You guys know that I feel so bad every single time that I have an authors note after almost a year of not uploading. Or even longer than a year. But I swear this story is coming to a close. The only thing that I can say to defend myself is that I am still in school. Thankfully no longer high school but I am studying to become a teacher to educate the young ones and hopefully for those of you who have stuck with me through thick and thin can stick with me for just a little bit longer. But I hope that this longer than normal chapter is a good peace offering for now. ^_^

Chapter 50:

The young master looked pitiful in the state that I found him in. I stood in the room alone with him and Finny, waiting to find the right moment to say something.

Sebastian had told me that only Finny was allowed to touch him so far, but it was more concerning that it was actually true. So while I stood there, arms crossed and skeptical, I watched while the young master held on to Finny, his back against the headboard of the bed and blindly looking forward.

"Finny..." Ciel's ears perked up, but thankfully no screaming. "How is the young master doing?"

"He's alright, for now. Young master, do you remember Celesta? She was a little sick before so she couldn't come, but now she's here," he said softly.

Ciel looked in the general direction of Finny and answered. "Yes I remember. She can come further..."

I walked slowly towards them, waiting for any sign of discomfort from the child in the bed. So far I was able to get directly behind Finny without too much of a problem, but when I got closer I noticed something off about the young master's left eye. It looked clouded and unusable. It made sense why he was so panicked. It looked as if he was literally blinded by something.

I tried imprinting an image for him to see, some cats and dogs on the floor and a ball of yarn that they were playing with, but nothing came from the young master. It seemed that he truly was blinded by the miasma.

"Would you like to hold my hand, young master?" I asked softly to not startle him.

He gave a small nod and left go of Finny. He held his hand out, the palm facing down as I latched onto it softly.

"You're warm..." he said softly.

It was sad to see the young master this way. The strong and resilient child that I came here with was being buried beneath this scared child. It only made sense. The Miasma that they encountered had rendered him frail and scared of the world around him. So metaphorically speaking, even if he couldn't see, he only saw a scary world.

The door opened and I turned my head to noticed the black clad butler that had yet to show up today. He tried talking to the young master, only for him to let go of my hand to grab a pillow and throw it in the direction of the demon, leaving feathers to fly all over the place.

"Get out!"

"Understood."

He looked pissed off. I would be too if I was in this situation.

"Young master," I said, putting his attention back to me, "I need to go and help with manors preparations, as well as Finny."

"Alright..."

His answer was quiet and unwilling, but in the end, he laid back down and closed his eyes, position himself as a fetus. We left the room quietly and made our way down to the kitchens.

I couldn't help but be concerned for not only the young master, but for Sebastian as well. It wasn't common for the demon to be away from the child, let alone for the child in question to be so mentally detached to the point where Sebastian had to be away.

Finny and I made it to the kitchen. Everyone else, including three women from the village, were in the manor. Everyone relaxed and chatting in murmurs while we waited for the next batch of orders.

It wasn't long until Sebastian came down into the kitchens. He gave everyone their orders, including handing over Ciel to Finny. It was an odd rule, and it caused Finny to panic seeing as how he'd never had the need to look after the young master before, but accepted it for the sake of the situation.

"Celesta, can I have a word with you for a moment?"

The others went to do their chores. Wolfram stayed in the room, glaring at Sebastian to the best of his abilities.

"Does he understand English?"

"I don't think he does, but either way I would like to talk with you in private."

We stepped away from the others, with Sebastian having to tell Wolfram to stay where he was as he attempted to follow us through the door. We stood outside of the kitchen doors and got to business.

"Were you able to try and lesson his aversion towards adults?"

"No. From what you told me about the miasma earlier, it seems that it's a little too true. I can't even put images in front of him. His eye has gone completely blind with fear..." I looked down, crossing my arms in disappointment. "At this point, I think the best thing to do is to just sock it to him. The others might not appreciate it, but I think that's the only thing that can work."

Sebastian hummed in agreement. He then placed his head in the crook of my neck. It was surprisingly delicate, the gesture.

"Are you alright as well, my mate?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I haven't been able to protect you as much as I need to. I feel as if there is a force that is preventing me from protecting you." (A.k.a me because I haven't updated in a minute)

"It's fine Sebastian. But I do have to say that I still appreciate you still caring for me, even if it is by saying I want to protect you instead of be with you. But, to each their own," I joked.

His arms went around my waist, his head still floating slightly above me shoulder. It felt nice, small moments like these. I knew we hadn't spent much quality couple time with each other, but I was fine with that. It was the small things that mattered more to me then anything. I didn't need for him to garner me with flowers every single day, and I sure as hell didn't need him kissing me in public every two seconds. I may not have been a demon, but I prefer to keep affection private from prying eyes, even hand holding.

Though, it was a bit hard to be content with our situation as well. We've only ever kissed a handful of times, making me feel that this mating thing was just a gimmick of demonic lore that was a self-fulfilling prophecy amongst those that were just lonely. But even then, I should feel happy that he would even choose me if that was the case.

But, I was also being very selfish. I wanted nothing of this relationship, causing me to forget that it even existed sometimes. But when I was reminded in moments like these, I wished nothing more for time to stop so I can revel in the little bit of happiness that I felt. Even if it was from a demon.

It wasn't long before Sebastian stood and composed himself, turning to head back into the kitchen. With Wolfram at the door, and Sebastian almost hitting him, I went back to the young master. I feared that Finnian could only do so much by himself, so I needed to help him with what the young master needed.

"Finny, how is everything going so far? Is the young master liking his milk and honey?"

Finny nodded and eyed the young master. He sat with his back against the bed frame once again, but this time the blankets were hanging slightly lower on his frame. She was able to finally see the healing process from the miasma and grew guilty for not being able to help.

"Young master," Finny began, "when you're done, I think we should go outside."

"I don't want to go outside," Ciel whined, curling his knees up to his chest. "Outside is scary."

"It'll be fine! If scary things come, I'll get rid of all of them! And Celesta can help me as well! Right Celesta?!"

He looked over to me with hope and determination in his eyes. I couldn't help but think that if Finnian was just a little bit smarter, he would have made a great butler. But for now, he'll be the perfect younger brother instead.

"Of course. If I couldn't protect the young master, then what kind of maid would I be?"

"Right! I've decided, ever since you gave me this name, that I would protect you no matter what!"

"But... I'm not worth protecting..." Ciel said glumly, now hiding his gaze from the both of us. "It shouldn't be me... just..."

He looked up with tears in his eyes. It was hard to see. I had never seen the young master actively crying. I knew that it was basically against his will, but it was still hard to see him cry and not know what to do. Even in his normal state, this would have been a thing that couldn't easily be solved.

"That's not true! You made into Finnian! Before I was just number 12! You're just a little scared because you were hurt," Finnian's tears began escaping his tear ducts in waves, matching the young masters pace. All I could do was watch while they both cried. "But it's fine, because I'm sure that Mr. Sebastian will do something about it!"

"I don't want him near me!" Ciel grabbed his head, his bandaged arms on full display as he threw all of the cover off of his person. There was a small knock on the door causing me and Finnian to look at each other. I pressed me finger against my lips, motioning for him to stay quiet while I opened the door.

I could sense Sebastian's presence as well as the little girl.

I opened the door, letting Sebastian in and watched as he made his way across the room to reach the young master's bed. His footsteps were just as quiet as a cat treading through tall grass.

"Young master, Master Sullivan has come to visit you!" he said with a smile on his face.

"How are you?" she said in broken English. I was surprised and moved closer to eye Sebastian. He eyed the chair in the corner of the room, leaving me to grab it quickly. I placed it beside the left side of the bed. Sebastian soon put down master Sullivan, standing back once he's done so.

"Master Sullivan, you're speaking English?" Finny interjected surprisedly.

"I'm a witch," she replied smugly, "it's not perfect or anything."

Sebastian leaned over and whispered to Finny. He nodded and ran off, most likely doing a chore that Sebastian had assigned to him. Which only left us two adults, and the two children.

I turned back to Ciel, noticing that he now lay in a ball under the blankets. It was a little cute, but it was also a little annoying that he so quickly tried to hide from the world once again. But I couldn't, and shouldn't, be upset considering the situation.

"I have to change your bandage."

"Is it going to hurt?"

"It'll hurt more if I don't. I'll have to touch you." Ciel raised himself from the slump he was in.

Sebastian and I watched carefully as she took of the bandage from Ciel's eye. I waited to see her reaction of it, though it didn't seem that she noticed it too much.

"You're healing quite nicely. As expected of a young man in his prime."

It didn't take long for the young girl to finish replacing the young master's bandages.

Once finished the left the room, Sebastian eying me and the lord on last time before I shut the door behind them.

"Young master, it's just me left."

"Alright."

"I will be right here in case you decide you need anything."

"Come and rub my head..." He said with a small voice.

"Of course, young master."

I sat in the chair that master Sullivan once occupied and watched as the young master laid into a ball, his head still poking out.

I touched his head, slowly rubbing it until I heard the soft murmurs of sleep escape his lips.

I couldn't help but wish something like this for me. The thought soon flew away, replaced by one of concern. I hadn't had those thoughts before. Why was I having them now?

My mind went back to the long haired man that took me to his so-called heaven. I was changing. It felt different from before, when I was told that my eyes had changed colors. It felt as if I was slowly losing myself to someone else's thoughts. But they were also my own. Were my thoughts being controlled by someone else? Was it something similar to what the young master was experiencing, instead of feeling fear, my emotions amplifying by a ton?

It was a strange feeling and one that I did not want to feel. I'd rather be emotionless and skeptical of everything around me then to succumb to hope when it only brings despair.

I looked back down to Ciel, but this time instead of the blue hair I knew so well, it was a black figure with no face.

My hand moved away from the figure quickly. A tapping at the window caused me to turn my head. It was the same man as before, though this time it looked as if he was hollowed out. Directly behind him was another bout of white sky, with nothing stretching for miles behind him.

It's alright... Just don't do anything that could get you killed, or worse... I thought.

I felt a ghost of a touch on my shoulder, but was too worried to look away from the figure in front of me. Soon enough, the hand completely clamped itself roughly on my shoulder, causing me to turn hastily behind me.

"Are you alright?" Finny's voice rang out in front of me. I turned around to notice the blue head of hair had returned to normal, and sighed anxiously.

"I'm fine Finny," I looked down to the small plate of scones in his hands, "I hope those aren't counting for his dinner?"

"No! The others and I wanted to give this to the young master so he would get better faster!" He said, puffin his chest out. I gave a small smile and moved slightly over to the right, allowing Finny to stand next to the bed and feed the young master a scone.

After eating only one, the child became full and didn't want to eat another. I heard another tap at the door and almost broke my neck with how fast I turned.

"A werewolf?" Finny had said scaredly.

"Finny get back!"

The so-called werewolf busted through the window, causing all of the glass to shatter to the floor. It bolted straight towards Ciel. I couldn't take out my wing in front of Finny, so all I could do was block the beast from getting to the child. Finny dove over the young master, making sure that it wouldn't get near him.

The beast's claw swiped my left side. I was now bleeding heavily, but I couldn't care about that. I Punched the werewolf in the face, a piece of it coming off and onto my hand. I saw a glimpse of silver before it turned tail and ran off through the broken window.

"Is everything alright in here?!" Sebastian busted in.

"Everything is fine," I said. "Finny helped protect the young master from a werewolf attack."

He turned towards the two children and saw Finny still hovering over Ciel. The other servants walked in as well and gasped as they saw the state of the room.

"Celesta you're hurt!" Bard said worriedly. He tried unbuttoning his chefs coat, only to be told not to go by the rest of us.

"If you go, you'll only get hurt yourself Bard. Stay here..." I said. I felt so out of breath as another headache formed at the front of my skull.

"What's going on here?!" Lady Sullivan's voice rang out.

"The werewolf attacked!" Wolfram said in German.

"I'm scared!" Ciel said, curling up to Finnian.

I finally turned to notice that the young lady had come in herself, a contraption of balloons tied around her waits. It looked as if she came in bouncing.

"Wolfram! Prepare for the Green Witch's service!"

"Yes!"

"I have to protect this village no matter what..." she promised.

It wasn't long until I was getting bandaged by Sebastian in the accompanying bathroom with the door slightly ajar to keep watch on the others. With Lady Sullivan gone and the others still in the room, everyone was trying to calm the young master down. But it was only causing to become more scared and it was causing a ruckus.

"Sebastian," I whispered. "You have to get Ciel to see reason again."

There was a pause in his movements. I could tell that he had taken his attention back to the others, who were all struggling to get Ciel to calm down after he began flailing and screaming about being scared. I was tired of looking at this version of Ciel. We needed the strong and independent Ciel. At this rate, we would be stuck in Germany for the rest of our lives if this were to keep up. Sebastian sighed as he finished putting the rest of the bandages around my torso.

We both walked out of the bathroom. Everyone sighed, tired from the struggle with the child.

"Rest is best for the wounds of the heart." Tanaka spoke up, his hand over his heart and a small smile playing on face.

Wolfram and Sullivan came back into the room, stating that they needed to go to village to hold a meeting about the recent wolf attack.

It was only then that Sebastian ordered everyone to wait just a little longer to see if the young master would heal. All of us, including myself, bid Finny and the young master goodbye. Finny said that I should get some rest, and that if anything were to happen, he would be fine protecting the young master. I nodded in understanding and walked out with the others. I made my way to the servants quarters, only to be stopped by Snake.

"'Miss Celesta, Mister Sebastian wants everyone in the kitchen!' says Goethe."

I didn't have time to see what he wanted before he ran past me. I didn't want to be too left behind, so I lightly jogged behind and followed him to kitchens.

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"Are you saying that Lady Sullivan is in cahoots with the werewolves?!" Bard yelled.

"'That girl was doing something surrounded by them,' says Oscar."

"Well what kinds of things?!" He yelled back.

"'All kinds of things,' says Oscar. 'We only remember all the way up til yesterday,' says Goethe."

"But," Mey-rin spoke up, "Lady Sullivans worry for the young master didn't seem fake..."

"It's because it wasn't," I spoke up. "That girl has had nothing but genuine concern for her people as well."

"Shouldn't we go down there and see what's up?" Bard asked.

"When we opened the hidden door before, there was something similar to a charm at the entrance. There must be something like magic that warns of intruders," Sebastian stated.

"'That explains why that guy came swooping in,' says Oscar."

"When Wolfram returns, I will need you all to keep him at bay. I don't mind if there are contraptions at all."

"How are you gonna get in?" they asked.

"If I couldn't sneak in unnoticed, then what kind of butler would I be?"

"A normal one..." I muttered.

"Celesta, will you come with me?"

"Of course."