CHAPTER ONE

Ciel opened his eyes, the sun was shinning in through the curtains. 'How odd', he thought to himself, 'why hasn't Sebastian woken me up?' He glanced at the clock, it read nine o'clock. Ciel sat up straight. Nine o'clock? Sebastian should have woken him ages ago. Where the hell was that demon butler?

"Sebastian?" He called but his voice was only a whisper.

He tried to call again but his voice was quieter that time. Again and again he shouted for Sebastian but his voice got quieter and quieter until no words came out at all. It was only then that Ciel realized how silent the mansion was. No noise seemed to be coming from inside or outside. Panic started to rise inside him as he forced himself out of his
bed. He walked over to his window and pulled open the curtains, only to find that there was nothing there. Literally nothing.

All he saw a constant bright white spanning for as far as his eyes could see. Nothing broke the whiteness at all. No trees, no grass, no sky. It was like a giant cloud was covering the world, as if nothing existed expect the mansion he lived in. Ciel turned sharply, knocking the wind out of himself for a few seconds. Something was terribly wrong, where was Sebastian? He had to find him. Once again he tried to call but his voice still refused to work.

He had no choice, he had to go looking for his butler. With a deep breath Ciel walked towards the door. It was stiffer than he remembered, it took almost all of his strength and energy to pull it open just wide enough for him to squeeze through. It wasn't comfortable but managed it. He called for everyone but their names wouldn't tumble from his mouth, it was as if no one else existed.

He checked every room one by one but he found no one. He was the only one; he could feel tears threatening to leave his eyes but he couldn't let them fall, he knew if he let them start he'd never get them to stop. He pulled at the front door, he was exhausted, even with his heart and adrenaline pumping through him faster than it ever had before.
He felt like at any minute he was going to drop onto the floor and become immobilized in his fatigue but he had to carry on. He couldn't be alone, not again.

When he stepped through the door the blinding whiteness turned into deep dark forest. The trees created thick shadows that made it impossible for him to see what was lurking beyond. Ciel turned back to his mansion, debating whether or not he should return to the one place he knew he'd be safe, maybe he would be lonely but at least he'd be alive. No, he needed to press on. He needed to find Sebastian. A sudden depressing feeling hit him with so much force that the tears started to flow from his eyes like rivers flowing over a bank. What if Sebastian had abandoned him? It felt like that's what had happened. Maybe they all just abandoned him.

As he stood there, debating whether or not he should give in to the fact that he wasn't wanted by anyone anymore the Mansion caught fire. As the fire lapped at the great walls he turned back to the woods and ran into them. Something told him that he'd find Sebastian there or rather, Sebastian would find him. It didn't matter as long as he got to see him again. He wanted to see another person, hear anything that wasn't a deafening silence. He didn't care if Sebastian was going to shout at him, tell him that he needed to be more careful or moan that he had over slept or ran away without telling anyone where he was going. He needed to see those eyes again. He got deeper and deeper into the
trees the light behind him fading with every step he took. Without warning his legs gave way underneath him, sending him face first into the mud, the brown staining his perfect white night shirt.

He shook violently as he sobbed. Wrapping his arms around himself as if it was going to protect him from the chill. Branches snapped somewhere in the distance, causing him to jump. He wanted to run but he couldn't convince his legs to work. He couldn't stand, there was no way he was going to be able to run. Something behind Ciel snarled into his ear, he turned at the waist, only to be met with the face of a growling wolf. The beast was twice the size of him, with long shaggy black hair and blood dripping from it's fangs. Blood, the same shade of red as its eyes. As he looked into those eyes Ciel realized that he knew this creature. This monster in front of him, staring as if he was about to rip into his fragile body, it was Sebastian. He wasn't sure how he knew. He just knew but Sebastian hadn't come to protect him or rescue him. Sebastian had come to be Ciel's demise. In the reflection of the wolfs eyes, Ciel noticed that he wasn't wearing his eyes patch, under his messy blue bed hair, his eye was exposed but the seal was gone. His eye was a deep blue instead of purple. The contract was over and Sebastian wanted the soul he was promised.

"Young master?" Came a voice from Ciel's side.

With another scream Ciel woke up. He was covered in sweat and shaking from the dream he had been stuck in. It felt so real. He must have looked a mess, tears were running down his cheeks, unfortunately the crying wasn't just in his dream. He wiped his eyes frantically, turning away from his butler so that he wouldn't see the water spilling from his eyes. There was no light pouring in through the curtains, Sebastian hadn't come to wake Ciel up the day, he must have heard him screaming.

"My lord, are you alright?" Sebastian questioned again.

"Yes, it was only a dream" Ciel told him, somehow managing to sound stoic even with his face still showing so much fear.

He was starting to calm down now that he realized that it had all been in his head. Still, he knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon, even after Sebastian left he would lay awake in his bed.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Sebastian asked, though he knew perfectly well what the answer would be.

"No, I don't remember it. What is the time, it can't be dawn yet?"

"It's just gone three, master. Would you like me to leave you to rest, it is a long day ahead" Sebastian reminded him, still looking at Ciel with concern.

"Yes" Ciel nodded, laying back down, his heart slowly returning to a normal steady beat.

"I will wake you later, my lord" Sebastain bowed and went over to the door, looking back at Ciel once before he finally left his master alone once more.

Just like he thought, Ciel didn't go back to sleep. He laid in his bed, in the dark, trying to get the nightmare out of his head. He wanted to call Sebastain back in, part of him was ashamed to admit it but he wanted his butler to lay down with him until he fell asleep again, forgetting that he'd ever had a nightmare at all. Maybe even he'd ask Sebastain to hold him for a little bit. He wouldn't ask, even if it did mean that would go to sleep. He couldn't bring himself to. He already looked weak for crying in his sleep, he couln't give in to the weakness even more. He wouldn't allow himself to; Sebastain would only mock him for it anyway.

Ciel wasn't sure when he start to feel that way. He wasn't sure when his heart started to flutter as Sebastain called him or when butterflies appeared in his stomach only to fly like crazy when he saw the demon smile. He'd never admit it but something inside him was longing for Sebastain and it prayed more than anything, for Sebastain to long for him to but he knew it would never happen. Ciel would never tell him, Sebastain was only a demon after all. He couldn't feel anything and Ciel praised himself for being a realist if nothing else. He wouldn't be fooled into thinking Sebastian could return his sentiment.