***A/N: I DECIDED I DISLIKED THE PREVIOUS APPROACH I TOOK WITH LILLIANA LEAVING THE FROST FAIR SO I REWROTE AND REPLACED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WITH THIS ONE. LIZZIE HAS NOT YET MADE AN APPEARANCE. SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION, IT JUST WASN'T SITTING WELL WITH ME.***

*Lilliana's POV during chaos on the ice*

The air was knocked from Lilliana's lungs when Sebastian painfully gripped her hand and pulled her along with his swift skates. Before she could even attempt to find her feet or balance, Sebastian lifted her high enough that her feet were no longer dragging across the ice and slowing him down. Lilliana heard and felt a quiet pop! in her wrist and pain shot through her arm. A small whimper escaped through her clenched teeth.

Suddenly, Sebastian changed direction and Lilliana had to bite her cheek to keep from crying out at the pain in her wrist. An explosion cracked the ice behind them. Another turn, another explosion. Without warning, Sebastian planted his skates in the ice to make a very sharp turn and whipped her forward with the momentum, letting go of her hand. Lilliana went sailing through the air with a pained cry at her freshly dislocated shoulder. In another moment, she was tumbling violently across the ice stretching under the bridge.

She lay there, dazed, for only a moment before the pain came roaring to the forefront of her mind. Her body curled in on itself to protect her injured arm and her skin stung where it was exposed to the ice. Slowly, Lilliana became aware of voices and lifted her head to see a crowd of people gathering around her. Several lower class women knelt beside her on the ice, while the upper class ladies bent at the waist to lean closer and flutter their hands helplessly. A few men even stood toward the back, half observing her and half watching the situation still playing out on the ice.

Lilliana was helped into a sitting position and the crowd parted just enough that she could see a black figure skating on the ice behind them. She frowned lightly, curious as to why he seemed to be distracted and struggling somewhat to avoid the explosions. His head seemed to be whipping from side to side. Was he searching for something?

Sebastian's head finally turned in her direction and their eyes met. Distracted again, Sebastian was forced to quickly evade another incoming stick of dynamite, after which he instinctively looked up to Ciel before his eyes returned to find hers.

That was enough for Lilliana to finally understand his difficult position. The pain in her arm suddenly seemed miniscule compared to the weight now crushing her heart. She was interfering with his contract and simultaneously putting him in danger. He might want to choose her, but he needed the nourishment from Ciel's soul. Her mate was starving and every added difficulty she presented only made him more ravenous.

With determination, Lilliana carefully stood and emptied her face of emotion. The crowd around her was already dispersing and she caught his eye again easily. She forced a smile and tapped into her magick and their bond.

"I understand my place now. I will wait for you."

Even as she raised the hood of her cloak with her one good arm, Lilliana saw his subtle reaction to her projected thought. Weariness besieged her being. One whispered word later, Lilliana's magick and soul were hidden. She moved with the crowd and refused to give in to the temptation to look back at her soulmate's face. Was he still looking for her? Was Ciel safe now?

Lilliana was as pale as the snow she walked on and her breath came in short gasps through her clenched teeth. Every step radiated pain through her dislocated shoulder and broken wrist, but she could not risk healing herself now. She tightly clenched the front of her cloak together and maneuvered through the crowd as best she could. A certain gray tent caught her eye and she paused, debating. Well, on the one hand, I'm fairly certain Ciel won't be coming back around to visit him for a while. Plus he already knows I'm a witch, so surely he wouldn't mind too much if I stopped in just to hide and heal myself. Then again, he's really weird and creepy. Ugh! Am I really considering this? A jolt of pain lanced through her arm, making the decision for her. A tremor of apprehension raced down her spine as she stared at the sign above the door. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest and her breathing quickened, but Lilliana set her jaw and opened the door. She blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden darkness of the shop.

"Heh heh heh, hello little witch~"

Lilliana inclined her head slightly. "Greetings, Reaper."

"You've come back to my shop all by your lonesome, eh? Where did little Earl Phantomhive and his demon run off to now?"

"I am alone," she stated. The weight of the words seemed to linger in the air between them and Undertaker's grin disappeared.

"Your mate is a fool."

Lilliana blinked at the unusually cold and serious tone coming from the being in front of her. When his words finally clicked in her brain, her strength left her. Sobs burst from the ache in her chest and her entire body shook. She finally felt like her months-long struggle had been seen and validated, and yet simultaneously she wanted to laugh at herself for instinctively wanting to defend Sebastian's actions.

The gray-haired reaper sighed and gently led her to perch on a closed coffin. "Such a strong soul you have, little witch. What a shame that your demon mate is destroying it."

He let Lilliana cry for a few more moments. "Little witch, why did you come to my shop?"

"I came to ask for your help with something." She spoke between hiccuping breaths even as her tears began to slow.

"Oh? And what is that?"

Lilliana's shaking fingers released the clasp that held her cloak around her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, wincing slightly. Her dislocated shoulder was bulging and purple and bruises were forming down the length of her arm from the strain and tight grips, all the way down to the discolored skin at her wrist that was held at an odd angle.

Undertaker's lips were firmly pressed together as he surveyed the damage.

As the silence stretched, Lilliana fidgeted with a string on her dress. Finally, in a small voice, she spoke. "Even if I wanted to access my magick, it has become too weak to heal an injury of this extent."

The reaper turned suddenly and began walking away, grabbing seemingly random jars, vials, and beakers on his way toward the back of his shop. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Come."

Lilliana hesitated, but followed.

Undertaker drew back a long curtain that Lilliana had initially believed to be one of the tent's walls, and revealed a small area with an old, stained table in the middle of it. Beakers and bottles clattered together as they were set on a small table just inside the little area. Undertaker spread a worn, yellowed sheet over the table and turned to her with an almost sheepish grin.

"Sorry 'bout the state of things, little witch. It isn't often that I tend to the living."

Lilliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, determined not to show her revulsion and insult his kind offer. With Undertaker's help, she got up on the table and laid down, still unsure of what he was going to do.

"Brave little witch, you are." He murmured to her. "I'll put you to sleep and set your bones, then we'll see about easing your pain."

Lilliana wasn't sure which pain he was referring to, but as she became aware of a very sweet smell and darkness began to pull at her consciousness, she simply trusted him and prayed.