Nightmares & Daydreams

The Legend: True or False

Ciel lay awake for the rest of the night. Too exhausted to get out of bed, he twisted and turned, impatient for the moment Sebastian would come in, and open the curtains to let the sun shine through. When the door creaked open, Ciel flipped over and groaned, indicating to the demon that he was awake. He expected a gentle, "Good morning, my lord." But got nothing. The sound of curtains being pulled back was followed by a flood of light, then a moment of silence. "Sebastian?" The Earl croaked, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He saw his butler had his back turned to the boy, and was facing the open window. First, the tall man, dressed in black gave a clench of his fist, then an irritated sigh. He turned to look at the Earl. Ciel noticed dark circles beneath his eyes, which puzzled him. 'It's not like Sebastian could ever experience such a thing as lack of sleep.' He thought. He would have commented on that if it weren't for the scratchy feeling at the back of his throat, which made it difficult to speak. Sebastian brought the Earl a tray of his breakfast and began to change him, slipping off his nightshirt. Finally dressed in the days attire, Ciel let a gulp of hot tea fall down his throat, closing his eyes for the few seconds the irritation disappeared.
Servant and master exchanged no words as they fulfilled their morning routine, and that had begun to worry Ciel. As the demon turned to leave. The boy stopped him by grabbing onto a fold of his tailcoat. "What's up with you?" The boy managed.
Sebastian shot Ciel a glare and jerked his coat away from the Earls small hands. "Let go of me!" He snapped.
Ciel frowned, and took a step forward. "No."
The demon looked stunned, and a certain emotion shot through his eyes, an emotion the Earl rarely saw in Sebastian. Fear. "You're staying right here with me." He added.
Sebastian's expression suddenly turned to anger. "Look here." He snarled, grabbing onto the front of Ciel's coat. "I'm not your pet!" He let go of the boy and turned swiftly, leaving for the kitchen with the Earl's breakfast tray.
He dropped the dirty dishes into a tub, and filled it with soupy water. 'How dare he?!' He thought, furious. 'He's going to get himself killed!' The demon scrubbed at the dishes and then lay them out to dry. 'He thinks he owns me, does he? That's not what the contract means, foolish child. I own him! I could strike him down with one blow. It would be that easy!" He gritted his teeth and felt his heart tie up at the thought. Sebastian lifted the tub of dirty water and headed outside to empty it. As he pushed open the door, he felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind. His breath caught in his throat and he tensed. "Stay back." He warned through clenched teeth.
"Is this about that legend of what happens when a demon falls in love?" The boy ignored the warning, and asked his question instead.
Sebastian put down the tub and turned to face Ciel. He took a lock of blue-grey hair in his hand and threw the Earl's head back. Tears spring to those two blue eyes. "I. Said. Stay. Back! I do everything I can to keep you SAFE, and you throw your life away. I could end you! I could tear you to pieces! I WILL end you if you don't keep your distance!" Ciel tried to focus his eyesight through the blur of tears. Somehow, he was able to keep his voice from shaking as he said. "That's not true."
"What's not true?!" Sebastian demanded fiercely. Ciel winced as his hair was pulled at again, and his neck was jerked back.
"Sebastian." He whined, his tone quiet. "That hurts."
The demon ignored him. "Answer me!" Ciel clenched his fists and raised his voice. "That hurts!" He screeched.
The grip on him loosened, and Sebastian dropped his hand. He looked away, avoiding the boys gaze. "What's not true?" He asked again.
The Earl swallowed and wiped his eyes. "It's not true that you would kill me if I didn't keep my distance." Sebastian fumed at this. 'Is he telling me I'm weak?' He thought, but curious to hear his master's reasoning, he kept his mouth shut.
"You know what I think?" The Earls voice was more determined now. "I think that legend of yours is completely false! The only reason you're acting as you are is because your frightened!" "I'm not-" Sebastian tried to object. "Yes you are! If you see me as a weakness and you're set on killing me, you wouldn't have let me go when I told you that you hurt me; you wouldn't keep asking me to stay away from you!" The Earl paused his little speech to give affect. When he was certain Sebastian was still following him, he continued. "Putting the pieces together, I don't see a monster when I look at you. You're just afraid of yourself; of hurting me." He concluded, and shot a nervous glance away from the demon, not knowing whether he was going to lash out again or not.