Alois woke the next morning, or he thought he did.
The decision was made for him when sunlight poked him cheerfully in the eyes and his nostrils were laced with the smells of toasty bread and jam and fragrant tea and fresh linen.
"Good morning, Alois."
That didn't sound like Cl-
Oh oh ohhhh
And everything came rushing back.
Sebastian was eyeing him with a slightly concerned smile. "Is something the matter?"
Alois tried to sit up, then immediately thought better of it. With a soft whimper, he pressed a hand to his side in an effort to stop the pain lancing through his body. Every move, though, did the exact opposite.
He bit his lip, willing himself not to cry again.
"Oh dear… I imagine the salve's usefulness has run its course." Sebastian gently removed Alois's hand and patted his head back down onto the pillows. "Do please lie as still as you can. Would you like me to assist you in a cup of tea before I change your bandages?"
Alois shook his head. He was thirsty, but it hurt.
Sebastian unbuttoned Alois's shirt and deftly laid bare a sticky, slightly bloody mess that Alois instantly shut his eyes to. He heard the demon chuckle softly and murmur something reassuring.
"Come now, there's nothing to be frightened of. You spilled blood aplenty as the Queen's Spider, and danced to the tune of your enemies' suffering, if the rumors are to be believed. Yet the sight of your own discomfits you?"
Alois's cheeks turned ruddy with shame, but he stubbornly hid in the darkness behind his eyelids.
"Humans are curious like that," Sebastian mused as he began to remove the soiled bandages. "They look upon others' suffering with apathy or malice, as the case may be...yet they quail at the slightest reminder of their own mortality. Just one of the things that makes your kind so interesting."
Alois heard the smile in his voice, like Sebastian was recounting a comedy he'd seen at the theatre. He whimpered as the butler peeled the linens away from his torn and barely scabbed-over flesh. Yet another reminder of how vulnerable he was. A frail butterfly whose wings had been ripped to shreds, and who could be crushed beneath Ciel Phantomhive's heel on a whim.
"I'm sorry...I know this is painful, but it will be over soon. Not to fret," the butler soothed, patting Alois's head. Alois hated the comfort that brought. He loved head pats, loved when Claude massaged shampoo into his hair (although admittedly it was always over too fast), loved when he and Luka would have tickle fights and they always seemed to end in hair ruffles and… and…
Why did everything make him want to cry?
He wanted to go home.
He had no home anymore.
"Nearly done now." Sebastian finished cleaning and salving the wound and began winding fresh bandages around Alois's torso. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"
"N- no."
The demon smiled. "I am most gratified. Would you care for a cup of tea? Today's is an elegant blend of Ceylon green and oolong with an added hint of honey. My young lord is quite fond of honey… although you didn't hear that from me."
One side of his mouth quirked upward slightly as he helped Alois sit up, then poured out a steaming cupful of liquid and presented it to him. "Not too quickly, now."
Alois sipped. An involuntary mmmm escaped his lips at the taste, and he froze-
Sebastian chuckled lightly. "How gratifying to know my tea isn't merely 'not bad'.
"Tch."
Alois sullenly averted his gaze, refusing to meet the demon's eyes. He could imagine the quiet laughter dancing therein, and for a brief instant hatred rose up in his heart like the leap of a dying candle's flame. How dare this creature laugh at him? After he'd been stabbed and left to die and stripped of every defense? He almost hated himself, too, for accepting a drink from the pristine hands that had shed his servants' blood. Enjoying tea made by anyone other than Claude felt like a betrayal… but then again, hadn't Claude betrayed him by turning his back on Alois to cast out on a thread towards Ciel's soul?
And the honey soothed and sweetened the back of his throat.
"It's good," Alois mumbled at last, stealing a furtive glance at the butler before focusing on the steaming contents of his cup.
Sebastian chuckled softly again. "That sounds more like the little lord I know. May I offer you some breakfast? I have prepared a rather simple fare- toasted and lightly buttered white bread with strawberry jam. Crustless, of course."
He smiled as he finished, almost as though sharing a joke he and Alois had laughed over before.
So.
Ciel didn't like the crusts on his bread either…
Alois waited for Sebastian to place the tray across his legs before taking a small bite of toast.
"Am I… what's going to happen now?" Alois asked once he'd swallowed the last bite of his breakfast, his voice small.
Sebastian turned, one foot already out the door. "Are you referring to today, or the broader times ahead?"
Alois nodded.
"Our first priority is ensuring your swift recovery. My young master may not harbor the most charitable feelings towards you, but he'd be rather miffed if I let you die after all the trouble he's gone to."
He spoke of Alois's possible death so cavalierly, like it was a proposed item on the menu for luncheon and not a prospect that made the boy's stomach lurch sickeningly.
"I-I'm not going to die, am I? Aren't I going to get better?" Alois asked, voice jumping up an octave. His palms began to sweat, and he clutched at the blanket like it was an anchor that could keep body and soul tethered together.
Sebastian gave him a fondly exasperated smile. There it was again. That look. You funny little thing.
"It was touch-and-go for a while, but the worst is behind you. Human children are hardy as dandelions, I've found; you spring back from calamities that would break most adults beyond hope of mending. However, fretting yourself into hysteria over morbid fears will put undue strain on your body, which we certainly don't want."
The butler cocked a stern eyebrow at Alois, and once more he was reminded of Mamma, scolding him and Luka after she'd caught them being naughty.
'Boys, I love you, but I swear the devil's gotten into you two…'
Alois shoved that memory into a cobwebbed corner of his mind, the place he left painful recollections to gather dust til moths and rust consumed them, and gripped the blanket tighter.
"I'm putting you on bedrest for the next few days, of course. Peace and quiet are long overdue after all that's transpired."
"And then?" Alois insisted.
He hated uncertainty, hated it. Ever since Pappa and Mamma died, fate had tossed him hither and yon like a cat toying with a mouse. From the jagged stones and vicious curses slung at him by those villagers to Earl Trancy's cruel whims, much of his childhood had been spent dodging unforeseen evils, and Alois had been heartily sick of it all by the time he summoned Claude. Once the demon's power secured his position as Queen's Spider, he was the master of his own destiny again…
But Claude wasn't here anymore, and Alois's fate had been seized by the hands of strangers.
"As long as your health permits, you will collaborate with the young master on assignments from Her Majesty. Sharing the same den will make it easier for the Watchdog and the Spider to join forces."
"I'm sure Ciel's thrilled about that," Alois muttered.
Sebastian chuckled, eyes crinkling.
"I must confess my young lord did not accept this edict gracefully, but he'll come around in due time."
"Come around? He hates me," Alois scoffed. A quiet ache that had nothing to do with his wounds pervaded his chest.
"I wouldn't say that," the demon countered, brown eyes surprisingly gentle. "He's just angry with you at present, and proud and stubborn to a fault. Like I said before, however...your souls are much alike."
He bowed his head to Alois before turning for the door.
"I'm afraid I can't tarry; much remains to be done, and I daren't leave the other servants unsupervised for too long."
His tone bore a trace of exasperation, the way Claude's did when the triplets committed some careless blunder.
"But if you need anything while I'm gone, feel free to ring for me."
And with that and a soft flutter of black tails, Sebastian was gone; the soft click of the doorknob the only thing left in his wake.
Alois released a long, shuddery breath and looked around the room, trying to think everything out and make sense of his situation now he had the facts.
It was warm; that was good. The fire was well-built, so it wouldn't get cold anytime soon. Alois hated being cold.
He'd been fed breakfast and tea, and was comfortably full and didn't feel thirsty. Hopefully he'd get meals on the regular, though he couldn't be sure of that yet.
His wound didn't hurt; the area felt pleasantly numb underneath the bandages. Along with most of his right side. He was going to need a bath soon, though. That thought unnerved him.
...so nothing was in his control now. Absolutely nothing.
Spiffing.
Alois giggled softly to himself a little, exhaling and shutting his eyes and focusing on the softness of the blankets.
At least he could sleep.
But even that wasn't up to him. And he didn't want to dream.
His mouth felt suddenly dry, and he glanced at the bell rope beside the bed.
...did he dare?
Maybe Sebastian could bring him something to drink, and something to help him sleep?
...right.
Alois attempted to roll onto his side, gave up without moving an inch, and shut his eyes again.