Ah! His Butler, Wishing

Ciel Phantomhive did not believe in God.

He did not believe gods, either, nor their distaff counterparts. Sure, he had full knowledge of many arcane aspects of the supernatural: ghosts and grim reapers, angels and hellhounds – his butler was demon with which he had made a contract for his soul – but he had given up any faith he had in higher powers during that month his life had changed forever.

So when Sebastian entered his study claiming that three goddesses had unexpectedly materialized above the Phantomhive estate, he was simultaneously open-minded and skeptical.

"Is this an attempt at humor, Sebastian?" Ciel asked, unsure of what to make of his butler's odd announcement. "Please refrain from hyperbole in serious matters."

Sebastian bowed partially. "I apologize for the misunderstanding, my lord."

Ciel relaxed, lifted his teacup from his desk, and prepared to take a sip.

"Three goddesses have materialized above the estate, and at the current moment are quarreling in the yard."

Ciel paused before taking his sip, waiting for Sebastian to continue. When his butler remained silent, he went ahead attempted to do so, the very picture of English dignity.

"I am unsure of where exactly they came from, but they are unmistakably of divine nature."

Ciel sighed, realizing he attempting the impossible at the moment. He placed the teacup back on his desk. "Get rid of them, Sebastian."

Narrowing his eyes, Sebastian stood up a little straighter. "Yes, my lord."

"This is all your fault, Urd!" screamed Skuld. "Now we're even further in the past then when we started!"

"My fault?" Urd scoffed. She rolled her eyes and turned away from her sister. "As I recall, we were returning to the future. Perhaps your almost nonexistent magic just wasn't up to the task of navigating the time stream?"

Belldandy ignored the two with serene ease and took in the sight of the manor grounds around them, the landscape brightly illuminated by the midday sun. "We're not in Japan anymore," she noted.

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

Urd and Skuld stopped fighting, and all three sisters turned to face the short, elderly man staring at them.

"Oh, hello there," Belldandy said kindly, finding him to be absolutely adorable. She knelt down, bringing herself to his eye level. "Is this your home?"

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

After a moment of awkward silence, Belldandy giggled, causing Urd and Skuld to share a mystified glance.

"I don't recognize that language, Belldandy," Urd told her. "Can you understand him?"

Skuld planted her face in her hands. "If only I had brought along my universal translator!"

Belldandy merely smiled at this. "You don't need a translator for laughter, Skuld," she explained. "I can already tell this is a very cheerful place indeed. Would it be alright if we stayed here for a little while until we regain enough energy to return to our time?"

"Ho. Ho. Ho." The man stared up at them obliviously.

"That's wonderful!" Belldandy exclaimed, clapping her hands in joy.

It was at that moment a stern, authoritative voice cut across the scene. "You are trespassing on the grounds of the Phantomhive estate," it said in English. "I have been ordered to escort you from the property immediately."

"Oh, hello there," said Belldandy, not showing her surprise. She stood up and switched from Japanese to flawless English. "Forgive us for showing up unexpectedly. I am the goddess Belldandy, and these are my sisters, Urd and Skuld."

The immaculately-dressed butler nodded once. "Indeed," he acknowledged. "Now, please leave at once, or I will use force."

Urd crossed her arms and stepped forward. With her height, she was able to stare directly into the butler's red eyes. "Excuse me," she drawled confidently, a small smile spreading across her face, "perhaps you didn't hear her. We are goddesses."

The butler was not impressed, and gave a small smile of his own. "Why," he asked calmly, "do you think I am warning you?"

And with that, his pupils narrowed into cat-like slits.

The goddesses' reaction was immediate. Urd appeared alarmed for a moment, before her expression contorted into rage. Skuld jumped behind Belldandy in fear, while her older sister stood up just a little taller, slightly more wary but still largely content and controlled.

"A demon," Urd hissed. "How dare you presume to order us?"

"I would have thought someone of your position would be more aware of common courtesy," he replied, casting his gaze upon all three of them. "You are the ones who showed up on my master's private property, uninvited, and now, the ones who refuse to leave. At least those of us from Hell know when we are not wanted."

He looked pointedly at Urd. "Disappointingly a skill you failed to learn."

It was a bright, sunny day in the middle of summer, and yet lightning still managed to drop down from the sky and strike directly where the butler had been standing.

"You DARE!" Urd screamed, calling two more bolts down upon him. "Obviously I need to... need to..."

She lost consciousness and collapsed onto the grass. The butler didn't need to dodge the last two strikes, as they fizzled out high in the lower atmosphere, causing only slight rumbles to echo across the landscape.

"Urd!" Belldandy cried, running to her sister's side. She placed her hand on her chest to make sure she was still breathing. Satisfied, she rounded upon the butler. "Why did you have to aggravate her?" she demanded. "She was already exhausted, and now she has hardly any power left at all!"

The butler only smiled, and bowed. Without warning, he rushed toward the goddess, obviously with the intent to incapacitate. Belldandy's eyes widened, realizing he was moving too fast for her to avoid, and fully aware she possessed nowhere near enough magic to protect herself.

Fortunately, less than half a second before he was upon her, the ground at his feet exploded, blowing both of them high into the air and crashing back down onto the earth. The force of the blast would have seriously injured a human being, but the two of them were only disoriented for a moment.

"Skuld-bombs away!" shouted Skuld, holding up several of her signature explosive devices triumphantly. The butler quickly glanced between her and Belldandy, evaluating their respective threats. There was silence for several seconds.

Then he took off toward Belldandy again, reaching into his coat and pulling out a handful of silver knives, gripping them tightly in-between his fingers. Belldandy, forewarned, was about about to dodge his assault, when she noticed that even though his full attention was on her, he was drawing back his arm in such a way that he could only be intending to throw the knives at Skuld.

"Skuld!"

"Big sister!"

"Sebastian."

With alarming ease, the butler abruptly ceased his attack and gracefully returned the knives to within his coat. "Yes, my lord?"

Belldandy and Skuld looked upon the young, one-eyed boy who had quietly approached the scene. "What is the meaning of all this?" he asked.

"I am merely removing the trespassers, my lord."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I was told occurred," he said. The small elderly man Belldandy had conversed with earlier stepped out from behind him.

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

Much to Finnian's consternation, Mey-Rin felt absolutely no guilt about eavesdropping.

"I don't know about this," he said nervously.

The two of them were crouched outside the drawing room, peering through the cracked door at the master and his visitors. Sebastian was serving tea to each of them – Ciel took it without comment, while Belldandy accepted it graciously and Skuld eyed it with suspicion. Urd, still unconscious, was laid out on the sofa.

"I apologize for the behavior of my staff," Ciel told his guests. "While I always intend for Sebastian to be forceful, I did not expect him to be so... crude."

A careful observer would have noticed the briefest flicker of irritation pass over Sebastian's face.

"I must apologize for my sister's behavior as well," Belldandy replied. "Mr. Sebastian was in the right to inform us that we were trespassing, and it was quite impolite of Urd to try and antagonize him."

"Antagonize him?" Skuld exclaimed incredulously. "He just as well called Urd a – "

"Skuld," Belldandy stated firmly, silencing her sister. Skuld fell grudgingly quiet, and returned to glaring at her tea.

Ciel observed the scene thoughtfully. "If I might ask," he said, "why did you appear out of thin air on my estate?"

"It was an accident – " Belldandy began.

"It was her fault," Skuld interrupted, pointing at Urd. At Belldandy's reproachful glance, the younger goddess merely shrugged.

"We were attempting to return to our own time," Belldandy continued. "Unfortunately, we ran low on magical energy and dropped out at a random point in the time stream."

Mey-Rin gasped. "Time-travelers!" Finnian jumped up and clasped his hand over her mouth, hoping she hadn't been loud enough for anyone to hear.

"If it is not too much bother," Belldandy asked, "would it be possible for us to stay with you until we can regain our strength?"

Sebastian tensed, and Ciel took a quiet sip of his tea. After about a minute of silence, he spoke softly.

"You can travel through time," he said, with a brief glance toward the door.

Finnian groaned.

"Why yes," replied Belldandy, smiling. "All three of us together share domain over time."

"You are the Norns." Sebastian spoke, frowning. Ciel glanced at his butler with surprise.

"Yes," exclaimed Skuld with an evil grin. "And I am the Norn of the Future, so watch your step or I'll cut your thread right now!"

"Oh, I didn't know you were learning to sew, Skuld," Belldandy exclaimed happily, perhaps completely missing the point, perhaps not. "I can teach you if you need any help."

Skuld and Sebastian rolled their eyes at the exact same time.

"You may stay until you recover," said Ciel, drawing all eyes back to him. "It is the least this household can offer in exchange for our previous impropriety. Sebastian."

Sebastian had just been heading toward the door, causing Finnian and Mey-Rin to back away and begin pretending they hadn't been spying. "Yes, my lord?"

"Please prepare a room for our guests."

Sebastian frowned. "Yes, my lord."

"What were you thinking?" Ciel exclaimed. Sebastian stood still expressionlessly, listening to his master's every word, as Ciel determinedly stared out the window of his study.

"I was merely attempting to 'get rid of them', as you put it, my lord."

"Don't give me that," snapped Ciel. "If you had truly wanted them gone, you would have gotten them gone without hesitation. Tanaka saw everything, Sebastian. You intentionally took the time to belittle them."

"It seemed prudent, my lord, against the three of them, to ensure that they were weakened – "

"If you couldn't handle them, then you should have told me," Ciel interrupted. "Not tried to antagonize three deities against the Phantomhive house!" The boy sighed. "Then again, I suppose I share some of the responsibility. If you found a mere angel distasteful, it only seems logical that you would find a being of divine nature even more so."

"The inhabitants of Heaven and I have seldom shared appreciation for each other," Sebastian affirmed. He then knelt down on one knee. "Nevertheless, I have made an error unbecoming of a Phantomhive butler, and I beg your forgiveness."

Ciel didn't turn around. "You may return to your duties," he said after a brief hesitation.

As Sebastian was leaving the room, Ciel suddenly spoke again. "Sebastian?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Could you have taken all three of them?"

Sebastian smiled. "Of course, my lord."

"I don't trust him," Skuld whined.

"I don't like this room," Urd replied. "Sure it's fancy, but where's the television? I'm so bored."

Urd stretched out on the luxurious four-poster bed, knocking Skuld to the floor in the process. Her younger sister muttered darkly under her breath.

"The television won't be commercially available until next century, Urd," Skuld lectured. "Come on, where were you during the eighteen-hundreds?"

Urd looked thoughtful. "I think I was taking a nap."

"Ugh. You're so useless!"

"Sisters, please," Belldandy intervened, "don't argue so much. We need to rest if we are to return home to Keiichi."

"Missing him already, Belldandy?" asked Urd gleefully. "It's only been a few hours since you saw him last."

"Oh, I know," Belldandy replied. "But time always seems to pass so slowly whenever Keiichi and I are apart. Knowing that I won't be able to see him until we're strong enough to return home is just terrible."

Urd shared a deadpan glance with Skuld. "You do remember that we'll be ready to go home tomorrow, right?" Urd asked.

"Oh, I know," Belldandy nodded. "But it'll just seem like so long."

Skuld made gagging noises and hopped to her feet. "Whatever," she added. "I'm going to go look around."

As Skuld marched toward the door, Urd stood up from the bed. "Me too. Surely there is something interesting to do around here."

"But Urd!" Belldandy protested, "You're still weak and need to rest."

"Relax, big sis, " Skuld assured her. "We won't go far."

Belldandy relaxed slightly. "Alright, then. Don't disrupt the course of history, okay?"

"Okay, big sis!"

When the two goddess opened the door, however, instead of being able to make an escape, they found themselves facing a disgusted-looking Sebastian.

"What's your problem?" Urd spat.

Sebastian gestured to the tray he was carrying, looking vaguely pained. "Ice cream," he announced, surprisingly calm-sounding, "and sake."

Urd and Skuld looked dumbfounded, while Belldandy broke into a huge grin. "Why thank you, Mr. Sebastian," she said. "Your hospitality is truly wonderful."

"Not at all," Sebastian replied. "A Phantomhive butler incapable of providing visiting goddesses with the means to recharge their energy isn't worth his salt."

Urd took the bottle of sake cautiously, while Skuld lifted the large bowl of ice cream with trepidation.

"Well," said Urd after a moment, "I suppose this is an acceptable peace offering as anything."

Skuld took small spoonful of the ice cream. "Wow! This is wonderful!" she exclaimed joyously. "Thanks Sebastian, you're the best!"

"Skuld!" sputtered Urd in shock. Belldandy laughed and winked at Sebastian, who turned away without acknowledgement.

"If you are in need of anything else, I am at your service," he said as he turned to leave.

"More!" shouted Urd and Skuld, holding out an empty sake bottle and ice cream bowl, respectively.

Baldroy raised his fist in the air triumphantly. "A dinner fit for divinity itself!" he cried to the three other servants gathered in the kitchen. "I will take this as a challenge! I will use only the finest of ingredients, prepare the most delectable of cuisines, serve the most mouth-watering of – "

"Oh my!" Mey-Rin exclaimed. "It already sounds delicious!"

"It does," Finnian nodded. "And he hasn't even told us what he plans to make yet."

At this, Baldroy froze, becoming solemn and thoughtful. He took his cigarette from his mouth and turned it over in his fingers a few times. Finnian and Mey-Rin leaned forward in anticipation, their mouths watering. Tanaka looked straight ahead with detached interest.

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

"I've got it!" Baldroy announced. "I will prepare – "

"Ice cream and sake."

The four servants looked at Sebastian in surprise, who had entered unannounced.

"Ew! That sounds disgusting, Sebastian!" said Mey-Rin. "Is that what they have for dinner where they come from?"

"As repulsive a combination it may seem to us, it is nevertheless what our guests require," Sebastian informed them. "You may prepare the master's dinner as normal."

Leaving, he paused. "Try not to cause irreparable damage."

"I don't think Sebastian likes our guests," Finnian pointed out after he was gone.

"I didn't notice anything unusual," Baldroy scoffed, irritated. "He's just being Sebastian."

Finnian shrugged, while the other servants nodded half-heartedly.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing?"

"I needed parts."

Ciel, Earl of Phantomhive, was not a patient boy, and Skuld, Norn of the Future, was not a considerate girl.

"Parts?" he growled. "In the library?"

Skuld poked her head up over the books that had been haphazardly thrown into a pile in the middle of the room. All the furniture had been turned over, the frames of the portraits removed, and the brass gaslight fixtures adorning the walls completely ripped out. "All I needed was the raw materials," she informed him. "They're primitive, but I work with what I have. Say, your house didn't need the boiler, did it?"

Ciel, being of impressive intelligence, but of even more impressive stubbornness, blocked the exit. "You are not leaving this room until you put everything back."

Skuld smirked. "I don't think so."

Ciel opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a loud, piercing hiss.

"Did you hear that, Lady Elizabeth?"

"Why isn't Ciel here?" Lizzy asked her caretaker as they walked up the front steps of the manor. "It's not like him to not greet us. Or at the very least, send that butler of his."

"Perhaps we should have told him we were coming over, especially this late in the afternoon."

"Don't be ridiculous, Paula! Since when does a woman have to warn her fiancé when she wants to visit? Ciel is very understanding, I'm sure he'll be delighted to have us by surprise."

Lizzy climbed the last few steps and reached toward the bell. Before she could pull the cord, the doors swung open of their own accord and her betrothed, Ciel Phantomhive, the Queen's Watchdog himself and head of the Phantomhive household, ran out of them with a look of sheer terror on his face. He dashed past her and jumped down the stairs, his hair disheveled and his clothes haphazardly torn.

"Ciel!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Not now!" he called back, taking off across the lawn.

Paula and Lizzy gazed quizzically after him. "Ciel?"

"Onward!" came a high-pitched, feminine cry from inside the manor. "Onward Steampunk Banpei!"

Paula and Lizzy watched dumbfounded as a large, rotund mechanical man, who appeared to be manufactured from boiler plates, mismatched furniture parts, and decorative room fixtures, stepped out the front doors. He hissed loudly with each step, steam being periodically released from a vent on his back. Riding on his shoulders was a girl who looked to be no older than Lizzy herself.

"Do you like him?" the girl asked Lizzy, noticing her below. "He runs on books! Well, not just books, any flammable material really. Steam and all, you know. Ciel doesn't seem to appreciate my genius."

Lizzy quickly overcame her shock at the mention of her fiancé's name. "You know Ciel?"

The girl nodded. "Oh yes! I built Steampunk Banpei for him as thanks for letting my sisters and I stay here. You never know when you'll need protection from demons!"

"Demons?" asked Paula, who didn't seem to have a clue what was going on.

"Oh yes," the girl replied. "Even if they are nice ones that bring you ice cream. Onward!"

Steampunk Banpei walked off into the evening.

"Well," said Paula eventually, appearing to have processed what they had just seen, "that explains the noise. And nothing else."

Lizzy began to grind her teeth. "Ciel is letting her stay here?"

Sebastian looked over his shoulder, his expression one of expertly restrained annoyance.

"Why," he asked, "are you following me?"

Urd continued floating behind him as he performed his duties around the manor. "It's just so interesting," she said, nonchalantly. "You're quite adept at being a maid. It's not a career choice you normally associate with demons, it it?"

"It was my understanding that as the Norn of the Past, you yourself are perpetually unemployed."

"Ha!" Urd scoffed. "I am a Yggdrasil sysop. Without me, this planet would be nothing more than abandoned system code on some heavenly mainframe."

"And yet here you are on Earth," Sebastian pointed out.

"I'm taking an extended leave of absence," Urd told him. "My sister fell in love with a human, and I couldn't just sit back and let her handle that on her own, now could I?"

"It seems apparent that you cannot let anyone handle anything on their own."

Urd eyed him with a small grin. "Oh? Am I annoying you?"

"Do you know how to set a table?"

Surprised by the unexpected change of topic, Urd raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Sebastian suddenly turned and deposited a stack of dinnerware into her arms. "Take these into the dining hall."

"Didn't we already have a discussion about you ordering me to do things?"

"Maybe," Sebastian replied, "you find yourself useful when cohabiting with your sister and her impotent lover. Here, however, we gain no benefit from a goddess who carelessly abandons her post."

Urd almost dropped the dinnerware in shock. "How did you know that?" she asked, incredulous.

Sebastian merely smiled. "I didn't. But you don't seem the type to respect the established order – a trait you and I both share."

Frowning, Urd floated to the floor and repositioned the dinnerware in her arms. "I'll have you know I was only temporarily barred from Heaven," she informed him airily, "and I was reinstated shortly after."

"Ah," Sebastian nodded, looking self-satisfied. "In the Christian religion, they have a name for a being cast out from Heaven."

In the dining hall, Lizzy was comforting a breathless Ciel.

"I don't know what the problem is," Skuld pouted, watching the scene alongside a confused Paula. "Steampunk Banpei was only following you around to protect you."

Krack-k-k-boom!

Ciel, Lizzy, and Paula started at the sudden noise.

"Was that lightning?" Ciel asked.

"Inside?" Paula added.

"I'm hungry," Skuld mused. "Where's Sebastian with my extra ice cream?"

Lizzy glared at her in frustration.

Baldroy watched in awe as Belldandy moved about the kitchen with divine grace, from the pots on the stove, to the pans in the oven, to each of the raw ingredients on the countertop.

"Such beauty! Such skill!" he marveled. "You are making me feel inadequate, Lady Belldandy."

"Oh, don't feel that way," said Belldandy cheerfully. "When you prepare a meal for someone, you are expressing your love for them in one of the most intimate ways possible. As long as you keep that in mind, then whatever you prepare can't help but reflect that truth. I know you care for all your family here, and that surely shows through in the meals you prepare for them."

Baldroy laughed awkwardly. "Well, they're not exactly family..."

"You don't have to be related to be family," Belldandy told him earnestly, with heartfelt emotion.

The kitchen door shattered into splinters, and Urd's body flew across the room and rammed into the opposite wall hard enough to crack it.

"Hey, Belldandy," she said woozily, after the dust had cleared. "Why are you... cooking things?"

"Hi, Urd," Belldandy replied, ignoring the damage inflicted by her sister's arrival. "I was actually going to take a bath, but unfortunately there was no hot water. So I decided to help in the kitchen – Mr. Baldroy was caught off-guard by the unexpected arrival of Miss Elizabeth, and appreciated the help. He's also been teaching me how to prepare all sorts of Western dishes."

"I've actually been learning more from her," Baldroy pointed out. The two of them laughed for a moment, stopping when Sebastian stepped through the former door frame, his butler uniform singed and smoking. He surveyed the scene before him.

"Is dinner ready to be served?" he asked, professionalism evident in every syllable.

"Yes!" announced Belldandy enthusiastically.

"More sake!" exclaimed Urd, before passing out from exhaustion.

Dinner was an awkward affair.

"So..." Skuld said to Sebastian, who was standing dutifully by Ciel's chair. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Sebastian glanced at the enormous bowl of ice cream she was quickly devouring.

"No," he replied.

Urd looked up at him from her seat as she downed the last bottle of sake in the Phantomhive household. "Do you eat at all?"

"Yes."

"'Cause you know, I've seen Marller eat loads of times, but I've been with you almost all day and haven't seen you visit the kitchen for anything other than your duties."

"I am quite capable of preparing my own food," he told her.

Ciel smiled softly. "No need to sound so dramatic, Sebastian."

"As you wish, my lord."

Sebastian stood by as Ciel, Lizzy, and the three goddess continued their meal in silence.

"Will you be staying with Ciel long?" Lizzy asked Skuld suddenly.

Skuld was confused for moment, unsure of why she was being singled out from her sisters. "Just until tomorrow," she replied. "Then we'll be able to go home."

"And where is home?"

"Sweden," Ciel interrupted.

"Norway," said Urd at the same time.

"Heh..." Skuld laughed awkwardly. "What's the difference, right?"

Lizzy looked unimpressed. "Ciel, due to the incident earlier – "

"Steampunk Banpei was just trying to help!"

" – Paula and I were set back quite far in our schedule. I hate to impose on your further, but would it be possible for us to spend the night as well?"

Ciel glanced between his betrothed and his guests. "I'm not sure if that would be... appropriate," he said finally.

Deadpan, Lizzy replied, "Steampunk Banpei destroyed our carriage."

Skuld had the grace to feel a little sheepish. "So that's what that was..."

Apparently unable to find a way out of this predicament, Ciel relented. "Sebastian, please prepare rooms for Lizzy and Paula."

"Yes, my lord."

"And Sebastian," added Lizzy, "would you also please call my mother and tell her that I will not be returning home tonight?"

Sebastian bowed politely.

"Thank you for calling the Goddess Relief Office," said the voice at the other end of the line.

For the first and only time in his entire life, alone in his master's study, Sebastian facepalmed.

"This is the goddess Belldandy. Please hold, so that I may grant your wish in person."

"Where is Sebastian?" Skuld complained. "I need more ice cream."

"He should be returning shortly," Ciel informed her.

"Haven't you had enough dessert?" asked Lizzy.

Skuld shook her head sincerely. "I don't know what that phrase means."

"Belldandy," Urd whispered, "you don't have to gather up the dishes when you're a guest at someone's house!"

"I know, Urd," Belldandy replied, stepping lightly from dining place to dining place, "but Sebastian has so much to do already, I thought it couldn't hurt to be nice."

"Why are you so polite to him, anyway?" asked Urd. "He's uncivilized, irritating, and holds all of us in contempt."

"He's not uncivilized," Lizzy pointed out. Ciel nodded in agreement.

"Big sis is nice to everybody," Skuld added. "Even scary ice cream butlers."

"It's never a bad idea to show someone a kindness, Urd," Belldandy explained. "And the more people who show kindness, the more other people will want to show it too, be they goddess or demon."

Lizzy glanced at Ciel questioningly.

"It's a cultural thing," he improvised.

"Surely there must be one thing your heart desires," the goddess told him.

Sebastian resisted the urge to groan. "My natural form does not have a heart. As I told you before, I was making the call on behalf of Lady Elizabeth. She is the one you should be granting the wish to."

Belldandy – the younger Belldandy, although it was impossible to tell by appearance alone – shook her head. "The rules state that individual who makes the call receives the wish. Who the offer of the wish was initially extended to is irrelevant."

"Your bureaucracy needs work," Sebastian said dryly.

Belldandy nodded in agreement. "We just started taking requests over the telephone. Integrating new technology has always been a bit of a mess." She smiled broadly. "But this isn't such a bad loophole for you, is it?"

"I am a demon."

"The rules do not prohibit demons from being granted wishes."

"I have nothing I want."

"Oh dear," Belldandy muttered sadly. "Are you quite sure there is nothing I can do to make your life happier?"

Sebastian was about to turn her down once more, but paused.

After dinner, Skuld pulled Lizzy aside to speak in private.

"I want you to take care of Steampunk Banpei," Skuld told her.

Lizzy's mouth fell open, then she closed it, then she opened it again to speak. Then she closed it.

"What?" she then said.

"I don't think Ciel fully appreciates him, and I want him to be with someone who does. He's really, really sorry for breaking your carriage, and I know he wants to make it up to you. Plus," – Skuld leaned a little closer to her – "I know Steampunk Banpei would feel useful if he could protect people from demons like he's designed to, but Ciel doesn't really need that with Sebastian around."

Initially indignant at the implication she required protection, Lizzy had been about to protest, but calmed down at the odd mention of demons. After a few seconds of thought she nodded politely.

"Well, I guess that's it," Skuld trailed off. "Thanks."

"Wait, Lady Skuld," said Lizzy suddenly. "I'm sorry about how I've been treating you. I guess... I guess I was a little jealous."

Skuld frowned for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Really? You thought Ciel and I...?"

"You don't need to rub it in," Lizzy pouted.

"Ciel is nowhere near smart enough for me!" Skuld laughed. "I can't believe you would even think that!"

"Ciel is very smart!" cried Lizzy.

"Ciel can't even tell how far away a Skuld-bomb is."

"He only has one eye!"

"That's another thing..."

While the two girls argued in the corner, Ciel and Urd bid each other a good night.

"Thank you for the pleasant company," Ciel said, bowing.

Urd crouched down to get a better look at him. "I thought I was the one who drank all the sake," she replied.

Ciel gave a small smile. "For all the disruptions, it could still be considered an entertaining evening, if nothing else."

"How gracious," Urd conceded, sharing a grin as well. "You truly are a polite kid, you know?"

The Earl of Phantomhive frowned, but didn't contest the point.

"I apologize, my lord, but we have been unable to find any sign of our guests other than Lady Elizabeth and her caretaker."

"Could they have left before we awoke?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian was about to speak again, but Mey-Rin, Finnian, and Baldroy all interrupted him.

"Their room is completely untouched!"

"The lightning burns on the yard and in the corridor have disappeared!"

"The damage to the library and the kitchen has been repaired!"

All three of them then added in unison, "The hot water has started working again!"

Ciel folded his hands and leaned back in his chair. "So, there is no indication that they were even here?"

"That's not entirely true," came a rarely-heard voice. The occupants of the study turned their attention toward Serious Tanaka, who was holding a folded paper in his hand. "It seems that our guests left behind a letter."

He cleared his throat.

"To All Members of the Phantomhive Household,

For some miraculous reason, Yggdrasil itself has intervened in the time streams of my sisters and I, and is attempting to return us home. The nature of the program being executed is such that most traces we were even here will be erased, and your time stream will return to much like it was before we arrived. I pray that this letter remains behind, and thank you for the hospitality you shared with us the day we spent together.

Love, Belldandy, Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited License

P. S. Take care of Steampunk Banpei, Lizzy! – Skuld

P. P. S. Did my mother put you up to this, Sebastian? – Urd"

"Aww," the three Phantomhive servants said, as Tanaka returned to his diminutive form.

"That explains enough," Ciel sighed. "Very well then. Everyone back to work. Not you, Sebastian."

"Yes, my lord?" his butler asked when they were alone.

"I find it curious that all loose ends from our guests' visit have been wrapped up so neatly. I know you wished them gone from the beginning." Ciel glared at him sternly. "Tell me truthfully: did you have anything to do with their disappearance?"

"Why, my lord," said Sebastian, bowing, "I am not sure as to what you are referring."

He turned to leave the room.

"I merely made one hell of a wish."

Outside, Paula fretted nervously as Lizzy rode around on Steampunk Banpei's shoulders in a manner most unbecoming of a young lady.

The End