It had been a month. Thirty days and no one had commented on George’s disappearance. Ciel was confused. He had asked Fionn and the rest of the security guards but no one could remember seeing George. That was fine initially; after all, knowing the nature of their work and the confidentiality of the task his father had him do, it might have been that George simply did not tell anyone where he went. So no one was worried and later, no one remembered. George had vanished and no one remembered that the head of night security was missing.

Bei had been conducting those responsibilities as if he had been the one doing them for the last twenty or so years. Asking the staff again had been met with bewildered looks. When Ciel asked his siblings, they looked at him with concern. There was no such person in the club they told him and asked if he was all right. Ciel was decidedly panicky now… he steeled his nerves and went to his father. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on his father’s office door before entering.

“Ah, Ciel. What is it?”

“Father, where’s George?”

“Who?”

Ciel’s heart sank. Even his father had been affected by this strange magic.

“George, the one who’s supposed to be the head of night security, not Bei.”

“What do you mean? Bei’s always been head of night security. He took over when Atonga decided to go back.” Gin had a decidedly confused look on his face.

“No, George was the one who took over from Atonga. You said he was the most deserving because of the hard work and dedication he put in in defending Sanctuary and its borders from the Arnitikós, No one challenged him for the post since then.”

Gin was still a little confused but looking at his son’s firm face, his eyes narrowed. Was there some magic at work here? In his club? Without his knowing? Rage was slowly building. It was either he had been bewitched or his son had been. Depending on who it was, the consequences were different.

“Tell me more about this George.”

Ciel took a deep breath, memories about George came flooding. “George is about a thousand years old, give or take. He’s taller than me by half a head, has blond hair and blue eyes. He has a burn scar on the right side of his face and is also blind in that eye. He was the notorious dragon slayer that was killing dragons in Europe and the Middle East centuries ago…” his voice trailed off as his father was looking increasingly stern.

“I’ve heard of the Dragon Slayer. But didn’t he die some time ago? No news has been heard about him for some time now.”

“No, I encountered him about fifty years ago and he tore my wings, remember?” It was such a painful memory for the family. It would be impossible for Gin not to remember that. Gin’s frown was getting deeper. He rubbed his forehead as he forced himself to remember the events that day. Images of Ciel appeared in his mind; unconscious and naked in the arms of a still and silent stranger, his back full of ugly wounds and two gaping holes at his shoulder blades…

“Ugh…” there was a sharp pain as Gin felt like his head was clamped between a vice.

“Father?!”

Gin raised his hand to hold his son back. His face was pale and sweat beaded his forehead. He could see the destruction, rubble and debris in what used to be a pool with a waterfall, the broken trees in the forest. He could smell the scorched earth, the tin-ish smell of discharged electricity, blood… the stranger holding his son, gently but desperately trying to keep him alive. The face was a little blurred but it was slowly coming into focus… an expressionless face but the lone blue eye conveying a sense of helplessness, despair… a flame on his scarred cheek; the lover’s seal of life and death… and suddenly Gin remembered with clarity. With a face like thunder, he rose and slammed his hand on the table. There was a flash of light that spread through the club.

All of a sudden, everyone remembered the silent blond man who had been forgotten by them. Confusion led to dawning horror as they realized that someone had enchanted the people at the club to forget one person. Was the attack on Sanctuary not over yet? Ciel watched as his father sank back into his chair, unable to say a thing. His father was still massaging his temple, as if the effort to remember had been a strain on him. Before long, footsteps could be heard thundering towards his father’s office door.

“Father, this is bad! George has been missing for a month and we didn’t remember!” Blanc burst into the room followed by his sister, Kou, Yue and Fionn. They paused and lapsed into silence when they realized that Ciel was standing before his father’s desk and Gin was rubbing his sore head with a terrible countenance.

“I think papa remembers too.” Noire said to her twin in a stage whisper. Ciel and Gin’s mouth twitched at the antics of the younger two. As he looked at the concerned faces of everyone who had rushed to the office, Ciel felt a rush of warmth. Turns out George was quite liked and cared about by the people here. At least, the ones who were important to Ciel.

“Yes, I remembered George. I’m also angry that someone managed to make me forget. Search the place, whoever did this couldn’t have been able to overcome my magic for so long. They must have a booster array somewhere.” His voice was sharp but no one protested. Master Gin had a right to be furious. Everyone voiced their affirmation and filed out of the office, leaving Gin to lean back in his chair with a sigh. They found Scarlet waiting at the door. She gave them a small, sad smile and went in.

“How come father suddenly remembered about George?” Blanc was confused.

“I reminded father about him.” Ciel’s voice was soft.

“But how did you remember in the first place?”

“I never forgot.”

“How is that possible? Even father and mother forgot.”

“Maybe it’s because I put a seal on him. The seal must have kept us connected.”

‘Maybe it’s because I love him.’ but Ciel was not going to admit that to his siblings. Not when he hadn’t said a thing to George or his parents. For now he’d keep that secret to himself, although he suspected his parents had an inkling about what was going on.

“That makes sense. Fionn, how do you want us to do this?” in the absence of George, Fionn was the sole leader in charge.

“Let’s go to the staff lounge, we can discuss then.”

They went together, Yue included. Although he wasn’t technically part of the staff, he had been behaving more and more responsibly and he was trustworthy, even if Master Gin seemed to dislike him. He had started to join the morning trainings that the siblings had been having and had a wealth of fighting experience which he shared with all of them. They all showed significant progress since he joined and he could normally fight two against one, so they could still have battles, albeit in a two versus three situation. To no one but Kou’s surprise, he liked to pair with the ignorant young man and they had a synergy that made it seem like they had been cooperating with each other for years.

As they entered, Fionn noticed one of the kitchen staff passing by. He called for the man, who came, bowing and looking down. Fionn frowned at the subservient attitude but said nothing about it.

“Go to the main lounge and see if Bei is there. Ask him to meet us here.”

The staff gave another bow and ran off. Fionn closed the door and looked at everyone.

“I remember now… when Master Gin asked us to check for how Iktomi entered, I checked the staff quarters and the guestrooms upstairs. George checked the lounge, office, kitchens and other restricted areas.”

“I was waiting for him in the lounge. He told me he had some things he had to do first after his meeting with you and Master. He said he should be done soon and asked me to wait.” Yue interjected. “But I don’t remember after he left.”

This was not good. It seemed like he had not disappeared in the public areas. However, if he disappeared in the restricted areas, how did the intruder get in? Ciel sighed. It had only been thirty days but he wanted to see George badly. How could he have missed him to this degree? No, if he was honest with himself, he’d started missing him the second day he didn’t see him… That man seemed to have rooted himself in his heart and refused to leave. While he was lost in thoughts of George, Bei came in.

“I take it this is about George?”

“Yes. Now that everyone’s remembered him, we need to find out where and how he’s disappeared and why no one could remember. According to Yue, he was last seen in the lounge.”

“Yes, I remember. He said he had something to do and though he felt that he could finish it fast, he asked me to cover if he didn’t make it back in time for his shift.”

That sounded about right. George took his duties seriously. Even if he thought he’d be able to finish the tasks before he came for night duty, he’d still have a backup on standby. They discussed and divided the areas that they would check, agreeing to do so in pairs. Ciel realized that he was the odd one out and agreed to sit out on the search. Since it was still early, Ciel decided to grab a bite before starting the evening shift. He was still worried about George but now that everyone had started remembering him, it wasn’t as bad as him worrying alone. Walking into the staff canteen, he saw the kitchen staff that Fionn had called over earlier clearing a table. He frowned, thinking that something wasn’t right but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

The man, who only reached Ciel’s chest looked a little panicky when he saw Ciel. He quickly grabbed the used utensils and while bowing his head, pattered out of the dining area. Did he just scare someone? Ciel was nonplussed. He was a mostly harmless person who got along with just about everyone. How did he scare this tiny little kitchen staff? Looking at the fleeing back, Ciel felt even more unsettled. His behaviour was a little suspect and try as he might, Ciel could not remember the name of this particular person. Changing his mind about his meal, Ciel went after the man. Seeing that he did not turn into the kitchens but went further, towards the restricted area, Ciel was even more troubled. He increased his speed but the man turned around and widened his dark almond eyes when he saw Ciel behind him. He dropped the cutlery he had been carrying and ran for it.

Now Ciel was in a bind. Should he give chase alone? But if he didn’t, he might lose the man. As he was trying to solve this dilemma, Bei and Fionn came by, preparing to search the restricted area.

“Perfect, follow me.” He called to them, running ahead without explaining.

The two of them looked at each other and gave chase. In their years of knowing him, Ciel did not behave impulsively. If he was chasing someone then there must be a reason. And so they ran; one being chased by one being followed by two. That man had a decent turn of speed and try as he might, Ciel could not close the gap. There was a twist and several turns and all Ciel could tell was that the area was getting increasingly dark. He’d never been this far into the restricted area of the club. His father had warned all of them never to go there without him or his express permission. But Ciel couldn’t turn back and find his father to request permission. Not if it meant he would lose this suspicious man. The footsteps running behind him reassured him that there was backup and it would be safer than if he had gone by himself.

After running in the corridors for so long, they came to a large room with multiple exits. Ciel paused. He had lost sight of the man for a while and could not determine which way he had gone. He cursed in his mind but tried studying the various doorways, hoping to get a clue about where the black haired man had run off to. He heard the sound of someone running towards him and, thinking that it was Fionn and Bei, turned around to call to them. That was when he was suddenly hit at the back of his head and blacked out.