Black Swan Rising - A Black Butler Fan-Fic

7 - Eyes Blue Like the Atlantic

I stared at the boat before us. It was a luxury cruise ship from the Blue Star Line, designed to be the epitome of elegance in every form of the word to accommodate all the needs of the nobility that could afford such a wonderful get away.

I was allowed to accompany the young master and his pitch black butler on the trip. It was normal for a footman to accompany their master on their outings, and I had taken the role of parlor maid, replacement to the footman, the butler's right hand. It was a privilege to attend this trip.

However, this was no normal trip.

"A hospital that revives the dead?"

Not long before this surprise trip, the young master was visited by Lau, the owner of the Chinese division of trade. He was also an underground opium dealer. The young master and Mr. Lau had a love-hate relationship when it came to business.

"You mean that thing in the paper today?" Ciel continued, leaning idly on the table while Lau and his friend Ran-Mao ate idly. It wasn't a secret that they often came at rather opportune times for petty reasons. Free meals were usually the case.

"Yeah, that," Lau replied, taking another bite.

"Unfortunately," began the child, waving off the topic, "I have little interest in the occult, so..."

The Chinese man talked with a small mouthful. "It may not be occult though."

This peaked the young master's interest.

"They seem to be doing lots of shopping down at the back docks the earl has me in charge of," Lau began explaining.

"Drugs?" Ciel guessed.

"No," he corrected, taking another large bite. "People. They come shopping for foreign slaves illegally quite often, but lately the amounts are quite unusual. I highly doubt a hospital could fit so many."

I refilled glasses idly, listening to the two speak and getting as close as possible without being obvious. Though we were alone in the manor, I felt that the closer one was to a converser, the more they knew on the topic.

"Don't they just dispose of them once they're not needed?" Ciel put out, watching as Lau placed his fork down diagonally. He was finished eating. "Not that I really care about that..."

"Isn't that bad for a hospital like that to feature in the regular society's news?" I butted in. I couldn't hold my tongue much longer. Nothing added up in my mind of how this couldn't be suspicious.

"My thoughts exactly," Lau commented, turning to the earl. "Your maid is quite informed."

I blushed faintly from the compliment.

"In other words," Sebastian interrupted, "you're saying there's a possibility that the revival of the dead's occurring as a result of illegal human experimentation?"

I almost had to laugh. That had to be impossible. Even if the man at my side believed this idea, I was skeptical, and I tried to hide that opinion as I took Lau's plate.

The young lord sighed in annoyance. He didn't seem too happy with the new task. "If that's true, then it's an interference in the regular society by an underground power. However, remove the thorns from the rose and you won't hurt your hand." He turned to his butler. "Sebastian, investigate immediately."

The man bowed and placed a hand to his chest, loyalty in his words as he casually said, "Leave it to me."

And the investigation came back fruitful. He received information about an association of upper-class doctors called the Aurora Society, a secret group that held lectures on "the complete salvation of mankind through medicine." Ryan Stoker, the director of Karnstein Hospital where the happenings were occurring, was also a part of this group. The Aurora Society often held their meetings and presentations to speak of their findings and results of their experiments.