Welcome, one and all, to Chapter 10 of Midnight Prowl!
Again, sorry it took so long. I also wanna point out that Ciel may appear a bit OOC at time but damnit! I want him to be happy so he's gonna be happy [for the most part].
Disclaimer: DeiDei does not own Kuroshitsuji. I believe we have already established this... Carry on!
"CIEL!"
Despite the fact that the young male had missed his fiance quite dearly in the almost month they had spent apart due to his illness, he could not help the wince that flitted across his face and the female across from him shrieked at an unnatural pitch. However, he also couldn't help but smile as the other encased him in a bone-breaking hug. He let out a soft chuckle, causing Elizabeth to squeeze him even tighter and squeal as she did so.
"Oh Ciel! You're happy to see me! Look at you, you're laughing."
As she pulled away, Ciel let his laughter die down yet unknowingly keeping the smile on his usually emotionless face.
"Of course I'm happy to see you, Elizabeth. I always am."
"Well, you don't always show it. And I've told you, It's 'Lizzie'"
The Earl released yet another childish giggle, almost shattering his broken mature facade. Tonight, Elizabeth would see the true Ciel Phantomhive.
"Alright then, Lizzie. Would you care to accompany me? I have several events planned for the evening and have nothing that should distract or postpone us."
Lizzie almost immediately latched onto his arm.
"You know I would. However, I have brought something for you. It's absolutely darling and I thought you would look so cute in it. Would you wear it for tonight? Please Ciel?"
"Of course I will, Lizzie. Sebastian, Have some tea sent to the drawing room for quatre past. Remember that Elizabeth likes hers sweet. We will be there shortly."
"Yes, my Lord"
After his faithful butler had left the room, Ciel turned back to his fiance.
"Well. I do believe we have an outfit to try."
Although the sudden excited look on Lizzie's face was slightly scary, Ciel was determined to make her happy after ignoring her for so long. After all, seeing the smile on her face would be worth any torture.
Seeing the smile on her face was not worth this torture. Sure, it was soft material and it did make him look quite dashing, but it was not worth the struggle. How did women do this every morning? Lets go back to the beginning with this.
When Ciel had entered his chambers, the box in hand and a slight smile on his face, he was completely unprepared for the challenge he had accepted. It seemed fairly simple. Step 1; Open the box. Easy. Step 2; Put it on. Not so easy...
Upon opening the box, he was bombarded with layers of indigo and deep violet, all made from a soft suede and cotton, coated in miniscule silver buttons. He wouldn't have put it past her if they were real silver. It took him a few minutes to soft out the different parts and lay them out on his [fortunately] kingsize bed. That done, he now had to figure how each piece went on and which went on first. This took him several more minutes but by the time he had figured it, he was almost ready to drop with exasperation, but he had to keep going. No doubt it was going to be difficult, but he would persevere. And he would not sink that low as to call Lizzie or Sebastian for help. No, he could do this.
And this brings us up to now. A very flustered and irritated Earl who had so far managed to shimmy his was into suede indigo trousers that tightened at the top and flared slightly at the bottom, a long sleeved dark violet undershirt with possibly millions of buttons half the size of his fingertips, black cotton socks with shining leather shoes lined with soft silver streaks and was currently trying to wrap his mind around the idea of trouser braces whilst trying to unwrap said braces from their tangled position around his torso. The black lace cravat and indigo suede jacket still lap neatly on his bed but various items had been kicked around his room in his frustration. Finally wriggling out of the elastic death trap, he moved over to pick up the cravat but noticed something shimmer on the overcoat. Picking it up, he noticed, for the first time, the silver 'Ciel' embellishment written in cursive over the soft breast pocket. Ciel felt a sweet smile grace his face and a gentle blush rise upon his cheeks.
A sudden knock on the door made him jump.
"Ciel, are you ready yet? You've been in there for nearly an hour. Sebastian had to go and get us fresh tea."
The young Earl gasped. Had it really taken him that long? Shaking his head, he picked up both cravat and jacket and made his way over to the large door. Opening it to face Elizabeth, blush still present, he dipped his head and forced out the next words.
"I think...I need help..."
"That was embarrasing..." The blush was heavy on Ciel's cheeks by the time the two of them made it to the drawing room. Once out in the open, Elizabeth had attacked him with the force of a giddy pirahna, rearranging almost every piece of clothing he had put on, including the devilish braces that turned out to be on backwards. She had even gone to re-tying his shoelaces properly, into the neatest bows he had ever seen. And she had managed to do all of this in less than five minutes. How she did it, he would never know.
The drawing room was set up accordingly. Two plush midnight blue chairs were set neatly opposite each other infront of the currently roaring fire, a chestnut coffee table placed between them. Various brick-a-brack was placed in decoration around the room, layering over the pale walls and glamourising the matching furnature placed across the walls. A large divided window covered most of one wall, the curtains drawn across it tightly due to the lateness of the hour. On the small table, two steaming cups of tea had been placed delicatly in front of each seat with small cakes on a plate in the middle. All in all, it was a picture perfect scene.
"Oh Ciel, it's beautiful!" Lizzie exclaimed, admiring the corsage before her. It wasn't anything too fancy, a simple chrysanthemum flower tied a light pink at the tips.
"It's nothing special. It's just something I thought you would like. Sebastian was the one who had the idea to get a matching one." He pointed towards the symmetrical plant placed on his jacket, opposite the embellishment. It appeared that this would be one of those evenings where the Earl couldn't help but smile or blush no matter the situation. He felt as if nothing could go wrong.
Plucking the Chrysanthemum from Elizabeth's hands, he gently pinned it to the upper corner of her gown. It was unusual for her, the outfit she had chosen. Usually one for many colours, this was one of the rare times that Ciel would feel overdressed in her prescence. She had chosen a simple indigo dress [to match Ciels], with soft sleeves that fell over her shoulders and ever so slight ruffles in the calf-length skirt, accompanied with a corset tie and the back. No ribbons or bows, no unnecessary ties or bits that would only get in the way or over dramatise the look. It was simple and strange and yet it still suited her. Of course, her shoes were of the same style as Ciel's, only they had a half-inch heel that clicked as she walked. Her headband was also indigo yet held a dark violet flower on the left side. She had also managed, somehow, to have Lizzie embelished in silver along the right side of her waist. It was all so simple yet elegant and quite possibly, very expensive.
Taking Lizzie's gloved hand, Ciel led her to her seat beside the fireplace before sitting across from her and picking up the cup and saucer from the table. He watched in mild delight as Elizabeth picked a pink iced cake from the dish and nibbled at it curiously.
The hours had passed quite quickly, both participants enjoying the small talk over tea and cake. It was something they hadn't done for a while, but it would soon be coming to an end. It had become quite late into the night and both host and guest were getting tired from their long evening. It was mere moments after Sebastian had come to remove the plates that Elizabeth chose to speak from her spot beside the window.
"Oh Ciel, this was such a perfect evening. Even the moon is so full and bright that it shines upon us. Come stand with me Ciel."
The young Earl, who had previously been staring in a daze into the warmth of the fire, immediatly leapt to his feet and towards where his fiance was standing, practically ripping the curtain from it's hanger.
"Full moon? Are you sure?" his voice was shaking and he was soon sweating, his features drawn into a worried expression. Looking up, he recieved his answer. There indeed, was the full moon. Hiding slightly behind the drifting clouds, as though it were mocking him. His first thought; 'Get Elizabeth away from here!' And that is exactly what he planned to do. Unfortunately, Fate had other plans for him.
"Sebastian! SEBAS-" he was cut off by the sudden pain in his stomach, suprised to the point where he fell to the floor, arms clutching at his abdomen. Of course, Elizabeth was the first to run to his side.
"Ciel! What's wrong?!"
The pain was spreading now, something he was by far used to, yet it seemed to make him more aware of his prescence due to the teary-eyed girl knelt beside him. Had he had time, he would have replied, telling her to get Sebastian or to leave the room and lock him in. Unfortunately, the blood building in his throat and the bones cracking in his limbs prevented him from doing such.
Elizabeth watched in horror as her fiance writhed on the carpet, skin pale and sweating, coughing hoarsely and spewing blood onto the carpet. She could hear the terrifying gurgling and snapping sounds but had no clue as to what was going on. All she could think of was calling the butler but he wouldn't know anything about this. Although, had she even wanted to go and get said butler, she wouldn't have been able to for her feet were frozen to the ground. She was barely aware enough to register that Ciel had started screaming and, although his head was pressed firmly into the floor, she could hear him shouting at her.
"Elizabeth! You need to get out of here! Please, it's not safe!"
She cried out as she felt a smooth arm snake around her and lift her gently from the carpet. Looking up, she noticed it was Sebastian who was holding onto her, a look of determination and worry in his eyes as he stared at Ciel's hunched form. She couldn't help but shake as the screams morphed into roaring growls and Ciel's hands gripped deep into the floor, suddenly lengthened nails splitting through the material with ease. She could see as Ciel's figure began to grow darker and larger, the suit she had spent so much on being shredded into tatters by the change in form. Before she could even think, the arm held on tighter and she was whisked away. By the time the world had stopped spinning, she realised she had been seated on a smaller yet still soft chair with a cup of steaming tea sat before her. She had barely noticed that Sebastian had left the room, leaving her with the older butler Tanaka.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Elizabeth. I'm afraid you caught the young master at a rather difficult and unfortunate time. All shall be well again in the morning. I will be escorting you to your chambers once you have finished your tea."
The only sound in the following silence, was the sound of a little girl's tears rippling in the teacup.
Just wanna say thanks to anybody who's sticking with me with this. You guys are AMAZING! BTW, anyone catch the foreshadowing moment? For those who missed it, it's right at the beginning; 'Tonight, Elizabeth would see the true Ciel Phantomhive.'
Anyway, you know the drill. R&R if you want to. I ain't gonna force you. Might try and guilt trip you but never force. Also, I plan to finish this before Halloween! Just thought I should let you know. Anyways... Bye!