Chapter 13: Luna Veneficus

Ciel checked every door he encountered in the hallway. Every single one of them was locked, except for the one before the forked hallway. He hadn't checked that one earlier, since his attention was averted by Pluto's shadow. He examined the door closely; there was a metal plate on the door with the label of 'Study' on it. "Makes it easier to find it, then." He pushed the door and went inside. There wasn't anything extraordinary for him to see yet since the room had its lights off. He groped around the wall to his left and felt a beaded string of sorts. He trailed up his hand on the string slowly and felt his hand collide with something connected to it. "Might as well pull it." So, he did.

The room revealed itself through its dim and blinking lamps. The study composed of bookcases that dominated all of the walls; there were stacks and towers of books littered about on the floor, desks and on the cushion armchair. Papers full of computations, formulas and descriptions were stuck on the bookcases like post-its; mostly in the area of the study tables. There was a huge volume of an open book on display on a pedestal at the center of the room. He examined it, but he could understand nothing since the language was either Latin or Greek or depending what his comprehension told him. "Nevermind…" He shrugged and ignored the huge tome. "I've got to find the Lunar Refractor the note was speaking about." He looked around the room's every nook and cranny, but he did not find any strange item. "What does this tiny key do?"

Meanwhile, Sebastien patrolled around the door; he could smell a very faint whiff of Pluto. But no doubt, he was still very far away from them. He sniffed at the air some more and the tiny whiff disappeared, but still it would not hurt to be cautious. "Best not to take your time, Ciel." He remarked as he watched the boy pause in the middle of the room and tilt his head in thought. "That Pluto might come here unawares."

"Hm… If this key is not for that door," Ciel pondered as he stared at the tiny key intently. "Perhaps this is for those drawers?" He approached the nearest desk and checked a lock drawer. He fitted the key into the similarly tiny keyhole and turned the key. He smiled in satisfaction upon the smoothness of the turning of the key; indicating that he had fitted the key into the right keyhole. The drawer unlocked and he pulled it open. He found a rusty, conical shaped object; about the size of his hand, lying inside it. He examined it; the circular base of the object was made of mirror. "Perhaps this is the Lunar Refractor that note was talking about." He muttered. "It's kinda heavy though. I might lose this if I keep on holding it like this." He tested the key to the other drawers; he searched for an efficient container from all of the drawers. "Isn't there anything that would let me carry any stuff that I'd pick up?"

Sebastien barked at him. "Hurry up, will you?"

"Coming, coming." Ciel replied with a dismissive tone. He was slightly disappointed since he hadn't found anything, let alone a small plastic container. He checked the last drawer and found two folded pieces of paper. Allowing his natural curiosity to conquer, he picked the first one up and opened it. The paper seems to contain a cartographic chart; Ciel studied it. "Phantomhive Estate?!" He almost yelled upon reading the header of the chart. "The estate is this huge?!" Ciel's eyes scanned the huge land area the map indicated.

"What about it?" Sebastien glanced and curiously approached him to look at the piece of paper. "What about the estate being so huge? And what in the world is an 'estate'?"

"Look, Sebastien." Ciel showed the map to the wolf and pointed a small yellow area at the map. "The castle alone only occupies a small portion of the whole Phantomhive estate, compared to the entire forest land here... Hey, there's a village nearby too..." His pointing finger swirled around the green area, which dominated most of the map. "By the way, there's a… tower in the middle of a lake here." He looked down at the map again and took note of the dark blue, circular area with the label 'Water Tower' indicated on the map. "… And a certain house just beside the tower." He looked at the white area indicated 'House of Truth'. "It's almost unbelievable. I think I can't manage this whole territory alone."

"Is an 'estate' some kind of a territory?" Sebastien didn't understand all what the boy had just said; it was meant for human comprehension. "Really, this boy needs more human friends other than the mad people here."

Ciel returned the cartographic chart and picked up the other folded piece of paper. This time, the paper showed a series of maps stapled together; the first one showed the locations inside the castle; the second page showed the locations inside the mansion; the third page showed the paths inside the forest, though in general, it was useless since the map contained broken paths and a multitude of green areas; the fifth page contained locations in the Water Tower; and the fifth page contained locations inside the House of Truth, though it mostly showed inconsistent rooms and locations. Nevertheless, he decided that the maps were essential in exploring the whole estate in his spare time. He folded the maps again and put it in his pocket. "Let's go, Sebastien."

"Finally!"

Ciel consulted the map to trace his way to the grounds entrance of the tower beyond the balcony. "See? We won't be separated just because you can't climb the ladder." He told the wolf as he found the entrance. "There's always a way for us to be always together."

The boy's latter words rang clear inside the wolf's mind. Some kind of hope sparked inside him that somehow, whatever Ciel was planning of letting him go into the forest; the plan won't work. "But still, fate would dictate if we're meant to be alongside each other 'till the very end."

Ciel himself was also affected by his own words. "Will I manage to drive him away from me if I have already made a bond with him?" Both of them stared into each other's eyes; in perfect timing, per se. The boy realized that Sebastien's crimson eyes had that glint of a strange conviction that he hadn't seen before. But perhaps it was only the moonlight making his eyes glisten. He blinked in dismissal and turned his attention back to opening the door.

He was amazed at what he saw inside. In the morning, the basement of the tower looked like a dark, ordinary room with Lunar Panels. Now that the time was nighttime, the Lunar Panels were reflecting rays of light that flowed out from a window above the mechanisms. With the efficient illumination, he got a view of what the Lunar Panels looked like. The Lunar Panels looked like stage lights; except that it was entirely made of stone with Nordic Runes engraved all over it as a design. "Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." He took out the note and read the phrase. "Shine the moonlight…" He held out his hand through the moonlight reflected by one of the Lunar Panels. "So, this is the moonlight. To think that the moon is capable of bringing a bright light like this, I must've underestimated it."

"And I thought wolves are the only ones capable of admiring the moon." Sebastien caught a glimpse of the boy's fascinated face and the way his fingers played around in the moonlight. "Humans usually take nature for granted and fail to see its full beauty. Why are you so different from them, Ciel?"

"Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." Ciel recited as he focused back to his objective. "So, where could that door be? It certainly isn't the one we have just entered." He took off and explored the area thoroughly. With the moonlight illuminating the place, he didn't have any difficulties in finding the mentioned door. He saw a portion of the wall that was completely different from the others, which were made of inlaid stones. The portion of the wall that he had just found was made of metal; the rust forming on it was enough proof. The metal was divided into three sections; an engraved design was present in the middle section and some of its designs extended to the other two sections. The design had three crescent moons with lines connecting them to a triangle and additional lines connecting them to the central design, which was a crystal ball-like symbol. He traced a finger on the engravings and recited the phrase from the note again. "Shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel…" He faced the Lunar Panels again. "There are three crescents in the design, so," He looked back to the rest of the room behind him. "Those crescents must represent these panels. So, there should be another Lunar Panel here."

"It's right there!" Sebastien turned his head to the Lunar Panel almost hidden by the spiral stairs. "Can't you see it?" The wolf watched in boredom and disappointment as the boy searched for the panel. But he gave consideration to it; humans and beasts are almost different from each other. Humans could not see in the dark the way wolves and felines can't.

"Ah, there it is!" Ciel called out and sighed as he finally spotted the panel. "Why didn't you tell me that it was there all along, Sebastien?"

"Do things yourself." The wolf snorted in reply. "If you want to get rid of me so much, why should I help you?" He thought glumly.

Ciel inspected the Lunar Panel closely; the moonlight was being reflected to its hollow center by the other Lunar Panels. He took a look at the Lunar Refractor he had painstakingly carried the entire time. "Perhaps, this should go here." He muttered as he inserted the refractor into the hollow area of the panel. Moonlight instantly bounced off from the mirror and cast its light towards the metal portion of the wall at the back of the room; directly to the design at the middle. The metal portions emitted a low rumble and after a few seconds, the portions slid to the side; revealing an entrance to somewhere. He consulted the note again. "Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." He said as he approached the now open 'doorway'. "What a strange way to use moonlight as a key to a door, don't you think?" He turned to Sebastien. "Let's go, boy!"

The pair followed the corridors inside the strange doorway closely. As they followed through further, Ciel noted that the corridor was filled with ankle deep water. "Probably some problem with the plumbing." They sloshed their way further; the water was increasing its level and the corridor was getting darker. "Probably the moonlight cannot reach here anymore." He remarked as he made his way through the now waist-deep water. Sebastien didn't seem to mind the water much; he held his head high up and continued to walk along, though the water was already neck deep, considering his level. "Why are you shivering?" The wolf commented as he looked at the boy's anxious face as the water increased levels. Nevertheless, he continued to dog-paddle.

They finally came upon a stair case that spiraled on the way down. Ciel gulped; the entire staircase was already submerged deep into the water and considering how really dark it was, he couldn't even dare to continue and dive down there. "Eh… water…" He stared at the deep pool of water; his eyes wide in complete anxiety and his breath taking sharp gasps. "I… I don't like it…"

"What? Scared of water?" Sebastien barked mockingly. "You're not scared of taking a bath before. Why be scared now? Just think of this as another bath if you're so scared."

"Should we go back?" Ciel looked at him with fear in his eyes. "Perhaps… perhaps there's another way… or… or…"

"Why are you panicking?" Sebastien ignored his eyes. "It's just water!" He playfully splashed some water to the boy's face in an attempt to knock some serious sense into him but apparently, it terrified the boy more and put up his hands to his face. "…STOP!" Ciel yelled fearfully as more water splashed at his face. "Please…!"

"What the…?" Sebastien nudged at his arm and barked. "What in hell's name are you terrified of? It's just water!" The wolf's mocking comments were stopped when he heard the boy's hitching gasps of breath. "I'm scared…" Ciel whispered. "I… I don't know… why… why…?" He stuttered almost incoherent sentences as his breathe continued to hitch in intervals and hidden tears leaked from his eyes. "I'm scared of water… why… why… why?!" He closed his eyes shut; visions or… dreams, maybe, of himself drowning and struggling inside the closed container flooded in his mind. He had dreamed of it before for many times already, even before his parents' death. The pain of his lungs burning with the unwelcome water he had taken in from the dream lingered as if it was real. Sometimes, he wondered if it was a forgotten glimpse of his life. But his father continued to reassure him that it was only a bad dream. Nevertheless, he was curious why those dreams always come back to haunt him in his sleep. Because of those dreams, he had the fear of being submerged in water; an aquaphobic, to say the least.

The wolf gave him another nudge at the arm. "Come on. Get over it."

"Right…" Ciel wiped his tears away. "This… this isn't the… the time… to be… s… scared…"

"Now you're talking."

"But… but… I…I'm n-not… sure if… I could see… what's d-down… th-there…" Ciel sniffed. "B-but… n-no matter…" He inhaled deeply to ease his anxious breathing. "I…I'll do it… f-for… S-sebastien."

"For me…" The wolf blinked. He was quite disappointed for the boy's objective in some way. But for seeing the boy show bravery for facing his fear, he admired the boy more.

"T-there s-should be some way to drain this… w-water." Ciel said. "W-wait here, boy."

Sebastien just had this instinct that made him quite uneasy…

"D-don't worry." Ciel said to him with a smile with a reassuring (wet)rub on the head. "I'll come back for y-you."

"Well, DO come back!" Sebastien nudged his hand in reply. "Seeing the way you act before, something bad might happen to you."

"I'll c-come back. I really w-will." The boy said as he looked back into the deep, dark pool of water before him. "Now, I hope those swimming moves from those movies we watch c-could work."

"What are you talking about now?" The wolf remarked as he watched the boy dive into the water. "But I hope you know what you're doing…" He floated about a bit and waited.

He sniffed at the air; the scent of Pluto was coming in. And it was fast approaching. "Oh please! Of all places…!"

Ciel felt a bursting pain in his chest and a stinging pain in his eyes; the same pain he always experienced when he had those dreams and waking up from it. Being submerged in real water, the pain was worst and his whole body was stinging cold compared to those dreams. But he had to endure this pain for a while though; it was his first time to dive into the water like this. Upon discovering his phobia, his mom and dad talked to the teacher to excuse him from taking swimming lessons with his classmates. So, he didn't have any experiences 'deep into the water'-related from then on… yes, even using the tub. That's why he allowed Sebastien to go take a bath first since…

…Nevermind that. He had something to do.

He paddled his arms and legs the way the people in movies do whenever there's a swimming-scene involved. The water was stinging his eyes but he kept them open to see whatever he was encountering; though he couldn't see anything because it was completely dark. He continued to paddle forwards and downwards since the staircase descended in a spiral.

His head was starting to pound stronger. So far, so good, but he had to hurry.

He paddled further and was amazed at the area before him; he had gotten used to the pain so his eyes were open. There were stained glass windows all over the walls and the most amazing about it was that, the moonlight shone through them. The moonlight displayed the colorful designs of bright angels with light colors accentuating the patterns; therefore providing the area with colorful illumination. He paddled further and the enlightening color changed into a pale colors and then to dark colors. Further and further down, the black and violet color changed into a menacing, blood-red. The designs also transitioned into malevolent creatures; demons to be specific. He was distracted momentarily at a design he happened to glance upon: the window displayed a dark, blood red horned demon with eagle like wings folded in a way to cover its body and face; thorns of roses were wrapped around its neck, wrists and ankles. The feathers from the folded wings concealed most of its vicious but almost solemn face; save for its left eye. The demon's eye had some sort of star-shaped design etched into it; the detail of the lines proved to be exquisite and detailed despite the material of stained-class. "Whoever made it must've wanted to emphasize the pentagram design than the rest." He remarked.

His eyes stung, but quite bearable. He had to hurry.

He took his attention away from the design and paddled through the water with larger strokes. His mind was quickly going into panic; so far, there wasn't anything to make the water exit and he couldn't hold his breath much longer. "A door or anything to break the window… anything!" He paddled faster.

His breath was about to escape from him. He had to hurry.

He saw an outline of a closed door. A rush of excitement made him paddle towards the door faster. He quickly grasped the door's handle and twisted it. "Since the door's hinges are visible in my point of view." He thought as he placed his foot at the wall; just beside the door's frame. "I should pull the door towards me." He pulled the door; his foot at the wall provided him with extra leverage. But since the door was deep under the water, the pressure made it hard for him to pull the door.

His breath escaped in a stream of bubbles. He forced his mouth shut and his will to ignore the urge to breathe. There was simply not enough time. He positioned himself in a way to face the knob sideways; he planted both of his feet at the wall and used both of his hands to pull harder. He added more force at his heels and arms for more leverage still, but the door remained unmoved.

He could not force his mouth to be closed anymore. His breath escaped in a large mass of bubbles and his head seemed to be splitting in pain. He held on to his remaining will not to breathe. He continued to pull at the door, but it remained stubborn.

His will broke and he uncontrollably inhaled an amount of water. His lungs burned in pain; he coughed and forced his mouth shut but his coughing always broke his lips open. He let go of the knob and clamped his nose and mouth in a futile attempt to close them. But he continued to inhale water, even if it was against his will. He could hear the loud and painful pounding of his heart and head. His vision spun and faded into darkness. He felt limp; his body floated hopelessly.

…His situation was awfully similar to his dreams. He was hopelessly trapped deep down into the water. Every time he struggled to keep on surviving, he always ended up succumbing to the pain and darkness.

"Am I going to die?" He thought as his eyes went half-lidded. "Just like this?"

He was about to resign to the pain and darkness when a warm touch grasped him by his shoulders and back. Whoever it was, it pulled him close. A pair of hands held his face and warm lips locked unto his own. A warm muscle pried his lips open a bit and gently coaxed him to open his lips more. Though he felt sharp canines poking at the corners of his lips, it didn't matter; he just gave in. He felt warm air passing through his mouth and filling his lungs. His hands groped through the water in hope of grasping something solid; he wanted to hold on to this stranger. It was his only hope to survive in his living nightmare. He felt some sort of fabric and firmly clung to it; making the stranger's body press close to him for a moment. He felt life and vivid consciousness slowly coursing throughout his body once more. "I'm sorry! It's now or never!" He thought as he pulled away from the stranger and went back to pulling the door once more. He resumed his previous position before the door and pulled.

He felt the stranger join him in his predicament. Warm hands clasped his own and pulled on the door together. The door finally moved a bit; both of them continued to pull. They can't afford to stop now.

The door finally opened wide and water gushed out to the door thus, forming a current. The current was strong enough to suck both of them in. They held on together as the current threw them into places unknown. Ciel held his acquired breath hard; he won't lose this air again. The stranger held on to him quite painfully; the grip on his wrist was too tight but he understood it, seeing the situation they're in.

He felt concrete slam on the back of his head and he fell on an assumed floor. The stranger gripping his hand took off and he heard desperate gasps of air. The water must have drained to somewhere and wherever he is now, his water problems are finally over.

The blow struck him stunned and almost numb. He felt a hand grasp his wrist again. He attempted to look up but his body seemed unresponsive. "Th-thank… you…" He raised his eyes up, but all he could see was a white blur in a dark background. "Thank… you for… saving… me…" He said in a hushed voice and passed out.

A/n: Muhahaha! I'm BACK. Curse you 3rd Quarter, you've tortured me!!! You halted my writing! That one month could've written a lot of chapters! Grrr!!! I'm still stuck at chapter 16 of this! Angela should've chased Ciel and Sebby by now! Arrgghhh!!!

Listen to me rant...

Anyways, the Kuroshitsuji Musical inspired me. Go watch it in YouTube while it's still there!!! Belated Happy Birthday Ciel! If only my quarterly exams wasn't scheduled on your birthday, perhaps I would be able to draw a pic for you but... (T_T).

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I'll update with all my best.

Replies:

Yana5 – In one of the episodes of Kuroshitsuji (I'm not sure what episode it is, but I'm sure that he's fighting with Grell and Madam Red was just recently killed) Sebby had this dialogue that he 'made a vow in the presence of the moon to protect his master'… something like that. Thus that made me write that vowing scene in this fic. Maybe I have to check that episode again; it might be my fantasies working.

ToonyTwilight – Thanks a lot! Now have a tart and a cup of tea! My treat! (:D)

Chu chu banato – Glad you liked the tea even though the concoction was odd… I guess I'm playing too much American McGee's Alice. But anyways, many thanks!