Hello everyone! I'll continue posting weekly until I am notified about the surgery. I must not let my fears take over me, so I'll proceed as normal. Therefore, a new chapter is here for you to enjoy. Selina and Ciel go under cover again and... Sebastian becomes a scratching pole for cats 😂! I really liked that scene, you'll see!
A huge thanks to Yuki! I loved your review and thank you so much for understanding! I hope so too that everything will be fine.
By the way, does anyone else gets an alert whenever entering the platform? That email alerts have turned off, there is an error or something? I get it all the time even though I have followed the steps mentioned. No idea what more to do, so if anyone has an idea...
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 45: The Tutor, Blood-sucked
The following days, Ciel and Sebastian continued observing from afar the Sphere Music Hall and the throngs of people gathering there, filled with so much happiness and hope. The Queen was also still worried about what these gatherings and the almost religious dedication attendees had developed could bring on the Empire itself; therefore, Ciel went on with his investigation plans, just as he indented.
He had Sebastian investigate more the closed events for bracelet bearers, and the demon found out they took place on different days of the week. The event for Polaris was held on Mondays and Wednesdays, for Vega on Tuesdays, for Canopus on Thursdays and, finally, for Sirius on Fridays. It was very convenient that Friday was just the next day, therefore Ciel and Selina could attend and see for themselves what was happening there.
Sebastian was far from happy that both his master and mate would be in possible danger, out of his immediate reach, but the stubborn boy did not accept any other alternative the demon presented, so in the end he had to politely bow his head in acceptance. Needless to say, his level of anxiety increased more when he announced Selina their master's order and she got excited, for finally being able to do something for him. She promised Sebastian to do her best to protect the little lord, successfully this time. Sebastian left a deep sigh and Selina, understanding the reason of his stress, kissed him to make him feel better.
{~}
The next night, Ciel and Selina wore their disguise and bracelets and went back to the music hall, which was not as crowded as on Saturdays. People were sitting in very sparse tables, drinking and talking casually. As soon as they entered, a very enthusiastic waiter approached them and grabbed their hands in an almost adoring way; he had spotted the silver Sirius bracelets on their wrists.
"You are the ones under the divine protection of Sirius, right?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.
"Y-Yes, we are!" Ciel answered quite surprised.
"Welcome! We have been waiting for you! Please, come right this way! One at a time, if you please!" He said guiding them to a door and opening it for Ciel to pass; he followed and with a smile he kindly asked Selina to wait before closing the door on her face.
That made Selina's brow twitch a little annoyed, but her orders were to just follow Ciel without making any unnecessary troubles. She stood there and lowered her shields a little with great caution; she did not want Blavat to see right through her - if he was in the establishment - but there was no way she would leave her master out of her sight or senses even for a second. She sensed the boy's worry and embarrassment to flare a little but not in alarming levels. In a few moments she found out the reason for that.
The door opened and the waiter bowed asking her to enter, she did and found herself standing in a round hallway facing four doors.
"Dear Guest, we ask that you change to proper attire over in this area. Would you like me to call for assistance by the girls around?" The waiter said smiling and giving her a package with some clothes.
"Oh, no, thank you very much. I think I can handle it." Selina responded accordingly and moved behind a dressing screen.
"Oh shit!" Was the first thing she thought when opened the package and immediately got an idea why her master had gotten anxious and embarrassed.
The clothes were heavily inspired by the Greco-Roman era, which meant they left a lot of flesh uncovered, at least more than what the Victorian boy was used to. In Selina's case, the problem was not that she would show more skin... at least normally that would not be a problem, but now that the dress was totally sleeveless...
"Miss, are you done?" The waiter asked from the other side of the screen.
"Mm... one more second, please." Selina said in a pleasant voice, as she was staring a piece of fabric that could be used as a wrap or a shawl... And that was exactly what it was used for, only instead of spreading it over her shoulders or something like that she wore it behind her back and managed to wrap its edges around her forearms covering Ciel's and Sebastian's names at least. It was not very convenient limiting her hands' movements as it stretched on her back, but it was the best she could do.
She came out of the screen and the waiter guided her to go through the door of Canis Major, where a meal had been prepared and of course her companion waited for her. She opened the door and saw a quite spacious round room filled with few armchairs like chaise longues, a small table at their side and a strange machine in the centre, resembling a planet. Ciel was progressing slowly, supposedly looking which seat to choose and as soon as he saw her entering, headed towards two empty ones side by side. Selina followed quickly and sat in one, being as close as she could to her master.
A young woman served a full meal to Ciel's table and the boy turned rose red seeing she was busting out of her outfit. He nodded as the smiling woman was telling him to call her for anything he might needed and then turned to look at Selina; he saw that her clothes were also very tight, especially on her chest, and knew he became tomato red when he heard a muffled chuckle from her side. He shook his head and turned his focus to the fact that the meal was of high quality cuisine… and it was all free? That was so strange.
"Thank you all for your patience! The Starlight Four are now arriving! Please give them a round of applause!" The waitress announced and a door opened for the previously P4 to enter, welcomed by applauses and cheers.
The boys' attire was also of Greco-Roman fashion... to a ridiculous level since Bluewer wore even a laurel on his head! They greeted the small audience with charming smiles and then stood around the machine at its four sides.
"Welcome, to all of you blessed chosen to stand under this rare star. Please, enjoy our 'limited access S4 Sirius event!'" Violet began saying. "You have all worked diligently this week. So, to help you keep shining in the weeks to come, we bring forth a healing light. Now! Let us begin! 'Starlight Shower!'" He finished and instantly the lights were lowered.
The machine began working projecting slide images of stars on the walls and ceiling, instantly changing the atmosphere to something magical that seemed to calm and relax people, with the help of harp played by a girl and the S4 singing a new song. At some point, Violet saw Ciel and seemed quite surprised.
"I also had a few troubles on my mind, you know. But... I am very relieved now. You seem to be 'shining' ever so brilliantly now, are you not? My dear upper-classman, Violet." Ciel told him, not missing how his usually melancholic face turned to sadder than usually.
"That is under question..." He whispered, but loud enough for Selina's sharp ears to hear it, the same moment a strange hissing sound made Ciel start looking around and then a strange fragrance invaded the room.
In a matter of seconds Ciel was feeling so sleepy, he could not resist and just fell asleep in an instant. Selina, on the other hand, felt this neither pleasant nor unpleasant fragrance clogging up her nose and mouth making her dizzy; she tried to resist and get close to Ciel when she saw him sleeping, but was already quite affected to manage to coordinate her body to move. Just before she lost consciousness and fell in a deep sleep, saw a door opening, the S4 leaving the room almost running and other people coming in... What was that on their faces? Oxygen masks?
{~}
Sebastian - waiting on guard a little further away from the Hall - got surprised and worried, perhaps even a little scared, as he sensed young master's and Selina's presences weakening. "Did they faint? No, this feels more like..." he thought while having his cheek viciously scratched by the playful or really angry cat in his arms.
"They have fallen asleep?" He wondered. "It appears the plan is going swimmingly. He has apparently gotten himself mixed up in someone's scheme... and pulled my Selina in it too. My, oh my..." He said to the cat that was stretching its paws determined to not let go of the demon's coat, obviously wanting to continue 'playing' with that strange human that did not cry in pain every time its claws raked him to the point of bleeding even for an instant.
At that moment a familiar voice was heard and Sebastian turned to see that Scotland Yard inspector, Something-line. Oh right, Abberline. Anyway, said man, without any special coaxing from Sebastian's side, disclosed some really interesting information to the demon butler.
It seemed that lately some rather peculiar corpses had been turning up. They had no scar or visible wound to indicate the cause of death and they all looked very immaculate, like works of fine art, people in deep sleep instead of dead bodies starting to decompose. There was no pattern on how the victims were selected, they were completely random commoners, until "a certain nobleman's daughter was added to the body-count, and now, all of Scotland Yard was in a tizzy" as Abberline himself said. A little offended by Sebastian's amusement on how the case became top priority as soon as a high profile socialite had been found dead, Abberline was quick to separate himself from this view and immediately asked for the Earl's assistance if he got ahold of any information. For the good and safety of the people of London, he was ready to use any means necessary, even if that meant getting yelled by Lord Randall.
"Corpses so exquisite that they merely look as if they are still asleep... Really now..." Sebastian mumbled once on his own again.
With both master and mate still in deep sleep, he had some time to investigate and that was what he did. It would not be convenient for the bodies to be disposed too close to the centre of the city nor too far; as a result, he spotted the smell of death and many sparse pits with bodies in many somehow isolated places around London.
"Hmm... It is true. The corpses really are far too beautiful." He said staring at them, especially to a young woman's corpse lying in the dirt in one of the pits he dug out... She looked like she was sleeping and would wake up at any moment. So interesting...
{~}
"Young master? Wake up, young master, please!" Selina's almost panicked voice invaded Ciel's hazy from sleep mind, he felt someone nudging him and as soon as he opened his eye, saw both Selina and Violet leaning over him with worry and fear tracing their faces.
"Are you alright?" Violet's light voice asked the boy. "You both slept pretty soundly... You must have been tired." The older boy continued, seeing how panicked Ciel got realizing he fell asleep like that.
"Ah! Whenever I come here, my body becomes light as a feather!" A man said happily, while stretching waking up from a very restful sleep. That drew Ciel's attention and after a quick look around, concluded that despite the obvious drugging that came with the fragrance, no one seemed to be hurt in any way.
Ciel got up to leave, not wanting to stay any longer in this place, especially now that he had a gap in memory, and Mrs. Selina seemed to be in the same state, as she had furrowed her brows deep in thought. But his movement was too quick, made him dizzy and thankfully Violet was there to catch him right before Selina jumped over the chaise longue to support him too.
"Are you alright?" Violet asked again and Ciel nodded, dizziness almost gone. "You look so frail and brittle... you really should eat more. Here." He continued giving both Selina and Ciel a bottle of orange juice and a small pouch with candies each... and then he gave more pouches to Ciel, and more, and more. "It is on the house... Eat up, alright?" He finished and left, leaving boy and woman staring at him quite confused.
Violet's expression had not really changed all the while, but at that instant Selina could swear she saw a small light of desperate hope in the melancholic eyes of the Goth. Then she turned to Ciel and had to struggle greatly not to laugh as she saw her master looking like a child, with his arms filled with sweets and candies and a completely dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Welcome back. You have brought quite a bit of luggage with you!" Sebastian said with a teasing intention, when he saw them coming out of the music hall, carrying all the goods.
"Violet insisted I take them with me." Ciel said in a wooden voice as he disposed everything in Sebastian's arms, right before climbing in the carriage followed by tutor and butler. Sebastian gave the signal and the carriage took off.
"So? What happened? It appears you were enjoying quite the nap in there." Sebastian said staring both his master and his mate; unconsciously his nose twitched as if it had traced a faint smell.
"Tch! The P4 started singing as soon as the limited access event started. I think they are called the Starlight Four now or something. I have no memory after that... I guess we breathed in some sort of sleep inducing drug. That is the only thing that makes sense. However, no one, including us, appeared to have suffered any harm." The boy informed the demon and Selina agreed, although she was certain she had to remember something.
"Meaning that the only fruits of your labour are these snacks... correct?" Sebastian said and chuckled lightly when his master's eye sparkled with momentary anger.
"Oh, shut it!" He told him before asking if he had any news. Sebastian proceeded in filling them in about his encounter with Abberline and the case of the beautiful corpses. "To think that the Scotland Yard would swallow their pride and ask for help from wicked nobles, such as the Phantomhives. Is it going to rain lances tomorrow or something?" Ciel chuckled a little satisfied, since Lord Randall was always playing it high and might, not needing any help from an Evil Aristocrat, much less a child Earl.
"My lord, don't be so unfair. Inspector Abberline has always been more open and tolerant to your aid." Selina reminded the boy and even Sebastian had to agree.
"He stated that even though our methods may differ, we do share the same ultimate goal... the welfare of the citizens..." He said and that surprised the boy for an instant.
"I see now. So he is the type that will never get ahead in life." Ciel said with a little disappointed smirk, and he either did not see or simply ignored his tutor's disapproving look... but she also knew she should not say anything, since it was not her place to correct the boy's morality. "But at the moment, I cannot figure out if the deaths were suicides or murders. I would like a little more information." He went on back in his usual seriousness.
"Yes, I thought you might say that... So I went ahead and decided to take a stroll around London." Sebastian said and pulled a map from his coat's inside pocket and unfolded it. "While you two were enjoying some R&R, I discovered eighteen bodies. I was not able to ascertain if any sort of decomposition or skeletonisation was still occurring, but there were five bodies that matched the special features and status of the 'overly beautiful corpses'. They were buried and abandoned in Epping Forest to the west of London." On the map were marked the various places he had looked and Epping Forest was in circle.
"Five bodies all in the same place?" Ciel was rather astounded.
"Yes. Judging from the information I gathered from the missing persons' column in the newspaper and from asking around in pubs, they appear to be the bodies of a street vendor, an artist, a cloth store owner, a maid and the third son of a trader... so, on the surface, they appear to have nothing in common." The demon finished his report.
"So it appears we have a serial killer, who is hiding his motives." The boy said and fell in deep thought for a while.
"What is it with serial killers burying their victims in mass graves in forests and stuff?" Selina said disgusted, also remembering Bates. Sebastian smirked at her as he shrugged his shoulders and lightly scratched his nose that had not stopped twitching.
"Sebastian, retrieve the bodies and get them examined." The young lord ordered.
"That will not be an issue, however... who shall we hire for the autopsies?" He asked casually.
"Oh, right... Shoot..." Ciel said scratching the back of his head as the unpleasant realisation hit him. "Damn it... If Undertaker was still here, we would be able to find out the cause of death immediately... I guess we have to tell Abberline and ask him to do the examination..." That was the only choice they had for now.
"Understood. I shall take care of it imme-" Sebastian was saying as he leaned forward in his typical bow, but froze in mid-move, his eyes turned to full demonic and his face had the look of a terrified surprise as he kept leaning closer to the boy.
"Sebastian, what is the mat-" Ciel asked seeing the demon's almost agonising state, right before he was pinned on the back of his seat with so much force that the bags of candies tumbled down.
The demon, as if in a frenzy, started undressing the boy quite violently, ignoring his master's terrified objections and his mate's horrified cries trying to bring him back to reason, as she had grabbed him by the shoulders, struggling to pull him off the boy.
"I smell the scent of blood." He said suddenly and made the other two freeze on spot.
"What? But I have not been injured anywhere!" The young master said with certainty.
"No… Right here. Remnants of… a needle prick!" Sebastian said as his blazing eyes zeroed in on a tiny reddish mark on the boy's inner side of his elbow, right where his veins were.
Sebastian let Ciel down, half naked, and grabbed Selina's left arm, equally violently pulled up her sleeve, while his nose kept sniffing her everywhere to make sure there was no other source of bleeding, besides the identical mark on the same place as his master's. That terrified all three of them as they had no idea what could have been put in them… a drug, a poison or whatever!
"I deeply apologise for my incredible negligence! I failed to take this situation seriously, because I assumed I would be able to sense immediately if you had been harmed or wounded!" Sebastian gently redressed his master, obviously and honestly sorry and frustrated with himself for missing something so important.
"W-Wait... both Mrs. Selina and I have been subjected to the same process of whatever it is... but why did you not smell it sooner on her, since she is sitting by your side? Why only on me?" Ciel asked really surprised how the so perceptive demon had missed something like that.
"I did as soon as we sat side by side, my nose could not stop twitching at the scent, but... according to the dates I guessed it was... your menstrual flow." He finished, looking at the woman, clearly apologising for not noticing the difference sooner.
A light switched on in the woman's mind, made some quick calculations and then let out a small cry of surprise. "I'm three days late... Forgot to say it, sorry!" She finished in an equally small voice, apology in her eyes, as the demon was staring at her a little reprimanding now. If he knew in advance, he would be more alert.
"Her what?" Ciel asked totally confused.
Selina stared at him for a moment, as the demon was wrapping the boy in his coat and took him in one arm. "If we are both unharmed, my lord, biology will definitely be added in our classes!" Selina managed to say before she too was lifted by the demon's other arm. "I can walk!" She cried as her one arm flew around Sebastian's shoulders to steady herself and the other to wrap around Ciel's back to steady him too.
"Not while I have no idea what they put in you and how it can react to overexertion, as in running to catch up with me! I shall take you for immediate medical treatment!" Sebastian announced as he jumped out of the moving carriage with his precious load.
In a matter of minutes they were outside Lady Sullivan's new manor and Sebastian was knocking on the door frantically. Before long, the door was wrenched open and a really furious Wolfram appeared at the opening yelling.
"It is the middle of the night! Who dares to knock at this hour?! Who-?! Oh... Jeez, it is you lot..." He finished with obvious displeasure on his features, as he saw the butler and little lord he liked less than any other humans on this earth.
"You have my sincerest apologies, Mr. Wolfram, but we would like Lady Sullivan to examine the young master and Selina right away if possible." Sebastian said with great urgency in his voice, as he stepped inside carrying his master and lifting Selina again, since he had let her down to free one hand to knock the door.
"What is all the ruckus, is everything alright?" Sieglinde's voice was heard followed by strange metallic rhythmic sounds... like steps. "Oh! Ciel! If you would like to steal into a woman's house at night, should you not be a bit more discreet?" She added obviously wanting to tease her shy friend.
When the three newcomers laid eyes on the approaching figure were left speechless with what they saw. Sieglinde was climbing down the stairs, supported by at least four jointed metallic legs that looked a lot like spider legs. It seemed they had two slots in the centre for Sieglinde's legs when she wore, in a way, the machine and be able to move around. The problem was that this thing was pulling her skirt up revealing her legs... and that seemed to not slip Ciel's attention, as he looked at her and a red colour exploded on his already surprised face.
"What the hell is that?!" He cried out in between awe, embarrassment and a little fear at the monstrous sight of the legs.
"My new invention! "Arachne Patousa" from Greek... or Spider Legs in English! I can even walk on uneven ground!" The girl said, really proud of her creation and her newly gained independent mobility.
Selina's lips had turned upwards in a smile filled with awe, her big round eyes followed suit. "I don't really like spiders, but this is simply... awesome! My lady, I love your mind, honestly!" She said and gifted the girl a bright smile that made Sieglinde prouder and happier.
"B-B-But your l-l-legs-" Ciel stuttered turning redder, as he watched the girl's small but really delicate legs dangling with every movement.
"Lady Sullivan, we think that the young master and Selina may have been drugged." Sebastian cut in, bringing the discussion back to the important matter at hand.
"What?! I will check them this instant!" Sieglinde said, her face instantly changing to that of the professional fully aware of the situation. She motioned everyone to follow her. They went upstairs and entered a room that... Selina could not describe it any differently than... steampunk!
Bookcases suffocating under the weight of hundreds or thousands of books, papers, bottles, vials, cases with various samples. The rest of the room was in exactly the same state, with the addition of strange machines or parts of machines and cables spread all over, along with stacks of more books, papers, scientific magazines and everything someone's imagination can think of. In the middle there was a chair, resembling that of a dentist or barber and... a cage with a small chirping bird inside that seemed so out of place! Needless to say, that the room had nothing to do with how it was the last time the trio saw it, when assisting Sieglinde settling in the house.
"What in the world is this room...? Not even a trace of how it looked before!" Ciel said, again astounded by everything and Sebastian followed in a similar manner. The butler had finally allowed boy and woman to stand and walk on their own, but his arm around Selina's waist did not stop being ready to support her if there was need.
"Yes, the old lady queen gathered it all up for me. She comes over to play, occasionally. With cake!" Sieglinde said casually, preparing the tools she would need for drug and poison examination.
"She comes in person?!" Ciel exclaimed, obviously not expecting something like that from the Queen... but if he gave it a little more thought. "A personal investment for the sake of the English royal family. She leaves no stone unturned..." He said with an impish smirk and sparkle in his eye fully understanding his queen's motives.
"Now then! Undress and make yourself comfortable! After all, we know each other very well, do we not? Do not hold back!" Sieglinde said leaning on the examination chair, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows full of innuendo.
"Must you say it in such a suggestive way?!" Ciel said, once again fighting to suppress the fiery blush threatening to explode on his face. The stifled chuckling sounds of Selina's joining those of Sieglinde's did not help the situation at all.
"Hmm... Your pulse is normal, and there is no sign of hyperaemia in your eyes." Sieglinde was saying in a few moments having started her examination.
"Hold o... Hey! There is no need to examine that area, is there?!" Ciel cried out terrified as Sieglinde, with a very serious, professional face unbuttoned his shirt, took a look at his body and then started touching him with her small, soft hands, practically fondling him. But the boy snapped when her hands attempted to unbutton his trousers too!
"And there is no discolouration in your tongue. All clear." Sieglinde announced as she calmly ignored her friend's embarrassment, and actually took advantage of his cries to stick her face extremely close to his, grab it and examine his tongue by almost thrusting her fingers in his mouth to keep it from closing. "Does it feel weird anywhere else?" She finally asked, pulling back and turning to Selina, who had already removed her jacket and loosened her shirt, for a... not so touchy freely examination that seemed more normal to Ciel.
"Other than the dizziness from standing up, not really..." The boy said as he straightened his clothes, relieved his torture of embarrassment came to an end.
"I have never heard of a poison with such a long delayed effect after a person received a shot. So, I am fairly certain we can rule out poison here." The young scientist said finishing the tutor's examination. "Maybe the dizziness was caused by anaemia from standing up so suddenly right after waking up, since Selina did not experience it too, right?" She looked at the woman for confirmation.
"Right, and no one else seemed to have any issues; they actually looked very refreshed, just like after a resting sleep." Selina confirmed; there was still something bothering her at the back of her mind.
"Then just what was that needle wound..." Sebastian wondered clearly at a loss.
"Ah!" A sudden exclamation sound came from Wolfram's side; the blond butler's face lightened up as he thought of something.
"Something on your mind, Wolfram?" Sieglinde urged him to share it.
"Perhaps... nothing was put in, but something was taken out?" He said with his heavy German accent.
"Is that how boys would usually do it...? I thought it was the other way around... I wonder...?" Sieglinde said with a very confused and scandalized look on her face.
Selina smirking, could swear that if this situation was in an anime or comedy of some sort, a sudden moan would be heard at the back, making even more obvious Sieglinde's train of thought.
"My lady! I did not mean it in that way!" Wolfram cried out, shocked by how his already slightly perverted lady was changing, the more knowledge she acquired.
"My lady, I intent to add biology in young master's courses, perhaps you should join us!" Selina told her in a serious manner and positively surprised the girl.
"Um, so... as I was saying... When a lot comes out... connect two together! If you take too much out, enough to die... it is dangerous! Um..." Wolfram tried to explain and express himself... but he failed majorly.
Ciel, Selina and Sieglinde were looking at him with total confusion, like they were listening an entirely unknown language and even Sebastian was struggling to make any sense. The butler finally sighed reaching his limit and told him to speak in German because he was being quite incoherent. The German butler was instantly relieved and as soon as he cleared his throat started explaining properly this time.
"Perhaps, the young master and Mrs. Selina were not injected with anything, but instead blood was collected from them and that resulted in young master's anaemia. Do you not think this the more likely possibility?"
"Even if that were the case, what would they do with the blood? There is no way for them to use it in any way..." Ciel said with certainty.
"Actually, you are incorrect... It could be used for 'blood transfusion'." Wolfram explained and shocked both his lady and the boy Earl. He went on explaining the process he was taught during the last Franco Russian war and how it was considered a 'miracle treatment' since the success rates and the survival of the blood recipient were very low; Sieglinde seemed informed on this practice and knew how incomplete it was and how the conditions still needed to be figured out. "I have heard that the military continues to actively experiment with various blood transfusions and investigating the conditions for success." Wolfram finished.
All the while this conversation was taking place, Sebastian was listening carefully but was also observing Selina's face. The woman looked like she was connecting dots in her mind as soon as she heard the blood transfusion, then remembered something and her eyes opened really wide at a realisation. Sebastian caught her attention at some point and looked at her questioningly, but she signalled him "In a minute."
"I see." Sebastian said, turning his attention fully to the discussion and remembering what the prostitute had told him the other day, while expressing her scepticism on how true was that everything the music hall offered were free since "nothing is ever really free". "So the participants of the limited access event are given a meal and show, but unwittingly pay the price in blood."
"And quite heavily as it seems." Selina said drawing the attention. "I guess they did not drug us with a simple sedative as it acted fast and for quite some time. I have gained a tolerance in such essences, but I also fell asleep seconds after young master and right before my eyes closed I saw something. The door from where the S4 entered opened, they left in a hurry and immediately people wearing masks entered. I believe they were the blood sampling team and needed the masks in order to avoid getting affected by the drug still released in the air to keep us asleep for as long they needed to collect the necessary amount of blood... Which makes me think it is not a small test tube or two, but just enough to have time to be naturally replenished in one week time, till the next limited access event, and not cause anaemia right away... normally at least." She finished looking at her always looking sickly master.
"Yes..." Sieglinde agreed deeply in thought. "A large amount of data is required for the most accurate research results. So, gathering a large number of blood samples or a large amount of blood in general from a random population lines up with their interests. Though it is in rather poor taste to involve regular civilians." She said seriously and her words reminded Ciel what the Queen told him in their last meeting; that there was power in numbers, enough to achieve everything... even war.
"Everything is still hypothetical. However, it is now clear that this gathering is dangerous. What is more... Elizabeth is there!" Ciel said thinking, staring at the Sirius bracelet in his hand.
"What are you going to do, Ciel?" Sieglinde asked, also concerned about the blond girl who open-heartedly offered her friendship.
"Even if we go out in the open, accusing the music hall for their nefarious acts going on behind the scenes... Elizabeth and the other participants most likely will not listen, let alone believe us." The boy's mind was already at work.
"True indeed... Everyone is quite invested into this gathering already." Sebastian said remembering how happy the two women they met at the first night looked, and how quick everyone was in rediscovering their hate and hostility, when his lack of protection from stars threatened theirs and the so peaceful and serene atmosphere of the gathering.
"In order to open their eyes, we have no choice but to find hard evidence of their wrongdoings! Sebastian, Selina, let us go. We are going to expose their vile plot no matter what!" Ciel said as he got up from the examination chair and moved to leave obviously determined; the Queen's Watchdog was again in full mode!
{~}
Once the trio got back to the town-house, Ciel immediately got rid of the wrinkled old clothes he wore as a cover, wrapped himself in his warm robe and ordered Sebastian to bring him some tea in his office; he needed to think what to do next. However, he was surprised to see Sebastian coming along with Selina, bringing orange juice instead of tea.
"What is this? Sebastian, where is the tea? You know that orange upsets my stomach at night." He said a little shrewdly.
The demon just sighed helplessly and put the tray with two glasses of juice and a plate of cookies on the desk. Selina followed and sat in the chair across Ciel in a very authoritarian manner.
"Yes, my lord, but after having your blood taken you need to restore it as quickly as you can. Go on, drink your juice, please, and I will join you." The tutor said and took the smaller glass, leaving the bigger one for the boy, obviously. "The cookies will help your stomach."
"Tch! The fact that Violet gave us bottles of orange juice was totally irre-" He began saying but was cut off.
"It was totally relevant, actually. My lord, do you want to hear what I have to say about blood transfusion of the future? It might help you understand things." Selina said and the boy nodded. "Good, drink up then."
"Are you bribing me?!" Ciel asked surprised and angry at the same time.
"Of course." Selina responded in a very calm and matter-of-fact way that left no room for the boy to object.
And then Sebastian witnessed something spectacular, something even he could rarely achieve. Blue eyes kept staring at a blue one insistently, unyieldingly... Until the single one blinked close to defeat.
"But why do I have to drink the big glass?" Young master asked.
"I was not the one getting dizzy due to anaemia, my lord." The tutor responded; the look on her face did not change a bit.
The staring contest kept up for a few more moments and then the boy gave in, letting an exasperated "All right, all right!" taking the glass and starting drinking immediately. Selina smiled victoriously, proud of herself and drank her own juice too. Aw, how much Sebastian loved this human woman; she was quite perfect in many things, even in making young master obey an adult! Yes, he loved her, he could freely admit that to himself now and he finally began to understand the notion of love, which to the demon seemed to share some characteristics with admiration too.
"I am listening!" Ciel demanded after drinking half the glass and already munching on the second biscuit.
"All right. Blood transfusion in the future will become a routine process that will get to save millions of lives. If I am not mistaken scientists started unlocking the mysteries of blood in the first half of the 20th century..." She remained silent for a moment trying to remember if she had ever read more details on that; but then shook her head. "Anyway, what is important is that there will be identified four main types of blood – O, A, B and AB – and for the transfusion to be successful the blood type of the donor must match the one of the receiver. Some types can give to more types than just themselves but then there are more conditions to be taken into account..."
Ciel nodded, his interest piqued as soon as he heard the existence of four blood types. "I do not think we have to go into so much detail; I have no desire in gaining too much of the future knowledge... I already have a really strong taste of it through you." He said to his tutor, as she struggled to decide if she had to delve more into the issue.
Selina agreed and went on. "Not all blood types are common in the general population and that is where the difficulty of a successful transfusion lies, at least for the current era. It has been observed that AB is the rarest... the one I have and I guess you have too, my lord... since we both are under the star of Sirius." She said meaningfully.
"Interesting... they dressed their research in a beautiful celestial garment to draw people's attention, feeding them the illusion of being extraordinary creatures under the protection of rare stars, when in reality the only extraordinary and rare is their blood. Fascinating!" Sebastian said truly amused by humans' resourcefulness when it came to scamming each other.
"In short, yes. Since transfusion is not an acknowledged method, they cannot study it out in the open... although something tells me they do not do it only for the sake of scientific research... they have created an actual blood bank." Selina said thinking. "Considering the large number of people having 'read their fortune' and participating in the limited access events, they must be collecting quite the amount of blood every week... but it seems it is never enough; that is if the 'beautiful' corpses' cause of death is related to the extreme extraction of blood." She finished.
"They might channel it to black market and the demand is too high." Ciel suggested.
Selina shook her head. "I don't think so. It would be too risky with so high levels of failure... What if the customer dies because they received the wrong type of blood and their business becomes widely known? As I told you, more conditions must be met to have absolute success. It seems they have developed some very basic blood test – quite a sham in my opinion – in order to be able to determine the blood type, but they cannot do the same for the Rhesus antibody-" Selina stopped, having given more future insight than she should.
Ciel looked at her for a while with furrowed brows. "I think Sieglinde mentioned that last word one day, when she was telling me about a recent scientific article she had read... She seemed excited but said it needs more research."
"Okay... then the spoiler was small, thankfully." Selina smiled relieved.
"Well then, if black market is out of the question and you, Mrs. Selina, believe that there is more than research behind all this... then what is the reason for having a blood bank?" The boy asked trying to understand his tutor's thinking, but she also seemed to not have an answer to that.
"My lord. Do you remember how many high rank officials the Queen had sent to investigate the whole phenomenon and ended up 'converting' to this cult?" Sebastian said suddenly; the boy nodded. "I believe that such strong in mind people would not convert that easily, just because they enjoyed the jolly atmosphere of the gatherings. I am certain they are to gain something too; so what if they agreed to convert and perhaps even become patrons of the establishment, because they are in the receiving end of the blood?" The demon finished, watching the two faces in front of him opening wide eyes full of surprise.
"It is possible..." Selina said. "If they suffer from a blood disease and traditional medicine has no solution... it is very likely to turn to... alternative practices."
"Truth is, that such a grandiose establishment free of charge for all the 'services' they provide, plus the pure silver accessories they gift, needs a great monetary support. If we count in the latest equipment their experiments would need, at least one patron with a substantial fortune would be necessary and if the patron himself has something to gain… things are getting better." Ciel said certain he had finally found a path that would lead him to the solution of this case... hopefully soon enough for Elizabeth to be able to be saved. "Sebastian, let us try and see how many of the 'converted' officials in the Queen's list are still often attendees of the hall's events, limited access or not; I believe it is worth a shot." The boy smirked impishly and drank the rest of his restorative orange juice; indeed, he already felt better, less tired.
"Yes, my lord." The demon butler responded, with a similar smirk drawn on his handsome lips and bowing to the little but so sharp minded lord.
{~}
The feel of the woman's gentle fingers stroking his raven hair, while hugging his head, and the sound of her beating heart trying to settle down after such a strong and passionate lovemaking, were the definition of calm and peace for the demon as his ear was lying on Selina's chest.
For once again, his impression was verified; he would never get enough of the grey witch. Whether she was tranquil and serene - as she currently was - or wild and passionate - as a few moments ago - biting and scratching him like a wild cat, demanding he would keep loving her harder and faster, until she reached an explosive release and his thighs could not support both bodies in upright position anymore. Needless to say, both demon and witch gave and received tremendous pleasure and then collapsed back on the bed, still in each other's arms.
The scent of his blood from the rakings on his back and arms mixed with that of Selina's still faintly lingering on the crook of her elbow. He might not showed it, but inside he wanted to tear apart Blavat or anyone else who was behind this whole charade of music hall; bringing people together only to suck their blood from their veins, like a pathetic blood crazed vampire... The fact that his mate had gone through that made him mad with anger. His mouth closed over the trace of needle prick and his tongue started bathing the spot in his aura and saliva; he was pleased to hear Selina gasp from the pleasure of the contact as her whole body quivered.
"You have been quite obsessed with that spot tonight. Does your mouth or saliva have any kind of healing ability or something that I don't know?" Selina giggled, trying not to give in to him so soon; her body and breath had not recovered yet from his previous voraciously devouring of hers by his body and mouth.
Sebastian smiled on her skin and after massaging the area with his tongue for a little more, he released it and looked at her satiated, sparkling eyes. "As far as I know, I cannot heal anyone else aside myself, but... I hope I helped the blood to not clot and... I hate any scent of blood on you, other than your natural flow of course." He smirked quite smugly in the end.
Selina felt a little hot staring at him, but then giggled once again and tenderly pulled his face up for his lips to meet hers in a so soft and loving kiss; it was the demon's turn for his body to quiver. After a while they broke the kiss as Selina needed to take a breath.
"Do you really believe that the receivers of the blood transfusions are the Hall's patrons?" Selina asked Sebastian.
"Hmm..." He supported his elbow on the mattress and his head on his fist, but did not move from how his body laid half on Selina's and the rest between her spread legs; Selina's fingers moved a strand of raven hair behind his ear, she loved his unruly hair but also loved to see the expressions of his face unobstructed. "Well... I find it very likely. How else powerful and supposedly smart people would be convinced to support such a shady establishment? Just by seeing the... heaven-like atmosphere and the fraternisation of different social class people?" He chuckled mockingly.
Selina nodded. "Yes... It is quite rare yet for people to nurture such ideas in great extent, even more when they already belong to the highest social class, when they are nobility. There might be some of the patrons that are..." She paused, searching for the word.
"Naive?" Sebastian offered, arching his brows in an amused and ironic manner.
"Umm... I would like to call them good or soft-hearted." Selina said ignoring the demon's obvious sniggering. "Anyway, call it however you want, you cannot deny their existence." Sebastian just shrugged a shoulder accepting what she said. "Think of it that way. If a respectable number or people in the list are patrons because they themselves, or someone from their family receives blood... and trust me they would need it all the more oftener as their conditions would progress... the blood collected and stored would be drained in a blink of an eye."
"Do not forget the beautiful corpses. I am sure some of the donors reach their limits at some point, especially if, as you said, they were losing quite a considerable amount every week, and that is why they constantly need new members in their cult... fresh blood!"
Selina nodded thinking. "Still, I don't think the patrons-recipients can be that many... the more a secret becomes known the less of a secret it is."
"True... Perhaps even these patrons-recipients are also pawns to be used and discarded when not needed. Perhaps all this is a stage show for the sake of some selected elite." Sebastian said and shifted sitting up.
"Wow! That would be totally wicked! Using the Queen's officers as a front behind another front?!" Selina whistled once again in awe for how despicable humans could get. Then she saw Sebastian's eyes focusing on her crotch, smirking a little hungrily. "Hey!" She called while turning red.
"Speaking of blood, my dear; look who is here." The demon said making the woman curious enough to sit up and follow his eyes. Blood was coming out of her womanhood dripping on the cream coloured sheets. "See? I was right to insist on making love while we still had time." He sighed with his falsely saddened look on.
She turned her eyes on him a little annoyed and quite scandalized. "Sure, like this is stopping you when you want to do it." More blood was trickling out of her by the second and made Selina quite distressed. "I need to wash up and clean the sheets; look at the mess it made!" She said sighing.
"Well… as you yourself said, you are a messy woman!" Sebastian's eyes sparkled.
"I did? When?" She asked and turned to scarlet red when Sebastian reminded her the night after the soccer game. "Umm... It seems I did and said a lot of... important things that night." She smiled innocently, as she too remembered Sebastian narrating how her movements that night stirred his desire for her for the first time, and eventually led him to start pleasuring himself while thinking of her.
Sebastian nodded smiling as he leaned closer for a slow, seductive kiss he planted on her lips and his right hand was slipping towards the area between her legs, but Selina stopped him with an exclamation of panic as she grabbed it by the wrist. The demon looked at her questioningly and quite confused.
"How... how come you don't think of it as disgusting? Is it because it is blood? I always wonder..." She asked hesitantly.
"Well... truth is I always enjoyed blood, but not without taking into consideration the source; otherwise I would have... made Mey-Rin very happy every month during her menstruation." He chuckled seeing Selina narrowing her eyes, obviously warning him to not get any strange ideas. "Now, why should I find it disgusting, please explain. Do you find it disgusting?"
Selina rolled her eyes. "It is different for me, this blood is mine... and yes, there are times I find it disgusting... the whole process; needing to spend so much time in the toilet and wash all the time, but... it is natural to me so..." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright, then... did Paul find it disgusting?" The demon asked casually.
That left Selina speechless for a moment. "I have... no... idea. We... never discussed it and he never attempted anything... during these days." She was stealing glances at the demon, as she had no idea what reaction to expect at the mention of her previous lover.
"Then, he proves once again what a fool he was, an inappropriate mate for you." He said with his usual apathetic face, but his eyes were sparkling red fires as his hands started travelling on the woman's body. "He never found out how more beautiful and sensitive your entire body becomes. How fuller and soft your breasts are; how more supple your waist gets and your hips... so round, so perfect for my palms to hug them! Your skin so hot! And here..." All the while he was touching every part he complimented, making Selina breath heavily, shiver and moan lightly as she was melting deeper in his arms; now his hand found again her fountain of blood and gently stroked it, causing her to gasp. "He missed the chance to feel how softer and tighter your walls are when embracing me passionately, demanding that I give you everything I have in me! The flowing blood heightening the sensation so wonderfully!" His voice low and husky, whispering in Selina's ear between nibbles.
Selina had almost lost all control; she always did when her demon was getting so aroused during her period and now she could feel how hard he was. "Mmm... I-I need to get clea-" She tried to say in a last attempt to reason with him for a while.
"Oh my lady. Please allow me." Sebastian responded in a perfectly seductive voice and a matching fire in his eyes, as his lips on her skin curled in a devilish smile. He kept tasting and worshipping her body in his own way as he crawled downwards, making Selina lose all ability and intention to object when his arms gently wrapped around and spread her thighs wider and his mouth descended on her centre.
*furiously blushing at the last scene* Yeah... I-I don't know how that scene may look... Perhaps too icky? No idea!
Truth is, I have seen many people wondering how Sebastian reacts to Mey-Rin's menstruation blood (he probably doesn't react at all in the manga), and then I was discussing it with a friend when she said "But he might react to his mate's blood 😏😉!" and then the discussion moved on to how much sex while in period is still a taboo topic, when the friend said again "I don't think Sebastian would mind the blood 😏😉!"... I called her "a beast 😳!" (she laughs everytime) and then... decided to experiment! Please, let me know how do you feel about the result!
Selina's talk about blood types: I tried to limit the information she gives Ciel ahead of his time, but it felt weird to have a person from the future and not contribute at all. However, this knowledge Ciel gained will not affect the progress of the canon story, I see it mostly as background knowledge that helps him connect the dots easier. Plus... I really wanted a setting for Selina's and Ciel's staring contest, I really loved that idea! 😄
That's all for now! Till next time! Bye! 😊