Hello everyone! Here's my contribution to Halloween. It's my first multi-chaptered story. The other chapters are not written yet but I try to update as soon as possible. Now, please enjoy!
Ciel slumped down into his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace in his library. It had been an exhausting day. He had visited two of his factories, had met several business partners in London and on his way back home he had ended up being stuck in traffic. The weather certainly hadn't helped to lift his mood either. It had been a typical autumn day: cold, rainy and windy. It was only due to Sebastian who apparently was eager to get back to the manor as well that they arrived home before nightfall.
Now it was early evening and the little light of the day was slowly disappearing. Ciel was glad he was back in his manor where he could allow himself a moment of rest. He enjoyed the cosy warmth spreading from the flames in the fireplace. Slowly, his body – freezing from sitting for what had felt like hours in the carriage which hadn't shut out the wind and the cold – began to warm up and he drifted into a slight slumber.
He wasn't fully asleep, just dozing. His eyes were closed but he could still perceive his surroundings. He felt the pleasant heat of the fire, smelled the mixture of old books and burning wood and heard the crackle of the flames and even the wind howling outside of the house. But suddenly Ciel felt a cold draught passing him. He was confused for a moment. The door and all windows were closed so where did the fresh air come from? But as quickly as it had come it disappeared again so the Earl didn't think about it any further and shrugged it off as imagination.
However, a few minutes later the cold air returned again. This time, Ciel was certain that he wasn't just imagining things. He opened his eyes and searched for the source of the breeze. The fire was still burning but somehow the warmth didn't reach Ciel anymore. He stood up and decided to check on the windows. Maybe the storm outside had opened them. While he made his way between the bookshelves of the library he noticed that the air around him was getting warmer again and as he had assumed, the windows were closed. He got even more confused when he returned to his armchair where it was considerably colder than in the rest of the room. Strange, he thought. Why is it so cold right in front of the fireplace?
He stood there for a moment wondering. There wasn't anything he could do about it so he decided to ignore it. The Earl pushed the chair from the cold spot to another place and was just about to sit down again when a noise held him back. It was a quiet sound coming from behind a bookshelf in a dark corner of the room. It sounded like something was scratching the wood. Ciel's heart beat faster. What was that? The scratching was getting louder and it seemed to come closer to where Ciel was standing. He was certain that he was alone in the library, or was he? Could someone have broken into the manor? But surely, Sebastian wouldn't have allowed that, right? No one uninvited could enter the Phantomhive estate. At least no one human…
Ciel tried to calm down. It had been a stressful day. Surely, he was overreacting. It was probably just a rat seeking shelter from the terrible weather outside. He suppressed the urge to summon his butler who would only laugh at his pathetic master. Ha! Scared of a small animal. It can't be anything else. But he could not fully convince himself.
The scratching noise now came from a shelf to his right. Ciel grabbed a poker that was hanging beside the fireplace and neared the shelf. With the weapon in his hands he felt more self-confident but even so his heart was pounding. Slowly he approached the source of the sound. With every step his unease grew. Something inside of him screamed at him to run away but he wouldn't give in to his childish fears. He held the poker high above his head ready to strike at any moment. The scratching was even louder than before and Ciel stood right in front of the bookshelf now. Whatever was causing this sound must have been right on the other side. Ciel took a deep breath. Then he jumped around the shelf and without a second look he struck down the poker with all his strength.
With a loud crash the bookshelf collapsed and the books all fell down with it. From the corner of his eye Ciel thought he saw a shadow moving quickly on the wall beside him but when he turned his head it had disappeared. He returned his attention to the mess around him. There was nothing besides the broken shelf and the books. But the scratching was gone. So did he eliminate the source of the sound?
Suddenly, multiple things happened at once. The glass of one of the windows shattered, another bookshelf collapsed for no reason and the fire in the fireplace went out leaving the library in complete darkness. Ciel flinched and dropped the poker in shock. What the hell was wrong tonight?
After the chaos just a few seconds ago it was dead silent now. The only sound came from Ciel's rapid breathing and his fast heartbeat. A rat couldn't have caused all this. What's going on in here? Ciel's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. He recognised the outlines of the room, the bookshelves that were still standing, the broken ones on the floor, the books, the window…
Ciel's eyes widened in shock. There by the window someone was standing. The 13-year-old couldn't see much because of the darkness but he clearly made out the white shape of a person, almost transparent – and it was moving…