The Raven & The Spider (CURRENTLY UNDERGOING HEAVY EDITING)

Chapter 43 - Nobles Near and Far

Your POV (Second Person):

After both you and Ciel stepped inside the large, white mansion with Sebastian following behind, you immediately began looking for the supposed Baron Bleightly. You almost forgot the moment you walked in however. The entire entrance hall was crowded with people off all shapes and sizes. Finely dressed nobles in multicolored masks were scattered all around. At least a dozen butlers carrying trays of lemonade and champagne wandered around the hall while large tables stacked with cakes and other treats were spread about as well. The white plaster walls were decorated with almost an uncountable amount of expensive paintings and banners and ribbons were hung all around the ceiling as decoration.

"(Y/N), do you see Baron Bleightly?" Asked Ciel quietly, though he still had to raise his voice in order to be heard over the sea of lords and ladies.

You quickly scanned the area until your eyes finally landed on a man identical to the one you'd seen in the photo. A man in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, complete with a beard and moustache. Once again, the lines around his tanned face suggested that he rarely ever smiled.

You quickly pointed him out to Ciel, but before the two of you could get any closer, your hand was grabbed and you were suddenly spun around to face the culprit. Before you stood a man with silvery-blonde hair reaching to his shoulders and lavender eyes that unfortunately matched your gown. He wore a white suit with a matching mask and an extremely frilly white ascot along with a red brooch atop.

"What have we here?" The man asked with a devilish smile. "A cute little kitten perhaps? Your (E/C) eyes are simple ravishing I might say."

Ciel stepped in front of you causing the man to let go of your hand. "(Y/N), might I introduce you to the host of this masquerade ball, Lord Druitt. Lord Druitt, this is Miss (Y/N) Elwin."

"Ah, a beautiful name to suit a beautiful butterfly." The Viscount Druitt said softly as he reached forward to kiss your hand.

You want to take a step back, but you realized it would be very impolite especially to a noble. Not only that but Ciel would have to take responsibility for any mistakes you made considering you came as his guest and not by invitation. If you made a bad impression people would think badly of him, so instead of running away and getting a slice of cake instead, you outstretched your arm and allowed him to kiss your hand.

"Thank you, Lord Druitt." You forced yourself to say. You already didn't like this man. He didn't understand personal space.

"I would love to share a dance with you tonight, Miss." He responded with a smile.

You were about to decline, but before you could say anything Ciel answered firmly, "I'm sure she would love to but unfortunately her dance card is full."

"What a shame." The Viscount Druitt said sadly as he brushed a strange of his silvery hair out of his face. "I assume that I will just have to throw another party soon then so I can dance with the kitten behind the lavender mask."

With that, the man walked away, no doubt towards another unsuspecting female.

You let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ciel."

"That man has no shame." Responded Ciel with a shake of his head.

You looked around the hall with a feeling of unsettlement. You had an uneasy feeling that you were being watched but you couldn't identify the direction...

Suddenly, another stranger approached. You barely had a chance to look at the tall finely dressed man with a big, bushy brown beard before he dragged Ciel away to "talk business."

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)!" Ciel called out just before he disappeared in the crowd of nobles. "For now you're on your own!"

You looked around after he vanished with fear in your eyes. How were you supposed to know how to do anything? You took a deep breath and made your way over to a chair in the corner so you could observe people from afar. Especially Baron Bleightly.

You let your gaze drift every once and a while from the salt and pepper haired man so that you wouldn't look suspicious staring intently at one person, but you made sure that he was always in sight of you. After a few minutes, a person plopped down on the seat next to your right.

Actually, it wasn't one person. It was two but the second was clinging onto the arm of the first so that from the corner of your eye it had looked like one being. The first person who'd taken the seat to your right was a tall dark haired man wearing some sort of strange garment. His hands were clasped together and hidden in his sleeves but that didn't stop the young woman on his right from clinging onto his arm. The young woman also had jet black hair along with a pair of big golden eyes. In her hair she wore a big, pink rose and a golden tassel, but her hairstyle itself was much too complex to even put into words. Just like the man, she was also dressed in strange attire.

Maybe their foreigners? You thought to yourself.

"Hello there." Said the man in a polite manner. "Who might you be?"

"Oh, my name is (Y/N) Elwin." You responded a bit nervously at the new company.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your title?" Asked the man as he cocked his head.

"I don't have a title." You answered timidly. "I was brought as a guest of another nobleman."

"Who might that be?" He asked as the girl on his right who was still clinging to his arm stayed silent and watchful.

He's a bit nosy. You thought, but you answered him nonetheless.

"Lord Phantomhive." You responded.

"Ah yes." Said the man with a nod of his head. "I know him quite well." He then outstretched his had for you to shake. After shaking his hand, he said, "I'm Lau by the way. Since Lord Phantomhive brought you to the masquerade ball as his guest, I'm assuming you must be his fiancé. You are very pretty though I'm very surprised the young earl chose a bride without a title. That's a missed opportunity to help his company expand."

"Wait, what?" You laughed nervously. "I'm not Ciel's fiancé. You could just call us... business partners in a way." You shook your head and thought to yourself, I forgot nobles got typically got engaged at such a young age.

"Business partners." Repeated Lau. "That is strange especially seeing as you have no title. What company do you or your family run?"

Quickly changing the subject since you didn't know if Ciel wanted to keep you undercover to others or not, you asked the first question that popped into your head, "Why did you assume that I was his fiancé?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Asked Lau as he leaned in further. "Ciel's last fiancé was murdered. I assumed that he'd finally found a new one."

Your jaw dropped. Not only did the information of Ciel having a previous fiancé shock you, but of course the fact that she had been murdered was quite surprising. "How did it happen?" You asked intently.

"He refuses to say who killed Lady Midford, though he did assure everyone that the man responsible was apprehended and killed." Lau sighed wistfully. "Since then he's actually been much more reserved than normal which is saying something. He's already lost so much that it really is quite sad. His aunt just passed away a few months ago as well."

You stared at the ground as thoughts ran through your head. He told me his parent's died, but he never mentioned a fiancé or an aunt. His situation really was more like yours than you thought. People seemed to be dying left and right in both of your lives. Did he feel that he was cursed as well? Did he feel the urge to give up on happiness and finding a family?

"Well, it was lovely talking with you." Lau said, interrupting your thoughts as he and the young woman stood up. "I'm sure we'll meet again very soon."

With that, the duo walked away and into the crowd to who knows where.

"Well that was awfully strange." You muttered under your breath. "And quite depressing..."

_____

For the next hour or so, you kept your eyes on Baron Bleightly and made sure to keep track of any mental notes relating to his behavior. The stiff grip he used when shaking people's  hands; the way his eyes subconsciously would dart around the room every once and a while; the way he refused to drink anything offered to him; and the way he kept bringing his hand to the tiny scar under his left cheek, as though checking to see if it were still there.

You'd seen enough. As subtle as his suspicious actions were, they were almost unnoticeable to a being watching him for the past two hours. You finally stood up from your seat and brushed off your skirt before walking around the hall to find Ciel.

You weaved your way in between nobles waltzing and butlers carrying trays of beverages until you saw the back of Ciel and Sebastian's heads. They were both talking to yet another noble and you assumed Ciel was still tied up talking with old business partners.

Right when you were about to cross over to them though, you bumped into another person who had been near you. Both you and the stranger toppled to the ground unexpectedly. When you opened your eyes after the impact you noticed that the stranger you had bumped into had already stood up. His appearance though was what shocked you.

He was a young boy who looked maybe only a year older than you so probably fourteen. He had ash-blonde hair and icy blue eyes that were now filled with concern gazing at you.

He outstretched his hand towards you to help you up and asked, "Are you alright?"

You took his hand and stood up. You stared into his eyes as he stared into yours. "Yes." You responded.

"That's good to hear." He said with a cheerful smile. "By the way, my name is Alois Trancy."

(A/N) SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! I'm assuming that's what you're all thinking, right? Don't worry, I am too. I can't wait to write the next chapter! I have so much planned and it's going to blow you away! Bye for now!
     - Kylie <3