Red Hot Hell (a Kuroshitsuji fanfic)

Vampire Party

"Tell me again, why are you two coming with me?"

"Since this is one of the few parties in which humans are invited, we decided to see what a vampire party was like," Ciel responded as the carriage rattled on. "It might be useful, and such a gathering is notoriously isolated according to the ton."

"Because it is for those humans who want to be Death Dealers," Estelle shot back. "If they find out that you are here for any other reason -and without your dear butler, that may well happen -you will most likely be a short supper for the congregation." The young Earl gulped. "That is, if you were in the company of any other vampire but myself." He frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, that as the strongest vampire present in London for most of the year, my authority supersedes any other Death Dealer except for Lord Cain himself. And that is only because he is a member of the Council we have that is composed of the oldest vampires in existence. Anyone who dares hurt you will deal with me while we are there. Nevertheless, please do behave yourself Ciel; some of us will happily take the chance at your neck if you're not where you're supposed to be." The look on her delicately-formed face made the blue-eyed boy shudder.

The three of them were going to a soirée held by the supervisor of the Hunter's Season himself, extending the invitation to human candidates and personal friends as well. Because Estelle's bloodline was not known for associating with humans beyond the occasional food supply, she will be the only representative of her clan. In true vampire fashion, her floor-length gown was a solid metallic midnight blue in a cut somewhat similar to her usual clothing. Her black hair was carefully  arranged into a half bun, with a few careless tendrils artfully tumbling down her face. There was no other augmentation upon her appearance: no jewelry, gloves, or even shoes.'They' felt better without, and one could never be too careful in their society.

Presently the carriage stopped at the mansion venue, and Sebastian was there in a split-second, bowing gently as he handed them both down. "At this point, Sebastian, your status is elevated from 'servant' to 'guest' for the time being," Estelle told the demon butler. "You may serve your young master as you wish, but no one has any right to lump you in with the others."

She led them up the stairs, stopping at the doors where a pair of gargoyles protectively stood guard. One of the ethereal-eyed creatures of stone growled at the Faustian, but halted and promptly deactivated once the password was spoken. "Come, before they reactivate and attack you as intruders," the vampire prompted. "They have no objections to anyone who leaves, but anyone approaching without knowing the password is their food by right." Ciel hurriedly went on in.

The sight that greeted him was pure amazement: individuals dressed in quite a similar way to Estelle glided to and fro, speaking with each other in low voices over music and wineglasses filled with a thick red liquid. The boy turned slightly green when he realized it was blood.

The girl seemed to finally come into her own element at her entrance. With a nod at the other two to take care of themselves for a bit, she took a champagne flute of the red stuff and coasted near the other end of the room to speak with someone. None of the Death Dealers, with their icy pale-blue eyes and black whites, looked any older than in their prime of life.

Estelle greeted Lord Cain and his companion once she reached them with flute in hand. The other man looked to be slightly older than Sebastian, slender and with long silver-blonde hair that was tied into a low ponytail. He seemed quite an experienced vampire, based on his eyes.

"Miss Darkmoor, this is Francis Du Lac, a noble in the time of France's Renaissance. He has been eager to make your acquaintance," the boy said as Francis kissed her hand.

"An honor to meet this lovely mademoiselle," he murmured flirtatiously, and Estelle kept her expression blank even as her eyes shone. It was a relief to finally return to her usual rhythms when dealing with her own kind; he might prove a persistent one, should he plan to go after her. She was never completely sure on such things.

"Charmed. I believe you once told me Milord that some members of the Council will be along with company quite soon?"

"Yes, Mireille and Ephraim should be coming later tonight, once the humans need to meet their bedtime schedule." Cain, Francis, and Estelle smiled humorously at each other for the peculiar way humans had for following a set routine. It only made hunting them that much easier.

The girl sipped her blood quietly as the men began to discuss the still-simmering problem with those rebellious children across the channel. Very few of the youngsters created in Britain had been a problem even in London, and any sign of a young one trying to gain too much of the upper hand in matters too big for his fangs was immediately dealt with. Not even the demon butler knew how extensive her involvement was, considering he believed her too busy with her duties in the manor to worry about such things. He was starting to think of her as human; not a good sign for him. Estelle would take whatever chance she could to get out of the enforced servitude, though it meant beating up her dear Sebby.

Oh well, she shrugged to herself mentally, that was life for a creature beyond human boundaries.

Estelle occasionally put in her two-cents every now and then, but did not express any more of her opinion. No such thing was happening here, so she was largely uninterested. It was useful, however, to hear about in case it moved over the water. Most younglings remained on land until they were a century or so old, crossing over to other countries only when they were strong enough. Luckily, that gave her time to screw their heads on tight about respect for their prey and how not to overfeed otherwise they'd deplete the food supply for everyone else in the world.

Eventually, she went to check up on her human (and demon)guests. And she was just in time.

Poor Ciel was being harassed by a group of vampire children while several of their vampiress friends distracted Sebastian. Estelle reflected that they probably thought that they could get away with a stolen meal. Their sires were willing to overlook the incident (provided that they were not caught) because it took a lot of resources to support a newborn vampire through his first hundred years.

All five of the younglings stiffened once her scent drifted over to them as she walked in their direction. To the confusion of the young Earl and his butler, they remained utterly still until they caught sight of the vampiress that subtly radiated anger. "Turn around," she ordered in a gentle voice. The offenders did, trying to gaze anywhere but on her blank face.

"May I ask, were you about to lure away a well-known noble of the English court under his butler's nose?" That question made them wince; the first thing a vampire child learned from their sire or dam was to choose the least conspicuous victims, always. "Perhaps you should recieve a review with your sires and dams about proper protocols, both in the company of your peers and alone," Estelle continued. She fixed them with a look. "I suggest you get to it now."

Sebastian noticed for the first time that the vampiress had a certain bearing now that made him more aware of her power. Perhaps it was quite belated on his part, but he realized that she was a lot more advanced than she first appeared, both in age and rank according to vampire heirarchy. Neither he nor the young master realized it; a big mistake on their part.

It was not something that escaped the offending vampires, either: all either bowed low or averted their eyes as they passed  her. The guiltier ones did both.

The girl turned back to her two guests. "I believe you need to be bustled back home now before we run into more such incidents," she said. "Besides, we have a circus to attend tomorrow night." As they headed out to get back to the manor, Estelle idly wondered whether she should just join the Noah's Ark Circus outright, or just sit back and watch. Either way, it would be a trick and a treat.

"Please give my regards to the other Elders," the vampiress told Lord Cain as she passed. "I am afraid I have other matters to deal with tonight."

The silver-haired boy nodded, and turned back to Francis as the door closed behind them.