Chapter Fourteen
Butler, Forlorn. Bride, First Kiss
Elizabeth was silent as she remembered all that brought her here…
'Ciel… He disappeared for a while after the estate burned down and his parents died.'
Two years before, she rushed out of the carriage that pulled up in front of the rebuilt Phantomhive estate, and ran straight for Ciel as he stood overlooking the water. He seemed so much thinner than before, his clothes loose and slipping off his body. Lizzie smiled so prettily when she saw him, and ran over to him.
'Eventually, he did return home.'
When Ciel turned around, the bandage that went over his right eye was prominent, and the dark look in his left eye made many a person gasp. But it was the absence of his smile that struck Lizzie the most.
'But by then, he had stopped smiling.'
She remembered the smile she treasured so dearly…
'I love him. My Ciel. And I love his smile. But for some reason, we keep going in circles. What can I do? How can I help him? How do I get his smile back?'
As she sat against the wall, back straight and hands folded in her lap, her head drooped forward. Her skin cast an eerie glow in the shadow of the workshop.
'Ciel…'
Marianne lay atop the table in the workshop, her wig removed and bindings loose around her chest. Her body felt heavy as her shirt lay partially open with her bindings spilling out around her in ribbons. She tried to move her hands, but found she was only able to barely move her fingers.
What did he do? Is this some sort of spell? Am I meant to be trapped like the princess in the glass coffin?
Her eyes stared up at the ceiling, and shifted out of the corner of her eye to see Elizabeth in her trance-like state.
At least I'm in the right place. Although I don't appreciate being the damsel in distress.
Closing her eyes, she forced her body to regain its mobility, cell by cell, unaware she was deepening the bond between her and Sebastian as she channelled into the drops of his blood flowing through her body.
Sebastian sat at the window before Ciel.
"You lost your parents, your home, and this time, you stand to lose Lady Elizabeth."
"Sebastian!" Ciel cried out. He glared at the butler. "Take that back, right now."
"What do you mean?" asked the demon.
"I don't like you taunting me!"
Sebastian smirked.
"Master, earlier you informed me you had some business to take care of. This business of yours, did it include endangering not only yourself…" His face then darkened, his lips contorted into a scowl, and his eyes glowed demonically in the shadow of his hair. "But also the life of my mate? Was this meant to be a misguided attempt to rewrite the past?"
Ciel had the decency to look ashamed when it come to the subject of Marianne, he hadn't been taking care of her as a master should, and now she was no longer at his side. Things were not looking good for him, especially when Sebastian spoke in his demonic voice.
"Do you remember what you said at the Frost Fair?" Sebastian asked. "About your body, and about your ring? What you said was both had been shattered and reborn, and that you no longer had any fear of being broken yourself."
The boy bowed his head and frowned.
"I remember. You don't need to remind me."
Sebastian merely gave a silent smirk.
Music then erupted from the silence.
Build it up with iron and steel
Iron and steel
Iron and steel
Build it up with iron and steel
My fair lady
The dolls from downstairs came through the doors in droves. Ciel stumbled back.
"This means they defeated Grell!" he gasped.
Sebastian stepped forward.
"Interesting," he commented. "It seems they are being controlled by the singing of that song." A smile spread across his face. "In which case…"
He opened his mouth and began to sing.
Iron and steel will bend and bow
Bend and bow
Bend and bow
Iron and steel will bend and bow
My fair lady
He continued to sing as he snapped the iron necks of the dolls, as the song voiced them to stand and waver while he weaved through them and ended their manipulated existence.
Iron and steel will bend and bow
Bend and bow
Bend and bow
Iron and steel will bend and bow
My fair lady
Once Sebastian had finished, he went down on one knee and bowed to his master. Ciel scowled at the implication of his words.
"Who are you calling a lady?" he snapped.
The demon smiled.
"Now, my young master, let us go."
A voice then broke through the silence.
"I don't think so."
Ciel and Sebastian turned to the doors and saw Drossel with his music organ in hand.
"Ciel Phantomhive, you are now the property of my master."
The boy growled.
"Property?! Who do you think you-?"
"The proof is there," interrupted Drossel. "You're marked by the very ring you are wearing. I know what it is. That is a Hope Piece. The same gem my master sends as a token to those who are destined to become his dolls."
Sebastian, noticing something not right, spoke up.
"What master?"
Drossel merely continued.
"It's been decided. Ciel Phantomhive is going to become a doll, an exquisite doll made up of silver and gold."
The demon's lips parted into a smile. Then he began to sing.
Silver and gold will be stolen away
Stolen away
Stolen away
He picked up Ciel and made his escape out of the window. Drossel could only watch. He slumped to the floor.
"He was indeed stolen away," he sighed. "However, I am thinking to myself, Ciel Phantomhive will return, whether he wants to or not."
Sebastian landed on a bridge not far from the mansion, and placed Ciel down onto the ground.
"There we are, you are safe."
SMACK!
The demon looked down at his charge, shocked. Ciel glared up at him with a burning eye.
"What about Lizzie?!" Ciel shouted. "She's still in there! Did I order you to solve the recent string of kidnappings or didn't I? Lizzie is one of the kidnapped victims! Saving her is the first priority!"
Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled.
"If an order negates the contract, I cannot obey it."
This stunned Ciel. He hadn't expected such an answer.
"Your first priority has always been orders from the Queen. Similarly, my first priority is your life, in terms of the contract. The only time when I cannot obey you is when you place a demon's mate in jeopardy as a result of your orders. Then Marianne becomes my first priority." Sebastian went on to explain.
Suddenly, Ciel found himself lifted up into the air by his neck. He gasped when he saw Sebastian's eyes glowing demonically back at him.
"I have devoted myself to your service and protection, but should anything have harmed Marianne because of you leaving her behind in that mansion, I will have your soul, contract or no. You seem to forget that I can kill you before you can even blink, so I would recommend saving your violent energy for those who are in your way. Are we understood?"
His voice was dark and deadly, all of his demonic essence oozing into his words. It wasn't the first time that the boy realised what he was messing with, but it was the first time when his own life had been in the firing line. Ciel gulped, and nodded his head. The demon lowered him back to his feet and continued to speak as if nothing had happened.
"It's been more than two years now. I can't very well allow someone to steal you away after all this time, and hold my mate hostage, now can I?"
His eyes continued to glow.
Ciel rubbed his throat, already feeling the bruising begin to blossom under his frail flesh, and reached into his coat to withdraw the ring from his pocket.
"Master?"
"Apparently the Hope piece is what marks the master's next target," said Ciel as he slipped the ring onto his thumb, next to his own ring. "And I have two of them. I guess that means I've been doubly marked. Protecting me will be a difficult task."
Sebastian smirked and bowed gracefully.
"I'm not afraid of hard work."
They heard a howl in the distance, and gazed at a tall tower standing above the line of the trees.
"Pluto?" Ciel asked.
"I searched the mansion from top to bottom. I wasn't able to find any sign of Lady Elizabeth. That leaves one place. She must be in that sealed up tower." Sebastian asserted.
The tower itself stood on an island out on the lake, with a stone bridge leading up to it from the mainland. Pluto was barking at the base, a lead wrapped around his neck, and Grell barely able to hold onto it.
"Hey now! Calm down! What is wrong with you, puppy?" he asked.
Sebastian and Ciel ran towards the tower and spotted them.
"That's a surprise," the boy muttered. "You're still alive?"
Grell practically ignored Ciel when he caught sight of Sebastian.
"Oh… Bassy!"
The Reaper leapt for the demon, but was pushed to the ground by an even more pleased Pluto. The Demon Hound latched onto Sebastian, tongue lolling out of his mouth in glee. Grell wasn't pleased.
"How rude!" he snapped. "Wait a second. A Demon Hound? Really?"
Ciel arched a brow.
"You're just now noticing?" he said sarcastically.
Grell exploded with happiness.
"Oh la, la! A night with a Demon Hound! How sexy!"
His nose was even bleeding from the rush of blood. Sebastian stared at him with a blank expression and sighed.
"You really have no standards." He then turned to Pluto, who was happily chewing on his tailcoat. "Now, I've been waiting for you, Pluto."
Walking up to the door, he explained what needed to be done.
"That door has been sealed with unnatural power. Only a Demon Hound can open it."
Pluto's collar began to glow. It burned against the Hound's throat, causing him to cry out and whimper in pain, making him release his hold on Sebastian.
"His collar is shining," commented Ciel.
"And so is that door." Grell added.
True to his word, the same light seemed to be shining out of the cracks of the door. Pluto shifted into his Demon Hound formed and howled at the tower. The Reaper gasped in pleasure.
"Oh, he's so big!"
The door opened and Pluto ran inside.
"He's run off again!" Ciel moaned.
"No need to worry." Sebastian assured him. "We will follow him in. He should prove to be a serviceable guide."
Running up spirals of stairs seemed to be becoming a regular activity for the group that night. Too many to be counted in fact. Not that they had any time for such a mind numbing task when they had more pressing matters to deal with. When they spotted a door at the top of the stairs, Sebastian was the one to grip onto the door handle. He glanced back to Ciel and waited for his words. Ciel nodded his head.
Opening the door, they stepped into a workshop. Parts of dolls and pieces of armour were sitting on the shelves, and song lyrics were written on the stone walls in white paint. Ciel spotted Elizabeth sat in a chair at the other end of the room, her head turned down to the floor.
"Lizzie!" he cried out.
He ran over to her side.
Meanwhile, Sebastian saw Marianne laid out of the table, her brown hair spread around her head like a curtain of silk, and her shirt undone with her bindings piled up by her unmoving side. He walked over to her and ran his fingers through her hair.
"Marianne, are you awake?" he asked.
She looked up at him.
"Yes, but I can barely move, Sebastian. I have either been drugged, or something is holding me down," she explained. A blush then spread across her face. "Can you button me up please? I'm feeling exposed."
"But of course."
Sebastian reached down to the buttons of her shirt, his gloved hands brushed against the bare skin of her stomach. He made sure to touch her as much as he could without being considered inappropriate to the outside watcher, but the pink cheeks Marianne had made certain that she knew he was doing it on purpose.
"Sebastian…" she whimpered.
He chuckled under his breath.
"I adore hearing your voice so breathless. To know I am the one making your inhibitions drop and your body respond so gloriously to my touch."
As he fastened the last button, he bent down and whispered into her ear.
"Know that the ones who did this to you will suffer the entirety of Hell's wrath for putting you through this ordeal."
While the rational part of her mind told her that having a demon's wrath putting her enemies in the grave wasn't the best thing, Marianne blushed beautifully under his intense, red-eyed stare at the protectiveness and care he bestowed on her person.
Having him there, rescuing her from her place on the table, made her mind drift back to when she had been in a similar position, mere weeks before her parents' deaths…
She was laid out of a stone table, the eyes of many watching her as she struggled against the chains that held her down, along with the hands of their fellow men. Her legs were forced apart, exposing her lower intimate areas.
"No!" she cried out. "I don't want this! Let go of me!"
Her pleas were unanswered by those present in the building…
Sebastian picked up Marianne bridal-style, his eyes glowing as he used his demonic power to cancel out whatever was forcing her to remain on the table, and set her on her feet. She was shaky and weak, but his blood in her system was making quick work of getting her back to normal. She wasn't willing to let go of Sebastian yet though.
Ciel gripped onto Lizzie's shoulders and shouted her name, trying to get her to respond. Grell smiled.
"Oh my! It looks like we're too late."
The boy scowled and continued to shake her.
"Wake up! Lizzie, wake up!"
Slowly, Elizabeth's eyes began to open.
"Where…?" her voice came out in a whisper.
Ciel's eye widened.
"Lizzie…" he sighed in relief. "You're okay."
She looked at him quietly.
"That's the ring."
He looked down to the extra ring on his thumb.
"Did you like it? That makes me happy. So happy."
Ciel realised what the ring was, what it was meant to be…
"That was her gift for you." Sebastian said. "The one you didn't open."
"How foolish." Ciel whispered. "She didn't have to."
Marianne glanced around, caught sight of a string pulled taut in the air.
"Look out!" she yelled.
Elizabeth's arm was pulled perpendicular to her body, followed by the other, and then she was brought up into the air.
"Then why did she?" Drossel's voice rang into the room. "Why is her body moving without her control?"
An axe was tossed to Lizzie, which she caught easily, and watched the light on the sharpened blade dance all the way up to the tip.
"And why is she going to hurt the one person she loves most in the world?"
Her eyes widened in dismay.
"What's happening to her?" Ciel bellowed.
Elizabeth was forced to swing the axe where he stood.
"NO!" she cried.
Thankfully, Sebastian was able to get Ciel out of the way. Lizzie continued to shout out her protests as they dodged and evaded her strikes. Marianne gripped the edge of the table as she watched Sebastian and Ciel begin to get cornered against the wall.
"She's not in control!" she shouted. "There are strings attached to her! She's basically a puppet dancing to the tune of the puppeteer."
Sebastian nodded his head.
"Grell, look sharp!" he ordered. "Can't you see what is happening?"
Grell was sat on the table playing with his Death Scythe.
"I suppose so… But I would hate to chip one of my blades," he sighed.
The demon caught the axe with one hand and gave the Reaper a shit-eating smile.
"Please help us out Grell."
That got the reaction they wanted.
"Oh Bassy! How could I deny you?" Grell sighed blissfully. "Well, when we kiss, can it… just be… a little bit of tongue?"
Sebastian wasn't impressed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He directed his next comment at Marianne. "But I can in fact tie a cherry stem in a knot using my tongue."
Marianne's face turned bright red at the thought.
A cherry stem? Really? Oh my… She thought to herself. That's it. I'm officially and happily damned.
Grell went off like a rocket, completely ignoring the fact that Sebastian wasn't in fact talking to him. He went straight behind Elizabeth.
"I cannot allow a little girl like you to wield a better blade than I do. Unforgivable."
Ciel gasped.
"Grell, wait! Stop!"
The Reaper sliced through the strings holding Lizzie up. She dropped to the ground with a thud. Ciel knelt down by her side.
"Is she alright? What happened?" he asked.
Sebastian picked up a string from Elizabeth's dress.
"Marianne was right. She was attached to puppet strings," he explained.
"Only a Death Scythe could have cut it with such ease!" Grell boasted. "Well, Sebastian? Aren't I amazing? Tell me how good I am!"
Sebastian looked at him expressionlessly.
"Well done, Grell. Perhaps you should run with scissors more often," he deadpanned.
His lack of emotion went completely unnoticed by the Reaper.
"Oh I am just flattered to death!"
He then caught sight of Marianne and her rather abundant bust.
"That is completely unfair! How dare you possess a larger bust than me!"
Marianne arched a brow.
"You act as if I possess them for the purpose of annoying you. I'm afraid they are completely natural, so don't complain to me," she retorted.
Their gaze then turned up to the length of the tower.
"Now, where does the string lead to?"
Up above, Drossel was pondering to himself.
"So then I began thinking to myself…"
He moved his hands and entangled the party of four in his puppet strings. They immediately began to struggle.
"I have two new dolls at my disposal. What material shall I use this time?" he said.
Sebastian stared up at him.
"And of what materials are you made?" he asked.
"Me?" Drossel thought about his words carefully. "I don't know. What am I made of?"
The demon smirked.
"Well, I'm not sure. But whatever materials were used, they would seem to be of the highest quality."
This ground the puppeteer to a halt.
"Oh my… So then I thought to myself, I have always believed I was human. But… lately… I have been finding termites crawling out of my ears. Isn't that strange?" he said, cleaning some sawdust out of his ear.
Marianne wrinkled her nose.
"No, that's just disgusting."
Sebastian used his foot to throw up the axe from the floor and into the air like a flying battering ram. It drove into Drossel's chin, sending his head backwards, and knocked him off balance. His grip on his puppet strings loosened and released his captives. The demon smiled as he caught the axe's handle with one hand.
Now Grell," he ordered.
The Reaper smiled gleefully.
"Oh Bassy, we'll work together as one!"
He surged forward, his lips puckered in expectation of the sweetly sinful kiss of a demon…
Instead, Sebastian used his head as a vault to send himself up into the air. When he was level with the puppeteer, he spoke.
"You are utterly lacking in style! You're no butler!"
Swinging the axe down, Sebastian fully intended to slam the blade into Drossel's head. The man's eyes widened when he felt the axe embed itself in his head.
The axe handle landed with a thump on Grell's head, followed by Drossel. When Sebastian landed back on the ground, Ciel was sat on the floor with Lizzie in his arms. Marianne was poking the presumably dead body of Drossel with her shoe, checking to make sure he wasn't going to get up and go again; there was straw sticking out of his head where the axe had landed.
"Good to see you in one piece, Sebastian," she smiled.
"I would never lose to someone so hopelessly inferior," he replied.
Grell, who managed to escape the dead weight holding him down, sidled up to Sebastian's side.
"That's my Bassy! Very stylish!"
They all stared down at Drossel.
"So he was a doll too?" Ciel inquired.
Grell nodded his head.
"His name was Drossel Keinz. His soul was collected five years ago, but we still detected signs of his existence." He explained.
"He must have been fitted with a transient soul by somebody. His master perhaps?" Sebastian thought aloud.
"What kind of being has that sort of power?" asked Marianne.
Her question went unanswered when they were interrupted by a voice.
"Ciel…?"
Ciel looked down and saw that Elizabeth had opened her eyes.
"You're awake. Let's get you home," he said.
Lizzie smiled softly.
"I want to give you a real birthday party. Can I?" she asked.
The boy gasped, but eventually agreed.
"Okay, we'll have a party."
Elizabeth closed her eyes again, and her skin lost the doll-like sheen.
"You can rest easy now, Lizzie." Ciel said. "It's all over."
Marianne let out a shriek when she felt the body begin to move again.
"Apparently not!" she cried, backing away quickly.
Drossel stiffly brought himself to his feet, swaying like the typical London drunk.
"So then… I thought… to myself… I still have a task I… must report… to my… master."
Bits of straw spilled from his head as his steps jolted him forwards. Grell glared at him with his hands on his hips.
"What's up with this loon? All torn up and he still wants to serve his master?" he snarked.
"Perhaps I judged him too hastily," said Sebastian as he wanted the man walk. "He may be one Hell of a butler."
They followed him up the stairs, and stood behind him as he opened a pair of double doors.
"Master… It's me…"
Drossel fell head first into the darkened room, finally becoming still on the floor. The four of them hurried inside and saw Pluto still in his Demon Hound form, happily curled up in front of a padded, high-backed chair.
"Why is he here?" Ciel asked.
Pluto looked up and licked the hand of the master that peeked out from behind the chair.
"And why is he so friendly?"
Marianne froze when she heard the voice that came from the chair, her blood running cold in her veins.
"I'm terribly sorry. My butler's incompetence prevents me from offering you hospitality."
No… It couldn't be… It can't be…!
Her body trembled as she reached for her dagger.
"You're the one behind this?" Ciel inquired. "Why would you want to turn little girls into dolls?"
Looking around the room, there were painting of the heavens, cherubs and angels dancing and playing were staring back at the room's occupants.
"Perfection is so difficult to attain," said the voice. "And when it is achieved, it is fleeting. Doll making is noble work. It preserves that which is most beautiful in this world. A doll is a perfect little person, forever frozen in time."
Grell shook his head.
"I have to disagree. Those little brats of yours were anything but lovely!"
"Why are you after me?" Ciel interrupted.
He removed the extra Hope Diamond from his finger.
"You won't win. I'm no one's doll, and I will never be a part of your collection."
Throwing it against the wood of the chair, it fell to the floor with a light thud. Marianne could feel the sneer on the voice's face.
"You ought to learn your place, boy."
"What?"
"My butler's head was filled with straw. With such limited intellect, I don't imagine he could understand why I wanted you."
The voice's next words chilled the girl to the bone.
"Why I wanted both of you."
"Drossel Keinz proved himself surprisingly useful tonight. He mentioned briefly a young man who possessed the most exquisite features, and how feminine he actually was. When he described the boy, it could only have been destiny. Mary had been returned from the Heavens! But as she did before, she refused to submit to our will. Her purity must not be sullied by this foul world! Oh, my virtuous Mary…"
The voice sighed as though in ecstasy. Sebastian wrinkled his nose and placed his hands on Marianne's shoulders as he watched her tremble uncontrollably at the disgusting words.
"Ciel Phantomhive. The manner of your death has been fated since the day of your birth. That body you wear is unclean."
Ciel's eye widened when he remembered those words, how his captors had held him down in chains, treating him as nothing but an animal…
"But how?" he asked. "How could you know about that?"
"I cannot allow someone like you to live in this world," said the voice. "Your existence is a desecration. Unclean. Unnecessary. Unwanted. That is why I intend to erase you. I refuse to allow you to sully her purity with your presence."
"What?!" Ciel retorted angrily.
The chair began to shake and the voice ranted nonsensically.
"Snuff him out! He is unclean! Unnecessary! Unwanted! End him! End him! End him!"
Marianne finally had enough.
"How dare you?!" she bellowed. Surging forward with her dagger raised high, she stabbed the body in the chair straight through its neck. "Go back to where you came from, you sick bastard!"
With tears streaming down her face, she just kept stabbing.
"I won't let you! I won't let you! I won't let you…"
Surely enough, her energy finally ran out. Her dagger clattered to the ground and she fell to her knees. Ciel and Sebastian hurried forward and were shocked to see that the body in the chair was nothing more than a life-sized doll.
"It's a puppet." Sebastian said.
They all then looked down to the creepy clown doll sat in the puppet's lap. The doll hovered to its feet, looked at them with blank black eyes, and then laughed manically with grotesque sharp teeth and a gaping mouth. It dashed away before any of them could stop it.
"Sebastian!" Ciel ordered. "Go catch that thing!"
The demon shook his head.
"The person pulling the strings is elsewhere, My Lord. It wouldn't do us any good to give chase." He glanced around the room and saw the shimmers of strings tied in an elaborate web all around it. "Now I see, there were hidden strings woven through the entire room. How very unpleasant."
He turned his gaze down to the shivering Marianne. Without a word, he picked her up like the mate she was in his arms, retrieving the dagger with his foot and allowing it to land in his pocket.
"It has been a long night, my Lord. I believe this place is causing unneeded stress to Marianne. Let us leave now," he said.
Ciel looked at the girl, whose tears still stained her cheeks in their vivid scratches. He nodded his head, his thoughts spinning with reasons why Marianne could have reacted the way she did.
"Yes, let us go home."
It was sunrise by the time they all exited the tower.
"Oh Bassy, my love!" Grell cried out, launching himself at Sebastian. "It is time for our kiss!"
Sebastian ducked out of the way, his arms full with Marianne and Elizabeth. Grell landed in a heap on the floor.
"Well, Young Master, what now?" he asked. "Would you like me to avenge Madame Red for you?"
The Reaper immediately backed down.
"Okay! On second thought, the kiss can wait until next time!" he leapt away as fast as he could. "Bye, bye, Bassy!"
Sebastian sighed, and glanced down at Marianne, who's head rested against his shoulder as she stroked Elizabeth's blonde bangs.
"Would you like me to go after him, Young Master?" he asked quietly.
Ciel looked up at him and shook his head.
"Leave it. Not today," he answered. His hand brushed against Lizzie's cheek. "Elizabeth's here. I don't want her to see any more bloodshed."
Wrapped within the confines of the archives of Scotland Yard, Aberline was pouring over old case files. One such file was on his desk, pertaining to Ciel Phantomhive, and his return a month after the fire that destroyed his home. He then found a page that made him smile.
"Well look at that. It's Little Lord Phantomhive's birthday today."
Suddenly, he heard Sir Randall huff behind him.
"Somehow I doubt he is celebrating the occasion," his superior remarked.
Aberline bolted to his feet, clutching the file to his chest.
"I'm sorry Sir Arthur. I was looking into the Hope Diamond and became side-tracked."
Randall merely shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not a bad idea to investigate him." He then went on to explain. "He receives special treatment, including access to information even we at the Yard have trouble to obtain. He wags his tail for the Queen, marking all territories… Queen's damned Guard Dog!"
He hissed those last words as he walked away, leaving Aberline to ponder his words.
The other case file on the table caught his eye.
"Sir Arthur, wait! There's something else as well. A file I found in the unsolved cases, can you tell me more about it?" he asked.
Randall paused.
"Which one?"
"There was a case about two years ago, involving a fire set at a house outside the city. There was only one body found, but they were already dead when the fire started; consumption it was believed. The fire however was also set deliberately, and there was no evidence to show who did it. The victim was supposedly a Miss Marianne Blackmore, a seventeen-year-old girl." Aberline rattled off the details as best he could.
The older man nodded his head.
"I remember that case. A tragedy. The girl's parents died only weeks before in a carriage accident. Their driver was never found, so we began to suspect foul play, but there never was enough evidence to say it was anything more than an accident. Because Miss Blackmore was still under-aged, she was due to reside with her paternal aunt. The fire occurred only a day after the news. Her father's family didn't even bother to arrange for a funeral for her parents, and they were perfectly well off to afford it." Randall explained. "Another thing as well is that Miss Blackmore regularly attended check-ups with a London doctor to ensure she was healthy. There was nothing to suggest she was suffering from consumption, although there were whispers that a maid employed by the Blackmores was suffering from such an ailment. Because of the fire, it would have been impossible to identify one set of burned remains from another…"
The man shook his head.
"Of course, it's only hearsay. There is nothing to suggest anything one way or the other."
He then left the room.
Aberline looked down at the pictures on the table, one was a recent picture of Ciel, and the other was of Marianne only weeks before her home was consumed by flames.
"Well, whatever this kid's secrets are, there can't be a child in the world who doesn't want to celebrate his birthday," he said. "And if the rumours are true about everything surrounding your life, you went to great lengths to ensure it stopped, young lady, whether you died, or not."
At the Phantomhive estate, everyone was gathered in the dining room.
"Happy Birthday, Ciel!" Elizabeth cried.
Ciel sat in his chair at the head of the table, a party hat on his hat, while everyone else was standing around him, except Elizabeth who sat at his right side. Marianne stood at Sebastian's side, wearing a beautiful white dress, similar in style to the blue ball gown from the Jack the Ripper case, but simpler in design and decorated with white roses. On her feet were a pair of dainty white heels, and her hair sat in loose curls around her shoulders and partially pulled back with a white rose, courtesy of Sebastian. Her choker glittered darkly against the hollow of her throat, the black ribbon a stark contrast to the white elegance adorning her.
"Happy Birthday to you, Master!" the servant trio cheered.
Marianne tucked a wayward curl behind her ear and smiled at the precious sight before her.
Upon their return to the manor, it was decided between the three of them that they reveal the truth to Elizabeth about Marianne, because even in her doll-like state, she had seen Marianne in her exposed state. Deeming it far better to explain rather than hide it any longer, Marianne explained she disguised herself as a boy to have some distance from her family, since they were cruel and unfeeling following the death of her parents. With such reasons, Lizzie was more than ready to keep her secret.
"This is fun, see?" smiled Lizzie, clapping her little gloved hands.
The servants nodded their heads in agreement.
"Best birthday party ever! Hurray!"
On the table was a Christmas pudding, to serve as the birthday cake as it was so close to the holiday. Sebastian produced a knife.
"Master, shall I serve the pudding now?" he inquired.
Ciel sighed.
"What a bother. You could have just cut it in the kitchen."
He was presented with his slice and silently took a large bite. Ciel felt something hard in his mouth, so he pulled out the strange item and saw it was the ring.
"What is this?" he asked.
Sebastian smiled.
"Well, the season is almost upon us, so it is a traditional Christmas pudding. Whoever's piece has the ring in it is guaranteed happiness throughout the New Year," he explained. "It seems you found the ring, Young Master."
Elizabeth squealed in glee.
"Did you hear that?" she said, tears glittering in her eyes. "You can finally be happy again. I'm so glad."
The boy tried to protest, but was interrupted.
"Paula, the bells!"
Paula produced her bells from her pockets and began to ring them. The others began to dance and laugh. Ciel pouted moodily.
"How ridiculous."
Despite his words, Marianne could see the light dusting of pink on his cheeks.
It was late in the night before Elizabeth and Paula got into their carriage and began the long journey home.
"All I cared about, all I wanted, was to see Ciel smile. I want him to be happy, like he was before. Always. Always…"
Lizzie whispered those words as she slowly drifted to sleep. Paula smiled sweetly as the snowflakes fell outside the carriage window.
"You have such a good heart. Sleep well, My Lady."
Back at the manor, Ciel sat at the desk in his study with the gifted ring held up between his forefinger and thumb.
"I cast this ring away. And now, here it is again," he sighed.
Sebastian stood before him with a pot of tea in his hand as he poured a cup.
"The day's events aside, it is still a present that Lady Elizabeth went to a great deal to acquire for you." He smirked. "Besides, cursed ring or not, I will always protect you."
The boy nodded his head as his butler sat the cup down before him.
"Except if I do anything that may bring harm to Marianne. Then it is you my life is in danger of."
"Indeed, Young Master."
Shaking his head, Ciel moved to the more pressing subject on his mind.
"What do we know about the mansion?" he asked.
"It has been empty for quite some time. Its owner, the Earl of Mandalay resides in a sanatorium." Sebastian explained.
"In all likelihood, he has nothing to do with this then."
"So it would seem."
Ciel pondered another thing that caught his attention.
"Still, that symbol we saw…"
His mouth filled with bile at the memory. The demon nodded his head.
"Is there something bothering you?"
Ciel shook his head.
"Nothing. I'm going to retire now. I'm tired."
Sebastian bowed.
"Yes, as you wish, My Lord."
Sitting on the balcony Marianne stared up at the night sky, watching the snow drift to the ground and dance around her swirling skirts; her hands were clutched to her chest and her lips were pleasantly curled up in a slight smile. She still remembered the music and dancing from inside; Ciel and Elizabeth looked so sweet together while they danced the waltz together, and the servant trio were happily gorging themselves on the food. As she hummed the music to herself, she wondered when Ciel planned to turn in for the night, no doubt Sebastian had delivered his usual tea tray to the study by now. Marianne looked over her shoulder, and was pleased to see no one around. Swinging herself over the balustrade of the balcony, her skirts flying, she landed in a crouch in the gardens below and disappeared into the roses.
Her white heels clicked against the cobbled stones as she walked among the tall hedges. Marianne daintily touched one of the rose petals and stroked her long nail down the stem, scratching her fingertips against the thorns. Somehow she grew careless and pricked herself with the rose.
"Ouch…!" she winced.
"So this is where you were. I was growing worried that you had been captured again. Are you going to make this as much as a habit as the Young Master's?"
Marianne started at the sound of Sebastian's voice behind her. She whipped her head around and met his blood red eyes.
"Don't sneak up on me like that! You'll end up giving me a heart attack one of these days!" she snapped.
The demon feigned innocence as he brought her bleeding finger to his mouth. He sucked the blood from the wound, rolling his tongue along the skin of her finger and over the crevices of her nail. Marianne stared at him with wide eyes and blushing red cheeks.
"You really should be more careful," said Sebastian when he finally removed the appendage from his mouth. "You have spilt enough blood in my opinion."
Marianne smiled at him.
"No matter how hard you try, even you cannot control how much blood I spill. At least I didn't lose any at that mansion. I felt like Snow White on that table. All that was missing was the glass coffin. I just feel so angry that my gender was not only exposed to Drossel, but also that unseen Master. I just know he is going to make our lives more difficult."
Her smile slipped with every word.
"I refuse to be someone's puppet, or doll, or any other toy. I will not allow myself to be manipulated by someone else's will."
Sebastian brought his left hand to his mouth, and removed the glove with his teeth, all the while keeping his eyes connected to hers.
"You truly dislike the name Mary, don't you? You despise anyone who attempts to control your life. I rather admire that quality, because it's clear to me that you only seem to obey the orders of myself and the Young Master."
He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, placing his hand over where he knew her mark resided.
"I threatened the Master tonight, Marianne," he explained. "While I understand your need to protect him, when I learned you had been captured by that fool of a butler, my fury was so strong I would have brought the entire wrath of Hell raining down on that tower. There is nothing and no one that I wouldn't rip apart to protect you."
Tilting her chin up and staring into her dark blue eyes, he brought them closer together and whispered against her lips.
"My mate."
He sealed his lips against hers.
Marianne's mind went blank. Her hands clutched the lapels of his tailcoat. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt his lips move against hers. She tried to hold onto that word. Mate. Mate… The mate of a demon? Something in the back of her mind shivered pleasantly to being his. And the fact that Sebastian, the man, the demon that had captured her heart so thoroughly, was kissing her, her very first kiss, truly made up for any apprehension she had. Slowly, she began to kiss him back. From soft and shivery, to warm and tingling, to hot and searing, Marianne loved the feel of his lips against hers. He ravaged her lips so viciously, his tongue twisting inside her mouth. She didn't want it to end.
When Sebastian finally removed his lips from hers, he rested his forehead against the crown of her head. Marianne breathed heavily to try and catch her breath.
"Tying a cherry stem with your tongue is clearly an understatement. I should be more concerned by the fact that you just stole my first kiss," she whispered.
The demon chuckled, all the while extensively pleased to know he was her first.
She is a blank canvas for me. I shall paint her completely with my essence and have us so exhaustively mated, nothing will break us apart.
"I've known your feelings for a long time. I simply took the first opportunity to lavish my true attentions upon you when I could be sure that you would accept."
Marianne smiled.
"If I'm your mate, that means you're mine. I will not tolerate you with anyone but me. You can tell me everything about being your mate later. Right now, I intend to be thoroughly damned, so just kiss me."
Sebastian's eyes glowed.
"As my mate desires."
And he did just that.
Inside the sanctuary of her room, the white rose on her bedside slowly became consumed in red, the roots of the petals darkening to black, while the tips remained as white as crystal, like fragments of freshly fallen snow...
In the darkness of the snow covered London Bridge, the doll ran along the stone, chanting the same words its master shouted over and over again. Its cries were immediately brought to a halt with a woman's gloved hand wrapped around its waist.
"Snuff out the unclean. Snuff out the unnecessary. Snuff out the unwanted."
The woman whispered as she squeezed the doll until it exploded in her hand. Stepping into the light, her face was revealed. Angela smirked as she said the last words.
"Snuff out the unclean."
She tossed the doll into the Thames. As she walked away, she said two final words.
"End him."
And here is the kiss you have all been waiting for. We will go more into how she deals with being a demon's mate later so stay tuned.
Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Please read and review!
