#( the idea of perfection is fundamentally cruel — blxxdingstars )

[mirroredprodigies]

*"Ciel" finds in his boot a chocolate bar, the newest volume of detective stories for teenagers and... a whip to hustle his butler*

He had no idea where the boot had come from. Sebastian was certainly not the sentimental type to amuse children for no personal gain, and the remaining bunch of servants were unlikely to treat their master like a child. Had the boot been shipped all the way from Germany or Italy - a strange thought in itself, but not so much considering the circumstances - Ciel would have felt less confused.

The chocolate seemed fine, albeit the fact that Sebastian would have to test taste it, and so did the detective stories. The whip, however... Surely it was a jest of bad taste. He could only hope that the gift giver was having a great laugh at his turmoil.

Another item to whack the butler with, he supposed.

[mirroredprodigies]

Claudia hid Ciel's eyes with her own scarf and took him somewhere. Soon, because of smell, it was clear the place are stables "SURPRISE! Happy birthday, love!" When he could see again, a big stallion, so chestnut that almost red, snorted welcoming. A blue ribbon around his strong neck. "It's a champion. Earl Phantomhive deserves it. I promise next birthday we will celebrate with your brother" A soft smooch in boy's cheek.

There had always been something ominous about being bildfolded and let aside, but as long as his hands were not bound, and it was his grandmother buiding his footsteps across the poweder snow that coated the courtyard of his manor, he did not mind as much. He knew the grounds well, and the direction he was being taken to would have been clear even without the distinct smell of corses as they approached the stables. That alone gave him a good idea of what his birthday present might be, but he was pleasantly surprised as the blindfold was removed.

“Oh, it looks like it belongs to royalty,“ Ciel said, impressed, ignoring the fact that technically speaking the house of Phantomhive counted as part of the royal family. It was a massive mount, and nothing like the docile ponies he had rode around as a child. Yet the promise of his next birthday, his shared birthday, was what warmed the hole that had once been his soul the most. He leaned in to press a kiss on his grandmother’s cheek in return for hers. He beamed. “Thank you. I will make good use of it.”

[mirroredprodigies]

 @blxxdingstars  —  Just another day in the Phantomhive household.

Basements of Phantomhive Manor were such labyrinth of corridors and rooms like the ground floor, but to the boot card was joined a little map with a marked huge room so it was easy for Ciel to find a proper place.

Claudia was waiting there already. On her head a Santa hat, her blue eyes glittering in a faint light of candles..

“Ho, ho, ho!” She chuckled, measuring her grandson with loving, playful glare. “Was my little boy nice last year? Does he want more presents?” The Countess shook a box with bullets and waved in direction of porcelain vases standing in a row on the second end of the room.

“I found my husbands treasures. He loved to gather china porcelain. First I wanted to sell them away but later I thought we can have some fun together. The Undertaker left the Manor, who knows where. He always was like a cat which has its own ways.” Claudia reached her own gun and aimed. The shot changed one of vases into thousands shatters. “Oh, this is a very nice feeling. It’s time to learn you some useful skills, and when you will be enough good… Well… we can expand our bizarre dolls experiments and check where are their sensitive points. We have enough material for a lot of practices. So… show me your new toy. I will teach you how to load it.”

Ciel navigated his way through the frigid, humid hallways of the maze-like basement underneath the Phantomhive manor. Once there had been candles and oil lamps lighting the way for a wanderer but now the basement was devoid of all light, save the candlestick he was holding. It reminded him of catacombs in storybooks or perhaps a morgue, rotting corpses and treasures included. He was not afraid, and hardly budged when a mouse squeaked and ran past him to hide in the shadows. As a young boy he would have been frightened to the point of crying, or perhaps thrilled about a new adventure, but now the stone walls and cobwebs were an everyday occurrence, and he had grown to realize that it was men one ought to be afraid of and not monsters. Besides, he was no longer a child.

Claudia was easy to find. Her corner was the only one glowing with orange light, after all. Ciel smiled and snickered at the silly hat she was wearing.

“Have I ever been anything but nice?” he asked. Well, Claudia would not know, as she had died before Ciel had been born, but surely she knew him well enough to deduce that he had never done anything wrong in his life. “Greed for more presents is my only sin.”

A gunshot shook the very foundation of the manor. A vase, that was without a doubt once been extremely valuable, shattered in an explosion of a hundred pieces as his grandmother’s bullet pierced it. How loud.

Ciel approached her grandmother and handed his brand new pistol over, still smiling. He often was without noticing, even when he was not in a paricularly good mood.

“I do know how to load a gun,” he reminded her, even though he did not consider it necessary to go into details about how and why. “But sure, teach me. I think you can do it faster than me. For now at least.”