A/N: Hey! Last chapter guys, I really hope you all like it! Depending on feedback, I may do an epilogue =D
February 1886 A.D. England
Sebastian, having nothing to do and nothing that particularly needed doing, spent his second evening with his new master in his own room, pondering the events of the previous two days. In mid January, he'd been summoned to a boy after being drawn to an unusual deep, riveting amount of anger radiating from the boy. Before he'd formed the contract, he'd automatically known the souls most recent history. Finding out that he had been kidnapped a month before in the December had piqued the demon's interest enough to appear to the boy.
Finding out that the boy was the host of the soul he had been chasing for centuries before letting it go was not the best of news he had discovered. But the contract had already been formed by the time he had realised it, and as the boy seemed to have shown no sign of recognition behind his eyes when he adapted back to the form he had held as a human (and apparently, horrifically similar to the boys father; it made him wonder if the late Vincent Phantomhive had been the reincarnation of one of his brothers), he left it alone. There was no light behind the boy's eyes, not even when his fiancé had cornered him and swept him into her arms in tears of joy at his being alive (Seeing that girl again had put him in a bad mood; he'd had enough of the girl in 15th century England; to see her again with a twice as girly attitude was annoying). Not even a sparkle in the orbs when his aunt had done the same thing, holding him tightly like she would a son and not asking about anything that had happened whilst he was gone.
The eighth time Sebastian found Ciel, he was the servant.
He had chased the soul through lifetimes in order to find it for himself, and now he had it. The irony of how he was obtaining it didn't escape him.
He prodded at some of the logs in the fireplace, setting them alight and welcoming the warm flames when compared to the cold snow outside. Ciel had still not spoken very much to anyone, least of all him, and had continued to wander around with little aim whilst the last of his wounds healed. Sebastian rather suspected that, once they had gone, Ciel would change very drastically; he could sense a determination deep inside him. That, and in this lifetime he had been spoiled from birth. If he wasn't a brat, Sebastian would suspect something to be wrong.
There was a sharp rapping on the door to his room, followed quickly by the twisting of the doorknob. Sebastian would have wondered who would be awake at this time of night in the Phantomhive household had he not recognised the small rasp in the breathing of the person entering the room. Silently, Ciel walked in, shutting the door behind him carelessly and sitting on the edge of the bed in Sebastian's room. His eyes were locked onto the flames in the fire next to where the butler was standing, although the difference in his composure was noticeable immediately to the demon.
Ciel was holding his head high, as would be proper for a head of the Phantomhive name, clearly knowing that it made him seem to be looking down at whatever would be the target of his gaze. His airs were settling, the weight of everything that was soon to come finally registering with the boy who had, only two months ago, once been enjoying a life where he hadn't expected to be burdened with it so quickly.
"Bocchan, you are awake fairly late this evening." Sebastian's voice broke the calm silence that had descended the moment Ciel entered the room, making the boy give a scoff as he looked into the fire.
"Nothing escapes your attention, does it?"
And now Ciel was being sarcastic. Sebastian refrained from rolling his eyes or making a noise of displeasure, and instead studied him. The nervous, inquisitive nature of the boys first incarnation had not reappeared in this one. From what he had gathered from Madame Red, the boy had been similar to how he once was, but after the fire and his kidnapping there was nothing left in him apart from hatred and a desperate will for revenge. That was something that Sebastian could feel emitting from the soul without even touching the boy. He dared an answer.
"I should hope not, bocchan. What good would I be if I didn't notice everything?" The next realisation to the demon contradicted that statement; only now did he notice that his master was sopping wet. "Bocchan, have you been outside?"
"Of course not; I was walking down the hallway and somehow ended up wet." The demon could feel the sarcasm dripping from the ten year olds mouth. "Of course I've been outside."
"Bocchan, it is raining outside. If you had wanted to take a stroll outside, you could have merely called and would have saved yourself the trouble of getting soaked." The demon had a point, his tone holding a small amount of sarcasm when the word 'stroll' rolled off his tongue, making Ciel narrow his eyes at the fire he was staring into. The contract on his right eye reflected the orange depths of the fire, and the demon found the symbolism annoying. That being said, he knew that Ciel's soul would be one of the best he would consume, regardless of the past lives that they had lived through.
"I didn't go for a stroll. I sat by the statues in the garden." He muttered, his eyes flickering to the desk where the key to his room lay. The demon hadn't locked his door that night; either that, or he needed to get a working lock.
"Could you not have done that in dry weather, bocchan?" Ciel shook his head at that, irking the demon.
"No, I could not have."
"May I ask why?"
"It's harder for a fire to start when it's wet everywhere." He muttered darkly, making the demon pause momentarily as he searched for a towel through the drawers in his room. He may not sleep, but he didn't appreciate his master getting everything in his room wet. He kept his silence as he wrapped the towel around the wet nightclothes of his master, squeezing at the soaking strands of hair to get rid of the water. Some parts of Ciel's hair had fuzzed and tangled together; Sebastian rolled his eyes discretely at the boy's messiness.
"Elizabeth is visiting tomorrow… I think she wishes to ingrain herself into my life permanently so as to make sure that I do no disappear again." Ciel muttered as Sebastian pulled a hairbrush through his tangled hair.
"She is your fiancé; sooner or later she will be a part of your life for good."
"Never later. There won't be one. But if she is to visit so frequently, and if I am to continue my father's role as the Queen's guard dog, I want my mansion guarded securely."
"Am I not good enough for that task, Bocchan?"
"Not when you're out in London with me and she decides to visit this home whilst we're away. Find some servants who can both serve and protect the mansion." Ciel muttered, wincing as the brush was yanked through his hair.
"Very well, bocchan." Sebastian uttered quietly, smoothing Ciel's hair and tightening the ties on the front of his nightclothes. Ciel slowly stood up, unconsciously tugging the towel tighter and narrowing his eyes when his fist uncurled and dropped the few petals of sterling silver roses onto the floor. The demon ignored it, opening his door to lead his master to his room once more. They walked in silence, Ciel a step ahead continuously. Sebastian only gave an annoyed shake of his head, following and resisting the urge to twist the candelabra around in his hand out of boredom.
"On Monday, one of the Queen's aides will be arriving to clear a few things up regarding whether or not I will be continuing the roles of the late Count Phantomhive… I would like you to have more servants by this time, and to show him every courtesy." Ciel said 'I would like'; Sebastian heard 'I order', and the small tingle that ran across his hand made him give a small smirk. His first order.
"Yes, my lord."
The prince thumbed the dyed black rose carefully, ignoring the thorns that he'd yet to pull off. He'd slip it under the servant's pillow if he could; only problem was, the blushing thing hadn't been seen by him since his confession two days earlier. Idly, he wondered if he'd scared the younger man off.
A sharp, familiar rap on the door snatched his attention, the prince quickly hiding the black rose in a container with a red one before uncurling on his seat with a look of pure boredom on his face. Who would be escorting him to dinner today, he wondered.
"Ah… I see that you are still alive." The prince drawled, sitting up properly at the delightful sight of his dear servant stumbling through the door.
"Forgive my absence, my prince. I was ridden with a sickness so bad that the Queen kindly allowed me to be bedridden until it passed." Ciel uttered out, hands wrung together with nerves. The Prince gave a laugh, standing up and sauntering past with a hidden, triumphant grin on his face. The servant followed, quickly and unsurely, after his prince.
"Well, I do hope that you are well enough to serve… Now, could you go inform my eldest brother that he too will be needed at the dining hall, despite his state?"
"Th-that's on the other side of the palace, my-"
"Defying orders, are we? My, my, what shall we do if that is the case?" The prince cut in, a smirk on his handsome face. The servant shook his head, leaving silently to an empty room; Sebastian's brother was not in the country at the present moment but, rather, was visiting one of the smaller islands around their home.
Ciel didn't notice the prince slip back into his rooms with an aim to place the roses under Ciel's pillow.
Aug 26th 1890, England
"How was I supposed to know that you'd get caught?"
"You should have listened. I specifically said 'do not go to London.'"
"Last time I checked, Sebastian, I was your master. You listen to me." Ciel spat out bitterly, wrapping his coat tighter around him as they walked quickly through a park. They were walking at a pace where they would be mere blurs to those who would stop to look at them properly, Ciel two steps ahead and refusing to be picked up by the other demon so they would be able to move faster.
"Bocchan, calm down." He spoke with an authority in his voice that Ciel had never heard directed at him, prompting the smaller demon to stop completely. Before he could turn and retort to that, Sebastian continued. "You gave yourself away. Yes, you saw Lady Elizabeth chatting to me, but you did not need to show yourself as you are. I could have given her any excuse, something as simple as being hired by someone else. You should have kept on walking." As he said this, Sebastian gently pushed his master forward, forcing him to keep moving throughout London.
"Don't touch me!" Sebastian had rarely been hit by Ciel when the latter was human, and since he had become a demon, Ciel hadn't so much as brushed against him. Out of instinct, when Ciel spun to slap him across the face, Sebastian gripped his wrist before it could connect. The bare bit of wrist just below his gloved hands brushed against Ciel's skin, the younger demon giving a truly vicious glare towards Sebastian. Sebastian only picked up his master at his pause, moving at a much faster pace than Ciel was making them go.
"I hate you, you know that?"
"Yes, my lord, I do."
"Can demons find each other?" The question had a hint of curiousness if one filtered the layers, but to most it simply seemed like Ciel was asking the question out of boredom as he twirled a quill around in his hand.
"Please elaborate, bocchan." A blunt reply.
"If one demon wanted to hide from another demon, could he do so and never be found?" Ciel asked, vermillion eyes locking with Sebastian's equally red ones. The older demon blinked. He pondered the question carefully, placing an empty teacup down for Ciel before answering.
"Demons are capable of almost anything, in all fairness. However, that means that although a demon can hide without a trace, it would be futile as another demon would be perfectly capable of finding them. So, yes, but only for a few years at most." He spoke plainly; he'd been expecting these questions sooner or later.
What he hadn't expected, on the other hand, was for the curious little demon in front of him to completely disappear the moment he blinked.
That was when he decided that it really wasn't his year. First, he'd been forced a year before to serve a demon for all eternity, –which wouldn't be quite so bad if Ciel remembered their previous meetings and wasn't an outright brat – then he'd had to teach said brat the do's and don'ts of a contract, and now Ciel had figured out how to manipulate Sebastian's human habit of blinking to try and flee.
Brilliant.
The boy was leading him on a wild goose chase; he had to be. That, or Ciel was stupid enough to believe that, just because he was a demon, he wouldn't leave behind any tracks. In the mood he was in –his normally graceful and uncaring façade broken by a child – he hoped it was the former, only so he could punish his immortal master without any regrets.
The first place where he found trace of the demon outside England was in a French village close to a port. With little cobbled streets, bakeries on every corner and straw roofed houses, Sebastian wondered if perhaps Ciel was having him on. The place seemed so sickly picturesque that Sebastian knew his would have rotted at the sight of it, were he human. Only when turning his head away in slight disgust at the scent of sweet rolls did he notice the plaque on the ruins of a wall next to the docks.
'The black death of Europe was passed from this dock on a spices ship to the docks of Weymouth, England, infecting England with plague in the year 1348 A.D.'
Then it clicked. It uncharacteristically surprised the demon that Ciel would leave such an obvious path. His trail had disappeared for a while a month ago, leaving Sebastian dumbfounded until it had reappeared again in London; Ciel must have gone to America at that time. Then he had to have gone back to London where Sebastian found the trail before speeding off to France.
Briefly, he wondered if Ciel was remembering parts of his life from before his last one. When he'd become a demon, he would have only been able to remember everything from his previous life. Unless Ciel had recalled all seven lives before his eighth prior to becoming a demon, the chances of him doing so now were low.
Nevertheless, he slipped quietly into the shadows behind a building, figuring out in his mind the next place that Ciel would likely be.
He was getting really annoyed.
It had been six hundred and three years since he had walked down these tunnels, but even all those years later, Sebastian still felt a small twinge of uneasiness. The crypt, hidden well underground in a part of China that was now uninhabited, always seemed to hold a thick, uneasy air when Sebastian had visited it twice, over six hundred years ago. It was as if a curse had been placed over the entire crypt, to be triggered only whenever he walked to it.
At the familiar sound of a girly giggle, Sebastian did a double take. For all the good that turning the corner of the tunnel would do, it would seem that the crypt was cursed. A giggle like that would only ever be associated with one man. Slowly, he turned along the twisting path; candelabra letting a light fill the space in front.
"Grell Sutcliff. Why are you here?" The Shinigami in question turned around abruptly, revealing himself to have been messing on with two figurines that he must have found deeper in the crypt.
"Sebby! Oh how long is has been since we last laid eyes on each other?" Sebastian sidestepped when the Shinigami launched himself in his direction. Grell fell face first to the floor, giving a grunt of unhappiness before standing up again and brushing himself off.
"Not long enough. What are you doing in China?"
"That bastard William sent me to judge the soul of a grave robber, who's soon to arrive. He made me –a lady- wait in this dirty crypt!" Grell moaned, his voice whiny as he checked his nails for dirt.
"Why not wait outside?" Sebastian asked, starting to make his way back along the tunnelled pathways, Grell following close behind. At the question, Grell pulled out his book from the pockets of his red coat.
"I saw the name of the crypt. Or rather, the name of the brat residing in here. I thought, 'maybe darling Sebby will know about this crypt and investigate!' And I was right; the fates have blessed us with another meeting!" Grell gave his shark-toothed grin, not realising it couldn't be seen by Sebastian in the darkness. He again tried to launch himself at Sebastian; the demon held a hand out and pushed Grell to the floor before Grell could wrap himself around the demon.
"You know that my bocchan is now a demon; why assume I would investigate a crypt of a long dead boy with a similar name?"
"I was right, wasn't I?" At that, Sebastian didn't grace him with an answer, but only because he wouldn't admit to the Shinigami that yes, he was right. Grell nearly punched the air when he got no answer. "Oh Sebby, you're so stoic! It causes shivers to run all along my skin!" Sebastian cringed when Grell yelled that into the darkness, closing his eyes and trying to get the image in his head that was slowly forming to leave. He stopped abruptly, giving no warning to Grell, who walked closely past his body and into the stone wall. There was some satisfaction in hearing the crack of Grell's nose impacting with the stone and the excited breathing dissipating into a pained groan.
"Right… the lever should be somewhere about… here." The demon muttered under his breath, ignoring Grell's complaints about his face. The stone wall moved slowly to the left, disappearing completely into the stone after a few seconds, as if it had never been there in the first place. The demon stepped lightly over the Shinigami, into the large room ahead. A single sarcophagus lay in the centre, thick and made from gold in some areas.
The general had hated his son in life, but had ensured the best burial for his death.
Grell immediately moved to the rest of the small, army figurines in the room, giggling when he picked some of them up. Sebastian looked directly to the sarcophagus, noticing at once something that hadn't been there the last time he had visited.
A brand new, lightly layered with dust, volume of an Edgar Allen Poe book. It was open, cover facing upwards as if someone had just put it down and then disappeared. Sebastian lifted it up carefully, a single slip of old parchment falling from within the pages. The moment he read the writing on it, Ciel's voice echoed throughout his head and the seal on his hand tingled beneath his skin.
'I order you, stop feeling contractal obligation to follow me, and do only what you care to do until I return.'
Sebastian only rolled his eyes, the order having no effect on him whatsoever; he wasn't feeling 'contracted obligation' to follow Ciel, rather a curiosity to see what his bocchan was doing with his freedom. It was vaguely interesting. He gave a frown at the feel of red tresses against his face, irritated to find the Shinigami leaning over his shoulder to read the slip of parchment.
"Oh Sebby! Whatever are you to do-" He was cut off by the sound of a very, very loud bang, one that reverberated throughout the endless tunnels of the crypt. Grell jumped three feet in the air at the noise; Sebastian simply turned his head to look at the darkness behind them.
"I sense an angry Shinigami. It would seem, Grell, that you have missed your soul." At Sebastian's words, Grell gave a worried whimper and sped out of the room in a half-distressed manner, disappearing into the tunnels towards the front of the crypt. The demon pinched the bridge of his nose, thankful for the momentary quiet.
Pocketing the book, Sebastian gave another look to the sarcophagus, giving a deep sigh before deciding on what he had to do. Ciel had most likely already tried it, judging by the small, practically undetectable cracks along the left side of the sarcophagus. But the cracks only ran along one side; it would seem that, despite being a practically newborn demon, his strength was not yet at its peak. In one swift, precise movement, Sebastian punched the lid of the sarcophagus, sending it flying off and towards the opposite wall with a loud 'crack'. Looking inside, he didn't even need to pull apart the layers of silk to confirm his suspicion that had grown all those years ago.
The sarcophagus was empty.
Where the body was, was anyone's guess. It wasn't the one that Ciel was currently inhabiting; his proof that the body wasn't being consistently revived was when he had heard about the China Ciel's death and had gone to the Constantinople unmarked grave to find the Greek Ciel's bones still buried seven feet deep. But the Sarcophagus hadn't been opened since it had been sealed shut; the crypt had only ever been entered four times - the first, a year after Ciel's death. The second time, Sebastian had been feeling ridiculously sentimental after allowing the infected rat into England, the third was by Ciel himself not two weeks prior, and the fourth time was today, with a rather annoying Shinigami at his side and a demon master to find.
Unless, of course, there was no body to bury.
As he started to think deeper into it, he was interrupted by the sound of heeled shoes tapping off stone floor, followed by a softer set of footsteps close behind. Grell burst in, a rather nasty, healing cut on his head with a few bloodstains, and William Spears followed.
"Ah, it's you. I should have suspected that there was a reason this fool didn't do his job properly." The elder Shinigami looked around, pushing his glasses up his nose with the end of his scythe. "Although I must say, grave robbing is a whole new low for you." Sebastian merely gave him a smirk, bowing his head slightly and pointing to the lid of the sarcophagus that was against the far wall.
"An act I wouldn't have to commit, had you collected the soul of the grave's owner when you were supposed to. If you had done your job properly, this tomb wouldn't be here. Tell me, look inside that book of yours and see why the soul of 'Ciel Phantom' was not collected at the time of his fourth death." He spoke with a bored tone, watching as William gave him a look of disdain and extended his scythe again to hit Grell over the head with as he checked the records.
"Will! How dare you treat a lady-"
"If you had done your job properly, I wouldn't have to admit to this vermin that we made a mistake." He gave an annoyed sigh. "Let's see here. Ciel Phantom. Currently Ciel Phantomhive." As he continued reading through it, he gave a low chuckle and looked up with narrowed eyebrows at the demon in front of him. "It would seem that the reason this soul has kept going on a continuous cycle is because of you, demon. No surprise, really." Sebastian sidestepped an oncoming Grell as he crossed his arms, eyes on William. His face was neutral, eyes flashing in the candlelight of the tomb.
"Elaborate, reaper."
"Souls Ciel Averlain and Sebastian of Arkoi. I see they held no originality for your name. One hung, the other stoned. You died mere minutes apart from each other, after the amount of stones you had hurled at you. There was only one Shinigami present; you were supposed to die an hour apart, but you held on for a ridiculously long time. Unfortunately, he wasted his time trying to wrestle your soul from a demon, only to fail and lose the soul of Ciel Averlain in the process. It rarely happens; simply a case where the soul waits too long to be collected, disappears to be reborn and, after losing the first records, Shinigami are unable to find them again."
"Is the Shinigami responsible for that still alive?" Sebastian didn't mean to ask the question; rather he had felt slightly surprised by William's words and had uncharacteristically blurted it out. William gave a nod, narrowing his eyebrows and stabbing Grell in the side with his Scythe.
"Ow! William, you bas-"
"The Shinigami in question is standing right next to you. It was the idiot's first day out of the academy without being supervised."
Sebastian turned to face a guilty, grinning Grell, eyebrow raised.
"Shouldn't he have retired by now? He's half Undertaker's age, if that's the case." At his question, William pushed his glasses up his face again with a click of his scythe.
"A question I ask myself every day, demon."
When Sebastian reached Arkoi two months later, he didn't recognise it. It didn't register with him that this was his birthplace; didn't register that he'd been killed here by people who were once loyal to here. He was more focused on finding his master and going home, wherever that was. He liked a chase, but not one that lasts nearly four months.
In minutes he had crossed the entire island, stopping at what looked like two cliffs with many, many alcoves dotted around the side. They were crumbling, almost completely eroded despite not hovering over the sea. The actual sea was several yards east of the cliffs, no sand on the shores but large clumps of rock scattered about a stony shore. Most of the population of the island had moved to the west side of the island, where the port was easier to access by trade ships. Only thirty people remained on the island.
He found his master on the top of one of the cliffs, sitting on two rocks that had been brought together, as if they formed a throne. His legs were crossed one over the other, elbow resting on what looked like an arm of a chair and staring idly out at sea. Sebastian wondered if perhaps his master had carved the stone throne from what he could find. He moved towards it quietly, prepared to tightly grasp his master in case he decided to run. Before he had the chance to, however, Ciel spoke.
"I believe I told you to stop following me. Why have you disobeyed your orders?" Other than speaking, Ciel showed no inclination to indicate he knew Sebastian was there; there wasn't even the slightest twitch that would be imperceptible to a human.
"You told me to stop feeling 'contracted obligation' to follow you."
"Then why did you follow?" His tone was bored, clear as a bell through the windless air and sharp to Sebastian's ears. The elder demon moved around the back of the makeshift seat to face his master.
"A vague curiosity. I thought perhaps it would be enlightening to see what you would do with a few months of freedom."
"Liar." Sebastian was rarely surprised, but with one word Ciel had managed to almost make him give a gasp of surprise.
"Oh?" The elder demon uttered softly, although at his tone he could feel Ciel's annoyance through his contract seal. It tingled beneath his skin deliciously, alight with the irritation of a tainted master.
"You wanted to see if I was looking for a way to break the contract. You wanted to see if I could succeed where you failed. I wondered that, if I went back to the very beginning, something would fall into place. Something that would make me see how to break it. I've sat here for a month and found nothing." Ciel spat out bitterly, eyes never leaving their fixed position on the waves of the sea. The proud earl admitting a defeat intrigued Sebastian.
"Why here? A pointless island that is not even marked on a map?" Sebastian asked, although at the look on Ciel's face that came with the question had him wondering if his master would attempt to strike him. But then Ciel's eyes narrowed slightly, the common unsettling smirk resting on his lips as he leaned back in the seat.
"Pointless? Look around you. In fact, look at this throne. You assume I carved it from the rock face? Look more closely. Imagine an arrogant, know-it-all prince lounging out across it with a devilish smirk on his face and a shy, ridiculously dependant servant standing behind it, like a loyal dog." Ciel spoke out slowly, getting up off the throne and walking around it, leaning on the back of it with his elbows propped up, head resting in his hands. Then, as an afterthought, "I'm not talking about Soma, either." Sebastian gave an annoyed frown, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his weight to one leg and tapping his foot. He had no idea what Ciel was talking about, until the boy did the most ridiculous thing possible. He stood up straight, clasped both hands behind his back, allowed more of his hair to fall into his eyes, looked down at the floor and allowed his eyes to portray every false emotion he could think of. Immediately, in Sebastian's mind, he saw himself lounged across the chair, fanning himself with his hands whilst Ciel stood behind, attire changed to the clothes of servants.
"Bocchan." Ciel snapped his head up, changing his stature immediately back to his proud, sophisticated demeanour.
"Now you see it. Now look around, demon. I did not move this throne. It looks as though it has been carved into the cliff. But look carefully at the cliff." Ciel leaned back on the top of the throne, observing the fellow demon before him with the glint in his eyes that suggested one thing to Sebastian; his master was playing yet another game. He did as ordered, however, and quickly noticed that he was not, in fact, standing on a cliff. He was standing on the ruins of a palace. The ruins of the place he had once called home. If Ciel was being unusually sentimental, it wasn't working in drawing out long lost feelings. It only succeeded in making him feel slightly nauseous.
"What is your point, young master? A fun game you are playing, but not one to be played lightly." Sebastian warned, unfolding his arms and allowing them to hang by his side as Ciel simply scoffed.
"There is a piece of the game that you and I have not yet completed; a piece of unfinished business. I'm a child; not finishing a game is unacceptable." The sarcasm was oozing from Ciel's voice, resulting in Sebastian narrowing his elegant eyebrows in Ciel's direction. Ciel gave him another smirk, sitting back down and tapping his fingertips on the stone. With human hands, only a light tapping would have resulted, but with his demonic nails it sounded eerily similar to nails on a chalkboard.
"Then play, my lord."
"I will, butler, I will. But I have centuries ahead of me to play games. Think back to your final hour. Recall thoughts that were once long lost."
"My lord, this will achieve nothing." Sebastian spoke politely, eyes on the little demon sitting on the old throne. It was clear that Ciel was stepping closer to an invisible line. Ciel shook his head.
"Nothing? I don't care. For eternity I am stuck as a demon, stuck with you, forever. If I have to do that, if I really can't escape from you for too long, then I want you to have some life. You're the same as you were when I was human; only now do I notice the monotone. You're blaming me for this. You blame me for ordering you to be my butler until the very moment you eat my soul. But you're blaming me for something else, too. An old enemy from human days; you're unconsciously blaming me for something that you saw in your final hours. And if it takes this to un-bastardise you, then I. Don't. Care. About. Consequences. Tell me, what made you cross the line from human to demon?" With that, the small, angry demon picked up the sharpest rock he could find and threw it with all his newborn strength towards his butler. Sebastian caught it between two fingers, the sharpest point mere millimetres from between his eyes. Narrowing his eyebrows, he was about to make a comment on the childishness of Ciel's actions when he looked behind his young master and saw a view similar to the one he would have seen from his window nearly two thousand years ago. The older demon gave a scoff, one he would generally use when around Grell.
"Pointless questions will get you nowhere in life."
"I'm already dead. I order you, answer me."
"Betrayal, my bocchan."
"If I do it, will you let him go?"
"I will order my guards to stand down and to release his chains." At that, the servant glanced outside one of the window of the King's personal chambers, spotting the prince being held at the front of the palace. He was struggling against the guards that held him. Quickly, Ciel turned away when one of them picked up a rock and waited whilst another started to chain the prince's leg to a post in the ground.
"Two nights ago, at approximately eleven of the evening watch, I… seduced the prince into consenting to unnatural acts, before being caught by his Royal Highness King Alexander." Ciel spat the words out bitterly, hating himself for saying a lie. His eyes flitted from the King to the doomed prince outside. Alexander gave a grim smile, motioning to one of the guards with a nod. The guard left the room, reappearing outside a few minutes later. The servant watched as the prince was unchained just seconds before the sun reached its highest point. A few moments later, Sebastian was surrounded by rock wielding citizens of the city. The servant turned in shocked protest.
"You told me-"
"I told you I would let him go. I did not however, say that I would stop the city from punishing him, nor did I say I would give him back his dignity, title and riches. Now with that confession of yours, I believe that you are due for a hanging. And don't bother trying to look outside; if he sees you observing from this window, whatever will he think?" Regardless of that warning, Ciel sidestepped a guard who came towards him, moving to the window and giving an uncontrolled cry of protest at the bloody state that Sebastian was already in.
"No!" His cry was heard by Sebastian, who glanced up in time to see his servant being dragged from the window by two burly guards. It seemed to him that his servant had played along at the wish of his father.
"Ciel?"
"Sebastian!"