Chapter Ten

It had been seven months since the Hill's home burned to the ground. Mr. and Mrs. Hill got away with a few scratches, and only one of the servants of the home was killed due to an asthma attack in relation to the heavy amount of smoke fumes throughout the estate.

The Phantomhive boy took many weeks to recover, but he found it hard to relax knowing that Lillian's body had yet to be found in the rubble.

"She has to be alive," Ciel kept insisting. Sebastian had learned to keep quiet during the young Earl's contemplating, knowing that if he was to disturb him as he did so he would be greeted with the dissatisfaction of his master.

Finnian had become a hermit since that day, spending long hours amidst the flowers and animals throughout the garden. He had even adopted the cat without the Earl knowing. This fact pleased Sebastian quite a lot.

The other servants had become more useful, surprisingly, with little understanding of the events of that day, yet completely aware of how the Earl had changed.

The boy had matured quite a bit, yes, but he had also become obsessed with proving the existence of the young Hill girl.

"Has there been any news?" The Earl asked his butler, looking outside the study window. He did this quite often, wondering if one day he would see a carriage topple over again and Lillian would run out, but that day had yet to come.

"Nothing, my Lord." Sebastian sighed, pouring his master a cup of Earl Grey.

"I don't want Earl Grey," the boy had argued with Sebastian over the topic many times before, "We've been over this. Do get this out of my sight."

"But, young master," Sebastian picked up the tray with the teacup and pot, "It's your favourite."

"It was her favourite as well, and because of that I want it out of my sight."

The butler sighed once more at the idea of making another pot of tea, but obliged to his master's wishes and set off down the hallway, passing the young gardener.

"Finnian?" He asked him. The boy looked lost in thought, staring over the staircase of the mansion at the door that Lillian had first appeared, "Finnian?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, sorry Sebastian. I'll get right back to work."

"Why don't you take a walk through the hallways?" Sebastian handed him the teapot, "Go dump this out and start boiling some hot water."

"Yes, Sir!" He cheered, grabbing the pot and running down the hallway.

The butler returned to the study, locking it securely behind himself before standing in front of Ciel.

"Finnian has gone to fetch a new pot of tea."

"How is he?" Ciel asked. He was aware of the boys affection prior to the incident, and felt somewhat guilty for bringing him into all of this. That being said, Finnian was merely a pawn in his game, and thus, his guilt only stretched so far as to make sure he hadn't thrown himself off of the roof or something similar.

"He seems to be much sadder today. I think it's because of the appending rain."

"Yes, I can see how that would affect someone like him," Ciel smirked, "He's a child, really."
Sebastian bit his lip from saying the same of Ciel. Instead of speaking, he walked over to the big study windows and closed them as the cold air had begun whispering it's way through. He also took the time to close the drapes, much to his master's unapprovable. Ciel quickly opened them back up and glared at Sebastian, who just bowed knowingly as a way to apologize.

"It's not healthy for a young man like you to spend hours upon hours looking for a girl who does not wish to be found."

"Sebastian, do not speak to me in that way again."

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry, My Lord."

The Earl just brushed it off, taking a seat in the desk chair and fiddling with a quill that sat on top of it. "Sebastian?"

"Yes?" The butler asked, waiting by the door of the study for Finnian and the tea.

"What do you know about Lillian's butler?"

Sebastian was quiet for a moment, opening the door and excepting the boiling water from Finnian. After once again locking it, he began to add the tea leaves before pouring it into a cup and handing it to the curious boy.

"Lucius is the anti-christ."

"Anti-christ?" Ciel questioned, sipping his tea with a foul look on his face. It was a much weaker brew, but he knew if he only asked again Sebastian would leave and ignore the questions he was intending to ask.

"You could say he is the child of Satan himself." The butler paused, "Is the tea to your liking?"

"It's fine." Ciel spoke coldly, but put the drink down, barely taking a single sip of it. "Does this mean he is powerful?"

"Extremely." Sebastian watched as his young master strolled to the window to look outside. He pitied the boy for spending so much time on a hopeless effort

"More powerful than you?" Ciel rose an eyebrow accusingly.

"You could say that."

"So why does Lillian get someone as strong as him? What does it take to have the son of Satan as your pawn?"

Sebastian chuckled. "From my observations it would suggest that Lillian Hill is a witch. Perhaps she summoned him, or he found her as she had quite a lot of strength, much more than I had originally mentioned."

The Earl simply nodded, staring out as the rain began to fall, hitting the glass and making the images outside seem molded and diluted.

"Sebastian?"

"Yes, My Lord?"

"Do you think she'll win?" He whispered, grabbing onto the drapes worriedly.

Sebastian closed the drapes, grabbing the Earl's wrist in his hand, shocking Ciel. It was not often that the demon would touch the boy without intention. "She will only win if you let her win. She is not as intelligent as you, young master."

The Earl pulled his hand away, wiping it from the demon's grasp. "And why do you believe that?"

Sebastian smirked. "Do you really think the son of Satan is going to let some little witch control him? If anything, Lillian is his pawn, not the other way around. You have nothing to fear as long as you stay out of their way."

The boy looked at the demon questioningly before yawning. "All of this son of satan talk is making me exhausted. Sebastian, I wish for some warm milk before bed."

"Yes, My Lord." The demon bowed, leaving the room quietly. There were very few times when Ciel would ask for warm milk, and those were always times he was frightened. In the past, Sebastian would give him the beverage after he experienced nightmares and it would often calm his nerves, so why the boy was requesting it now worried the demon.

"Sebastian?"

The butler turned to the gardener, who sat on the top stair of the staircase with a dazed expression on his face. "Finnian, what are you doing sitting in the main staircase?"

"Do you think Ciel would let me take a vacation?"

"Vacation?" The butler asked confused, "Why would a gardener need a vacation?"

Finnian looked up at him quietly and nodded, "Yeah it does sound stupid, doesn't it?"

"I suggest you ask the Young Master in the morning. He's not himself right now and has requested to go to sleep."

Finnian just stood and nodded once more, "Goodnight, Sebastian."

"Goodnight, Finnian," The demon bowed and headed to the kitchen. As he prepared the warm milk he began to wonder what was really in the future for the people living inside this manor. So much had changed in a mere six months, and he feared it would just continue to do so until everything came crumbling down.

Perhaps that had been Lillian's intention all along.

Sebastian shook the thoughts from his head, walking up the stairs to deliver the milk to Ciel, except his master had already fallen asleep. "You truly were exhausted for once." The demon smiled, setting the glass down and preparing his master properly for bed before tucking him in.

But as he left, closing the door, he felt a sort of uneasiness to come when the sun rose once more.