[CONTENTID1]As A Gentleman, He Begins[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Backstreet Boys - Shape of My Heart

[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]The morning robins have risen quite early and have started to sing their usual song, creating warm fragments of music to surround the peaceful air. Clouds were scattered from here to there but nonetheless, they made a path to clear the way for the sun to appear up in the horizon.

The Phantomhive vacation house, as Sir Phipps described, was still motionless both inside and out. Not a single movement was evident – at least not distinct enough to cause a disturbance – except for the constant ticking noises of the clocks from the inside and the distant rustling of the trees on the outside.

That is, until the young knight stirred from his sleep, as he ran his delicate but chapped fingers (due to constant practice) through his golden locks. He sighed as he finally opened his eyes to greet another day, squinting slightly from the morning light that passed through his curtains. He glanced over to his nightstand clock and somehow, a small smile curved from his lips.

“Mother would have been upset if she saw that I’m still in bed at this hour,” he chuckled as he peeled off the covers and stood to fully open the curtains. He noticed two robins flew by from one tree and into the unending horizon. The magnificence of such nature suddenly brought back a memory from last night. A sight that was as magnificent as that same morning itself – at least that’s what Ciel would have probably thought, the young knight supposed.

With the same light blush starting to creep back from his cheeks from last night, Edward decided to take his mind off of such an embarrassing thought by getting ready for the day.

Noticing that the house was still quiet as he went out of his room, Edward resolved to take a light stroll outside to survey the grounds as he was not able to do so yesterday. For precautionary measures, he immediately grabbed a sheathed sword from the other side of his room and headed out.

Surveying the environment, he breathed in the morning air, closing his eyes once again. He felt relaxed. He somehow felt that he could be free, unconstrained by the strict boundaries that his mother had set upon him. He knew she meant well but sometimes her teachings made him feel ashamed. Sometimes he felt ashamed that he could not follow her in the same precise manner as his own sister could manage to do. He was ashamed but at the same time, he was optimistic – a trait desirable for a knight. He knew he had much to learn, to take one step at a time, and hopefully one day, he would be able to make his parents proud.

A sudden movement from the bushes beside him led him out of his thoughts. Jerking a bit from the sudden noise, Edward took a step forward, glancing over to the direction of the movement. As the bushes moved again for the second time, he was sure something – or maybe someone – was definitely hiding.

‘Are they already striking? This early in the morning?’ He thought as he took calculated steps with one hand on his sword’s sheath and the other on the sword itself.

An unidentifiable thing then made way to a tree right past Edward and at that moment, a shadow loomed in front of him. Instinctively, he drew out his sword and stopped just enough to point the tip of it to the shadow.

Within a second, Edward was able to depict a man, in a butler-like clothing, standing in front of him. An antenna of the man’s hair shot upwards as his eyes widened from the sudden action of the young knight. Then in a split second, the antenna curved forwards with a slight tremble.

“Please don’t strike!” The man spoke.

‘His voice doesn’t seem like it fits his character…’

“…says Goethe.”

‘Is that his real voice?’ A yellow and orange spotted snake circled around Edward’s feet, startling him.

“We’re just here to deliver a package,” the same man spoke but with a changed tone of seriousness. “…says Wilde.” A brown and black colored snake then appeared, wrapping itself around the man’s neck.

Edward sighed and withdrew his sword back into its sheath. “If I remember correctly from when we met at the Campania, you are called Snake, am I right?” The man nodded, his antenna flopping back casually. “Then come in and have some tea.”