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.: Chapter VIII :.
Ciel Phantomhive
"The Lady's Labyrinth"
. . .
The rolling landscapes around the Phantomhive estate were just beginning to liven with green. It was just hours before midday, the air was warm with sun and crisp with the smell of dew. Beyond this serenity, something caused the ground to quake in rapid rhythm. A wide field, once beautifully flawless, had become a battlefield marred with brown grooves and uprooted trees.
A small tea table and a couple of chairs have been placed atop the grass, on a hill overlooking a heightening dispute between two men in tailored black suits.
Every other moment Ciel would steal a glance at her and find that Riliane was hiding her anxiety under a sudden thirst for tea. The more damage Sebastian dealt to Damian, the faster the contents of her cup dwindled to the last sip. She moved to refill it for what may have been the third time, and Ciel couldn't help but find this amusing. It was obvious she valued her demon butler to a great degree.
"At this rate there won't be any left in the pot for me."
She ignored him, keeping the fight under her anxious watch. Damian's suit was lacerated and torn, the white peeking from the tears in his tailcoat were dyed red from the multiple attacks, to which he dodged with even less momentum than he began with. Sebastian, however, fought with the vitality of a lion. He seemed to have a number of kitchen utensils hidden in his coat, and many of them ended up slicing countless holes through his opponent.
Ciel noticed that Sebastian seemed far more aggressive and eager to win than he usually was. He also pinpointed something in the way Damian fought; it was like he wasn't even trying. Sebastian was relentless, but there were lapses in his attacks that Damian could have easily taken advantage of. Surely, he couldn't have been that bad? Or perhaps he had purpose for letting Sebastian beat him bloody.
"What's wrong, Damian?" Sebastian stopped flinging knives long enough to uproot a tree and throw it at Damian like a spear. It collided into his chest and thrusted him hard against a boulder, causing a loud gasp to escape Riliane's mouth. Ciel felt the table rattle beside him, but he paid no mind to it.
"Let me pay you your dues!" Sebastian sped across the field like a bullet, eyes glowing violet as his face twisted in delight.
"Damian!"
His eyes flashed in panic when Riliane ran right in the middle of the fray. Within a few lightning fast movements Damian had his hands on her shoulders and spun around until she was out of harms way. But now his back was open and unguarded, and Sebastian had no problem stabbing it.
Something warm and dark splattered on her cheek as Riliane stood horrified, gawking as Sebastian's hand rammed through Damian's chest, a crimson-soaked glove stopping a mere inch away from her face.
Damian didn't flinch or even wince. He spat a mouthful of blood into the grass and roughly grabbed Riliane's chin, striking her cold with a piercing gaze. He spoke in sharp, separated words that stung her more than a slap on the face. "Don't. Do. That. Again. That was stupid of you. I'm not human, so this is nothing more than a petty scratch from a bitch."
Before Riliane could utter an apology, Sebastian wrenched his hand out of Damian's back, making her cringe at the sound of blood gushing from his wound.
"Well if you hadn't interfered, the fight would have continued on long enough for your butler to lose on his own." Ciel approached the three with a proud smirk.
Damian removed his hands from her shoulders. Riliane stepped up and tried to offer her defense, but Ciel interrupted her. "How disappointing, I'm dealing with a child. A brat." He tapped his cane into the ground like he was landmarking a victory. "Please, don't waste any more of my time."
Her lips pressed thin, but Riliane quickly put on a poker face. Ciel rose a brow and half-expected a witty retort.
"I'm sorry for having been a disappointment. Clean yourself up, Damian. We're going home." When she turned to leave with her butler following in poorly disguised limps, Ciel relished that moment of triumph. But only that moment.
Whatever she said was muffled by a stray gust of wind, but Ciel heard it clearly. She looked over her shoulder in time to watch the smugness vanish from his face.
. . .
Since the previous night she's been rattling around his mind like coins in an empty can. Several things Riliane had done either rubbed him the wrong way, aroused his interest, or alarmed him for further investigation.
There was one specific part of last night's conversation that seized Ciel's attention the most. In that girl's ramblings about the her family, she had mentioned that "things for them have changed" and "soon everything else will follow." What could she have meant? Was she planning to replace the Phantomhives completely? Did she plan on killing him?
As he and Sebastian were lead through the Kingsley manor, Ciel hatefully stared at the back of Riliane's head. He never thought he would be thrown in such disarray by a simple girl. Not in matters of adolescent attraction—although that would have been far more humiliating—but he just had a burning curiosity. She seemed to have literally come out of no where. He knew little to nothing about her and she strangely seemed to know a lot about him. If she did plan on cutting him out of the picture, he was in one hell of a disadvantage.
He let out a quiet sigh. This obsession to unravel the mysteries of Riliane Kingsley was like alcohol in his veins; it was keeping him from thinking straight.
Ciel told himself that after he got his answers today, he'd immediately return to his own affairs. He mentally scolded himself. It was ridiculous to have his mind wrangled around her when he already had other important business to worry about! He thought it was just utterly stupid of him, yet he kept venturing into her existence like it was his life's goal. Now he found himself trapped in a maze of riddles.
It wasn't like he could drop this whole thing. There were far too many reasons on why he shouldn't just turn on his heal and tread the other way. And he wouldn't. He couldn't!
'Damn it!' She wasn't supposed to be there to cause him or Her Majesty problems, she was there to help for goodness sake!
He checked the back of her head again. For a second he thought about doing something to make her turn around, but he decided against it. Those eyes of hers were vultures that could pick apart the deadest bits of his soul.
They finally got to their destination, but the relief was short-lived. An uneasiness in his gut told Ciel to back out the door. The room was decorated with so many weapons it looked like the military's armory.
"None of these are loaded", he heard her say, but he wasn't convinced.
"Why are we in your brother's study?"
"The other rooms are being prepped up."
Ciel averted his concern from the walls and examined a framed photo he took from the desk. He skimmed over the grinning faces, except for one, and remembered a few useful things Lau had mentioned. They were all unfavorable things said about Heinz Kingsley and they were bad enough that in comparison, Ciel would look like a social butterfly. The late earl, in summary, was a mysterious man who was shrouded in rumors of greed and debauchery. It was said that he rarely made public appearances and when he did he carried a miasma that repelled people like flies. But the man in the photo didn't look the part at all. In fact, he appeared to be just like any other family man.
Ciel set the photo down, eyes still lingering on it until he sat down across from Riliane and her peculiar butler, who was glaring at them with an animosity so strong it was almost comical.
"So what did you want to discuss, Ciel?"
"I want to start off with the scar on the back of your neck."
"...scar?"
"Those chokers you wear don't do as good a job of hiding it as you think they do," he snapped. If she thought she could manipulate things around his questions, she would have to think again. Riliane gave in, and Ciel watched with anticipation as she slowly unveiled the markings on the back of her neck.
He expected to see the same iron-burned scar that marked his own back, but instead there was a mess of thick lines striking across her skin as if someone had tried to behead her. The image in his mind was vivid; a dull and rusty blade cleaved repeatedly into the nape of Riliane's neck, leaving a web of crimson rivers that healed into the painful memoir he's looking at now.
"It's not a scar...but rather...a birthmark. Or so my brother says claims, but what kind of birthmark looks like this?"
'What a lucky pigeon.' For a moment he almost pitied her, but how fortunate can you be to be dangled over the edge of death and lose all memory of it? To lose that bit of your trauma, he was almost envious until he remembered that everything he's experienced is what made him exactly what he is; The Watchdog of the Queen, The Evil Nobleman, The Earl Phantomhive. He was bearer of some of the most renowned and intimidating titles in all of England. He was the one to serve the Queen in a way no else could, because they were never honoured with the privilege or the burden—at least until now. He shouldn't be driving himself insane with the likes of a demoted family's heiress. He's survived horrors beyond any comparison to the nightmares she's had, and passed trials by bending and breaking rules until he made the game his own. And that's exactly what this was, his game.
"My, it seems Damian and I have forgotten to fetch the tea." From the corner of his eye, Ciel saw Sebastian bow and head for the door almost suddenly. Damian wasn't so eager to leave, but followed after Sebastian anyway. It seemed as though those two had some rough history and one of them wasn't letting it go. Ciel made a mental note to question that butler of his later
Now, he was alone with Riliane.
"I'll have you know, Ciel, I got everything I know about you by asking only ten questions."
He tapped a finger against his armrest. "And?"
"So to be fair, I will only accept to answer ten of yours." She was giving him this calculating stare as if she was already fabricating these answers.
He didn't quite like the limitation, but Ciel agreed to it nonetheless. "Ten questions sounds fair. I may even need less than that." Yes, he would just need to ask the right ones.
"Choose wisely." She smiled, patiently waiting for him to begin.
He thought for a while, and decided that he wanted to bring something up before they started.
"They turned your childhood into ashes and burned the broken memories into your skin." Ciel was reciting what she'd said to him the day they met, after the brawl between their butlers. "That seems a bit too grim and specific for you to just babble out simply because your were upset."
"I was upset, but I was also checking to see if the information I received was true. You made me doubtful last night so I decided to drop it, but just now you confirmed it all."
The tapping on his armrest ceased. He may have just walked himself onto a field of land mines. "...and how did I do that?"
Riliane grinned the way a prankster would when someone falls victim to their tricks. "What I said was grim, yes, but you saying it was 'specific' meant that you understood exactly what I was referring to. That, and the look on your face just now."
He'd definitely need to watch his step from here onwards. "Who told you about the occultists? About my scar?"
"Friends of mine."
"And what do you mean by friends?"
"It's wise to not see the people who've helped you as just 'pawns', Ciel. It tends to blow up in your face."
He froze, caught completely off guard by the secret nickname he's given associates like Lau, Grell, and formerly Undertaker. 'What else does she know?' Riliane had far too much on him. More than he thought, and there were very few places where she could have gotten it from. Her informants had to be people he's met, people that knew him well.
For several long moments, the two of them listened to the clock on the wall tell them how many seconds of nothing have passed. Riliane stood up, retrieved parchment from the desk, and dipped a feathered quill into an inkwell. Ciel watched as she leaned over, scribbling something unknown until she held it up for him to see. It made his eyes go wide with shock. The black liquid bled into the paper and dripped to the bottom in dark trails, quickly distorting the image, but Ciel easily recognized it. He was looking at the exact symbol imprinted on his back. The amount she knew about him was disturbing. It's like she had the spirits and shadows in his mansion under siege, working as her eyes and ears. But where was only one thing, one demon, who knew about his scar. Only one. Could Sebastian have...?
"How do you know what it looks like?"
"I know what it looks like because I have the same one right here," she placed a hand on her abdomen and ran her fingers along the lace, like she was tracing the length of the scar.
Ciel was surprised, but was more relieved knowing that Sebastian hadn't betrayed him. He sat at the edge of his seat. He was mildly curious about hearing the things he experienced from someone else; also, if he's assuming correctly, then he and Riliane have similar agendas rather than opposing ones. "When did they take you? Why?"
"About four years ago, I was taken from my mother and sold. The occultists...they kept telling me I've been touched by demons. They told me I was being followed by one." Riliane didn't look at him, but stared intently at the paper as if all her memories of those days were written into that symbol. "I guess they were trying to summon Damian, but the ritual failed and their leader...just disappeared. The new one decided I was useless and sold me..."
Ciel knew the story didn't end there, but he felt like shouldn't press into it. He didn't need to.
"Do you know their names? Any of the occultist's names or the people involved."
Riliane didn't speak for several seconds. He thought she wasn't going to relent but she answered just as he was about to lose his patience. "I only know that Heinz Kingsley was the one who set up my kidnapping."
His posture, once stiffened with ambition, went limp with disappointment. Still, he remained interested. The mention of the late earl threw him back to path he originally meant to go.
"Who are you? No silly riddles or puzzles this time."
"I gave you every piece of that puzzle, how could you not figure it out?"
"You're rather vague but I know that neither Heinz Kingsley nor his wife ever spoke of a second pregnancy, and you just popped out of the blue a few years ago claiming to be the current earl's younger sister. If you're no child of theirs, then you're an imposter."
She sighed like she was repeating a lesson to a child for third time in a tow. Riliane picked up the photo Ciel had been looking at earlier and held it out like a flashcard for him to study. "Tell me, Ciel, does the man in this picture look like the infamous Heinz Kingsley you've heard about?"
His face went blank, not out of confusion, but he was just taken at how perceptive Riliane was. "No."
"The man in this picture is my father, Raeleigh Evans, with who you can certainly assume is the late countess, my mother. And the boy is my older brother, Wynn."
This time he let his eyes take in the whole family rather than just the man. His gaze wandered from the countess's gentle face, to the boy's rough grin, and finally settled on the small girl cradled in one of Raeleigh's arms. Then it hit him. "Your mother had an affair—"
"No," Riliane cut in harshly. "It is hardly an affair if you were forced into a loveless marriage."
"Whether you see it as an affair or not, you and your brother are still frauds."
"Neither of us are frauds!"
"Then explain. How the hell do you have the Kingsley's birthright?"
"I told you before, didn't I? That in our family, real authority is given to the woman. My mother was the only daughter of Anne Kingsley, who made the mistake of marrying her off to a vulgar man who discarded family tradition for his pride. The same man who drove the family name into ruins, and nearly destroyed the Kingsleys' chances beside the throne." A suppressed rage deep within her made her words clear and cut, like broken glass. If her anger were fully unleashed she could have butchered a man with her voice alone. "Heinz Bauer, that jealous fool, is the one who married into the family and wore our name like a hat. You can say that Wynn and I were born out of wedlock, but you can't call us frauds."
Ciel sat back, unnerved, but still satisfied. Her contempt for the people who've wronged her was apparent. She'd definitely be of more help to him. There were just a few more things he needed to know.
"Last night you told me that you wanted to change things. What are you planning?"
A resolute smile appeared on Riliane's face, throwing the heavy atmosphere into the bin and shattering Ciel's hopes. "I'm sorry. You're out of questions."
He went still, like he had a glitch in his system, as if he malfunctioned like an old machine. Ciel backtracked every word of their conversation and realized...
She had orchestrated the entire thing!
"You wasted my questions!"
"I did not, that was all you."
He made a grave mistake thinking he would win today. Riliane knew it was anyone's game, and as long they played on her field, she had the best chance of making it hers. Ciel gritted his teeth. She purposely misguided him into her labyrinth. She led him this way and that—in a way where he didn't even realize he'd gotten lost. She knew too well what to say to get inside his head...everything she said must have been nothing more than cleverly conceived misdirections.
"Was anything you told me even partial to the truth!?"
"That's another question I'm no longer obligated to answer~" She gently fiddled with the quill in her hand; smiling, grinning, laughing at him!
He rose from his seat and yanked at her wrist, fuming as he looked down at Riliane. She was suddenly so terrified, trying to pry herself away. He refused to let go and tugged her toward him.
"This is your blasted idea of fair? You've taken information about me without my consent. I come here with courtesy and you give me lies!"
"Let go of me!" She tried to pull away again, harder this time.
"I want the truth!"
There was nothing else but a silent struggle with Ciel pulling Riliane toward him every time she made an attempt for freedom. She grew more and more desperate and violent the longer he held on.
"Don't touch me! Don't. Ever. Touch me!" A painful crack split against his cheek, and he froze like he'd been hit with an icy whip. Riliane stole this chance and ripped herself out of his hands.
His fingers slowly brushed against his cheek, the stinging sensation still fresh on his skin. He found Riliane across the room with her arms coiled around herself, like she was afraid of falling apart. She shook like there was a tremendous amount of pressure inside her, and if nothing happened soon she'd burst from the buildup. Ciel took a step closer to try and fix her, but was interrupted by sound of the door being thrown open. Expecting Sebastian and Damian, he was about to bark an order to handle her until he recognized the figure at the door as the man in the picture. A closer look made it clear that it wasn't. He was far too young to be Raeleigh Evans.
"Big brother," Riliane cried, almost tripping in her haste to cling to him like a lost child.
Ciel felt the weight of every guilty conscience when Wynn Kingsley cast a damning glare his way, but the concern for his wrath faded when Ciel looked at Riliane again. That fierce reaction, the way she fought for an escape like a scared animal made him doubt that anything she said was a lie.
He'll have to apologize later, but this didn't free her from his perusing just yet.
Wynn stepped to the right to allow someone else into the room, and the sight of that someone overwhelmed Ciel with dread. They approached him with the second-most agitating grin he's ever known.
Grey joyfully clapped his hands together, eyeing Ciel's cheek like it was a masterpiece."Well, Phantomhive, that nice red hand-print on your face has been long overdue~"
. . .
a/n: Helloo~ Some important things; All the earlier chapters have been slightly revised. It's no big change, all the key points and forehadowings are still there. I just edited some awkward-sounding sentences to make it flow better. Also, with where I'm going with this, the title "Wash White" has become irrelevant. So I'll be renaming it "Little Songbird". You'll see why~ And don't worry~the story will still center mainly around Riliane,Grey, and Ciel. The title will be changed right when the next chapter is up, which will be soon. I already have 1-2 done already :D
and last but not least, a big thanks to everyone who has faved, followed, reviewed, or even read! I hope you're all still enjoying this :'D Lemme hear what you think!