Chapter 46: His Last Bow
The flames leapt and hissed, reaching out feverishly for her, desperately trying to grab hold onto her fleeting shadow. They swayed and beckoned to a song she could not hear.
The blazing embers continued to twirl in a fiery dance, but it was strange. She could feel no heat.
It was oddly cold, even with the fire around her.
Where was she?
Her ice blue eyes roamed the place.
There was nothing beyond the empty path the flames made. Nothing but darkness. No matter where she looked, pitch black was all she could see. The huge flames around her was bright, but they do not seem to have any effect in this strange, dark place.
She continued walking down the stoned path, a foot in front of another as she wondered where it would lead her to. The flames around her burned continuously as if they were urging her to keep walking. Her eyes followed the path made by them, traveling down the winding road.
It was then when she saw where they led to.
In the middle of the path ahead, a woman with long raven black hair laid motionless. Estella's eyes widened in surprise when she shifted her gaze down. This woman's clothes was the exact copy of hers, exactly the ones she remember wearing before she let…
Realization sank in.
Valeria!
Feeling her heart skip a beat, Estella sprinted forward and as she got closer, she immediately noticed the huge wound in the woman's abdomen. Estella kneeled down beside the seemingly unconscious woman, studying her with utmost curiosity. Her dark, long raven hair framed a strong yet delicate face which looked like it was painted by Greek gods on a particularly favourable day.
So this beautiful woman before her was how…Valeria looked like?
Estella gingerly touched the woman and pulled her hand back almost instantly, half expecting her eyes to open straight away.
Seeing there was no response, she began to extend her hand out toward the woman once more. "Valeria–"
A hand suddenly snapped around her wrist.
Estella stifled a surprised yell as she looked down at the face of the woman to find herself staring down at a pair of tired-looking demonic red eyes. "Are you…Valeria? Is this you?"
"Yeah, who else?" Valeria peered up at her with half-lidded eyes. The demoness's voice was small and weak.
Estella watched her glance down at the wound on her abdomen, her eyes tagging along. The wound was a gap soaked with dark, red blood that could almost be passed off as black.
"Twice…" A dry laugh emitted from the demoness.
Estella eyed the bitter look on Valeria's face. "Valeria, I-"
"SIGMA is finished."
Estella's eyes sprang wide in surprise as she blinked at the smirking demoness.
"You mean Victor Blair and that angel freak are-"
"I'm tired and you're annoying me, stupid girl." Valeria cut in, releasing and pushing her hand away. "Yes, they're gone." Estella watched Valeria's dark hair fell over her face as the demoness plopped herself onto her elbows. "Never felt this satisfied for a long time." She exhaled, almost a sound of relief.
Estella tensed for a moment when Valeria suddenly laid her eyes on her. "Now, what are you still doing here?"
Demonic red eyes narrowed and that was all before Estella felt an invincible force pulling her away.
Her ice blue eyes met Valeria's unreadable ones with bewilderment as she tried to fight against it. "W-What the hell is happening, Valeria?" Estella glanced back to find that the ground beneath her was gone, only endless darkness.
Snapping back to the front, Estella's gaze fell back onto Valeria. "Valeria, what's going on?" She watched the distance between them grew with bewilderment.
"You do not belong here." The unreadable look on Valeria stayed on. "Your time isn't up."
Estella's eyes widened. She felt a starburst of pain within her as realization dawned upon on her.
Her mouth went dry and her throat swelled with the presence of tears. "No…" She shook her head in disbelief and extended her hand out to the demoness in futile attempt. "No, wait…! Valeria, I still have a lot of things I have yet to-"
"I already know." The look on Valeria's face softened ever so slightly.
The force pulling her was suddenly gaining speed.
Staring through wavering lens of tears, Estella struggled futilely against the force. "No…this is too early….Valeria!" Desperation cracked her voice. "Valeria!"
"Take care, fool."
The world turned pitch black.
Her eyes flew opened. The light that instantly intruded her vision made her close them again. She turned away quickly. Questions formed in her head the moment she felt her right cheek sink into a soft, cushy surface.
Where was she?
What was with the heavy feeling of sadness in her chest?
Estella opened her eyes again and was immediately greeted by a vaguely familiar dartboard on the side table next to the bed she was lying on. Her body felt sore and her head carried a strange lightness to it when she turned to lay on her back. Estella let out a soft weary groan. She could feel it. The exhaustion weighing down on her like a coat.
Where…
She rubbed her eyes groggily and tried to sit up, only to stop with a wince when a shot of pain went through her. She glanced down to her abdomen where her hand had flew to the instant the pain came and found it heavily bandaged.
"What happened…?"
The dream image of a dark-haired, red-eyed beauty sprang up and struck her hard. The exact same spot she saw on Valeria.
That strange dream was not...a dream and that explained the intense feeling of sadness she felt.
She's gone, huh.
Adjusting the pillow behind her, Estella slowly eased herself against it downheartedly. She did not know what to feel. She should be happy to know she was no longer a demon host but all she could feel was a hollow feeling residing inside her.
Is SIGMA truly...finished?
"Oh, you're awake."
Startled, Estella snapped her eyes over to the door and found Sebastian by the door. Still feeling lost, she asked the first thing that came to mind. "Sebastian, is it true? Is SIGMA really...wiped out?"
She could not help herself; she was brimming with curiosity and anxiousness to confirm about the status of the warped organization. She just could not bring herself believe that SIGMA, that organization that had tormented her for years, was utterly destroyed.
A look of surprise flashed past Sebastian's face. "Yes, the survivors are going to be executed for treason. You've been unconscious for days… how did you know?"
"She told me." Estella's face fell with a saddened look. "Valeria told me and she's no longer...here."
"Unconscious for days…?" She glanced over at Sebastian. "How long…?"
The butler had a thoughtful look on his face. "I'll say...about three days." Estella let out a silent gasp, "And the duration was concerning enough for the Young Master, given how he had even allowed you to sleep on his bed."
Estella jolted upright in surprise. No wonder this room looked so familiar! She thought flusteredly.
"Trying to stop Claude from getting to me and getting impaled by that demon sword herself. What that demoness...Valeria has done for me was absolutely unnecessary," Sebastian turned his back to her, "But I am not ungrateful so I'll tell you this."
She swore she saw disapproval in those red eyes of his before he turned away.
"I assume you are aware of the price he has to pay for the contract he made with me," The butler rested his hand on the door handle, ready to push it open, "He'll be paying the price very soon."
An icy hand closed around her heart.
"The Young Master is aware of this and I'm pretty sure he is planning to keep you in the dark until the time comes. Telling you this is a favor you're receiving as Valeria's host." Sebastian mused, "I have been ordered to assist in the execution for SIGMA's survivors for a day or two, so use the time wisely before I take him away."
Estella said nothing, feeling too sick in the stomach to say a word. She could only watch Sebastian disappear behind the closing door.
She knew. She knew about what came after, but with everything that was going on, this dreadful fact flew right out of her mind. She had completely forgotten about it.
"No…" Her stomach flipped. The thought of Ciel ceasing to exist filled her with sorrow and agony. "Ciel..." She slid off the bed and staggered over to the door, with a wide-eyed look on her face.
One after another.
She had gone through hell, mind and heart, in this chaotic life of hers. She thought she was finally free, to call this life her own and only hers. Free to begin living her life in the ordinary, peaceful way many humans she had witnessed in London experiencing. To play, work, love and die without needing to think anything else.
Living was something she had craved for so long. For once, why can't things just go her way?
But no, fate was not going let her have it – any of it.
Somewhere between one thought and another, she made it outside the room and absentmindedly wandered down the hallway.
The tight, blank look on her face hid her inner turmoil, but not the cloud of anguish in her eyes.
Her legs had already carried her way past her room and was about to turn a corner into another stretch of the hallway, but still none of this was registered in her busy mind not until her head collided into someone's chest.
Immediately recognizing what or who just bumped into, Ciel glanced down at the crown of her head with a surprised look, his hand flying to her upper arm to steady her. The earl's features softened in relief. "Careful."
Head jerking up, Estella blinked and stared at him as if processing his presence before her.
"You feeling alright…?" Ciel arched an eyebrow questioningly at her.
As if she was slapped in the face, Estella took a step back with a gasp. "I-I'm sorry, Ciel, I'm…" The pain she had been feeling surfaced on her face in a short period of seconds. "I-I need to be alone for a while."
Unable to process an answer for her vague, questionable words fast enough, Ciel found him watching blankly like a simpleton while Estella stepped past him and hurried down the rest of the hallway behind him.
The strange, disturbing look on her face left him confused and puzzled.
"What's with her?" Ciel muttered, staring after her retreating form.
In the panic of trying to avoid and hide herself from Ciel, Estella found herself sitting against one of the shelves near the back of the manor's library. She had made sure that the doors were closed so that no one, especially Ciel could find her.
She desperately needed space to sort out her thoughts and feelings. Seeing Ciel just now nearly made her lose control over herself – she was on the verge of breaking down right in front of him earlier. The sight of him reminded her of the harsh reality that was soon to be taken place.
Estella curled in on herself, hugging her knees to her chest.
Why do all the people she hold dear to her heart always have to be taken away from her?
She sucked in a breath. It sounded like a sob.
What did she do to deserve this torture?
Lips trembling, Estella leaned to the side, plopping her head against the shelf. She was lost, suffocating in the remembrance of the memories she could never forget.
From the day she woke up and found herself in the Phantomhive manor to the concerned look on Ciel's face just now.
Fingers clutching tightly to the front of the simple dress on her, she felt tears sting the back of her eyes. Her chest felt so tight with agony that she could hardly breathe. She closed her eyes and allowed her emotions and the memories to wash over her.
Ciel snapped his head up when the door to his study suddenly burst opened. His hopes were high when he heard the approaching footsteps coming from the hallway.
But instead of finding a certain redhead by the door, he could barely stop himself from sighing in disappointment when it turned out to be Elizabeth who had a cheerful smile on her face. "Ciel!"
"Oh, it's you Elizabeth." Ciel willed himself to give his fiancé a tiny smile. "Sorry, I meant Lizzy."
Elizabeth immediately brightened with delight at his use of her alias.
It was not that he was not pleased to see the young Midford, but the curious behaviour Estella displayed earlier worried him.
The rising urge to seek her out made it hard for him to finish the report he was working on.
"I-I need to be alone for a while."
Patience was definitely not one of his virtues. But when it came to her, he just had to grit his teeth and respect her wish.
Brushing away his disappointment, he focused his gaze on Elizabeth. "Lizzy, close the door. I have something I want to come clean with you."
Tilting her head in puzzlement, Elizabeth turned around to close the door and walked over to his desk. "Is this what you meant in your letter?"
Uneasiness flickered across her face.
"Sit down, Lizzy." Ciel gestured to the chair he had placed for her.
The young Midford did as she was told and settled on the chair across him, "What is it you wish to tell me?" She folded her arms on the desk between them.
Ciel mulled for a moment, then began to speak. "Lizzy, this is something I should have told you a long time ago."
He had given this talk some thoughts in the night before while he was watching over Estella who was still unconscious in his bed. He decided that it was time to clear the mess and come forth with the young Midford.
Elizabeth nodded, "Mhmm…"
Ciel exhaled carefully. "I love you but I'm not in love with you." He did not like using the ridiculous word 'love', but it was the truth he cannot avoid anymore. "You are a very precious person to me in a family way, but not romantically."
Her face remained carefully blank, but the fingers picking at her sleeves gave her away.
"And yes, I know we're engaged. But I don't think it's fair to you if you are married to someone who is not... there."
Ciel knew there was no point trying when he was going to be devoured anyway but watching the redhead beside him last night spurned him to do so.
It was going to hurt Elizabeth, but he earnestly hoped she would find someone who could feel the same way toward her as he was toward Estella. Elizabeth would only be widowed when the time for him disappear from this world comes, and she would be bound to that miserable status for the rest of her life if they stayed engaged.
"I'm already in love with someone else so it's cruel and unfair of me to bind you to me." Closing his visible eye, he sighed. "So Lizzy, let's break off our engagement."
When he opened his eye again, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of tears streaking down Elizabeth's cheeks.
"It's Estella you are in love with, isn't it?" Elizabeth drew the back of her hand across her cheeks and sniffed, "I already know that for quite a long while." Elizabeth dropped her gaze to her hands, her eyes unreadable.
His lips formed a grim line as he eyed the girl with an unnerving sense of guilt in his gut. With a silent sigh, he lowered his gaze to his clenched fists.
"I can see the way you look at her."
Ciel jerked his head up and was taken back when he saw a bright smile among her tears. "Truthfully, Ciel, I've always wanted to break off our engagement ever since I noticed."
His visible eye widened sharply at her proclamation. "W-What...?"
"I love you, Ciel, but in the same way you feel about me." The smile remained on her face as Elizabeth dabbed her tears away with her handkerchief. "When I noticed how much happier you are around her, I was honestly…relieved."
Ciel could not believe what he was hearing. It took him so much courage to reveal this and had imagined an outcome far different from this. He could feel the weight of the burden he had been harbouring since he made his decision starting to lighten.
Elizabeth startled him when she suddenly reached over and held his hands in her. "You are very precious to me too, Ciel, so I'm really glad to know that you have found someone who makes you happy."
"But-
"I made a promise to make you smile, so if Estella is the reason behind your smile, I'm happy and willing to step back." Elizabeth gave his hands a squeeze and drew back.
Ciel continued to stare at her, nearly gaping but quickly snapped his jaw back shut. "So, you're okay with this?" He ventured cautiously.
Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. "I'm just jealous that she could do it so much better than me." A thoughtful expression appeared on her face. "But if it was any other girl, I'm not too sure about being okay."
Ciel gazed at Elizabeth, the edge of his lips lifting to form a slight side smile. "Lizzy…"
The long shadows of the evening dissolved into the gathering darkness as night fell. The air cooled and the crickets in the vegetation around the Phantomhive manor began to sing.
In the deepest corner of its quiet, dark library, the curled figure against a shelf stirred from her slumber. Her long, red hair tumbled over her shoulders as she heaved herself away from the shelf with a soft, groggy groan. Her eyelids felt heavy from exhaustion despite falling asleep; a weight she could barely summon the energy to lift but did somehow anyway.
Estella turned her head to the window and winced in realization when she found herself staring at the dark sky.
Just how long did she sleep?
She thought incredulously as she climbed to her feet. Lips stretching open to let a yawn out, she rubbed her cheeks which felt stiff with dried tears. Why was she crying again? Her movement came to an instant halt when the fog in her mind cleared.
"Ciel is going to…" Her hands frozen mid-air begin to tremble as a powerful feeling of dread and agony shook her wide awake and sent her heart tightening painfully. Staring down at her hands with a broken look in her eyes, tears began to form again in her eyes. She couldn't help but find herself suffocating in the hollow, terrible feeling of hopelessness.
"He'll be paying the price very soon."
The broken look in her eyes came alive with panic as Sebastian's warning from the day echoed in her head. Tears streaking down from her wide, panicking eyes, Estella ran out of the library with only one person in mind.
Ciel…!
Ciel paced back and forth outside his room continuously, impatience showing on his face and in the way his feet carried him. Within what felt like ten minutes of waiting, he too made occasional glances at her door even though he had already checked her room and found it empty.
Jamming his hand into his hair, Ciel let out a frustrated sigh. Where did she go?
Bumping into her along the hallway was the last time he saw her today and from then, the visit from Elizabeth and the report he had to rush through effectively occupied his mind, enough to make him forget about the redhead. He only noticed her absence when Sebastian asked for his permission to leave the manor for the execution of SIGMA's survivors after dinner.
Ciel turned his head to glance at the empty hallway and leaned back against the wall beside his door with a sigh. Crossing his arms over his chest, a thoughtful glint appeared in his visible eye as he recalled Elizabeth's response to his request to break off their engagement.
The young Midford climbed into her carriage home, but not before reassuring him for the umpteenth time that she was alright with his decision. He wondered how she was going to let her family know of it but whenever he reached there, he would find himself cringing inwardly.
Dropping his head forward, Ciel sighed again.
It was only a matter of time before a very upset Francis Midford gave him a visit. He couldn't even bring himself to think about the possibility of Elizabeth's overprotective older brother tagging along to bug him about it. Simply thinking of what was going to happen next wore him down.
Ciel ran a hand down his face, dragging himself to his door after deciding he had waited long enough.
"…Ciel."
Visible eye widening in surprise, his hand which was reaching for the door came into an instant halt mid-air. Ciel glanced over his shoulder and his gaze immediately landed on the figure feets behind him. The surprise expression on his face slipped away when he realized who it was.
"There you are. Where did you go-"Whipping around, he did a double take.
Shock flashed past his features at the sight of tears running down her face. The miserable look on her face gave him an unsettling feeling. "What's wrong? What happened to-" Ciel staggered back when she suddenly dashed over and threw her arms around his torso.
She felt another set of powerful emotions bring forth new tears as she buried her face into his chest. Warmth ebbing from him triggered a wave of fear in her, and all she could think of was the day it disappears.
"I-I'm sorry…" Estella bit back a sob. "Instead of cherishing my time with you, I was a dummy for avoiding you. I'm…so, so sorry." Hands tightening on his shirt, her eyes closed in anguish to the sound of his steady heartbeat against her ear. Just thinking about the day it was going to stop beating scared her to the core.
"I'm sorry…I was a fool." Estella pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at him, taking a shaky breath. "…p-please don't leave me, Ciel." Her voice broke off in desperation at the end.
Looking down at her with a furrow between his eyebrows, Ciel placed a hand on her back and eyed her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I already know," Estella scrubbed fiercely at the tears that had spilled out of her eyes. "There isn't much time left before Sebastian takes your soul." She felt her lips tremble and pressed them together, to stop the shaking.
A curt moment of silence clung onto the air between them.
An unreadable look swept over his face. "Oh." Ciel stiffened, his mouth tightening. He lifted his hands to her face. "You're right, I don't have much time left." The tension on his solemn face grew.
In the caress of his hands, Estella stared up at the carefully blank look on his face, feeling his thumbs wipe away the tears that couldn't seem to stop. "Why…Why the hell did you have to… keep this from me?"
Closing his visible eye in anguish, he opened them again, this time with a soft look of remorse. "I should be the one apologizing…" Ciel brought his lips to her forehead. "I didn't know how." Estella felt his warm breath brush against her forehead, "It pains me to even think about it, much less bring it up to you…I'm sorry."
Resting his forehead against hers, a shaky breath escaped him.
"I'm sorry I burdened you with my feelings. If only…" He gritted his teeth in frustration as he thought back to the night he made his move on her with bitterness. "If only I left it alone, we'd have been fine. You'd have been fine even if I were to give myself up to Sebastian." His voice trembled slightly, but he didn't allowed himself to care. "I'm the fool."
"No, no… I wouldn't be fine with that whether we made our feelings known or not." Estella leaned forward and slipped her arms around his neck, burying herself into the crook of his neck. "I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that you're going to…" She swallowed thickly. "Oh, how am I supposed to live with this? After everything we've been through, after overcoming so much…"
Ciel felt her begin to tremble to the sobs escaping her and instinctively tightened his arms around her.
"For once… Just once, why can't things just go our way? What did we do deserve something like this? " Her words struck him hard."Why can't we be like other people?"
It hurt. Hurt was such a simple word for the tearing, searing pain in his chest.
The helpless bitterness and anguish came clawing at him. It was funny how the thought of paying using his life for the Faustian contract he made never fazed him until now.
"Estella…" Ciel slid his hands up her shoulders and pushed them apart, looking at her with a powerful glint in his eye.
"In every situation we pulled through together, I was always thankful to have you by my side. Every day…" He looked down, finding the right words, "Every day I got to spend with you was worth it. I just wish…" He looked up and the frustration was plain in his face.
Ciel shook his head.
"Nevermind…At least before I go, you need to know this…" He exhaled carefully, "…know that I love you." He drew a hand through his hair and sighed. "That's why I want you to live on even if it's without me."
"I…love you too." Estella choked, feeling her breath get caught in her throat. "If there's no you, then there is no me. I'll follow you, even to death." Fear and anxiety was like a tight fist in her gut.
"No-"
"I can't, Ciel, I just can't…" She stepped back, glaring feverishly. "Can't you see…? It's you or no one else." Her eyes were blazing. "You've become my reason to live. If not for you, I'd not even give a damn whether I lived or died!"
"Then I'm sorry," Ciel glared down at his opened hands, and looked up again. "I can no longer become that. For my sake, I hope you find another reason to live."
"What? Forget you and throw everything away just like that?" Her voice rose, tinged with incredulity. "And if someone comes along, I should just happily go with them? Like nothing happened?"
Ciel's face remained cautiously blank, but behind his guarded look, the scenes those words painted in his head made it almost too hard to breathe.
Her chest was rising and falling with anger. "So the thought of me spending my life with another man is okay to you? Are you fine with that?" She wore an incredulous look on her face. "Well even you can, I can't. How can I possibly…"
He couldn't listen anymore.
Jerking his head up, Ciel threw his arms out exasperatedly. "Do you honestly believe that? Of course I can't…!"
The thought of her with someone else definitely did not sit well with him. Just the thought of it was enough to make him grit his teeth in annoyance. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his self-control disappear.
Holding back was no longer possible.
Possessive that arose gripped him as he drew her to him in one swift move and heard her elicit a surprised gasp right before he lowered his head and took her lips.
He felt her hands tightened on his shirt and in response, he moved his arms more securely around her. Her arms came up to his neck almost of their own volition. Making a small sound in the back of her throat that caused the need in him to flicker higher, she opened her mouth to let him in.
That action spurred him on and he boldly slipped his tongue in, earning a soft sigh from the girl. Feeling a thrill of pleasure at the sound, his hand drifted down to her hip and settled there, pulling her flushed against him. Something broke loose there and heat flooded her at the proximity. It made her legs weak.
Breathlessly, Ciel broke away, his visible eye clouded. "…It'll kill me to see you with another." He placed a hand against her cheek with a pained look. "There's no way…no way I can."
Leaning into his touch, Estella eyed the expression on his face with a trembling gaze.
Then not knowing when it happened, her lips was suddenly locked with Ciel's again. The start of the soft touch sent a strong feeling of warmth spiralling through her system. Her eyes fluttered close, but the closure didn't let her see darkness, it instead created colors of fondness. His lips felt so gentle, so warm and yet behind the kiss carried so much strong, silent emotions. As if trying to tell her something.
The surrounding began to disappear leaving only her, her and Ciel.
Ciel slanted his head and pressed his lips more firmly against hers. The wave of warmth that continued to fill him up and the overwhelming emotions bottled inside him drove him to deepen the kiss. There was so much he wanted to say and there was so much impossibilities he wished for them but couldn't reach.
It pained him. So much.
His hand slid off her face and tightened around her waist when he felt her arms encircle his neck. As their lips began to overlap with each other quicker and quicker, a soft moan drew out from Estella. What started out slow and soft grew intense and heavy.
She pulled herself flush against him and tangled her fingers in his hair, feeling pleasurable tingles between her thighs. Sliding her hands beneath his shirt, she smoothed her hands against the warm skin there, pressing her fingers into the contours of his firm, broad back.
She wanted more. Their limited time made her greedy.
Lost in the change of their pace, they found themselves in the confine of his room. A low growl in the back of his throat, Ciel pressed her against the closed door and simultaneously buried his tongue into her mouth, swirling around hers.
"…No more waiting."
The heat flowing through his body intensified as he heard her say between their kiss. The meaning behind her words frightened a part of him but stirred a deep hunger and a sort of exhilaration in the rest of him. The thought of the consequence made him break the kiss.
He looked at her, gaze intense with concern. "I-I can't. What if…What if I-I get you–"
"Pregnant?" She cut in bluntly with her determined look on her face. "I don't care. If it's a way to help me remember you, I don't mind. Please, Ciel, please…we don't have much time left." Not saying another word, she pressed her lips to his.
The urgency in her voice and the reminder it carried tugged at his heart painfully.
Silently complying with her request, the tightness in Ciel's face fell and he claimed her lips once more.
Those arms wrapped around her were firm, yet gentle as they moved down her body to rest on her buttocks, until he cupped them and pulled her up to where her core met his. There was heat, strength and gentleness all at once. Eliciting a moan at that, she felt herself being pushed against the door.
Drowning in the sensation of heat pooling between her legs, she gasped when she felt the warmth of his lips on her neck. So caught up in the moment, she didn't realize they were already making their way to the bed until she felt herself sink into its soft cover.
Lips left her neck and the bed underneath shifted.
Her eyes leisurely opened and she looked up at Ciel, her eyes glazed over with love and lust, and found Ciel staring back with both eyes, his eyepatch somehow taken off in the heat. He stared at her, his calm eyes soft with tenderness, at the same time, held silent intensity.
"I love you." He murmured.
Resting his arms at the either sides of her head, Ciel leaned over her and captured her soft lips once more.
The morning sun gently broke into the horizon, chasing away the darkness in the sky, slowly and gently.
Running a hand through his hand, Ciel stared out of the window with deep thoughts behind his eyes. Stepping away with a silent sigh, he let the drapes fall back into the place, once again shielding his room from the growing light outside.
His gaze instantly fell upon the bed and his eyes instantly softened lovingly, studying the figure once more.
Her hair was splayed out on his pillow, its long, red gentle curls caressing her bare skin. Her lips, slightly bruised and swollen from last night, were curved like a smile like there was a pleasant dream behind those eyelids. The sight of those bruising marks scattered across her skin colored his cheeks as he recalled their passionate night.
A small smile made a way to his lips.
She was so beautiful, he quietly walked over to the bed and admired the slumbering girl. Watching her sleep made him wonder whether last night left any part of him inside her. How would he or she look like? Would they have her eyes that he had grown to love?
The warmth that filled him was quickly diminished by a sinking feeling of sadness when he realized he'd probably never find out.
Today was the day afterall.
He couldn't tell her how soon was soon, because it would have been harder for the both of them.
A vulnerable expression of remorse appeared on his face as he bend down and gently placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Straightening, Ciel made his way to the door as quiet as he could and exited the room.
The soft morning light beyond her eyelids lured her eyes open. She opened them slowly and her toes curled immediately to the biting chill on her bare skin. Shifting to get deeper under the warm cover, her movement instantly alerted her to the aches and soreness in her body, especially on her lower half.
Her eyes flew opened, instantly snapping out of her drowsy daze as recollection from the previous night came rushing to her in flashes. She felt her body flushed with heat as she briefly recalled the way their bodies had joined and moved together in almost perfect sync while glistening in sweat.
Stretching her sore body with a yawn, she rolled to the side to curl up in his warmth but only to be met with nothing but a shocking empty, cold spot beside her. Her eyes flew wide in panic as she shoved herself up from the bed and gazed down at the side of the bed her hand was on, in confusion.
She glanced at the bedside clock and it was barely seven in the morning. An intense pressure of fear grew in her gut; she didn't know how she knew but something did not feel right.
Quickly dressing herself, she threw opened the door and dashed down the hallway with her heart racing wildly in her chest.
"What's the meaning of this, Sebastian?" Ciel looked at the demon butler with bewilderment. His eyes were bright with disbelief.
Amusement danced in his red eyes as Sebastian placed a hand on his chest and gave a small bow, "You'd ordered me to assist them in any way they needed in their execution and my, was I surprised by their request." A smirk played across his face. "I'd wondered why they would need a demon involved in that exaggerating performance you humans call a 'death sentence'."
Ciel blinked.
What…
Then it clicked.
"Don't tell me…" He snapped his eyes to meet the amusing look on Sebastian's face. "The form of execution they gave them was–"
"Yes, and all six of them." A deep chuckle emitted from the demon butler as he looked at the bricked exterior walls of Phantomhive manor standing around them briefly, "They'd really ruin my appetite." His eyes fell back onto the bewildered boy, "Quite an unexpected turn, isn't it Young Master?"
Searching around the manor, panic hit the roof when she'd realized that she couldn't find Sebastian anywhere either. Her long, red hair flew behind her as she pushed open the front door and ran out into the compound, her eyes searched frantically for any signs of them. Sucking in a deep breathe, her legs picked up speed once more and carried her in the direction of the stables.
They could be out on a mission like usual but she knew the reason behind their absence wasn't that simple. Not anymore after she knew what was coming.
Please… Her chest fell and rise rapidly as she sprinted her way around the manor to the back. Not yet…!
An icy hand closed around her heart as dreadful thoughts filled her mind. Tightening her fists until they made red half-moons in her palms, she pushed them away and round a corner, only to skid to an immediate stop to the sight before her.
Eyes flying wide open, Estella felt the breath puff out of her in a gasp. A gasp from the mixture of shock and relief that hit her when she realized that the ones she was desperately looking for was just feets before her.
Ciel could not believe his ears.
"But Sebastian…" He took a step forward, his lips parted and his eyes wide in disbelief and bewilderment. "After all these years, you're going to postpone this day…just like that?"
"Blame it on them to ruin this," Sebastian sighed, "I've waited so long and look what they've done. Spoiling my appetite before dinner." The demon shook his head. "Tsk tsk, if I wish to enjoy devouring your soul, I want to be famished. So to answer your question…Yes, today is not the day. Fifty years will be enough to get me back to that state."
"Fifty years?" Ciel muttered, disbelief colouring his voice.
"Fifty years is nothing to me. An incredibly short amount of time." Eyes lingering on the approaching girl the earl was still oblivious to, Sebastian turned his head and glanced up at the sky with a smile Ciel could not understand. "And since our contract has been fulfilled, my servitude to you ends here."
Staring at him pensively, Ciel closed his eyes and smirked. "Then where will you be going?"
"Till then, I'll return to where I came from. And after fifty years, I'll be back to claim what's mine."
A strange sense of sadness filled Ciel as he eyed the demon. At the same time, he still couldn't quite believe he was allowed to live longer, and with her. Fifty years… Glancing down at his hands, his mouth tightened as he came to a decision.
"Then obey this order before you leave." The Faustian contract in his right eye glowed.
"Oh?" Sebastian blinked, intrigued by his words.
"This is an order, Sebastian," Ciel raised his eyes to meet his. "Come back to me in fifty years' time and engrave the finest pain into my soul." Slamming a hand to his chest, Ciel tightened his grip on his shirt, staring unwaveringly into the depth of his demonic red eyes.
Stunned by his words, a thrill of amazement grew a smirk on Sebastian's face. Fifty years would certainly be a time worthy for this one. Indeed, something to look forward to. Down to a knee and his gloved hand still on his chest, Sebastian returned the boy's gaze with an unwavering one of his.
"Yes, my lord."
.
.
.
.
Ciel stared at the vacant spot Sebastian occupied and took off from, still finding it hard to grasp that he was still alive. He had prepared himself this day – mentally, emotionally and spiritually – and yet, here he was. Standing here, breathing, was the proof of that his soul was still intact and his to keep for the next fifty years.
Fifty years.
There was so much emotions bubbling inside him that he couldn't figure what to feel about knowing that he could live that long. He had thought…he had thought that was it for him.
Burying his face into the palm of his hand, he dropped his knees to the ground with a shaky breath.
Ice blue eyes soft with concern, Estella walked over to the kneeling boy. Her eyes glanced over to the spot where she had witnessed Sebastian left from with a curious glint in them before turning back to Ciel. "…Hey, what just happened? Where did-"
Soft chuckles abruptly burst out from the boy and startled her into silence. To her ears, the nature of his chuckles was dry and humourless. It sounded almost…sardonic.
"Unbelievable…"
Estella heard him utter between his chuckles and hastily got down to her knees before him. She glanced up at him concerned, almost frightened by his strange behaviour. "Unbelievable? What's unbelievable?" She gingerly reached her hand over to him. "Please, you've got to tell me what happened just now. Sebastian, where did he-"
It was quick and so sudden.
Gasping in the midst of her sentence when she felt a hand tugged her by the wrist, Estella fell forward and found herself wrapped in the arms of the young earl. It took her a while to realize that Ciel had suddenly gone quiet. Shifting her head against his chest, she tried to glance up at his face, feeling anxious to understand him in this moment.
"Estella Blancbaston,"
His abrupt use of her full name caught her off guard and froze her. What's with that…? She felt a flicker of uneasiness at the serious tone in his voice. Did something bad happen just now? Squeezing her eyes closed, her grip on his shirt tightened as all sorts of scary thoughts surfaced. I knew it, I thought it was weird-
"…Marry me."
Her eyes flew wide open.