Sebastian paused.
There was a swell of memories flooding into his head, half of which he was sure didn't belong to him. He felt his eyes flare with the mere sight of the wicked earl forming in his mind.
Humans were wretched creatures.
Spending their lives striving to be nothing more than powerful or at the least bit remembered; taking whatever means nessicary to put themselves in the place they think they deserve.
And every door they opened told him more and more of this truth. Each door leading to yet another memory of the young miss's. Very few had been plesant, fewer a happy memory.
How long they'd been there, neither of them would have been able to answer. In the real world, it couldn't have been more than a few hours, but here, it felt nothing less than a lifetime.
It surely didn't help that his energy was being sapped worse than the last time he'd used this abilty. The cost of bringing the Young Master along was a limited window that he could use it before needing to either drop it completely or having the Phantomhive drop from the projection. Both answers didn't seem pleasant.
And Sebastian had paused.
"Can you save me?"
The same voice. The same words. The same way he remembered them.
"Will you help me?"
"Sebastian?" Ciel was now beside him, looking around much the same.
The voice continued to swirl around them, changing more than the scenery around them. Blackness flooded his crimson eyes, pulling him completely away from the empty hallway with useless rooms. When everything cleared away, he was alone.
"Don't worry. Your Young Master is alright."
His eyes flared and his seal seared his skin. The pain rose through his arm and down through his chest.
"You've made it pretty deep through here, haven't you, Mr. Sebastian?"
That was definitely that child's voice. The one the butler had woken to.
A human's mind was a mess of memories and confusion of the world around them. Such things caused very unpleasant shifts in the 'reality' of the physical manifestation, making it able to change at the will of the owner. It had never taken so long for him to find the memory he was after.
Then again, he usually didn't have Divine Beings locking them up.
"Do you really want to help me?"
"Miss Rose?"
"Are you sure you want to see what's on the other side of that lock?"
The demonic butler didn't answer. His hand twitched in pain. Even if he knew what the memory was, it wouldn't -couldn't- change anything of what actually had happened in the past. He belonged to the Young Master, Ciel Phantomhive, and nothing he could see would be able to change that.
"I won't change, if that's what you're worried about." The voice continued. "At least... the me out there won't change..."
"You're her childhood?"
"Mmhm. So even if she knows what happened, the least she'll be is more afraid of James and not afraid of you anymore."
He allowed a relieved sigh. "Where is our Young Master?"
"Already waiting in the memory."
Sebastian could feel a solid ground form beneath his feet. The weight behind his eyes prevented him yet from opening them.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Sebastian?"
The weight was lifted from his entire body, giving complete control back to him.
I'm tired.
Sebastian Michealis slowly opened his eyes, dimmed candlelight flooding his vision. The scent of blood was the second thing to flood his senses, giving him such an overwhelming question as to whether or not it was something he had done.
Turning his head, he caught the sight of the Young Master, still dressed up in his clean and well fitting clothes. However, his placement in the room was most odd: locked within a cage.
The Young Phantomhive's mouth opened, but no words surfaced.
"Can you save me?"
He turned to the cage next to Ciel's, finding an arm reaching out towards his. He opened his mouth and allowed hiimself to answer the same answers as always, "Of course."
She looked up at him with a look of wonder, "Will you help me?"
"Yes, I will."
He reached his hand out, allowing her's to grasp onto his.
"Will you save me?" She asked again.
He placed his other hand on top of the small child's, capturing it gently before responding a soft, "I haven't gone anywhere, Child."
"Can you help me?"
"If that is what you wish."
She looked around a moment, as if to see if someone was coming into the room. She looked relieved when nothing surfaced. Sebastian allowed a side glance to see the Young Masters' reaction. It was nothing less than confusion and almost anger.
She looked back at him. "...I'm scared."
"I know."
"I want... to die..."
"I know..." He repeated.
"They keep hurting me."
He caught her pleading amethyst eyes with his crimson ones. "Would you like me to punish them?"
She looked over at Ciel momentarily. She stayed silent as she watched the Phantomhive stared back at her. If Sebastian were to guess, the young Master had been asleep or unconsious during this interaction-perhaps not even present.
"I don't want to be here anymore..." She looked back at him. She used her free hand to wipe underneath her nose.
"I know."
"I want..."
He leaned more towards her, "Yes?"
"To be saved."
He reached forward to wipe clear the tears from her face. A child broken to the edge of welcoming death. Such a pure soul. The demon cupped her face in his hand.
"Can you save me?" She repeated.
He pushed the matted hair from her face, "What is your name, Child?"
She looked down at the hand on her face, leaning into slightly. "...Rose..."
"Yes... Rose."
"What's yours?"
"You can decide that."
"A name?" She tilted her head.
"Let me know what you've decided the next we meet."
She pleaded with her whole body for him to not stand and fade away from her. Tears ran from her face and she grabbed at the bars, shaking them the best she could. She only stopped when the door behind them was opened and two men entered, dragging in another small child.
"...I'm scared..."
I'm so sorry.
