A little shorter on this chapter but meh. Hope you enjoy; much love for you all. Keva

xx

"What is your name?" I questioned sure he wasn't going to answer and tell me like the man that sold me that his name was of no importance to a low-life like myself.

"You may call me Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" I drew my brows deeply. "Sounds like a servant's name." I said trying not to insult. "Sebastian." I repeated thinking he didn't sound like a Sebastian.

"Just like a servants name." He nodded curtly against the side of my head. "So what should I call you? Slave?"

"No." I nearly bit out. "My name is Vincent Ciel Edward Phantomhive." I answered my spine stiffening with pride. "Everyone calls me Ciel."

"Vincent Ciel Edward Phantomhive?" He pulled me back against him to close the small space created between us when I sat up straighter. "That's a rather proper name for someone given up to be a slave."

I sighed sadly causing my pride to leave me on the exhale. "It's the only thing I'm sure of anymore but," I sighed again and slumped further back against him. "will I even get to keep that? Are slaves allowed to keep their names?"

"Depends on who owns you." He answered with a shrug in his voice.

"You know who owns me now don't you?" I didn't know if I was ready to hear about my new owner and partially hoped he would tell me it was none of my business.

"I do." I felt him nod causing his chin to gently brush the side of my head. "But will you get to keep your name? I cannot say." He answered before I could ask.

"If not I guess you'll be the last person to ever use my name." I frowned sadly. "Remember who I am." I whispered in a small broken voice.

"Why should I remember who you are?" He questioned with a mocking drawl to his voice.

I ignored his tone and answered sadly. "So if I ever forget who I am I'll always know someone out there will know me even if we never meet again."

Yes I was fishing for sympathy but I didn't care I needed it. I hadn't felt sympathy from anyone since months before my mother gave me away and that hurt nearly as much as what was happening to me now did.

"If I went around memorizing every name of every slave I met I believe my head would swell until I could scarcely hold it upon my shoulders."

"Oh." I sighed and slumped even further really feeling sorry for myself. "Then it doesn't matter who I am."

"Already you're so sure you won't get to keep your name." He turned the horse to onto a barely noticeable path that led up into the mountains. "Perhaps your new owner will give you a new better name have you considered that?"

"No," I gave a small shake of my head. "but that still wouldn't be my name."

"True," he agreed. "but a new name for a new life."

"Not a good one so I would hate it anyway."

He snorted at my response. "You've made assumptions about your new owner an owner you have yet to meet. So how can you be sure of anything?"

"I'm a slave." I pointed out sharply. "It's pretty obvious what kind of life I'll be living."

"Is it?" He countered. "You have yet to know what kind of slave you are therefore you can't determine how good or bad things may or may not be."

"But I was sold as a pleasure slave so isn't that the kind of slave I'll be?" I drew my brows deeply completely confused by all of this.

"Just because the man sold you as a pleasure slave doesn't mean that that's the kind of slave you will be to your new owner. You were sold as a slave he only called you a pleasure slave to ensure you were sold."

"Really?" My eyes widened. "So I'm might not be raped or anything like that on a daily basis?"

Again he chuckled at me. "Perhaps, perhaps not."

"But possible?" I urged wanting him to give me some kind of reassurance even if it was minute and meaningless.

"Yes it's possible." He conceded. "But it's also possible you could be beaten on a daily basis." He added in a dark whisper.

Any hope I had of this maybe not being so bad was destroyed completely with those words. "No." I gasped my voice cracking on the fear welling up in my chest.

"The realm of possibilities for one in your position is endless and there is no telling what will or won't happen to you between now and the day you die."

I hung my head as tears welled up in my eyes. "Maybe I'll die tomorrow." I whispered hopefully. "Or you'll let go and I can fall to my death."

"The odds of you dying from a fall this high are very low. In fact I highly doubt you would injure yourself beyond a few scratches." He pointed out smartly.

"Not if I go head first." I tried to lean to the side, clenching my eyes shut, and hoping I would fall.

He jerked me back against him tighter and again laughed at me. "Even a fall like that wouldn't necessarily kill you. Just because you believe you're so high off the ground doesn't mean you are."

He adjusted his grip on my waist causing the shirt I was wearing to ride up higher around my hips. I wanted to release the saddle and fix the shirt but my fingers were stiff and locked tight and I didn't think I would let go even if I could.

The cool evening air hit my newly exposed flesh causing a chill to shoot through my body.

"Are you cold?" He questioned and released his hold around my waist causing the shirt to fall back down around me.

"A little." I nodded and I was.

My feet were frozen and my bared legs prickled with the flesh of the goose. The thin shirt he had me put on kept the cold out but not enough. The only thing keeping me somewhat warm was being pressed against his warm body.

He pulled the horse to a stop and dismounted causing me to go rigid in the spine when I felt myself tipping to the side.

"You're not going to fall people get on and off horses all the time."

"I'm not people I'm me and this is my first time on a horse." I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Now that explains a lot." He nodded. "Alright lets get you off so you can wrap up in a blanket. It's all I have to offer."

He reached up and grabbed me by the waist causing me to clench my thighs tighter around the horse and stiffen my arms.

"Don't touch me!" I bit out and attempted to tighten my hold on the saddle ignoring my fingers and their protests against the painful grip I already had.

"How is it you're afraid now when you weren't while we were riding?" He questioned irritably.

"I have been since you put me on this blasted beast." I growled in return. "Distraction; remember?"

"So now you're not distracted anymore leaving you to remember you're on a horse?"

"No! I've always remembered I was on this creature you call a horse and if you haven't noticed I have yet to let go and I'm not going to let go anytime soon either!"

"Well you're going to have to let go so you can get off and wrap up in the blanket or do you intend to freeze to death?"

He was laughing at me again I could hear it in his voice even if I couldn't see his face under the hood of his robe.

"I will freeze to death thank you." I gave a small curt nod of my head though maintained my straightforward gaze.

He sighed deeply in what could only be annoyance then mounted back up behind me. I could hear him grumbling under his breath as he reached around me and gripped me by the wrists.

"Stop that!" I cried the feeling of dread crawling up my spine. "You're going to kill us both!"

"Hardly." He snorted and with a hard jerk of my wrists pulled my fingers free of their hold on the saddle.

The pain in my fingers was nothing compared to the panic over the fact that I was going to fall to the ground far below. "NO! LET ME GO!" I wanted to struggle against him but knew somewhere deep in my mind that that would surely make me fall. So instead I clamped my legs tighter around the horse holding on with every ounce of strength in me.

"Maybe I should knock you unconscious." He growled as he placed both my wrists in one hand, wrapped his arm around my waist, and easily dismounted like I wasn't even the slightest hindrance to him.

When he set me on the ground my legs instantly gave out from beneath me and I would have collapsed to the ground had he still not had a hold of my wrists.

"Had I not seen you bared there would be no way I would believe that you were a male." He said in disgust and let go of me causing me to crumple to the ground. "Even most women don't behave as you do."

"I don't care!" I bit out angrily when I began to once again get my senses about me. "I'm not a woman I'm me and I can't be anything other than who I am!"

"I can see why your mother got rid of you." He snorted as he turned to the horse again his voice laced heavily with disgust. "Were you my offspring I would do the same to spare myself the shame of sharing my blood with you."

His words cut deep so so deep. I knew I wasn't some sword wielding, war mongering, horseman, but that didn't mean I was any less significant than anyone else.

"I didn't choose to be made this way." I hissed biting down the pain of his words. "You have no right to mock me for it."

"No you didn't." He agreed as he turned back to me holding out heavy wool blanket. "But that doesn't excuse you from acting like a man."

I stood up feeling that I had my legs back under control, snatched the blanket from his hand, and wrapped it around myself. "And do tell what exactly is it that makes a man a man? How tall he is? How deep a voice he has? How much hair he can grow upon his face?"

"No." He snorted. "What makes a man a man is his ability to stare down fear and not wither like a woman over it?" He waved a hand towards me as an example.

"Every person fears something and they can't always overcome it." I pointed out hotly. "I'm afraid of high places and no matter how many times I face that fear it still terrifies me." I turned and began walking in the direction we were going deciding that I was NOT going to get back on that giant beast of a horse.

"Where are you going?" He followed behind me and I could hear the horse's hooves clicking on the gravel behind him.

"I don't know but wherever it is I'm walking to get there." I nodded curtly keeping an eye on the ground so I didn't step on a sharp rocks with my bared feet. "I'm not getting back on that beast."

"Walking will take too long." He came up behind me, picked me up like he was sweeping a blushing bride off her feet, and set me sidesaddle on the horse.

This was worse than straddling the creature. My entire body suddenly went as stiff as a board and with nothing but the blanket to hold onto when Sebastian mounted I started to fall backwards. This was it I was going to fall and die. I was sure my entire life passed before my eyes in the few inches I tilted backwards before his arm gripped around me setting me back upright.

"I told you I wasn't going to let you fall." He whispered soothingly against the side of my head. "Relax and breathe."

That was so easy for him to say he wasn't the one that almost fell to his death. "Please let me walk." I whimpered between rapid breaths.

"We can't. I have other contracts to take care of so the sooner I get you where you're going the sooner I can get paid and move on." With that he spurred the horse into a fast trot and squeezed me tightly to his chest when I gasped in fear.

I didn't know what was worse me being a slave or me being stuck on this horse and no control over whether I stayed on it or fell off. I could be stuck for days on this horse like this and if I didn't fall to my death the stress of my fear certainly would kill me. It was going to be a long long journey of that I was certain.