Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creator/owner.
Author Note: Here is a oneshot born out of lack of Internet connection and one of my favorite scenes of all from the manga. Enjoy and leave feedback!
Terror. Sloshing, rough sea water. Blaring sirens. Scared. Left behind. Doors closing. Heart pounding. Won't make it.
Help.
Few other things flew through Elizabeth's mind as she struggled to keep up with the group of fleeing people, falling further and further behind every second. Fear caused her breath to be used for sucking in terrified gulps of air instead of calling for attention or help from the others like she wanted. She stared at Ciel's back, vision tunneling so that he was the only thing she saw as they fled toward the floodgates of the ship in an effort to escape the sea water attempting to drown them. Her strength was already spent from trying to slosh through waist-deep water in a sodden now-heavy dress.
Don't leave. Without meaning to, her pace began to slow. No, no, don't leave. In front of her, the others had finally reached the floodgate as it began its descent, ducking safely underneath to the other side of the heavy door. Some of the men continued onward to safety while others waited on their coworkers to clear the gate. Ciel and his servant were already passed the gate.
No! I'm still so far behind, she wailed in her mind, eyes widening in shocked realization as the gate's descent covered her sight of the upper part of the corridor on the other side. "C-Ciel..." Help me. I won't make it, Ciel! Ciel!
"Ciel!"
Immediately, Ciel turned towards her voice. His striking blue eyes widened from confusion to realization, and a look of horror passed over his face. "Lizzy!" he yelled as he quickly began to wade his way back to her.
"Ciel!"
"Hold on!"
Before he could crest the floodgate doors, one of the crew members grabbed hold of him, attempting to spare him her fate. Ciel fought against the man as he stretched his hand towards her.
"Lizzy!"
"Ciel!" was all she could yell, just as the floodgate closed in front of her, effectively sealing her in a doomed corridor rapidly filling with sea water.
Her arms fell limply from their place on her dress. She stared, disbelieving, at the door. "No..."
This was it? She was going to die here? Not even by Ciel's side? Not even married yet? Not even surrounded by her family? Alone?
Like this?
She felt something grip her head and hair painfully and realized that it was her own hands, shaking and grasping. Her breath was speeding up again as panic and denial rose within her. Tears skewed her vision as she struggled her way to the closed door. The metal was cold beneath her gloves, and she took a moment to reflect on how the accessories were very much ruined now, then she balled her fists and slammed them against the door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"I will not die here! I won't! Someone! Help me, please!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Please, help! Don't leave me heeere!" Her voice reached a hysterical shriek. "Don't leave me to die! Don't leave me! Please!" She cried as she thought of her fiance, who tried his best to come to her rescue but was too late. "Ciel!"
BANG!
"Ciel!"
BANG!
"CIEL!"
With a final slam of her fists, something limp and smooth and scaly fell onto her right shoulder. With barely more than a startled gasp, she quickly swiped the creature off of her. With no time to react, the animal fell into the sea water with a plop, only to swim easily upward through the water and climb out, atop the stairs, underneath the pipe system on the side of the corridor wall. The snake, for that was what it was, stared at her with a keen gaze, and Lizzy could only think to stare back, the events of the past few minutes testing what sanity she had. The snake flicked its tongue at her before tilting its head up to look at the ceiling. Dazed, Lizzy followed its gaze to see an opening to the ship's ventilation shaft. She and the snake made eye contact again. And, again, the snake tilted its head to look at the vent opening. With a calm she didn't know she had, Lizzy struggled over to the creature. The water was now rising past her waist. If this was to be her out, she'd have to do this quickly or else she'd be stuck in a vent and drowning.
She made her way up the east stair case. Approaching the snake's side with little to no caution (because she was going to die anyway if she stayed here, and still might, so a snake bite would just be another way to go), she attempted to climb the poles and pipes of the ship's sides, only to slip because of her shoes and weighed down because of her dress. With a grunt of frustration at the situation, she tore off the no-traction boots (ruined anyway) and shrugged out of the heavy dress (there were more like it at home), and she scaled her way to the shaft opening with haste, finding it fortuitous that Ciel was not here to see her in such an embarrassing state of undress.
Finding no way to open the bolted shaft, however, gave her pause. Now what? Ram it with her body? She contemplated, hands searching the sides of the opening, as the snake from before made itself known from its curled position on her bicep. She yelped, thinking she had left it behind and not noticing her hitchhiker. The snake ignored her as it slithered off her arm and through the vent's protective blinds, out of sight. It then stuck its head back through one of the blinds and flicked a tongue at her as if to say, "Well? Are you coming or not?"
That was all she needed before she steeled herself for more pain. With a quick prayer that she would get out of here alive to see her family and friends, she brought up her elbow and rammed it hard against the vent. It shook but did not budge. Her elbow gave a painful twinge, but she ignored it in favor of continuing the assault for her freedom. She grit her teeth against the pain. She was a Midford, and she was a survivor.
Finally, after a solid few minutes in which the water in the corridor now rose to an alarming height of nearly touching her shoulders even from her elevated position in front of the vent, it gave way with a creaking pop. Elbows now bloody and messy and stinging from sea water, she used them further to climb into the vent and began making her way through the ventilation system. Unfortunately, there was no light, so she had to rely on the hope that the vent didn't split at some point. She had no idea which way to go if it did.
The siren that had been screaming nonstop throughout the ship was slightly muted from her position above. Because of this, she could better hear the sound of snake hisses coming from in front of her.
Oh! So her guide was still with her! Her mouth twitched in a small smile. For some reason, that made her happy. Kind of like having a friend for support. If that friend happened to be an unusually smart snake. ...Now that she thought of it, if this snake belonged to Ciel's newest employee, it was very possible that Ciel had sent it to help her.
That would be just like him, she mused with a pained happiness. Always her knight in shining armor, even when they are separated.
She tried not to think too much on the possible fates of Ciel and her family, lest she become unable to continue. Lizzy had confidence in her family's skills, but if she was having this much trouble getting to safety, they might be having it rough, as well. Not to mention, Ciel was down there with her – also in danger of drowning – only a short while ago.
I'll see you all soon, she promised firmly and pushed the thoughts of her loved ones away for the time being.
Lizzy followed the sound of slithers through the vent system until they reached the main floors of the ship. The sounds of moaning dead people, now alive-yet-not through some grotesque experiment, echoed through the hallways below her. The hisses guiding her became impatient at the times when she had to stop and cover her ears over the sounds of her fellow passengers being mauled to death and eaten only a few feet from her. What if Ciel or her mother or brother were down there now? What if she could help them?
Once during her escape, she heard a young voice cry out. Thinking it might be Ciel who was attacked, she attempted to scramble backwards towards a vent opening she had just crawled past. That was the first time her guide had bared its fangs at her, and struck violently near the hand that was reaching for the vent. It then proceeded to glare at her menacingly until she made no indication that she would leave until it was done guiding her. Needless to say, she was much more wary of the serpent after that.
It was a maybe ten minutes after that incident when the serpent finally stopped at a vent centered in a dead end. Lizzy stopped, too, and studied the snake as it watched her. She then became aware of how muted the previous sounds of the undead attackers and their victims now were. So, maybe the room below was safe? She crawled forward cautiously, keeping an eye on the snake. She froze as it moved suddenly, but relaxed slightly when all it did was slither past her, leaving the vent and the room it protected free for her to move towards. She ducked forward, peeking into the room on the other side of the vent blinds.
The blinds gave a sudden, loud rattle in front of her, and she squealed as she tried to go backwards, away from whatever was trying to get into the vent to her. No, no! She was defenseless and unable to run! Crawling backwards in the cramped space was slow progress, and she couldn't get enough distance between her and the opening before it popped off with a loud groan and a rattle. Hands reached for her and she yelled again, eyes screwing shut in an attempt to block out the image of rotten corpses coming for her.
"Aaah!" she flung out her hands to knock away the corpse's reaching hands. "Do not touch meee!"
"Lady Elizabeth!"
The sound of the voice she had come to know as Sebastian registered, and she raised her head to see in front of her. Her vision grew accustomed to the light shining from outside the vent, allowing her to see that it was not a corpse reaching for her, but Sebastian. He held her gaze worriedly.
"Lady Elizabeth," he repeated, stretching out his hand again towards her, "it is only I. You are safe – that I promise you. Here." He indicated his outstretched hand. "Take my hand and let us get out of this vent, yes?"
"S-Sebastian!" she shakily grabbed his hand, eyes teary. "C-Ciel...Ciel is-"
"Yes, the young master is feeling terrible about being unable to reach you in time before the doors closed. His heart is quite heavy with regret," the butler replied consolingly as he pulled her forward and out of the vent, sweeping her into his arms, bridal style. He then jumped off the pipes on which he had balanced and glided towards the floor. "He should be here momentarily. Would you like my coat, in the meantime?" He offered her the mentioned garment as he set her on her feet.
She stared at the overcoat, still processing that Ciel (and her family, if Sebastian was already here) was safe and sound. Lizzy then glanced at herself. Wet, torn, dirty cloth of her under-clothes greeted her, and her bangs hung, ragged and still damp, in front of her face. Feeling her face go red, she sheepishly accepted the overcoat, effectively hiding the top portion of herself. Lizzy shivered, goosebumps going up her arms, as the warmth from Sebastian's coat registered on her chilled skin. She had no idea she was cold before that.
Hearing a tearing sound, she glanced to the side to see Sebastian ripping his vest sleeves into strips with ease.
"Wha-What are you doing, Seba-astian?" she shivered out the question, clutching the overcoat closer to her miserably.
"My lady is injured from her time in the ventilation shafts," he replied smoothly. He gathered the strips and turned to her. "Do you mind if I wrap your elbows, lady Elizabeth?"
Oh. "I-I suppose not." She replied, and allowed the butler to role up the sleeves of the overcoat.
He tisked in sympathy as he quickly wrapped her stinging elbows. "I dare say that this trip has turned into little more than a catastrophe," he conversed.
Still recovering from the scare from before and recognizing her need for conversation, she replied back. "We shall have to plan a b-better outing."
"Of course. I will get right to it."
She smiled appreciatively at him at that, already feeling at ease, despite the situation. It was the first time she'd really smiled in what felt like days, but was only a few hours. Her smile widened as the door on the far side of the room flew open and Ciel marched in.
He focused immediately on her. "Lizzy!"
"Ciel!" She ran to him, forgetting all about her embarrassing 'attire'. She outstretched her arms to him and he responded by catching her once she reached him. She grasped on to him tightly (determinedly ignoring her mother's voice in her mind about acting unseemly).
He rested his hands lightly on her back. "Are you alright, Elizabeth? I'm so sorry for not getting to you in time."
"No, no, it's alright. I'm fine," she replied, letting go to wipe at her eyes.
"Really?"
"Yes. And you did not leave me entirely, right?" she said, turning in the direction of the vent to see that Sebastian had the snake grasped loosely in his palm.
Ciel gazed at the serpent and turned back to her, grasping her cold hands in his warm ones. "That's right. I will always come for you."
Across from them, the new snake-like servant of Ciel's retrieved his companion from Sebastian, whereupon the creature disappeared into his master's clothes. Sebastian's gaze remained politely away from them, giving the betrothed their moment.
Her eyes returned to stare into Ciel's as she reflected just earlier how he would always remain her knight, ready to save her no matter the distance between them.
She grasped his hands tighter and grinned as his eyebrows raised. "Silly," she giggled. "I already know that."
End.
Post Script - Of course, Grell and his fellow reaper immediately appeared and ruined everything after that, but I wasn't going to go into all of that here. I just started reading the manga again (up to chapter 95, on the Internet this time because the book store is slow), so I apologize if they seem out of character.