CHAPTER 21

"It seems like my seniors nor Lizzy is here today."

"Urgh... It's so…crowded."

"Stay close Jessie. The last thing we want is for you to get lost in this sea of people."

I nodded as we continued to make our way further into the building, almost getting trampled by herds of people who were practically skipping around the place with glee. As we walked around, I listened into the conversations, hoping to hear something of use but I heard nothing except conversations straight out of a brainwashing campaign. We decided to move into a less crowded area to scope out the place when a pair of lovely young ladies approached Sebastian, blushing and welcoming us to the music hall. Sebastian instantly flashed them his signature smile, drawing them in so that they wouldn't be suspicious of us.

"Hello! You seem to be new here! Welcome!"

"Yes, I've heard that this is a very joyful place. Why do people gather here so much?"

"hmm…well…it's quite hard to explain properly, but it's just that everyone here talks so joyfully to each other and we can discuss our worries together."

"Yes! We want to live positively and this place just heals us. We are able to spend our shining moments here with everybody."

The two women giggled and laughed, continuing to talk about how brilliant and magical this place was. I felt my whole body tighten and twist with discomfort at how disturbing their words were and I was gratefully when they bid us a good time and left. I gagged at how terribly positive they were. It was so unsettling and my body was covered in goosebumps from just thinking about it. I would have thought Sebastian would have laughed at my reaction to those women, but he looked just as disturbed and unsettled about this place.

"Ugh…that was disgustingly cheerful."

"Agreed."

"Young Master, it seems like the people here have no feelings of hate, jealousy or desire…all of the things that make humans…well humans. It is unsettling."

"Hmmm…it might be as Jessie suggested. Perhaps the people here have been placed under some sort of spell or brainwashed. Let's investigate further-"

"Ciel! Look! Over there is the fortune teller I told you about. His name is Bravat."

We looked over in the direction that Edward was gesturing to where there was a large crowd surrounding a young man. He had messy pale violet hair that flared out in many layers and was braided on one side. His hair shone with small golden stars that were scattered among his purple locks. He was wearing a flowy black and navy cloak adorned with silver stars and gold trim, giving him a typical fortune teller, wizardy aesthetic. From this distance, I couldn't really see much else.

"Should we take a closer look?"

"Yes and while we are at it, why not get our fortunes read as well?"

I didn't really believe in astrology or fortune readings or whatnot, but it was still fun to listen to what they had to say about my life based on nothing but cards or lines on my palm or my birthday. So the four of us approached the crowd, slowly pushing our way through as we came right in front of the fortune reader. When I did finally get a good look at him, he was a pretty cute looking guy, with soft and gentle downturned eyes that shone with a purply blue colour. His arms and hands were covered in constellations and celestial themed tattoo. All in all, he was kinda cool looking. He was in the middle of reading another guy's fortune and I noticed that he was holding a large cup filled with a blue liquid. The cup was beautiful. It was a deep blue colour with gold lining the rim and inside were all of the constellations of the zodiac. My little goblin mind saw something pretty and shiny and immediately wanted it.

"Could you please read my fortune next?"

"Yes, of course sir-"

The guy flinched, his eyes widening as he turned to face the owner of the voice and saw Sebastian. I had pulled Ciel away from Sebastian as soon as I saw Bravat's expression, hoping that he wouldn't notice that we were all together.

"What are you doing Jessie?"

"Something has changed. I don't like the way he is looking at us. I think it would be better to pretend that we didn't come together."

Ciel nodded, a slight look of confusion on his face and I assumed he hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere. Bravat gestured for Sebastian to sit down in front of him and the crowd, curious about this man all dressed in black, pushed us forward to get a better look. That was when I noticed that Edward had vanished and I assumed that we had lost him in the crowd.

"Should I prick my fin-"

"No, you don't need to do that. Because you don't have the protection of any star. I can tell this much just by looking at you."

Suddenly Bravat leaned forward, grabbing Sebastian's coat and pulled him in and whispered something into his ear. My acute sense of hearing allowed me to hear what it was and I flinched in shock. Ciel noticed my change in expression and tugged on my arm.

"What did he say?"

"He knows. He knows about Sebastian."

"What?!"

Bravat then sat back with a carefree and innocent smile on his face.

"Caught you off guard didn't I? HAHAHA! You must think I am not human either right?"

"May I ask why you believe I am not human?"

Bravat's smile shifted. Gone was the innocent aura. Instead, there was a sly and cunning air around him as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand which was propped up on one knee.

"What a funny thing to ask. You are a darkness. A darkness that greedily gobbles up the glimmer of shining stars. Stars that stray from their orbit and become drawn to you will wander in darkness for eternity. You are like black hole. A greedy and relentless eater of stars."

Bravat cocked his head to the side, a maliciously mischievous grin curled on his face as the crowd around us started to turn. The positive and cheerful atmosphere was now replaced with malice and fear. The expression on their faces morphed into looks of hatred, disgust, anger and it was frightening. Some women grabbed their children, pulling them away from Sebastian while others started to scream and shout at him. Soon it we were surrounded by an angry mob as people started to approach, screaming at him to leave. I clutched onto Ciel tightly, afraid that these people might turn violent and attack us. My eyes darted between Ciel and Sebastian, waiting for one of them to make a move as I lowered my hand to the sai on my thigh, ready just in case someone lashed out. Bravat must have seen my mask begin to falter as he shot me a triumphant smile and lifted a single hand into the air and everyone became dead silent. Though the tension in the air was still as volatile as ever, like a taut piece of thread ready to snap at the slightly pressure. The hairs on my arms shot up and it took every single fibre in my body to not run. There was nothing good or friendly about this place at all. I didn't feel safe.

"It appears as though you've spooked our tiny stars. I'm sorry but I am going to have to ask you to leave. Immediately."

Suddenly, two very large burly men appeared from the crowd, grabbed Sebastian by the arms and began to drag him out. If Sebastian had been given orders to remain, no amount of people in this room would have been able to move him from his seat but the order had not been given. He turned very subtly to look at Ciel and I, a silent question towards the boy but with a shake of Ciel's head, Sebastian didn't resist and was led out of the hall, leaving Ciel and I alone. We watched as the crowd parted, the looks on their faces filled with disgust and I felt a small flame begin to flicker and burn inside me. I gritted my teeth and almost snarled at a nearby woman who was glaring at Sebastian like he was diseased. Through my fury, I managed to whisper,

"What do we do now?"

"*sigh* This is going to be a problem. It seems like that guy saw through Sebastian's true nature. Stay alert-"

"Hello there! Are you two friends of that guy?"

I immediately felt off about him, seeing how he was able to easily control the mob and how he had these people wrapped around his finger. I felt shivers run up my arms and legs as I recalled how his smile and demeanour seemed so pleasant and welcoming, how easy it was to let down your guard around him but from his interaction with Sebastian, I knew he was anything but pleasant.

"Should we lie?"

"Leave it to me."

We turned around to face Bravat who was back to his aloof and chipper mood. He was staring at us curiously but something about the glimmer in his eyes told me that he knew about us…well, more like he knew about Sebastian and Ciel. I couldn't think of another reason as to why he knew about Sebastian's true self. I wouldn't let myself admit that he could tell just by looking at us.

"Well, rather than friends. He's my senior at the same factory as me. I was a little afraid to come alone, so I brought my cousin."

Cousin? In what world would I remotely look like your cousin?

"Hm…is that so. Well the both of you don't seem like black holes. Shall I tell your fortune?"

"B-But my senior is-"

"Don't worry hahaha. We won't harm a pretty little hair on his head."

Like you could…Ciel gave him a bashful smile that I had seen once before when we infiltrated the circus. Sometimes I forgot that Ciel was a master manipulator who knew how to use his age and "innocence" to his advantage.

"Well, then maybe just for a bit. In all honesty, I was looking forward to this."

So Ciel sat down in front of him, with my standing right behind him. I kept my eyes on the fortune teller who stared back up at me with a bright smile. I had to force myself to smile so that I wouldn't blow our cover. Bravat handed Ciel a small pin which he used to prick himself on the finger, allowing the blood to drip into the cup. After a few moments, the cup changed into a pinkish colour and Bravat's eyes lit up with glee.

"My Goodness! It's Sirius! You have the divine protection of Sirius!"

It was unnerving to see how different the crowd treated Ciel in comparison to Sebastian. It had literally been only a few minutes from when they had turned into an angry mob and now they were rushing in and eagerly congratulating Ciel, treating him like he was royalty.

"Wh-What does that mean? What is Sirius?"

"Each person has a star in which they receive divine protection. Sirius, Canopus, Vega and Polaris. And among the four of these, the first magnitude star Sirius is the most rare. People under Sirius are often geniuses or prodigies. They are logical and cunning and quick thinkers who pride themselves on knowledge and facts. Many of them are two faced and manipulative. You are hiding a wonderful radiance inside of you. But…there is a darkness that is stalking your light. If you remain idle, it will steal that light from you. It would be in your best interest to stay away from that man."

Bravat poured out the contents into a bucket next to his chair, filling it back up with the bluish liquid. My eyes narrowed as I watched the man closely. He was definitely suspicious. But I was very interested in what the liquid in the cup was and why it changed colour when blood was added. Hmmm…four stars. It doesn't seem like he's talking about zodiac signs since there are 12. It's not tarot or palm reading…so what kind of fortune telling is this? And why blood? What kind of fortune telling uses blood and relates back to 4 stars? Wait…there's 4 blood types. AB, A, B or O. Is the liquid able to identify what blood type you are? Let's test it out. I know my blood type is AB. And AB blood type is the rarest of the four. So if I get my fortune read and he tells me that I am under Sirius' protection, then that confirms it.

"If you need help, I can offer it to you. Oh come now ahahah. No need to make such a serious face. But seriously, the more you wait, the more likely you will lose your shine to the darkness."

"I'll think about it. Thank you very much!"

"Ah! Wait a second. Take this. It's a charm. You should feel closer to Sirius' divinity with it in your possession. If anything should come up, please feel free to visit me anytime."

Then his attention turned away from Ciel, who had gotten up to leave, and directed it to me.

"And this lovely young miss behind you, would you like your fortune read as well?"

"Yes. I would."

Ciel nodded as I took a seat in the chair, facing forward towards Bravat. Ciel stayed closed by, watching and waiting as I did the same thing as Ciel did and pricked my finger. I dropped my blood into the cup as Bravat handed me a small cloth to hold against my finger and stop the bleeding. The whole time, Bravat was staring at me with that innocent smile but the look in his eyes were super unsettling…like he already knew everything about us and was just pretending. I maintained eye contact with him, not letting him know that I was uncomfortable or intimated by him. Again a few moments passed before the liquid changed colour into the same pink that appeared for Ciel.

"AMAZING! YOU ARE ALSO UNDER SIRIUS' PROTECTION! My, my…two people with such rare stars in one day!"

So, this liquid really can identify what blood type you are. That's all I need to know.

"And what does that mean for me?"

"Well, similarly to others under the protection of Sirius, you are logical by nature, relying more on your knowledge and facts to guide you rather than emotions and feelings. So while you may seem friendly and approachable on the outside, on the inside, you are calculating and cautious, always keeping people at a distance away…never truly trusting anyone. This can be good but you will never truly be happy or at peace. I am concerned for you. And there seems to be something missing to your radiance, like something has stolen a piece of it."

I almost flinched at his words. How does he know about that? The only person who knows about my bargain is Sebastian because he could physically see it missing. The people around me started to look concerned, some even offering to provide me support. Generally it would have made me happy to see and feel supported by many people, but in this situation, knowing the nature of this place…I just felt so disturbed and uncomfortable. It was giving me cult vibes, like that movie Midsommar and I didn't like it. I wanted to leave.

"What are you talking about?"

"Unlike your "cousin" whose radiance is in danger of being swallowed by that man's darkness, yours has already by partially consumed. You've experience death or near death haven't you? Whatever has transpired has cost you much of your life. You are weary and are constantly uneasy and wary of when your life will be at risk once again. Someone has been trying to claim your light. You must take action to stop it right away."

I felt sick. It was impossible that he was able to know all of this. My heart began to race and my palms became clammy as I felt panic rise up inside me. Bravat placed a hand on my clasped and clammy hands, a look of genuine concern gleamed in his eyes as our eyes met.

"No need to worry. Take this charm and keep it on you at all times. With this extra protection from Sirius, you will have the strength to fight back. And should you need any help, please feel free to come to me at any time. I will be happy to help."

"Thanks for that. Have a good day."

I pulled my hands out of his and quickly stood up and went over to Ciel. His face was unreadable and I could tell that he was thinking about the conversation between Bravat and I and was likely trying to make sense of what was discussed. I looked behind us, towards the mysterious fortune teller and was surprised to see that he was still staring intently at us. When he noticed my gaze, his smile widened and he threw me a friendly wave. I whipped my head back around and we made our way through the crowd and found a quiet space.

"What was that all about?"

"He knew it all Young Master. He knew about what had happened on the Campania to me. How I almost died and… about other things-"

"Ciel!"

I was interrupted by Edward who ran up to us, a look of frustration and annoyance on his face as he glared over at Bravat.

"That guy has some nerve! What was he thinking throwing your butler out like that?!"

"No idea, but something interesting is that this charm here…this is made from genuine silver which is far too valuable to simply hand out for getting your fortune read. Jessie, show me yours."

"Sure."

I handed him mine. It was a charm bracelet with a round pendant that kind of reminded me of a clock face but instead of numbers, it had the zodiac signs engraved into it. The chain part of the bracelet was adorned with a single star. It was kind of tacky looking and a little too big to fit around my wrist without slipping off. I looked around to see if other people were wearing theirs and I noticed that everyone else's looked different. It was similar in design but the number of stars on the chain were different and I had a feeling it was related to the rarity of the star you were "protected" by.

"Hmm…they're the same which makes sense since we have the same star. Which star was Lizzie?"

"Hmmm…I think it was Canopus? Lizzie was also told that her star was rare."

Hm…so the next blood type with a low percentage of owners is Blood type A. That leaves Vega and Polaris which are Blood Type B and O.

My thoughts were interrupted again by the loud chimes of the grandfather clock which echoed through the hall. It was already 11 o'clock but it didn't seem like it was signalling for everyone to leave. At that moment, the hall filled with excited chatter as people began to rush into another room of the hall.

"It's time for carols!"

Carols? It's not Christmas yet.

"Oh right. At the end of the party, everyone sings together but today seems a little different than usual."

An older woman appeared out of nowhere and slapped Edward on the back, a cheerful smile on her face as the boy winced in pain from the strength of her slap.

"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Today is the fourth Saturday remember!"

"I dunno what that means, but I feel nervous. Are we singing like at church?"

Ciel shrugged and we followed him into the hall where the lights were turned off, leaving us in darkness as the crowd began to hush. Suddenly a group of hooded people stepped out onto the stage, their faces obscured as small lanterns at the feet turned on.

"Shit…I knew this was a cult. Young Master we should leave."

"No. We need as much information as we can get."

"I don't have a good feeling about this. Nothing good comes from mysterious people wearing hooded cloaks standing in ominous lighting. What if we end up brainwashed?"

"Shush! It's starting!"

I glared at the woman who shushed me but her attention was solely on the people on stage as one of the hooded people stepped forward and began to sing. His voice was angelic and filled the hall as the others started to join in as well, their harmonies sending shivers down my spine. Around us, the crowd began to sing as well and I was thrown back into all of the years of attending church and listening to the choir sing. Oh…okay, this isn't what I thought it was. I felt my body relax a little as I listened to the singing end. Most of the hooded figures left the stage, leaving 4 remaining.

"Everyone, we are all tiny stars merely floating in an enormous expanse of the universe. But even if your light is dim, there is none other like it. And every star has enough brilliance to guide any lost and wandering soul. May the radiance of the celestial guardians fall upon you all. Now…Let us sing! Everyone together!"

The 4 individuals tore off their cloaks to reveal the P4. I felt my jaw drop as I turned to face Ciel and Edward who were equally as shocked. Immediately the crowd burst into cheers and screams of joy, mostly women who squealed and swooned over the 4 handsome men. They were wearing fancy and colourful clothes, each a different colour that matched their aesthetic.

"Oh no…Please don't tell me…"

"Without further ado, please listen to our new song, "Shining star"!"

Nothing could prepare me for what happened next. Never in a million years would I imagine that I would be attending a concert in Victorian England, watching a boy band performing some cheesy ass pop song. The music started playing and the P4 began to dance and sing like a perfectly synchronised kpop boyband and I honestly could do nothing but feel horrifically entertained. I looked over to Ciel and Edward who were staring blankly at the stage, completely baffled by what they were seeing. I could imagine it was worse for them since they all went to school together and these four were originally so serious. From what I could remember when I had met them, they seemed so sad and pitiful but here they were. I decided to pay attention to the performance. All around me, young ladies were shrieking and crying out for their favourite, screaming things like "Redmond is so handsome!" or "Bluer notice me!" or "Greenhill is so radiant!" or, my favourite that I overheard, "Violet have my babies!" and I felt a rush of nostalgia fill me. The performance was so well put together that I couldn't help but enjoy it. It reminded me of home. The poses, the faces, the lyrics were all so cringey that I couldn't help but laugh and laugh and laugh. Before I knew it, I was jumping and dancing along with them, totally forgetting that I was supposed to be there to gain information. As the song reached its end, the P4 came together to form a 4 pointed star with their fingers and the cheering intensified, becoming deafening. Redmond came forward and thanked everyone for coming and sharing this "shining moment" before the P4 left the stage and everyone began to clear out.

"We came here to gather information, not swoon over men Jessie. You enjoyed that far too much."

I was still laughing to myself as I straightened out my hair and clothes that had gotten messy from all of the jumping and dancing.

"That was the funniest thing I have ever seen since being here in England. To think they'd create a boy band here…during this time and age. My god that was too funny. Definitely made my night 100% better. Though I have to say, it was a very catchy song."

Ciel shook his head in disbelief and clicked his tongue. He was looking at me with his signature look of exasperation.

"You're so strange. Most of the time, the words that leave your mouth makes no sense. But I agree, those "Carols" have a unique sound that I have never heard of before."

"It's called pop music-"

"Ah! Welcome back Young master."

"Sebas-"

We turned around to face the approaching demon, only to find him with two very busty and beautiful women clinging to his arms…and tightly I must add. Both looked like they had been drinking as their faces were flushed and they swayed a little with each step. He wasn't even sorry about it either, a smug expression adorned his face as his eyes glided over to me. I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction so I gave him an unimpressed look. Edward burst into bashful fury as he scolded Sebastian for being a terrible butler who was messing around with women while he was on duty.

"B-B-Butler! How dare you!? WHAT ON EATH ARE YOU DOING?! HOW SHAMELESS!"

"Oh so you really are a butler?"

"Dragging such a young master out to enjoy the nightlife, aren't you such a naughty one? And look at his face. Why, you are as red as an apple! How adorable!"

"ARGH! Go home! Shoo! Shoo!"

The women giggled and laughed at Edward's reaction to them as they blew him a kiss and wandered off, still laughing. Ciel was ready to go home, rolling his eyes at his butler's actions and letting out an unimpressed sigh. I followed him, trying to hide the fact that a small part of me was kind of upset to see Sebastian with those women. We weren't dating or even romantically involved, but it was a stupid and irrational feeling that left a sour taste in my mouth. We got back into the carriage and headed home. We made our way into the office where we relayed everything to Sebastian, from the fortune telling to the boyband concert. I tried not to give too much detail about my reading since Edward was there, but Sebastian's usual smile faltered slightly upon hearing about Bravat's analysis of me. Quickly, we moved on from the strange fortune teller and onto the "Carols".

"I see…did the song happen to go something like this?"

And almost to perfection, Sebastian performed a segment of the song, replicating the choreo perfectly. He was way too into it. To be honest, I was in disbelief with how ridiculous some of these situations were and how all of this was happening 200 years prior to my time. I let out a snort of laughter, completely shocked by the sudden display.

"Ho-How do you know it? Did you sneak into the concert hall?"

"Not at all. I actually-"

"Sorry to interrupt! Would anyone like a late night snack?"

There was a knock on the door as Agni and Soma walked into the office with a plate of Sandesh, curtesy of Agni. It was a soft milky confection from their homeland that tasted absolutely divine and I had helped myself to a few.

"Hey Hey Ciel! The song Sebastian was singing is super popular in England right? When Agni and I went into the market, we kept hearing people singing it. Mostly little kids!"

"So that's what this is. You heard it from the prostitute too, didn't you?"

"Yes, she had heard it from a friend in the same profession."

I finished stuffing the dessert into my mouth and licked my fingers as I spoke up about the situation. I wasn't a stranger to cults and shady organisations since even in my time, they were present everywhere and I have had my fair share of experience with them.

"In my opinion, this whole thing is shady as hell. It may seem nice and cheerful and harmless but I don't think they're doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. There is for sure some kind of ulterior motive. And you guys already saw what had happened when Bravat had called out Sebastian. All those kind and welcoming people turned feral. The way they talk is so characteristic of brainwashing. And besides, those songs are very catchy and the more it spreads, the more people with even an ounce of curiosity will seek it out…giving them more resource to play around with. Whether they're doing it for power or money or whatever, they're doing a great job at it and I don't like it one bit."

"Says the one dancing and singing during carols."

Ciel gave me an unimpressed look as he sipped on his tea. I felt myself go red slightly, a little embarrassed that I had fallen prey to their catchy songs. I let out a huff as I saw the corners of Sebastian's lips curl into an amused smile. I hate these two.

"What Jessie has said is true…Though I doubt that they're trying to gain money out of this. I mean the fortune teller was handing out pure silver bracelets for free and the organisation isn't collecting money."

"Oh yes, that reminds me…I have managed to gather some great information on those bracelets. The prostitute that I met earlier said that those bracelets allowed you access into a certain room that had a special event."

"A certain room? Maybe that's where Lizzie is at?"

"Possibly…Shall I investigate it further?"

"For now, let's focus on getting a proper report for her Majesty. It doesn't seem like any troublesome or destructive behaviour is occurring yet. We will continue to monitor."

"Yes, my Lord."

~A few days later~

"So the closed event for bracelet bearers takes place on different days depending on what star you are?"

"Yes, that's right. Polaris is on Monday and Wednesday, Vega on Tuesday, Canopus on Thursday and Sirius is on Friday."

"So tomorrow, Young Master and I will be going to this event?"

"Yes."

I twiddled with a lock of my hair as Sebastian finished up with cleaning up the kitchen after making Ciel's nightly tea. The other servants had retired to bed already, but I had been asked to stay back so that Sebastian could give me a run through of the situation. Sebastian himself obviously couldn't go with him, so being another person under Sirius' protection, I had to go with him. And I honestly felt more at ease going with him. I couldn't let the poor kid go into a den of vipers alone.

"I will rely on you to keep the Young Master safe."

"Sure thing."

The next evening, Ciel and I arrived at Sphere Music Hall which wasn't very crowded at all. There were few people and a majority of them were of the upper class. Ciel and I were wearing our casual clothes again and wore our silver bracelets that glinted under the light of the fancy chandeliers. As soon as we got inside, one of the staff recognised the bracelet on Ciel's wrist and raced over to us with glee.

"Oh! You two! You're the two guests under Sirius' protection! We've been waiting for you! Please come this way!"

He was very enthusiastic and basically skipped him way around the halls as we followed the young man through various corridors and eventually led to a room that had 4 very large double doors. There was a sunroof type ceiling that bathed the dark room with orange light and illuminated the 4 doors. They were made of dark wood with intricate black steel that decorated the door hinges. Above each door frame was a sculpture of some kind that likely related to the 4 stars.

"Dear guests, we ask that you would change into these clothes."

He handed the both of us some kind of draped clothing that Ciel and I changed into. It was giving me a very ancient Greece vibe with a billowy white draped dress which was tied with a dark sash. Ciel's toga-like clothing was draped over one shoulder while mine was draped like a shoulderless dress. We were also given a pair of sandals with ribbons to tie around our calves like ballet shoes. Since we were posing as cousins, the man didn't seem to mind that I was helping Ciel with his sandals and tying his sash.

"This is ridiculous."

Ciel hissed under his breath only for me to hear.

"It suits you. Besides, no one can see the… you know…"

I gestured with finger quotations regarding his branding and Ciel had shot me a glare about my previous comment but then let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I had his back and would make sure no one saw that piece of traumatic history on his back.

"Good. Let's go. Keep your eyes open for anything."

I gave him a nod as we turned back to the male staff who was waiting patiently with a huge beaming smile.

"Wow! You both look great! Now, please continue through the door of Canis Major. Inside there will be a meal provided for the both of you. Please enjoy your time here."

And with that the man left us to walk through the huge double doors. When we opened the door, the room was completely dark, save for the flickering orange glow of lamps rested on a small table beside lounge chairs. The chairs were arranged in a circular pattern around this podium, all facing into the centre of the room and there was a pleasant smell that had my muscles feel relaxed and at ease. In the middle of the room was a podium made of metal with large holes and funnels that reminded me of telescopes. It was dark enough that you could barely see anything other than the shadows that flickered on the floors and walls. I quickly switched into my feline dark vision and glanced about the room, only seeing about 4 other people who were already lounging on the chairs. I followed Ciel to a set of empty chairs that were a little ways away from the other guests and we sat down. Almost as soon as our asses touched the soft and cushioned, a soft feminine voice called out to us.

"Your meals have arrived."

I quickly changed back to my normal vision as a very busty woman approached with two trays of high grade steak and salads. She was wearing very similar clothes to me except the dress was less modest and barely managing to hold everything together and when she bent forward to place the trays on our tables, her boobs nearly fell out. Her midriff was exposed and there was a huge slit on the side that when up to her waist, revealing her entire left leg and barely managing to hide the side of her ass. Ciel looked away in respect, flustered by her appearance but in my time, people went about wearing less, so I was somewhat used to it.

"We have also prepared dessert, so please don't hesitate to call me for anything."

So we were left alone to rest and enjoy our meal, which I definitely did. It wasn't everyday that I got to eat this nicely since servants, even at Ciel's home, weren't allowed to each such high grade food. Ciel looked over to me with a raised eyebrow as I was stuffing my face and I gave him a shrug and mouthed "what?". His only response to that was a disapproving shake of his head, but he let me finish my meal anyway. He hadn't touched his food at all.

"I don't think it's poisoned."

"You say that after you've stuffed the entire down your throat."

"I gotta test it before you have a bite."

Ciel was about to retort when the same woman clapped her hands together, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Thank you all for your patience. The Starlight 4 are now arriving. Please give them a round of applause."

The door swung open and the P4 walked in, each wearing ancient Greek inspired clothing like the rest of us, but these clothes were specially tailored for them. I had to stifle my laughter, remembering the night we were there to watch the "carols" and this earned me a scowl from the young boy beside me.

"I'm surprised they don't recognise us."

"They likely haven't seen us yet."

I shrugged as Redmond bowed and smiled to the few people in the room.

"Welcome to all of you who are blessed by this rare star. Please enjoy our limited access Starlight 4 Sirius event."

"You have all worked diligently this week. So to help you keep shining in the weeks to come. We bring forth a healing light. So, let us begin. Starlight Shower!"

Violet said as he stepped forward, gesturing up to the ceiling as all the lights went out and the podium thing in the middle lit up with bright light, showering the room with glittering speckles of light and as I looked up at the ceiling, I found myself staring up at the night sky. Oh, it's one of those star light projectors. Pretty. The lady began to play a soft and calming tune on the golden harp as Violet began to sing and then was joined by the voices of Redmond, Greenhill and Bluer. Surprisingly, the song was very soothing and peaceful and their voices went well together. I felt my body slacken and relax, though I was still aware of the reason we were here. The singing ended but the harpist kept playing a soft tune as the four began to wonder about, engaging with the guests. Violet flinched as he approached the chairs that were housing Ciel and I and noticed us smiling up at him. I threw him a friendly wave.

"You-"

"I'm relieved to see that you are "shining" so brilliantly now, my dear upperclassman Violet."

I lifted an eyebrow at Ciel's snarky comment as Violet's expression softened a little, but there was a hint of sadness and almost remorse in his face as he walked passed us.

"That's questionable."

I heard him say as he vanished out of the room and I gave Ciel a look of confusion. He gave me a small shrug when suddenly a some kind of weird fragrance wafted over us and my head started to feel a bit heavy. Instinctively, I tried my best to not breath in.

"Don't breathe it in."

I hissed under my breath but it was too late as Ciel's head slumped back against the couch and I saw his body slacken as he fell asleep. I held my breath and looked around to see that all the other guests had also fallen asleep. Shit, I need to stay awake, but I-I can't hold my breath much longer. After a few moments, I couldn't take it anymore and sucked in a small breath of air and whatever else was mixed in with it and felt my consciousness slip away. Before I completely lost consciousness, I saw a group of people enter into the room, pushing in some kind of large device but before I could get any more information, sleep took me and I let myself be taken.

END OF CHAPTER