Warning, the first part of the chapter consist of depressive themes, so skip if you must.
Running. That was the only thing that you could do. It was a never ending chase, away from something... that thing that always managed to follow after you no matter how much you tried to get away.
Breathing heavily, you dashed through the paranormal world doing all you could do to evade the 'monster'. A slight stumble was all it took to draw the creature in closer and you whimpered out as cold fingers dug into your shirt.
Pulling away you resume your running. Running... that was all you could do. Running away from your fears, running from the people that you loved.
'You're weak. You are nothing,'
Voices whispered around you as you ran and no matter how far you got they would always continued to whisper. 'Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!' You yelled out internally, ever so desperately trying to force the voices out of your head.
You stopped in place, this being due to the figure blocking your path in front of you. Whirling around, you came to find that there was a wall blocking you, preventing you from turning around and escaping.
"Please... stop it," you whispered out as you backed up until your back hit the wall. "I told you to leave. To never come back! Why are you here?! I thought that time of my life was over!"
The figure however continued to advance its way toward you not heeding to the yells you threw at it. "Leave me alone!" The phantom fingers once again returned, this time they began to crawl up your torso, gripping and pulling.
The cold, seething familiar face leaned down to sneer upon your puny figure making you gaze up at it distress. "I said leave me alone!" You yelled out just as the figure reached out a hand toward you.
You were jerked out of your sleep upon feeling hands roughly shake you awake. You immediately shoved yourself away from the hands that had awoken you, terrified that they were the same hands that had haunted you in your sleep.
Someone shouted your name, however, you were still to lost in the pit of the dream to actually hear them. Their voice seemed to come at a distance and you did nothing but shrink away from the hands that reached out to you.
Your body was sticky with sweat, causing the sheets of the bed to stick to your body which was a sickly feeling to you. "(Y/N)," you finally heard the figure soothingly hush out while you panted from where you sat.
You glanced at the figure, your vision finally clearing to where you could easily see the person who stood at your side. "Sebastian?" you questioningly whispered out.
"(Y/N)," you heard him repeat with clarity with a sigh of relief. "It seems that you were having a nightmare. How are you feeling?" He asked you in a worried tone.
"I'm parched," was all that you could mumbled out. The top to the roof of your mouth felt dry like sandpaper, a texture that disgusted you.
Sebastian's dim eyes glanced into your exhausted ones before standing up from where he leaned. Immediately, your hand darted out to grab onto his wrist, preventing him before taking a step away. Sebastian gazed down at you perturb by your demeanor.
"Don't leave me here alone," you pleaded up to him with widened terrified eyes.
Sebastian bent down to gently unwrap your hand from around his wrist prompting you to panic at this. "I'm just going to ask one of the others to bring you something. I'm not going to leave," he reassured as he rubbed the top of your head.
You watched uncertain as he once again straightened up to head over to the door of your room. The sound of murmured talking was heard followed by the noise of footsteps dashing off down the hall. With whatever he had asked the other was done, Sebastian headed back inside the room, softly closing the door behind him.
"I told the young master that you would be unable to perform your duties for the day," Sebastian stated as he began to head back to your side. "He gave you the day off. He seems to be real worried about you as do the others. They offered to take over your chores for the day."
You however, remained quiet, doing nothing but watching Sebastian as he stopped next to your bedside. Sitting down on the bed besides your legs, he worriedly glanced your way. "(Y/N), I know that you can hear me. Can you tell me what you dreamed?"
You were quiet, your gaze flickered to Sebastian's own unwavering one before glancing away every so often. Finally after a while, you pulled yourself up from where you laid, drawing your legs in to rest your chin on top of them.
"It was a nightmare about my past," you told him, your voice cracking due to the fact that your throat was dry. Oh how you needed water badly. Maybe it would help to remove the vile taste that lingered in the back of your throat.
"Was there a chance that it was about... the death of your parents?" Sebastian slowly asked you, but you shook your head to his question. "Then what was it about?"
You let out a small noise before shifting up to where you were now fully attentive to Sebastian. "It was after my parents had died. There was a family friend, a guy who had known my father since their time in college. I never knew his first name as I had always called him Mr. Malcom."
It was then that a knock was heard on the door causing the two of you to glance your way over toward it. "You may come in," Sebastian called out. With that, the door slowly opened and in peeked Finny with a anxious expression on his face.
As he made his way into the room, his eyes immediately slid over to where you sat in your bed. In his hand was a glass of water that you could only assume was meant for you. What caught your attention was the small bag that he carried in his other hand. "(Y/N)... are you alright?" He asked you, his eyes wide in anxiety.
"I'll be fine Finny. You don't have to worry at all," you told him though your exhausted tone told him otherwise.
"Get as much rest as you want to," Finny stated as he headed over to the side, barely registering the fact that Sebastian was next to you. "Here Sebastian had me go and get you something to drink," he said as he handed you the glass of water.
"Oh, this was also left for you at the front of the manor," he added in as he set the bag onto your night stand.
"Thanks Finny," you told him with a small smile as you took the glass from him. It felt so much better to swallow down the cold liquid and you immediately felt rested afterword. Finny took the empty glass from your hands and with one last worried glance back he left the room.
The atmosphere was quiet for a while before Sebastian turned back to look at you. "So this family friend. Did you like him?"
"...I mean he was a good friend to my father and mother, so I trusted him. He had become a part of the family and we all trusted him," you quietly said. "He was the type of guy who thought that magic-users deserved rights and liberties. My parents always hid it from me, but I knew that he would always go to protest, even if it meant using force..."
"And what happened."
You let out a sigh before glancing up to gaze into Sebastian's eyes. "It was after my parents had died. I had no other family - my other relatives were dead - so Malcom took me in and raised me."
You were quiet. Your mind flashed back to the abhorrence's you felt in the three years you spent with Malcom. "It was immediately after that that he began training me," you continued. "Things were okay in the beginning, but... he began to become atrocious with his teaching methods. I had enough of it after three years and left... it wasn't exactly ideal in his opinion."
Sebastian was quiet, as if unsure of what to say and you didn't notice the spark of irritation in his eyes. "He's gone though right?"
You nodded your head. "I haven't seen him in years. The last time I saw him was back in my dimension... I'm not sure why I'm having these nightmares now."
It was suddenly that Sebastian stood up, throwing you off guard. To your surprise, he reached a hand down to you. "Instead of dwelling on this fact and you squandering your time here in bed. Why don't we get you something to eat to wake you up for the day?"
"Yeah I think that would be good," you said after a moment of pause. With a small, tired smile you took his hand and he steadily pulled you out of the bed.
"It would be nice to get something to eat," you stated abash.
Sebastian let out a chuckle before he began to lead you out of the room. You threw a glance back, your gaze landing on bag that Finny had brought in deciding that you would just open it later on in the day.
Sebastian led you out into the hallway, closing the door to your room behind softly. Hush whispers were heard from behind you, prompting you to glance back curious as to where it was coming from.
Your eyes caught sight of the three other servants gazing at you from behind the corner, concern on each of their faces. You knew that they were worried about you, but you felt to tired to go over and reassure them.
You never noticed that Sebastian was still holding your hand, the demon butler leading you toward the kitchen. Once there, he made you sit down into one of the chairs before heading to grab some ingredients.
"What are you making?" You softly asked him, your eyes keenly watching every move that he made. You noticed that he had pulled out several eggs from their containers, which led you to assume that he was going to make eggs.
"Scrambled eggs since I know you like them so much," Sebastian lightly joked out. With observant eyes, you watched as he crack the eggs into bowl before whisking them.
It was quiet for a while before you asked. "Where's Ciel?"
"The young master is currently in his study room working on a few things the Queen has sent him," Sebastian answered. "He's worried about you so I'm sure he's going to stop by your room later to see how you're feeling."
It was hard to focus on what Sebastian was saying as your thoughts continued to flicker to the nightmares. What was the meaning of them and why were you having them now? Malcom was long gone so he shouldn't be any problem.
The sound of something clacking before you made you jump in your seat. You refocused back into reality, realizing that Sebastian had slid a plate of cooked scrambled eggs in front of you. "Thank you," you softly said before slowly beginning to eat.
"What are you going to do about the nightmares," Sebastian subtly asked.
The fork that you held in your hand traced circles on your now empty plate. You couldn't care for the scratching noise it made, however seeing the look on Sebastian's face you placed it down. You let out a sigh before addressing him. "There's a few spells that I've read in the book that can help remove nightmares. Im thinking about using them," you told him rather tiredly.
Sebastian let out a nod whilst he took the empty plate away from you. "I think that would be most helpful. It's a shame that these dreams are plaguing you. I wish that there was something I could do to help."
"It's okay Sebastian. You being there while I told you those things were really helpful," you told him with a small smile. You let out a yawn, still not feeling as rested as you wanted to. Those nightmares were greatly sapping your energy and just once you wished that you would get a good nights sleep.
"If you ever need me to , I would be delighted in making you a cup of tea," Sebastian suggested.
"Thanks Sebastian. I'll be sure to keep you up on that offer," you told him with a wistful smile. A cup of tea did sound nice and you were delighted that Sebastian had suggested this.
A hand ruffled your hair, one that you clearly knew belonged to Sebastian. "Lighten up," he stated with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that things will be okay in the end." His gaze ran over your tired features before letting out a sigh. "Why don't you go back and get some sleep? I think that it would be needed."
"I think that's a good idea," you stated out still feeling quite tired.
"Now let me walk you back to your room." Upon saying this, Sebastian headed around the island, coming to stand next to you. He held out his hand, to which you took it like you had done before. He helped you slide out of the chair to stand on the cold floor.
You had never noticed that you had been barefoot, but now that you felt icy pricks whenever you walked you were very much aware of it.
"The others are really worried about you," Sebastian stated causing you to glance up at him as the two of you made your way down the hall. "It'll be nice for them if you let them see that you're doing alright."
You thought back to when you had noticed the three of them peering around the corner in distress. You knew that they were greatly worried about you, something that you wished you could prevent. "The next time that I see that I should tell them that I'm okay. Not to mention tell them thanks for taking over my duties for the day."
Sebastian let out a chuckle, his gaze never once leaving your figure in apprehension that you may collapse or faint. It was suddenly then that you felt an arm scoop under your legs to lift you, another one giving support to your back.
"Sebastian!" You called out, flabbergasted at the fact that he had lifted you bridal style. Sebastian let out an amused chuckle at your astonished expression, continuing to make his way down the hall.
"I was worried that you were going to fall. You were unsteady on your feet," Sebastian reasoned, a smile on his face as he smiled down at you.
A blush crossed your features and you bashfully glanced away. You shyly played with a lock of hair that had fallen into your face. "Thank you Sebastian, but you really didn't need to do this."
"Nonsense (Y/N), you are fatigued. If you want to get better then you need to take care of yourself. And I don't mind doing this," Sebastian stated. "You are my pupil and I am quite fond of you."
"You're.. fond of me?!" You squeaked out, your mind reeling from hearing his velvety going say this.
"Of course (Y/N)," Sebastian chuckled out. "I've always been fond of you. You're a courageous person, someone who is undaunted at times of trouble."
"...But that's not always true, I tend to mess up a lot. I'm a screw up at time and can never always protect the people who I hold dear." These were thoughts that had always continued to plague you, ever since you had realized you were weak when you failed to protect Ciel when Drocell took Elizabeth.
"That may be true, but don't forget the other things that you have done. You helped to protect Ciel many other times and you've always been there to protect the people you cherish," Sebastian rebutted. "So don't put yourself down when you have done so much."
"... I guess you're right about that... thank you Sebastian."
"I was merely stating the truth," Sebastian chuckled.
It felt... nice being carried by Sebastian like this. You could feel the steady beat of his heart, the tempo greatly calming you as he walked forward. Unconsciously, you pressed yourself further to his chest, enjoying the warmth that was emitting from his body.
That was one thing that you like about him. He was always somebody that made you feel commendable. He helped you to grow stronger and was there to reassure you when you doubted yourself.
"We're here," Sebastian stated, alerting you to the fact that the two of you now stood outside of your door.
Sebastian lightly set you down from where he carried you, your feet touching the cold surface of the floor. You pushed the door opened, slowly staggering your way into the room. Sebastian followed ever so gradually behind you.
"Are you going to open the gift that Funny brought in here for you?" Sebastian asked.
"Oh I probably should." The gift bag was on the nightstand so you headed your way over to it. Your gaze caught sight of sheets of envelopes and written letters which you recognized as the letters from James.
It had been a while since you had last heard from James from Houndsville. The last time you had heard from him was months ago, after he had told you that he was doing well since he had left from the village.
You ignored the letters, going to sit on your bed while pulling the gift box onto your lap. "So what is it?" Sebastian curiously asked as he headed over to you.
"I'm not sure yet," you stated before reaching into the bag. Two fuzzy objects were felt from inside and you pulled them out, coming to find another pair of plushies. "Their so cute!" You gazed down at the blonde hair duo that you held in your hands.
A chuckle at your side made you glance over to where Sebastian was. A amused grin was on his face as he leaned over and pointed at the dolls. "If you don't mind me pointing out, but I believe that they resemble Finny and Sir Edward Midford."
You instantly glanced down, the features of the dolls instantly reminding you of Finny and Edward. "You're right! I have a feeling this was from Soma. He's been sending me dolls like these for a while."
Sure enough in the bag was a letter written out to you from Soma.
'Dear Soniya,' it read.
'I hope that you are doing well. If not, I hope that this dolls were enough to cheer you up. Currently Agni and I are touring around cities and museums in England. There's a college - Weston College - that happen to catch my attention. I might go take a look there sometime later. I can't write long, our train is about to leave, but I really do hope that you are doing well... and I really do miss you a lot Soniya. I hope to see you sometime soon.'
Soma
You clutched the letter to your chest, feeling elated that Soma had taken the time to send you this evening when he was busy. You placed the letter to the side all the while putting the new plushies with the others you had already gotten.
"I think I'm going to get some sleep now," you informed Sebastian who had remained standing at your side. His gaze glanced away from the plushies pile you had, darted to look down at your tired figure.
"I think that would be a good idea," Sebastian murmured out. He was kind enough to help you into the covers, the act causing you to blush the entire time.
Being back in your bed was like letting out a sigh of satisfication, but it did give you some worries. You weren't certain if the nightmares were going to come back, but if it meant being able to sleep you were going to take your chance.
"Well I'll let you get your rest." Sebastian straightened up after helping you into the covers. "Sleep well (Y/N)."
"Wait Sebastian!" You quickly called out stopping him midway from reaching your door. Nervously, with your gaze averted you asked. "Can you... stay here with me... until I fall asleep?"
Sebastian's eyes widened, clearly not expecting you to ask such a thing, before his expression relaxed and a small smile crossed his face. "Why of course. I'll stay here until you fall asleep." He made his way over, gently sitting at your side on top of the covers.
"Thank you," you whispered out, closing your eyes. You let out a contempt sigh as fingers began to delicately run through your hair just as sleep hit you hard.
"Goodnight (Y/N)," Sebastian murmured out while watching you. "I hope you rest well."