Sebastian's Mate (Book 1)

Act Twelve: Learning the Dance

The first light of dawn was just beginning to break on the horizon when Louisa felt Sebastian stir. She watched as his naked form instantly became dressed once more leaving him with just his waistcoat, tailcoat, gloves to retrieve. "how?" She asked.

"One of my many gifts is the ability to manipulate matter," he said pulling a black rose from the air. He lent over and kissed her on the forehead. "Now go back to sleep, I have duties to attend to and you will need your energy for the day ahead."

Louisa smiled and moved over to where he had lain, feeling his warmth she drifted back to sleep.

When she woke again sunlight streamed in through the gaps between the curtains. She smiled as memories from the night before came flooding back, filling her with warmth and a longing for more. Turning to the side of the bed where she usually slept, she saw the rose that Sebastian had created earlier that morning. Each petal was perfectly formed, and its smell reminded her of him. As she lay there, she wondered about the true extend of his power and contemplated what she, in her demon form, may be capable of doing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Mey Rin bringing the morning tea and a large towel.

"Morning m'Lady, Sebastian said I was to draw you a bath, yes he did." Mey-Rin looked nervous, more so than usual. Louisa took pity on her and decided not to argue.

"Thank you Mey-Rin, that would be lovely."

Mey-Rin visibility relaxed at the lack of argument and went to prepare the bath.

When it was ready, Louisa stepped in and slid down into the warm water. She was grateful as its warmth soothed her aching muscles. Her night with Sebastian had been amazing but she now ached in new and unusual places. Yet despite this, nothing she felt now stopped her from wanting that experience again, and more.

Mey-Rin washed Louisa's back and then set about her hair. It still contained flakes of dry blood that Sebastian had been unable to brush out and the sight of the blood made Mey-Rin uncomfortable, almost as much as the tattoo on Louisa's neck. But she wanted to please Sebastian, to make sure he did not shout at her or give her that look, so she composed herself and carried on. She also liked Miss Louisa, and although she didn't think anyone was telling her, Finnian, or Baldroy the whole truth about the young master's cousin or her sudden appearance at the manor, she had already tried to save from a telling off from Sebastian once already.

When she was finished, Mey-Rin helped Louisa out of the bath, and helped her to dry and dress. Louisa was still uncomfortable having a maid, but Mey-Rin shook less when she was left to get on with her job, so Louisa decided to go with it and save both herself and Mey-Rin the stress that would follow if she refused the help.

Ciel looked up and smiled as Louisa appeared at the doorway of the breakfast room. Her resemblance to his father and himself was clear than ever. Her hair had the same dark colouring, her eyes the same deep blue, and her face carried the same structure with its high cheekbones and strong jawline. She had even begun to carry herself with the distinctive Phantomhive air. He wondered what had brought about the change in her, then stopped, a surge of jealously ran through him as he realised that he most likely wouldn't like the answer.

A gentle cough close to his ear pulled him from his thoughts. He realised that Louisa had approached the table and Sebastian's timely cough had stopped him from appearing extremely rude. Ciel stood and wished her good morning. He automatically enquired how she had slept, then immediately felt apprehensive about how she might answer. Behind him, Sebastian grinned. Louisa caught the look on his face and her cheeks flushed as memories from the night before flooded her mind. Struggling to compose herself she answered:

"Fine, thank you Ciel, and you?"

"Yes, fine, thank you." He said, suddenly flustered, his mind filled with unwanted images of his cousin and Sebastian wrapped around each other.

"Young master, the breakfast isn't getting any warmer and you have a full day ahead." Said Sebastian, cutting through Ciel's discomfort.

"Yes," said Ciel, returning to his seat. "What is on today's agenda Sebastian?"

"This morning you have a dance lesson with Mrs Bright, this afternoon you have a music lesson with myself, and then this evening you have dinner with Mr Sowton to discuss his request for a position on the company board."

"Ah, yes," said Ciel. "Perhaps we could cancel the lessons today? I need to prepare for this evening.

"While you could cancel your dance lesson my Lord, please consider the welfare of Miss Elizabeth's toes at the next ball."

Louisa stifled a snigger, which caught Sebastian's attention.

"Maybe Miss Louisa could join you. I'm sure dancing wasn't very high on the list of lessons at the Order."

Ciel brightened immediately at the thought of his cousin potentially being a worse dancer than him.

"Yes, that is a wonderful idea." He replied.

"I have never danced in my life. I wouldn't know where to start," said Louisa.

"As my cousin and the next head of the Phantomhive family, you will need to be able to dance at social occasions."

Louisa opened her mouth and was about to protest when she caught the smirk on Sebastian's face and decided to play the game instead.

"Of course, Ciel, you are quite right."

"Excellent," said Ciel, "then I have one more favour to ask of you."

"What is it?" Louisa replied, intrigued to learn what her cousin could possibly need from her.

"The man who is joining us for dinner means to try and remove me from my company. I would like to keep him off-guard during dinner and was hoping that you would help me."

"What exactly is it that you want me to do?"

Ciel looked at Sebastian, pleading for help to explain what he wanted, without scaring Louisa away.

"What my young master is trying to ask is that you join him for dinner, and that you wear a dress that is a little more fitted and revealing than you are used to but which will captivate his visitor, keeping him blissfully unaware of his actual situation."

Louisa looked at Sebastian who nodded just a fraction, implying agreement with the idea while his demeanour looked less than happy at placing Louisa in that situation.

"Yes," she replied "I will, it may even be fun. I am assuming of course that Mr Sowton will not be leaving here afterward?"

Ciel was astounded at how quickly and calmly his cousin had caught on to how he dealt with people that opposed him.

"You are correct. Sebastian will deal with him as he deserves once I have freed him of any pertinent information."

Louisa smiled and looked forward to seeing her Sebastian at work.

***

The dance lesson was torturous. Ciel moved with all the grace of a trout on dry land. While Louisa had grace and timing from her years of training, the small steps and constant shrill correction from Mrs Bright made her want to shift forms and rip out her throat. It was at this thought she realised why Sebastian had put her in this position. So, she swallowed the urge and tried once again to learn to waltz while protecting her toes for her cousins onslaught.