Thanks for reading! I don't own any of Black Butler! Please let me know if you enjoy!
—
And slowly, painfully, time passed since that lovely night.
Too much time.
Every day, when Sebastian dressed in the morning, his thin, tapered fingertips stroked the empty hole where his cufflink should have been.
Celia…..
He had not told Ciel of what he had found.
No.
He was there to help Ciel get his revenge.
It was possible that if the Earl was reunited with his sister, he may lose the need for such a quest at all…
Besides, Sebastian could be rather selfish.
He had to find Celia first.
He wanted her all to himself.
On a chilly night, as Sebastian helped Ciel ready for bed, the blunette Earl chattered on with his butler about their latest mission from the Queen.
"It seems Lau is up to his old tricks again.
Her majesty wants me to disband a group of new smugglers bringing loads of opium into the country by the week." Ciel reviewed as he laid down.
"And what makes you think Lau is behind that, my lord?" Sebastian asked.
"Who else would it be, Sebastian? Every time there's opium, there's Lau." Ciel sighed as he closed his eyes. "Goodnight."
Sebastian smiled softly as he left the room, holding the silver candelabra. "Goodnight, my lord."
Hmm.
Smugglers…
Smugglers meant…
Another trip to London.
Sebastian smirked as he walked down the dark hallway.
Maybe, just maybe, Ciel would let him handle this on his own.
—
Sebastian had been shamefully wrong.
The following afternoon, he rode with Ciel into the city on their latest mission.
Sebastian sighed.
He could have had this smuggler in custody in minutes by himself and still had time to glance around for…
Maybe just to see, even if for a fleeting second…
That flowing hair…..
Those gorgeous sapphire eyes…...
Sebastian frowned.
Ciel scowled as he saw Sebastian's face.
"What's the matter with you, now?" The Earl asked.
"Nothing, my lord." Sebastian replied, forcing himself to smile.
"Nothing at all."
—-
Once they reached the city, Sebastian and Ciel exited the carriage and began to walk through the city.
Prowling through the roughest, filthiest streets, they eventually reached the notorious opium dens on the far side of town.
Just as seedy as Ciel remembered, he covered his mouth and nose with his black cape as they walked along, trying not to breathe in the smoke.
Eventually, they came to that large room, close to the docks where London's best known opium trader lived.
Sebastian walked silently behind his master, entering Lau's hideout after Ciel.
Lau sat lounging in a grand but disheveled chair, Ran-Mao comfortably perched on his lap.
The dark-haired man looked up from his luxurious seat in the tattered room and smiled. "Ah, Earl Phantomhive and butler. What brings you two here tonight? Do you want a free sample?"
"Of course not!" Ciel shouted. "I've been sent to this cesspool on important business! I know you're running opium again! More and more of it! Will you never stop?!"
"Actually, my business has been rather slow, Earl. I'm afraid I am struggling for customers recently." Lau said.
That seemed to quiet Ciel for a moment.
Sebastian blinked.
"You're not snuggling the opium?!" Ciel asked, looking shocked.
"No." Lau said as RanMao adjusted herself. "Look around, Earl. Do you not see that there are no barrels or boxes here? Is my ship by the docks? Walk by again and look into my dens, they're nearly empty. I'm afraid someone is stealing all my customers."
Ciel and Sebastian did a quick inspection.
Both found Lau to be apparently, truthful.
"Then who?" Ciel asked the man in brocade.
"If I knew that, Earl, I'd have my customers back, wouldn't I?" Lau laughed at Ciel.
Ciel grit his teeth and tapped his cane on the ground. "Come, Sebastian, this night is going to be longer than I thought."
"Yes, my lord."
—
And it was a longer night than Ciel thought.
So was the next.
And the next.
The new opium smuggler in town was much more stealthy, more craftier, more elusive than Lau could ever hope to be.
Every time Ciel and Sebastian thought they found a clue, it turned out to be a red herring.
Watching every ship that came in, the opium still continued to flow somehow, although each cargo was expected.
When the chase seemed to be the most futile, the first real clue came, in the form of a man in a gutter.
Ciel couldn't help but notice the man, who was disgracefully sleeping off a few drinks from the nearby pub, had his palm open, and just a little bit of the black powder in a bag, along with a note.
Meet me by 5th street at 1, more where this came from.
"Sebastian, you know where we must be shortly." Ciel said as they looked over the note.
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian nodded and they quickly went to secure a hiding place by the street between 4th and 6th.
Hiding in the open, alongside the bustling nightlife crowd, seemed like a stupid idea to Ciel, but Sebastian felt that was their least chance of being spotted.
True to the note, that night, at 1, the same man who was passed out in the gutter earlier stumbled onto the corner of 5th street.
A moment later, so did a figure in dark clothing, and the figure greeted the man.
The body of the figure was hidden in loose, black clothing, the face covered from both sides by a dark veil.
Sebastian was going to use a bit more tact, but Ciel lept from the shadows and pointed his pistol directly at the figure.
"Don't move! I've got you now!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The man quickly staggered away.
The figure turned to run but Ciel narrowed his eyes and fired.
One shot.
Directly in the shoulder.
Missing the heart.
But not the body.
The figure fell to the ground with a great cry.
Ciel and Sebastian quickly ran over before the figure could move.
The veil that covered the face had fallen away and Ciel and Sebastian both gazed in shock and horror at the beautiful, blunette lying wounded on the ground, eyes closed, teeth clenched.
"C-C-Celia! Celia!" Ciel screamed, exasperated and panicked. "Y-You're alive!"
His sister lived!
And he just shot her!
Ciel's mouth was gaping open as Sebastian scooped the injured woman into his arms.
In the grip of his panic, Ciel looked at Sebastian, expecting to find sympathy in his butler's dark eyes.
But he was shocked again to find only anger.
Not annoyance…..
Not irritation…..
Anger.
Rage.
That wasn't like Sebastian at all.
And Ciel couldn't help but feel a shiver of fear run through him as Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the Earl and asked, in a scathing voice, "Young master, what on earth have you done?"