Pneumonia
Chapter 1
Ciel has been sick for the past week. At the beginning of the week, the doctor had called it a common cold, telling my master to rest for a day or two and it would be gone. Objective to anything thing that might be seen as a weakness, my master insisted on continuing to work. The compromise being, he work from bed so he need not be up and about. Three days later, it seemed master had recovered and was, thus, permitted to return to working in the study. The next morning, the cold returned and took a turn for the worse.
"You are his caretaker, correct?" The doctor's eyes looked me over, as if to say I could not take care of my master.
"Yes. I am his butler, Sebastian."
"Well Sebastian, your master has pneumonia. He is under strict orders to stay in bed , without working." Knowledge lay behind this accusation. "He will also need these antibiotics to be taken as directed." The man gave me a prescription and turned to leave. Then he turned back to face me again. "You will need to schedule an appointment for two weeks from now. Until then, no working." It seemed as if I was to blame for my master's stubbornness.
"Of course, sir. Thank you." I plastered a grin on my face and feigned gratitude as I showed him to the door. As soon as he had gone, I let out an exasperated sigh. I hoped I that, hearing them from the doctor, Ciel might heed the doctor's orders. "Mey-Rin, Baldroy, Finnian, Tanaka." The four appeared as soon as summoned. "The young master has pneumonia."
"Pneumonia, how terrible. What shall we do."
"You, Finny, need to go to the master's room. You are to keep him in bed. Under no circumstances should he be allowed to work. Doctor's orders. Mey-Rin?"
"Yes sir?
"You need to go up and thoroughly clean the master's study. He was better until he went back in there."
"Yes sir."
"Baldroy, you and Tanaka can run to town and retrieve these antibiotics. Do try not to get lost, again."
"Yes sirrr… Hey!"
"Was I inaccurate, Bard."
"Eh… no, but still, hurtful."
"Are you so easily harmed by mere words."
"No sir, but" I cocked my eyebrow, daring him to continue. "Never mind. Come on Tanaka." Finny and Mey-Rin still hovered.
"What are you waiting for? Get to work!" this shocked them into action. They scurried of into different directions as I went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for my master.
Three gentle raps at my door. "My Lord? May I come in?"
"Come on Sebastian." He came in backwards, tugging a trolley behind himself. He turned to Finny. "You are dismissed, Finny. For now."
"Yes sir." Finny disappeared and it was just me and him. He was smirking. I was clearly displeased. My arms crossed, I glared at him. He was a little blurry. My head hurt.
"Is Master unhappy with me?" His patronizing question and growing smirk was enough to make me want to strangle him.
"I can not believe you sent me a babysitter. I have no desire to leave this bed today." It was a lie, of course. There was much too much work to do. Sebastian could tell I was lying. "Do you doubt the word of your master?"
"Of course not." He feigned shock at my question. "For lunch today, we have warm vegetable soup, Earl Gray tea, and a chocolate lemon cake for dessert." He beamed, clearly pleased with what he had made. Suddenly, Bard burst into the room, startling both of us, though Sebastian was quick to compose himself.
"I… sorry. I was just… here." He handed Sebastian something and backed out of the room. Sebastian pulled a paper from the bag and began to read. Then he pulled two bottles of pills, one orange, one blue, and a bottle of clear liquid from the bag.
"It appears we have some extra menu items, sir." Holding the orange bottle, "You are to take one of these every two hours throughout the day," grabbing the blue bottle "two of these before bed," and pulling up the liquid, "and one table spoon of this with each meal." He went and filled a glass of water from the bathroom and gave it to me along with a pill. "Best to get this over with so you have something nice to put in your mouth afterwards." I sighed, grabbing the medicine. The pill was not so bad. It was flavorless and went down with a gulp of water. "Well done, sir. Here." He had a spoonful of the clear liquid in his hands. "Open up." With some effort, I forced my mouth open. Sebastian stuck the spoon in my mouth and I immediately spewed it back out, almost choking in the process. When I had collected myself enough to see, Sebastian was covered in the foul stuff. "Come now, sir. If you don't take your medicine, how do you expect to get better." He had already filled another spoon by the time he stopped speaking.
"I am not putting that foul stuff back in my, oomph." He forced the spoon in my mouth while I spoke, then clamped my jaw shut until I swallowed.
"There now sir, that is done, for now." He handed me the water again and I gulped it down. Anything to rid my tongue of that flavor. Not sickly sweet, like most syrups, but chemical tasting. It was not flavored syrup. "Now you can have lunch." Sebastian handed me a tray with my plate and a cup of fresh Earl Gray. Then he bowed. "I will be back in two hours, sir." Then he left, leaving the medicine on the nightstand beside me. The clear liquid mocked me, knowing I would have to swallow down more come dinner. After lunch was gone, I drifted between sleep and consciousness, staring at the liquid and idly wondering how long this illness would last. How long would my work pile up, and how much of that foul liquid must I consume to get well again. I got the feeling I did not want to know the answer.
I returned the trolley to the kitchen then walked to my quarters. I checked the mirror to see the damage. My shirt and tail coat were drenched in master's medicine and spit. I could even feel tiny droplets trickling down my face. I washed my face and changed my shirt and tail coat, my others needing washing right away. I was only fully decent for three seconds before the shattering of china alerted me that Mey-Rin was done in the study. Upon investigation, I learned that she had picked up the master's dishes from his room.
"He looked so peaceful, yes he did. Sleeping like a baby, yes he was." She was babbling so I sent her off to do the wash, my recent clothes having already been added to the rest in the bin. Then it was back to work, preparing master's dinner, watching the time for two hours, and anticipating another volcano come dinnertime.
It became a sort of ritual. Every morning, Sebastian would come in with breakfast. He would get me water to take my pill, then he would have to clamp my mouth shut until I swallowed the syrup. No matter how hard I tried, I could not force it down without him. It was extremely dull in bed without anything to do. The seconds ticked by, each one a eternity, counting down to the next dose of syrup. Sebastian had brought me a stack of my favorite books, but trying to read made my head swim and my stomach sick. So I waited, sometimes lightly dozing, the day passing by in doses of medicine.
She came on the third day. "Cieeeeeeeel!"
"Elizabeth? What are you doing here? I'm sick."
"I know, silly. That's why I came, to cheer you up." She looked down at me. "Oh! Ciel! You look horrible. Are you okay?" I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"No Lizzy, I'm sick. And it won't cheer me up," much, "if you get sick too. Go home."
"But Ciel. I brought games!" She pull a board out of her bag. "Teach me how to play chess again, please?"
"But…"
"Master? It is time for lunch. Lady Elizabeth, you should not be here while master is sick."
"But I'm going to cheer him up so he'll get better sooner." She had the determined look that said she would not leave of her own accord. Sebastian sighed.
"Very well, my Lady."
"What!"
"I, a simple butler, can not order my master's fiancée to leave his side when he I sick."
"Yay! Thanks Sebastian! Come on Ciel, let's play."
"I…"
"I'm afraid it is time for master to take his medicine and eat lunch. Would you like something Lady?"
"Yes please, Sebastian."
"Of course. Just let me give master his medicine." Sebastian went to get my water. I could feel myself squirming. I did not want Lizzy to see how much trouble it was to get me to swallow that foul syrup. Of course, I could do nothing to get her to leave. It would be a waste of breath. Sebastian handed me one pill and the glass of water. Lizzy watched with curiosity as I swallowed it down easily. Sebastian had the spoon ready. "Open wide master." I could feel my face growing warm at the fact that Lizzy would see this.
"Ciel, are you okay? You're turning red."
"I'm fine, nuhm." In those two words, Sebastian forced the spoon in my mouth and clamped it shut. I felt myself struggle for a moment before forcing it down. Lizzy watched owl eyed as the ritual proceeded. I felt my face burn again as she watched me. Sebastian handed me the rest of my water and I gulped it down.
"There now master. Now, for lunch we have…" Elizabeth and I spent the rest of the day playing chess, or rather, trying to. By the time she left, I was exhausted and had a massive headache. Sebastian had served us both dinner in my room and Lizzy had watched, fascinated at our ritual. Once she was gone, I collapsed into my pillows and fell asleep.
"Awww! He's so adorable."
"Come Lady Elizabeth. The young master needs to rest now."
"Okay Sebastian. I'm coming."
It was time for the young master to take his medicine before bed. I walked to his room and knocked on his door. "Young Master? May I come in?" The only answer he gave was to whimper. I slowly pushed the door open and peeked my head in. "My Lord?" He was still asleep. He appeared to be having a dream, a nightmare. He was tangled in his sheets and covered in sweat. He had clearly been thrashing but that had stopped and all he was doing now was whimpering every few moments. I walked over to wake him. He bolted upright as soon as I touched him. "Young Master. Are you alright?"
"Wha… what are you doing here."
"It is time to take your medicine."
"What, oh, yes, of course. Give it to me." He was clearly confused and disoriented. I grabbed a glass of water and gave him his pills.
"Do you wish to tell me about your dream, sir?" His face, which had been flushed since he had gotten sick, turned pale.
"What dream?"
"The one that caused this mess." He looked down at his bed, drenched and tangled. "Here, let me get this out of the way." He tensed as I picked him up with one hand and cleared the sheets with the other. He seemed afraid of me. I replaced the sheets and set him down as I went to retrieve another nightshirt. He was fidgeting when I turned back to face him. His eyes widened as I began to undress him, but he didn't resist. "So, what was it, My Lord?"
"What was what?"
"Your dream, sir"
"Oh. It was nothing." I looked at him. I was curious as to what could draw such a reaction from my master. He had never reacted this way to any of his normal nightmares. Stress like this could make him more sick. He caught me watching him.
"What are you still doing here? I said it was nothing. So leave."
"But…"
"That's an order, Sebastian." I could not argue with this order.
"Yes, My Lord." I bowed and departed. Still curious.
It was dark. I was lying on my bare back, chained to the cold metal table. A cloaked figure stepped from the shadows. He carried with him a red hot branding wire. He walked slowly, eyes glinting from behind his hood. He was enjoying torturing me. Suddenly, there was light. A hundred cloaked figures, watching the show. The one with the branding wire made it to my table. He was standing over me, still I could not see his face. He spoke. His voice velvety soft and achingly familiar. "This is going to hurt." He smiled, white teeth glinting from his hood. He lowered the branding wire close to my side. I began thrashing, trying to avoid the inevitable. The more I struggled, the bigger his smile grew. Finally, the wire touched me. My back arched and I screamed. I kept screaming even after the wire was gone. I couldn't stop. Tears rolled down my face. "You are mine now." The voice was soft and spoke in my ear. "I have marked you." Marked. I remembered my eye, marked by the contract.
"Sebastian, this is an order, save me!" I screamed the command. I still couldn't stop screaming. The cloaked figure dropped his hood.
"Yes, my lord."
With those last two words, something touched my shoulder. I bolted upright, the dream broken. I could feel my heart pulsing. My breath was ragged and I was drenched in sweat. Sebastian was there. "Young Master. Are you alright?"
"Wha… what are you doing here." I was still disoriented. And terrified. I'd never had a dream so terrible.
"It is time to take your medicine." My medicine. Oh, yes. I was sick. The fever must have caused the dream.
"What, oh, yes, of course. Give it to me." I took the medicine quickly.
"Do you wish to tell me about your dream, sir?" I felt the warmth flood from my face.
"What dream?"
"The one that caused this mess." I looked down, already knowing what I would find. "Here, let me get this out of the way." He bent and pulled me from the bed. I could not help but tense up. Even if it was just a dream, it was easily the most terrified I'd ever been. He replaced my sheets and set me down as he retrieved a new nightshirt. As he was dressing me, he asked again. "So, what was it, My Lord?"
"What was what?" I was trying to dodge the question.
"Your dream, sir"
"Oh. It was nothing." He was dissatisfied with my answer, but I had no desire to tell him about it. I was the master and he was my butler. He was still watching me.
"What are you still doing here? I said it was nothing. So leave."
"But…"
"That's an order, Sebastian." He could not argue with an order.
"Yes, My Lord." He bowed and left. After he left, I attempted to fall back asleep, but when I closed my eyes, all I could see was his red eyes glinting at me as he stood over me with the branding wire and his velvet voice saying 'Yes, My Lord.' It was a long time before exhaustion dragged me into a fitful doze. Even then, the images would not go away.