Friday! Yaaay! One more chapter is up, people! Not much to say, so... go on, dive into it and enjoy! :D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. I entirely own only my OCs, arcs and ideas/themes not mentioned in any form of the franchise (manga, anime, games, movies or musicals).

Chapter 11: The Tutor, Victorious Celebration

The tournament was already in progress; Blue House was against the Red and it is surprisingly to say that the score was in favour of Blue, for now at least. Everyone were sitting on the blanket under a shade and Bard was explaining the rules of cricket; however, Selina could not follow any of this. On one hand, she was always a complete dumb in terms of sports, unless it was fencing. On the other hand, lack of sleep made her head pounding with a constant headache, to the point she actually forgot she wanted to find Maurice Cole and teach him one more lesson for bulling her master.

Sebastian's nasty games the previous night had managed to keep her up and not catch any sleep at all. She knew that all he did – like seductively stroking her skin or suddenly licking her lips! – were just because he got excited that he finally found out what she was; after a few days he would be back to his usual self and would leave her alone. Hopefully or else she would be in huge trouble...

Ever since she had looked in Ciel's past, she had realised that his demon butler had chosen a really handsome human form, but she corrected herself when she met him on board of Campania… He had chosen an extremely attractive human form and was playing the role immensely well so that any woman would find it impossible to resist his charms, his smile and… his eyes, either the strange mahogany ones he had as human or his purely demonic vibrant red. Selina was lucky that he himself had cleared the matter – in no way he could be really sexually interested in a human – and that she had killed the woman inside her years ago… Or so she thought until lately with last night being the peak, since she spent all night trying to calm her heart and the fire that fleeting, although deeply sensual, touch of his had ignited in her body.

"No problem, I'll just have to kill the woman in me some more. I will not lose to a demon no matter how attractive he is… not ever!" She thought as she was kneeled on the blanket, her hands crossed on her chest, nails furiously digging in her arms and a deep scowl on her face as she had spotted the said demon on the tournament field pretending to be housemaster Michaelis.

The small terrified voices of Mey-Rin and Finny brought her back to reality. She saw the two of them huddled up with Mr. Tanaka leaning over Bard's picnic basket.

"Miss Selina! Help!" Finny called to her absolutely terrified.

Selina moved close to them and instantly knew what caused their misery and desperation. Sitting in the basket was what was supposed to be Bard's meat pie. Terror invaded her and became visible on her features.

"What? Why did I take this one? Why not the other? There had to be another one! I'm so stupid!" She whispered in desperation.

"What do you mean, Miss Selina?" Finny asked her.

"Huh? Um… Last night I didn't catch any sleep because I cooked a new normal meat pie and placed it in another identical basket so that Bard would not realize the difference… but in the morning, sleepy as I was it seems I picked and gave him the wrong basket before we leave. Oh God… what to do now?"

"We cannot give Lady Elizabeth this thing… she will be poisoned, we will be accused." Mey-Rin was trembling with fear.

"No! I do not want Lady Elizabeth to be harmed and for us to go to prison!" Finny cried with the beginning of tears in his eyes.

"Hoh!" Mr. Tanaka added quite troubled himself.

"Where is Mr. Sebastian when we need him?" Mey-Rin asked in outer desperation.

"Leave him be…" Selina said a little harshly. "Anyway, we still have time until lunch so let it rest for a while and I'll think of something." She suggested and for a while they all sat, watching the match and pretending to be cool. None of them had seen that 'professor Michaelis' was watching them, with a very troubled look on his face, as they were despairing over the basket.

However, after some time – while Red House had started to turn the tables on score and the Blue House seemed to agonizingly search for someone right before Ciel took the lead – Selina caught a glimpse of Mr. Tanaka slipping away taking the basket with him.

"Hey, keep Bard busy somehow. I'll be back soon." Selina said the other two and silently followed the old butler.

She saw him meeting and giving the basket to Sebastian, who had removed his professorial disguise. Sebastian lifted the cover and immediately let it drop; his face had a disgusted and angry look. Selina could swear she almost heard his thoughts that were something on the lines of 'cursed woman', which of course fired her anger too. Tanaka returned to the others and Sebastian went towards the buffet tent, with Selina following him in the shadows.

Some students from Red House were already there, boasting how their team would crash Blue and were ready to take a delicious meat pie to serve it to their hungry players. Sebastian with his characteristic fluid movements, that went unobserved, stole the pie and retreated to a detached empty table closer to shadows. He opened the basket, took out the horrible pie and started removing the… decorations the chef had added. A half fried egg, a raw fish and some utterly burned vegetables.

"Did you have to make a second identical basket instead of just placing the right pie in the already existing basket? And why did you not throw away the bad one?" Selina asked him with fury in her voice as she appeared beside him holding a garbage bin, where Sebastian immediately started disposing what he removed from the pie.

"I was running out of time. How about you? Did you have to take the wrong basket from underneath the counter, behind some pots instead of the right one on the counter? The new pie would stink in the already stinking basket after so many hours. Was it that difficult for your nose to spot the difference?" Sebastian answered in his usual cool way, since of course had sensed her following him.

"Yes, since someone did his best to prevent me from sleeping, resting – essential for us poor humans – so that my brain would be able to process what it sees and smells."

"Oh my, am I that unforgettable that you could not sleep because you were thinking about me?" Sebastian gifted her with a very seductive smirk and glance, enjoying her frustration. "I am deeply sorry since that was not my intention. At first at least." He winked playfully at her.

Selina laughed ironically, struggling not to punch his arrogant look from his face or give him the pleasure of seeing her embarrassment. "Don't flatter yourself, demon. I had just opened my cards to you, how could I be sure you would not try something really nasty, like killing me perhaps?"

"I told you, I have my orders which I cannot disobey. Trust me; I will not harm you, unless I am ordered otherwise."

"Trust a lying demon? That's a new."

In a flash the bin was removed from her hands and an iron grip had forcefully grabbed her arm, Sebastian's completely sober, dark face was very close to hers… again. "I may be many things, I may do many things but I never lie, never!"

"I also have my orders and I have been honest about my intentions from the start, but you probably still do not believe me! And you do not lie to your master, since he ordered you not to. That's one of your contract conditions, right?"

"Yes, it is, but I generally do not lie, unless ordered otherwise… Lying goes against my aesthetics." He said and released her in order to put the final touch on the switched pies.

"I hope that is not a lie because it would make both our jobs and lives difficult." Selina said and turned to leave but then stopped, looked at him completely composed and with a cold, hard look in her eyes. "Just that you know, I had every intention to reveal to you and master what exactly I am, but I would do it when I saw fit. That's why I was so… difficult at first. If you haven't already told him everything, could I ask you not to, not yet at least?"

Sebastian looked at her innocently with the basket on one hand and the pie on the other. "Are you willing to trust 'a lying demon'?"

That fired up Selina's fury once again. "Okay, do whatever you like; I will explain everything to him either way. And you better quit the games you started last night; it's just because you found a rare grey natural born witch, so once your enthusiasm fades away everything will be back to normal, until then keep your tongue away from me."

She demanded of him and then left with her back straight and her head high with pride. She did not see the demon's eyes burning red and hungry as he followed her with his gaze for a while. If he had time he would… However, he did not have enough and so he quickly collected himself and went on with his duties.

{~}

Selina took quite a long stroll in order to calm down. That demon was getting on her nerves so much, with his extreme confidence and insistence of bringing his face and body close to hers, practically constantly invading her private space. He wasted no opportunity of showing her she was inferior to him and he could do anything he liked to her, since she was human; something told her that that would not change now that he knew about her, since he may believe he could fool her enough to turn her completely dark… Well, if that was the case he would soon realise she was not that easy, to fall just because he started showing some fake interest for her.

Anyhow, she was not used to that kind of treatment. After the first dozen of demons she had killed, she really enjoyed the fear she inspired to the lower level ones, and after the first thirty even higher ones were considering her to be a significant opponent. One of the first ones was smart enough to accept a deal she offered; giving her information she very much needed in exchange for his life and meal. Therefore, what she was experiencing now was so, so different and… frustrating. She thought Mr. Spears' and Mr. Knox's teachings had prepared her for this annoying demon, but she was wrong… again. The admiration she could feel for his skills and perfectness seemed not enough to help her deal with him.

By the time she got back to the others, the picnic basket was back and complete disaster had hit the Red team as the boys, one after the other, were falling on the ground clutching their aching stomachs after eating Bard's pie. Only Soma was still standing; the poor boy was looking at his teammates and running around in an effort to help them, although he himself seemed to be at a complete loss. Young master was standing straight and proud in the middle of the field, victorious amidst his defeated enemies, a wild look of complete satisfaction on his eye as he was looking at his only ally, his own personal demon servant. Selina could not help but feel a little sad for him; such a young boy finding joy in a dishonest victory and the destruction of his enemies; it was immoral even for a grey witch, having completely different views on morality. On the other hand, do not people say the cause justifies the means?

{~}

Lunch break time came and as Selina had imagined, Lady Elizabeth had joined them on the blanket – she got very excited and was squealing that the blanket was so cute – Mr. Lau along his 'sister' Ran-Mao – they were both in good spirits since they had great profit from bets on who would win the first match – and of course Prince Soma – thankfully unharmed by the horrendous meat pie. They all were so joyful for master Ciel's victory, even if they did not know how he achieved it, and Lady Elizabeth seemed very happy by how tasty Bard's pie was. The poor chef accepted her praising with modesty, although on his face the question of why his pie looked different was evident. Mey-Rin, Finny and Mr. Tanaka were almost hugging each other obviously relieved from how things turned out.

Selina had escorted Ciel to the field's showers, where the boy washed himself from sweat and then took the clean uniform Selina waiting outside provided him with. Once he was certain that everyone else was gone he spoke.

"That was a very close call. If that last ball was thrown we would be done for. Thankfully Sebastian acted right on time. I am very curious on what he did, I will ask him later." He was ready; Selina placed his eye patch and then combed his hair.

"Do you really want to know, my lord?" The butler's voice answered right away, as he was now standing outside the door, supposedly on his way to the lavatory further down.

"Yes. I usually do not, but this time was too timely and massive. Only Soma escaped somehow." The boy's lips turned slightly upwards in a smirk; Selina felt positively impressed that, although the boy could become so cruel and was constantly complaining about his Indian friend, he actually cared for him and felt proud that he proved to be so strong.

"Yes, I am not sure how that happened. I mean, I have heard that people from India have quite strong stomachs, but that really impressed me." Sebastian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Selina laughed a little. "Well, if you ask me, that is actually a good thing. It proves that Bard's cooking is not that life threatening. It can cause only a slight food poisoning that will pass after some emergency visits to the restroom." She pointed outside where some Red House boys were running towards the said place.

"Bard's cooking?" Ciel asked with terror in his eyes.

"Yes, my lord. Mr. Michaelis actually switched the meat pie Bard had made for lunch break with one from the buffet."

"Nice move, Sebastian. Congratulations." The boy said genuinely impressed even if he tried to show he expected nothing less from him.

Sebastian bowed slightly and his face took the same look of 'modesty' as in the Campania incident. "Thank you, my lord. I did nothing less than what is expected of the Phantomhive butler. However, you should also thank Miss Clark's inability to distinguish odours and that is why she took Bard's basket and not the one she had already prepared with a new pie." His fake smile on his lips.

"Oh, how did that happen, Miss Clark? I thought your senses were quite sharp."

"They are, my lord, it's just that… I hadn't slept well, so my mind got confused since I was so sleepy." She said while glaring daggers towards the smiling demon in front of her.

"And you could not sleep because…?" The boy seemed impatient now; he really did not like not getting a straight, complete answer immediately.

"It was just because I was too excited about watching you participate in a team sport and of course for your victory." She smiled at him.

Ciel remained silent for a while looking at her somehow disdainfully. "You got excited for that kind of thing? Pff, I really thought you were smarter than that. You disappoint me, Miss Clark… but thank you anyway." He went to join the rest of his team right after that without throwing a glance behind him.

Selina was left following him with her eyes wide open. Then she furrowed her brows and seemed quite angry. "His parents were extremely lenient on him, if at some point he had gotten a good spank he would be more respectful and good mannered."

Sebastian could not contain himself as he started laughing approaching her. "Quite a spoilt brat, is he not? Not very cute when he acts like this, but what can we do? He is an Earl after all."

"Yes, yes. And an excellent future meal that you can't spoil when he makes you furious, right?" She sighed. "Oh well, I'll get used to it, and at some point I might find a way to tell him my opinion for his behaviour."

Sebastian chuckled really entertained. "Oh please, Miss Clark. Let me know when you will do that, I want to be present. It will be so fun."

Selina turned and looked at him in a not very friendly way, but then realised how close to her he was standing again and without a word she went to join the others.

{~}

The final match was about to start, Green House against Blue. Exactly like the other time, the only time Blue won, when Vincent Phantomhive was in the team. Lord Midford was very excited remembering that match as if it was just yesterday. Purple House, or the 'Goths' as Selina was calling them, had once again lost and the prefect, the head of the house, seemed he could not care less, even if his teammates had done their best.

Blue seemed to be very aggressive right from the start and were increasing their score rapidly. Perhaps the little concert their coach and housemaster, professor Michaelis, was giving greatly encouraged them… or greatly distracted the Green team.

"Is not that against the rules?" Finnian asked as he was trying to decide if he liked what he was listening.

"Well… yes. Why is Sebastian doing that? I mean… the team can get punished." Bard was at a loss, scratching the back of his neck.

"He is so awesome, yes he is! I had no idea he was a talented maestro too!" Mey-Rin's cheeks were so red that had no difference from her hair and her eyes were sparkling.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Mr. Tanaka added obviously amused by everything that happened.

Selina had almost doubled over from laughter, as she was watching the so serious maestro directing the orchestra while his eyes followed every movement on the field. Selina could not believe how cheap a trick he used and no one was saying anything. How the hell had he convinced the school to allow something like that? On the other hand, what can you expect from a demon? He must have fooled everyone, somehow.

After some time, a cry was heard from the crowd. The headmaster had finally made an appearance. Sebastian quickly zeroed in where the people were pointing, at the highest balcony, and saw a very shadowy figure barely visible among the rest of the teachers and exceptional guests. He quickly passed his maestro duties to McMillan, a self-declared friend of Ciel's, and quickly discarded his professorial robes as he started running towards that direction.

Selina had also heard the cry and without leaving Sebastian from her sight, left everyone else behind staring at her with question in their eyes, and lifting her skirt up to her knees started also running with great speed. They had to catch that headmaster and solve this matter once and for all.

She finally caught up with Sebastian as he was crouching on a banister of the school stairs. He seemed really troubled and was holding headmaster's attire, but the headmaster was missing from inside.

"Wha-What… happened? Where is he?" She asked trying to catch a breath, after having run around in four different directions.

When she was close to the balcony, she saw Sebastian running towards the field again, heading to where the members of some rich family were sitting; when they reached the spot, Sebastian saw the headmaster talking with someone at the other side of the field, he ran again with Selina doing her best to keep up; but then for once more they missed him and saw him entering the school's building and climbing the stairs. Although the man seemed to walk in a perfect human speed, it was like he was beamed from one place to another and that made both chasers' job much more difficult.

"He disappeared… he and his presence… both." Sebastian finally answered her, still deep in thought.

"What? How can this be? I mean… with that speed he can't possibly be just a human, but still…" She was leaning on a wall breathing heavily.

Sebastian nodded and Selina saw his hand flexing in fury. "We should revisit the cricket field, the headmaster might return there…" He said and without throwing her a glance jumped off the banister and started descending the stairs with Selina following.

"If I knew things would turn out like that, I would bring some of my stuff and since we have his clothes I could easily locate him."

That seemed to pique Sebastian's interest. "A tracking spell you mean?"

"Yes, of course. Don't forget, I was hunting demons on behalf of the reapers. How do you think I was tracking my targets? I could even get a glimpse of what or who he really is. Now all I can do is take the clothes back to the house and do the same there, with a smaller chance of success since his presence is fading from the cloth."

"Interesting." Sebastian said and looked at the clothes in his hands.

The match had finally reached the last minutes. After many tricky strategies Ciel and his team had applied, the score was 105-103 in favour of Blue House. The head of Blue, Bluewer, was against the head of Green, Greenhill, and Ciel was the wicket-keeper, behind Greenhill, who would bat the ball. However, while Greenhill was getting ready to hit the flying ball his bat clashed with Ciel's forehead with so much force that the child fell down bleeding. Greenhill got distracted and headed towards him, asking if he was all right instead of following the game.

Silence fell all over the field, as everyone was watching Ciel picking the ball and throwing it at the wicket with all his strength, finally giving the long desired victory to Blue House. Screams of joy burst in all over the field and the spectators. Ciel soon found himself being raised up in the air as the team was celebrating the victory and the person who achieved it.

The Green team was left speechless having lost with such small difference in the score; strangely enough Greenhill seemed not very disappointed, he actually looked very happy since he lost from a really worthy, hard working opponent. Elizabeth and Soma were cheering for Ciel, they were really excited, as Mey-Rin, Finny, Mr. Tanaka and Bard were hugging each other, almost crying happy tears, Bard was also trying to whistle celebrating.

Selina was lost in her own dark roller-coaster of emotions, her ears deaf to the celebration and the claps coming from every direction. When she saw the bat hitting Ciel's forehead and blood being spilled, felt her heart jumping almost to her throat blocking her airways and her legs trembling even though she was seated. She was ready to jump up and run to his side, ignoring everything and everyone. But then heard his cry and saw him lifting head and body enough to execute the last part of his game and calmed down a little. Her heart kept beating incredibly fast and loud, not sure if it was still from fear or joy, as she was watching the child being actually a child; lifted in the air by his teammates, hugged by people that easily could become his friends, and he himself smiling… no, laughing with joy, a sound she had never heard but wanted to so much and much more often.

A sweet, warm feeling spread inside her, a feeling that became stronger as she watched Sebastian diving in and stealing Ciel from his teammates' arms. Now the boy was in his arms, still happy and smiling, ignoring the pain of his forehead and leaning his head on the demon's shoulder, making him look at the boy almost tenderly and smile too… A smile that could confuse anyone who knew what Sebastian was, since it was one of pride. Pride for the boy, pride for his achievement, pride for his persistence to achieve his goal no matter what, as he was telling Ciel in a calm, tender voice, that he was a most incorrigible boy.

"Like a father, proud of his son!" That thought crossed Selina's mind and instantly turned her joy to pain.

A cold, clawed hand grabbed and squeezed her heart, making it bleed from old wounds she thought had somehow mended, but now opened anew reminding her of a similar scene she had once seen, in another time and era, a scene which would never come to pass. Then cold logic found its way, forcing her to remember that the black clad man passing in front of her with the teenage boy in his arms were not a father and a son, as much as she liked that idea; they were a beast and a human, a hunter and a prey under the illusion of servant and master. There were no loving feelings between them, only personal benefit on both sides.

Her hand clutched her clothes over her heart and her eyes started burning from tears that should never be shed. She stayed like this for a while, looking at the spot where Sebastian was standing a couple of minutes ago. Mr. Tanaka had to shake her a little hard for the third time for Selina to return to reality. When she turned to look at him her eyes were red and slightly swollen.

"Dear Miss Selina, are you all right?" The old man asked gently with concern.

"Y-yes, yes. I'm sorry, Mr. Tanaka, I got really worried for master when I saw the blood and it seems I got a little emotional, I'm fine now. Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive. My old bones and heart know how I did not collapse right at that moment. That child was never so reckless… but he has grown up, he is not how he was, he is almost an adult, bold man." A bitter sweet smile appeared on the old, withered lips and worry clouded his eyes.

Selina patted his back. "Everything is going to be all right. Besides, he has Sebastian by his side… always. I will go and check on him now and let you know on how he is as soon as possible."

With that said, Selina sprang up and ran to the school's infirmary; she managed to slip in without getting seen as it was prohibited for visitors to enter the building. She found Ciel sitting in one of the beds yelling that it hurts as Sebastian, with a teasing smile on his lips, was disinfecting the wound on the boy's forehead.

"Ouch! Cannot you go about it a little more gently?"

"Dear, oh dear. Had you not forgotten your pain out of happiness?"

"You must be joking! Ugh!" Said Ciel as he was pulling his hair away from the wound with one hand and clutching the bed sheets with the other.

"Why, master? Wasn't that what you said just a few minutes ago?" Selina said as she sat on the bed, behind Ciel replacing his hand on his hair and with the other one covering his holding the sheets. She instantly felt the boy's clutch relaxing.

Ciel turned a little and looked at her. "Does that mean he must hurt me even more, just for his entertainment? It burns a lot!" The brave winner gave his place to the grumpy child.

Selina smiled and blew on the throbbing wound to cool it down, as Ciel kept talking with Sebastian, who produced from inside his robes and gave him the winning ball… which of course was not the ball that should have been thrown by Bluewer; this one was lighter, it flew further and that was what made Greenhill take a few steps backwards, hold his bat in a wider arc and caused the collision with Ciel's forehead. Selina did not pay attention to the rest of Ciel's explanation on how he achieved victory, because she was too busy trying to restrain herself from hugging Ciel and searching his entire body for any other wound that should be immediately treated. Of course, she knew there was not any wound that could escape Sebastian's attention and that is why she made do with taking some wet bandages and cleaning Ciel's blistered hands and broken nails.

"Well? How did you two do?" Ciel asked after a while.

"The headmaster… is here." Sebastian answered with a sigh as he presented the perfectly folded empty clothes of the headmaster. "I regret to inform you… that I did my utmost to pursue him, but the moment I had him, this was all there was."

"Huh? He vanished in thin air? How can this be?" Ciel was looking at the demon and then the clothes completely confused.

"The evidence, his extreme speed specifically, show that he must not be a simple human being. I might be able to track him down using the clothes… when I get back to the mansion since everything I need is there." Selina informed him.

"Track him down through his clothes? How can you do that?" Ciel obviously could not believe something that preposterous.

"My lord, from day one I told you I am not just a human, so… do you believe in magic?" She smiled with confidence.

Ciel's eyes opened wide while Sebastian was bandaging his head. "Magic? You are telling me it exists? And you can perform it?"

"Well, my lord. You know better than anyone that the supernatural world exists." Selina pointed towards Sebastian, who calmly put away everything he had used to treat the wound. "And magic is part of that supernatural world; he is not the only creature having some kind of it."

"So you are a… witch." Selina nodded. "A white or a black one?" Surprisingly enough the boy seemed pretty calm and ready to accept and believe anything. He himself had struck a deal with a demon and had met grim reapers more than once, why would he doubt the existence of other strange beings?

"Hm… How about neither and both? What I mean is that I can practice my magic however I want, to save or to kill, to preserve or destroy… depending on the circumstances and what I think right at the moment." She explained.

Ciel nodded, crossed his legs and took a dissatisfied look on his face. "So, a witch and a demon were chasing one person and could not catch it… Bah! In that case, I should have just had you make me desserts or something… your magic would be actually useful there." He said without making clear whose magic he was referring to.

"I thought you might say that, so I prepared this for you." Sebastian said and simply presented a mouth watering dessert with some ice cream, pudding and something else Selina did not know but seemed delicious too. Ciel's and Selina's eyes opened wide with surprise and craving and exchanged glances of mutual approval.

"Honestly… When?" Selina asked Sebastian but received no other answer except an amused wink.

"But you will have to save this for later-" Sebastian said as the doors of the infirmary flew open with force and many students of the Blue House barged in.

Selina quickly tied Ciel's eye patch, after he grabbed it and in panic placed over his eye, and retreated from the bed, as the excited boys surrounded it chattering and preparing Ciel for the champion house's boat parade. Selina ran and hid behind Sebastian for a moment and then slipped outside and thankfully not one of the boys seemed to take notice of her.

{~}

The celebration was absolutely wonderful. Everyone was so joyful, open-hearted and friendly that any past bitterness was forgotten and the atmosphere was so merry. Selina could feel warmth spreading in her body, reaching her heart, her soul, at the sound of genuine laughter even if it was at her master's expense, when the boats where the winner Blue House was in flipped over, since the boys never believed they would win, therefore never had practised the boat parade. However, no one could deny the fireworks combined with the lanterns released in the air were the best part of the celebration and a most magical image.

Selina, while watching the lanterns flowing in the air, could not help but bring in her memory the picture of a young, newly-wed couple releasing a lantern along with their wish for a peaceful life filled with love and family; a little further away two girls, totally ecstatic by the couple's happiness, were releasing their own lantern with a similar wish, adding that no matter what, their sisterly bond would never break, even if life separated them at some point.

"Miss Selina, are you alright? You're smiling and look so happy, but at the same time you're crying." Finny's voice took her away from her nostalgia. "Is it because you are happy for young master?"

"Yes, Finny, you are right. I am happy that for once he got the chance to celebrate like this, with so many people in such a lovely place and atmosphere." She said as surprised wiped a tear trickling from her eye; she had not cried for a long time now.

"Yes, everything is so beautiful here, outside. I like it so much!" The blond boy said and Selina saw his eyes were red, ready to also cry tears of happiness. She ruffled his hair playfully and hugged his shoulders making him even happier.

Music and dance followed and everyone got mingled, forgetting houses, factions and competitions. The ever so loud Prince Soma grabbed an excited Mey-Rin and started twirling to the music without paying attention to what kind of dance they were actually meant to dance. Mr. Tanaka bowed in front of Lady Midford and she happily accepted his dance proposal, while Lizzie was pulling and McMillan was pushing Ciel from behind towards the dancing field. Finny was grabbed by some teenage lady and followed her almost without even realising. That left Selina and Bard, who bowed and asked her to dance mimicking, in an absolutely hilarious way, the British accent, Selina followed suit and took his hand. They danced with so much fervour until they both got flushed in the face with dishevelled hair, and had to stop because they were out of breath.

They collapsed on the chairs they were previously occupying and drank with one breath their new beers. They seemed perfectly content.

"That's life!" Bard cried and grabbed a second beer. "Long live our young master!"

Selina looked at him surprised, seeing he was totally drunk and then heard a gasp. It came from Ciel, who was again dancing with Lizzie but his cheeks were painted an embarrassed red.

"Shhh! You don't have to yell like that." She told the grinning chef.

"Why? It's not bad to express your love towards your master!"

"It's not bad, but you can do it in a lower voice, so that you don't embarrass him in front of so many people." Selina said but her words fell on… sleeping ears as Bard's head suddenly clashed with the table and a heavy snore was the only answer she got. "Perfect… thankfully we have Finny to carry you." She commented as she continued drinking her beer.

After a while, she had the feeling someone was watching her, so intently she could almost swear she was naked. She scanned the surrounding area and located Viscount Druitt – attending the tournament as uncle of Edgar Redmond, prefect of Red House –having his gaze, blurry from wine but struggling to become seductive, fixed on her. Absolute dread filled her heart as she saw him approaching her quite steadily, she was surprised to admit.

"Oh boy!" She whispered and got ready to be harassed. For now, she turned her gaze elsewhere in an attempt to ignore the drunken dandy.

However, Viscount Druitt stopped before he got very close to her and left a deep sigh, while graciously extended his hand to her.

"Ah! There is no need for sun to rise again when there is such a beauty in the world; a dazzling, golden beauty that puts to shame the brightest ray of sunlight! I am graced with a most unique miracle of nature, since I have never laid eyes on such a divine pulchritude." He cried and Selina was struggling to continue pretending she either did not hear or his words were directed to someone else, even though she wanted to punch the man senseless.

"Pardon, my lady. Would you do me the honour of gracing me with this dance?" A deep voice said next to her ear and a white gloved hand entered her vision, right when the Viscount started approaching her again with greater determination.

She turned her head and saw Sebastian standing beside her slightly bowed, smiling in a so attractive way that Selina felt dizzy for a second. His eyes were meaningfully darting from her to Druitt as he cleared his throat with urgency. She immediately accepted his offer, grabbed his hand and stood up with so much haste that she bumped on him. Sebastian circled her waist with one hand to steady her and she grabbed his sleeve.

"Yes! Absolutely, sir. I grace you with this dance and all the dances for the rest of the evening!" She said looking at him with relief and absolute gratitude in her shining eyes, gifting him a happy, so beautiful smile; her loose gold curls circling her face.

Sebastian responded accordingly and for a second Selina thought he took a slightly gasping breath and gulped in view of her joyful face… but of course it was her imagination. They were soon dancing among everyone else and Selina sighed with great relief.

"Thank you very much! I honestly was not sure if I could contain myself and not smack him on the head." Sebastian's answer was only a light chuckle as he watched a fake murderous look appearing on her features. "Hey, was it just my idea or did he actually seem not to remember meeting me before?"

Sebastian's chuckle rumbled in his chest. "I am of the same idea. It would not be surprisingly odd for the Viscount, such a great lady lover that he is." Great irony in his voice.

Selina frowned. "I am not sure, if I must feel relieved or offended by that."

"Offended? Oh, so you would be interested in a… conversation with him? Oh dear, and I thought I was of some service to you, rescuing you from harassment." Saying that he made an attempt of pulling away from Selina, who of course grabbed and pulled him to her.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Fear in her eyes that as soon as she lost hold of Sebastian the Viscount would prey on her once again. Sebastian smiled and resumed his position along with the dance. "When I said offended, I meant in the sense any woman would mean it in case a man had forgotten her, even if she did not like him. I guess it's a matter of female pride; no woman likes to be forgotten by any man." She finally said lightly.

"In that case you should feel flattered he has forgotten you. Maybe you are not to be remembered by any man." He said by stressing 'any' in a contemptuous manner.

Selina did not know what to answer; his words sounded like a compliment to her, saying in a way that any ordinary man was not worthy of having a memory of her since she was above them. She felt her cheeks flushed and was sure Sebastian saw it as his smile got even wider and his eyes were burning with an unreadable expression. She chose to remain silent, since no one could positively state of understanding the sense in which the demons' words and actions were uttered and performed, respectively.

"Um... tell me about the opening ceremony!" Selina said after a while, trying to distract Sebastian when she felt her skin ready to burst into flames under his so intense gaze; it was not an unpleasant feeling, but it was so strange coming from the demon and, even more, in a public place.

Unfortunately, the Phantomhive staff could not let the manor unguarded or Snake alone for long; therefore they were allowed only a one day trip, on the 4th of June, and that meant they could not attend the tournament's opening ceremony the previous day.

Sebastian grinned wider and was more than happy to narrate the entire ceremony; how big the guests' excitement was for all the other Houses except the Blue one, which was received with a very mild applause; how embarrassed young master got, first because of the obvious different welcome his House received, then due to the sudden squeal Lady Elizabeth let out to encourage him, and finally because he seemed to be very attractive and appealing to all the young ladies of the Bluewer family. Selina could not stop laughing as she obviously found everything so amusing and the demon simply could not disagree.

"Aw, poor young master! I really wish we could be here yesterday. We would have cheered him along with Lady Elizabeth and protect him from such a vicious attack of the female nature!" She said, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Have no fear. Lady Elizabeth rushed into informing everyone she was his fiancée and... Actually rescued him, since I was..." He leaned closer to her ear. "...instantly spotted and grabbed by Lady Midford... My, that woman can indeed become scary for a human; she even called me 'nasty butler'!" The demon sounded even a little offended by that.

Selina almost burst out laughing at that and had to struggle not to in order to avoid drawing people's attention; it could be quite a scandal for a simple home tutor or servant to be seen laughing her ass off, while in the arms of a very respectable school teacher. However, she did not manage entirely as right at that moment, Lau and Ran-Mao appeared dancing beside them and they flowed, in a way, even closer.

"How delightful! The big dog seems to really like the master's newest doggy! Do not forget, my dear that my offer always stands. Oh, and by the way, Sebastian, please do tell me if our dear Selina's lap is comfortable and warm as I think it is… perfect for a little nap! I am so curious!" He smiled while Ran-Mao was scanning the other couple with her seemingly uninterested eyes.

Selina had turned redder, from embarrassment this time, and her eyes had opened wide; her body was tense and she seemed ready to attack the man. But the arm around her waist held her back and the squeeze on her hand brought her back to order, so she forced herself to return the smile and look through half closed eyes. Sebastian smiled in a similar way, but seemed more natural on him than on the angry woman.

"I have no knowledge of this, sir, but if events bring me in a situation to discover the truth of it, I will not fail to inform you. As for your offer, I am sure our master thanks you for how considerate you are about aiding his staff in extreme time of need; but I assure you, Miss Clark is a member of our household as essential as any other and there is no chance to let go of such a precious asset." The demon responded in his perfect gentlemanly manner.

Lau chuckled. "I am pretty sure about that, I can see how perfectly she fits in the warm embrace of… the Phantomhive family… Oh well, I had to try. But I would still like to know, whenever you find out. Bye!" He said in a most casual way and flowed away with his dancing partner.

Selina sighed as her head lightly rested for a moment on the demon's chest. "I really admire your patience! He is the second human I would like to kill since I met with young master and the third after I came in this era. How do you manage to deal with him?" She looked at the demon with anticipation.

Sebastian smiled truthfully to her. "Actually, I never pay attention to him, what he does or says; I leave that for young master as it is most enjoyable how embarrassed he gets with Miss Ran-Mao's boldness and Mr. Lau's innuendoes… But you said he is the third… One is Viscount Druitt, as you have already stated, and the other…"

"Young lady Dankworth, of course!" Selina said with emphasis. "She is a perfect little bitch, far worse than our young master… and with absolutely no reason for acting like that!"

Sebastian kept looking at her with arched eyebrows until he started laughing, a little loudly for a moment, as he squeezed the woman closer and carried her with him in the twirls of dance.

They danced together for the rest of the evening and Selina lost count of their dances, but she did not mind, since Viscount Druitt stayed away and Sebastian's dancing was so smooth and light that at moments she thought they were flowing in the air. What troubled her was that, most of the times, her body was pulled and pressed on his more than what the dance required and the demon seemed to utterly enjoy her embarrassment, as his eyes were flashing red very often and a satisfied smirk never left his lips.

By the time visitors departed Weston school, she was grateful that when she got home she would have to deal with tracking the headmaster; otherwise she would have to face another sleepless night, due to the alluringly playful mood the demon exhibited all evening.

Sebastian and Selina dancing the evening away! I don't know about you, but I find it quite... romantic? Even though I don't consider myself romantic and they are not a couple... ;P

Pulchritude = an older word for beauty. I really had no idea about this word, but I had in mind a very specific Greek word for beauty, and... I simply looked up for an equivalent English one and this came up. It looks such a ridiculously pompous word that it screamed Druitt to me! :D :D I laughed really a lot imagining him saying it!

That's all, I think. Thank you all for following and supporting this story!

Till next time! Bye!