Chapter 20
"Stop staring at me, or I'll poke your eyes out!"
"Don't lie. My father does work in the criminal underground, but he's not so ruthless he'd wipe out an entire family."
"I'm sorry . . . For what happened with your family. For not believing you the last time we talked. For everything . . . Let's be friends."
"I'm not sure if I should consider it a good thing that a demon takes a liking to me."
"Have you gone mad? What gives you the right to the one I love?"
"You don't even like Gateau Au Chocolat."
"Counting snowflakes again?"
"Everything will be fine, Sebastian. It's all right."
"A boy! You gave me a beautiful little boy!"
"If it will make you feel better, I won't throw the cat out onto the street. She can live out in the garden, but for Ciel's sake, I don't want her in the house."
"Ciel's all right, Sebastian. He's going to be okay."
"I just want all of us to be on good terms again . . ."
"I'm not sure, but I hope the next ten years are even better."
Vincent's voice . . .
He could hear it . . .
Sebastian's eyes fluttered open, cringing against the bright light that assaulted them. The world was white, and he had this sensation that he was floating.
"I am dead," he thought to himself, "I don't know how I managed it, but I'm dead."
A hand resting on his shoulder helped him get a grasp of reality. He was lying down. He blinked and details of a room began to emerge from the intense whiteness. Windows, a table, chairs, pictures, and other objects came into focus. After a few more minutes, he was able to sense that he was lying in a bed with a light, white blanket pulled over him. He was able to smile an assortment of medicines and fluids. Outside of his room, he could hear people talking to one another; doctors and nurses.
He was in a hospital. He didn't understand how, but he was in a hospital.
Sebastian summoned the strength to turn his head to see who it was resting their hand on his shoulder. The only thing he could make out, at first, was red; the outline of red hair and red lips.
"Sebastian?" They spoke softly, "Sebastian, can you hear me?"
Sebastian instantly recognize the voice, "Anne?"
The demons eyes managed to focus, and the sight of the red-haired doctor confirmed his guess.
"It's nice to see you're awake," Angelina stated, "we didn't know how long you might be unconscious for. Mr. Tanaka was also unconscious for a while. He woke up just a few hours ago."
Tanaka was here? Did that mean that, possibly, Vincent and Ciel were here, too?
"Vincent and Ciel . . ." He said quietly, "are they all right?"
Angelina's face held a very grim expression.
"We couldn't find them," the doctor replied, "we found many bodies, including my sister's, but none of the bodies we found could have been the Vincent or Ciel."
Sebastian furrowed his brow in confusion, "We?"
"The undertaker helped me. He found you lying in a pile of smoldering rubble. He'd rushed into the mansion while it was still up in flames. He pulled you out, thinking you were Vincent, but even though you weren't, he was glad someone was alive."
Sebastian tried to process what Angelina was telling him. Undertaker pulled him out? When did that happen? Was it possible that he saw Vincent and Ciel escape, by any chance?
"Where is he?" The demon asked, "I have to speak with him."
Angelina step to the side. In a chair near the door to his room, the old reaper sat dozing, his hat tipped forward and a bone shaped cookie hanging from his mouth.
"He's been here for a while," Angelina explained, "he said that he wanted to speak with you after you woke up."
Sebastian could only guess that he and the gray-haired reaper were in the same boat. They both wanted to know, desperately, whether or not Vincent was still alive.
The sound of a wheelchair rapidly approaching could be heard coming down the hallway outside.
"Slow down, sir!" A nurse could be heard saying, "You really should rest!"
"I'm not going to rest until I know that Master Sebastian is alright!" A familiar voice protested.
Within seconds, an elderly man in a wheelchair entered through the door and into Sebastian's room. Although it was a bit difficult to recognize them outside of his usual butler attire and wearing a hospital gown, the man was familiar.
Sebastian turned his head towards him, "Tanaka . . ."
The old man's face lit up and he rushed towards his master's bed, nearly flying out of the chair midway and landing at his bedside.
"Thank goodness you're still alright!" Tanaka sighed, "I thought I was the only one who survived that fire."
Sebastian's expressions remained blank, "So did I."
Tanaka managed to calm himself and his face filled with serious concern.
"Did Master Vincent make it out, by any chance?" he inquired.
An emotionally pained look settled on Sebastian's face.
"I don't know," he replied, "I searched everywhere for him, and I found no sign of him."
"And . . . Ciel?"
The pain deepened in the demon's features, "He was taken by someone, but I don't know who."
On the other side of the room, Undertaker still sat in his chair. His teeth snapped the bone shaped cookie in two. The end that had been hanging out of his mouth dropped to the floor. The end of that was in his mouth still sat in his mouth, but the undertaker seemed to be in too much of a trance to chew it. All the while, tears quietly streamed down his face.
Sebastian stood in the shadow of what used to be the Phantomhive Manor. Now it was nothing but a charred shell of the building, but after being released from the hospital, he swore that he would find some sort of materialistic possession of Vincent's to hold onto.
The demon search the rubble of the rooms and the cupboards, and the desks, but he couldn't find anything that the fire had spared enough to salvage. That is, until he found a mysterious trunk sitting in an open space on the bottom floor; oddly so. The leather of the trunk and it's buckles had only suffered scorch marks. Most of the damage was from rust, clearly showing the truck's age.
Unhooking the latches, the first thing Sebastian saw was a dark blue silk cloth, one that Vincent typically wore around his collar. Underneath the cloth was a wide variety of pictures and journals documenting the relationship between the earl and the demon. Everything from company group photos to photos taken while they'd been out hunting, from the photo they taken when they swore to become partners and lovers to the photo that had been taken after Ciel had been born.
And then, Sebastian found an envelope, one that had only recently been put into the trunk, as it wasn't faded or dirty. Curious, Sebastian tore the seal, pulled out the paper within, and read the familiar handwriting that was on it.
My Dearest Sebastian,
Over the past decade, or so, I've been saving these little moments for you, personally. If you've found this time capsule, it means one of two things: either I'm dead, or some other tragedy has come upon this family. I made this especially for you so you can always remember the wonderful times we shared.
I want to ask you a favor. Take care of Ciel. Be his sword and his shield. Make sure he stays safe and remains the happy, smiling child he's always been. Can you do that, love?
No matter what happens, or where you are, or where I am, please remember this.
I love you.
With all my heart.
I love you.
~ Vincent ~
Each word of the letter was pure agony to read, because it was written exactly how the earl spoke to the demons, and Sebastian could hear his mate's voice say these things to him. Without him here to tell him these things face to face, it was painful. There was nothing he could do to keep his knees from buckling as he collapsed into the ashes of the destroyed mansion as he cried.