Right, so here is an edited chapter. I am uploading the edits tonight, and hopefully the next chapter by next weekend., maybe earlier. I have mostly extended a bit here and there, but either way, here it is!


His Master, Recovering

Ciel awoke from a deep sleep, his eyelids gently fluttering open. When he noticed that the room he was in had a white ceiling, with floral green wallpaper, a plain lamp in one corner, a table with a teddy bear and a few tins of Cadbury's drinking chocolate(1) in the other corner and a table next to the bed, he screamed with terror. This wasn't his bin or burnt down home! Ciel looked down at his body.

He was filthy still, and his right arm was still swollen from where a big man in a blue and white uniform had shot him. His hair was still standing on end, and the sheets were bloodstained, and his fingers were wrapped in bandages, throbbing his weak pulse.

Then Ciel noticed the rails on the side of the bed. A bed? Ciel thought in surprise. At that moment, a woman with large brown eyes and long flowing brown hair entered the room with a tray in her hands laden with pale yellow mountains of mashed potatoes, a river of gravy drowning some peas and a large chicken leg with crispy skin. A glass of milk was being carried too, with a small slip of paper, probably an order form for more food .Ciel felt his mouth fill with saliva at the thought of being fed, since he couldn't remember the last time he ate. As the woman placed the food on Ciel's knees, Ciel quickly mumbled, "Where am I? Am I in an institution(2)?"

The woman stumbled back, her mouth wide open with shock. Then she closed her eyes and gave a small chuckle. She walked quickly to Ciel where she was pushed away, with the demand, "Tell me where I am." coming from Ciel's mouth.

He stared her down until she finally sobbed and confessed in a whiney voice, "You're in a hospital." Ciel gave her a puzzled look.

The nurse continued with her explanation anyway, "You are suffering severe malnutrition, head wounds, and possibly brain damage, so it was lucky for you we found you. The police force is still deciding on your punishment, for living on someone else's property without their permission. You will be in here for a week, recuperating from your trauma."

Ciel blinked and asked, "Do I really have to stay?"

The nurse nodded, and turned to close the blinds on the setting sun. She stopped in her tracks, her head perking up a little, and quickly strode to Ciel. She leaned into his ear, and Ciel flinched away.

She leaned back, and walked to the end of his bed. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Child, my name is Paula. If you need me, ring the bell beside your bed, and I will come for you. You cannot call for me during the evenings however, as I have a young mistress at home I attend to. She loves visiting sick people however, so she would love to see you. Shall I bring her in tomorrow afternoon? What is your name?"

"C- Ciel, ma'am. I'm 12."

Paula nodded, waiting for an answer to her question.

Ciel thought it through carefully, deciding that the pros outweighed the cons, and nodded to Paula. Her eyes lit up, and she rushed forwards to give Ciel a hug. As Ciel saw her arms out wide, he screamed in terror and stood up in his bed. Paula screamed too, and ran from the room, worried the boy had been possessed. She slammed the door behind her, where another nurse ran up to her. Paula's knees gave way as they shook and she fell to the ground. The other woman grasped under Paula's arms, holding her up off the floor. The woman then propped Paula up so she was half carrying her, and walked her to the office. A chair was empty, so Paula was sat in it, where she fainted.

Ciel laid his head back on his lumpy pillow and comprehended what had just occurred. He had come close to being touched by a stranger he barely knew. She could have… hurt him, or worse, hugged him. It seemed disgusting to him that a nurse couldn't control herself. He felt he had always been right about women, over exuberant and unable to control themselves. Ciel pulled the sheets closer to his chin and shut his eyes, warm at last.

Ciel was falling down a black hole, full of his parent's blood. Colours were flashing across the boys vision, and a strange pentacle mark, a pentagram with a circle around it, with spikes protruding. It went from black, to red, to a bright blue that faded to an electric purple. A sapphire blue eye came up behind it, and the mark was burned into the eye, replacing the pupil and iris, turning the eye purple. It bled a little, surrounding Ciel in red blobby tentacles, pulling him to the ground.

His parents were screaming "HELP! HELP US CIEL!" in his ears. Ciel shrieked in pain, "I CAN'T! I- I- ! I CAN'T!"

"CIELLL!" was all the young Phantomhive heard from his parents, and he fell victim to the tentacles, which pulled him closer to the bleeding eye.

*THE NEXT DAY*

Ciel woke early, to the sound of screaming babies and crying children. He bolted up in his bed, breathing quickly and heavily. The nightmare from last night had made him roll out of his sheet, and stick his legs out the rails. A small handwritten note was lying on the edge of the bed. The neat handwriting read, "Ciel. Today is the day you get cleaned up. You look filthy, and I bet you don't feel very clean either. A man will be coming in to clean you up, Dr. Faustus. I have heard he is a bit sadistic, but you should be fine. He will be coming in to attend to you at about 9am, with my mistress coming to visit at about 2pm. I hope you don't mind, she is also bringing her brother with her. Not sure which brother though, but it should all be well. I have a present for you for when you are all cleaned up. See you later! From, Paula. :)'

Ciel groaned and mumbled, "Well, at least a man is cleaning me up. Don't want a lady looking at me, its disgusting. Sadistic, what does she mean? Sad? Crazy?"

At that moment, a sharp knock at the door made Ciel jump, and a tall man dressed in a white doctor suit with black hair, glasses and yellow eyes strode to Ciel's bed. He was dressed well under the coat, in a suit with a ribbon tied around his neck, held by a pin.

"My name is Dr. Faustus. Come with me. We are going to the washroom. Now," said the doctor in a monotonous voice. The voice sounded familiar to Ciel, like an old family member you don't remember does, but not quite. It was deep, but not very male sounding.

Ciel quickly swung his legs off the bed, and tried to place them on the ground, but having been in bed for a day had made them numb feeling, and they did not respond. Ciel's legs buckled underneath him making him collapse to the floor.

The doctor chuckled, and said in a clear voice, "Idiot. You could have avoided that. You could have asked me, 'Doctor Faustus, please assist me in getting out of bed.' But no, you did not, so it is your own fault. Step lively, we must get to the washroom. The water wants to devour your skin."

Ciel's faced turned into a scowl, and he quickly jumped up off the floor, and ran down the hall after the rude man. Ciel found the doctor turning into a large room with a bathtub in it, and a few small bottles. He quickly turned into the room and shouted, "SLOW DOWN NEXT TIME! I CAN'T RUN THAT FAST YOU IDIOT!"

The doctor turned to Ciel, bowed and asked in a monotone voice, "Ciel. Time for your bath. I have to wash your hair, clean you off and brush your teeth. Are you ready? I sure am."

Ciel took a deep breath and mumbled, "Yes. I'm ready."

The doctor flashed a scary grin then, and muttered, "I am too. I want to devour your soul, Ciel."

Doctor Faustus then walked to the door, and checked the hallways to ensure they were deserted, and shut it, cackling with glee.