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"Sebastian…I vow to protect him to my last breath. I won't be stopped like last time…"
That vow had been my solemn oath, as strong as Sebastian's Faustian contract but with more. I couldn't truly describe how my bond with Ciel differed to his bond with Sebastian. Maybe it was the fact that I could be his confidant…his friend. When I had first met Ciel, he had been a young boy. I had known then, that he was something worth protecting. It was because of this that I knew I would help him complete his revenge. I would stand beside him until he had retrieved the truth from mangled corpses. I would even help him dig up the bodies.
I watched from Claude's arms as Sebastian lifted Ciel up into his arms and started moving towards the manor. My eyes followed the triplets as they ran after them, circled them with gardening tools. One held a ladder, another held a chiselling tool while the final one held some sort of wood holder. The wood holder caught Sebastian's leg, while the ladder came down to hold him in place.
"Group attack! Welcome to the fierce raking from Hell!" Claude yelled out for the triplets.
The chisel holder jumped up, a hammer at the ready to sever Sebastian's head. Claude dropped me to the floor as Sebastian broke the chisel and the triplets fell down, almost unconscious. Two of them got up; one holding the chisel while another was holding the remains of the ladder. Alois laughed at the triplets before he turned his attention to me on the ground, my skirts acting as a cushion.
"Do you think they will save you?" Alois asked.
"I know they won't," I replied as Sebastian ran towards our group, "Sebastian has his priorities and I'm not one of them."
Alois turned as Sebastian lifted his leg. Claude moved forward to stop Sebastian hurting the Trancy brat. His hair was blown aside as Sebastian did the equivalent of a backflip over their heads. Ciel looked to me as he landed.
"What about Elena?" Ciel asked Sebastian as the latter started running.
"I'm certain she can survive," Sebastian replied as they disappeared, the triplets following after them.
"Sebastian is amazing," Alois said in a flirty tone, "you know Claude; I think he may be better than you. We should force him to crawl on his belly like a dog. What do you think? Can you make that happen, Claude?"
"If that is your wish," Claude replied as he turned to look at me, "and what of her?"
"She's mine," Alois said, "even if she's marked by Ciel. Once Ciel is mine, she will follow obediently."
A soft melody rang through the woods and Alois clutched his ears. I got to my knees, knowing my distraction was close as Alois cursed. He had probably hoped the performance wouldn't upset his ears…
"The bloody performance has started," Alois said with a smirk in my direction, "it won't be long now."
"Hell will freeze over," I said as I stood, "before I return to work for you."
"You are mine!" Alois snapped as Claude covered his master's ears.
"I was never yours," I said as I gave him the finger, knowing even he, a stray dog made into an earl, would understand.
He frowned at me as I turned and started running away from them. My hands were still bound so I needed to cut myself loose. I spotted the remains of the chisel ahead and dropped down to pick it up. I positioned it to cut through the ties and once that was done, I started running again. I held onto some of the bandages to cover my ears when the music got to me but it hadn't reached me properly yet.
How was I supposed to find my young master? I wasn't sure how to answer that question before I spotted a path of broken gardening tools. I would follow the litter the triplets had left, and they would lead me to Ciel. I held the chisel like a weapon as I followed the sounds of their stupid whispering. Out here, it was like a gentle hum.
I spotted them ahead, and each of them had a new weapon. I ran faster, and when I was close enough, I swung the chisel, hitting them in the side of their faces. They turned their attention to me, and I raised my hands. One had what was like a wood stripper, another saws while the final one held an axe. The axe came first and I dodged it, and the triplet got it lodged into a tree trunk. I kicked out at the triplet who shuffled back and I pulled out the axe to hold. It felt heavy in my arms.
"I have wanted to do this for a very long time," I said as the axe's head caught the gleam of the moon.
The wood stripper came next and I swung the axe into his head before ducking. I pulled it free as he dropped to the floor. The saws came and I lifted the axe again. I ran forward as he came at me and I dropped to slide under his legs. I got up and caught him on the arm. They had dropped their weapons so I started kicking them, punching them…taking out four months of repressed anger on them. They fell to the floor, knocked unconscious as I breathed in deeply.
"I hated your muttering!" I snapped at their bodies, "what the hell were you whispering about?!"
"Elena?" and I turned to see Sebastian was doing a handstand, his hands covering Ciel's ears, "what of the music?"
"Music?" I asked and looked around, "what music?"
"The music coming from the manor," he explained and I looked towards there, feeling my breathing ease. The moment my lungs acted normal, the music sent a shiver down my spine and my head was pounding. I dropped to my knees and pulled at the bandages I had wrapped around my arms. I waded two before sticking it my ears, hearing a hum…grateful it wasn't as loud as it had been. The triplets got up slowly, and I raised my hands weakly. They looked to me and then Sebastian before running away.
"Sebastian! Elena! We need to get back to the ball!" Ciel shouted as I moved over to him.
"Don't worry, master. Fortunately one of my very few friends is at the dance this evening," Sebastian explained as he looked to me, "can you move?"
I nodded as I stood weakly, using his foot to right myself. The dress was ruined so I walked over to the saw and picked it up. I felt through the dress for my knees and then cut above that. The material came away slowly before I stood in ripped stockings, no shoes and a bodice that was ripped along the gut. It showed skin as it must have gotten through my corset and underclothing. I pulled at my stockings to take them off. I grabbed the remains of the bandages and tied my hair into a braid over one shoulder.
"Very original," Sebastian said as I turned my head to look at the manor.
I took out my waded up bandages and ripped them in half, and put them in Ciel's ears. He looked at me as I took his hand and helped him up.
"We should return," I said calmly as I pulled Ciel along at a fast run. Sebastian lifted him after a moment and we got to the edge of the forest. I pulled our group to a stop by putting a hand on Sebastian's shoulder. The demon looked at me before he put Ciel down.
"Give him to me," I said, "stop this."
Sebastian nodded as he jumped up onto the roof of the building and disappeared. Ciel looked at me as I brought him through the servants' door. It was close to the kitchen which I walked past and went to my old bedroom. His coat was still there so I picked it up and brought it to the bathroom to clean the stain.
"What are you doing?" Ciel asked as the stain faded.
"Everything must seem normal," I replied as I hand-dried his coat before putting it on him, "come on."
"Where are we going?" he asked and I took out my ear-buds. The music changed and it was no longer painful to listen to. I turned to pull out Ciel's before bringing him to the kitchen.
"Stay right here," I said, "I'm going to find your hat."
"I left it in that red room," Ciel said so we returned to my bedroom and I found it hidden under my bed. I fixed it to his head and made sure the feather was prominent.
We walked back slowly to the ballroom, and Ciel appeared deep in thought.
"Is something bothering you?" I asked him as I checked rooms we passed, "you're not normally this quiet."
"I heard your voice before," he said simply, "you were here with Sebastian and I. But I never saw you."
"I never saw you," I said as I opened the door to the dining room.
"I heard your voice," Ciel said, "you were asking Sebastian something."
"Do you remember what?" I asked him as voices started up the hall, "come here."
I pulled him to stand in the dining room and I closed the door. I heard footsteps walk by us as I covered Ciel's mouth with my hand. When the steps were gone, I uncovered his mouth and took his hand.
"You asked if he wanted you to take his suitcase..." Ciel said.
"He refused," I said as I pulled him into another room, "he wanted to mind his own suitcase."
"But I wasn't there to see you," Ciel said in wonder, "how long did you work here?"
"Four months," I replied as I opened the dining room door to step out into the hall, "I was unemployed a month before that."
Ciel stayed quiet as I walked forward but he caught my hand to stop me. I looked back to find out what was wrong when he looked at my outfit.
"You wanted to make it seem normal…your dress is ruined," he said as I looked down.
"Easily fixed," I said as I ran back to my room. I grabbed a pair of stockings and ran my hand along the underside of my bed.
"What are you looking for?" Ciel asked as I pulled out a box.
"Lord Trancy used this room as storage, and when I arrived, he threw a bed in it. He left all his little…things here."
I opened the box to reveal a pair of ballet pumps and quickly put them on and laced them up.
"Alright?" I asked him as he looked me over.
"You look like a circus act," he said and I nodded.
We ran back to the ballroom where people were rubbing their heads and Hannah was playing an instrument. She must have been the performance Alois had warned about though it didn't hurt anymore. Sebastian was playing with her. He was running his hands along glasses and the melody he played seemed to merge with Hannah's melody.
"Earl…" a voice called out and I turned to see a man with a violin, "I must collect the earl."
I jumped up and kicked his head, forcing it to hit the violin before he fell to the floor. He closed his eyes and I returned to Ciel, seeing he was watching me.
"Young master, are you alright?" I asked.
"Why does Alois want me?" he asked me and I shrugged my shoulders.
"I don't know," I said as I held his hand, "but I vow that he will never possess you so long as I'm alive."
I put Ciel by the fireplace in the ballroom, watching everyone as they stepped away from Hannah to watch Sebastian. A demon was making people feel good…it was the curry bread incident all over again. Sebastian was a tame demon by the looks of it as Elizabeth and Paula moved away from RanMao's legs. It was a good hiding spot, I'd give them that much.
I heard something crack and turned to see Hannah's instrument was glowing before the glass shattered and she was blown backwards. She lay there for a moment as people started clapping for Sebastian. Sebastian bowed before jumping to kneel beside Hannah. Everyone followed him with their eyes; the music finally finished as I took my position on Ciel's left.
"Humph, what a show off," Ciel muttered from beside me and I giggled.
"You're back, Ciel!" Elizabeth said with glee.
Sebastian stood up and walked over to the earl and I, fixing his gloves carefully before he took the earl's right.
"Tell me, what was that instrument she was playing?" Ciel asked Sebastian as Elizabeth came closer.
"Elena…your dress," she said as she pulled at the skirt.
"It was designed to be broken up," I said to her, "I'm now a circus act."
"So cute!" she said as she clapped her hands.
"An armonica. It was popular in the eighteenth century. Some called it the 'Voice of the Angels'. Others feared it disturbed the minds of those who heard it. Thus it fell into the dark corners of history as a demon's instrument," Sebastian replied.
"Made by humans and called a demon's instrument? Yet, its negative effects don't seem to reach you," Ciel said with a smirk.
"Yes, in fact, I found it pleasant," Sebastian answered with a smile.
"Why would someone play such a thing at a costume ball?" Soma demanded.
"As a diversion for my guests," a voice called out.
I turned to see who had arrived and spotted Alois Trancy. He had changed during the time I had last seen him and now he reminded me some estranged flying vampire. I didn't think he would dress up as something to frighten but maybe his choice of costume meant something. Maybe it was symbolic? He wanted people to consider the idea that he could suck the life out of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please accept my sincere apologies for being late. I'm Alois Trancy and I'm so honoured that you came."
"Oh that's him…" one guest whispered.
"He's so young…" another commented.
"I see that you enjoyed the entertainment while I was away and I'm relieved it was to your liking," Alois said with a smile.
The triplets walked over to Hannah and helped her up. One of them walked her out of the room as the other two lifted the armonica to take away from the room. One returned and swept up the glass on the floor before leaving. Alois walked towards our group, a smile on his face as he looked us over. Claude followed him like a shadow…which only made me uneasy. I still wasn't completely sure who had used chloroform on me…but it wouldn't happen again.
"That performance was outstanding," Alois complimented Sebastian before looking to Ciel, "I say you have a true talent for music, Sebastian."
"I cannot accept such praise," Sebastian replied with a hand over his heart, "I'm simply one hell of a butler."
"I noticed you, Elena, you seemed more than able to defend Ciel from a member of the orchestra," Alois continued.
"What type of Phantomhive bodyguard would I be, if I couldn't protect my young master?" I replied with a hand over my own heart.
"You're lucky, Earl Phantomhive, to have two such lovely servants."
"He's merely a butler and she's my bodyguard," Ciel muttered.
"Master, I would like to have a word with Claude, if it wouldn't trouble you? It shouldn't take terribly long and Elena will be here in case you require any assistance," Sebastian asked.
"He can do that, can't he, Claude? Ten minutes Claude! I want you to settle this quickly!" Alois whispered the last part but I was close enough to hear him, "if you can't do that, you'll be punished!"
"Yes, Your Highness," Claude replied.
"Fine but do it swiftly, understood?" Ciel said to Sebastian.
"Why yes, my young lord," Sebastian replied calmly, "Shall we Claude?"
Claude led the way out of the manor with Sebastian staying behind him. I hoped he wasn't killed or hurt severely…
"Elena," Alois said as he looked to me and then Ciel, "can I have this dance?"
"Young master?" I asked him and Ciel shook his head.
"My bodyguard will remain at my side until Sebastian returns, Alois. If you want a dance with her, you may ask her later."
"Very well…Earl Phantomhive," Alois said with his teeth gritted.
A waiter walked by with two glasses of orange which I picked up. I sniffed them both before sipping mine. There was nothing added as I held out Ciel's to him. I braced my back beside him and sipped more.
"He is an odd person," Ciel said as he sipped his drink.
"This is him in a slightly better mood," I said as I finished my drink and put it down, "he moved from content to anger far too quickly that sometimes…you couldn't see when it happened."
"Like?" Ciel asked as he looked up at me.
"He woke up one morning and stretched, and he saw Claude. It was like everything was alright…until he saw me. I was opening the curtains and the fabric had gotten stuck so I pulled…making it open faster. He told Claude to punish me for blinding him…and I didn't eat for two weeks. Water was given to me; I was human after all…but nothing else."
"Ciel!" a voice called out and we both turned our attention to Prince Soma.
"Not this loon again," Ciel muttered, "I would rather dance."
"Then come on," I said as I held his hand.
He nodded and moved with me out to dance. He put a hand at my waist and held one of my hands as he twirled me. I led some of the dance, covering for his ungraceful nature when he was nervous. It didn't take long before he was leading me and people were cheering us on.
"Tell me more," Ciel whispered to me and I looked over his shoulder.
"About Alois?" I asked and he nodded, "it's not his real name."
"It's not?" Ciel asked as he twirled me. I spotted Alois watching us and I waved before Ciel held me tight.
"It was a household secret, no one outside was meant to know. I would like to introduce you to Jim Macken," I said simply with my hand moving almost to point at Alois, "a stray dog that Claude turned into an Earl. Well…that's what he told me on the train. Alois was the name of the previous earl's son."
"The train?" Ciel asked as Alois bit his lip.
"I was looking for you both," I said as we danced faster, "and Claude intercepted me and gave me the invite for tonight."
"Did he say anything else?" Ciel asked as the music stopped and he waited for it to continue.
"Nothing of import, Ciel," I replied as a new song started playing.
'Nothing of import…' what a lie! Claude had threatened the boy who was holding me. He had demanded I return to this estate and my duties as a Trancy maid. But there was no future here for me…
"You will return to him if you want Ciel Phantomhive to survive," Claude stated calmly.
The car shuddered and I looked up to see the roof lifted high. What the hell was going on? I turned back to Claude to find myself looking at his chest. I gasped as he caught my throat and looked into my eyes.
"You are such a foolish girl," Claude said, "you thought Lord Trancy would send anyone but me after you?"
"You're his…puppet!" I croaked as he tightened his grip on my throat.
"I turn sugar into salt, a stray dog into an earl…I can easily turn a disobedient maid into a corpse," he said calmly as he lifted me higher.
"I won't go…back," I groaned, "I'd rather die…!"
The train was shook and Claude let me go. I fell to the floor, braced against one of the tables as he kept his balance. Tears were dripping from my eyes as I looked at the butler. He cleaned his clothes before he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He dropped down to my level and I flinched.
"For Ciel Phantomhive," Claude said as he put it in my hands, "if he wants to know more about us, he can come in the front door."
He started to leave me, and I turned to watch him go. He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder.
"Remember Elena, I can show you something far worse than hell. If you want the boy to live, you will do what is expected of you."
The memories sent a shiver up my spine and I clenched my hand on Ciel's shoulder. I would not leave Ciel one person short. If you wanted to kill a demon, you had to be quicker than him. I would ask Sebastian to show me some tricks, train me so I could fight one of the triplets or Claude himself. I would not be caught off guard like tonight and the chloroform….this boy mattered too much for me to be foolish.
"Ciel!" Elizabeth called out, "we made you something to try."
"What is it?" he asked as he let me go.
"Curry bread," she said as she caught his hand and dragged him to a table.
"I don't like curry," he mumbled as she put him in the chair.
"I have a feeling you'll like this," I whispered from in front of him.
Ciel lifted the bread to look at before he bit into it. Soma watched and I started laughing. Agni looked over at me and I waved him away.
"I'm a tad hungry myself," I said as I touched my stomach, "it smells lovely from here."
"I made more," Agni said as he held out a dish with at least ten of them on it, "help yourself."
I picked one up and bit into it and moaned with delight. I hadn't eaten since that morning so it was nice to stop my stomach growling.
"How is it, Ciel? Does it bring back any memories?" Elizabeth asked as she leaned closer to him.
"And what exactly is eating bread stuffed with curry meant to make me remember?" Ciel asked as he swallowed his first bite, "besides, I don't really care for spicy foods anyway."
"I'm sorry, my prince," Agni said with disappointment colouring his tone.
"Although, the flavour isn't all that bad. What do you think, Elena?" he asked me as he took another bite.
"Can't talk, eating," I said as I took another bite and that made Elizabeth laugh. Ciel smirked at me as I finished the bread and licked my lips.
Ciel's chair shook and I walked closer, through our little group only to see Lau between Ciel's legs. That was a rather awkward place to be in as he looked at all of us.
"What are you doing?" Ciel asked as he moved back.
"Oh Earl Phantomhive. So how did everything turn out in the end?" Lau asked; pieces of cork still lodged in his ears.
"Wait, you've just been hiding under the table?" Agni asked as I dropped to my knees in my old spot across from the earl.
I pulled the tablecloth away and grabbed Lau's leg before pulling him towards me. Ciel watched as he disappeared, murmuring, "Lau?" as I brought Lau out from my side.
"Ah Elena," he said as I helped him up, "did I miss anything?"
I pulled out the corks from his ears and smiled at him before putting them on the table.
"The fight is over and everything is back to the way it was," I replied simply as RanMao walked over to him.
"That's good to hear," he said with a smirk.
(Sebastian's POV)
The room we had chosen to make our pact was a demon's. The walls were painted a dark green with stone statues grazing the walls. To be honest, it was one of my favourites. Claude had left the decision up to me…so I had picked this. I looked down at the rose in front of me. Pure white like snow with a dark purple stem, a demon's rose. If this is what it took for my young master to have his revenge, making his soul complete…
I used my teeth to grip one of the fingers of my white glove before pulling it off. Claude caught the wrist of his glove before throwing it away. Our contracts between other demons were not like that between humans. Ours required a mark of blood, informing other demons of a deal. I lifted my wrist as Claude raised a knife and cut his. I sunk my teeth into my wrist to draw blood to drop onto the rose in front of me. Droplets stained the platter before it hit the petals of the rose.
The rose lost the soft innocent white colour to be replaced as what that Grim Reaper suggested was passionate red. Did red have other names? I might ask Elena afterwards as Claude put another rose out in the centre between us both. I had spoken to him about another contractual obligation while Ciel Phantomhive was completing his revenge. I picked up the centre rose and dropped blood into it before holding up both of the roses.
"You and your master shall become the targets of my lord's revenge," I said as I touched the petals of both the roses.
"And once Ciel Phantomhive has gained that revenge, we shall battle for his soul. The seal," Claude said as he held up his rose.
"We make our pact, as well as a contractual obligation," I said as I threw one rose before the other. Claude caught them between his fingers before lifting his wrist again. I dropped blood into the rose he had given me before licking my wrist. He put the second rose down on the centre platter as he attached his rose to his lapel.
"Until the revenge is completed, Elena Hamilton will not be harmed by any demon of either household…so long as she wears this rose."
"Agreed," I said as I picked up the rose, "this is our pact."
"This is our oath," Claude said I fastened my rose to my lapel, "until Ciel Phantomhive has completed his revenge."
(Elena POV)
Ciel had decided to lean against the fireplace, to glare at Alois Trancy. As his bodyguard, and currently his only defence, I stayed with him. I looked around for any sign of a threat and that was when I noticed Claude with Alois. Had Sebastian been killed…hurt? I looked around for him and saw him walking towards us. There was a deep purple rose in his lapel as well as one in his hands. Had they gone to another garden? I was certain I hadn't seen these roses before.
"Ciel," I said and pointed to Claude before Sebastian came to us.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ciel asked of Sebastian.
"I took care of it swiftly, just as you ordered me to, my lord," Sebastian replied as he looked over at Claude.
"Stop playing games," Ciel snapped as Sebastian reached into his coat for some files. What was that?
"What is this?" Ciel asked as he took the files and leafed through them, "this looks like they've been investigating me…and my father as well. Then that means; he is the one. It's him."
Ciel looked through the rest of the files and I kept my eyes on Alois. He took a similar rose, the deep purple one, from Claude's lapel to pull at it. Claude took it back and put it in the lapel. It meant something to him…and Sebastian looked down at me. I smiled at him, but I knew it wasn't filled with reassurance. Sebastian put the second rose in his other lapel as the music started up again. I was tired…and all I wanted was to take off this stupid dress and fall asleep.
I looked over at Alois again, seeing Lady Elizabeth in his arms. Elizabeth looked upset, and she was giving Ciel a pleading look. She wanted to be in his arms. I looked back at Ciel to see he was watching the dance unfold. Ciel held the files out to Sebastian before catching my hand, tight.
"What? Is my lord actually going to dance?" Sebastian asked as he took the files.
"Shut up," Ciel muttered as he brought me out to the dancing area.
Ciel held my waist and one of my hands like before and started dancing with me. Because we were one of the last couples to join, we were on the outside while Alois and Elizabeth were on the inside. Ciel gritted his teeth as he gripped my hand a little tighter. My knuckles looked white but I wouldn't comment. Alois was messing with Ciel's head by dancing with Elizabeth and she didn't want to be there.
"There's Ciel!" I heard Elizabeth call out, "Ciel!"
Alois moved so his back was to Ciel's and when he turned Elizabeth, he glared at my master. Ciel looked more than angry as the music finished and the pair stood there, staring at each other. Elizabeth pulled free and the both of us took Ciel's hands to take him away. Once we were beside Sebastian, Ciel's grip on my hand loosened and I regained feeling in it.
"Do make sure she understands," Claude said to Sebastian as he took his master away, and looked over to me, "or she's as good as the next time we see her."
Sebastian nodded and Ciel yawned. Elizabeth smiled as she walked off to Paula. I didn't understand what they were talking about as I stifled a yawn. I was just so tired…
"We're leaving," Ciel said, "we should go back to the manor."
"Yes my lord," Sebastian replied, "I will retrieve the luggage."
Sebastian left and I stayed close to Ciel. My eyes felt heavy so I sat down on one of the chairs. I raised a hand to touch my head as I yawned. Agni put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
"Stay with him," I said and Agni nodded before moving closer to Ciel.
I couldn't understand why I was this tired, even when Sebastian returned to tell us the carriage was ready. The servants said their goodbyes and went to change. Sebastian took Ciel away and left me with Prince Soma. I was too tired to sit still or stand and get dressed so I was staying in this dress a little longer. Soma picked me up carefully and removed his Sherlock Holmes coat to wrap around my shoulders.
"I'll bring you out to your carriage," Soma said as Agni followed.
The front door was opened, and the triplets were watching. They looked at me before whispering between themselves. Agni lifted me up and I cuddled into his chest as I yawned. He must have been…Watson, Sherlock's partner.
"You must have had a long day, Elena," Soma said as he walked with us.
"The longest," I whispered as I closed my eyes.
Something pulled me from my nightmares and I opened my eyes. Where was I? I sat up and rubbed my eyes, before I looked around. I was in my room…in the Phantomhive Manor. Someone knocked on my door again so I took that to be the sound that had woken me.
"Come in," I said as I looked down at myself.
The door opened and closed. I pulled at the Sherlock Holmes coat and sighed. I looked like an escaped lunatic…and I was too tired to care.
"Elena," Sebastian said as I looked up at him, "you've been asleep for the last day."
"A day?" I asked, really shocked, "is Ciel alright?"
"He's sleeping at the moment, it's after midnight," Sebastian replied.
"I forgot to ask…did you take care of things with Claude?" I asked and Sebastian nodded, "I vaguely remember you saying you had but…I wasn't sure."
"A deal has been made," Sebastian said as he took a rose from his lapel and looked at it, "and Ciel Phantomhive has a new target for his revenge."
"Who?" I asked and he smirked.
"Alois Trancy," he answered as he touched the petals, "but before we start, I need you to make a vow."
"A vow? What for?" I asked as he put the rose in my hand. It looked like the one in his other lapel.
"Wear that," he said and I looked down at it, "and don't take it off."
"Won't it look horrid when it rots?" I asked and he shook his head, "I don't understand."
"Do you understand contracts between demons and humans?" Sebastian asked and I shook my head, "the human makes a wish, determined on their circumstances at the time. For this, I will use the young master as an example. He wanted revenge on the people who tortured him, but he also wanted to be free. I made a contract with him for him to complete his revenge. I placed a mark on his eye, similar to the one on my left hand and this gives him a certain amount of…power over my actions. It is my job, as the contract stipulates, to help him complete this revenge. You were there when I killed the angel of massacre. That was the final part of the contract and thus…Ciel Phantomhive's soul was mine. Or it should have been.
He took a breath before he continued, "I brought him to a demon island, a sanctuary for my kind. As I was preparing to consume his soul, it came to my attention that he…no longer had one. He was empty. I have broken this down to the belief that due to my arm being missing, which the angel cut off, and it had the contract seal on it…I couldn't have taken his soul. Claude took this opportunity to steal it from me. But to take a soul is one thing but the demon requires the body. It gives the soul memories, memories of a revenge completed. Without the body, you could say Claude had a blank book in front of him."
"You gave Ciel back his soul, in the meadow," I said and he nodded, "was that to consume it?"
"Originally, that had been the plan but the soul I gave him…there were no memories. He hadn't completed his revenge and that was why he looked so blankly at you and I. He couldn't comprehend what had happened. So I knew if I wanted to eat Ambrosia…I needed to give him a second revenge. But as you know, I faced a problem. His targets were already dead…."
"I could have suggested targets," I said softly.
"They needed to be people it would be hard to kill quickly. That is why I have formed another deal. Claude has agreed that Alois Trancy will become the new target and once the revenge has been completed, we will fight for Ciel Phantomhive's soul."
"Why do I need to know this?" I asked him and he sighed.
"Upon making the deal, it occurred to me that you were in danger. It is useless to have a bodyguard with a target on her back. It would only expand to take the young master. I added a contractual obligation on both sides that would involve you. It is symbolised by the rose in your hands now."
"So this contractual obligation…do I have to do something?" I asked and he nodded, "what is it?"
"You must continue to protect Ciel Phantomhive as you have done before," Sebastian said calmly.
"I would have done it anyway," I said as I held out the rose to him, "I don't need a rose to force me to protect him."
"This is protection for you, Elena Hamilton, not Ciel Phantomhive. A guarantee," Sebastian said as he put my hand back onto my lap, "Claude has agreed that while the young master is getting his revenge, you will be unharmed by any demons in either household."
"That includes you," I said with a sigh, "though I know you wouldn't hurt me."
"It is a simple oath," Sebastian said, "but it will only work…so long as you wear the rose."
"Do make sure she understands," Claude had said to Sebastian as he took his master away, and looked over to me, "or she's as good as the next time we see her."
"That's what Claude meant," I said to Sebastian, "that you had to make me understand or they'd kill me."
"That was the oath we made," Sebastian said as he looked into my eyes, "and the roses won't die. They are designed to outlive a human by hundreds of years."
"So, I'm just going to sum up what you've said to me," I said as I got to my knees on the bed, "you made a deal with Claude to complete Ciel's revenge. His new target is Alois and once Alois is dead…you fight Claude for Ciel's soul. You've also put it into the contract that I remain unharmed by the demons in the Phantomhive household and the Trancy household, so long as I wear this rose. Is that right?"
"Yes," Sebastian replied as he stood up, "now I will wish you goodnight."
"Sebastian?" I said as he walked to the door. He stopped however when I called him.
"Yes Elena," he said as I put the rose on my bedside table.
"Can I make a request of you?" I asked and he turned to look at me, "you don't have to do it if you don't want to."
"What is this request?" he asked, his face not giving away his thoughts.
"I can't keep Ciel safe the way I am," I said as I stood to walk up to him, "I'm not good enough. My request is simple; I would like you to train me so that when the contract is concluded…I can kill Claude Faustus myself…"
So what do you think of the contractual obligation? Or Elena's request? Please review or PM with your thoughts, it's nice to know what people think :) The next chapter will be up soon so...TTYL (Talk To You Later) :)