A/N: So, I finally decided to write a companion/sequel/thing to A Butler Needs A Master. And it only took me a year. This is also my first story that will be written in the 1st person. Enjoy~

XxxxxX

It had been a day like any other.

I had risen at promptly seven that morning to begin the day. After taking a quick bath, I had dressed and groomed myself, taking care to make sure my suit was spotless and not a hair was out of place. A Phantomhive butler must always look immaculate, after all.

I then went to wake the other servants, and I use that term loosely. Really, they were a bunch of good for nothings, in my opinion. They were horrible at their jobs and failed at even the most simple of tasks. But I supposed they kept the manor safe. Well, when they weren't destroying it themselves, at any rate.

I first went to the room where Bard, the "cook", Finnian, the "gardener", and Tanaka, the "steward" resided. Tanaka actually had his own room, but in recent years his age had begun to hinder to him, and so he decided it was more convenient to board with the other servants. As usual, they grumbled when I woke them and were slow to get up and ready. Luckily, all it usually took was a sharp glance to get them in line.

The same treatment went for the "maid", Mei-Rin. I especially dreaded waking her. I could practically feel her longing stare boring into my back. Her...infatuation with me was quite obvious. Of course, I would never even consider having any sort of relationship with her. My life was dedicated to my master and job. And even if it wasn't, I would still refuse her. The girl was nothing more than a clumsy idiot in my mind.

After giving them their morning chores, and making sure to emphasis that they should be done slowly and carefully, I started on the young master's breakfast. That morning I had decided to make poached eggs with sausage and some fresh figs. I also prepared toast with orange marmalade and apple scones on the side. He always chose the scones, but better to be safe than sorry, as they say.

After loading everything onto a cart, I left the food in the dining table and took the tea to my master's bedroom. He would be furious if he knew I thought this, but he really was rather cute when he was asleep. He did not have an ever present frown on his face and an icy look in his good eye. Instead, he looked peaceful and more like the child he really was.

I had only been in his employ for three years, almost four. I had first heard of the Phantomhive family after the previous head and his wife were killed by a team of assassins. Thankfully, their only son made it out alive, although he did lose an eye in the attack. His butler Tanaka, although more severely injured, also came out alive.

A month afterwards, I heard that the new earl was offering the position for a new butler. This was ideal for me, for you see, I was actually from a family that was made up of servants. My mother had been a maid, and my father was himself a butler, and trained me to be one as well. I did not particularly care for the man they worked for. He was loud, fat, and vulgar. He was also unnecessarily harsh toward his servants, a trait I did not appreciate.

So when I heard of the butler position at the Phantomhive state, I immediately traveled there to see the earl. My mother was already dead at that point, and my father was sick with pneumonia. I did not foresee him ever recovering from the disease, a prediction which came true a week later.

I must admit, the Earl Ciel Phantomhive was not what I expected. I had expected a child. And while he was indeed a child, there was a certain air of maturity and authority around him. The eyes that bore into me and seemed to judge everything about me felt like they should belong to an emperor. He was a boy who obviously thought about everything he did and said beforehand. Now this was a master I would like to serve.

I suppose that he must have liked me, too, for I was hired on the spot. The previous butler was now the steward. My new master gave me my own small room and a set of uniforms. As vain as it sounds, they made me especially happy. They were made of much finer material and better designed than the uniforms at my old home.

He gave me the task of finding new staff since the previous ones were killed in the attack. He said that he wanted people who were capable of protecting the manor, along with their regular jobs. I ended up hiring an assassin, an ex-military man, and a boy who had been experimented on in a lab. I tried training them to the best of my ability, I really did. But as I've previously stated, they are simply morons.

Oh, well. I was more than capable of doing all of their jobs as well as my own. I also made a good bodyguard, if I might say so myself. Part of the reason was that I simply tried to do my job to the best of my ability, but also that I had slowly become attached to my young master. Of course, I thought he was a total brat the first few weeks, but he had a way of growing on people. He brought out my...protective instincts.

I brought myself out of my musings. I didn't want my young lord's breakfast to get cold. And so I opened the curtains and woke him.

"Good morning, young master," I greeted. "I have prepared Assam tea with milk to go with your breakfast this morning. The tea set is Wedgwood blue and white."

He sat up and let out a, admittedly, cute yawn. "That sounds fine," he responded. He then climbed out of bed so I could dress him in a dark blue suit. I handed him a cup of tea to drink while I did this.

"What's on my schedule for today?" he asked as we made our way to the dining room.

"After breakfast, you have an art lesson with Mrs. Richards. Then at noon, you have your math and Latin lessons with Mr. Cheslock. You then have some paperwork to attend to. After that, I believe you are free for the rest of the day."

"Perhaps I could invite Elizabeth over for dinner, then," he mused. " It has been over a month since she last visited. And I have promised to teach her chess."

"It has been sometime since you have seen her," I agreed. Honestly, the girl annoyed me a great deal. I supposed that she was still a child, though, so I tolerated her. "Although, I'm not sure it would be wise to send an invitation on such short notice. You know how the Marchioness feels about that."

"...I suppose you're right," he responded. He didn't show it, but I could tell he was a bit disappointed.

"Perhaps some other time," I soothed.

The next few hours continued as normal. As the young master met with his tutors, I did my chores around the manor. It was one of those rare days when the other servants were actually somewhat competent. I only had to clean up a few of their messes.

I was on my way to the kitchen to prepare dinner when I first noticed something was amiss. There was a faint scent of smoke in the air. I assumed it was Bardroy and his cigarettes. Even though I had told him multiple times not to smoke them in the kitchen...

Unfortunately, it was much worse than that. As I got closer to the kitchen, I saw that there were large tendrils of black smoke coming out from the door.

"Bardroy, are you in there?" I called out.

"Sebastian, help me!" I heard him call back. "The entire kitchen's on fire!"

I stopped to think on how I could help. It was nearly impossible to see through the smoke, and even harder to breathe. It was just at that moment that something told me that I should run for cover. My instincts had always warned me when there was danger nearby, and this time was no exception. I ran back down the hallway and ducked into a closet. Seconds later, I heard a loud bang. A chill ran down my spine. When I felt it was safe, I opened the closet door to observe my surroundings.

To my horror, the entire hallway was on fire! The kitchen must have exploded. I knew then and there that there was no hope for the cook, but I did not have time to worry about him. I had to get the young master to safety!

There was a small space of the hallway in front of me that was not aflame. I quickly dashed out of the closet and began to make my way toward my master's office. My clothes became slightly singed, but I didn't care. I had much more important things on my mind.

I regret to say that my problems only became worse. When I made it to the main foyer, I spotted more of the damned smoke drifting down from upstairs. How on earth did a fire start up there? I pulled out my handkerchief and used it to cover my mouth and nose. It wouldn't do if I suffocated before located my master.

Bracing myself, I ran upstairs. The smoke only became thicker as I went along. When I finally got close to where my master's office was, I observed that many rooms I had passed had smoke coming out from the doors. It was also unbearably hot up there. Had the entire manor caught fire?

The knob to the office door was burning hot when I touched it. I ignored it, for I had to get in there. I gritted my teeth and flung the door open. I couldn't hold back a gasp, then. The entire room was on fire!

I pulled the handkerchief away and called out for my young lord. I couldn't make out a body in the flames. Perhaps he had already gotten out?

I never had a chance to find out. I had inhaled a substantial amount of smoke at that point, and more just kept coming. Struggling for breath, I turned and decided to make my way toward my master's bedroom. He may have fled to there, I thought.

I only made it a few steps before I fell to my knees. I supposed that my lungs were too full of smoke to continue working. It was odd, but something about the way the bright orange flames contrasted with the black smoke was strangely beautiful. We tend to think of odd things as we are dying, or so I hear. I laid there for another minute, unable to breath and watching the fire, before everything went dark.

My last thoughts were on how I had failed my master as a butler.

XxxxxxX

A/N: What happened to everyone else will be expanded on next chapter.

I've once again decided to troll Raverlynn by just rubbing it in that as my beta, she gets to read all of this before you guys do.