Notes that pertain to this chapter:
Trousseau: Refers to the possessions which a family accumulates for a woman (or a woman assembles for herself) in order to prepare her for marriage someday. Includes bridal accessories, jewelry, lingerie, makeup, toiletries, bed sheets, bath towels, etc. Also, brand-new outfits for the woman's wedding, honeymoon, and newlywed days. The traditional trousseau was stored in a hope chest.
On another note, thanks to a helpful tip from Rosegurl1, I went online and ran my character through a Mary Sue litmus test that I found there. I am happy to report that according to the test, she is NOT a Mary Sue! This pleases me. :) I just found out what a Mary Sue character was yesterday, but they sound kind of annoying, and I don't want to write one.
Anyway, on with the story! :D
The next time she entered the manor grounds, a full week later, the brown-haired girl did not bother with prowling around outside the fence or climbing covertly over the gate in the dead of night. She simply walked up to the main wrought-iron gate under the blazing sun of daytime, found it unlocked, and pushed it open. Her brown, booted heels made deep thunking noises as they stepped over the line in the ground which the gate had made, into Phantomhive property. It seemed symbolic to her, crossing over that line in this way, something she'd never really done before….but after today, everything was going to be new. The flowers and plants in the terraced gardens were blooming, spilling over their allotted spaces and rising out in all directions. The girl was not noticed by the young, blonde gardener who obliviously passed her by, carrying a large and cumbersome box into the house. Indeed, she knew that unless he were to see her, even Sebastian would not realize that she had entered the manor grounds. Not with all the ruckus going on today that was causing the presence of so many strange people inside of the manor. However, there was one person who did know that she was here, and as the girl slipped into the grandiose building through a certain discreet side door, she fell with great gladness into the warm embrace of an elderly, gray-haired gentleman with a monocle sitting in one eye.
/
Sebastian was being careful, very careful, as he moved about his duties that afternoon. Ciel was on edge. The boy's grandfather was taking his final breaths, and the frenzy of the relatives, business acquaintances, representatives, and "family friends," (whose numbers now totaled almost 100) within the manor had been whipped into maximum strength. Sebastian's main goal for the day was to come into contact with his master as little as possible, but not to make it seem as though he were trying to avoid him. Anytime, the unstable, angry boy might choose to take his frustrations out on his demon, and….Sebastian's gloved fingers twitched, reaching reflexively for a somewhat sore spot on his hip, before pulling back up. The demon bit his pale lip, continuing his task of offering light sandwiches and tea from a serving cart to the crowds of people gathered in the main hallway of the south wing. Only a select few were allowed into the chambers that housed the dying man; his young master, Madam Red, (his current master's aunt as well as his previous master's younger sister,) and a few other close relatives. The rest were just gathered outside, tallying their bank books in their minds, no doubt. The demon sneered inside as he poured the tea for another association of businessmen; they flinched away as it was handed to them, and took it with outstretched arms. Sebastian walked away with supreme indifference to their discomfort. Usually naïve humans were enamored with him, but the ones associated directly with the Phantomhive family tended to be less so. They had heard stories, handed down from their fathers and grandfathers, about the family's long-ago vilification by the Church, and the shadowy and sinister reasons behind it. They had heard that the family was in possession of a highly capable, very handsome, and mysteriously reclusive butler who ran the household and seemed to have come out of nowhere. In fact, the Phantomhive family had been in possession of such an asset for as long as the oldest businessman's living memory could recollect- but it could not be the same butler, they reasoned, of course it couldn't. The man never seemed to age or tire, but of course these illusions must be merely figments of their faulty memories. It could not be the same butler of which their fathers and grandfathers had heard of back in their business days. Of course it couldn't. Still, the humans' unease remained palpable around him. He could almost hear it repeating in their feeble minds, like a mantra that would protect them from him. Of course it couldn't be. Of course it couldn't. Of course.
Sebastian did not care what any of them thought about him. He was merely doing as he'd been ordered by his master, and it was his master's opinion alone that mattered to him. Lately, that opinion had not been too favorable….the demon's fingers twitched spasmodically toward his hip again. Ciel had not been pleased when he'd come back into his study the morning after that night to find Sebastian curled up peacefully on the rug, sleeping like a child. He'd kicked him awake and demanded an explanation, which Sebastian had taken a long time to give because the previous night's events had been very confused within his mind. He'd told Ciel the truth, of course, or at least what he could remember of it, but by the way the young aristocrat had reacted, one might have thought that Sebastian had planned his unexpected rescue on purpose, simply to annoy his master. After a great deal of yelling and threatening and general fury, the boy had sent Sebastian away for the day. Normally, this would have upset the demon very much, but at that time, it was the best thing Ciel could have done for him. The bewildered demon had returned immediately to his small bedroom, curled up under the covers of his rarely-used bed, and gone back to sleep at once.
Over the course of the next few days, the demon had decided that he liked this rest. He liked it a lot. He understood now why humans spent so much time resting, sleeping, and being generally lackadaisical. The ability to slow one's body and thoughts down was a gift. He had spent the whole of his existence up until now being utterly exhausted due to the pain and trauma and general strain of being a demon, but unable to do anything to soothe his aching spirit. But sleep was amazing! He felt so much better after entering into its dark and hospitable chambers for a few hours. He could think more clearly, and his pain was substantially lessened. Sebastian played with sleep like a cat would play with a brand new piece of catnip, carrying it everywhere he went and entwining himself around it. He spent his nights fast asleep, no longer prowling the house like a wandering spirit, and during the daytime, when he had finished his chores, he would sometimes take a secretive half-hour nap on a reclining sofa or a chair in the kitchen, just because he could. He had known it was going to happen, but still, he had been most distraught several days ago when his cursed restlessness had finally returned and robbed him of this newfound ability. He had spent a few nights after this pacing around outside the door of his young master's bedroom, listening enviously to his sleeping sighs. He wanted rest back; he wanted a release from his pain; but for that, he would need the human. And despite the overwhelming evidence that the mysterious magna shalom intruder was able to get in and out of the manor with her secret agenda alarmingly easily, Ciel had bizarrely continued to refuse to allow Sebastian to go and get her. He had sent a very confused Meirin and Bard out repeatedly, and the more the intruder managed to evade their clumsy attempts to capture her, the more determined Ciel seemed to become to snare her in his own way. Which did not involve demonic assistance. Sebastian still did not understand his master's reasoning, but he no longer possessed any desire to question the boy. He recalled what Ciel had said to him when he'd returned to work the next day;
"I need you now to be managing the household and the guests until that old man dies, but don't think for a moment that I'm going to merely forget about this incident. After all of this is over and the household is in order once again, you will pay for your lack of discretion, like you should have paid two nights ago. And this time I will sit there and watch you squirm, all night if I have to, to make sure that you take your punishment, demon."
So Sebastian had been compelled to work all week with that hanging over him. As he delicately navigated the tea cart though the throngs of people in the south wing hallway, he hoped very much that the human intruder would return to the manor before Ciel could make good on his threat. Perhaps the death of the patriarch would prove to be the event which she seemed to be waiting for….but why? As he mused over this, a low murmuring began in the further recesses of the deeper hallway, which turned into a swell, which rose into a wail. Sebastian's lips curled up in satisfaction; the old man was passing beyond. He had done far too much damage in his lifetime, but it gave the demon a spur of vindictive contentment to think that he would never again darken the doorstep of the Phantomhive estate. There, he was going; he was leaving now. He was falling under the shades. He was falling into the fire. Sebastian grinned inside as he and he alone heard the echoes of the horrified, painful, astonished screams of a human soul experiencing hell for the first time.
Still don't think it's real, that there is no justice in the eternity, that your titles and deeds will save you, my former master? What do you think now, you old fool?
Sebastian did not have much time to gloat over this eternal victory for his kind, however, for on the temporal plane to which he was fastened, he needed to wrap the empty body up and shut it inside the coffin that Finnian had carried in earlier. Proceeding down the hall and through the family's reclining room, parting the crowds with his mere presence, the demon gripped the large door handle and silently slipped into the deathroom.
/
The brown-haired girl was guided by Tanaka through the catacomb-like backrooms of the manor, encountering not a single other soul as the two of them slipped up upon the back entrance to the south wing and the deathroom. Finally, they came to an unassuming door hiding in the wall, at which the old servant stopped.
"It is through here, and then through the next main door, my lady." He said softly, smiling at her kindly as she squared her black-clad shoulders and prepared to go in. "I believe that he has cast all other relatives out into the next room, so you should be alone. I shall remain nearby until you come back out or call me in. Be strong, my lady."
Murmuring a heartfelt "yes," the young girl pushed open the door with small, bronzed hands, and crept through the empty storage room up to the other, much grander doorway. She did not hesitate as she opened the door, for she had known for awhile now that this moment must come. Inside the gleaming, opulent deathroom, on a lavish bed embroidered with red down ticking, laid the withered, decrepit remnant of the older generation of Phantomhive nobility. His face, peeking out from underneath the rich coverlets, was all that she could see, and his labored wheezing filled the room. His eyes were beady and lined, his teeth were misshapen, and gnarled hands clutched the blanket up to his jutting chin. He was obviously very close to death, but still sentient enough to perceive that there was someone else entering the room. The beads in his eyes jumped toward the girl, and as she turned around, his wheezing suddenly doubled in intensity.
"You." He gasped, pointing a trembling finger at her like a javelin. "You….how dare you come here now, how dare you…."
"Hello, grandfather." The girl addressed, dipping low in a proper curtsy, seeming quite unperturbed by his greeting.
"You dare to come here, you dare to give yourself that name…." the old man continued to mutter, his dried-up tongue flopping around in his mouth like a dying fish. "Bastard child, shame of my lineage! Presumptuous brat! You are no granddaughter of mine!"
"Perhaps not in your heart, grandfather." The brown-haired girl answered honestly, drawing a few steps nearer to the dying man's bedside. "But I don't mind. I did not come to take anything from you, but to give you two things which may ease your transition into death. The first-" here she looked the man directly in the eyes, beady black on wide, flowing blue, "-is forgiveness."
The moldering man on the bed erupted into a hacking fit of coughing, and the girl waited patiently for it to pass. She was not surprised when he angled his head upward, flung out his arm, and let go with a tirade of vindictive abuse. "Forgiveness? You, forgive me? Have you forgotten the state in which you were born? Have you forgotten how your existence irreparably damaged my family's prestige? You ought to be begging for forgiveness from me, you little bitch!"
"I will not." She returned flatly. "I need no acknowledgment from you, nor do I seek any forgiveness or pardon for existing. The cruel choices that you made for my mother caused her to stray away from your plans and give birth to me, and I have never been anything but happy for this. I am not responsible for the choices that were made before I was even born; you ruined yourself, grandfather. Nevertheless-" she brushed a shining braid behind her shoulder, blinking slowly, "I have come to understand that forgiveness will be best for us all, even though I think that you are too far gone by now to appreciate it. What you did you did in malice, but in the end, it brought me happiness and helped me to see God's path. So thank you, grandfather. There is no hatred in my heart."
"Get out!" demanded the dying man, before passing into another fit of painful-sounding coughs. The girl remained where she was.
"Indeed I will, but last of all, I wanted to give you this." From the pocket of her jet-black coat, she produced a silver ring, intricately twisted and worked, with a clear blue stone embedded in the middle. The man's eyes fell upon it with greed as the stone reflected in them. For a moment, they too looked blue. The girl held out the ring to the man, rolling it over in her palm.
"I know that you were greatly distressed when my mother gave me the symbolic Phantomhive family ring for my jewel trousseau. You saw it as yours, and rightly so. I am giving it back to you now. Don't worry-" the girl bent down, carefully reaching for one of the man's gnarled hands. Gently, she guided his trembling fingers in sliding the silver circle over his thumb. "-I have never worn it."
The dying man watched the ring, and watched the eyes of the girl, both the same color, yet filled with different light. Wheezily, he brought the ring up to his dead-fish mouth and kissed the cold, clear stone. The girl closed her eyes at this, and turned back toward the door through which she'd come.
"Why-" the Phantomhive patriarch's voice caused her to turn back around again, "why have you come back, bastard?"
For a moment there was silence, the silence of a blank face. "That is not for you to know." The girl finally declared, walking gracefully back over to the door. She had made it halfway through when she heard the man cry out, "Celine!" Whirling back around, she observed the now-ringed hand of the old man reaching out for her, his face earnest, his breathing heavier. Again he cried, "Celine!" and she stared at him in alarm.
"Celine….? I'm not your wife, grandfather. I'm your granddaughter, remember? The oldest daughter of Rachel, your own first child….ah, I see." The young girl stated, walking carefully back over toward the bed, her heels making clacking noises on the tiled ground. "I see. You are dying, grandfather, and your failing mind is taking you back to those you knew and cared for. Do you think I am Celine?"
The old man did not seem to hear her. His eyes were growing hazy. Continuing to mutter, "Celine, Celine…." He reached out for the tiny hand of his granddaughter. The brown-haired girl hesitated for a long moment, but then she gave it. As she placed her right hand in the withered hand of her grandfather, the sleeve fell away from the arm, and a great swath of white was revealed-every inch of her right arm was bandaged, from the fingers to all the way up at the shoulderblade. The dying man did not notice the anomaly. He continued to gasp and pant, his eyes focused on nothing. For a while, there was near-silence within the luxurious room.
"Grandfather." The girl whispered slowly as his breathing began to come in spurts, "You are so close to your own oblivion. Will you not turn away from your eternal ruin?"
The man gave no response. The girl closed her resigned eyes, and pressed her lips together firmly. "Grandfather," She asked, at last, "why is your death chamber so ostentatious? It is full of everything that you will never use, never see again. Why do you choose this way to usher yourself under the shades? Do you know how close your ruin is? How I wish you would turn back! But you will not- I know you will not. Goodbye then, grandfather. I don't suppose that we will ever meet again."
Nothing more was said. As the old man died, he whispered, "Ce-line…." and held tightly to the hand of the illegitimate granddaughter whom he hated. She felt his soul go past her, unsaved, and plunge out of the world as if attached to a heavy anchor. The ring continued to gleam on his thumb like coiled poison. The girl waited until all was quiet again before giving the decrepit old hand a final squeeze and laying it to rest at his side, limp and somehow already cold. Then she stood in the middle of the luxurious and futile deathroom, and waited. She could have slipped away, but the time for doing that was past. Now it was time to be discovered.
Aha, a cliffhanger! :O My first (fanfiction) cliffhanger! I've already got the next chapter written, I just have to edit it. So review! Or I'll...I'll hold the chapter hostage! XD No, just kidding, I won't do that. But seriously, review! I'd like to know how I'm doing. And thank you to all the people who have favorited me! :D
