Chapter 1
Ciel sometimes wished he had a different life. He wished he could go about the streets without immediately being recognized by someone he himself would not recognize. He wished his father would be proud of him. He wished he was allowed to leave his family's estate, if only for a few moments. But most of all, he wished he was not forced to be wed to a girl he did not love.
He wanted to escape. To escape his mother and father, his fiancée, his servants, his home, everything. He just wanted to be Ciel. Not Ciel Phantomhive, son of the earl of Phantomhive. He did not want to inherit his father's title, his money, or his business.
Ciel sat by the large window in his room, observing the people moving around below. Oh, how he wished he could go down there again. When he was six, he had begged his mother to let him go out. She said he could go for a very short walk, but had to be accompanied by one of the servants to ensure he would not get lost. The house chef, Bard, went with him. When they walked through the market area, Ciel saw something by one of the stands and ran over to take a closer look without informing Bard. The man working the stand noticed the boy's presence and approached him, putting his hand on his shoulder.
"See something you like, boy?" the man said in a low, somewhat raspy voice.
Ciel looked up, startled. "Uh... This ring... It's pretty."
"Hmm. Is tha-"
Before the man could finish his sentence though, Bard came over and shoved him away from Ciel. He was supposed to be protecting the boy, keeping him away from street filth like that man. "Don't touch him," he said, glaring at the stand-keeper. "C'mon Ciel. It's time we got back." He took the boy's small hand in his own and began leading him back to the estate.
Since then, Ciel had not been allowed to take a single step out of the manor. He personally thought it was stupid. What happened wasn't even that bad. His parents were simply disgusted by anyone who wasn't of nobility. Ciel, though, did not see the problem with them. They were just... less fortunate.
But in some ways they were more fortunate, in Ciel's opinion. They didn't have a name to live up to. They didn't have to be locked away from civilization. And they didn't have to live with Ciel's overbearing father.
Ciel sometimes compared himself to those princesses from the old children stories, what with always being locked up, waiting for his prince to come and rescue him. But there was no prince coming for Ciel. The only one coming for him was Elizabeth, his fiancée. He felt kind of bad about the whole arrangement because she clearly loved him, even though she didn't have to, but he in no way returned the feelings.
He dreamed of being able to hold the reins on his life. That way, he could leave home whenever the hell he wanted to, he could break off his engagement with Elizabeth, and he could tell his father to get the fuck out of his life.
But Ciel knew he would never be able to make his own choices. Hell, he didn't even get to pick out his outfit for the day. Everything in his life was set out for him by others. All he had to do was survive this nothingness people called life long enough to live up to everyone's expectations.
And he didn't quite know if he could manage that.