CHAPTER 3 - "THE GUARDIAN"
If a demon could feel regret, it was the first time that Sebastian could recall in his existence that he was feeling it.
He was ordered to scare Master Lukas in Lukas's attempt to frighten his brother to change his "miser" ways and allow Christmas to be celebrated at the mansion, and after the way Ciel had treated Lady Elizabeth, Sebastian tended to agree - that a little "scaring" would be good medicine for his master.
But in Ciel's astringent way, he not only banned Christmas taking offense to his brother's trickery, but also used the covenant to order Sebastian to frighten Lukas and to bring him over to Ciel way of thinking - that Christmas was a humbug!
Sebastian vowed that he would not terrify the boy, just scare him enough to put a fright in him, so when he awoke, the nightmare would still be vivid in his mind and it would prove that he had followed his master's orders to a mild degree, no matter how wrong it felt to do so.
He had spent the last couple of months helping Lukas deal with the chaos in his mind, visiting the boy almost nightly when he slept, entering into his mind, attempting recovering lost memories from his past -with Lukas's permission. It had not been easy, but some memories had resurfaced, and others were appearing more difficult to harvest - like whom were associated with Bryon Kelvin in his devious plans. But little by little, the boy's past was beginning to come to light.
Even the memories of when Lukas was ordered to kill Vincent Phantomhive's closest friends. However, due to its sensitive nature, both agreed to keep this particular memory to themselves for now.
As Sebastian stood next to Lukas's bed, he compared Lukas's bed to that of his Ciel's. It wasn't as extravagantly large bed like his brother - it was a double-size bed, a modest-sized bed.
Lukas didn't want a large bed, like something that boosted Ciel's ego, and considering Lukas's bed chambers wasn't as large as Ciel's, it was a converted visitor's quarters room, it opted for a small bed. So after construction efforts were undertaken when the Fallen Reaper's were defeated, a good deal of the mansion had been damaged during their vicious onslaught, Sebastian made the suggestion that Lukas's new quarters be expanded to accommodate his new standing in the household. Therefore, a second visitor's quarters next door was opened up, the wall knocked down, and Lukas's bed chambers was not only expanded, but it also gave him additional space to house a chest of drawers, closets, and other items.
It was the least he could do to thank Lukas for use of the Trident medallion, given to him by the Undertaker, that eventually helped defeat Mathu Kelvin, possessed by a Fallen Reaper - pulled down to Hell for Kelvin's transgressions against both his master's.
Ciel had agreed to the expansion without argument, but it still didn't stop the bitter feelings of resentment Sebastian knew Ciel had towards Lukas.
Sibling rivalry or something else? Sebastian thought.
But Ciel and Lukas continued to argue over the simplest thing, as if trying to one-upmanship the other. They both had different, but dominating personalities that Sebastian thought intriguing, and after everything Lukas had experienced, Sebastian thought he would be the more bitter one. But perhaps it was the idea that, even after Ciel got his revenge on everyone who did his family wrong, Ciel would die much like they did, and that his soul would be devoured as if it meant nothing. So perhaps his bitterness and resentment was his way of acting out his displeasure of the situation and to hide behind a façade of fear.
But that didn't concern Sebastian. Ciel Phantomhive had made his choice, and it was a contract Sebastian could not wait to cash in on. All that bitterness will be a very delicious meal.
Lukas Phantomhive slept sounding in his bed, huddled under the covers, clutching and cuddling up to a stuffed animal that he had only recently taken to sleeping with - "Bitter Rabbit", one of Funtom Co. most popular toy lines. It was basically a white colored rabbit with an eye-patch over its right eye. It reminded Sebastian of Ciel Phantomhive, not only due to its appearance but by its symbolic nature.
Ciel Phantomhive was a very bitter, little boy, and to emphasis that in a toy, really proved just how childish he was, and beneath his so-called stringent façade he was a scare, little boy. And this is what Sebastian enjoyed. Fear, angry, bitterness, and hatred. All those lovely emotions flavoring a soul for him to devour.
Perhaps Lukas taking to this toy also illustrated the wanting of Lukas to be with his family, as if hugging Bitter Rabbit was hugging his brother. The need for the love of the one and only family member he had left in the world, love from a brother who continued to push him away, love from a brother who hated to feel emotion because he thought it made a person look weak.
This from what he had observed and information from a child psychology paper on "The Hidden Facets of the Sibling Relationship and What Effect it has in the Home," Sebastian had read recently. It had been quite a fascinating article and helped him to understand the emotional qualms both boys may be feeling towards the other after so many years apart.
Despite the boy's haunted past, Lukas Phantomhive appeared mentally stable. According to the article, most people with his kind of history would have behavioral problems, but Lukas had a healthy sense of humor, which may account for him for slacking off a lot of the stress such experiences may bring about. A sense of humor, albeit undaunting, could also be a way to hide certain pain by making too many jokes, from a psychological point of view. Notwithstanding, Lukas Phantomhive was as sane as any other human Sebastian had come to know, so to speak.
But in his attempts to restore the somewhat fractured pieces of Lukas's mind, he had come across several difficult barriers that he could not break through, and one of which manifested itself as a large half-moon, iron, riveted door, with a single handle on the right side. More so, this door did not have a key hole. But it was locked shut, albeit spiritually shut, and every time he attempted to open it, pull on the handle, a "guardian" would appear and ask him for the "pass phrase" - without it, the open would remain shut.
When Sebastian failed to recite it, the "guardian" - dressed much like an old-time Grim Reaper in a long, black robe with its face masked by a hood and holding a large, crescent bladed deathscythe - would immediately cast him out of the boy's mind, as if Sebastian were a virus invading Lukas's unconsciousness.
What was Lukas hiding that a "guardian" was needed to protect it?
But it was a question best left to another time, and it would have to wait until after the "scare" he was to impose on the boy, as ordered.
Reluctantly, he removed the glove from his right hand and placed it gently on Lukas's forehead. With a sequence he started to initiate, the connection between his consciousness to Lukas's unconsciousness, he slowly closed his eyes and began to concentrate to enter the boy's mind -
"Hello," a child's voice said.
Sebastian immediately opened his eyes, jerking back, removing his hand from Lukas's forehead. Had he accidentally awakened the boy? As a demon, and not hot-blooded, his hands did have a certain chill to them. Perhaps this had awakened the boy? But it had never done so before. However, when he gazed upon Lukas Phantomhive, the boy was still very much still fast asleep with Bitter Rabbit still grasped in his arms.
"Over here," said the same child's voice.
Sebastian rose to his full height and turned towards the voice situated at the other end of the bed chambers.
There was a ghostly, translucent, blue hue, and it began to manifest itself into a semi-solid form, sitting in a low back chair in the corner of the room. It sat proper, with one leg crossed over a knee and its hands in its lap. Physically, this ghost had the appearance of a child - a twelve or thirteen year old boy, like his two master's.
"Forgive me for startling you," it said, although his voice conveyed no remorse.
Sebastian gave a brief glance to Lukas, then ventured over to the spirit, to speak with it. "And who may you be?" he asked quietly, so not to disturb Lukas's slumber.
"My name is Renfrew. Renfrew Phantomhive. And you are Sebastian Michaelis."
"Forgive me, but you have me at a disadvantage."
Renfrew smiled. "Indeed. And that's where it will stay, for now. If you are attempting to unlock that door inside my cousin's mind, I'm afraid you will be unsuccessful once more."
"Cousin?"
"Third cousin, once removed," Renfrew said.
Sebastian took this as this ghost was the grandson of his masters' great-great-grandfather.
"The Phantomhive's were at one point a very large family," Renfrew continued, "but a sudden rash of unexplained and mysterious deaths killed many of them off and now there are only two - Ciel and Lukas."
Unfortunately all the family records had been destroyed in the fire that took the original Phantomhive mansion, so Sebastian had no reference to which to base when the Phantomhive family began to die off. However, from certain stories told to him, he ventured it may have began in and about the late 17th century. This is when the Hope Diamond and its curse was first introduced to the Phantomhive family.
Pieces were cut from the original diamond and given as gifts to the family by a distant relative named Edward Lukas Phantomhive; the diamond stolen from France during the French Revolutionary Wars and brought back to England. It was rumored Edward Lukas Phantomhive hated his family and wished them all dead and gave them all pieces of the Hope Diamond with the curse intact, knowing this.
Few pieces had survived to this day, but one lost piece turned up with the Fallen Reaper Mathu Kelvin who attempted to use it to "Frankenstein" two of his associates Sasha and Samuel Ironstadt into a grotesque Cyclopic monster, to kill the last surviving members of the Phantomhive family - Ciel and Lukas.
But the Hope Diamond history was mere conjecture and Edward Lukas Phantomhive reasoning unclear even to this day, albeit plausible due to the unexplained deaths of the Phantomhive family over the years.
"But I digress…" the spirit continued.
"You are very well spoken," Sebastian said.
"We Phantomhive's pride ourselves on our education, in that, and among other things, including secrecy."
"The door, I suppose?"
"Correct."
"If I may be so bold, how did you die?" Sebastian asked.
"Fever, from a bug bite. A freak and unfortunate death, as I said."
"My sympathy."
"Keep your pity," Renfrew said brusquely. "I have been watching you, Michealis, ever since you entered this family. But even before that, I have kept watch over Vincent's children, and I am aware of everything that has come before and after the contract you hold with my cousin Ciel. But, I am not here for that."
"To return from the sanctity of death, you must have a studious reason to be here."
"Quite. And I have remained observant up until now." Renfrew's expression turned stern. "You are a cancer, Sebastian Michealis. You have been entering Lukas's mind nightly, dwelling in his thoughts, restoring memories that are best left buried, and I am here to demand you cease your actions."
"If you are aware of things, then you must know my master has given me permission to do so."
Renfrew nodded. "But not to prod into alcoves you do not belong."
"This is the reason I enter his mind," Sebastian explained. "He wishes to restore lost memories. I aid him in this. The mind is completely free of inhabitation at night, and in the human dream state, it is the perfect venue to reach out for what has been forgotten."
"This is a warning to cease you actions immediately or face dire consequences."
Sebastian smirked. "If I may repeat myself, if you are aware of things, then you know I can not die by human coercion, especially by a phantom such as yourself. I am a demon, and a very powerful one. Is this secret so important to keep that you must resort to verbal intimidation?"
Renfrew remained silent, but his silence told Sebastian much.
"Are you this guardian I encounter in my master's dream - the one who protects the iron door, demanding a pass-phrase to enter?"
Renfrew's eyes narrowed as he scowled. "You are smart, demon."
Sebastian tilted his head in smugness. "No, merely observant. Your presence and over-protectiveness of my master, in this regard, had be curious of your stance, so I baited you to talk. I have lived for a long time and have seen much; there is very little human's can do that does not me catch unawares."
"Be mindful of what you say, demon." Renfrew smiled smugly. "But you are correct. Without the pass-phrase, this door will not open, and will remain locked for as long as it, and I, are deemed relevant."
"What is your association with Master Lukas, other than family-wise? Why do you guard this door?"
"To protect him…and others. But that is all I will say." Renfrew stood on his feet. Sebastian towered him by a good three feet, but the boy did not appear intimidated. "Be this your final warning, demon. Cease your actions of entering inside Lukas Phantomhive's mind or grave consequences will befall you!"
"Your threats amuse me, Renfrew Phantomhive, but I fear no words from a phantom."
Renfrew scowled once more. "Heed my words, demon!"
"Or else…?"
"Or else…you will be very sorry."
Renfrew Phantomhive's clandestine form faded away, but Sebastian could still sense the ghost watching him somewhere from the shadows. He was surprised that he had not sensed this person before, if he had been in the mansion for as long as Sebastian had been head butler to Ciel Phantomhive.
Or had he been?
Maybe Renfrew had been following Lukas solely, as he was guardian to whatever important secret Lukas had hidden away in his mind, and had just recently taken up residence inside the mansion when Lukas arrived. In being observant, he may have merely overheard conversions about the Faustian contract, he had with Ciel Phantomhive.
And yet, he said he had be keeping watch over Vincent Phantomhive's children… No, "kept watch over Vincent's children", Sebastian corrected himself, past-tense. So, perhaps, it has not been that long. But Renfrew Phantomhive claimed to be nearly one-hundred years old, spiritually. What was so important inside Lukas's mind that a relative's spirit from the past protected it? It had Sebastian very curious.
Regardless, Sebastian considered the ghost's threat meaningless. In continuing to attempt to open this door, he would be keeping to his master's wishes. So he would continue.
Renfrew Phantomhive did not frighten him.
Sebastian eyed Lukas's bedchambers, taking in the walls, the chest of drawers, the furniture, and Lukas sleeping - without him hearing a word of the conversion spoken. The boy was a very sound sleeper.
But now Sebastian had his orders, and he would fulfill them. To scare Lukas, regretfully.
Walking back to Lukas's bed, he readied to put his hand on his master's forehead, when the voice of Renfrew Phantomhive boomed the bedchambers with a striking thunderous clap - that was solely directed at him, not disturbing Lukas.
"You were warned, demon!"
The voice was everywhere and yet nowhere.
"I must fulfill my master's orders," Sebastian said, glancing around, trying to find the voice. "And you will not deter me of them. Please leave. We have nothing more to discuss. I do not fear you."
"But you are wrong, demon. Everyone and everything living possesses fears that they can not escape from."
"Then you are mistaken by your assessment of the term 'living', for I am not alive. I am the idol of death, and no ghost can harm me."
"That, demon, is where you are wrong. Prepare to experience your punishment!"
And with a sudden, invisible strike across the back of Sebastian's head, he collapsed unexpectedly, dropping to the floor at the foot of Lukas's bed…
And unconsciousness took him.
To be continued…