Dinner was a quiet affair. Ciel still did not feel kinship with his relatives and neither his uncle nor his grandmother said much during the meal. From the sour looks on his grandmother’s face, Ciel suspected that his uncle had said a few words to his prickly grandmother that while was true, did not sit well with her. To avoid conflict altogether, everyone had chosen to remain silent. Once the plates had been cleared and tea had been served, Hong Yang beckoned to the two of them.
“Let’s get this out of the way.”
Ciel could only nod. To him and George it was a crisis but to his uncle it was just a ‘this’. But the both of them followed his uncle who led them to his study. To his surprise, there was already an array laid out on the floor.
“My study’s more secure. We prepared the array earlier before dinner. This should be able to boost your powers to strengthen the seal.”
Ciel could only swallow and nod. The array itself looked complicated and judging by the stones used to supplement it, he could estimate that the array was neither easy nor cheap. He was touched that relatives that he had just met had gone out of their way to help the both of them like this.
“George, you stand here. Ciel, over there.” Grandmother Huo was pointing to two circles covered in complex runes. Behind the circle that Ciel stood in were two smaller circles where his grandmother and uncle stood.
“Now, call up the seal.”
Ciel nodded and called up the seal in his mind. On the other side, George relaxed and did not fight Ciel’s summon. The seal appeared, a beautiful flame against his scar.
“Good. Now add more powers and your new command.”
“Command?”
“That he can’t turn into a dragon. He’s pledged his loyalty to you after all, one additional command will not affect him.”
Ciel nodded, understanding what his uncle was telling him. He had never studied this seal in depth before and only knew that if the seal had taken, both contractors would be bound to one life. He had never even wanted to use such a seal, considering that binding a person’s life in a master servant contract as cruel and evil. After all, the master would have the upper hand; if anything happened to the servant, the master would be injured at most but would not die. If he had not been so desperate, so reckless at that time, he would never have used it.
Now, as his thoughts wandered, he was hit with a cold realization. He and George were bound to one life; his. He didn’t have as much time as George did. Would that mean that when his time was up, George would follow him in death? He unknowingly clenched his fists. What should he do? When he died, George would die with him. His heart ached at the thought. There were many things to consider but he could not lift the seal; not before freeing George from this curse. If he did, it was the same as letting George live the rest of his life as a dragon.
“Ciel! Focus!”
He was brought back to reality with the sharp voice from his uncle. He focused his attention back and realized that George was looking at him with concern. He gave a small smile of reassurance before he concentrated on the task at hand. As instructed, he added an additional command to the seal, using the power from the array as well as his relatives to boost his power.
That was when he felt it. A force was resisting his command. It felt cold and elusive, and made Ciel think of the damp and dark. It was as if he could see scales and hear a reptilian hiss. Like a leviathan from the deep, the power lunged at him. He staggered.
“Ciel?!”
“I’m all right.”
But sweat was already beading at his forehead. He regained his balance and started concentrating again. This time, he would not be caught off guard like before. Closing his eyes, he increased his magic flow into George, borrowing the powers of his uncle and grandmother to form a mental barrier against another attack.
Like a whip from the dark, the power lashed at him again. While the barrier provided some protection, Ciel still involuntarily flinched at the speed and viciousness of the attack. He refused to be beaten; instead of just defending, he prepared to strike in retaliation. The serpentine power within George attacked again. He blocked it and sent a strike its way.
With a roar, the drowsy dragon inside George awoke and unleashed a full on attack at Ciel. With a shudder, Ciel blacked out.
“Ciel!”
He opened his eyes and found himself inside a dark space. It felt cold and damp and he could hear a rustle and clatter; like something hard and scaly being whipped lightly on the ground. The presence before him was huge; a looming oppression that could reach out a hand and squash him.
No, not hand – claw. Ciel could only give himself a wry smile. The dragon seemed to have dragged his consciousness into a different space. He had to be alert to any attacks.
“So… you are the whelp that wants to take what’s mine…” a deep bass voice could be heard.
“He’s not yours.” He’s mine.
“But he is…” the voice seemed amused. “I’ve raised him for the past thousand years. It’s time for me to reap my spoils.”
“You drove him mad.”
“Precisely. Quos deus vult perdere and all.”
“Why?”
“Why? He killed me!” there was a thump as the dragon trashed his tail in anger.
“You didn’t have to chase him.” He’d heard part of the story from George.
“Do you really think I would be interested in some weak little princess? He was full of vitality. That would have been more satisfying.”
“How did you manage to keep alive?”
“Magic of course. My curse made it so that he would be compelled to kill dragons, to bathe in their blood. How else could he nourish me?”
“You’re mad!” Ciel was horrified by the satisfaction he heard in that voice. To kill his own kind so that he may live… it made him nauseous.
“Yes, yes, Quos deus vult perdere…”
“You…”
“Me. The most notorious dragon in Europe before your boyfriend came and took my reputation.”
If Ciel could see him now, he was sure he would see a satisfied smile on his face.
“The gods did make me mad after all. They couldn’t stand my brilliance, my majesty. So they made them paranoid, jealous of my might and magic. I was shunned! An outcast who could not even prove to the dragons that I was their rightful king. Of course I would go mad!”
“Dragons don’t answer to anyone but themselves.”
“But that’s not true.” The voice was suddenly silky, making Ciel’s skin rise in goosebumps. “Your father is a prince, isn’t he? Your ancestry has emperors in them.”
“Father gave up his right to the throne. We are nothing more than commoners.”
“Ah, but you have kings. Dragons that lord over the other weaklings.” There seemed to be a flash in the dark. “I want that.”
“You’re dead.”
“No. Soon I will be revived. I will have the strongest body, honed by battle and bathed in magical, immortal dragon blood. I will rule over the rest.”
“You can’t have him!”
“But you can’t stop me. You’re nothing more than a wingless bird without any powers. What makes you think you can take what’s mine?” the dragon seemed to be getting angry. The tail whipped the ground again and Ciel could hear the clatter of claws as it moved.
“I don’t have to stop you. George will do it himself.”
“Him?” there was laughter in his voice. Amused at the thought. “He could not resist me. He obeyed my calls and did as I bid. And when he refused, I took over. I killed with his hands and bathed him in blood. He should still remember the terrified death masks he has seen over the centuries.”
The arrogant way of speaking made Ciel clench his fists. He really hated how self-satisfied the dragon was for tormenting George all this while. He’d sent him to hell, making his beloved mad and full of self-loathing. He’d made him injure himself time and time again but did not grant him the luxury of death. He hated him. Hated this loathsome dragon that was malicious, egoistic and avaricious. That stopped at nothing to fulfil his evil ambitions.
“I won’t let you!” he sent a wave of magic at the dragon.
“Foolish.”
With a flick of his claws, the ball of light was thrown back at Ciel, who could only raise his arms to defend himself. When he regained his senses, the presence in front of him was gone. He heard instead the scritch-scratch of claws on the ground. He knew he was being played by the dragon. This was a place in his mind; the dragon was putting him on edge by allowing Ciel to hear him.
“Now, what should I remove first?”
Ciel turned around in the dark, trying to locate the source of the sound.
“Your arm?” Ciel turned left.
“Your leg?” He whipped his head to the right. Was it his imagination that he felt something brush against his leg?
“My boy has already torn your wings, hasn’t he?”
“He isn’t yours!” Ciel refused to dwell on that horrible day anymore, even as his hands shook at the memory.
“I was there, you know? I was watching, relishing when he ripped those bothersome things away. I even egged him on to remove the other one…”
“No!”
Like the serpent from Eden, the malevolent words came pouring in; hissing in his ears. While it did not offer him the temptations of heaven, it did slowly bring him down to hell. The words were far more powerful than any spell the dragon could have used, far more unstoppable.
All at once, the memories from that day rushed over him again; the pain, the fear, the anger at his impending death and his despair at his helplessness. His shivering body slowly crumpled as he closed his eyes and held his hands over his ears; trying to block the screams in his mind and the mad look of bloodlust in George’s face as he succumbed to the dragon in his soul.
“Oh? So soon? Your man lasted longer, didn’t he? He resisted me for two hundred years before I could get a hold of his mind. You’re really nothing more than a joke. How are you a dragon? George, now George is far more superior. He will make a fine dragon…”
“No…”
Ciel couldn’t stop the tears that were streaming down his face. He was fighting the dragon as best as he could but each well-chosen word was a dagger to his heart and his defences could not withstand the poisonous barrage that corroded his soul.
“You can’t fight me boy. I’ve spent the last millennium whispering in George’s ear. He’s made of tougher stuff than you. You’re nothing more than child’s play.”
“But he still managed to seal you for fifty years, didn’t he?”
Ciel felt himself enveloped by a warm, strong body. His heart eased immediately even as his head was still muddled by the dragon’s attacks. It could only be one person; he immediately grabbed onto George’s clothes and breathed his familiar scent. He was safe again.
“Who?!”
“Long time no see. Not that I ever wanted to.”
“YOU!”
All at once the space was illuminated and Ciel found himself standing before a furious dragon while being protected by George’s embrace. With green brown scales and two twisted horns, the dragon glared at them with iridescent eyes of green, brown and yellow. Ciel was surprised. The dragon was smaller than he had imagined.
“You know, I remember you being larger. Or am I getting old?”
“INSOLENCE!”
The dragon could not keep his anger in check and had lunged at the both of them. Even with Ciel in his arms, George neatly sidestepped the beast.
“The size of a horse… yup, you’ve shrunk.” Ciel could not imagine what George was doing making the dragon angry.
“You did this! If you had not killed me that day, do you think I’d be reduced to this pathetic form inside a broken man?!”
“Then get out.” It was so cold, so sharp, Ciel involuntarily shivered. He felt George tighten his hold around his waist.
“No! I’ll have your body! I’ll have all the power I nurtured in you! I’ll be unstoppable!”
“Do you really think I’ll let you?”
“Do you think you can stop me? You never managed it before.”
“I’ll kill you again. It’s that simple.”
“Kill me?” there was a bout of hysterical, maniacal laughter. “You managed by accident a thousand years ago. Do you think you can now? When you couldn’t even stop my whispers? How does it feel to know that you’ve been killing at my bidding, slave? Has the scent of blood been washed off yet?”
Ciel shuddered. No wonder they said he was a venom spewing dragon. Every one of his words were poisonous. He felt George’s lips on his forehead. Did he really have time for it now? George took a deep breath, as if to steel himself.
“I can’t turn back time. I can’t raise the dead. And I can’t undo the wrongs that happened in the past. But I did stop you once. I did fight you with my mind and body. I will not let you do as you please.”
“Au contraire my foolish vessel. You’ve been listening to me more and more. I’m almost free. You can’t beat me. Not when I can invade your nightmares and control you waking hours. Your scales and eyes are proof that I’ll soon be rid of you. When I break your mind, your body is mine…”
Ciel was thoroughly disgusted by this vile creature. That thing was not a dragon. He was nothing more than an Arnitikós made solid, with the ability to think and converse. He was a vulgar copy of the noble dragons he had met, full of nothing but hate, greed and envy. He could not be allowed to roam free.
“We won’t allow you to. If I managed to seal you fifty years ago, I can do it again.”
“Hahahahahahahaha! A weakling who had broken with my mere words want to challenge me? Pathetic!”
Ciel grit his teeth. His breakdown was truly pathetic but he wasn’t afraid anymore. George was here; he would be safe.
“I’m weak alone. But I’m not alone anymore. And you, you were frightening in the dark. But now that you’ve come into the light, I can see you for what you are. I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
“Silence!” the dragon gave another roar and with a mighty breath unleashed a burst of flames. George simply looked at the dragon before he raised a barrier that blocked the attack. The agitated lizard whipped his tail, smashing it against the barrier. It held true, not a flicker of damage at all.
“In the light, no one is afraid of flapping curtains. You are nothing.”
“Silenceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!”
The belittled dragon could not keep his rage in check anymore and charged. He slammed against the barrier, cracking it. Another slam and the barrier broke. His momentum did not slow down at all and he charged full speed at the both of them.
George finally released Ciel and grabbed the dragon by the horns. He was pushed back but he found his footing soon enough. He managed to stop the mad rush and was even pushing the dragon back. This surprised the lizard and there was a trace of fear in his serpentine eyes.
Ciel meanwhile had prepared a spell and before the dragon realized it, it found itself bound by chains, hindering its movements. It reared on its hind legs, trying to dislodge the bindings around him; all it did was entangle it further as more and more chains appeared and wrapped it in an immovable cocoon.
George approached the dragon and a dagger appeared from out of nowhere. With cold, emotionless eyes, he raised the blade and stabbed the dragon, aiming for heart. But he was hit by a cold premonition and his blade wavered, hitting it in the shoulder.
“Ah!” the dagger clattered to the ground and George clutched his shoulder.
“George?!” Ciel rushed over, alarmed.
“Hahaha! You can’t kill me! Did you think your little lover was the only one who thought to bind you with a life and death curse? Go ahead and kill me! Then you can leave this world at last!”
Ciel was completely fed up. With a wave of his hands, more chains appeared and bound the dragon’s mouth shut. A flurry of hand movements later and runes began to appear and glow in mid-air. The runes attached themselves to the chains and an array appeared beneath the dragon.
“Just because we can’t kill you doesn’t mean we can’t seal you. All we need is more time to find a way to get rid of you permanently. You can stay there and watch George find the happiness he deserves. Like George said, no one is afraid of flapping curtains in the light. You can bask in the light and know that you are nothing to the both of us.”
With those words, Ciel grabbed onto George’s arm and they both left the quietly struggling dragon and disappeared from sight.
A/N: Happy New Year! Things are picking up at work so I'll apologize in advance for any delays that will probably crop up. In exchange, let's make the chapters longer! :)
