The soft sound of shoe soles connecting with the floor accompanied by the light spinning of wheels of a food trolley in a corridor could be heard. Then the light sound of a door being opened gently, someone entering with barely any noise, and the door closing. The sound of the footsteps with the wheels, ever so slight, continued for a few more seconds before there was a tiny moment of quietness. Then came the sharp sound of curtains being pulled apart and light spilled into the previously dark room. A particular bundle on the large bed flinched, then curled up tighter and covers were pulled over a head of messy navy-grey hair.
"It's time to wake up," said a smooth, manly voice. One would wager that the speaker wore a smile, since the voice sounded like they were in a positive mood. A small groan of protest sounded in response and the speaker's thin lips spread in a fond, feline smile. "Come now, master." The man's voice came again. At the same time, the slight sound of curtains being secured from covering the window was being made, before the slight shift of someone turning their body from the window to face the bed. "You wouldn't want to sleep away a fine day like this, sir." The speaker's smile had grown just a slight bit more.
A huff came, then the sound of rustling as the covers were thrown back. Then shifting simultaneously with soft creaking of the mattress as someone moved their body to sit up, then turned it to the side of the bed. Rustling of clothes as someone stretched and then a soft yawn. Then the soft pouring of tea into a cup, which was then placed onto its respective little plate with a little 'clink'. The plate with the cup was then passed from an adult, glove-clad hand into a child's bare one. The plate was held at chest level while the cup was gently picked up by the handle and raised to a small mouth. The scent of the tea mixed with the steam coming from it was inhaled by a youthful, little nose.
"Today's tea is Ceylon." The man's voice came again. "For breakfast you have a choice of Belgian waffles or French croissants. There is also a choice of strawberry or peach jam. Which would you prefer?"
The tea cup connected with soft lips and a small sip was taken before the cup was lowered onto the plate and then passed back to the adult. "French croissant with peach jam." Sounded a deep yet feminine voice of a preteen boy as the owner of the voice made his choice. The man received the cup, placed it back down onto the trolley and proceeded to choose a croissant and place it onto a plate with the help of tongs. Then jam was drizzled over the pastry, before the prepared dish was passed from the adult to the youth. The plate was held at chest level and thin fingers picked up the croissant from the sides at one of the ends, lifting it to the small mouth that opened to take a bite of the opposite end. Then the lips closed as the boy chewed with his mouth closed.
"Today, your schedule has been cleared since you will be out on a hunt." The adult informed.
No response came from the youth as he only continued eating. A few long minutes passed until he finished. In that time, the adult stood still and quiet. When the child finished, he passed the plate back and received a napkin in return, which was handed back to the adult in a used and crumpled state while the boy's fingers and mouth were cleaned.
Steps could be heard until a door was opened, but not the one to the corridor. There was a second door in the bedroom, one that lead to the closet room. The footsteps went there, then stopped. The next second, closet doors were opened and rustling could be heard. After a while, the closet doors were closed, then the door to the closet room, and finally the footsteps arrived at the bed. The clothes were gently laid out on the bed and then the adult knelt down before the youth. More rustling ensued as the man changed the boy from his night gown into a dress shirt, a ribbon was tied into a bow under the dress shirt's collar, a three-piece suit of matching jacket, vest, and knee-long shorts with a crisscrossing stripe design followed, then black knee-high socks secured with garters, and knee-high black boots with a short heel. There was a small break from the sounds of dressing as the boy rose from the bed to stand up. Then came the combing of hair and tying of an eye patch. At last, elegant leather gloves were slipped onto small hands, with heirloom rings sliding onto the clad fingers, a coat to match the three-piece suit, and a hat to fit the design as well.
"All has been prepared and the horses are waiting outside." The man spoke once more.
"Come, Sebastian." Said the boy as he turned and moved to walk from around his bed to the door of his room to exit.
Sebastian was a tall man in his early thirties. Being an exemplar butler was his aesthetic and he never strayed from his duties, not once. In appearance, he was the perfect mixture of beauty and manliness, with an air of elegance and perfection about him. "Yes, master." Was his loyal response.
The master was a youth of 13 years. Short for a boy his age, and thin. Not skinny, thin. His muscles had an elegant shape and were supple to the touch. Also, there was no visible fat, which made his natural physique worthy of any woman's envy. He was an arrogant, prideful, devious, yet very clever little child. Despite those qualities, there was kindness and compassion in his heart, the size of which he himself was often surprised at.
The butler took a short moment to stray from following his master through the manor to the entrance hall in order to retrieve his coat. He joined his master in time to open one of the doors in the manor's double-door entrance and let the boy out. Outside, the chef, maid, gardener, and steward kept watch over the two horses and items prepared for the hunt.
The butler helped his master onto his horse before getting onto his own. Then he turned to the four servants. "Watch over the manor and don't create any trouble. We shall be back by sun set at the latest."
The first three nodded all together while the steward kept calmly sipping tea.
The little master had started down the road from the manor on his horse so the butler had his own trot until he caught up with his lord. "Shall we be on our way now, sir?" The man asked. With that, the boy kicked his horse. The animal neighed and took off in a gallop, the butler followed on his own.
The four servants watched the two until they disappeared out of sight, then returned to the manor to take up their duties.
After some time of riding through the forest, the two arrived at a meadow in the woods. It was located on the slope of a hill near which a creak ran. The young earl, Ciel Phantomhive, slowed his horse down from its trot to a stop.
"Perfect choice of camp, sir." The butler, Sebastian Michaelis, commented. He stopped his own horse and got off, then went to help his master down. Then he removed the packed items off the horses and settled everything under a tree. He turned to his master with a rifle and a box of bullets. "Check your rifle for function and load it, please."
Ciel looked at his butler as the man spoke, then took the firearm from the man. He did a routine maintenance check which concluded that the rifle was perfectly functional. Then he loaded a bullet. Holding up the gun with his right hand at the grip and his index finger at the trigger, his left cradling the front of the rifle, he then secured it at his shoulder and aimed… right at his butler. The man only smiled in response. A second or two later, Ciel lowered the gun to the ground and moved his body sideways. Holding up the gun once more, he focused his gaze on the scope, then whatever was in front of it. Slowly, keeping the rifle steady and moving it with his body as he turned left, his vision aimed by the scope, he scanned the bushes and the trees around the meadow. Something shook a bush and he stopped, slowly moved to aim the gun at the bush and stood still, waiting. It was a long moment before a large rabbit hopped out. Without even a moment of hesitation, the boy pulled the trigger. The loud sound of a gun firing rang out, making some birds in the vicinity fly away from the trees they were previously perched upon. The rabbit fell dead, shot in the neck.
Sebastian clapped. "Perfect." He complimented. "Perfect form, patience, and aim." He then went to retrieve the dead prey.
Ciel exhaled and lowered the gun and proceeded to hang it over his left shoulder by the strap.
The butler returned with the rabbit. "However, my lord, the hunt doesn't end here." He said as he laid the dead rabbit by the tree. "You should also try to get a duck and a deer. Today's hunt isn't just about the hunt itself; it is about patience, reviewing your skills of how to use a large firearm for a prolonged period of time, and also how well you know the forest and are able to move around in it."
Ciel huffed. "What is the point? You will always be at my side anyway."
The butler cleared his voice. "As much as that is true, there are, and will be, times when I am away from you completing an order. All it takes is a single second for something to go wrong. This hunt is your exercise and lesson for today. I will be accompanying you and watching you from a distance. You will be doing all the work on your own."
"Even carrying the dead animals?" The master asked with a bit of a face.
"No, that I will do myself." The butler answered, ridding the boy of one task. Then he held out the box of bullets to him, letting his master take some handfuls into his pockets. Afterwards, he took some extra for himself, in case Ciel would be wasting the ones he chose and would need resupplying, and put the box with the remaining ammo away. "Now, let's go." He motioned to the woods up the hill with a hand.
With a sigh, Ciel turned and started walking. Sebastian watched him. When the boy was some good meters away, the demon followed after him, keeping the distance.
Ciel walked for a while. He had to be a little bit slower so that he wouldn't miss anything, and that meant the hunt would be prolonged, which was getting on his nerves a little bit. Sebastian followed after him at a similar pace, keeping the distance.
When Ciel arrived at the top of the hill, he took a moment to catch his breath, then scan the sky for any ducks or geese. Finding none, he changed to looking around at the terrain bellow. Not so far off was a valley with high grass. There he would most likely find some pheasants. Suppressing a huff, the boy took to making his way down the hill. The whole while, his butler kept a careful eye on him.
Making his way through the high grass and holding up the gun properly while scanning the area and making sure not to make too much noise or step into something was a bit of a challenge. He kept moving further, slowly, carefully, but nothing else aside from the wind moved the grass. He let out a sigh, ready to give up and continue on his way further to the next hill when he heard a noise, a crow of a male pheasant. Biting his bottom lip, Ciel aimed his gun and scanned the area from which the sound came through the scope.
The crow sounded once more and Ciel fixed the gun in that direction, standing still, waiting. The grass rustled a bit as something moved through it. Ciel slowly moved the aimed gun in the direction of the moving grass, then fired. The soft sound of a thud was drowned out by the loudness of the shot that rang out. In the distance, other pheasants took up into the air. Ciel quickly placed another bullet into the rifle and aimed but the birds were too far off now. He huffed at that and lowered his gun, placing it over his shoulder once more.
Sebastian came to retrieve the pheasant. Then came to his master. "Good eye, sir." He complimented.
"We already have a rabbit and a pheasant. Must I really continue?" Ciel whined.
"Sir, you are an upstanding member of high society. Please, do act accordingly." The butler reprimanded his master gently.
Ciel exhaled. There was so much paper work he could be doing, or reading a book, or playing chess. Then his mind wandered to having tea in the garden. But then he pulled himself back to the real situation he was currently in. Grumbling a little, he readjusted the strap of the rifle on his shoulder and started through the valley to the next hill.
"I sense a herd of deer up ahead, master. If you hurry, you may as well get to them." Sebastian called from behind him.
With a grunt, Ciel readjusted the strap on his shoulder again and started to take wide steps as he quickened his pace. At the same time, he had to watch out so that he wouldn't slip on anything. The valley moved around to the side of the hill he was making his way toward and ended in a bit of a swampy area. There was a slight chance that the ground would be soft where he was despite his distance from the swamp.
His legs were hurting from the way he was walking by the time he reached the rise of the hill and he had to take a moment to breathe. A curse slipped from his lips with a breath before he stood up straight and proceeded to climb the hill.
Slowly, carefully, with his gun aimed down but ready to be raised at any moment and fire, he worked his way up. Just before reaching the very top, he stopped and hid behind a tree. Peering out, he saw a few deer grazing. Then he looked back, down the hill and saw Sebastian down below. The butler met his master's gaze. After a moment, Ciel looked back at the deer. Carefully, he moved from around the tree and made his way to another. The herd was a small one. Ciel raised his rifle and aimed it, scanning the herd through the scope to find a better deer to shoot. Most of them were mothers with calves.
Almost a minutes passed until Ciel located a young male. However, that deer was slowly moving in search of better grass, and from Ciel's position, he risked either losing his prey or revealing himself by relocating. His greed took over and he stepped out a little from behind the tree and fired. The shot rang out and all the deer raised their heads. They caught glimpse of the young hunter and started to take off. The bullet didn't kill the male deer, only wounded its shoulder. Limping away, the deer tried to make its escape. Ciel wouldn't have that.
He stepped out from the tree fully and aimed once more, then fired. This time, the bullet got the animal in its right hip. With a roar, the prey fell to the ground. Ciel was panting a little from the adrenaline rush that he had. Sebastian, having caught up with his master and now standing at his side, clapped lightly. "Good work, sir." Ciel hung the rifle over his shoulder and started toward the fallen deer. The animal was breathing deeply, its eyes wide and filled with fear and knowledge of the inevitable end. When Ciel came to it, he saw the look in its eye but it didn't faze him. He took his rifle into his hands and aimed it at the deer's head. A second later, another shot rang out, and the deer was put out of its misery.
Sebastian collected the animal and carried it over his left shoulder, while the pheasant was in his right hand. "Seems we will be returning earlier after all." He concluded as his master routinely placed the strap of his rifle over his shoulder.
As they made their way across the clearing at the top of the hill to return the same way they came, Sebastian asked. "Would you like to have a small snack when we return to camp before we head back to the manor?"
Ciel took a moment to contemplate his answer, not sure if he was hungry quite yet. What he really wanted right now was a warm bath to wash off the slight sweat he worked up. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, his right foot got caught on a root. Traveling this much on foot, something he wasn't used to, left him a bit fatigued. He didn't lift his foot high enough, so he got caught on a root and ended up taking a tumble down the slope until he hit a tree with his side.
"Master!" Sebastian's call was the last thing Ciel heard before blacking out. Sebastian was shocked. Loaded with the deer and the pheasant, he wasn't quick enough to react. Dropping the prey, he hurried down to his master, worried out of his mind and a bit frantic. He quickly but carefully checked Ciel's body. No broken bones. However, bruises and some scratches were inevitable.
Letting out a breath of relief, Sebastian stood up. His eyes burned fuchsia as he looked down at his unconscious master. How could he allow this to happen? How had he not foreseen this? He got too relaxed, something he should have never done. Humans are fragile and carefree, he should have never trusted his master enough to take care of himself or pushed him this much, knowing the boy's lack of athleticism.
Ciel awoke to a sight of a worried gardener and maid looking down at him. The chef stood a meter away from the bed with the steward.
"He's awake." Mey-Rin said. "Master is awake!" She and the gardener smiled.
"Now, please step aside. The lord needs some air." Came Sebastian's voice as he stepped up to the bed. The two servants obeyed and joined the chef and the steward.
Ciel, groggy and with a strong headache, tried to sit up. He moved to prop himself up by his hands and push off the bed with his right foot but then pain shot through his ankle and he slumped back down onto the bed with a groan.
"That was quite a nasty tumble you took there, master." Sebastian said as he leaned down over the bed. He gently brushed the bangs away and placed a damp cloth onto the boy's forehead.
Ciel glared at the butler in response to his words.
The man sighed and stood up straight. "My sincere apologies, master. You have displayed a higher level of physical prowess in the recent cases, so I thought you have gained strength. While that may be true, I realize that I had made a rash decision to allow you to travel so much on foot over that kind of terrain. This will not happen again, sir." He then bowed and remained that way.
Ciel's glare didn't cease, only strengthened a little. Sebastian was apologizing and calling him weak at the same time. He then shifted his glare to the ceiling. "What happened to my leg?"
"You pulled a few ligaments in your ankle when it got caught on a root and you fell forward." Sebastian explained. "It will be best to remain in bed for the next day or two in order to let the injury heal better."
"I don't have time to play invalid, Sebastian. You know that better than anyone!" Ciel raised the tone of his voice. His anger was clear.
"My biggest apologies, master. I will do my utmost best so that this doesn't hinder your work and studies." Sebastian vowed.
The three servants chipped in as well. "We will do our best too!" The steward only replied with a supportive 'hoh'.
"Now," Sebastian started as he stood up straight. "Please stay here, do not do anything, while I bring you lunch." He looked to the servants. "Mey-Rin, Baldroy, come with me. Finnian, watch over the master. Tanaka… Be as you are, sir." With that, he started out of the master bedroom.
The maid and the chef hummed in obedience and followed after the butler while the gardener and the steward remained. After they left, the bright and cheery teen tried to entertain his master with conversation.
Sebastian returned in a few long minutes with a food trolley. Bringing it to the side of the bed, he then went to assist his master in sitting up and placed a pillow behind his back. Ciel was grumpy, per his usual self, and he had the right of it.
"Today's lunch is rabbit stew made from the very rabbit that the young master shot, and Ciabatta bread. For dessert there is raspberry mousse, and for tea there is Darjeeling." Sebastian introduced the meal as he set up the tray for meals in bed over his master's lap, then the cutlery, and finally the plate with a bowl of stew atop it. "Please, eat carefully and enjoy."
Ciel looked at the meal, then picked up the spoon and started to eat.
The rest of the day went by smoothly. Aside from being confined to the bed and having to rely on Sebastian when going to the restroom, mainly because the butler wouldn't let the boy disturb the injured ankle in any way and insisted on carrying the young master. Aside from that, Ciel spent the remainder of the day ordering Sebastian around to get this book, or that game. Or when the butler just brought the requested item to him, Ciel had a 'change of mind' and ordered the demon to bring something else. Though childish, this was a kind of revenge that Ciel enjoyed, and Sebastian took his punishment as the good and responsible butler that he was.