Sebastian's Daughter REVISED VERSION (COMPLETE)

Chapter 11

Once the bodies had been cleared from the manor and everything was back to normal, I sat on my bed, and my father stood staring out my window. He had silently stayed with me while Finny and the others cleared the manor of any sign of the massacre. After a man with a chef's hat and a cigarette in his mouth came by to inform him the deed had been done, he finally decided to speak.

"So," he said, seeming slightly nervous, "how have you been as of late?"

"Not so good," I quietly admitted. "I got lonely being home all by myself, so I started looking for you, even though you'd told me not to. I didn't think you'd be gone for two years."

He sighed heavily, his nervousness seeming to leave him. "I am sorry for leaving you for so long. And I am deeply sorry for letting any of this happen. You were almost killed on my watch. Your mother would never forgive me for that."

I stood and made my way over to my father. I hugged him. "But I forgive you, and that's all that matters now. I should've told you who I was sooner instead of waiting so long."

My father hugged me back, smoothing the hair on the back of my head.

"I missed you," I said, and a lump formed in my throat. I tightened my grip around him. "And I'm sorry for leaving home when you told me not to. I just hated being all alone, so I thought I would search for you. Then after trying so hard to stay away from humans, the hunters saw my wings and started hunting me, and-" my voice broke, and I cried with my head on his chest, similarly to the day my mother had been murdered.

Dad held me tighter and let me cry until I had no tears left, then he held me at arm's length, staring into my eyes. "They saw your wings?" he asked.

I nodded, glancing down at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I tried to-" I stopped, holding back more sobs.

"Did anything else happen?" he asked, and I could hear the concern in his voice that he was trying to hide.

I thought for a moment, wondering if I should really tell him about what had happened within the past few days. I finally made my decision. He was my father. He needed to know everything. "Some scientists saved me from a group of hunters in exchange for me allowing them to experiment a little. And one of them had to remove some poison her husband had put in my black wing-"

"Poison?" my father asked, cutting me off. "Scientists? Experiments?"

I nodded, looking back up at him. "But Maria was super nice to me, and agreed that I could go back to her whenever I needed to. And she promised not to share the results of her experiments with anyone else. And she kept me alive and removed the poison from my wing."

Dad didn't say anything, seeming lost in thought.

"I was glad to hear that you were the one to save me a few nights ago," I said, changing the subject.

He glanced down at me and smiled. "I only wish it hadn't been you that needed saving."

Had he had any idea that I was his daughter? Had he even considered the possibility for a moment, before pushing it away? These were the questions that were burning my insides with the desire to know.

But something seeming more important came to mind, and I asked that instead.

"Who helped me after the hunters came the first time?" I asked. "Who bandaged me and removed the bullets?"

Dad gave me a quizzical look. "I was going to, but Mey-Rin insisted that she do it, to save you from total embarrassment of a man undressing you, or something. I wasn't going to fight her. Why do you ask?"

I turned away from him and unbuttoned the top of my dress. I pulled it down far enough so he could see my wings. I extended the black one gracefully, while the white one remained bandaged.

I heard my father approach me. He gently touched my black wing, like he had used to when I was little, and Mom had stroked the white one.

He touched my angel wing, and pain shot through it. I instinctively tried to fold it up farther, but the bandages held it in place.

"I guess Mey-Rin can be trusted if she didn't tell anyone about my wings," I observed, fighting against the pain.

"She is very trustworthy. She risked her life to help you today." My dad kept his hand on my angel wing, and I eventually got used to the pain. He then began to remove to bandages, and I didn't fight him.

"Really?"

"She was outside your room with her gun."

That explains why the shots had been so close, I realized. Then another thought occurred to me. If she had been outside my room, then how did the others get in?

Unless...

"She will be fine," my father added when he saw my sudden worry. "She only has minor injuries."

I sighed in relief. These people actually cared about me. No one ever had before, except for my parents, and the thought made me smile.

But my smile vanished when I thought about what would happen if they found out who I really was. They would kick me to the curb, and if Ciel found out I was his butler's daughter, then he would most likely kill me himself.

Suddenly, I felt Dad tugging on my wing, trying to get me to extend it. I felt another sharp pain, and pulled away, folding my wing back into place and pulling my dress back over them both.

"Dad!" I shouted, turning to face him.

He chuckled. "Forgive me. I thought maybe stretching it would help. Your mother always did that when her wings were sore."

"I do that, too, Dad, but this is more than just a cramp or strain. There is a bullet hole in my wing!"

"It'll heal," he assured me. "I just thought stretching it would help with the pain. I am only trying to help, Selena."

"Fine," I sighed reluctantly. I took off the maid outfit, and was left in the underdress. It didn't have a back, which was perfect for relaxing in if I wanted to give my wings some space.

I turned my back to my father and spread my black wing with ease. I stretched my white wing as far as I could before the pain became too overwhelming for me to continue. I then felt Dad grab the tip of my wing and help me stretch it to its full length.

I groaned in pain for a moment, then adjusted and was able to move my wing a little on my own.

"Wow, Dad. It worked!

He smiled. "I must go prepare dinner for the others, now. Why don't you go and help Finnian in the gardens again for a while?"

I saluted. "Yes, sir!"

I quickly put the maid dress back on, and headed for the door. I stopped short as a thought occurred to me. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"You aren't going to tell Ciel, are you?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he smiled.

I smiled back at him, and then quickly ran to the gardens.