Chapter 14: Flaw.
The raven butler walked into his young master's bedchamber to wake up the two sleeping siblings. He was going to allow them to sleep in, however, the sun had been up for hours and they have yet to get out of bed.
The moment he stepped foot into the room, his brow twitched in annoyance at the scene in front of him.
On the bed lied Ciel and Cassie. The covers were knocked to the floor and Cassie lied atop Ciel's body, her arms and legs wrapped around him. Her lips were slightly parted, resting against the boy's pale neck. Ciel also had his arms wrapped around the girl, but his were placed on her lower back.
Sebastian was jealous, to be honest. Cassie belonged to him, not Ciel. But since they are siblings, he decided to let it go and proceed to wake them up.
He walked over to the window and drew back the drapes, allowing the sunlight to enter the room. He made his way to the side of the bed and picked up the fallen blankets, then he nudged the young earl. "It's time to wake up, my lord."
"Don't I have an empty schedule?" He grumbled, "Let me sleep."
"Something came up." The butler spoke, now nudging the girl. "Wake up, Young Mistress."
Cassie rolled off of the boy's body and buried her face under the pillows. "Shut up, shut up, shut up..." She spoke in a groggy voice that was muffled from the pillows. "Whatever business he has doesn't affect me."
Sebastian held in a chuckle as he then threw the blankets on top of the girl's body. "True, however, I need to speak with you about something."
"Get him to shut up." The girl whined as she then kicked Ciel off of the bed, resulting in him falling to the floor with a thud.
"What the hell?!" The boy exclaimed, fully awake.
"You shut up, too." She mumbled, rolling over again with her feet dangling off the edge of the bed as she cuddled the cotton covers the butler had previously thrown on her.
Ciel sighed as he stood up. "Get out so I can get dressed."
She sighed as well as she let herself slide off the bed, only to end up slumping to the floor with a yelp. "Fuck!"
Sebastian rushed over to aid the girl. "Are you alright?"
"Ah, y-yes. It was nothing." She said, smiling reassuringly.
He grinned as he helped her to her feet. "Even so, that's not suitable language for a lady."
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." She spoke innocently as she slowly walked towards the bedroom door and into the hallway.
Once she had left the room, Sebastian had begun dressing Ciel.
"What was it that suddenly came up?" The bluenette asked, sitting down on the bed.
"Miss Dyer has requested to see you as soon as possible." He replied, "She said all of Miss Cassie's belongings are still in her old room at the orphanage."
The boy looked up at his butler with solemn eyes. "Do you think we should tell her that we found Cassie?"
Sebastian shrugged, "Perhaps you should ask Cassie."
"You've been watching over her..." Ciel said, "...Has she ever brought up anything about the time she went missing from the orphanage?"
He shook his head as he tied a ribbon round the boy's neck. "She's never spoken of it."
The earl sighed as he stood up to put his coat on. "Then I suppose I'll save that conversation for another time."
Three servants stood in front of Cassie as Sebastian introduced each of them to her. "This is Mey-Rin, the maid. Baldroy, the chef. And Finnian, the gardener."
They all bowed in unison to the girl. "Nice to meet you, Miss Cassie!"
Sebastian offered the girl a closed-eye smile. "I already informed them of your situation, so there's no need for you to worry. They will watch over you while the young master and I are gone."
She looked at the raven butler with a somewhat concerned expression. "You're leaving?"
He spoke in his usual stoic tone. "We won't be long, so there's no need for you to worry."
She hesitantly nodded, "Alright..."
He then turned to the maid. "Mey-Rin."
She instantly straightened her back as she saluted the tall man. "Yes, Mister Sebastian?"
"Prepare a bath for Miss Cassie and rewrap her bandages within the next few hours, please." He spoke as he walked towards the exit of the manor with Ciel.
Mey-Rin bowed as she spoke. "I'll do it as soon as she's ready, yes I will!"
An hour had passed since Sebastian and Ciel had left, and Cassie was currently sitting on the staircase with her head against the railing. Needless to say, she was absolutely bored.
It had started to rain outside, and the calming sound of the rain hitting the windows of the manor made Cassie feel a bit relaxed yet weary. After a few minutes of fighting to keep her eyelids open, the girl finally nodded off to sleep.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
Mey-Rin noticed the sleeping girl and quietly stumbled towards the door to see who had come to visit in such weather. "H-Hello, miss!" The maid exclaimed, bowing to the guest.
It was a lovely woman with moonbeam blonde hair who was drenched from the rain. She offered the maid a smile as she spoke. "Would it be alright for me to take shelter here just until the storm passes?"
The maid nodded as she stepped aside, "O-Of course! Is there anything I can get you?"
She nodded as she stalked into the manor, "Could I have something warm to drink?"
"I'll go make you some tea, yes I will!" She said as she bowed once more and rushed to the kitchen.
The woman then turned to find somewhere to sit, and her gaze fell upon the unconscious girl who sat at the bottom of the large staircase. A wicked smirk claimed her lips as she narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Well, isn't that interesting..."
At that moment, she could hear the maid coming back into the room, so she quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere.
Mey-Rin entered the room with a tray in her hands. She shakily made her way towards the woman and gave her the tea. "Here you go, miss!"
She smiled as she took the tea cup off the tray. "Thank you, dear. Is the young earl here, by any chance?"
The maid shook her head, "No, the young master had business to attend to somewhere, so he's not here at the moment."
The woman took a sip of her tea and placed it back on the tray the maid held in her hands. "It looks like the weather has calmed down for the time being. I should probably head home before it acts up again." She said as she walked out the door.
"W-Wait!" Mey-Rin bit her lip as the door shut in front of her. She sighed as she began to go back to the kitchen, "She never said her name..." She mumbled.
Just then, Cassie's eyes fluttered open and she caught the maid just as she was going into the kitchen. "Mey-Rin?"
The maid's eyes widened as she tightened her grip on the tray. "Oh, you're awake! I'll prepare the bath for you in just a moment, yes I will!"
Cassie took a deep breath as she carefully stepped into the bathtub. Her leg was hurting like hell, but she would tell anybody that. She didn't want anyone to think she was weak.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
The blunette didn't bother turning her head as she let her body sink into the water. "Yes?"
"May I come in?" It was Sebastian's voice.
Her face instantly heated and she hugged her knees close to her body as she spoke. "Why?"
"To help you bathe, of course." She could just hear the smirk in his tone.
"A-Alright..." She called out quietly.
The raven butler then walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He made his way over to the tub as he then grabbed a small cup and began washing the girl's hair.
Several minutes had passed and the two had remained quiet. That is, until Cassie finally broke the silence.
"It's disgusting, isn't it..?" She mumbled, looking down into the dirty bath water as Sebastian ran the sudsy cloth over her frail back.
"Pardon?" The demon questioned, looking up at the back of the girl's head, unsure of what she could possibly be talking about.
She was beautiful in every way, her frail body was like a porcelain doll, so fragile and so beautiful it needed to be protected and cared for constantly. Her hair was a river of blue, spilling perfectly down past her shoulders, clashing with her milky skin. Her eyes were nothing short of perfect. They were both bluer than the clearest ocean.
There wasn't a single flaw Sebastian could see.
Cassie's voice peeped up, hoarse and ragged as if she were about to lose her ability to even speak. "The scars, I mean."
He scowled slightly at the thought of the marks on the girl's body. They were stains, a sign that showed how used and dirty she was. It was a constant reminder of his fail to protect her.
The demon's naked hands ran up the girl's milky skin, his fingers coming to a stop right next to the crimson mark. He felt the rough skin, forever damaged from the injury it had endured all those months ago.
She originally wasn't supposed to have this brand on her, however, the second time she was abducted, they gave it to her as punishment. Though Sebastian's body wasn't marked with the brand, it was a punishment to him as well. It was the consequence of his failure.
Cassie moved away from the demon's touch, knowing exactly where his fingers lay. "D-Don't... Don't touch it..." She whispered softly, wrapping both arms around herself and looking downwards.
While many human emotions were foreign to Sebastian, he could at least understand why the girl would feel so self-conscious of the mark.
The demon thought for a moment and placed both arms around Cassie's frail torso, one hand placed above her chest, the other against her stomach.
The blunette immediately moved forward as a reflex, wanting to break free.
She saw herself as disgusting and didn't want to be touched, simple as that.
The girl's eyes widened, feeling a thin pair of lips set themselves between her shoulder blades, a light rose blush dusting her cheeks.
"It isn't disgusting, my lady. Every bit of you is beautiful. So beautiful, that even a dirty demon such as myself can see it." Sebastian spoke softly, nuzzling his face into Cassie's back.
The girl's body relaxed and she grinned lightly. "You find beauty in the darkest things..." She spoke silently, closing her eyes softly and turning her face away.
The demon lifted his head and walked around the tub so he could face the girl. He lifted the blunette's face using the tips of his fingers, placing a soft kiss upon her nose. "Dark or light, I still love you, my dear Cassie." Sebastian smiled, pressing their lips together for a moment before he pulled away, simply to look into the girl's stunningly breathtaking eyes.
Cassie smiled, returning a kiss on the raven butler's cheek. "I love you too, stupid."