|Ciel's Room, The Following Day|
Sebastian had, under Ciel's orders, moved the unconscious angel from his own room to that of the young boy where she would be more comfortable. The demon was under the impression that the slumbering angel noticed very little of her surroundings.
Ciel stood beside the bed, glaring at his demonic butler. "You should have told me she was hurt earlier, Sebastian."
"That would have spoiled last night's celebrations. Besides, Madeleine is still alive, and after I pulled the arrow out her wound closed up instantly."
Ciel resisted the urge to slap the demon, instead looking down at his sleeping aunt. "And what is he doing here?" he asked, pointing towards the archangel Michael who was sitting in a chair, seeming to be as agitated as Ciel was.
The archangel dark golden wings shivered when he talked. "I could feel Madeleine screaming out in her last moments of consciousness. I came here as quick as I could, only to find that thing having his hands all over her."
Ciel cast Sebastian a glance when he heard that. He had told the demon not to touch the angel. And yet he was disobeying orders. "I gave you orders not to touch her."
Sebastian coughed when he heard that. "Actually, young Lord, you told me not to make her feel uncomfortable. And I have not done that. And…" the last part he directed towards Michael, " -what Madeleine and I do in our private time is our own business."
He enjoyed annoying the archangel, and he could use a bit of entertainment. He had ended up searching the rest of the past night looking for the one who had attacked his toy, before Michael had shown up.
The archangel got up, ready to attack the demon for that remark. "Cut that out at once." Ciel snapped at the two of them. He looked at the archangel, who seemed to be having trouble keeping himself from going at the demon's throat. "You… Tell me why my aunt is unconscious."
Michael gave Ciel a look that suggested he would like to kill him as well. "If it weren't for her life being on the line, I would gladly kill you. If it wasn't for you, she would still be safely up in heaven."
"Not to mention by your side." Sebastian said, not even trying to hide his smirk from the archangel.
Michael's jaw clenched upon hearing that remark. "Yes, by my side. Where she should be."
Ciel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This seemed to be turning into a supernatural ego-trip contest when they should in fact be worrying about Madeleine.
Instead of giving the archangel an earful of what he thought about the man, he went to sit in the chair next to the bed. He placed his hands in front of his body, giving Michael an intent look.
"So, you want me dead. I believe there is a line for that, so you'll have to go and wait your turn. As for Madeleine, I want to know what is wrong with her so that she may return to her duties. I've become rather… dependent on her services, so the sooner she gets better, the happier I will be."
"Why should I care for the happiness of some mortal brat?" Michael scoffed, giving the child a demeaning look.
Ciel showed a cold smile. "Well, my being happy makes Madeleine happy. Seeing as how you keep claiming you love my aunt, I would think that this makes for a very good reason to make me happy. Now, explain what's wrong."
Ciel's tone of voice left no more room for objections. Furthermore, Michael had to keep the demon in mind, who would surely grasp any chance he got in order to try and kill the archangel. As Michael sat down, he threw a glance towards the arrow that rested on the desk a bit further.
"From the few seconds I had to investigate Madeleine and the arrow, my guess would be that she's been poisoned by what we would call 'Heavenly Tears'." He started, as his mind raced to who would have poisoned his beloved.
"It's called that way because in the last stage, every angel afflicted with it won't stop crying, before killing themselves. The poison has three stages. Stage one is where Madeleine currently is : a deep slumber, which holds on for a maximum of three days, in which the angel forgets everything that happened up to three months prior to their death."
Sebastian looked up when he heard that. It was the first time he had heard about this poison, and judging from the first step, it was pretty useless. "That, in essence, only forces the angel to live as a human, no? They still live, only without their powers. In Madeleine's case, it won't make much difference either way."
Michael glared at Sebastian, displeased with the interruption. "If that were the case, there would be indeed no problem. But Madeleine, who died in the 16th century, will now wake up in the end of the 19th century, surrounded by people she has no recollection off."
Ciel leant his head on his hand, glancing towards the slumbering angel. "I see. From the shock alone, it would be possible for them to go mad with realization. No matter how much we would try to convince her that she's been around for over 200 years, she wouldn't believe us and it would only add to the general shock."
Michael nodded. "That is the case. The maddened angel would in despair rob themselves from their own lives. Therefore, once she wakes up and realizes that she is no longer in her home in the 16th century, she will at first be shocked, and then most likely go mad and try to kill herself, over and over again until she finally succeeds."
Sebastian tapped a finger against his cheek. "That would indeed pose a problem, but I am sure that your kind has already designed an antidote for this, no?" he asked, looking at Madeleine. The 'Heavenly Tears' poison did sound like a more amusing way to kill an angel. Still, he himself preferred the more… personal approach. There was no fun in fighting an arch enemy if there wasn't any blood to be spilled upon himself. And besides… the demon who had tried to kill his toy would have to pay with his own life for the insult.
Michael gave the demon a short glance. "Well, we usually end up altering the afflicted angel's memory, by replacing the faces and names of their loved ones by those of other angels. Other than that, we also alter their memory so that they believe they were born in the current century. In this way, the longest we were able to keep an angel alive was a week. Any longer and they start to realize things are amiss.
If I were to take her with me, I could –"
"No." Ciel interrupted him, looking appalled at the idea of having to allow his aunt to be taken off by the archangel. "I won't allow you to take her with you. I have no doubts that you would try to prevent her from returning to me later on." Michael's eyes slightly squinted, betraying that that had indeed been his plan. Ciel continued talking. "Furthermore, the procedure you have just described only stretches the duration of time between waking and dying. How do we cure her?"
"There is a remedy, which is fairly easy to make. I am sure the demon would be able to make it with the ingredients in this house and the surrounding forest." Michael answered him.
Ciel showed a slow smirk. "I doubt it's that easy. If we could get all the ingredients like that, we could make her swallow the remedy in her sleep. What's the catch?"
Michael cleared his throat. "In order to make the remedy potent, you have to add a feather from the afflicted angel's wings."
Ciel's eyes narrowed. "You mean that Madeleine would have to be awake, and in the knowledge that she is an angel in order for it to work?"
Michael shook his head. "That's not how it works. Even if she were to believe you when you tell her that she is an angel, she would not gain the knowledge to use her wings. In this case, her wings would only come out when she is somehow in personal danger, to protect her."
Ciel scoffed at that. "In other words, we need to get her in a fake danger, without her realizing that it's fake…" It was quiet for a few seconds, before Ciel talked again. "Listen Michael, I want you to alter her memory so that she remembers me to be her brother. She mentioned having one a few times. Furthermore, where there any other important family members that we can use in order to preserve her sanity?"
Michael cleared his throat. "Well, her father was still alive three months prior to her death. She was also engaged to a nobleman who had set sail for the New World at the time. I would gladly fill that part." He added, trying not to sound too eager.
Ciel shook his head. "I have a feeling you're not to be trusted, even though you're an archangel. I'll have Sebastian fill the role as her fiancé. In that role, he will also be able to force her wings to come out, without it being obvious that he's manipulating her."
Michael bit his cheek at hearing that. To have the demon posing as Madeleine's fiancé was just about his worst nightmare. "… if that's what you want. I can also imprint your current servants instead of the ones she had employed at the time. Anything else you would like to know?"
Ciel cast his eyes towards Michael. "Now that you mention it, I wish to know how she died. You can tell me, can you not? As her mentor you should know this kind of thing."
"She has not told you herself then?" Michael asked.
Ciel shook his head. "She deemed the story would be unsuitable for me, and feared it would distract me from my higher purposes."
Michael let out a sigh, sitting back in the chair. His wings rustled behind him. "I see. I have no problem telling you. And I know only too well, because I was present at the time she died. Let's see now…"
|England, end of the 16th century|
"Please, please dear God, help my family in this dire hour. Please grant us strength, and let the city council see that my brother has nothing to do with those vile accusements."
Michael looked down, bothered in his idle daydreaming in the church. The voice beneath him sounded to be sorrowful, and at the same time somehow resolved. As he looked down, a girl was praying on her knees not paying heed to the expensive dress she was wearing. As she looked up with tearful eyes, the blue of the Phantomhive family, he was immediately lost. Those eyes betrayed the soul of an angel, born from a family that was doomed to the darkness of the mortal underworld.
He materialized in front of the girl, preparing to speak comforting words to the soul that was in need. What he did not expect was a smack on the face, and her screaming at him. "Demon! Get out you, this is a holy place, I do not…"
She stopped hitting the archangel, noting the dark golden wings and the piercing blue eyes. As she looked up at him, a blush crept among her cheeks. She dropped down, folding her hands in front of her. "Dear God, thank you for sending me your angel, who will listen to my pleads…" she paused for a second. "… And I'm sorry for hitting him."
"You may stand." Michael said, trying to sound wise and all – knowing, even after being whacked by the human girl. She looked up at him, fearful. Now he could see it more clearly, the fire her soul emitted as a blazing fire coming from her eyes. He wondered what she would need help with.
"I am the archangel Michael. Speak, so that I may know what troubles you."
The young woman nodded. "My name is Madeleine, Lord Michael. I am the eldest child of the Phantomhive family. My younger brother…" she wiped her tears away, before continuing. "… My younger brother, Edward, has been accused of witchcraft, and swearing allegiance with the devil."
The archangel paled. Even though the witch hunts had passed, a human who was skilled with words could still get others sentenced to death if he played his cards right. And other than that, he know fully well who the Phantomhives were. To think someone from their line had the potential to become an angel...
Madeleine continued. "I know that my brother is innocent. He is far too young to commit such vile deeds, not to mention that he and I are always together. In order to commit all those things, he would require days apart from me. Please, save him from the priest and city council that are preparing to kill him as we speak."
Michael glanced away. "That request… isn't one I can fulfill lightly, Lady Madeleine. It seems as if fate has already decided that your brother must die."
She glared at the archangel, almost slapping him again. "That's a lie! There must be something that can be done about this. Please, I beg of you, I would do anything!"
Michael looked back at her. She had the potential to become an angel. But she would have to die before she could be accepted as one. He would have to tell her a lie, causing himself pain, in order to test her. "There is a possibility. If you were to agree to a contract with me, I can save your brother."
Saving her brother would be in breach with the plans but there were more ways to press onward. They could not let a possible angel slip through their fingers.
She nodded. "Okay, I'll do it!"
He stopped her by lifting a hand. "It's not that easy. Fate has already decided that a Phantomhive needs to die. If you wish to change that fate, you would have to die in your brother's stead…" he paused, seeing her take in the information. It was time to tell the lie. "By dying in his stead… your soul will be condemned to hell for eternity."
She gasped, turning away in fear. "Hell?" she asked, a shiver in her voice.
Michael remained silent, but was slightly disappointed. She would reject the offer, and let her brother die. In so doing, she would lose the right to become an angel. He flashed a smile at the girl, who was once again looking at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested it. Since you are not of a mind to agree to this –"
"Who said that I'm not agreeing?" she interrupted him, glaring. She placed a hand to her chest, displaying the pride that ran in the veins of the Phantomhive veins. "I, Madeleine Phantomhive, have taken an oath to protect my family whatever it should take of me personally. I will gladly spend eternity in hell if I can in so doing protect my cherished brother. There is only one thing I would like to request in return."
Michael gestured for her to go on, not being able to speak in the face of such resolve.
"I want to be allowed to return to earth should there ever be a time that my family line is in danger. Basically… I'm asking you to be allowed to die twice."
Michael nodded. "Very well. I agree."
|After The Trial|
"Madeleine Phantomhive, you have confessed to the crimes of witchcraft and accompanying the devil in his wicked ways. The sentence you have been committed to is : death by fire and the stake. Since you have confessed, surely the Lord will have mercy on your immortal soul."
It was raining. Madeleine was tied to the stake, the ropes digging in her delicate wrists. Her father and brother weren't in the audience for neither would have been able to watch what happened to their kin. But Lord Michael was there, checking up on her to see if she would set it through until the end. To see if she had the guts to stare death in the face, and die a horrible death. Her jaw clenched, as she listened to the priest talking.
The rain wasn't enough to soak the wood, which had been kept dry in a shed. Men were adding more and more of the dry wood to the pile, and others poured oil on it, making sure it would burn. The priest finished talking, and neared with the torch that would start the fire. She bit her tongue, determined not to plead for mercy. The priest leaned forward towards the presumed witch.
"Lady Phantomhive…' he whispered, so none in the crowd could hear him. They presumed he was reading her the last sacraments. "… I know that you are innocent. Say that your brother Edward is the true witch, and the people will believe you. You will be set free, and be allowed to live. You don't need to die."
She spat in the priest's face. "I would rather die than let anyone get their hands on my brother! I prefer hell over a life in which I would have to face my own cowardice. Do your worst priest, but know I will see you in hell!"
The priest nodded, a solemn gesture. He spread his arms out towards the gather crowd. "The witch refuses to accept the mercy of God. She shall burn in hell for this! I know send you to your master, you wicked being!"
He added the torch to the stake. The oily wood, still bone – dry, at once caught the flame. The fire spread, licking at her ankles with fiery tongues. She looked up at the raining sky, before she closed her eyes. She would die, something to which she had become resigned a few days ago. And then, hell would follow…
She screamed.
|19th century|
"I see." Ciel said, glancing at the sleeping angel. Michael had whilst talking altered her memories slightly. The story had somehow given Ciel a certain resolve. He looked at Sebastian, blue eyes flaring with the Phantomhive fire.
"Sebastian, I command you. Do not allow Madeleine to die!"
"Yes, My Lord."