Kindles are evil... ._.

2 things:

10th chapter! Honestly, I didn't think a story with no plot for eight chapters can get here, but it did! And apparently now Ciel is superman and Alois is the maiden in distress?

A thank you note/word party(?) for Phantom Ou for beta-ing! I feel the need to change the summary to: A. Lullaby typing up words and Phantom Ou doing the rest hehe^^... THANK YOU!

There was a movement of fabric, and Alois fell down onto the cold stone floor. He didn't know how long it has been since he was brought here, but it seemed like an eternity. His head was spinning, and his vision fluctuated in the dim light.

It was difficult to struggle as his body was numb and unresponsive, in exception to his left arm and shoulder. His legs were bound by tough ropes. His right forearm, stained with dried blood, was hanging limply from his elbow, and fear crept into the crevices of Alois' mind when he failed to extract a proper movement from it. It required deep intake of breaths in order to clear his mind so that he would not succumb to the devastating thought that he may be crippled.

"I'm going to ask you again. Where is Phantomhive's ring?" the gruff voice repeated. It was relatively impossible to make out the man's face in definition, due to a couple of factors: the darkness of the room, and the impeding blood running down his forehead.

Heeding to the demands of the man, Alois recalled that he had seen the Futom's boy's ring before in his bedroom. The ring was a deep-blue stone, the majestic color of the ocean; it was simply magnificent to gaze upon. Although it was brutally shoved in a drawer, the ring was enclosed in a beautiful Victorian antique box that was locked with a gold lock.

The memory was still highly vivid. An impulse arose to scream out the answer so the man could release him, but something in the back of the blond's mind warned him that it would be safer to keep quiet—he must retain faith that Ciel will come...hopefully. And thus, Alois spared no words to the man, a silent and stubborn behavior that had lasted for the past four hours.

The man's intuition must have been sharp, for he quickly picked up on the notion that Alois was going to remain uncooperative. In the hazy light, Alois could perceive a devilish grin forming on the man's lips. In spite of that, his eyes glinted with bloodthirsty malice, and his large palm slowly rose in the air.

Slap!

The sound of skin smacking skin echoed in eerie cave-like underground chamber. Alois grunted in repercussion to the harsh blow, fresh blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. Tears began to pool around his eyes, but he held them back with all his might. I will not show weakness. He bit down on his lower lip hard to suppress a groan of pain, and clenched his jaw, feeling the muscles tightened until they hurt.

The man was able to discern the boy trying to withstand his punishment, but his patience was bordering its limits at the moment; he must get his hands on the ring as soon as possible. Hence, the man decided to intensify the brutal treatment.

Crack!

The whip struck against the blond's peeling skin, leaving a grating mark. Alois drew out blood upon his lower lip by sinking his teeth in deeper to keep his wince to the bare minimum. However, the ruthless man possessed more tricks up his sleeve. The murderous device was then altered; a five-inch blade was attached to the tip of the whip. The blade resembled a hook, curving downwards, with a little hood on the back side bending in the opposite direction. Much like a hook to ensnare wild fish, it was cast to Alois' body. It plunged through his layers of skin, burrowing itself into his muscles, and it was equally painful when the man retracted the hook.

His body felt as if he was set on fire, and Alois writhed, and the excruciating pain blinded him for sheer seconds. Desperation clawed its way up to his throat, and he unleashed a loud scream, hoping that someone could hear him, that someone can rescue him. His body twisted about on the ground, and he felt woozy. The unbearable torture left him befuddled, and it was hard to distinguish whether the red liquid that was pooling around him was red wine or blood. The whip crackled again, causing him to cringe. A maniacal laugh, derived from the man, hammered in his ears. The shadow of his head flung back, and his whole body shook as if this torture promoted entertainment.

The man then snatched Alois's bruised face between two dirty hands. "Don't die on me, Trancy. I don't want to kill you just yet. It's just been a few hours, and look at all the fun we've had already." The man howled again, disposing Alois to the ground once again. He disappeared into the shadows, leaving Alois there like a broken, discarded toy.

Ciel's POV

Ciel ran for what appeared to be hours. Every fiber of his being begged for him to stop, to acknowledge that this search was a waste of time, and that Alois was probably back at his mansion sleeping. But as obstinate as he was, the Futom boy continued his quest. He slowed to a jog when he arrived at the marketplace, and frantically examined it. It was the middle of the night, and only a few lights were on. The light source that benefited him most was simply the moon, which provided the silhouettes of various objects.

Scanning the still and quiet area again, he felt a rush of defeat. What was he doing here when he could be sleeping? Perhaps Alois was just back at his own mansion after all. The dream must have frightened him to the degree that sense and reason had abandoned him.

With shoulders slumped, he began his travel back home. His drowsiness hindered him from taking notice of his surroundings, and he tripped on a toy. Exasperated by the stumble, he directed a feisty glare at the toy rabbit only to realize that it was one of his earliest creations: the original Bitter Rabbit. Ciel stooped low to dust the dirt off, and a queer shine caught his eye. Picking it up and lifting it to the moonlight for a closer scrutiny, he discovered something that made his blood run cold.

There was a ring, with its hoop made of solid gold, and mounted upon it was a giant ruby. However, this was not any ordinary ring; it was Alois' ring, and it was glistening—with blood?

Ciel gripped the ring, and he soon to realize that the blood did not only stain it for there was a faint trail of blood that glowed uncannily in the moonlight. Inquisitive, he followed it, and it led him through an inconspicuous alleyway that afforded a passage to an underground entrance of some sort.

Ciel considered his options. He could leave this to the police, and be done with this, or he could proceed onwards. The first one was so tempting; Alois had humiliated him for countless times, and this wasn't even Ciel's problem, and thus, it is not necessary for him to get involved.

He couldn't get Sebastian to help. In fact, he would not request his aid even if he could. It would be even worse if that damned butler becomes aware of what was going on between them.

Even so, Ciel could not depart from this place and peacefully retire to his bed. Somewhere in depths of his heart, a piece of him whispered that he wanted to help Alois, that he needed to. That voice grew, challenging and outweighing the former option in an instant. Ciel needed Alois, and Alois needed Ciel. There was the thinnest strand of feelings that connected the two young lords. It was a delicate connection that would be easy to break. It was also an inconvenience for the both of them. In all honesty, it is a connection that needed not to exist.

But there, at that very moment, for the first time, Ciel felt that that connection was the only thing that was ever important to him.

Ohmiguh! Ciel to the rescue! He can save the day, or trip on a rock underground in the first ten steps and get hurt and wake up and forgot about everything that happened... We're counting on you Phantomhive!

I feel that it is somewhat not appropriate to play dramatic music in this situation... so I'll leave you guys to rock out your own ending tune for this chapter~