Author's Note: Chapter 10! I can't believe I made it this far. Lol. In any other case, I made sure this chapter had more content in order to celebrate this tiny victory. Also, thank you readers for being just…there. Reviewers have been very kind to me so far. Hahas. Thank you for staying with me for so long even though I teased you guys with the romance scenes. (and made you lose your car for a month. D8) Enough dawdling, back to writing!

-Pluepg

FLASHBACK

"Shall we depart now?"

Ciel nods and opens the door; Sebastian following behind him. The minute the demon closed the door behind them, the older led the way to the castle.

Princess Aria

START

As they close in, Ciel could see the various demons in the realm file into the large main entrance. The duo joins the crowd. A guard dressed in white stops them.

"Your invitation?"

Sebastian calmly fishes it out of his pocket and shows it to the guard. Immediately, he smiles warmly and welcomes the duo.

"Thank you." Sebastian greets.

The main hall is brightly lit, the decor mainly showing of white marble and an extensive sky blue ceiling lined with golden carvings. Silver and grey cloth which draped over the walls were strung around the ceiling as part of the decor. Flamboyant clothing were worn amongst the demons. In comparison to Ciel's dressing, it made him look like a regular page boy. However, he couldn't care less, he would rather live a normal person's lifestyle now. Image meant little to him. Still, Sebastian had his own life to live. It was up to Ciel to keep up his end of the bargain by upholding the demon's reputation as the demon had done for him previously.

"Hello." A stoic voice greets them.

They turn to see Ray.

"Good evening Senior Ray."

Ciel follows suit and extends his formal greetings as well; reverting to his rather dignified stature.

"I see you and your student made it. Do stay for the entertainment, we are going to have beautiful music presented to us tonight."

"Will do Senior Ray." Sebastian nodded before the dark-haired demon casually walks off.

"What do you think of your first demon ball?"

"I think it's comparable to the previous balls." Ciel shifts a little closer to Sebastian and speaks in a rather soft tone, "though there is a certain lack of refreshments and common topics." Sebastian smirks at Ciel's dry humor.

For the next few passing minutes, mentor and student stood by the side while politely nodding at other guests.

"I see you have returned." A male with short, neatly combed brown hair notes; standing in front of the demon mentor. He was dressed in a navy blue jacket with a striking red vest; black pants to match it off.

"It's nice to see you again Mitchie."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Michael now." The man corrected, irritation and happiness evident on his facial expressions.

"I'll be sure to remember that. Are your parents here?"

"No. They left for a 'life-changing experience'. Though i don't expect them to return anymore." Michael explains, distaste in his voice.

"I can see that, seeing how you are dressed now." Sebastian noted the obvious change in colour coding. Michael used to wear dark colours. Now, he wore much brighter and more striking colours.

Within their conversation, Ciel felt like an outsider. It was as if the two bosom friends had formed a warm shelter around them and the boy was not in it. At that moment, Ciel truly felt alone. In his past life, he had not a single friend. Those who wanted to be were shunned by him countless times. All he had was Sebastian. It was then he realized that something else was more important than him in Sebastian's eyes.

"Yeah, though I wish I could have chased them out sooner…" Michael continues softly to himself.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's nothing." He smiles, "How about you tell me who this young fledgling is?"

Ciel halted his melancholic train of thought.

"This is my student. Ciel." Sebastian stated, placing his hand around Ciel's shoulder, like a teacher who was proud of his student.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ciel raised his hand with a coy smile on his face.

"The pleasure is all mine." Michael shook the boy's hand, impressed with his etiquette. "Where did you find such a fine student?"

"I believe that is a secret, old friend."

"Alright then. It's not like I was planning to take in my own student anyway. Teaching is not for me." The demon admitted with a laugh.

"On another note, I hear there is going to be a special performance tonight. It should be starting right about-"

On cue, the lights are turned off.

"Now."

A sweet and melodious sound is heard. From the dimmed surroundings, a spotlight is shown in the middle of the floor. Seated in it's midst is Princess Estelle; her gloves neatly folded on her lap. Slowly, her hands gracefully maneuver across the blue tinted glass, generating the beautiful sound.

"This is-"

"This was the particular instrument played at Alois' party. Very little demons know how to play this. Princess Estelle is one of them. Even as it affects humans negatively, it is a different case for demons. We are not affected by it. In fact, this is the most beautiful instrument we have ever heard."

"Then at the party…"

"It was a rather tough battle. But of course, I am one hell of a demon." Sebastian smiles at his own victory.

Ciel closes his eyes and enjoys the honey and feather-like sounds emanating from the object. It truly is the most beautiful instrument ever heard. He could almost listen to it forever. Slowly, he let himself become entranced by the mellifluous song.

The entire room becomes quiet in order to enjoy the rest of the piece.

The armonica soon reaches a soft diminuendo.

The entire room is filled with applause; there is not one person short who clapped for the performance. Estelle stood up, curtseyed and made her way towards the door leading to the back of the throne. A few demon servants dressed in white wheeled the instrument away. The lights were turned on.

"I thank you all for coming today." A deep and confident voice resounds throughout the main hall. There stood at the throne; a king with long silver hair and a golden band across his forehead, a sapphire jewel dangling in the middle. He looked slightly older than Sebastian's age but still a young man appearance-wise. He was dressed in a white and golden robe with blue satin.

The room bows before him before putting themselves at ease.

"To be able to celebrate my son's birthday with the kingdom, that is truly an honour. Many of you know me as King Castor, but tonight, I am just a father who his celebrating his son's birthday. I thank my daughters Estelle and Aria for planning this entire ball. Of course, the other palace servants and the council is to be thanked as well."

The mentioned demons bow respectively. Zephir looked to be just reaching the age of sixteen. Young Aria was gauged to be around Ciel's age. However, in this realm, looks are deceiving. Behind all these young faces hides years of experience and knowledge.

"To those old friends here now, I thank you. For those new to this kingdom, I warmly welcome you. Enough of my speeches for today. Be free to dance and make merry. Happy Birthday Zephir."

The prince stands and bows to the crowd. The crowd returns the favour and applauds. Immediately, the music starts.

The prince takes his older sister's hand and brings her to the floor. There, they start off the first dance. The king and little Aria follow after, dancing their own waltz.

A few other couples join the dance. Familiar faces are spotted. Sara was seen dancing with Gillian. Soon, couples of the same gender joined the fun.

"Come now Sebastian, let's have a quick dance. Mind if I steal your mentor away for a while?"

Stunned, Ciel could only nod. This particular custom was rather different. It seemed that it was normal for couples of the same gender to dance together.

"Could I have this dance?" The familiar, calm voice returns. It was Ray.

"S-sure." Ciel stuttered a little in embarrassment as he takes Ray's hand.

Instantly, Ray's right hand held Ciel's waist, the other lacing fingers with Ciel's right. Instinctively, Ciel placed his hand on Ray's arm. Gracefully and swiftly, Ray leads them to the dance floor, joining the other same-gender couples.

"You don't seem too accustomed to dancing with a person of the same gender." Ray notes; as if it were the most common thing in the world.

"Ah-"

"And yet, you seem to be rather familiar being lead by someone."

Ciel blushes a little after thinking back to those dance lessons and the humiliation of wearing a dress, as well as being kidnapped by the viscount.

"Perhaps I shouldn't ask you then. You seem so flustered." The stoic demon gave a small, amused smile as he spins Ciel.

Ciel takes this chance to glance at Sebastian from across the room. Sebastian was leading the dance. They looked to be having a lot of fun. Taking note of Ciel's expression, Ray suggests, "How about we go a little closer to them?" Ciel was a little shocked that Ray would be so considerate towards him.

He leads them towards Sebastian and Michael.

"Hello gentlemen."

"Good evening Senior Ray." Michael greets as they dance side by side.

"How about we have a switch in partners?"

"Fine by me. It would be boring to keep the same partner."

As soon as he finishes his words, both leads spin their partners. Fluidly, Michael takes a full turn before smoothly landing in Ray's arms. Ciel follows suit, arriving a little clumsily in Sebastian's firm arms.

"I see you are growing used to this."

Ciel remains silent.

"In this realm, dancing with the same gender is normal. It is just a simple form of enjoyment between friends and loved ones." Sebastian explains, turning a full circle with Ciel.

"It just feels a little strange for me."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Sebastian smiles, startling Ciel a little. It was not one of those trademark smiles; it was a true, genuine smile.

The song soon ended and they separated from each other. Sebastian bows, Ciel does so accordingly. Sebastian was about to say something until a force pulls him away into another dance. A demon with chestnut brown hair, slightly taller than Sebastian. It was Dusky.

"If you don't mind my company, Princess Aria would like to dance with your student for a while." Dusky informs, taking the lead.

"I don't mind." Sebastian complies, amusement written all over his face.

In the meantime, Ciel stood completely shocked until a girl lightly taps his shoulder. He turns around to see a girl with silver-blue hair around his height. She smiles sweetly and curtseys, gloved hands lifting her white and blue skirt a little; signaling the request for a dance. Her dressing was full of lace, ribbons and frills; resembling the dress sense of his previous fiancé. A headdress is worn on her silver hair, a maroon colored strap decorated with white laces and red flowers made of cloth.

As a gentleman, it was polite not to reject her request. Moreover, Sebastian was occupied by another friend of his. Ciel bows a little before offering his hand. She takes it and places her hand on his shoulder. He places his hand lightly around her waist, a little wary of personal boundaries. She didn't seem to mind it. Slowly, they swayed with the melody of the music. He held up his posture of a noble. She reminded him of Elizabeth, except she was much more quiet. The way she dances, it was in a manner more ladylike as compared to the blonde. Ciel finds himself thinking back to her. He does miss her a little - she was the purity in his dark and messed up past.

Upon noticing the sadness in his eyes, the girl leads them close to an open balcony. She breaks them up and pulls Ciel along with her. He follows, curiously. She lets go and hides behind the archway, peeking out to smile at him. The moonlight behind shone on her; reflecting off her beautiful silver hair. She looked like a fairy that originated from the moon. The girl said nothing but her eyes seemed to speak to him. Follow me, she says. Let's run away from reality for a while.

"Where are we going?" Ciel asks.

She only giggles a little before running to the balcony. Ciel stares a little before proceeding to brisk walk; her tiny steps increasing in speed. Soon, they reach a flight of stairs leading down to a grassy patch. He follows her down. She stops to turn and look; making sure that he was still following her. A dark forest of trees stood behind her. It was odd to find trees in a town surrounded by an expanse of desert. Wordlessly, she runs into the forest.

"Wait! It might be dangerous in there."

She ignores him and continues to run. Ciel was fully convinced that if he followed her, he would surely come to some form of trouble. Yet, he was greatly concerned for her safety and decided to run after her. After an indefinite distance, he sees a tall mansion standing in front of him. It was as large as his townhouse situated in London; the particular building that he had instructed Soma and Agni to 'look after'. The door to the mansion was left half-open. It seemed to be abandoned; though it could just be his own impression since the building looked to be well maintained. Cautiously, he opens the door; a creak that seemed to echo throughout the house was heard.

"My lady? Are you in here?"

She giggles in response, her voice sourcing from the left of the house. Ciel decided to leave the door open. It was dark and the moon was his only source of light which filtered in from the windows by the side and the door. The boy makes his way to the left. As he fondles around in the dim surroundings, he wishes that Sebastian had taught him fire control sooner. As if on cue, the candles around him are lit. Most probably the work of the young girl. He grabs a candelabra from the side table and makes his way to the room on the left. It's door was left half-opened. Although it might be silly for him to carry a candelabra in a well lit place, he expected some dark passageways in the mansion.

When he walks into the room, he sees no one there. Ciel deduced that the mansion had hidden passageways that she knew of. This girl wasn't just a guest, she knew this area of the grounds well. It aroused his curiosity and put him a little on the edge. The boy walks in. It was a study room. He scans the surroundings for any out-of-place items. A yellow book stood out from one of the bookshelves; it was not placed in properly. Ciel takes a deep breath for any unexpected surprises and pulls the book out. To his surprise - nothing happened. Seeing as it was a fluke, he pushed the book back into its place. The click of a button could be heard. Ciel's eyes widen.

'Uh oh.'

The book case spins around and he finds himself facing a slide going downwards into the darkness. Due to the tiny edge, he slips and falls. He yells as he slides down the metal; going at an insane speed such that he could feel the wind flow past him. The slide soon stops and the boy jerks to a stop. The petrified look on his face was certainly something to laugh at. Her giggle soon snaps him out of the shocked state. It looks to be like he was in a storage room. The door leading out was half opened. He ran out to see a glimpse of her dress disappearing into a passage on the right. The way was well-lit. Looks like he didn't need the candelabra after all. Although he did place it on a table when he had gone to examine the yellow book; it would have been impossible for him to bring it down the slide anyway.

Adjusting his hair a little with his fingers, he ran after her through halls and passageways. He makes a left turn to see her running up the stairs where it looks to be leading outside. He follows her and comes face to face with a garden of white and blue roses. The sight of them in the moon's light was certainly one to behold. There stood the girl, happily gazing at him.

"There you are. Come now my lady, we should be heading back now. If anyone else finds us here we might be punished." Ciel coaxes her, slowly approaching her as he went. He did not want to do anymore running for the rest of the night and would appreciate it if she would not bolt off again like a rabbit. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from the front of the mansion.

"The door here is left open!"

"Search the area."

Ciel's blood red eyes widened. That was the king's voice.

"Come now my lady." Ciel urgently whispered to her, trying to pull her way from the garden.

She refuses to budge, a pout gracing her face. She pulls back. The force of her pull was so strong that it caused her to fall back. She pulls him along to the ground, leaving them in an awkward position. Catching them at a bad moment, the king and a few guards saw them lying on the floor. From the king's perspective, or anyone's perspective really, it looked as if Ciel was trying to take advantage of her.

"Hey! What are you doing to the princess!" The guard yells.

Ciel was astounded.

"Princess?" His question slightly louder than a whisper.

Immediately, he attempts to get off her. However, she pulls him down by the collar, forcing him to stay in that position. He looks at her in disbelief and confusion. Her mischievous smirk answers it all. The guards soon pull him away by the arms. King Castor immediately goes up to Ciel.

"What do you think you were doing bringing my daughter here to take advantage of her?" He demanded, a little childishly in fact.

"I-your daughter brought me here your majesty. We merely tripped and you happened to arrive at a bad timing."

"Of course it was bad timing, you tried to take advantage of her!"

"No your majesty, I would never do that." Ciel explains, panicked. The image of Sebastian's perfect prodigal student was going down the drain.

"Are you trying to say my daughter is unattractive?"

"No your majesty! Princess, please explain to your father!"

Everyone looks to her direction to see no one there. They were so absorbed in Ciel and the king's argument that they hadn't noticed her slip away. The king turns to face Ciel; staring him down, contemplating what he was going to do to him. Ciel softly gulped.

"Send him to the dungeon." The king announced to his guards sternly before walking away, his footsteps so silent that it felt as if he was floating.

The guards were so tall that when they grabbed him by the arms, the boy's feet was a distance from the ground. What was worse was that he couldn't bear to call for Sebastian's help. It would be too humiliating for the both of them. Ciel decided that he could not fight in order to maintain what little status he had left and allowed himself to be carried off.

END

Arrested? Ciel has never been arrested before! What will he do now? Digressing from the subject, I would reckon that Ciel prefers sad and innocent souls due to his thinking that he would not want them to suffer the way he did just for being born in a doomed family line. After doing some research I realized that I made Sebastian a little more receptive than usual. But we'll begin to see what he was originally like in a later chapter. What an evil princess. Why would she do that? Thank you once again for accompanying me this far.

How was it so far? Anything wrong with the story? Let me know through your reviews.

-Pluepg