They stared each other for half a beat before the man leapt into action and… ran away.... Ciel stared before he realized what had happened. He hurriedly rushed out the door and saw George subduing the man. George had also gone back to his room for a shower and change of clothes, his dressing and demeanour far more casual than the one Ciel was used to. He looks good in jeans. Was all that ran through the lovesick patient before he focused his thoughts on the man that George had pinned down.
He was as Ciel remembered; slight man with dark hair and dark, almond shaped eyes. There was an oriental feel about the man, who was struggling silently against George. Ciel immediately helped by casting a binding spell on the man, who was rendered immobile.
“Why did you catch him?”
“He ran.”
“That makes sense. Let’s bring him inside.”
George very easily lifted the smaller man inside, treating him like an unimportant sack of feed. He was then dropped onto an armchair where he shrunk into it, looking at them, frightened. Ciel was bewildered by the fear he saw in his eyes, wondering who he was and what made him come back to the club if he was so frightened of them.
“Ciel? I felt your magic. What’s wrong?” His father had walked in with his mother and Liath. He frowned when he saw the terrified man in the armchair, held in place by Ciel’s magic. “Who is this?”
“He was the one I chased before I met with elder Liath. Elder should know better.”
“Who is he?”
Liath stared at the man, who had given up struggling when the others had arrived. He looked down, shivering, his black hair covering his face. Ciel somehow had the feeling that they were bullying a weak little creature; especially when all of them were surrounding the sad hunched up figure cowering in the chair, hiding his face. It was strange that no one recognized him.
“Isn’t he the one elder sent to lure me into Undertown?”
“No, I sent Tór.”
“But he could enter the barrier…”
Everyone’s stares hardened. This person was a stranger recognized by neither his father nor Liath but he could move in either sides of the barrier. An anomaly. Gin used his magic to raise the hidden man’s face, hoping to see his features. He was forced to look up, so frightened that there were tears in his eyes. Ciel gaped. The man’s eyes had turned a silvery white. There was something alluring to those eyes and Ciel continued to stare into those eyes before a wave of dizziness hit him, forcing him to blink and tear his gaze away from the compelling eyes.
BANG!
Startled, Ciel shook his woozy head and looked at the door, surprised to see Bei there; his breath in short pants as he rested his arm against the door frame, his eyes desperate. The door creaked a little at the sudden force used against it, as everyone stared at him.
“Wu, stop.”
Bei walked past Ciel and George towards the man on the chair. He ignored everyone as he pulled him into his arms, stroking him tenderly, slowly soothing the shivers out of the man. Ciel swallowed. The normally emotionless Bei was showing a myriad of expressions since he came through the door; fear, desperation, relief; but his eyes never left the frightened little rabbit in his arms.
“Shhh… it’s all right. Calm down.” Bei had sat down on the armchair and had the man in his arms, his head in the crook of his neck, one hand stroking his hair and the other the back. Soon, the trembling subsided. Bei finally turned his attention away from the man and looked at Gin and the rest.
“I can explain.”
“Talk.”
“This is Wu. He’s a little… special.”
“Who is he to you?”
“I’m his guardian. You granted the both of us asylum when we first came here.”
Ciel frowned. Then why didn’t he remember Wu? If he had arrived with Bei, there was no way they would not have remembered him.
“Memory alteration?”
“Yes, Wu can make people forget about him when he uses his powers. Unfortunately he’s been scarred by our experiences so he tends to have his guard up.”
“Was he part of the kitchen crew all this while?”
“Yes.”
“I take it the space in the restricted area is his doing?”
“No!” the voice was higher in pitch with a frantic note to it. Wu, who Bei spent so much time calming was worked up again. His eyes were flashing and his body trembling.
“I didn’t make that! I- I found out about the space only when Bei told me!”
Bei sighed and pushed the fluffy head back against his shoulder, patting Wu on the back again.
“The array is an oriental one but it was neither me nor Wu. Wu can only use his abilities to conceal himself. He will either make people who’ve met him forget about him or evade detection from people and spells. That was how he managed to get past into the restricted areas. I had a hell of a time trying to locate him when he ran away from Ciel last week.”
“Why did he run in the first place?” Ciel was really curious about that.
“Because of his abilities. It’s not something he learned. It’s inborn, in the blood. His clan was wiped out because of this.”
“What?”
“Imagine if by using his blood you can get into any place undetected or by concentrating your qi through the blood you can make people forget all about you.”
“You’d be able to enter any forbidden area or steal anything under the owner’s nose.” Gin’s face hardened. “It’s slowly coming back to me now… fifty years ago you were carrying a child in your arms when you came here to seek shelter.”
“Yes, this was that child.”
Ciel vaguely recalled a child of about six who had been running around the club around the time Bei had joined. He recalled being smitten by the adorable eyes and innocent stare. Everyone pampered the little thing. But this man before him did not look older than twenty. It was unbelievable that he was over fifty now.
“He stopped aging when his powers manifested. He also caused a widespread blankout because of that. Only those that Wu wanted did not forget about him. I also had to teach him how to control his powers.”
“Are there still enemies after him?”
“Yes.” Here Bei closed his eyes, as if in anguish.
“The hidden space and the array that made everyone forget George… it had traces of his clan’s blood in it.”
Silence.
“Wu also said that someone had tried to kidnap him a month ago. So he’s been jumpy about people calling out to him.”
That explains him running away when he saw Ciel chasing him. Ciel went forward and crouched in front of them. Wu turned his head to look at Ciel, his hand clutching tightly onto Bei’s shirt.
“I’m sorry I frightened you. I didn’t know.” His voice was low and soothing as he looked into the dark, watery eyes. The man gave a small nod and hid his face back into Bei’s shirt again. Bei gave another sigh and patted Wu on the head, treating him like a child.
“This is why you have to let at least Master and his family remember you. They can help keep you safe as well.” Bei's tone was cajoling. Wu was shaking his head, refusing to look at anyone. “Please? It’s for your safety too.” Again the head shook in opposition.
“It’s fine. If he feels safer that we forget him, let it be.” Scarlet finally spoke, her motherly instincts rising to defend the little lost chick.
“It’d be safer if we could remember, actually.” His father spoke, contradicting Scarlet’s words.
“Oh, hush. Look at him, he’s terrified. Have you no heart?”
“I do. That’s why I want to keep him safe.”
The good natured bantering between his parents continued. But Ciel could see that Wu had raised his head to look at the both of them, his careful eyes judging the sincerity of their words. Ciel had to smile; this was a tactic that his parents had used often when he and the twins were children. In the end, he and his siblings would always agree to whatever their parents wanted. They knew that their concerns were taken into consideration and that what they did was in their best interests. They weren’t parents of four for the last eight or nine hundred years for nothing.
“Will… will you really keep me safe?” a small voice piped up over Gin and Scarlet’s bickering. They stopped to look at Wu. Scarlet bent down to look at Wu in the eye.
“Of course sweetie. That’s what Sanctuary was built for.” Her smile was soft and warm and loving.
Wu blinked rapidly, tears forming again in his eyes. Bei took out his handkerchief and started wiping them. “Why do you keep crying so easily? You’re already fifty-five this year.” His tone was exasperated but indulgent. Ciel had to wonder if this love and care shown by Bei was really only between a guardian and ward. It was far, far too ambiguous in his eyes. No, speculating other people’s relationships was rude. It was their own business and he should keep his curiosity out of it.
Ciel got up and went towards the trolley that Wu had wheeled in. He lifted the food cover, wondering what his mother had prepared. He was still hungry after all. His lack of interest in what Wu and his parents were doing piqued Wu’s curiosity. It was as if he had never seen someone who was uninterested in him before; but he was soon called back to attention by Gin, Scarlet and Bei. Exiting smoothly out of that little drama, Ciel was more preoccupied by the sandwiches and pastries on the trolley when he felt someone behind him; he did not bother to turn around. That scent, that warmth, that feeling of enveloping safety… it wasn’t necessary to look at all.
“Want some?” he offered a sandwich to the face that was hovering just over his shoulder.
“Mmm” George bit into the sandwich while Ciel was still holding it. He froze a little but stuffed the rest into his mouth.
“Feed yourself.”
George took the sandwich out of his mouth, his other hand trapping Ciel against the trolley. “It tastes better when you feed me” that low voice tickled his ear. Was George flirting with him??? Ciel couldn’t slow his rapidly beating heart. He could feel the heat rise on his neck and ears. If his father saw him now, who knows what might happen? He wanted to escape but was sandwiched between George and the trolley. This was so unfair… there was a cough and the tension snapped. The two of them turned to see Liath behind them, cheeks a little pink.
“You’re in the way. I’m hungry too.”
They respectfully moved out of the way and Ciel took his plate of sandwiches and pastries to the sofa. George joined soon after, sitting as close as possible next to Ciel. Gin shot them a dirty look but did not say anything. Just shoot me now… it was awkward and embarrassing but George seemed to have developed dragon hide, behaving as if he did not receive a killer look from his father. A dragon slayer as a son-in-law, huh? His father probably knew; but Ciel was still debating on whether to come out and profess his feelings for George. Judging from the way he was behaving though, he’d be thankful if his father didn’t kill George or his mother didn't ask him when they were planning to have the wedding…
A/N:
1) For the non readers of Chinese novels, dog food is the term used to indicate PDA. It just felt a little more dramatic to me
2) Sorry for the delay... Hopefully I can return to my properly scheduled releases of Monday, Wednesday and Friday soon.
3) Edited and refined Chapter 46 for those who read last week.
