Chapter 9
The jolting starts and stops of the carriage weren't the least bit comfortable to Sebastian. Noise easily cut through the walls, increasing the amount of pain he felt in his head dramatically. The movements of the carriage brought on a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he was determined to keep down.
Eventually, from bitter exhaustion, Sebastian put his head down and fell asleep, despite the roughness of the ride. Ciel watched in silence. The hard look he normally carried on his face had been wiped away hours ago. In all honesty, he felt bad for Sebastian and he was angry at himself. The bruise he had made on the demon's face was still there. It had neither grown nor shrunk in size, but it had definitely darkened in color. It was as dark as bruises possibly came, and although there was no swelling, it still looked mighty painful.
It astonished Ciel just how weak Sebastian had become in the past few days. In a single day he had gone from being able to walk in a straight line to barely being able to walk at all, due to exhaustion. And another day after that he had gone from merely coughing every so often to going into a coughing fit within each hour and coughing up blood. He knew that if Claude couldn't help them, then Sebastian was going to die.
At one point, the sights became unfamiliar to Ciel and every new sight caught his attention. Farms, fields of bright red poppies, a large forest, which lay ahead of them, and within those woods; the Trancy estate. They had been in the carriage for nearly two hours. Most likely Sebastian was completely out of it; lost in the deepest depths of unconsciousness.
When the mansion came into full view, Ciel spotted a blond-haired boy about his age standing near a black-haired butler with a pair of spectacles on his face. Near him were two young servants who he guessed were twins, since they looked completely identical. A maid in a soft purple and white uniform with long lavender-colored hair stood by the twins. She looked shy and lost in thought. The whole house must have been anticipating their arrival.
The blond-haired boy spotted Ciel, even from a distance, and his face fell in shock.
"Claude . . . is that Ciel Phantomhive?"
"Yes, you're Highness." Claude replied, "But remember: I didn't ask them to come so we could obtain him. I asked them to come so we could help his butler, Sebastian Michaelis."
"What? But Claude . . ."
"You will get your revenge, Alois, I swear that much. But it will have to wait a while longer. You can make friends with Ciel Phantomhive for now, can't you?"
Alois crossed his arms and sighed, "I suppose so. But what about Sebastian, then? Aren't you going to torture him, at least? Maybe refuse to give him medicine or try to do something to make his sickness worse?"
"No, sir. I fully intend to help Sebastian, just as I'm helping Thompson."
"Claude?" Hannah piped up suddenly, "I hope you know what you're doing. Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis are part of Alois' goal. Shouldn't we obtain the earl while we can?"
"Not now, I said! For now, I wish for all of you to treat our guests with your outmost respect."
"And how am I expected to do that?"
"Just treat Sebastian the way you would treat Thompson, or any of the other triplets, Hannah, and treat Ciel Phantomhive as you would treat our young master."
"Yes, sir."
Their conversation ended just as Ciel's carriage came to a stop.
Ciel turned to Sebastian, who still lay sleeping in the seat across from him. With a gentle hand, he tried to shake the butler awake.
"Sebastian . . ." he called out quietly, "Hey Sebastian, wake up."
Sebastian's eyes fluttered open and he relieved a quiet moan, "Where are we?"
"We're at the Trancy Manor, remember?"
"Trancy . . .?"
"Yes."
The door to the carriage opened to reveal Baldroy.
"How's he doing?" the chef asked.
"He weak and tired." Ciel replied, "I don't think he can handle being moved around much more. We should probably get him inside and in a bed soon. This constant movement can't be good for him."
Baldroy nodded and carried Sebastian in his arms.
Claude strode up to them, "I can take him."
Bard gently placed the demon in the Trancy butler's arms. Claude instantly recoiled in shock at how hot he felt.
"What's his temperature?"
"When we checked, it was 212 degrees." Tanaka informed him.
"So it's definitely a fever, then. I'll take him inside and get him comfortable. The others will unpack your things and take them to your rooms."