It was a bitter cold December afternoon. Ciel was in his study, looking over piles of paperwork. He had been swamped with work this week, and he was feeling quite fatigued. His eyes became sore after hours of reading, and all the words started to blend together. He blinked a few times and then shut his eyes tightly. He sighed softly and massaged his aching temples. As if Sebastian sensed his master's fatigue, he appeared in the doorway, tray in hand.
"I've brought earl grey tea and lemon cookies," he told Ciel with a smile.
"Thank you," was his master's quiet reply.
"Are you well? You seem fatigued," the demon observed. "Perhaps you should rest a bit." There was a hint of worry in his voice, but Ciel's headache was too severe for him to notice.
"No, I'm fine. I must finish this work up before Sunday," Ciel said with determination, though his eyes and head yearned for rest. "Please bring supper here when it's done so I can continue working. Then I shall rest when I'm done," he decided.
"Very well, sir. I will make sure to prepare something warm for supper; it's a terribly cold day." And with that, Sebastian took the empty tray with him and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Ciel breathed a small sigh of relief. Admittedly, he was starting to feel a bit ill, but he knew if Sebastian realized this, he would force him to take a break, and Ciel could not afford to rest when there was so much work to be done. He continued looking over the paperwork from the Queen, sipping tea and nibbling at the cookies every now and then. He began to notice that his nose was a bit stuffed up, but he didn't pay much mind to it, as it was not interfering with his work.
At half past six, Ciel heard footsteps and smelled the mouthwatering aroma of beef stew before his butler even got to his room. Sebastian presented a steaming bowl of stew to him, along with another cup of tea. Ciel was grateful for the warm meal, and eagerly began to eat.
"Shall I prepare a bath for you?" Sebastian asked when he came back to collect the empty bowl and cup.
Sebastian hesitated at first, but nodded. A bath did sound nice. "Yes, thank you Sebastian."
Warm water lapped against Ciel's body, making him content and sleepy. His head felt better, although his nose was still stuffy and he had a slight cough. He made a mental note to hide it from Sebastian, lest he worry him. He stayed in the tub until the water turned cold, and let his demon butler dress him in his nighttime attire. He sat on the edge of his bed, letting his mind drift away for a second, until the sound of the phone ringing startled him.
Mei-Rin handed the phone to Sebastian, and he took the call, though it was for Ciel. After hanging up, he went to Ciel to tell him the news, but Ciel had found him instead.
"Who was that?" he asked eagerly.
"One of the Queen's guards. She has asked that you immediately deliver the paperwork relating to last week's incident. She sounded quite frantic," he replied. "Shall I deliver it for you? It's already quite late, and Finny said it's snowing now."
"No, no. I must deliver it in person. I am her watchdog after all."
Sebastian knew better than to argue with the stubborn boy, so he helped Ciel get changed once again into proper clothing, and asked if he should accompany him, but Ciel declined. After retrieving the correct papers from his desk, Ciel went on his way.
Sebastian knew his young master well enough to know that although Ciel had a rough exterior, inside he was still just a fragile boy, and the weather would be hard on him. He decided he must go out after the boy to ensure his safety.
If it weren't so terribly frigid, the walk might have been an enjoyable one, but the wind whipped violently against the boy's cheeks, turning them bright red. The cold air in his lungs made him cough more than before. Ciel cursed under his breath, and wondered why the queen needed him so urgently at this time of the night. However, he pressed on, knowing it was his duty to serve her.
After awhile though, Ciel felt increasingly worse. His nose was runny, and his coughing worsened; it made his lungs burn in pain, and to his dismay, he realized it was affecting his asthma.
"Damn…it…" he panted in between coughing.
He was in so much pain that he had to stop for a moment. He sat down in the snow with the intention of getting right back up, but a coughing fit kept him where he was. Breathing became difficult, and he began to wish Sebastian had accompanied him. After a couple minutes his coughing died down and he got back up, only to be hit with a gust of wind so strong that it nearly knocked him over. This brought on another fit of coughing, worse than before. Ciel slumped to the ground on his knees. It was so painful that breathing was almost impossible.
Sebastian sensed his master's predicament, and rushed to the boy, finding him hunched over on the ground. The coughing turned to wheezing, and it sounded painful.
"Young master, you should not have come out here."
Ciel tried to reply, but only coughs and wheezing escaped his weak body. His vision blurred and he began to see darkness wash over him, but before he passed out, he saw Sebastian's worried face leaning close to him.
