The Black Wedding

As they came closer to The Tower, Sebastian wondered how to enter something that had no windows or doors. However, as soon as they were almost close enough to touch it, the agate-coloured wall cracked right in front of them. The crack began to expand, never breaking but as if devouring the edges of the jet-black stone. The entrance was soon wide enough for two to come inside. Abyss. Narrow, slender, and elongated on the outside… it was all-consuming on the inside. It was looking at them from all sides. It was a living creature. There was… no more. Such darkness… I suppose it is potential for many things, thought Sebastian. He heard his name creep into his ear: “It’s very dark in there, Sebastian,” said Ciel. “We don’t know what’s inside. Have you been here before?” “I’ve never been inside The Tower,” answered Sebastian. And he wasn’t lying. “But I believe that there is meaning in this darkness. Don’t the ones doomed for an eternal union have to go together, hand in hand, into fire and water? And into darkness such as this…” Once again, it was a jest true to the former Sebastian, his eyes laughing this time. He’s making fun of me again, Ciel remarked as he felt a warm lump growing in his chest. He said: “Don’t be too happy yet.” “No happiness can match our bond, you can be sure of that.” Sebastian smiled with the corners of his lips. He took Ciel by the hand. To his surprise, he found it wet and cold, like that of a fearful human. “Do you mean that this is a symbolic situation, and we must come in holding hands?” sniffed the boy. “Come in right there?” He was afraid of the dark. Sebastian could hear his heart beating fast. Oh yes, Ciel Phantomhive was afraid of the dark. Like good old times. Sebastian saw this fear even now, in the newborn demon. In the demon who was beyond the reach of diseases or even of death and for whom pain had ceased to be a deterrent he knew it to be. Well… his master was yet to learn how to live in his new skin, he still remembered himself as a human, which meant… that the servant had a much better chance to be saved than he dared to hope. “Right there. Do you trust me, my lord?” Ciel didn’t answer. All he could do was stare into the clot of darkness before him, like a five-year-old child petrified in front of a dog, fierce and with its teeth bared. Sebastian remembered their first days together, when this grown-up child looked most like an ordinary, defenceless little boy. “I can carry you.” “I can go on my own.” “In his previous life, my master was meant to go to his wedding with Miss Elizabeth. But now he stands before the altar with me. With whom a simple dance made him embarrassed. Don’t you find it hilarious?” “You are talking nonsense… Everything is in the past. Everything human... And so is Phantomhive. Let’s go, Sebastian, just…” “…?” The master fell quiet. He looked away at the roses and muttered barely audible: “Hold me tight.” Sebastian smiled. Everything is in the past, you say, everything human? “I won’t let you go for a moment. I promise.” …And, taking a step almost synchronically, they found themselves inside. The hole behind them closed at the same moment, its edges coming back together like a clot of ink to mark the end of their journey. There was not an echo to hear. A strange, vague feeling took over them inside The Tower. Before long, they were able to see in this impenetrable gloom, as though assisted by an invisible light. Ciel found himself in new clothes. It was all black, of course, to match the monochrome colour of their surroundings. There was a suit clinging tight to his waist that included shorts and lace stockings. At the back of the suit was a bustle adorned with trimmings of full skirts; a long veil flowed down to the floor and away, away, away… Being black, it became one with the darkness of The Tower. His hands were wrapped in gloves, and his head was crowned with a small hat with a veil and gems. The sound of his heels bounced off the floor. He was wearing a pair of suede boots. A bride, you say? How funny. “Was it necessary to dress me in this?” “This isn’t my doing,” answered the man. “I suppose this place chooses attire for its visitors. Such that would suit them best. We are going to a wedding, if you still remember, and The Tower has chosen you to be the bride. Ah, I wonder why I’m not surprised... Would it surprise you if it were the other way around, my lord?” Sebastian was dressed in an elegant suit, and even his shirt was pitch black. The butler’s satin gloves were gone. A groom, then? Ciel smirked. “You better be quiet,” he hissed. “If I had to choose, I might prefer you to be the one in the dress and not me.” “It suits you well.” “Be quiet.” It seemed like Sebastian was about to smile at their verbal fight; however, his expression was impassive. He only saw him smile when the man extended his hand to invite him to danse. “Come then, Ciel. Let me invite you to dance.” The boy frowned, his face turning sombre, and yet Ciel took a step forward and placed his small gloved hand into that of the demon. It always looked bigger to him than it was — the hand that could solve all his problems, shelter him, protect him, and now… lead him through the dark in this bizarre, disquieting Tower. Why did he agree to this? to this trap of the demon? “Are you doing it on purpose? We will never be equal.” Sebastian smiled softly. “It is only this night that I can call you by your name. A symbolic ritual, isn’t it?” The bride’s heels lightly clicked against the marble floor, as black as an infinite arch of the ceiling that spiralled up into the same infinity. It was along this spiral that a light came to life as soon as the two stepped into the centre of the hall, a light that was similar to that of a candle but even and brighter. Myriads of matte stars scattered above and around them, in the monolithic and motionless darkness. Ciel felt like he was in the sky, and the earth under his feet collapsed and transformed into emptiness. Like a decoy or a spider trap for a butterfly. He found himself suspended in enveloping and inky weightlessness and, frightened, moved forward on his treacherously trembling legs. Sebastian held him back. Ever so gently and careful. The way he always did. His loyal butler. His tower of strength. “It’s very… beautiful here,” was all Ciel could utter. He clutched Sebastian’s jacket with his fingers and pressed himself against his chest. As much as he was unwilling to show his fear, suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore. Sebastian smiled condescendingly and somehow sadly. “I agree with you, Ciel.” Ciel looked up at him. For some reason, he suddenly thought that, perhaps, it was important for Sebastian to call him by his name, at least tonight. It was Ciel, after all, who was a worm crawling at the bottom of a dirty cage when they first met. The demon wrapped one hand around Ciel’s waist and took his small hand in the other — even in that move, the boy could feel a special tenderness. At first, he thought the demon was just being pleasing, and that could be a mask for something, but then he remembered how he called him by his name. Sebastian looked more relaxed than ever. “I only know how to lead,” Ciel said without knowing why. He had a sudden need to say something — strange awkwardness and something else were gradually taking control over him in that place when he was so close to his servant, and if he stopped, if only for a moment, he was sure to fall into that weightless emptiness again. He glanced at the breathtaking beauty, never daring to look at what was down. Sebastian, however, was confident. He was in his own element, still alien to Ciel. That element was just as chaotic and deep as Sebastian himself. I always was only a human. The thought flashed in his mind and was gone in an instant. “Liar,” said the man. “You and I have danced before, have you forgotten?” “It is hard to forget,” agreed the boy. He looked around. “Is there an end to this hall?” “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” They were dancing for what felt like an eternity. Ciel’s heart would skip a beat every time when several new stars would spark to life among in the myriad of lights around them. And every time, they would reflect in the red eyes before him. And still the hall was endless. Sebastian was waiting for it to happen. He was watching Ciel and The Tower, which, in turn, was watching their never-ending waltz. And immortals could dance for a long, impossibly long time… He didn’t know how the magic of The Tower worked; he only assumed that it was important to stay inside as long as possible… without losing your mind to never find your way out. For such places were meant to destroy. There was no creation to them, and the process of observing them was false. It didn’t seem so hard. He was leading. The clicking of their heels reminded him of something delightfully burning. It belonged to the past. The living rustle of the veil. The coral lips under the cloak of its playful mist. But those lips were not playful. Playfulness was not about his master, but even he showed traits of a malleable nature, which accepted much more than it took. The butler began to remember his life with the Earl on the Earth — a short time, which, however, he could not forget. A blue mark, a scar left on his neck by a collar. Crystal purity unsullied by the vulgarity of angels. His riddle with the name of heavens. The first that managed to excel the riddler. And he gave him his due. “It feels so strange here,” Ciel suddenly shared his thoughts. “Can you feel anything?” He gazed into the servant’s eyes. Sebastian came back from his vortex of memories. “Only that someone still doesn’t know how to dance, Ciel, and steps on his partner’s feet.” “I’m serious, Sebastian.” And why did he agree to this familiarity? “What exactly feels strange to you?” “I think it’s déjà vu. It’s like we’ve been here before and danced, and this darkness around, it’s oppressive…” Ciel winced. “I… can hear it breathe, even though… I don’t care?.. It is too quiet here.” Sebastian stared at Ciel with intensity. The boy’s eyes were pensive, as if he too was immersed in some memories. “Sebastian,” he spoke again almost instantly. “Must it be a vow of loyalty?” “I’m not sure. But I suppose it must.” “You should hate me.” Is it a hypnotic effect of The Tower? thought Sebastian. He said: “I don’t hate you, my lord. You won in a fair game.” He’s calling me ‘my lord’ again, Ciel noted. “Right,” he nodded. “But now it seems meaningless.” His blue eyes became wet, a movement of some thought bringing Phantomhive’s mind to excitement. “Ciel Phantomhive lived and fought for what was meaningless. He was a fool, like all humans who can only see vengeance, hatred, and other unimportant goals. I was a true Ciel Phantomhive. In spite of it, you stayed loyal to me, even though it all seemed like a fuss to you,” he smirked, his expression painful and sarcastic, “am I right, Sebastian? This is so stupid… All humans are stupid. Like insects.” “It didn’t. Not insects.” Sebastian smiled. He could already feel how the thread of thought was changing Ciel, how something in the boy was being unsealed, broken, and shattered. Oh yes… It was the doing of The Tower, its undeniable influence. The bride’s grasp on the groom’s jacket became tighter and tighter, the sound of their heels growing smoother and louder. Their dance was so natural that everything around them disappeared. Ciel felt the human dead in him come to the surface, and now he saw the meaning of the path he had taken. What he used to ignore. He admitted his mistakes and meaningless that was Ciel Phantomhive. Soon, he could feel the heavy burden become weightless and fall. He could and wanted to speak about it. About what had at least some meaning. “You’ve changed,” Sebastian said, breaking his train of thought. Ciel lifted up his head to see a sly, wolfish face. Sebastian looked at him so hungrily that the boy lost his breath. The copper-red eyes glowed, focused on the boy alone. Sebastian imagined at that moment how his bloody shackles would fall to the ground, and on the instant (he knew it for sure), he would tear the boy apart. He would not leave a scrap of him. The creature would devour him whole, turn him into nothing. Into history. Oh, how he longed for it! He caught the scent of Ciel and pulled him closer by the waist. They were dancing together so close, growing one into another for quite a long time now, but Ciel didn’t seem to notice it, absorbed in his feelings. He even seemed to like their proximity. And this new discovery. “I have always been loyal to you.” Sebastian never took his eyes off him. He smiled softly at his master, stroked his face, and tucked a lock behind his ear, brushing the black veil with his fingers. “Yes. You alone have been loyal and truthful to me.” “Now you can see that human games are meaningless.” “Yes, I can. They are meaningless, and so is life. But…” “Perhaps,” his beautiful lips of a predator smiled, interrupting the boy. Ciel looked at them more often as he allowed the demon to caress him. Sebastian’s lips were exquisite, his mouth sometimes creating lines so beautiful in their slyness that one could look at them for ever, if not for his eyes that absorbed the spectator entirely. Suddenly, Ciel thought that he was one step closer to solving the demon’s enigma, that he had learnt something about him, if only a little. “My lord.” Sebastian gently stroked the back of Ciel’s head. The boy let him, for how much tenderness there was in his red eyes! He was ready to drown in them; he could almost allow himself to be drowned in them. “May I ask you a favour?.. It’s important to me.” “What?” “Let me go, my lord. Let me free.” The demon’s whisper was so quiet and humble that the boy thought he fancied the words. Everything within Ciel turned upside down at that instant. He was silent for a long time, but then, as Sebastian admitted his failure, he quietly laughed. “I will say it again: you have always been truthful to me, Sebastian, you have always been loyal. The only one I could trust with my life. After Ciel Phantomhive died, and that means the human died too, nothing in the past matters anymore, and there’s no more difference between us, except that… I still have this feeling…” “Feeling?” Sebastian could no longer understand what Ciel was talking about. “Yes, this feeling.” Ciel laughed again. “There were always two Ciels and two Sebastians. The first pair died. The second remains, but I don’t know which one of these two Sebastians is gone, and by letting you go I’m taking a risk, am I wrong?” He laughed again. Black Sebastian and White Sebastian? Is he comparing us to a chessboard? Sebastian kept his silence. He would never tire of being amazed at how surprising his human was. Even before Ciel spoke, he knew that his rage would be gone. Even though a minute earlier, the demon wanted to destroy him, to tear him to pieces. The reason was The Tower, the bloody Tower. It was it that was twisting the demon’s own wishes and feelings! He could resist it if… “I’m setting you free,” Ciel said unexpectedly, his tone firm. “Do you hear me, Sebastian? This is an order, I’m setting…” But he never finished because, obeying an unknown impulse, the man sharply pulled him closer to himself. Sebastian hardly knew what he was doing. He held him in his arms so tightly that the boy found it difficult to breathe. The demon wanted to destroy him so badly, like a mistake or an unfortunate fate, but suddenly none of it mattered, and it was only this black bride that mattered all. The demon only knew that he could never force himself to pierce the boy’s chest again. He lifted the veil that was hiding Ciel’s face, and the following order was drowned in a kiss. No lips in the world had ever captivated the infernal creature as fiercely as did those cranberry-red ones with the capricious curve of an aristocrat. The beast started by kissing him firmly and tenderly, then deeply and demandingly, as greed and frenzy aroused in him. He rubbed his face against the bride’s thin neck and covered it with kisses before returning to the lips that grew hot by the second. The demon’s master couldn’t even think that things would come to this. Now, there was nothing but these forceful hands and tempting lips, and he accepted their power and caress… Sebastian runs his hands over the chest, which only a few minutes ago he longed to rip open and get to the heart. Gently, he lays the boy down on the floor before he takes off his own jacket and shirt, the clothes falling down to cover a couple of stars. With his breath hot against the demon’s lips, the boy exhales: “What are you?..” “I think it’s called a wedding night.” The demon smiles slily as he caresses the peach-coloured cheeks. “Are you afraid of me?” “No…” “Can you look me in the eyes?” His long, sensitive fingers run over the narrow chest and thin hips, stroking them so tenderly and skilfully that the boy’s head begins to spin, filled with that sweet intoxication. He wants it to last forever; he wants them to become one with the darkness around if it is the cause of this head-spinning bliss. And how difficult the master finds it to overcome himself and look into these tempting eyes right now. Ruby and sparkling, they are like Chaos itself. Afire with passion and tenderness, the creature’s glowing eyes are turning Ciel into a willing doll that is ready for anything. That’s how he feels at the moment — a prostrate little doll burning from the inside. And that fire can burn down anything, never destroying but making his love ever stronger. “I want you to be with me right now with all your senses.” His velvety whisper runs from the temple and down to the lips. His touches are maddening, and his hands are doing unimaginable things — the demon’s whole world, all of himself, has converged on the fragile body that trembles and swelters from a feeling hitherto unknown to its owner. The world Ciel knew has cracked and disappeared. There is nothing for him anymore, save for them and the darkness, this nothingness, this slate-black cambric bed of theirs. The only meaning The Tower whispers about. Ciel runs his fingers through the raven locks, encouraging the man, and Sebastian begins to slowly undress him. In this enticing ritual (with nothing but his graceful hands and the fabric to play the parts), he takes off everything, leaving the boy in only his lace stockings and the veil that frames his lovely head with a dark matte halo. His own devil, fragile and tempting, is innocent. His milky white body is lying before him against the black of darkness. Sebastian cannot recall wanting someone so badly, as well as he cannot recall the need to restrain himself in order not to hurt the other. Ciel smells somewhat special tonight; it is a mixed aroma of newly born lilies and a hint of sweet spices — that same vanilla the butler would put in the cakes so loved by the little Earl Phantomhive. The demon kisses every inch of the delicate flesh, as if it were the long-awaited soul composed of nothing but weak evanescence, and so he is gentle, like he has never been with anyone before. This smooth, silky skin with hues of pale pink that paint it from the slightest of touches is created for Sebastian’s lips alone. His hands and kisses speak with the voice of a possessor, and the boy’s writhing body responds with a cry of the submitted. With his lips down to his master’s groin, Sebastian takes the boy’s small length into his mouth and caresses it with his tongue. Ciel arches his back and clutches at the demon’s hair with his fingers. “Oh!..” is all he can muster before he falls flat on his back and, bending his toes, begs Sebastian for something fervently and indistinctly. Without letting him come, the demon stops sucking his member and, as he pulls himself up closer to the other’s face, opens his mouth with his fingers, but Ciel doesn’t understand what’s being asked of him, and so he doesn’t let them come inside. Instead, he kisses them awkwardly. So Sebastian presses his fingertips against Ciel’s lips to force them open and pushes two of his fingers inside. This time, Ciel is obedient enough to take them in. Looking at Sebastian in embarrassment, he finally begins to suck on them and, growing bolder by the second, caresses them with his slippery tongue, his face blushing from the smacking sounds he makes in the process. The demon’s eyes burn all the brighter, and sure they do — his lovely little devil is taking his first lessons in the sin of lust. “Don’t hesitate, I need more of your saliva,” whispers Sebastian as he carefully strokes the boy’s member, taking off his hand now and again, still keeping him away from finishing. Finally, he takes out his fingers wet with saliva, spreads the boy’s thighs apart, and lowers his hand, squeezing and stroking his buttocks. Ciel tenses when he feels the pressure. Sebastian massages the entrance before pushing his finger inside. “Trust me and try to relax, please,” he smiles and kisses Ciel full on the lips. Sebastian moves his finger inside the boy, then adds the second and the third. His other hand reaches down to unfasten his own trousers. Ciel squirms with impatience and excitement. Sebastian kisses him again, positioning himself between his thighs. Ciel takes a fitful breath when the man pushes his member inside. “Se-bastian…” The demon slowly pushes it all the way in and then freezes to let Ciel get used to the sensations. A tear appears in the corner of the boy’s blue eye; Sebastian tenderly removes it with his finger and peppers Ciel’s face and chest with kisses. Patience is unbearable but necessary so as not to hurt him. The boy bites his lower lip, and a ruby drop rolls down the tender flesh before Sebastian kisses it away. Then he begins to move. Ciel groans as he feels the first thrust, now clenching his hands into fists and then clasping the butler’s shoulders, his nails digging deep into the skin. A sharp, profound feeling flares up within the man with every move he makes; Sebastian keeps catching his gaze, and soon enough, Ciel begins responding to him with dazed eyes. It becomes so unbearably and utterly good that Ciel pleads: “More… more, Sebastian…” His quiet and convulsive ‘ah’ finally makes something explode within Sebastian. The demon thrusts himself in one last time, unrestrained, his nails clawing at the tender buttocks. He comes into the boy and feels the other’s sperm on his own stomach. Ciel is still catching his breath when the man lies next to him and pulls him into his arms, the boy dazed and exhausted. His little pinkish knees are pressed against the demon’s stomach; Ciel straightens his legs and pushes them between the man’s. Their bodies interwind with one another to share the heat that won’t cease. The demon wanted to kill him. Everything went upside down, didn’t it? He laughed in his mind as he stroked the blue-ash hair and the veil of his ‘bride.’ He, this blue-eyed tempting child, nestled himself against him, barely breathing, overwhelmed with sensations. At that moment, they both lived the truth that had been revealed by The Tower. And its darkness, protecting the lovers, seemed to smile at them its mysterious smile. Everything went upside down… Meaning transformed into love. As if remembering something, Sebastian rested his chin on Ciel’s head and, holding him tighter, said quietly: “And never, I’m begging you, never let me free. Not an inch away from you, because I will kill you. This is my truth. Do you promise?” The boy answered: “You will always be with me, Sebastian. Always, no matter what. I would never let you go, not for real. You are mine forever, and this is my truth.” Sebastian smiled, tousling the boy’s hair. Deep down, he was expecting nothing less from Ciel Phantomhive. The darkness in The Tower grew thicker but was now powerless…