Chapter 6

No amount of shame Sebastian had felt before could compare to what he felt leaving the undertaker's parlor. Never mind being forced to strip in front of Undertaker, he had allowed himself to be harmed and raped by him, and without putting up much of a fight. Then again, the heat he had caused by escaping the torture chambers and having the undertaker prove the little innocent he had hadn't died down, so sending the older Reaper through one of the walls of his parlor probably wouldn't have been the smartest idea. What's more was the fact that he was still trying to blend in with society, and picking a fight with a Grim Reaper was not something that would help him blend. So, with what little pride and dignity Sebastian still had left, the demon carried himself back to the mansion with no new information to return to Vincent with.

Vincent. Exactly how was his mate going to react to this? Should he even tell him what happened? Undertaker's intentions were clear. He'd raped him because he was in love with Vincent. What was worse than raping the person you loved most? Raping the person they love the most and possibly making them pregnant with your child. If that happened, and Sebastian didn't say anything to Vincent, if the child wound up resembling Undertaker in anyway, Vincent would know and he could possibly accuse Sebastian of being a disloyal mate.

That was the fear that plagur Sebastian's mind as he returned to the mansion. He didn't report to Vincent on the very little information Undertaker had given him, he didn't even notify Tanaka to say that he had returned from town. Instead, he hid himself away in the library while he debated on what he should do.

He could try to remain honest with Vincent. He could tell him that the undertaker had bound and gagged him and then raped him, all in a plot to make him conceive the mad man's child and tear things apart between them. He could take a gamble and keep that little detail hidden. But then, what if Sebastian did become pregnant? What if it wasn't Vincent's child? As a last resort, he could leave Vincent and this mansion and continue the previous life he had as a demon, but what would that solve? It would kill Vincent, as it was the earl who had confessed his love for him. God, why did human emotions have to be so fragile . . .?

. . . Why was he so fragile? Why was it that the only thing that had kept Sebastian remotely happy with life was his pride and dignity? How had he been able to survive like that all this time? As of now, Vincent was the last sliver of pride and dignity he had left, and if he bore a child that was his, would that add to it? Why did it all matter? Why did the amount of pride he had matter? Was his life as a demon worthless without it?

"Master Sebastian?"

A small voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Sebastian hadn't realized that in the midst of asking himself so many questions, he had sat down in a remote corner of the bookshelves. The voice had come from Rachel, who had come to the library to dust it.

She looked at the demon with concern. Sebastian was normally a very lively person and full of spirit. To see him here, sitting in complete isolation with a horribly blank expression on his face, it was all unlike him.

"Master Sebastian, are you okay?" The maid asked.

It was then that she noticed a patch of dark bruises on the back of Sebastian's neck; an obvious handprint could be clearly seen, showing just above the color of his dress shirt.

Rachel gasped, "Oh, God. Mr. Tanaka! Master Vincent! Come quickly!"

Sebastian knew there would be no avoiding it. He'd have to tell Vincent eventually. Undertaker had not been remotely gentle, and the demon's body paid the price for it. He knew if he didn't tell Vincent ahead of time, then it would be likely he'd find remarks left behind the next time they had sex.

Footsteps could be heard sprinting down the hallway towards the library. The drumming of feet hitting the hardwood floors beat in time with Sebastian's heart. What exactly he was going to say to Vincent. How could he possibly explain what Undertaker had done to him?

Tanaka rushed through the door with Vincent not far behind. They both froze at the sight of Sebastian; disheveled and hurt.

"My word, what happened?" Tanaka asked.

Vincent rushed to Sebastian's side and gripped his shoulders firmly.

"Sebastian, speak to me! What happened to you?"

The demon wiced. Leftover pain from his dislocated shoulders shot through them. Gritting his teeth, he pulled away.

"Please stop . . ."

"What? Sebastian, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

"U–undertaker, he."

Vincent gripped his shoulders firmly once more, "Undertaker did this to you?!"

Sebastian hissed at the pain and nodded.

"He dislocated my shoulders. He put shackles on my wrists and strung me up with chains."

"He had to have done more than that," Vincent said, "You're covered in bruises."

Vincent's fingers trailed along where the handprint was, then he froze.

"Sebastian . . . Tell me he didn't . . ."

Sebastian could only look away from him in shame.

Exhaling slowly, Vincent turned to Tanaka.

"Take him to our bedroom and call a doctor. He needs help with his shoulders right away."

Tanaka bowed, "Yes, sir."

"Rachel, I want you to look after him. Take care of his bruises and whatever injuries he has."

Rachel tilted her head as she tried to process the order, "Me?"

"Yes. Don't worry, you won't have to take care of anything below his waist. Get Angelina to help you."

"Yes, sir."

The doctor was able to reposition his dislocated shoulders, and with a little time, Sebastian's accelerated healing abilities took care of the leftover damage. The shackles had rubbed the demon's wrists raw and the age on them had made the wounds dirty. Sebastian had to grit his teeth to avoid hissing, yelling, and cursing as Rachel and Angelina worked to clean out the wounds.

"Master Sebastian," Angelina piped up, "Exactly what happened here?"

"Anne," Rachel spoke quietly, "Master Vincent told us not to ask too many questions."

"I know he did, but it's not every day in master returns home with wounds like these."

The red-haired maid compared the dainty size of her hand to a massive handprint that was placed on Sebastian's waist. It was at least twice the size of her hand and it was dark, but it was also slowly fading.

"Master Vincent said that Master Sebastian and the undertaker got into a fight," Rachel stated, "He said to just leave it at that."

Angelina was able to look behind what those words actually meant. The undertaker normally wasn't the type who would pick fights, but he did adore Vincent, and if Sebastian was in the way, then he'd at least fight to get him out of the way. But she still didn't understand why he would go this far.

"Master . . . Exactly what do you plan to do?"

Tanaka looked on as Vincent stared out the window to his study, watching the gardeners work. The young earl pondered whether or not he should make contact with Undertaker and confront him about what he had done to Sebastian, and he eventually decided against it.

"There isn't much I can do," he replied, "What's done is done. There's no changing that."

Tanaka shook his head, "My lord, may I speak?"

"Of course."

"I . . . I know what Sebastian is, and I am concerned."

"About?"

"Sir . . . Haven't you talk to him about whether or not it is possible for him to bear a child?"

Vincent was silent. He had been putting the topic off for days. Many days. He always thought it was a ridiculous topic and that Sebastian may lash out at him, or just laugh at him. But, if it was possible for the demon to bear children, then what undertaker had done to him may have created a real problem.

"I have not."

In truth, Vincent didn't know what Undertaker had done to Sebastian exactly, but that didn't change the fact that he had harmed him.

"Look," the earl said, "I'll speak with him tonight, and I'll do everything I can to help him. If he does conceive a child, it could be mine. It could be the undertaker's. Either way it does not change the fact that Sebastian did nothing wrong, nor was he disloyal, and I still love him."

"Are you quite finished?!"

Ciel had kept his head stuffed under a pillow on the couch ever since Sebastian had started speaking of Undertaker. He had done his best to shut out everything the butler had said. To no avail.

"Perhaps I did go a little too far telling you what Undertaker had done to me," Sebastian admitted.

Ciel lifted his head and went back to looking over pictures. One particular got his attention. It was a photo similar to the so-called "wedding" photo that was taken, only in this picture Sebastian sat in the chair cradling a tiny infant in his arms.

"I think I can imagine what happened next . . ."