Ciel woke up in his own bed surrounded by plush pillows, soft sheets, and Tanaka sitting next to the bed. The grey haired butler looked over as the master stirred from his slumber. "Master Ciel, how are you feeling?" He inquired as he stood up and started to tend to the boy.
"Horribly." Ciel said almost confused. He reached up to run a hand through his hair and stopped when he noticed all the scratches on his arms. He was covered in bandages and most of the cuts from the glass still marked his body. He stared at his arms and slowly moved his gaze to the rest of his body. The Earl threw his sheets off him to examine himself more. His whole body was marked with bruises, covered in bandages, and scratches. "Huh?"
"Master Ciel, do you mean you have forgotten?" Tanaka asked as he pulled out the boy's clothes for the day. "You were rescued from a mission gone wrong." Tanaka bowed down and started to slip on the boy's shorts. Ciel stood up and felt a horrid pain throughout his body. He crumpled over and held on to the butler for support long enough for the clothes to slide up his legs and be fastened in place. He collapsed back into the bed and groaned in pain. The butler simply started to slide on the boy's socks and clasp them into place as his master rested.
He placed an arm over his eyes and thought back. "We infiltrated the manor on her majesty's orders." He thought harder. Ciel jerked up as he realized he failed to complete his task. "I was captured, and drugged." He recounted as a cold sweat covered his body. "Finnian and Baldroy picked me up."
Tanaka took off the Earl's night shirt and grabbed for a wet wash cloth that sat on the bedside table. He rung it out and patted the boy down. He washed off the sweat and placed a fresh shirt on him. "You've been out since you arrived home last night. Baldroy and Mey-Rin did their best to administer first aid in the carriage." Ciel looked over his bandages. He could see they were much sloppier than whenever Sebastian patched him up.
Ciel turned his head to look around at the room. The fireplace was stoked and kept the whole room warm. The bedside table was covered with medical supplies, a bottle of pills, and the cloth in the bowl of warm water. His gaze wandered over to the large mirror on the wall. His face fell in shock as he looked at his reflection. His hand reached up to the bandaged up eye that he kept hidden behind an eye patch. Just the light touch of his fingers caressing the fresh bandages sent a shiver of pain through the boy. A small patch of blood stained the white gauze.
The Earl jumped up and clambered over to the mirror. His scratches and bruises stung but couldn't keep him from his disbelief. His hands rested on the mirror as he took in the bleeding bandages. "My eye." His voice wavered as he spoke.
"Regrettable. The chef said that it was taken from you." Tanaka painfully watched the boy take in the tragedy.
"se...SEBASTIAN!" He whaled as loud as he could. His voice rang throughout the estate. "Sebastian!" He screamed again in panic.
"Master Ciel, if I may." Tanaka spoke up. "Sebastian has been away from the mansion since the lot of you arrived home last night. None of us have heard from him since." Ciel's face twisted up in confusion, anger, and resentment. How dare his servant leave him alone. How dare Sebastian not take accountability for ignoring his call.
"Leave me." Ciel said as he regained his composure. The loss of a servant shouldn't work him up like this, even if it was his demon.
"As you wish, master." Tanaka bowed and walked out of the room leaving Ciel alone. The young boy felt the bandage around his head. He slowly unraveled it and looked upon what used to be his contract seal. Blood and some clear liquid dripped from the open hole. He shook as he took in the vision. It was really gone. He had already gotten used to only using one eye, but this what entirely new. The boy grabbed some gauze off the table and pushed it into the hole and put his eye patch on over it. The patch sat crooked on his face and the knot was tied horribly.
Ciel walked through the mansion trying to cool off his head. The long hallways and large staircases strained him as his body sang out it's pain. He started to limp down the stairs, gripping the banister trying to stay upright. Sebastian walked in through the front entrance as Ciel made his way down the last set of steps. The Earl stopped and tried to stand as tall and menacing as possible. "I heard you had ran away."
Sebastian gave a little bow with his hand over his heart and trained his red eyes on the boy as he talked. "No, Lord Phantomhive. I was merely tying up the loose ends of the case since you were resting. All the troublesome parliament members have been taken care of. I even returned to the manor and disposed of their bodies before anyone else had the chance to snoop around." He walked up to the Earl and showed him some papers he had tucked under his arms. It was the names, occupations, and short reports on all the members on parliament.
Ciel reached out and smacked the butler across the face. "A butler should be wiser than to leave without seeking permission from their master." Sebastian's gloved hand reached up and caressed his offended cheek. A demonic smile crossed his lips.
"My apologies, Lord Phantomhive. It shall not happen again." The demon tucked his papers under his arm again and straightened himself. "Shall we dress your eye properly before you appear before your other servants? It's not acceptable for an Earl to be caught unruly."
Ciel lifted his chin up and closed his eye, waiting for Sebastian to tidy him. The eyepatch slid off the boy's face and caressed his pale skin as it fell into the butler's hand. Tender fingers picked out the wadded up gauze. "I thought so." Sebastian mused. Ciel opened his good eye to look at the tall man in front of him. Sebastian slid off the white glove on his left hand. The back of it was bare skin, as if the contract never existed. "With the loss of your eye, our contract is voided."
"Make another deal with me." Ciel instructed. "You job is not done."
Sebastian's eyebrows went up as if the suggestion was nothing more than cute. "I'm free from you. I know how you treat me." Ciel's lips twitched as a disapproving frown tried to play on his face. "However," Sebastian's ungloved hand caressed Ciel's cheek and rested below the bandage. "I'd be a fool to give up such a well prepared meal. Even now, having stewed in demise and torture, you still stand proud."
"Stop fooling around and make the contact." Ciel demanded. His icy blue eye stared at the demon in front of him as his red eyes glistened with hunger.
"Shall I take your other eye?" Sebastian asked. His pale hand ran up the boy's face and covered Ciel's good eye. "Maybe I'll mark your chest and give you less command over me." The butler walked up the stairs and behind the boy. His hand traveled down the Earl's face and rested on his chest. He stooped down until his lips were virtually pressed against the boy's ear. "Maybe I should mark your porcelain face."
"The nape of my neck." Ciel suggested. "Burn your contract into me. Mar my skin and make sure it's deep. I don't want to come upon this issue again." The Earl said confidently. He stood tall and ridged just as a noble should.
Sebastian kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head. "Yes, my lord." He stood up tall and brushed the boy's hair away from the nape of his neck. His ungloved hand pressed against the Earl's warm skin. A bright purple light lit up the skin on the back of the butler's hand. Ciel could feel his skin tear and burn. Slowly parts of the symbol started to appear on the boy's skin. Dark purple lights burst from deep under his skin causing blood to poor down his back. The seal sat fresh on his neck. Sebastian's copy colored the back of his hand as if it were always there.
Ciel felt weak from the pain and the blood loss. He stumbled forward and felt himself fall through the air. Sebastian had caught him in his arms and held the boy's shoulders steady. "Not trying to be gentle to me, huh?" He joked as he tried to stand again. The searing pain on the back of his neck only added to the overall discomfort he was in.
"Master, you shouldn't be out of bed in your condition." Sebastian mentioned. The small teen shivered and clung to him. The Earl's legs were wobbling and couldn't support him. Blood trickled from both his eye socket and his seal. Sweat dotted his skin. He groaned a bit but couldn't retaliate.
"I-I think it's the drugs." His head swam. Memories of his torture surfaced. The liquid he had to drink and the state it left him felt much like just now. His sight blurred before the teen fell limp in his butler's arms. "I swear, if it's another sleeping drug I'll..." Ciel's words slurred and his sentence stretched as he attempted to talk. The boy lost consciousness in his butler's arms.
