"Time to wake up, Young Master." Came a voice from near the curtains.
Whoosh!
Blinding sunlight streamed through the room into the face of the young earl, blinking and scowling, "Sebastian…"
"Today we have a scone with apricot jelly alongside a hardboiled egg. The tea is—"
"Earl gray." Ciel mumbled drowsily, sitting up.
"Precisely." The butler quipped, placing the tray on his master's lap, "Now, today's activities are limited. You only have one meeting with Lady Elizabeth and then you're free for the rest of the day."
Ciel winced at the mention of his fiancé but carried along with good grace, "Very well, begin preparations at once"
And so starts another day at the Phantomhive household.
Sebastian breezed down towards the kitchens when an ungodly crash reached his ears. Sighing with exasperated patience, he pushed open the kitchen door to what looked like a war scene.
Battle front one had three servants lying in a heap in some sort of gooey concoction while Battle front two, the clear victor, was a bubbling pot of said goo.
"What are you three doing?" the butler asked, his voice cool and quiet.
"Mister Sebastian!" the maid sqeaked, "W-we were trying to make Holiday! B-but Chef…"
A blackened man sat up, brandishing what seemed to be a flame thrower, "WORTHY FOE!"
And so the day continued as normal.
After a rather frilly and somewhat strenuous visit from Lady Elizabeth, Ceil staggered back to his room growling about lace and silk.
Sebastian followed him offering words of support and tried not to betray himself with the small smile that was fighting fiercely to appear on his composed face. "Do not worry Young Master, she is immature, she will grow to be a woman soon enough."
"Bloody frills!" spat Ciel, storming into his office space.
Sebastian sighed and followed, "What do you wish to partake in this evening?"
Ciel shrugged and sank into his chair, "I don't know…has the new game from Denmark arrived?"
"No Young Master, not for another three days." Sebastian replied, watching his master stiffen.
Ciel growled and waved his hand, "You may leave."
Sebastian nodded and closed the door behind him silently, wandering off to go fix the probably demolished garden…again.
Ciel leaned backwards in his chair and sighed, entertaining Elizabeth was far more stressful than it needed to be.
His window opened silently and a soft breeze fluttered in.
That feels nice…Ciel thought drowsily.
A cloth suddenly clamped over the young earl's mouth, deafening all protests, and forcing the noble to breathe the drug that had been sprayed into the fabric.
D-damn! Ciel thought fleetingly, as darkness overcame him.
"Young Master, it is time for bed." Sebastian called, pushing open the door.
The room was empty save for a single piece of paper nailed to the expensive Victorian chair.
"Oh dear…" the butler tutted, "Now he is late for bed and will be ever so grumpy in the morning." He walked back outside and called toward the maid, "I'll be leaving for a little while—don't touch anything!"
"Yes Mister Sebastian!" the maid flustered.
The butler glanced at the letter, "Some aristocrat, obviously." And with that he took off.
Ciel woke up bound to a chair with one rather exaggerated chain and ridicules amounts of rope. His mouth was taped over and he felt bruised and weary all over. First Elizabeth and now this nonsense!
"Ah, ze little boy 'as awakened." Purred a voice.
Ceil stared almost lazily at some idiotic French man with a ludicrous mustache.
The stache curved from under his nose all the way to his cheek bones, and then twisted into a spiral underneath his eyes. The man stepped forward into the light. He was well dressed, a deep blue suit curved to his frame nicely. His blond hair was short and shaped his face. He was an all together nice looking fellow, except his eyes. They where steal blue and colder than glaciers. "Ave you been azleep long?" The French man inquired, fingering his impressive display of facial hair.
Ciel rolled his eye and shifted his shoulders to ease some of the stiffness building.
"You do not zeem zcared." The man mused, trailing a freezing finger down the side of Ciel's face, "Doez ze Queen'z dogz feel no fear?"
Ciel's thoughts had already wandered. Sebastian better get his ass over here, I'm tired and I need a massage. Right-bloody-now.
"Ey! I am talking to you!" The French sputtered when a chorus of screams reached them.
Finally.
"Eh!" Flustered the French man, "What ez zat!"
Ciel's mouth curved into a small smile behind the duck tape as the screams escalated, getting closer and closer.
"Didn't your mother tell you not to steal other people's things?" Came a chilling voice from the door way.
The French man froze and then whipped out a pistol and began firing at the direction of the door, "Die, fiend!"
As the last cartridge clanged to the ground the voice issued again, but this time from behind the chair, "Now look, you've ruined a beautiful mahogany door."
The French man spun around, his mustache flapping and his mouth agape, "'ow in ze world—?" he began, before frowning. He glanced down and saw a small red stain blossom over his heart. "Eh?"
Ciel watched as the man crumbled to the floor, convulsed once, and was still.
Sebastian removed the duck tape carefully and smiled, "Young Master it is well past your bedtime."
Ciel yawned, "I thought you had forgotten me for a minute."
"I could never forget you." Sebastian murmured to himself.
"What?"
Sebastian straightened up and tugged on the chain, making the bindings pile up around his earl's feet, "Nothing, My Lord, let us depart."
Ciel frowned, "…very well."
Against his young charge's protests, the butler carried him home and arrived in a decant time. The entire affair had only taken twenty minutes.
"Time for bed, Young Master." Sebastian said, ushering the bemused earl toward his bedroom.
Ciel rolled his eye as he was rapidly undressed and then redressed in his night clothes, "You don't need to rush around so much, Sebastian."
The butler smiled, "But we are off schedule."
Ciel shrugged, "Oh well." He grabbed a book and nestled into the covers, "Would you mind staying with me until I fall asleep?"
"Not at all." Sebastian purred, settling in a chair beside the elegant bed.
Ciel smiled gratefully and opened his book; soon lost to the marvelous adventures of Louis Creed in a Steven King novel.
(Later)
Sebastian glanced up from the newspaper to see his young charge had fallen asleep in the middle of reading. He smiled and stood, flipping the newspaper into its original shape and approached the bed. He picked up the book, marked the place, and laid it down on the bedside table. He gently slid the young earl under the sheets and adjusted the pillows under the small head. Lastly he removed the eye patch and set it down next to the book.
"Good night, Ciel." He whispered, and softly kissed him on the head before departing the room like a shadow.
Ciel cracked open and eye and smiled sleepily, "Good night, Sebastian."