Captain Michaelis produced two goblets from the curio cabinet adjacent to his desk before pulling a bottle of alcohol from the miniature wine cellar next to it. The glasses were filled with a dark red liquid that appeared to be some sort of cabernet before one was passed to the blonde. "To your successful plunder, first mate," He said, raising the glass in a jovial manner even if it appeared part of an act rather than genuine camaraderie.
A thin but smug smile stayed put on Alois's face but he made no move to drink the wine; apparently, even pirates weren't foolish enough to trust each other. "So? What exactly do you want me to do? You're not just expecting me to play royal babysitter are you?"
The man took a slow, long slip from his glass before raising his eyes to the blonde. "Nothing of the sort. I could share the details but I doubt you're interested in anything other than getting off this ship. Am I correct?"
"Looks like even you can be right at times. " He said without hesitation even if his gaze was focused on his red-painted nails. "Are you finally going to sign off your approval?"
Sebastian let go of a low hum. "The agreement originally was to train and prepare you to take over the official role of first mate on the Golden Spider. Your title here is more for show than anything else–"
"Because you're a stubborn old man who refuses to let anyone else do anything," Alois interrupted. The black-haired man merely gave a low chuckle and Ciel couldn't decide whether he was really that easygoing or was simply too used to the blonde's mouth to be bothered by it any longer.
"Perhaps," Sebastian brushed off with a simple flourish of the hand, the wine splashing inside the glass and dripping down the sides like blood splatter. "But you've been in my service for nearly two years now. I'm ready to sign off my approval if you can successfully finish this last trial."
"Which is babysitting the princess over there?" The blonde's eyes rolled.
"We'll discuss it in further detail come morning. For now, I'm relinquishing him to your care for the night. Find him something suitable to wear until we can grab more threads at the port. Put him in the empty room next to mine. It's the nicest one available for His Highness to enjoy." Was what he said even if he knew it was a threat to prevent him from trying to escape in the middle of the night. It was likely the blonde's was in the same area. Once again he was trapped on all sides whether it be the captain's sword sheathed at his hip, the first mate's dagger, or the razor-like teeth of the shark in the water underneath.
There was no escape.
—-
There was a simple, almost naive charm to the room he wasn't expecting to find on a pirate's ship of all places. The walls were covered in a light lilac wallpaper with a damask pattern layered on top in a slightly deeper shade. Curtains coiled in elegant spirals down to the floor in a golden hue so light it appeared like liquid sunlight. Useless trinkets scattered the room, laying on dressers, in a bizarre pattern that seemed more random than anything else like it was the haul of a hyperactive child. The main piece of furniture was a grand canopy bed in the same lilac shade as the walls with a striped comforter hanging partially off the bed; it was clear the owner didn't bother to fix it after rising for the day.
After finally escaping the confines of the captain's office, he was quite forcefully pulled down the hall by the blonde with the ends of his rope like some sort of pet. He chattered the entire way but it didn't seem to be directed at him and Ciel kept quiet. The trip wasn't long and was only a few turns down the hallway before they stopped and entered the lavish and quite gaudy excuse for a bedroom. It wasn't any better than the dingy office and he found a migraine coming on from the array of colors and glints of gold.
"Can't believe he expects me to play babysitter for the night. Why can't I just gut you and be done with it? Ah, I just want to hurry back to Claude's side as soon as possible," Alois sighed, lingering in a weird spectrum of bloodlust and a lovesick maiden. "Will you praise me for doing a good job? Will you finally acknowledge my place is by your side?" His voice softened to a dream-like whisper as he began to rifle through his large wardrobe that was practically overflowing with clothing.
Most of the fabrics appeared to be in some sort of garish shade of red or purple and he silently prayed nothing of the sort was going to be forced on him albeit he had a sneaking suspicion none of his clothing would fit him regardless. "Now what to put you in…." His finger idly tapped the side of his lips which became pursed as he contemplated. "I doubt I have anything that'll fit. What are you? Like twelve or something?"
Ciel knew he was being baited into responding but couldn't help grunting, "Fifteen." A snort came from the older teen and he cocked his head just enough to get a better look at him.
"You're not shitting me? It's a shame you don't look more like your father's picture then. A whirlwind romance with a prince could be a nice experience. Well, for a few days." Alois shrugged, finally closing the wardrobe in defeat of finding anything suitable. It was like he saw the people around him as things to play with until he moved on to the next thing that caught his attention.
The prince's single visible eye sharpened into a glare. "Don't flatter yourself. As if I would ever touch you." Ciel began to regret his words almost instantly; not for the iciness but for the spark of interest that entered the teen's eyes after he said them. It was a type of interest a cat had in a dying mouse trapped in its blood-coated claws.
"Oh? Is that so?" Alois's voice turned husky and sweet as he turned away from the wardrobe and sauntered over to the wall where Ciel stood. His steps were long but slow, taking care to show off the way his shorts clung to the curve of his hips. "Perhaps you really are a child then if you think you can resist me, Princess."
"What's so impressive about a man parading himself around as a harlot?" Ciel retorted, the muscles in his jaw clenching and creating a deeper frown the closer Alois moved. He practically towered over him with his heels, peering downwards with ice-colored eyes reflecting glints of gold from the nearby trinkets. One hand leaned on the wall, propped up beside the bluenette's head while the other took hold of his chin. The touch appeared gentle but his nails dug into the tender skin.
"So much bark for a worthless little dog. I can't wait to see your pitiful face once reality catches up to you." Cerulean and sapphire met in a blaze, both refusing to break first and look away. Alois's hand began to creep down his thigh in seduction, his fingertips dancing over his fishnet-covered skin, but Ciel wasn't a fool to see it was a ploy to reach the dagger hidden in his left boot. Just when his hand reached the top of the boot, a sudden cheery voice broke the moment as soon as it started.
"Big brother!" Ciel flickered his gaze towards the door where a child stood. He didn't look to be older than ten or eleven with rust-brown hair and sunkissed skin scattered with freckles. The blonde immediately stepped away from him and just as quickly pulled the boy into his arms.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be eating dinner?" He said as his hand settled on top of his head to ruffle his already tousled hair.
"I was waiting for you!" The boy insisted with eyes so round and sweet it was doubtful anyone could tell him no.
"Mm, not good enough," Alois responded even if he appeared not so subtly happy at his comment. It was like a spell had been lifted and swapped his personality with a single snap of the finger. It was so sudden it almost gave Ciel whiplash. The child's attention finally settled on the visitor and Ciel found himself victim to his innocent stare.
"Whose this?" He questioned.
"A new member of the crew, apparently," Alois said, that sadistic sparkle once again entering his eyes. "Luka, meet Prin–"
"Ciel," He interrupted, just barely holding back his ire. The last thing he needed was for that demeaning nickname to spread.
"Let's show him where his new room is and then go to dinner together okay?" He said before turning back to the wardrobe and tossing a single long tunic in a periwinkle color at Ciel. "You'll have to use that for tonight. Let someone else deal with your clothing tomorrow." It was the last thing he said before heading out the door, hand in hand with the little boy, without even bothering to grab his restraints.
As he expected, his new 'room' was just across the hall, much to his irritation. Luka bounded forward to open the door but he was too focused on the blonde taking out his dagger to pay the child any mind. With a quick lunge forward, the ropes binding his hands were released leaving brown shreds falling to the floor. "Have fun in your new castle, Princess." Alois batted his head dismissively before striding down the hall with his little brother right behind him although the child did give a big wave first.
A click hit his ears the moment the door closed. 'So it automatically locks,' He thought with a sigh. Finally, alone for what felt like the first time in days, he let himself slide to the floor and tried to gather up the frazzled parts of his mind. There were no windows but he could only assume night was in full swing now. His mind lingered on his brother and his stomach immediately began to twist. Was he still looking for him? Did he return to the castle? Or was he still wandering the streets at night trying to find him? The thought left him nauseous and he forced himself back to his feet and trudged into the conjoined bathroom. It was surprisingly clean and well maintained if not a little boring compared to the horrorshow of a room he just left.
He immediately turned the faucet on the tub to the hottest setting but even a warm bath wasn't appealing to him now. His mind had always been his best asset but that too was frazzled with the constant pulse of adrenaline running through his body. The water may as well have been cold because he felt nothing but ice the moment he stepped in even if the steam and light flush on his skin told a different story. Everything felt numb and he quickly gave up on the bath as soon as he scrubbed every area of his body he could reach; Alois's touch lingered on his skin and it left him feeling dirty.
Sleep refused to come to him that night. He sat with his back to the wall, eyes glued to the door, and refused to even touch the guest bed in the center of the room. Everything looked perfect on the surface from the crisp sheets to the bunch of lilies settled prettily in a vase but it was only the surface. It was illusionary niceties added to a prison cell. This room was no different than a cage in its own right.
Ciel lost track of time without the presence of a window and it could have been hours or minutes before a small rasp knocked on the door. "Good morning!" Said a cheery voice before the door popped open. It was the same child from the night before. He was carrying a parcel in his hands that was quickly handed over to Ciel. "Big brother didn't think any of our clothing would fit you so he stayed up making them for you!" He said with a bright smile, ignoring the obvious distrusting and borderline disgusted look on Ciel's face at that little tidbit of information. "He said to get dressed and come down for breakfast. See you soon!" An overly enthusiastic wave was given before he once more darted down the hall.
With a heavy sigh, Ciel forced himself to his feet and slowly began to untie the bundle of clothes hidden inside the container. While the thought of wearing anything that tart made left his skin crawling, the only alternative was to wear the clothes he had on the previous day. His eyes flickered over to the door one last time before shrugging off the tunic he was given to sleep in. The outfit felt overly complicated, especially for a spoiled prince who had never dressed himself once in his entire fifteen years of living, but he somehow managed to finish without falling over and breaking a bone. He made the mistake of glancing at the mirror.
It started with a blouse with sleeves ruffling in scallops that was situated under a black and white striped vest. Next came a pair of sapphire blue shorts, ones that bunched at the sides in a shape that reminded him of a pumpkin, and striped thigh-highs that matched the vest. The last piece came in the form of white, knee-high boots with black lacing. Overall the outfit, while thankfully not in any obnoxious colors, showed too much skin and left him feeling itchy all over.
"That insufferable fop….." He hissed through gritted teeth and he forced his gaze away as a light flush settled on the rounds of his cheeks. Instead, his focus turned to the door and he took a step forward. His hand rested on the knob and released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
The game officially started now.