Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) © Yana Toboso. No profit is being made from this story. This story does not necessarily reflect the author's religious views, beliefs or morals.
Rating: PG
Warning: May contain spoilers. Mild dark themes. Psychological. Mentions of blood. Minor character death. Child!Ciel. Intruder!Sebastian. Human!Sebastian vs. Dog!Sebastian.
Summary: There's more than one Sebastian in the room.
Story type: Manga Cannon AU.
Pairing: None.
AN (may contain spoilers for story and cannon): I'm sorry. This is so… unoriginal, but I really had to try my hand at a typical horror story type plot. I'm sorry, this really did not come out well. The inspiration for this came from all those urban legend "humans can lick too" stories floating around. I really have got to stop doing this to myself, the amount of research for this was ridiculous, given its length. Kudos to those who catch the first reference to our beloved demonic butler.
Historical note: Late in the Victorian age, Children of the upper class were looked after by nannies until the age of ten. Girls might continue to be home schooled by governesses, but boys would be sent to boarding school. The Phantomhive family would have been unusual of families from that period, since children's interaction with their parents was formal. Vincent would have in particular been a very unusual father, but I'm putting it down to the unusual nature of his work.
Electric lighting didn't really come into more common usage until the end of the Victorian period. And that was for the cities. Since the Phantomhive manor was in the countryside, I assume it would have been using Oil and Gas lamps. It is my understanding that children of the Victorian era received lesser quality than their parents. Oil lamps were one of the cheapest forms of lighting (Candles depended on which of three types you used I suppose). However I am not sure if oil lamps would have been used in the bedroom; Gas lamps in general weren't used since they used too much oxygen (causing asphyxiation), with candles being the preferred option. However I have gone with the oil lamp as a compromise between the two and because it allows me to be a little more dramatic.
By the middle of the Victorian era, people started paying more attention to furnishings. Previously, furniture that wasn't good enough for the formal rooms was moved into the bedrooms. However closets and wardrobes as we know them, didn't really exist. Neither did hangers for that matter. By the mid 1800's closets ranged from 14 to 18 inches (34 cm to 46 cm) deep. Clothes were folded or hung on pegs. Not much cover for a kid to hide. However, given that this is the Phantomhive family, I would be surprised if there weren't trick cupboards, secret doors or unusually placed latches.
Call My Name
Little Ciel blinked sleepily up at his mother, her soft strawberry blonde hair sweetly framing her face as she brushed his cheek, the prototype Bitter Rabbit snuggled under his chin. The nine year old was at that awkward age, where he enjoyed his mother's attentions, but was a big boy now. Rachel pretended not to notice when the black silky haired dog, slunk into Ciel's bedroom. Ciel wriggled further under the covers hiding his glee at Sebastian supposedly sneaking in past his mother. Rachel delighted in this little game and was inclined to let it go on as long as Ciel, behaved himself. Of course there had been a few times when she "caught" Sebastian, shooing him out, but somehow he always found his way back in. Besides her little boy was "grown up", he was loathed to run to his parent's bedroom every time he was afraid, and Sebastian helped sooth his night terrors. Rachel kissed Ciel one last time on his forehead before tucking him in and switching off the light.
Ciel waited till he was sure his mother was out of ear shot before wriggling a hand out from under the covers.
'Sebastian?' He whispered into the darkness. The little boy was rewarded by a soft whuff and the cool tip of Sebastian's nose before the dog butted Ciel's hand with its head. Ciel giggled as he heard Sebastian settle under his bed.
Ciel woke suddenly to the crash of glass and the alarmed shouts of the servants. Ciel stared wide eyed as footsteps thundered down the corridor. The door violently swung open causing Ciel to dive under his blankets.
'Young Master?' Called a vaguely voice over the cacophony. Ciel peeked out from under the heavy covers.
'Oh, thank God! That's where you were.' The maid exclaimed in relief. Pushing the door closed, she walked further into the room holding her arms out. Ciel leapt into them, burying his face into the smooth clean cotton of her dress. The maid hugged the child reassuringly.
'Young Master, I need you to hide in the cupboard for me and keep very still and quiet. Do you remember the hide and seek safe words?'
'Peeka peeka boo, I found you.' Ciel said, pleased with himself.
'Good, now go hide in the wardrobe.' The maid said, opening the wardrobe doors. Ciel stopped short of entering the dark space, looking up at the maid.
'But what about you?' He asked. The maid looked down distractedly, before glancing back at the door.
'I'm going to another room to find a hiding place.' She replied, before gently herding him in.
Ciel seated himself in a corner, watching as the doors closed. When he was certain the maid had left he reached out to the wardrobe door carefully feeling around. A small smile painted itself across his face as he bolted the doors. It would take a determined intruder quite some effort to open the wardrobe now. Faintly he could hear the ruckus made by the fighting. He wasn't stupid, he knew there were intruders in the house. His father had been careful to teach him when to let other's underestimate him and when to reveal his intellect.
The ten year old had gotten rather good at acting innocently. The servants tended to indulge him more when he acted like this, especially the maids. Of course it also helped in situations like this one; if he acted like he knew what was going on the maid would probably feel the need to comfort him and with intruders in the mansion already that would be a waste of time. Plus he didn't need comforting; he wasn't a child. Ciel strained his ears, listening for any clue as to what was going on.
For what felt like hours, Ciel sat there, his eyes drooping steadily till his head rested on the side of the wardrobe. The sudden increase of noise as the bedroom door opened, brought him wide awake. There was the sound of Sebastian growling, then barking, before something crashed against the wardrobe, causing Ciel to cry out in surprise. He quickly clapped his hands over his mouth, praying that whoever had been on the receiving end of Sebastian's displeasure hadn't heard him. There was silence, then the noise decreased as the bedroom door closed. Ciel cautiously removed his hands from over his mouth.
Ciel was half asleep when he heard the bedroom door open and his mother's voice.
'Peeka peeka boo, I found you!' She sang out. Quickly Ciel drew back the bolt, before the wardrobe doors were flung open and soft candle light illuminated the dark recess. Rachel scooped up the sleepy little boy, carrying Ciel back to bed. Carefully she tucked him back in, stroking his hair.
'Sebastian?' Ciel murmured sleepily. Rachel looked around for the black dog, a sudden movement caught her eye as Sebastian's tail waged lazily.
'He's under the bed my little prince.' She cooed smoothing out the coverlet before she left, softly closing the bedroom door behind her.
Once again Ciel was woken suddenly, but not by any noise. No, this was one of those night terrors, full of strange shadowy creatures, sharp grinning teeth, bloody red eyes and long black clawed talons. Evidently the excitement of the night had been too much for the little boy.
'Sebastian?' Ciel called out hesitantly dangling his arm over the bed. He felt Sebastian's long silky fur and gave a muffled shriek as he licked Ciel's fingers.
'Sebastian!' Ciel scolded playfully 'Don't do that.' Ciel carded his fingers through the long silky fur, taking comfort from the presence of the large silky dog.
'See silly, now your fur is going to get all dirty.' Ciel murmured sleepily, his fingers tangled in the matted fur.
Dawn rose over the manor. The butler, Tanaka, was overseeing the cleaning up of last night's festivities. The household was starting to settle into its normal mundane routine, when a piercing scream shattered the calm after the storm. Dashing up to the young master's room, Tanaka was followed by half a dozen armed servants. Without hesitation they burst through the door and into the sunlit room.
They instantly zeroed in on the young master, his pristine nightshirt dotted with flakes of the drying blood on his hands. However that was not what Ciel was focused on. The young master was staring at the servants in terror. Confused, the looked amongst themselves, but there was nothing that warranted the look of horror on the young face. Uneasily the servants crowded round the traumatized child as Tanaka carefully checked him over for any wounds, the door swinging shut behind them. However there were none to be found.
'What happened Young Master?' The elderly man asked in mystified concern.
'S-Sebastian…' Ciel sobbed, hiding his face in the butler's coat.
'Find the master's hound!' The butler sternly instructed as he cast about for the missing dog. A shrill scream instantly brought his attention to one of the maids. He turned to reprimand her; after all, Phantomhive servants were made of sterner stuff. However his scolding words dried up as he followed her line of sight up towards the oil lamp in the middle of the room. Had it been night, the servants most certainly would have noticed it earlier; the shadow it would have cast would have been enough to alert them. However the sight of the bloodied and half mangled corpse of the hound was far more dramatically gruesome when clearly illuminated by the morning sun. The elegant hound was hanging by its collar, the black silky fur mattered with what was presumably blood. On the back of the door the servants had come through were written five words;
"My name is Sebastian too."