A/N: The FST is available now! You can find it at 8tracks dot com[/]kashiiai[/]darkness-light-a-kuroshitsuji-fanfic-fst

Soundtrack: Over the Love by Florence and the Machine

three; the party of confessions

By the end of the week, Ciel had grasped the ability to alter his appearance. He was yet unable to alter his stature or facial structure in a drastic manner, but the effect of changing his coloring made a profound difference. By day, he had worked long and hard to grasp the small particles of objects and learn to manipulate them—changing their color, changing their shape. Living things were the most difficult to alter, and it was the reason Ciel was only able to manipulate small parts of himself. There was much to keep track of in the functions of the body.

By night, Ciel kept Sebastian in his bed. The sex was an apt distraction for him, and he hoped that even if he could never forget Elizabeth, he could at least let go of his romantic feelings for her, if nothing else. Sebastian was dutiful—he worshipped Ciel's body in every way the young demon wanted or demanded, and taught him many new things. He always ensured Ciel was pleased, but the young boy knew it was only because it was what he desired, what he ordered. The words Sebastian had said, that the elder demon was unable to give Ciel what Elizabeth could, niggled at the back of his mind.

Ciel had monitored the newspapers and sent Sebastian out for rumors and news, and from it they had learned of the launch date for the Midford Publishing Company. An afternoon luncheon was to be had, and interested business parties had been invited to network and open possible deals with Elizabeth and her fiancé. Ciel had sent a letter under the guise of Peter Grey, a young businessman with a taste for good poetry and an acclaimed associate of Funtom Sweets who was now served by Sebastian Michaelis, the former butler to her deceased betrothed. The correspondence Ciel received from Elizabeth was short and formal, and it was strange to read something in her handwriting that was so distant. Still, he kept her letter with the other he had found, for he had left all the others behind at Phantomhive Manor.

He was nervous as he sat before the mirror on the day of the luncheon. Sebastian gently brushed his hair, which was now thick, russet, curly. The face of Peter was longer and his features were broader than Ciel's heart-shaped face and delicate nose and mouth, with a light smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He still wore his eye patch, though, as there was no way to hide the contract circle.

"Are you eager to see Miss Elizabeth, Ciel?" Sebastian asked.

"I am." Ciel's voice was a bit deeper as part of his transformation, and he was still growing used to it. "I am hoping to see that she's happy."

"Of course."

"I believe this idea of continuing business with the Midford family is a wise choice, Sebastian."

"Of course, Ciel."

Ciel was soon ready, and his stomach exploded with butterflies for the entire ride to the Midford estate, from the train to the carriage. Ciel stared out the window as they pulled up to the manor, which had an array of carriages parked before it—all the people who had arrived to attend the luncheon. As Sebastian helped Ciel down from the carriage, he gently rubbed Ciel's back and squeezed his shoulder. The younger demon took a deep breath, focused on maintaining his transformation for a moment.

They walked up to the manor door, and knocked. A maid answered and bowed them in, and Ciel felt all his skin tingle with nerves as he stepped into the familiar mansion. He and Sebastian were escorted through the house to the grounds beyond, where the luncheon was taking place. The garden was fragrant with tiger lilies, Elizabeth's favorite flower, Ciel knew. They lined several of the flowerbeds, and were also set in vases on each table.

He and Sebastian wove through the crowd, Ciel smiling and shaking hands as he made pleasantries along the way. Eventually, he spotted Elizabeth's fiancé, surrounded by a cluster of people. Ciel felt his chest wind tight, and he walked up to the cluster of people with legs like jelly. People glanced back at him as he paused, then they parted before him to reveal Elizabeth. She wore a sunshine yellow dress, trimmed with fragile lace, and he could see the way grief and weariness clung to her, like a disease. Still, she was beautiful, and the young demon felt his breath stutter. She turned her piercing emerald eyes towards him as he stepped forward, and they caught each other's eye. Elizabeth grew very still, and time seemed to freeze as the two of them stared. Ciel could smell her fragrant rose water perfume, even from a couple feet away. He longed to reach out and touch her gold hair, her flawless pale skin. The only thing that mattered was her, his Elizabeth.

"You must be Peter Grey!" The moment was shattered as John Simmons stuck his hand towards Ciel. He was an attractive young man in his early twenties, with wavy brown hair and large green eyes.

The young demon blinked, and broke his stare with Elizabeth. "Yes, that I am," he took John's hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Simmons."

"Likewise. And this is my fiancé, the lovely Elizabeth Midford," John gestured to Elizabeth, and as he did, he glowed with admiration.

Ciel offered Elizabeth a small smile, and he reached out and gently took her hand. "Enchanted to meet you, Lady Midford."

Elizabeth nodded as they stared at each other once again. "Likewise, Mr. Grey. I must say, you . . ."

"Now now, pet, what did I tell you about getting your head in the clouds?" John interjected.

Elizabeth blinked, and shook her head as she withdrew her hand. "I apologize, Mr. Grey. I am afraid I'm rather distractible of late."

Ciel felt his heart twist in his chest. "I imagine so. Your fiancé, Ciel Phantomhive—it's such a tragedy."

"But out of tragedy, joy can grow," John said. He gently put an arm around Elizabeth, and Ciel noted the way he handled her tenderly, the soft look of adoration on his face. John was in love with her. "It hasn't been easy, but it's certainly worth it. My Elizabeth is a true blessing."

Even as Ciel felt a thorny, abrasive ache settle in his chest, he was glad to see that John Simmons truly loved Elizabeth. "I'm glad to hear it. I wish you two all the happiness in the world."

Elizabeth gave him a watery smile. "Thank you, Mr. Gray," she turned to Sebastian then. "And Sebastian, it's been such a long time."

Sebastian inclined his head towards her respectfully. "That it has, Miss Elizabeth. I do hope you have been well."

"I have been doing much better since I met John. Thank you for your concern. I hope you have been well also—I know you were very much attached to Ciel."

Sebastian's eyes flickered towards Ciel. "I was, but I have found that Master Grey has treated me very well. I am quite happy serving him."

Elizabeth smiled, the most genuine one any of them had seen yet. "I'm glad to hear it. Anyhow, what kind of poetry do you like?"

Ciel smiled at the question. "The sort that calls to your soul. Some of my favorites are John Donne, Emily Bronte, Matthew Arnold . . ."

"My, you like quite a range," John said.

"I do."

"Have you memorized any passages?" Elizabeth asked.

Ciel took a deep breath, then he began to recite. "No man is an island, / entire of itself, / every man is a piece of the continent, / a part of the main. / If a clod be washed away by the sea, / Europe is the less." As he recited, everyone grew very quiet, and Elizabeth watched him with wide eyes. "As well as if a promontory were. / As well as if a manor of thy friend's / or of thine own were: / any man's death diminishes me, / because I am involved in mankind, / and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; / it tolls for thee."

Elizabeth's eyes were overbright, and she slowly stepped away from John. "That's one of my favorite poems," she murmured.

"I'm glad it is. But it's also very popular," Ciel said.

"Recite another. Please."

Ciel felt as though he were stripping back parts of himself, that she could see he was Ciel, even through the disguise. "Weep not too much, my darling; / sigh not too oft for me; / say not the face of Nature / has lost its charm for thee. / I have enough of anguish / on my own breast alone; / thou canst not ease the burden, Love, / by adding still thine own."

"My, that's another of my favorites," Elizabeth murmured.

John stepped closer to Elizabeth, and gently put his arm around her again. "So, Mr. Gray. What are you interested in doing for our new company?"

"I would like to be an editor," Ciel said. "For poetry, of course."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. You really seem to know poetry well. You even as the same taste as my Elizabeth."

Ciel turned his eyes to her. "Yes, I do."

"Mr. Simmons!" A maid suddenly scurried up to their group.

"Yes, Helen?" The young man turned to her and smiled kindly.

"We have several guests who wanted to discuss authorship . . ."

"Oh, wonderful!" He kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and stepped away from her. "Duty calls. Sweetheart, I imagine you can do business with Mr. Grey—I imagine you two will get along well. This way you can catch up with your old friend as well." He nodded to Sebastian, then departed, followed by his cluster of admirers.

"I do believe I should leave you two to conduct business," Sebastian stated, then stepped away as well to join the other serving staff.

Ciel was left to converse with Elizabeth alone. She stared at him once again, and Ciel stepped closer to her. He could see that she looked a bit older and had grown a bit taller, though so had he, so they were the same height. He knew she had just turned fifteen in January. She was watching him as though she could see into his soul, and he felt suddenly very vulnerable. He still very much wanted to reach out and touch her, but was aware that it wouldn't be appropriate. He was no longer engaged to her, after all. Elizabeth looked away just then, flushing profusely.

"I apologize for staring so much, Mr. Grey."

"It's alright."

"It's just . . . you remind me of—of—well, it's very strange."

"Of whom do I remind you of?"

"Ciel Phantomhive," she said it softly, sadly.

Ciel swallowed nervously. "I see. How interesting."

"It is most uncanny," she turned away from him. "Perhaps we should take a walk."

Ciel fell into step beside her, and they began to walk around the garden. Elizabeth was quiet, as was Ciel as he waited for her to speak. The silence stretched for a long time, and as they traveled across the party green, Ciel realized they were walking away from it without anyone's notice, towards the hedge maze that laid at the back of the Midford estate—a new addition. He knew he should say something, insist it wasn't appropriate, but he couldn't manage to get the words past his throat.

The maze was much quieter—it seemed the bushes blocked out sound. Still, he waited for Elizabeth to speak as they turned a corner, weaving deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. They eventually came to the center of the maze, which sported a beautiful fountain, carved with a mermaid and merman in an embrace as water spouted from their tails. Elizabeth turned at last to face him, and Ciel opened his mouth to say something.

"I know this isn't proper," Elizabeth said.

"Lady Midford . . . why have you taken me all the way out here?"

She stepped closer to him—so close he could see the pattern of her skin, her individual eyelashes. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Ciel swallowed, and took a deep breath. "I do not."

She reached up, and gently touched his cheek. Elizabeth wore no gloves, and her soft palm against his skin made Ciel shiver. "I'd like to believe it exists."

The young demon said nothing as she softly stroked his cheek. He found himself instead leaning into her touch, hovering closer to her face. Her eyes fluttered, and she leaned closer as well, until he could taste her breath. Something in the back of his mind told him he should stop, but he ignored it. Their lips at last contacted, and Ciel sighed as they gently kissed each other. It was like lightning—it made his entire body tingle, particularly his face.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him harder. Ciel shuddered, and at last, alarm bells broke through to the forefront of his mind. He tensed, then pulled away. Elizabeth blinked up at him, then her eyes grew to the size of saucers. Ciel parted from her and ran his hand through his hair self-consciously, only to discover that it was no longer curly. He froze, and looked back at Elizabeth, who was staring at him as though he were an apparition.

"C—Ciel?"

"Elizabeth . . ." His voice emerged as his own. It seemed his disguise had been stripped—he had ceased to maintain it when they kissed. "Oh, God. This isn't good."

"Is it really you?"

"Er, no! I'm a ghost."

Elizabeth touched his arm. "You're very solid for a ghost."

Ciel watched her for a long moment, before he softly caressed her cheek. "Poor excuse, I guess. But you weren't supposed to know it's me."

"What . . ." Elizabeth shook her head. "What's going on? How is it—you're supposed to be dead! Though when Phantomhive Manor burned down, we all thought you'd died, but back you came . . ."

Ciel withdrew his hand, and took a step back from her. "I'm sorry. This whole thing has been—well. Perhaps I shouldn't have come."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "At the very least, you can explain yourself."

"You wouldn't believe me if I did."

The future marchioness drew herself up haughtily. "Try me."

Ciel couldn't help but smile—that haughtiness was one of the things he liked about her. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, and took a deep breath. Elizabeth joined him, watching him with curious green eyes. He turned to her, and she ran a hand over his cheek, through his hair. He gently took her hand, and settled it in her lap.

"Sorry. I just . . . I keep expecting you to vanish," she said sheepishly.

"I won't. At least, not right now. I suppose I owe you the truth, at the very least."

"Good. I expect nothing less of you."

"If I do tell you everything, though, you must promise me that you must not tell anyone else. Nor does it mean we can be together again."

"But—"

"Elizabeth," Ciel held her gaze sternly. "There are good reasons for it," he took a deep breath, "and to be honest, I don't know if you'll still want me after I tell you everything, anyhow."

"I would never think that, Ciel."

"We'll see soon, I suppose." He reached up, and untied his eye patch. Elizabeth blinked as she watched curiously. Ciel's heart raced as he successfully pulled the bow loose, and the patch slid away. He opened his eye, and looked up at Elizabeth.

"What happened to it?" She asked. "There's some sort of . . . circle on it."

Slowly, Ciel pulled off his gloves and held his hands out to her, which were pale, the fingernails blackened. "It is a very long story."

Elizabeth took his hands and stared at them for a moment, before she returned her gaze to his face. "Tell me. Everything. I want to know."

Ciel took another deep breath, and then he began. He started with the people who kidnapped him, speaking of how they tortured him, branded him, and took his eye. How they were going to kill him, then a dark entity appeared to him, and offered him life once again. How he took it, and when he did, the Sebastian they knew was created. That he was to hand his soul over to the demon upon completion of his revenge.

"Sebastian is a demon?" Elizabeth looked deeply disturbed.

"Yes, he is."

She was silent for a long moment, before she pulled his hands up to her face and kissed the back of each. "I'm glad you lived because of it. I don't think that was the best choice, but I'm glad you were able to live on because of him. And . . . Sebastian really does seem to care for you."

Ciel smiled bitterly. "I suppose so. But the story isn't over yet."

He continued. He told her how he had died, and Sebastian had tried to take his soul, but had failed. How the entire incident with Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus. How Alois had, in the end, made a wish. A wish that had altered Ciel, so he was no longer human, but demon. When he finished speaking, Elizabeth was quiet for a long time. She still held his hands, but she wouldn't look at him. He kept waiting for her to push him away, but she never did.

"You're going to live forever, aren't you?" She eventually asked.

Ciel nodded. "Yes, probably. If something doesn't kill me, anyway."

She at last looked up at him. "So that's why you think we can't be together."

"Yes, that is why."

"But . . . a demon can grant any wish, yes?"

"Er, yes. So long as you give the demon something in return."

Elizabeth straightened up at that. "Make a contract with me, then."

Ciel pulled his hands from hers. "Absolutely not."

"I can become like you. We can be together, and—"

"I don't want that," Ciel interjected. "I want . . . I want you to be happy. To live a normal life. I've seen the way Simmons looks at you—like you're his sun. He adores you, and he is obviously a very good man."

Elizabeth swallowed. "But I don't love him. Someone as good as he is—he deserves someone who loves him back."

"Perhaps you can grow to love him."

She offered a watery smile, and gently hooked her hand under his chin. "It really was a mistake for you to come here. Now that I know you're alive, I'll never be able to. I was planning to be miserable for the rest of my life, but here you are, alighting me with life and hope."

Ciel felt his chest ache with longing. "That's what I am to you?"

"Of course, Ciel. You've always been my future."

His eyes stung, and before he could stop it or pull away, a tear spilled over and wound down his cheek. "I can't, Elizabeth. I can't do that to you. I want you to live a normal, human life. I want you to keep your soul."

Elizabeth sighed, and released him. "I know." She looked away from him. He expected her to cry, but she didn't. "We should be getting back. John will be looking for me."

"Right."

As he stood, Ciel felt his heart shatter, and he knew it would never be whole again.

The next several weeks were torture. As the earth bloomed with spring life, Ciel's heart grew darker and harder. He dedicated himself to Sebastian, but even as he asked the elder demon to make love to him in the sweetest way possible, even as he called Sebastian's name in ecstasy, even as his butler cared for him and taught him, Ciel knew none of it was real. He knew that Sebastian only did what Ciel wished for.

It was on a bright spring day that the doorbell rang. Ciel was in the living room, reading the newspaper, while Sebastian prepared lunch in the kitchen. When Ciel was human, he would have waited for Sebastian to get the door, but now things were different. He rose from his place, and walked to the front entrance. He pulled the carved wooden door open, and found a young Spanish man on the doorstep. Ciel's eyes widened, for in his arms was an unconscious Elizabeth.

"Please," the young man's eyes were like Sebastian's—eons old. "You have to help her."

your faith was strong,
but you needed proof.
you saw her bathing on the roof.
her beauty in the
moonlight overthrew you . . .

A/N: Our first cliffhanger, muahahaha~! You are all free to fall at my feet and weep. |D

At last, the plot has started picking up! I'm excited. Things are gonna get interesting now, ehehehe~

As always, reviews and comments are deeply appreciated! I love hearing that you, my dear readers, like my fanfic! I hope you enjoyed this chapter~!

Poetry Ciel quoted:
No Man is an Island by John Donne
Weep Not Too Much by Anne Bronte