fuzzy. He yawned and lowered his head unceremoniously to the table. Before he could hurt himself, I grabbed his hair and held him up, sliding a towel underneath his head and letting him drop to the table again. There was a lot less damage this way.

"Morning, Quinlan!" came a chipper voice. I turned and watched as the clumsy handmaid Mey-Rin stumbled over to the counter, picking up dry dishes by the arm-full. "I'll put these away for ya-ah!!" Her sentence ended in a cry as she slipped on the water droplets beneath her feet, tossing the dishes out in front of her. I spun around to watch the chaos unfold. A black figure stood in the doorway.

"My hero," I mumbled sarcastically as I caught a few plates falling in my direction, unable to hide the smirk on my face. The figure leapt over the table and gathered plate by bowl by cup by silverware, snatching it from the air like a madman catching flies in his hands. He landed beside the sink and sat the dishes down, his smile genuine and his eyes closed to hide his frustration.

"Please do refrain from running while carrying such fragile china, Mey-Rin," he reminded the maid calmly.

I laughed a little, going back to cleaning and drying. "Whatever would we do without you, Sebastian Michaelis?" I teased under my breath.

He gave a serious sigh. "Honestly, the manor would be reduced to ashes," he replied, taking off his coat and setting it aside. He rolled up his sleeves and took over the dishes. "See to it that the tea cups are ready for the guests today. The young lord is entertaining a man from Italy."

"Italy?" I inquired, opening up a cupboard and picking out a few different sets. I brought them over to the sink and sat them out in a row. "Which do you think is best?"

He glanced at the cups and pondered a moment, pointing to the third one. "This one would set a more casual and light mood to ease the man's poor mind," he decided. "He seems to be quite the worrywart."

"Oh?" I replied, putting the others away and retrieving the rest of the set. "So this Italian is scared of the little lord?" I snickered faintly and moved beside him to wash the tea set. "As he should be."

Sebastian chuckled as well, a smile splayed across his lips. "And it's not just him he should be worried about," he said under his breath. "Once you finish the set and prepare the snacks for tea today, I'll be sure to set up your bag in the barn."

I hid my grin poorly and set a tea cup aside. "Is that so?" I asked once again. "What makes you think me incapable of preparing my own bag?"

He grinned at me. "Nothing at all," was his cheeky response. He cut his eyes at me. "Finish your chores, Quinlan."

I nodded my head curtly. "Yes, Mr. Sebastian," I said, finishing the rest of the dishes and beginning the snacks. Sebastian had prepared them before we all began our morning duties. He always seemed to be the last one to say good night and the first to greet the morning.

"You seem a bit distracted," Bard spoke up, leaning on the table. "You doin' alright, kid?"

I glanced up at him and smiled warmly. "Yes, I'm fine," I told him, finishing the icing and placing the snack on the tray slowly. I positioned it just right, arranged it just so and moved on to the next.