Chapter Forty-Eight
Zero Butler. Expecting Bride
Sebastian silently skulked through the grounds of the Trancy estate, hidden among the trees as he watched the windows of the mansion. He caught sight of Marianne through one of them, watched her press her hands against her stomach before dressing for the day. His fingers flexed, irritated that he couldn't be by her side, and feel the life forming underneath his hand. She must have caught sight of him, because she blew a single kiss out the window towards him.
Meanwhile, Ciel lay sleeping in Alois's bed.
"Young Master, good morning." Claude said as he placed a tea set down on his bedside.
The boy groaned, opening his eyes, blinking as light streamed through the windows. He glanced to the corner of the room, and saw the demon waiting for him in the shadows.
"I know that smell. Is it Earl Grey?" he asked.
Claude smiled.
"Indeed. My compliments to your excellent nose, Young Master," he said. "This morning, we have an Earl Grey Imperial. It's most excellent, made from the finest leaves available; a true masterpiece. I believe it will be perfect for you."
He moved to assist Ciel out of bed, but Ciel waved him away and got himself upright. The boy looked down at him imperiously, but let him remove the long blue ribbon holding the neckline of his nightshirt together. It slipped down to expose the expanse of his pale shoulder. The rings sat on a nearby table. Claude slipped a white shirt up Ciel's arms.
"Your schedule this afternoon is like a fresh field of virgin snow, blank as an unlined page," he said, as he slipped a pair of black shorts up the boy's legs. "Today, everything shall be as you wish it."
Ciel looked at his reflection, and then caught Claude's eye in the mirror.
"What of Alois? How did he die?" he asked.
Claude got to his feet and clutched a hand to his chest.
"Whatever do you mean? It was your noble sword that struck the blow that felled Alois Trancy!" he proclaimed with glee.
Ciel arched a brow.
"Is that so?"
"Does thinking on it pain you, Master?"
"He died because he was weak. Simple as that." Ciel proclaimed.
Claude's eyes widened at those words. He embraced himself.
Oh, such unwavering confidence! He knelt down behind Ciel. Here is the nobility of one who has subjugated others all his life by rite of birth.
Ciel placed his foot on a footstool, and let Claude let his sock up his leg.
Here are the legs of one unused to walking. The demon buckled it at the calf and moved onto the next leg. So very slender and delicate… Smooth skin… Soft to the touch…
"Blissful."
Sebastian watched silently, placed a hand on a tree beside him, and broke through the trunk with a simple bit of pressure.
Marianne jolted at the sound, smoothed her skirts, and hurried out the room.
Oh Sebastian…
Ciel looked over his shoulder when he heard it.
"What's that?" he asked.
"That?" Claude responded. "Likely just a cat."
The boy scowled.
"That crash was too loud for a cat. Strengthen the manor's defences!" he ordered.
Claude nodded his head.
"Indeed, My Young Lord."
He leant down and placed a kiss on Ciel's foot.
Ciel's eye widened. He lashed out, and kicked the demon in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the floor.
"What a revolting display!" he shouted.
Claude got up and straightened his glasses.
"Such a strong kick… Blissful."
Sebastian tore down another tree, followed by several more.
Marianne quickened her pace towards Ciel's room.
He's really riled up today… Honestly, these demons are just the same as men!
"Honestly," sighed Ciel.
"I shall investigate it." Claude assured him. "But first, Hannah, guard our Lord."
Ciel waved his hand.
"There is no need. Mother shall be with me."
The demon flexed his fingers.
"Of course, but I wish to assure your safety with Hannah in attendance."
Ciel huffed.
"Fine."
It was at that moment that Marianne stepped through the door, following in her shadow was Hannah.
"Are you alright, Ciel?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Shall we go?"
"Of course."
They both looked over to the maid, who was watching them silently with a blank blue eye.
Outside in the gardens, Sebastian and Claude met one another.
"Hmm, a storm has rolled in," commented the Spider. Birds fluttered through the air, and one of them took a place on his finger. "Ah, little one, fear not. Master specifically told it to stay out of his sight. There's nothing at all it can do."
Sebastian flexed his hand, and watched from the edge of the estate. Claude walked up to some flowers.
"The sweetbriars are looking lovely. Simply look at these exquisite flowers, little one. They're perfect for my Young Master." He glanced at Sebastian out of the corner of his eye as he placed one of the flowers in his hair. "Yes, they suit my Young Master quite well."
He walked away soon afterwards.
Sebastian watched him silently, but his shadow showed the true writhing form of his demonic rage. The sound of a camera clicking entered the air.
"Yes… Oh, it's just too much." Grell sighed as he took another picture of Sebastian. "He's just delicious. Gorgeous, lovelorn Bassy…"
A striking red blush spread across the Reaper's cheeks.
"Oh my…!" he said. "Letting that Claude demon go was the most excellent decision on my part. Just look at this photograph! Absolute perfection!"
He then came across a problem with his camera.
"Oh no! Not now! Don't break on me!"
From behind him, the statue he had been hiding behind was lifted up. Sebastian glared down at him with a most impassive expression on his face.
"Oh my! When did you get here?!" Grell cried.
"Funny," said Sebastian. "I was going to ask you the same."
The Reaper gulped, gave a smile, and lifted up his camera again.
"Well, perhaps just one more?" he said. "A marvellous pose."
Sebastian responded by slamming the whole statue down on top of him.
Marianne looked up towards the window when she heard the sound of stone slamming against the ground.
"Is everything alright?" Ciel asked.
She looked at him and smiled.
"It's nothing, just a pest being dealt with."
In a clearing not far from the estate, Sebastian was setting up a picnic. Grell was seated at a small table while the demon placed a white tablecloth over it. Sebastian was silent as he poured a cup of tea. Grell, whose face was rather swollen, spoke up.
"Erm, Bassy… I must admit, it is rather odd seeing you prepare tea just for me… I am happy, of course! But, well, I…"
Sebastian handed him the teacup.
"A cup of Suutei tsui, a Mongolian milk tea flavoured with rock salt," he said.
"Rock salt?!" Grell cried.
"I've no doubt it will be wonderfully stimulating to feel the salt in your wounds." He gestured to the case he kept it in. "Just for you, I've doubled the amount it calls for… Doubled it again… And then, why not double it yet again?"
The demon presented the cup with a smile that belied his demonic sadism. Grell tried to protest, but was helpless to the power of Sebastian's shit-eating smile.
"Drink up."
Seeing that he had no other choice, Grell took the cup and had the first sip. He let out a scream, tears streaming from his eyes.
"The sharp pain of love…! I cannot stand it!" he cried as he toppled backwards.
After the Reaper explained everything he knew, Sebastian pondered his words.
"I see. Marianne was right, Claude is responsible for the murder of Alois Trancy," he said.
"Yes, and then he put together a Soul-Fusing Ceremony." Grell told him. "Two separate souls can never be completely fused, but pesky memories can be overwritten."
The demon sighed.
"Which means right now, Alois Trancy…"
"Is the same as your Young Master." Grell agreed. "Yes, being turned into a ring. A jewel thicker than the thickest blood, more crimson than passion."
Sebastian was silent as he thought over everything he had learned. The Reaper shrugged his shoulders.
"I can't say I understand, why bother fixating on some little brat's soul?" he said. "You would make a far simpler, quicker meal, Bassy."
He took another sip of tea and grimaced. Sebastian restrained himself from letting out a possessive growl.
"You sound like someone else I know," he snarled. "Just look at his face; the slack fatuous features Claude wears perpetually. There lies your answer."
Marianne sat in a corner of the bathroom while Claude had Ciel's head in his lap while he brushed his teeth. She shook her head and turned back to her sewing. Claude only smiled down at his prize.
Perfectly uniform. He glided the brush over Ciel's teeth. Close fitting ivory teeth like a row of fresh young skulls. Smooth… Delicate… Enchanting.
His distraction was so much that he hit the back of Ciel's throat. Ciel bolted upright and started coughing. Marianne abandoned her needlework and patted the boy's back as he gagged.
"Don't gag me!" he shouted.
"Apologies, My Lord!" Claude cried. "Pardon."
"Honestly, you call yourself a butler? Fa-Sebastian would never do something like-!" Ciel stopped when he realised what he was about to say. He looked up at Marianne, whose eyes had grown duller at the sound of his name. "I'm sorry, Mother. I should not have said anything."
She then smiled.
"Sebastian would never do that because he taught you how to brush your teeth effectively yourself. Less chance of you gagging that way."
He rested his head against her shoulder.
"That's right. How foolish of me."
Claude then interrupted them.
"Your contract with him is but a burden, like chains around your wrists. Continued thoughts about that demon would be detrimental to your spleen. He deserves not but your hatred, Master. Sebastian Michaelis is your sworn enemy."
Ciel growled, burying his face into his mother's chest.
"I know that!"
The demon got to his feet, continuing to smile.
"Break free of your fetters. Let us sign a contract, then we shall get revenge on that demon."
He knelt before them, extended his hand.
"You presume too much." Ciel said assertively. "I'm only here at all because I have no desire to that wretched manor!"
He bowed his head, bit his lip, and kept his eyes away from Marianne.
"Dealing with him is my business. I don't need any assistance from you-!"
"Oh, don't you?" Claude asked. "You're up against a demon after all."
Marianne looked at him with an arch look.
"Are you sure he is the one you should be worried about?" she asked. "Should we be more concerned about you?"
The demon's eyes narrowed, but he didn't take the bait.
"You needn't come to a decision right away."
He walked to the door as Ciel pressed himself further into Marianne, and looked at them over his shoulder.
"In this mansion, the threads of time itself are tangled up in the Spider's web."
Without another word, he left the room. Marianne silently stroked Ciel's hair as he bit his lip to keep from letting his tears fall.
Later, Claude was walking through the corridors.
He's such a proud young boy. A truly reckless, truly defenceless soul.
He stopped at one of the large windows, opened it, and let the air come rushing in.
"Ciel Phantomhive's soul is a fine one!" he declared. "Yes, a truly fine soul!"
His voice echoed all the way back to where Sebastian stood on the hill overlooking the mansion. Sebastian's shadow rippled with demonic rage brewing beneath the surface. Grell stared at it with terrified awe.
"B-B-B-Bassy…?"
"Come, Grell. Let's go." Sebastian said.
"Oh! Terribly sorry. I have an appointment with my hairdresser." Grell replied.
Sebastian leapt unto the air, his form silhouetted majestically by the sun. The Reaper gushed at the sight.
"So lovely…!" He realised what an opportunity was before him. "Come here, camera!"
The demon had landed when he lifted up the camera.
"Now, pose!"
Sebastian looked at him over his shoulder.
"So, you know I plan to strike approximately eight additional attractive poses today," he said before dashing off.
Grell's cheeks turned a brilliant red.
"I can't pass this up!" he cried. "Eight more poses, wait for me!"
Claude smirked as he turned away from the window.
"Thompson and Company, I have a task for you."
The trio of butlers appeared and knelt down behind him.
"I want you three to see to that demon."
Ciel and Marianne were walking through the gardens arm in arm. Ciel's cane tapped against the cobbles. Marianne glanced down at his hands and saw the two rings; the Trancy ring on his right index finger, the Phantomhive ring on his left thumb.
"I'm confused, Mother," he said. "Why does that butler call me Young Master? I know you saw it happen, but is Alois really dead? And was it I who killed him?"
She stroked his hair.
"Oh, Ciel…"
"And Father… Why would he…?" he asked.
Marianne pressed her lips to his forehead.
"In your heart, you know the truth."
He moved out of her grasp and started attacking the roses with his cane. She watched him take his anger out on the plants, eyed his weapon of choice as she moved out of its range. Hannah saw them and hurried over.
"Master!"
In his anger, he didn't notice his cane thwack the maid across the cheek, sending her sprawling to the ground. Marianne cried out.
"Hannah, are you alright?" she asked.
Ciel stopped and turned to her with wide eyes. Hannah shakily brought herself into a sitting position.
"Thank you, My Lord. It is your rite to thrash me." She turned to him. "Do continue if it pleases you. I wish to help."
Marianne and Ciel looked at one another.
"What now? Thrash you?" he said in amazement. "Your eye… Is there anyone in this manor who's not completely insane?"
His mother looked at him and tilted her head towards Hannah.
"…Fine."
He extended his hand to the maid.
The wind swirled around them, rose petals flew into the breeze. Hannah stared at them as though she had never seen such creatures before.
"What, were you going to stay there all day?" Ciel asked.
Hannah smiled, accepted the hand, and allowed him to help her to her feet. Marianne looked up to the pillars and saw the trio of butlers leaping through the air, guns strapped to their backs. One of them stared down at the interaction between the three of them before looking away.
An empty town, scattered with animal skeletons stood deserted and destroyed. Dust swept through the snapped wooden beams and crumbling brick walls. Sebastian stood before one of the houses.
"Here we are," he said.
Grell emerged beside him.
"Oh my… What is this horrible place?" he asked. "Oh! But it could work! Imagine dear Bassy nude amid the rubble. Oh my!"
He drooled at the thought. Sebastian silenced him with a gesture of his hand. The demon was looking at a woman sitting opposite them. She was dressed in tattered clothes and gave them a smile, revealing her crooked yellow teeth.
"Oi gov'!" she greeted. "Care for a taste?"
Her wrinkles stood out as she released a laugh.
"Ha! A joke. I could never manage it. It's been far, far too long." She shook out her skirt. "Got cobwebs down there, I do!"
Getting to her feet, she swept her arms around the whole town.
"Welcome Sirs to the cursed village of Arachnophile."
Sebastian arched a brow.
"I thought this place had been burned completely away. How is it you're still here?" he asked.
She sighed.
"I was the only one who was saved from the fire. Saved by a demon."
She saw Luca being pushed to the ground by two older boys. They were laughing at him.
"He's filthy! Go on, do it! Kick him some more!" cried the boy.
The other boy slammed his foot down on his victim.
"Bullyin' a poor weak boy!" she yelled.
The two boys ran away screaming as she came rushing over.
"It's the dirty slag!"
"She stinks!"
She huffed.
"Shut it, you! Bloody kids."
She turned to Luca, and saw him staring up at her with narrowed eyes. He struggled to his feet.
"I'm poor… But I'm no weakling," he said.
She steadied him when he began to flail.
"Of course not. Sorry dear." She stroked his hair. "I can see it now. You're a tough one, aren't ya? You can hold your own, eh?"
Luca blushed at her praise.
"Yeah!" he cried. "I'm real tough. I promised my big brother. I told him I'd be strong!"
He began to spin around happily.
"Everyone, everything, all gone!" he sang. "Everyone, everything, all gone!"
He stopped and turned to look at her.
"But you seem like a nice lady. How about I give you a free ticket, eh? Everybody minus one."
She looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
Luca smiled smugly.
"I made me a contract, with a demon."
"The way the boy told it, he made some kind of contract with the demon to make sure his beloved brother's wish come true," she explained. "The price was his very own soul. At first, I thought it was nothing more than some silly fairy story. But then…"
People ran through the town screaming. Fire consumed everything in its path, buildings were destroyed, townsfolk were dead. There was nothing above its all-consuming hunger. She could only watch on her hands and knees as everything was burned to the ground.
"The fire came. Everything the boy had said was true."
She turned her head, and saw Luca watching from the hillside.
A sigh escaped her, blowing her blonde hair out of her face.
"I was the only one who survived that day. I managed on me own somehow. But I guess that's all over now. Nice meeting you."
BANG!
An explosion of red blossomed on her forehead. The woman fell back and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Sebastian and Grell looked up to see the triplets; they had rifles aimed at them.
"The game's afoot," said Sebastian.
He surged forward, drawing out his silver forks. Grell sighed as he held his camera.
"Oh no!" he cried. "I let the second pose go to waste! Clumsy, clumsy me!"
The Reaper dashed off after the demon.
"I swear I won't miss the next one though!"
Sebastian did battle with the three butlers, dodging their attacks with their makeshift weapons with relative ease. Grell managed to catch up with him when the demon had tossed them to the ground.
"Things are heating up quite nicely."
He zoomed in on Sebastian as he batted away one of the triplets.
"Such long graceful limbs…" Grell sighed. "Oh, do look out, darling!"
Sebastian dodged out of the way of a rake, blocked a blow from a sickle and glared at his opponent. Grell took a close-up picture of his face.
"What a cruel, insightful gaze," he sighed. He then moved onto the butler's feet. "And his ankles peeking out from the cuffs of his trousers. One exciting pose after another!"
The demon pulled a reel of string out of his tailcoat pocket, used his teeth to pull it out, and swiftly tied the trio up and hung them upside down from a tree branch. Grell grumbled to himself.
"Oh dash it all! Is it over already?" he cried.
Sebastian glanced at him over his shoulder.
"Your Death Scythe. Now, Grell!" he ordered.
The Reaper stared at him.
"What? Surely you can finish them off more quickly by yourself," he said.
"Please, just do it, Grell."
Grell blushed and turned away.
"You're incorrigible, Bassy. Why are you always doing this to me?"
Sebastian let out a sigh.
"What a warm evening."
He opened the top few buttons of his shirt, loosened his tie, and ran a hand through his hair.
Grell's nose erupted into a nosebleed, cheeks red and eyes sparkling. Steam billowed out of his nostrils and his Death Scythe revved loudly. With a loud cackle, he sliced through the three butlers with ease. Their Cinematic Records streamed out in a flurry.
[Start of Cinematic Records of Thompson, Timber and Cantebury.]
A window exploded as the fire inside the house burned. Thompson, Timber and Cantebury watched from the hillside. Behind them, another demon stood watching over them.
[Pause.]
Grell scratched his chin as he looked through the Records.
"Huh, well, well, what do you know? So that's what happened," he said. "There's just no accounting for demons."
Sebastian observed them in silence.
"More or less what I thought," he commented.
"It is?"
"However…"
Sebastian caught sight of a certain image.
[Resume.]
Ciel stood with Marianne at his side, his hand extended to Hannah as she knelt on the ground. Rose petals were dancing around them. Marianne looked up and saw the butler staring back at her, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
[End of Cinematic Record.]
Sebastian scowled.
"That, I didn't see."
Grell turned his head and let out a scream. It seemed Sebastian's demonic aura had escaped into confines yet again, and was to the size of the houses around them.
"Bassy, you're Demoning! You're Demoning!"
The demon ignored him.
"I've seen enough of this," he said as he walked away. He grabbed hold of the thread he'd tied to the tree branch and ripped it away. "I have a pressing appointment with a Spider."
He coiled it back into its place in his pocket. The dismembered body parts of the triplets tumbled to the ground. Grell grimaced at the sight.
"Grotesque!"
As Sebastian stalked away, he muttered to himself.
"What does he think he's on about? Putting his grubby fingers all over my wife and children?"
He dashed off. He didn't hear the Reaper call out to him.
"Wait Bassy, come back! I still have at least two more photographs to take!"
Grell tried to give chase, but he realised quickly the futility of that endeavour.
"Ugh… he's quick."
Back at the Trancy manor, Marianne shielded her eyes as Ciel smashed a large mirror in the bathroom.
"Young Master!" Claude cried out. "Whatever's wrong?"
The demon came rushing in and reached out for the boy, but he evaded his grasp and fell into Marianne's arms.
"I thought I saw him…" Ciel said. "I thought Alois was in the mirror."
Marianne quietly checked him over for any injuries, and was pleased to find none. Claude turned to Hannah, who was standing in the corner.
"Hannah, clean up this mess at once!" he ordered. "I will take the Young Master and the Lady to their bedchambers."
"No. You see to the cleaning, Claude." Ciel said firmly.
"Me, Lord?"
The boy brushed his attentions away, took his mother by the hand and walked towards the maid.
"Now, Hannah, let's go."
The two of them walked out the room. Hannah followed them with her head bowed, she glanced over at Claude through the shadow of her hair, but he could see the smile that pulled at her purple-painted lips.
When they were gone, Claude stared at the closed door.
"What's this?" he asked himself. "Hannah?"
Marianne settled Ciel into bed and pulled up the covers. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, and stroked his hair.
"Ciel, are you alright?" she asked.
Hannah knelt down beside her as Ciel spoke.
"I wonder, what came over me just now?" He sat upright. "I hate this mansion! I want to go home!"
"To the Phantomhive estate?" Hannah inquired.
"I just want things to go back… to the way they were."
Marianne embraced him, pressed her lips to his forehead.
"They will. I will make sure they will."
She got up and moved away from the bed; she eyed Hannah for a moment before stepping out the room. Ciel watched her go. He looked to Hannah and raised a hand to her cheek.
"Your eye's an odd colour," he said. "I can't explain it. It's nostalgic somehow, almost like Mother's eyes."
Hannah smiled, held his hand in place.
"Master," she said. She released his hand and pointed to her mouth. "Watch closely, I'll show you something."
Opening her mouth, it gaped widely like a black abyss.
It was then that Marianne returned to the room, and saw Ciel's wide eyes as he stared into the depths of Hannah's mouth. She hurried over, and they both saw the object sitting at the back of her throat. A white eyeball, with a crystal blue iris, and blood red veins all around it. Marianne gripped Ciel's shoulders as they watched it roll around. The pupil dilated when it laid its sight on them.
What on Earth is this?! Ciel cried out mentally, latching onto Marianne. Is… that… me?
The eye blinked. The boy let out a violent scream. Marianne gathered him in her arms and pulled him away from the eye as far as she could get.
"What have you done?!" she demanded. "What have you done, you vile woman?! He's suffering! Is this what you want?!"
How can I be watching myself?! Ciel continued to scream. What is that?! Is it…? Is it…?
The eye tried to pop out of its socket, as though trying to go to him.
"Is it my eye in there, Mother?! Is that my eye?!" he cried.
Marianne cupped his face in her hands, pressed their foreheads together, and made him focus on her.
"That thing is not your eye. Do you understand me? That is not your eye." She said this firmly, refusing to let any argument slip in. "You are Ciel Phantomhive, no one else."
She wasn't sure if her words got through to him, because he fainted dead away only a moment later. Marianne held him against her as she glared at Hannah. The demoness only smiled.
"That's right. What you saw was indeed your own eye."
"How dare you feed him such lies?! Didn't I warn you what would happen if you dared try to harm him?" Marianne roared.
A smirk seemed to touch the maid's lips.
"We shall see what you are capable of, My Lady."
There was a knock at the front door. Claude opened it, yet there was no one standing on the doorstep. He stepped outside and glanced over the perimeter. A smirk then spread across his face.
"What a surprise," he said.
Sebastian lurked in the shadows above the door.
"I thought you were spying from a distance, but here you are at the front entrance."
"My Young Master's orders were specific. He instructed me to stay out of his sight. It's certainly no violation of his orders if it's only you seeing me." Sebastian answered.
Claude only hummed in response. Sebastian dropped down from his perch, got to his feet, and removed the black rose from his breast pocket.
"Now then, I came tonight to return this to you."
He threw the rose at him.
Claude watched the flower, and just as it dropped below his eyes, Sebastian was no longer standing in the open doorway. As silent as a grave, Sebastian slammed his fist into Claude's stomach, and sent him flying. Claude smacked into the ground, and slowly got to his feet.
"Another surprise," he said. He wiped his glasses and replaced them on the end of his nose. "A demon terminating a contract is a most unusual occurrence."
Sebastian scowled.
"I'm terminating nothing. You broke the contract first," he protested. "We swore to defer our battle over the Young Master's soul until it was fully cultivated. That is until after he'd had his revenge. Our agreement was to use each other for mutual benefit until such a time."
There was silence as Claude removed his own rose from his pocket.
"My, my," he said.
He looked down at the stem with a smirk, seeing the small white insects eating through it.
"These spider mites have discoloured the leaves."
Sebastian glared at him.
"It seems that my rose was infested all along. Regrettable turn of events."
The rose petals crumbled into dust. Claude dropped the stem onto the ground.
"Indeed," said Sebastian. "Now, both roses are dead."
"The contract's terminated." Claude agreed. He extended a hand between them as he removed his glasses. "Here me now, come Hell or high water, I intend to devour Ciel Phantomhive's soul! And I fully intend to take your beloved mate away from you. She is a prize, isn't she?"
He went on to explain.
"You see, I know now there's more to it than its superior flavour. It goes much deeper than that."
Sebastian quietly adjusted his gloves.
"Yes, in that, you are correct."
"We demons are granted eternal life. However, we grow weary. We live so long; far, far too long." Claude continued.
"And my Young Master's life lends a certain spice upon the world which we glut ourselves." Sebastian agreed.
"His soul dwells in darkness, and yet remains unstained. It charms us, vexes us, tantalises us, frenzies us. And now…"
"Now, it has brought us to this. A broken contract. A fight between demon and demon."
They drew their weapons. Claude struck first. Sebastian retaliated. They exchanged and dodged blows with a fierce determination. When their knives crossed, Sebastian found himself staring at the crazed expression that seemed to have permanently etched itself into Claude's face.
"It's useless!" the Spider yelled. "The Young Master is mine now!"
Sebastian sneered.
"For someone whose not signed a contract with him, you're awfully confident."
"Oh, I'll get a signed contract, don't you doubt it. And once I have him, I won't let him go for a moment!"
Claude's smirk grew wider.
"And that mate of yours, your wife, I shall look forward to reaping the pleasures she has to offer, once that wretched spawn has been removed!"
He swung a knife up at Sebastian. Sebastian backflipped out the way and landed in a crouch far away from him. Claude laughed loudly.
"If this dinner knife is a bit small to cut off your seal and your arm along with it…" He examined the gold blade with a smile. "Even so, I'm sure I can continue to pervert your contract. It's simple really."
Sebastian gritted his teeth, glared at his opponent with the flames of Hell burning in his eyes.
Just then, a voice called out.
"Sebastian!"
They turned around to see the clock tower looming high above the grounds. The voice was more than familiar to both of them.
"Sebastian!"
The two demons hurried over to the fountain sitting in the courtyard. They saw Ciel climbing up the rampant thorns and vines.
"Sebastian!"
Claude gasped.
"Young Master!"
He went down on his knee. Sebastian hid himself behind the fountain's statue.
"You're being summoned," said Claude with a smirk. "He knows you're here."
As he got to his feet, he smiled.
"You've been seen, not just by me. Such disobedience, Sebastian Michaelis. A disgrace to butlers everywhere!" he proclaimed.
Sebastian turned away, shuddering at the thought.
The next words that came took them both by surprise.
"Sebastian, help me!"
The demons looked up in amazement.
"Please, help me! Sebastian, if you don't, I'll climb all the way up!" Ciel declared as he continued to climb.
Sebastian scowled.
"I'll keep climbing! I swear I will! You had better get here quickly, Sebastian! I'll climb this thing!"
The smirk that spread across the boy's face was far too alien to be his.
"I'm going straight to the top, Sebastian."
"You're wrong." Sebastian said to Claude. "I've done nothing to disobey orders yet. That is not My Lord."
Claude sighed begrudgingly.
"No… No, it's not."
A voice then spoke up behind them.
"It's My Lord. Earl Alois Trancy."
They turned around, and saw Hannah and Marianne standing there. Marianne was quietly glaring daggers at Hannah, flexing her hand closer to her blade in its holster on her thigh. She ran between the butlers when she saw Alois/Ciel step closer to the edge of the clock tower.
"All the way up," he laughed. "See?"
She snarled.
"Alois Trancy, when I get my hands on you, I am going to wring your bloody neck for putting my son in danger! If I have to manually rip you out of his body, I will!"
Up above, a tremor seemed to run through his body at her words. He shook himself before extending his hands in front of him. Staring back at him was an elaborate hedge maze.
"I'll fall off! I'll do it! Do you hear me, Sebastian?" he yelled.
Sebastian glanced over his shoulder at the fuming Marianne and his possessed child. He turned his eyes back to Hannah, and threw them like daggers into her flesh.
All the while, Alois/Ciel continued to scream…
"I'll fall off! All the way down!"
Happy New Year, everyone! It's 2018 and we're back to writing again.
Lots of things going on in this chapter, along with Ciel being possessed by Alois. It's no wonder Marianne is so angry. I'm already looking forward to writing what she's going to do about Hannah when she gets her hands on her. Alois is in for a nasty surprise as well.
The battle between demons is about to commence!
Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Please read and review!
