Chapter Three: Discovered Secrets

The letters were now coming in more so every week, rather than once a day. It was understandable, since Ciel was so involved in solving that case. It had been five long years since his departure. Elizabeth was now 19; a young lady. Although she had matured over the years, her childish nature had not quite abandoned her. She still often fantasized about her fiancée's return, and about their eternal love they would share in the future. She still overreacted at the sight of 'cute' things and the sound of 'adorable' music. She still wore those fluffy dresses that stood out from the crowd. Yes, she hadn't changed much over the years, and she wondered if Ciel had changed at all while he was gone.

It was the young master's 18th birthday. The friends and family would always hold a ceremony for him every year, as if he were actually there. However, as the years went by, less and less people started to show, slowly growing tired of expecting an absent host. By his 18th, only Elizabeth, her family and servants, and the Phantomhive servants had arrived to the scene. Ciel's side of the family had not even turned up, for they had all eventually died. The celebration was small, but the crowd still enjoyed the time spent together. They all uselessly sang "Happy Birthday" in the air, and sliced a cake to eat. It was a shame that the man of the hour couldn't turn up, but he was just so busy.

Elizabeth clutched her tightly wrapped gift and walked up the steps towards Ciel's room. Every year she bought a gift for him, knowing he would have to return one day to see them. Her fiancée always sent her a gift, so it was only fair that she returned the favor to him. The young lady opened the door and gently set her gift down next to the large stuffed cat and the other presents, which were all coated in Christmas wrapping paper since his birthday was so close to the holiday. She stood there a moment and gazed sorrowfully at the presents. Elizabeth couldn't wait to see his smiling face open all of the things she had bought for him, slowly piling up over the years.

"The master will greatly enjoy these gifts once he returns from his trip." A voice soothed, also taking note that Ciel was no longer a boy anymore. It was Tanaka, the most reliable head butler of the Phantomhive estate. He stood pleasantly with his arms neatly folded behind his back at the door way in courtesy of her space.

Elizabeth shyly smiled at the benevolent butler. "Thank you, kindly, sir!" She cheered. The girl had always admired the old man for his good nature.

"Let me know if you're in need of anything, and I'll hurry to your aid," the servant assured. Tanaka nodded and escorted himself from her presence, shutting the door and leaving her alone to her own business.

Elizabeth turned back to her presents and sat down on her knees, her dress coming up into a poof. She gazed sourly at the gifts, craving for her fiancée to come back and open them all. The girl sighed and looked away from all that she had bought. She didn't want to stare at them anymore. Then suddenly, something under Ciel's old bed had caught her eye. It was the corner of what looked to be a book she had never seen before. The young lady reached her hand out and slid the object into open view, and studied the cover for a while. There was nothing on the front. It was just a red book. The inside, however, held poor cursive and terrible grammar. It seemed to be Ciel's old diary, back when he was a small child. The first date was labeled "August 11th, 1886." He would have been 10 at the time. Elizabeth read on, giggling at some of the things he had said as a little boy. She could almost imagine him saying that with his short-tempered attitude.

Reading all what he wrote brought sweet memories and wistful tears to her eyes. She recalled some of the days he had written about where those two had spent time together at a ball or at a carnival. However, her fiancée mainly wrote about his adventures with Sebastian, and how he detested the 'demonic butler.' It was so odd to read. Elizabeth thought her fiancée had admired the beloved butler. She began to wonder where Sebastian had truly gone off to in his disappearance that had taken place only months before Ciel. The child had spoken of strange things in his journal; demons, death gods, angels. They were all so very uncommon in the real world. She couldn't comprehend the child's demented imagination. When they were around, Ciel often stated that Sebastian could do things that no other being could ever do before. Now that she was reading about some of the demon's adventures, she began to actually believe the statement that was repeated so many times before. It began to dawn on her if the other servants held such powers, and she began to shiver in fear.

All of a sudden, a wild scream echoed throughout the interior of the mansion. Elizabeth panicked and slammed the book close and retreated to the location of the crowd where she had heard the cry. Upon arrival, she noticed everyone crowded around something- or someone.

"Help him!" One of the characters cried.

"He can't breathe!"

"He's not moving!"

Elizabeth peeked over a man's shoulder to see Tanaka the butler lay down on his back. He was perfectly still. The Phantomhive chef rushed to the floor and began to perform CPR, but it didn't seem to help the situation at all. The beloved Phantomhive butler was dead.

Undertaker stood outside and slowly shoveled a grave that was to be prepared for the deceased tomorrow.

A viewing for Tanaka was held a few days later after the incident in the mansion. Flocks of people, all distant friends and even the loyal servants, came to say good-bye to their friend one last time before the funeral. No one was truly surprised to hear that he had died of cardiac arrest, since he was so old. His time was approaching, anyway. They all mourned while they passed by and looked into his casket at the silent, old man. He lied so peaceful inside the bed of death, as if he weren't actually dead but only stuck in a deep sleep. His pale skin seemed to almost glow from his holy past and good nature. The butler would most certainly be missed.

Elizabeth took her turn to look at her old friend while she wiped her flowing tears away with her handkerchief. Lucifer stood behind her and rubbed the young lady's arm in attempt to comfort her. His eyes glittered as he gazed at the still man. "It's a shame that such a hard-working and well admired man would leave this earth in such an awful manner," the friend comforted. He lightly squeezed the trembling girl, and they walked away from the scene.

"Ciel won't even know his butler died until he gets back," Elizabeth sobbed as they heavily trudged outside where it snowed. "He will be so distraught."

He lifted her chin and brought her into a solacing kiss, as he had always done since they met, and quickly left her lips again as he gazed into her weary eyes and warmly smiled. "He'll be alright."

The two often forgot that Elizabeth was engaged, but it had been so long and they were extremely doubtful that Ciel would ever return. The young lady brought her wet face into his chest and hugged him for a moment. His clothes were so warm out in the cold of the day. He rubbed her back and shushed her sobs, although it was no use since she would only cry until she couldn't cry anymore. Elizabeth let go and moved away from him. At that point, all she wanted was to be left alone. Lucifer instantly understood her by her actions and retreated to the inside of the funeral home.

The woeful girl wandered out towards the ice-covered lake and stared at her reflection. Her makeup was stained under her eyes, which ruined her feminine attributes. She sat down and held her knees to her chest, wishing for the butler back. Not only him, but she craved to see her fiancée again. She felt utter regret going off with this new noble, but she had grown so accustomed to him. Her family detested her decision, but they too felt that Ciel wasn't coming back and decided to accept her desire. Elizabeth rested her chin on her knees. "Oh, Ciel. I'm sorry for all that's happened, and you weren't even here to help any of it," she wept, wiping her tears away again.

"Please don't cry," she thought she heard a voice say. The girl looked up, recognizing the voice. There stood Ciel, a young child, standing on the center of the ice.

Elizabeth immediately stood from her ground and cupped her cheeks in fright. "Ciely, you get back here right now! That's dangerous!" She called almost childishly as if she were still a young girl herself. The beckoning girl began to cautiously step onto the ice and slide her feet towards her fiancée. Her arms flailed as she struggled to keep her balance, and her feet moved every which way along the ice. She focused down on her feet and watched them become still once more, now catching herself from falling flat onto the ice. She giggled at her accomplishment and looked up again, but realized the child was gone. "C… Ciel?" Reality hit her, and she remembered she wasn't a little girl anymore, nor was she playing games; she was standing on dangerous ice that could shatter at any minute.

The girl arose in panic, and she started to flail her arms again. The ice beneath her feet began to crack around her body; her eyes trailed the enemy as it circled her. Before she could save herself, the platform broke, and a splash flew into the air as she fell into the hole. The icy water immediately stung her skin like bees and needles. She grabbed at the ledge and screamed for help, frantically kicking her legs underwater. Normally back in her childhood she would beg for Ciel's aid, but this time she was calling for Lucifer.

He sped through the trees at a rapid pace, and he jumped onto the ice and slid to a stop in front of her. His hands took hold of her arms and he lifted her to the surface with what seemed like super strength. Lucifer knelt down and patted her back as she sputtered water. "What were you doing, Lizzie? You could have been just as dead as Tanaka if I wasn't around!" He lightly shouted. With a deep sigh, he took off his coat and placed it around her shivering body, then he gently lifted her up in a princess style and began to easily cross back over the ice to the solid ground. Elizabeth stared at him, wondering how he managed to move on the ice so smoothly. It wasn't humanly possible. She thought back about Ciel's diary and remembered all of the supernatural things the demon butler could do. Just when she was about to question her savior, he lost his balance for a moment and almost fell, reassuring the girl that he was indeed human.

Lucifer tightly carried her all the way back to the funeral home and placed her inside the carriage without telling anyone they were leaving. He got in behind her and closed the door, and the driver went off back to the direction of the Middleford estate. The guardian scooted closer to the survivor and began to hug her to keep her warm, but it didn't seem to satisfy her. "We'll be home before you know it, and you'll be able to warm up in front of the fire," Lucifer soothed with his voice calm and quiet. Elizabeth also scooted in closer and snuggled up to his heated body. He sort of chuckled and looked down at her. "What were you doing all the way out in the midst of the lake?"

Elizabeth couldn't work her mind to speak. All she could focus on was how cold she was. And Ciel. She didn't know what she saw out there, but it obviously wasn't her fiancée. He was definitely not a child anymore, and it was preposterous to even assume that that was him coaxing her to the middle of that dangerous pool. She suddenly burst into tears. So many unexplainable events had happened in the past couple of days that she just couldn't control herself. She buried her icy face into his warm chest, and he stroked her on the back like he had done earlier and kissed her head. They remained in silence for the rest of the ride.