Chapter Forty-Three
Bedewed Butler. Melodious Bride
Ciel sat on the bench, blue eye staring silently up at Sebastian. Sebastian's eyes glowed as he drew closer to the boy.
"And now…"
Ciel closed his eyes. Sebastian licked his lips, placed his ungloved fingers on his child's chin and tilted it up.
A loud crash of a bell rang out over the silence. The raven flew away at the sound. Sebastian's eyes stopped glowing, a coldness ran over him as his hand dropped from Ciel's face. Ciel's head drooped, his eyes remained closed. The demon's body trembled as he stared down at the boy, his boy.
"What is this?!"
The three purple-haired butlers chased after Sebastian as he held Ciel in his arms. They were armed with household items, including a ladder of all things, as weapons. The demon ducked out of the way of a pair of metal tongs that were attacking his head.
"Group attack!" Claude ordered the triplets. "Welcome to the fierce raking from Hell!"
The triplets ran in circles around Ciel and Sebastian. The two of them watched the one with the ladder leapt into the air, another used the tongs to trap Sebastian's ankle. The rungs of the ladder held Sebastian in place like a cage. The third butler aimed a hatchet at his head. Alois smirked as it grew closer.
It happened so quickly. Sebastian broke free of the trappings, destroyed the ladder and knocked the hatchet out of the way, while he sent the butlers flying before safely landing on a tree branch above their heads.
"Good show," he said. "You're all exceptionally skilled."
The butlers scrambled to pick up their destroyed weapons. Sebastian leapt out of the tree and ran away. Two butlers chased after him, while the one with the hatchet attacked from the front. The demon ducked swiftly out of the way and continued to run, smiling down at his child as he went. He remembered how he ran through the forest that day…
Sebastian ran through the trees, leaping from branch to branch. His black trunk was in hand, carrying his precious cargo.
"It was like carrying a doll. Running virtually unburdened," he said softly.
Ciel looked up at him.
"Did you say something?" he asked.
"Only it would be far, far easier to carry you if you were in some sort of container, like a trunk I'd say." Sebastian replied.
"Is this any time to be joking?" Ciel retorted.
"My apologies, my child."
They were running towards Alois and Claude. Alois clapped his hands gleefully as they approached at top speed. Claude moved to act as a barrier between them, and Sebastian spun around and back flipped over them. He landed in a crouch and continued running. Alois stared after them with wide eyes, he turned to Claude's back and clutched at his tailcoat.
"Sebastian's amazing," he said. "You know, Claude, I think he may be even better than you. We should force him to crawl on his belly like a dog. What do you think? Can you make that happen, Claude?"
Claude's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
Back inside, the musicians were playing again in their little corner of the room. Couples were dancing around the floor before the dance came to an end. Marianne watched silently as the whispers began.
"What's that?"
The woman kept her eyes on Hannah, who was dressed in a form-fitting black gown with a lace bodice and translucent panels. The maid was pushing a large object covered with a bright red cloth. Hannah removed the cloth, and revealed what was underneath. It was a black armonica, decorated with a white skull, spider like threads, and a glaring red jewel.
"What's in there?" MeyRin asked.
"A musical instrument, maybe?" Finny suggested.
Hannah opened the cover, inside was a series of glasses ranging in size.
"This is a surprise," said Lau. "I certainly didn't expect to see that here tonight."
Soma looked at him as Hannah sat down in front of the instrument.
"See what?" he asked. "You know what that is?"
Marianne kept her arms folded, her hands tucked into the creases of her elbows. Hannah licked each of her fingers thoroughly, making sure they were perfectly coated with her saliva. She pressed her foot down on the pedal, and began to move her fingers over the glass. The sound that came from it were dark and melodious, resonating around the room with a macabre air that clung to the walls like spider legs. People gathered around the instrument in awe, but soon everyone was clutching their heads in pain. Marianne looked all around her, and realised that the reputation of the instrument, combined with the power of a demon, madness and pain were the only outcomes. She considered the dagger holstered to her thigh and bit her lip.
Sebastian stopped running and placed Ciel on the ground. The boy panted for breath. He smirked before he caught wind of the sound coming from the mansion.
"Ciel, please cover your ears!" he ordered.
"My ears?" Ciel asked, but he soon found out why when the sound hit him, and he clamped his hands over his ears.
Sebastian joined him by covering Ciel's hands with his.
"What is that horrible noise?" Ciel asked.
"I haven't heard it in a while." Sebastian responded. "At least a hundred years, I believe."
He heard footsteps approaching. The three butlers had found them.
Hannah continued to play, the glass spinning under her fingertips. Marianne looked around, saw the servant trio on their knees with their hands over their ears. Elizabeth was the same, Paula desperate to tend to her despite the pain. Agni had some comprehension of what was going on, and was supporting Soma as best he could. Lau and Ran Mao on the other hand were perfectly composed. Soma immediately approached them.
"What is this?!" he cried. "If you know something…"
Lau and Ran Mao turned to him, revealing the wine bottle corks that had been stuffed into their ears.
"Know what?" Lau asked.
"You damned crook!"
The prince made to attack him, but Marianne stopped him.
"Calm down. We don't need to be fighting each other right now."
Soon, several of the guests had moved on from the pain, and were exhibiting glowing blue eyes and drooling smiles. They were converging on the group. Agni smacked a man out of the way when he brandished a dagger at them.
"Prince Soma!" he cried.
"Has everyone gone mad?" Soma asked.
Marianne shook her head.
"It's the music!" she yelled. "It's controlling them!"
The hatchet came surging towards them. Sebastian leapt up and caught the blade with his feet while keeping his hands over Ciel's ears. When another butler came forward with a saw, Sebastian twisted the hatchet out of the holder's hands and swung it. It knocked the saw-wielding butler and the third butler into a tree. The first butler ran away as quickly as he could. Sebastian smirked from his position, using only his hands to balance himself above Ciel. Ciel looked up at him.
"Let's go," he said. "We need to get back to the ball!"
The demon smiled.
"Don't worry, my child. Fortunately, your mother and one of my very few friends is at the dance this evening."
Agni unravelled the bandages around his hand with a warrior's roar. He pressed his fingers against the nerve endings in the servant trio's necks. They jolted for a few moments before they finally removed their hands from their ears.
"Hey! Everything's all quiet now." Finny cried.
"That music doesn't hurt me head anymore!" MeyRin smiled.
"I knew I didn't have that much to drink!" Bard laughed.
Marianne sighed. While it was all well and good that they could no longer hear the music, there was still another, more significant issue to deal with. The three of them looked at one another for a moment.
"Why do we sound all funny?" Bard asked.
"It's almost like someone else is talking for us." MeyRin commented.
Agni meanwhile tied Soma's deerstalker over his ears. He then whipped off his moustache.
"Be on your guard!" he ordered. "Here they come!"
Marianne gathered her skirts and whipped her dagger out of its holster. Her eyes followed the people surrounding them. Ran Mao kicked them out of her path. Soma knocked out Paula and Elizabeth before they could be affected by the music.
"I am sorry," he apologised. He turned and called out to Agni, who was dealing with his opponents with relative ease. "Agni, stop this! Knock them all unconscious!"
"Jo ajna." Agni responded, punching one of the attacking guests in the face.
Bard locked a guest in a neck hold. Finny threw a table and knocked out a few more. MeyRin moved her glasses to the top of her head and pulled out the handguns from her waistband. She started shooting everyone's weapons out of their hands. Soma dodged attacks and found himself backed up against a table. He looked down and stared at Ciel's curry bun. Marianne pulled him out of the way when he nearly missed an oncoming attack.
Sebastian was running through the trees with Ciel in his arms.
"Ciel," he said. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Ciel retorted. "Just shut your mouth and run!"
The demon nodded his head and kept running.
Hannah was still at the instrument, running her moist fingers over the spinning glass. The guests were still attacking and the group continued to beat them down. Soma glared.
"Damn!" he snapped. "There are too many!"
The guests picked themselves off the ground and moved slowly towards them. Soma was getting swarmed by the people. Agni rushed towards him.
"Prince Soma!" he yelled.
Marianne took several deep breaths as she slipped her dagger back into its holster. She ran for the stairs and made her way up to the balcony overlooking the ballroom. She peered over the edge and managed her breathing again. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth and began to sing. Her voice rang out like church bells and with the skill of an opera singer. She didn't need words as she hit each of the notes of her song with perfect precision. The guests froze under the sound of the sweet music leaving her mouth. Sebastian stood behind her, running his ungloved fingers over a collection of water-filled glasses he had assembled. He matched her voice, smiling at her as she took the lead.
Agni threw the guests out of his path to reach the prince.
"Are you alright, my prince?" he cried.
Soma looked up at him.
"Yes, Agni, I am fine. But what is happening?" he asked. "The sound has changed."
The servant trio looked up to the origin of the sound and saw Sebastian and Marianne.
"Look, it's Sebastian!" Finny cried.
"I had no idea Marianne could sing like that!" MeyRin gasped.
"Her voice is making me feel all peaceful-like now."
The maid moved her glasses back over her eyes.
"It's so relaxing… Almost like an angel singing."
Bard chuckled under his breath.
"You better hope she didn't hear that comparison. You know she doesn't like it."
Agni and Soma looked up at the couple in amazement.
"It's magnificent!" the butler proclaimed. "Their music is merging perfectly with hers, transforming the quality of the sound. Her threatening, ominous playing becomes a melody full of warmth and kindness. Such a complete change is incredible."
Tears streamed down his face as he pressed his hands together.
"We are blessed to be able to witness such purity in performers. True beauty! Utter transcendence! Thank you, Sebastian, Marianne!"
Hannah glanced up at them for a moment, her gaze impassive, yet penetrating. She continued to play the armonica. Sebastian moved swiftly over his glasses while Marianne's song grew stronger.
MeyRin blushed under their musical prowess.
"Oh, he plays like some sort of god. And her voice could only have been gifted by the Greek muses."
Blood spurted from her nose in a gushing stream.
One by one, the guests broke free of their trances, and were enthralled by Sebastian and Marianne's music. Ran Mao glanced down at her bulging kimono, parted her legs, and revealed Paula and Elizabeth, who she had been sheltering inside it.
Hannah gritted her teeth as her fingers slid along the glass in the armonica. The strain of the energy inside was getting close to breaking point. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it contained. Marianne felt the pressure building, and so released an incredibly high note that rang throughout the room like a tuning fork against a glass. It ultimately shattered the glass of the armonica, sending the maid crashing to the ground as it exploded before her eyes.
Sebastian stopped playing the glasses, while Marianne released a breath once she had finished the final note. The room was soon drowned out with applause. As they clapped, the demon slipped his gloves back on and bowed while holding Marianne's hand so she could curtsy.
A truly marvellous performance, my dear. I had not realised my mate was so talented.
She blushed under his gaze.
I once enjoyed singing, but until the point when I realised I was being trained to sing for the angels. I lost the love for it after that.
He ran his thumb over her knuckles.
A pity. I should love to hear you sing again.
She smiled.
Maybe one day. I think I will save my voice for lullabies.
Sebastian smirked, knowing full well she meant only for their children.
The group stared up at them as Sebastian gathered Marianne into his arms.
"I still don't understand what happened." Soma said.
The demon took his mate and leapt off the balcony, landing at the side of a kneeling Hannah. Sebastian leant forward and whispered into the maid's ear.
"A performance would not have been the same without your help. We are grateful, my Lady."
Meanwhile, Ciel was leaning against the mantlepiece. He was neatly dressed up in his pirate coat again.
"Hmmph! What a show off."
Lizzie caught sight of him immediately.
"You're back, Ciel!" she cried.
Sebastian and Marianne walked towards them.
"Tell me," said Ciel. "What was that instrument she was playing?"
"An armonica." Marianne answered. "It was popular during the eighteenth century. Some people supposedly called it 'The Voice of the Angels'. Others feared it disturbed the minds of those who heard it. A German musicologist said it 'excessively stimulates the nerves, plunges the player into a nagging depression and hence into a dark and melancholy mood that is apt method for slow self-annihilation. If you are suffering from any kind of nervous disorder, you should not play it. If you are not yet ill, you should not play it. If you are feeling melancholy, you should not play it.' It is said it attributed to a number of deaths from around the world."
"Thus it fell into the dark corners of history, known as the Demon's Instrument." Sebastian concluded.
Ciel chuckled.
"Made by humans and called a demon's instrument?" he laughed. "Yet its negative effects don't reach you."
The demon smirked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I found it pleasant."
Marianne shook her head.
"I think you need to get your ears checked. That thing sounded terrible."
Soma then interrupted them.
"Why would anyone play such a thing at a costume ball?!" he cried.
"As a diversion for my guests."
The voice rang out from the door. Alois stepped through, dressed in a matching purple trouser and coat combination, with black fur trimmings at the hem and hood. Little red bat wings were attached to the back of the coat, and matched the small purple hat on his head. A pair of sharp canines glinted in the light as he strolled forward, flanked by Claude and the three butlers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please accept my sincere apologies for being late. I'm Alois Trancy, I'm so honoured that you came," he said with a smile.
The crowd stared at him in awe. Smatterings of whispers flooded the room.
"Is that him?"
"He's so young…"
Alois glanced at Hannah before turning back to his guests.
"I see that you enjoyed the entertainment while I was away, and I'm relieved that it was to your liking."
Two of the butlers took the armonica away. Alois and Claude walked up to Ciel, Sebastian and Marianne. Marianne kept her eyes away from them as she stood beside her husband.
"That performance was outstanding." Alois complimented. "I must say, you have a true talent for music, Sebastian."
Sebastian smirked as he pressed a hand to his chest, while the other rubbed circles into Marianne's back.
"I cannot accept such praise, I am simply one Hell of a butler. It is also unwarranted, especially considering I was but a musician supporting a siren," he replied.
Alois looked at Marianne, whose dark blue eyes flickered up to meet his.
"Quite right. Your talent is most impressive, Miss…"
Marianne swept her hair over her shoulder, a slight breeze wafted over the boy and his butler as she spoke.
"Marianne."
Alois smiled.
"Marianne, what a charming name. Do you also serve the Earl Phantomhive?" he asked.
"I do. Since the beginning."
"I see." Alois turned his gaze back to Ciel. "They are quite the servants. You're lucky, Earl Phantomhive."
Ciel glared at him.
"He is merely a butler," he said, lying through his teeth. "And she is a governess."
Marianne nodded her head quietly, and caught Claude staring at her with the most unusual expression on his face. It was a strange mixture of wanting, hatred, and euphoria. Her pupils narrowed as she looked back at him. She curled her lip and looked up at Sebastian. Sebastian then put forward a request.
"Master, I would like to have a word with Claude, if it wouldn't trouble you. It shouldn't take terribly long."
Alois turned to Claude.
"He can do that, right, Claude?" he said. His face darkened as he whispered. "Ten minutes, Claude. I want this to be settled quickly. If you can't do that, you'll be punished."
Claude stared back at him with expressionless gold eyes.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Meanwhile, Ciel was talking to Sebastian.
"Fine, but do it swiftly. Understood?"
The demon smirked.
"Why yes, My Young Lord."
Sebastian turned to Marianne.
I would like you to stay here with Ciel. I would like at least one of us here with him in this place.
She nodded her head subtly.
Of course. I don't trust anyone here. Just make sure you come back in one piece. Will you do that for me?
He smiled.
My darling, you needn't ask.
Sebastian flicked his eyes to Claude for a moment. He took Marianne's hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, letting his tongue brush against the cold metal of her ring. She shivered and glided her fingers against his cheek in response.
Once Sebastian and Claude were outside, they stood beside a large lake. The moon cast an eerie glow over the surface, staring down upon them like a silver eye. They walked onto a small dock. Sebastian glared at Claude.
"You're nothing if not persistent," he said. "You've been hunting my Master most relentlessly."
Claude didn't look at him. He just stared out at the water.
"My master ordered it," he replied. "He instructed me to steal Ciel Phantomhive from Sebastian Michaelis."
"Never the less, he is my Young Master." Sebastian growled.
Claude continued as though he hadn't spoken.
"Just the feel of him…" He moved his hand in a gesture of caressing. "One rarely handles something so fine."
Darkness shadowed over Sebastian's features.
"I cannot abide the thought that someone else has touched him," he snarled. "It's enough to make me sick. The sticky, clinging touch of your vile spider web has defiled him. My Master… Mine."
Claude removed his glasses.
"Ciel Phantomhive."
Back inside, the music had started up again. Alois was mingling with the other guests while Ciel watched him from the wall. Marianne handed her child a drink and folded her arms as she leant back beside him.
"His soul…"
Sebastian ran at the other demon, delivering a swift punch. Claude dodged out of the way and attacked from behind. Sebastian disappeared out of his grasp, only to reappear behind him. He gave an open-armed gesture, and soon, the two of them were battling it out in the air.
As the bell continued to chime, the raven flew through the air. As it glided through the sky, a spider crawled over the top of its head.
Sebastian stared down at Ciel, who lay unresponsive. His head drooped. His eyes remained closed.
"What is this?!"
He straightened up, staggering slightly, and turned away. Falling to his knees, his empty sleeve fluttered in the stillness around them.
"This is impossible…" he muttered. "My child is empty."
Just then, a smirk spread across his face. Beneath him, the ruins cracked open with a loud rumble. His sheer power tore the building apart as though it was nothing. Dust billowed out into the sky like smoke from a volcano. Sebastian emerged through the thick clouds, eyes burning brilliantly and holding Ciel in his arm.
"That was the day you took him from me, you underhanded thief!" Sebastian snapped. "You stole my precious young… Master's soul."
The two demons had taken their battle to the water, and were dancing across it as though it was made of ice.
"It wasn't enough though." Claude retorted. "I needed more than the soul. I needed the body as well. But then, you came here."
Sebastian smirked slightly.
"Yes, I retrieved his soul from you," he said. "And yet, something wasn't right…"
Sebastian unfolded Ciel out of the trunk. Marianne gathered him into her arms and propped him against her. She pressed her lips to the boy's forehead while the demon stroked Ciel's hair.
"He was still not my… Young Master."
Claude kicked up his heel against the water, and sent a tall torrent surging towards Sebastian. Sebastian retaliated by creating a torrent of his own. The two merged together in a massive whirl. They continued to lash at one another with the water streams. Sebastian dodged through them in search of his target…
Sebastian slipped Ciel's blue ring onto the boy's thumb.
"Now, Ciel, it is time to wake up."
Slowly, Ciel opened his eyes. He looked forward, and Sebastian gasped. Ciel was only staring blankly in front of him.
Sebastian and Claude leapt into the air and attacked.
Ciel was sat at a table with everyone gathered around him. Soma had placed the curry bun in front of him. Marianne was at his side, smiling the whole time.
"Ciel Phantomhive lost his memories. He had lost the pain he had lived through." Claude said.
The water stopped whirling. Sebastian emerged from beneath the water.
"My Lord's soul, which I so carefully cultivated…" he muttered.
"As I thought, you want a soul that's known its revenge." Claude said, bursting out of the water behind him and wrapping a hand around Sebastian's throat. "Even so, I sense an extraordinary attachment to him. A fierce obsession with the boy's soul."
Sebastian chuckled, his throat straining against Claude's fingers.
"Not surprising. I am a demon after all," he replied. "You have a master of your own. You should know."
Claude's free hand tiptoed over the front of Sebastian's tailcoat.
"Nurture a soul, and then feast upon it? That is what we do," he said. "Yes, I do know. My master's soul is another one of the rare ones worth desiring."
And then, he stopped. Claude leaned closer to Sebastian's ear.
"But you, giving a soul that's lost its memory a second chance at revenge? No human soul is worth the trouble."
Sebastian smirked.
"That's where you're wrong, I'm afraid. My Master is unlike any human you have known. He's a very rare specimen."
He slammed his hand down onto the surface of the water, using the force to propel himself upward and backflip himself over Claude. When he landed behind the butler, Sebastian held a trio of silver knives against the man's throat.
"You were right about one thing though," he said. "I most certainly intend to give him a second opportunity to realise his vengeance."
Pressing the knives a little deeper, he decided to divulge a crucial piece of information.
"Or rather, with his main memories recovered, he wants revenge against those who interfered with what should have been an end to our contract." Sebastian added. "Right now, we are lacking something crucial. Information confirming the target."
He moved onto the next object of the conversation.
"Tell me, what are your master's orders?" he asked. "You said they were to steal my Young Master from me. Is that all?"
Claude was silent for a moment before he spoke.
"That, and to make you suffer an agony worse than death."
Sebastian removed the knives, considering what could happen if Marianne's importance was exposed for them all to see.
"Is that so?" he murmured.
Claude straightened himself up.
"It would be pointless to obtain Ciel Phantomhive without his memories for revenge fully intact. He may have achieved the entirety of his revenge, but now he wants those who interfered with his final ending," he said as he withdrew his glasses from his breast pocket and slipped them back onto his face.
A dark smile spread across Sebastian's face.
"Would you be interested in a deal?" he asked.
Ciel took a bite of the curry bun.
"How is it, Ciel?" Lizzie asked. "Does it help with your memories?"
The boy looked at her oddly.
"And how exactly does eating bread stuffed with curry supposed to help with my memory?" he retorted. "Besides, I don't even care for spicy foods anyway."
Everyone around him sighed, and Marianne shook her head with a smile.
"I'm sorry, my prince." Agni apologised to Soma.
"Although…" Ciel interrupted. "You know, the flavour isn't all that bad."
He took another bite.
Just then, there was a disturbance under the table. Ciel looked down and Lau's head emerged from beneath the tablecloth.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Lau, who had his ears still stuffed with corks, didn't hear him.
"Oh Lord Phantomhive, how did everything turn out in the end?"
Marianne facepalmed.
"How is it that you've been hiding under the table all this time?"
She wondered for a moment if she could smack his head hard enough to knock out his earplugs…
In a dark parlour, Sebastian and Claude sat opposite one another; silver trays were laid out in front of them, a white rose laid on each of them with black thorny stems. Sebastian removed the glove from his left hand with his teeth. Claude did the same. Their eyes glowed demonically in the darkness. Sebastian bit into the skin of his wrist, and let scarlet blood drip from the wound. Claude sliced his own wrist open with his knife. They dripped their blood onto the roses, and slowly, the petals turned brilliant red.
"You and your master are now the targets of my Lord's revenge." Sebastian said solemnly.
"And once Ciel Phantomhive has gained that revenge, we shall battle for his soul." Claude responded as he tossed his rose to Sebastian. "The seal."
Sebastian threw his own rose to Claude.
"We make our pact."
Dropping their blood on each other's roses, the petals then turned black. Sebastian smiled as he licked his wound. Their eyes finally stopped glowing.
Alois stared down at his gold pocket watch.
"One minute. That's all."
Ciel and Marianne watched him from the other side of the ballroom. He jolted when Claude suddenly appeared at Alois's side.
"You're back, Claude!" he cried.
Marianne caught sight of the black rose in Claude's breast pocket. Sebastian then appeared before them.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ciel demanded.
The demon smirked.
"I took care of it swiftly, just as you ordered me to, my child."
Marianne stepped between them and placed her hand on Sebastian's chest.
"Let's calm down here. Ciel, shouting won't do any good. And Sebastian, you really shouldn't be pushing his buttons right now," she said.
Sebastian nodded his head.
"You're right, my apologies."
He removed a sheave of papers from his tailcoat. Ciel stared at them for a moment before taking them in his hands. He leafed through them and was shocked.
"What's this? It looks as if they've been investigating me."
He paused when he reached a picture of his father.
"What use is investigating my father when he is already dead?" he asked. "But there's no doubt that he's the one who interfered."
Alois caught him staring and smirked. His fake fangs protruded over his bottom lip.
"Care to explain why Sebastian is still alive?" he asked. "You botched this. How sad."
He took the rose from Claude's pocket and chuckled.
"You failed me. What shall I do? I will have to punish you now."
Claude's eyes narrowed.
"Your Highness, you did not order me to kill Sebastian Michaelis," he said. He took the rose back when Alois faltered and slipped it back into his pocket. "All the arrangements have been made. Day into night. Snow white into crimson. Lies into truth. Indeed, I am a Trancy butler."
He leaned over the boy.
"And I will make one Hell of a feast out of you."
Alois gulped audibly.
As Ciel glared at Alois across the ballroom, music started up once again. Elizabeth looked through the dancing couples.
"Ciel!" she called out. "Where are you? Ciel!"
She bumped into Alois. He smiled down at her and took her hands.
"Lady Elizabeth, shall we dance?"
Lizzie followed the steps of the dance as she was taught, and stared back at the boy worriedly.
"Oh, hello, my Lord. Forgive me for bumping into you. I was- I was just trying to find Ciel."
He chuckled at her words.
Ciel, Sebastian and Marianne observed the girl's defensive posture, the fear flickering behind her eyes. Ciel handed Sebastian the papers and took Marianne's hand. The demon smirked.
"What, are you actually going to dance, my child?" he teased.
"Shut up."
Marianne shrugged her shoulders and let herself be led onto the dancefloor. She met Sebastian's eyes and tilted her head to a young lady dressed in an ornate purple ballgown approaching him. Sebastian looked at the woman, recognised her curly brown hair and eyes, and nodded his head.
Soma watched Ciel make his way onto the floor.
"That's new," he commented.
Lau, with Ran Mao sat in his lap, smiled.
"See? It is turning out to be an interesting party. Wouldn't you say so?" he said.
Ran Mao nodded her head with a slight upturn of her lips. The servant trio were in awe at the sight.
"The Young Master is actually dancing!" MeyRin gasped.
"I mean, I never thought I'd see that." Bard added.
"Come on!" Finny cried, grabbing their hands. "We should dance too!"
He dragged them out to the floor, despite their protests.
Ciel kept his eyes on Marianne as they danced. She smiled at him quietly as they drew closer to where Alois and Lizzie were dancing.
Claude took the rose out of his pocket, met Sebastian's stare, and nodded his head. Sebastian did the same. When they looked away, he took in the scent of the rose. His gaze hardened when he opened his eyes.
Ciel is my child. No one shall touch him.
He tucked the rose back into his pocket and turned to the young woman who approached him. Sebastian bowed his head to her.
"Miss Chastity, how delightful to see you again."
Chastity gave him a weak smile.
"Sir, I hope you can forgive my intrusion, but I was hoping to speak to you," she said.
"By all means. I am here serving my Master. He is currently on the dancefloor, if he was who you were searching for," he replied.
Chastity shook her head.
"No. Rather… I wanted to speak with you. My fiancé, the Viscount of Almstead, he is associated with Earl Trancy from time to time, and has extended an invitation to our engagement ball. He wanted to deliver one to Earl Phantomhive, but was unable to do so. I wanted to offer this to you."
She handed him an invitation on embossed card, and decorated with gold trim. Sebastian arched a brow.
"You want us all as your guests?"
"Yes, and not as servants either. You see, I… I was in London visiting the Viscount after what happened at the abbey. I saw you all in the street, outside the funeral parlour… I saw Marianne with you… Saw you kissing her…" Chastity took a breath before she spoke again. "I should like her there, with the family she has made for herself."
The demon silently slipped the card into his tailcoat.
"I shall give it to her, and let her make that decision."
She curtsied.
"That is all I ask. Thank you."
She then walked away.
Lizzie caught sight of Ciel and Marianne dancing.
"There's Ciel!" she cried out, trying to escape Alois's grasp. "Ciel! Ciel!"
As they passed one another, Ciel and Alois's backs met.
Ciel Phantomhive… Alois smirked silently.
Alois Trancy… Ciel scowled.
I swear…
I swear…
I will make you mine! Alois sneered.
I will kill you. Ciel swore.
I should like to point out here that I will not be going into the next episode just yet. I found there is still another matter that needs to be resolved before we go into that next one. I can't reveal too much, but Marianne is going to be heading into the angel's den, so to speak. Ciel and Sebastian would never let her go alone though!
Also, the information about the armonica is indeed true. The quote said by Marianne was one used by German musicologist Friedrich Rochlitz in German periodical Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, roughly translated as General Music Newspaper.
Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Please read and review!
