'I never thought that a day without Sebastian could be so disastrous. Was it so wrong to simply wish for one day to myself? Those were the thoughts running through my head by the end of that dreadful day.'

I suppose I should start from the beginning. My name is Ciel Phantomhive and at 12-years-old, I inherited the Phantomhive estate, after the mysterious fire that destroyed our home and killed my parents within it. Now the mansion has been rebuilt and I am the new head of the household and in charge of the family business, the famous Funtom toy company. As the head of the noble Phantomhive family, I typically try to dress in a way that suits my standing. My outfit usually consists of a long jacket, button-down shirt, tie, shorts, knee-high garter socks and high-heeled boots. I have rather short dark hair and an eye patch that covers my right eye. The last thing you should know about my appearance is that as much as I hate to admit it, I am in fact very short, even for my age.

A tall man dressed in black stood before me. His blood red eyes stared at me unblinking as if they could see through me and into my soul. That glare could send shivers through any man's spine. But because of our binding contract, this demonic being answered only to me. This is Sebastian, and he is my butler.

That morning, he had the same humble smile that he always wears as he closed his eyes and bowed slightly. "Well young master, I finished cleaning the house as you ordered. I also helped Maylene with the housework, Finnian with the garden, and Baldroy with making breakfast. Is there anything else I can do for you?" He said with a proud smile.

In case you were wondering Maylene is my maid, Finnian is my gardener, and Baldroy is my chef. But to tell you the truth, none of them are any good at their jobs. Maylene is as blind as a bat without her glasses and with Sebastian around, she gets even clumsier.

Baldroy is impatient. There are many times that he has tried to cook with a blow torch or even a flamethrower. This often leads to explosions and nearly burning the house down on several occasions. He then always then tells us that "Art means explosions."

Lastly, there is Finnie. I suppose he is probably the least amount of trouble out of the three, but not by much. He is pretty childish and has a habit of falling off task. And well, for a gardener, he seems to be pretty good at repeatedly destroying my gardens.

Sitting back in my chair, I eyed Sebastian with a look of mock surprise. In reality, considering what he was, it was not all surprising that he had managed all that in one morning. But I decided to tease him a little.

"Really? You're already done all of your work? But it isn't even noon yet."

Sebastian straightened and his eyes narrowed slightly and I could tell he knew that I was toying with him. But his answer was the same as always.

"Yes, well you see, it's I'm simply one hell of a butler."

"True enough." I sighed. Then an idea came to me. "Well it's a pretty slow day. How about you take the rest of today off?"

"But master, I couldn't dream of leaving you. I promised to always stay by your side and I will, until the very end. It's part of our contract. I'll never leave your side."

"It's fine. I suppose you are deserving of a break." I smirked at him, knowing full well that Sebastian wouldn't back down easily, but I knew what it would take to seal the deal. "You don't have a choice in the matter anyway."

Sebastian gave a small knowing smile, "Is that an order then?"

"That is correct…" To show him I was serious, I removed my eye patch to reveal the glowing purple emblem that marked my right eye. This was the contract seal that bound him to my will. "I order you to leave for the day."

I didn't want to say it out loud but the truth was, I was sick of everyone always looking after me like a weak little child. I wanted a tad more responsibility, at least for just today. Just to see what it would be like without my butler waiting on me hand and foot. It was only for one day and the rest of the servants would be with me. Even if most of those idiots might be relatively useless, I'd still have Tanaka, who could usually be counted on.

"Very well, yes my lord, but the second you call my name I will return." Sebastian promised with a bow. Then in a flash, he was gone and I was alone in the room. For the first time since I met him and signed away my soul, I was alone.

It was shortly after Sebastian left that I found myself sitting down for lunch at the head of the long dining table and was joined by Maylene, Finnian and Tanaka. Tanaka was sipping on his usual green tea, while I opted for a more traditional Earl Grey, though I had to make it myself and it didn't taste quite the same as when Sebastian made it.

Finnian looked really eager to start lunch. He was practically drooling because the food smelled so good. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from the kitchen and we heard the fire extinguisher go off, signaling to everyone that lunch was ready.

Baldroy came out carrying a plate of buffalo chicken that was burnt black and still slightly smoking. He put it down in front of me and I stared at in disgust.

"What is this? I can't eat this rubbish." I said, pushing it away with distaste.

"Why the Hell not?" Bard asked, looking rather offended.

"Well first, it's burnt so badly I'm not sure it's even edible, and second, I hate spicy food. Surely if Sebastian were here, he would have told you."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not Sebastian. But come on young master, just try one bite. I put a lot of work into it, you know!" Bard pleaded, but I simply gave him a look that told him I would not budge on this one.

"I will not."

"Yes, master... You stubborn arse..." Bard muttered under his breath, he removed the plate and went off to make me something else.

"I kind of like the chicken." Finnie said as stuffed a huge piece on the blackened chicken into his mouth.

"Ho Ho Ho" Tanaka chuckled as he took another sip of his drink.

I sighed, massaging my temples. I should have known it would turn out like this.

"You know what? Forget it. I'll make something myself." I said and I left toward the smoky remains of my kitchen.

I stared in awe at the vast kitchen before me, now charred and smoking from the earlier explosion, but thankfully everything was still in a somewhat usable condition. Bard was already there rummaging through the cupboards and muttering something about picky spoiled brats. I cleared my throat and he jumped up and stared at me, for once he was speechless. The kitchen was not a room I entered often, never really having a reason to before.

"I've decided to prepare my own lunch today, you may go." I said dismissively. He continued to stare but I ignored him as I made my way over to the cupboard. He soon he disappeared off to God knows where, probably realizing I was not in any mood to be bothered.

"Let's see... What is easy to make?" I muttered to myself as I looked into the cupboard. I'd never had to prepare my own meals before and suddenly the task seemed quite daunting.

Then my eyes wandered over to a recipe book lying open on the counter, showing a picture of a delicious looking chocolate cake. Just looking at it made my mouth water, cake actually sounded pretty good right about now. Sebastian was probably planning to serve this with afternoon tea, and he would surely scold me for eating cake for lunch, but he's not here right now is he? I thought smugly. Plus I would love to see the looks on everyone's faces when I walk out of the kitchen with a whole cake I made all for myself.

"Let's see..." I said as I read the recipe in my head. "It says separate the eggs." So I took the eggs out of the carton and put them all on different sides of the room.

"There, the eggs are separated. Now what on earth is a T-S-P?" I sighed, and closed the recipe book. So much for that. "Forget it, I'll go without lunch."

A little while later, my stomach empty and my mood not improved, I walked into the entrance hall and found myself greeted by a cheerful blond, curly haired girl about my age. Her name was Elizabeth Middleford. She is my cousin and the daughter of a noble family, so naturally our parents arranged for us to be married. I really had no say in the matter, unfortunately.

"Ciel!" She shouted as she ran over and hugged me so tightly I could hardly breathe, "I wanted to decorate the mansion, and make it look beautiful! Hey, where is that butler of yours?"

"Um... He... He's taking a day off." I struggled to catch my breath as she finally let go of me.

"Oh that's so nice of you! Ciel is so kind to his servants!" She hugged me again, squealing. "Between you and me, he kind of gave me the creeps, anyway. So what should we do today, Ciel? Hey I know! Why don't I give you a manicure? I'll make you look even cuter than you were before!" She said this all very fast, and I was beginning to get a headache.

Then suddenly, before I could object, Maylene appeared out of nowhere and began to obsess over how it is always good for two people in a relationship to spend as much time together as possible. The next thing I knew I was being dragged away to the guest bedroom, where Elizabeth pulled out a large manicure kit and began to clean and paint my nails.

It was torture. I was still hungry and since my nails were being painted I couldn't even use my hands. Do you know how long it takes to do nails? Too long. So for that entire time I was stuck listening to Elizabeth rant on and on about the town's latest gossip. How I survived is still a mystery to me.

I finally managed to send Elizabeth home, promising her I'd telephone her later.

By the end of the day, I was ready to lose my mind. I found a quiet corner outside and placed my head in my hands, cursing myself for getting myself into this. How could I not even last one day….It's just pathetic how useless I am without him. Sighing in frustration, I knew I only had one option.

"Sebastian, I order you to come home now." I yelled.

And sure enough he was there in front of me, his crimson eyes gazed into mine and he smiled ruefully.

"I'm back just as I promised you, my young master."

-phantom130 5 (July 2011)