**Random song up top**
Her Name Pronunciation:
Gab-rhe-ella Ex-a-veo
((Gabriella Xavio))
~Gabriella is called Gabi, Ri {Ree}, or Riella for short.
~Alois is fourteen years old with Gabi being the same age.
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Gabriella is homeless, living on the harsh streets in town, closer to the Trancy Manor than to the Phantomhive Manor. She is called a Beautiful Maiden or the Homeless Beauty by many. Alois goes out to search for her one day..read to find out what happens next!
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Gabriella Xavio's POV

Hey, my name is Gabriella Xavio, and I'm homeless at the age of fourteen..currently.

Let me explain.

I have been homeless—and an orphan, might I add—ever since I was eight years old. So basically, I have been living on the streets for six years now.

Fortunately, I have been blessed enough to survive for this long.

You may be thinking, 'What happened to your parents?!'

Well, they're gone..and they're never coming back.

My mother and father were assassinated in the middle of the night all those years ago. It was my birthday too. Shocking, huh? Note my sarcasm, please.

I have been alone ever since.

I don't need any help from anyone for nothing. I'd hate to be a burden, honestly.

I was raised with manners, so, sorry about my formalities and such.

I always say 'please' and 'thank you' whenever it is required, which doesn't always happen often.

I don't take many things from or talk to strangers.

You know that old saying, 'Stranger Danger,' right?

That's something I remember from when I was a little girl. My parents would always say things like that and said that I would get my 'Happy Ever After' when I grow up.

Just like they did. (Minus the assassination part.)

But that's not how life works.

I doubt I'm ever going to have a 'Happily Ever After,' like my parents did.

Who knows? Who am I to say that it won't happen?

Honestly, though, who could love a homeless girl like me? Possibly another homeless, but still, nonetheless..

The social standards are wrecking chances us homeless people have at romance; and the fact that many are disgusted by the very sight of us..it's unfair and rude.

I've been called a Beautiful Maiden before, but I wouldn't say that I'm 'beautiful.'

Word has spread about me, and I don't like it one bit.

Most say I have the looks of a young princess or queen, which is saying a lot these days. That any man would fall for me just by my looks, but I don't want that.

I want true love, not a fake love.

No wonder my parents had me wear a cloak to hide my face from others..

I still have it, and it still fits me. (It was a pretty big cloak, okay? XD)

Which is why I am wearing it right now.

I'm also wearing a mask to cover the lower half of my face, so others can only see my eyes (including eyebrows).

This is what I look like:

**With the mask, you can't see the outlines of her lips or anything, it's a scarf-like material. And the bracelet is a dark purple color, not light blue for the gemstone**

The only valuable thing I have is my bracelet that my mother and father gave to me as a gift when I turned eight, that same night they were murdered..

A-Anyways, I have red-orange hair that looks like the way I showed you that reaches my waist, hazel eyes, a black cloak with a mask to cover the lower half of my face—as I said earlier, black combat boots, a light gray tank top, and black shorts that reach my knees that are easy to move in since they stretch. ((Is also wearing a black bra and girl boyshorts type underwear that is also black.)) **I know they probably didn't have these things back then, so just roll with it!**

If I ever lost my bracelet, I would be gone. Freaking out. Worried and panicking. Trust me, I've lost it before and that's exactly what happened. I found it, obviously, but still.

I hear news from some nearby people walking down the street while I'm sitting in a dark alleyway by the sidewalk..

"Have you heard? A noble will be coming around in this area soon!" A female voice squealed.

Oh, great, another snobby rich kid is coming, I bet. Just what I need..NOT.

The other voice fangirled as well. Yep, two girls. It must be a male noble coming, then.

"Really?! Have you heard why?!" The second voice asked, clearly excited.

I roll my eyes.

It's just nobility, I mean, seriously.

Okay, it is a pretty big thing, but I don't care at all about social status or ranks to a serious extent. Apparently, everyone else in London does. It truly disgusts me when the rich or the somewhat wealthy people won't help out the homeless when they practically beg for it.

Why not just help a fellow human being out, right? Just—UGH!

Sorry, off topic.

"I think he is coming to meet the Homeless Beauty on the street." The first voice states thoughtfully.

Is she talking about..me?! Everyone calls me that when they see me, even if they've never even seen my actual face before. Only very special people get to see my real face. No..it cannot be me! It mustn't be! I'm just overthi-

"Oh, you mean her?" The second voice questions, and I look over at them to see one of the girls pointing at me.

Ever heard of manners? It's rude to point at someone..

The first girl slaps her hand down, glaring at her.

"Eren! It's rude to point at others." The first girl scolds, and the second girl—Eren—nods.

Eren looks at me and says apologetically, "Sorry, miss. I always forget about that."

I just wave it off with my left hand, the one facing them, and stand up, walking towards them. They look nervous.

"H-Hi, my name's Eren and this i-is Sophie..it's nice to m-meet you.." Eren stutters, Sophie nods.

"You too, girls. However, there's no need to feel nervous. I'm only a human, just like you two. Now, what's this about a noble coming to see me?" I question softly, and they calm down.

The girls also seem shocked that I actually spoke, as well as other passing civilians since they stopped and stared, gathering around us slowly.

Nobody has ever heard me talk often. I do, just not all the time.

"Well, the head of the Trancy Manor is coming down to this street to meet you!" Eren exclaims, and I raise one eyebrow.

"Is that so?" I ask, and they nod.

A crowd gathers around us fully, but I ignore it. The girls seem a bit nervous again, but also ignore them and continue talking to me.

"Yes! We've heard from the newspapers and the Royal Guards from the Queen earlier this morning! He will be coming at noon today!" Sophie explains, and I nod my head slowly.

"Alright. Thank you for the information, girls. Goodbye." I say, giving them a small wave, which they return happily, and I walk away, the crowd parting for me.

"Excuse me..pardon me..sorry sir, didn't mean to step on your foot.." I mumble, and the man smiles.

"No worries!" He replies as I walk off.

I walk back into the alleyway and sit down, doing nothing.

I mean, I have nothing better to do but wait.

I don't know if I want to meet this guy..how old is he anyway?! Oh well, I guess I'll just wait and see..

Some people in the crowd just stand there and stare at me, surprised at me speaking still, before shaking it off and walking away, along with the rest of the parting crowd.

Eren and Sophie are still standing there, talking to each other.

"Wow! What they say is true! She is sooo nice!~" Sophie proclaims quietly, and Eren nods enthusiastically.

I laugh quietly to myself. I don't laugh too much, I usually have a blank face. If not, then a small smile. But that's it.

"I know, right?!~ And I can't believe she actually TALKED to us!!~ She rarely ever talks!" Eren added.

"EXACTLY!~" Sophie fangirls, before noticing that I'm watching them with amusement in my eyes.

Her eyes widen from surprise and Eren turned around and saw me, her eyes widening too. They laughed and I chuckled slightly.

"Nice to know you like me, girls." I tease, and they laugh harder while I just have a tiny smile.

"Of course we like you! And sorry about that, we thought you couldn't hear us.." Sophie says sheepishly.

Eren scratches the back of her head, seeming a bit embarrassed.

Amusement gleams in my hazel eyes.

"No worries. That actually made me quite amused, so thank you both for that. Have a nice day, will you?" I inquire nicely, and they nod with huge smiles.

"Okay!~ You too!~ Bye-Bye!~" They respond in unison before skipping off.

I sigh and chuckle again before dropping my smile, but never losing the amusement or happiness in my eyes.

They seem like sweet girls..

However, do they only like me because they've heard about me being "popular?"

I could use some true friends right about now...

Whatever! I..I don't need friends anyway! All they're going to do is hurt me!

...Right...?

Ughhhhh, life is so hard sometimes, I swear..

I watch people walk by while I think, enjoying the bustling place I live in. I've actually grown to love living outside, despite all of the crimes and dangers from them and other things that happen out here. Although, I wouldn't mind sleeping in an actual bed again..

The world is such a cruel, but beautiful place to live in.

Buuuut hey, you've only got one life, so you better make it count!

With that, I stand up and walk out into the open, keeping my hood down, but I can still see. I can tell people are staring and whispering about me, both positive and negative things, but I just act like I hear and see nothing.

By now, everyone knows what I wear so they can spot me out of the crowd easily, unless there are multiple people wearing the same outfit, or cloak.

What should I do?

I stop walking by a wall and lean against it, left leg propped up on the wall while I look up and around, thinking of what I could do.

I'm supposed to meet the rich kid at noon, well, if they can find me, that is.

It's 10:30 am right now. One hour and thirty minutes left.

I have been leaning against this wall for who knows how long, before I see something..

I spot some man trying to steal a woman's purse and no one is even bothering to help her.

Anger rises up in my chest as I rush over there and tap the mans shoulder.

He turns around, him and the woman stopping on pulling the purse for a moment. They look surprised.

I have my eyebrows knitted close together, clearly mad as I glare at the man.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" I demand, and he looks even more shocked before smirking.

"Why would you want to know, Homeless Beauty?" He snarls, holding the purse handle tighter.

"Because you know what I see? I see a criminal trying to steal an innocent woman's purse. Now, if you would kindly give it back to her, or else I will have to use force." I threaten, and a crowd gathers around us.

He looks taken aback by my words, but yanks the woman's purse out of her hands before facing me fully.

"What could you do? All you are is a weak, worthless, little girl." He growls.

That's it.

I ball my right fist up and swiftly punched him square in the jaw. Everyone gasps, but claps for me, cheering quietly, knowing the fight isn't over yet.

The man stumbles, rubbing his jaw, before standing up tall again, glaring daggers at me.

He steps forward and tries to punch me, but I block his hit with my left forearm and kick him in the shins with my free foot, the right one.

He yells in pain and anger for a moment, but then he catches me off guard and he punches me straight in the face.

I stumble, holding my left cheek, wincing slightly. I quickly regain my composure shortly after everyone gasps at me getting hit.

I drop my hand and high kicked his face with my left foot. As he stumbles, I punch his face again, then shove him to the ground.

He lays on the ground in pain, and I barely did anything to him.

The crowd cheers at his defeat.

I snatch the lady's purse before walking over to her, handing her her purse back.

She smiles widely before exclaiming, "Oh! Thank you so, so much dear! You are my savior! Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

I shake my head, giving her a small smile even if she can't see it.

"Just..be careful next time, okay?" I ask, and she nods.

"Of course! Are you okay?!"

"Yes, ma'am, thank you." I reply.

"No problem! Thanks again! Tata!~" She says nicely before walking away through the parting crowd for her.

The crowd cheers again and saying things like 'Great job!' and 'You showed him!'

This makes me a bit happier, but I drop my smile, going back to my emotionless stature.

Little did I know about a Royal Guard watching my entire performance during the fight..

-/-/-Royal Guard's POV-/-/-

The Beautiful Maiden runs over to the man trying to steal that woman's purse and tapped on his shoulder. The man and the woman stop tugging on the purse and look at the Homeless Beauty, surprised. I watch the scene unfold with my comrade behind a wall, listening carefully and inspecting everything the beauty does..

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The beauty demands, and the thief looks even more shocked before a smirk played on his lips.

"Why would you want to know, Homeless Beauty?" The thief snarls, holding the purse handle tighter in his hands.

"Because you know what I see? I see a criminal trying to steal an innocent woman's purse. Now, if you would kindly give it back to her, or else I will have to use force." Beauty threatens, and a crowd gathers around them.

She's got guts, that's for sure..

My comrade and I get closer, hiding behind another wall to see what's about to happen more clearly.

He looks taken aback by her words, but wrenches the woman's purse out of her hands before facing the beauty fully.

"What could you do? All you are is a weak, worthless, little girl." He growls at her, and she seems to snap.

The Beautiful Maiden balls up her right fist and swiftly punched him square in the jaw. Everyone gasps, but clap for her, cheering slightly, knowing the fight isn't exactly over yet.

The man stumbles, rubbing his jaw painfully, before standing up tall again, glaring daggers at her.

He steps forward and tries to punch the beauty, but she blocks his hit with her left forearm and kicked him in the shins with her right foot.

He yells in pain and anger for a moment, but then he catches the girl off guard and he punches her straight in the face.

She stumbles, holding her left cheek, wincing. She quickly regains her composure shortly after everyone gasps at her getting punched.

She drops her hand and high kicked his face with her left foot. As he stumbles, she punches his face again, then shoved him to the ground.

He lays in pain, and she had barely done anything to him.

The crowd cheers at his defeat.

Wow, she's strong! I look over at my teammate to see him recording the whole fight. Was he doing that this entire time without me noticing? Oh, whatever.

She snatchs the lady's purse before walking over to her, handing her her purse back.

The woman smiles widely before exclaiming, "Oh! Thank you so, so much dear! You are my savior! Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Beauty shakes her head, seemingly giving the woman a small smile even if she can't see it.

"Just..be careful next time, okay?" Beauty questions, and the woman nods.

"Of course! Are you okay?!"

"Yes, ma'am, thank you." Beautiful Maiden replies.

"No problem! Thanks again! Tata!~" The woman says nicely before walking away through the parting crowd for her.

The crowd cheers again and saying things like 'Great job!' and 'You showed him!'

This most likely makes her a bit happier, but she drops her smile, going back to her usual emotionless stature.

My comrade and I were ordered by the Queen to watch her for the past couple of weeks to study her, see if she's good enough to become something of the Queen's. The beauty has potential, and we all know it.

My teammate stops recording, nodding to me, before we rush to our horses and gallop back to the castle to inform the Queen of what we had gathered this morning.

-/-/-Gabriella Xavio's POV-/-/-

I have a feeling that someone was watching me, as if studying my every move during the fight. And no, not the crowd staring and watching me fight in awe, but the feeling I've been having for the past couple of weeks.

I've noticed two guards of the Queen's being around me almost constantly during some random time of the day before leaving after I have a fight with someone or something around those lines. It's always those two same guards watching and following me. Why does the Queen need to watch me so closely like this? What did I do wrong?

Whatever, I didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I don't need to steal because at restaurants, when there are leftovers, I just take those when nobody's watching. Gross, I know, but it is better than stealing. The guilt of stealing would be a weight on my shoulders that I would have to live with for the rest of my life. Not something I want to put up with.

So this is the better option.

By the way, what time even is it?

I look at a clock on some building and see that it is 11:57 am.

Woah! Where did the time go?! I have to be meeting this noble guy in three minutes!

Why am I worrying about this? I don't need friends and I don't need to meet anybody if I don't want to.

..But do I?

That's the real question here.

Okay, I'm wasting time here thinking.

Wait, no I'm not!

It's my time, I can spend it doing whatever I want.

I shake my head and walk back to my usual alleyway, leaning my back against the wall and sliding down until I'm sitting on the ground with my knees up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them.

I sigh.

I wonder if Ciel is alright?

We used to be best friends before the...incident. We lost contact ever since. I have no idea how he is.

I hear he's still looking for me, and that his parents had died two years after mine did in a fire. Three years for him since he's a year younger. An act of arson. How cruel.

I've been looking for him too, but always got distracted by all of the crimes being committed and had to do something to help. I hope he understands.

Man, I miss him. He was—and still is—like my older brother, despite me being older by a year. We are about the same age, because he was seven when my parents had died, while I was eight. So he was ten and I was eleven when his parents passed away.

I am staring at the ground while thinking, lost in my own thoughts.

My thoughts were cut off when I heard two people talking nearby..

"Claude, I order you to find her! I want to meet her." A boy's voice—seemingly around my age—ordered, making my cheeks tint a light pink due to how cute his voice sounds.

What is happening to me? Why am I blushing?

"Yes, your highness." The deeper male's voice spoke, most likely bowing with a hand over his heart.

That must be the noble's butler, clearly.

I hear footsteps coming my way as I take my arms off of my legs and laid my right leg out, keeping my left leg up but not crushed against my torso. I have my left arm over my left knee, waiting for them to find me as I keep my head down, staring at my lap.

"Found her." The deep voice states, showing no emotion at all.

I look up at the two guys in front of me—well, on my left side.

I first see a tall man with a butlers suit on, slick black hair and blood red eyes with glasses.

He's a demon. 100%.

I then look at the boy next to him, apparently the noble. He's around my age.

He has blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a purple overcoat, a cactus green undershirt with a white collar that drapes over his chest, a black bow tie, black short shorts, black socks with black boots that have purple laces on them.

He's actually kinda cute..wait, what?! No!

"Good job, Claude!" The boy exclaims, patting the demons arm as a praise?

The boy then turns to me and smiles brightly.

I look at him with curiosity filling my hazel eyes, not smiling back yet.

"Hello there!~ My name is Alois Trancy, head of the Trancy household! And you are?" The so called 'Alois' introduces, holding a hand out for me to take so that he could help me up.

I hesitantly took his hand, when I did, he smiled bigger, if possible, and pulled me up. He surprised me with how strong he is, he barely had to do anything to lift me up!

Our hands linger on one another's for a split second, before realizing that our hands are still connected. We both quickly let go, blushing a bit.

"Um, hey, just call me Ri {Ree}. It's nice to meet you, Lord Trancy." I introduce, giving a small curtsy even though I'm not wearing a dress.

Eh, whatever, I like these clothes more.

I'm not gonna trust him with my full name yet. Not until I trust him.

Here we go again with my trust issues..

Alois waves his right hand and keeps his smile on his face, "There's no need for that, Miss Ri."

I nod slowly before standing straight again, still not smiling.

He seems unfazed by my emotionless demeanor. Hm, probably from Claude, here.

"Anyways, I've heard a lot about you, Ri, so I wanted to meet you in person!" Alois explains, and I nod once.

"So, let me get this straight, you only wanted to meet me because I'm popular." I ask, though it sounded like more of a statement.

His eyes widen as he shakes his head 'no.'

"No, no! Of course not! It's just that I've heard many great things about you and wanted to see if the rumors were true!" Alois reasons, and I raise one eyebrow, not fully believing him.

"Sure, sure. We'll see about that then, won't we?" I state, and Claude swiftly grabs my shoulders and slams me up against the wall I was once leaning on, glaring at me.

I don't react, keeping my straight face, even though that hurt a bit (being slammed into the wall).

Alois, on the other hand, widened his eyes as the scene unfolds.

"Don't talk to my Young Master like that." Claude growls, and I glare back.

"And why not? He's a human too. Besides, you have no idea what I've been through to make me act like this, so don't even give me that trash you're speaking about." I growl back, even more dangerous than him, resulting in both him and Alois being shocked.

"Claude! Get off of her this instant!" Alois exclaims, and Claude lets me go reluctantly.

I see that I've gained both his interest and Alois', is that a good thing? I suppose, it will keep them guessing. Eh, just roll with it.

Claude and I seem to have a stare down, well, more like glare down, but Alois steps in between us and holds his hand against Claude's chest, holding him back, and having his right arm in front of me, in case we both decide to do something.

"Woah, relax you two. Don't start another fight." Alois tries, and we calm down immediately and drop our glares..for now.

Alois steps back, returning his hands to his sides, but not before subtly nudging my arm while lowering it. It seems that Claude and I both have a bad temper.

"Anyways, what is your full name, Ri?" Alois asks, trying to change the subject, and I look him directly in the eyes.

"Can't say just yet, sorry." I reply, and he nods, confused, but shrugs it off.

"It's fine. Now, Claude, apologize to her." Alois orders, and Claude sighs.

"Fine. I'm sorry, what I did was uncalled for." Claude apologizes, and I roll my eyes.

"No, you're not sorry. I can see it in your eyes. Don't apologize unless you mean it, not because your master told you to, alright?" I question, and he nods, him and Alois looking surprised again.

"Good." I say, sighing, before looking back at Alois, who was already looking at me.

"Now, please excuse my behavior today, and any other day you may see me, but I do not trust easily. That is why I only gave you part of my name and not all. Anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?" I inquire, and Alois nods, before replying.

"Well, I just wanted to get to know you more!" Alois answers, and I nod.

"Fine then. Only for a few minutes, though. I have something I need to do." I state, and he nods again with Claude.

"Okay! How old are you?" Alois asks, and I look at him questioningly.

"Why does that matter?" I ask, and Claude glares.

"Just answer the question, Ri." Claude growls, and I roll my eyes again.

"Okay, okay, fine, whatever. I'm fourteen. You?" I answer, and Alois smiles.

"Same. Favorite color?" Alois replies, and a small smile creeps it's way onto my face, but it's not very noticeable.

"Dark purple, you?" I respond.

"Any shade of purple, mostly dark, like I'm wearing." Alois states, and I nod.

"So, favorite animal?" I ask.

"Well, I love spiders. What about you?" Alois replies.

"I'm going to have to go with the jaguar." I say, and he nods.

After a little while of learning the basics of each other, and a bit of answers from Claude, I realize it's time for me to go and check for any crime like I do every day around this time. It is currently 12:35, dang! We lost track of time!

"Oh! Sorry, but I must go. See you around, you two." I dismiss, standing back up from my sitting position and walked away, them waving goodbye to my leaving form.

I walk around for a while, and seeing no crime, I walk back to where I usually sleep, the alleyway.

As I'm walking, an arm harshly grabs my forearm and pulls me into a dark alleyway to my right. As I'm squirming and trying to break free of their grasp, I look up to see who it is. He has orange hair, emerald green eyes, and seems to be a few years older than me. Maybe 19? 20? I don't know, but what I do know is that I have to break free!

"Stop struggling, cutie." The man mutters, his voice is deep, but not nearly as deep as Claude's.

He sounds almost like a teenager. Did I guess his age wrong? I doubt it.

I shake my head and rip my arm out of his iron grip and punch him. He stumbles but before I could run away, he regained his composure and pinned me against the wall, punching and kicking me repeatedly. I knee him in the groin and he falls to his knees, giving me time to run, well, limp-run, away.

I run until I get to my area, panting. I collapse against the wall and slide down, in so much pain that I can barely move anymore.

He's pretty strong, geez..but not as strong as me. He just caught me by surprise. He got lucky.

I hope I never see him again..

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* Morning at 8:00
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I wake up hurting all over. It feels awful.

My right side hurts because that man had kicked me there multiple times last night, my bottom lip on the right is slit, I can taste it, my left shin, and there is probably a bruise on my left cheekbone under my eye slightly because it stings.

I hope that groin shot I did last night made him decide not to mess with me ever again..

I see a Royal Guard and his teammate, I'm guessing, walking up to me. The same two that have been watching me for the past few weeks. I stay seated, not wanting to stand in case of falling, and because I don't feel like it yet.

They make it to me and they kneel down in front of me so that I can look them in their eyes.

"Y-Yes?" I ask, trying to sound like I'm not in pain, obviously failing due to me stuttering.

Luckily, they don't address that matter just yet.

"Hello, you are what others call the Beautiful Maiden or the Homeless Beauty, correct?" The first guard questions, and I nod, quickly stopping due to my head starting to hurt from the sudden movement.

I guess I had hit my head pretty hard last night when I was slammed against that wall..

"Well, the Queen had told us to deliver this letter to you and to come with us once you're done—if you agree, that is." The second guard explained.

"Okay.." I trail off, and the first guard hands me the letter.

I read it to myself..

------
Dear Beautiful Maiden,

Hello, my name is Queen Victoria and I have had my two guards study you for the past few weeks, ever since I had heard about you and your amazing skills. Now, you are probably wondering, 'Why did you have two guards study me?' and 'Am I in trouble?'. Well, the answer is, no, you're not in trouble, and I had my two guards study you because I had heard that you are terrific at combat. We could use someone like you on our team. If you're up for it, please come to my castle right after you read this letter with my guards.
I heard that you also take time out of your day to see if any crime is happening so that you can stop it, and that you try not to steal, but instead, take leftovers that people have left from restaurants. My guards had also gathered that information.
Hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,
The Queen

Queen Victoria
------

I stare at the note, shocked that the Queen would actually notice me.

She wants me to join her team?! Of course!! I would love to!

I look up to the guards, them waiting for my answer. I smile a tiny bit, not showing my full excitement, but I think they get the gist from my eyes.

"So?" The second guard asked, and I nod.

"Yes, of course I will!" I answer, and they smile.

They stand up and the first guard holds his hand out, and I take it.

He pulls me up and it hurts my right side, but I ignore it. However, they seemed to notice my pain and said..

"Are you alright, miss?" The first guard questioned, him and his friend seems worried too.

"Yeah, I-I'm alright. Just got i-into a small fight yesterday and g-got pretty beaten u-up by it.. I should be fine.." I explain and they nod, leading me to their horses.

I ride with the second guard to the castle.

Here we go...

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* At The Castle
Still Gabriella's POV-/-/-

We make it to the castle and we walk inside, other servants putting up the horses in their stalls.

As we walk inside, I look around in awe at how beautiful the castle is.

We make it to the throne room and see the Queen sitting there. Once she sees us, she stands and walks over to us as we stand in the center of the room.

The guards bow and I curtsy, the Queen curtsy's back to us and we all stand up straight again. The Queen smiles at me, and I smile back whether she can see it or not.

I can feel that my lip is still bleeding, but I ignore it along with the pain I'm experiencing.

"Hello there, I am Queen Victoria. Would you tell me your name please?" The Queen asks, and I nod slowly.

I can trust her, I know I can..

"M-My name is G-Gabriella Xavio..i-it is a pleasure t-to meet your a-acquaintance, your majesty.." I stutter from the pain, trying to seem calm and not at all nervous or in pain.

"Are you alright, dear? You sound in pain.." The Queen trails off, and I nod, indicating that I am okay.

"Y-Yes, thank you.." I respond, but she still looks unsure.

"Alright then. Will you show us your identity, please?" The Queen inquires, and I grow nervous.

Well, it would be nice to have freedom again and not have to wear a cloak all the time..

"O-Of course.." I spoke, removing my cloak and mask, the second guard holding them for me.

Now they can see not only my hazel eyes, but also my long red-orange hair that reaches my waist, my grey tank-top and black shorts with my combat boots. My bracelet is also more visible now.

I can tell the guards are staring at me in awe, but I ignore them, knowing everyone does this when they first see me.

Heck, even Ciel had done that when we had first met.

"You are very beautiful, young lady. No wonder everyone calls you Beautiful Maiden or Homeless Beauty." The Queen comments, guards nod, making me blush lightly from being praised.

I am still not used to that..

"Th-Thank you, my Queen.." I reply, and they seem to be ignoring my cuts and bruises on my body from the fight last night.

"You're welcome. Now, what happened to you?" She asked worriedly, and I quickly answered.

"Last night a man had grabbed my forearm and dragged me into some dark alleyway. I was struggling against his grip, and he told me to stop squirming, so I shook my head 'no.' That was when he had slammed me into the wall and started punching and kicking me over and over again. I had kneed him in the groin area and he fell, giving me time to make my escape." I explained, using my hands to emphasize a bit.

The Queen nodded, then questioned, "Who was this man? Do you know?"

"No, sorry. I don't."

"His appearance?"

"He had orange hair and green eyes, seemingly around his 19s or 20s in age. However, what threw me off was his voice. He sounded kind of like a teenage boy. Deep voice, but not as deep as Claude's voice is, Lord Trancy's butler. The man was also about five or six inches taller than me in height. That's all I know." I rant, and she nods, the first guard writing down my description.

"Will you be alright?" The second guard asked me, and I nod again.

"Yes, I will be perfectly fine, thank you. This isn't anything new for me." I say, and they all nod.

"Anyways, you will be known as my Jaguar, since I had heard that your favorite animal just so happens to be the jaguar." The Queen explains, and I smile slightly, happy with the name.

"Thank you! I love it!" I exclaim quietly, and they all chuckle.

"The Queen's Jaguar, quite unique indeed." The first guard commented, and we all nod, smiling.

I'm not smiling very big, but it's good enough.

"Also, my Jaguar, I want you, my Spider, and my Guard Dog to work on a kidnapper case together. I will send them a letter and have them arrive immediately. I won't tell them about you so that it will be a surprise, but they will know about them working together. Is that okay?" The Queen inquired.

"Yes, that will be just fine." I reply, and she nods.

"Would you rather be in a dress while you wait or in those clothes you have on?" She asks.

"I'd like to keep them on, if you don't mind." I answer, and she nods again.

"Of course. Just know, for the mission, you may have to change into a dress, for there will be a ball thrown tonight and that will most likely be the kidnapper's next strike. Anyways, goodbye for now, you may wander around this area if you wish." The Queen stated, I nod as she leaves.

I'm alone with the two guards. I turn to them, only to see them blushing a bit.

Now that I look at them more, they look to be only a year or two older than me.

"Okay, so, what are your names?" I ask them, and they snap out of their little daze before answering, making me chuckle slightly.

The guard holding my clothes replies, "My name is Tobias, but most just call me Toby. Nice to meet you, Gabriella."

"And my name is Wade, nice to meet you, Gabriella." The first guard says.

"Just call me Gabi, Riella, or Ri for short. Whatever you prefer." I say, and they nod.

The Queen returns, sitting back on her throne.

"I had just sent two doves to bring the mail to them straight away." The Queen said, and we all nod.

"Oh, and it's nice to meet you all, my Queen, Toby, and Wade." I say loud enough for everyone to hear.

They all send me smiles.

"You too, Ri!" They all respond, even the Queen called me Ri!

I guess that's what they all prefer.

When I was young, Ciel used to call me Gabi because he liked that best.

As you can tell, I really, really, really miss my bro. It's only natural to miss someone, especially if they were so close to you before.

And no, I do not have a crush on him.

The Queen, Tobias, Wade, and I all talked until we heard the front doors open and three pairs of feet started walking in our direction.

I know that two guards escort guests here, so there must be only one of the two people here that I am supposed to meet.

I turn around with Tobias and Wade, waiting to see who enters.

Two pairs of footsteps fade back to the front doors, leaving the one trail of footsteps still coming, almost here.

As the person enters, I recognize him immediately, even after all these years.

He has navy blue hair, an eyepatch over one of his eyes, leaving one ocean blue eye showing, wearing a navy blue overcoat with a white dress shirt underneath, a light blue bow, navy blue shorts that reach his knees, black knee-high socks, and his black and white shoes.

He is my best friend...

Ciel Phantomhive..

Our eyes widen as we take each other in, before smiles reach our faces. Not small ones, but big ones instead.

That is a big deal since I've also heard that he never smiled anymore.

"CIEL!"
"GABI!"

We exclaim each other's name at the same time before running to one another, tackling each other in a huge bear hug, making everyone else in the room smile and laugh at our reunion.

Luckily, we had kept our balance and not fallen. I am a few inches taller than him, due to me being 5'3. I'm assuming he is 5' feet tall then.

He rests his head on my shoulder, and I lean mine against his head.

"I missed you.." We both whisper to one another, tears sliding down our cheeks like an avalanche.

We all failed to notice a certain blonde haired noble walking in and watching the scene unfold, a pang of slight jealousy striking him, but also happiness for me and Ciel coming together again, even if he didn't know the full backstory.

After a few minutes of hugging and silent crying, we broke apart and had tears staining our cheeks.

I take Ciel's eyepatch off, realizing it got a bit wet from crying, and he let me. Being as close as siblings when we were young, he trusts me with being in his personal space, but not in a romantic way. In more of a close sibling kinda way.

I see his purple star eye, and a striking sadness struck my body, realizing that something had happened to Ciel that made him have to make a contract with a demon to survive. That must've happened after his parents died..

We wipe away our tears and I dry off his eyepatch with my shirt, knowing only my cloak and shorts got dirty while living outside for the most part, before handing it back to him once it's dry. We are all smiling.

I help him tie the eyepatch back on and he faces me again.

"It's soooo amazing to see you again, Ciel!" I say happily, and he nods, still smiling like an idiot with me.

"Same here, Gabi! I've been looking everywhere for you ever since the fire happened.. a-anyways, I'm glad to finally be with you again, sis." Ciel replied, and I nod.

"You too, bro, you too." I return, and everyone gasped.

That's when I noticed Alois was here..

I blushed at seeing him as he entered, so I look away, Ciel smirking at my behavior knowingly.

We all face the Queen and the guards, me standing in between Ciel and Alois. Ciel is on my right with Alois on my left.

"You two are siblings?!" Everyone except Ciel and I yelled in shock, making him and I laugh, me wrapping my arm around his shoulders with him wrapping his arm around my middle back from the laughter being to great.

"N-No!" Ciel chokes out, still laughing, so I finish for him.

"W-We were just so c-close when we w-were kids, we were p-practically r-related to one a-another!" I explain, and everyone makes an 'Ohhh' sound and face besides Ciel and I, who are still laughing our butts off.

Once Ciel and I had calmed down, everyone started talking again.

"Wait.." Alois steps in front of me, inspecting me, making me blush again, "You're covered in bruises and cuts! What happened?!"

"She has-? *Gasp* Gabi! Are you okay?!" Ciel asked worriedly as he began to inspect me as well, head to toe.

"Yeah, guys, I'm fine. Chill. I just got into a fight last night with some guy and got hurt, but I won either way so it's whatever for me. Besides, this isn't anything new." I explain, and they nod slowly, shocked.

The Queen, Tobias, and Wade explain my story so that Ciel and Alois can understand fully of my situation.

After all that, Wade brought a med kit to patch me up, and let Ciel do it since I obviously trust him the most out of anyone here.

As Ciel patched up my bruises first, I was sitting on the floor by the way, the Queen started talking about the mission for us, knowing Ciel can both listen and work at the same time. He's actually pretty good at multitasking, like me.

Honestly, we could be siblings. We are alike in so many ways, it's uncanny!

Once Ciel is done with the bruises on my body, he moves onto my face. He first deals with my bleeding lip, having a wet cloth to wipe the dried blood and fresh blood away and put on some healing cream, it burns but it stops the bleeding and is supposed to heal my lip so eh. He then puts on one of those small, white bandages in the shape of a tiny rectangle onto my bottom lip, ensuring that my lip won't be exposed and will possibly keep my lip sealed for a while. I had refused it at first, but he said I only have to wear it for a little while so I agreed. Ciel then went to the bruise on my left cheekbone under my eye slightly, being careful not to hurt my actual eye while cleaning it.

I can tell Alois was watching Ciel working on me the entire time, probably just worried about my well being. I don't think much of it as Ciel finishes, standing up after packing the medical stuff away, holding his hand out to me.

I take it and he helps me up, holding the med kit in his left hand, and he gives the kit back to Wade, before standing on my left to hold me steady so I won't fall or put too much pressure on my left shin, knowing it will only irritate it. Alois is now on my right side, being the extra support if I fall or something.

"So, there will be a ball tonight, where we believe the kidnapper will strike next. You will have to go undercover and capture him, and give him to Tobias and Wade here once you're done so that he can be locked up once and for all. So, that means, my jaguar, you will have to wear a dress. It doesn't have to be long, and you can wear combat clothes underneath if you wish, but you must wear a dress to this ball. Everyone got it?" The Queen explained, and we all nod, understanding fully.

"Alright, Ri, what is your favorite color?" The Queen asked, and before I could speak, Alois and Ciel responded at the same time.

"Dark Purple."

I'm surprised Ciel remembered that! But since I had told Alois yesterday, of course he'd remember.

"Is this true?" Queen Victoria questioned, and I nod.

"Yes, it is. I'm surprised you even remembered that, Ciel." I commented, and he smirked.

"Well hey, if I can remember you, I can remember your favorite color. I'm kind of shocked that it is still dark purple." Ciel retorted, making us laugh.

"Heh, well I suppose some things never change, huh Ciel?" I ask, and he chuckles.

"Indeed." He responded, nodding.

"Anyways, I will get you a dark purple dress to wear."

"Thank you." I replied to her.

She nods, "I'll be right back."

And she leaves, then Wade comes back from putting the med kit away.

"Also, what is your real name, Ri? Ciel is calling you Gabi so I'm just wondering?" Alois questioned, and all of us-Ciel, Tobias, Wade, and I-say at the same exact time..

"Gabriella Xavio."

"Ohhhh, that makes so much more sense now!~ Beautiful name for a beautiful girl, indeed!" Alois comments, making me blush and everyone nod.

Right then the Queen entered with a long, dark purple dress, becoming my savior from embarrassment.

Here is what the dress looks like..

I will wear my combat boots still, obviously. Along with my black shorts, or as Alois calls them, 'Ciel shorts.' I find that kind of funny, actually. I'm also wearing my bracelet. I can't wear my tank-top underneath the dress, but I should be fine. The corset will do, because I'm assuming that I will have to wear one. And since my bruise on my side doesn't hurt too badly, I should be fine.

Can't wait for that..NOT!

"Will this do?" The Queen asks, and I nod.

"Yes, that's perfect, thank you, your majesty." I reply, and she smiles, nodding.

"Alright then! I will have one of my female servants help you with the corset while the boys get ready and undercover. Tobias and Wade, you two will also be going undercover with Alois and Ciel." The Queen ordered, and they nod.

"Let's meet outside of the castle in an hour?" I suggest, and everyone agrees, knowing that the party starts at 5:00 pm, and it is now 3:45 pm.

Ciel gives me one final hug before leaving with his butler, who he had told me was named Sebastian Michaelis, and Alois gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving with Claude, leaving me a blushing mess.

That really surprised me from Alois, and I'm also surprised that Ciel had hugged me twice today since he doesn't like hugs too much, and he did it willingly! Well, we haven't seen each other in years, so that makes sense. Same with the smiling, I hope he does that more often too.

The Queen's servant that will be helping me is named Henna, and she helps me walk as well until later. Alois, Ciel, Tobias, Wade, and the Queen all want me to rest for as long as I can without putting much pressure on my left shin until I have to be the bait. I had already volunteered as tribute so that no one else would have to do it, plus the kidnapper only goes for females so it's not like I had any choice.

When that was brought to my attention, about the kidnapper only taking females and I had volunteered to do it, Ciel had brought up that he could do it in my place since he had apparently dressed up as a female before for a mission similar to this one, which made me laugh, naturally, but I disagreed, not willing to put him through that again.

I could tell that when he was explaining his experience briefly to us, when he got to the corset part, he shuddered at the memory, literally. It was kinda funny, to be honest. Sorry, not sorry, bro.

Henna helped me put the corset on, me holding back painful yet quiet screams the entire time, and then she helped me with the dress. The good thing about this dress is that it's easy to move in, making it better for combat if needed.

I wear my hair up in a high bun on top of my head, leaving a few strands of hair down to frame my face. Apparently this was to make me look more elegant, which the kidnapper goes for women like that.

We just leave my bruise and cut on my lip alone since it 'gives me character,' basically showing that I'm tough and can take care of myself, which is also what the kidnapper looks for. However, we took the small white bandage off of my lip, putting the cream to help heal the wound in the cut before putting some lip gloss that shines in the light on my lips.

All we know is that the kidnapper is a male and has orange hair and likes to wear bold colors to parties, like blood red or sunshine yellow, anything to make him stand out. He also has a scar on his neck on the right side, which would be our left from looking at him in the front head on, and it's shaped like a diagonal cut, as if his throat was slit a tiny bit.

I hope this man isn't the same guy as last night...but something tells me he is.

Orange hair-check!
Scar-check!
Bold color choices-possibly?

There is a chance it isn't him, but I bet it will be.

I mean, they don't know the eyes of the kidnapper, so it might not even be emerald green!

I guess I will have to wait and see for myself..

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* An Hour Later, Time To Go To Ball, 15 Minutes Left
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

We all decided to have code names.

Trevor for Tobias, William for Wade, Ashton for Alois, Carter for Ciel, and Gwen for me.

We tried to stick with names that start with the first letter of our first names.

And as for last names, here you go!

~Trevor Morgan [Tobias Megaro]
~William Watcher [Wade Wordan]
~Ashton Tark [Alois Trancy]
~Carter Pendalo [Ciel Phantomhive]
~Gwen Xaro [Gabriella Xavio; aka me] {Xaro=ex-arrow}

I think we were pretty clever for those names, just in case anyone asks for our full name.

The servants, Henna and Lily, were steering the carriage for us.

We made sure to have back-up guards in case things get messy for capturing the kidnapper later.

Ciel is sitting in front of me since Alois said that he could help me walk until we get into the ball, which Ciel had reluctantly agreed since him and Alois are enemies apparently. Yeah, Ciel doesn't trust Alois too much, but he does trust me. He trusts that if anything happens or if I feel uncomfortable with Alois, that I will tell him immediately. I doubt that will happen, but I will if I do.

Tobias is sitting on my right, Alois on my left, Ciel in front of us, and Wade on Ciel's left side. Ciel had asked either Tobias or Wade for one of them to sit on my other side, in case I need anything or feel uncomfortable with Alois, as I said earlier.

This is one reason why Ciel is like my older brother instead of my younger brother. He is always overprotective of me, but I am too with him so we're even there. We are both mature now, but when we were young, we would always be goofy and stuff, like how children were. We still goof off sometimes, I bet, but we are serious and mature/professional when we have to be.

Once we arrive at the ball, I will have to act elegant, whatever that means. I'm just going to act mature and try to be graceful. Key word: try. I have no idea whether I am graceful or not, but I'm betting not. Haha!

The silence was broken as Wade began to speak as we grow nearer and nearer to the ball.

"Is everyone ready?" He asks, and we nod.

"Everyone remember each others' code names?" Tobias adds, and we all nod again.

"Yes, we do, Trevor Morgan." Ciel replies.

"Correct, Carter Pendalo." I add.

"Indeed, Gwen Xaro." Alois states.

"Of course, Ashton Tark." Wade said.

"And yes, William Watcher." Tobias finishes.

We all laugh as we stop in front of the place the ball is supposed to be held.

Henna opens the door and Lily helps us out of the carriage, me coming out last so that Alois, or Ashton, could help me with walking until we make it halfway. (That was the agreement for the walking thing.)

Before Lily sent me to Alois, she whispered to me, "Be careful, Miss Gwen."

She was staying with my character, in case anyone else heard.

I nod and reply, "I will. Thanks."

And the Henna whispered something to me as well, "Try to stand more on your right foot than your left, but make it subtle."

"Okay, I will. Thanks guys, goodbye for now." I respond in a whisper, and they nod, Lily handing me to Alois.

We all start walking towards the door and Alois let's me go carefully halfway, like we planned.

"So, Gwen, what did they tell you?" Wade-er, William-questioned, and all of my friends glanced at me.

"They just told me to be careful and to try and stand more on my right foot than on my left due to my shin." I explain, and they nod as we make it to the door, Tobias-aka Trevor-knocking.

Trevor and William stood in front of Ashton, Carter, and I. I was in the center with Ashton on my left and Carter on my right.

A man with chestnut brown hair, light blue eyes (like Alois'), and a black tux on answers the door. He seems to be in his late 30s. He smiles and lets us in.

We enter and he introduces himself, "Hello and welcome to my family's ball, my name is Maxwell Yargoni, and it's a pleasure to meet you five."

He bows and we all bow-but I curtsy-and then we all stand up straight.

Ciel and I were posing as cousins here since we are very close.

"Hello, and thank you for letting us come. My name is Carter Pendalo and this is my cousin, Gwen Xaro and our friends, William Watcher, Trevor Morgan, and Ashton Tark. It is a pleasure to meet you, as well." Ciel introduced, pointing at all of us, and we all smiled, nodding.

"Anyways, enjoy the ball and again, it was nice to meet you all!" Maxwell Yargoni {YARR-gone-ee} dismissed, going back to open the door for more guests.

Us five enter the ballroom to see many people here already.

We all look around for the kidnapper, and I spot him over by the drinks table talking to other classy women. My eyes widen.

It was him.

The guy from last night.

Tobias noticed my expression and asked, "Gwen? Are you alright?"

My friends all looked at me and I swallowed before responding, "Y-Yeah, I'm good. I was just surprised to find that the kidnapper was the guy who I got beaten up by last night, is all."

I look at all of their faces, and they look shocked.

"What?!" They all said at the same time, keeping their voices down so that we won't have much attention on us.

I nod and motion towards the man from last night, "That's him."

"You sure it's him?" Wade questioned, and I look him dead in the eye.

"Yes. He's got the scar, the hair, the bold colors of his suit, it's gotta be him! I remember his orange hair, emerald green eyes, and scar from last night, all exactly the same way this guy looks!" I rant, and they all nod, knowing my gut feeling is usually right, since Ciel had explained that earlier.

"Do you want some back-up with you?" Alois asked, and I shook my head.

"No, it won't work if I've got a guy there with me. My goal is to be bait and make him kidnap me, and that's exactly what I intend on doing. Thank you, though, Ashton." I say, and he blushes, nodding.

"Just..be careful, Gwen. I cannot lose you again." Ciel stated, looking me in the eye.

I can tell he has a hint of sadness in his voice and eyes, he's also nervous. All of our friends are nervous too about how this will play out. I send him a reassuring smile, which he sends back with one of his own.

"Don't worry, Carter. I will be fine. I can take care of myself, but thank you for your concern about me." I say, and he smiles a tad bit bigger, chuckling.

"Okay, if you say so. Still though, be careful." Ciel continues, and I nod, chuckling a bit myself, not noticing the stare Alois is giving me, him blushing.

I say goodbye to everyone and walk away, waiting for the perfect time to talk to the kidnapper.

My friends all stay nearby, Alois and Ciel in a group, and Tobias and Wade in a group. Smart.

They are making sure to give me glances to make sure I'm alright.

As the classy women start clearing away from the kidnapper, I was about to walk over to him when a boy with strawberry red hair and olive green eyes with a black tuxedo on comes right in front of me, blocking my path.

I blink as I step back, not expecting him to be there.

"Uhhh.." I trail off, glancing over his shoulder to see the kidnapper almost completely alone, growing anxious.

I need to get to the kidnapper, and fast!

"Heyy there!~ The name is Brandon, and you are?~" This 'Brandon' guy cooed, is he trying to..flirt with me? Because it sure sounds like it by his tone of voice..

"Umm, sorry to cut this short but I've gotta go-" I got cut off by him stepping in my way again as I try to step around him.

He continues talking and trying to get my name as I glance at my friends nervously.

Tobias notices my nervous and anxious glancing and starts talking to Wade, and they rush over to Ciel and Alois.

Please do something to distract this guy.. and fast...

-/-/-Tobias' POV-/-/-

I was talking to Wade-aka William-when I noticed Gabriella sending us anxious and nervous glances. A guy with red hair, green eyes, and a black tux is talking to her, preventing her from getting the job done.

I turn to Wade and say, "William! Gwen's having a bit of trouble!"

Wade then turns to see the guy talking off Gabi's ear, clearly being annoying and flirty with her, and Wade then turns back to me.

"Let's tell Carter and Ashton, Trevor." Wade orders, and I nod, and we rush over to Ciel and Alois as quickly as possible.

We finally make it to them a few seconds later.

"Guys! Gwen is being stalled by some dude!" Wade pants, and they turn to us.

"We know, we need to get that guy to stop talking to her, and fast." Ciel says urgently, all of us noticing there are only two girls left talking to the kidnapper.

Once there is only one girl left there, he will try and kidnap them. We need to move fast.

Alois is clearly annoyed with that guy flirting with Gabi, so I suggest, "Ashton! Go over there and pretend to be Gwen's boyfriend to get that guy away!"

Alois turns to me, wide eyed, and exclaims, "What!? Why me?!"

"Because you are clearly the most annoyed that some guy is flirting with her, Carter is her cousin, and William and I aren't really fazed by that guy flirting with her-at least not as much as you are. So you're the likely choice!" I explain, and he gives in.

"Alright, fine! I'll do it." Alois states, and we all smirk.

"Besides, we all know you like her." Wade, Ciel, and I all say at once, making Alois' eyes widen once again.

"What?! H-How did you three-?!" Ciel cut him off.

"It's so obvious. Earlier while she was convincing me that she would be fine on her own, we all saw you staring at her. Well, all of us except for her, of course." Ciel reasoned, and Alois sighs.

"Look, we'll talk about this later. But now, go save her!" Wade ushers, pushing Alois on the back towards Gabi and that guy who is still flirting with her while she looks slightly disgusted.

Alois rushes over and intervenes, just on time too.

-/-/-Gabriella's POV-/-/-

As this guy, Brandon, was it? Whatever, flirted with me, I just tried to get around him, but he kept blocking my path.

I hope the guys have got a plan to get me out of this situation..

And as if my prayers have been answered, here comes Alois!

Yes! Just go along with whatever plan he has!

Alois stands on my left side and wraps his arm around my waist, and I wrap mine around his middle back, surprised by his gesture but hiding it well.

Brandon freezes his flirting as soon as Alois wrapped his arm around my waist and he glared at Alois.

Alois glared back, of course.

"Who the heck are you?!" Brandon exclaimed, but Alois kept calm, surprisingly.

"I could be asking you the same thing." Alois retorts, smirking, before adding, "My name is Ashton Tark, her boyfriend."

Alois had motioned towards me with his eyes and head. I froze for a split second, shocked again, and blushed.

Brandon narrowed his eyes at Alois, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Alois confirmed.

"Then prove it." Brandon demanded, smirking.

And in a matter of seconds, Alois' lips were placed onto mine. My eyes widen in shock, but I quickly melted into the kiss. Both because he had to prove that he was my boyfriend to this guy, and because I've had a crush on him ever since I met him yesterday. He makes me feel like no one else can, it's so strange, but so amazing.

Alois turned my body from being sideways to facing him fully as he did that to himself as well, never breaking the kiss and wrapped his arms around my waist as my hands were on his chest, us both clearly enjoying the kiss.

Of course, I have to have my head up a bit to be able to kiss him since he is two inches taller than me, but I don't care. It's like, the perfect height for the both of us.

Our lips move together slowly in sync, savoring our first kiss, even if this Brandon guy didn't know if it was our first kiss or not. I can tell Brandon is still there, staring in shock that Alois had actually kissed me. Well, is kissing me.

Alois tightened his grip around my waist a bit, causing my right hand to hold onto his overcoat, keeping him to me.

Although the kiss actually only lasts for a few seconds, it feels like an eternity, which is a good thing.

We pull away, blushing madly before turning back to Brandon, his arm back around my waist and mine around his back, my free hand-the right-holding onto his hand that is on my hip.

Alois is smirking at Brandon, and I have a small smile on my face. I glance at our friends, who were watching the entire time and send me thumbs up, smiling. That makes me smile bigger as I wink at them in return and turn back to Alois and Brandon.

"There, I proved it. Now, scat." Alois orders, and Brandon scrambles away, looking defeated, which makes Alois and I laugh.

I could tell that our friends are laughing at that as well.

I face Alois again and smile brightly, his hand in mine. He's smiling like an idiot too, staring deeply into my hazel eyes as I stare into his ice blue ones.

"Thanks for stepping in there, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't." I say gratefully, and he shakes his head, caressing my right cheek with his left hand.

I lean into his touch straight away.

We are both blushing madly.

"No need to thank me. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." Alois winked, referring to the kiss we shared.

I giggle lightly, and he chuckles.

"I suppose.." I trail off, looking at the floor.

He puts his hand under my chin and makes me look up at him again.

"Also, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to kiss the girl of my dreams, now would I?" Alois asks, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.

My face burns like fire from his sweetness and romantic gestures.

Before I could respond, he said, "Now, we've got a job to complete. Go get 'em, tiger."

He lets me go, and I smile bigger.

"It's jaguar, actually, but okay." I retort, resulting in us laughing.

"See ya, Ashton." I say, and he waves.

"Bye, Gwen." He replies lovingly, making me blush even more as he leaves back to our friends who were patting his back and teasing him.

I see that the kidnapper is now completely alone. Yes! My chance for our plan to take hold!

-/-/-Ciel's POV-/-/-

He better not break her heart, or I swear on my life that I will do everything in my power to make him pay for it.

Gabriella is like a little sister to me, even if she is older.

I do not want to see her heartbroken because of a selfish prick.

Although, they were pretty cute together over there..it may have been acting for the moment, but we could all tell they were enjoying the kiss.

Gabi has grown up so much over the years, and I have as well.

I can't wait for what the future may hold.

-/-/-Alois' POV-/-/-

As I walk back to Wade, Ciel, and Tobias, they pat me on the back and tease me about my crush on her and the kiss we had shared.

If only that kiss could've lasted forever..

She will be mine. I love her. More than I ever thought I could love someone.

I want to put her first.

Be there for her when she needs me.

Take care of her when she's ill or feeling down.

Pamper her.

Make her feel loved.

I explained what happened over there and they understood why I had to kiss Ri. That didn't stop them from teasing me, however.

We start watching the scene unfold between the kidnapper and Ri.

Please keep Gabriella safe..

-/-/-Wade's POV-/-/-

You've gotta admit, they would be a cute couple.

The way they enjoyed their kiss.

How they smile and look at one another.

Everything.

-/-/-Tobias' POV-/-/-

OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOODDNNEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS! They were sooooooooooooooooo cute!~

Yes, I am fanboying. And yes, I am proud!

-/-/-Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I walked over to the kidnapper, walking with a straight back, as always, a tiny smile on my face, relaxed muscles, and walked gracefully.

I never thought I could be so graceful!

Don't jinx it, Gabi.

I made it to him and he took notice in me and smiles.

"Ah, hello there, miss. My name is Drakkar Argent. And you are?" The kidnapper introduced, sounding extremely flirty. I cringed internally.

I think I just threw up inside..

And dang, an evil name for an evil guy, how fitting.

**Sorry if you're name is Drakkar or Argent!**

"Ahem, hello, my name is Gwen Xavo, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Argent." I say as elegantly as I could, sounding almost royalty while doing so.

He seems to like that.

I curtsy and he bows.

He takes my right hand in his and kissed my knuckles, and I hold back a disgusted look and do everything in my power to not take my hand back and slap him right then and there.

He doesn't recognize me from last night, good.

It would be a complete disaster if he did.

I've just gotta get him to try and kidnap me. That's all I have to do.

Some of the other women in this ballroom, mostly the classy ones, stared in envy, wanting to trade places with me.

I mean, I would be like, 'Be my guest!', but since this is for a mission, I can't.

Just get it over with.

Get him outside alone with you in the back of the building so he can attempt to capture you, so that everyone else can come and capture this man for good.

Drakkar let's my hand go and stands up straight, having a flirty look on both his features and in his eyes.

Ew..

"Oh! Um, my goodness, it is getting quite hot in here, don't you think? Would you care to join me outside around back for a while?" I ask him as sweetly as I can, and he smiles bigger.

He has a look of mischief in his eyes now, along with the flirty emotion.

"Of course, my doll. Let us go outside." Drakkar Argent holds his arm out for me to take.

Oh, how I wish I could refuse it, but I've gotta stick to the plan, unfortunately.

And doll? Why? Just..why?! That's so creepy and disturbing on soooo many levels!

I bet he is only saying that because of my looks.

That's how it usually is with these types of men.

I link my arm with his and he leads me outside.

I glance at my friends, and they nod to me, knowing the plan is in motion, and they follow us quietly.

Drakkar leads me to the back door and opens it, letting me out first.

I exit and he does too, but before the door closes, I slide a small stick in between the door and the wall so that my friends can come out quieter.

I turn to Drakkar, knowing my friends are behind the door already, listening to our conversation.

"Come, doll, I have something to show you." Drakkar coos, and I nod, fake smiling and giggling softly.

"Of course." I reply, internally slapping him, making me chuckle a bit.

He doesn't notice, good.

He links his arm with mine once again and leads me somewhere.

I've just gotta let him try and kidnap me, hopefully not actually kidnapping me.

Once we round a corner, I see five other men standing there by a black car that is hard to see in the dark.

My eyes widen.

How am I going to take them all down in a dress?! And alone, might I add?!

Before anything can happen, I rip my arm away from Drakkar's and punch him on the nose, hearing a cracking sound afterwards.

Oooo, I must've broken his nose.

Serves him right!

He stumbles, holding his nose as his five friends rush over, trapping me against the wall.

One swings at me, but I block it and hit him instead. While that happens, however, another man swings at me and hits me, making me slam against the wall. I block another hit before getting one. This is the process. I block a hit, get hit, hit one of them, block, repeat.

My friends rush into the scene and start fighting, but not before a man knocks me out and carries me bridal style to the car, his friends following him.

My vision fades in and out of consciousness, I hear my friends calling for me..

"GWEN!!" They all yell, not revealing my true name.

That's the last thing I heard before I passed out..

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* When Gabi Wakes Up
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I woke up in a cell all alone, other girls in cages beside me.

I'm not in my purple dress anymore, but a shirt that hugs my body nicely but is cut off above my bellybutton since it was ripped.

Who the heck changed me?!

I am still wearing my shorts and combat boots and my bracelet, but not the corset. Thank goodness for that. And my hair is let down, straight but slightly wavy from being in that bun earlier.

How long was I out for?

I look around, seeing many cages that have a few girls in each.

I look to the cage on my left to see a girl with strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes that remind me of chocolate. She's staring back at me.

She is wearing a grey shirt with no sleeves (like a tank-top type thing), black short shorts, and no shoes. She has dirt and grime covering her body.

We seem to all be behind two curtains.

What is this place?

The illegal trade or something?

Probably is.

My thoughts were cut short by the girl I was just studying..

"H-Hey, you alright?" She asks, and I look at her again.

"Yeah, I-I guess. You?" I respond, and she smiles a bit.

"Could be better. Anyways, w-were you tricked t-too?" She questions, and I shake my head.

"No, I was on a mission to stop this kidnapper with my friends, but instead got kidnapped myself. You?" I explain, and she nods.

"I was tricked. I should've known better, but I didn't. Oh well, what happened, happened. Anyways, my name is Celeste, and you are?" Celeste introduces, and I send her a small, painful smile.

My cuts and bruises hurt a lot, and my lip is bleeding again.

"I'm Gabriella Xavio, but while we're here, just call me Gwen Xaro. Nice to meet you." I reply.

"You too." Celeste says.

"Also, I have a few questions." I state, and she motions for me to continue, "First of all, who changed me?"

"One of the female kidnappers here did." Celeste answers, and relief floods through me.

"Okay, that makes me feel a tad bit better. Next, where are we?" I inquire.

"The illegal trade place where men, and one woman, sell teenage females to older men or nobles, or nobles that are our age." Celeste replies quickly, and I nod slowly, disgusted.

"And how long have you been here for?" I question, and she smiles sadly.

"About a week. I'm supposed to be sold soon. And you are supposed to be sold in a few days, I heard. The same day as me." Celeste states, and I nod.

"Well, don't worry. My friends will come and save us." I reassure, and she nods, eyes full of hope.

"Do you..wan be friends?" She asked, and I smiled bigger.

I don't think she knows about me being the Homeless Beauty or the Beautiful Maiden, so I think her intentions are good.

"Of course, Celeste!" I answer, and she smiles wide.

"Coolio! Oh, and by the way, the other girl next to you is Tyra, she's another one of my friends." Celeste explains, and I look over at Tyra.

She has short, midnight black hair that reaches the middle of her neck, dark brown eyes that look like they're black too, and is wearing a white shirt with long sleeves that are ripped, grey shorts that reach her knees, and flats for shoes. She looks to be about fifteen, and Celeste seems about thirteen.

"Hey, Gwen. Nice to meet you." Tyra says nicely, her voice deep but smooth.

"Hey, you too, Tyra." I reply, and she smiles.

I smile back.

I think Celeste, Tyra, and I will be great friends.

I wonder how long it will take for my friends to find us?

-/-/-Ciel's POV-/-/-

Henna and Lily took us to my Manor, since it was closer, and we all began to prepare a plan to save Gabi.

"Sebastian, locate possible locations where she might be." I order, and he bows with a hand over his heart.

"Of course, my lord." Sebastian replies, leaving he room.

Wade, Tobias, and Claude are trying to calm Alois down. Henna and Lily are helping Sebastian, and Claude decided to stay and help us here if needed.

"Alois, calm down!"
"We will find her!"
"Your Majesty, everything will be alright."

Alois is walking in circles, running a hand through his blonde hair, worrying too much.

I've had just about enough of this..

I walk up to Alois and put my hands on his shoulders to stop him, looking him dead in the eye.

"Alois, stop this instant. We know you are worried about Gabriella, we are too, but right now, she needs you to be calm so that we can help her. If you're not, then you can't help her. It may take us a while to get her back, but we will get her back to us. So stop with the constant pacing. Got it?" I ranted, finally getting through his thick skull to his brain.

Alois straightens up and nods, "Okay, sorry. I'm just..worried about her. That's all."

I remove my hands from his shoulders and take a step back, giving him space.

I hope she's okay..

"We understand, Alois. All of us are worried about her, but we must remain calm. For her sake." Tobias reasons.

Wade, Claude, Alois, and I all say in unison, "For her sake."

Just then, Sebastian, Lily, and Henna walk in with a map.

Sebastian lays the map onto my desk after clearing off everything and everyone gathered around my desk to see.

"Did you find her location?" Alois questioned, clearly nervous.

"Not quite, but we've got a few options of where she might be." Henna replies, and Lily circles the areas Gabi could be with Sebastian in red pen.

"We've got five choices. All of which are the illegal trade centers where men and women sell other teenage females or males to be slaves or maids, butlers, etc. for other nobles or random men." Lily explained, and we all grew nervous, but let them continue.

"We learned that the kidnappers name is Drakkar Argent from earlier, and the only reasons others kidnap women of men is to usually sell them as slaves. That means-" I cut Sebastian off, finishing his sentence.

"-those are the only places she could be." I finish, and Sebastian nods.

"Precisely." Sebastian confirms.

"Well, where should we start first?" Wade asks.

"The one closest to us, and we will work our way around until we find her." Henna explains, and we all nod.

" What are we waiting for? Let's get started." Tobias orders, and we all head out to the carriage since our demons, Sebastian and Claude, can't carry all of us.

Alois, Tobias, Wade, Henna, Lily, and I all enter the carriage, Sebastian and Claude driving.

On one seat, there's me, Alois, and Lily, and on the other seat in front of us, there's Henna, Wade, and Tobias.

We're coming to find you, Gabriella. Just hang in there.

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* Three Days Later..
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I am sitting in my cage, pain everywhere throughout my body. I was just beaten to a pulp as Tyra and Celeste tried yelling at the men to get them to stop. They didn't stop.

I take the beatings for the girls. All of them. Let's just say I'm nearly dead because of it..

It's been three days.

I understand why they're taking so long.

There are five illegal trades here, and their strategy must have been the closest to them and working their way outward.

I don't know where they started, though. Oh well.

"Gab-I mean, Gwen!! Are you okay?!" Tyra exclaims, and I nod weakly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm g-good.." I trail off, it hurts to speak a bit.

"Why did you decide to take EVERYONE'S beatings?! It's gonna KILL you!!" Celeste cried out, not enjoying seeing me like this.

I'm bleeding out from being stabbed multiple times, being kicked and punched repeatedly, stuff like that. They barely patch up the wounds.

They only do it enough to keep me alive so I can be sold, sick jerks..

"Because I-I don't want ANY OF YOU t-to be in pain any longer.." I respond shakily, and all of the girls shake their heads, responding..

"It's better if we take them so you won't have to take them all!"
"You will end up dying if this keeps up!"
"Just let us even it out for you!"
"We don't want you to die!"

All that stuff makes me smile weakly.

"Thanks, guys, but I'll be fine. I'm sure my friends will come and break us out of here soon anyways.." I reply, and they stay silent.

"Gwen.." Celeste trails off, and I look over at her.

"Yeah?" I answer.

"Today is the day I'm being sold, which means.." She trails off, and my eyes widen.

"I'm being sold today as well." I finish, and all he girls nod.

"Well, you know what?" I say.

"What?" They reply.

"I'm not gonna lose hope. Not yet." I say confidently, and they smile, cheering quietly.

I've become a role model for these girls, whether they are older than me or younger.

A few minutes later, the selling auction begins.

"Heeeyyyy everybody! It's time for the auction! Now, normally, we'd save the best girl for last, but NOT TODAY! FIRST UP, is a girl who is fourteen years old, has red-orange hair that reaches her waist, hazel eyes, and is about 5'3 feet tall!" He shouts, earning cheers from the crowd.

My eyes widen as I realize he's talking about me..

My friends look at me worriedly.

"Her name is!! GWEN XARO!!" The man shouts, and two men come backstage, heading straight for my cage.

The girls back here are shouting at the men, trying to get them to leave me alone. It's no use.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"
"SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS FATE!!"

And Celeste and Tyra are yelling, "GWEN!!" as the men unlock the cage.

The men open the cage door and yank me up by my arms harshly, making me wince.

I bet I'm bleeding more from that one..

They practically drag me out there since I can barely walk, my friends yelling for the men to take me back.

I send them a small, weak smile. They stare at me sadly as I turn back around, just as the men take me through the curtains.

I feel blood dripping down my arms, legs, stomach, and head as we walk out.

The men let me go and I fall to the ground on my knees, in so much pain that I'm beginning to feel dizzy.

I hear the crowd gasp at my form, but they cheer nonetheless.

Sick, sick people...

"Here she is! Gwen here had chosen to take all of the girls' beatings to save them from the pain, but now look at her! A bloody mess! But she's endured the pain and survived this long, so that proves she is strong and tough! Who wants her?!" The announcer man yells, and everyone cheers.

I look up weakly and see that the crowd are mainly men. That makes me shiver.

What will they do with me?

I tremble a bit from the thought.

I've lasted this long, I think I can last a while longer.

Please..Ciel, Tobias, Wade, Henna, Lily, Sebastian, Claude..Alois...save me from this horrid fate...please...

"Starting the bid at $20,000!" The announcer shouted, making my eyes widen.

"20,000?!" I squeaked out weakly, and one of the men kicked me to shut me up.

"Shut up, you brat." He growled, about to kick me again.

I look up and grab his leg, tugging on it to make him fall over. He fell, and everyone gasps, then cheers.

"$30,000 for her!" Announcer man yelled.

The man got up and began beating me up again, and anger boiled inside me again.

I kicked him back and shakily got up, everyone silently watching my every move, and punched the man, then kneed him in the groin area. I hit him again before shoving him to the ground.

Another man grabbed me by the arms and threw me to the ground. The crowd cheers at my performance.

The man started punching and kicking me repeatedly as more bids were made..

"40,000!"
"55,000!"
"66,000!"
"80,000!"

The bids just keep going higher and higher, me still getting beaten up, until..

"LET HER GO THIS INSTANT!" A familiar voice shouted, but I couldn't tell who it was due to me still getting beaten and nearly blacking out..

"STOP HURTING HER!" Another familiar voice yelled.

The man stopped beating me and yanked me up by my arm, making me nearly fall, and he set a knife has a knife behind my back, hiding it from them, I can feel it.

Screams were heard, people fighting, and the man who was holding me threw me to the ground and stabbed me in my side, making me yell out in pain.

"Ahh! *Sharp inhale*" I yelped, holding my side that still had the knife in it.

"GABRIELLA!!" An extremely familiar voice shouted, sounding panicked.

I looked around as I sat up painfully, the man is gone, I notice one of my friends, Wade I think, is finishing letting the women out of their cages. The girls start rushing to my side. I look around again, hearing running footsteps coming my way.

I see Alois, Ciel, and Tobias running to me, Henna and Lily right behind them.

Claude and Sebastian are holding the men off until they either die or run away, capturing the kidnapper we wanted too on the mission.

"GABI! GABI!" Celeste and Tyra yelled, sounding like they're crying and worried.

My other friends make it to me and see my condition, their eyes widening.

I fall back down onto my back on the ground, causing my friends to gasp.

I can tell the girls are hesitant about my friends, so I touch Tyra's arm gently, making her look at me with the other girls and my friends.

"Trust..them..they're...my..friends..." I uttered out painfully, and they nod, tears rolling down their cheeks.

"I'll..be...fine...I..promise..." I trail off, letting my hand drop from Tyra's arm.

"How do you know that?!" One of the girls yelled.

I smiled weakly, all of my friends hovering over me.

"I'm not..about to..leave yet..not...yet..." I answer, vision going dark.

The last thing I see was Alois crying, holding my left hand as Ciel kept pressure on my wound, not taking the knife out, trying to save my life.

"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel called.
"CLAUDE!" Alois called too.
"SAVE HER!" Ciel and Alois ordered in unison.

"Yes, Young Masters!" They called back urgently, and that's the last thing I heard.

I felt myself being picked up, and that's it.

I drift off into the darkness..

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* Ciel's POV-/-/-

Sebastian and Claude had just finished patching up Gabi and all of us are sitting in her room, waiting for her to wake up. We are at my Manor right now.

Gabi is stable, and all of us are relieved for that, but still worried about her.

Alois is the most worried, with me being a close second.

We had taken the females who were also in their cages to my Manor and patched them up, but they weren't hurt as badly as Gabi was. They explained to us what happened and why she was hurt the most.

Heh, Gabriella. She always has to be the hero.

There were only six other girls there with Gabi.

The two females who were closest to Gabi during their time there were Celeste and Tyra. A thirteen and fifteen year old.

The other four girls were thirteen.

Their names are Cece, Sasha, Grace, and Clover.

I hope Gabriella will be okay..

-/-/-Alois' POV-/-/-

Gosh, Gabriella! Why do you always have to be the hero?

Well, that's one thing I love about her.

I cannot lose her, and I can tell Ciel can't either.

I'm glad that Gabi had Celeste and Tyra as close friends while she was there, keeping her company and trying to help her.

How do I tell her that...I love her?

Well, I kinda did at the ball, but not really.

I want to do something special for her when she wakes up and is feeling better.

Maybe a picnic and watching the sunset? And maybe some dancing by ourselves?

It's cheesy, but it works!

I'll do it!

-/-/-Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I began to wake up, and when I did, I realized I wasn't on the ground like I was when I had blanked out. I am on a bed!

My body aches, but not too badly.

Why is that?

I look at my body and see that all of my cuts and bruises are cleaned and wrapped up!

Who did this?

I look around the room and see all of my friends:
-Ciel
-Wade
-Tobias
-Celeste
-Tyra
-Clover
-Cece
-Sasha
-Grace
-Sebastian
-Claude
-Henna
-Lily
And my crush...
-Alois.

I sit up slowly and they notice that I'm awake, smiling and cheering quietly.

They don't all come at me at once since I need some space, which they can tell.

Instead, they come up to me one by one.

First were the girls from the trading center, they came in this order:
-Sasha
-Clover
-Cece
-Grace
-Celeste
-And Tyra.

Then my guy friends:
-Sebastian
-Claude
-Wade
-Tobias
-Ciel
-And finally, Alois.

After all of that mushy stuff, Sebastian told me to take some medicine and rest, so I do.

I fall asleep quickly and everyone quietly leaves the room..

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* A Few Days Later..
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I've been staying at Ciel's Manor since everyone decided it was not a good idea to have me move too much until I felt better.

I am able to walk around without help now, which is good.

I had said goodbye to my friends from the trade yesterday, since I wanted them to be reunited with their families, and everyone else agreed. They said they would visit soon.

I can't wait to see them again.

Alois is staying here at Ciel's Manor because he refuses to leave. He's really worried, apparently.

I blush at the thought.

I am currently in my tank-top, shorts, and no shoes right now with my hair down. They know I don't like to wear dresses.

I am just wandering around Ciel's Manor when Alois walks up to me, we smile at one another.

"Hey, Alois!" I greet.

"Hello, Gabriella! How are you feeling?" Alois asks, and his concern makes my face heat up.

"I'm alright, thank you." I respond, and he nods.

He looks nervous so I question, "Hey, are you alright? You look nervous, Alois.."

He smiles at me nervously, nodding while scratching the back of his neck, saying, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just, wanted to ask you something.."

I tilt my head a bit to the right and inquire, "What's up?"

He blushes and replies, "Well..I was wondering...if you'd like to..maybe...go on a, uhh..date..? With me..?"

My face burns as I smile and say, "O-Of course, Alois! What time, how should I-I dress, a-and where?"

He smiles brightly, looking relieved as he explains, "8:30 pm, tonight. Just dress casual, I know you don't like dresses. And someone pick you up at your bedroom. Is that okay?"

I nod and say, "Perfect. I'll see you then, Alois!"

I kiss his cheek, on the edge of his lips to tease him, and walk away, smirking.

As I round the corner, I hear Alois exclaim, "YES!~"

I giggle and I hear Ciel walk up to me so I turn and look at him, he seems confused.

He looks back to where Alois is, then back to me, pointing his finger between him and I, asking, "What?"

I laugh and he smiles, still looking confused.

"Alois asked me out on a date and I said yes." I answered, and he nods, making an 'Ohhh' face.

We laugh and walk to his study to play some chess.

"No wonder he yelled out, 'Yes!'" Ciel said aloud, making me laugh.

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* A Few Hours Later..
Gabriella's POV-/-/-

I am in the guest bedroom where I am staying, trying to find a good casual outfit to where that isn't what I'm wearing now.

Ciel had also said that I will be staying here at his manor rather than on the streets since he doesn't like the idea of me living out there and could get hurt at any given point and time. I understand his reasoning.

Anyway, Ciel's maid, Mey-Rin, is helping me find a good outfit.

Henna and Lily went back to the Queen's castle after I was able to walk a bit more.

It's just, the fact that I am the Queen's Jaguar is amazing, and I'm still not used to it.

I think the Queen is going to have Alois, Ciel, and I on more of these missions together. I have a feeling.

"What do you think I should wear, Mey-Rin?" I ask, and she smiles.

"Well, you like stretchy clothes or just loose clothes, correct?" She questions, and I nod.

"Yeah, that's me!" I exclaim, and she laughs.

"Alright, well, how about...this?" Mey-Rin inquires, holding up a cute outfit.

Here it is:

**I know, I know, they didn't have this back then! But literally EVERY WOMAN wore a DRESS for casual wear!! And Gabi doesn't like dresses! Sorry, just roll with it, please! Thanks!**

"Wow..that's perfect, Mey-Rin! Thank you!" I proclaim happily, and she laughs, smiling.

"You're welcome, Miss Gabriella, yes! I hope you have fun on your date, yes I do!" Mey-Rin says nicely, and I giggle, blushing.

"Thank you! Have a nice rest of your evening!" I call to her as she exits, letting me change.

She waved bye before shutting the door and saying 'thank you' back to my statement.

I change into this outfit and put my hair in a side braid on the right, again, leaving some stands to frame my face.

It is currently 8:27 pm, only three minutes left until my date!~ Eeee!!~

I'm so nervous, I've never been on a date before! What should I do? How should I act? Like myself, duh. What should I say?!

Okay, okay, I'm stressing too much over this. Waaayyyyy too much.

I hear a knock on my door..

SHOOT! Was I really thinking for that long?!

I look at the clock.

8:30.

Yep, I did.

"Coming!" I call to the person on the other side of the door.

I rush and open it, only to see Claude, Sebastian, Mey-Rin, and Ciel standing there.

"Hey guys!" I greet nicely, and they all smile.

"Hello, Gabi!" They say back.

Ciel holds his arm out to me and says, "We're here to take you to your date with Alois."

I link my arm with his and reply, "Okay! Thanks, guys!"

They nod and we all laugh.

They walk me downstairs and outside to the garden and immediately see lamps that are lighting up everything, making it look mystical and beautiful with the fireflies also flying around.

Ciel and the butlers and maid led me to a more dimly lit area where a picnic blanket lays, a picnic basket on top of it, and a little lamp above, hanging on a thick tree branch so it won't fall on top of us. Fireflies are flying around this area more, making it look enchanted or something.

I then see Alois walk out from behind the tree Ciel and I had stopped next to, and he's holding an anemone flower, which is a blueberry blue more towards the center with a dark/light purple spreading through the majority of the flower pedals. It's kind of more red/pink/purple than just flat out purple, but I love it.

I think the Anemone is my new favorite type of flower.

It looks like this:

**Pronounced: a-neh-money**

Ciel let's my arm go and bids us goodbye with Sebastian, Mey-Rin, and Claude.

We wave goodbye and Alois and I turn to face each other once again, blushing madly.

He's wearing a dark purple dress shirt with no long sleeves, black booty shorts since those are his trademark pants, and boots with the purple laces.

We study each other for a few moments, blushing more at how adorable we both look to one another.

Alois walks up to me, and I stand there, frozen in place, but smiling nonetheless.

He stops right in front of me, handing me the flower. I gently take the stem of the flower, holding it with care.

He smiles at seeing how gentle I am with the anemone, and I look up and smile back.

"A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl." Alois says simply, making us laugh.

"I'm pretty sure you used that line with my name before, Alois, but thank you. It is the anemone, correct?" I inquire, wanting to be sure.

He nods and replies, "Yes, that is the anemone flower. I thought you'd like it since it has purple in it."

"I love it. I think the anemone flower is my new favorite." I tell him, and that only makes him smile more.

"I'm glad. Now, shall we?" Alois asks, motioning to the picnic.

I nod, giggling, and reply, "We shall."

We laugh and sit down, me setting the anemone down on the ground beside me, and we dig into the food that was set up for the both of us.

-/-/-*TIMESKIP* After Eating

Gabriella's POV-/-/-

After we had finished eating, we just sat there and talked, somehow sitting closer and closer to one another. To give you an idea of how close, our thighs were touching.

Yeah, that close. And we don't mind. Not. At. All.

The sun had set at 5:10 pm, so it's a stary night we're sitting under. I don't mind, I actually quite like it.

This was the best date I've ever went on, and not just because this was the only date I've ever been on.

It is amazing just in general.

Our hands are right next to each other as we are leaning on our hands, and as I am talking, he smiles and nudges my hand with his pinkie finger, silently asking for permission to hold my hand. I nudge him back and he takes my hand in his, and I stop talking, finishing my thought. I was just talking about how much I love the stars at night.

"The stars truly are amazing." I finish, and he smiles wider.

"You know what else is amazing?" Alois asks, and I smirk.

"What? The moon?" I tease, and he laughs.

"No, you." Alois says, making me blush and look away.

I feel Alois's free hand (the left) brush a strand of my hair out of the way. He is sitting on my left side, by the way.

My face probably looks like a tomato right now..

"N-Nooo, I'm anything but amazing, Alois.." I trail off, and he shakes his head, putting his hand under my chin and makes me look at him.

Our bodies are now facing each other's, my left hand still holding his right.

"That's where you're wrong, Gabriella. You are amazing, fascinating, incredible, stunning, the list goes on. I have sooo many words I could use to describe you, and they're all good things. Never think so lowly of yourself, Gabi. Okay?" Alois rants, my face blushing more and more at every word he used to describe me.

I smile shyly, replying, "Okay..I think the same of you, too..."

He blushes, smiling.

We stand up and he plays a slow song that's played on the piano. He holds his hand out to me, and asks, "Care to dance?"

I giggle and take his hand in mine, answering, "Of course."

He wraps his arms around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck, us moving back and forth moving in slow circles as we dance to the calming music.

Alois and I stare into each others' eyes deeply, getting lost in them.

It's almost as if we can read each others' life story just by one glance, even though we actually couldn't.

Cliché, I know, but it's true.

That's when I realized that we were both slowly leaning in, and our eyes flutter shut at the last second as our lips collide, sending a sparking feeling, like electricity or fireworks, throughout our bodies.

We stop dancing and just stand there, focusing only on the kiss and nothing else. Just one another.

It is like how our first kiss we shared was, but a bit faster.

Alois tightens his grip around me, reminding me of our first kiss even more, and I bring him closer by using my arms that are wrapped around his neck. I'm softly tugging on his blonde hair, making him smile. He responds by holding me even tighter, but not enough to hurt me. And that results in me smiling.

My left foot and his right one play with one another's, gently nudging the other, making sure we don't lose our balance.

We kiss for a few minutes before breaking apart because the need of air is too strong.

We lean our foreheads against each other's, panting heavily.

Must've been about five or six minutes of kissing, then?

We are both smiling like goofballs, giggling and chuckling.

"Best. Date. Ever." I breathe out, and he smiles wider, pulling me in for another kiss.

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HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY GUYSSSS!~ What's happening? Hope everything's good! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this EXTREMELY LONG chapter!

It was over 17,170 words!

This took forever.

It was worth it.

Now, just so you know, there will be no more Black Butler one shots in this book, since I have made a one shots book specifically for Black Butler! Go and check that out if you want to see more soon!

Have a great day/night!~

Baiiii!~

-CastrarWolf