Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for being patient while I took for-freaking-ever to get this out to you! You all are the best!

"So, what would you have me do?" Johanna asked as she and Ciel sat down in his study. "Would you prefer an infiltration or a stealth assassination?"

"While an assassination would be much quicker and I'd rather get this case over with as soon as possible, I believe an infiltration would be best," Ciel replied as Sebastian placed a cup of tea in front of him. "If the Undertaker's information is correct and the women are still alive somewhere, we need to know where Turpin is keeping them and what he plans on using them for."

"Right. So all I need to do is charm him at the upcoming party and then play damsel once he does whatever he does to the women he kidnaps," Johanna said, sending a grateful smile to Sebastian when he handed her a cup as well. "By the sounds of it, he isn't terribly picky about the women he takes, so I doubt it'll be too hard to get close to him."

"You make it sound so easy," Ciel commented. "Turpin was able to figure out that I was onto him almost immediately and he hasn't dropped his guard around me since. What makes you think you'll be able to gain his trust so easily?"

"It's not my fault you have about as much charisma as a piece of toast," Johanna retorted.

"Yes, and that's on a good day, my lady," Sebastian agreed, an amused look in his eye. "The young master has all the appeal of a stone wall any other day."

"Enough, you two," Ciel snapped. "Johanna, I need you to be serious right now."

"Fine, fine, you win," Johanna sighed with a wave of her hand. "In all seriousness, having a substantial amount of charisma is part of my job. What kind of assassin would I be if I wasn't able to charm a potential target if needed? Besides, so long as you and I don't arrive at the party together, this Turpin fellow will have no way of knowing that we're associated at all." She quirked an eyebrow at Ciel's confused look. "Well, you told me that Turpin already suspects that you're on to him, right? If we arrived to the party together, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to assume that we're familiar in some way and that would only make it harder for me to get close to him."

"You make a fair point," Ciel conceded. "We'll arrive separately, then. I'd say a ten minute gap would be more than enough time to erase any suspicion. But even if he doesn't make the connection between the two of us, how are you so sure he won't recognise you?"

"O, ye of little faith," Johanna snarked. "You should know by now that my grandmother is currently the only member of our family that spends any significant amount of time in the public eye. Most people don't know the true identities of the Vipers of Belfast or what we look like."

"Just the same, there are many people with connections in Britain's underworld that would be able to figure it out and to learn that the Sweeneys and Phantomhives have been allied for generations," Ciel retorted. "Not to mention that nearly every single person in your family has bright blue eyes; anyone with the slightest idea of what to look for could pick you out of a crowd."

"Sharp as ever, Ciel," Johanna replied. "However, my family has already come up with a way to counter our unique eye color." She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out what appeared to be a small container. Ciel quirked an eyebrow when she removed the lid and he saw what looked like a clear disc floating in some sort of solution.

"What are you going to do with that?" the young earl asked.

"Just watch," Johanna replied as she carefully placed the disc over her eye. After blinking a few times, she leveled her gaze back at Ciel to show that her once-blue eye was now a dark brown color.

Ciel's visible eye widened in surprise. "How did you do that?! What was that disc you used?"

"It's just one of our tricks of the trade. I can't tell you exactly what it's made from since Grandmother was pretty tight-lipped about it when she gave them to my brother and me, but these little discs have been an incredible boon to us over the past few years," Johanna explained. "All we have to do is put these on over our lens and they can make us look like another person entirely; this is also what lets us hide in plain sight. It took some practice before we were able to put them on as quickly as I did, though. And our family hasn't developed a permanent lens, meaning these are only usable for a short period of time. Still, I imagine I won't need to use them for anything but the party while I'm here."

"Remarkable," Ciel commented. "Is that the only trick you brought with you?"

"Of course not. I am nothing if not prepared," Johanna replied, removing the disc and placing it back in the container. "However, this is only trick I plan on showing you for now. I can't be giving away all my family's secret." Her gaze suddenly turned serious. "I assume I don't need to tell you that what I just showed you must remain a secret. The general public knows nothing about this; hardly anyone outside of our family does."

"Naturally," Ciel agreed.

Johanna's face softened as she studied Ciel. After she finished her tea, she carefully set the cup aside before standing and walking to the boy's side. Ciel grunted as she pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you again, Ciel. Nicholas and I feel awful that we haven't been able to come and see you for so long."

"D-Don't be ridiculous!" Ciel stammered as his cheeks flushed pink. "Our responsibilities are probably going to keep us apart more often than not. There's no point in getting sentimental. Now will you please let me go?"

Johanna left Ciel's study a little while later and headed back to her room to rest until it was time for dinner. 'No matter how often or how far I have to travel, it always ends up taking more out of me than it should. I loke getting to see new places well enough, but it'd be nice to stay in one place for a while.' She sighed as she flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes as she did so. 'There's nothing that can be done about it, I suppose. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a little shut-eye before it's time for dinner.'

A soft hissing sound next to her and the feeling of something smooth curling up against her neck startled Johanna out of her thoughts. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked her head back and toward the sound, only to come face-to-snout with a white snake coiled up on her bed. "Umm..." The snake didn't display any sign of aggression; it just stayed where it was and watched Johanna curiously. "Hi there...Snakey. Did you need something?"

The snake simply pointed its tail at the bedroom door.

"You want out of this room?" Johanna asked, carefully moving away from the snake to stand up. The snake responded by slithering its way up her arm, coming to rest when it draped itself across her shoulders. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She made her way down the down the hallways of the manor, turning occasionally when the snake pointed her in a different direction. 'I feel like I should be concerned about the fact that this snake is just wandering around the manor, but I guess this is just par for the course in the Phantomhive household. Ciel mentioned that he'd acquired a new servant with an affinity for snakes in one of his letters; I'm guessing that's who this little guy belongs to. It would certainly explain why he climbed onto me so readily.'

"'Oh honestly, Keats, we can't leave you alone for more than a few moments, can we?' asks Emily," came a new voice.

Johanna turned toward the voice to see a boy with silver hair and yellow eyes standing a short ways behind her. She thought she caught a few patches of what looked to be scales on his face but she was quickly distracted by the snakes wound around his shoulders and arms. "So...I'm guessing this little guy is one of yours, then?" she asked, nodding toward the snake resting on her shoulders.

"'Indeed he is. I must say, though, it's quite unlike him to take to a newcomer so quickly.' Yes, Bronte. That's very true," the boy replied.

Johanna smiled, stepping closer to the boy so the snake on her shoulders could transfer back to his master. "You must be Snake, then. Ciel told me about you."

"That's correct," the boy affirmed. The grey snake (Keats, Johanna assumed) tilted its head to look at her curiously. "'You don't sound very surprised. Surely a snake-handling footman isn't something you've come across too often.' observes Keats."

Johanna laughed. "It's true. You all are easily the most memorable servants I've encountered. I'm afraid I'm not easily surprised, though. My line of work means that I have to be prepared for anything. I have to admit, though, Keats did catch me off-guard a bit earlier." She paused. "What was he doing in my bedroom anyway? Ciel told me that your snakes rarely stray very far unless you've ordered them to."

"'I suppose I must apologize for that , my Lady. You see, I was accidentally shut into that room when we were preparing it for your arrival earlier this morning.' I see. So that's where you've been all day, Keats," Snake explained.

"But I'm certain you weren't on my bed when I moved to lie down," Johanna pointed out.

"'Ah, y-yes well...you see I hadn't intended to reveal myself to you at all; my plan was to sneak out the door the next time you left the room. It was only that...well, your natural fragrance is a very alluring one. Not to mention that lovely warm skin of yours.' That's certainly forward of you, isn't it Keats?" Snake replied. He glanced over to Johanna was pleasantly surprised to see a pink flush washing over her cheeks at the compliment. He'd expected her to be at least mildly repulsed by the statement, but she'd reacted to it as if she'd complimented by someone without his...quirks. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure Johanna had noticed his abnormalities; he'd been paying close attention to her eyes throughout their entire conversation and he hadn't seen them drift toward his scales at any point nor did any disgust or other unpleasant emotion flicker through them. His careful observation of her eyes did lead him to a realization, however: Never before had he met a person with such beautiful, expressive eyes.

"Pardon the interruption, my Lady," Sebastian called as he approached the pair. "I've come to inform that dinner is now ready. The young Master is requesting your presence."

"Oh! Oh yes, of course," Johanna replied before turning and sending Snake one last smile. "Looks like I'm being summoned. It was nice meeting you and your snakes today, truly." She took a few steps toward Sebastian before turning back to look at Snake again. "I'll see you later on, yeah?"

"'I should certainly hope so.' As Webster says, we'll be seeing you, my Lady," Snake agreed. He kept his gaze on Johanna as she followed after Sebastian, only dropping it once the two had rounded a corner. Oddly enough, he found himself nearly smiling. "So that's Johanna Sweeney, is it? I knew she was a noblewoman, but I hadn't expected her to be so lovely. I imagine the manor is only going to get more interesting with her around."

Ending Notes: Snake's snakes are totally going to make the best wingmen ever! Keats is probably going to be the smoothest of smooth operators.

I'm know I'm pushing it a bit with the colored contacts, but the Black Butler universe seems to be a bit of an anachronism stew anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt. Besides, I did a little research and contact lenses actually did exist (in a fashion, at least) during the time period; they just aren't the more modern ones Johanna is using. We get to the party in the next chapter, so we'll finally get to see Johanna act like a cold-blooded killer. Up until now, she's been in her 'off-duty' mode and I'm really excited to write her being a cold, hard bitch.

As always, feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Thank you all so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!