Author's Note: I don't usually write any notes before my chapters, but I felt I should write one because of the interest gathering around this fanfiction. Thank you all for your support and interest! I am glad so many of you are enjoying the story. Just as much as you all enjoy reading it, I very much enjoy writing it, so again, thank you!

The boy's large, blue eyes squeezed shut, his fingers tightening around the edges of the table. His breath hitched as he prepared himself… prepared himself for the slash that would bring his short life to an end.

But instead of hearing the sound of the axe as it whipped through the air, he heard a man clearing his throat. He cracked an eye open and saw the tyrant's foster son slowly stand up, looking nonchalant and surprisingly bored considering what was happening before him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Agatha…" he started, not looking apologetic at all.

The entire audience gasped loudly, and even the musicians stopped to gawk at the tall, dark-haired man daring to interrupt a sacrifice.

The witch's eyes widened as her hands shook around the axe she was so tightly holding, her pale blue eyes holding rage and anger as she screamed, "What do you think you're doing?! How dare you interrupt a sacrificial ceremony?!" Her eyes quickly moved to the tyrant as she shrieked, "Tyrant Peisistratos! Control your son!"

The tyrant was also bewildered, shaking his head as he stood and grabbed for Sebastian's wrist, pleading with him, "Sit down, son! You'll incur the wrath of the gods!"

Sebastian smoothly pulled his wrist out of the tyrant's hold and sighed, glancing down at Ciel, who was now staring up at him with shock and confusion. The red-eyed man rubbed his temple, looking down at the ground as he said slowly, "I would actually incur more wrath from the gods if I let this sacrifice continue…"

The witch's anger only increased as she shrieked, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SEBASTIAN?!"

Sebastian took slow steps toward Ciel, his eyes focused on the boy as he stood across from him. He then grabbed for one of his legs and spread it open. Ciel squeaked with surprise, his protests muffled behind the white cloth as Sebastian closely examined his private parts.

"Hmmmm…" Sebastian said contemplatively, not taking his eyes off of the area between Ciel's legs.

The witch, Agatha, was now fuming with anger. "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, SEBASTIAN!"

The tyrant, and now his sons, were standing, worry clear on their faces. Hippias yelled out, "You're going to curse us, Sebastian! Sit back down!"

Hipparchus added, "Save your perversion for another time, Sebastian! This is completely inappropriate!"

The audience was also now becoming restless, their expressions showing obvious worry and fear, afraid of the gods and their frequent wrath-induced curses.

"I assure you… This will certainly save you a lot of curses from the gods," Sebastian said, trying to comfort the audience. He reached his hand out to the cloth pressed against Ciel's mouth and easily pulled it down. As soon as he did this, a stream of angry protests spilled out of Ciel's mouth.

"What's wrong with you?! Staring at me like that! You disgusting, filthy animal!"

Sebastian chuckled as he said, "My suspicion continues being confirmed…" He waited for Ciel to finally calm down, the boy now mercilessly glaring up at him.

When Ciel's mouth closed, Sebastian placed his thumb between Ciel's lips and pried his mouth open, examining that as well. Ciel had a sour expression, the older man's fingers against his lips feeling odd and unnatural.

Sebastian finally released Ciel's lips and said with another sigh, "This is quite embarrassing, Agatha…"

"What is?" the witch snapped, her usually pale face now red.

"How do I say this?" started Sebastian, rubbing his temple again as he feigned embarrassment. He glanced at Ciel and then back up at Agatha, pausing for a bit and taking a deep breath in before saying, "This boy is actually my… eromenos (1)…"

The audience gasped. Hippias and Hipparchus dropped their jaws, in complete disbelief.

Ciel's eyes widened, an incredulous expression taking over his face as he opened his mouth to argue against this ludicrous claim.

But Sebastian placed a gentle yet firm finger over Ciel's lips, saying, "Ssshhh, I know it's embarrassing, but… it's okay. I'll take you back." He then quickly pulled the white cloth back over Ciel's mouth and tightened it from the back.

Agatha's eyes narrowed as she leered, "Nice try, Sebastian. This boy is a virgin. No way is he your eromenos."

Sebastian chuckled, his expression amused as he said, "Ah, how impeccably he fooled all of you." He glanced at Ciel, winking as he said teasingly, "How naughty you are."

"Stop this at once!" shrieked the witch. "You're a liar! A damn liar, Sebastian!"

Sebastian shook his head as he said, "Honestly, Agatha, I knew at once after I pulled that white cloth off his mouth and he spouted all that anger out at me that he was my eromenos… He's quite the feisty one."

"How could you sit there for hours watching him be tortured and not say anything?! How is it that you just realized he was yours now?!"

"I was daydreaming… Lost in my own world, I suppose," Sebastian said nonchalantly.

"Ciel Phantomhive comes from a noble family. He had very esteemed suitors begging at his doorstep day in and day out, sometimes sleeping there for weeks just to prove their worth. Anyone who had the privilege of being his erastes (2) would be quite publicized and well-known all throughout Athens."

Sebastian blinked as he said, "I am the tyrant's foster son… He is privileged to have me."

"Sebastian," Agatha started warningly, "don't play around with me. You never once touched this boy. He is a virgin."

"Again, he had you all fooled. He's quite efficient at that, actually. Acts like a good little boy, but in the bedroom, he's something else entirely," Sebastian said with a pleased expression. He then quickly leaned down and grabbed Ciel, carrying him in one arm. The blood trailing down Ciel's body stained Sebastian's robe, but since the man's clothing was completely black, the marks were not obvious. However, Sebastian's hand that was wrapped around Ciel quickly reddened with blood, and his neck also had a few drops of blood.

Ciel squirmed in Sebastian's hold, glaring at him, his voice muffled, as predicted, behind the white cloth.

Sebastian leaned closer to Ciel, and the boy flinched away, but Sebastian successfully reached his ear and began to nibble on it. Ciel squirmed even more, trying to back away and placing his small hand on Sebastian's neck, pushing the older man away. A handprint of Ciel's blood-covered hand ended up on Sebastian's neck after the struggle.

In front of everyone watching, Sebastian nibbling Ciel's ear was a sign of affection and intimacy. But Sebastian was actually whispering in Ciel's ear, "If you want to live another day, shut up and be still."

Ciel's eyes widened at the older man's words, but he knew they were true. So he stopped squirming and trying to protest behind the cloth. He wanted to live, and as disgraceful as this was, it was not nearly as disgraceful as having his head chopped off in front of thousands of people.

Sebastian pulled away with a smirk, looking at Agatha before saying, "You still don't believe me, do you?"

"Of course not! You always pull shit like this, Sebastian," she retorted.

"Well then, would a confirmation from my eromenos be enough for you to believe me?"

The witch snickered as she said confidently, "It's obvious he disagrees. The first words he said to you were filled with insult and anger, not love and affection. He was squirming in your arms and refusing for you to examine his private parts. It's obvious to everyone he is not yours."

Sebastian playfully pouted as he looked over at Ciel, saying with a nudge, "What does my lovely eromenos have to say about this?"

Ciel looked down pointedly at the white cloth held tight against his mouth, his blue eyes going cutely cross-eyed as he does so.

Sebastian chuckled at the sight before saying, "Ah, yes, I almost forgot," he said, but he didn't make a move to remove the white cloth, not trusting the boy enough to give him his voice back just yet. "Well, how about a nod for yes and a shake of your head for no? Are you my eromenos?"

Ciel swallowed thickly. His heart raced at the question. His parents had always told him never to give himself up too quickly to any suitor. A boy who gave himself up too quickly was looked down upon by society; boys, especially nobles and aristocrats, were encouraged to make it very difficult for suitors to gain them.

For this reason, many suitors struggled and went through miserable efforts just to make Ciel their lover. But he didn't like any of the suitors. Not a single one.

Not the richest of them, not the most handsome of them, not the strongest of them. Ciel simply did not like them.

And he did not like this one, either. But… this certainly was not an offer, right? It is only to save Ciel's life. This can't be serious. He would never be the eromenos of the tyrant's foster son.

For some reason still unknown to Ciel, this red-eyed stranger wanted to save Ciel's life; this was the extent of the offer. Just to save Ciel's life.

So Ciel nodded, though he was looking down at the ground. Something about this made his face redden and heart beat… Something about this made him feel uneasy and embarrassed. Something about this was completely wrong.

"Aaww," Sebastian said fondly, "he's shy."

"Unbelievable!" screeched the witch.

The audience went into a frenzy. "What does this mean?!" someone yelled out.

"We almost sacrificed a boy who is not a virgin! He is not pure!" another person screamed.

"But we didn't actually sacrifice him! So maybe the gods will forgive us!"

"But they're already angry with us! What will they do?!"

"And what about the demon?! What will happen to the demon?!"

Screams and hollers sounded all across the arena.

The tyrant stood and banged his staff on the ground. "SILENCE!" he hollered. But nobody acknowledged the tyrant's authority. The arena was still in chaos, people now running and sobbing, some even rising onto the stage to pray and beg for mercy at Pluto's altar.

Sebastian smirked, taking this opportunity to say to the witch, who was now also in a state of panic as she tried, with the tyrant, to calm the people down, "Well, I have to get going now. Some business to take care of. Sorry for the confusion and inconvenience."

And with that, he disappeared off the stage, holding Ciel in one arm, the other arm pulling his robe close as he left his people, the Athenians, in complete commotion.

Footnotes:

1. An eromenos is an ancient Greek word describing an adolescent boy who was courted by an older man, or was in an erotic relationship with him. (Think of it as Greek for uke!) Erotic relationships between adult males and younger males, usually in their teens, was socially acknowledged and accepted in Ancient Greek. There are many social customs surrounding these relationships (called pederasty), and they were often a way to discipline and educate an adolescent boy, the older man training the boy in academics and physical activity. (Take "physical activity" as you like. ;))

2. An erastes is the older man in the above relationship. (Think of it as Greek for seme.)