A/N Hi.

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:)

I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT. DX

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the things I purchase for myself. Neither of which is Kuro OR The Princess Bride. Meh.

Chapter Fifteen: Surrender? DEATH FIRST

Ciel stared in silent horror as one of the beasts mauled Sebastian. He would have gone in to fight, but these things were almost twice the size as he was, and personally, he didn't fancy suicide.

Sebastian growled as he fought against the horrid monster, grabbing its jaws with his hands to prevent them from ripping his arms off. They rolled across the ground, and for a moment, Sebastian let his guard down. The rodent seized its chance, and bit deep into his arm, drawing blood. He roared in pain, and punched the rodent square in the face. It rolled away feebly.

Sebastian moved to grab his sword, but before his fingers could reach it, the rodent jumped on him again, and Sebastian had to convert his full attention to keeping its teeth away from his face.

After a momentary struggle, Sebastian succeeded in kicking the monster off him; he made a dash for his sword, but a panicked cry shot through the air and stopped him.

The monster was barrelling straight toward Ciel, who looked simply paralyzed with fear. Without hesitation, Sebastian switched directions and threw himself at the rodent, tackling it to the ground and effectively stopping it from harming Ciel.

Seemingly snapped out of his trance, Ciel grabbed the nearest branch he could find and proceeded to whack the rodent in the head. This, however, did not get the desired result, as it only got angrier and attacked Sebastian, gnawing on his shoulder.

Ciel watched helplessly as his lover screamed in pain, ears barely registering the faint popping noise coming from the ground. Sebastian, however, gritted his teeth, and rolled over; so that when the fire came out of the ground, it spurted all over the rodent's back. It squealed and released the hold on Sebastian.

Stumbling slightly, he got to his feet, and snatched the sword up from the ground. As the rodent feebly crawled towards him, he hoisted the sword above his head and ran it clean through. It whimpered once, before falling over dead.

Ciel stared at Sebastian, a bead of sweat running down his face. Shirt tattered and hanging from his shoulder, he turned to look at him, a tired look in his dull red eyes.

Without a word, Ciel stepped forward and pressed his forehead into Sebastian's chest.

"Thank you."

xXx

As the last rays of sunshine fell over the mountains, illuminating the world in a golden glow, the two stumbled out of the forest, feeling the warmth of the setting sun caress their cheeks. The trees had thinned, and before them lay a pristine lake.

Ciel leaned against Sebastian. "We did it," he said softly. Sebastian turned to him, smiling slightly.

"Now, was that so terrible?"

Ciel glanced at his bleeding, wrecked shoulder, the back up to his eyes, raising an eyebrow. Sebastian chuckled, and leaned forward to kiss him.

The moment would have been perfect, had it not been for the obnoxious horse whinnying and clomping as it galloped into the clearing.

Sebastian moved protectively in front of Ciel, drawing his sword. From atop the foremost horse, Prince Alois stood, in all his radiant glory. He sneered down at the two of them.

"Surrender."

Sebastian didn't miss a beat. "You mean you wish to surrender to us? Very well. I accept."

"Don't be cute," Alois growled. "I commend you for your bravery, don't turn it into foolishness."

"Ah, but you forget," Sebastian taunted, "we know the secrets of the fire swamp, and can live there quite happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying-"

Something behind a bush rustled, and Ciel turned to look. Several archers knelt in the woods behind them, all ready to fire at a moment's notice. He tensed, eyes widening.

"I shall tell you only one more time – surrender!"

"It will never happen!"

"Surrender!"

"Death first!"

"Will you promise not to hurt him?" Ciel cried.

Alois turned to Ciel with a question in his eyes. "What was that?"

Sebastian turned to him also. "What was that?"

Ciel walked in between the two men, staring straight at Alois, not looking at Sebastian. "If we surrender," he said, "and I go with you, will you promise not to hurt this man?"

Alois raised his right hand. "May I live a thousand years and never hunt again," he said. "Scout's honour."

Ciel continued on. "He is a sailor, on the pirate ship Revenge. Promise to return him to his ship."

"I swear it will be done." Alois signalled to his soldiers, who moved out from behind the trees. He turned his head to Count Claude, and murmured aside, "Once we get back to Florin, throw him in the Zoo of Death. Fifth floor."

Claude raised a thin eyebrow. "Yes, your Highness."

Meanwhile, Sebastian was looking at Ciel, a hurt look in his eyes. Ciel steeled himself to look at the, for not even he was impervious to the kicked puppy look.

"I thought you died once, and it almost destroyed me," Ciel murmured. "I couldn't bear to have you die again. Not when I could save you."

He didn't say anything. Ciel reached out and stroked a hand along his cheek, but before he could say anything more, a soldier rode by and picked him up. Alois followed close behind.

Sebastian watched them go, the look in his eyes one so out-of-character, it bothered Claude. So he spoke up to clear the silence. "Come, sir," he said politely, "we must get you to your ship."

He finally turned to look at him, and the sad, forlorn look was gone, replaced by one of dry amusement. "We are men of action," he said lightly. "Lies do not become us."

Claude raised an eyebrow, nodding at the guards. They moved towards him to handcuff him. As he was being bound, Sebastian noticed something odd on the Count's hand. Namely, an extra finger.

"You have six fingers on your right hand," he pointed out lightly. "I have a friend who's looking for you."

Claude's face contorted into one of rage, and he slammed the hilt of his sword down on Sebastian's head, knocking him out cold.

"Put him in the Zoo of Death. Fifth level."

A/N YES CLAUDE HAS SIX FINGERS. DEAL WITH IT. *slips on shades*

I can't believe Alois called it the Zoo of Death. I mean, that boy has no originality. Kinda like me! D:

Review? They are the... derp to my derpette. :D