Growing Pains
Note: Hello loves. I was seriously thinking about little Sieglinde earlier today and I just really love her so I had to dedicate a piece in this collection to her and her relationship with our favorite brat, Ciel. I was also thinking about how painful her healing process must have been after she came to England and began etiquette lessons with Sebastian so I wanted to write about that as well. It can't be easy to try and reverse what was done to her feet and they never really addressed that in the manga so I touched on that a little bit.
This drabble (one-shot more like) is Ciel/Sieglinde but there is nothing 'hardcore' about it. Just a cute little puppy-love crush.
Please excuse any typos.
Sieglinde's feet ached terribly as she hobbled across Ciel's extravagant library, a stack of books piled atop her head. Her lesson today was all about balance and posture, something she had very little practice with considering her previously crippled condition. Her feet were recovering but it was a slow process and they still pained her if she spent too much time on them but Sebastian was ruthless in his tutoring. When Sieglinde had complained of sharp pains just twenty minutes earlier, Sebastian had brushed it off and demanded she perform an extra three laps around the library due to her poor form. It had been extremely painful and her eyes began to water as she wobbled around for the third and final lap.
Ciel was watching from a corner of the library, a book of poetry balanced on his lap and a cup of steaming tea nursed in his hand. Sieglinde had hoped that Ciel's presence today would curb Sebastian's cruelty, that he would speak up on her behalf when Sebastian went to raise that wicked riding crop at her but alas, Ciel had remained completely silent during his time there and Sieglinde now nursed not only sore feet but two welted palms as well. She had never faced such physical brutality in Germany. Not since they'd bound her feet.
"Head up, lady Sieglinde." Sebastian coached from his position beside Ciel, he was refilling the young master's tea dutifully. "Your posture is growing lax again."
Sieglinde had half a mind to tell him exactly where he could shove his posture but the last time she had, Sebastian had given her a rather generous homework assignment of three hundred lines stating 'I will show respect to my tutor and act in a manner appropriate of my rank'. It had taken her all night to finish; she even had to skip dinner.
Instead, Sieglinde bit her lip and straightened her back, lifting her chin up. The books slid slightly across her smooth hair but otherwise remained in place, thankfully. She'd only dropped the books once today and she found that to be a vast improvement to the other times when she'd collapsed, tripped, and dumped the books from her head on multiple occasions.
"I'd say she's improving, Sebastian." Sieglinde heard Ciel muse as he sipped at his tea. Boys got all the luck. They didn't have to walk around with books on their heads for hours on end.
Sebastian nodded, "I agree, young master. But lady Sieglinde still has a long way to go before she is worthy of being seen in society."
"You're so harsh, Sebastian." Ciel chuckled.
Sieglinde couldn't believe the nerve of that bratty little nobleman! Laughing at her agony as if it were some amusing show!
Quickening her pace so that she could finally return to the comfort of Wolfram's company and have him procure some ice for her feet, Sieglinde did not notice the bent edge of the rug and snagged herself on it, causing her to tumble downward to the floor. She felt the impact of the five leather bound books strike her body and she groaned. Her feet were burning like they were on fire, sharp shooting tendrils of pain throbbing through them. Tears finally broke through and began dripping down her face. Oh, her feet hurt so much! And her hands stung awfully.
Sebastian was at her side in an instant, unburying her from the pile of books and lifting her into a sitting position. His hands were warm and gentle, strangely enough.
"Lady Sieglinde, are you alright?" The butler asked calmly.
Sieglinde didn't think she could answer without losing control of herself and sobbing like a child. She just wanted Wolfram to put her to bed. She was so tired of being in pain all day and no one seemed to care that these so called 'helpful' tutoring lessons left her with hours of suffering.
"I-I would like to rest for a while." Sieglinde stuttered, tears continuing to pour down her cheeks.
"Sebastian, look at her feet!" Ciel exclaimed abruptly.
Sieglinde, taken aback, gazed down at her own feet and saw that during her fall, her shoes had been flung off and left her stocking clad appendages exposed. Her creamy white stockings had been torn at the toes and spots were dyed red from, what could only be, blood. Sieglinde gasped at the sight. She hadn't even noticed the blisters had burst during her lesson.
"Lady Sieglinde, please accept my most humblest apologies for this severe oversight." Sebastian bowed his head low, his voice so sincere that Sieglinde couldn't bring herself to doubt it. "I was not monitoring your medical conditioning as closely as I should have and I accept full responsibility for your injury. Please allow me to treat your feet before infection takes hold."
The dark butler did not wait for a response before he had swiftly scooped Sieglinde up from the floor and carried her over to a plush green sofa situated near the fireplace of the library. Sebastian placed her on it and arranged her feet to be propped up comfortably on a pillow before disappearing with a quick bow to retrieve some medical supplies.
Ciel had placed himself next to Sieglinde's injured feet on the sofa and stared at her intently. She didn't understand why he gazed at her so accusingly.
"What?" She snapped shortly.
Ciel reached into his pocket and produced a soft blue handkerchief, extending it to her. "Wipe your face, you look a mess. A lady must always be presentable, even when she is in pain." He lectured mildy.
Sieglinde snatched the cloth from Ciel and mopped up her tears and blew her nose. For a second, she considered chucking it back at the Earl's face for being so insensitive, surely his appalled expression would dull her pain a bit, but when Sebastian reentered the room, she thought better of it and crumpled it up in her hand to hang on to.
"I've sent word to Wolfram about your injury and he should be returning to the mansion within the hour. He ventured into town with the other servants." Sebastian explained brusquely as he kneeled down beside the pair of children. "Please excuse me, lady Sieglinde, but I'll need to remove your stockings."
Without waiting for her approval, Sebastian began tearing the bottom of her stockings until her bloodied feet were exposed to the chill air of the library. Sieglinde so despised looking at her own feet as they were still bent awkwardly from the binding and were not at all cute like other girls' feet were. Looking at them now though, they looked as if they'd been through some horrible ordeal. Blisters from weeks of tutoring lessons with Sebastian had burst and bled, leaving her small feet slick and bathed in crimson. The appendages were also swollen at least twice their size. They looked absolutely horrendous.
Blushing, Sieglinde tried to pull them away as Sebastian's delicate hands started prodding at them with a damp cloth but the butler held firmly to her ankles and fixed her with a kind look.
"Please keep still. I know this is painful but I have to clean the wounds before they become infected." The butler ordered smoothly, his voice somehow soothing and a stark contrast to the harshness of his tone when he was tutoring her.
Sebastian got to work wiping the blood from her feet and although it was only water, her wounds stung like the fires of hell were licking at them.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Ciel demanded, "Why didn't you tell Sebastian how bad your injuries were?"
Angered and in pain, Sieglinde snarled, "I did! Just today while you were leisurely drinking tea and watching me suffer, I said I was in pain and was punished for it like a miscreant child!" It occurred to Sieglinde only a moment later that she had slipped back into her native german tongue. She feared momentarily that Sebastian would produce his frightening riding crop from some hiding place to correct her but no such thing happened and instead, Sebastian continued dabbing at her wounds.
"I'm afraid that was my doing, lady Sieglinde. I was not paying enough attention to your needs. The young master entrusted your health and safety to me and I severely overestimated your healing process. I apologize, once again, for this oversight."
Sieglinde considered the butler's apology and noted the sparkling hint of guilt in Ciel's blue eyes. "We all make mistakes." She responded most humbly, "I do hope that these injuries will award me a few days of leisure time and rest, though?"
Sebastian chuckled darkly and flashed his mischievous eyes up at her, "Why, of course. These wounds will take at least a week's time to heal completely." Tossing the red colored cloth into a bucket that he'd brought along, Sebastian pulled out some bandages and began tediously wrapping Sieglinde's feet ever so gently. The way the butler handled her reminded Sieglinde of how Wolfram used to treat her feet after the binding; gently, delicately, and slowly as if a touch too rough would snap them in half.
After the slow process of wrapping up her wounded feet was done, Sebastian carried Sieglinde to her room where he tucked her beneath the covers and disappeared with a promise to bring her a tray of fresh tea and raspberry jam cookies, her favorite newly discovered confection.
Ciel remained behind after his butler had hurried away to procure the promised sweets. Sieglinde watched the Earl as he pulled a padded chair up beside her bed and was seated. He was quiet for a long time and Sieglinde was reluctant to speak to the boy after everything that had happened. She was still a little bitter after he hadn't come to her defense during her tutoring lesson.
Ciel finally broke the silence after about seven minutes had passed (Sieglinde had been watching the clock above her fireplace diligently).
"I'm sorry." He sighed, almost so quiet that Sieglinde didn't hear.
"Sorry about what?" She asked, secretly reveling in the Earl's awkwardness.
Ciel's single eye glared at her and she grinned softly. His expression relaxed. "I'm sorry about your feet. Sebastian is harsh when he's in his tutor persona, sometimes he gets carried away. He once left bruises on my hands for a week after he tried to teach me a particularly difficult mathematics lesson."
Sienglinde's eyes widened and she reached across her lap, grasping Ciel's small hands in her equally tiny ones. "How awful. Is he always so cruel?"
Ciel laughed bitterly, "No. After that he toned it down a little and only ever used the crop when I was being purposefully mischievous."
Still, Sieglinde worried for the boy. Although he was technically her elder, he seemed so damaged and lost sometimes that he appeared much younger than her.
"He's a butler. You shouldn't allow him to treat you like that." Sieglinde stated firmly, tightening her grasp on Ciel's hands, her welts throbbed in protest. "Wolfram would never treat me so awfully."
"Was it not Wolfram who allowed your former village to break and bind your feet until you were crippled? Was it not Wolfram who lied to you your entire life about your identity and your purpose? Was it not Wolfram who almost got you and my household killed?" Ciel fired off as he yanked his hand from Sieglinde's hold. He frowned deeply and crossed his arms across his chest.
Sieglinde was at a loss for words so she turned away and faced the large window on the opposite side of her room. It gave a lovely view of the Phantomhive gardens.
She heard Ciel sigh and shift in his chair before saying, "I apologize. That was unnecessary. But you don't know Sebastian the way I do. He has saved my life more times than I can count and has always remained loyal to me, no matter the circumstances. We have a bond, much like you do with Wolfram, that cannot be broken."
There was a strangeness in Ciel's tone when he spoke of his bond with Sebastian but Sieglinde didn't think it wise to question it. Ciel seemed overly protective of the dark butler and she did not want to step on his toes. Turning back around, Sieglinde grinned at the boy beside her.
"Will you play a game of chess with me?" She asked innocently. "I've been practicing with Wolfram and I think I'm finally decent enough to play against the undefeatable Ciel Phantomhive." Her eyes glistened playfully at him.
Ciel blushed darkly and coughed to cover his apparent embarrassment. "W-well, I suppose I could spare an hour to amuse you while you recover. It is the least I can do."
Ciel hurriedly went and grabbed his good chess board from his office and returned, setting it up on the bed so that Sieglinde could easily reach it. It wasn't long before the two were engrossed in a tenacious battle.
"You said you were decent." Ciel grumbled as Sieglinde took another one of his pieces hostage. At this rate, she would win in no time.
Sieglinde giggled, "I told you I'd been practicing."
Three minutes later and Sieglinde had beaten Ciel at his own favorite game. Giggling girlishly, Sieglinde poked Ciel's cheek and smiled toothily at him.
"Don't be a sore loser, now." She soothed when she noticed that Ciel was blushing again. Honestly, he was so easy to fluster, she thought giddily.
"I'm not." He insisted but his tone insinuated otherwise.
Sieglinde laughed again, full of life and good nature. "I think, as the winner of this little match, that I am owed a prize."
Ciel was flabbergasted. "A p-prize?!" He sputtered, "What sort of prize will you demand of me? Sebastian is already working on your blasted raspberry jam cookies."
Sieglinde placed her pointer finger delicately on her chin and raised her gaze to the ceiling as if deeply contemplating her wish. After a few tense seconds, Sieglinde finally met Ciel's stare and leaned over, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Ciel froze but did not pull away.
The clock over the mantle ticked loudly as Sieglinde and Ciel remained locked at the lips. When Sieglinde finally released the boy, she almost fell over laughing at the utterly beet red shade that had flooded Ciel's face.
"A kiss from the handsome Earl Phantomhive will suffice for my prize." Sieglinde laughed.
It was at that moment that Sebastian returned with a cart of steaming tea and warm raspberry jam cookies, leaving Ciel unable to respond.
"Young master, why are you so flushed?" Sebastian asked curiously as he served the two children their treats. "Do you have a fever?"
Sieglinde giggled while Ciel, if possible, blushed even darker.