HI GUYS!
I don't have a lot of time here, so these A/N's are going to be relatively short.
Questions from last chapter:
Arisa,
As I'm sure you know, I kinda just stole the chant from the second season of kuroshitsuji. In all reality, 'hoheo taralna, rondero tarel' is just a bunch of gibberish the creators made up that sounds like latin. It's meaningless. Sorry to disappoint you. :(
So yeah, this chapter is pretty much a long-ass, confusing dream sequence. I don't know why i decided to do a dream sequence. I usually hate those. Meh, this chapter is shitty anyways.
This chapter was written while listening to Crown the Empire's album, The Fallout, and Falling in the Black by Skillet.
He felt warm. Comfortable. It was a peaceful feeling, almost as if he were weightless.
He opened his eyes, feeling as if he had just woken from a long slumber, and sat up to take in his surroundings, rubbing his head in slight confusion.
'Where am I?' the hazy thought formed in his mind.
He was surrounded in what appeared to be a thick mist. He could hardly see his own hand in front of his face, though he could make out pinpoints of light that could have been stars in the sky above him. He could hear a faint breeze, and something that sounded like tiny ripples of water. His hand brushed against something soft, and he looked down to see he was laying on a patch of smooth grass. He also became aware of what he was wearing. He was cloaked in dirtied brown cloth, tattered and torn in many places. The sleeves were short, as were the legs on his trousers. He wore no shoes.
'What is this place?' His thoughts went on. 'How did I get here?'
Cautiously, since he could barely see a thing, he crawled forward on his hands and knees. He stopped when his hand landed in a puddle of cool water. He looked down, and noticed that he had come to the edge of a lake. The water his hand had touched was like shattered black glass, Like something that was once so smooth and still, until he had touched it, and it rippled and distorted under his fingers. The waves spread across the surface of the glassy lake, and he felt a pang of guilt for disturbing something so peaceful.
The water eventually stilled, and just like that, the black glass was whole again; Eerily smooth, unnaturally still, Almost as if it had been frozen in time. The glassy surface was like a mirror, and like a curious child, he bent down and gazed into the water.
The face that gazed back at him was no older than ten. Inky, messy black hair framed his face, and a pair of intelligent, red-brown eyes innocently observed him. He blinked, and his reflection did the same. He tilted his head, and the face in the water followed suit.
"Raum..." a faint voice called.
He snapped out of his daze at the sound of that achingly familiar voice, and he felt a sudden surge of longing.
"Raum..." the voice called out again, this time a bit stronger.
He turned his head to the sound and stood, surprised at the way the mist was dissipating. He could see a shadow resembling the shape of a woman walking towards him from the heart of the fog.
"Raum," the voice said in a breath of relief.
A kind-faced blond woman with bright eyes holding a small girl's hand strided out the mist into the full view of the boy. His heart stopped, so many thoughts raced through his mind in the span of a second, and his mouth formed the almost foreign word on its own accord.
"M-mama?"
The woman nodded, and dropped the girl's hand to outstretch her own arms to the boy.
Without a second thought, he ran and leaped into her waiting arms. The warmth of the loving embrace made him want to cry and laugh and jump and shout for joy all at the same time. He felt like he was home, if such a word even existed for him. He pulled away to look at her face, taking in every detail, as if fearing that he would forget them. She looked back at him with a tender, loving expression. She softly touched his face, and brushed some of his messy hair behind his ear.
She paused.
And just like that, her stare on him hardened, cold hatred talking the place of any emotion found there earlier. He noticed the change, and it frightened him.
"Mama?"
She suddenly flung him from her arms, and he landed harshly on his back at her feet. His frightened eyes flicked up to her pitiless orbs, and suddenly, just like that, she was gone. Blown away into the mist. Nothing more than an apparition.
Heart pounding, he unsteadily dragged himself to his feet. He looked around for the the girl, which he recognized as his little sister, but she seemed to have vanished along with their mother. Perhaps she was never there at all.
Shaking himself slightly, he called for his sister in a hoarse voice.
No reply.
He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted for his mother.
Nothing.
Distraught, he began to wander aimlessly. He called for his mother and sister over and over, each time with less conviction.
Eventually, he found himself back at the lake. He tripped and landed face first in the cool water. Coughing and spluttering, the boy pulled himself up and sat back on his heels. He wiped the water from his stinging eyes, and watched the water settle down as the waves diminished. He craned his neck to look at his reflection.
His reflection looked older than before, probably about in his late teens. The bones in his cheek stuck out sharply, all signs of childhood roundness gone. All the joy and innocence had left his eyes, which were surrounded by rings as dark as his inky hair.
He heard a soft growl from behind him and turned around. He came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. The youth gulped and nearly fell back into the water. A gigantic black dog loomed over him, bristling slightly with a deep growl rumbling in its throat. The beast breathed warm air onto his face, then turned and ran away.
It wasn't until the thing was out of sight did the youth realize he had been holding his breath. He let out a deep sigh and fell onto his back in the grass. He closed his eyes, willing himself to stop trembling.
His felt a strange warmth on his cheek. Was someone touching him?
"Raum," a soft voice whispered.
He opened his eyes to find the deep green eyes of an auburn haired woman hovering over him. He knew who she was right away, but he found it difficult to believe she was actually there.
He swallowed. "Azalea?"
She smiled and brushed the bangs out of his face.
"Hey," she whispered. "I missed you."
He fought the urge to return her smile.
"What are you doing here?" He asked seriously.
Her smile faded slightly, but she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his closed lips. The contact was short, and too soon she pulled away.
"I'm here because I love you, remember?" she said.
He smiled slightly, reached his hand out to touch her cheek. She caught it, and linked their fingers together.
"Here," she said, "let me help you up."
Something caught his eye, and he glanced over her shoulder to see the pair of red eyes from before.
"Azalea..." he began in a low voice.
His tone more than anything caught her attention. "Hmm? Is something wrong?"
He heard a menacing growl, and began to make out the shadow of the beast as it approached. Terror rendered him speechless.
His behavior was beginning to worry her, and she shook his shoulder to get his attention. "Raum! Talk to me!"
He snapped out his daze and leaped up, grabbing her hand and sprinting in the opposite direction. He heard the woman behind him let out a surprised gasp.
"Wh-what are you doing!?" she hissed.
"Run," he breathed. "Trust me."
He looked over his shoulder and saw that the beast was giving chase and gaining on them. He could tell by the look on her face and by the way she was now running that she had seen it as well.
"What is that thing!?" he heard her say.
Before he could answer, he tripped, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Their hands separated.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then he heard the beast roar...
And he heard her scream.
"Stop it!" he screamed, "Get away from her!"
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the beast, but stopped when he saw the woman's limp, bloodied body at its feet.
"A-Azalea?"
He could feel himself shutting down. He could feel the wetness on his cheeks as tears dripped down his face.
But more than anything, he could feel anger and hatred welling up inside him.
His eyes met the beast's. The thing was licking the blood off its maul while slowly prowling towards him. Out of either bravery or insanity, he stood his ground.
"You killed her," he murmured while looking down, "I loved her, and you killed her."
His fists clenched and unclenched on their own.
He heard a low, chortling sound and looked up. The beast had stopped a few feet in front of him and stared down at him with a look of amusement dancing in its evil eyes.
Finally, he snapped. With a roar of rage, he sent himself flying at the beast. Before he could even touch the thing however, the beast swatted him away with a giant paw, sending him crashing to the ground with the crack of bones.
He gasped at the sudden pain in his chest, and instinctively curled himself into a ball.
Seeing the chance, the beast jumped. Its mouth closed down on his legs, he could feel them shatter under the pressure, and he cried out. He felt a hot liquid running down his legs, and he began to struggle in the beast's grip.
"Get off!" he yelled. "Let me go!"
He felt the earth moving underneath him, and realized that the beast was dragging him across the ground. He turned around, and saw that the beast was nearing the edge of the lake. Desperately, he tried to dig his fingers into the soil in order to get away, but it was only a fruitless effort. In a complete panic, he started raining punches and blows on the animal's snout. The beast let out an annoyed huff and clenched its jaw tighter together.
An excruciating pain raced through his entire body like a jolt of electricity. It was the worst thing he had ever felt, almost as if his whole being was being consumed by the pain. His vision began to blur, and he vomited. He stopped struggling, and only weakly clawed at the grass. Eventually, shock took ever, easing the pain and bathing him in numbness.
He heard a splash from behind, and noticed that the beast's lower half was submerged in the water.
He had enough.
'Just let it end...' He thought, 'Make it stop..."
He closed his eyes, feeling himself sink into the water. He went limp, and let himself drift.
Leila bit her lip as she watched the demon before her struggle. He was trembling. He was whimpering and writhing.
She had never felt so hopeless.
Ciel was long gone. He had woken a little less than an hour ago, and set off in search of food without a word to the fallen.
Sebastian cried out again, and she thought to felt her heart break.
Not knowing what else to do, she scooted a bit closer to him and knelt. Gently she pulled his head into her lap, brushing his hair and whispering words of comfort to him. His skin was burning to the touch, yet it was coated in sweat.
"No..." he moaned.
She felt a familiar sting in her eyes, and smiled slightly, recalling a time when Sebastian had teased her by saying that she cried too much.
"Let me go..." he said in a broken whisper. "Please..." his voice broke on the last word.
She couldn't help it. She let the tears fall.
"Make it stop..." he whimpered.
She watched the tears drip onto his cheeks. He's right... She thought, I do cry to much.
Gently, she brushed the tears away and softly kissed his eyelids, an old gesture meant to drive away bad dreams.
Wishing she could do more to help, she sighed, and began to hum a familiar, relaxed tune.
He heard a soft, musical voice. It sounded a bit like humming. He thought it sounded nice, and he found himself struggling to open his eyes. He heard the voice abruptly cut off. A moment later, it spoke again in a soft, hesitant voice.
"Sebastian?"
The voice was concerned, and very, very familiar. He finally managed to pry his eyes open. Hovering mere inches from his face were a large pair of blue-gray eyes set in a pale face surrounded by wavy black hair. She grinned.
"You have no idea how much I've missed seeing your eyes." She said with a relieved sigh.
She was kneeling on the ground with Sebastian in her arms, his head resting gently against her shoulder. A huge pair of glimmering black wings sprouted from her back. They were wrapped around her and the person in her arms.
He felt a slight breeze, which caused him to look down. He realized he was shirtless. Not only that, but there were also countless scores of bloody slashes and deep cuts scattered across the bare skin.
He jumped up, pulling himself away from the woman's grasp.
"What the hell is going on?" he hissed.
The woman pulled herself to her feet with a worried expression.
"Please calm down." She whispered.
He blinked at her, and then suddenly a wave a dizziness rolled over him. He began to sway.
"Sebastian, lie down." she ordered, "You're hurt."
He began to fall, and she barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. She sat him up, and turned him so that he was facing the water.
"Look at yourself," she told him firmly, "You look like you're about to drop dead!"
For the third time, he bent his neck and gazed at the water.
He had always been a bit pale, but now any color that was in his skin was gone. The dark circles around his eyes seemed to have vanished as well. His eyes, once a warm shade of brown, were now a eerie blood red. They glowed slightly, and he realized with a chill that they were an exact replica of the beast's eyes.
A feeling of nausea began to well up in him, and he found himself leaning against the woman for support. She put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her.
"You need to wake up." she said suddenly.
Confused, he turned to her, "What?"
Suddenly, she vanished.
"Leila?" He called nervously.
He heard a soft whisper from behind. He turned around, and saw her standing behind him. She was heavily discolored. Her shape was distorted, and she rippled and flickered. She looked afraid, and reached her hand out to him. He saw her lips moving, she looked as if she was screaming. but it sounded distant and muffled, as if it was being carried away by wind.
He dragged himself upright, and reached for her hand. His fingers passed right through her, and they felt cold where they touched her.
Her eyes went wide, and he noticed tear tracks running down her cheeks. She flickered black for a second, then faded away altogether.
"No!" he screamed.
He felt himself being pulled back. It was like he was falling. The scene around him changed. He was down into a deep, dry well. Maybe it was a tunnel of sorts. There was a large circle of light at one end. As he fell, the circle grew smaller and smaller. He reached out desperately for it, fearful of what was waiting for him when he reached the other end. His efforts were in vain, for he only continued to fall faster and faster. Eventually, the circle of light was nothing more than a pinpoint, like a lone star in a pitch black night. Then, just like that, the light was gone.
He heard her whisper.
"Wake up,"
He continued to fall, and as he fell, he began to feel pain. It started off as a bearable, if not annoying pain emanating from the cuts and bruises raked across his chest. But soon, it became agonizing. He felt himself writhing and yelling out, pleading for release.
He slammed down at the end of the tunnel, but even the pain of the impact paled in comparison to the pain he was already feeling.
As he lay there, struggling to breathe, he heard it again. He heard her voice. Calling. Pleading.
"Sebastian..."
He realized his eyes were closed.
"Wake up," Leila pleaded. She shook his shoulder slightly.
The demon had become very animated, thrashing and flailing about, screaming and calling and crying. She found the sight very disturbing.
How would she know about the things that haunted a demon's nightmares? They rarely ever slept at all!
She had seen him sleep only one other time before. At that time, his sleep was dreamless, almost peaceful.
The demon in front of her now was an entirely different being. It was almost as if he was trapped. He never responded to her attempts at comfort.
Just then, he let out a particularly loud, agonized scream that scared the birds from the trees outside.
He fell silent, and his body stilled. She reached out for him, gently touching his face.
"Sebastian?"
His eyelids snapped open, revealing glowing, slitted red orbs. He looked disoriented. His eyes fixated on her, and narrowed slightly.
He released a hostile growl.
Oooooh, cliffie :D Can you feel the drama?
This chapter was a real bitch to write. Like seriously, I hate my life.
New word count record: 3,000 words. Woot!
I have a new laptop on the way. It should come in some time in May.
Oh guys, did you see the trailer for Catching Fire yet? Holy tits its fucking amazing. I think I might need to do a hunger games oneshot to celebrate.
Anyways, I gotta go cuz I'm about to get kicked outta the library.
Until next time,
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Sebastian and Ciel will now read M-rated Sebaciel yaoi for your entertainment...
By the way guys, Sebastian killed the cat._.
BYE! ^_^