The White Butterfly of Phantomhive

Chapter 44: Over The Hills and Far Away, Part 2

Ciel's shoulders shook and began letting out short breaths. Catching the other two's attention. "What is it, my Lord?" Sebastian asks as he stood back up. Mei, worried that he might be crying, walks over to him. She was about to reach for his shoulder when he suddenly bursts out laughing. Much to Sebastian and Mei's shock.

"There was nothing this whole time! Everything they thought they were protecting, it was long gone and they had no idea! Hahahaha!! What great fools they all were, they were so desperate to preserve this place. They even died for it! Hahahahaha!!!" Ciel laughed in twisted amusement. "We humans are a breed apart. Trampling over each other like insects." He moved around the garden as he kept on laughing, holding his stomach. "We're cowardly, and we're base. Petty and small, and nasty! We're more demonic than demons are!"

Ciel continued to laugh as Sebastian stays in place. Giving his Master a stare. Ciel slowly stopped laughing and take several breaths. A smile still on his face. "I'm just like them, don't you see?" He asked. "I'm full of it. The same ugliness within them courses through my veins as well. This," His smile dropped. "This is just how humans are! Sebastian, do you understand me?! It's who we are!!" He shouted. Leaving Sebastian wide-eyed and in silent shock. He then spread a smile.

"Assuredly. Yes, my Lord." He says.

Mei stares at her young friend and walks over to him. Reaches out, taking his hands in her own. Leaning in to press her forehead against his. Though she failed to see any humour, if any at all, in this, she could see how cruelly ironic this was. It's well true. Humans are every bit as capable of causing death and destruction and are as greedy and arrogant as any other being. That is something no one can deny. However, that can't be the foundation of Humans. Ciel, and Joker and his family, were no different. They were still good deep inside. It is what they experience in their crucial consciousness-altering experiences, that one can finally say, with certainty, what it means to be human. To her, they were the kindest people she knew.

Another gust of wind blew in and the top-knot of Ciel's hat was seized and gets carried off in the breeze. Sebastian reaches towards it but fails to grasp it before it was blown away. Off in the distance away. This Book of the Circus soon came to a close. But its ending is a bittersweet one. Once the happy endings come to an end, you must face death and must face your fears.

In life there is neither a punishment for your sins nor crimes, there is no praises nor blessings. While Mei was disappointed in Ciel for allowing the children in Kelvin's manor to die. She can live on with the hope that because they died, they won't ever have to suffer anymore. And neither will Joker's family. She gave a small smile as she imagines the ghosts of Peter, Wendy, Jumbo, Dagger, Beast, and Doll finally reuniting in the sky.

They were saddened to see that Joker wasn't with them, but they weren't alone. They were surrounded by their young brothers and sisters, as well as the rest of the children. They were together. And can spend their days playing together and perform to their heart's content. They were free. They are in peace, their burdens with always be there but God gives everyone a chance to redeem themselves. May happiness bestow upon them all...

'You are less sophisticated than demons, and yet the grudges you hold are more complex. Your compulsion to lie is unmatched. You struggle desperately your entire lives and carelessly trampled those in your way. You steal and are stolen from. You are hopeless, and yet still you strive to get over the hill and far away. But then I suppose...that's why humans are so interesting.

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Mei sat beside the contented Joker as he quietly ate his food. Mei had come to the hospital to visit him as promised, but she was beside herself. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell him about the truth of the Workhouse, she was afraid that she would only bring him more pain. That was until the doctors told her that Joker was suffering a case of amnesia. Through some tests, he could do and remember simple concepts and skills, but he has no memory of where he came from, what happened to him or even what his name was. It was all a blank to him.