Chapter 1: Locus Incompertus

The greetings of the crows welcomed him as he finally got out of that dark cellar, or whatever that cold, dark room is. He was relieved that he was into an environment where he could see his surroundings. His bare feet treaded on the dry and crusty ground; the murder of crows fled to the dark twilight sky whenever he passed by their resting places. Though he seemed nonchalant to the croaky cries of the crows, the pressure of panic pounded in his chest. He walked on, and saw a wide, semi-circular area of stone steps with wooden benches on the top-most step. Also, there was a withered oak tree standing behind those benches; perhaps the wide, stone-laid area served as a lounging area to bathe in the sun or an area to cool one's head. Ciel lingered in the area to observe more signs of a possible occupant residing in the stone walled shelter he could see a few steps from his location.

He could see numerous pots of plants and they were very healthy and well-attended. A shovel was left punctured on the ground, and a sprinkling can was left on the outdoor lounging area. At least someone is tending the vegetation of the area, though most of the trees and plants were already withered and dry. There were also short lamp posts perched on the stone wall hubs and these lamps were lit for the mere purpose of illumination. These observations were enough to support Ciel's idea that somehow, he was not isolated in an unknown location.

He went up the first flight of stone stairs leading to a porch… well, the way he sees it anyway. The assumed porch was a long way up and all the walls and stairs were made of stone. "This place must be a manor of some sort." He thought.

He had the first flight of stairs covered and he saw that the floor he is currently on, led to another area around the manor. But now is not the time to let his curiosity to get over him. He had to ask the owner of this manor some important questions; like his current location and his parents' whereabouts. He went up the second flight of stairs and he saw a door before him after the spacious area at the top-most step. Perhaps he should knock the door first? It was rather impolite to enter somebody's home without them knowing it, especially if the stranger had no clothes on.

He knocked at the door and he waited for a response. But nothing happened. He knocked again but more loudly than the previous attempt. Still no response. He attempted another knock when the door suddenly opened and Ciel blushed for his awkwardness.

The person in front of him was a woman. "I guess she is one of the maids working here…" He thought. "She's so beautiful…" She was tall, and of angelic grace and beauty. She had shoulder-length, silver, wavy hair; dull, lavender eyes; an oval and unblemished face; and fair white skin. Her outfit consisted of a pale lavender, leather bolero with gold embroidery on the shoulder and chest area and cuffs; underneath the bolero is a turtleneck, cream, cotton blouse with a violet broach on the collar; a lace-trimmed apron was wrapped around her waist; a hobble-like skirt that matched her bolero; white stockings and purple and gold trimmed, heeled, leather boots. She gently gazed at him as if she were expecting him to come.

"Apologies, young master," She bowed courteously, which surprised the boy along with the 'young master' title. "For not responding immediately to your call."

"Uhmm…" Ciel sheepishly took a tiny step back.

She regained her posture once more. "Please, you must step inside. You must not let your body suffer with the cold."

Ciel obliged, though he was a little bit embarrassed with the situation. Maybe the maid was only doing what she was instructed to do? The maid stepped aside from the door; a gesture that he should go first. After he did so, the maid followed.

His jaw almost dropped in awe when he had stepped inside. The room must be the receiving area, but it was too splendid to be acknowledged as such. The room was decorated with antique like furniture: the coffee table and chairs he could see on his left were of the smoothest and polished wood and, he observed, had a gothic design. The window behind the left of the coffee table was made of fogged glass and it was directed to see the outdoor lounge he saw earlier. There were other accessories in area that even though, eerie, complemented the room perfectly: there was an empty, black birdcage hanging on the right of the door; a few vases of white roses on the coffee table and on top of a customized credenza to his right; oddly enough there was a tiny TV on top of the latter furniture. In front of him, there was a set of drawers with a pair of scales placed on top of it. "Maybe it's for weighing things." He thought. "The occupant here must have placed it here for convenience."

His curiosity got the better of him that he failed to notice the maid supposedly leading him the way. He didn't notice her until she spoke, "I've made a fire for you, young master, in case you are very cold."

Ciel blushed again. "This is odd…" He thought. "Why is she referring me as young master? I don't even live here." He followed where the maid went.

After he went up the small flight of stairs before him, the area became all the more strange when he saw a grandfather clock; a large, four-poster bed and a fireplace. The receiving area immediately connected to the bedroom? Usually, the bedroom is in another floor; the occupant of the manor must have an odd taste in style.

The maid stood beside the four-poster bed and she gestured to a pile of clothing on the bed, "I've gathered some clothes for you."

"Th-thanks…" He mumbled. Now that was a relief. He couldn't stand getting around any longer with only a silk sheet covering his body.

The maid was going to exit through the door beside the fireplace, when Ciel suddenly stopped her. "Wait! Don't go…"

The maid turned to gaze at him again.

"Uhmm… Excuse me, but where exactly are we?" He asked. "…And how did I get here? Why are you calling me young master?" Though he sounded quite rude, all his questions were needed to be answered. But the maid left her gaze upon the boy to look at a portrait beside the grandfather clock.

"Yes master, we will be keeping him here for a while." She said to the portrait in a smooth voice. "I'll make sure that he stays comfortable."

Ciel frowned at her and looked at the same portrait that she was speaking to. The portrait bore a picture of an aged man with a scarlet background. "Perhaps he is the owner of the manor." Ciel thought. But at the moment he looked at him, he suddenly saw an image that somehow connected itself to his early nightmare…

…A man gazed at him longingly through the broken window of the car… and he laughed as if in triumph…

And terrifying images of the car crash came racing through his mind, along with the laughing man. The scenes all seem to connect, but all of them were terrifying. "No! They can't be dead! It can't be true!" The pounding pain racked his head once again and his legs suddenly gave out. The pain was getting to him and he suddenly felt fatigued.

"It can't be true…It's no good… everything is so fuzzy…" He said in a whisper. "I have to ask the owner of this manor about my parents…" He shook his head to clear the terrible images away. He retained his position to calm himself down a bit.

The ticking noise of the grandfather clock disturbed the silence relentlessly, and at the same time it dictated how much time Ciel had wasted in his position; the burning fire aided him in getting his feeling back as it melted away the chill of his body. Contented, he stood up and prepared himself to get dressed. The beautiful maid was nowhere to be seen. "She must've continued her duties some place else." He thought. He dismissed his thoughts about the maid to focus on what he is about to do next.

He took a look at the clothes prepared for him on the bed. The clothes consisted of a white, cotton, long bell-sleeved, button-up shirt with black cuffs; a thick, black, silk ribbon; a diamond broach; a grayish-black, vest-styled, tail coat; black shorts; a pair of long, black socks; a black belt of beads and crosses; and a pair of black, leather, lace-up boots lying visibly under the bed. He picked up the clothes and thought for a moment about it. The clothes were excellent in detail but he felt that it was too much and it was unbecoming of him to use somebody else's property like this. But then again, he was offered to do so; he can't just run around the place almost naked, can he?

So he removed the knot that secured the sheet from his body and let it fall to the floor. In doing so, it revealed the equally fair-skinned, feminine body of the 15 year old boy. Though he is 15 years old, his stature was short from normal and he had long legs to be proud of, at least. His eyes too were also odd; considering about their shade of blue. On his left eye, his iris had the odd shade and traces of violet and blue, while the other had the normal shade of cerulean blue. His father reasoned that he had an eye defect when he was born. But what defect it is, he didn't specifically mention, nor did Ciel ever bothered to ask.

And the most unusual of all was his beauty. He did not have the attractiveness of a man or the slightly androgynous attribute of his father. Ciel, entirely, had the beauty of a young woman; far from the beauty of his mother. He had the curves and the delicate and pointed fingers of a woman but ultimately, he did not have the parts of a woman, such as the breasts and the rightful genitals. Ciel didn't know if he liked himself of being a 'beautiful boy' as his mother teased him about it. He just found it odd that he possessed odd attributes like these.

Oh, how he missed his parents now…

And all of a sudden, he could feel a surveying gaze upon him in the empty room. Though he could see that there was really no one there, the feeling remained that he was still being watched.

Ciel began to dress up. Though it was his first time to wear an odd outfit provided for him, he did his best to put the articles of clothing in the rightful places. How comfortable and almost at home he felt when he put on those clothes, besides them from keeping him warm. The clothes were an amazingly tailored fit, though he noted that the shorts were a bit tight on his thighs and back and the awkwardness that he felt that most of his legs were exposed; but overall, they were alright.

He looked at himself at the 3-way mirror in front of the dresser behind the bed. This mirror was very convenient for it covered an entire wall. Ciel could see for himself at all front angles; the outfit complemented well with his jet black hair and also brought out the shining blue of his eyes. He almost cringed at the sight of his feminine figure; the vest had pronounced his little waist even more.

He attempted to confidently walk through the door the maid exited through. The boots were quite stiff, but he got used to it eventually after walking and pacing around the room. But before he went to the door, he brought his attention back to the painting of the aged man. His mysterious image connected itself to his nightmare earlier though it was not very clear. He squinted to inspect the painting a little more.

"Wait a minute… I remember being in a car… with…" He brought his hand to his abdomen and a vague memory… or maybe a dream suddenly came to him. While he was barely conscious amongst the rubble of the crushed car, the mysterious man laughed as if in triumph and fondly stroked his abdomen and eventually, the rest of his body up to his cheeks. And shortly after that, he had lost consciousness. He wondered why that man did that sort of thing… maybe he was the one who brought him here?

It was time that he demanded the master of the manor his whereabouts along with his list of questions. The grandfather clock struck at 4 o'clock with its nostalgic feel of chimes echoing in the room. He shook his head to put aside the vague memory for a while and went to the door.

A/n: I did my best on the details! I made this story more descriptive for those who do not know the game. Oh and do I really have to describe Ciel's body? Yes, I do because it has something to do with the story (don't ask me about that yet).

Alchemic tarts for:

beckahm – O.o Eight chapters?! Uhh… you're joking right? I'm still writing Chapter 6. With school work and exams bugging me, I could not write very fast. I might not be able to write at the beginning of October. Sorry, but I think that's quite impossible to do upload the 8 chapters. But I'll try to update still.

Kuro 4 eva!!! – Of course, Sebastian's in here! Uhh… does that mean you don't like shonen-ai? Because I already conceptualized the story; this is a CielXSeb fanfic (despite all the numerous stalkers :) but, I respect your preferences. Thanks for reading!

LovelyWickedDescet – Glad you think so! But there's a twist here, I tell you!

Thanks for the review guys! Have an alchemic tart... in your dreams XD (people: MEANIE!!! DX )