Chapter Text
Sebastian whipped around as light permeated the manor. "Young Master," he hissed immediately. Why hadn't he known something was wrong? Something, somewhere? He dashed toward the study where his Master was working and stopped short.
His Young Master was there, for sure. But he wasn't... exactly the Young Master he knew. He was smaller, and happier.
The boy sitting on the floor looked up at him and smiled. "How do you do, sir? I'm Ciel."
And adorable.
Sebastian's eyes widened slightly and the boy's head ducked down. Then he (Sebastian was going to have to accept that this was indeed Ciel) looked up again, tilting his head in curiosity. Sebastian forced his frozen mind to work and knelt down in front of the boy (who was somehow even smaller than before). "Hello, Ciel. My name is Sebastian." He thought quickly. "Your parents are away for a while, and most of the servants are too, but they sent me and Bard, Finny, and Mey-rin to take care of you while they are away. Tanaka is here as well. Does that sound all right?"
Ciel sighed, looking down. Then he looked up with an unhappy frown. "You're lying, sir." His expression sharpened. "Tell the truth, Sebastian!"
Sebastian winced. That was an order. He couldn't refuse now. "First. Young Master, how old are you now?"
"Eight," Ciel replied, already smiling again. No wonder Elizabeth was so upset at his solemnity if this was how he was before, and his smile was adorable.
Sebastian hoped this wouldn't set Ciel back to the way he was before, or anywhere near it. "Very well. This may be extremely difficult to believe, Young Master."
"I'll know if you're lying, or crazy," Ciel replied firmly. "Tell the truth."
"At this point in time, you are meant to be fourteen years old." Ciel's eyes widened, but there was no disbelief in them. "Four years ago, there was a fire. The Manor burned down, and both your parents died in the fire." Ciel's eyes filled with tears, but he didn't cry, and Sebastian was extremely glad for that. "You were captured by a cult. I am uncertain as to exactly what happened there, but by the end of it you were desperate for a way out, and you called to me. We made a contract, which is shown by the symbol on the back of my hand and on your eye, and I now serve you and only you. I am a demon. Since then, you have met many people over the time you've spent filling your father's shoes and doing your duty as the Head of the Phantomhive family and as the Queen's Watchdog."
Sebastian stopped talking, and Ciel clung to him, shaking.
Finally, Ciel pulled away, rubbing his eyes. When he looked up at Sebastian again, he could barely tell Ciel had been crying. He also noted that the contract seal could easily be seen. Automatically, he started to tie an extra eye patch (which he kept in his pocket) over it as Ciel said,
"Sebastian, you mentioned a Finny, Bard, and Mey-rin. I want to meet them." He held up a hand expectantly as Sebastian finished tying the patch on and pulled away.
For a moment, Sebastian just stared at the hand as he'd never seen it before and was uncertain of exactly what it was. Then he collected himself and opted to ignore the hand, instead rising to his feet.
"I will go and bring them here, Young Master. This will give me time to explain what has happened here," he said dutifully, turning and leaving the room. Ciel dropped his hand, tilting his head in confusion. Sebastian was feeling very conflicted about something, though Ciel wasn't certain what.
Eventually, Ciel just shrugged and reached out with his empathy so that he would know when they were coming, and opened one of the tactics books that Daddy had told him he couldn't read until he was older. Of course, he had ignored him.
He had only read a few pages before his empathy felt Sebastian, letting Ciel know that he had entered the corridor. He put away the book just as the door opened, admitting Sebastian and three other people he didn't know, plus one he did.
The old man, who Ciel recognized as Tanaka, gasped first. "Young Master!"
Ciel beamed at him. "Grandpa!"
In unison, the other three gaped at Tanaka. "Grandpa?"
Tanaka chuckled. "I'd almost forgotten that you used to call me that."
"I thought you'd gone mad, Sebastian," the younger man muttered, staring at Ciel. "But Young Master..."
"Is really, really cute!" the older boy beamed. (A/N The younger boy being Ciel)
Ciel made a face. "I am not cute," he mumbled halfheartedly.
Both the woman and the younger man stared at the boy who'd spoken.
"What?" he protested. "Weird stuff happens to Master Ciel all the time! This isn't nearly as weird as when Sebastian was dead and then he wasn't!"
Both of the other two considered this and conceded the point.
"Young Master," Sebastian started, regaining control of the conversation. "The boy is Finian, or Finny. He is the gardener, but he also helps to protect the manor with his inhuman strength." He nodded to the man. "This is Baldroy, or Bard, as he prefers to be known. He is the cook, and also helps to protect the manor using his penchant for fires and explosions. The woman is Mey-rin, the maid. In addition, she is a gifted sniper."
Ciel gave them all a smile, giggling as surprise flared and delight radiated from them. The giggle seemed to make the emotions more intense.
"Hello, Finny, Bard, Mey-rin," he greeted cheerfully.
"Hello, Young Master," they replied in unison, seemingly automatically.
Ciel finally moved away from the bookshelf and gave each of them a small hug, giggling as more shock radiated off of them in ripples. Mey-rin's arms seemed to automatically hug him back, while Finny seemed afraid that he would break, and Bard seemed uncertain of how to react.
Sebastian stared at him. Was the Young Master he knew anywhere in this little boy?
Then he shook himself mentally and reminded himself that, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter, he was bound to Ciel's will. He quickly shooed away the other servants, reminding them that there was work to be done regardless of recent events.
As he returned, Ciel gave Sebastian a mischievous look. The demon butler replied with a confused one.
The boy ran.
Sebastian froze with shock for a moment. What on earth was his Young Master doing?
Then he tore after the boy, barely remembering to keep himself to a human speed in his alarm. A laugh echoed from the corridor ahead and, as he gained on Ciel, he saw his Young Master glance over his shoulder, grinning wildly.
Then it hit him, with enough force to stop him in his tracks.
His Young Master was playing.
Ciel Phantomhive, head of the ever-untouchable house of Phantomhive, was playing.
By the time he actually managed to process this, Ciel had once again disappeared and all that remained was his echoing laugh and a lingering scent.
Normally, Sebastian would disapprove. Normally, he would superspeed ahead and catch the boy to deliver a sound scolding. Normally... his masters had stopped playing long before he grew fond of them.
Just this once, he conceded, taking off after his Young Master at a slower pace than before. It's actually... fairly cute...
Just as Sebastian caught Ciel around his middle - the former smiling slightly and the latter outright laughing - the door opened and Lau stepped in.
Ciel wriggled free of Sebastian's grip and smiled at the man. Odd, the man's flare of confusion didn't appear on his face at all, aside from his eyes opening slightly to peer at the boy. "Why, hello, my little Lord Earl. You're looking small today."
Ciel laughed and nodded. "Sebastian told me I'm supposed to be fourteen right now, but I'm actually eight, you see." He frowned as emotions that practically screamed 'I-am-plotting-villainous-things' burst from the man. Then he smiled sweetly at him. "Did you know, sir, that pawns who defy their masters become quite useless?"
The startled flash of fright was exactly what he had been going for, though the man only smiled. "Yes, my lord," he replied easily. "Quite useless, indeed." The plotting stopped.
Sebastian chuckled quietly, then introduced, "Young Master, this is Lau, one of your underworld contacts. He is the manager of the local opium trade."
Lau reached into a pocket and pulled out a letter. "My, my, it seems that that Queen of yours is even more uncaring of your age than we thought, eh, my little Lord Earl?" He flicked it toward Ciel, who caught it neatly and looked at it as he felt an unexpected flash of mild irritation and the barest hint of concern.
Sure enough, the envelope bore the Queen's seal. He opened it and scanned the letter.
He wrinkled his nose. "There's hardly any information in this, Sebastian. Where do I normally go?"
"You plan to take the case, Young Master?" Sebastian inquired, surprised.
Ciel nodded. "There is no reason for London to suffer simply because I'm little again."
Sebastian personally thought that there was every reason not to take the case, but he knew by now that Ciel would not listen to him on this matter. "You normally go to Scotland Yard first, and then to Undertaker."
"Undertaker?" Ciel asked.
"Undertaker is a local mortician who exchanges information for a laugh."
Ciel gave him an odd look, but shrugged and nodded. "We should leave for London as soon as possible."
Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my Young Master."
And if he snickered when he realized that Ciel was too small to get in and out of the carriage on his own, well, no one had to know.