Chapter Text
That morning I had a dream. A bird with wings of fire stood looking at me across my balcony, its beak seemed to form a smile and its eyes looked into my soul, wanting to warn me that something was going to happen, whether for good or ill.
Ciel Phantomhive slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't a morning person, but the dream he had caused him to wake up with a strange, tingling-like sensation in his stomach. Although he remembered the events of his daydream a few seconds ago, now that he was trying to recall it, his mind was taking him into an increasingly cloudy haze, thus leaving his strange regret behind him.
Already more awake, Ciel got up from his bed to open the curtains. The darkness overwhelmed him, made him feel watched, even though he knew no one was there. When the morning sun shone into his room, Ciel allowed himself a few seconds of peace.
Still in his pajamas, the young man looked out his window at the gardens. Due to his dedicated health, it was common for him to watch from a distance, one of the few activities he had the pleasure of being able to do without any consequences for his weak body. For that reason, he knew most of the workers and gardeners in his home by sight. He liked to watch from afar as they mowed the grass, watered the flowers, or uprooted the trees with their bare hands.
Wait...Ciel stretched her body over the balcony to get a better look. A boy, dressed in his house uniform, was walking, not with a trunk, but with a whole tree with its branches full of leaves still on it. That surprised him. "That's physically impossible; a man needs a horse minimum to carry something of that level." Ciel had the desire to get his attention but refrained; it wasn't proper to talk to other servants that weren't approved by his parents first.
(Pov Ciel)
"J-young master! Please f-please move from there," that shout brought me back to reality and made me realize that my body had moved unconsciously to the point that my feet were brushing the floor. "I'm sorry," I responded automatically, returning to my original position. I turned my head to see her, Mey-Rin, an Omega a little taller than me, with two pigtails holding back her hair and large round glasses. She was the personal maid my parents had provided for me for the past month. She was a little clumsy but she did her job.
Mey-Rin approached me, leaving behind her the cart containing my breakfast for the day. As she stood by the balcony, I could see her eyes glance out over the gardens, where all that remained of the former worker was a trail of dirt. It was frowned upon in my family for workers to leave a mess; if one did, his partner should report it, but to my surprise she said nothing, she was quiet and for a moment I could tell she was nervous, but that was only for a few seconds. Then, her eyes came back to me. "I-I... J-young master, you seem to be well, don't you?" she asked. I nodded "Good, good, then let's go inside; you might catch a cold if you only wear pajamas in the morning," he pointed to my clothes with his finger.
Once inside my quarters, Mey-Rin approached the trolley that had been left in the middle of the room. I sighed; my parents had chosen Mey-Rin as my personal maid, at first I was a little excited, however, everything changed when I saw her performance in her profession.
Quietly, I ate my breakfast while reading the newspaper. Mey-Rin was looking for the wardrobe she would wear for the day. I looked at her silently, consumed in my thoughts. She wasn't bad, but she wasn't good either.
As she walked, she left behind her a floral scent that to many would feel comforting, but to me? It was odd. There was something about her that made me feel I couldn't trust, even if her aptitude was cheerful and naive.
"J-young master," Mey-Rin called, catching my attention and snapping me out of my thoughts. I set my teacup aside and nodded at his direction for him to continue.
"And...I," she murmured nervously. I raised an eyebrow; it was common for her to be hesitant in her actions in our first encounters, but after the first week I thought she had gained more confidence. Apparently Mey-Rin picked up that I noticed her hesitation and took a breath to calm down, then continued with her story "after breakfast, she has grammar class with her new teacher, Sebastian Michaelis. She then proceeds to teacher Inri for her dance lessons and finally she would have lessons with her etiquette teacher; however, she has resigned her stay here due to problems with her contract. Consequently he has the afternoon free until dinner."
"Well, if you are finished with your chores you may leave," I declared. Mey-Rin bowed slightly, picked up the trolley and withdrew from my room, leaving me alone again.
At the foot of my bed was my wardrobe, left by Mey-Rin. I went over to pick it up and proceeded to get dressed ready to go to my grammar classes with Professor Sebastian?.... That name... it makes me feel melancholy, I remember naming my late dog that way, a great dane; he was the most faithful animal I have ever known, although he was sometimes mean to me when I was little. However, if it weren't for his great loyalty my brother and I....
My palms were sweating and my body was trembling at the memory of that incident, the event still lingered in my thoughts, I could not get the moment I lost my right eye out of my mind, it was the reminder of me being a useless and naive child. I shook my head; it was too early to have these kinds of thoughts. Now I just had to put on my eye patch and go to my classes, where my brother would be waiting for me.
As I walked down the long corridors, I noticed that there were fewer staff. The memory of my father mentioning the new changes there would be in the mansion popped into my mind. Although I didn't think this would encompass the teachers we have always had over the years, both my brother and I. I was not aware of this. This is because our parents became very overprotective after the 'incident'. However, just a year ago, with adolescence blossoming, my father relaxed and took Astre for the first time to his meetings and events to teach her the family trade. Leaving me alone. I shouldn't complain, or feel envious, I know my brother is the oldest and destined to be the boss one day. Besides, he is an alpha, people known for their leadership and strength. I, on the other hand, am an omega, just like my mother. Being labeled an omega makes me considered fragile and docile. It is ironic that we are twins and have such different dynamics.
Finally, when I found myself in front of the door I was headed for, I was able to manage to push away the intrusive thoughts that plagued my mind. I felt nervous, it had been a while since I had met anyone new in this place.
I opened the door slowly, trying not to draw attention to myself, but unfortunately it emitted an even louder squeak than expected, thus catching the attention of the room's occupants. There was Astre, sitting in a wooden chair. His dark clothing gave him an intimidating air that if I didn't know better would make me think twice before approaching him. He was engrossed in his writing, but put his pen aside to turn and look at me. His bored expression changed to a warm smile and he greeted me. Next to him was Professor.... Michaelis? I guess it was him, since there was no one else in the room. His face showed disapproval, which I have to assume was due to the sudden interruption to his class.
"Brother!" Astre stood up slightly, but the look Mr. Michaelis gave him made him return to his seat. I remained standing in my place, remembering that sometimes teachers would kick us out of class if we were late, so I waited to see how the situation would continue. When Professor Michaelis turned to see me, he didn't look threatening, which gave me some confidence and I relaxed a little.
"Come in, please," Michaelis waved his hands motioning for me to come closer. I closed the door behind me and walked towards him. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Ciel. I am Sebastian Michaelis, your new English Grammar and Literature teacher. I hope to be of great help to your progress. If you have any questions during my classes, don't hesitate to let me know," Sebastian smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with me. I did, then made my way to my seat, the only empty one, next to my brother.
Since I was very young, I've been very perceptive of people. Being the younger brother gives you that certain kind of ability in that sense, and over time, I've gotten used to it. Because of this sensitivity, I could detect something unusual about this teacher. During his class, everything went smoothly. He explained himself in a simple but forceful way, which was not surprising in itself. His body language was friendly, always accompanied by a smile. However, his eyes told me otherwise, that look I had seen before, usually directed at me and not my brother. He seemed to watch both of us as if we were a useless little nuisance. To make matters worse, his lack of smell, a common characteristic of betas, made it difficult to decipher his true feelings. In short, their presence made me deeply uneasy.
At the end of the class, Professor Michaelis assigned us the task of writing 50 poems, which seemed a bit excessive considering we had only known each other for a few hours. Despite his friendly attitude, he was still another strict teacher. Once Michaelis disappeared behind the door, Astre and I gathered our things and to pass the time, we decided to stroll around the local gardens until our next class. With no employees in sight, we wandered through the rose bushes and were finally able to enjoy a nice, quiet conversation.
"Doesn't it seem strange to you?" Astre asked out of the blue.
"What do you mean?" I answered.
"The new teacher!" Astre pouted a little, annoyed by my lack of attention.
"Yes, his look is intimidating," I stood in front of Ciel staring at him, to emphasize my point.
"Exactly! But I meant that it is very strange to have a new master of whom we have no previous information," Astre looked thoughtful, his expression became serious and he dropped his playful smile. Staring at me, he continued, "It is very strange to have a new master of whom we have no prior information. I have never heard our father mention him in any conversation. Usually, dad involves me in the selection of our staff as an exercise to evaluate my observation skills and discern between good and bad people, but this time dad has not called me," I noticed a sadness in his look and I knew he felt betrayed by the situation. I walked over to him and gave him a light hug as a sign of support. Although Astre usually hides it, he is sensitive to this kind of situation.
"Dad doesn't usually forget anything, so that doesn't seem like an option," I looked up at the sky as if that might clear my mind, but it didn't work.
"Exactly! Also, leaving that aside. I heard the maids talking about a new addition in the kitchen," I turned to look at him curiously, it wasn't common to have so many new staff, it usually only happened when someone passed away or got seriously ill and a new vacancy was created "it's another chef! I haven't seen him yet but they say that our mother was fascinated by the taste of his food."
"Really? I look forward to meeting him!" I couldn't help the enthusiasm in my voice.
"Yes, I hope so too" Suddenly, Astre stood still, confused I stopped. He gave me a knowing look and came closer to whisper to me "Besides, as he is new, we can blackmail him to give us desserts away from Takana's eyes."
"Astre!" I raised my voice reproachfully. "We're not kids to do that anymore."
Astre just shrugged his shoulders and kept walking, swaying back and forth as if he were dancing. I walked to follow him, but out of nowhere everything clouded over and I fell face first to the ground. My back throbbed with pain, as if a solid object had hit me, and my hands scraped as I broke my fall, something had run me over. When I recovered from my fall, I tried to get up, but two arms lifted me up. There I could notice what had been, or rather, who. it was a sun-stained blond young man, he wore dirty clothes and his skin glistened with beads of sweat. His eyes were riveted on me, full of unease. I was speechless, stunned by his scent that evoked earth and flowers. He was an alpha, an alpha with a very warm and warm scent, holding me...an alpha.... Why do I suddenly feel such overwhelming fatigue? It seemed like I could rest in this young man's arms forever. I feel safe...and very warm....
(Omniscient narrator)
Astre sank into a sweet sleep in Finnian's arms, showing no signs. The blond was filled with panic, it was his first day of work with his friends and he had already had an accident.
"Are you all right?! react! Oh, I hurt you so much, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, This is what I get for rushing around and not looking my way. We must go to the nurse-" the blond stopped his words in panic; the defiant gaze of Astre, who was only a few feet away, made him tremble. The atmosphere was filled with a sour smell from Astre.
"Let go of my brother now," he declared firmly, using the alpha command; a voice that imposes submission on the weaker or challenges the strong to determine who is in charge.
The blond bowed his head in a gesture of submission and proceeded to gently place Ciel on the ground, backing away from him.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
"Go away," Astre interrupted him "I don't want to see you near us again," he said in a hard voice, keeping his alpha command, like a storm that doesn't allow its prey to escape.
The golden-haired young man, with no other choice, bowed his head and ran away at an extremely fast speed for a human being. But Astre, unperturbed, paid no attention to his departure. She had no time for such a distraction, for her concern was focused on her younger brother, who lay dozing on the ground. Astre shook Ciel in an attempt to wake him up, but the most he got was that Astre moved to move closer to him and curl up to continue sleeping. As they were in close proximity, the young alpha smelled a more pronounced scent on his brother, a tea and chocolate-infused fragrance wafting through the air. Something in his mind clicked and, with a determined gesture, he placed his hand on the omega's forehead. Her suspicions were certain: her brother was experiencing his first heat.