Chapter 9: Consultum Ex Atrum

…Cold water encased all over him… streams of bubbles amused his sights to no end…

…He blinked… he inhaled the water… he felt nothing…

…He heard a tap from the glass…

"Hi, Ciel!" Said a happy voice…

He was reclined to something soft and comfortable; the faint scent of lavender made him snuggle closer to the source of comfort.

"Ciel?" Said a familiar voice.

He slightly moved his head but in doing so, he moaned since a throbbing pain waved over his whole body. He tried moving his arm and legs a bit but they seemed to be numb...

"Don't move just yet. The fall has affected your spine and some of your senses."

"D…dad?" He said weakly. Then he felt a rim of something being brought up to his lips and a bitter liquid passed through his tongue. The liquid tasted so bad that he spluttered and regained his senses like a flash of lightning. He shot up immediately and tried to cough out the aftertaste. "Daddy, that was terrible!!!" He said as he looked at the man he could see from his blurry vision.

The man laughed. "Do you really think so, young master?"

"Eh?" Ciel squinted a bit until his vision cleared. When Ash's face came into view, he began to blush furiously. He had called him 'dad' and this was the third time around!

"I wonder what it is I have that makes you think I am Lord Vincent." Ash asked in an amused tone. Ciel remained deeply flustered and began to stammer incoherent words. "I…ah…you…because… you… I mean…" Then he, growled at himself in frustration. Ash couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Apologies, my lord." Ash said a while later. "I shouldn't have asked you such thing."

Ciel remained silent and shrugged. "Don't worry. I was going to answer anyway."

"Hm?"

A moment of silence prevailed. "I see my father in you." Ciel answered. "From your face, to the way you speak and care for me." He brushed his arm in embarrassment and refused to meet the keeper's eyes. "Everything…" He almost said in a hushed voice. "Coincidence! I-it's kind of silly, don't you t-think?"

Ash blinked. Ciel couldn't suppress a red hot blush and turned away.

"It really is." The keeper whispered to him in a fond and gentle tone. Ciel thought he was going to faint at how awkward the whole conversation turned into. He was still questioning himself why he was acting this way? He had been around many guys before but why does this one make him all flustered and so? He also asked himself about liking girls; there was one that he actually liked… the Robin(1) girl, was it? But he liked her in a particular level, and it was definitely not the way he liked Ash…

"Are you alright, young master?" Ash went a little closer to him and gently put the back of his hand at the boy's cheeks and neck. Ciel only blushed harder that he looked like an overripe tomato. "I've noticed that you look flustered all the time. Do you have a fever?"

"N-no… noooo…" He had to find a way to stop this embarrassment NOW! "A-AH! SEBASTIEN!!!" He almost shouted. "W-where is he?!"

Ash withdrew his hand. "He's currently guarding Pluto's hut, my lord."

"Hut?"

"Yes, my lord. Your wolf cleverly dragged me along to your location." Ash answered. "Forgive me for not being able to rescue you before you got buried in the rubble."

Ciel's eyes widened in shock. "I-I… I was buried?!"

"You must've lost consciousness since you were not able to feel the pain." Ash said. "But nevertheless, you are now alright… although," He frowned a little. "I'm curious why the young master is able to recover from certain injuries with a speed beyond normal…"

"I've never noticed that…" Ciel shrugged. "But what happened to Pluto?"

"I lured Pluto back to his hut with the use of the bisque doll you have in possession. I've locked him in his hut for good measure. I've tasked your wolf to guard the location until we come back to him." The keeper sighed. "Though tasking him had delayed me for so long to return to you and give you medicine. I'm sorry."

"Stubborn, isn't he? But look, I'm still alive amidst the delay." Ciel amusingly giggled. "Would you please lead me to him?"

Ash bowed. "Yes, my lord."

Dawn had slowly started its approach. Ciel wondered how long was he out or, rather what time had he fallen from the balcony? He dismissed the questions and just reminded himself that the castle must be terribly ancient to have some certain places to be dysfunctional. He had to be careful at all times since Ash isn't always around to help him, that's for sure.

He must've fallen from the balcony down to the area surrounding the castle's walls. He was in some sort of a backyard area since there was vegetation around. Also, the lamps around the area were like street-lamps because of their height. But the odd thing was, they weren't standing straight; they were bent in odd and twisted angles like in Wonderland. It didn't make any sense why it was made to bend that way; but the again, a lot of the places in the castle were nonsensical at most. He followed Ash until they had come upon Pluto's hut; though it wasn't exactly a hut but a straw house that was suitable for inhabitation. Sebastien patrolled around the hut's only entrance with keen senses. The wolf started wagging his tail at the sight of Ciel.

"Sebastien!" The boy quickly ran to him and gave him a tight embrace. Ash went to the hut's entrance and secured the chains and locks that were placed all over the door. "Now don't go bothering Ciel, you beast!" He muttered. "You mustn't lay a finger on him or else…!"

"What time is it, Sir Ash?" Ciel asked him therefore, interrupting his silent cursing. "Perhaps it is time to rest?"

"It's 5 o'clock in the morning, my Lord." Answered Ash as he quickly consulted his pocket watch. Ciel gave a small gasp in shock.

"It's terribly late! You must rest." The boy said hurriedly. "And as your master, that's an order." He added with a slight frown to show his seriousness. Ash was about to protest but ended up resigning to the boy's will. "If that's what you wish for me to do, so shall it be."

Ciel stifled a yawn. "Sebastien, you could go rest in my room. Come on." Then he turned to Ash and gave a small wave. "Have a good rest, Sir Ash!"

Ash replied with a smile and a nod. As he watched the boy's retreating form, he muttered to himself, "Just a little more time, Ciel. And you'll finally be mine…"

Ciel continued to yawn as he walked around the pathway. He was in an unknown location again, that's for sure and he wasn't sure how to get back to his bedroom. He just noted to himself to keep moving forward and if there's a door, just go inside.

He passed through a dark alcove-passageway; there was nothing to be scared of despite the red lighting. He and Ash had passed through here when they were going to Pluto's hut. Interestingly, the wall had numerous cubbyhole like spaces on the walls.

"Ci…el…" A haunting whisper came through the passageway's numerous holes. The whisper sent shivers down the boy's neck. "Ci…el…… come…here…" Ciel hesitantly approached a hole and peeked through it. He saw nothing, but the whisper continued to sound through it. "Ci…el……… come…here…"

Sebastien sniffed at the hole for good measure, he recoiled a bit when he realized what the smell was. "What a stench! But nevertheless, it's not really safe to stick your hand in…!"

"What is it, boy?" Ciel cast a glance at the wolf upon seeing him retreat. Curious, he cautiously put his hand in the hole until his whole arm had gone along inside. Sebastien began to growl and tugged at his coat-tail in disapproval. "No!!! Don't put your hand…!"

The boy suddenly screamed in shock when he felt a cold and scrawny hand grip the wrist he had entered into the hole. He struggled and pulled to free the bone-breaking grip of the hand; Sebastien continued his pulling action until he had managed to make the boy sprawl to the ground. The bony hand had managed to make itself present outside the hole for a few seconds; the hand was almost white and skeletal in color and whoever belonged to it, he or she must be terribly ancient. Ciel and Sebastien stared at the lingering hand before it withdrew quickly after dropping a folded paper and a key.

"Whoever that was," Ciel whispered as he twisted his wrist a bit to relieve it from the grip. "He or she must be desperate to give me whatever this thing is…" He slowly picked up the note and opened it; true enough there seemed to be a hasty scrawl inside:

Ciel you must get out of this place as quick as possible. Damn that Ash! He has sealed the main gate, but I know of a less-known way out of this place. There is an old mansion beyond this castle, and beyond that mansion is the way to freedom. I have included the directions for you to get there:

Use the key included with this note and retrieve the Lunar Refractor inside the Study. Then, head to the tower beyond the suspension bridge located just above the balcony. On the first floor of the tower, open the spiral stairs down to its basement. At the basement, there are two contraptions known as the Lunar Panels. Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel. Then, get the Saturnus key hanging on the goddess' statue. That key will allow you to open the way towards the mansion which is the door with the similar pattern as the key you have retrieved. Though it might be a long way to go to get to the outside, I trust in your capabilities that you'll manage to escape.

Please understand that my only intention is to keep you away from Ash's foul and deceitful hands. Do not trust him at all costs! - Alastair

"I don't understand…" He shook his head. "This might be the same person who had warned me to beware of Ash. Is there a reason why Ash is so nice to me? Just what is this Azoth that he wants from me?!" He folded the note and put it along with the key inside his breast pocket. He stood up and put his hands on his waist. "By the way since the balcony had collapsed, perhaps I could climb up that rubble and head to the mentioned tower immediately." He turned his head to Sebastien. "Don't you think so?"

"Well, whoever that is, you should follow that advice. I don't trust Ash either. And seeing the way he charms you, I don't think it's for a good thing." The wolf thought grudgingly. "And since you're the one who's enchanted by Ash so much; have you even asked him what that Azoth is?!"

"Sebastien, let's go!" He called the wolf and ran back to the rubble of the collapsed balcony. The sun was beginning to rise when he had started scaling the pile of rubble. Unlike the first pile he had attempted to climb, he had managed to climb up successfully to the floor where the balcony used to be. "Sebastien, can you climb up here?"

"No problem!" Sebastien barked in response and scaled the pile easily. Ciel clapped happily at his achievement and rewarded the wolf with another rub on the head.

"Oh, Pluto had locked that door but…" The boy cast a look at the only door in the area. "Let's see if it's still locked, just in case." He went to the door and tried to open it; fortunately it was unlocked. He was able to sigh in relief. "Well that's good but, Ash or the maid might lock this when nightfall arrives... but then again, this was unlocked when I first went here…"

Sebastien nudged his leg.

"Anyway, it's open so that's it." Ciel finally dismissed the matter. "Let's check out that tower!"

He said and explored the area for a way up to the suspension bridge. "There should be a ladder here somewhere…" But when that statement came to mind, he instantly remembered Sebastien's possible inability to climb ladders. "I'm afraid I can't take you with me, Sebastien. You're not able to climb ladders since you haven't got any hands for the proper grip." Ciel told him in a sad tone and gave him another rub on the head. Sebastien stopped wagging his tail; this was the only thing he wasn't able to accomplish in his whole lifetime: climbing ladders.

"If only I had hands…" The wolf thought. "Then I would be able to follow you…"

"Stay until I get back, okay?" Ciel told him and gave him another affectionate rub. "I promise, I'll be back." Then the boy ascended the ladder leading to the area of the suspension bridge. Sebastien watched him go and sat on the floor.

"Why am I getting attached to this boy?" He asked himself. "Why?!!"

Ciel felt slightly lonely that his wolf wasn't able to follow him. If only Sebastien could talk, then his explorations around the castle would be more exciting and enjoyable, in a way. Nevertheless, at least the wolf was able to understand him perfectly. "As if he were human… But what am I saying?" He shook his head and sighed sadly. "I can't just change the way things are."

He had finally reached the area of the suspension bridge after a long way up the rusty ladder. The warmth of the early sun had mixed well with the cool breeze of evergreen that it washed away Ciel's worries and fatigue. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide and let the gentle breeze refresh him. "If only mom and dad were here, I would be able to enjoy this moment even more."After deeply inhaling the scent of evergreen, he returned to his agenda for the new day.

The suspension bridge seemed to be an old and worn-out, machine-operated wooden bridge. He doubted it if he'd manage to walk through it safely; there were some planks that were heavily damaged and would only need a single step to break them. But thankfully, most of the bridge was still functional enough to be used… well the way he had looked at it, at least. Nevertheless there's a bridge then, what the note had said was true; along with the fact that there was also a tower after the bridge. "But should I really do what the note says?" The warning of the mysterious caller earlier rang in his mind. "Beware of Ash… Azoth…?" He shook his head. "…Never heard of it. But whatever it is, maybe I could give it to him… as long as there is a good reason why I should do it…" He said to himself as he started crossing the bridge. He sided close to the bridge's support rails for safety and avoided any threatening planks that he could see. After a minute, he had crossed the bridge and arrived at the tower's entrance.

The first floor seemed to be a huge, plain, dusty room. Though the walkway and the stairs to the lower ground creaked when he walked over it; perhaps it's a sign of the place's old age. But they do not seem to be showing any signs of giving away. "But it'd be better if I would not push it to hard. It might give away too soon." Ciel said to himself as he descended from the walkway to the floor below. "The note said I should open the way down to the basement, but how?"

He looked around the floor to look-out for anything strange. The floor had a huge, circular, black metal platform on the center; the platform had embossed planetary symbols encircling a central design of the Earth with a lime green serpent wrapped all around it. The serpent reminded Ciel of Jormungand, the giant serpent that wrapped the Earth because of its gigantic size according to the Norse mythology. Similar to Jormungand, the serpent design had its tail inside its mouth; but most of the design centered on Ptolemy's Geocentric-belief. "But aside from that, there are no other things here that are attributed to Norse mythology." He noted. "I have a hunch that this might be the way to the mentioned basement with the Lunar Panels, but how do I open this?" He tapped the platform with his foot. "Is there a switch I should press or something?"

He looked around the room some more. He noticed that there were rows of colored stone blocks placed against the walls of the room. Each stone block matched the color of each adjacent block; the left side of the room had orange blocks; the right side had blue; the back had green and the front had yellow. Though, he noticed that there were some stone blocks that did not match their corresponding colors; some of the blue blocks joined the orange ones and some other blocks were scattered about away from their rows. The props were in total disarray and it was a total eyesore; Ciel proceeded to push and drag the ill-fitted blocks to match their corresponding sides.

Noon had started to arrive but Sebastien continued to wait at the balcony area. Not that he was loyally waiting for the boy to return; he was stalled by doubts and thoughts of going away to some other place or to continue waiting for him. Humans are beings full of deceit and treachery. He had encountered a great many of those men who had attempted to hunt him or sell to the market. So, he had held on to the principle that humans are not meant to be trusted.

One thing for sure; Ciel was human thus, he is capable of lying. He must not trust the boy either.

But… not even once had he sensed that the boy had lied or broke a promise. "Perhaps his whole being is a lie then." Sebastien continued to ponder. "If he couldn't lie, then I must say he's not human."

Another thought struck his nimble mind. "He's such a helpless little human. And naïve and too kind to boot." He thought. "Without me, he won't be able to survive this place just to find the restroom, as an example." He sat and laid his head down in between his laid-out paws to rest. "He needs me; that I am sure about."

Hours continued to pass and Sebastien continued to think. "And once he has no use of me anymore, he'll abandon me to some godforsaken place. Humans are always like that."

But in the end, the wolf remained in his place, waiting.

Ciel's body was totally soaked with sweat because of his almost epic struggle in moving the stone blocks to their proper place. The blocks were heavier than he had thought they would be. Whoever who had moved them must have an enormous amount of strength to move an amount of them away from their original places. He grunted loudly while moving the last stone block back to its rightful place. After a struggle of strength, he had managed to push the block to its position; the final push had made him fall to the floor like a limp rag-doll. But nevertheless, he had finally finished his task and felt that it was his greatest achievement in terms of physical struggle. His pride further swelled when he heard a gravelly sound of metal rubbing against each other. The central design of the metal platform had started spinning and in turn, the majority of the black metal of the platform converted itself into sections as it sank down to the floor in a spiraling formation.

"The basement!" He panted as he watched the mechanism form a spiral staircase to the floor below. "Those blocks had surely done it!" He quickly picked himself up from the floor and proceeded to go down the stairs immediately. The basement was altogether dark but was lighted enough for the boy's eyes to see the area. The room consisted mostly of nothing, save for two devices he could see on the opposite poles of the room. He approached a nearby device and looked at it closely. "According to the note, this must be a Lunar Panel. But I can't see much of it with the place this dark."

He squinted his eyes at the right of the Lunar Refractor; there seemed to be an outline of a door. He approached to the assumed door and tried to grope for a doorknob. When his hand enclosed with a familiar shape, he twisted it and heard a click. He concluded that he had found the doorknob and pulled the door open. Light infiltrated through the room and enabled him to see the wholeness of the room. But he was interested at what the outside was. He stepped out immediately and saw a familiar area ahead of him.

"It's that cave-like hallway where I received the note!" He exclaimed. That meant that the tower was just close by, after all; though it was necessary to take the longer route since the door was locked from the inside. Also, the area was almost concealed by the tall and wide branches of vegetation in the area. He crossed through the vegetation and found himself in front of the steps towards the cave-like hallway.

"This means that I won't be leaving Sebastien alone anymore!" He said excitedly. With haste, he went back to the collapsed balcony and climbed up. In his excitement, he had almost forgotten how tired and hungry he was and how the leaves and twigs had stuck to his hair, face and clothes. Sebastien was instantly alerted of the boy's approaching voice and scent and he immediately bounded up to him. "Sebastien!" Ciel called and embraced him tightly. "You waited for me! Good boy!"

The wolf wagged his tail since he thought that it was appropriate to do so.

"I don't know what time it is, but I think it's time that we get some rest." Ciel said and scrunched his nose a bit as he looked at his sweaty self. "… and in a dire need of a bath." He laughed. "Come on, let's go and..."

His statement had suddenly cut to a stop when a slim, white hand had harshly gripped his shoulder. He gasped in shock and sharply glanced to see the owner of the hand. He saw the face of the ever lovely maid he had first encountered in the castle. She had her eyes completely gazed upon him as if willing to read his mind. Ciel continued to look at her in shock and his jaw had ungraciously dropped open.

"The young master had been away for so long." She said in a dreary, but strangely gentle voice. "You have missed last night's dinner and today's breakfast."

Ciel blushed and closed his mouth and gulped in guilt.

"The master has recently grown worried about your wellbeing." She continued. "It is not good for you to skip your meals; especially since you have a delicate body, young master."

"Ah…" He gulped. "I'm sorry I have burdened you much. I'll go eat my meals right away."

The maid withdrew her hand gently from his shoulder and gave a courteous bow.

"Excuse me." Ciel said as he sheepishly looked at her face again. "But I haven't got your name yet…"

"My master calls me Angela, young master." She answered. "Since he thinks it's necessary for me to have a name."

Ciel was curious to what Angela's words meant; especially the one that she continuously calls 'master' and the necessity of her to be named. But nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut about the matter. He followed her as she escorted him to the dining room.

"No dogs allowed in the dining room, young master." Angela said as she saw Sebastien follow Ciel to the room. The boy became upset immediately at the statement and answered her, "But he's a good boy! He won't do anything out of place, I'm sure of that!"

But Angela held on to her words. "No dogs allowed in the dining room." She repeated. "I'm sorry young master, but you should abide by the right etiquette as the young master of the Phantomhive estate."

"And as the young master of the estate, I'd get to do what I want with it; from its façade down to its rules and regulations." He argued, albeit in a gentle tone. "Starting with your said etiquette; dogs are allowed in the dining room, as long as the animal does not create any trouble in any way."

Angela remained staring at him; neither because of the argument or the tone the boy had used. "No dogs allowed in the dining room, young master." She said nonchalantly. Ciel had no choice but to resign to the maid's words; after all, he was getting really hungry after having skipped 3 meals… or maybe more than that. The boy rubbed Sebastien's head and spoke to him sadly, "Sorry, Sebastien but you have to stay outside while I eat. Don't worry, I'll give you your food as soon as I have finished." He said as he led the wolf out to the door they had entered. "Stay there until I get back to you, okay?"

Sebastien barked softly in reply and sat outside the deserted corridor. Ciel gave the wolf a somehow resentful look at his crimson eyes before closing the door. "I'll be back. I promise!"

The moment the wolf had looked into the boy's eyes, Sebastien was held completely spellbound. He had seen the most of men's eyes before; each and every one of those eyes held an ugly reflection of greed and malicious and evil intent. Ciel's eyes were completely unique; it was the first time he had seen such a pair of beautiful eyes. Perhaps it was because of the gentleness and innocence reflected within them.

He sat waiting, almost in a daze of being enchanted by those eyes. He was willing to wait for endless hours if in the end of his waiting, he would see those eyes again.

"Yes, I believe you'll be back…"

A/n: Alastair, Alastair. Let the mystery character burn in your mind (:D). It seems he's the most difficult character to guess, hm? Extra large (imaginary)alchemic confection of your choice if you manage to guess correctly who he is (:D). I'll PM you so that the others won't know :)

(1) "Robin girl" - Think of Ciel in drag in Episode 4 of the anime. A little background of "Robin" in the story: Robin is Ciel's pretty classmate in college and he likes her, but as a friend only (Aww, Ciel. Not much of your type? -gets bitten by Sebastien-). I know Lizzy is a fitting equivalent to this particular character in passing but, I have chosen a role for Lizzy in a 'particular story' related to this, so...

Now I have this sudden urge to write a story about Ciel's college life... but I do not have the time for that now so hopefully, that story won't materialize...

NOTICE: I just can't seem to edit this chapter properly. The chapter title and Alastair's note should be centered to know the difference between the content. I don't know what's wrong with the editor though. Please excuse me...

Replies:

LovelyWickedDescet – Yep, Sebby's getting possessive. So, it's Sebby vs. Ash. Let's give our wolfie the support (LOL XD). Sorry, but Lorenzo's character is not any of the Shinigamis in Kuroshitsuji (there's a hint). Oh yeah, the new Shinigami's name is Ronald Knox; I call him "Roni" for short (:D). He seems to be Grell's junior since he calls Grell 'senpai'. Roni's death scythe is a lawn mower… maybe I could hire him to mow the lawn for me :D

Yana5 – Aww… it's okay if you don't know. Want a cupcake? Here! (hands imaginary cupcake) (:D)

Chu chu banato! – Really? It's crazy? Then expect more craziness and awkwardness! Enjoy your tart. Now have another! :D

Lunarkitty15 – Nope, it's not Lau. Haha! It's okay if you love Ash; at least his character is appreciated, right?