Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, you all get cookies! ...oh wait...I ate them... OH WELL! It's the thought that counts, and I really do appreciate the reviews.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler

ON WITH THE SHOW~!

I staggered down the decorated halls of the Phantomhive mansion due to the foreign weight on my body. I reminded myself of a lost puppy the way I followed Meirin around each and every corner until we finally reached our destination. She stopped in front of a pair of enormous wooden double doors as I leaned on a table trying to catch my breath. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to run around behind that maid for five minutes! She has super speed or something! But I was able to bear it because I'm a superhero and all.

She waited patiently before I gave her the okay to open the door after catching my breath. "Be sure to make a good first impression." she encouraged with a Cheshire grin, but quickly added, " Oh, I'm sure you won't have a problem!" Her smile disappeared as she opened the door, quickly ushering me into the room.

I stood dumbfounded for a moment, admiring the vast expanse of the dining area. I mean, I knew the place was big, but this was like something from a palace or a castle or something like that.

There was a dining table in the middle of the room that could've easily sat twenty to thirty people, but instead there was a single person perched on an elaborately designed chair at the end of the table. The scorching heat from the sun radiated throughout the room, and the rays reflected off of his slate blue hair. He resembled a pirate not only from the eye patch he wore, but also from the way he dressed.

If I hadn't known that his title was Earl, I would've just assumed he was a young girl due to his delicate facial features. The clothes he wore did not look quite as suffocating as mine were; they consisted mostly of ruffles, ribbons, and a blazer. I couldn't see his legs, but I was sure he was wearing pants…Lucky bastard.

His pout turned into a smile, but it looked fake. His melodious voice echoed in the vast expanse of the room. "I am Ciel Phantomhive, the owner of this estate and head of the Funtom Toy Company. My butler has informed me that your name is Alice Barnett." he gestured the statuesque figure standing behind him. "You are more than welcome to take a seat instead of standing in the doorway the entire time."

I crossed the room silently and sat in the chair to the left of him so that it would be easier to have a conversation. Maybe I was supposed to sit at the opposite end of the table, but I wasn't going to do that and have to yell across the room. I mean I am supposed to make a good first impression, and if I were to be that loud then there'd be no way I'd accomplish that feat. Besides, I could barely breathe as it was, so I wasn't going to strain myself.

Sebastian set a plate in front of each of us, announced the name of the meal, and returned to his post three feet behind his master. I looked down at the plate, the fragrance drifting around the room was spicy, but sweet at the same time. I realized that my mouth was watering, and I quickly shoved a heap of the meal into my mouth. The two males in front of me just stared, so I quickly swallowed.

"Uhhh, the food is really good." I said sheepishly.

After I had finished what I wanted of the meal, I looked the boy up and down. Judging by the pitch of his voice and his figure (not that I was looking) he must've been about the same age as my little brother, about 11 or so. But if he was only that old, then…..wait, how is that possible? He owns an entire company and he's this young? I can't even get a job yet!

"How old are you, exactly?" I inquired. He swallowed his food, turned to face me, and opened his mouth to speak, but instead, he sneezed again. I really hope that he wasn't contagious, because reality or dream….sickness sucks either way. He looked kind of embarrassed, but I had no idea why, maybe sneezing at the table was bad etiquette, or something?

The rest of the course went smoothly, or at least I thought it did…Minus the fact that no one talked for the duration of it, but Ciel did tell me that he was 13, so that's something….I think.

We sat for a moment after the meal was over, and he began questioning me. He was probably worried about my motives or something like that. The process went a little like this:

"How old are you?"

"14."

"Where are you from?"

"The United States. Maine to be exact. It's kinda like living in the middle of nowhere." I joked.

"How did you get here?" He must not have gotten the joke.

"I'm pretty sure someone may have mentioned that I fell through a roof at some point."

"Yes, you did. You caused quite a bit of damage to the roof. Did you injure yourself?"

"Nope, I didn't even get a scratch! Pretty lucky, huh?" I exclaimed optimistically.

"Do your parents know where you are?"

"Good question…I dunno…..Probably?"

"What do you mean by probably? Do they or don't they?" he seemed dead serious about this for some reason, but I was concerned about how he would react to the true reasons why I didn't know. I was plagued with an inner conflict of 'Should I or shouldn't I tell him.' I decided that the old saying: What's the worst that could happen? Would fit this scenario perfectly so I figured I might as well just do it.

"Well, where do I begin without sounding too crazy? Hmmm…I don't think I'm actually here at the moment…in fact I'm pretty sure that I'm in my own home sleeping face down in a bowl of soup." I continued matter-of-factly. "I think my parents would know where I am if that were the case, but if for some inexplicable reason this turns out to be reality, then I suppose I wouldn't have parents at all. And…..If this were reality, then I guess I wouldn't really have a home either….. That would kinda suck, so I really hope that I'm just dreaming. But I'm starting to think that I'm not because I tried pinching myself and I didn't wake up. Plus, this dream is going on FOREVER I wish it would just end already!"

It went quiet, I imagined that if Meirin were here, she probably would've face palmed so hard that the mark stayed for a week. The one thing I'm told to do and I failed. I completely and utterly failed. Now, all I could do was wait for their reaction to my insanity.

"Sebastian, I think it's best to get this girl a psychological evaluation before we question her motives any longer." Ciel said in a whisper…but it wasn't a very good one because I heard every word of it.

Given the situation, I probably should've been grateful that he wasn't sending me to the loony bin, but I wasn't the least bit impressed by this comment.

He turned to me and said "Miss Alice, I think it would be beneficial for you to meet with my acquaintance Dr. Roberts, he's very renowned in his field, and I think he'll be able to help you get back on track,"

That was the last straw, I was infuriated. "WHAT? What exactly do you think is wrong with me! I'm not crazy! And I don't need your psychologist picking my brain! I am a freakin' straight A student, except for 1 B+ in biology, and that's cuz that class is useless, so I don't need your damn intervention! I'm not crazy! Meirin could vouch for me!" I retorted. I mean I wore this dumb getup in order to make a good impression, got my eyes nearly poked out with eyeliner, and act ladylike for this dumb KID to tell me that I need to get my head checked! No! That is so NOT COOL!"

Much to my surprise, neither of the two males had a reply to my outburst. Instead, our 'chat' was interrupted when a young blond boy came barreling through double doors. "Sebastian! It's Bard! THE KITCHEN IS ON FIRE!"

I probably should've been worried that the manor was on fire, but I just couldn't get past the fact that this person was male. Honestly, do all the men in this mansion look like girls, I mean other than Sebastian? Either way, I watched for some kind of reaction from the other two, but neither gave one. To my surprise, they both looked like it was part of the daily routine. Maybe it was, how should I know?

Sebastian left the room and I followed silently, leaving Ciel alone in the dining room.

We strolled down the hallway at a leisurely pace as if it we were in a park, rather than rushing to a burning kitchen. I didn't question it because I was sure that I wouldn't be up for running in my dress.

We arrived at the kitchen, and sure enough it was up in flames. Not flames like from a fireplace, or when my hair straightener caught on fire, instead they seemed like they were saying "go ahead and try to put me out, I'll just engulf your entire house." They lapped at the ceiling and burned in the corners of the room. I could feel every ounce of heat being emitted, and I even reached out as if to touch, just to see if it was real. I was pulled back to reality by Meirin grabbing my arm and keeping me away from the fire. "Miss, you need to be careful or you'll get burnt." she told me with a worried expression.

I listened, and backed away slowly almost entranced by the destruction. It was at that moment, when I felt the heat of the fire on my skin that I realized that there was no way I was dreaming. It was all to vivid, and I had never seen a fire of this caliber in real life. There was no way that I would be able to create such a sensory image only with imagination.

Sebastian whispered something in the blonde boy's ear. The boy ran out of sight, and Sebastian spoke, "Bard! Get out here!"

A man emerged from the fire (shockingly unharmed) rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry man. I just got this new flamethrower from the States, y'know the kind like they use in the military, and I figured it would be quicker to use it to make the roast than the oven. I didn't think it'd be so powerful, nearly blew me away along with the kitchen! Haha." The entire time he was telling this tale, no one moved to stop the fire, and it had been steadily growing, spreading toward the hallway we were standing in.

Just then, the blond boy came back with a…bathtub? He was able to put out the flames effectively, but now I stood in front of the soggy remains of a kitchen with scorch marks on the wall and a bathtub through the middle of it. This place was certainly becoming more odd by the moment.

"Yeah! Good job Finny, you put out the fire!" Bard said enthusiastically, topping it all off with a high five. His joy was extinguished almost as quickly as the fire when a very angry Sebastian stepped forth. "Bard! Finny! Meirin! I expect the three of you to fix this up by tomorrow morning, and do a good job of it!"

The three servants stopped their celebrating and stood at attention like soldiers "Yes sir!" they all said in unison. Then they scurried off in all directions and left me with Sebastian. He began to walk back the way we came, and I wasn't sure whether I should follow him or help Meirin. I opted to follow the butler since I was afraid the chef might create another conflagration…..this time worse.

He either didn't realize I was following him, or he just chose to ignore my presence. I figured it was the latter. I realized we were heading back to the dining area, and came to the conclusion that I was going to be interrogated by Ciel again. Great.

When we arrived, Sebastian came to an abrupt halt in front of the open doors. I was curious as to why he stopped, so I peered in past the doorframe. I was surprised to see that Ciel was no longer sitting there. I glanced up to look at Sebastian's face, and for the first time I saw a hint of emotion animating his features. He seemed worried, or maybe angry. Not like with the servants, I figured he was mostly irritated with them, but this seemed like pure frustration.

I rushed into the room, looking around for the young boy, and immediately something caught my eye. A note was set on the plate where Ciel had been eating. I picked it up, and I couldn't read the body of the note only the end. The majority of the letter was in a different language, but I could read the English letters at the bottom easily enough.

It read:

P.S. Sebastian, I have written this letter so that the girl cannot read it, but it is my intention that she read this part. She is not from this world, and if you do not agree to the terms stated above, you may never see your precious master again. Let her know that the brat has been kidnapped and that a trade is in order.

It wasn't signed.

I turned, not expecting Sebastian to be standing right behind me and jumped from the close proximity. "Sebastian, can you read this?" I asked, thrusting the paper into his hand.

He looked over the paper and told me he could. It stayed quiet while he was reading, and I heard him mutter "Why didn't he just call me?"

"Maybe he couldn't. He could've been chloroformed like in The Plymouth Express.* He wouldn't have been able to yell to you if that happened." I stated recalling the mystery unit we covered in English class last year.

"That has already occurred to me." he stated deep in thought.

"Well, we have to go save him! He is obviously being held for a ransom. I mean the kid's rich, this was bound to happen at some point. How are we going to find him though?" I thought about the postscript, and automatically knew that I had to be traded. I couldn't understand why anyone would want me, though. Maybe it's because they know I am from a different world, but how would they know that?

Sebastian was still studying the note, as if he were looking for some kind of loophole. I decided to speak up before he concentrated too hard on it. "What are the terms of the trade? I think we should do it."

"I can't tell you, Miss, but what I can tell you is that you most likely would not want to get mixed up with these people. I don't think trading you is an option. Besides, it is obvious that you are not from this world, and your knowledge may be of value to us later on." he replied. Really? Knowledge? What gave him the idea that I was intelligent? Either way we had bigger problems to worry about.

"What do you mean by these people? Do you know who wrote this note?" I asked urgently. "If you do know, we have to tell the police so we can catch them and save Ciel! If you won't trade me, then how are we supposed to get him back!"

"Believe me Miss Alice, I have my ways. I have devised a plan, but I'm going to need your help. I have a hunch about where Ciel is and with whom, so it would be a great help if you would cooperate." he told me with a serious expression.

"Anything to get me out of this monstrosity!" I exclaimed.

I wasn't sure what I had to do with the situation, but I knew that Ciel needed help. Besides, little did Sebastian know, I had a hunch about the very people I was staying with.

*Hercule Poirot story by Agatha Christie, read it. It's good. P.S. Sebastian would probably not be aware of that story because it had not yet come out. Just saying.

NEXT ISSUE: I'm not so sure what direction to take with this story, so advice and suggestions would be much appreciated. Please Review if you want to, I won't force you. Until next time! :D