A/N OMFG I AM SO SO SOOOOO SORRY. HIATUS WENT ON WAAY LONGER THAN EXPECTED.

Seriously. I don't know what it is about summer, but it just makes me want to laze around and do absolutely nothing productive. Which is exactly what I did the whole summer. NOTHING WAS ACCOMPLISHED, I AM A COUCH POTATO.

On a different note, The Kuroshitsuji English dub wins at everything. I don't even care what you say, I fucking love it. J Michael Tatum = OMFG.

Disclaimer: I DON'T DESERVE EITHER OF THEM D:

Warning: There is a guest appearance from someone from another anime in this chapter. If you can guess who he is and why I'm using him, you get free cookies~

Chapter Sixteen – Nightmares

The door swung open, creaking on its hinges. Gilbert winced slightly; he was trying to be as quiet as possible. This was an incredibly hard thing for someone like Gilbert to do; he was a very loud person by nature. Coming down the stairs, he tripped and half stumbled, half flew down the steps.

Despite the ruckus he made, the patient on the table did not stir. Gilbert heaved a sigh of relief. He hated working this job, but when you were born an albino, the job you were given was guaranteed to be creepy. And when a freaking prince offers you a job with a heavy sum to do nothing but basically be creepy as hell, how could you say no?

He moved to the man on the table, looking over his shoulder wound. "Ouch. That does not look awesome." The man was shirtless, his skin almost as pale as Gilbert's; whether that was his natural pallor or just loss of blood was yet to be seen.

He dabbed a thin cloth into a bowl of water and began wiping away the blood. With a wince, the man on the table woke up. Gilbert started when he saw the man had red eyes, just like his own.

The man looked around, confused. He finally caught sight of the albino, and asked him sharply, "Where am I?"

Gilbert grinned at him. "The Zoo of Death," he said in his trademark rasp. "Don't even think about trying to escape. The chains are way too thick."

Sebastian started to speak, but Gilbert interrupted him. "And no one is going to rescue you, either. The way in here is secret; only the Prince, the Count, and I know to way in."

The dark-haired man looked down at his bloody shoulder, which was still being carefully wiped by Gilbert. "Then why bother curing me?"

The albino shrugged, looking almost amused. "The Count said he wants you in perfect condition," he answered. "So that when he breaks you it'll be all the more satisfying."

Sebastian sucked in a breath quietly. "So it's to be torture, then?" He looked at the ceiling, seeming to steady himself, and then back at Gilbert. "I can deal with torture."

Red eyes met red. "Not like this one, you can't."

And for just about the first time in his life, a small coil of fear began worming its way around Sebastian's gut.

xXx

Ciel wandered the halls of the palace, fingering his new blue suit with care. Without even looking up, he continued to meander, muttering incoherently under his breath. He passed Alois and Claude on the way, but didn't even register their presence.

Alois sighed, looking down the hall after him. "He's been like that ever since we left the Fire Swamp," he said, annoyed. At the Count's questioning face, he said, "My father's health is ailing him."

Claude merely raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

That very night, the king died, and before dawn broke over the city, Alois and Ciel were married. That morning, in the square, he went again to meet his people, this time as their other...king...queen...thing.

Alois stood over the people, in his stone balcony. He outstretched his arms. "My father's final words were, 'Love him as I loved him, and there will be joy.' Now, I present to you, your... queen... Queen Ciel!"

Not even fazed by the blatant disregard to his gender, Ciel walked out into the town square for the second time. As before, all bowed before him, sinking to their knees and refusing to meet his eyes. He stared out at them all with dead eyes.

"Boo!"

The second he heard the cry, he turned so fast his neck may well have snapped off. An old, grey woman was hobbled over, her face contorted in utter disgust.

"Boo!" She cawed. "Boo!"

Ciel's lower lip began to tremble. "What are you saying?" He gasped, his voice shaking – whether with anger or fear was yet to be discerned.

"You had love in your hands!" The old woman cried, looking at Ciel sadly. "And you let him go!"

Ciel flared up. "They would have killed Sebastian had I not done something!" he argued. But it was futile. The old woman had turned around, and was now speaking to the crowd.

"His true love lives! And yet he marries another! He saved his life, back in the Fire Swamp! And he treated him like garbage!" She whirled around, and suddenly she was much closer then she was before, her pale eyes staring right into Ciel's. "And that's what he is! The Queen of Garbage! The Queen of Refuse! So bow down to him!"

Ciel's eye was filling rapidly with tears that he couldn't stop, as each of the old woman's harsh words pierced him like an arrow.

"Bow down if you want to! Bow to the Queen of slime! Of filth! Boo! Boo! Rubbish, filth, slime, muck! Boo! Boo! Boo!"

Ciel awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for air. Blindly, he clutched at his sheets, pulling them tight around his chest.

It was ten days to the wedding. The King still lived, but Ciel's nightmares were growing worse every night. As his breath slowed, he came to a decision. Grabbing his eye patch from his dresser, he rolled off the bed and stormed down the hall.

He rounded the corner to Alois' study, and slammed to doors open. Taking a deep breath, he found his voice. "It comes to this. I love Sebastian, I always have. I I know now that I can never love another."

Alois stared at him.

"So if you tell me that I must marry you in ten days," he continued, walking forwards and placing his hands on the prince's desk, "please believe I will be dead by morning."

Alois blinked.

Ciel stared right back at him refusing to back down.

After what seemed like hours of agonizing silence, Alois finally spoke. Heaving a great sigh, he said, "I could never cause you grief." Liar. "Consider our wedding off."

Ciel watched as Alois stood, and made his way over to Count Claude. "You returned this... Sebastian... to his ship, yes?"

Claude nodded. Alois looked back at Ciel. "We'll simply alert him, then. Although... are you sure he still wants you? After all, it was you who did the leaving in the Fire Swamp, was it not?"

Ciel glared at him. "My Sebastian will always come for me."

Alois fought very hard with himself not to roll his eyes. "Right then. I suggest that you do this – write four copies of a letter. We'll send out four of our fastest ships, one in each direction, searching for his ship. Once in sight, tell them to run up the white flag and deliver the letter." He now turned to Ciel. "If your Sebastian still wants you, he is free to come and get you."

Stepping forward and pulling his face close to Ciel's, he said softly, "But if he does not, please consider me as an alternative to suicide."

Wordlessly, Ciel nodded.

And without another word, raced out of the room to write four copies of a letter.

A/N Oh, Ciel, you're such a drama queen! 'If I have to marry Alois, I'll kill myself!' Shut up, you~.

...although, I'd probably say the same thing... *shivers*

Again, apologies for this being so late. Please accept this chapter as a sign of deepest regret. And please, do remember – reviews are the forgiveness to my apologies. :)