Chapter 11
Excitement laced his voice as Grell pushed the doors open with gusto. "Let's go!"
What greeted them was unexpected, yet... anticlimactic, to say the least.
The large space was dark, illuminated by a few candles hung on the columns supporting the room which gave it a far more ominous feel that it should have had otherwise. The tiled floors were spotless, and the entire capacity was empty save for a lone girl standing on a platform in the center. Upon closer inspection, she looked entirely lifeless with her glassy, unblinking eyes. Grell leaned forward, gazing at the girl's hand with interest. "Hey, doesn't that ring look awfully familiar?"
When Ciel moved closer to inspect the jeweled band, the girl shot her hand out and grasped his throat with an incredible force. Her form didn't move an inch as he struggled against her hold, and in his desperation he called out for his demon hound, only to see the dog preoccupied with a wayward doll and completely ignorant to his lord's plight.
The boy could only curse the useless creature as the strange girl continued to cut off his air supply. Suddenly, the crushing pressure was released and he unceremoniously fell to the ground. He managed to blink away his tears to peer at his savior, and above him hung Grell from the chandelier, clicking his tongue in distaste.
"You ought to call the right name," he sang smugly. With a flair, he whipped out two scissors from his coat pockets in what she could only assume he meant to be impressive. Ciel blinked, registering the fact that he held a common household item in his hands and calling him out on such.
Grell's indignant shouting blurred into the background as Seir found herself approaching the forgotten hound. Noticing her, he dropped the toy and cocked his head in curiosity.
Kneeling before him, the demon's hand reached out and ran its fingers through his mess of hair. Pluto found himself in pure bliss under her soft hand.
"You're a cute pup, aren't ya?" she mused. His foot pounded against the tile floors as she reached to scratch under his chin. His black irises peered at her under languid lids as Seir paused.
An otherwise unassuming dog collar poked out from underneath his neat white dress shirt, but she recognized the power imbued in it and let out an amused chuckle.
"Hey now," she placated when she tugged on it, causing him to whine in displeasure. "I can help you, only if you promise to be loyal to me."
Her words caused him to hesitate and make a questionable sound. Glancing at their two companions who were preoccupied with the body of the girl now on the ground, she flared her demonic energy for a moment to get the dog to recognize her power.
Pluto only blinked and continued to pull against the collar.
"...Ah," she mused, understanding. "So it's the butler."
Strength meant everything to a demon, so it would only make sense for the hound to feel compelled to remain loyal to the Duke rather than her. However, allegiance to either of them would mean naught as long as the restricting collar remained around his person.
Does Sebastian know? Her fingers fiddled with the crude object. Perhaps he felt it but doesn't think it important? Or is he not proficient enough in magic to undo the binding?
If the latter was the case, then that just brought her closer to identifying the mysterious demon.
A sudden song tittered through the room like a songbird in a hallway.
"Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away…"
All of their attentions were brought to the source of the sound, emanating from a set of closed doors across from the entrance. With a flair they were swung open, and from the darkness emerged a haughtily dressed figure holding dimly lit candelabra. With a dead look in his eyes, the stranger mused that the girl before Ciel was a failure, and with little inflection in his voice recited that he must make them "much, much stronger".
Before the boy could take further action, the man raised his arm and recited the same tune, only this time chanting "iron and steel" rather than wood and clay. Behind him, four of the dead looking girls approached their group from behind him, eliciting a gasp from both Ciel and Grell.
Determined for his future date with Sebastian, as thickheaded as he was, the reaper charged at them with his pitiful scissors only to have his strikes deflected with ease.
"Grell," Ciel started with that same, aggravating tone. "You and Pluto stay here and play."
"Huh?" the redhead gasped in disbelief, only to barely dodge a strike from the doll that had blocked him a moment before with a yelp.
The Phantomhive heir shot Seir a look before taking off down the hall. "You, with me!"
"You're inhuman!" Grell screeched as his female companion followed behind him, leaving the reaper with the dog and four crazy comatose girls.
Ciel seemed deep in thought as the two ascended up the stairs, completely ignorant to the fact that they just fed half of their party to the hounds, so to speak. He furrowed his brows in a determination that she seldom saw amongst her kind, and Seir felt the smallest sense of recognition for the boy's iron will.
Why are they always so arrogant, though? she mused, recalling their only two instances together. She let out a slight chuckle at the thought, because imagine a child commanding her, though it went unnoticed by her companion. The pair reached another door soon enough, and upon opening it they were greeted with a grander room than before, this one pleasantly lit. They had only made it halfway across the room before a presence made itself known.
"Ciel Phantomhive."
The boy froze upon hearing his name and looked up at the source. The same strange man from before gazed upon the child with no expression.
"You are very beautiful," he remarked. "I must make you into one of my dolls."
"Where is Elizabeth?" the Phantomhive heir questioned firmly, ignoring his previous statements. The stranger in turn did not answer his question, but rather continued his own musings, asking himself what kind of material was worthy for a doll of Ciel.
There's no time to waste, he internally sneered. Gritting his teeth, he continued on his pursuit with Seir right behind him.
The man's voice echoed behind them like a persistent ghost.
"Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold…"
Behind the next door, they were greeted with quite a strange sight.
A black, all encompassing room, decorated from top to bottom with an assortment of circus masks. What was unnerving, however, was their continued chorus to the stranger's melody in perfect harmony. She could see that Ciel was slowly being driven to madness with today's events as he forcefully shut his ears and made a dash for the other side.
Up another agonizing flight of stairs to where even she was out of breath, because fuck stairs, they burst into another room. Ciel in his desperation shut the door closed with all of his weight, breathing heavily. Seir sank against the wall, feeling the muscles in her leg burn after years of general disuse.
After allowing himself a moment to decompress, Ciel's breath caught in his throat beside her. Following his gaze, she looked to see his eyes stuck on the strange sigil drawn in the center of the room. It wasn't a rune that she recognized, but it clearly held significance to the child, if his distraught features were anything to go by.
"What is that?" she found herself asking.
Ciel didn't speak, his eyes glued to the symbol but his mind entirely elsewhere. She wasn't expecting a response all things considered, and resigning herself to this fact she opted to trace the design to her memory. If anything, it would make a nice template for a new seal in the future.
"I won't lose her…" she heard him murmur under his breath. From the corner of her eye, Seir could see his fist was shaking in barely contained fury. "Not this time…"
Out of respect, or perhaps pure laziness, the demon remained silent, offering him a listening ear and her mere presence. Ciel continued to mutter, but without context it was just an incoherent mess. Through it all, he seemed to frown deeper and his eyes spoke of anguish, yet not once did he shed a tear during his internal battle.
The demon was reminded yet again that despite his outward appearance, he was the farthest thing from a child. The sheer insanity of this whole endeavor would press on his fragile psyche, but as heat tempers the steel, so would trials strengthen his mettle. Assuming he lives for many years doing... whatever he does, his future self wouldn't bat an eye at even the most grotesque and outlandish sights.
Seir found herself looking forward to seeing what he would become.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and in a moment she was on her feet and baring her teeth in a seemingly primal state of aggression. Ciel snapped out of his reverie and stared at her growling at nothing (possibly thinking her crazy), until Sebastian leapt through the open window with more force than necessary, leaving cracks in the floor from his landing. Upon realizing whose presence she had felt, however, she dropped her stance like a hot coal with a blank expression on her face.
He, too, blinked upon noticing her, although he did not relent his guard entirely. In fact, her being there only raised his suspicion, and the butler didn't peel his eyes from hers as Ciel demanded his attention with a surprised shout.
"Yes, my lord?" Absent minded was the only word to describe his tone.
His servant's stare did not go unnoticed by his master, though the Phantomhive could not decipher their silent conversation. Regardless, the boy would not permit such blatant disrespect to himself, and in turn burned a glare into Sebastian until he would give him his undivided attention.
Thus, a strange staring contest ensued.
Ciel crossed his arms, growing irritated, and Seir did the same as the demon before her tried to pin her down with his gaze. Contrary to Ciel's belief, she had as much of an idea as him as to what the butler was trying to convey. However, she refused to back down or feel uncomfortable under his stare, because honestly she couldn't care less about what he would do. She could use Ciel as a hostage if she really needed, but to be fair she's lived long enough to consider how she wanted to go out.
Would she be okay dying here?
...Yeah, she could die happy knowing Grell would suffer under him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ciel growing impatient, but still holding onto that stubborn nature of his he wouldn't budge. Feeling bad enough for him, Seir would generously break the silence.
"Your master said something, dog," she finally said.
Taking the opening, the boy again demanded his attention with a curt "Sebastian," and finally those unamused burgundy eyes met his.
However, before he could continue. the butler spoke. An unassuming smile graced his lips. "It seems your birthdays are cursed with misfortune, no? Your home, your parents, and now… Lady Elizabeth?"
Clearly, he was not feeling too submissive today.
Ciel, affronted by both the demon speaking out of turn and the comment itself, blinked in shock before anger filled him. "You dare?!"
"Dare to what?" he responded pleasantly, a shit-eating grin on his devilish features.
"To speak to me in such a manner!"
"Young master," Sebastian interjected, his face falling into one of irritation now. "You said that you would take care of some 'trifling business'. Did that business include gallivanting with another demon, of all creatures?"
Both of them were refusing to meet her gaze, which allowed her a front row seat to their dispute. A place she was quite content to remain in; arguing was much too bothersome.
Ciel's features darkened at the accusation. "Watch yourself, Sebastian. Your jealousy has no place here - you may believe otherwise, but I will honor the contract that binds us."
A flash of emotion that she couldn't decipher sparked in the butler's eyes before it was gone the next moment. However, to their satisfaction Sebastian relented his hostile demeanor. Fully turning to his master, he deeply bowed in repentance.
"Apologies, my lord," he said demurely to placate the young heir. "I did not mean to doubt your intentions."
Ciel looked down at his grovelling servant, the action enough to satisfy him. "Good."
Seir stared at the picturesque scene as Sebastian straightened himself, gazing at his master with the same emotion as before. Then it hit her.
Pride, she realized. It was pride.
Author's Note:
Hi guys! Sorry for missing two updates last week; got a lot of work before Thanksgiving break and I wanted to spend this Wednesday with family. I will try to also update this Saturday as well - one of these days I will do a double update to make up for it!
Fifi: Haha, same… I'm going to school farther north than what I'm used to and definitely can't wait until spring. OTL
Miss Meep: It's not as funny as I could have planned it, but then again they haven't had much interaction with each other yet. There will be funny moments between them in the future! :D
steph557: I can only imagine what it feels like x.x I'll bet it's like heaven on earth LOL
James Birdsong: Thank you for reviewing so often! I've definitely noticed, and I appreciate the support! :D
Thank you to all of my new followers, current followers, and reviewers! I love you~
Also a fun note: I signed up for a class in the spring that it all about angelology, demonology, and apocalyptic literature in early Judaism and Christianity. If you couldn't tell I'm REALLY excited! :D I'll definitely apply a lot of what I learn into my writing in the coming months, so stay tuned!
Happy Thanksgiving!