I hope all my readers had a happy Easter! I also hope you were the recipients of many chocolate eggs. Here is a belated gift for you- a new chapter!

LackOfName: Haha! I like reading all your theories. Not gonna say whether or not they're on track, obviously, (no spoilers!) but I enjoy them regardless. And don't worry, I've had the immediate future of this fic planned out for a while now. It just takes time to bring it to fruition, which is why I like reviews, because they help me write faster. :)

"Have you completely lost your bloody mind?!"

Lydia clenched her fists on one side of the tower, leveling an incredulous stare at Ciel on the other side. The young heir's back was stiffened like an angry cat, his body postured defensively as he faced his older sister. Standing against the wall and halfway melded into the shadows, Sebastian watched the scene with patient, calculating eyes.

Ciel clenched his teeth and held his ground. "I did what was necessary to move the investigation forward! I don't see what you're so angry about. Everyone got out safely-"

"Which was a matter of pure chance! You couldn't have predicted it!" the older girl raged furiously. Ciel had never seen her face so flushed, or her eyes so piercing. In the back of his mind he regretted telling her about his role in the fire, even though she would have figured it out herself sooner or later.

He struggled for a moment to find a reply. "How was I to know you were going to go racing into a burning building for no good reason? I expected you to act like a sensible person and stay out!"

"You are unbelievable!" Lydia growled, shaking her head aggressively. "What was the point?! What information did you gain, other than the fact that Derrick Arden and his friends are not in Purple House, which we could have found out anyway if you had just kept to the original plan to sneak inside the dormitory during daylight hours? What have you got to show for all the trouble you've caused?!"

"I am not required to justify my actions!" the young boy hit back, feeling more and more cornered in the miniature room pressed against the sky. The softened sunlight cascading through the clock face did nothing to calm his mood. "I am the watchdog of the Queen, and I am given leave to do whatever I like as long as it results in a solution for the troubles plaguing Her Majesty!"

Lydia scoffed caustically. "That's hardly an answer at all. The ends don't always justify the means, Ciel! Do you think Her Majesty will be glad if you find five boys but kill ten others? Or twenty? Or thirty?"

"I was not going to let them burn to death!" Ciel shouted in frustration, growing increasingly distressed at the new and much colder way his sister was looking at him. "I was going to send Sebastian inside to evacuate any stragglers! Particularly Derrick Arden and his friends, as they persistently refused to emerge. But then Sebastian informed me that all traces of human souls inside Purple House had vanished, which was when I realized they had never been there in the first place, so I sent him to bring water to put out the fire."

"And a fine job you did of it, too!" Lydia jerked her hands toward the bandages soaked in cooling salve which she had wrapped around her throat to counteract the choking effects of smoke inhalation. "For God's sake, Ciel, have you ever been in a fire?"

The young heir stared mutely across the room. Lydia cut her eyes at him and turned away. "No? Well, I have. When I first started working for my forestry organization, they didn't have the money to purchase desirable office space. We were located on the second floor of a building that had used to be a tenement. In the dead of winter, some children tried to light a fire on the first floor and ended up setting the whole hallway ablaze. I saw it catching on and blocking our path to the door. In the time it took us to run upstairs, open a window, and scream for help, the flames had already gotten to the top of the stairs. There was no time to wait for help. We had to jump. Our office manager landed wrong and broke her leg. Thank God it was only the second floor; any higher and we would have been jumping out to avoid being turned to ash, so our kin could identify our bodies and give us a proper burial. Some of the folks on the upper floors weren't so lucky." Lydia stared out the window, her eyes like glass. "The point is, Ciel, fire spreads quickly. It can jump across a floor or a hall in seconds, and there were hundreds of students in Violet Wolf House that night. If the wind had been just a little stronger, not even Sebastian could have saved everyone in time." She brought a hand up to cover her icy cobalt eyes. "My God, who knows how many could have died."

Ciel had no idea what to say, but he knew he could not say nothing. She would not accept that. His voice came out sounding small and brittle. "I didn't….mean to…."

"Do you think whatever the hell you meant to do would matter in the slightest to the families of these boys when they came to claim the bodies?!" Lydia thundered, turning from the window to stab him with her gaze again. "You are thirteen years old! And you-!" she swiveled and pointed an accusing finger at Sebastian. "You are a demon! Neither of you is in an appropriate position to make value judgments regarding the lives of other people!"

"This is my duty! It is my birthright!" Ciel snarled at her, possessed by a sudden and unaccountable surge of fury that stained his vision black. "And you are not my parent!"

"Veritably so!" Lydia took several steps in his direction, drawing herself up to her full height. "And considering whose son you are, I don't know why I find myself caught off guard by this behavior! Risking the lives of everyone else for his own gain was exactly the sort of thing Vincent would have done!"

Ciel lost his composure as he felt the breath slammed out of him by the force of her words. For several moments, he truly feared he was suffering an asthma attack. He gasped and curled his fingers and bit his tongue until it bled, willing himself to stabilize with every ounce of his control. I will kill myself if I cry. He managed not to sacrifice this last vestige of his pride, but he had no energy left to refute her. Instead, he found himself shouting desperately, "I just wanted to help, goddammit! I just wanted to finish this-!"

"In what way have you helped?!" Lydia's eyes flashed as she sliced his arguments apart in the air. "You have put the lives of countless innocent students at risk! You have disrupted the equilibrium of this school, which will make it even more difficult to find information about Derrick Arden! You may have actually destroyed evidence in the burning of Purple House, did you ever think of that? I was unable to capture my attacker because I was worried about your safety, and I nearly received severe burns putting out a fire that you started! How has any of that helped anybody?! What is wrong with you?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Ciel's voice broke as he screamed, and he was left with the trailing syllables of words upon his bleeding tongue. "I don't know. I don't….know."

Lydia closed the distance between them and Ciel stared helplessly into her eyes, waiting for her to tell him exactly what was wrong with him, like a swift slap to the face. The brunette sighed and placed her hands upon his shoulders, looking as though she would cry. Where her bandaged hand touched him, Ciel twitched. "You're my little brother, Ciel. I love you. I always will. It causes me great pain to think of anyone hurting you, so I always want to protect you. But don't you think-" Lydia closed her eyes and shuddered fiercely. "Don't you think it causes me just as much pain to see you dealing so cruelly with the lives of others? I want to be proud of my little brother. I want to look at you and see someone who doesn't scare me."

The silence in the tower was deafening.

Slowly, Lydia peeled her hands off her brother and brushed past him. He heard the dull metallic beat of her shoes as she began to descend the stairs. "No matter what anyone says now, this situation is out of my hands. If this is the kind of thing you are willing to do to accomplish your goals, I cannot be a part of it. I am going down to the grounds and joining with the students helping Purple House classmates find temporary shelter. Sometime tomorrow, I will return to Sebastian's room to pack my things. Then I am going back to London to continue my investigation of Baron Kelvin and his assassins on my own."

Sebastian started forward, but stopped abruptly at the look Lydia gave him. The next moment, she had turned her head and disappeared into the winding stairwell. The harsh points of her heels wound downward slowly, like an executioner's drumbeat, until the door grated open at the bottom and rumbled shut again. Ciel stood perfectly still before the doorway, listening to her go until she was gone.

Suddenly he hated everything. The houses. The tower. This wretched school and all its students. Even her. But most of all, he hated the dark eyes he felt boring into his back; the aura of the demon behind him, damning, silently staining. Watching him. Reveling, he was sure, in the turmoil inside his heart. He ground his teeth together and whirled to face him with wild eyes. "Get out! Get out!" he shouted furiously. "Get out of here now! Remove your damned smug face from my sight!"

The demon's body quavered in pain and he did not wait to be told again. He vanished as quickly as a shadow before the light, and Ciel was left alone in the tower, panting with exertion and distress. He stared out the window, flinching as he saw a tiny figure far below striding away toward the ruins of Purple House. He clenched his fists and lashed out at the dresser, knocking Edward's possessions to the ground. A moment later he hit the floor as well, sitting hard upon the steps and folding himself up tightly, staring at his kneecaps. His head felt like it was swelling, bursting open under an ungodly pressure. Secure in the knowledge that he was alone, which brought more pain than relief, he pressed his forehead to his knees and let go of the shivering, confused, fractured creature inside him.

/

"I'm sorry, everyone. I know this is utter rubbish. I can't….I just can't focus right now."

"It's all right," Redmond replied to Bluewer as the frustrated Blue House prefect set down his planning notebook with a grimace of defeat. They had spent the last half hour in the swan gazebo attempting to lay out plans for the fourth of June tournament, which was quickly approaching. However, in light of the fire that had swept through Purple House just three days prior, no one seemed to have the mind or heart to concentrate. Ciel clenched his hands together tightly and gazed around the usually tranquil gazebo at the other occupants. Every single one of them looked exhausted. Classes had been cancelled for the last two days after the fire, and while most of the students seemed to see this as a break, those in charge of running the school had no such luxury. Two of the six dorm rooms in Purple House had been rendered completely uninhabitable, forcing students assigned to them to find temporary sleeping arrangements in the administrative hall, the music building, and the common rooms of the other houses. Just organizing the delivery of sufficient food, water, clothing, and other necessities to these unequipped areas had been a nightmare. Then there was the process of trying to recover school property from the wreckage, and the fact that the rest of Purple House, while not directly impacted by the flames, had still suffered plenty of damage from the smoke and heat. And of course, there was the ever-persistent rumor mill revolving around who had started the fire, and what had happened during it. Almost as intriguing as the former, there were currently several stories floating around of a student from Blue House playing an instrumental role in helping to put out the fire. This had come as a great surprise to everyone, especially Blue House. What was even more surprising, however, was the fact that none of the Sapphire Owl students had stepped forward to claim responsibility for the lauded acts, not even when encouraged by the house prefect to do so. It had quickly become a popular topic of speculation for Blue House students, who were not used to being recognized for anything apart from academics. Meanwhile, the only thing anyone in Purple House could talk about was the question of who had thrown the lantern through their window.

On that count, Ciel could barely bring himself to listen to what anyone was saying, even though he knew there was no evidence to point to him. He had not spoken to either Lydia or Sebastian since the fight in the tower yesterday. Based on his older sister's statements, however, this was the day she would be packing up and returning alone to London. She probably had not left yet- it was only nine o'clock in the morning- but the thought made Ciel's stomach twist, and he wished powerfully that this meeting would end soon so he could retire to a dark corner and be alone. He hated this damned school, and he hated London, and he especially hated the nagging voice in the back of his mind that was telling him Lydia had been right- the fire had accomplished nothing. The school was presently dangling on the edge of utter chaos. Trying to find information about Derrick Arden in this atmosphere would be futile at best, and highly suspicious at worst. Of late, he had no time to do anything but run around under orders from Clayton and Bluewer from morning until nightfall. He was exhausted as well. The young heir wanted to fall asleep and not wake up again for a long, long time.

Bluewer turned to the opposite corner of the gazebo, rubbing at the circles under his eyes. "Violet, have you arranged a new roster of your students' temporary living arrangements? We need to know where everyone is supposed to be in case another emergency breaks out."

The Purple House prefect nodded without looking up from his current drawing. Bluewer eyed him concernedly before turning away. Violet had scorched his fingers while throwing water on the flames of his burning dormitory, but that was not currently stopping him from drawing like a madman. He looked a bit demented, too, as he manically dashed off sheet after sheet depicting whatever was going on inside his mind. Most of the pictures featured flames and darkness. Cheslock was sitting beside him, for once putting in the effort to pay attention to the conversation in Violet's stead.

Redmond sighed again. "So, what are we going to do? Can we truly hold the fourth of June tournament while we have an unknown arsonist running around on campus? What if they set something else on fire while all of the guests and families are present on the grounds? Who knows how many people could be put in danger?"

"Then we've simply got to apprehend the little whelp before the tournament!" Greenhill boomed loudly, smacking his cricket bat against his meaty palm as Edward nodded behind him. "The fourth of June is tradition, upheld by countless prefects before us, no matter the circumstances. We cannot be the weak link in Weston's chain that allows tradition to be broken!"

"I agree with Greenhill," Bluewer nodded, straightening his glasses as Clayton poured him another cup of tea. "We must uphold tradition, which means we must apprehend the culprit before the fourth of June to ensure the ceremony will not be ruined. I just wish I knew where on earth to start. With no eyewitnesses and only a broken window and a singed lantern for evidence, how can we practically accuse anyone?"

"Perhaps we just have to be in the right place," Greenhill mused, leaning forward. "The fire may have been started by the same unknown culprit who broke into Violet's room earlier. If that is the case, it would seem they are targeting Violet Wolf House. If we increase patrols in that area…."

Ciel bit the inside of his lip as the prefects continued to debate tactics. He knew there was no chance of them doing so, but he wished they would stop talking about the fire. It was making him feel sick. He kept hearing Lydia's melancholy voice in the back of his mind; I want to look at you and see someone who doesn't scare me….

"Hey there, Violet, what's that?" Cheslock's voice meshed with the other prefects as he leaned toward the cloaked figure beside him.

Violet made a small noise in his throat as he adjusted his drawing board. "This is….I….I don't know. It's just a person I met once a little while ago. I don't know why, but I had a dream about her the other night. We were inside Violet Wolf House, and it was on fire, and she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear her voice over the flames. I felt like her voice was….important somehow, but I…." the dark-haired prefect slowly rubbed his eyes, smearing charcoal underneath the lids. "I'm just so tired, even when I'm asleep. I can barely think, so I can't remember…."

Ciel moved a step sideways to get a look at the picture. His feet seemed to nail themselves to the floor as a hurricane of shock swept across his mind. Staring up from the page was the exact likeness of his older sister. She was clothed in feminine dress, her bandaged hand outstretched toward the viewer. He shot a look of panic in Edward's direction, who responded with a puzzled stare. Clamping his hands together, Ciel stepped forward and forcefully cleared his throat. "Say, Violet!" he called, causing the older boy to turn toward him. "I have an idea for restoring the damaged rooms in your house. I was thinking we could-"

"Hey, wait a second," Cheslock interrupted, still staring at the picture as he patted his prefect on the shoulder. "It- It couldn't be. No way. But she…." He paused, wide-eyed. Now the whole gazebo was looking his way. "Violet….could you do something for me? Could you….draw this same person again ….same face, same body, you know….except this time, draw her hair pulled back behind her head, and….put her in a Weston College uniform. Could you do that?"

"Well….all right….I suppose," Violet acquiesced, glancing strangely at Cheslock while Ciel shouted obscenities in his mind. The other prefects were watching them interestedly as Violet turned to a fresh sheet of paper and began sketching rapidly. Ciel's entire body was stiff with panic. How could he stop them, what could he do to derail their thought process without throwing off his own cover? He could not call for Sebastian to create a diversion, not with everyone gathered here. Perhaps he could excuse himself- but by then it would be too late…. Edward was coming over to have a look, and Ciel ground his teeth and desperately pushed on. "Um, Violet, I really was hoping to speak with you about-!"

Edward's gaze fell upon the picture of Lydia. At the same time his eyes widened and he uttered a shocked "Ah!", Cheslock's voice broke out in stunned recognition. "I don't fucking believe it."

"Cheslock, what is it?" Redmond asked as he, Bluewer, and Greenhill stood up and gathered around Violet. Ciel watched them as though seeing them across a great distance. It was too late. She had let them see her during the fire, and now they would see her as she truly was. It was all his fault, after all….

"I know that bloke! That's the one, the guy I was telling Bluewer about, the one who came with me into Purple House when I was looking for Lowery, and then pulled the entrance doors open!" Cheslock pointed sharply at the accurately drawn sketch of Lydia in male clothing, then glanced between the drawings in utter confusion. "But, this is…. Violet, is this how you saw him, in a dress?"

"Yes," the Purple House prefect nodded, frowning deeply. "When I saw her in the school hallways, she looked like this. I assumed she was a woman because….well, I had no evidence to the contrary. Are you sure this is the person you saw?" he questioned, pointing to the male version of Lydia.

"I saw him too!" Redmond exclaimed, snatching up the sketch and staring vividly at it. "He was one of the fellows I tended to after the fire! He came out of Purple House wounded, said he'd fallen in the smoke and hurt his leg. It was a nasty cut. Midford was there as well, am I right?" The eyes of the prefects and their fags all turned toward Edward.

The Green House fag swallowed thickly. Ciel felt his eyes boring flaming holes into the other boy, willing him to lie and lie well. Edward nodded jerkily. "Yes….yes, I think I do remember him. After Redmond left, I told Harcourt I would take him back to Blue House. And so I did. I left him in the entrance hall to be assisted by his housemates while I went back for other boys."

"Well, I'm certain I've never seen him before, in a uniform or in a dress!" Bluewer exclaimed, staring critically between the two drawings. "Are you sure he was in Sapphire Owl House?"

"According to his house crest, he was one of yours." Redmond confirmed. "But you say you haven't seen him at all….?"

"Wait a minute, I remember him! Yes, I've seen him too!" Greenhill practically shouted, thrusting his finger toward the uniformed drawing. "That is the boy who helped us pull the water barrow up the stairs and into Purple House during the fire!"

For a moment, all of the occupants of the gazebo stared at each other in shocked silence. Cheslock shook his head and ran his fingers through his wild hair. "So, just what in hell is going on here? Who is this bloke? Which house is he really in? And is 'he' actually a girl in men's clothing? Or….is he really a lad who was wearing a ladies' dress for some bizarre reason when Violet saw him?" He blinked and turned to stare at his prefect. "Violet, what exactly were the circumstances of your meeting with this….person?"

The dark-eyed prefect worked his hands together and bit his lip. "It was almost….almost a month ago. It was during one of Green House's practice cricket matches, and I was walking down the hallway of the humanities building. I saw her standing in front of the display case, looking at the trophies. She started to run away when she saw me, but she stopped when I said I was a prefect. I told her women were not allowed on the grounds of Weston, but then I noticed her hands….they were perfectly shaped for one of my drawings. So I decided to sketch them before sending her away."

"Violet," Bluewer scolded severely.

"What?" the other prefect asked. "It wasn't hurting anything. I took her into the library and set her up before my still life scene. I tried to have her remove the bandages on her right arm, but she refused. She would not tell me why."

"I saw that too, when I was wrapping his- or her- leg." Redmond interrupted. "I thought it was caused by the fire, but she said it was from a childhood injury."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Clayton murmured in the background. "So, what happened then?"

"I finished my drawing," Violet continued. "She said she wanted to be taken to Green House, so I agreed to escort her there. On the way, I asked her for her name. I believe she said it was Rachel…. However, I cannot recall a last name. But I do remember what she wanted at Green House. She wanted to see him." The Purple House prefect pointed at Edward, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the open. "I located Midford for her and left them. I instructed him to escort her to the gates and make sure she left the grounds. And that was the last time I laid eyes on her, in any kind of clothing. I never expected to see her again…."

Everyone in the gazebo shifted their heads to look at Edward. "Well, Midford?" Bluewer asked, straightening his spectacles.

Edward braced his hands behind his back and stood up straight. For a moment, Ciel wildly considered throwing the nearest vase at him if he began to tell the truth. He could see flickers of indecision running across the other boy's face. "I….well….it happened that day….as Violet said. Rachel was indeed a person I had met a few times outside of Weston, usually at social gatherings and soirees. I always saw her dressed as a woman. I believe she held a certain….interest in me." The Green House fag blushed deeply, and for once Ciel did not mind his extremely hesitant views on intimacy. It made his story more believable. "However, when I realized she had snuck into Weston improperly, I explained to her the reasons for our school-wide ban on women, and escorted her out the gates. There was a carriage waiting to pick her up, and she said it would take her back to London. I have not seen her since that day- well, I suppose I have…..on the night of the fire. But her clothes were different and her voice was different, and I was utterly distracted by the chaos and distress all around us, and….I must admit, I did not recognize her. A woman dressing up as a man is such a scandalous notion, the thought just never crossed my mind."

"I think so as well," Bluewer declared as Ciel mentally vowed to be more patient with Edward and his constant anxiety regarding the Phantomhive heir's arrangement with his younger sister, Elizabeth. "However, judging from the plethora of evidence, I seems that is exactly what she has done. But why? For what purpose would a woman don male clothing and pose as a student of this institution? And how the blazes has she managed to get away with it for almost a month?"

Greenhill's shoulders bristled as he paced raptly between two pillars of the gazebo. "Clearly, she came here with some nefarious intent. All of the misfortunes and strange incidents we've suffered happened after her arrival. Without a doubt, I believe we have our culprit in the arsonist attack on Purple House. Now we just need to-"

"Wait a moment, please!" Ciel interrupted strongly, pulling himself up as tall as he could to square off against Greenhill. "I don't pretend to be an expert on these incidents- I don't believe I've even met this person- but think about what you're saying. Three of you- Cheslock, Redmond, and Greenhill- claim to have witnessed this girl helping to put out the fire at Purple House. In light of these actions, leveling the accusation of arson against her does not make sense. Why would anyone start a fire, and then risk their life- and their cover- helping to extinguish it?"

The Prefect Four glanced at each other, anxiety and confusion reflected in their eyes. Redmond sighed. "You're right on that count, Phantomhive. The only reason most of us have seen this woman is because she came out of hiding to assist Purple House in its time of need. It would be superfluous to automatically assume she is the culprit behind these disturbing incidents. However, that does not negate the fact that we must find her as soon as possible." He waved Violet's drawings above his head. "We know what she looks like, both as a lady and a gentleman. I say we split into four groups and track her down within the school. She won't expect us to be on to her. We have the element of surprise on our side. We can take her to the administrative building for questioning. I want to know what on earth she is doing here. Once we know that, we might be able to solve many other mysteries, such as why Violet's possessions were stolen and-"

"Um- pardon me, Redmond? I'm sorry to speak out of turn, but I- I just thought you should know something," A timid voice called softly from behind the Red House prefect. The occupants of the gazebo turned to acknowledge the diminutive figure of Harcourt. "I met this woman too, when I came to report to Redmond as he was bandaging her leg, right after she had come out of the building. I don't think I said more than a few words to her, and I didn't notice anything odd at the time….but now that you mention things being stolen from Purple House, I recall she had a rather large key in her hand. I noticed it when I- when I moved to help her stand up…."

Harcourt trailed off, looking like he might flee in terror at the apocalyptic expression that appeared suddenly on Greenhill's face. Ciel stared at him in concern, then glanced around at the other prefects. It was exactly like the first time he had spoken Derrick Arden's name in their presence. For just a moment, each of them lost control and revealed a baffling pulse of raw emotion. Bluewer looked as though he had earned a failing mark on an exam. Violet's mouth trembled and he appeared utterly terrified. Redmond seized Harcourt's shoulder and pulled him away from Greenhill, who suddenly had a glint in his eye that made Ciel's heart accelerate unnaturally. Once again, the silence was deafening.

"She had a key." Greenhill repeated in a strange façade of calm. "She had a key, did she? A large one? What did it look like? What was it made of?"

Harcourt clutched his hands together and trembled. "It was….it was a large brass key. Somewhat old, but…. But it looked different from regular keys….other than a thin patina, its surface was completely blank. There was no number or maker's mark or anything, so I was interested in it and asked her….but she said it was hers, and I didn't think…."

Greenhill swore and Harcourt jumped out of his skin and cowered behind Redmond. Cheslock tossed a dubious look in the Green House prefect's direction. "Calm down, mate, it can't be anything that-"

"We're going to find her," Greenhill declared, returning to his chair and snatching up his cricket bat. "We're going now. Split up according to house. Two groups take the dormitories, two take the academic buildings. Don't leave any corner unsearched, and do not let chivalry hinder you. Knock her out and drag her to the administrative building by the hair if you have to!"

"Greenhill…." Edward started as the P4 headed toward the gazebo steps, trading looks of high anxiety.

Cheslock growled and suddenly darted in front of the prefects. "Listen here, you lot!" he barked loudly. "I agree we need to find this girl and figure out what she's doing here. But if anybody hurts her, I'll….I'll serve a cricket ball right into your face! You get it? I owe her for the fire, and you lot do too. So don't forget it!"

There was a moment of silence while the prefects looked shocked by his declaration. Then Greenhill rounded on Violet, demanding roughly, "Did you hear him, Violet?! What are you going to do?"

Ciel saw his opportunity while everyone was looking away from him. He broke into a jog to catch up with Clayton as the taller fag began to descend the steps after the prefects. Meanwhile Violet, still looking terrified, stood rigidly still before walking slowly toward Cheslock. The younger boy gritted his teeth as he prepared for the worst, but Violet said nothing. He merely placed himself at Cheslock's side and linked arms with him, his wide eyes gazing into the other's stolid face.

Greenhill swore again. "Dammit, Violet-!"

Ciel chose that moment to pause for just a second on the stairs, enough time for Clayton to collide sharply with him. The young heir allowed his body to fall into the grass, then faked a mask of pain and clutched his ankle. Clayton started in surprise as the others' attention was diverted. "Phantomhive! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"We don't have time for all this messing around!" Greenhill thundered, and Ciel lifted his head.

"I'm sorry," he panted. "It seems I've hurt my ankle, but please don't worry about me. I'll be all right, but I don't want to slow you down. If it's really so important to find this girl, please go on without me."

"Are you sure?" Clayton asked, hovering in anxiety. "I could stay and help you back to the dormitory-"

"No, no," Ciel waved him off, faking a look of brave determination. "Our school is in trouble, and right now you need to support your prefect. Please go!"

The other boys nodded and hurried after Greenhill as he raced away from the swan gazebo. Edward glanced back helplessly several times as they went. The young heir waited until they had split up and disappeared before rolling over and scrambling behind the border of the gazebo. His fingers spasmed as he reached up to rip off his eye patch. He kept seeing the apocalyptic look that had taken over Greenhill's face when Harcourt had told of the key. Ciel did not know that Lydia had a key, or why this information had caused the prefects to react as though it were a bomb. However, he realized they had finally awoken the slumbering dragon at this school, and there would be no lulling it back to sleep. Now he had to make sure Lydia was not consumed by the repercussions of his actions. If he couldn't even do this much right, then….he would lose her permanently.

Ciel felt his contract eye blaze bright as he opened it to the light of day. Momentarily blinded, he concentrated strongly and called through the seal, "Sebastian! Come!"