A/N: This chapter is a bit longer than the others before it. An apology for taking so long in updating~
"Unhand me this instant! Do you even know who I am?"
The prisoners looked up from their meal, their eyes going to the door to see what all the commotion was about. Shouting was commonplace in the camp, though it was usually heard from the guards. This voice however, sounded like none anyone knew, and yet it seemed to hold a note of authority.
Whispered speculation broke out among the inmates, though their curiosity was hushed by the sound of the door as it was forcefully kicked open.
A dark haired boy in his late teens was thrown into the room, followed closely by the kapo and another guard whom Abberline recognized as Ronald Knox.
"You will pay for touching a prince in such a way!"
The blonde guard laughed at the boy, kicking him as he tried to pull himself up. "Oh forgive me your highness. I had no idea you were royalty."
William simply shook his head, his eyes going over the rest of the inmates who were watching the scene with quiet horror.
The prisoners turned their eyes to the floor and made no move to help. What could they do? They didn't want to risk losing their dinner, or worse, for the sake of someone they didn't even know.
Abberline on the other hand, found it difficult to simply sit by and watch as another human being was tortured. He might be able to do nothing to help Ciel, for he didn't know what had happened to him, but he could make a difference here and now. He stood slowly, setting aside his bowl of half eaten soup. Taking a deep breath, he walked toward the two men.
"Leave him alone!"
The men turned around, their eyes coming to rest on Abberline. There was a look of slight confusion on Ronald's face, as if he couldn't believe the man had dared to speak up. He narrowed his eyes, laughing. "Well well, look who comes to save the King."
William stepped forward, staring at Abberline intently. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who's always with that blue eyed boy. The one they took away the other morning. By now he's probably being tortured, or worse...perhaps the doctor took him for one of his experiments."
A muscle in Abberline's jaw jerked. He stood perfectly still for a moment, just staring at the man in front of him.
Perhaps it was that look, or just the way Abberline wouldn't back down that alerted William to the danger he was in. Something told him to take a step backward. But he was too late. In another second, Abberline was on top of him, his fingers around his neck in a deadly grip.
William gasped for air as he felt the oxygen slowly being squeezed from his lungs, his vision getting blurry. He fought for consciousness as he brought his hands up to his neck in attempt to weaken Abberline's grip. When that failed, he started hitting the other man in the chest, hoping to beat him off. "H-help me.." he choked out, barely aware that Ronald had lifted his gun.
William and Abberline were locked together, thrashing about the floor as the former desperately tried to get away. Ronald was left no room to get a clean shot without the risk of hurting his companion. Under normal circumstances, he would have simply pulled the trigger, for a Kapo was only another prisoner and nothing more. However William was one of their best, and was given special privileges.
"Get..him..off..of me!"
Ronald ran up to them, bringing the butt of his gun down upon Abberline's head. He struck him twice before the man finally fell limp, his hands relaxing their hold on the Kapo.
William shoved him off, shakily rising to his feet. He gasped for air, coughing and shaking his head as his lungs filled up with oxygen once again. When he had recovered enough to talk, he turned to Ronald. "Take them both away. I want them severely punished for this."
Rubbing his neck gently, he turned to the silent onlookers. "Let this be a lesson to the rest of you dogs. Nobody gets away with anything in this camp. If any of you try something like that again, you better pray to your gods for mercy, because you won't receive any from me." He kicked the unconscious Abberline as he walked past him, grabbing the teen boy by the arm as he made his way to the exit. His comrade followed, dragging Abberline behind him.
Claude Faustus was in many respects, much like the man he hated. Both were cruel, cold hearted, and manipulative. They knew what they wanted and never forgot an insult. And they never left anything to chance.
It was with that last idea in mind that Claude walked down the hallway, his golden eyes sliding over the door to the doctor's lab. He didn't bother knocking like most others would, pushing the door open without a word. He sat down behind the other man's desk, waiting for him to notice his arrival.
Ash was in the second half of the lab, working over a dead body that had been brought in to him by one of the guards that morning. Hearing the door, he tossed the scalpel he had been using aside and went in to meet whoever it was.
Claude didn't bother to greet him, but got straight to the point. "Do you know of a boy with grey-blue hair and bright blue eyes? Probably around twelve to thirteen years old."
Ash nodded almost immediately, knowing exactly who he was referring to. He went to a cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out a file, setting it down in front of Claude. It was somewhat of a hobby of his to keep files of the prisoners. Most camps did not have any at all.
"Yes, his name is Ciel Phantomhive. A Jewish boy. He hasn't been here long." He paused a moment, remembering the day the boy had arrived. "You know I haven't thought about till now, but when he first arrived, I was going to send him to the gas chambers. Sebastian happened to show up just as I was writing that out on my file. He showed a strange interest in the boy and told me to give him a clean bill of health and send him to work."
Claude looked over Ciel's file, glancing up as Ash finished speaking. "You don't suppose..." A very slight look of satisfaction came over his face at the thought of having something like this to use against his enemy.
Ash caught on to what he was thinking and raised an eyebrow. "It never crossed my mind, though I did suppose it was strange at the time. You could be right."
Claude shook his head, glancing at the file again. "Oh believe me, I am right." He looked back at Ash, thinking. "You still need children for your experiment don't you?"
Ash nodded. "Yes, I haven't got around to that as of yet."
"Michaelis said you could have anyone you liked...anyone at all." Claude stood slowly, pressing the file to the doctor's chest. He walked away without another word, knowing Ash would understand what he wanted him to do.
Abberline coughed, regaining consciousness as a bucket of cold water was splashed over him. He opened his eyes, wincing against the throbbing pain in the back of his head. A groan escaped his lips.
William stood over him with a bucket. "Good, you're awake. Just in time to see what your punishment will be." His neck had taken on a nice purplish color, striking evidence of the damage that had almost been done.
Abberline growled, lunging forward in attempt to get at the man again. But he had failed to realize that they had chained his hands behind his back. He fell back with another groan, leaning against the wall as a wave of dizziness hit him.
William, who had shamelessly stepped back because of the other man's ferocity, shook his head. "You just increased both your punishments to another week."
"You detestable sons of dogs."
The men all turned their heads to stare at the teen aged boy who sat on the floor. His arms and legs were bound by metal cuffs, but he still struggled, futile though it was.
Now that there was no distractions, Abberline was finally able to get a better idea of what the boy looked like.
Though the teen was wearing the standard gray uniform that all the other prisoners wore, he looked different somehow. It wasn't his physical appearance, for he looked common enough, though his skin was rather dark and so was his hair. It was something in his attitude gave him the distinction. Abberine could tell that he was frightened, but even through that, he held a look of superiority, as if he thought he was far better than anyone there. Abberline's eyes shifted from the boy's golden eyes to the badge on his uniform. A brown triangle. It was the color assigned to gypsies.
"Shut up." Ronald struck the boy with his gun, nodding to William to open the cell door that was just in front of them.
Abberline tore his eyes away from the boy, taking a deep breath as he realized just where they were and what William had meant about the punishment.
He had often heard stories from some of the others about how the guards would place people in starvation cells, or cells where they would gradually use up all the oxygen and suffocate to death. It was the prison within the prison, or as the guards and everyone else called it, Block 11. Those who were caught doing anything that was considered 'breaking the rules' would be taken there to be punished. Everyone feared those underground cells.
Abberline let out a sigh, staring into the dark compartment they would be forced into. So this was the punishment he would be receiving for the foolish act he had committed. A standing cell. The name really explained it all. One could do nothing but stand inside of it. The walls would press on all sides of the person, leaving them no room to squat, bend their knees, or otherwise relax. Moving even a little was out of the question. There was no relief of any kind, unless the guards decided it was time to end the torture. He had heard that some people went mad after being in one of those.
The gypsy was quiet when he saw the interior of the cell they were going to be placed in. This one was just about big enough for two people. Ronald hauled the boy up and shoved him into the cell, waiting as William did the same to Abberline. Both the prisoners hands were cuffed behind their backs, making their imprisonment all the more uncomfortable.
William looked upon both of them blankly, though his eyes held a slightly satisfied gleam.
Ronald on the other hand, openly smirked. "Hate to leave you standing around like this, but I've other things to attend to. You wouldn't happen to have any sisters, would you?" He laughed at his own joke, closing the heavy metal door and locking it securely.
Abberline took another deep breath when the door had been closed upon them, trying to fight the feeling of claustrophobia that he had started to feel. "Well, at least they put us together. Are you alright?" he asked gently, his ears picking up the heavy breathing of the boy.
The gypsy moved as much as he could, his arm brushing up against Abberline's. "Yes, I am." There was a pause. "You did a very noble thing in trying to save me. But you are a fool."
His voice was weak, but there was still a faint ring of pride in the way he said it.
Abberline chuckled despite the circumstance. "Yes, I suppose I am. I tried helping you and I just made this worse." He sighed. "I'm Fred Abberline by the way."
"I am Soma Asman Kadar. A prince of my people."
Abberline smiled, glad that the teen would not be able to see it. "Well Prince Soma, I wish I had used more wisdom in how I conducted myself. Your first day here might not have been a standing cell."
The gypsy prince shook his head. "I will not be staying here. "
"Surely you don't mean to say you're going to escape?" His voice was hushed as if he expected someone to be listening to them.
There was silence a moment as if the gypsy was weighing the idea of trusting the man beside him. Finally he took a deep breath. "Yes. My tribe will be waiting for me. Agni, my servant would never fail me. I told him before I was taken away that he should would wait in the eastern woods beyond the barbed wire fence. They will stay there exactly three days. If I can only get past the guards and out into the open, we might all cross into safety. However, I told him that if I were to fail, they were to go on without me."
Abberline listened to what the boy had to say, his mind racing with ideas that suddenly came to life because of his words. The whole plan was a risky one, based mostly on the help that may or may not be received from the outside. However, with a gypsy tribe helping them, they very well might have a chance at getting away. He wondered if Soma would be willing to take two more with him. "I think I may be able to help you..."
Sebastian let his eyes travel over the row of prisoners who were lined up for his inspection. A pitiful lot, drained by starvation and crippled by the humiliation they had been forced to suffer. They had ceased to be men in his eyes.
It was difficult to believe that just that morning, one of them had stolen a bar of soap from the secretary's office. Perhaps he had been too slack in his enforcement of the rules as of late. Something like this shouldn't happen. These men were nothing but dogs, and they should know their place.
His hand slipped down to the gun at his side, fingers resting against it gently as his eyes roved the group. He could see the look of terror in their eyes and it gave him a slight feeling of satisfaction. Like all dogs, these men would only learn obedience through fear.
His eyes continued to move over the row of men, coming to the last person in line. It was a boy about thirteen years of age. His hands were clasped behind his back, but Sebastian was very well aware of what they concealed.
Without the slightest change in expression, the commander pulled out his gun, pressing it against the trembling boy's forehead. He looked down into the boy's terrified eyes as his finger brushed against the trigger, pausing when he noticed their color was a icy blue.
His thoughts momentarily went to Ciel and he stood motionless, the gun poised to kill, yet his finger slack against the trigger. What if this were Ciel? Would he be willing to simply pull the trigger and snuff out that boy's life like he was going to do to this one?
A minute passed in which there was utter silence. Not even the boy who was on the brink of death let out any more than a weak whimper of fear.
Sebastian couldn't believe the pathetic question he was asking himself. The answer to that should be yes.
And yet, the boy's blue eyes still caused him to waver.
"Having a bit of trouble Michaelis?"
Sebastian tore his eyes away from the boy, turning to stare into the cold golden orbs of the man he despised.
He could only guess how long Claude had been standing there, watching his hesitance. The look on the other man's face was almost satisfied, and Sebastian took careful note of it.
"No, not at all." Sebastian lowered the gun from the boy's head. Claude was only here for one reason, he was sure. Why not give him a little show?
Sebastian turned and slowly walked down the line of men, stopping in front of one. He pressed the gun to the man's head and pulled the trigger, watching as he fell to the ground, lifeless. Moving on, he came to another, doing exactly the same. And he went on down the line, killing every other man until he came to the end.
Those who were left standing looked upon him with wide eyes, hardly daring to move lest he decide to end their lives as well. The boy who had stolen the soap let it fall from his dirty fingers, cringing as it dropped to the ground with a thud. He didn't dare make a sound, though the tears fell freely from his eyes.
Sebastian walked up to him, forcing the boy's chin up with the barrel of his gun. "So many men would still be alive if not for you. Beg me to end your life."
The child let out a strangled sob, his small frame shivering uncontrollably. He was unable to force any sound from his throat.
Sebastian moved the gun from the child's neck, letting it slide down the boy's chest. He pressed it against the slight pulsing he could feel, looking into those blue eyes once more as he pulled the trigger. The boy dropped to the ground, his blood running over the rocks and dust, making a pool at the commander's feet.
Sebastian bent to retrieve the soap before it could become soiled, slipping it into his pocket as he turned. He was quick enough to catch the frown that had come over Claude's face, though the other man quickly covered it with that same unreadable expression.
"I'll leave it to you to see that this mess is properly taken care of." Sebastian gave Claude a fake smile, one that let the other man know he was not about to slip up or make any mistakes. He knew that was what Claude had been watching for, and it was an advantage he wasn't about to give him.
Claude simply stared at Sebastian in response, understanding his unspoken message clearly. But the commander was unaware of the fact that he may have already given him a weakness to work with. His little display here with the prisoners meant nothing.
Ciel's eyes fluttered open and a small sigh escaped his lips. He had been awakened by something, and as his brain focused, he realized it was the light touch of someone's fingers brushing against his hair. Shifting onto his back, he gazed upward.
Sebastian sat on the bed, his hat lying beside him as he leaned over the boy.
Ciel's body stiffened instinctively the moment his eyes met Sebastian's. He didn't move or speak, just stared up at the mysterious man, trying to figure out why he had come back so soon.
After having been given information concerning his aunt, Sebastian had been forced to leave him in order to complete his work. But of course right before that, Sebastian had done something completely unexpected. He had held him in his arms.
The man seemed like an impossible contradiction. At times he could be cruel, and yet, more often than not, he was incredibly gentle. The boy was finding it increasingly difficult to believe the stories he had heard about him. But then he would always remember the threats Sebastian had made and the way he had manipulated him into submission. There was no way this man would ever have his forgiveness or trust.
"Did you sleep well Ciel?" Sebastian ignored the boy's reaction, continuing to run his fingers through Ciel's slightly matted hair.
Ciel took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yes.." It wasn't a lie. The bed was far more comfortable than the one in the barracks, and there wasn't the sound of others snoring to keep him awake. He felt far better than he had in days.
"Good. I want you to be comfortable."
Ciel bit lip slightly, a part of him wishing that the words Sebastian spoke were true. Still, it was strange that the man seemed to feel the need to make him believe it.
Whatever the reason for Sebastian saying those words, it still managed to make him feel guilty over the secret he was keeping. Was his supposed hatred toward this man enough to knowingly allow him to be murdered?
"I brought you a little something I think you might enjoy."
Ciel looked up at Sebastian in question, his bemused expression quickly turning to suspicion as he decided it couldn't be anything good.
Sebastian chuckled, clearly finding the boy's reaction amusing. He stood and walked toward the door, unlocking it from the inside and disappearing from Ciel's view for a moment. When he came back a moment later, he was carrying a metal tub and a bucket of water. After several more trips out the door, he brought in enough buckets to fill the tub halfway.
Ciel pulled back the thick blanket and sat up, watching as Sebastian poured the the steaming water into the tub. The commander set each one aside when he was finished with it, closing and locked the door after dropping the last bucket outside. He turned to beckon Ciel to him.
Ciel rose slowly and crossed the short distance to where Sebastian stood. He looked up at him, waiting.
"Put out your hands."
Ciel did as he was told.
The commander reached into his pocket, pulling out the bar of soap. He dropped it into Ciel palms.
"I thought you might like a bath."
Ciel nodded, his eyes going from the bar of soap to the water that gave off a gentle steam. Given the fact that he had not had a bath in some days, he was almost eager to wash off all the grime and filth that had clung to him as he worked out in the quarry. But his eyes went back to Sebastian. It was perfectly clear the man wasn't going to leave. And there really was no reason that he should. Ciel knew he had sold himself to Sebastian the moment he had agreed to his demands. Still, that didn't make it any less uncomfortable.
Holding the soap in one hand, he silently began to unbutton his jumpsuit. He could feel those crimson eyes upon him, watching every move he made. Forcing his hands not to shake, he finished and pulled the fabric off his slender shoulders, not wanting Sebastian to see his weakness.
He slipped the clothing down his hips, watching as it fell to the concrete floor. Without another moment's hesitation, he stepped out of it completely.
Sebastian's eyes moved over the boy much in the same way they had the very first time he had seen him. Ciel kept his own eyes glued to the floor, not wanting to see this man's expression.
As if Sebastian could read his mind, his chin was forced upward, bringing the eyes up to meet the commander's.
The boy had been expecting the gaze to be filled with lust, but he should have known Sebastian wouldn't allow him to see even that. His eyes were completely guarded, just like the very camp he commanded.
Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but Sebastian leaned forward, his lips cutting off any sound the boy might have made. It wasn't at all like the kiss he had been given in the interrogation room only a few short days before. This was entirely different. Ciel felt himself almost relaxing against the man as his mind went completely blank. He could feel Sebastian's hands wandering down the sides of his body, but he didn't pull away as he had before, instead opting to tentatively kiss him back.
The soap he had been holding fell from his hands as he placed them against Sebastian's chest, making a dull thud as it hit the ground.
The commander pulled back abruptly, surprising Ciel who stared up at him in confusion. For the first time, he could see something in those crimson eyes. It was very brief, lasting almost a second, but it was unmistakable. There was regret and guilt written in his eyes.
Sebastian let him go and turned away, walking toward the door.
Ciel simply stood there, watching him as he disappeared from his sight. The metal barrier closed and locked behind him, leaving Ciel to wonder what had happened, and maybe start to doubt the ideas he had formed about the man who had forced himself into his life.