Time Beyond Time
By: Wydrin Williams 178

A/N: Hi guys, I hope you guys enjoy this story and any comments and tips would be greatly appreciated.

Time Beyond Time
Prologue

Aurora hastily clicked on her camera, determined to cram every little piece of wonder into the small box. Herself and her best-friend, Paris, were on a tour in one of the most renowned abandoned manors on all of Britain; The Phantomhive Manor.

However similar it was to any other manor, this one was different in so many ways. For one, the large mansion always felt like someone was there, watching over everyone who dared cross the threshold; as if no one really left. For another, the ex-occupants of the manor were most peculiar indeed... For them to just up and vanish without a word was unheard of!

Aurora found them fascinating; their lineage, their background, their... everything!

She clicked the buttons on her camera feverishly, capturing the royal red coloured tapestries with an art of a true photographer. The thick velvet material was coloured a deep red, like that of an expensive red wine. Aurora thought the colour was fitting for such a high-class family. On closer inspection, she could see that strands of a night-sky blue and gold velvet was woven in with the red, creating a pleasing contrast to the eye.

"As you can see here, the Phantomhive's were very keen on preserving extremely old relics. Especially that of jewellery, furniture and much more." Their guide said enthusiastically. Aurora backed away from the walls and turned to the guide. He was gesturing a lot with his hands, pointing to things, or just waving them about to punctuate a point he was making.

The rest of the tour group were scattered around the corridor, taking pictures and admiring the architecture of the building. They were all in hearing distance of the tour guide, so nothing he said went entirely to waste. Aurora grinned slightly when she saw her best friend, Paris, looking at the man with admiration prominent in her hazel eyes. She was clinging onto his every word, despite already hearing the exact same lecture four times already. Aurora inwardly thought that the only reason Paris even decided to come with her every time was because she could ogle to guide; not that she got anywhere.

Aurora tucked a strand of long, dark-red hair behind her ear and approached her friend. Paris, who was twirling her blond hair around her finger, paid Aurora no mind as she reached her side. The red-head looked on in bemusement as the guide rambled on about some useless nonsense about the Phantomhive's which could easily have been found on Google, and Paris watched him intently, as if her 'supposed' interest would lead him on.

"Paris... Hey!" Aurora yanked on her friends coat in order to get her attention. Paris slowly turned to Aurora, her face contorted to that of irritation.

"What?" Although they were best friends, Aurora still fell victim to Paris' wont behaviour which flared in the most ridiculous of circumstances.

"Come on, I wanna see the rest of the Manor." The red-head grabbed the blonde's wrist and practically dragged her down the corridor to the entrance hall (They had entered the Manor from the kitchens where they had examined the utensils that were used during the 1800's)

"Why, though? You've been here four times already, what's the rush?" Paris whined. Their footsteps were muffled by the plush carpeting under their feet.

Aurora sighed unhappily, as she was reminded again on why she so wanted to get every last bit of joy out of her life in Europe. After she had finished school, she was to be shipped off to America to live with her Aunt and to enrol in a Harvard University. It was meant to nurture her talent in music, but she really knew her parents just couldn't support her in the way they would have liked. Ever since she was little, Aurora had shown talent in various things; science, art, English. But, one she excelled at drastically had to be music. She was a music prodigy, or so her parents said. She could play the piano, violin, guitar and the flute. She played each instrument extraordinarily well, but she was a master in her own right at the piano and violin. She also excelled at singing, but Aurora wasn't inclined to say that was her biggest attribute.

"I've told you already, I'm leaving soon so I want to savour this place for all it's worth." Paris was silent, as she saw the true meaning of this sentence. 'I don't want to leave and enveloping myself in the joys of my affection are the only ways to help me forget.'

Aurora let go of Paris' arm and stopped to look at a large portrait painting which was situated at the split of the entrance staircase. Paris looked on in disinterest, oblivious to the joy and interest her friend showed upon viewing this masterpiece.

The painting was large and was framed with what looked like gold. In the painting was a boy, probably around sixteen years of age. He was seated in a regal chair with cushioning of deep blue. Unlike other pictures painted of royalty, where the people within were positioned in attentive poses, this one depicted the boy of being very uninterested in the world around him. He was resting his elbow on the arm of the chair was leaning his head against his palm. His other arm was positioned on the other arm of the chair, his hand just dangling of the edge. His right leg was crossed over his left and was half covered by a large blue cloak draped haphazardly around his body. But it was draped in such a way that it made the boy seem a ruffled type of handsome. The clothes the boy wore were of the design people wore in the 1800's: Knee-high black socks with suspenders, ankle boots with blue and gold trimming, deep blue shorts that brushed the top of his knees, a cream coloured poet's shirt with a ruffled collar which spilled over an ornate-looking waistcoat of the same colour as his shorts. A blue-black tailcoat completed the attire.

Although his clothing and pose was unique, what was really interested was his facial features. He was handsome, for sure, but his hair was of a most peculiar shade of blue. It was almost the colour of night. His eyes were also a feature of interest. The eye that was showing was a most beautiful shade of azure. The other was hidden behind a black leather eye-patch, for reasons unknown. The only logical explanation was that it was left injured in the accident that left him an orphan.

Behind the boy stood a man swathed in darkness. He was dressed head to toe in black, save for perhaps his shirt which was the colour of snow. His hair was of raven, and his eyes were of crimson. He was the boy's Butler, it was obvious by the pose of a half bow he was portraying. Despite the man's low status, He had a mysterious dark aura surrounding him, Aurora was surprised the painting was able to capture such a thing.

Aurora knew full well who these two men were; the tall one was Sebastian Michaelis and the younger boy was the one and only Ciel Phantomhive, owner of the Funtom Company and Earl of The Phantomhive Estate.

The red-head admired the fact that, despite being an orphan and having no one to guide him, Earl Phantomhive was able to successfully run a sweet factory, keep the Manor in an immaculate condition, and pay for servants, gardeners, cooks and butlers all at the same time. The young Lord was known for having a short temper, but Aurora suspected he was only hiding grief of his parent's death, much like she was covered sadness of leaving Britain with feigned joy.

"What's with that get-up?" Paris chirped, breaking Aurora's gaze on the painting.

The red-head gave the blonde a look of complete disbelief, but before she could scold her friends complete lack of knowledge, the guide from before spoke up from behind them, startling them both.

"Ah, well, that 'get-up' is what all nobles wore back in the 19th century. Commoners normally wore farmer's shirts and loose breeches. But that-" He pointed to the young Earls outfit. "Is a prime example of what nobles wore. We have many other examples and documents, but this is by far the most accurate."

Paris, as usual, was clutching onto the end of every sentence, but Aurora was instead admiring the painting once again. She knew everything the guide was saying already.

"In fact, if you look closely, you can see the blue diamond ring the Lord always wore. We don't know why he treasured it so closely. Our best guesses are because his parents gave it to him before they died, or it's simply an heirloom of the Phantomhive family."

Aurora looked at Ciel Phantomhive's' right hand, where a large ornate ring of blue diamond sat comfortably on his thumb. It was an unusual piece of jewellery, but beautiful nevertheless.

Paris looked to the painting herself (with difficulty) and frowned.

"No there isn't" she poked Aurora, who turned to her best friend. "Look, the ring isn't there, see?" she was pointing to the Earls right hand.

"Yes it is, look harder." Aurora turned to the painting herself again and looked to the thumb where the ring was 'meant' to be. To her surprise, the ring wasn't there.
"Wait, no surely not. It was there, I'm sure it was. There, on his thumb." Aurora was mind-boggled. She had been here four times already and the ring had always been present in this painting.

"Huh, well, I guess I was thinking of the wrong painting. Never mind ladies. I'm sure you'll find the ring in another painting. Maybe in the one down the hall of the Young Lord and his Aunt, Madam Red." He walked away from the two, but not before winking subtly at Paris who blushed a deep scarlet.

"No, I can't accept that. I've been here numerous times already and each time, the ring was always here, on his thumb." Aurora was getting agitated, her friend could tell. Yet for the extent of which she couldn't understand.

"What's the problem, Aurora? It's not as if someone rubbed it out or something. Ha, what if it came to life, you know, someone plucked it from the canvas and it turned into a malleable thing." Paris giggled slightly at her own stupidity. She was trying to ease the situation with humour, but she could see it wasn't working much. Aurora still supported a frown on her dainty face.

"Look, it doesn't matter. You did say you were here to enjoy you time here, and you can't very well do that when you're faffing about over a painting which looks different." Aurora saw the logic in Paris's statement, and started to calm down a bit. Paris was right. She should just enjoy the time she had. Worrying over a ring wasn't going to help the matter.

"You're right. Okay then, let's go the grounds. We'll have a look at the gardens and the fountains." Aurora mustered a smile as she gestured with her friend to follow her, who did so happily. Paris was glad Aurora was finally over the issue with the painting.

The sun, although slightly covered by greying clouds, shone bravely through the gloom and scattered blissful light and warmth all across the Phantomhive grounds. The grounds were immaculately pruned and manicured, the grass was a pleasing spring green marred with small stripes of forest green. And the flower beds was trimmed and tended to, letting the splashed colours of red roses and snow tulips show through the dark green foliage. The fountain was also running smoothly, water splashing and pooling happily from mouth of a dolphin. The water was almost translucent, save for patches that weren't touched by sunlight.

It was almost as if someone still lived here, Aurora mused silently.

The red-head followed her blonde friend, taking pictures all the while. Paris sat down with a huff on the edge of the fountain, dipped her hand into the water and swirling it about, watching the fallen leaves surround her hand. Aurora followed suit, except for the fact she didn't bother splashing around in the fountain; she was flicking through the pictures she had already taken.

"So, are you looking forward to going to America? I know I would." Paris mused to her best friend. Aurora sighed unhappily at the question. She had been avoiding this question from her parents for months. She didn't want to make her parents feel unhappy with how she felt but, this was her friend. Aurora swallowed her pride and dolefully answered Paris.

"To be honest, no. I'm not looking forward to going to America. I know it'll held with my education and all but... I like it here. I love the history, the schools. I could easily just enrol in a University here that wouldn't cost much. Yeah, it wouldn't give me the most education I could get in America but it's a damn site better than not having an education at all." Aurora was rambling, she knew, but she had to get this out before she exploded with grief.

Paris listened silently.

"Well, it won't be all bad. You get to see your Aunt again and you'll get to see all the malls there. I would literally die of excitement if I was allowed to go. Although, knowing me, I'd bankrupt my mum buying all the designer clothes and bags." Paris stifled a laugh.

Aurora smiled slightly. "Well, I'll be sure to invite you over during the holidays."

"What! For real?" Paris gasped clinging onto Aurora's blouse.

"Get off me!" Aurora jokingly yelled, for she was still racking through her pictures.

"Ladies! Would you come over here please? Only I need to give you all a lecture on the architecture of this here building." The guide from before yelled at the two girls who immediately stopped messing about to look towards the source of the sounds.

Paris practically jumped from the fountain and started jogging to the small group, shouting over her shoulder to Aurora. "I'll meet you there!"

Aurora chuckled and shook her head. She stood from the fountain and her jeans pocket made a queer sound. Almost as if a piece of metal was there. She had her keys with her, but they were in her messenger bag. Aurora rummaged in her pocket and pulled out the metal coil. Once she had successfully rescued the object from the denim prison, she examined the thing that was in her hand. What she saw startled her to no ends. It was a diamond ring. It looked like an exact replica of the ring in the painting, the only difference was instead of a deep, calming blue; it was the colour of blood.

Aurora held her breath and raised her other hand. Without letting out a single breath, she lightly touched the piece of jewellery. As soon as her finger brushed against the cool crystal, she felt the world slip away from her, and she felt herself falling to the ground. Within seconds, her world had went from beautiful colours to pitch black.

Aurora groaned in pain as she struggled to open her eyes. Her body ached all over as if she had finished a marathon. Her eyes hurt dreadfully as she pried them open, it felt as though she was ripping apart her own flesh. She felt tears of pain and weariness gather in the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over.

She didn't get up, she instead just looked right above of her; spring green grass obscured her view, on one strand of nature, a pure red ladybug struggled to gain purchase of the grass sprout. Her mind was suddenly clouded with confusion. How did she get on the floor? Then, as easily as her mind had been graced with amnesia, everything came flooding back to her. Although it made no sense. She just... fainted. "Ugh..." She crawled onto her knees and looked at her surroundings with dazed eyes. Everything looked the same as it had before, yet it didn't all the same. Everything looked, cleaner, more regal.

She clenched her fists to get feeling back into them, for she was certain her little phase had left her with dead limbs. She was surprised to feel something digging into her palm. When she opened it, she saw the glinting blue ring and everything seemed a little clearer. When she had touched the ring, she had fainted. Why? She had no idea.

She managed to stand on her two feet and once again surveyed the area around her. No one was there. There was no sign of Paris ever messing with the fountain, no sign of her jogging to reach the rest of the tour group. There wasn't sign of anyone ever trekking the grounds as tourists.

"Excuse me, my lady, but might I ask if you are okay?" Aurora whipped round at the sound of a smooth, masculine voice. A tall man, dressed in the attire of a Victorian butler, was standing a little ways from her, on a plain cobblestone path stretching between the entrance double-doors and the kitchens. He had a pure white cloth draped over one shoulder and he was holding a silver tray with utensils and tea cups. He was certainly not part of the tour group.

"My lady?" The man repeated as Aurora stared at him with a dazed expression. It wasn't until she reached his face that she showed any emotion at all... confusion.
His hair was of raven and his eyes were of crimson.

"It... it can't be you..." Aurora was just able to decipher a gleam of confusion on his features before she slipped from the world yet again.

A/N: Wow... Who could it be and where could Aurora be? All will be revealed in the next chapter... which will be uploaded shortly lol. Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to comment, and favourite... you know you want to. Until next time, love you all!