Chapter: 13: Carnelian
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Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji belongs to the fantastic Yana Toboso. I'm only sorry that I'm using her magnificent characters to make up naughty nonsense such as this XD.
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Following Ciel's conversation with his Aunt Hannah, the incubus prince and his master decided to retire from the event earlier than planned. Ciel was exhausted from all the excitement while Sebastian seemed oddly restless after his private discussion with the king and his cousin. Two months had passed since the night of the king's feast and Ciel had spent his time growing accustomed to his new body. Being inexperienced in controlling the magic of flames, he was at risk of setting the fortress' furniture on fire. Sebastian had easily ignored this… until Ciel managed to destroy of his precious antiques, a chess set, by reducing it to mere ashes. After that, he scheduled regular fire training lessons for his pet who took it almost too eagerly. Sebastian then wondered if that little 'accident' had been on purpose.
On days where Sebastian was occupied with his work, Ciel took to the skies, enjoying the rush of cool air that stroked against his bare skin. His wings permitted him to fly twice as fast as he used to. It was also then where he practiced his own ice magic, which was now far more powerful than it had been. Instead of icicles, he could now conjure a snowstorm that blanketed the sky above the fortress. While Ciel enjoyed the cool weather (which was natural for an ice demon), Sebastian and his servants did not. The archduke had to purchase a few fur jackets just so that the demons' activities would not be hindered by the cold. It was then Sebastian began to realise that he had been spoiling his pet far too often. Initially, he decided that a punishment should be in order. However, the devil soon noted that the upbeat strut that Ciel took after every snowstorm meant that he would be less…catty in bed. Thinking twice, Sebastian decided to leave the problem as it was. As the saying goes, no pain, no gain.
There had been changes among the staff members as well. William Spears was a new addition to the service crew in the Michaelis' Fortress. He was a high-level poltergeist that had served the incubus royal family for decades. Seeing the chance to slip away from a pesky redhead, he accepted Rachel's offer almost immediately. After arriving at the Fortress, he witnessed the sorry state of the servants and immediately attempted to set things straight, much to the delight of Ciel and the amusement of the Sebastian. Bard, Maylene and Finnian were subjected to what the trio would consider as torture. Their workload was doubled and break time shortened. Even though they were, by right, ghosts with no 'proper' physical bodies, the three are beginning to feel the ache in their backs that was procured from bowing at Sebastian and Ciel far too often.
Ciel decided that he would visit his home at least once a month, at the request of his father. However, the situation made it necessary for the royal incubi family to invite Sebastian as well. Needless to say, Ciel was amused at how skittish his incubi brethren were when Sebastian was present. Sebastian himself seemed unfazed by the buzz of activity around him. The only individual who wasn't excited at the archduke's presence was the incubus king himself. Dinner was an eventful affair. Ciel's younger siblings surrounded him, crooning and tittering at his new looks. While Ciel was pleased to be at the center of attention at the start, he quickly grew bored at the small prodding fingers that touched his wings and big doe-like eyes that scrutinized his every feature. Rachel had to restrain her brood when she noted the chilly air that hung around her second son. Ciel was after all, infamous for his short fuse. He was especially dangerous now the he was a full-fledged incubus. On Sebastian's end, he found himself rather intrigued with the incubi's culture and traditions. Since incubi are known to get their energy from…elsewhere, their diet consisted of mainly low-energy dense fruits, which was found in almost every dish. Although he had noted Ciel's penchant for fruits back at the fortress, he hadn't thought much of it until then. It seems that too much energy can make an incubus sick as well. Rachel explained that the incubi have a limit to how much energy they can absorb at a time. It made sense, for no creature in the underworld is built to withhold that much magical power. Sebastian and the queen then delve into a conversation about other aspects of incubi culture, such as their couture and common traits. An example would be their love for jewels. At the other corner of the table, the incubus king sulked. Obviously, he hadn't counted on being ignored by his entire family.
With everyday events like these, time had passed in the blink of an eye. Ciel found himself lazing around in his room, flipping through books that he had stolen from Sebastian's collection. It was the day following his second visit to his old palace and he couldn't believe he was already starting to miss his family, even his younger siblings. Hence, he distracted himself with books of various topics- Hell's Flora and Fauna, Jewels and Ores and Demon Magic. The incubus found it interesting that his masters' interest seem to span across various domains, a trait that had probably helped him conquer the previous demon king. Then a knock pulled him out of the pages of his fourth book- which was on the topic of Devils, souls and energy. The incubus turned over on his bed to find Sebastian leaning against his doorframe- a bottle of wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other.
A soundless invitation.
Ciel smirked. He was no fool. This was yet another one of Sebastian's attempts at foreplay. First they would start with a sip, which would soon be followed by licks of wine-drenched lips. Tongues would battle and dance, doubly sensitized by the alcohol that set their bodies alit. Clothes would come off and Ciel would find himself pressed against some sort of hard surface with his master leaving marks of fire along his spine. Sex was a usually a quick and dirty affair between the both of them…and the incubus wouldn't have it any other way. Without a word, he pushed himself off the bed and stretched like a cat. Ah well..it was about time for his meal.
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"Vincent, honey, you have got to let it go!" Rachel pleaded with her husband as he continued to stab his fork repeatedly into a slice of pineapple, mutilating it beyond recognition.
"I can't Rachel. There is just something that seems out of place. Doesn't it seem likely that the archduke is hiding something? Ignorance may not be one of Ciel's traits but the archduke is not one who easily reveals his secrets."
Rachel sighed. Vincent's worry wasn't without reason. To be honest, she was worried for her son as well. But as time dragged on, she could see that her son was faring just fine. In fact, she was almost sure that the archduke could very well be the perfect master for her Ciel. Her son was just like Vincent when he was young; Ciel hungered for power, knowledge and intelligence. Sebastian would be able to provide her son with all of those. During the dinner, she could also tell that the devil and incubus' characters complimented each other. For a curious creature like Ciel, a mystery was the perfect thing to keep him occupied. Sebastian was just that, a mystery with stratified layers waiting to be solved, one by one. She also suspected that Sebastian favoured Ciel for his strong personality. It was almost hard to believe that he was born an incubus. Unlike most of their kind, Ciel would rather stand his ground than lick the boots of stronger devils who intend to belittle him. He was no submissive. But then...that might have changed too.
"Vincent, dear… do you think Ciel is happy?"
The incubus king raised a brow at his spouse, surprised at the question. His immediate answer was of course a 'No'. But Rachel cut into his thoughts once again. "Weren't you watching him the whole of last night? Can't you tell that he seems more alive? More animated? Don't you think Archduke Sebastian is the reason why this is so?"
It was then Vincent hesitated. He already knew. He could tell that Ciel had changed. It wasn't obvious but as the boy's father, it was easy to spot the difference. He just didn't want to acknowledge that it was thanks to the pompous archduke.
"So what if he did?" Vincent retorted, stabbing at the pineapple doubly hard this time. Rachel sighed. This stubbornness of her spouse always managed to drive her up a wall. "Why don't we talk about this another time? We do have to meet the queen of drudes in an hour." Vincent smiled at his wife in appreciation. She knew that he needed more time to think.
Unfortunately, what both of them didn't know was that he was just about to run out of time.
The king scooped up the mashed pineapple and guzzled it down, unwilling to let the kitchen staff witness his short episode of childishness. He then noticed a large berry of sorts sitting at the side of the plate. He was partial to berries and loved the acidic tang that was left on his tongue with every bite. He plucked the fruit off his plate and popped it into his mouth…sealing his fate.
All of a sudden, his body stilled. Rachel looked up, bewildered when her husband's movements had suddenly stopped. And then…
"ARRRRRGHHH!"
It happened within seconds. The incubus king let out a torturous roar that echoed in the large dining hall. Tables were overturned, plates were cracked and wings were unfurled. Vincent's protruding claws tore at his mouth, drawing deep lines of thick red blood that dribbled down his chin that splattered all over the floor. Rachel stepped back in horror, watching as her husband rolled around the once pristine marble floor like a hell dog with rabies. He tore at his own clothes, whipped his tail at nearby attendants who fell to the floor and screamed like he never did before. And then, just as sudden as it had begun, Vincent completely stopped and dropped to the floor, dead. His mouth was open and foaming; eyes jet black-the sign of an incubus' death. Rachel couldn't believe her eyes. Her mate… her handsome, beautiful and wonderful mate was…dead? It couldn't be.
The succubae dropped to her knees, as silver droplets lined her eyes. The shriek that tore out of her throat was full of sorrow, despair and anguish. Her claws dug deep into her shoulders, causing her own blood to flow down her shoulders and arms in trails, mixing with her husband's shed blood that was spattered all over the floor. Why? How? How did her husband die?
Then, her question was answered. A small clank echoed in the large hall, alerting its presence to everyone present. Something red had tumbled out of her husband's mouth. It was a large half-eaten berry. But that wasn't the thing that caught Rachel's attention. Inside the berry was a small carnelian gemstone that glowed with magic. Rachel could sense it…it was her husband's. The jewel had absorbed Vincent's life energy away, leaving him for the dead. But this was the first time she had seen a jewel with this kind of ability.
She turned to her shocked servants with tear-stained cheeks and bloody shoulders. "Get all of the kitchen staff out here. I want to know who did this to my husband, NOW!"
As the servants scrambled to fulfil their mistress' orders, Rachel turned to her husband's dead body, silent. Poison was something that demons didn't have to worry about since it takes a lot more than that to kill one of them. So how did one insignificant jewel steal away her husband's life? For a few seconds, the queen remained still and then giggled. She crawled forward; her hand reaching out to caress her husband's cool and bloody cheek.
"Don't worry my love. I will avenge you… even if it costs me my own life."
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A/N: Plot twistttttt. Will you believe me if I say that I had planned to kill Vincent off from the start? XD. Oh and I was supposed to get this out on Thursday… but my sister took me out to get a birthday/mother's day gift for our mum. That and I've been busy trying to complete a game I didn't manage to complete about a year ago XD. R&R! Oh and I'm not sure which story I'll update next first. A new chapter will probably be out sometime next week…but I'm not sure for which story just yet. Hope you guys enjoy this! It isn't considered a cliffhanger right? O.o