George couldn’t remember much about what happened the day he had injured Ciel, honestly. When he had come to, he was at the club, Master Gin gently taking Ciel from his arms. Master Gin hadn’t said much, only looking at him oddly before telling George to follow him. Once they were in his office, Master Gin had handed over the tending of Ciel’s injuries over to Scarlet while he sat at his desk looking at George.

“Thank you for not killing my son.” Master Gin had gotten straight to the point. There was a gasp from Scarlet in the corner where she had been healing Ciel’s injuries on the sofa.

George had been startled by Master Gin’s direct words. Had he tried to kill the young man during his bloodlust? All he remembered was that he continued to stay by the pool, hoping to see that man again when a dragon the colour of burnt earth had suddenly intruded, appearing by the pool. George had tried to resist and leave; after all the dragon had been wary and did not seem to want to fight. But his bloodlust had taken over, as usual. He may have attacked the man in his frenzy but it didn’t make sense; he would never come out of his killing induced haze like that. Not until all living beings in the vicinity had been killed. Master Gin seemed to have read his mind.

“There’s a seal placed on you right now. It seems to have suppressed your madness. You were quite docile when I found you, as opposed to all the stories about you.” He looked at George’s look of shock and continued “We know about you, you’re quite famous amongst the mythical community. I also know of the dragon that cursed you… he was a rather vindictive, reclusive one. He hated other dragons as much as he hated humans.” Master Gin’s tone had been light, his gaze sardonic. “A final ‘gift’ to us all, you could say…” he added softly.

George had been lost in thought when that dragon had been brought up. It had been a very long time since he recalled that hated reptile, his hands clenching without him realizing. Master Gin continued to observe him before continuing.

“I know why you have always shunned contact with others but now that your madness has been contained, would you like to atone? We can offer you peace in exchange for your services. You can work here, no one will dare to hurt or shun you. Not while I’m here. And if we see signs that you’re reverting to your old self, we can also help you overcome it.”

It was a tempting offer. To be able to gain respite from the madness, to be able to speak to another living being, to be able to atone for his sins, to be offered shelter – sanctuary. George was overwhelmed, his throat swallowing convulsively. Most of all, he could continue to see that beautiful young man that had captured his heart. He nodded, unable to speak a word.

Master Gin gave a small smile, as if he was well aware that this would be the outcome. “Welcome to Sanctuary then.”

Then he had been shown his quarters and told to rest, that he would be summoned after a while and explained of his expected duties. He had been surprisingly notorious and was therefore unsuitable for working the floor. George didn’t feel comfortable with too much ‘human’ interactions and was more suited for security anyway; he had inhuman strength and speed with centuries of fighting experience. And when he understood what it was that he had to keep out of the barriers, he was more dedicated than any other staff in his duties. After a while, he managed to win the trust and respect of the other staff, even if they were still a little wary of him. Even then, as the years added, the wariness too disappeared and George could call a number of people at the club his friends and comrades. It had therefore been no surprise to the others that Master Gin promoted him to be one of the head of securities when Atonga decided to end his contract and return to the islands.

His biggest wish, however, had been Ciel, hoping to see him, to speak to him; but when he saw the man recoil from him, avoiding him in fear, George’s hopes had died. He could understand though; he had not been granted peaceful sleep in the first half of his tenure at Sanctuary and his nightmares always saw him confronting a beautiful silver-white dragon with wings the colour of sunset. He remembered: the rage induced satisfaction as he tore the wings apart; as when the dragon transformed into Ciel he still raised his sword to run him through; that sudden moment of clarity and horror when he realized what he had done; the excruciating pain as they crashed into the ground and endured the lightning; the feeling like he had lost his soul when Ciel lay in his arms looking pale and lifeless. All the longing and perhaps lust that had been born the first time he had seen him had been buried under these memories. He could only make up for it and maybe one day, someday, Ciel would look at him with the same innocence and curiosity as he had fifty years ago.

Things were slowly changing between them, and it looked like they could take another step forward. But would he scare Ciel? He wanted – desperately – for Ciel to forgive him, for them to be friends; he did not dare hope for more. He knew that to some extent that the seal Master Gin talked about had been cast by Ciel; and Master Gin only served as an auxiliary. For that, he was thankful and regretful; he had hurt the one who gave him peace, who suppressed his dragon curse.

He watched the man lying on the sofa, his breathing even. The feelings of love that he had repressed under his guilt and self-hatred had resurfaced when he saw Ciel lying motionless, blanketed by the spiders. He had never known such strong emotions in such a very, very long time. On one hand, he had been ready to find Anansi, to make him pay for what he had done to Ciel. On the other, he wanted to gather Ciel into his arms, to hold him, protect him, treasure him. Even if suicide wasn’t possible, he would find a way to die because life would be meaningless without him. This feeling of love had sprouted the day they met; but even buried under the self-blame, it had refused to die but had instead been nurtured when watching the gentle man who while reserved and somewhat shy, was full of kindness and understanding towards others, who had a little mischievous nature that would sometimes tease his siblings in jest, who while afraid of him always felt guilty about it. And now these feelings had matured and bloomed when he thought he would lose him.

George suddenly felt like he understood why he was called Ciel: a bright, wide sky that was always open and warm, that could take any storm that hit and still be beautiful and sunny after it was over… just like the truest of love. And now, George wanted it – this man and his love – but did he deserve it? Was he worthy of such a precious gift? Even if he wasn’t, even if he could never taste Ciel’s love in this lifetime, George had decided; he would spend the rest of his life protecting this person, protecting him from the side and making sure he would continue to smile and be happy. That would be his punishment; his way of making amends. Ciel would be his forbidden fruit that he would have to watch over but never taste, forever.

He continued to look at Ciel, never realizing the change in his emotions and his new found determination had been revealed and seen by Scarlet. She kept quiet, knowing what her husband had told her fifty years ago. It was going to be a very difficult battle for George, knowing her reticent son; but she hadn’t found anyone more suited for him, or that she liked better. So while she hadn’t said anything, she was silently rooting for him, hoping that he could win Ciel over. She sighed. Ah, youth…

Their quiet thoughts were broken when the door opened and Master Gin and Yue walked in, their faces dark.

“Anansi’s not here.” Master Gin said, looking ready to kill that spider trickster. He went over to check on the twins again, to see if he was perhaps still concealed within them.

“How is that possible?” George asked, unable to comprehend how the spider god managed to outwit them.

“He must have used up most of his energy when he infiltrated the home using the twins but it wasn’t using his main body. Maybe he learned his lesson watching Jurogumo. We found two spiders that were significantly larger but it definitely wasn’t his real body.” Master Gin said as he examined his children. Satisfied that there was no longer any trace of the spider in his children, he covered them in a silvery white light. He then looked at the moody Yue who was standing at the door. “Kou is still outside. Now that the threat is gone, go get him. We’ll need to decide our next move.”

Yue gladly obeyed and disappeared in an instant. Master Gin sighed at the impetuous man, wondering if he would ever change. He would, hopefully, blood never lied. He then looked at the other son-in-law candidate. He had more hopes for George than he did for Yue. That man had been through so much suffering over the centuries and he seemed to not only appreciate life more, he also understood the mercy of a quick and easy death. It seemed like this incident had opened up the long sealed feelings but as long as he continued to cherish and protect his son, he could not complain. The final decision had to come from Ciel and all Gin could do was pray that his son never reciprocated those feelings. What a contradictory feeling…

“Ummm…” Gin looked down to see Blanc and Noire’s eyebrows creasing, showing signs of waking up. He breathed a sigh of relief, that at least his younger children were feeling better. He watched them open their eyes. “How are you feeling?” he asked with a small smile. Scarlet who was beside him had bent down to stroke the children’s hair.

“Like we had a nightmare that we couldn’t wake up from…” Blanc answered weakly.

“Wait…” George’s voice suddenly broke the happy family talk. Master Gin and Scarlet turned from the children to look at him.

“Is your healing more powerful than an angel’s?” his question was a little mystifying.

“No, of course not. Angels have one of the most powerful healing around.” Master Gin answered, still a little puzzled.

“Then why hasn’t Gawain woken up yet?”

There was silence, the implication of the question obvious.

“Are you sure?” Master Gin had to be certain.

“When I checked on him earlier, he was still unconscious.” George paled. “And we all left him there alone…”

It was then that Master Gin, whom George had never seen lose his temper begin to curse very angrily. Yue and Kou happened to walk in at that moment and were greeted with the expletives. He turned to look at the surrounding people.

“Kou and Yue, stay with Scarlet. George, come back to the club with me. I’m going to find that spider and kill him!”

“You’ll need help if he’s really at the club. Let me come with you” Yue unexpectedly said.

Master Gin looked at the look of determination on the man’s face. Perhaps he could grow up after all. But still he hesitated, the attack on his family was a big blow.

“Let him go. If Anansi really isn’t here, then Kou and I are enough.” Scarlet said, reading into his worries.

Looking at his wife’s resolute look, Master Gin finally gave a slow nod. He turned, his face cold. “Let’s go.”

They swept out of the room and headed towards the portal to what was hopefully the final showdown with the wily spider trickster.