•L/N: Last Name
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Your POV:
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I stand there, waiting for Ciel to leave us, watching as his back blended with the shadows and disappeared further down the hall. Wearing a look of sympathy, I turn towards Edward, speaking softly to him as not to let my voice echo too loudly.
"I should warn you, your majesty; you aren't going to like what he's about to do."
"What do you you mean by that?" he questions, sounding faintly worried, though he hid it well with his monotone speech.
"Ciel might just be a kid, but he can be cruel and harsh with his methods. As much as I don't care for what he's planning, I know it works. You will get that skull, but all you'll gain is more pain. Sometimes, however, you need that pain to truly be set free." Edward looked at me, stunned, with pale lips parted just slightly.
"Such wise words. You know, I do believe you might be one of the strangest women I've ever met. I can't quite put my finger on it." At that, I gave a small laugh and smiled at him.
"It's just how I am, I guess, but please, keep my words in mind."
"I will. Thank you. So, what is it exactly that Phantomhive has planned?"
"It won't be long before you see for yourself, your majesty." He seemed more anxious from my ominous words as we follow after the Earl to another room in the castle, where Sebastian set up the gruesome chess board of skulls before retrieving young Richard.
"No, stop it! Please, just put me down, Sebastian!" The little boy cried as he was carried in under the arm of the butler, squirming and kicking desperately before being grabbed by the scruff of his clothes and held out towards us like a helpless kitten.
"Terribly sorry, your highness." It was an empty apology. Sebastian could care less. Edward stared on with wide eyes, disturbed by the rough treatment of his brother as Ciel watched from a blue, padded chair beside him, unfazed. If anything, he looked amused.
"How sad. I was so looking forward to a fight between a demon and a ghost. What a pity.
"You're mean, you know that?" My brow twitched as I gave the boy a scolding glance, my arms crossed over my chest. I stood beside the Earl on his left, while Edward was posted to his right. My comment only receives an uncaring shrug of acknowledgment, leading me to shake my head as Richard continued shouting.
"Let me go, Sebastian! Brother! Brother, help!"
"I'm sorry! Come now, don't you think you could be a little bit more gentle?" Edward begs, facing the Earl.
"You got yourself into this. Really, this has been going on for two-hundred years. Don't you think it's silly?"
"I don't want to see my brother cry! That isn't silly!" A scream gained our attention as the little blonde boy had his skull taken away by the demon.
'Sebastian, you're one Hell of a bully.'
"No!" He cried, scrambling to reach for it only for it to be held away.
"What are you doing?!"
"Nothing more than giving you what you asked for." Enraged by his answer, Edward clenches his fists, murmuring under his breath. He could not take his eyes off of the distressing scene.
"She was right. This is cruel." I frown deeper upon hearing that, struggling to watch this myself when all I could think of was Oliver being handled so roughly by that wretched uncle of his when I first met him. It made me want to go over there and give Sebastian a good, old kick in the ass.
"You can't! Give it back to me! He'll help! My brother will help!"
"I am your sovereign! I order you to let him go!" Sebastian smirks at Edward's order, chuckling lowly, sending a shock through the seething spirit.
"Brother!" Having had enough, he sprung at the demon, hair blowing wildly as his form was encased in a chilling, dark aura that made the room feel cold. When he attempted to strike him with his staff, however, the butler jumped aside, leaving Edward to fall to the floor.
"I'm sorry to say this, your majesty, but for a king I find you to be extraordinarily powerless."
"Noooo!" Richard screamed, pushing and crying to be released by the hand that held him captive.
"Please, no!" He froze suddenly, a dimness setting in his eyes, making the oceanic hues murky as he felt a horrific sense of familiarity to this scene. He spoke more firmly, then as he raised to his feet. "Stop it. I instructed you to stop. I am your king."
"You said the skull was what you wanted no matter what the sacrifice might be." Ciel retrieves the skull from Sebastian, carrying it over to the board. "If you take that statement back now, well, then you are no better than the liars you claim to hate."
"Sebastian, listen to me! You must obey! You belong to us now!"
"I am sorry, sire. You have never been my master. I am contractually obligated to the Earl of Phantomhive. I only served you and your brother because I was ordered to. All this time, I have faithfully carried out the orders of my true master." Having given up, Richard became limp in Sebastian's grasp as he was securely held back under his arm, crying heavily.
"You! You betrayed us too?!"
"No, there has been no betrayal. I have always been faithful to the master I truly serve."
"Now, if we are sending you to this heaven place you want to see so badly, I suppose I can be your chief mourner."
"No! My brother! Edward! My brother!"
"It's alright, Richard. I promise I will always be with you, and now we can end this." Accepting his crushing reality, the King closed his eyes, prepared to fade away the moment the final skull was put into place.
"Once we do this, you can move on," Ciel assures, probably the only comforting words he's exchanged during this whole ordeal, as he placed the boney head upon the white marble. I couldn't keep the smirk off my face when nothing happened. They all looked so surprised.
"What's wrong? Why isn't it working?" Edward checked his hands, and to his frustration, he was still where he was when he had closed his eyes. Wanting to get to the bottom of it, he strides over to examine the board himself as I answer him.
"It was a lovely sentiment to complete the board, however, what you wanted to achieve couldn't possibly happen, not when you have the wrong skull."
"What?" Astonished, he turned his head towards me.
"I think there's something Prince Richard would like to tell his majesty." Sebastian is the first to look down at the boy as he set him in his feet, and the rest of us soon did the same. The little boy gulps under the pressure, but he couldn't keep it a secret any longer.
"I couldn't. If I had told, brother would have been sad." In disbelief, Edward closed his eyes, near tears as his younger brother approached him from behind, embracing him tightly. "I'm sorry, brother. I shouldn't have lied to you like that."
"Lied? Richard, I don't understand?" Those little arms slid off of his shoulders as the boy cried.
"That skull, the one I carry, it isn't mine. It isn't even part of the family. The skull belongs to someone else. It's someone that we don't even know."
"No, that can't be."
"You forgot. Our bones don't exist. They have already gone away. Since that day, they've been lost." Richard refreshes his brother's painful past, reminding him of every last detail of their cruel assassination, of his younger brother being killed before his dying body, from the sword being held to the boy's throat to the fish that picked at their bones in the waters of which their chopped bodies were discarded in. I could feel my own heart burning at the pain they must've felt. They were just boys. Edward began to cry, collapsing to his knee as his brother stood at his side, comforting him with hands on his shoulder.
"I am so sorry, Richard! How could I have forgotten something like that? How could I forget the night I failed to protect you?"
"Brother, please, don't cry."
"Oh, Phantomhive, you were right all along. All the hatred and all the pain, they've been with me for four-hundred years!"
"Pain tends to heal as time passes, but personally, I don't want time to heal my wounds. You may think you've escaped the pain and forgotten it, but that's nothing more than stagnation. You can't move forward without the pain."
"Funny, that sounds similar to what Miss L/N had said to me earlier."
"Sometimes, it is pain that truly sets us free. It guides us down an unexpected path. It's what you make of it," I say
"I see now. I've spent so much time hating liars, and all the while, I have been the one lying to myself and Richard." A bright burst of light emanated from his chest and spread to coat his body in a pale glow, shocking the boy he held.
"Look, brother, you're glowing!"
"Preparing the funeral was member anything but a formality. It wasn't bones or ceremonies that had the power to release your wondering souls." Seeming happy, Edward embraced his brother again, bringing a smile to my face, before we all head outside to send them off. It was a lovely night, a bit chilly, but I saw not one cloud in the sky. We stood on a small dock a little ways away from the castle, where the King reached a translucent hand towards the Earl for a shake.
"I am in your debt, Phantomhive. I wish you a long life."
"Really, I didn't do much of anything, and one more thing, you don't need to fear for the castle. I'll take care of it. That much I promise you." After accepting his hand, Ciel places his on his hip.
"That eases my mind. Thank you." As his brother smiled at us, Richard ran to hug Sebastian which I couldn't help but awe at. My heart melted even more when I was next.
"Good luck to both of you," I say to him as I get down on my knees to give the boy a squeeze. He thanks me before returning to his brother's side. Our attention is grabbed by an odd, cloaked figure on a boat appearing at the dock. They were silent as the boys boarded without question, knowing where it would lead to. They waved as they were carried off, and I did the same before my eyes widened at a thought. If they're going to Heaven, I wonder if they'll run into that TV god guy. Running to the edge of the dock, I call after them.
"Hey, if you see God, tell him hi for me!" My company gave me odd looks, Ciel even shaking his head before we returned to the castle for some rest. In the morning, we prepared two grave stones with their names, placing white bouquets in front of them and wishing them peace in the afterlife. Ciel didn't care to spend too much time kneeling before them, however.
"Well, that's that. The nuisances are finally gone. Let's make up for lost time! Work! Work! Work!" On his orders, the construction resumed, the castle flooded with workers, and from above, I swear I heard the faint voice of the the young king calling him out from the heavens with amusement.
"You liar." I crack a smile while turning my face up towards the sky before I felt my nerves fall upon me as I watched the Earl and his butler walk away from me. Gulping, I travel after them.
"Ciel! Ciel, wait!" Stopping in his tracks, the boy turns towards me, hand on the top of his cane loosely as I catch up.
"Yes, what is it? Were you hoping for a ride?" I opened my mouth and closed it. I knew they might respond harshly, but I don't think I could keep it secret anymore. This whole thing reminded me on how important it is to be truthful with those you care about. I shouldn't be hiding something so big from them.
"Do you remember that doll maker from a few cases ago?" At that, the atmosphere turned grim as Ciel looked at me in surprise.
"Yes, the one you said you gave a burial?" I rubbed my arm anxiously, suddenly feeling the pressure, especially under Sebastian's gaze.
"Well... I wasn't exactly able to bury him."
"What do you mean?"
"... He's still alive."