The Indignity of Mortality (Sebasclaude)

17. Sebastian

"Everyone stay put!"
I sprinted up the stairs towards Ciel's room, my heart battering against my ribs - I could only guess Alois had seen that angel, and if he had, it could well go after Ciel as well. I flung open Ciel's door - now was not the time for nocking - and sure enough saw a perfect, ethereal woman in all white with two powerful, pearlescent wings protruding from its back; its eyes alone enough to send chills up my spine. It smiled, and put a finger to its pale lips, just before Hannah burst in behind me. Without a second thought, I dashed in front of Ciel, who had only just been awoken by my intrusion, though I needn't have bothered, for the winged creature took flight, leaving behind it only a few shimmering feathers, and an air of electric terror. I was entirely ready to give chase, - I had no reason to show it mercy, not after it had caused me the indignity of being turned into a human, and then threatening the safety of Ciel - and I was already half way to the door, but Ciel spoke before I got the chance.
"Sebastian. Don't you dare pursue the angel. It would be an intensely foolish thing to do given your position," he snapped. Reluctantly I backed away from the door, and turned to face him.
"Pardon our intrusion, Earl Phantomhive. We feared you were in danger," Hannah stated quietly. Ciel, who was still a little ruffled, merely nodded, before sighing.
"It is excused. Is anyone injured?" Hannah and I shook our heads.
"No. It gave Earl Trancy a fright, but no one is hurt. I doubt it shall return tonight," I answered. "But I could keep watch just-"
"No, Sebastian. You will be sleeping. Hannah, please keep watch, I agree that the angel is unlikely to return, but it would be best if we keep our guard up," Ciel ordered, his face firm and impressively calm. I knew better than anyone that it was certainly not out of naivety. He had faith in his own moves, and pieces he controlled, and I suspected that even in the event that things went wrong he'd have another plan - the Earl hadn't made it this far for no reason. "Oh, and tell the servants as much as you feel necessary, obviously excluding details pertaining the angel's true nature. There's no use keeping them in the dark." I bowed, Hannah curtsied, and there was a simultaneous sound of agreement.
By the time we arrived downstairs, Alois was running towards the stairs, with Claude in tow. "Is Ciel hurt?" Alois asked urgently, his watering eyes flicking between myself and Hannah.
"Earl Phantomhive is perfectly safe." What a turn of events, the Trancy boy was capable of considering people other than himself, who knew? Alois nodded, loosing his momentum, before turning to the stairs, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Will it be back?" Alois pressed. This time Faustus glanced in my direction in an inquiring fashion as well, though he restrained his fear marginally better than little Earl Trancy.
"It's unlikely, though I'll be keeping watch to make sure it isn't," Hannah assured. This seemed to put Alois a little more at peace, as he stopped his incessant fidgeting, and began to move towards the stairs in manner that was uncharacteristically purposeful.
"Very well." And just like that the tears and the nervousness were gone, and judging by Hannah and Faustus' faces, it wasn't uncommon for Alois to so rapidly change moods like this. I dismissed it, as Alois hardly struck me as the most mentally stable person ever, and began to make my way towards the servant's quarters to explain to the rest of the staff what had occurred.
Naturally, when I arrived, there was a thick air of nervous chatter, save for the Triplets, who looked as nonchalant as ever, but were still gossiping anyway. "No one panic." That was probably not the best sentence to start off with, I'm fairly certain telling people not to panic only gives them reason to panic, but I was worn out and not in a mood for intricacies, and the chattering ceased anyway. "Nobody is hurt. The enemy had fled the premises."
"They were here?!" Bardroy exclaimed. Oh, could they just hold off on the questions? Though it was Ciel's orders that I explain to them as best I could.
"They were here, but I doubt they'll return tonight, though we have someone keeping watch just in case," I assured. The Phantomhive servants all wore similar harrowed expressions, including Tanaka, in his own way. I was hoping the Triplets at least would look unaffected, but even their chatter had died down a little. "If no one has any further questions, you can all return to your rooms." The staff in the hallway began to disperse into their respective rooms, myself included, and probably Faustus, though he was behind me so I couldn't see. I pushed open the door, and collapsed onto my mattress, and I heard Faustus sit down on his. A tense silence formed for around a minute, during which I merely waited for Faustus to speak - even Faustus' standards, he was being unusually quiet.
"Did you see it?" He asked eventually, his voice low.
"Of course I did," I replied, my arm over my eyes.
"Was it like it was described in stories?" I smiled, he was of course referring to the urban legends that circulated Hell, describing tales of winged, undefeatable creatures, cold and perfect, emitting light bright enough to blind you. They were children's stories, really; as a young demon it was a symbol of status to frighten other children of Hell with such tales.
"Worse," I simply answered, smiling to myself. If he was going to ask such stupid questions, I might as well get a rise out of him, besides, if he asked for details I would happily tell him - I had been the king of frightening others with my tales of Heaven's beasts. I heard Claude 'hmm' in that way that implied he didn't believe me at all, and had worked out I was merely trying to wind him up. "Don't you believe me?" I asked, removing my arm from over my face so I could look over at Faustus. He sighed, and lay down, sharply pulling the covers over him.
"Why would I ever believe anything that comes out of your mouth, Michaelis?"