For the first time that week, Ciel woke up entirely on his own instead of being coaxed awake by a maid, which was something he felt strangely happy about. He rubbed his eyes and noticed two starched uniforms hanging up on the rack; identical except one was scarlet, the other cerulean.

Time to spend several draining months at Weston. It would be bad enough on its own, but Ciel knew it would be infuriating with how much he still needed to do and everything he had to figure out.

And he had friends even, somehow. They would be hard to fool or pretend around. How could he sneak around to learn more information if they were always following him around?

No time for that now. He slowly got out of bed and stared at the uniform, running his hands down it. It was just like his old one he wore as a disguise back in the day. There was no flower pinned to the breast, only a blue-stained emblem of the school.

After the maid got him and his brother dressed, the two joined their parents at the table for breakfast.

"You two look sharp!" Rachel praised.

"You two don't have much time to eat, so you better hurry," Vincent warned.

Ciel nodded and managed to swallow down a few bites of eggs and sausages, feeling the grease wrap around his belly. He anxiously drank some tea to relieve it.

"The second semester is always more entertaining than the first," His brother commented. "The classes are lax, we have several breaks, and that annual cricket tournament too,"

Right, it was in June. At least Ciel had two months to prepare for that.

"Ah, that legendary cricket game. They say Sapphire Owl hasn't won a game in thirty years, when I finally brought my team to glory," Vincent mused.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were leading up to something," His brother laughed as he finished eating. "Come on, Cedric! I want us to get there early!" He yanked on Ciel's arm.

"What happens if we get there early?" Ciel blinked in confusion.

"Nothing. But being the first for everything is enticing, right?"

"I can't believe it! My fiancé is leaving me alone! It's your baby though!" Sieglinde sobbed dramatically as she hugged Ciel tightly.

"You're...you're not with child," Ciel said lamely, gently pushing her off.

Diedrich stared calmly at the brothers as they were handed their bags and sat in the carriage. Sieglinde waved eagerly at both, while Rachel waved a bit gently and Vincent just smiled. Ciel's brother reached out of the carriage window and waved back to everyone, while Ciel just sat back and looked outside, nursing the sickly feeling of anticipation in his stomach.

The carriage began to trot off merrily, and his brother leaned back in his own seat with a sigh. "Goodness, I thought they'd never stop waving,"

"It's an exciting time for them," Ciel responded to make conversation.

"So? This is our second year at Weston, not our first. They can relax a little,"

"Um, is there anyone you are excited to see...?"

"Not particularly. Almost everyone at Weston bores me. Even the people in my House are boring." He scoffed. "Still, a lot of people still think they're friends with me,"

Ciel blinked, unsure of how to comment.

"Better than who you have for friends. Those two follow you around like they are lost in the desert, and you are a river," He smirked.

"They are loyal..." Who even were his friends at school? Several possibilities ran through his head, and each one was worse than the last.

"Yeah. I suppose that's a word for it,"

"We have arrived, my lords," The footman responded as he carefully helped the two out of their seats. Ciel awkwardly rolled the green suitcase off the seat and down the cobbled path, looking around at the green courtyard.

"I suppose I'll see you later," His brother brushed past him as he walked off, disappearing into one of the buildings.

Ciel couldn't quite remember how the schedule was supposed to go, but he also didn't want to stand around foolishly, so he hightailed it over to a bench and sat down, putting on a show of checking his belongings.

Edward either hadn't arrived yet or hadn't seen him, and that suited him just fine. He needed absolutely no distractions as he tried to piece together what his next plan of action should be-

"Phantomhive! Phantomhive!" A familiar and energetic voice shouted at him.

Oh, goodness, no.

"Phantomhive!" The face of Norman Mcmillian soon caught up to the voice as he rushed towards Ciel in a frenzy, books about to fall out of his arms. "I wanted to greet you when you arrived, but I couldn't see your carriage! The madness! Anyway, we have a lot to catch up on, right?"

"...Y-You should give him a break. He just arrived here," A timid voice scolded Mcmillian lightly, and Ciel looked over to see the trembling form of Joanne Harcourt, clutching his own stack of books.

They seemed awfully familiar with him, which meant...

These two must've been his mysterious Weston friends.

Norman made sense; they had a connection, however small it was, months ago when Ciel infiltrated the school. They were the same age, from the same House; if they were outcasts, it made sense. Joanne, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. He was a year older than Ciel was, and a member of Scarlet Fox. Maybe he too, was just clinging to the first person he saw with no friends and they all took it from there.

"Right! We have to get our schedules for the new semester, and set up our dorms, and learn who we're going to be Fag to...!" Norman gasped. "There is absolutely no time to talk at all!" He jumped up and yanked on Ciel's arm, tugging him along. Joanne hurried after them.

"Um, I actually just came from getting my schedule..." He reached into his bag and pulled out the paper, holding it in front of his face. "Lord Whitehall gave it to me,"

"So our Dormitory Masters are giving them to us this year? Makes perfect sense!" Norman nodded. "Then let's head in that direction, Phantomhive!"

"I just got here. Don't you think we should take it a bit slow?" Ciel asked slowly. He swallowed down a cough.

"Today's a rest day! We will have plenty of time to rest later!" Norman insisted.

Joanne followed them for a little bit longer before they approached the entrance for Sapphire Owl and split off, running in another direction.

"If he's from another House, why do you allow him to be so close to us?" Ciel asked without thinking.

"Well, we can trust Harcourt, right? I mean, think back to how you met him!"

"I'm recovering from a fever. Jog my memory," Not technically a lie.

"He kind of owes his life to you. And you did a noble thing. Your first year here, we were all taken out to go ice-skating on the Thames to celebrate the season. Harcourt kept to himself and skated near the edges. But then, another member from Scarlet Fox grabbed him and threw him close to the middle. He was shaken up and laid there as the ice cracked around him. You noticed what was happening before anyone else did, even your brother, and you skated over and yanked him off the ice before he fell in. Ever since then, he has been eternally grateful," Norman nodded at the end of his story.

"Was that student expelled?" Ciel questioned. It didn't really seem like something he'd do, but he did recall saving Joanne in his own universe from getting eaten by a zombified Derrick. So perhaps it wasn't that far-fetched of an idea after all.

"I'm actually not sure," Norman thought about it. "They were at least suspended,"

"They should've been expelled," Ciel mumbled to himself as he continued to follow Norman. Everything was a blur as he received his schedule and Fag information. The only thing he really registered was that he'd be sharing a dorm with Norman; apparently, for the second time that year.

"Who's our Dormitory Master?" He finally asked Mcmillian after a lull in their unpacking.

"You don't remember? Mr. Tiwise," Mcmillian responded as he set some books on his bookshelf carefully. "He's the one Sapphire Owl has had for the longest,"

Ciel sat down on his bed as he mulled over that thought. Not Sebastian, clearly. So maybe Sebastian wasn't at the school? It certainly didn't seem like a place he'd willingly involve himself in.

Most of his side was decorated already; painted a faint pastel green with a small bookshelf. Lots of pictures of him with his family or Sieglinde were on the walls. He brought no other decorations with him, thus he didn't need to spend any more time on it like his roommate.

"I'm going to the library," He announced, not bothering to look back at Norman. He didn't even catch what he said before the door shut. He maintained his composure for the whole walk, looking around at the tall, expansive shelves.

Where on Earth would he even begin? What he sought answers about was something that only existed in fiction. He still didn't fully believe that a measly wish on one small star caused all of this.

But what other answer was there?

Perhaps he had finally died in his sleep one night and this was his eternal life. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine as he reached the more fantastical fiction part of the library.

He slowed his pace and pulled some books off the shelf that caught his eye, carrying them in his arms and hurrying over to a random nearby empty table. He was suddenly thankful the library was quiet and empty of students. He placed the rest of the books in a pile as he pulled open the one on top, reading through the content table and flipping through a few pages.

M. Strider reported being quite disoriented and confused for a few days after making a wish and seemingly hitting his head the same night before waking up in a world different from his own where his beloved sister never died. After those few days, his memories had begun to change into memories of that world. He still retained his old ones and they lived alongside the new ones. However, M. was also reported to have heavily dabbled in natures of the occultic type and was found dead a few weeks later, his poisoned body afloat in the Thames as a disposal method. His sister still remains missing.

A. Rutt claimed to have wished upon a star on a random whim on a certain night. Upon waking up the next day, he found himself in a new world where he was married to his childhood sweetheart and inherited the family business instead of his brother, who had evidently died in this world. He reported gaining new memories of this life after a few days that existed among his older memories. Unfortunately, A. was found strangled to death in his bed after nearly a month. Further investigations into the case found he was a frequent opium user and dabbler in occultic rituals; his wife later described him as 'a greedy soul who was willing to summon a beast from the depths of Hell if it meant succeeding in his work,' As of the time of this report, his wife is unable to be found to comment further.

S. Adams said after she wished on a star for a different life, she randomly grew ill and fainted; when she came to, her life had been changed for the better. Her husband was a kind man, her parents were still alive, and she had a child and remained fertile, unlike in her old world where she was rendered infertile due to an accident. After a few disorientating days, she found new memories had come to her, along with her older ones from her previous world. After a few months, her maid admitted to stabbing her and burying her in the grounds of her husband's estate; the maid in question was arrested immediately. Further investigation found she was a member of an occultic group focused on reanimating the dead; her maid escaped from prison and vanished into the night, leaving behind a note written in blood on her cell wall that simply read: 'I am not who you think I am. I am not human, nor am I from this world,' Officials are still searching for her. The husband and child were also unable to be found for comment.

A loud thump at the back of the library made Ciel jump, which he instantly scolded himself for. His hands flew to his pocket quickly, grasping at air. He widened his eyes. His gun was missing!

He silently stood and folded the books up into other shelves, stepping lightly back to his dorm. The halls were dark and filled with shadows, while the actual school grounds were covered in a murky, claustrophobic darkness. An owl hooted somewhere.

Ciel hurried back to his dorm, silently shutting the door and blinking at the dimmed candle by his bedside. Norman must've left it there for him when he returned so he could see his bed.

He picked up the candle, marveling at how low it had burned. Was he really gone for that long? He walked over to Norman's mirror and just gazed at himself.

His hand slowly moved towards his face, running down the smooth surface. He rested that same hand briefly on his hair, playing with it. It fell in a certain way; the fringe parted back to the right to almost partially cover up his eye.

Two pristine blue eyes blinked back at him, wide and full of confusion. Neither was marred by a contract mark.

Next, he brought his hand over to his earlobes and gently squeezed one, feeling the smooth, unbroken surface. No earrings.

Finally, he swallowed back a shudder and threw up his jacket and shirt, tightening his grip on the candle as he craned his neck to look at the side. He ran his hand down that surface as well, feeling unbroken, soft skin. He bit back a gasp when he expected to feel the remains of burnt blisters on his back and came up with nothing.

He nervously brought his hand up and touched the mirror, the shadows cast by the candle making his features appear longer.

What did those reports mean? Everyone had made a wish similar to his in an identical way. After a few days, they recalled their wishful lives. Then, in the span of a few weeks to a few months, they were killed in brutal ways, their lives seemingly back to normal. Everyone had some sort of tie to the occult or darker side of England. Ciel would never admit it, but those coincidences scared him. There had to be some sort of way to reverse everything before he got killed.

An inky shadow rose up behind Ciel's reflection, and he raised the candle up slightly to reveal two glowing red eyes. A wet hand grabbed Ciel's shoulder roughly, making him scream and drop the candle. Flames trickled out onto the floor, as the hand snaked around and muffled Ciel's mouth before he could scream again.

And that was when everything went dark for him.