Chapter 49:
Dead plants and plants that I don't think I had never seen before littered the entire front of the mansion. Everything looked as if a hurricane had run through it and had blown everything to the side. The bushes were trimmed to look like awkwardly shaped mushrooms - so awkward to the point where they looked like human appendages of the lower regions. There were melted candles or candles in the process of melting strewn all over the front of the manor. Though, the only piece of furniture that looked as if it could save the entire place was the moss infected water fountain in the center of the front yard. It shocked me to find that the inside didn't look like a complete wasteland as the outside had.
The other servants waited in the entrance hall of the manor, while the master, Sebastian and I ended up in the dining hall of the manor with Sullivan's servant placing her in a chair. From the position she was in, I couldn't help but notice her feet. They were smaller than what they should have been. Was it a defect upon birth? Did her feet just naturally grow to that size? It was also strange that her butler carried her everywhere without placing her on the ground, save for when he placed her in the chair.
"Wolfram," I was brought out of my thoughts once I heard the little girl speak. "Prepare everything. Also, show the servants their rooms."
"Yes."
Silence engulfed the room leaving us in a somewhat awkward position. The young master made the situation more awkward once he turned towards our host who tried speaking to him in German. His awkward demeanor caused our demon to chuckle in amusement.
"I'm sorry. The young master isn't fluent in German quite yet."
I stood behind the Earl confused. There was never a doubt in my mind that he hadn't been learning other languages, but it never occurred to me that he was attempting to learn German. French seemed like the only language that he would learn. But, then again, living in a circus there was no need to learn other languages other than your own.
The atmosphere was once again awkward with the quiet consuming the room. It felt like ages as we all waited for the green witch's butler to come back with the meal. The little girl's stomach growled in the silence.
"My stomach is telling me that I need food..." She patted her stomach.
Sebastian responded in kind and left once she gave him permission to. Now that Sebastian had gone after the butler, I stood closer to the Earl and watched as they sat in silence. The little girl, with determination masking her face, she turned towards the young master and began speaking.
For the most part, understanding what she was saying was still a bit difficult, and I still hadn't been able to comprehend the reason for being able to understand German since we've arrived. But, as I stood next to them, there was little words that I was able to understand.
"I believe she's asking for either your name or Sebastian's, young master."
"Do you know how to speak German?"
"No. I'm not even sure how I understand it in the first place..."
"Sebastian... my... butler," he choked out.
The young lord gave a silent celebration, causing a small chuckle to leave me in small breaths.
She then continued asking something about the whereabouts of his parents. Ciel's face darkened slightly from the question, but still kept a demeanor befitting of a sophisticated noble.
Soon, his smile turned force as he sat there. Oddly enough, Sebastian was taking longer than all of us would like. It caused a bit of concern to run through me.
"Young master?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you like me to go and see what Sebastian and the butler are doing?"
"No, that's alright. I believe Sebastian will be back soon."
It wasn't too long that Sebastian came back with the green witch's butler and two carts of food. I gave an inward sigh of relief. The room was too silent and the young master's quiet panicking was too overwhelming.
Our butler presented the meal with as much grace as a black swan. The little girl in front of us, although small, tore through the piece of meat as if it was running away from her. I hadn't seen anyone eat like her since Doll from the circus. A small twinge erupted in my heart, but was soon ebbed away as I spotted the shocked faces of the phantomhive household. Both sputtered in disgust and in awe at the little girl in front of us.
"Lord Wolfram!" A shout ejected from the double doors to the room. A busty woman, with her face red from what looked to be worry and anger, barged in.
"Werewolves...come!" It was only a couple of words but I understood what she was trying to say. It seemed that the young Earl had understood as well.
Wolfram grabbed Lady Sullivan and quickly followed the woman. Ciel gave Sebastian a look and both followed with me tugging behind them.
"Celesta, stay here. I need you to keep an eye on the servants."
"But-"
"No arguing. They are more trouble than they are worth and I need you to ensure they are not destroying another's property."
"Alright."
I watched as they left. I was seething over the fact that they had left me to watch over the other servants. They had enough common sense to understand what to do and what not to do when at another's house, or at least that's what I assumed.
The stump of my wing started to ache once more, but the feeling was burning and starting to become more troublesome. It was almost as if someone had set the stump on fire and it slowly consuming every feeling in my body.
It wasn't until long that I felt a presence from behind me. I couldn't tell who it was. In the next moment I was lifted and carried inside of the mansion. There were voices ringing in my ears, but the burning sensation in my wing was growing by the second and soon my eyes were seeing black dots.
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"What happened?" Ciel asked next to the sleeping maid.
"We dunno," Bard answered, rubbing his neck. "We were watching you all from the front door and then she fell over in pain... I brought her to a bed but I dunno what's wrong with her."
Ciel looked over to Sebastian with a questioning glance. His butler's eyes were furrowed and tensed as he stared at the woman on the bed.
"Leave Sebastian and I."
"Yes, young master."
The room was silent with the two left. An awkward cough erupted from the child as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"What are you thinking, Sebastian?"
"Do you think she will be alright?"
"I'm not sure, young master."
Sebastian moved his hand over to her forehead and felt how hot it had become. Celesta's face was hot and her cheeks were getting red.
Sebastian's thoughts were conflicted. It was moments like these that he couldn't really make a decision between what he wanted to do and what he should do. He was even lucky that the young master had grown to like the fallen angel a little more throughout the time she was with them, but to say that he liked her enough to forget the mission was an over statement. In this moment, he would be forced to wait for her to wake up.
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"Where are you~?"
'Where am I?'
"Where are you~?"
'Where's who?' I couldn't help but think.
"You~"
It seemed that I still had my eyes closed. So opening them, the the guest room that I found myself in was slightly different than what I remembered seeing. The emerald green wallpaper had gotten slightly darker, almost similar to a forest green. The pure cotton of the sheets felt more rough than even the servants sheets and the room's atmosphere seemed darker, even with the glowing light behind the closed curtains.
As I moved to get out of the bed, a prickly feeling caused goosebumps on my arms to rise. I looked around the room, still seated on the side of the bed, in order to try and see if there's was something or someone lurking in the shadows. Or even if it was Sebastian trying to play a trick on me. But it didn't seem to be Sebastian.
I stood from the bed and made my way to the curtain in the room. My hand grabbed it to pull it open.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
My left wing retracted immediately and the stump of what remained of my right wing began to burn. I winced in slight pain. I turned around and noticed the man sitting where I once sat, his right leg crossed over the other while his arms held him up from leaning backwards.
"Who are you?"
"That doesn't matter. Right now, all that matters is that you listen."
"You're American."
"I'm glad you're smart enough to come to that conclusion. But that's not what's important." The man stood from the bed and walked further from me and closer to the door. "It would be wise of you to follow."
I hesitantly left the safety of the window behind me and followed the man to the hallway outside.
"Why is everything slightly different?"
"So you've noticed that as well? Well, you are perceptive as they say."
"They?"
"You'll see..."
I followed the man down the hall and into what the similarly crafted entrance of the manor. The man in front of me held the door open. I glanced cautiously to the man who only tilted his head slightly in the direction of the outside world.
The mysterious aura emitting from the man standing in front of me was causing me to stay put in the position that I was in. I stared at him, eyes unwavering and eyelids forming a glare.
"Why should I?"
"Do you not want the answers that you've been searching for? About your mother and father?"
I stood in silence. This man was either lying to me or telling me the truth and I couldn't tell anything through the condescending look that he gave me.
"I wanna know who the hell you are."
He chuckled. "In due time, but for now we must go."
A force pulled me forward towards the door ahead of me. The wind was knocked slightly from my lungs but I managed to gather myself before I found myself outside.
I looked around and my eyes burned from the brightness of everything surrounding me. Everything was much greener and lively than the actual mansion. My face voiced my confusion without me having to say anything.
"Welcome to where angels reside in heaven."
I stared at him with eyes wide open.
"I'm in heaven?"
"Technically speaking, yes. Not where those who have passed reside, but heaven nonetheless."
The dead trees and bushes that I had judged not too long ago were now fully grown and thriving. The lawn was also fully grown and looked freshly trimmed, with each point of grass being exactly the same length as the previous. The melted candles and mushroom bushes were all replaced with round bushes and lamps similar to those on the streets of London. Altogether, it was much more clean and welcoming.
"What am I doing here?"
"Walk with me and I will explain to you."
He motioned me forward and didn't start walking until I stood a good bit closer to him. Both of began trekking down the walkway of the manor.
"I believe you know that your father is an angel... or at least was an angel. As you know, he became a fallen angel and has perished from us."
I continued looking around me as he spoke, listening to everything that the man next to was saying.
"And as you know, he fell in love with a woman who was not... like us."
This caused me to glare at him slightly. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"As I'm sure you must be aware of, your mother was a chimera, as species that is close to extinction in a world like ours."
I scoffed at his excuse of a cover up. As a person of low income and very little hope, the meaning behind his words were all too visible. Though, one thing that I did learn from being with Sebastian and Ciel, that I should hear them first before kicking their asses for a statement they shouldn't have made.
"It was because of that, that a group of powerful people were searching for something they had created, that they had given birth to."
"Hmm."
"As a hybrid, you are very powerful. And if the wrong person, or the wrong people were to find you... well, the consequences would be most misfortunate."
"Do you know of the people that were hunting my parents?"
"We aren't too sure, but we might have a clue."
My eyes fully focused on the male in front of me. There were two thoughts in my head, and both were conflicting me. Should I trust this man, or at least give the benefit of the doubt to him after just being (most likely) kidnapped by this same man? Is he even telling the truth? Why is he telling me this now instead of years ago if I was so important? Nothing he was saying was making any sense.
"As you know, the practice of Greek religion has been dwindling since the rise of Christianity..." He continued walking in front of me. "I'm well aware that you aren't religious, so none of this will make a difference to your opinion on religion, but it is the beginning of the story, so please bare with me."
The gate passed the manor was different. The hidden town wasn't as hidden as it was before, seeing as how there was a pathway that led through the woods to where the closest town was. The trees were still sticking up from the ground, but they were much more inviting than those previously.
"As Greek religion became less apparent throughout the world with the rise of Christianity, more and more of your kind began to dwindle with the lack of faith."
"What?"
"Because less humans believe in chimeras' and similar creatures, they have begun dying at alarming rates."
"So you're saying that creatures that don't belong on Earth, only exist because humans believe they do?"
"Yes... and no. Humans' belief in us gives us strength. If humans were to stop believing in us, we would become weak, and brittle. Whether that be physically or mentally."
"Alright..."
"But, there is one being that exists in all religions, but goes under multiple alias'. That, my friend, is God."
As he had said, I'm not one to follow religion. But, I don't chastise others for believing in what they choose to believe in. But a part of me, the more emotional side of me, chose to scoff.
"Considering the fact that demons and grim reapers exist I'm not too surprised that He exists too... My only problem, is why I'm here and what does God have to do with me? You told me to hear you out, but how can I when you haven't even told me your name."
I was growing frustrated. The man in front of me seemed nothing but calm as my voice grew more agitated. He reminded me too much of when I first met Sebastian.
"In due time. For now, I must send you back."
"What?"
"Until we meet again, Miss Bird."
"Wait-"
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My eyes fluttered open. I could feel my entire body moving as if I had been asleep for decades.
Once I fully opened my eyes I was meant with reddish eyes, eyes that were familiar to me.
I looked around the room, thankful that everything was just as clean and old as it had been when I first arrived. I couldn't tell if that was a dream or not, but if it was real, I'd need to figure out what to do.
"Celesta are you alright?"
"I'm alright, Sebastian. Just a little... dream."
His eyes were staring into my soul. At this point I knew that he didn't believe me, but even I knew I was wishfully thinking.
"Sebastian..."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever met an angel?"
Sebastian's fingers went to the edge of his chin in thought. "I have encountered quite a few, but they were only passing by."
"Sebastian... I'm so tired."
"You may go back to sleep if you wish, my dear."
"I can't. I'll go back if I do."
Sebastian's face morphed into one of concern and anxiousness. "To where?"
"There was a man. He wouldn't tell me his name, but he said he was an angel and that we were in heaven... I don't know if it was real or if it was just a dream."
"Was there a name?"
I looked at him confused. "No name... why?"
Sebastian stood from the edge of the bed that he was sitting on and began to walk towards the curtain of the room. The image of the snow white room flashed in my head, causing me to realize that this was the exact same room from my supposed dream and not the servants quarters that I should be in.
"Although demons have the same ability, angels seem to enjoy using it more than we do... the ability to be in ones head."
"So he was in mine?"
"Very much so. What did he look like?"
"Close to pale white, with long blonde hair. His eyes were grey and his face was thin. I don't remember much else."
"Hmmm. We might have a problem on our hands besides this case."
"The case! Have you found anything out yet? How long have I been asleep?"
"There is no need to worry, Celesta. You were only asleep for a day. However, the young master is gravely ill. During the previous night the young master and I went to the forest to investigate and he became ill with a chemical that was released. However, I do not have the full details of it yet. Finny is currently looking after the young master since he has gained... an aversion to adults."
"Damn it... So I'm useless..."
"Not entirely."
