Episode 6 - Murder on the Agenda
"Master," Sebastian said as he entered my room, walking straight to the window to open the curtains. "It's eight o'clock. Time to wake up."
I groaned in annoyance and shifted over into my bed, burying my face into my pillow.
He just tied the curtains to the wall and stepped over to me, setting a tray of tea on my nightstand. "Come on, now, my lord. We have a big day ahead of us."
I just kept my face buried in the sheets, lightly shuffling my hand under my pillow.
I just turned to face him, remaining under the covers. "Sebastian, come here."
He stepped gracefully over to me. "Yes, my lord? What is it?"
"Closer..." I said then, still half-asleep. "I need to tell you something."
He leaned over the bed, eyes glowing in the sunlight. "Yes, my lord?"
I just threw myself up and caught his wrist, making his eyes widen in shock when I shoved him down onto the bed, and he clashed with the sheets.
He recoiled in seconds. "Master, what are you doing?!"
I just quickly caught a pair of handcuffs and cuffed him to the headboard.
He gazed up at me in question.
I just glared down at him before I shot off the bed and dashed from the room, speeding down the halls seconds later.
I didn't care that I was only in my nightshirt, and my eye was exposed, I just urged myself forward.
"Master?" Scarlet said as she stopped ahead of me. "What are you—"
But I sped past her, rounding a corner in the entryway and rushing down the stairs to the basement.
I continued forward until I met the end, and then I spun another corner and rushed down an empty hall.
But I finally made it, and I slammed open the door to a bedroom.
Sebastian's bedroom.
I quickly shut the door behind me and ran over to his dresser, hurriedly rummaging through his clothes and tossing them about the floor.
When I found nothing, I dashed over to his closet and threw open the doors, tossing out shirts, jackets, and pants, and then groaned in annoyance.
I threw open his sheets, exposing a clean bed, and then I finally rummaged from under his bed.
And I found it.
My eyes widened, and I quickly tugged out a small box that Sebastian hid here, tossing it on his bed seconds later.
I didn't waste a second.
Hurriedly, I pulled open the lid and scrambled through the mucilaginous objects, continuing until my hand brushed across a felt-like thing, and my eyes widened.
I pushed the objects away, pulling out a small string of red, silky fabric. A ribbon.
I then gazed down and found a small picture at the bottom of the box, and I pulled it up.
My eyes widened.
I knew it.
I knew he was hiding something from me.
I clenched the fabric tightly in my hands, holding the picture in the other, and I turned to the door.
To find Sebastian standing there.
I froze immediately, breaths stilling.
He smiled at me, casually, almost. "My, my, master. That wasn't well thought out, was it?" He raised the now-broken handcuffs in his hand, chuckling. "Did you really think that would hold me?"
I swallowed something hard and stepped backwards, looking toward the wall.
"If you wanted to handcuff me to the bed so badly, all you had to do was ask." He kept the smile. "I'm always up of a little spice every now and then."
I shot him a look. "Shut up, you insolent twit! You know that wasn't my intention."
"Still, master." He sighed and closed the door behind him, tossing the broken cuffs on the nightstand. "If you want to rummage through my room, that was a very stupid way to deter me. I am a demon, after all. And you of all people should know not to underestimate me."
"Don't even start," I snapped. "I just needed a couple minutes, that's all! It worked, in my opinion."
"And you were caught," he said, brows raising, "naturally."
I gritted my teeth and looked away.
He just gazed up at me, smiling now. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
I just clenched the ribbon in my hand tightly.
Sebastian glanced down at it, then back at me. "Do enlighten me. What do you want with Master Ciel's tie?"
I kept it in my hand. "I don't have to tell you anything."
"And the picture of him and me, nonetheless," Sebastian said, gazing up. "Master?"
I remained silent.
Sebastian stepped toward me. "If you don't mind, I do want those back."
I scrambled backwards and pulled them out of his reach, glaring. "No!"
He stopped in his tracks, staring at me for a moment.
I continued glaring at him in warning.
He smiled then, closing his eyes as he set his chin on his hand. "I see."
I kept my lips thinned.
"Well, I guess I'll let you keep it then." He gazed up and walked closer to me, and I took one step backward, eyes sharpening.
"May I?" He held out his hand.
I shook my head and held the objects tightly to my chest, stepping further backward.
"Master, trust me," he said then, eyes softening. "Just for a second. I won't take them from you, I swear on it."
I gazed down at his hand then, hesitating.
He just waited patiently.
I then pulled forward and lightly set them on his palm, and he parted his lashes.
"No, not the picture. Just the tie, my lord."
I gazed up at him in question, taking the picture back.
He just stood up straighter and stepped closer to me, and I continued my confused stare as he pushed my hair back, over my shoulders and lightly buttoned my nightshirt all the way up.
But he just slipped the tie around the collar, making me gaze down immediately to see what he was doing.
He just moved my chin up with a finger, smiling. "Head up, my lord. This will only take a second."
He threaded the ribbon and tied it gracefully into a bow, and then set it down, stepping backward. "That's what you wanted, isn't it, master?"
I gazed down at the tie, touching it lightly.
He just chuckled. "You knew I could break from the cuffs, and you expected me to, so I could catch you."
My lashes lowered, but I kept looking at the tie to avoid eye contact.
"Master," he said, still smiling, "do enlighten me... why do you want Master's Ciel's tie so badly?"
I remained silent, not in the mood to answer any questions.
He just watched me. "Would you like to know more about him?"
I nodded slowly.
He just bowed. "Of course, master. I can tell you a little about Ciel, if you're so curious."
I gazed up then.
Why was he cooperating so well...? That was odd.
"He was my first master," Sebastian told me, still smiling but softly now. "His parents were the current lead of the Phantomhive family at the time—when he was born—and they were until he was ten. Ciel—as a child—was very different from when he signed with me." His eyes darkened. "When he was little, he was very shy and adorable, and he always smiled and had so much energy. But... when Master Ciel turned ten, his parents were murdered in a house fire."
"Murdered...?" I said slowly.
Like my parents...?
"Indeed," he answered, gazing up, "the fire was intentional. To kill them."
"This house?" I asked.
Sebastian shook his head, smiling now. "No, this manor is actually not the original. The original manor was destroyed in the fire, but when Master Ciel signed the contract with me, I built this as an exact replica of the old one. And I built it in less than a day."
My brows drew together, and I gazed down at the photo. "You built this place?"
"Yes, my lord. It was an order from Ciel himself."
I then looked to the closet, lips thinning. "What happened after his parents's death?"
"For the longest time," Sebastian said quietly, "the town's folk thought that Ciel was killed alongside them. But—as it turned out—Ciel was taken shortly after their murder... he was sold at an auction, to a cult, nonetheless, and was tortured for months."
Like... I was...?
My lashes lowered, not particularly sure if I enjoyed relating to Ciel. "What was it like for him? The cult. What did they do to him?"
Sebastian was silent for a moment. "They locked him and other children in a cage. Used him for experiments, attempted to sacrifice him and stabbed him. And he called to me, so I came."
He came for me like that, too.
"And he willingly signed the contract with you...? Knowing the price?"
"Indeed, my lord, he did."
"What was his wish?" I asked him.
Sebastian smiled softly. "He wanted to find the culprit of his parents' murder, and he wanted to find the cult that hurt him. And he wanted them dead."
Like... I wished?
I clutched the picture tightly, clenching my teeth.
"He asked me to never lie to him," Sebastian continued, lashes lowering. "To remain his faithful servant, to protect him from harm, and to follow his orders. And then after that... he'd give me his soul. So I remained his faithful servant, and he became Queen Victoria's guard dog at just age twelve. Such a young age. Everyone underestimated Ciel because he looked so young, and he was so young. They didn't think a child so small would be so intelligent. And he had me... his faithful demon butler to help him with every mission Queen Victoria gave, helping him control the underworld while we worked slowly to find the ones destined for his vengeance."
Everything I've been doing... Ciel did, too? The missions from our majesty, the wish, the asks we gave Sebastian...? We both were treated like children by criminals and monsters? Underestimated? Hurt and tortured? Hyper intelligent at such a young age?
I collapsed onto Sebastian's bed then, body starting to tremble as I stared helplessly at the picture of him and Ciel, watching Ciel sit at the same seat I did in my study. Without a smile and with an eye patch over his right eye... Sebastian at his side, smiling at the camera.
I touched my eye almost instinctually, breathing shakily. "I'm... just like him. It's like I'm a clone of him... my life... my actions... my trauma. I wear similar clothes, laugh at similar things, glare in a similar way."
"Yes, indeed, my lord." Sebastian's voice was quiet now. "That's how a soul travels. Each soul has a goal for its life, planned events, planned personality and characteristics. When it goes to another body, it repeats its goal, events, personality, and characteristics in a similar manor."
I kept touching my eye, staring at Ciel's eye patch. "But I'm just like him."
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said gently. "Does knowing that trouble you?"
"How... how did he die...?" I said then. "You said you didn't take his soul."
"When he was seventy," Sebastian explained quietly, "he had a massive stroke that killed him instantly. He was gone by the time I got there."
I stared down at the picture, body still shaking as I repeated, "But... but I'm just like him."
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian watched me.
"He knows everything that I've been going through." I gritted my teeth, grasping my shirt tightly—where my heart rested. "He knows and he understands. He went through it too. Almost the exact way I did."
Sebastian kept watching me. "Indeed, my young master."
"And you know, too..." I said then, voice shaking as I fisted my shirt tighter, "you watched him suffer and grow, and you were his servant until his time was over."
"Yes, my lord."
I breathed shakily. "He's a part of me... he is me."
"Yes, master."
"He can... he can guide me." My voice grew small. "He can tell me what to do about everything. All the mistakes I've made... and if the things I've given away were worth sacrificing."
Sebastian's lashes lowered then, and I felt his eyes grow dark. "Master, are you talking about the contract?"
I shook my head, lips tightening as my body grew cold. "No. Your presence was set in my fate, Sebastian. Like it was for him. I was destined to sell my soul to you... same as him. I know that wasn't a mistake." I just stared at the ground nervously. "He's me, Sebastian. Ciel is me."
Sebastian just remained silent and stepped over to the box I found, leaning down to lightly shuffle through the contents.
I looked to the side when he pulled out a black eye patch with ruffles surrounding the edges, and he just stepped over to me as my eyes widened.
He knelt down then, tipping my chin up so my face was level with his.
Sebastian placed the patch over my right eye, returning to tie it behind my head seconds later. "This was Master Ciel's favorite eye patch." He knotted the string into a bow. "But he feared ruining it, so he only wore it on special occasions. I kept it for the longest time, you know. Preserved it all these years." He finished tying it and stared into my eye. "And this," Sebastian said, pulling a ring out from his jacket pocket, "was also preserved."
My eyes widened when I saw the large, square, blue diamond glisten in the lighting of the room. "Is that..." I covered my mouth, "the original Phantomhive family ring?"
"Indeed, it is." Sebastian used his jacket to lightly polish it.
"But... but no one's seen in in over a hundred years!" I argued, eyes glistening. "It was you who had it all this time?! Not one Phantomhive member has worn it since ancestor Ciel!"
"Well," Sebastian said then, making me gasp softly when he caught my hand and slid it onto my thumb, "now you have, my lord."
I just stared down at it, every emotion consuming me at once.
"It's yours now, master," Sebastian said then, standing now. "The ring, the patch, as well as Ciel's favorite tie." He gazed down at me sadly. "My only ask... please, cherish it. These were very special to him."
I just stared at the ring for a moment before my brows drew together, and I gazed up at Sebastian. "Why are you giving these to me? Don't you need them to remember ancestor Ciel?"
Sebastian just chuckled, shaking his head. "Master, don't you see?" He gazed up. "I don't have to remember him when he's sitting right in front of me."
My eyes widened in shock.
"You and Ciel are bound together forever, master," Sebastian explained, lashes lowering. "So, these belong to you now."
I gazed back down at the ring, brows drawing together.
"It's only natural that you'd cling to your old self," Sebastian murmured. "Because it's the only thing you have left. But you don't understand that what Ciel would've told you... is that you have more than that, master."
I gazed up then. "What?"
"Servants that adore you," he explained, still smiling. "Carter, Scarlet, Maddox, Cammie. You saved them, remember? But there's more that you haven't seen yet. More people... or... things that you have, too."
My brows drew together as my stomach started stirring. "Sebastian...? I don't... understand. What do you mean things?"
He just chuckled and watched me. "So oblivious. But it's time to ready you for the day, master. King Charles has ordered another task."
He was dodging the question again... Why did he always do that?
I just parted my lips and stared down at the ring again, giving up. "Okay."
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