His Butler, Beloved {KuroWattyAwards 2014}

XIV: His Butler || Falling Down

(I realize the song I attached isn't the original, nor the Black Butler, version, but it's pretty damn eerie and I felt it set the mood quite nicely.)

Oh shit ... now I'm hearing the tune in my head. O.o

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

Another foreboding hour had passed since Ezzelin's encounter with the strange blonde-haired woman in his study. With the chime of his massive grandfather clock's three o' clock bell echoing down the narrow corridors of his mansion, Ezzelin's mind could only linger on the warning the woman had given him. As he lay within the delicate, yet snug sheets of his king-sized bed, he pondered why he hadn't left his manor for Italy once more yet.

Life or death, he thought to himself, everything I have committed myself for has stood on such loose soil; my feet are continuously sinking further and further into an abyss of uncertainty with each decision I have come to.

Looking to his left, he stared at the open pocket watch ticking slowly away on his bedside dresser. "I waste my time lying here," he murmured through a groggy voice as he reached over and grabbed the golden object by its long chain. For a moment, he dangled the watch above his face, swaying it from side-to-side, before abruptly clutching it to his chest and clamping it shut.

I cannot afford to procrastinate any longer, he thought, as he raised up from his bed and tossed his feet over its edge. If I do not leave tonight, I fear all of the progress we have made will have been in vain.

Freeing himself from the sheet laced around his right leg, Ezzelin slid off of the bed. "Jasper!" shouted the boy, to which the long-silver haired man appeared from the shadow of the corner next to his door, partially startling the lad.

"What is your demand, young master?" he asked, his voice velvety and warm and crimson eyes glowing brilliantly against the pale light of the full moon cascading through Ezzelin's tall window.

Clearing his slightly parched throat, Ezzelin stood upright and straightened out his grey silk top. "Given the circumstances of recent events, we must leave England tonight."

The butler slowly bowed to his master and stared down at him, his eyes figuratively boring a hole through his round dark brown ones. "As you wish, Lord Mondadori."

Feeling a partial pang of distrust within Jasper's reply, Ezzelin turned his back to him and walked over to his massive closet and rummaged through it. "That will be all, Jasper. I can clothe myself; you can prepare the carriage for our departure."

Leaving the room without so much as a smile, Jasper strode towards the stables, leaving Ezzelin to his worried thoughts.

As he placed his designated attire at the foot of his wrinkle-free bed, he noticed that his hands were clammy and his forehead covered in tiny beads of sweat. Could it be that ... that I've--?

He quickly shook the thought from his head and removed his night clothes. Examining his paled face in his vanity mirror, he spat, "Impossible," as he started clothing himself. "Illness only befalls the weak and the cruel, two things of which I am most certainly not."

Sighing, he slipped on his black bottoms and scowled. Perhaps it is something of the ... lesser effect: perhaps even my ... my nerves, he thought as he ran his hand through his loose, brown tresses. Glancing over at the large window, he walked over to it and pulled open the heavy, red, floral curtain. Should I fear ... Jasper? he wondered as he looked up at the cloudy night sky. He furrowed his eyebrows as a series of distant thunder resounded in it. "I suppose it is too late to inquire such a thing; my soul is damned no matter the outcome of this partnersh--"

"Your carriage awaits," interrupted an eerily calm voice from his bedroom's opened doorway. Cold chills shot through the boy's spine as he released the curtain and peered over his shoulder at the black, tail-coat clad man. "Young master, why have you not finished dressing yourself? Do you require my assistance?"

Ezzelin snarled his lip, his teeth bared in annoyance at the silver-haired man. "You would dare mock me, Jasper?!" he exclaimed, rushing over to his red and black-striped vest. "I order you to wait outside at the carriage, bastard!"

Jasper smiled in a serpent-like manner and bowed. "Very well. I shall expect you shortly, young lord," he said as he pulled the knob of the door and closed it on his way out.

Muttering a few quick curse words in Italian under his breath, Ezzelin continued dressing himself and was soon finished. Within ten minutes, he was outside of his London manor and inside of his carriage, heading towards the sleeping, yet ominous city.

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

As their carriage was nearing the infamous London Bridge, the rain broke through the clouds in a heavy heap, the thunder louder, and the lightning brighter and more frequently spreading across the black sky.

Ezzelin kept the four side windows of the carriage covered by thick crimson curtains, with only the wide window to view the driver open. He watched as his butler maintained the nerves of the four painted Irish Cobs swiftly pulling the carriage with ease. His hands on his lap and eyes closed, the boy grimaced as he heard another series of thunder echo through the sky.

After the booming orchestra finished, there was less than a second of silence before a crack of bright lightning flit through the clouds and struck the London Bridge, just in front of where their carriage was headed. Without warning, a heap of the stones broke loose and splashed into the river below, leaving behind a large hole that panicked the lead horses into a panic.

The four painted mares toppled over one another and fell through the hole. Realizing his control over the carriage was no more, Jasper swiftly leapt from the boxcar and landed opposite of the gaping hole, unwillingly allowing the carriage to fall through and down into the dark, sloshing water.

Ezzelin was still within, his small form tumbling around in a painful manner as his back struck the ceiling of the carriage. Within a matter of seconds, it was engulfed by water and sent slowly descending into the river's depths.

The butler rushed over to the edge of the bridge and stared down into the water, only seeing the air bubbles reaching the top of it. Grabbing the stone railing, he straddled his leg over the side. "Young master, I'm coming for yo---"

His call had been interrupted by the haunting humming of the nursery rhyme: London Bridge is Falling Down.

Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted an approaching silhouette almost twenty feet away from him in the middle of the bridge. As a bolt of lightning spread across the sky, it illuminated the man's features only for a moment.

He was a pale, crow-haired man with glowing fuchsia eyes, their pupils thin slits. Like Jasper, he was clad in a black tailcoat suit and shiny black loafers. Narrowing his bloody eyes, the long silver-haired man removed his leg from the edge and bundled his gloved fists tightly.

"Sebastian Michaelis," he hissed, to which the frightful man came into his full-view.

Smiling, the butler adjacent to Jasper bowed, his right hand over his left breast. "Tis always a pleasure, Luca."

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

Ooooooh, cliffhanger, guys! I hope you all haven't lost faith in my writings---I've been pretty busy with my final year of High School. Please feel free to vote and comment! I really enjoy hearing from you guys, even if it's a critique (which I find highly useful). As always, I had fun writing this~

☆ Andy-senpai ☆