Im alive. I intend to start getting back into this. I apologize for the delay. This time last year I was addressing the loss of my father and I have since gone back to school and ended an abusive relationship. Low key fuck 2020 yeah? It's almost over. So as a birthday gift for me, here is the next chapter, even though it is so short.
"Good job, Ciel." Cecilia said over her shoulder with a small smile as Ciel pulled the cake out of the oven. The warm smells of baking chocolate filled the room and lifted the dreary mood. "Go ahead and flip it out onto the cooling rack." She instructed as she continued to grind dry herbs together in the pestle. "Once it cools, we can frost it and sneak a treat before dinner."
"I still do not understand why you insist on teaching me this." Ciel grumbled as he wobbly flipped the cake onto the cooling rack. Cecilia sighed.
"One of the most common tools in magic is the use of herbs." Cecilia explained and waved him over. He approached and looked over arm at what she was working with. She picked up a jar and held it out for him. "Smell this." She instructed. Ciel glanced at her briefly before closing his eye and taking a wiff. He scowled.
"It is garlic." He told her, almost sounding disappointed. Cecilia smiled a bit and set it down.
"Yes, and you can eat it, correct?" Cecilia prompted.
"Yes, of course."
"What happens if you eat too much?" Cecilia asked. Ciel didn't answer and she looked at him patiently. He stood there, silent. "Nausea? Perhaps vomiting?" Ciel didn't respond. "Every medicine can become a poison when too much is taken." Cecilia explained as Sebastian entered. She turned to him with a smile. "Ah, thank you." She said as he passed a jar of clear liquid to her. He smiled and bowed in his usual fashion but made no indication of leaving. She turned her attention back to Ciel. "Skills such as learning how to read and understand a recipe, understanding the importance of ingredients, and learning how to measure and mix the ingredients are all basic skills that you can build on. Baking and cooking is a fun and safe way to practice." She told him. "If you put too much or too little of something in a cake, the worst that will happen is a bad taste in your mouth. If I were to put the wrong amount of something in this working here, it could kill you." She stated plainly, shocking Ciel. He eyed the mixture warily, suddenly wondering if perhaps hiring her was a mistake. She wouldn't kill him, would she? If she tried, surely Sebastian would stop her.
"Fear not, Master," Sebastian spoke from his corner, "Ms. Cecilia's skills are to be feared and respected, yet she still has the heart of a human. She will not be quick to take a life."
"You and I both are aware just how cruel humans can be." Ciel corrected him. Something in Cecilia's cold dead heart stirred. Why did that upset her? She looked at Ciel and saw him as he was for a moment, a small, damaged child in need of love and protection. She realized she had stopped her working and busily returned to work. She place a pot on the stove and poured in the clear liquid and the herbs. She began to mix them. Shortly after, a foul smell began to permeate the room and Ciel and Sebastian screwed up their nose. "What on earth are you making?"
"Your medicine."
Ciel stood in the bathtub in his white sleeping gown while Cecilia poured in the mixture she had made earlier in the day.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" He asked. "You said this spell was weak."
"It's a good way to make sure nothing lingers." She explained as she set the jar down and rolled up her sleeves. "Sebastian, please be ready with a towel and a new change of clothes."
"I just need to sit in the water correct?" Ciel asked, looking at the water. It was clear and comfortably warm. He could see some remnants of the herbs floating around him. "I would have thought a spell would have been more dramatic with candles and chanting."
"The most terrifyingly powerful spells are sometimes the most simple." Cecilia warned him. "Are you ready?" Ciel looked at her and nodded. "Before we begin, I need you to put your absolute trust in me." She said before looking over her shoulder at Sebastian. "Both of you." She stared at the demon until he offered a curt nod. Cecilia looked back at Ciel and took his hands in hers and with a surprising sternness told him "I will not let you die tonight. You must trust me. Do I have your complete and absolute trust?" Cecilia looked him in the eye until after a few moments of hesitation, he nodded. "Say it." She whispered.
"I trust you." He told her quietly. Cecilia offered him a soft, calming smile.
"Lay down." She instructed and helped him sit in the tub. Ciel leaned back until he was floating in the water, his face barely above the surface. "If you get scared, just remember what I told you." She instructed and he nodded, looking up at her. Cecilia's dark eyes watched him carefully. Her face was relaxed and calm, you would have thought she was putting a child to bed. Her curly brown hair was pulled back into a bun and some strands fell around her face. Despite hardly knowing the woman, she had a calming presence and placed his trust in her almost unquestioningly. "I'll see you soon." She told him. Ciel was confused by her statement but as he opened his mouth to question her, Cecilia's hand pushed his chest under the surface, completely submerging him. Ciel felt his back hit the bottom of the tub and he watched as the surface began to calm above him. He could make out the form of Cecilia above him, her hand still on his chest, holding him down. Behind her was the dark figure of his demon butler, watching over them.
Ciel lay submerged for a while, still trying to hold his breath. Nothing was happening. He wondered if something was wrong. He was running out of breath so he grabbed the sides of the tub and tried to pull himself up. Ciel was stopped by Cecilia's hand. Her hand kept his back pressed to the bottom of the tub. He tried again, assuming she just didn't notice. Once more he found himself pinned. What the hell is she doing? He tried to grab her arm and push her off but to no avail. Ciel's heart began to race as he began to struggle to push her off. She continued to hold him down. Ciel began to panic and struggled against her, kicking and splashing and grabbing at her arm and the rim of the tub, trying desperately to reach the surface that was only a few inches from his face. His lungs burned with fire as he struggled to keep in what little air was still in his lungs. In a desperate attempt, he tried to reach out to Sebastian's dark figure but his hand only met air.
"Let it go, Ciel." Cecilia muttered to the water as she held the struggling boy under the water. "Trust me, Ciel, please hang on just a little longer."
"I do hope you are not attempting to drown him." Sebastian said to her as he watched Ciel reach out to him.
"He won't." She assured him. "This would go smoother if he would let it go."
"I don't think I understand." Sebastian stated, seeking clarification.
"Give him a minute." Cecilia told him patiently, letting the bath water splash over the sides and over her clothes.
Ciel was struggling to keep in what air he could, but if was fighting to escape him. It not only burned, but it felt as though something slimey and slippery was crawling out of his lungs. There was a stabbing pain in his chest and then his throat before he could taste and feel the bitter disgusting thing in his mouth and within that moment, he opened his mouth, releasing whatever it was that had crawled out of his chest. The bath water filled with a black inky substance.
"There it is!" Cecilia shouted and grabbed Ciel by the arms, ripping him from the water. "Help me get him out!" Cecilia ordered Sebastian who helped her drag the boy from the water that had turned black as tar. Ciel fell into Cecilia, coughing and gasping for air. She held him close and watched as the water frothed and churned, angry and hissing. Sebastian knelt next to the two and wrapped Ciel in a towel while Cecilia continued to hold him close, his head leaning against her chest. After a few minutes, his coughing subsided and he looked over to the tub. The water was still boiling and churning ominously.
"What…the hell is that?" Ciel panted, exhausted.
"That, my Lord," Cecilia replied while rubbing his back soothingly, "was the curse someone cast on you. Had it been left inside of you, it would have festered and poisoned you."
"How long would I have to live?" Ciel asked. "If you hadn't met me."
"Well, less than a year at best." She told him matter of factly. "But, you don't need to worry any longer. Let's get you warm." Cecilia and Sebastian worked to get Ciel dressed warmly and tucked into bed. Ciel was propped up against pillows and Cecilia was tucking the blankets around him snuggly and all he could do was lean against the pillows and embrace the warmth. His eye drooped as fatigue continued to drag him into sleep. Sebastian passed Cecilia a warm mug from across the bed. She gently took Ciel's hands and gave him the mug. "Drink this, darling." She told him softly. Too tired to argue, he sipped the warm liquid. It was hot chocolate. To his surprise, he drank it all in one go, but he was too tired to care. He just leaned against the pillows, letting his eyes close. "You've done so well," Cecilia told him quietly as she ran her fingers through his hair, gently pulling his eye patch away from him. "Rest now, you're safe here." She told him quietly. She wasn't sure she heard him and she continued to sit and watching him as he drifted off to sleep.
"You never struck me as a maternal figure." Sebastian told her quietly, a small smirk on his pale face.
"Once upon a time," Cecilia told him quietly, "I aimed to everything a normal girl wanted. I was going to have a husband and many children to care for."
"Did you now?" He asked, not bothering to hide his humor. Witches were notorious for being old maids and if they did have children, they were rarely happy.
"I quickly learned having a happy family was not in the cards for me." She told him and he picked up on tones of regret.
"If you are not careful," Sebastian told her lightly "The Undertaker will give you those children you so desire." Cecilia snapped her head to him and she fixed him with an unamused stare.
"A demon with sense of humor," Cecilia eyed him, "who would have thought."