Revelations part 2

Chapter 13

Ciel sighed in relief as the heavy backpack fell from his shoulders and thudded to the marble foyer of the Phantomhive manor. Small fingers reached up to rub the sore muscles in his neck and upper back and he groaned lightly at how good it felt to massage the stiff area. Taking a moment and looking around, he found it odd how nothing had changed here in his childhood home when everything else in his life had been turned upside down in just a little over a week. However, it was nice and comforting to see how some things had remained the same.

He walked through the hall with all every intention of going straight to his room and taking a long, hot shower when a sound from the kitchen caught his attention. The hike down from the mountain had been arduous and the group had only just arrived at the edge of town by dusk. Alois made a beeline back to the campus dorms with Dagger while Father Spears and Finny proceeded to the church which was where Ciel was due to meet them bright and early the next morning. The priest had urged the young man to go home and get some much needed rest for tomorrow was going to be mentally and emotionally draining as they dealt with the homicide that had occurred in their absence.

Stopping by the kitchen entrance, Ciel now saw what had made the noise which had led him on the detour to his bedroom. There, in the middle of all the Sub Zero and Viking stainless steel appliances sat his aunt; her attention fixated on a tumbler filled with ice and almost empty of the brown liquor within. She seemed to be completely lost in her thoughts and didn't even notice that her nephew stood only a few feet away until he cleared his throat.

"Oh! Ciel, honey, it's you." She recognized quickly, forcing a smile onto her red lips. Angelina sat up straighter; a light blush over her cheeks at being caught drinking all alone and setting a bad example for her ward. "I didn't hear you come in." Ciel noticed how the normally flawless make-up was smeared around her eyes; a clear indication that she had been crying.

They continued to stare across the room for a few moments; neither knowing what to say to the other. Polite conversation didn't fit the circumstances and the air was thick with the tension of unearthed secrets and words that should have been spoken long ago. Not being able to stand the uncomfortable silence any longer, Ciel walked over to kitchen island and stood next to his aunt.

Blue held ruby orbs, searching them and seeing the silent plea for forgiveness in their depths. She had known the truth; for all these years his aunt, the only person left who shared his blood, knew everything and yet had said nothing. He should be angry; no, furious at the woman who had raised him for keeping him in the dark. However, as he gazed into the desperate face that was his mother's sister, Ciel could not find the heated emotion anywhere.

Angelina gasped in surprise as slender arms wrapped around her shoulders, embracing her in a warm hug. Ciel buried his nose into her collar, smelling the familiar scent of her perfume just like he had done when he was little. Well-manicured hands found their way to his back, patting gently as the gesture was returned. Ciel heard a quiet sniffling next to this ear and he pulled away to look his aunt in the face.

"Aunt Anne, I forgive you." Ciel declared calmly as glistening tears rolled down her pink cheeks and dripped off the petite chin. Brushing a stray strand of crimson hair behind her ear, "You only did what mom and dad asked of you and it must have been such a burden all these years knowing the truth, but not being able to say anything." He smiled softly at the woman, feeling odd at how their roles had seemed to reverse all of a sudden and he was comforting her instead of the other way around.

"Thank you, sweetie." Angelina breathed; all the fear and trepidation of having to confront her nephew after he had learned the truth leaving her and a sense of peace and relief taking its place. She squeezed the young man's hand in her own. "You sounded just like you father just now." She complimented sweetly and Ciel's eyes grew wide at the statement. "Vincent always had a way with words." Angelina averted her gaze suddenly and stared at the floor. "Oh Rachel, if only you could see him now." She whispered out loud as if speaking her thoughts.