Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Black Butler! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates on the second and fourth Saturday of each month!
—————————————————————
As the only child of a wealthy family, Ciel had become accustomed to getting exactly what she wanted.
The days after the ball gradually passed while news of her engagement traveled from tongue to tongue around London.
Although Ciel continued to silently pride herself on another successful procuring, she failed to realize Sebastian had given her more than she had asked.
Early one afternoon, she fanned herself as she sat in the atrium with her parents.
The family enjoyed the bright, beautiful day while they discussed the finalization of the plans for her wedding.
Vincent and Rachel happily chatted, but as the sun bore down upon her through the glass window, Ciel began to shift uncomfortably in her seat.
In her usual shorts and jacket, she typically had no problems with the heat itself, but for some reason that morning, the scorching warmth became unbearable.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she wavered with the shaking of the room.
"...Ciel?" She heard her mother call.
In the blackening corners of her vision, she vaguely detected the movement of her mother and father as they turned to stare worriedly in her direction.
"CIEL!" Vincent cried as he leapt to catch her while she toppled from her seat.
Ciel knew she would certainly vomit or die, but she mercifully lost consciousness before either of those things could happen as she fell into her father's arms.
—————————————————————-
An hour later, Vincent and Rachel nervously paced downstairs while the doctor examined their daughter in her bedroom.
"She may be falling ill…..." Rachel lamented.
Vincent frowned as he watched her dab her eyes with a handkerchief, "Her health was less than stable when she was born…..I've tended her these many years and now, just entering adulthood, with a happy proposal and a new life in front of her, what if she withers into her premature grave?!"
Rachel sobbed, but Vincent walked over and put a hand on his beloved's shoulder as he frowned, "My darling, do not speak of such things. It may be only a fleeting malady that-"
"-A fleeting malady, Vincent?!" Rachel snapped as she turned her eyes upon him, "A fleeting malady…..like the one she endured in childhood where her lungs sealed themselves shut?!...Do you know what a torment that had to be for her? To watch the other children laugh and play while she stared at them from the window?!"
Vincent tried to offer what comfort he could to his distraught bride as he spoke, "No, my love, I can hardly imagine what that must have been like for-"
"-They warned me, they warned me!" Rachel wailed as she dabbed at her eyes again before she sniffed back a sob and composed herself enough to continue, "...They warned me that one day, it may all be for naught! The doctors know so very little about the body and how it works….how it really works…..they prepared me for the idea she may simply stop breathing one day….If that happens, I know they'll have no way to set her to rights!"
Vincent frowned as Rachel gazed at him with wide eyes and sniffed, "Oh Vincent………what if our darling Ciel is to be buried before she is wed? My heart could not take the sight of watching them-"
"-I do beg your pardon, Lord and Lady Phantomhive." A voice called from the parlor doorway as an elderly gentleman appeared and frowned at the couple.
Vincent and Rachel immediately dropped their conversation as they each looked over in the direction of the voice.
"Go on, doctor." Vincent nodded as he kept his hand supportively on Rachel, "Give us the news."
"I've completed my examination of your daughter." The physician nodded.
Vincent's frown deepened as he watched the man glance at the floor.
"...And how is she, sir?" Rachel asked urgently.
"It alarms me and my wife that you do not speak of her recovery." Vincent scowled, "What information do you bring us? Is there anything at all to be done for her?"
"Anything to be done for her? Perhaps some minor actions to make her more comfortable, but for the most part, nature will have to run its course." The doctor said slowly as he lifted his gaze to meet Rachel and Vincent's frowns.
"I beg your pardon, sir?" Vincent asked, "Does my daughter suffer from some passing sickness?"
"A passing sickness, my lord? No, I'm afraid not." The physician sniffed.
Rachel collapsed into tears as she raised a hand to her face.
Over the sound of her sniffling, the doctor gave the noble couple news that the parents of an unwed daughter never welcomed.
He looked at Lord and Lady Phantomhive as he nodded and said, "Your daughter….is with child."
Vincent's eyes widened.
He acted on instinct as his arms locked around Rachel's waist and prevented her from smacking painfully into the floor after her eyes rolled back into her head as she lost consciousness from her shock.
—————————————————————
While Ciel laid in bed upstairs, she considered herself a prisoner waiting for her execution.
Although Sebastian smiled and held her hand, Ciel nervously glanced at the door every few seconds, dreading her parents' inevitable entry.
"I do hate seeing fear in your eyes, my love." Sebastian whispered as he smiled at Ciel. After she turned to him with a pout, he chuckled and grinned, "They will not harm you in their anger, especially not while I am by your side."
"They may disown me……" She breathed, "They may cast me away to hide their shame about my actions."
"If that happens, then I will take you to my homeland and we will live a celebrated life together." Sebastian shrugged.
"Is it not a shame in your country?" Ciel blinked at Sebastian, "For a child to be conceived out of wedlock?"
"Our son or daughter has been conceived out of love." Sebastian corrected her with a soft smile, "Forgive me, but I see no shame in that……Regardless of what one society or another says differently."
The pride in Sebastian's dark eyes relaxed Ciel a bit as she melted under his smouldering gaze.
The wedding preparations had been meaningless to Sebastian as well.
Having little regard for social standing, he had abandoned his own aristocratic life in favour of merely enjoying his existence.
If it had been solely his decision, he would have accessed his wealth and taken Ciel away to a little cottage by the sea where they would have grown a large family and-
Footsteps sounded from the hallway.
Ciel sucked in a breath as Sebastian clutched her hand in a gesture of silent support.
"There is no need to be fearful, my lady." He reassured her with a kind smile, "I will protect you, remember that."
Ciel blinked at him before the door opened.
Her attention was soon called away to her parents as they stomped into her room.
"Mother……Father……" Ciel anxiously greeted them.
The frigid scowls on Rachel and Vincent's faces could have made brave knights quiver as they both crossed their arms and glared down at their daughter.
"Ciel, how could you do this?!" Rachel wailed.
"I have little idea how you've even managed it!" Vincent scoffed, "The dates the doctor gave do not match with the ball in the least."
Ciel and Sebastian exchanged knowing glances.
"Forgive me, Mother, Father…." Ciel replied, "I freely admit my wrong doing. My heart and my soul burn for the one who asked for my hand……I….I've seen him several times since that night and I-"
"-How?" Rachel cut in with narrowed eyes, "You haven't left the house! Do you think your father and I are imbeciles?! We know the names of each guest who visits this manor! Do you honestly expect us to believe your suitor would have, could have, managed to see you without our knowing?!"
Ciel opened her mouth to respond but Sebastian cut in for her, "Forgive me, my lord, my lady…..but I myself can attest Lady Ciel speaks truthfully, I know for certain she has visited with her fiancé privately on several occasions since the ball."
Rachel narrowed her eyes to slits in disbelief.
Vincent scowled over at his servant as he hissed, "Well! Have you honestly dared to disrespect me in such a vile way, Sebastian? To indulge the lascivious whims of my daughter over your duties to me?! Where is your loyalty?!"
"I beg your pardon, my lord." Sebastian said as he nodded, "Though I must humbly ask your forgiveness as well, I bear no notable remorse. A man in love can hardly regret the time he spends with his fiancé, especially after she has already been promised to him."
As Sebastian and Ciel glanced at each other once more, realization began to dawn on her parents.
Rachel's mouth slowly fell open as Vincent asked, "Sebastian…...Are you…….Are you…?"
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian nodded as he stood defensively next to Ciel, "I was the masked man at the ball……….You have indeed given your daughter's hand in marriage to me."
Ciel frowned at her parents while an arrogant smirk danced across Sebastian's lips.
Rachel's face paled as if she anticipated to swoon again, but Vincent reddened with anger and hissed, "Sebastian……I should like to speak with you in my office…..immediately!"
"Of course, my lord." Sebastian replied with a respectful bow as he placed a hand over his chest.
Ciel resisted the urge to call out of him as she watched him leave the room with her father.
As her mother lowered herself into a chair across from her bed, Ciel laid back and stared up at the ceiling.
If only she and Sebastian could have eloped that first night……..then her problems would have been nonexistent.