Comforting Darkness

Chapter 8: The Tutor, Experimenting

The days of May were quite peaceful in the Phantomhive manor. The master was off to school and his butler too, helping him somehow. Selina Clark was now the head servant and her endless duties were filling her days to the point that every night she fell asleep with most of her clothes on, unable to change due to exhaustion. It was really hard to fill the shoes of a real demon butler, but she did not complain, she actually enjoyed it. Always a mainly active person, she could not sit long without doing anything, therefore she did not mind having almost all the household chores in her hands... even though she would be grateful if the three main servants could lend a helping hand instead of creating even more mess for her to clean up. Truth to be told, her nerves and patience were tried out many times every day.

One day she heard a big crash from the greenhouse and ran there, only to find most of the glasses broken and Finny sitting on the floor crying like a baby, as always. Selina could not understand what caused all this since the flowers seemed all right.

"Finny, what happened here? What did you do?"

"Miss Selina!! I am sorry!! So sorry!! Please forgive me and do not tell Mr. Sebastian!!" The boy said through his tears.

"That last part is kind of difficult since that devil in disguise will find a way to take it out of me. However, if you tell me what happened, we might fix it soon and then he won't have a reason to be angry at you, right?"

"Yes. Well... I was transferring some potted roses to new, bigger pots. At some point one of the old ones fell on its side and rolled a little... I found it very funny, it was like a football ball, and I took a break... and started kicking it like I was indeed playing football. I tried not to put much strength but at some point... it seems that I did!!" He started crying again.

Selina was speechless. She really had started to love the young, naive and so innocent Finny, but she had to agree with Sebastian that he was an imbecile. How is it ever possible to play football with a heavy, huge clay pot?

She kneeled down by his side and sighed. "Okay, okay. Mr. Michaelis left me the number of every repairman you use, I'll call the man and tomorrow we will have new glasses. Anyway, Finny, I know that you are still very young but please, you have to stop playing around like a child and start behaving like an adult, even little by little. Haven't you played enough all these years as a child?"

Finny's crying was lower now, almost finished as he was sniffing. "No, not really, I haven't. I have never played outside... I almost have never played in general." He mumbled.

"What? What do you mean?" Selina asked surprised and a little disbelieving, "I mean... it can't be. Even if you didn't have brothers and sisters to play with, you must have played with other kids in your neighbourhood, home-town, village..."

"I... I never... lived in such a place. I never... had other children to play with, at least not outdoors." His eyes were almost dry from tears now but he was looking at his hands that were fumbling with his straw hat.

"You lived indoors? Um... why? Were you sick and your parents thought it was for the best? If you do not mind me asking and answer me only if you want, of course."

Finny graced her with one of his signature wide smiles through his tears. "I do not mind if it is you, Miss Selina. You are always so good to me."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Selina said and playfully ruffled his hair making him smile even more for a second.

"Well... all I ever remember is a big room... with no windows. I was always with some other children and sometimes we played, when the pain was not very strong."

"Pain?" Her eyes opened wide with concern.

"Every day, some men were coming in the room, wearing white clothes and robes and were taking one of us... They were taking us to another room... one with windows and that is how I saw the sky for the first time, it was so beautiful! But these men never let me look outside the window. They were strapping me on a wooden table and then... they stuck needles in me, pushing a liquid... the pain was... but they never stopped. I begged... but they never stopped. I got stronger, I could break the straps but they went on with the needles." Now he was almost digging his nails in the arms of his blouse, making Selina realise that it was there where they put the needles, the injections that obviously made him the extremely strong boy that he was now.