Chapter Text
As the carriage rolled closer to the destination, the young girl fiddled with the lace that acted as a top layer over her skirt, the floral pattern was one she had chosen at the tailor herself. She felt a bit bad, were she to ever damage the expensive material with her ruthless fiddling and twirling, even if she knew she would only receive a “oh, don't worry.” from her parents.
Her mother and father sat across from her, she could feel the scowl on her dads face deepen the closer they came to the phantomhive estate. There was nothing that could really calm his nerves, his wife next to him though, she was brimming with excitement over their daughters engagement. Philippa Lovett was a beautiful woman, brimming with life and a gentle smile always etched onto her face. She was a poster child of a british lady, though there was a playful glint to her personality. She was never harsh to her kids and vowed to herself that she wouldn't ever be. And she loved her children, as she was currently awaiting the next one. On the contrary, Friedrich Lovett was a tall and big man, always looking scarier than he needed to, loving towards those of his family and friends that he trusts.
When Y/N started to show her signs of mental disadvantage at a really young age, they were…troubled. Yet they spared nothing for her to at least have accommodations at home and to find out what was wrong. Nowadays they know better than to force doctors visits that would amount to nothing, but those weren't memories Y/N wanted to think about now - no - she had enough on her mental plate as is right now. Did her parents want a conversation? Should she say anything? She would love it, if her parents would calm down. Just as she was about to speak though, the carriage driver called out, “The estate is already visible!”
And on cue Y/N looked out of the window, it was true. The estate was huge and it was steadily getting closer. “Oh…” She trailed off.
Her father scoffed and Phillipa immediately turned to him with a scowl. “Can you at least pretend to be happy for your daughter?”
“Dear, I'm merely trying to be careful.”, he grumbled.
“I trust Francis. You should too.”
Y/N sat back on the seat and looked at her parents. When her eyes met the ones of her father she caught a glimpse of sympathy in them, yet it vanished as quickly as it was there, replaced with a stoic frown. Her mom then became Y/N's focus and she spoke to Y/N.
“You don't have to be scared, okay?”
“Well, I am a little, since y'know, I don't do well with people.”, she tried to laugh, yet failed. “I'll do my best.”
“Oh, I know that you will, my strawberry. It really won't be bad, we`re going to sit and sign some papers.”
“Right.”
That's all today is going to be. A simple and short meeting to make it official by signing papers and Y/N will be officially engaged to the earl of Phantomhive. She still barely knew what she was expecting, only that he was her age - 14.
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When the carriage finally came to a halt and Y/N stood in front of the mansion, she took a shaky breath as she looked at the exterior design of the grand estate. That small peace lasted until her mother loudly exclaimed a greeting to her friend. Y/N was ripped back into reality, looked in front of her and saw the…astoundingly small number of servants lined up at the side, as well as the Midfords standing ready and two twins next to them. Which one was Y/Ns?
She was going to slowly step closer until her mother grabbed her hand and pulled her next to herself. Standing in front of Francis Midford was nerve wracking, she had realized then and there.
“Right, here is Y/N!”, Phillipa explained with a grin and Francis eyes the young girl shaking in her petite shoes.
“I haven't seen her since she was born. But let's save the introductions for when we are inside.”
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They sat across from each other, yet everyone was somehow gathered around a table in this meeting room - and honestly - this building seemed to have many of them. Francis and Phillipa were still talking, Ciel took this as an opportunity to simply observe her.
Her shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair was neatly up in a half-up ponytail, her olive colored eyes were anywhere, yet not at the person who's currently talking. He could tell she liked green, from the green flower patterned dress, to the hair tie, to the bows on her boots. Her face carried a nervous frown she tried to hide, she was…trying. Judging only based on looks, she was pretty. Ciel could feel his brother's smirk, so he turned his head and scowled.
When he turned his face it was a chance for her to finally look at him, she did not want to meet his gaze. His dark hair was a pretty color, she had thought. He looked petite, yet his clothes framed him well and showed that he was respectable, so did his upright and stern posture. His scowl barely caused his face to falter, he had appearances to uphold afterall. The one eye that was visible was a striking blue, Y/N was slightly taken aback by the depths of it.
“Now then.”, Y/N snapped her head towards Francis at the sound of her voice rising and the earl did the same, though less rushed. “Won't you two introduce yourselves to each other formally?”
Ciel spared his eyes to Y/N and the clear overwhelm taking her, so he decided to go first.
“Right.”, he continued when her gaze slightly locked with his, “I am Earl Ciel Phantomhive. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
And with that, he held out his hand for Y/N to take. It was pale, nails cut short cleanly.
“Th-The pleasure is all mine. Im Y/N Lovett.”, her hand met his, hers being just a tad bit smaller. It somehow fascinated her. The hold tightening into an actual handshake actually startled her a bit, but she caught on quickly. His twin subtly covering his mouth to stifle a laugh filled the corners of her eyes, yet that was chosen to be ignored.
“Lovely. So, continuing with the arrangements…”, Francis ended the sentence in an open way, knowing what Ciel will have to do next. And he knows that too, he recalls what she had told him the other day.
“Looking at you, boy, you are no longer a child, so this engagement will not be completed with just signing the paper. You may do it as it is usually done and rightfully ask her parents for her hand.”
The idea of it seared a feeling of discomfort through him, especially when judging eyes (Sirius and his butler) were right there next to him. Not to mention the steel presence that was her father, a pure brick wall paired with a condescending face, both metaphorically and physically. Ciel Phantomhive was not afraid of a lot, not anymore, however his family and the actions surrounding it have created a black hole inside of his heart, escalating whenever it comes to things like these. These events from a few months prior have had a toll, he has a hard time admitting that to himself though, much less to anyone around him.
Nonetheless he stood up from where he was sitting, trying to stand tall and convincing himself to use his business voice and attítude. He will tell himself that this engagement is for business reasons. That shall be the thin string he will hold onto for dear life when viewing their relationship. He lowered his head – though not all the way - and proceeded to ask for her hand in marriage, in curt formal words that would've felt rehearsed, had he not such good control over his tone of voice. A gruff response was given by Y/N's father, approval, though did he really have a choice to say no? They've come this far, might as well say yes and no objections from Y/N rang through the air.
Despite that, it was awkward, yet the best it could be.
Everyone sat back down, idle chatter between Phillipa and Francis continued, and both teens cant help but think: Thank god he is/she is normal.