Note: I won't be able to update a lot. I'm getting very discouraged too by how this fanfic is going, but I'll keep going even though I feel this way. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm thinking of making the next few concentrate on Meyrin and Ciel's understanding of each other-since this originally was supposed to be a Ciel/Meyrin [non romantic!] centric fic.
Meyrin didn't move out of bed that day.
She didn't sleep much, and everytime she shut her eyes she would see him staring back at her. It made her feel weak, when she was used to being able to conquer these moments of fear-she was quivering in her bed like a coward. She could only watch as the light disappeared from the window and it turned dark.
She could hear the muffled voices of her fellow servants as they headed off to bed, and after that it was silent again. She didn't know what to do, if these feelings persisted she would have to leave. Meyrin would not allow them to be dragged any further, but she couldn't live without them either. Sebastian had saved her again, and for that she owed him the very least to stay.
The maid didn't trust anyone not to come after her, so when she heard a knock at the door she remained silent. Instead of waiting for her to answer, the guest entered again after knocking and closed the door behind him. In the dark she could make out a tall figure, one she recognized to be Sebastian-but she could never be too sure.
So she reached for her pistol.
"Meyrin."
HIs voice was soft, but firm. Sebastian wasn't one to directly scold her, unless it was needed-but he knew that she was going through a rough patch. Humans. "What do you need, Sebastian?"
"I need you to let go of your pistol, I cannot approach you until you do so."
"It wouldn't be as if it could kill you."
There was silence between them, and that was when Sebastian realized that Meyrin had come to the conclusion that he was just like Samael. "Are you afraid of me, Meyrin?"
"I don't know, should I be? Folklore tells me that you are not to be trusted, and yet here I am-trusting you."
"I have never hurt you."
"Doesn't mean you won't start."
Sebastian almost smirked, but he chose instead to move towards her bed. Her hand never left the pistol. Though she was right, it wouldn't hurt him in the slightest-he wasn't keen on waking the others. "If you kill me now, you won't be able to fend off the demon on your own. I am here to help you, of course at the request of the young master."
Her hand moved away, resting against the side of her bed. She was silent, her face pensive as she seemed to try to decipher what to do next. "Are you going to kill him, too?"
"Not until the contract ends."
"Contract?"
"The Young Master bears a marking on his right eye, the same sort of marking that you have on your wrist."
She went silent for a moment, "How am I to trust you when you're going to take away the one person I'm supposed to protect?"
"He is the one who called out to me."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I suppose it wouldn't," He stated softly, his eyes glowing slightly; "but humans are prone to make decisions when they are desparate-if I hadn't come for him he wouldn't be here. And neither would you."
Meyrin knew he was right. Despite everything, it was Sebastian who had prevented her from making the shot-and it was Ciel who prevented her death by offering her a job. Whatever contract her young master made with Sebastian, it couldn't be stopped. She could fight any man on the face of the planet for the sake of her friends, but she had no hope against Sebastian.
"And I would advise against telling the others-you know how I would hate to have to take care of everyone."
The maid let out a breathe, shaking almost; "Fine."
Was this why he was always able to seduce her? He really did have the devil's touch, and even knowing this she didn't flinch as he reached out and caressed her cheek. It was as if he was trying to be gentle, but something inside of her told her to move. She couldn't be with him, not after what she found out.
Could something like him ever exist in her world and love her like he proclaimed once? A demon could not tell the truth, could he? And once this contract ended, what would become of him? Of her? She knew too much, she would know why Ciel would disappear for the world and she would not want to watch everyone crumble from under him after his demise.
She couldn't bare it.
"Meyrin, please uncurl yourself."
She didn't realize she had even curled up, his hand was on her side now. Why couldn't he just leave her be? "Just because I won't spill your secret, does not mean I want you here with me right now."
He didn't move however, his hand tightened around her. "I won't hurt you," He said softly, "if I wanted to-I would have by now."
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Sebastian."
"Please do not make this any more difficult than it already is."
She shut her eyes, but relaxed her body so he could lay down next to her. Why was he doing this? He shouldn't have a desire for this at all, they both knew the gesture was pointless. Yet here he was pulling her against his body, where he planned to spend the night doing. Maybe he was tired of walking around the manor, not having to sleep.
Maybe this just made him feel more human, but that was not something that made sense to the maid at all.
"Sebastian."
"Hm?"
"I have no bond to you, why are you intent on keeping me like this as if I were yours?"
Sebastian smirked in the darkness, "Because you are mine, I have claimed you already."
"I am not an object."
"Go to sleep, Meyrin."
Meyrin opened her mouth as if to say something, but soon was met with darkness.
He found himself outside in the gardens.
The young boy watched as his gardener tried desperately to revive a red rose, but failed. He ended up kneeling infront of it, as if staring at it would somehow bring the flower back to life again.
Meyrin had come out soon after, and though she was on 'leave' as he would call it-she didn't desire to stay cooped up in her room any longer. So she opted to do the same as him and watch Finny do his work, though she had no inclination that he was there. Ciel eyed her for a moment, his eyes trailing to the mark that was somewhat visible on her wrist.
She knew.
Because of this it appeared she tried everything in her power to avoid Sebastian, and him even. It was as if she accepted his fate, but didn't want to face it quite yet. He understood her plight, he could only imagine what would happen should Elizabeth found out. But he couldn't linger on it. "Meyrin."
"Oh, Young Master...hello."
She tried to smile at him, but he knew that it was troubling her. However, he didn't want to speak of it while Finny was in earshot. He had to be careful with his words, "Don't worry about it."
"I know there's nothing I can do to stop it, but it doesn't stop me from being worried-it doesn't..."
"When my life ends, it wouldn't do you good to dwell on it. It cannot be undone."
Meyrin glanced at her marking then, her mind trailing to her tattoo as well. "I am unsure of what this all means, if Lau is behind all this-or if there's something deeper than this."
"Why wouldn't Lau be behind this?"
"Ran Mao asked me to call her for help, or at least that's what I gathered when she spoke to me in Chinese." She sighed quietly, "Young Master, if I may be bold to ask-I would want to speak with her on this matter."
"No."
She was silent for a moment. "Young-"
"It's not a matter of if she'll betray you, it's a matter if Lau will get his sneaky hands on you or anyone in this manor."
"The man that took us in, sounds like the demon that took me." She said quietly, "I am not certain Lau is aware of his true nature."
Ciel shrugged, "I don't care whether or not Lau knows, he's not trusted."
The maid bit her lip, but remained silent. Her Young Master had every right to distrust Lau, just as he had every right to distrust just about everyone at this manor. She supposed even she was not to be trusted, even as she swore loyalty to him and only him. She didn't doubt that she would die for him, but she supposed Ciel wouldn't know that for certain.
"Do you think Ran Mao is a good person?"
"I only think she's not able to think for herself."
Finny could only watch as the tension rose in the manor. The gardener didn't quite like it, so he opted to stay outside where he could at least be in the sunshine. Sebastian and Bard's rivalry has hit a new high and he wasn't certain if their 'friendship' was repairable at this point. This made him sad, somehow-he only wished for everyone to get along.
Snake had come outside with him, his mind also preoccupied with the happenings at the manor. Though his thoughts were more on the maid, rather than the impending fight that was going to go on between butler and chef. "What's on your mind, Mr. Snake?"
"Do you think we could find whoever took Meyrin, says Keats?"
Finny blinked, "I'm sure Mr. Sebastian took care of him already!"
"I don't think so...says keats."
"Well, I think he did..." The gardener pouted, "why else would he bring Meyrin home? He wouldn't unless he thought that she was safe...and that the young master would be safe too."
"I suppose you're right..."
"Of course! Now what are we going to do about Mr. Sebastian and Bard?"
It was Snake's turn to blink, "What about them...? Says Emily."
"I think they're gonna try and beat each other up, well...at least Bard will try to beat Sebastian up and then he'll probably get fired...or beat up."
"You worry too much."
Finny pouted. Bard may be strong, though not as strong as him-but still he was a tough guy. But Sebastian? Well, Finny had a taste of what Sebastian could do-and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out what the butler was capable of. And they were fighting over Meyrin, and he wasn't sure if the maid appreciated that.
"When will things get back to normal?" He whined a little, "I just want everyone to be friends and to get along."
"I have an idea...says Emily."
Though Meyrin had come to terms with the deal and what will happen, she was still avoiding Sebastian at all costs. Not only because of what she had found out, but because of how he acted towards her. If the Young Master was his only goal and his soul was the only thing he cared about, then why was he going through all this fuss? If Bard and her could live a happy life after this, then that'd be wonderful-but even he was trying to ruin that for her.
Somehow this irked her. Not only was he destined to take away one of the only people she truly cared about, but he was to ruin her relationship with Bard as well? He was a demon, so she didn't expect to him to have a 'moral' compass-but he could at least back off. She wasn't his, she wasn't marked by him.
She had been marked by another demon. She too bore a pentagram.
As the thought crossed her mind, she looked at her wrist. What would become of her if the demon decided to feast on her? And unlike Ciel, her contract was unwilling. Which Sebastian had explained to her was not how they usually did contracts. The person who was to be eaten had to have agreed, for something in return. She supposed it was their 'demon' ettiquete, if she could call it that.
Did Lau really have a say in all of this?
For all she knew, all he wanted was her loyalty. For her to fight on his side again, it didn't even appear as he wanted to harm her or harm Ciel. And Ran Mao seemed to be trying to reach out to her, like she was calling out for help.
Something was wrong about it all, it just didn't make any sense.
"Stop harassing Meyrin."
Sebastian blinked at his young master, who in turn stared him down from across his desk. Ciel had no patience for discort within the servants, and he'd be damned if he let his own butler get involved in such petty games. What was it to him if Bardroy and Meyrin fancied each other? It wasn't as if Sebastian was going to be around after their contract ended, and if he wanted to-well that was a shock to him.
"I don't understand what you mean, I am only trying to enforce the rules."
Ciel shrugged, "What rules? The only rules I have for the lot is that they're loyal to me, so what if they fancy each other? Meyrin can't possibly be in love with you now that she knows, or is this some sort of ego thing for you?"
"Perhaps," Sebastian smirked then, "I like to know when things are mine."
"But she isn't yours, she's not the one under your contract."
"I am aware of that."
The young noble huffed in response, "You're going to drive Bardroy to strike out at you, and you know that fight is uneven. I don't need an injured chef for nothing."
"I apologize, Young Master-I won't let it go any further."
"See that it doesn't."
It was one of those rare moments that Meyrin let her memories flood her. The journey to the new land had been the best out of her childhood, no matter how long and hard it had been. It was only because despite everything, Lau and Ran Mao had been her friends. They had stuck together, and promised to continue to do so.
What had happened to that promise?
"Lau? What's going to happen when we get there?"
They had been huddled in the corner, hiding from the adults. Ran Mao had been clinging to one arm, while Meyrin held on to the other. "We're going to find homes," Lau had answered her, though he was quiet; "and we're going to have new families. And we'll be together."
"Promise?"
"Yeah, I promise."
Note: I'll have to deal with Snake's idea in the next chapter too. I really hope this chapter was alright. Also...
I'm not 100% if I want an endgame ship, though personally if I have to choose one now-it's leaning more towards BardXMeyrin. But we won't find out until later. I actually have thought about making it RanMaoXMeyrin too.
