Some OCs will appear, but no CielxOC* or SebastianxOC will appear. Well... might be some slashy things between Ciel x someone, but it'll be only sex with no feelings. And it's just to make Sebastian a little jealous. *It will be only one-sided. As I mentioned in prologue - my first multi-chapter story, so please, be kind with me. Anyway... Chapter is unbetaed version, so there might be milions of mistakes. Sorry. D:
Ciel was lying on the undone bed wondering why did this all happen? Had he done something wrong? Phantomhive never wanted to become a demon. Never wanted the contract to be broken. Just as he never wished his parents death or to be in situation where he must have begged the demon for help.
When Ciel was little child he believed in God, true love and destiny. But where are they now? There's no God or love. And the destiny seemed to be some sick joke to him – is that really possible for one's destiny to be reborned as a demon? He highly doubt so…
Hours were passing. He did not even moved. There was no reason to... Ciel no longer needed to eat or sleep, or drink. Phantomhive was aware that some day he'll need to consume human's soul, but for now he did not feel such a carving.
'Well, well… It seems that a little birdie got lost in my mansion…' the door cracked slightly, revealing tall, handsome man.
'Oh… I'm sorry. I thought it was abandoned. I did not have a place to go, so…' Ciel tried to explain.
'It's all right. I'm not mad at you. But I'd like to know what a young demon like you is doing here?' the stranger asked, smiling lightly.
'I… I'd rather not talk about that. I'll just leave…' said Phantomhive, heading the door's room, but the man coughed his arm.
'Stay, please… I live alone and I'd love to have a bit of company.'
'If you say so… But how did you know, I am a demon? I hided my aura…'
'Young demon… I've been living for over a thousand of years now. There's very little things you could hide from me. And… oh, where are my manners. My name is Lucius Vernet. Pleased to meet you.' Said blond man.
'Ciel Phantomhive.' responded ex-count. 'May I ask… what are you?'
'But of course. I am a vampire.'
'Heh… Are you? Then why the day light doesn't affect you?'
'Oh, my… Do you really believe in those human fairy tales?' chuckled the other.
Now Ciel got curious.
'Will you tell me about your kind? If we are supposed to live here together…'
'It's not a big secret, really. Please, take a sit.' the vampire pointed at two armchairs in the corner of the room. Ciel sat obediently, watching closely blond man. He was never a trustful person. He had learned his lesson.
'We, the vampires, do not fear sunlight, crosses or garlic. We don't use coffins as our beds also – we do not require sleep at all. But it is true that to survive we need human blood. Well… in extreme situations we can feed on animals but their blood is disgusting. And we may get older, but it inquires only low-class vampires.'
'Then who created those strange gossips about your kind?'
'I have no idea, but it doesn't trouble us.'
'And do you know much about demons?'
'Ah… Well, I do, but unfortunately I am not able to teach you, if this is what you want. However I believe a friend of mine could.'
'Is he a demon?'
'Obviously. I can introduce you to him tomorrow evening. He organises a ball at his mansion. It will be a good opportunity for you to make some friends…'
'…or enemies.' Ciel mumbled under his nose, remembering the strange demon he meet yesterday.
Lucius knotted his eyebrows, hearing whispered response but he didn't ask further.
'If we want to get on that party, we need to buy you proper clothes. Let's go.' said Lucius, opening the door for Ciel.
That smell… The smell of Paris in winter… He remembered it so well and now he was inhaling it with all his might, smiling lightly. Even though it was early in the afternoon, it was dark – the sun was hidden behind dark clouds. Street lanterns were lighten giving characteristic yellowish light. The snow covered the streets and frizzing wind was blowing straight in his face. But for Ciel it was a perfect weather – it brought him long gone memories.
'Here.' Lucius's voice snapped him from his thoughts. They entered the small shop.
'Welcome. What can I do for you today, Monsieur Vernet?' asked old seller from behind his desk.
'We are looking for a suit for my friend. We will be attending a ball tomorrow night and we're looking for something proper.'
'I see… Come with me then.'
The room was small and filled with dresses suits in most different colours. Ciel, however did not really care about all this. He patiently tried on whatever they gave to him.
'This! Yes! This matches you perfectly!' exclaimed Lucius happily.
Young demon stared in the mirror. He had to agree – black suit with red embroidery looked perfect on him.
'We will take this one and those two.' decided the vampire.
'Wait a minute… We were supposed to buy only one.' Ciel felt uncomfortable with this whole situation – he was not used to be a "parasite" as he thought of himself, on someone's pocket. Not so long ago he was able to buy anything he wanted and now he had to ask someone else like a beggar.
'Oh, come on… It's just a friend's favour. You will pay me off when you'll get some money. No need to worry about this.'
'Maybe, but I just hate to be indebted to someone.'
Lucius smiled lightly at him and paid for the clothes to the seller.
'Where are we going?' asked Phantomhive after long a long while. Lucius lead them through some God forsaken slums. People were glaring at them as if their presence in that place was a biggest crime possible.
'Wait here.' The vampire said suddenly. In the next second he was nowhere to be seen.
Ciel waited patiently. People around him were watching him closely. The smell of dirt, sweat and faeces was suffocating. Phantomhive carefully avoided any touches of the crowd – he knew very well that there were many thieves waiting for opportunity.
'Hello, young man. Please, share a coin or two…' said a hoarse voice from behind him.
It was an old man. He had a very wrinkled face and within his eyes, Ciel saw insanity.
'Sorry. I did not take any money with me.' responded young demon firmly.
'Oh, you don't? Maybe a should look for it myself!' screamed human, attacking him with a knife. Phantomhive easily dodged the attack. Demon took the man by a shirt and pulled him up. His eyes changed colour into a bloody red.
'Do you seek for your death? If you don't, better stay away from me…' hissed Ciel. A would-be thief run away.
'You ok?' asked Lucius slightly worried.
'Of course… Let's go.' said the demon. After a short while he realized that something changed about Lucius – he was not as pale, as these few minutes ago. He seemed calmer and his eyes were not so sickly shiny. Also, his smell became more…
…human.
'What?' smiled Vernet lightly, catching the intense stare.
'There's something… different… about you. More "human" I dare say. What did you do?'
'Hahaha! Oh, that… Well – we, vampires, have to eat at least once a week. With human blood in our veins, vampires seem to be "more human" as you put it.'
'You have to kill a person once a week?'
'Shh!... Not so loud! We don't want troubles, do we? And, yes, it is true. But don't look at me like that. I don't have a liking in killing people. It is something I have to do if I don't want to Sleep.'
'Sleep? You said you don't have to sleep at all!'
'We don't have to, but after a long break in eating that may occur. The Sleep is a state similar to human coma – you are not able to move or wake up. Some vampires choose this way if they get tired of living.'
'Why? There's no weapon to kill a vampire? I believe that hell would be a better fate than eternal coma!'
'Not really. You can destroy the body, but the soul will remain here. We are forbidden to go further. We are not good, nor evil. We are not alive, but also not dead. We are caged here. Just like you.'
'How did it happen that you became a vampire?'
'This is a very long story and I never told it to anyone. Maybe someday I'll reveal it to you. But under one condition…'
'What condition?'
'You will tell me your story.'
Ciel laughed lightly.
'I believe this is the only fair. Of course I will.'
Lucius stared at the young demon, a small smile adorned his beautiful face.
"Wish I could keep you. But you love someone else, don't you?..."
The next day was slow. Really slow. Ciel waited impatiently for the party (which was for the first time in his life since he hated social gatherings).
He tried to read his book – "Complete Stories And Poems of Edgar Allan Poe", but he got bored quickly. Then he went for a walk, however the weather did not allow him to spend much time outside.
Finally the evening came. The clock stroke 6 p.m. It was a time for preparations.
Ciel took a quick bath and dressed himself in the new clothes. They were not very different from those he used to be wearing when he was human. Somehow it made him happy – the light reminding of times he spent with Sebastian.
On the days like this – cold and snowy – he was wondering where is Sebastian and what is he doing now. Did he find a new master? A new soul? Soul better than Ciel's?
His heart was throbbing at that thought. He was jealous even though he hated to admit it.
"I wonder which one would be better – to meet him some time or to never see him again…" thought Phantomhive. He missed his demon butler dearly, but he was very aware of the fact that their potential encounter might hurt him even more.
'Ciel, we need to go if we don't want to be late.' Lucius's voice snatched him out of his thoughts.
The mansion was not far away from Paris. It was surrounded by dark forest. Opposite the building was small lake. The water was not covered by ice, surprisingly. The water was pitch black and seemed like a home of a monster. The surface was so very smooth and it looked like something was about to happen.
The demon and he vampire were carefully checked by guards. After that, they were given black masks which they were supposed to wear through all the party.
It looked strange for Ciel – he's been visiting many gatherings like that, however forcing guests to hide their faces was suspicious.
The house interior was decorated with very good tastes – all the furniture was formed of valuable antiques, walls have been adorned with beautiful paintings. Dominating colour was light gold with bronze accents.
The ball room was not very different from the rest of the house. The ceiling was in shape of huge cupola. In the centre of it was place stunning crystal chandelier.
'I shall introduce you to the most important persons here. Please, be nice to them and be careful with what you tell them.' said Lucius in serious tone.
The ball was boring. People he met were impolite and Ciel was holding up the urge of leaving. After four hours he didn't even care about his purpose for being there.
'Hello, little one. It seems like faith wanted for our paths to cross again.' said demon he met two nights before.
'I'm busy now.' cut Phantomhive and tried to walk away. The other one, however, had stopped him.
'Hey, don't be afraid of me.'
'I'm certainly not afraid of you.'
'Then why did you try to run away from me?'
'I told you that I'm busy. I have to go to my friend right now.'
'Here. Have a drink.'
The older served him a drink. Ciel hesitated, but he took it.
'Cheers.'
They drink the toast. Ex-lord wanted to give his glass away, knowing that there might be something added to his drink. Those eyes, however… Those steel-grey eyes stared at him intensively in a way of non-verbal order.
'See? You're alive. Since we shared a toast together, I believe we are friends now, aren't we?' smiled the stranger with a cruel, demonic smile.
'I think so…' agreed Ciel, knowing that the refusal might cause him troubles.
'In that case we need to know each other's names, don't we? My name is Augustus de Renois.'
'I am Ciel Phantomhive.'
'Ah… The Queen's Watchdog? I've heard about you. You are quite well-known person even in Paris. I'd love to spend some more time with you, but I need to go right now. Excuse me then. Hope to see you soon.'
Augustus disappeared within the crowd. Young Phantomhive felt very well that dangerous aura around the older demon. And he really hoped to never see him again.
'Here you are! I've been looking for you. It's high time to introduce you to my friend. I told him about you and he wants to see you.'
'Okay.' Ciel responded absent-mindedly. He's thoughts were occupied by bad feelings including Augustus. There was something wrong about this encounter at the ball.
'Sebastian, this is Ciel Phantomhive.' said Lucius with a happy voice.
The demon before them was very tall. He was wearing black clothes from head to toe which made him look like a shadow…
"or a crow…" thought Ciel.
'Pleased to meet you.' the young demon broke first the short silence.
'Ciel, really… Stop this.' Sebastian responded angrily.
'Excuse me?' asked Phantomhive, surprised.
'Stop acting like we never met!'
Young demon looked really surprised.
'We met before? I'm sorry. I had to forget… I didn't mean to offend you, sir.'
"Sir?" thought Sebastian. "He really forgot if he calls me that… How interesting."
'No need to apologize. It happens.' the other demon smiled.
Ciel looked terrified. He could not remember anything from the past. Everything was blurred.
"Why? Just a minute ago I remembered everything!" he thought, desperately trying to remember something.
'Oh, shit!...' muttered Ciel.
'What is it?' Lucius asked with a concerned voice.
'I forgot!'
'You forgot what?'
'Everything!'
'Everything?...'
'Everything from the past! He did this!'
'Who are you talking about?
'It doesn't matter. I'm gonna hunt him down for it!'
Lucius and Sebastian remained silent. Ciel was still in shock and rage.
'Better we go now. I'm sorry, Sebastian. We will talk later. I should take him home now.' whispered Vernet.
'I understand.' responded the other.
The vampire and young demon disappeared within the crowd, leaving Sebastian with his thoughts.
The demon looked out of the window of his mansion. The view of the lake has changed – he couldn't catch it, but there was something different from before.
"Something's coming…" he thought.
Oh, how wrong he was.
That "something" has already arrived.