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I was trying my best to keep my cool. But with Master Ciel fuming and the dejected howling had my nervousness increasing.

I was in Ciel's music room, a long and spacious dancing hall with golden walls and a chandelier and brilliant pale light flying through the windows lining the left wall. Absolutely gorgeous... This is the first time I've been in such a fancy place. I was attempting to teach him our first lesson, the basics of flute playing. Earlier Pluto had been whining outside the door to the room, moaning and barking and whimpering and making all sorts of pitiful noises until finally the Master yelled at Sebastian to "remove this damned dog". And the howling had only increased when the poor hellhound was tethered outside with Finny to watch him.

First thing in the morning, Sebastian introduced me to the other workers, Bard, Finny, and Mei-Rin. They were all quirky and kinda... weird, to put it nicely. But they were also all very welcoming and acted as though I were already part of the family. Over some coffee for breakfast we spoke about my duties. Or rather, he told me what I had to do and I nodded the whole time. In addition to teaching Ciel, I was to help Finny with the garden because his apparently incredible strength was too much for the frail flowers in the yard, and also to go out to town for supplies like food and clothes and cleaning things. Also I was instructed to take care of Pluto, since he seemed to like me and I would have the most influence on him. Sebastian had said all this with a smile, but knowing he was a demon kept me somewhat en garde.

Then I'd met the Master. He couldn't be more than fourteen, with a strange eyepatch over his right eye that was already hidden by bangs of blue and black. And boy, was the master of the Phantomhive estate short. The reason I was teaching the flute first is because I had carried it here with me, along with my piccolo and clarinet. My other instruments were too large, and they had not arrived yet. He took to the flute playing quite well, but got frustrated easily. Pluto's desperate howls didn't seem to be helping.

We were just in the middle of practicing the Bb scale, after he had FINALLY been able to make a sound at all, when he growled impatiently and yelled for Sebastian. No sooner had he said the name than the butler opened the door, with his pale face and pleasing smile and ruby red demon eyes, awaiting his master's request.

"Get that hellhound in here!" the Master half-shouted at the man, his eyes full of irritation. "Ensure that he does NOT disrupt the lesson!"

"Yes, Master," Sebastian bowed before closing the door.

I looked back timidly at the Master, who was currently rubbing the bridge of his nose. He didn't look too happy. "Excuse me, Master," I ventured, when the howling reverberated through the house, closer with every second, "but why are you bringing him here?"

He sent me a look that just had "Are you stupid?" all over it. Well, nertz to you too. "It is obvious that dog won't shuttup until he is in your presence," he spit out, the frustration evident in every word. "He has grown fond of you in the day he's known you. Typical of a dense, brainless, idiotic dog from hell."

Immediately I tensed up at his words. Hellhounds have the capacity to be just as intelligent, if not more so, than humans. "...Pardon me, Master, but the only demons that do not have the brain capacity equal or beyond that of humans are the rudis novis, and they are still persuasive and alluring to even the oldest and wisest of us. Hellounds are known to be able to surpass the human IQ to the point that they cannot be measured. They also have amazing learning skills, and can take up any art from a form of fighting to speaking languages. It would be unwise for you to assume idiocy of Pluto."

Wow. Way to go. You've just stepped out of line on your first. Friggin'. DAY.

The courage that had previously been coursing through my veins had frozen with the shocked/angry/bewildered stare from Ciel's single eye. I gulped. Get ready to be fired.

"Listen to your teacher." I whipped around to see a smiling Sebastian holding a happy, grinning, enthusiastic Pluto by a chain connected to a studded collar around his neck (thankfully with tan shorts on). "He knows what he's talking about, as expected of someone who did such extensive research on the subject. It was wrong of you-"

And I didn't hear any more of his lecture to Ciel because Pluto had escaped his grasp and jumped straight on me, knocking my flute out of my hand and licking me furiously. I giggled and ran my fingers through his white hair, trying to avoid getting his tongue in my eyes or nose or something. "Pluto, if you want to stay here with me you have to be reeeaaalll quiet," I whispered, calming my giggling down to give him a solemn look. He stared back at me, eyes full of curious wonder and attention. "You have to go sit in that chair there very patiently," I pointed to one of the small sofa-thingies underneath one of the windows.

After a small, determined growl, he leapt off me and next thing I knew he was sitting upright on the sofa obediently, grinning at me. I grinned back, gave him a thumbs up, and pushed myself off the floor, grabbing my flute. Sebastian gave Pluto a warning look and, having finished his speech, walked calmly out of the room to leave a still-slightly-angry Ciel tightly gripping his flute.

The Master got the hang of two scales by the end of our lesson. Hm. Funny. With Pluto nearby, eyes always on me, it seemed somehow easier to teach.