"Where did she go?" Alois asked holding a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"I don't know. Sebastian had left for backstage after the song was over" Claude replied.

"They're about to announce the results. Can you hear where they are?" Alois asked and Claude nodded.

"I can hear someone running outside but I cannot find Sebastian anywhere" Claude replied.

Alois bit his lip and then looked up at Claude. "Go help Ciel. I'll be fine here".

"Master, I can't just leave you here" Claude protested.

"It's okay. You can go. If Ciel wins anything, I'll go up for her. Go!" Alois said.

Claude sighed and then began making his way out. He walked out the front door and then began listening for Ciel. He followed the sound of running footsteps and then heard Ciel calling out for Sebastian.

"Lady Ciel, you should be inside" Claude said and Ciel whirled around, her eyes wide.

"Claude, have you seen Sebastian?" Ciel asked.

"No, Alois ordered me to look for the both of you" Claude replied.

"I think I ruined everything Claude. Sebastian's never going to forgive me" Ciel said.

"Right now, you need to be in the theatre. If Sebastian truly loves you, he'll be back. You connection can't be erased that easily" Claude pointed at Ciel's eye patch.

"If he doesn't show up by the end of the ceremony, I'm summoning him" Ciel said.

"Now, let's go back" Claude held out his hand and Ciel took it.

They returned to the theatre where the winners of each category were being announced.

"Next we have the male vocals category. And the winner is... Terrence Morgan from St. Mary's Junior High!" the MC announced.

Ciel turned and flashed Darren who had a frown on his face as he clapped. The Queen held out the gift certificate to Terrence who bowed low to her and to the crowd.

"In the female vocals category we seem to have a tie. The winners are Maahi Tejani from York Academy and Ciel Phantomhive from St. Rudolph's Academy!"

Ciel grinned and she walked onto the stage. Maahi received her gift and then Ciel stepped forward.

"Congratulations, Countess Phantomhive" The Queen said and Ciel curtsied.

"Thank you very much" Ciel said and then she left the stage.

After the awards were given out, the overall winner who won in most of the categories was awarded the cash prize. Ciel clapped politely as St. Mary's took the cash prize. Their school had won in vocals, cello and piano which made them overall winners.

Then a strange noise began playing through the theatre. Ciel furrowed her eyebrows as the noise grew louder and louder. A scream echoed through the theatre and Alois turned to see a woman on her knees, holding her head in her hands and screaming her head off. The noise changed, its pitch growing higher and higher. Many people clamped their hands over their ears but couldn't stop the sound from penetrating their minds.

Ciel pressed her hands over her ears and then gasped out in pain as she felt hot red blood flow from her ears and between her fingers. Claude had his hands over Alois's who had curled in on himself on the floor. Finally Ciel couldn't take it anymore and ripped off her eye patch. Her eye opened and she screamed for Sebastian.

The pitch increased and Ciel screamed out in pain. Alois kept silent but let out a few whimpers every few seconds. Then there was a sound of a crash and then it was dead silence. Ciel's bloody hands fell against her sides as she collapsed onto the floor. Claude removed his hands from Alois's ears which were bleeding a little.

"Lady Ciel" Claude knelt down next to Ciel and began wiping the blood from her hands and dripping earlobes.

"Where's Sebastian?" Ciel asked and then a wave of dizziness overcame her.

She awoke at home, in her bedroom. She had been changed into comfy PJs and her head ached. Ciel touched her ears and discovered bandages had been wrapped over her pinna and earlobes.

"How do you feel?"

She looked up and smiled in relief when she found Sebastian hanging up the dress she had worn today in the walk in closet.

"I have a headache but that's it" Ciel replied sitting up.

"I have painkillers for the headache" Sebastian closed the door to the walk in closet and then offered Ciel the painkillers.

Ciel swallowed her with water and then set the glass down on the side table. She glanced up at Sebastian who was staring at her with worry.

"I'm sorry. I got carried away with the adrenaline of the moment and I made a mistake. I hope you can forgive me" Ciel said.

"If I had not forgiven you, why would I come and save you?" Sebastian said.

"You're contracted to me, that's why you're protecting me. I thought that's the reason why you came back" Ciel said.

"I was contracted to your ancestor, not to you. Claude and I stay with you two because we want to. We both love you two and that's the reason why we're here" Sebastian stated.

"Then why is this here?" Ciel asked tapping her eye.

"Mark of a demon's mate" Sebastian replied.

He lied down on the bed, on his side and propped his head up with his arm.

"Mate? As in partner for life?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian nodded and then reached out to stroke her hair. Ciel leaned into the touch and then lied down on her back. Sebastian cupped her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. The door burst open and Sebastian looked over at the door. Ciel groaned and then turned to glare at the intruder. Her glare melted into a smile when she saw Luke's embarrassed face.

"Sorry, I'll come back later" Luke said averting his eyes.

Before Ciel could call him back, Luke had already left. He walked down the stairs and then saw Alois reading the newspaper in the sitting room.

"I thought you were going to check up on Ciel. Is she awake?" Alois asked spotting his brother.

"Yeah she's awake and Sebastian's with her. They're being all PG-13" Luke replied and Alois chuckled.

"Let's go check. Maybe they're being R-rated too" Alois said and Luke blushed a bright red.

When they returned to the room Ciel was busy watching TV while Sebastian was combing her hair.

"Hey, Ciel. How are you feeling?" Alois asked flopping onto the bed and earning a glare from Sebastian.

"It doesn't hurt much. What happened after I passed out?" Ciel asked turning the TV off.

"We didn't find who did it. Sebastian had knocked him unconscious and then gone to take you to the hospital. Claude and I went to get the guy but he was already gone. He was making those noises by using a flute at a really high pitch" Alois replied.

"A high pitch flute? Modern flutes don't have that much power to subdue an entire theatre" Ciel noted.

"It was a rather long flute. I believe it was made from bamboo shoots" Sebastian said.

"A traditional flute. The only flutes made from bamboo can be found in Asia. Most specifically China, Japan and South Korea" Ciel said.

"The Queen was fine though. She was rushed out by her bodyguards who had some protective ear plugs in" Alois said.

"That's lucky but what's the point of playing the flute like that?" Ciel asked.

The door opened and Hannah came in pushing a serving cart. Ciel's mouth watered at the sight of the large black forest cake near the teapot.

"Luke, want some cake?" Ciel asked but Luke seemed to be in deep thought.

"What's up, bro?" Alois asked staring at his brother in concern.

"If the person was playing flute then maybe it was one of the participants in the competition" Luke replied.

"All of the participants had modern flutes. I didn't see any traditional flutes" Ciel pointed out.

"Maybe it was hidden?" Alois suggested.

"We need to conduct a thorough research" Ciel pointed out.

"First, which stores in London sell traditional flutes?" Luke asked.

"It will be easy to find one since only two exist. There is a chance for the flute to come from Asia but so far only two shops sell genuine ones" Sebastian replied.

"We'll have to head over there then" Ciel said.

"Only after you get better" Alois reminded and Ciel groaned.