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

Missing Diamonds

"Ladies and gents, this hasn't happened in eighty years!" A man's voice called out above the crowd, excited.

Ciel said a day or two ago that he had business to take care of in London once again, and so Sebastian, Royce, and I all decided to come with him to help. When we arrived, we found the river Thames frozen over with various booths set up on top of its frozen waters, selling items and merchandise. I'd seen the market on the Thames before, but not once had I'd seen it and felt that those walking across it were safe. As, even though the ice was quite thick, that didn't mean that it would stay that way if someone just happened to do something stupid.

Despite these concerns, Ciel wanted to go explore the market. Of course, he didn't say that, but his single eye kept glancing at it as we walked past, observing the crowd below. When Sebastian noticed this, he smiled and asked if Ciel wanted to go down. The boy said "hmph," and immediately walked down to the ice.

"You can't pass up this chance!" The man's voice continued, "Come on by!"

There were hundreds of people walking on the ice. Families, vendors, leisure strollers; everyone was out on the Thames to explore the river market. I saw people roasting over open fires, people bowling over wooden pins, and on the open ice, people skating around having fun.

"I see," Sebastian said, "Frost fair" is quite the appropriate name."

"I'm told that this is the first frost fair on this scale," Ciel explained, "To be held on the frozen Thames at the foot of the London Bridge since the year 1814."

"Wait," I said, "So you knew about the frost fairs?"

"Of course."

I came up in front of him, "Is that why we're actually in London?"

He smiled ever so slightly, "Maybe, maybe not."

I rolled my eyes as we continued into the crowd, weaving between booths. I observed them as we passed: some sold toys, or clothes, or food, and weapons. Other booths had games set up to play, or acted as dining areas for patrons. Either way, Ciel was right about this being the largest frost fair ever. I'd never seen so many people or activities here before.

"Step right up, step right up!" Another vendor called out, "I'm sellin' these cheap enough to blow Jack Frost away!"

What was with that awful line?

Royce chuckled from behind me as our whole group stopped, turning to look at the man.

"Why not buy one for Christmas?" The man continued, clapping his hands together.

Ciel smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What is it, my lord?" Sebastian asked.

The young master jerked his chin at the toys, "Those are all inferior goods."

"I see," I said, "They do look quite cheap."

"If the river freezes again next year, perhaps Funtom could set up shop," Ciel suggested as he swung his cane up to point at one of the toys, "Look at that one there. For example, that one is-"

The man at the stall suddenly noticed us standing there, examining his goods, and turned to greet us, "Ah, hello there, my noble lad! You have a good eye. That's a fine piece from Funtom workshop. In other words, from when the popular Funtom Company was still just a craft studio." The man smiled, seemingly quite proud to have such a piece.

"It's a blantant fake, you mean," Ciel said, "The Funtom Arks are rare. Only three sets were ever made by an artist my predecessor patronized who had the finest crafting skills," Ciel paused for a moment, frowning, "Since the mansion burned down, we no longer have one... They certainly wouldn't turn up here."