Agni's stunned expression and Soma's distressed cries only worsened my inner notion. There was something awfully amiss.
"Ah, so this is your master, Agni?" Harold asked in amusement. Pulling back from where I was peeking from, Ciel and I exchanged a glance and quietly stood back up, leaning against the wall beside the doorway. Now that the door was even more open than before, it would be easier to spot five shadows trying to catch a glimpse of the room. I could hear Prince Soma's clear abhor towards West intensify as he realized that it was him who took Mina, and he ordered Agni to fight him with a desperate command. I waited for the sound of furniture to fly but instead was met with silence, and after a few moments, snickering.
"Agni, throw this annoying Prince out of here."
A loud argument ensued, and Sebastian glanced into the room while Ciel and I closed our eyes in fatigue, ignoring Lau who was clearly bored out of his mind. Rodric stood up and began to look around the hallway, hand at his chin and Sebastian followed suit. I had no idea what to expect now.
"Though there's no mistaking West's involvement with the hangings based on their little chat," Lau whispered after a while, happily standing from his crouch to meet us, "they no longer seem to be 'incidents from the underworld'."
"Which means that this is out of the Snake's area of expertise and the Watchdog's jurisdiction," I concluded sourly. Both Ciel and I sighed heavily, feeling as though our time had been wasted immensely.
"...Indeed." Ciel mumbled in defeat. Lau slipped his hands into his dangling silk sleeves and closed his eyes.
"But reporting this to the yard would be problematic, so why don't we just leave and--"
"That would be the preferable option," Rodric suddenly cut in, smiling brightly, "But it would be beneficial to leave West at large for a bit longer."
Hearing Soma continue to cry out in confusion, I shook my head in pity.
"We should also probably try and save that idiotic Prince, don't you think?" I suggested with a small shrug.
"But West knows what the Sebastian and I look like," Ciel pointed out, and Rodric gave a proud smirk, raising a gloved finger in the air to point at Sebastian.
"I have a great idea."
Ciel and I turned our heads to watch the scene unfold before us, and I was disgusted to realize that Agni had been bought in some type of manner to go against Soma's words. Harold West smirked triumphantly once Soma was held back in Agni's arms, and gave the order to shut him up, leaving me in shock. He was positively shaking, almost holding back tears at his actions, but didn't dare make a move to stop himself. Would Agni dare raise a hand at his old Master?
"Sebastian, whatever you two are doing," I whispered, eyes wide when I saw Agni's wrapped hand raise, "act now!"
A shade of black rushed past Ciel and me, and our coats fluttered loudly, hair whipping by as Sebastian sprinted to step in between Agni and Prince Soma. I scurried back to my feet and my eyes maintained glued towards the four men, but I instantly took a step backward in bewilderment when I realized what Sebastian was wearing in order to conceal his identity. Frowning, I spun around to glare at Rodric, who was chuckling with enjoyment.
"A deer head?" I hissed, shaking my head, "Honestly!"
"WH-WH-WHO THE HELL IS THIS!?" West cried out as his hairs stood on end, backing up into the wall behind him in fright. Even though the whole ordeal was a major catastrophe, I couldn't hide my undeniable smile as Sebastian turned to face him, the deer head unsettling even Ciel for a bit.
"I, naught but a humble deer, have come for this Prince." Sebastian's voice said, bowing towards Harold West to even more so unease him.
"Putting on that mounted deer head and going in was a stroke of brilliance, Master Butler!" Lau praised, gazing up at the now empty headboard that adorned the hall.
Ciel glanced sideways and let out a small breath, his shoulders falling limp. "I suppose it does cover his face..."
Rodric, being the proud devil he was, waved off Lau's compliment and smirked widely, patting my head, to which he received a growl for.
"Are you sure we're referring to the same 'brilliant' idea here?" I hissed, shoving his hand away.
"Kill him!" West suddenly commanded with an arm extended to point at Sebastian while he hid behind Agni. He began to protest and was immediately met with a threat.
"Do you want me to renegade on that promise!?" he shouted, eyes wide. "I'm ordering you: DO IT!!"
Drops of red began to fall from Agni's eyes and closed bandaged fist, and soon so did he, knees meeting floor as he continued to clench his jaw and hands in misery. He was collapsing, and Rodric stepped forward, arm outstretched. I peeked over the black sleeve that covered my view and blinked in amazement as Agni ripped off his bandages and bellowed out in what seemed to be pain, mouth now bleeding as well. He stood up and rushed to Sebastian, who was now holding Soma in his arms and slammed his fist down. The chest crumbled as Agni hit it, leaving him panting as he stood still. Sebastian had moved away and was now watching from a few feet to the right, waiting for his next move.
"GYAAAAH! NOT THE CHEST I BOUGHT AT GENERAL TRADING!" West shrieked, hands going to his face as he saw the chest fall to the floor.
I giggled. "I have a similar one at home."
Again, Agni charged and once again crashed into another piece of expensive furniture, leaving Harold West in even more distress. All around us, the ceiling and walls began to crack and fall apart the more and more Agni missed, and Rodric scooped Ciel and I up, eyes darting around.
"This is all getting a bit dangerous," he said, "what say we leave now, hm?"
As Rodric sprinted out and around the crumbling mayhem, I continued to try and catch a glimpse of Agni in his overpowered state, wondering what could drive him to such extents.
"Once you have the Prince, run for it!" Ciel shouted at Sebastian, and we reached the front doors once more, covering our faces as the cold winter air hit us harshly. The sun still hadn't even begun to rise.
-
"Amazing, isn't he?" Lau commented once we were back in the warmth of Ciel's parlor, basking in the fireplace's encircling heat as the red tint of our noses faded. I laid in one of the large couches, curled up in a thick blanket that Sebastian had brought me once he had returned, holding also a small tray of melon-breads Mey-Rin and Yuki had baked whilst we had been away. Prince Soma sat with his legs crossed in the seat beside me, his expression crestfallen and despondent as he looked towards the fireplace in silence. Ciel sipped his tea in how own chair, eyes closed and legs crossed as Lau spoke.
"It was beyond anything that could be defined as human."
"He was in the state of 'Samadhi'," Soma mumbled in clarification, continuing to avoid eye-contact, "No one can lay a hand on him when he gets like that."
"A sort of trance then?" I asked, sitting up straighter.
"To do with religion," both butlers added, closing the blinds. Lau glanced up at them and Ciel raised an eyebrow.
"Human beings are rare creatures that can produce tremendous power derived from an intense belief that gives away to a kind of blind faith," Sebastian explained, standing beside Ciel as he spoke, "The Norse Vikings of Yore became berserkers in the name of their war God Odin... The Paladins of the Crusades fought in the name of Yahweh by invading foreign lands time and time again."
"He too numbers among them," Rodric added, and Sebastian nodded, "Because of his absolute devotion to his "God" and "Master", Prince Soma--"
"--he can invoke a power that is beyond human," I concluded in a whisper, my finger touching the tip of my lip in amazement at the power of faith.
"It is a power that our like cannot boast..." Sebastian said while motioning to Rodric and himself, "That which is born of a belief in and love for another."
Ciel held his cup in the air and Sebastian took it away, placing it down on the table in the middle of the circle.
"A power known as 'faith'," he deduced lazily. Demon butlers exchanged glances and Ciel and I rolled our eyes, finding the idea of faith laughable.
"Then tell me why... he abandoned me...?" Soma mumbled as he ran his fingers through his purple locks. His head suddenly snapped up and his arms swung at the cups and plates that were on the table before us, throwing them aside in an angry tantrum as he yelled out in utter betrayal, startling Ciel and I. Luckily, my hands swiftly caught a cup and two plates, holding to me as Rodric unsurprisingly caught the rest, balancing it all on his hands and shoulders with ease.
"Why you--!"
"Why is it that everyone leaves my side! Why, why!?"
Once there was nothing more to throw or toss, Soma paused, panting in a sweat as he took a moment to clench his jaw bitterly before running away and slamming the door behind him like a child.
"Thank you," Ciel said, standing up to take the platters away from me as well as the cup,"This is one of my favorite tea sets."
"I do believe it seems as though the unruly Prince needs to be re-taught his manners," Rodric commented nastily, and Sebastian stood up but was stopped by Rodric as he shook his head at the red-eyed demon.
"Please, allow me." Rodric insisted, and went off to follow Prince Soma without another word. Ciel glanced at me and I smiled proudly.
"He does a splendid job getting messages across, I assure you."
-
The pungent, acrid aroma that was the piteous and distasteful Prince caused my human nose to scrunch up in distaste, and I nearly openly exposed my sentiment about it as I opened the bedroom door. A large wad of bundled up coverts and blankets laid in the middle of the large bed, practically perfectly still, but the minute rises and descends every few seconds validated that the Prince was indeed buried underneath.
The room was shadowed in darkness due to the fact that the blinds were clasped shut, and I smirked widely as my sharp teeth glinted at the lovely opportunity I had been given. Unfortunately, Michaelis would try and have my head if I ended the Prince's pathetic existence. Quite possibly, so would little Adelina. His soul, however, could be sensed for miles that it was distasteful and acidic, and so I recalled my canines and black wisps of wickedness, stepping up to the ball of blankets with now a disgusted frown.
In one swift motion, his harbor was gone.
"You knave!" the Prince cried out in furious shock, jumping up from the bed, "How rude--"
My eyebrow raised and I scowled lightly, his words vexing me to the core.
"Rude?" I repeated, adjusting and fixing the coverts as they had been before he had ruined them, "Tossing things and making a mess of yourself and leaving one behind wherever you go..."
I straightened myself up and turned to face him.
"You've made quite the nuisance of yourself."
"What...!?" he growled, now slightly flushed.
It was evident that no one had ever spoken to him as such before, and his expression of bewilderment fueled the words for my corrupted lecture.
"Are you aware that by causing that nonsensical show, the chances of my Countess being harmed by the flying China could have led to you to be six feet underground by now?" I hissed lowly, tapping my forefinger on the bedpost with malice, "Your incredibly lucky she has good sense and quick reflexes..."
His jaw tightened.
"You are in England, staying unwanted at the residence of Earl Phantomhive." I continued, beginning to walk around and circle the young Prince like a snake would do to a frightened mouse. "This is neither your country nor your castle. Here, where you stay, you have absolutely no power, leaving you as nothing more than a peasant."
The Prince flinched pitifully at the word.
"A powerless child who cannot achieve anything without Agni at your side. And now, even he has left, abandoning you as a ray of sun would do in a darkened room."
"Yes... I have nothing left, for I've lost it all..." he responded lowly, and I chuckled, raising my gloved hand to my lips.
"Lost?" I asked, feigning confusion, "Why, you must delusional. You can't lose something when you had nothing to lose to begin with."
My smile grew wide as the reaction I had been waiting for occurred, and I crossed my arms in front of me, watching as the Prince stood agape in realization, lips trembling and heart pounding. His scent began to become stronger the more he shook in horror, but I resumed in amusement.
"Your status was given to you, as was your palace and servants. From the very beginning, nothing was every truly yours." I explained slowly with a smile, "Or am I mistaken?
"Even when it came to your khansama Agni, you had an inkling that there was something amiss, yes? But being the coward you are, you refused to seek out the truth."
"You're wrong!" he shouted, and dashed to the door as I expected him to. Always running away from his problems, that would never do. I slammed my palm against the door and shut it once more, leaving the Prince in distress as his hand froze open above the door-handle.
"Ah, but I am not, am I?" I snickered with satisfaction.
"Now that reality has been thrust in your face, it is blatantly clear to see that you are truly nothing more than a pathetic, hopeless brat."
Again, he began to shout, eyes closed in desperation as he feebly attempted to cling onto his shreds of comforting fantasies.
"B-But everyone said they would always stay by my side--!"
"Is that not what you wanted to hear?"
He looked up to me in trembling fear.
"No one serves another without a reward. Even a child living in the slums of India knows that.... You are an ignorant and unloved Prince."
The door opened and the familiar clicks of boots entered the room, and I stepped back with a small bow.
"Let's stop there for tonight, shall we?"
The aroma of bitterness and miserable awareness was wiped away as the new scent of honeyed suffering and tormented doting infused the room, and little Adelina stepped inside, leaning against the doorframe as she looked towards the Prince in pity.
"Pity and fools go together, Prince Soma," she said, and I smirked at the often used quote. "Don't let yourself mix within that combination; you'll only end up broken."
-
...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...