Sneak Peak | Black Butler Fanfiction: Break Through Time

NOTE: I'm still in two minds of what to name this story. I'm stuck between 'Lex Talionis' and 'Break Through Time'. But at the moment, I think I am leaning more towards 'Break Through Time'.

The long walk down the seldom used country road brought on a wave of mixed feelings. Nostalgia gently caressed over her mind before a tidal wave of bad memories soon followed, crashing over her. The lone walker continued on despite these feelings; she had been prepared for them. 

Suppressing them, she clutched at her camera that dangled in its bag from her right shoulder, occasionally brushing against her thigh as she pressed on. The afternoon air was filled with drizzle, obscuring the horizon. Not that there was much to see. This place had fallen apart years ago. What were once large, majestic fields were now overgrown with unkempt grass and weeds. Moss oozed out of the cracks in the road, making wet sounds beneath the walker's black ankle boots. 

Ordinarily, this would be enough to make anyone turn around and not bother. But this was actually perfect. It created the perfect atmosphere, just what the young woman needed for inspiration. The dreary mist hung low in the air, reminding her very much of a horror movie. Despite the annoyance of being back here after all these years, she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of her shell-pink lips. 

That smile soon disappeared though as the large manor finally emerged like a monster from the depths of the mist. Though having fallen into disrepair, it was still a beautiful sight. Ever since the fire ten years ago, she had been forbidden from coming back here by her mother. In fact, the fire seemed to have been just the excuse her mother needed in order to leave. Her grandfather had always been very strict. The family should stay together. The land was theirs and had been for many generations. To even contemplate leaving was unthinkable. It was a duty to stay. But to her mother, that duty had been nothing more than a prison sentence. 

“I refuse to be stuck here all my life, dad!”

“To run this estate is an honour!”

“Yeah, well not for me! I've got better things to do with my life than babysit this stupid old place. I refuse to have Jem stuck here for the rest of her life too! I want better for her!”

“Don't play the doting mother act on me, young lady! We both know that Jem will soon be under your feet, except you'll be on your own! You'll no longer have me as a babysitter on demand!”

“Good! She's already turning into a grumpy little bitch just like you!”

Smack!

Jem had listened to the whole argument through the crack in the door. She was supposed to have been in bed, but all of the shouting had kept her awake. Not to mention she had been going through a phase of being terrified of her closet. 

That had been the night of the fire. Not long after that argument, her grandfather had suffered a stroke while smoking his cigar in his favourite chair. They had all been lucky to get out of there alive. But the stroke combined with being starved of oxygen due to the smoke had led to permanent damage to her grandfather. He remained in a home until this very day; of course there was no way her mother would look after him. Because of all of this, no one had lived in their family manor since. The place had fallen into complete disrepair. The fire hadn't destroyed too much, but nature had soon staked its claim on the place. 

The gardens were overgrown. Flowers were replaced with weeds. Large hedges that had once been beautifully shaped now grew out of control, their branches contorting in random directions. Weeds also grew from the gaps in the stone pathways. The white stone the manor was built from was now a dirty grey in colour, appearing mostly black in the areas that the fire had reached. Luckily there wasn't any graffiti as little to no people knew of this place. Jem had always been lonely while growing up as a result of this. But it made the perfect setting for her latest college project. 

As Jem was about to approach to get a closer look, bright headlights soon blinded her, preventing her from moving further. The sound of tires against gravel echoed all around her, and the headlights soon turned along with the car that slowed down to pull up alongside her. The silver paintwork almost blended in with the foggy air around them. Loud music blasted from inside before shutting off along with the engine. Then finally, the occupant stepped out and gave the manor an unsure look. 

“Oh... well... ummm... I'm not gonna lie, Jem, but when you said we were going to your family's old estate, I expected something a lot more fancy than this,” the other woman proclaimed while still eyeing the manor wearily. 

Jem rolled her eyes. “What did you expect, Megan? It has been abandoned for over ten years.”

“I don't know about this... What if someone sees us?”

“Like who? The cows?”

As if to emphasise her point, one of the cows grazing in a distant field mooed loudly. 

Megan giggled and shook her head.

“Plus, it's not trespassing if its your own property,” Jem added with a smug grin.

“Fair enough.” Megan gave the manor one last once over before turning to look at her friend. “So, this is the Phantomhive manor?”

“Yep,” Jem replied as she began pulled out her camera ready to begin.

“This is where you grew up?”

“Yep.”

“That certainly explains a lot.”

It took a second for the jibe to register, to which Jem turned to punch Megan in the arm. “What're you trying to say?”

Megan laughed. “Just that your weird old house matches your weird personality.”

Jem huffed, but refused to retort. If she ended up getting into a banter match with Megan, then she would never be able to get her work done. She was already worried about how far behind she was with this project. She'd had a severe creative block for a few weeks, and now she only had one week left to get all of this work done. She could ask her tutor for an extension, but she didn't dare try that one after what happened last time. It wasn't Jem's fault that she didn't have time to organised herself. Okay, maybe that was only half true. But juggling college and work was a difficult task. Especially since her mum had pissed off to Spain to be with her new fella. Now the bills all fell down to her. Not that her mum ever paid them herself anyway...

“Let's go,” Jem announced, shaking herself out of her thoughts. If she thought about her mother any more, then it was likely to sour her whole mood completely. 

“Wait, what?” Megan froze. “You mean... inside?”

“Yeah?”

Megan's eyes remained locked on the manor, and she pulled her pink waterproof jacket tighter around herself. Her brown eyes betrayed her unease. Jem honestly never thought her best friend would be so bothered by the place. Did it really look that intimidating to outsiders? 

Jem's sapphire blue eyes glanced back to look at her old home. To her, she just saw a pile of old rubbish and bad memories. But perhaps to those who weren't used to the place, it would look rather... spooky. After all, the manor was built during the Georgian era, though rumour had it that it had burnt completely down in the late 1800s. Her mother had always joked that their family was cursed. Apparently her great-grandfather, Ciel Phantomhive had re-built the place, increased the family fortune, and practically brought their family back from near extinction. Her grandfather had always held great admiration towards his own grandfather, Ciel. He used to tell her so many stories about his achievements. 

“You're not scared are you?” Jem began smirking again, turning away from her friend to continue heading towards the dilapidated building. 

“What? No!” Megan's frantic footsteps sounded from behind as she rushed to catch up. “It's just, you don't know what could be lurking in there, that's all. There could be squatters! They could be waiting in there high on coke right now, ready to stab us as soon as we enter!”

“You have a very vivid imagination, Megan,” Jem sighed as she began searching the windows for a way in. Most of the windows had been boarded up. The front door was locked, and only her grandfather had the key. Jem had tried rummaging through his personal belongings during her last visit she paid him, but to no avail. All she found was a bunch of old family photos and keepsakes. When she had tried asking her grandfather about it, he had only gotten confused and upset. 

“I'm just trying to be realistic!”

Jem sighed again. “I promise you, there's no squatters. Hardly anybody knows about this place. We're in the middle of nowhere. Nobody ever comes out here. Now can we please get on with this film? I want to finish before it gets dark, and I'll have so much editing to do.”