Chapter 12: Sacramentum

"No… no… let go…" Ciel stirred in his sleep quite violently; he tossed and turned his head, his arms trashed as if he was fighting off an invisible enemy, and he pleaded in slurry words. His last memory before he had fainted surged in his mind; Angela was strangling him and he was struggling for his life. Sebastien noticed his agonizing delusion and took the privilege of waking him up by licking his face. "Come on! Come on! Wake up!" He thought worriedly.

"HELP!" Ciel sat up awake and aimed a kick at nothing (which Sebastien dodged). He coughed and gasped for deprived air. It took a moment for him to realize that his struggle was only a dream. He sighed as he wiped his face from cold sweat and wolf saliva. "Good thing it was only a dream…" He closed his eyes in relief. "Thanks for waking me up, Sebastien…"

Sebastien nudged his hand in thanks. Ciel gave a reassuring nod at him only to wince in pain; a sharp pain had suddenly entered his neck. The pain made him wonder, "So… I was… really strangled then?" He recalled a breaking sound in his memory. "Angela broke my neck… but how is it that I…?" He ran a hand over his 'supposed' broken neck. "…Why am I still alive?"

Then Ash's statement resounded in his mind: "I'm curious why the young master is able to recover from certain injuries with a speed beyond normal…"

"Hmm…" Ciel frowned as he continued to stroke his neck. "I could recover from an injury at a speed beyond normal… And I thought recovering from a broken leg in two days was normal." He said as he recalled the day when he fell off from the stage during their school play rehearsal. "I think… my classmates usually took a month or two when they break their legs while, I only took a day or two. Did mom and dad ever notice this about me?"

Sebastien looked at him in curious eyes. "Is that why you're still alive despite the fact that crazy maid snapped your neck?" He thought. "I've seen humans with broken necks die on the spot."

"But what's important is that I'm alive." Ciel said to Sebastien. "I… I don't want to die just yet…"

"Whoever wants to die?!" Sebastien nudged his cheek. "I don't want you to die. I won't forgive myself if I let you die."

Ciel recalled Angela's nonchalant but somehow, words of fury: "Why does he desire you and not me?!"

"Was she talking about Ash?" The boy gulped. "Does she like him too?"

An awkward silence prevailed.

"I'd better stay away…" He decided. "…From both of them. I need to think. I can't sleep with the thought of Angela trying to kill me out of jealousy…" He jumped out of bed and almost stumbled upon landing on the floor. He looked at his feet and he noticed that his boots were different and sturdier than his first one. "Eh? Who changed my clothes?" He felt around his long sleeved, white, cotton shirt with embroidery around the collar and chest area; the same black, silk cravat and diamond broach was on his neck; black, buckled straps were wrapped on both of his arms; suspenders were linked to his black shorts, though he was slightly dismayed that they were still a bit tight; he still had the black stockings but his boots were slightly different than his first one; the boots were no longer lace-up in style but it had straps with buckles lining the front. The boots still had heels though, but this time they were metal along with the front; making it efficient for kicking. "When did I change my clothes? I don't remember changing… I just…" He blushed as he looked at himself at the mirror. "…Fainted… almost naked…"

"That crazy maid put on your clothes." Sebastien joined him in looking at the mirror. "Fortunately she isn't as perverted as SOMEONE out there." He thought grumpily.

Ciel rolled his eyes in disappointment at his reflection. "Why is it that I look feminine in every outfit I get in?" He put his hands on his hips. "I just don't like the idea of people mistaking me as a girl. I get that often… most of the time, even. Guys and girls sneak love letters in my locker everyday. It's annoying really."

"What's wrong with you?" Sebastien snorted. "You're beautiful. Why be disappointed about it?... Wait… I did not just think that…"

All of a sudden, Ciel clapped. "Since we have a lot of spare time, why don't we go to that mansion the note said?" He hurried to his bedside table drawer and searched for the note and key he had deposited there before taking a bath. A few seconds later, he found the note and reread it to refresh his memory about it. "Use the key included with this note and retrieve the Lunar Refractor inside the Study… Hmm, let's see…" He examined the tiny key accompanied with the note. "I wonder where the Study could be?"

"The Study?" Sebastien reached up to tug at the cuff of his sleeve. "No problem! I'll lead you there!" He barked accordingly and went to the bedroom door. Ciel gently laughed. "You know the way, boy? Go!" He pocketed the note and key and opened the door for the wolf to lead him.

He followed the wolf to the balcony-hallway. He realized that nighttime had fallen all around the castle since bats had started taking refuge in the arcs and the dark corners of the balcony-hallway. Nevertheless, the place was a bit bright as it was in the morning; the full moon cast its light like sunlight, though not as bright as sunlight, the moonlight was efficient enough to be a light source. And besides, the moonlight gave a magical and solemn feel of the castle. Ciel and Sebastien felt a supernatural power radiating from the moon and they felt energized by the mere sight of it. Sebastien especially, was the most affected of this monthly phenomenon. This was the time where wolf packs gather and 'sing' songs in admiration to the moon. But in his entire lifetime, he always sang alone; no wolf pack accepted him since, he was different from them. But he didn't get upset at being different; he was proud of being different. It never mattered if he had company or not.

"The moon is lovely isn't it, Sebastien?" Ciel said to him as he stopped and leaned on the ledge to look at the moon. "It's magical."

Sebastien tottered back to his side. "Should we get going?" He thought irritably.

All of a sudden, faint howls sounded from a distance. Ciel edged a little to listen to the sound; Sebastien cocked his ear from side to side to adjust his hearing. He heard wolves and they were singing. A wolf must've assumed leadership in a pack and its followers are celebrating its superiority and triumph. He wanted to sing, too. But he knew he had no relationship with that pack or whatsoever, so he kept quiet and listened.

"Sounds like… wolves." Ciel realized a while later when the howls became loud enough for him to hear. He listened to the song of the wolves and it made him reflect about Sebastien's wellbeing. Wolves live together, like family. There are lone wolves, but they don't really survive for long. "It's difficult to live when you're out in the world all alone." He muttered to himself.

"Hm?" Sebastien glanced at him. "Did you say something?"

"Do you have a family, Sebastien?" The boy asked him all of a sudden. The wolf stared at him dully with his crimson eyes. "Do you miss them?"

"My father raised me up." He snorted as he remembered his life in the wild as a tiny pup. "And, I'm thankful that some men shot him. He gave me a hell of a life." He tottered slowly to some place else and sat. "Why are we talking about matters like these?"

Ciel followed him and knelt in front of him until they were face to face. "I know it's against your nature to be domesticated like this. You were born from the wild and that's your home."

"What are you saying?"

"I… I apologize on behalf of Ash and the others." He said. The howls of the wolves resonated throughout the dark night. "I must apologize to you too."

"What the…" Sebastien's train of thoughts stopped when he felt the boy's warm body close over him. He felt his eyes come slowly to a close in comfort of the boy's embrace. "…Why are you doing this?"

"Once we set foot into that abandoned mansion, I'll find the way out." Ciel said to him along with gentle assuring caresses on the back of the wolf's head. "Then, I'll let you go for your sake."

"What?! Let me go?!" Sebastien protested inwardly, but he didn't want to break the warmth of the embrace, so he kept still. "Why?!"

"I'm doing that for you. I have taken you away from your home for a long time." Ciel broke the embrace but he continued to stroke the wolf's head and looked into his eyes. "You don't belong here with me. I've put you in danger for too many times. It would be really selfish of me if I keep you hanging around with me for too long."

"It's not your fault…" Sebastien looked back at him with eyes of steely conviction. "I will protect you, whether you like it or not."

"Once we've found the way out from the mansion, I'll let you go." Ciel said. A tear had escaped from his eye but he didn't know it. "You belong to the other wolves." He said as he broke his contact with the wolf. "We can't be together like this."

"You may let go of me, but I will not let go of you." Sebastien barked. "I swear this in the midst of the full moon; I will never leave your side and I'll protect you, even at the expense of my life."

Ciel finally realized that he was crying and wiped away the tears that were slowly flowing from his eyes. "I won't forgive myself if I lose somebody I love, again."

The wolves of the wild howled another song. This time, it seemed a mournful song but at the same time, it was comforting like a lullaby.

"Shall we go?" Ciel forced a smile and gestured him to continue, but the wolf sat stubbornly still. "If you're commanding me to continue with this note thing and letting me go into the wild afterwards, then I'd rather stay here!"

The boy realized his stubbornness and sighed. "If you won't do it, then I'll do it myself." He said gently and went down the balcony-hallway. His mind was so confused; part of him didn't want the wolf to go and the other wanted him to stay. "If he'd be killed for staying with me, he'd be better off away from me. At least he would be alive." He thought as he searched for the Study alone.

The wolf had no choice but to follow him since he had made his oath to the moon. "I'll be on your side, whether you like it or not."

A/n: Sappy moment and a short chapter again... Right! Again, I'll take a break from writing this. Give me again 4 weeks of patience to write more chapters...

Oh noes! The English to Latin online translator had technical difficulties! How am I gonna translate the chapter titles to Latin now? Looks like I have to use a Latin dictionary. Pardon me if the Latin is grammatically incorrect; I don't know Latin...

Replies:

Yana5 – No, not because Ash has gender preferences. He is long before obsessed to somebody else (if you know what I mean) even though Angela was already interested in him. Poor girl…

ToonyTwilight – It's nice to hear that you got interested. But I infused some of my own touches in this fic that may be completely different in the original concept of Haunting Ground. Anyways, thanks a lot. Now have a tart! (:D)

Thanks to Daisy-san and YuukixZero16-in-yellow for faving!