Her Demon, His Demon, and the Story of Us - A Black Butler Fanfic

Arriving at the House of Phantomhive

The young master and his butler led me to a manor settled in downtown London nearby. It was made of stone bricks, three stories tall, and looked quite impressive. I'd seen plenty of large estates in down town London, but this beat them all into the dirt. A short stair case with fairly intricate railings led up t the front door. I raised my eyebrow.

The Phantomhives had a mansion in the middle of London... I've really scored this time!

The butler passed the young Phantomhive as we ascended that stairs, unlocking the front door and holding it open for him. The boy headed in, but I took a short moment, still trying to absorb the fact that such a thing as a mansion 

"Wow..." I sighed, pounds swimming around in my vision.

"Will you be entering or not, miss?" The butler said.

I jumped and looked back toward him, clutching my satchel to my side. He had the politest fake business smile that I'd ever seen on his face. I chuckled once before dashing into the house behind the young master. The butler promptly closed the door after following, loud enough to make me jump again. Oof. What a way to make people feel welcome.

"This way," The young Phantomhive said. I nodded and followed him up a dark, winding staircase to what I could only assume was his study. The room was wide, with white walls and dark brown floors. Everything was perfectly polished, cleaned, scrubbed, and washed. Nothing looked out of place, from the paperwork that the young Phantomhive shuffled once he reached his desk and tucked into a drawer, to the neatly organized bookshelf to the left of the desk. The butler squeezed my shoulder and pushed me to sit in a velvet chair in front of the young lord's desk. 

"Ah- oww!" I barely had a moment to comprehend what was happening before my butt hit the seat and the butler circled behind the desk, standing behind the young lord.

"Ow...?" I asked.

"Nevermind him," the young Phantomhive said.

"Alright?" 

"You had a reason for approaching me in the square, I assume?" he asked as he leaned forward on his chair, planting his chin in his hands. His blue eye peered closely at me, judging me, as if whatever came out of my mouth next would decide whether I lived to see the next day. My eyes flicked toward the butler. Though he wore no expression, his general presence was threatening to me. My shoulder still hurt from his finger-crushing grip. 

Mental note: The whole eye patch, could-sue-you-out-of-house-and-home, young lord boy coupled with the dark, scary butler made for an impressive intimidation technique.

This is nothing, Eve! Think! Employment! Honest living! I hope, at least. You have a chance here to change your life, don't mess it up! Besides, the Yard chasing you down with hounds is much more terrifying experience! Right?

I took another glance between the two. They radiated dark auras, and those auras grew with every moment I spent delaying my response.

Hm... it's a close tie. But what to do then? I guess I should first recover my honor as a worthy thief? Even if it's not what I want to do? Show that I'm a reliable and smart enough person to do a job?

So, instead of talking, I reached into my satchel for the apple. Before I could take it out though, the butler was suddenly by my side, wrenching my elbow behind my back and slamming my head onto the table. I blinked, stunned as a throbbing pain suddenly grew on the side of my head.

"Owie..." I said, "Your butler is quite unfriendly, Lord Phantomhive."

"The young master has asked you a question," the butler said with a tone which froze my bones, pushing me harder into the desk.