Selena's almost come to terms of her choice from the Kierton ball. Hm, I think I would still be wondering if I made the right choice in that. Oh well, I am not her. However, I still love the last line from chapter 9. It sounds like something Ciel would say to Sebastian. Oh yeah, sorry if Sebastian did sound a little out of character. I don't know if he was, but here is my apology anyway.

Normally, I would have been scared to talk to Sebastian about what happened during that night at the Kierton estate. Now, since I knew he was a demon and my suspicions were right, I had no problems. Now my problem was telling Ciel I was betrothed to someone about his age with a demonic-like aura. There was something off about Alois. He seemed cruel and ended up leaving a bruise on my wrist where he gripped it when he saw Sebastian waiting in the carriage for me. I've managed to hide it from Ciel for a few days, which was a miracle in itself.

"Selena, where were you the other afternoon?" Ciel asked while we had lunch.

"I had an appointment to keep," I said as I looked to him. I shot my gaze toward Sebastian, wanting reassurance on this one. I had thought that Sebastian would have told him I went to see my fiancee for the first time.

"Oh? What kind of appointment?"

When I got nothing from Sebastian, I sighed a little and said, "I met my betrothed my parents finally decided on. I got to meet him for the first time."

"Who is it?"

Alright, no turning back now, he asked the question. Sebastian might have to get me out of this one.

"Some boy named Alois Trancy," I tried to say nonchalantly. I remembered what Sebastian had said about Ciel and Alois.

I could see Ciel's muscles stiffen when I looked up to him. So he's met my betrothed before I have and he didn't ask where I was going before? Seriously? Is there someone I know who hasn't heard of this boy?

"What's wrong, Ciel?" I asked.

"Are you sure you are engaged to Alois Trancy?"

"Yes," I said slowly. Then I repeated my question, "Ciel, what's wrong?"

After a deep breath, he looked at me with a more relaxed expression. "Nothing, I just don't want you around him."

I don't want to be around him either, but have to.

"How exactly is that going to happen when I have to marry him?"

Ciel was silent but the fork he was holding was slowly folding in half. "I'd rather not think about that right now."

"Ciel," I snapped, getting to my feet. "Whether we like it or not, I am marrying Alois. You're going to have to deal with it like me." I looked into his sapphire eye and eyepatch. "Excuse me."

I walked away from Ciel and towards the garden. I looked around it and sighed deeply, trying to calm down. I descended the stairs into the gardens from the terrace. I wanted my destination to be the white roses I loved so much. I nearly ran there, trying to put distance between Ciel and me. i just needed to calm down and give Ciel the chance to do the same.

When I couldn't see the door to the manor, I stopped and sat down on the grass. I knew how it wasn't lady-like, but ettiquite was the last thing on my mind. I sighed deeply again and buried my face in the palms of my hands. I knew I shouldn't have snapped at Ciel like that. Maybe he had the right thought about Alois. Whatever it was, Ciel didn't need to be the butt end of my frustrations.

"God, I am an idiot," I whispered as I looked up to the tops of the tall rose bushes.

I've loved those roses ever since I was little. Vincent and Rachel used to take long walks through the rose bushes and Aunt Ann would hold my hand while we walked through them when all of us were around the Phantomhive manor. When the fire happened and Vincent and Rachel were killed, I wondered if the roses were too. Of course, Lizzy was more concerned about Ciel than anything in the world after it happened. A few months later, Ciel was found, but he was never the same. Kind of like a few months ago when he went missing after London nearly burned to the ground.

Ciel has never been the same since he came back this time either. Something was off about him.

"Selena," someone called.

I looked around, thinking I was crazy. No one would go looking for me after that outcry.

"Selena," the same voice called again only closer, "Selena, where are you?"

"Hello?" I asked quietly. I didn't want Finney to know I thought I was going crazy.

"Selena!" Now this voice was younger than Sebastian or Bardroy. It wasn't Mey-Rin or Finny's voice either. But it can't be Ciel. He should be mad at me for yelling at him.

I looked toward the opening I came through, making sure Ciel wasn't going to find me. I don't think he was all that excited to go and find me. I was pretty sure he thought it was like a chore, in the same loop as I thought being betrothed to Alois was.

"Selena, you can't have gotten that far away from the manor." Yeah, that was Ciel's voice alright. He didn't sound annoyed in the least. He sounded apologetic.

"Ciel?" I asked out loud.

"Selena?"

I heard footsteps coming toward me. He stopped when he found me. The sunlight shined on his black hair, which he inherited from his father. He stood with dignity, even when he was looking for me. I know he doesn't want anyone, especially Queen Victoria, to know he has a soft, kind heart. After all, it could be a sign of weakness.

"You've been here the entire time, haven't you, Selena?" he asked as he held out a hand for me to take.

I nodded as I took it. "Your white roses are one thing I love about this place." But it wasn't the only thing I loved about the Phantomhive manor.

Ciel gave a half smile as we walked back to the manor. We walked in silence. I knew I had to apologize to him. It wasn't his fault for any of this.

"Listen, Ciel, I am sorry about snapping at you. I guess I was really mad about it myself," I said as I felt myself get red. Mad wasn't the right word, but it was close. My cheeks burned and my heart pounded.

"Don't worry about it, I would be upset too if I had to be with Trancy," he said as we ascended the stairs and stopped on the balcony that overlooked the gardens.

"There is something off about him, Ciel. I don't know what, but there is." I gently touched my wrist that throbbed every now and again. I hoped he wouldn't look down and see the light purple wrapped around my wrist and up my forearm.

As my luck would have it, Ciel looked down at my hand trying to cover my wrist. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. I hoped he would just take it at that.

Knowing Ciel, he didn't.

"Selena," Ciel said in a low voice, telling me he wanted to know.

"Really, it's nothing, I just got really nervous before I met him," I said nervously, hoping he would believe me.

"Nervous enough to do this," Ciel said as he waved his hand toward the bruise. I was still not letting him see all of it. I refused.

Ciel looked skepically at me. His face said he believed me but his eyes said they saw through everything. I knew Ciel would get the answer from Sebastian if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Ciel, I want to help you when you get orders from the Queen. I love what you do and I want to help, even if it's being the bait," I said as I looked at him. It was the perfect way to change the subject from my explaination of what Alois did to my wrist to what I wanted to talk about.

Ciel looked at me with shock. "I thought that last time would have scared you for life."

"No, Ciel, listen, that was the most fun I've had in a long time," I said. I looked at him with excited eyes. "Ciel, I'm serious, I want in."

Ciel smiled and chuckled a little. "Nothing scares you, does it?"

"There are some things that scare me, but helping you guard the underworld isn't one of them."

Being with Alois for the rest of my life scared me, and I've been trying to keep it out of my head since I met him.