Death Watch
Chapter Four
Missing
The sound of the tea trolley being wheeled in the next day and the heavy brocade curtains being drawn open woke Ciel, the bright early morning light making him groan and turn away in response, pulling the blanket up over his head. With a gentle tug, the coverlet was slowly drawn back, until his head was once again exposed, the light making him squeeze his eyes almost shut tight. Reaching out, his butler ran a hand over his hair, playful mussing it up to Ciel's annoyance, before putting the back of his hand to his forehead.
"Young master, it is time to wake up." He opened his eyes, and looked up at Sebastian's smiling face.
Indignantly swatting the demon's hand away, Ciel then suddenly fully recalled the events of the night before, and felt his face go red.
"Forgive me, my lord, I just wanted to ascertain whether or not your fever had broken." He smiled at Ciel with poorly-feigned innocence. "You did seem to be on the mend however, when I finally was given permission to leave your side last night. This is getting to be quite the habit, if I may so remark."
Ciel glowered at him with as much indignation as he could manage. "You may not." Sebastian's eyebrows rose, and Ciel could see he was trying to control the side of his mouth from twitching.
Ciel continued, thoroughly aggravated now. "And I assure you it won't be happening ever again, you cheeky bastard. I was in a... vulnerable state. I don't even clearly remember much after falling in the pond. I would, however," here he stopped and gave Sebastian a most serious, condescending look which then softened slightly, "like to formally thank you for saving my life. Even if doing so was just for you to have the pleasure of eventually taking it in the end." Sebastian smiled at him.
"Only too true, my little lord. Only too true."
The demon bowed, and left the room then, wheeling the tea cart back out and closing the door behind him. Ciel continued to sit on his bed. He didn't feel like getting dressed just yet. It was a task that he still had trouble with, and that invariably resulted in Sebastian having to sort him out afterwards, correcting all the little things he still wasn't proficient at yet. Like fastening buttons correctly, he thought with chagrin. He was determined to do as much as he could himself, however. Even though it was his right as a noble to have his servant do such for him his whole life if he so desired, the fact that he still needed his butler to help him dress was just a little embarrassing.
Not as embarrassing as last night's little fiasco, though, he remembered with mortification, thinking about the bath, and how he… He felt the blood rush to his cheeks and another strange jolt go through him to land in the pit of his stomach. Uhhrrg! He thought. He would just be resolute in his determination to bathe himself from now on, and not let himself be swayed by temptation ever again. Unavoidably, the thought of how incredibly pleasurable it was to have the demon do such for him filled his thoughts once more. His eyes closed and he sighed in frustration as his body reacted in the same way as it had last night, just thinking about it. His hand strayed down to his stomach and then lower, rubbing slightly at the area that was causing him such mental discomfort right now. Of course, that didn't help, and he soon found himself dipping his hand beneath his night shirt to grasp and pull on his now fully hardened member. Why did he have to feel this way, he seethed? What was wrong with him?
It was the demon's fault, he told himself. Those eyes; those goddamn demon eyes; glowing burnt umber orbs, topped by those excessively long, thick lashes that mesmerized, confused, drew him in. They just… did something to him, something he would rather not dwell on or ever fully analyze. But he couldn't deny that his butler was, well, for lack of a better word, pretty. Beautiful, almost. He had always known that he harbored a strange, deeply buried fascination for him, but it was the demon's fault for looking… how had his aunt once put it? Indecently lecherous, or something like that. Ha, he chuckled to himself. Yes, something like that.
He didn't want to think about the demon though; he refused to. It wasn't like he didn't have other people, girls, that he could think of, instead. His fiancé, for one: his beautiful sixteen year old cousin, Elizabeth. She had grown by now into quite the shapely young woman, he was the first to admit, and thoughts of her were usually sufficient to induce the feelings he needed to achieve satisfaction at times like this. With her long, beautiful golden curls, and those bright green eyes, and that newly buxom form… Yes, that was enough. His movements got more vigorous with these images in his mind, along with any other thoughts he could conjure of women's bodies that he had seen glimpses of. He continued his efforts, trying valiantly to maintain his focus on his preferred objects of desire, but soon his mind began to wander to thoughts of what had induced this state in the first place. A cloth running up and down his body, surrounded by luxurious warmth, running up and over his member, gliding up and down… The demon's eyes looking into his… gleaming rubies, staring into his very soul it seemed, making him feel warm, and his heart rate speed up. He let out a series of continuous small pants as his hand sped up in tune with his heartbeat, tugging, squeezing, stroking, until finally his seed spilled out with a rapturous relief, coating his hand and belly as he fell backwards onto the bed, his head hitting the pillow, his body and breathing slowly easing back into tranquility.
He was lucky no one had walked in on him, he thought belatedly, even though the only one that might have possibly done so without his express permission was his butler… Gah! That thought filled him with horror, and self-reprehension now for what he had just done. Stupid, stupid, he scolded himself. He was such an idiot sometimes. That all too frequent feeling of doubt gnawed at him once more, that accusatory voice that told him he was unworthy, a sinner, and that he had no business earning all the accolades and rewards he reaped in his life, much less even being here at all. He lay there, his eyes closed tight, until the feeling went away after many minutes, and then slowly and methodically unfolded himself off the bed and went about the task of cleaning himself up and then attempting to dress himself.
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"Baldroy, have you seen Sebastian?" Ciel stood with his hands on his hips in the entrance to the mansion's galley kitchen after impatiently slamming open the door.
Now early April, it had been more than three months since the finding of the watch and there were still no more leads or clues concerning it. Ciel was starting to give up hope of it ever being anything of use in his personal mission. After having solved the crime of the theft of the Colett, he had had nothing to do but take care of occasional Funtom company business, as advised and suggested by Sebastian, and other than that, just be lazy and enjoy the new spring weather that was slowly waking up the land. Picnics by the sea, trips to the Lakes, and long horseback rides into the countryside became the norm for them-in between lessons, of course. Sebastian was the relentless tutor as ever, filling Ciel's head with as much knowledge and skills as he could manage. He seemed to derive great enjoyment out of it, for some reason. Ciel figured it was just one more thing that was entertaining to the demon, something to ease the boredom of his long life, in between waiting to enjoying the ultimate show when he took his fill of his soul.
Today, however, luncheon came and went, with no butler in sight to wait on him and prepare his meal. This had never happened in all his time serving him, and thus Ciel was understandably a bit concerned. It was highly aggravating and disgraceful for him to have to call upon the maid, Meyrin, to have the cook prepare something for him to eat and then to serve it to him. By four o'clock in the afternoon, his ire had been roused to the boiling point at Sebastian's continued absence. He was sure the butler was alright; he was not in the least worried about him. The demon could take care of himself; it was just annoying and inconsiderate of him to have tarried doing who knows what, and not to have at least sent word as to his delay.
"No, sir," the cook replied, whipping his hand up to his forehead in a salute, still holding the knife he had been peeling carrots with. "At least, not since this morning, anyways," he added, his brows knitting a bit apprehensively. Of course, Ciel knew it was highly unorthodox for the lord of the manor to come down to these parts of the mansion, and even more so for him to question his other servants as to whereabouts of the butler who was normally always at his side, ready to serve him at his every beck and call. Ciel shrugged. It was an unusual circumstance, so it demanded unusual actions.
"Well, did he say anything about where he was going?" he demanded, more than irritated now. Baldroy ran his hand through his straw-blonde hair. "Naw. He just stormed out of here in a hurry, seemin' to be in a bit of a state this morning," he said. "Scoldin' me for not doin' what he specifically told me not to do…" He shook his head with a look of confusion, and then seemed to remember something else.
"Ah!" He slapped his hand to his forehead. "I did hear him say to Meyrin this morning that he was in need of some ingredient or other, I think. Some sort of spice, maybe?" He squinted and grimaced trying to remember what it was. "He needed to get some Rega... Regli... something. Regulium, maybe? Oh, bother! I can't remember! Apologies, master." He smiled sheepishly.
"No matter. That's quite helpful. Thank you, Bard. I will be back in a little while. I have an errand to do, myself, in town. Have Finny prepare a carriage for me."
"Very good, sir," Ciel heard him reply in the distance, already on his way back up the corridor. The fact that he didn't really have any errand of his own to do didn't bother him. He simply didn't feel it was necessary to have his servants know that he was worried about his butler having gone off somewhere without telling him where and why.
Ciel sat lost in thought as the carriage bumped and jostled along the dirt roads. He was actually a bit worried, as well as being greatly peeved for him to have run off like this without informing him. In the more than five years that he had served as his butler, this had never occurred. It was quite unprecedented; what could be the cause of it, he wondered? He had noticed, lately, that Sebastian had seemed a trifle out of sorts, almost lost in thought at times. His eyes would often evade his own during their interactions, and would almost seem to lose focus as they stared off to some point slightly to the side of Ciel. And his demeanor was almost... a tad low spirited, maybe, he considered now. He hadn't thought to question him on the matter, as it hadn't warranted any major concern on his part. But now he wondered; could something be wrong? Ciel shook his head to disperse these thoughts. No doubt it was nothing but his own fancy imagining such things. His butler was probably out on a legitimate quest for some item or other that he felt was essential to Ciel's happiness, and would have a splendid dinner prepared and waiting for him when he returned, as per usual. He had the utmost confidence in his butler's total obedience and dedication to his well-being and contentment, as he had never given him any reason to fear otherwise.
The carriage arrived at the location he had specified, and he got out, telling Finny he would take a cab back home and to go back to the manor without him. Looking around as the carriage clattered away down the cobblestone street, he shivered a little in the late afternoon air. A mid-afternoon April day in London could be quite raw, when there was no sun and the grey skies threatened rain, which threat proved directly true, as a few drops began splattering down, landing as dark spots on the cobblestones of the avenue. Tugging his top hap tighter on his head, he walked quickly up to the shop ahead, a well know spice emporium, and grasping the door handle, pushed it open and went in. The warm air hit him with a wash of fragrant spices of such a heady array as made him fair dizzy for a moment. Going up to the counter, he asked the shop keep if he had seen the butler of the Phantomhive estate here today. He had not, the man informed by him with polite reverence with a hint, however, of condescending amusement. Thanking the man haughtily, he turned and immediately went out of the shop. The fresh air, although cold and wet with the rain whipping about now in the wind, was a welcome relief to his lungs, and he breathed deeply to clear them. Looking up the street, and then back down the other way, he shivered, and realized he was at a loss as of what to do next.
The rain was coming down a little more steadily now, and the cold air bit into his slight form. He was getting quite aggravated now, and more than impatient. It was probably just one of Sebastian's little "jokes," he told himself, that he liked to play on him sometimes to keep him on his toes, or more likely simply to amuse himself in his own twisted, demonic way. Well, he had had enough of this foolishness; lifting his patch off his right eye and baring his contract for all the world to see, he called out.
"Come, Sebastian!" He smirked maliciously, relishing the satisfaction of what he would do when he saw his butler appear before him, always seemingly like magic, at least by human standards, and the things he would say to him.
Seconds went by; this was longer than Sebastian usually took to heed his call. His smile left his face, to be replaced by a scowl. Now, this was simply unaccountable. He looked around, still expecting him to come walking up to him at any second. The street was empty of all but no-import passersby, pedestrians and passengers in carriages. He stepped back unconsciously a few paces, until he felt his back press up against the wall of the shop. His stomach began to twist into a small knot. Could... could something have actually happened to him? Could Sebastian, the almost omnipotent being that he seemed to be, possibly have met with some misfortune, or even calamity? The knot became a pit of fear in his stomach. No, no, he was sure he was alright. He was just being rash in his assumptions. He was sure there was a simple explanation to this, if he could only think of it. Perhaps he should call on some others for help, he thought. Hmm... From whom could he ask aid of, he wondered?
Eerie yellow eyes that almost glowed in the dark; long, flowing white hair; crazy dented top hat with its weirdly long tail... the image of Undertaker came to his mind. He shuddered at the thought; he might, indeed, be of use in this matter, but he sincerely did not wish to come face to face with that creepy Shinigami right now. Why, even Sebastian had reason to be wary of him... He stopped in his train of thought as his eyes opened wide. Could Undertaker have done something…? No, no, he couldn't even entertain that thought. That old incident and subsequent enmity between them had been long ago; and for all intents and purposes seemed to have been dropped and forgotten with the passing of time. They had even occasionally been to Undertaker's shop for help with a few cases since then, and all had seemed well enough.
As loathe as he was to do so, he reluctantly turned towards the direction he needed to go, and began walking, head down in the now steady rain.
As he walked, he wondered what he would say to him. "Hi there, Undertaker. My butler is missing! Have you seen him?" He slowed in his pace, and presently came to a standstill. He tried to shake himself of a deep foreboding, as his resolve in continuing onward wavered...
He thought he heard something, a scraping sound of boots along pavement. He looked around, and didn't see anything but the shop fronts of various stores of questionable repute. He had traveled so far as to reach a part of town that was of a not too upstanding sort; in fact, it was downright shady, especially in the darkening evening night, broken now only by a few scattered street lanterns, gleaming dully with their flickering yellow light. His eyes finally found the source of the noise, as he noticed a grimy old fellow having slumped down onto the top step of a flight of stairs that led down to a basement door of some exceedingly seedy shop of some sort; Ciel could not quite make out the name on the plaque outside the door below other than that it began with a "C." The man now gripped the railing of the stairs as his head lolled back against it, his long dark wisps of black hair plastered against his face in the rain that now came steadily down. Ciel's eyes opened wide with sudden recognition, as he cried out.
"Sebastian!"
