6First Kuroshitsuji fanfiction I've ever attempted and I'm wicked nervous. This is meant to be an extremely long fanfiction that covers the time from Episode 21 (of the anime) until December of that same year (1889). I may incorporate events from the anime episodes 22-26, depending on how it works into my story. Please by patient with me. I am new to writing both Sebastian and Ciel. And everyone else.
Note: This will contain spoilers. Lots of spoilers. For the sake of my own sanity, this story will follow the anime. As I have said, considering the episodes for the anime (22 and so on) have yet to be released, all events proceeding episode 21 (after Aberlin's death), will be original / my own take on what happened. When the newer episodes are released, I may incorporate bits of them, but not all. I'm more so focused on other events during Victorian England.
Second Note: I am in need of a beta. If anyone is interested, please send me a message through fanfiction or contact me via my msn. It would be greatly appreciated.
Prima Luce
Prologue
MAY -
It was cold. It was so unbearably cold. He tried to breathe, tried to suck in a sufficient amount of air. He tried, so hard. But all he could fill his lungs with was blood and the distinct smell of death. He choked on his own saliva, small hands desperately grasping into the unforgiving darkness. He felt lost. No, he was lost. Lost in this abyss. Aberlin's words echoed in his mind, taunting. He had no future. He had traded his future to preserve the name of his family. He had no future. He would have no children and the Phantomhive name would end. He would not have a happy future. There just was no future. And greedily, he reached out for it in the blackness. Greedily, he wanted it back in the shadows where no one could see his weakness.
"Young Master…are you regretting the contract?"
The words struck through Ciel's body hard as a bullet. Both eyes, a blue and a violet, widened and looked about the endless darkness. His body was bare, covered by a thin red blanket. Candles dimly floated about the abyss, providing little to no light. It was just like that night. Just like it. Suffocating, invading, despicable.
"Sebastian, where are you? I demand you to show yourself and get me out of here!" Ciel snapped, pale fists balling by his sides. He couldn't roll onto his side. The only thing he could do was lay there on his back, a chill invading his core.
"A contract, as defined by the law, is a binding, mutual agreement between two parties. The only way to break a contract is through a bilateral mistake or a mistake regarding the identity of a party. And considering you knew my identity from the start, My Lord, and I have no made no error, I see no possible way that you can rescind this contract, I'm afraid."
"Stop talking!" Ciel scolded, heart pounding erratically. "Stop talking and show yourself, Sebastian!" His eye that bore the contract burned painfully.
"I won't let anyone get close to your Soul as that Scotland Yard man did," cooed the demon, invisible but voice so loud, so close, that he just had be right next to Ciel. Just had to be. "We made a deal, Young Master. Your soul in exchange for my services. I will not allow anyone, not even those closest to you, to take you away from me. As I have said, I will follow you until the end of time. I will be by your side for eternity, even in the depths of hell…"
"Shut up!" Ciel demanded, his eye no longer being the only thing burning. It felt like his whole body was on fire. "Just shut up, Sebastian!"
"Such words are not polite, My Lord. Didn't your Mother and Father teach you better manners?"
A sadistic chuckle rang through the emptiness, causing hot pricks of water to form in Ciel's eyes. Instead of giving in to the childish desire to cry, he screamed in anger, fists curling tighter, nails threatening to draw blood from his palms.
"You let him die!" he spat.
"You were in no danger. My job to protect you came first."
"You could have saved him, demon! You could have!..."
"He was not involved in our contract, My Lord. Such pointless lives are not of my concern. You are the only one I want, Young Master."
If Sebastian had been solid, had actually been by his side, he would have smacked him, hard. "Sebastian, I won't allow you to hurt anyone close to me," he snarled. "I order you to keep them all safe."
Keep them safe. Just like Madam Red. Just like Aberlin. Just like Mother and Father and his dog and just like himself….he'd die join them in death. But they'd be in heaven, even Madam Red, and he'd be in Hell. Or maybe worse. Sebastian would devour his Soul. And where would that leave him? Floating about the darkness forever? Such a fate was worse than hell.
"Sebastian, are you listening to me?!"
The demon chuckled, sound filling the void.
"Sebastian!"
"Such foolish words, Young Master… Such foolish, unappealing words…"
"Sebastian!..."
"But soon, you will no longer speak. Soon, your lips will turn cold and your Soul will be mine."
"Sebast-…ian…!"
"Soon, My Lord. Soon."
"Remarkable, isn't it?"
"Not particularly."
Sharp, red eyes drifted towards the right, examining the stoic, unimpressed expression on the thirteen year old boy's face. The uncovered eye remained glued to the carriage window, staring indifferently out at the nearing cluster of carriages, people, and an unforgettable tower soaring up into the heavens. A sigh escaped the boy, clad in formal attire. After a moment, the unmarked, blue eye looked towards the other inhabitant of the roomy carriage.
"Sebastian, the Queen warned me a place called village nègre.(1)"
The black-haired butler's brow lifted accordingly. "Was there any given reason?"
"Of course," the young boy scoffed, arms coming to fold across his chest. "The man in charge of the 'zoo' has been under careful watch of both Scotland Yard and the Queen herself for a few years now."
Sebastian tilted his head, gaze remaining neutral, waiting for his master to continue, to which he did after a pause. "The man, Mariselle, is to be carefully watched during the entirety of the Exposition. Because the Queen does not want to tread on the toes of the ruler Carnot, she feels that this matter is handled under the table and behind closed doors. Understood?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Good," the boy passed a glance back out the window as the carriage drew closer to the commotion. "The man who built this must have been an idealist."
"Why do you say that, Young Master?"
"Such a feat as that," he gestured out the window towards the tower that kissed the skies, "would have been deemed impossible years ago. It looks poorly balanced and structurally unsound."
"It is not to open for another few months," the butler interjected carefully, his eyes wandering to the tower in the distance as well. The arch of it seemed to be the entryway for the Exposition. "Surely the Young Master is not afraid of heights?..."
"Of course not. Don't say such foolish things, Sebastian," the heir of Phantomhive scolded, uncovered eye narrowing at his butler.
"My apologies," returned Sebastian, voice exceedingly polite and sweet.
Ciel Phantomhive said no more and continued staring out the window, wearing a blank expression. It was not hard to imagine what was on the boy's mind; the death of the Scotland Yard officer, the betrayal of Lau, the soiling of the Phantomhive name that had gone on for weeks. All was right once more, it seemed. However, the scars remained.
Something once lost could never be returned, after all.
"Earl Phantomhive, what an unsuspected pleasure!"
Sebastian's red stare wandered from the arch of the tower towards the right where his master stood, hand gripping his cane tighter than usual. The demon arched a brow silently before his gaze settled upon the reason behind Ciel's tense disposition. The butler bit back a dark chuckle and remained silent, politely standing a few feet from Ciel, surveying the crowd.
"Viscount Druitt," Ciel stated blandly, tipping his head halfway in acknowledgement.
"What brings such a young Earl out all the way to France?"
"Business, what else?" Ciel replied curtly and sharply. The boy's lips drew into a thin line as he tapped the blunt end of his cane against the ground, channeling his anxiety that way. "And I assume you are here on invite by President Carnot himself?"
"Naturally," Druitt responded with an airy chuckle before he brushed back his bangs flamboyantly. "Perhaps I may even see my beautiful Robin?"
Ciel's teeth ground together. What was this man's obsession with his other self? It had been one night. A night that ended in chaos, too. "You speak of her so highly; do you happen to know her name?"
Sebastian snickered faintly at that and looked towards the growing cluster under the arch, countless people ooing and awing from afar.
"Sadly, no," the Viscount sighed and placed a hand over his heart, ruffles splaying in the process. "But when I see her again, I will not hesitate in scooping her into my embrace and whispering sweet nothings into her hair. She danced so gracefully was so polite…"
This was getting old—fast. "I would love to spend more time discussing such matters with you, but Sebastian and I have a meeting to attend to."
Sebastian's eyes twinkled faintly at his master's lie. Druitt, on the other hand, chuckled and nodded. "My apologies, then. You two hurry off then." The blonde paused. "Do enjoy the Exposition. It is a once in a lifetime celebration of one hundred years since the French Revolution."
Ciel rolled his eyes. Why was he bothering telling him something he already knew? "Of course."
With that, the flirtatious man disappeared into the crowd, joining other various nobles and gentleman that had begun to mingle. Ciel shook his head, bangs effectively covering both his eye patch and good eye. Without a word, the Phantomhive head wandered back to his butler's side. "Let's get, Sebastian."
"Yes, My Lord."
Ciel couldn't shake it. Ciel couldn't shake the feeling of imminent doom looming about him ever since the dream he had the night before the Exposition. It had felt so real. Felt so lifelike. Sebastian's words had stunned him, scared him, terrified him. The dream stalked him, just like his own shadow. Never did he want to hear such a laugh from Sebastian. Never did he want to behold the demon disobeying him. Never did he want to be betrayed.
"Sebastian."
"Young Master?"
They were passing under the arch of the tower by this point, joining the main area of the Exposition. Countless booths had been set up, selling trinkets and useless objects. Sebastian stayed close to Ciel's side, wearing a look of natural coldness, as he usually did. Only when Ciel spoke did he turn his gaze to the short male.
"Never betray me," he ordered, voice a fraction darker and more distant than usual.
"You need not repeat an order, Young Master," Sebastian reminded, the fake smile of cordialness appearing. "You have told me once before not to betray you and I took the order to heart. You need not fear."
Ciel scoffed, vision blurring for a second. "If only you had a heart."
Sebastian's own eyes narrowed at firs t before they returned to their obedient state. "Of course, My Lord."
"Ciel!"
Ciel paused in his stride, once having successfully traveled under the arch of the massive tower. The Earl glanced over his shoulder. Too late. Without warning, Ciel was tackled by an enthusiastic blonde girl. Cooing escaped the pig-tailed youth, skinny arms tightly around Ciel's neck as she held him close, ranting on about something.
"Lady Elizabeth," Sebastian greeted calmly from Ciel's side, watching the girl finally let of a near-suffocated Ciel.
Ciel grumbled something under his breath and rubbed at his neck, looking as if he feared scarring. "El—Lizzy, what are you doing here?"
"I heard you were going to be here so I asked if I could come as well, silly!" Elizabeth Middleford explained, eyes sparkling. The girl turned her attention to the rows of booths set up amidst Champa de Mars. "Isn't Paris so beautiful, Ciel?"
"Not particularly," the Earl murmured and flexed his hand on his cane before offering a weak smile. "Lizzy, isn't it a bit dangerous to be wandering off by yourself?..."
"I found you now so it doesn't matter anymore!" she exclaimed happily and smiled warmly at her fiancée. "Ciel, are you mad?..."
"No, of course not," he answered and bit his bottom lip. "Just a bit surprised to see you here, that's all."
"Uh-huh…but isn't it a nice surprise?" Elizabeth smiled boldly, tilting her head to the side.
"O-of course…"
"I'm going to find Paula! You wait right here and I'll be right back!" Elizabeth promised, leaning over to briefly kiss Ciel's cheek before disappearing into the crowd once more before Ciel could stop her.
"….Lizzy," Ciel groaned, hand reaching up to rub at his cheek this time. A faint blush danced on his cheeks. It vanished, however, when he met his butler's smirk. "What is so funny, Sebastian?"
"Nothing, Young Master," Sebastian assured, hand coming to rest over his heart and bowed. An empty gesture but one nonetheless.
"I don't want Elizabeth here," Ciel began, surveying the rowdy, celebrating crowd. "There is a reason the Queen asked for me to come here and investigate. There's a risk of danger and I do not want Elizabeth involved."
"Surely if there was too big of a threat Scotland Yard would be here?" Sebastian wondered, voice trailing off almost tauntingly.
Ciel, once more, tensed at the name. Was Sebastian purposely goading him about what happened with Aberlin? "Perhaps," he muttered and looked ahead at the crowd. "Our goal is to find the 'zoo' the Queen mentioned, mingle with the owner, and gather information. Also, it would be wise if we passed on Her Majesty's kind words to President Carnot when we find him."
"Of course." Sebastian extended a hand to Ciel.
Ciel eyed the hand, eyebrow lifting and face contorting into confusion. "What are you doing, Sebastian?"
"It would not be wise if we could separated," the butler explained, red eyes sparkling. "And it would be unwise if we lingered here for too long. Lady Elizabeth and her maid will be back shortly, and I do not think that the Young Master wants her involved, as he just claimed."
Ciel sighed, hating it when Sebastian was right. Sebastian was always right. "I'm not a child, I'm not holding your hand," he ordered.
Sebastian's eyes twinkled. "Then hold onto my arm," the demon offered and gestured towards the Exposition. "We have much to see and do, My Lord. It would be to our advantage if we began now."
Ciel closed his eyes, giving a meek nod. "I see."
"So, shall we?"
-
An: So as I have said, if anyone is interested in being a beta, please contact me! Please leave your honest thoughts in a review and whatnot. Thank you so much for reading the prologue of Prima Luce.