Chapter six

In Which Alois Traps Ciel

As he travelled alone in the cool darkness of the forest, Ciel could only let the events that had just happened swirl around in his brain.

"Who does she think she is?" He snarled to no one in particular. His ears were pinned against his skull as he shuffled along the undergrowth. "Thinking she knows everything. Me being in love with Sebastian, that's the stupidest thing I've heard since I was told I was going to be betrothed to Lizzy!"

But maybe its true, a small voice inside of Ciel's head whispered. Maybe you do love the demon Sebastian Michaelis.

As Ciel desperately tried to understand the bubbling chemicals inside of him, he was unaware that he was being watched by two dark blue eyes from far above him. As Ciel passed a large oak tree, he heard a voice behind him;

"My, my, my." Ciel turned at the sound of the voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" As requested, a large blonde leopard leaped from the tree branch, landing in front of Ciel. Snarling, Ciel's ears flicked against his skull. "Are you Claude Faustus?"

Alois's high, light laugh echoed through the trees. "No. I'm his mate, Alois Trancy."

Ciel's small, thin claws scraped the ground. "So you're the one he's been working with?"

"You could say that. I don't fight much, but the battle plans are all mine." Grinning, Alois put a paw over his maw. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Oh well, I guess that means you have to die now."

A slight tremor of fear went through Ciel, but he stood his ground. "Try me." The small cat quickly dashed through the larger cat's legs before Alois could get him. Ciel heard Alois snarl in anger as he turned to pursue him through the trees. Ciel kept going faster and faster, trying to lose the big cat behind him.

Soon, however, Ciel could see the large gap in the earth looming closer and closer to him. And behind him, the thuds of Alois's paws hitting ground were getting louder and closer. It was then that Ciel knew what Alois was doing—he was driving Ciel towards the edge of the cliff, thinking Ciel couldn't jump it. And even if Ciel tried to jump it, he knew he would most likely fail and end up dying anyway.

Ciel was caught in a steel trap.

Skidding towards the edge of the cliff, he turned to face Alois, who approached menacingly. The fur along Ciel's neck, spine, and tail was raised, but Alois only laughed.

"Do you actually think you could fight me? I'm too big, and you're too small. I could snap your neck with one smack of my paw," Alois purred, holding up one of his huge paws for emphasis. He began to loom closer, and Ciel trembled in fear. Was this all going to end now? Was he going to die?

Suddenly, there was a loud screech. A Great Gray owl came from seemingly nowhere, digging claws into Alois's neck, then letting go and flying off. Alois roared in pain and fury, lashing out at the bird as he nimbly flew away. The owl continued to dive bomb the large cat, splattering his blonde fur with bright red blood. Hissing, Alois narrowed his eyes at Ciel.

"You may have gotten away this time, but next time…" Alois let his threat hang in the air as he turned and jumped away before the owl could dive bomb him again.

Seeing that his job was done, the bird flew over to Ciel and perched on his shoulder. "Well, that wasn't too hard," he said, pruning the bloodied feathers off of his body.

"Undertaker!" Ciel breathed in relief. "Thank you. He would have killed me if you hadn't shown up."

"Oh please," the owl cooed, ruffling his feathers. "Don't flatter me."

Rolling his eyes, Ciel shrugged the owl off his shoulder. The Undertaker settled on the ground beside him. "I must be going now. He could head off towards camp," he mumbled, and started to walk off.

"Earl!" The Undertaker called after the tora-ge cat. Ears flicking, Ciel turned to face him. "I must warn you—do not underestimate Claude Faustus and Alois Trancy. They are very sly and are willing to do anything to kill you and that butler of yours, and will be the death of you if you're not careful."

Swishing his tail slowly from side to side, Ciel nodded. "Thank you for the advice." With that, he darted off into the trees, leaving the bird to his own business.

"You were what?" Sebastian growled, tail lashing from side to side.

"I was ambushed," Ciel replied, blinking his one blue eye slowly. "By Alois Trancy."

Hissing in disbelief and anger, Sebastian paced back and forth, body rigid and all of his revealed fur sticking straight up. "Why, the nerve. If only I were there, I would have killed that brat!" Anger like this was uncharacteristic of Sebastian, but since he had been on edge ever since he woke up two days ago to find himself in the medicine den, the smallest things pushed him over the edge.

"Don't worry about it," Liz calmly told him, searching Ciel over for any wounds. "He didn't hurt Ciel, and that's final."

"But he could have! And I would have failed my duties—again," Sebastian spat in anger.

Reaching out, Ciel gently put a hand on the side of Sebastian's neck. "It's alright." Ciel felt the half-blood's muscles relax, and he pulled his hand away. Switching back into his human form, Sebastian settled on his stomach, eyes half-closed in thought.

What Ciel had done was strange for him. Usually, Ciel refrained from touching his butler—he only did it when he slapped him, and that was a rare occasion. But this touch had been gentle, like a mother cat drawing her kittens in to eat. It was unusual for the young boy, and unsettling for Sebastian to think about.

"Well Ciel," Liz declared, looking at the boy's hands and feet. "The only problem you seemed to have was a few scratches on your hands and feet. You'll live."

"Thank you," Ciel sighed, getting up and turning to leave.

"Oh, and while you're at it, take this," Liz muttered, grabbing Sebastian by the legs and dropping him in front of the unsuspecting Ciel. "It's time for him to go."

"Oh. Come on then Sebastian," Ciel murmured as the shaken demon got to his feet and let out an angry huff in Liz's direction, who answered with a snicker. Turning, the two made their way out of the medicine den, on a brisk pace towards the mansion.

That night, Ciel was unsettled. The events of the day kept him tossing and turning, unable to get the scene of Alois chasing him through the woods out of his mind.

"Sebastian!" Ciel called out, flopping against the bed. He heard the soft footsteps of his butler, and turned to see his gleaming red eyes against the blackness of the rest of his room.

"Yes, bocchan?" He asked, standing beside the bed.

"Stay with me until I fall asleep." It was an unusual order for Ciel, but nonetheless…

"As you wish." Turning into his cat form, Sebastian leaped onto the bed, stretching out beside Ciel. He wrapped his arm around Sebastian, as if he were clutching a pillow close to his chest, and closed his eyes. Unusually, Sebastian found himself purring like a motorboat. It had been a long time since he remembered purring without sad memories. Gently nuzzling Ciel's chin, he grinned.

"Sleep well, my boy."