Christmas Interlude Part 2

Finny, as it turned out, was undeterred by Blaire's complaints regarding the mistletoe. The Christmas tree was beautiful, but after being trapped in a lab for so long, he wanted the full shebang, as Bard had so poetically put it.

Unfortunately, his time spent trapped in a laboratory had left him with strength which could rival a team of horses. A strength which he was now rather enthusiastically using to hang mistletoe from the chandeliers. As it often did, his enthusiasm got the better of him.

Blaire's screech resounded and reverberated through the entrance hall when she trotted in after Sebastian, having been Christmas shopping on behalf of Ciel. The presents she had been charged with carrying clattered to the floor, their expensive contents forgotten.

"Finny!" She screeched, rushing to retrieve the fallen ladder.

The exuberant gardener, noble as his intentions were, had found himself entangled in a web of greenery, hanging precariously above the marble floor. Unable to determine where Finny started and the wild vines of mistletoe ended, Blaire placed the ladder below his feet, attempting to climb up and assist him.

"It's quite alright Blaire! Think if I just-" But Blaire was determined to get him down before a vine made its way around his neck. How any of the servants were still standing amazed her every day. Before she could step onto the ladder however, she heard the sound of someone snapping their fingers, before Finny was released from his festive bindings, dropping down and sending the ladder with him. Unfortunately for Blaire, she happened to be stationed at the base of the ladder when this transpired.

She felt the ladder make painful contact with her leg, before she was hauled backwards, away from the devastation. Sebastian had pulled her away before she'd had the chance to even process what had happened.

"If you had allowed me-" Sebastian began, but Blaire wasn't listening. She rushed to Finny's side.

"Are you alright Finny?"

"Been in worse situations, don't worry 'bout me!" He chirped, as though he hadn't just fallen from great height.

"And how is Bardroy getting on with the pudding?" Sebastian chimed in, his face bland and unamused.

"You'll need to ask him sir."

It was precisely at that moment the three heard an eruption of colorful language all the way from the kitchen. Followed by a very loud bang.

Blaire and Sebastian exchanged a glance. Even Blaire thought that Bard could have handled the simple recipe. The two were soon rushing down the hallway, disappearing into the smoke.

"I do so hope that one day, the young Master allows me to give up pretenses. A click of my fingers and everything would be done within moments." Complained Sebastian.

"Literally never gonna happen." Blaire sighed.

"You are the only competent servant in this entire household. Thus, the duty to prepare Christmas pudding is now yours. I will clean up Bardroy's…"

Blaire began hacking violently, the smoke now so thick that she could hardly see Sebastian at all. She used her sleeve to cover her nose and mouth, her eyes watering.

"…effusion." Sebastian finished.

"Deal." She heaved out.

Blaire nearly screamed (again) when she stumbled into the kitchen after hours in search of something to munch on. It was completely dark, save for one singular oil lamp, illuminating Sebastian's face. He was chopping up a bar of chocolate while some milk bubbled on the stove.

"Isn't Ciel in bed?"

"Indeed, he is. This isn't for him."

She stared at him for a moment, cogs turning. He didn't look up at her, and if she didn't know him better, she may have thought that he was deliberately avoiding eye-contact. But she did know him better, and as far as she was concerned, Sebastian wasn't exactly shy. Midnight snack forgotten about, (she knew that he knew what she was up to but she was unwilling to snack in front of him, thank you very much) she backed out of the kitchen very slowly.

"Didn't know you liked hot chocolate. I better be off-"

"It's for you. Sit down."

Blaire's stomach flipped. Oh, this couldn't have been good. Had she done something wrong? It seemed as though they had been getting on unusually well today. The other servant's incompetence had been a strange source of bonding for the two, as they had teamed up to right the wrongs of Phantomhive manor. Then her eyes widened.

The gifts. She had dropped the gifts when she had rushed over to help Finny.

He seemed calm. But he also seemed calm all of the times he'd-

She swallowed thickly. She couldn't even stand to think of it. But then, as she was beginning to panic, a sense of peace and serenity enveloped her like a weighted blanket. Something seemed to urge her on, something was telling her that she was going to be okay.

…peace child… here….alright…

"Sorry?" She asked.

"I said sit down."

"I thought I heard…" Sebastian looked at her, and the shade of his eyes communicated his sour mood. She decided that she best do as he asked. She sat across the counter from him. Then she remembered the hot chocolate that he was making by hand. Why would he be making her a drink if she was in trouble. Maybe he poisoned it? Nah, it wasn't his style.

"You thought you heard something?"

"Yeah, but…"

"And have you been feeling oddly at piece lately?"

She frowned. "Yeah. It's Christmas."

"I do so wish that Christmas made the human race docile. But no, that's not the reason." He scowled.

"How'd you know?"

"Your… little friend visited you while we were in Ludlow."

Blaire's frown deepened. "I don't have any friends."

The statement seemed to catch Sebastian off-guard. "Of course, you have- the angel, Blaire. Your angel visited you while you slept." He sneered at her as if it was her somehow fault.

"Oh." She smiled, perking up. "Angela. Why? Why didn't she come while I was awake?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, and she thought she saw his eyelid twitch for a second. "That is completely beside the point. I was going to try and be gentle but given the situation… What I am trying to say, is that the angel bonded itself to you. The angel has taken you as… a consort. Or a possession, more likely. That is why you have been feeling out of sorts."

She stared at him blankly, trying to process his outburst. "I doubt she would-"

"Have you not been hearing its voice in your mind?"

"Not really-"

"Have you not seen your neck?"

"No?"

"Have the blisters not been irritating you?"

"…no…? Blisters?" Now concerned, she pulled the high-neck of her uniform down and felt around her neck, pausing when she felt a raised cluster of unpleasant texture. Her lip curled in disgust. "The hell is this?"

"Hell has nothing to do with your predicament."

"But what does any of this mean?"

"Angels don't usually perform such an… obscene act on humans. As such, I do not know what the future entails for you. Given that your apparent blind spot is your own self, I suspect that you are no more in the clear than I." Blaire nodded in confirmation. The technicality of her lie felt unusually heavy on her conscious. "What I can tell you is this. Your thoughts are no longer your own. The angel will be able to see and feel everything that you do. And vice versa. If I harm the angel, you will feel it. If the angel perishes, you will feel it, and it will not be pleasant. And that, is the only reason why I haven't…" He trailed off

"Well… I'm fine. I feel better than I have since I got here. Why do you hate angels so much? Weren't demons all angels at one time?"

His lips pressed into a grim line. "I don't hate all angels, per se. Just the ones that see fit to interfere with the affairs of others. Which admittedly, is all of them."

"But isn't that what you did to Ciel?" He glared at her and she regretted the question as soon as it left her lips. "I mean… what made you so different. What made you so… bad?"

"A rather personal question."

"I'm sorry I've just… I never believed in God or anything like that. And then I met you, and Grell and Angela. And I've been wondering lately. About how the world really works. Where we all came from. Because to be honest… I always saw the Bible... religion really, as complete…" She cleared her throat.

Sebastian sighed. "I apologise for my umbrageousness. Many humans simply don't see me for what I am. This body, this face, is merely a front for a vastness that would be unintelligible for a human. Most humans. The values of good and bad are uniquely human concepts. Gods, angels and demons… have a different view entirely. Everything can be boiled down to a game. Demons simply have to play by different rules. Given that we must consume the souls of others to survive, those who are cunning, who are patient with the capacity to be callous, are simply more likely to survive. We are more likely to win. Besides, I believe you had a liver from a pig for your dinner tonight? We aren't so different."

Blaire sat in stunned silence. "But you…" Sebastian tilted his head questioningly. "...what did you do to become a demon?"

"It is not something that I did, exaclty. It simply happened. Angel's are empathic beings. The things they feel, they shaped us. Carrying across the dark. The human tendency for war and corruption… made us like this. The rules of the game changed. The more time we spent among humans, the more corrupt we became. It's only a matter of time before angels are extinct."

"Demons are bad… because of humans? But aren't humans like…. Made in the image of God? Is that part right?"

"If man is corrupt, and man is made in the image of his god, then doesn't it stand to reason that God is a corrupt entity? Or perhaps, it is just as I said; your human view of good and bad are utterly meaningless. No one is completely good, and therefore, everyone must be bad. That is, according to the disciples of the light. Those who go against what is normal are strange. They are deformed monsters. Punished for asking the wrong questions with a veracious appetite for souls to replace the one they lost."

An uneasy feeling crept into Blaire's veins like mould. "Maybe… maybe I misunderstood you."

"So you will no longer be afraid of me?"

"...I don't know about that."

It was then that the clock chimed midnight, causing her to jump from her seat. A glimmer of amusement shone in Sebastian's eyes and he smirked.

"Merry Christmas sir."

I'm aware that this chapter is very Christian-centric. This is simply a side effect of the anime being about demons (and angels) in a Victorian England, which was a Christian centric time. I think all religions are supposed to be real in the Black Butler universe. If anyone isn't Christian and feels that this chapter maybe wasn't inclusive of everyone's world view, rest assured, I'm an atheist and do not discriminate between religions.

A merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!