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Chapter 8: Ruby
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Disclaimer: I do not own smexy Ciel or smexy smexy Sebastian. Booo.
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It was hot-swelteringly so. A pair of eyes furrowed in discomfort. This was an unusual sensation for it had been eons since he had sensed the heat of fire. Fire - the element that he had absolute control over had never defied him once-so why now? Irate, double ruby eyes blinked open as the archduke rose from his slumber. His palms shifted across the sheets of silk, revelling in its softness. Something was missing-but what was it?
Ah yes- his pet. His newly branded pet. Now that was one hell of a night to remember.
Then, as his fingers slipped further down the sheets, he touched something that was hard, rough and most importantly- foreign. Momentarily puzzled, he pulled the object towards him. He then observed the odd object that lay in his palm. It was curved to an odd angle and somewhat resembled a cone. Turning the larger end towards him, Sebastian was even more intrigued when he realised it was filled with some sort of crystal infused with the colour of rainbows. Was this-?
Yes it was.
He looked up and was none too surprised to find a crystal cocoon made from what seemed to be crystal threads. It hung precariously from the room's ceiling as bundles of crystal strings held it in place. It radiated an immense amount of heat that could easily melt stone- as it was evident that most of the wooden furniture in the room had burned down to ashes. If Sebastian hadn't been a fire devil, he would have disintegrated into nothingness like his oak tabletop. It seemed that the invisible barrier around Sebastian had protected him, the silk sheets and bed from the wrath of the cocoon's heat as well. It was a Metamorph- and a royal one at that. Normal metamorphs were coloured in white whereas royal ones were made of glittering crystals- as if aware of the purity of Ciel's bloodline. The archduke then realised why the he had sensed the feeling of betrayal. The magic that pulsed from the cocoon was a mirror of his own.
The archduke stood up, allowing the silk sheets to fall onto the floor-revelling his chiselled naked body. Bending over, Sebastian retrieved a hidden box under the bed that was as fire-resistant as he was. He tucked the horns into said box and snapped his fingers. For a split second, his ruby eyes flickered with magic as the box disappeared into thin air. His duty was done- well, part of it anyway. He then tied the silk sheets around his waist like a towel to hide his bare body-seeing as his clothes had been burned into a crisp. He surveyed the room once again and noted that even his golden clock had melted into a puddle of goo sometime during the night.
It was fortunate that he had been thinking of redecorating his room.
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A body lay inside the cocoon, deeply asleep and unaware of the outside world. From the tip of his fingers to the end of his toes, the creature's body was pulsing with energy that was almost too hot to contain. But far from it being torturous, the incubus revelled in heat that encased him. He felt safe, secure…and most importantly, more powerful than he had ever been before. His body was changing- and this was where he would stay until his transformation was complete.
Suddenly, a muffled shout broke through his slumber. He furrowed his brows as another more quiet and mellow voice followed the first- as if quieting the first. Both of the voices were familiar...but it was the second one that seemed to cause the fire in his veins to climb a degree higher.
"That- That's Ciel? And why is it so bloody hot in here?" The first voice had exclaimed.
"Yes…It is a Metamorph. The brat is asleep…and he will be for a few days. The heat is my fire…nothing to worry about." The second voice was husky and low but pleasant to listen to.
"You mean it is one of those cocoon-like things that incubus sleep in when they have a growth…. Wait a minute...does that mean you...and him had se-" The first voice had began but was then rudely cut off by the second.
"Is that question even necessary?" There was a short pause before the first voice spoke up again.
"Hehehe..I guess not. I will get Maylene and Finny to clean up the room…Will you be needing anything else sir?"
"Breakfast in the study… I will also need a fast crow…preferably one that knows how to avoid losing its letter."
"Yes sir."
All of a sudden, the first voice seemed to dissipate. The sleepy prince then realised that it wasn't just the voice, but the presence of an individual had dispelled like some sort of ghost as well. It was also then that the creature within the cocoon was made aware by the fact that the presence who owned the second voice was still there- and was coming closer. Instinctively, Ciel shifted closer to the front of his cocoon-wanting…yearning to touch his master that he already missed. Something touched his cocoon as the prince immediately recognised it as the palm of his master- the very same one that blazed fiery trails all over his body just mere hours before.
"Sleep well my prince. I will see you when you're ready." A deep chuckle followed as Ciel's body shivered with excitement. It was obvious that the contracted demon recognised his owner-from his magic to his voice. Then, the presence of his master slowly faded away as all was quiet once again. The incubus prince shifted as he suddenly felt tired. Within seconds, he fell into a dreamless sleep-anticipating the moment he would once again set his eyes upon twin pools of ruby fire.
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Grell grumbled under his breath as he lugged a basket filled with dirty bed sheets down the hallways of the castle. Ever since Ciel had his ceremony, Grell had been assigned to the tenth royal child- a petulant succubae named Irene. She was young and had barely started learning how to use her magical powers. However, it seems that she knew exactly how to exercise her power over lesser demons like Grell. The young princess had a penchant of playing with anything that she could get her grubby paws on…including small rodents that the crows, pets of denizens of hell, preyed on. Instead of feeding her crow a live rodent, Irene seemed to like watching the life bleed out of the little critters before throwing its mangled body into the bird's cage.
Grell huffed as he was once again reminded of his new charge. She had certainly taken after her mother in both looks and personality…. He almost missed Ciel, who at the very least had the habit of keeping his own room as clean as possible. As he was walking backwards in order to pull the basket of dirty linen towards the laundry room, Grell bumped into something hard for what was possibly the fifth time since he left the princess' room- except this time, it was into a person.
"Hey! Watch where you're going! Can't you see I'm busy here!" Grell growled. Eyes turning into slits, he lost a smidgen of control over his humanoid appearance due to a heightened level of frustration.
"Sorry." A deep voice murmured as he slipped past the poltergeist, walking away quickly from which the direction Grell was heading towards. The red-haired servant raised a brow. No demon was usually this polite. It was as though as he was up to something… but that man seemed new. Maybe he was just scared of getting bullied on the first day of work like most newbies…and was hence forced to be polite to his new colleagues. Grell had definitely never seen this character before- a new servant perhaps?
But whatever…he had things to do. If he didn't finish cleaning this soon, he would have time to brush his luxurious red hair a thousand times. It was a nightly ritual that he could never miss! Pulling the basket once again, Grell turned towards the servants' wing where the laundry room, kitchens and servant quarters were located. It was going to be a busy…busy night.
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As the prince slept on, he was occasionally awakened by the sounds of chatter and footsteps. He soon recognised them as the voices of the three poltergeists that kept Sebastian's humble abode running smoothly. He caught snippets of their conversation sometimes- his only way of knowing what was happening at the other side of his cocoon.
"It has been three days already…hasn't it?" A worried feminine voice echoed.
"How long is he supposed to stay in there anywayyy?" A whiny voice followed the first. Ciel wished he knew that answer too.
"Shhh! Don't wake him up! Sebastian said that Ciel can hear everything we say! Although that doesn't mean he will remember or acknowledge anything…." The deepest voice of all three hissed.
"I wonder how he would look like… It's hard to imagine a Ciel that is more beautiful than the old Ciel!" The feminine voice sang out again.
"Sebastian also said that Ciel could wake up anytime from four to six days… just a little more. See? The heat is about to die out…this means that Ciel had already used all that energy to grow." The deep voice murmured once again.
"Does this happen to all incubus? This heat?" The whiny voice asked again. Ciel brows furrowed. The sound was just like nails scratching against a board. He really wished that person would go away.
"No… this is because of Sebastian's fire magic. Ciel is simply extracting the power from its raw form. If Sebastian's element had been ice, this room would have been winter wonderland." The deep voice snickered.
"That's so cool! Ah! I almost forgot that I need to serve our master his tea! Where're the cakes Bard?"The feminine voice twittered, obviously anxious.
"AH! I haven't decorated them yet. Shit! Finny...come and help me!" The deep voice murmured as loud footsteps suddenly echoed- but they had soon faded away.
As Ciel slipped back into slumber, some part of him wondered if Sebastian would visit him sometime soon. Aside from the time where Sebastian had first found him, Ciel hadn't sensed him once. But before he could muster the energy to be angry, he felt himself losing his consciousness.
Just a bit more…
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Ever since his only source of entertainment had been encased within a cocoon, Sebastian Michaelis drowned himself in his work. He poured over hundreds of tomes, scrolls and ancient notes. The majority of his kindred only focused on the strength of the magic…but never wondered how these powers actually came about. Sebastian on the other hand, was interested in things that other devils had never wondered about. Why is it that the extent of most demons' powers had been pre-determined by their bloodlines? How did their blood actually contain magic? Is there a way to boost that power?
Sebastian sighed as he slipped his glasses of his nose. Turning back to look at the twin moons through his window, the archduke was somewhat surprised to note that it was already close to midnight. Had he been that engrossed?
Placing his glasses on his table, the devil ran a hand through wisps of dark black locks. He should take a break and stretch his legs…maybe a walk around his home would suffice. He exited the room, the door closing behind him with a great thud. As he made his way down the hallway, Sebastian walked past his room- and then stopped to a grinding halt.
He counted mentally. With a start, he realised that it had been four nights since he had found that cocoon. Sebastian pushed the door open- noting that he could barely feel any heat emanating from the human-sized object. With a grin, he sauntered towards the large cocoon, dragging him palm over the surface of rough crystal threads. What kind of master was he if he wasn't the first to greet Ciel from his slumber?
"It's time to wake up my pet…" Sebastian crooned as he released just a twinge of his fire magic into the air. Almost instantly, the large cocoon moved as cracking sounds could be heard from inside. Drawn to Sebastian's fire like a moth, the creature within the cocoon whined and mewled.
It was time to be reborn.
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A/N: And heeeere is the nexxxxt chapter. I have no excuses…once again. Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm not sure when I'll update again but I really hope it is soon….unless I get distracted by tiger and bunny once again X_x. seriously needs that fandom. Story-wise…this thing is finally getting somewhere…and Sickly Sweet is almost nearing its end..I can't believe it had been a couple of years since I started that. O_o… to be clear, I will NOT be giving up on either of these stories. It may take me a while but I will continue to update them!
P.S : The last chapter's title was Rubelite (the somewhat deeper color of the uncut, unpolished ruby crystal) whereas the title of this chapter was Ruby. I'm sure that answers the question I posted in the previous chapter :D.
P.S.S. In case anyone is interested...the Irene girl is just a side-character from the mystery manor arc..the vampire lady yeah?