It wasn't the first time Ciel Phantomhive had been sick, and it definitely would not be the last. However, it was the first time since Sebastian Michaelis, the demon masquerading as a human butler, had come into the royal household of the Phantomhives, the Queen's "guard dogs".
Currently, the 12 year old boy was whimpering in his sleep, cheeks flushed and forehead sweaty. One could say he brought this on himself, for he was traipsing along the streets of London during heavy rain not too long before this, him being his stubborn self. He had valid reason to be doing so, though; he was attempting to find the murderer of three noble children, all of whom he had known personally. At the moment, however, Ciel could do nothing in his poor state.
As some people do when they are feverish, Ciel was presently having a nightmare.
It was a recollection of the darkest time in the boy's past, just before he summoned the demon now known as Sebastian.
The man with the strange mask cackled evilly before cruelly shoving the red-hot branding poker into Ciel's side. With a scream, the then-10-year-old Ciel arched his back in pain, tears springing to his eyes as he smelled his flesh burning.
Ciel had expected this nightmare to be a simple playback of his memory, but he was wrong.
Where is Sebastian? Ciel wondered frantically. He should have come by now!
But the demon never showed himself. Instead, Ciel's torture continued.
A brown-haired woman, wearing a similar mask as the man before, appeared out of the darkness, holding a vicious-looking whip with knots all down its length. It was obvious that she intended to use it on him.
The woman's mouth twisted into a malevolent grin, tinged with madness and shadowed with glee. She stepped closer and raised the weapon. After a dramatic pause, she cracked the whip across Ciel's bare chest. She laughed menacingly as blood slowly appeared, pooling in the places the knots had struck. Ciel screamed again, the pain feeling much too real for his liking.
Why is it continuing?! Ciel was quickly nearing the point of hysterical panic. WHY AM I NOT WAKING UP?! He wasn't aware that he had not screamed aloud, hence why Sebastian had not come to wake him from this nightmare.
The woman struck him again with the whip in a slightly different place, watching with satisfaction as more blood gathered on the surface of his skin. Ciel felt as though his throat was raw from screaming, but in truth he had made not a sound as he dreamt. His limbs were flailing about soundlessly, disrupting the sheets and tangling himself. This contributed to his nightmare.
A new figure faded in as the woman with the whip was enveloped by the surrounding darkness. A stone wall manifested itself as a black-haired woman emerged. This woman chained Ciel to the wall, immobilizing him completely. It was cold and hard, and scraped his back bloody, but that was hardly his concern at the moment.
As the black-haired woman vanished, a second masked man advanced on him, holding a knife, hilt inlaid with glittering black jewels. The man began his sadistic pleasure by making swallow lacerations along Ciel's chest, and then moved to his arms. Ciel tried in vain to twist away and escape, but to no avail. The man found it amusing to carve little designs into the boy's flesh, watching excitedly as blood added a striking colour to his "artwork".
Finally, the man who had appeared at the beginning showed himself once more, this time gripping a fatal-looking, serrated dagger. To Ciel, it was evident that the man was going to attempt to kill him, and he would most likely succeed, since there was no sign of Sebastian anywhere.
Sebastian… Sebastian… Ciel cried in his thoughts. Where are you? Why haven't you come to save me yet? Why are you abandoning me like you said you wouldn't?
Moving slowly to make it all the sweeter, the man raised the dagger and stepped unhurriedly toward Ciel, who was still chained to the wall. It was almost as if he knew there would be no escape this time.
Why…Why is this happening? Ciel thought with terror, unable to comprehend what was going on.
The unidentified man grinned insanely, showing nastily sharp teeth that looked capable of grinding Ciel's bones with the greatest of ease. The eyes behind the mask glittered with madness, sending shivers up Ciel's spine. The boy's cerulean eyes widened, fresh tears filling them.
Sebastian, where are you?! This is an order, come this instant! SEBASTIAN! Ciel's frenzied thoughts spun wildly in his head, seeing no sign of his saviour. I don't want to feel this pain anymore! Make it go away! Sebastian!
Getting closer still, the man's inhumane smirk seemed to grow ever wider, if it was possible. He raised the dagger above Ciel's head, now standing just in front of the terror-ridden boy.
He viciously plunged the blade down into Ciel's chest. The pain was agonizing, a thousand times greater than the wounds inflicted by the whip and the first knife combined.
Unable to bear it any longer, Ciel screamed louder than ever before. Had anyone been in the boy's massive bedroom, watching him sleep, they would have seen him grabbing his chest and curling into himself.
"Bocchan!" Sebastian appeared as fast as inhumanly possible, leaving his chamber the instant he heard Ciel scream.
He sighed in relief upon seeing Ciel was simply having a fever-induced nightmare, though he was still worried by the deep flush on his young master's pale cheeks. He paused, hearing rushed footsteps in the hallway outside. Speeding over to the door, he opened it and calmly told the rest of the servants to go back to bed, and that the young master would be tended to by Sebastian himself.
Returning to Ciel's bedside, he gently took hold of the boy's shoulders, as he was still moaning painfully with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Bocchan," Sebastian called again. "Bocchan, wake up."
Heterochromic eyes opened halfway, revealing the young boy's glazed and confused expression, tearstains running down his cheeks.
"S-Sebastian?" the boy murmured dazedly. "Why…Why didn't you come…when I summoned you?"
"Bocchan, what you had was a nightmare," Sebastian soothed him. "I will always come when you call me."
Touching the boy's forehead gently, Sebastian saw what Ciel had dreamed of, and his eyes widened slightly. He was stunned at the amount of realistic pain the child had felt in the nightmare, and cringed inwardly when he saw the utter fear in the boy's then-matching eyes. His facial expression remained neutral, not wanting Ciel to realize Sebastian had witnessed his raw fear and emotion.
To think Bocchan is only 12 human years old, and can imagine this much pain… He thought sadly. His past has scarred him more than he knows…
The demonic butler brushed Ciel's bluish-grey bangs off his forehead, calming him. He smoothed out the sheets and settled the young Earl under them.
"Go back to sleep, Bocchan," Sebastian said quietly.
Ciel's eyes closed, but just as Sebastian was about to open the bedroom door to leave, a small, unguarded voice rang out in the silence.
"S-Sebastian… Will you…stay with me?"
The claret-eyed servant turned to see his beautiful young master staring pleadingly at him with large, vulnerable eyes, the contract in his right iris radiating soft violet. Ciel's cheeks remained flushed, but all the same, Sebastian could not deny such an out-of-character request.
"Of course, Bocchan," Sebastian smiled softly, for once not thinking about consuming the boy's soul.
The impeccable man glided towards his young master, and sat on a chair next to the bed. Ciel looked smaller and more lost than ever, huddled under the sheets of the massive bed.
Finally seeing his ever-faithful butler by his side, Ciel's multi-chromatic eyes closed peacefully. Though the fever-induced flush was still present, Ciel's brow smoothed out and he breathed out contentedly, since he knew subconsciously his butler would remain there to protect him.
"Sebastian, don't ever leave me," Ciel muttered in his sleep.
"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian replied, knowing his young master could not hear him.
Had Sebastian touched Ciel's forehead again with the intention of viewing his dream, the demon would have seen memories, all greatly involving Sebastian.
He gazed at the sleeping face of the 12-year-old boy who had seen and felt too much pain in his short life.
Bocchan, I will always be with you, even when you no longer require my assistance, Sebastian thought tenderly, stroking Ciel's too-warm cheek. Upon seeing the child's lips turn up slightly at the corners, he smiled back, content with the gentle expression on his master's face.
Sebastian… You're the only one I trust, Ciel said silently to himself, viewing all the memories he had with the red-eyed butler. You're not allowed to leave me…Ever…
Yes, My Lord.