Disclaimer: Ben kendi hiçbir şeyi

A/N: Good news, everyone! As of yesterday, I am officially a high school graduate! Also, I want to thank xxSweet Memory for drawing art for this story. To find it: (1) go to photobucket (2)type "SNOWC00KIES" in the search bar (3) click on the link to her profile and the picture should be right there. :) Let me just say that I LOVE IT! Well, to the story.

XxxxxX

Ciel took a deep breath and walked over to an empty couch, where he slowly sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. He wished he would have thought about this part of his plan more thoroughly. He should have known that these people would want to know what became of their beloved Sebastian. Someone sat beside him and rested their hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw his Lizzie giving him a reassuring smile. That gave him the confidence to continue.

"On my mission for the queen...I ran into some... problems," he said slowly. "The actual mission itself was easy. I was able to finish that within a few days."

"Then what have you been doing all this time?" Lizzie asked.

"I ran into a bigger problem," he replied. "I came across an underground organization that was against the queen. All this time I've been slowly eradicating them. I would have wrote, but I didn't want to take the chance of the letter falling in to the wrong hands. And...I can't explain it, but I think there might be something wrong with me."

"What do you mean?" Frances asked her nephew.

"It's like...there's a part of me that's missing," he said quietly. Even though he felt comfortable to be in these surroundings, something just didn't feel right.

"But what about Mr. Sebastian?" Mey-Rin asked nervously. "Why did you fire him, sir?"

"I realized that I was far too dependent on him," he replied snippily. "I decided it was in my best interest to get rid of him so I could be more functional on my own. Now, enough of this subject." He looked at his four servants. "I assume that since you're all here that you're still living in the manor?"

"Yes, young master," Tanaka replied. "We have all been loyally waiting for your return and protecting the manor to the best of our abilities."

"And we're now better at our jobs!" Finny added excitedly. "I can control my strength now and the garden is more beautiful then ever!"

"I-I finally got new glasses so the manor is now always clean, yes it is!" Mey-Rin exclaimed.

"And I learned how to take things slow so my cooking's not half bad," Bard said, calmer then his two companions.

"If I might say so, I can manage to stay in a stable form for a long time now," Tanaka said. "If my lord will allow me, I would like to resume my former roll as a butler."

"Very well," he replied. "I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day where you lot were actually competent."

"Yes, young master!" they all exclaimed happily.

"Aw, how nice it is to see little Lord Phantomhive's servants show how much they care!" the Chinese man said. "I'm sure that my lord feels blessed to have such loyal servants."

"Alright, just who the hell are you?" he finally snapped. "And why do you claim to know me?"

Everyone in the room gasped. "Why, Lord Earl has forgotten me, his loyal pawn? I'm deeply hurt by this, my lord," the man said, looking distressed(or at least pretending to).

"Young master, do you mean to say that you've forgotten Mr. Lau?" Finny asked in a worried voice.

"No, I do not recall ever seeing this man before in my life," he replied.

"Ciel," his aunt said "when you were dispatching this group, did you obtain some sort of head injury? Memory loss is common with those."

He decided that this was a good opportunity. "Now that you mention it, I do believe that did happen. About four months ago, one of the group's members caught me and hit me in the head with a wooden board. It didn't render me unconscious so I managed to get away. But ever since then I've been forgetting little things like where I put my shoes or my favorite color."

"Ciel, is there anyone else in here that you don't recognize?" Lizzie asked softly.

"Besides those Chinese folk, I don't recognize the taller Indian or your maid," he said. He feverently hoped that he wasn't supposed to know those people.

At this news, Paula merely looked sad and lowered her eyes. But the taller Indian looked shocked and tears welled up in his eyes. Soma went over and hugged him.

"Don't worry, Agni," he soothed. "I'm sure we can regain Ciel's memories in time."

"I wish Madame Red was here," Lizzie sighed wistfully. "Maybe she would know what to do."

"Who's Madame Red?" he asked.

Again, everyone gasped. "Ciel, how could you forget Aunt Ann of all people?" Lizzie exclaimed, aghast.

"Is she Madame Red or Aunt Ann? Who are you talking about?" he asked irritably.

"Oh, Ciel," she sighed sadly and took his hand. "She is -was- your mother's sister. She was a doctor and we looked up to her. You both loved each other a lot. She...she died last November so you can't meet her again."

He frowned. "Well, if she's dead then I suppose it doesn't matter."

When Lizzie opened her mouth to protest, he held up his hand to silence her. "You know that I do not like to dwell on the past," he said sternly. "I do not wish to waste time pining over someone whom I cannot remember."

After a few moments of silence, Tanaka spoke up. "Young master, perhaps it is time we returned to the manor. I'm sure that you're tired after your journey and would like to rest in your own bedroom again. And maybe being back home would help trigger some memories."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," he said and stood up.

Lizzie grabbed his sleeve to keep him from moving. "You're leaving so soon?" she cried. "But you just got back!"

He bent down and kissed her forehead(and ignored the growl Edward let out). "I need some time alone right now. But you can come by the manor first thing tomorrow and we'll spend the day together. You can even make the manor 'cute' if you want," he soothed.

She let out a happy cry and hugged him. "Thank you, Ciel!"

"Anything to please you," he whispered.

XxxxxxX

"You two are completely useless!" the angry monarch cried. He was sitting on his throne and clutching the arm rests tightly.

"We're sorry, Your Majesty, but we couldn't find any trace of the prince!" Careti said. Her head was bowed and she was trembling with fear. İt would be a pity if Sebastian killed her now and she couldn't continue with her plan.

"Sorry? You're sorry!" Sebastian continued to rage. "'Sorry' isn't going to bring my brother back to me, now is it? Honestly, I give you the specific task of keeping him safe, and you can't even do that right! Who knows what could be happening to him right now!"

"Your Majesty?" Phygra said quietly. When they returned without Ciel, Sebastian had punched him in the face – hard. His skin was torn and blood dripped down his cheek and neck.

"What is it?" Sebastian growled.

"You have a special bond with your brother, yes? I believe your lordship has said before that you can tell what the prince is feeling if you try hard enough. Is it possible that you can do that now?" he asked, keeping his head down.

Sebastian was a bit annoyed that he hadn't already thought of doing that, but he was sure going to do it now. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Ciel. It took a moment, but he was beginning to feel a few things. Calmness, contentedness,and...happiness? If Ciel was in the hands of angels, shouldn't he be afraid and possibly in pain? He couldn't comprehend why his brother would be happy of all things. Perhaps they were giving him peaceful visions so he wouldn't try to escape?

"I need to be alone," he said suddenly. "You two continue your search. And if you dare come back to me empty handed again, there will be severe consequences. Understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said and quickly vanished.

He sighed deeply and slowly started to walk back to his room. He hadn't gone in there for four years. It was a place he usually went to relax, but since Ciel arrived he had barely thought about it. He noticed with a wince that the door creaked a bit when he opened it. He stepped into the familiar cool darkness.

He could see perfectly fine in the dark so he had no desire to bring in any sort of light. He walked over to his seldom used bed and sat on it heavily. This was the only place where he could afford to let his guard down. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Why does no one want me to have my brother? He wondered. I know Ciel resents it, but it really is for the best that he's locked up and guarded. Even when he was human he was kidnapped at least once a week. He snickered at the exaggeration.

He decided to go into the room on the left. He was always able to relax better in there. The chessboard patterned carpet made him smile in nostalgia. When he got Ciel back, he would have to make sure to get the chessboard out and challenge the boy to a few games.

He walked over to the wall full of pictures of Ciel and smiled sadly. He never quite understood what it was about the boy that made him feel so...so...loving. Ever since the child was born, Sebastian had only wanted to protect him and keep him happy. Maybe it was because the demon had raised the boy like his own son. Indeed, once he had Ciel, all thoughts of having his own children seemed to vanish.

He ran his fingers over the painting of his coronation. Really, how could something like this happen twice? He was going to have to keep the boy with him at all times after this. It seemed that the monarch was the only one who could keep Ciel from harm. As one of his fingers brushed over the tiny painted ring on his brother's finger, he felt a sudden pressure in his chest.

"What's this?" he whispered. Even as he spoke, he felt a familiar feeling go through him, something that he usually experienced with messengers and nobles. The feeling of a broken promise. Suddenly a vision of a small pale hand taking a ring off of small fingers and dropping it to the floor came into his mind.

"He took his ring off?" he hissed. "Why?"

As he looked closer at the painting, he noticed that something was missing. He scratched at the painted blue hair only to find that nothing was there.

Now that he thought about it, he sensed no angelic presence in the room nor did he catch their scent.

"What is going on here?" he hissed.

XxxxxxX

Ciel had never been so happy to see childhood home. Even when he was in captivity, he knew that his family was dead and the place was burnt to the ground. He knew in his heart that there was nothing to come back to. But this time, when he knew there were people and a home waiting for him, it hurt to know that he may never see them again. Now that he was, he felt fantastic.

When they arrived back at the manor, the servants were quick to show him their new skills. He was honestly amazed at how beautiful the garden was and how clean and tidy the manor was. Bard made him an excellent dinner that was not burnt in any way. And Tanaka resumed his butler duties with ease. After wards, he wandered through the house and marveled at the familiar rooms and furniture. He wondered it this was all just some magnificent dream.

When he came across the portrait of his parents, he just stared at it for what seemed like hours. It was odd, but although he knew the people in the painting were his parents, he didn't recognize him. Not for the most part, anyway. He recognized his mother's eyes and his father's hair, but that was about it. He ordered the servants to move the painting back into the main hall so he could look at it more often.

As soon as night came he went to bed. It was no nice to be in his plain white nightshirt and his own bed again. He went over to the window and gave his grounds one last look for the day. And although he thought they were beautiful, he couldn't help but think of another garden somewhere far away.

"Everything is so pretty in the moonlight, don't you agree?" a voice said from behind him.

He quickly turned to face the intruder. It seemed to be nothing more than a tall shadow. He could tell somehow that it meant him no harm, but he could also feel suppressed maliciousness in it.

"Who are you?" he demanded coolly.

"Oh, someone who's been wanting to meet you for along time," the shadow replied.

"What do you want?" he demanded again.

"You're rather demanding for one so small," the shadow chuckled.

"Tell me what you want or leave immediately!" he yelled. He was not one to be toyed with.

"Alright, young one, calm down," the shadow replied it what might have been a soothing voice. "I'm actually here to help you."

"Help me?" the young Earl replied incredulously. "What could you possibly help me with?"

"Well, dear Earl, I have to say that I quite admire the work you do up here," it said. "And I could help you...forget any things, or people, that might be distracting you."

"What do you mean?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Let me get right to the point, Ciel," it said. "I know that you want to forget about your brother Sebastian and continue with your human life. I can help you with that."

"How do you know this?" he demanded angrily. "Who are you?"

"That is of no importance at the time," it replied. It began to slowly fade. "I'll give you some time to think about it. If you ever want to talk again, just think of me and I'll appear." By the time it finished that sentence, it had vanished completely.

He went back to his bed and sat down. This could be the chance he was waiting for. But could he really erase Sebastian from his mind? And he had no way of knowing if he could trust that thing.

He had a feeling that he would not get much sleep that night.

XxxxxxX

A/N: This chapter...so hard to write for some reason... So, Ciel's a good little liar and Sebby is on to something. Next chapter will have...I'm not really sure yet.

Review!