Hey guys!

Merry Christmas to you all! To celebrate this joyous occasion, I decided to write another Christmas story. It does tie in with my previous story, however it can be read on its own, although it may be a little confusing if you haven't. But it's up to you! Ciel may be a little OOC, but hopefully you won't mind!

I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

HeartElyse

XXX

NIGHT PHANTOMS: A SECOND 'BLACK BUTLER' CHRISTMAS STORY

A boy was situated alone in his drawing room, curled up against the downy plush of a velvety armchair, his frosted gaze brooding over the flames that roared to life in the fireplace beside him. Outside, the fog and darkness thickened so, the biting cold and falling snow making the approaching night all the more ominous. Inside, of course, the chill was less piercing, but even still, it gnawed hungrily at the marrow in the boy's frail bones, making him shudder.

But that wasn't the only reason he shuddered...

Ciel drew his limbs closer, huddling nearer to the welcomed heat of the flames. Clad in only his nightshirt, his pale skin was turned to glimmering milk within the light of the flickering tendrils, his rippling goose-flesh all the more pronounced in the glow. The many licking tongues dancing in the grate should have been enough to distract his thoughts. However, he'd realised almost immediately upon entering that room in the evening - and perhaps even earlier, if he dared admit - that his mind was not going to show him mercy on that dreadful night.

You see, tonight was Christmas Eve. And oh! He didn't forget this year, although he had prayed he would. And how could he possibly, when the events of this night, a year's past, were still very raw upon his butchered heart?

Those holy apparitions had never faded from his conscience, even after Sebastian had relinquished him of his own foolishness on the very night in which they appeared. Ever since, he'd constantly reminded himself that it was a weakness that had him clinging to the frays of that terrible memory. But despite his iron will, it remained, a corruption of both his body and soul, a corruption he could not shake.

Comfort could not distract him; it was clear in the way the warmth of the fire did nothing to quiet his mind. Perhaps discomfort would; perhaps he should ask Sebastian to snuff out the fire, or lock him outside and make him suffer the implacable frigidness until dawn. If he didn't despise the cold with such conviction, he might've tested that theory, but even if he hadn't despised it, the irrationality of those suggestions would've most certainly left him very much humbled.

"My Lord?"

What accurate timing for that richly honeyed voice to speak, right before his raging thoughts dived further down into chaos. Fixing his bitter glare upon the doorway, there was standing his butler, a cast of black and white, with a gloved hand pressed to the dark void where is heart should have been, an amiable smile playing dress-up on his lips.

"I believe it is time to retire for the evening."

Swallowing heavily, Ciel gave a curt nod. On quivering legs, he arose from his seat, and as he made to pass his servant, he spoke one order to the demon.

"Sebastian, if anyone comes to visit the manor tomorrow, tell them that I am away on business and won't be returning for several days. Don't let anyone in. Is that understood?"

Ciel didn't even need to look behind him to know that the fiend was bowing low.

"Yes, my Lord."

XXX

When Ciel awoke that night, he found it to be so dark that he could not distinguish the covered windows from the navy walls of his chamber. All was a chasm of obsidian, suffocating his eyes, seizing his heart. Even though he never dreamed speak of it, he'd never quite overcome his fear of the darkness, despite how he now dwindled in it forevermore. And with the horrid memories that were clasped to him like heavy chains, he doubted he ever would.

Shivering, Ciel scrambled from his chilled bed and felt his way to the window. He recalled seeing a dazzling full moon hanging like a glorious eye in the inky sky when Sebastian had shut the curtains earlier. Surely it would've remained.

But as he groped at the silken drapes with quivering fingers and tossed them aside, he was not greeted by a luminous glow, but by crippling nothingness. It was as if light had abandoned the world, and had left its inhabitants stumbling in their implacable blindness.

"Sebastian," Ciel choked, his voice weak, and yet ringing in its loneliness. His arms were glued to his sides, his heels rooted to the frozen rug that seemed to burn his feet.

When silence answered, he was inclined to call again, and again, his tone growing louder, drowning in earnest. A terrible sensation was stirring in his blood the longer he waited without reply, his colour changing to a most poorly white, his heart fluttering with nerves.

Eventually, he could not handle his isolation for a moment more. "SEBASTIAN!"

"Hush, dear Ciel. There is no need to fear..."

Ciel's limbs grew as tort as ice. A voice had sung out behind him, a voice that had been absent from his existence for so many years now. It was a voice built of soft baritones and warmed caramel, a voice that had once comforted him so dearly, and yet he'd reserved to never hear again. At least until now...

A light accompanied it. It was a pale light, a deathly light, like the dull hum of a blue star. But it beamed like the sun in that deprived room, giving illumination to all that could not be seen before.

With a rigidness that jutted his frame, Ciel turned upon his heels, and what he saw completely snatched his breath away.

From beyond the muddled folds of his bed, two phantoms stood, both glimmering in their transparency, their lifeless skin silver, their smiling lips beyond bloodless. His parents. Just as he'd seen them on this very night a year ago.

And both extended their arms, his mother's tears like rivers of stardust, his father's tears withheld in his colourless eyes.

"Come, Ciel," his father whispered again, his voice wavering by the slightest of amounts. "There is no need to be afraid of the darkness."

Ciel's mouth hung agape in the shape of his utter astonishment. He shut it, and then allowed it to snap open again, his words fumbling in his chest, but dying in his throat.

His mother took a step towards him, a sob escaping her lips. The action made Ciel's legs go numb. He feared he might faint, should she dare take another step closer.

"Oh, Ciel! How we've missed you..."

A knot was twisting at the base of Ciel's mouth, making it near impossible to utter a sound. "How?..." he could only croak, his trembling hands clawing at his chest, unable to look away from the ghostly figures that haunted him. "You can't... You can't... You can't be..."

Their arms fell, as though the two beings had deflated. His father placed a weary hand upon his mother's quaking shoulder. "Come, Rachel. He does not believe, therefore we must depart. There is nothing we can do now..."

A anguish sliced his mother's beautiful features, but she nodded, and together, they turned, as if to leave.

The panic that gripped Ciel at watching them leave was perhaps stronger than the horror of seeing them appear.

"Wait!" he cried, tossing away his foreboding as he lunged forward and extended a hand, daring to touch his dead mother, to take her wrist in his own fingers.

To his amazement, his fingers did not slip through her faded skin, but came to curl around it, as he'd done when she'd been alive. The pleasant warmth that he could feel resonate from her body to his own was enough to make him reel all over again.

Something wet stirred in his eyes.

"Y-you're really here?"

His mother cupped his frigid cheek in her gentle hand, a grave smile playing on her shuddering lips.

"Of course, Ciel! How could we ever leave you?"

His father laying a consoling palm over Ciel's arm was too much. Ciel felt that wetness flood over his lashes and cascade down his face.

"I'm sorry," he blubbered, shaking his head in his despair. "How can you forgive me, after everything I've done?..."

They wrapped him in their tender embrace, not hesitating for a moment.

"Because there is nothing to forgive," Ciel's father cooed into his ear. "Ciel, it does not matter what you do, we can never stop loving you."

Ciel could only melt against them, not caring for how weak it might've seemed. For so long, he'd been starved of such affectionate touches, he'd starved without him even being aware of it himself. He had never known how hungry he'd been for such things until it had been offered to him...

"We wanted to spend Christmas Eve with you, Ciel," his mother managed in a tone overtaken by emotion. "Would you like that?"

Ciel's heart couldn't refuse...

XXX

"Sebastian, I want you to invite the Midfords over, as well as Prince Soma, if you are able."

Sebastian paused in the face of his shock, the morning light leaving him a perfect statue of ivory.

"Have you had a change of heart, my Lord?"

Even at the rather unnecessary question, the boy's delicate grin did not falter. He sat up on his mattress, gazing with immense affection at the swirling tea in his hand.

"If you must know, than yes, I have."

The demon gave a curt bow, a knowing smirk painting his features. Ah, so I was unable to chase those little ghosts away, it seems, he thought with amusement. It does not matter. Ghosts fade eventually; they will cause him great pain someday. I suppose I have nothing to complain about.

"Yes, my Lord..."