I quietly sat in the library with Ciel as we just enjoyed some peace, and quiet. Both of us completely submerged deep in our enchanting books, utterly enthralled by the works of literature that seemed to cast a delighted shell around us. 

Though with a frown cast across my brows I cleared my throat, getting ready to shatter the tranquil serenity with my rant. 

"You know, after skimming through all of these love stories I have come to an important conclusion..." I announced, the divan where I sat covered in heaps of books, novels, and classic volumes. 

"There are no happy endings," I began. "Anthony and Cleopatra, sad. Romeo and Juliet, depressing. Layla and Majnun, unhappy. Pyramus and Thisbe, heartbreaking. Salim and Anarkali, unfortunate. Orpheus and Eurydice, tragic. Triston and Isolde, agonizing. Even Queen Victoria herself has led a rather gloomy tale for without her Prince Albert she shrouds herself in black, and veils of darkness forever mourning her beloveds death." 

Ciel's gaze shifted up from his own book, Edgar Allen Poe's, The Masque of the Red Death. 

"Yes, there is no such thing as a Happily Ever After." 

I huffed, drumming my fingers along the leather bound volume that rested on my lap, my mind wandering into deep thoughts. 

"I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old, but I really don't feel like continuing on." 

Ciel scoffed at my baring comment, placing a satin lined bookmark into his novel to remember his place. 

"You were born in 1653, so, yes you are old. Though if you do feel the dire need to end your life then why don't you? Surely you must possess the power to do so." 

I clicked my tongue at his verdict, lounging back against the settee. 

"Yes, well I've recently found out that absolutely nothing can kill me except for Sebastian himself for he was the one who saved me, and made me into a Vampire in the first place." 

That caught the boys attention, him now intrigued by what I had just divulged. 

"And, Sebastian won't let you die? That's rather amusing actually, but do you honestly wish to die because of such an absurd thing as a broken heart? I fancied you to be stronger than that." 

"I can assure you that I am not that weak," I retorted. "I have far better reasons then heartbreak to want to end my life." 

Before Ciel, and I could continue on with our private confab the servants Finny, Bardroy, Tanaka, and Mey-Rin came barreling into the library, disrupting our little isolated time away from the chaotic hassles of life. 

"Master, it came!" They happily shouted, slamming a camera down on top of the chestnut table in between us. 

"Good, this will be rather useful." The Earl pointed out, grazing his hand over the devise as the servants scampered back out of the room. 

"Really, a camera? I would of thought that you weren't the photogenic type." I jested, earning a glower from the noble. 

"This isn't for pictures of myself, its for me to take photographs of other people. You see, this is supposedly a haunted sliding wooden box camera. When you take an image of someone it shows who they care about most, even if the one they care about isn't in the photo with them, or is even dead. Care to give it a try on Sebastian?" Ciel proposed, making my lips curve up halfway. 

"That's a rather tempting suggestion, but you see, Ciel... Even if I am the one that Sebastian cares about most it doesn't really change anything, does it? I still can't erase the past, and I can't rewrite the events that have occurred in my life. Surely, you understand this." I said, striking a sensitive cord in him, and I could tell that he momentarily thought about his own life. 

"Well, I suppose you're right for once something is truly lost it can never return. Even if the thing you care about most does appear in a photograph it is but a false illusion of the past." The Earl coldly scorned, his navy orb now staring down at the camera with almost disgust as he stood up, his book cradled in his folded arms. 

He started to walk towards the library doors, and left in great haste, saying that he had work to attend to. 

Now, alone, I began to tidy up the extravagant disarray of novels that we had stolen out from their proper spots. 

High piles of jumbled up books were scattered all around the seating area, and one by one I scanned over the numerous shelves, hunting for the correct place for each one. 

"You don't need to do that, Lady Elsbeth." I heard Tanaka say, stepping into the library again. 

I feigned a weak smile at the elderly butler, allowing him to do his job so that I didn't offend him, and I took a seat back down onto the velvet divan. 

"Tanaka, would you mind very much taking a picture of me?" I asked, my eyes landing onto the camera once again, the sliver of curiosity that I had controlling my words. 

"Surely, Lady Elsbeth." Tanaka obliged kindly, stepping down the ladder shakily, his frail old bones trembling ever so slightly. 

He set up the wooden box for me, getting everything in place, and finding the right spot for my portrait to be taken. 

I stood still like a lifeless doll for ten seconds to allow my image to settle perfectly, and with a bright white flash Tanaka took my picture. 

"I'll just get this image exposed for you, and then I'll be back." The amiable senior servant said, off to the races to get the photo focused, and set. 

I waited impatiently for a few minutes for Tanaka to return, and soon he did as he set the photo down onto the table in front of me. 

With a placid, dull surface I peered over at my likeness, and noticed that a tall, handsome man had appeared beside me in the image, making my phlegmatic disposition only turn more frigid. 

The someone who I cared about the most was Sebastian, of course, and I in no way doubted that for a second, but... Just seeing his frame materialize right by my picture into the photograph was unnerving in a way. 

"That is a beautiful picture, Lady Elsbeth. You, and Sebastian do make a very attractive couple." Tanaka chimed in, his gray wrinkled features settling into a charming grin.

"I do so hope that memory stays with you." He uttered out before walking out of the library. 

I continued on with my sharp, sullen gaze, silently fighting the fragments of good times with Sebastian that kept on appearing in my head like unwanted pests. 

Then, as if he knew that I was thinking about him, Sebastian came waltzing in with a feather duster in his hands. 

Wishing to rid myself of the image in front of me I picked the frame up, and extended my hand out for Sebastian to grab. 

"Here, I don't want this." I said, catching the butlers attention, his ruby pools fixated on the picture. 

"Take it, or leave it. It really doesn't matter to me. You appeared in my photo, so perhaps it might be nice to have, so you can look at this preserved memory if I may not be beside you one day." I muttered out, adding emphasis on the word "if" like I actually had a plan to die when I really didn't. 

"Just so that you could always know that you were the one who came into my photograph that was taken with a camera that is supposed to show who the person cares about most in the world." I added, standing up, and strolling towards the doorway, only looking back once. 

My glance falling onto a softened gaze on Sebastian's face, the photo cradled within his hands.