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Suntan104: Thank you. I missed writing fanfictions too. Glad you like it so far.
Guest: What a funny question. Don't insult me by jumping the gun. I have nothing against LGBT and have many friends who are part of the LGBT. This is a fan fiction and there is nothing wrong with trying different ideas and creating them into stories for a just pleasure of it. Gender-bending is a specialty of mine because I like to write in that genre. Think carefully: anyone who is against LGBT (religious people, obviously) would not read or watch the Kuroshitsuji series since it is heavily implied with hints of yaoi, transgender and occults. I am a fan of the series, therefore, I am not against LGBT. Grell will remain transgendered here. If you don't like the story, then buzz off. Thank you for the review.
The Redemption of the Devil
Chapter One: My Butler, the Healer, and Comforter
Ciel's eyes blinked open to see that she was in a hospital. Moaning slightly as the pain wracked her tiny frame as she turned over and found a man sitting next to her bed, reading a book. He looked sharp, dressed in the butler uniform and his hair hanging down to frame his handsome face. She could see the red eyes scanning the words before looking up to meet her cobalt one. She reached up to feel her head and realized one of her eyes were bandaged and she was dressed in a fresh hospital gown.
"Where am I?" She murmured, memories were hazy as they began to filter back, becoming clear with each second. Her head throbbed. Ah, that's right. Her home burned down, her parents killed and kidnapped by the cult. She winced and reached to her side to feel the burning wound, a seal of the cult branded there. She flickered her eye to the man standing up from his chair and bowing slightly, a gloved hand over his chest. Now she remembered him as the memory swirled in her mind, pain, despair, blackness, an agreement and excruciating pain, so much blood and more fire.
Memories became clear as she recalled the night before, seeing the abandoned mansion burned to ground and fainting for a bit. Only to be awoken before the Phantomhive manor or what was left of it. It was then she had delivered her order, setting ground rules with the demon and gave him a name since he had none. She looked to him once again, "Sebastian Michaelis."
"My lady." He bowed his head and stood upright, a placid smile upon his lips. "You are in a hospital. You were exhausted and I brought you here."
She nodded as she looked around the room. It was a private room, obviously, they knew who she was and placed her there. The door opened and she watched as the woman in the doctor coat come in, she had brilliant red hair. She knew the woman. "Aunt An?" She whispered.
"Oh!" The female doctor looked up from her clipboard and smiled. "Ciel. You are awake. I am so happy!" She rushed to the bedside and swallowed as she noticed the child flinched and leaned toward the man in black, she sighed and allowed the child space. "He brought you here last night. I was the one who treated you and well, I don't know what happened. I can't help you anymore unless you tell me what happened."
Ciel shook her head softly, "It doesn't matter. I am fine. I want to go home."
Aunt An, or rather, Doctor Angelina Burnett shifted, "I see. Well, I will need to keep you here for one more night to make sure you recover nicely and the Scotland Yard wish to speak with you once you were awake."
Ciel narrowed her eye and shook her head, "No. I don't want to talk to anyone. I'll stay here one more night, but I am going home tomorrow." She turned her head, "Sebastian. See it to it that I am going home in the morning and I do not wish to talk to anyone regarding my disappearance."
The butler bowed his head as he recognized the order, "As you wish, my lady. If I may take your leave, I will prepare for your homecoming," he saw Ciel nod and he was gone.
"Who is he? I have never seen him before." Aunt An asked as she glanced to the doorway where the butler disappeared.
Ciel laid down and turned her back to the woman, "He found me and now is my butler. Assuming none of my household servants remained."
"Actually, the steward is still alive, Tanaka. I can ring him and have him come to see you."
"Thank you," Ciel replied softly and closed her eyes, the headache was becoming unbearable.
After denying the Scotland Yard to pester her and reuniting with her family's steward, Lady Ciel Phantomhive came home.
"My lady, I hope this is sufficient for you. I have gone and hired three servants for the household as well." Sebastian bowed slightly as he helped Ciel out of the carriage in front of the mansion. The girl, so small and frail, dressed in a blue and black gown that Sebastian had brought to her that morning, stepped down and stood to gaze upon the stone building, an exact replica of the mansion that burned down not a month before.
"How…" She whispered in slight awe as she took in the detail.
He heard her and smirked, "A butler of Phantomhive that can't do much isn't worth the salt." She narrowed her eye to the demon and suspected she would be hearing the line more than she cared for and saw his devilish smile, "I am merely one hell of a butler," he finished. Of course, he had done all of this, he is a demon after all. Deciding it was wise to not ask anymore.
The three servants stood in front of the door, dressed accordingly to their positions of the household bowed. Sebastian took her hand and they approached the servants. He gestured to the first, the young boy a few years older than Ciel with blond hair and a hat hanging down his back, "Finnian, the groundskeeper. He swears his loyalty to the Phantomhive with his strength." The boy grinned, happily as he bowed at the waist. Ciel gave a nod and allowed Sebastian guide her to the next servant, a tall rugged blond man with goggles around his neck. She can see that he is dressed in cook attire. "Baldory, the household chef. He swears his loyalty to the Phantomhive with his guardianship." The man smirked as he bowed much like Finnian as Ciel moved on to the next servant, a maid. "Mey-Rin, the house maid and swears her loyalty to the Phantomhive with her sharp eyes." Ciel had to raise her eyebrow as she noticed the fogged up glasses upon the magenta-haired woman's face. The woman curtsied and Ciel turned to the older man and Sebastian let go of her hand, "Tanaka, the Phantomhive Steward." He turned to her and bowed, "Lastly, myself as your personal butler."
Ciel gave a small smile at the old man and nodded at the demon. She turned to the others, "Thank you for employing for the Phantomhive household." She sighed and turned to Sebastian, "I am tired."
"Of course, my lady." Sebastian bowed and with a quick motion, he picked her up bridal style and she clutched onto him as he swept her into the house. She had noted while they passed through the household that everything looked exactly as if the fire had never consumed the building. Sebastian brought her to her room and set her down, taking her overcoat and hat and she crawled in the bed, curling up into a tight ball. A tear rolled down her face from her eye as she stared out of the window. Sebastian came to her side and removed her shoes and pulled the cover over her, "I'll allow you to rest and return with dinner later." He saw her give a small nod.
He left the room and closed the door behind him and leaned against it. It will be a while before the child recovers from the ordeal. He could have simply consumed her soul right after he had destroyed the cult, but the contract would not have been fulfilled for there were others out there. He recalled her words from the other night when they made the contract. Ciel had made three requests; to protect her and never betray her until her revenge is complete. Obey every order unconditionally and never lie to her. He chuckled, for a child so small, with a brilliant bright soul, it was an unusual contract and he knew it would be interesting. He turned his head to listen against the door, he could hear her hitched breath. It will be a while before they can actually start searching for the people responsible for her suffering, but until then, he had no qualm being her butler. After all, wandering about and consuming souls for thousands of years was becoming tedious. He pushed away from the door, knowing Ciel was crying herself to sleep and went on to see about dinner.
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A scream rang in the mansion, "No! Don't touch me!" A slap echoed in the bedroom of the lady of the household. Sebastian stepped into the bedroom to find Ciel huddled against the headboard of her bed, tears streaming down her face and Mey-Rin looking distraught, holding her hands to her chest.
"My lady?" He approached the bed and Ceil scrambled to clutch onto his jacket and hide behind his back. "What has transpired here?" He asked.
Mey-Rin bowed before the two, "I came here as you asked me to, to help Lady Ciel. I went to help her with her gown but she…" She stopped, not wanting to say any more to put a fault on the young lady.
"I see." Sebastian commented softly and turned his head to Ciel huddling behind him, "My Lady if you will allow me." He saw her blue eye flick up to him with a glare and smirked slightly, "I sent Mey-Rin to help you with your clothes and bath."
"No." Ciel spat, her glare seemed to shoot dagger as she withdrew further behind Sebastian. Mey-Rin remained in her bowed state before the butler and the girl.
"My lady?" Sebastian asked, "Surely, Mey-Rin can help you with bathing and dressing. After all, it is proper for a lady to have a handmaiden."
The girl looked up and with her tiny fist on his pants curled tightly, "I don't want anyone to help me but you. I don't trust anyone."
Mey-Rin softly asked, "may I?" She heard the butler's non-comment noise giving her permission and stood up straight. "Perhaps it would be best if you humor our lady. There are only a few of us servants here and we will not embarrass the lady to public about her preference who serves her personally. In public eyes, I would be her handmaiden, but behind the closed doors, it would be you."
Ciel gave a small nod against Sebastian's hip and the butler gave a single nod in agreement. Mey-Rin smiled, "until she is more comfortable if she wishes. My lady." She bowed and left quietly from the room. It had been a month since Ciel came home and she had remained most of her time in her room recovering. Sebastian had seen to her every need and had thought it would be proper for Mey-Rin to take over the role but only to find Ciel adamantly refusing anyone else to serve her personally.
"Very well. As you wish, my lady." Sebastian turned to Ciel as he felt her let go of his pants. She sat on her bed, watching him with a single eye as he prepared for her bath and laid out her night clothes on the bed. He turned to her and gestured to the bathroom, "the bath is ready to your liking." She hopped off from the bed and brushed past him into the bathroom and stood by the bathtub. He knelt beside her and unbuttoned her gown. After a few minutes of silence, she was undressed and slipped into the hot water. He moved to the end of the bath and poured water over her hair. He asked quietly, "until you feel strong enough to face the public, what will you do?"
She glanced up at him as he scrubbed her head with shampoo, "My father's company, the Fantom business, has it gone as well?"
"No, my lady. It is your company now and you may do what you wish to it." He replied as he doused her head once again and started to wash her arm with the soapy washcloth.
"I see. I wish to keep the business going since it is my source of income for now," she replied and allowed him to wash her other arm and leaned back, pulling her leg up for him to wash. She observed that her legs were thin much like her arms. She has always been a small girl, asthmatic like her mother and often easily to become ill, especially during colder weather. She had just turned eleven but in appearance, she looked no more than a seven years old child. Her hair had been shorn during her captivity but Sebastian had trimmed her hair before she left the hospital and commented that her hair would regrow back to its original length. She had decided then to remain out of the public eyes until her hair was long enough. It would give her enough time to recover from the ordeal. Every night, she dreamed of her parents' death, the burning of the mansion and her captivity. She thrashed and turned, screaming and crying. It was raw and painful.
Yet, every time she had night terrors, she would wake to find Sebastian beside her bed, a calming tea in hands and stroking her head. Little by little, her nightmare started to lessen it's strangling hold on her. She knew it was a long way before she would have a dreamless night. She smirked slightly as she stared at herself in the mirror on the other end of the bath. How ironic, the only being in the entire world she trusted now was the very demon from hell. Her eyes flickered to him as he stood and held out the large towel, waiting for her to step out of the bath. She stood and allowed him to wrap around her and lifted her up to carry her back into the bedroom and dress her for bed.
Tucked under the thick cover, she grasped his hand before it left the bed, "Sebastian," She saw his blood-red gaze flick to her face, it was unreadable but it did not matter. The contract protected her despite who he is. "Were there others like me? The contracts?"
He smirked and turned fully to her, withdrawing his hand softly from under her hand and bowed. "I have had many contracts and devoured thousands of soul for thousands of years. However…" he softly whispered as he knelt beside her and brushed her hair aside to expose her other eye, purple with the Faustian symbol within. "None like you. You are different." As soon he said, he stood and bowed his head, "Good night, my lady." He blew out the candles and left. She knew he would return hours later to recover her from her night terror. She couldn't help but feel the flutter deep in her heart, realizing he told the truth.
He stepped out of the door and closed it behind him with a soft click. Glancing at his pocket watch, he assumed he had couple hours to finish the chores around the house and return with a tea for his mistress. Deep in his demonic heart, he was surprised at his own words. Because of the contract, he could not tell a lie to her and the truth came out. She was different, she was special. Surely, with a strong pure soul, she would bound to be a delicious feast when the time came, but it wasn't because of that. What else? He wondered as he walked silently down the darkened hallway, perhaps time will tell and he grinned to himself, he had plenty of it.
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A year nearly passed and the Phantomhive household settled into its usual routine where Sebastian served the young Lady Ciel, helping her to recover from her ordeal and took upon himself to be her tutors in academic, music and dancing and in turn, she taught him how to be the best butler. The servants went on keeping the Phantomhive mansion in top notch condition. Letters came and went from people that wished to see Ciel and she turned them all away with excuse needing time to recover. The Funtom business thrived under her handling along with Sebastian's help and became better than it was when it was under her father's management.
In the year time, she came to become more confident and took up on a hobby of horse-riding, hunting and keeping up with the current news of London and Europe. It was unusual for a woman of her status to be the head of the household, let alone do all the things men would do but she did not care. She was Lady Phantomhive and she will do what she wish as long she has Sebastian by her side, she was becoming a force to be reckoned.
On a cold mid-December morning, Ciel woke to the knock on her door and Sebastian coming in her room bearing a tray of tea and breakfast. She sat up and brushed her gray-blue hair from her face, it had been growing out, almost nearly to the original length down her back. She yawned as he set the tray on her lap and poured the tea for her. "This morning, it is English breakfast tea with summer cornflower. Poached egg and toast and apricot glazed scone."
She took the tea and sipped it before setting it down on her tray, taking the newspaper and reading the headline. Sebastian moved about her room in a soft whisper, lighting the fireplace that had died during the night and pushing open the curtain to bring in the light. Her outfit for the day was chosen and laid out on her bed. She noted it was olive green and frowned, "No. I want black for today."
"My Lady?" He asked as he picked up the gown. "Black? Surely you would want to wear something with color."
"Not today. Today is December fourteenth."
His eyes grew slightly before closing to nod. "As you wish, my lady." He turned and returned the olive green dress to the closet and pulled out a long black gown with laces, little frills, and ribbon roses. "Will this suffice?" He asked as he held it up. He saw her take a glance at the gown and nodded. It had been a year to date since that fateful night, he also realized it was her birthday. She had turned twelve years old.
Once breakfast was finished, he helped her into the black gown and she moved to sit at her vanity table. He took the brush and begun to comb her long blue-grey hair that shone steel in the low light. "It is also Lady's birthday today."
"I would not prefer to consider my birthday today. It is the day my parents died. I wish to visit their graves."
"Very good. When would you consider the turn of your age?" He asked as he pulled her hair in pigtails and took the warm curling iron that was heating over the candle.
"I am twelve today, yes," she replied as he curled her hair with care, watching him in the mirror while her hands played with the jewelry she would wear for the day. "But the day I am reborn was the day we made the contract." She told him and saw him smile his devilish smile.
"As you wish, my lady." He bowed his head as he let her hair go and replaced the curling iron. "May I ask?"
She stood up and handed him her necklace, "You may ask me anything, within reasons." She told him and turned her back to him so he would put the necklace around her neck.
Draping the silver chain with silver rose charm around her neck, "Will you be ready to face the public?"
She sighed as she fingered the rose necklace and allowed him to place earrings on her earlobes. Her breath hitched as she felt his warm breath caressed her bare neck ever so quickly before he moved to the next ear. "I may not like it, but I must. It's time I step up and take my father's place as the head of the Phantomhive in public's eyes."
He slipped the golden Phantomhive signet ring and the blue diamond ring onto her lace covered fingers and replied, "you will do just splendid." He stepped back and grinned at her, "Even as Lady Phantomhive who could not do much isn't worth the salt."
"Shut up." Ciel snapped as she brushed past Sebastian, and she swore she heard him chuckle lightly behind her.
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I need to bring the story up to speed and get to where I want it to be. This chapter is touching a little bit of here and there and yes, I realize it is not canon to the series. Like I said, I am basing my knowledge on only two seasons of Kuroshitsuji and first two manga volumes. I also have been reading and researching online to get some ideas. I am going to try my best to keep the characters true to themselves but yes, there's likely they will be OCC. I have some ideas how I want the story to go, but not fully fleshed out. Thank you for reading.