Chapter 14: Lady Iustitia

… He was inside a room full of vials, pots and papers and unintelligible graffiti on the walls. There was an odd mixture of fumes lingering on the air, too. He saw a man working on a table; taking vials and writing something on the papers before him.

… He remained silent and his curious eyes wandered throughout the area. But he remained in his place either in shyness or fear.

"Is there something you need, Ciel?" The man asked. He could not see the man's face because the man wasn't facing him.

… He remained silent and stared at him.

"Don't hesitate to ask, Ciel." The man coaxed him. "Is there something you need?"

"Y-yes…" He answered demurely; twiddling fingers and his cheeks burning into a shade of pink.

"What is it?" The man turned from his desk work and faced him.

…He stared at the man's face. "I need your name. Please?"

"…Please…?" Ciel groaned unconsciously as he felt something warm and damp being wiped on his cheek. Sebastien didn't stop licking his face until he was sure that the boy was awake.

"What are you pleading for?" The wolf watched him stir. "Did that Pluto do anything to you?"

Ciel's eyes finally opened a bit. "S-sebastien?" He looked to his sides, but he couldn't see anything but pitch black darkness.

"Who else should it be?" The wolf shook the wetness from his fur. The boy responded immediately to the sprinkle of cold water on his face and jolted, completely awake. "Uurghh… my head." He sat up and gently rubbed the spot where his head heavily collided with the concrete. "Just knocked myself out. No need to be worried about." He groaned. "Sebastien, where are you? I can't see you…"

Sebastien went close to his side and it alerted the boy to his presence. But Ciel couldn't see the wolf's exact position. He groped around the dark until his hands touched some fur. He didn't let go of that fur; he realized that it was his only way to know the wolf's whereabouts. The wolf's fur was as black as dark and the environment made him completely invisible, save for the pair of glistening orbs he could see in the dark. "Ah, there you are…"

"Hey that's my tail!" The wolf protested. He growled to show his annoyance but Ciel didn't let go despite the wolf's threats. "Whatever part of you I'm holding, Sebastien." The boy apologized. "I'm sorry but…"

Sebastien stopped growling.

"Please don't leave me." Ciel pleaded. "I-it's dark… I can't see you."

"Scared of water first." Sebastien commented. But if he could roll his eyes, he could've done it. "And now, you're scared of the dark?"

"Please don't leave me…" Ciel gripped his tail and let his eyes survey the area; though he couldn't see anything, no matter how hard he squinted. He saw nothing but pitch black surroundings; he couldn't see the floor he was sitting on either, but he could hear the echoes of dripping water. "What is this place?"

Sebastien barked. "Fine. I almost forgot that humans can't see much in the dark." His eyes surveyed the area since his eyes had the ability to see at the dark. There was a huge pit in front of them and another step from the boy would make them fall to an unknown fate. The entire hall was empty but it had twisting paths around some pits on the floor and he knew that the boy's survival depended heavily on him. "The door's a long way to go. I'm sure I can do this!" He barked at the boy, alerting him to follow him. He started walking; though he was uncomfortable with him pulling his tail. He looked back to make sure that the boy wasn't to close to the edge of the pit. "Stay close to me. This place is as dangerous as it looks." He walked with the boy in tow as carefully as he can.

… They made it past the first pit.

… The second…

… The third… so far, so good…

… The fourth…

… The fifth…

… Almost over the sixth…

He heard a scraping sound. His instincts told him that something bad would happen, so he moved on quickly…

"SEBASTIEN!" Ciel's scream echoed and the hand gripping his tail disappeared. "HELP!"

"Oh no!" The boy had fallen to a pit when a part of the floor crumbled when he had stepped on the area near the pit. The wolf immediately turned around and darted at the cuff of the boy's sleeve before it completely disappeared into the darkness. Sebastien bit at the fabric hard. "I mustn't let go!" He hesitated to pull the fabric in fear of tearing it but the boy's weight was pulling him down. His paws skidded because of the damp floor but he kept on stepping back to retain his place even though his efforts were futile. Ciel tried pulling himself up; his other hand gripped the ledge and pushed his foot at a wall to support his body. But the wall was slippery and his hands were dangerously slipping from its grip. "Don't let go, Sebastien! Don't let go!" He cried in panic as his other hand desperately reached for another futile grip.

"Dammit!" Sebastien cursed inwardly as he instantly decided to bite the boy's arm. "I'm sorry but I have to do this!" He quickly lunged at the boy's arm and bit it; he made sure that his bite would secure the whole arm but he was uneasy about the part that he was going to hurt him. The boy's arm was thin and delicate that it could break if he sunk his teeth further into it. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please hold on!" He almost cringed and gave up upon hearing the boy's pained gasps but at least, the boy wasn't fighting back. Ciel managed to pull up, along with Sebastien's help. The boy climbed up immediately on the floor and clutched the arm that the wolf had bitten. "It hurts…" He gasped as he felt his wound as if it burned. He squeezed his arm and took in deep breaths to ease his own pain. Sebastien felt guilty as he tasted blood on his tongue; he had hurt the only person he had vowed to protect from harm. He didn't know how to show remorse but he gave the boy a gentle lick at his cheek and he whined in apology. "I have hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"I'm not mad at you, Sebastien." Ciel smiled and gasped as he continued gripping his wounded right arm. "You only did that to save me."

Sebastien looked for his eyes; he wanted to ask for forgiveness by sincerely looking at his eyes but the barrier of the darkness and his inability to speak made his intention only complied to whining in apology and wagged his tail at the boy's hands' direction. "Get my tail and let's go!"

Ciel breathed in deeply to regain his composure and grabbed the wolf's tail the second his fingers brushed some fur. "I'll be more careful this time, Sebastien." He said with conviction. "I'll try my best not to be a burden to you anymore."

Sebastien walked on with all the caution he had in mind. "You're not a burden to me."

Both of them walked on; tension and fear in the air rose as they progressed. After an agonizing venture, they finally reached the door, and as if on cue, light appeared on the area of the doorway. The sudden glare of the light almost blinded both of them. Ciel shielded his eyes and Sebastien closed his but they opened their eyes a few minutes later when they had gotten used to the light. Ciel looked for the wolf immediately and gave him a tight embrace and a kiss on the nose upon seeing him. "Thank you, Sebastien!"

The wolf snuggled into the boy's affectionate and grateful embrace. At some moment, he wished he was human so that he could kiss the boy back and hold his hand so that they may never separate like what happened in the darkness previously. Ciel let go of him and sighed comfortably. "I'll give you something worthy after this." He said as he rubbed his head affectionately. "I promise."

"No." Sebastien stared at him. "Your kiss was enough." But even though the boy didn't display hard feelings from being hurt by him, the wolf was worried for his arm. Sometimes, he heard of humans dying from animal bites; humans usually say their possible cause of death was bacterial infection. "He said he could recover from injuries fast. But I can't be so sure of that."

Ciel opened the door; his action caused him to wince since he had used his injured arm. The wolf couldn't shrug off the guilty feeling; the smell of the boy's blood was strong though, the smell of it was kind of odd. Usually, human blood had this awful, fishy smell while the boy had blood smelling of roses. "What kind of human are you, I wonder?" He thought as he followed the boy through the door.

"…The way to the chapel…" Ciel said as he looked in awe at the area before him. The area was flooded by light; colorful stained glass windows decorated the walls and crystal and brass chandeliers adorned the ceiling. Rows of polished kneeling benches surrounded the aisle leading to the altar in the very front. "Sebastien, this is it!" He smiled, though in slight pain. "This is the chapel. The key is at the goddess' statue. We're almost there!" He followed the aisle but despite his great anticipation to get the key, he walked slowly to see the interesting designs of the stained glass surrounding the entire chapel. He started looking at the design of the stained glass at the wall just beside the door they had entered; the designs showed a woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She wore white robes and she looked beautiful and elegant even in her simple clothing. The stained glass showed scenes concerning the woman in sequence: at the start, she was happily together with men and other women; the bright colors of the stained glass matched its joyful theme. Ciel continued to walk forward; the woman's smile slowly fades into a distressed expression, along with the change of the vibrant colors into gloomy moods. The woman seemed to be disappointed upon seeing men and women battle each other out for various intentions. He continued to walk on and the stained glass colors changed into taunting and malevolent tones; the woman herself was oppressed by other people. Her hair was grabbed and she was being beaten to shame. Further on, the windows showed how the woman was alone, almost maimed and immobile in her suffering. And then, the hopeless color of black started to fade to light tones. The woman slowly stood up; wings were slowly protruding from her back. Little by little, her wings grow larger and the colors grow brighter. Finally, the sequence ended with the color of white and the woman flying away into the heavens in awesome glory; but her face was still sad and distressed. His eyes trailed from the progressing window designs until he saw a shining winged statue; its shine was almost blinding that he shielded his eyes from the white glare. "Perhaps that poor woman became that goddess, didn't she?"

"Perhaps?" Sebastien remarked, uninterested.

Ciel went past the altar and looked at the statue in admiration. It was an exquisite, nine feet high, ivory statue of an angel holding a double-edged sword in her hands; the way her hands held the sword was as if she was in prayer. Her wings were larger than her and the sculpted feathers were formed as if they were resting. Her eyes were closed and her head was stooped down; the face was solemn and mournful as she had been in the stained glass. The statue shone so bright because of the polished ivory and she looked so real that any moment, she could cry. He brushed his fingers at the feathers that he could reach from the lowest part of her wing. "So this is the goddess…" He whispered in adoration. "I haven't seen or heard of her before. But I wonder what her name is?" He looked around some more; he noticed the plaque behind him and dusted the webs and dust that accumulated at the surface. He noticed the miniscule, golden inscription on the surface and began to read in interest:

Iustitia is the personification of mortal and divine justice. Once, she was a disguised deity living contently among the mortals until their wrongdoings greatly offended her. Thus, she took flight into the heavens; not wishing to inhabit the immoral world any longer. But her great love for the mortals remained in the world. She sought out to punish those who had made wrongs and avenge those who had been wronged. Not only is she responsible for the judgment of mortals but for the divinities as well.

Iustitia is blind. Thus there are no limitations to her revenge; whether lover, divinity, beast or human. Her double-edged sword symbolizes "judgment" and "reason".

"Lady Justice…" He whispered as he looked at the statue again. "I wonder who made this sculpture in her honor?" He looked closely and saw a glitter of gold hanging on her hands; it was a golden skeleton key with a bow with an ornate design. He approached the statue and reached up for the key with his uninjured arm but he couldn't reach it even if he tiptoed. "Pardon my insolence, Lady Iustitia but I need the key…"

"You're still polite to inanimate objects?" Sebastien remarked as he watched the boy reach up for the key pathetically. "You really need more human friends."

Ciel sighed in frustration as he stopped reaching for the key. "Maybe if I use that plaque as a stool…" He turned around and climbed up on the plaque. He wobbled when his feet reached the tilted surface; his heeled boots made his balance uneasy. "Careful… careful…" He muttered as he fixed his balance. "Gee, I wonder why all of my boots have high heels?"

"Why did you choose that kind of footwear, anyway?"

Ciel reached for the key again. He tiptoed and tilted his body a bit forward since the plaque he had stood on was quite a distance away from the statue. A suspenseful moment filled the air as his fingers were a few millimeters away from the key; since the key had the skeleton design, his chances of getting the key was a bit predictable. When his fingers clasped around the key's bit, he wobbled out of balance. Sebastien got ready to move to break his fall at any moment but luckily, Ciel lifted his other foot back a bit to regain his balance once more. "A little more…" He sighed. "I have to lean forward a bit so that I could take the loop off the hands…" He remarked as he stared at the key intently; his body was stretched to its limit as long as he could retain his balance at the plaque. "Best of luck to me…"

"Just who in their right minds would place that wretched key at the hands of a statue?!" Sebastien silently complained as he watched the boy struggle. "Can't they just hide it away in a box or something?"

Ciel leaned forward a bit. He managed to get his fingers to clasp further up to the key's shank but his balance completely ruined. His foot quickly slipped off the plaque and he fell forwards; his hands still grasping the key hard. Fortunately, his weight and the force of gravity broke the string connecting the key but he continued to fall down. He would've injured his jaw if not for Sebastien who darted under him just in time to break his fall. His knees fell painfully behind him but at least his head was safe on the huge bundle of fur that had quite cushioned his fall. He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Sebastien." He nuzzled a bit on the wolf's soft body; the side of Sebastien's tummy in particular. "You're really soft, don't you know that?" He giggled as he looked at the key in victory and snuggled into the warmth of the wolf's fur. "Could you be my pillow for a moment? You're quite comfy…"

"I'm not your plush pillow…" Sebastien adjusted his position so that Ciel could lie on his side comfortably. But in all honestly, the wolf felt kind of… embarrassed and awkward to be cuddled like that; either way he liked his present position and his heart had a jolly, fluttery feeling. He turned his head to look at the boy's ever beautiful face. "Well, you could lie all you want…" The wolf watched as Ciel's eyelids slowly went down to a close as he savored the gentle warmth. Sebastien adjusted his paws and reclined his head on them to rest along with the boy.

"A quick nap won't be so bad." The wolf thought as he took one last look at the boy's peaceful face and closed his eyes to sleep. "But was it only me that I noticed that you looked like that goddess in one of the glass panes?"

A/n: Looks like I have the tendency to be wordy in my sentences. People don't like to read wordy sentences; their patience is thin. Just a realization though. But most of the important details are in those wordy sentences. But skip that. I'll do my best to be direct-to-the-point.

Replies:

Yana5 – Thanks! Have a tart while you go at it!

Chu chu banato! – Don't worry. You'll eventually find out who saved him :) Thanks a lot! Have a tart and a cup of tea!

Cielshadow17 – Thank you very much! Now have a tart and a cup of tea. Actually I don't know what had gotten in to me that I thought of writing a Haunting Ground – Kuroshitsuji fic. I was planning a SebXCiel fanfic with an original storyline but I lack the motivation… and the skill to think of original plot devices. I was also watching some Haunting Ground walkthrough videos at that time and I thought, "Fiona running around and calling Hewie to order him to search for a medallion… Hey, why not Ciel ordering Sebastian to search for something?" But for Sebastian to fit in, he has to be a… hmm, I don't want him to be a pursuer. That's quite unsettling (but it seems to be a good idea!). "Of course! Hewie!" But I don't want him to be a normal dog so I made him a wolf instead; a black wolf to be precise. Because black wolves are really special and I love wolves too! :) And all is history. Ah, and about the SebCiel in the fic, Sebastian is a wolf and he doesn't have much choice being in a master-and-pet relationship but he does admit that he is falling in love with Ciel at a higher level. Sebby wants to hug Ciel but unfortunately he can't. Aww… But he'll get his chance eventually. You'll just have to wait and be patient with… ehmm… Ash's advances. Oh dear, I said a lot...