Chapter 1: The Madness Begins

A/N: This fic is Cielois, and I'm still fairly new to the art of fanfiction so my apologies if this turns out too OOC. I hope you enjoy!

-The~Candy~Craving~Demon

Cerulean. Bright blue like a crisp azure sky. A large winged butterfly fluttered gracefully throughout the barren lavender room, hovering just above the clear ceramic vase filled with freshly cut bluebells. Alois Trancy sat silently in the corner, watching it shift from flower to flower. He saw the thin clear strings that formed an intricate lace-like spiderweb tucked and hidden away in the corner opposite of him. The winged creature grew close, oh so dangerously close, until it too, became ensnared in the spider's web, just as he had. Alois slowly got up and watched the butterfly wriggle and flap it's wings, desperately trying to escape the web, but succeeded to no avail. A wicked grin spread across the boy's face, this was an opportunity, and Alois wasn't going to waste it. He gingerly pinched his fingers around the wings of the butterfly, pulling it free from the cobwebs. The insect still continued to wriggle and spasm while being held in between his fingers.

"I was kind enough to save you, and you repay me by trying to fly away?" The blonde asked rhetorically. A smug grin spread across his face, he'd had an idea. He tightened his grip on the butterfly's thin fragile wings, further coating his fingertips with the smudged blue powder-like substance, he continued to put pressure on the wings until one of them started to tatter and tear, eventually breaking off of the insect's abdomen, sending small pieces of it fluttering to the floor. "I won't let you, looks you won't be going anywhere now!" Alois taunted with a giggle. "Now you're like me. We're perfect."

Suddenly there was a gentle hollow knock at the door, and a tall man wearing a tailored uniform emerged, his dark jet black hair messily combed behind his ears. "Your Highness, you have guests here to join you for your afternoon tea. They are of high class, therefore your current attire may not be suitable for this occasion. Shall I dress you?"

Alois heaved a dramatic sigh and placed the remainder of the squirming insect on one of the bluebell petals. "But Claude~ I don't want to. Besides they are in the Trancy manor, I'm the earl so I'll wear what I want." Alois stated, crossing his arms and pouting. "I'm not ashamed. What is there to hide? I mean have you seen my ass? It's cute as hell." The blonde added starting to spin in a circle gleefully, causing the sleeve of his robe to slump down on his shoulder, revealing half of his barren chest. He then began to pull on the black ribbon tied around his waist, the only thing holding the crimson robe around his otherwise naked body. Once the bow was undone the scarlet robe fell to the floor at the blonde's feet. "Alright Claude~ Let's go! I'd hate to keep our guests waiting for much longer!" Alois sang, starting to skip towards the door.

A fine line was pulled across Claude's lips. Considering who the guests were he had a gut feeling they would blame his master's indecency on him, the butler. There was no way the noble's butler would ever let him live it down. Claude readjusted his spectacles and cleared his throat. "But highness, if you allow me to dress you in a fine tailored suit, I'll make you a sweet later."

Alois narrowed his eyes. "I can already make you do that." Alois scoffed. "You are my butler, and I am your master, due to the contract that binds us." Alois said, sticking his tongue out, revealing the glowing pentagram imprinted on it. "I'll wear what I want, when I want to wear it."

Claude sighed in defeat, "Yes, your Highness." The blonde then upturned his head haughtily, as he strutted out of the bedroom stark naked, a triumphant smirk on his face.

Alois then made his way to the garden, where his guests were already seated and waiting, their backs turned to him, that is until he'd pulled open the door with it's golden handle. Alois instantly recognized who it was by his trademark ebony eyepatch, and his hell of a butler with enticing crimson eyes. Ciel and Sebastian. Alois couldn't help but glance back down at the scar that stretched across his chest. The last time they had met, they'd engaged in a duel, but by another one of life's dealt cards, the tables flipped and somehow Alois had been stabbed instead of Ciel.

"Trancy! Have you no decency! Put some clothes on!" Ciel exclaimed, with a light blush coating his face as he threw up his gloved hand, shielding his view from the naked boy. "Nobody wants to see that!"

"What? Are you embarrassed?" The blonde said mockingly, putting a hand on his waist, thrusting his hip out. Ciel let out a groan and turned his head the other direction, trying to ignore the blonde entirely. A bored disappointed look covered the blonde's face, a strong dissatisfied frown pulling at his lips. "Ah you're no fun. No wonder you're still a virgin." Alois scoffed, clearly disappointed with the lack of attention he was getting.

"Your Highness, may I speak with you?" Claude asked, standing inside the manor motioning the shameless blonde inside.

"Ugh. What is it now Claude? I already told you that I'm not-"

"I'll be going to run a few errands outside of London for a few days. I've arranged for you stay at the Phantomhive manor for the meantime, and you'll be expected to attend a private elite academy approximately tomorrow, for you will be sharing classes with Ciel, as well a dorm." Claude informed, holding up the silky Crimson robe for the blonde to slip into.

A wave of shock and fear ran over Alois, he felt his lower lip begin to quiver, his hands trembling. Alois reluctantly slipped into the robe, allowing his butler to tie the string around his waist. Once the bow had been tied, Alois instantly grabbed Claude's sleeve before he could turn to leave. "Please Claude," Alois started, his voice staggering, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Don't leave me alone. Stay with me Claude!" Alois begged, his voice rich in plea. "I need you!"

"I must be going now." The sleek demon said, jerking his sleeve away from the boy's grasp. "If you truly need me, my contact information is entered into your cellphone. However, Sebastian should be able to satisfy you until I return." The demon then turned his back to the blonde starting to walk stiffly down the hallway to the entrance, car keys in hand.

Alois stood speechless, his mouth hung open. "Wa- Wait!" Alois called out to Claude reaching his arm out with his fingers extended reaching for the butler. "Pro- Promise me you'll come back. Promise!" He sputtered almost incoherently. "You can't betray me again! I...I need you..."

Claude froze in his tracks, stunned at his young master's words. Again, Claude thought. To stoop as low as favoring your own murderer, Claude thought silently, was idiotic and naive. The master truly is pathetic. His master was supposed to be dead, and he was the attempted murderer. Had it not been for his hesitation and carelessness, and if not for Hannah, Alois Trancy would cease to exist. He remembered that night, holding the young boy's face in his hands, wiping the tears from the boy's eyes. Then attempting to bash the blonde's head in with his hands. Before Claude could deal the death blow, Hannah had thrown herself between the two, causing Claude to bring his fist down onto her abdomen, rupturing the aorta artery in her body.

With the blonde's emotions running in overdrive constantly after the incident, Claude had only hated the taste of Alois' soul even more, the 'spices' no longer blending together in a sinfully harmonious delectable way. It had become distasteful, and that burning passion of hatred and madness that once kindled the boy's soul, had run long stale, dissipating into mush. His unwavering love for his butler tainting the taste, becoming a sweet and ominous one, and not even a drop of innocence left, or unwavering purity towards his goal.

"Yes, your highness." Claude said bowing before turning to leave, but he scoffed to himself, As if. I'm done with this brat.

Reluctantly, Alois returned to the garden with his guests, seating himself at the other end of the table, staring mindlessly at the dark cumulonimbus clouds starting to congregate. Suddenly Sebastian cleared his throat to get the blonde's attention, "Lord Trancy we should get going now, Claude has already packed all of your bags and clothing needed. It will rain soon, it would be of the best interest of you and the master to avoid sickness."

Alois sighed melodramatically as he stood up and trudged behind Ciel. Both him and the slate haired boy climbing into the back of a black Cadillac.

For the most part, the ride was silent, only occasional cracks of thunder. Eventually they finally reached the Phantomhive manor, by that point the sky had been completely swallowed up by the ominous clouds, flashes of lightning rapidly dancing across they clouds as if they were a bridge. The cracks of thunder grew louder and deeper, becoming more of a thunderous roar. Every time it thundered Alois couldn't help but flinch and shudder a little. Being near Claude made him feel safe, a sense of closure and protection. However no matter how much Alois wanted curl up and shudder in fear, he couldn't. He vowed to himself that he wouldn't expose his weaknesses to anyone, especially not Ciel.

Sebastian got out the car and held the door open for the two young earls, afterwards going to the trunk and carrying all of the blonde's suitcases inside, every single one of them having a silky purple ribbon tied around the handle.

"Young master, could you show Lord Trancy to the guest bedroom? I will begin to prepare dinner."

Ciel nodded, and looked over his shoulder at the blonde. "How's that wound been holding up Trancy?" Ciel said chuckling, as he made his way up the stairs to the guest bedroom with the blonde in tow.

Alois couldn't help but grin and break into a giggle. "It still burns like hell but every time I look at it, I think of us. Me pinned on top of you like..." the blonde trailed off, but Ciel couldn't help but finish the sentence mentally, causing him to blush a little. "But you surprised me Ciel Phantomhive, the way you turned the tables on me. I wasn't expecting the duel to turn in your favor. Hell honestly I even expected to die right there on the spot, and the way Claude looked at you-" Alois cut himself off, feeling a wave of jealously start to wash over him. Why had Claude looked at Ciel that way? Why had he ignored me while I layed crying and writhing in agony? Ciel had gotten the fiery eyed butler's attention in a fraction of a second, and he didn't even have the power of Olé!, the blonde thought furiously. Alois clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. More than anything, Alois wanted to wrap his calloused and bruised hands around Ciel's slender neck, eliminating his competition, yet despite the almost overcoming urge, he didn't, he suppressed it.

Suddenly Ciel came to a stop in front of a large oak door. Lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to the slate haired boy in front of him, Alois ran straight into the bluenette sending both of them tumbling onto the floor.

"Ow..." Ciel muttered through clenched teeth rubbing his knee, now covered with red scuff marks from carpet burn. "What the hell Trancy?!"

"I tripped." Alois said flatly, picking himself back up.

Ciel scowled and glared daggers at the icy eyed boy, also pulling himself up, brushing his clothes off as he stood. "Well this is where you'll be staying. If you need anything just call for Sebastian." The slate haired boy said slowly, his eyes still narrowed. He then continued down the hallway off to his own room.

Alois entered the room closing the door behind him, slowly sliding down it afterwards, pulling his legs in close to him, burying his head into his knees. Though the room were extremely dark, he could make out the outline of a bed and a small nightstand perched next to it. The only lighting were the occasional flashes of lightning from outside and the small sliver of light seeping under the door from the hallway. He wanted to sit there and cry, just let all of his emotions out. Claude had convinced him to play shooting games to release anger and stress instead of taking it out on other people and to listen to sad songs if he felt down. However, he was positive the manor didn't contain a gaming console what-so-ever and the only television in the house was in the dining room. The Phantomhive manor was very traditional, and was lacking in many modern electronics, extremely boring to Alois' dismay. Although, he refrained from letting his emotions overtake him, since his eyes would become puffy and red, and the last thing he wanted was for Ciel to take notice and point it out mockingly.

Alois then brought himself to his feet and rummaged through the clothing in his dresser, pulling out his normal attire, dressing himself. He then opened the bedroom door, stepping out into the hallway. The lights seemed to flicker every few seconds, but Alois hoped desperately that the lightbulbs were just faulty, as he were deathly afraid of the dark. However, the constant pounding of heavy raindrops against the roof tiling, the howling wind, and the roaring thunder and the jagged sparks of light suggested otherwise, putting Alois at even more unease.

As he continued through the hallway to the staircase, suddenly the power went out. From down below a loud crash could be heard followed by Mey-rin's panicked shouts, along with Sebastian cursing under his breath. Alois' heart sunk into his stomach the minute the last ray of light had disappeared. He immediately sunk to the floor curling up, a loud yelp escaping his lips. Suddenly Alois felt like he couldn't breath, making his pulse quicken and his breathing rate to rapidly accelerate.

Ciel's bedroom door creaked open, the bluenette stepping out into the hallway. "Sebastian, bring me a candle at once. With the lack of lighting it will be nearly impossible for me to get all of my paperwork done, and I'm already behind schedule." Ciel called, slowly walking to the end of the hall to the staircase until he came upon Trancy's small huddled shuddering figure on the floor. "Trancy, what are you doing? The floor is a place for trash and rats, incompetent things. Then again you are a spider, maybe that is where you belong, where arachnids will get squashed beneath other's feet." Ciel teased. His ears pricked up when he heard a quiet muffled sob escape from the blonde. When a flash of lightning lit up the room, the bluenette noticed the shimmer of tears that stained the fair-skinned boy's face. Ciel wasn't sure why but suddenly a pang of concern filled him. Why am I concerned about this royal pain in the ass? Ciel questioned himself. We're rivals, opponents, nothing more. I don't care about this idiot, it's just hospitality. I'm just being a good host, Ciel reassured himself.

The bluenette then hesitantly crouched down next to the blonde. "Trancy?" Suddenly there was another large crack of thunder, causing the blonde to shudder violently. Suddenly Ciel found the blonde clinging to him tightly. "Trancy what the hell?! Get off!" Ciel said annoyed, trying to pry the blonde's fingers off his arms.

"Shut up." Alois muttered, pulling himself closer to the slate haired boy. Every time it thundered Ciel could feel the other boy shudder, shaking in fear. He felt the warm tears drip onto the sleeve of his shirt. He heard the quiet yelps and sobs escape from his rival.

"Trancy...are you scared of thunder?"

Alois nodded slowly looking up at the bluenette. "I know it's silly but I- Ah!" the blonde jumped as he was interrupted by another clash of thunder, his fingers wrapping tighter against the slate haired boy's arm.

Ciel almost pitied Alois, being scared of a such a trivial thing. Although he almost found it adorable, the way the blonde would grip his arm or how he'd start tearing up. A bright amber glow then faintly began to illuminate the halls. Ciel looked up to find Sebastian towering over him and the blonde, with a candle in hand.

"Well young master I see you and Sir Trancy are getting along well. I figured you'd be at each other's throats, but I suppose this is a nice alternative." Sebastian said with a devious smirk and a faint dusting of blush on his face.

"Sebastian it's not like that!" Ciel quickly stated, the blood rushing to his cheeks. Sebastian chuckled lightheartedly, watching his master stumble flustered and embarrassed trying to pry the fair haired boy off of him. Realizing the blonde wasn't going to move anytime soon, Ciel let out a sigh of defeat. "Sebastian," Ciel said firmly looking up at the scarlet eyed demon.

"Yes young master?"

"Will dinner be prepared anytime soon?"

"No. The meat is still raw on the inside, therefore it will take a while for me to cook it thoroughly."

The slate haired boy let out an over-dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes. "Come on Trancy, get your ass over to my office if you're not going to let go of me, and Sebastian, leave the candle please."

Alois sat in a swivel chair to the right of the slate haired boy, rocking his chair back and forth. He watched as the other sat scribbling away furiously with a black ink pen across several documents. That was the opposite of what he done, Alois always had Claude do all the paperwork. He honestly didn't care much for documents or land grants, because everyone was after the same thing; Money. Alois turned his gaze to the bluenette studying his concentrated facial features. He wondered, had they not been tainted by demons would the two of them become friends? Relatively speaking, even though they were rivals, they actually shared a lot in common. They both had traumatic pasts losing their family members, both young earls, and only a year difference between their ages.

"Trancy why are you staring at me." The slate haired boy said coldly, without looking up from his paperwork.

Alois sat up straight in embarrassment, unaware that Ciel had known he had been staring. "I- I was...I was thinking about how much you looked like a spoiled rich brat." The blonde stuttered, quickly regaining his composure.

Ciel scowled and pursed his lips. "Likewise."

Alois then got up from his chair and pushed it in, starting to walk towards the door, carrying one of the many candles that had filled the room. Ciel looked up from his work, to notice the blonde. "Hey where are you going?" The slate haired boy asked watching the blonde's plum coat swish behind him as he walked.

"The bathroom." Alois replied glancing back over his shoulder. "Why? do you enjoy my company?" He asked with his eyebrows raised. "Or did you want to come with me stalker?"

"No of course not." Ciel replied sternly. "I just thought that since you're scared of such trivial things that since it's still storming outside you might piss yourself." Ciel stated smirking, mocking the blonde.

The muscles in Alois' back tensed. The nerve of that little prat, Alois thought furiously, gritting his teeth. "If you'd of been subjected to rape and abuse, I'm sure you'd be the same. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you virgin?"

Alois then took his leave, slamming the door behind him with a bang for effect. As he continued down the hall to the bathroom, he slipped his hand into his coat pocket, feeling around for the familiar cylindrical container. As expected it was there just like always, Claude never let him leave the house without it. Antidepressants, lithium to be more exact. Alois closed the door to the bathroom behind him, placing the candle on the sink countertop. He stared at his own reflection in the mirror, looking into his icy blue eyes. He thought back to when the old man had beat him because of his filthy eyes that reminded the old man of rainwater. Did Ciel find his eyes disgusting too? He wondered. He sighed and shrugged the matter off, making silly faces in the mirror to help ease his mind.

After he'd relaxed, he decided to pull the prescription bottle out of his pocket, unscrewing the cap. He dumped a handful of capsules into his palm, placing all of them back in the container but one. He then grabbed one of the clear plastic disposable cups hanging on a rack off to the side, placing it under the faucet and filling it with water. Unwillingly, he then downed the water and swallowed the pill, sticking his tongue out and grimacing afterwards. He hated the way they tasted, grainy and disgusting, like all medications.

He then slowly lifted up his shirt and the undershirt, rubbing his fingers against the stitches that kept his stab wound intact, preventing it from popping open. He winced at the feeling of pain that still lingered, even though it had already been a month or so since the wound was initially inflicted. He should've been infuriated with Ciel, having a craving for revenge and a lust for blood. But he didn't. He didn't particularly have any hatred towards Ciel, unless it came to the matter of Claude. Claude was his everything, his whole world revolving around the demon. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if Ciel managed to snag the only person he still cared about. Then again being bipolar probably had a lot to do with it. Before exiting, Alois took his hand and brushed the bangs out of his face, running a hand through his hair, sighing deeply before he stepped back into the hallway.

As Alois entered Ciel's study, he tried to close the door behind him as quietly as possible, but Ciel had still heard him come in anyway. "Sure took you a long time." Ciel said stretching his arms outward in front of him like a cat. "I've already finished all of my paperwork. That's how slow you are."

Alois plopped back down in the swivel chair, pulling out his phone, ignoring the bluenette. He thumbed through his contacts until he found Claude, which didn't take long considering he only had five contacts; Claude, Hannah, Canterbury, Thompson, and Timber, All of them his servants. "Damn I really need to make some friends..." Alois muttered under his breath, looking at his pitiful friend's list. He then tapped on Claude's contact information, the message and the call button extremely tempting, almost promoting the blonde to press one. However he contemplated whether to follow through. He wanted to talk to Claude, but Claude didn't want to seem to have anything to do with him. The blonde may have been ignorant and stubborn, but he wasn't as oblivious and stupid as Claude pegged him to be. Alois didn't want to admit it, but he knew damn well why the butler suddenly had 'errands' to run just out of nowhere. They weren't errands what-so-ever. His butler was ashamed of him, and he knew it, the demon was trying to disown him. The blonde had noticed about two weeks ago, it first started with a tight clenched feeling in his chest, slowly growing into sharp pangs of abdominal pain. Then he noticed that his contract had slowly started to fade little by little everyday. Claude had slowly been chipping away at their contract day by day.

Alois thought back to the cerulean butterfly from earlier, thinking about how it had struggled and ensnared itself in a web. He was doing the same thing, twisting and turning, only getting himself trapped and pulled deeper into the spider's trap. "Hoheo Taralna, Rondero Tarel." Alois muttered to himself in disdain as he shut his phone off, sliding it back into his pocket.

The blonde then turned towards Ciel with a serious look on his face. Ciel sat there staring at blonde for a few seconds not sure what he was supposed to expect. "Ciel," Alois started slowly, "Do you know what it feels like to be back-stabbed and betrayed?"

The slate haired boy stared at his rival in confusion, How was that relevant at all? "No...not really." Ciel furrowed his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Ya know just life. Don't worry about it." Alois said in a singsong way, but thought to himself, Of course he hasn't, he grew up loved and Sebastian actually cares about him, unlike Claude. Alois then got up and once again grabbed a candle, heading off to his bedroom, not bothering to say anything else to Ciel.

The thunder had seemed to subside to some extent, making Alois feel a little more at ease as he continued. Alois winced as he felt pressure being applied to his wrist, that was already coated in tender purple splotches of bruises. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing the slate haired boy's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. "Phantomhive what're you-" the blonde started but was quickly cut off.

"Trancy is something wrong? You don't seem like yourself. We may still be acquaintances, but I know you well enough that I know something's wrong." Ciel said watching the blonde's playful expression quickly drop.

"It's nothing I'm fine." Alois said jerking his hand away from Ciel, rubbing the tender bruise on his wrist gingerly. "I'm just stressed and caught up in my own thoughts. Since when were you concerned about my wellbeing anyway?"

Ciel could hardly hide the blush that now covered his cheeks. "It's just courtesy, I'm merely being a good host. Unlike you and your parties, I actually care about my guests, and I'm not gonna try devise an elaborate event to kill them."

Alois laughed at the bluenette's remark. "Heh, the stab wound on my chest seems to suggest otherwise."

"But I wasn't the host now was I? I was the guest." Alois hated the way guest rang off of Ciel's lips, the word dripped in venom.

Alois gritted his teeth clenching his fist, feeling his lower lip start to quiver. "It's not fair! Why are you so damn perfect?! Why is your life so fucking perfect?! It's...it's not fair." Alois said, hearing his words fumble out of his mouth in rage but diminishing into a whimper. "All I want is for someone to actually care about my existence, and like me for who I am, not for lust, not as some delicacy, not for my wealth, but as a person. But you already have that, you have Sebastian, so I don't expect you to understand."

Ciel was stunned by the blonde's words, they honestly stung him a little deep down. Ciel knew sometime something had changed, the emotionally unstable blonde in front of him, wasn't the same devious giggly blonde he'd met at the party. "But- But Trancy, you have Claude and Hannah don't you?"

Alois scoffed, "Neither of them care about me. Hannah's only there because of the overbearing guilt she has over my late brother. Claude's only interested in my soul, hell not even that anymore! He wants yours that's why he abandon-" Alois stopped himself mid-sentence realizing he was admitting more to Ciel than he had ever intended. He shook his head, clenching and unclenching his fists, his fingernails digging firmly into his palms, starting to draw blood. He could feel his anger and sadness starting to peak, each starting to trample overtop of one another trying to claw their way to the top. He'd already taken his daily lithium dosage, but the capsule he'd taken earlier didn't feel like it had done anything to stabilize his mood and repress his bipolar mania. He knew that if he didn't do something quick to take out his frustration on, he would end up strangling Ciel or something worse.

Out of rage and frustration, Alois shoved his hand in his coat pocket and wrapped his fingers around the cylindrical container. He then aggressively ripped it out of his pocket, rearing his arm back and throwing it as far as he could down the hallway with as much force as he could. Out of nowhere, Sebastian appeared, catching the container one handed.

"Lord Trancy, you weren't attempting to bring harm to my master were you?" Sebastian said creeping up behind Alois, his Crimson eyes glowing like a feral rabid wolf's, with cutlery in one hand, the container in the other.

Alois sighed over dramatically and snatched the prescription bottle from the butler's hand, shoving it back into his pocket. He then stormed out of the hallway into his bedroom, into the darkness, locking the door behind him. He hated the darkness, but at that moment he didn't care. Alois slid under the covers of the bed, curling up and pulling the sheets over his head. His heart was pounding and he could hear the blood roaring in his ears. He wanted it to end. The frustration, the hatred, the sorrow, the loneliness, everything. He was tired of always trying to be positive and giddy about everything.

His stomach growled and rumbled from hunger, but he ignored it. He wasn't going to have any further interaction with Ciel Phantomhive for the remainder of the evening, regardless of the circumstances. He'd already dug himself in a deep hole, he had no intention to make it steeper.

Alois pulled the sheets down to his shoulders and rolled onto his side gazing out the window. The thunderstorm was still going strong, with rapid cracks and crashes of thunder and lightning with the howling wind sending the tree branch in front of his window rapidly bobbing back and forth, occasionally scraping against the window. Alois chuckled to himself, a devious smirk plastered across his face. "Life you may be a bitch and you may not want to play a fair hand of cards, but get ready I'm a joker, and I have a few wild cards up my sleeve. Prepare to lose at your own game." He said starting to burst into maniacal laughter, the contemptuous grin on his face only growing wider in anticipation of his next move.

A/N: So what'd you think? Please review, any feedback is always appreciated.

- The~Candy~Craving~Demon