Chapter 10

In the demon sanctuary on the isle far away, Sebastian Michaelis and Claude Faustus continued their frenzied duel. Trapped within their soul's subconscious world was Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy—bound back to back. Normally Ciel would be cringing with disgust from being in such close contact with the disturbed boy, but this time his body was relaxed. He seemed almost bored.

"Isn't this exciting, Ciel?" shouted Alois with a buoyant chirp, "They are fighting over us! Over you and me! I knew that Claude loved me. He always had."

Without even turning to face the obnoxious youth behind him, Ciel exhaled deeply.

"If you think that demons are capable of love, then you are more foolish than I thought."

Alois ground his back up against Ciel in an effort to break away from him.

"You'll see! He is bound to me. What do you know anyway?"

The Phantomhive boy dipped his head and closed his eyes. It was not worth arguing with him. Nothing was really worth it after all. Soon Sebastian will prevail, as he always does. And then he will finally be able to taste the soul that he had put so much effort into shaping.

"I hope it will be worth it, you bastard." mumbled Ciel to himself.

"What did you call me?" Alois shrieked with indignation.

-:-:-:-:-

Several months later, and the Phantomhive Earl was not deceased at all. In fact, he was still living at his family's mansion. The servants detected a change from him, but Sebastian forbade them from even discussing it. The few times that he did not wear gloves, Ciel's new black fingernails shined like onyx stones. Sebastian explained to them all that it was a new fashion for young men. His eating habits were odd as well. If Baldo did not know any better, he would have thought that the boy's appetite had disappeared. Whole plates would be sent back to the kitchen with only a few noticeable bites as evidence. Mey-Rin noticed that he could now surprise her during her cleanings by entering a room without making a sound. Something about the Earl's eyes now disturbed Finny so much that he found it difficult to maintain eye contact with him. Tanaka's health had diminished so much that he did not seem to notice any changes. Upon realizing that the elderly man was in the twilight of his life, Ciel made arrangements for him to immediately retire and to spend the rest of his days at the manor as he pleased.

Being the perceptive boy that he was, Ciel decided that he could not keep up the charade much longer. With a death hoax planned and with a carriage saddled with enough possessions to give the appearance that they were only going on a short holiday, Ciel and Sebastian bid farewell to the Phantomhive household and to Elizabeth.

On the carriage ride to their next destination, Ciel sat across from Sebastian but refused to look at him. Sebastian's face was not much to look at these days anyway—the spoiled Soul Harvest had made him exceptionally bitter. The only time he cared to smile was when he gleefully educated Ciel on his new demonic traits. He could at least derive schadenfreude from that.

"Are you going to ignore me the entire trip, Young Master?" The butler's voice dripped with rancor.

The Earl ignored him and continued to lazily stare out of the window. They were driving past a wheat field and Ciel's eyes immediately locked on the peasant family tending to it. What caught his attention was a young girl with strawberry blonde hair down to her back. Ciel's new senses could count the beads of sweat on her brow and determine that she was around seventeen years of age. If he concentrated hard enough, he could feel something emanating from her. A heartbeat? No, nothing that visceral. This thing inside of her pulsed like one, but it was something different.

"Stop the carriage!" Ciel barked to the driver. He rushed to carriage door and pawed at the chain to open it.

The carriage pulled over to the shoulder of the dirt road. Ciel raced around to the side facing the wheat field. He stopped in his tracks as he realized just how far the girl actually was from them. He could still make out her figure and even more details than he ever could perceive back when he was a human. The actual distance between them made him pause and think about what was happening. He wanted her so badly. He just knew that her essence, her self had to taste as beautifully as she looked. With every fiber of his new flesh, he desired to consume her and destroy her.

Ciel removed his gloves to eye the glowing pentagram on his tainted hand. He whipped his head around to face his demon butler with an expression that Sebastian could only interpret as confusion and fear. Sebastian cast a wicked grin back to his master and removed his glove to reveal that his symbol pulsed in unison.

"What is happening? What is wrong with me, Sebastian?"

Sebastian let out a mirthful laugh and seemed as if he would collapse from the humor in the situation.

"What is so funny?" Ciel screamed. His stomach was tying itself in knots. His new eyes burned a familiar red tone.

Instead of answering, Sebastian walked past Ciel towards the stretch of the field that the family was working. The sun had almost set and the farmers looked as if they were heading home for the day. Ciel swiftly followed behind him.

-:-:-:-:-

It was the end of twilight when the two demons returned back to the carriage. The driver had been waiting patiently for them to return. Before returning to the driver's seat, the man paused to stare at the Earl. His face turned as white as if he had seen a ghost. The driver raced to the seat and kept his gaze focused on the road. The reigns shifted in his trembling hands. Sebastian tapped Ciel and pulled him close so that he could dab away the blood that stained his pale chin and lips. The raven-haired demon chuckled from amusement. As far as Feasts go, this one was adequate. Not as satisfying as a Soul Harvest, but it will do. Bloodshed was not even necessary during a Feast, but the younger demon was so overwhelmed by his new-found lust that he could not control himself.

"I was not surprised at all when you picked her. Truthfully, she caught my attention as well. Suffice it to say, Young Master, you seem to share my tastes after all."

Ciel's eyes narrowed into scarlet slits. It disgusted him that he now realized exactly what Sebastian meant.

The End

Author's Note (cont'd):

As explained before, I do not believe that such a relationship would be completely pure or conducive to romance. Instead of a romance, I chose to treat this story as an exercise in deconstructing such a dynamic. I hope that I achieved that goal because I felt extremely creeped out while writing it! Thank you for reading!