The Fire That Lights Itself

Sophie woke extra early the next morning to find a maid's outfit like the one Mey-rin wore lying on her dresser. She undressed, and catching a glimpse of her unclothed body in the mirror, she examined the physical bruises left by the past. A smile found its way onto her face. Her life was starting over now, and the past couldn't touch her.
At the door she was met by the butler. For the first time since she met him, she didn't feel frightened to see him. She smiled brightly in greeting. "Good morning," she said sweetly. Then she noticed Victoria and smiled at her too.
Victoria returned the smile and glimpsed at Sophie’s outfit. They wore the same maid dress except for the fact that Victoria had butchered hers by adding her own designs. The fiery girl rubbed her hands together and looked at Sebastian. “Well, it is early and I am ready to make some money. What is the first thing on our list-to-do, brother?” Victoria flashed him a cocky grin.
Sebastian glared at her, but maintained a calm composure. “My dearest sister, you can start out the day by making sure all the lavatories are spotless. That should be no problem, correct?” A giggle played on Sebastian’s lips.
Victoria wanted to lash out at her brother for giving her such a tedious and disgusting job, but simply stayed still and only smiled bigger. “Of course. I can do that in a matter of minutes.”
The butler arched an eyebrow at this. “Oh, really? Well, I can surely give you more to do. After all the lavatories are clean, you can give Pluto a bath so that he is clean as well. Dear, I hope he has not been playing in the mud…”
At this, Victoria’s smile finally dropped. She spoke through gritted teeth, “Yes, sir.” After pushing her way past her brother and arriving at the first lavatory, she noticed the cook had just finished and walked out.
Bardroy noticed Victoria and stopped shyly. “Oh-good mornin’, Miss Victoria.” He rubbed the back of his head and glanced away. “See, I was trying something new to make for breakfast and decided it’d be best if I tasted it first. I don’t think it came out well, because I sure had to rush here rather quickly. You’re not cleaning it, are you…?”
The woman’s eyes widened and her voice was barely above a whisper. “Just. Go.” She flung her finger in the direction of the kitchen. Bardroy was going to protest, but glanced into her eyes and decided it’d be best not to argue, and so he returned to his post. Victoria kicked open the door with disgust. “This is definitely worse than Hell, and I would know…”
Sebastian couldn’t help himself from grinning in satisfaction. He turned to Sophie and softly spoke to her. “Good morning, Miss Sophie. Would you be so kind as to help Bardroy in the kitchen? I fear he may be in need of help for breakfast, or we may all share a similar fate.”
"Okay," Sophie said, glad to have been assigned a task that she could half way do. She felt sorry for Victoria, though, having to clean up after the results of the cook's experiment.
Sophie made her way to the kitchin, looking forward to her first day of work. When she got there, she noticed that the kitchen was a complete disaster.
Bard looked up to see Sophie standing in the door, sizing up the mess. "Oh hey. You need anything, Miss?" he said.
"Let me help you," she said kindly, taking the rag from him and scrubbing at the mess he was struggling to remove.
"Um... thanks..." he said, seeming caught off guard.
Sophie smiled. "Do you know what you're going to do for breakfast now?" she asked.
Bard rubbed the back of his head. "Actually... Not really," he said with a sort of half grin.
"How about omelets?" Sophie suggested as she finished off the last of the mess.
"Hey, not a bad idea, kid," Bardroy said in approval.
Sophie smiled modestly. "It would be good with some sausage and cheese and maybe some garden peppers?"
"Great! I think I've got enough ingredients for that. Why don't you go get some peppers from Finny in the garden?" he said. As he said the last part he looked as if there was a funny joke he knew that she didn't.
Sophie shrugged it off and did as she was told. It would be nice to see her cheerful friend.
He seemed happy to see her. "Sophie what are you doing here?" he said, looking up from pruning the roses.
"I'm working as a maid," Sophie said showing him her work outfit. "I came to get some peppers."
"Sure," Finny said with a helpful grin. He showed her where the peppers were and showed her how to tell the good ones from the bad before going back to his business.
Once Sophie had what she thought would be enough, she made her way back to the kitchen. Everything seemed fine, or at least nothing had blown up. The only thing possibly catastrophic was the fact that he had broken a few shells in the eggs.
Sophie delicately plucked them out. "I don't think the Young Master would be able to overlook that," she said. Sophie decided she would leave Bardroy in charge of chopping up the ingredients while she cooked the omelets. Finally, breakfast was done.
"I've gotta hand it to ya, kid. You seem to know what you're doing," Bardaroy said, obviously impressed.
"We should get the Young Master's breakfast out to him now," Sophie said, turning to hide her blush. She had learned to cook a long time ago for her father, who had just about as much culinary talent as Bardroy.
Sophie laid the food on the table before Ciel. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.
"Good morning, Sophie. Are you getting along okay this morning?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you," Sophie said as she watched him take his first bite of egg. Ciel's eyes got big. "This is... this is delicious... Did Bardroy cook this?" he said in disbelief.
"Sophie did it. She's good isn't she?" Bard said from the kitchen doorway.
"You helped," Sophie said, hiding behind Molly, who hadn't left her side since she got out of bed that morning.
"At any rate, you're doing an excellent job. Keep it up," Ciel said, offering Sophie a small smile. Sophie's stomach fluttered. Was it her, or were the Young Master's smiles reserved just for her?
"I should go see if Sebastian has anything else for me to do," she said sheepishly. "Please enjoy your breakfast." With a small curtsy, Sophie left to do just as she said she would.

“Finally!” Victoria closed the door to the lavatory behind her, sighing. “That was the last one. It would not have taken so long if not for Bardroy and his cooking in the first lavatory.” She gazed up at the ceiling, speaking to herself. “What else was I assigned to do? Oh…right. That mutt needs cleaning.” After washing her hands and gathering the supplies needed for the job, Victoria strolled out to the garden. She went down the stony path until she spotted the gardener.
Finnian noticed her as well and stopped working with the flowers. “Anything I can help you with, Miss?” He asked as she approached him.
Victoria was gazing around the garden, looking for the mutt. “Where’s that dog, Pluto?” Victoria pondered aloud.
Finnian seemed confused, but then noticed the cleaning supplies in her hands. “Ah, I’ll get him!” Finni smiled as he turned around and whistled. “Plu-Plu! Come out! It’s time for your bath!”
After a few minutes passed by, Victoria arched an eyebrow. She was beginning to doubt the boy’s skills when she heard loud thumping sounds coming in their direction. The dog whipped around the corner of some trees and ran at them; if he were in human form he might’ve been skipping. Finni had already moved, but Victoria didn’t see the need to. She stood right in the dog’s path, and when he was only a couple feet away from ramming into her, she held out a gloved hand to signal for him to stop. Pluto did indeed stop at her hand, but with his nose barely touching it. He sat down patiently waiting with his tongue drooping out of his mouth as he panted.
Victoria put her hands to her hips and frowned. “I’ve dealt with all kinds of creatures in my life, but I still prefer cats the most. They’re harsh, but easy. Now, let us get your bath over with, shall we?” Victoria glanced up at the cloudy sky. “If I’m lucky, it’ll rain. Nature will do my job for me. However, it’s not real often nature appeals to my taste.” She started towards Pluto with a couple bars of soap and asked the gardener, “Finni, could you be a dear and bring me a huge tub of water?” The boy nodded and left, only to quickly return with exactly what the maid had asked for. She flashed him a wicked smile. “Thanks.” She led Pluto to the tub and took some time soaping him up. She finally got to where she had to get the top part of him. Victoria easily climbed aboard the great beast and began rubbing his spine with the soap. However, she must’ve done something to alarm him, for he suddenly jumped up and splashed the water everywhere. Pluto then quickly broke out into a full sprint, with Victoria still atop of him.
Finnian stopped his gardening he had returned to and stared at the chaotic scene. “Victoria, do you need help?” He yelled at the poor woman.
“No! I’m doing…just fine!” Victoria yelled back at him. She gritted her teeth and put on a sour smile. “You damn dog…STOP RUNNING AT THIS INSTANT!” Victoria kicked her heels into the sides of the dog, almost as if he were a horse. It didn’t do anything, so Victoria resorted to another idea. Her red eyes blazed as if they were on fire while her nails began to reform. They seemed to fold into themselves to become sharp, like daggers. She dug them into the dog’s sides just barely enough for him to yelp and come to a stop.
Finni ran up to Pluto and began stroking him. “Plu-Plu! Are you okay? And what’d you do to get him to stop, Victoria?” Worry filled the boy’s eyes.
Victoria hopped down with a grunt. Her nails had already returned to normal. “Everyone’s fine. I just used a simple trick to distract his mind.” She led the dog back to the bath and sat him down in it. As he licked at his minor wounds, Victoria threw buckets of water over him, and she continued to do it until he was finally soap-less. She sighed as she finished. “You’re done.”
Pluto jumped out of the bath with glee and ran off. Finnian helped Victoria clean up and then said goodbye to her as she left to report to Sebastian. When she met up with her brother again, she noticed Sophie had just reached him as well.
Sebastian looked at her with an amused smile. “And how were your jobs, Miss Victoria? I’m sure you got them done with no problem at all. And just think: it is only your first day of work.” His calm red eyes met her enraged ones.
She glared at Sebastian and said bluntly, “You’re a demon from Hell, you bastard.”
The butler chuckled darkly. “And do I not already know that?” He turned away from his sister as he said, “You may take a break now, dearest sibling. I do not wish to overwork you too much.”
Victoria nodded with approval and without saying a word, went down the hallway to find some entertainment in the huge mansion.
Sebastian turned his attention to Sophie and his smile softened. “You may take a break as well, Miss Sophie, unless you want to work more?”
"It doesn't really seem fair to take a break while everyone else is working," Sophie said. She thought of Finny working in the garden and Bard in the kitchen. They worked hard, so she would, too. It was the best way to show how grateful she was for her new home.
Sebastian seemed surprised. “It is only your first day on the job. However, I cannot object to more help with the house, I suppose.” The butler stroked his chin in thought. “I do not think anything else can be done at the moment…” Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “Aha! The young master did want some more books picked up for the library today. Do you think you could go take care of that for me?”
Sophie was more than happy to accept, she was elated. "Of course. Just tell me where to go," she said.
Sebastian pulled some small paper and a pen out of his suit. He jotted down the address and handed the paper to Sophie. “The store is next to the bakery.” Sebastian chuckled. “And you’ll be able to find out where the bakery is when you smell the sweet aromas drifting out of it.” He paused, thinking if anything else needed to be said. “Oh, and please pick out whatever books you like, Miss Sophie. There’s no limit at all.” With that, the butler bowed and left to attend to other duties.
As far as Sophie was concerned, this wasn't a chore at all, but a treat. She could spend the whole rest of the day among piles and piles of books.
Sophie started off toward town immediately. She made good time and was in town before her feet had started hurting too much. The moment she entered town, the sweet smell of bread wafted through the air. Sophie pulled the scrap of paper Sebastian had given her out of her pocket and glanced at the address. 147 South Baker Street. She was standing in front of 143 right now. She walked down the road until she passed the bakery.
The book store was a modest little shop squeezed between the bakery and some apartment houses. It had such a comforting and welcome air about it. Sophie entered and was instantly hit with the crisp, familiar air of ink and paper. She felt a smile come across her face at the possibilities awaiting her here. There were so many of them! Sophie would never have time to look through them all. Where would she begin?
A man with a tan, wrinkly face much like a walnut and a pair of thick spectacles that magnified his eyes to look far too big for his round face greeted her at the counter with a friendly smile. "Hello young lady. Are you girl Earl Phantomhive sent?"
Sophie smiled politely in return. "Yes sir," she said shyly as usual.
"Say, you look like the sort of girl who likes to read, am I right?" he said as an attempt at friendly conversation.
"Yes, sir," Sophie said. This man seemed very nice, but there were worlds to be explored, and since Sophie wanted to be home by nightfall, she only had a limited amount of time.
"Have you ever read Dickens?" he asked, smiling.
Sophie shook her head. "No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't," she said. She had heard of Dickens, that his stories were beautiful, but she had never gotten around to picking up one of his novels.
"I think I can fix that," he said as he made his way around the counter to pick a book off of the shelf for her. "A Tale of Two Cities. One of his finest works if I do say so myself."
Sophie smiled and thanked him. The store owner left her in peace to read a little of the ending. After deciding that the young master might like it she went on to browse for more books.
Hours swept by without Sophie giving them a second thought. By the time Sophie had noticed how long she had been lost among the books, it was almost completely dark. The clerk sent the bill with her and instructed her to bring it to the Earl.
With bill and books in hand, Sophie hurried out of the little shop and down the almost deserted London streets. It was getting to be the hour that no respectable person would want to be caught out in.
Suddenly, Sophie's feet left the ground and the rest of her body met with it. Hard. Her books went spilling all across the cobblestone street. Sophie looked back at the assailant, a humble little box. Something inside it stirred. Sophie peered over the edge. It was only a kitten, abandoned on the side of the road. Pity gripped Sophie's heart. Gently she picked the kitten up and cuddled it close. Goodness! It was shivering. The kitten began to cry. Sophie stroked its soft fur. "It'll be okay," she whispered. It really was a beautiful creature, coal black with peircing yellow eyes.
Street lights came on around her, throwing the filthy streets into sharp relief. It was time to go. Sophie gathered her books and placed them in the kitten's box. Sophie moved the kitten onto her shoulder, were it surprisingly stayed.
"Let's go to your new home kitty-kitty," she cooed.

“I’m not sure, Sebastian…I think it would give off the wrong image.”
The butler eyed the young master with a calm smile. “Wrong image? I apologize, master, but as far as I’m concerned-”
Ciel cut him off sharply. “I already know what you think, and I’m going to tell you for the twentieth time that you’re wrong, Sebastian.”
“I’m not even close?”
“Quite far, actually.” The young master was gazing out the window.
The butler flashed a devilish grin. “Lying is a sin, master…” he said softly.
“Since when has committing sins ever mattered to you? Anyway, if you keep this up, I will-” Ciel was interrupted by the ringing coming from the front door.
Sebastian bowed. “Excuse me, master. I must get that.” Making his way down the stairs, Sebastian strolled to the front door and opened it. “Welcome back, Miss Sophie.” Scanning the girl, the butler took note of the black kitten resting on top of her shoulder. “My, what do we have here?” He grinned, reaching out and stroking the ball of fur.
“Someone abandoned her on the side of the road,” Sophie explained. She watched as the kitten grabbed Sebastian’s hand and started to chew on his finger. The baby cat had started purring.
Sebastian giggled darkly. “Playful little thing, isn’t she? What are you going to name her?”
Sophie handed him the kitten. "You decide. She's yours" she said with a smile.
The butler actually seemed surprised. “Are you sure, Miss Sophie? That’s extremely kind of you.” He looked down at the kitten as his red eyes relaxed and a warm smile found its way onto his face. Sebastian began playing with her paws as he thought about a name. “I think I shall call her, Dark Angel. She appears mean and harsh on the outside, but on the inside she is really just playful and kind.”
Victoria, who had been relaxing on the couch in the shadows, finally arose and made her way over to the two. “What a sweet little thing…” She stroked Dark Angel in Sebastian’s arms. “She’s much calmer than that dog, Pluto; that’s for sure.”
“Speaking of chores, how did the bookstore go, Miss Sophie? You’re lucky. I worked poor Victoria till she nearly collapsed.” Sebastian chuckled.
“And I’m still recovering, thanks to you, brother,” she hissed.
"I've got a lot of books for the young master I think he'll like," Sophie said brightly. Her tone was more serious when she said, "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Sebastian. I'm sorry I doubted you."
After handing the kitten over to Victoria, Sebastian bowed and smoothly said, “It’s no surprise that you did, Miss Sophie.” He gestured at the box. “Are those the books? I will take them now, if you like.”
Sophie shook her head. "It's okay. I'll put them up," she said quietly. Without another word, she shut herself up in the library and began her work arranging all the books in alphabetic order.
Sebastian smiled at Victoria, and then returned to his master’s study.
Ciel had turned around his chair, and was gazing out the window when the butler returned. “Welcome back, Sebastian,” Ciel said absent-mindedly. “And who was at the door?”
“Miss Sophie. She was returning from the errand I assigned her earlier.”
This made Ciel snap back to reality, and he stood up and looked at Sebastian. “She just now returned from that?”
“Indeed so, Master.”
“What could you have possibly assigned her to do that required her to be out so long?”
“I simply told her to pick up some books.”
“The ones I asked you to get?”
“Yes. I figured the job would be perfect for her. Don’t you agree? Even as we speak, the young girl is enjoying herself in the library, simply by putting the books away.” The butler winked at Ciel. “I think she could use some help down there, don’t you think so?”
The young master crossed his arms and looked away, almost as if he were a young child pouting about a toy he didn’t get that he wanted. “Isn’t that your job?”
Sebastian flashed his classic, devilish smile. “It is only if you assign it to me. However, it seems that since you have not, there may be a part of you that is holding you back. Am I right, Master?”
Ciel simply grunted and sat back down. “You’re dismissed, Sebastian.”
The devilish butler bowed. “As you wish.” And with that, he left. Outside the door, Sebastian whispered to himself, “It appears I was indeed correct.” He then proceeded down the dark hall.
Ciel gazed out the window a while longer while resting his chin on his palm. Once he decided he was done, he lazily got up and made his way towards the door. He hesitated at grabbing the handle, but forced himself to do it and made his way out of the study.

All of the books in the library were out of order. Sophie set to work taking all of them from their shelves and rearranging them alphabetically according to the authors last name. She looked around at the huge mounds of print all around her. There was hardly a bare spot of carpet. there was a huge job ahead, so Sophie worked fast. She had made a good start when she heard a knock at the door.
Without waiting for an answer, the door was pushed open until it hit a stack of books, knocking them down. The butler who caused the mess peered down at the toppled books. “Oh, I do apologize,” Sebastian said, shutting the door and bending down to restack the poor stories. Once done, he stood back up and glanced around the room. “My, my, Miss Sophie. Having fun with this, aren’t we?” He smirked as he attempted to navigate his way around the room.
Sophie smiled down at him from a cleverly stacked pile of books that she was using to reach the top shelf. She picked a book up under her feet and put it in its place. "I might as well do the job all the way while I'm here," she explained.
“I suppose so,” Sebastian said, admiring her creativity. He picked up a book and glanced at the author’s name. “Care for any help? This seems like it may take quite a while.”
"If you want to," Sophie said, putting another book in its place
Just as Sebastian began to approach a shelf with book in hand, there was yet another knock at the library door. A few seconds later, the young master entered. The door creaking open seemed like an echo in the silent room filled with never-ending books. The butler glanced over, and he could barely contain the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Master, what a surprise!” Sebastian flicked his eyes from Ciel to Sophie, then back to the young master. “My, I had almost forgotten. I have to go lend a hand to my dearest sister with a chore. If you’ll both excuse me,” The loyal butler bowed, and then proceeded to stroll over to the door. He looked back at Sophie once more. “I do apologize I couldn’t help out longer, Miss Sophie. However, maybe if the master is not too busy he can spare some time.” Sebastian turned to Ciel, handed him the book, and whispered in his ear, brushing aside his dark blue hair. “Please, do make it worth your time, Master.” And he left with the click of the door shutting, leaving the two drowning in the silence of the room.
"Why do I get the feeling he just made that up?" Sophie said quietly after a few moments of silence.
“Because he did,” Ciel said coldly, flipping through the pages of the book. However, he quickly shut the book, obviously finding no interest in it, and made his way towards the center of the room. His voice was calm as he said, “This tends to be a common meeting place for us, doesn’t it?”
"I guess so," Sophie said, smiling as she returned more books to their rightful spots.
Ciel went through piles until he found more books with authors whose last names began with the same letter as his book’s author. He made his way over to a shelf and started sliding the books into their spots, placing them in their home. The young master didn’t bother to make conversation; there simply wasn’t anything on his mind to talk about.
Sophie was silent as well, being shy by nature. Finally, a thought occurred to her. "I appreciate your help, young master, but why exactly are you here?" she asked softly, hoping she didn't sound rude.
Sophie was silent as well, being shy by nature. Finally, a thought occurred to her. "I appreciate your help, young master, but why exactly are you here?" she asked softly, hoping she didn't sound rude.
Ciel’s grasp tightened on the book he was about to place on the shelf. His voice hardened as he said, “Why the sudden curiosity?” However, the young master quickly realized how harsh he sounded after hearing his words echo throughout the great room. After calming himself, and without turning around, he spoke again. “…I simply wish to get the library put back in order as quickly as possible." Ciel chose his words carefully. "Leaving things unfinished is something that’s…hard for me to do.”
"Oh. I see," Sophie said, inwardly shaking her head at the disappointed tone in her voice. What she had expected? Had she thought he would confess that he had wanted to spend time with her? How childish! The young master was no one for expressing such inaccurate feelings and besides, it was entirely inappropriate for someone of his status to be with a maid.
Internally, Ciel was scolding himself for acting so immature. How could he let himself react in such a way? He really needs to be aware of how he presents himself more. Embarrassed enough for the night, Ciel decided it was time to leave.
The young master set down the rest of his books and as calmly but quickly as possible, made his way towards the door. He grabbed the handle and opened the door, but stopped before leaving the room, for he thought he should formulate some sort of apology to Sophie. Turning around to look at the young maid, Ciel spoke swiftly, trying not to jumble his words. “I do apologize for my behavior tonight, Miss Sophie. It was completely unnecessary, and I do hope you will forget the incident. I should be off, for I have much work to attend to. Good luck with the library, and goodnight.” Before Ciel looked at her too much longer, the boy left the room without giving Sophie a chance respond. He was in a hurry to leave, not only because of the embarrassing moment, but because he knew who was to blame for the incident. And when the young master found the culprit, he would surely make sure his life was a living hell.
And that was why Sophie had perfected the art of fading into the background. Hadn't she learned through the years of abuse to never question her superiors? Hadn't she learned that speaking out of turn only got you into trouble? Sophie got back to her work, promising herself she would do better.