A Familiar Face
Everything went deadly silent as a slap echoed through the spacious foyer. Gritting his teeth as his breath came out in short puffs through his nose, Ciel wordlessly seethed. Sebastian merely took his hit without batting an eye, as expected.
"How dare you," Ciel nearly yelled, some rational part of his mind reminding him that Elizabeth and Aunt Frances were just down the hall. "How dare you, you heartless bastard!"
Ciel had right away discovered that this world was perfect. His life wasn't in shambles, and he wasn't skeptical of life. His family survived, and everyone he loved was by his side, safe from harm. His company was successful and his future looked bright. There was absolutely no reason for him to seek revenge; therefore Sebastian should not be here.
"My lord?" the butler inquired, raising a brow. "Are you feeling alright?"
Slapping away the hand that reached out to console him, Ciel stepped back and started pacing, running a hand through his hair. This had to be the part where he woke up; he figured it all out, right? Sebastian couldn't possibly be part of this unreal world, he couldn't. He was a daemon that solely lived for devouring souls. He wasn't a butler.
"Come," he ordered tersely, feeling himself reaching his boiling point. If he were to explode, he'd rather not do it within earshot of his cousin and aunt. Elizabeth was already suspicious as it was.
He led and Sebastian fell in step behind him dutifully, maintaining an appropriate space between them that he was familiar with. Leaving Sebastian to close the door behind him as he picked a rarely used room, Ciel turned, giving the butler another look over.
Everything was perfect except the eyes. It was unsettling, for they made him more human looking. Sebastian kept his face neutral as any butler should, but Ciel could pinpoint the genuine curiosity lurking behind those dark, unfamiliar eyes.
"Show me your hands," Ciel demanded softly, but kept his intense glare glued on the man.
With nothing else other than a puzzled look, Sebastian took off his gloves with his teeth, the act looking rather silly to Ciel in this situation. However, as he held both hands up, Ciel's rage only amplified as Sebastian's hands proved to be contract-less and unblemished by black fingernails.
In his rage, Ciel grabbed at Sebastian's left hand, inspecting it for any trace of the contract. He growled at the smooth and untarnished skin.
"May I ask what you are searching for?" Sebastian inquired as he stormed back, pacing again.
Turning on his heel with a maddened look in his blue eyes, Ciel said with venom in his voice, "The charade is over, Sebastian. Where the hell is the contract?"
"Contract?" Sebastian repeated, looking over his hand nonchalantly. "Please do clarify, master."
A pang of something he couldn't identify shot through Ciel, but he kept up his pace. "You and you alone know the details of my past. I called you out, a daemon of hell, and we made a contract. You help me achieve my revenge, and in return you get my soul." He looked Sebastian square in the eye. "Ring any bells?"
"Are you sure you're alright my lord?" Sebastian questioned, walking over and placing a cool hand over his forehead. "I may not know you personally as you claim, but I daresay you don't act this way on a regular basis."
Ciel's hand struck home again, and Sebastian acted like a brick wall. "Enough!" he shouted, feeling just a little lightheaded. What the hell was Sebastian talking about? The farce was over, he had figured out the daemon's game!
"My lord, if you are so certain of your assertions, why don't you ask me about our supposed shared past, hm?" Sebastian suddenly suggested, catching his shoulder as he started to turn. Ciel thought he spied a hint of a smirk. "Or do you require medical services?"
Casting his eyes down, Ciel conjured up questions only Sebastian could answer thoroughly.
"What happened on my tenth birthday?"
"I do not know."
"Where is my brand mark?"
"I do not know."
"What marks my right eye?"
"I do not know, my lord."
Sebastian's answers were all stoic but honest. It finally hit him that Sebastian never lied. He had even said so himself. The daemon would play tricks, but Ciel didn't understand why he'd take it this far. Ciel turned to hide his face and clenched his hands into fists, trying to calm his rising panic. This wasn't a sick game his butler was playing. Sebastian was human…Sebastian was human.
This was real.
"My lord, are you alright?" Ciel heard Sebastian's muffled voice behind him. It sounded concerned, like the time he had an asthma attack during their investigation of the Noah's Ark Circus, but he suddenly couldn't tell. "Master, you're hyperventilating…"
"…quit asking that…"
Although he didn't quite realize it, Ciel's lightheadedness escalated as his breaths quickened and became shallower at a worrisome rate. He felt weightless and uneasy as he stumbled forward and back. Gloved hands caught him, their owner's face a comforting sight despite his newest revelations as Ciel felt himself being lowered.
"Ciel, darling? Ciel, are you awake?"
Twin blue eyes fluttered open, quickly adjusting to the surrounding darkness. The side table lamps were both on, and they created an eerie glow to their room. Ciel ignored this fact as Elizabeth leaned over him, relieved tears in her eyes.
"Elizabeth, I–"
Her mother's sternness leaked into her voice again. "No, Ciel. I know what I said about giving you your space, but if you're going to be taking it this far–!" She broke off, covering her eyes with her arm, wiping away tears. "Sebastian said you were hyperventilating, Ciel, hyperventilating! Please, don't bottle whatever it is up, it's unhealthy. You can trust me." She took his hand to prove her point.
"It's nothing."
"Like hell it's nothing!" Elizabeth burst a little angrily, blushing at her own unlady-like choice of words. But she held her ground. "You can't keep these things from me, Ciel. I'm your wife, and we're supposed to share the things that bother us. You've kept quiet and acted like your normal self for the past few days, but I'm smart enough to know when you're putting up a front."
Clasping his hand in both of hers, Elizabeth leaned in closer with troubled green eyes, kissing the tops of his fingers. "Please, Ciel," she begged. "It breaks my heart to see you like this."
Elizabeth's profound words struck his heart in a way Ciel thought impossible, but he quickly digested it and brushed the feeling aside. He knew that he was only hurting her, and he had never liked to do such a thing, but it was simply too much and he didn't know what else to do.
"Leave me, Elizabeth," he ordered softly.
"But Ciel, you…"
"Leave!" Ciel demanded with a yell, stunning Elizabeth to silence. More tears welled up in her eyes as she stood stiffly. She looked down at him with a mix of hurt and love before wordlessly making her departure. Ciel immediately felt regret for raising his voice like he did. He had only done so once before, and that was when Elizabeth had smashed his family ring. Even then he didn't like yelling at her. Elizabeth didn't deserve such petty wrath.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Ciel said nothing, already guessing who it was. The door slid open and Sebastian slipped in with a tray carrying a bowl of water, cloth, and a cup of liquid medicine.
"The lady wishes for someone to be with you, my lord," Sebastian explained as he set the tray on the side table. "However, you may dismiss me if you so wish."
Sighing, Ciel let his head loll back against the pillows. "No, stay," he said softly. Silently, he motioned for Sebastian to sit where Elizabeth had been sitting just moments before. Sebastian took his seat and Ciel averted his eyes as a familiar sense of peace washed over him.
"You gave everyone quite the scare, my lord," Sebastian said as he wetted the cloth, wiping the dried sweat from his face gently. "Lady Elizabeth especially."
Ignoring the obvious statement, Ciel switched to a different subject that wouldn't be so hard to talk about. "Did you get a tour of the house?" he asked, his voice sounding embarrassingly fatigued even to his own ears.
"George showed me the ropes of the household," Sebastian confirmed. "It seems much more relaxed than Lady Middleford's estate if you don't mind me saying."
"Is Aunt Frances still here?"
The washcloth gently wound around Ciel's neck, soothing him. "She left shortly after it was definite that you were alright. Lady Elizabeth mentioned something about meeting her friend tomorrow morning."
Ciel welcomed the idle chit-chat as a distraction, glad that it seemed to temporarily lift a heavy weight off his chest. The cool cloth Sebastian ran over his face relaxed him and he breathed contentedly.
Placing the cloth back into the bowl, Sebastian grabbed the cup and gave Ciel the gooey-looking medicine in it. Ciel wrinkled his nose in distaste, but made no complaint and downed it in one go. "What's this for, anyway?"
"To help you sleep, my lord."
It was probably a recommendation made by Elizabeth, but Ciel pushed her to the back of his mind for now. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with her, now that she knew what she was talking about and could summon her mother's strictness on a whim. And judging by their conversation just minutes ago, Ciel knew that she had officially put her foot down on the matter. He had to think of a plausible excuse.
Sebastian had leaned back to give him space and had a thoughtful look. "Speak," Ciel allowed, the reasons really unknown to him at this point. The medicine was starting to make him feel drowsy.
That half smile, half smirk was starting to pull at the butler's lips again and Ciel felt his face heat up. "I have observed that you seem rather content in my company despite the fact that we have only just met. May I ask why, my lord?"
Ciel inwardly groaned. He was used to his company because Sebastian was always with him. They had a contract deeper than any bond, one that had his soul on the line. The man knew his every secret and could easily assume his every move if not thought. He trusted Sebastian and Sebastian only when it came to his life. Ciel knew that he could repeat all this to the butler, but he feared another panic attack and causing an even bigger commotion that may end with him in an asylum.
Somehow this weighed heavy on his heart, knowing that this Sebastian wouldn't understand.
"Perhaps I'm rushing into things I needn't know," Sebastian interjected when he remained silent for too long. Standing, Sebastian gathered everything back onto the tray and walked over to the opposite lamp to click it off. Returning to Ciel's side, he placed a hand over his heart and bowed, a comforting smile curving his lips. "Sleep well, my lord." He clicked the lamp out and retreated, closing the door softly behind him.
"No, I've mainly just been doing the company's paperwork for the last few days. It built up over the holiday, so I might as well get as much done as I can before it takes me…yes, yes, I'll give him a call," Ciel talked into the phone, relishing the conversation he never thought he'd have with his father.
It had been a couple days since his panic attack and he had yet to resolve anything with Elizabeth. They both kept quiet around each other during meals and nightly hours. Ciel was sure that she could feel the thick tension between them as well as he could, and he knew that he should be the one to say something. Ciel could feel the guilt slowly churning in his gut.
As Ciel guessed, Sebastian had effortlessly eased into the household and his duties. Ciel saw him often as he brought their morning tea and served them breakfast. He provided snacks upon request and helped manage the housework. Ciel had yet to see him slip up and it made him constantly wonder. Sebastian was a human, and humans weren't perfect. However, he had all the same mannerisms as Ciel remembered.
He had even asked Sebastian about his past, merely saying that he wished to know where he came from and how he was raised. Sebastian's answer was plausible enough: he grew up in a lower middle class family and had a decent education. He grew up with three other siblings, one older than he and a nanny took care of him through most of his childhood. His parents had respectable jobs, his father working as an office clerk and his mother having a part time job as an assistant to a seamstress. Sebastian had read an ad when he turned eighteen and had been selected to be trained as a butler, eventually after two years winding up under Marchioness Middleford's wing for a year and a half before being turned over to the Phantomhive family.
One afternoon, Ciel had caught the tail end of a conversation Sebastian was having with one of the other servants. The butler had said that he was "one hell of a butler" in response to being called out on being a perfectionist, but then had explained that it was a joke he had taken to telling, and both men had left laughing. Ciel didn't know what to make of it.
"How about the seventeenth?" Ciel suggested. "I have nothing scheduled that day. Do you think you could make it?" His father replied and Ciel felt his heart leap. "Of course I could, if that's easier for you." Returning back to his real home…he couldn't pass it up. "I'll try to make it before noon. Alright, see you then."
Placing the phone back into its cradle, Ciel sat back in his seat. He could feel excitement bubble in his chest as he realized that he was going to see his parents again. A small smile curved his lips at the notion.
There was a knock on the door and Ciel answered positively, though his smile faded. Sebastian slipped in with a cart with his tea and snack, and a wave of nostalgia washed over him. This picture seemed so normal, so befitting, but Ciel still denied that it was real. He could tell that it was only getting harder and harder to keep this thought in his mind, that this was all just a dream, but everything was just so...right.
"I've prepared madeira cake with white tea this afternoon, my lord," Sebastian said as he placed a piece in front of Ciel. "I must say that this snack is quite unusual for someone your age, I would've thought–"
"Quiet," Ciel ordered, seeing the smile Sebastian gave him over the rim of his cup. He didn't care that he was eighteen here, he still had a sweet tooth nonetheless. Others his age would choose something a little more sophisticated and probably a bit healthier, but he simply didn't care. As Sebastian turned to leave, he asked, "How's Elizabeth?"
The butler faced him, a look he couldn't decipher painted on his face. "Paula has informed me that the lady is most distressed as of late." He said it like he didn't understand why, but Ciel knew that he understood well enough. "She's kept to herself and has been knitting most of the day."
Ciel nodded, taking another sip. "Please inform Elizabeth that I'll be joining her shortly."
Bowing, Sebastian said, "I'll do so immediately, my lord," before straightening and heading towards the door before Ciel called out to him again.
"Yes, my lord?"
He'd noticed it for the past few days, but had said nothing of it, and Ciel could feel his face heat up. "Don't comb your hair back anymore, that's an order." A ridiculous order, it seemed, but it was bothering him. Aunt Frances must've drilled it in his head that it was a most proper hairstyle for a butler, for Sebastian hadn't changed it even after she left. "Only do so when Aunt Frances visits, understood?"
Sebastian looked a little surprised at the order, but that smirk slipped into place, making Ciel avert his eyes. It was obvious he had taken a liking to his newest master, and therefore let some of his true colors shine through. It made Ciel's heart thump quicker every time, a tiny voice reassuring him that this Sebastian was the Sebastian he knew.
"Of course, my lord. I'll fix it right away," the butler replied smoothly before making his departure. Ciel felt his face heat up that much more as he slammed his head into his hands in embarrassment.
What was wrong with him? He never acted this way in front of Sebastian. Was it because this was all a dream? Odd things always happened in dreams, so that must be it. Ciel couldn't deny that in this peculiar situation, Sebastian was the one that brought him back, his mere presence anchoring and comforting him as he tried to figure it all out. Somehow he'd gotten past the point of caring that Sebastian was human here. All that mattered was that he was here, by his side, whether he was real or not.
With a small groan, Ciel picked up the small fork and dug into the awaiting cake before him, deciding to see if Sebastian's sweets were as good as he remembered, silently hoping that it tasted horrible.
It was as sweet as ever.
Setting down her knitting needles, Elizabeth looked up to see Ciel taking a seat across from her. The only sound in the sitting room was that of the evenly ticking grandfather clock on the opposite wall, and it did nothing to alleviate the pressure between them.
Leaning over with his elbows propped on his knees, Ciel sighed. "Elizabeth, I owe you an explanation. It wasn't right for me to make a lady raise her voice, especially at her husband." Although he spoke the truth with sincerely, somehow his words seem to taste terrible.
"It's alright, Ciel, if you don't want–"
Ciel raised his hand, effectively silencing her. "No, Elizabeth, I mean it. I've been acting terribly toward you. I know I've been acting different this last week and a half, but, something's happened and I don't understand it."
Green eyes stared at him sadly. "Do you think you could explain any of it?" she asked, looking a tad hopeful. Unfortunately, Ciel shook his head.
"I don't think you'd understand, as smart as you are," Ciel replied. "I just want you to know that none of it is your fault. It's gotten better over the last few days, actually."
Blonde brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. How can you say it has gotten better when you don't understand it, Ciel?" Elizabeth questioned. Then, with worry lacing her voice, "Ciel, are you sick?"
"No," Ciel answered, unsure by her expression on whether or not it quelled her sudden fears.
Placing her knitting on the chair behind her as she stood, Elizabeth took a seat beside Ciel, once again grabbing his hands for emphasis. Ciel met her gaze, wanting to settle this and be done with it. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. Dealing with Elizabeth's emotions was never easy, and he was utterly drained at this point.
"I just want to see you happy, Ciel," Elizabeth said honestly. "It's so unnerving to see a scowl on your face, and I miss that carefree smile." One of her hands cupped his face and she pecked him on the lips. He tried not to let his dislike of such an action show, and to hopefully cover it up, he wrapped an arm around her, bringing the girl closer to his side.
As Elizabeth sighed happily beside him in his arms, a comfortable silence filled the sitting room as they merely sat there in each other's company. The grandfather clock's ticking wasn't as on edge as it was moments ago, and everything seemed to be resolved. Ciel just hoped that no one else he wasn't supposed to know would show up.
"Ciel?"
"Yes?"
"The morning this whole mess started, you said Sebastian's name. Did you ever know him before mother brought him to us?" Elizabeth kept still by his side, resting her head on his shoulder, showing him that it wasn't too much of an issue.
It was an easy opening for him to lie. "Yes," he confirmed. "One of the meetings I went to last year was when I met him. Your father attended and brought Sebastian with him. I didn't know he was under their training at the time to be a butler. I thought he was another associate."
"Ah," Elizabeth commented, his explanation making enough sense. "I have a feeling Sebastian will do us good here, don't you think? He's always on time and prepares everything flawlessly." She suddenly giggled. "And I think Paula's taken quite a liking to him. I personally think that they'd make a lovely couple, don't you agree?"
There was suddenly a stab of something in his heart that Ciel didn't want to identify. It unnerved him, having a reaction like that to what Elizabeth suggested. Somehow, Ciel knew that this would now plague him for the rest of the day.
Trying to appear that he agreed, Ciel replied with a reluctance that surprised him, "Yes, I think they would."
A/N: I promise that this is the last Elizabeth-worrying-centric chapter. ((dramatically)) It just had to be done! -.-' But now we'll move on to other, more interesting things. I'm sure you lovely readers can guess what that entails xD Thanks for all the comments/alerts/favs and please review!
