Ciel's POV

The door to my room opens and Sebastian walks in behind me.

"Good news, young master," he begins, "Lord Trancy has awakened."

"Does that mean I can go see him now?" I ask, hopeful the answer is yes.

"I'll have a word with his butler and see if he is fit for company."

As Sebastian turns to leave, a quiet knock on the door catches our attention. Sebastian opens the door to find Claude standing there.

"Pardon the intrusion," Claude begins, "But Lord Trancy wishes to see you, Lord Phantomhive."

"Of course," I say, eager to see Alois, "Please, lead me to him."

Claude gives a slight bow, acknowledging my request and leads me out of the room. We head down the hall and stop in front of a dark wooden door.

"I implore not to do anything to excite or anger Lord Trancy," Claude advises me, "The wound is still fresh and it may open again if he isn't careful."

"I'll keep that in mind," I assure Claude. He looks at me coldly, then opens the door.

"Alois, I brought Lord Phantomhive for you," Claude says as we enter.

Alois' POV

Claude enters the room first, Ciel follows him close behind. Ciel seems tired, as if he was worried about me. I banish the thought immediately, no one worries about me, let alone someone of Ciel's statute.

"Thank you Claude," I tell my butler, "Now leave us."

"But, Highness-" he begins.

"No buts," I say, cutting him off, "Everything is under control."

Claude sends a gaze of rage Ciel's way, but follows my order and leaves the room. Seriously, what has gotten into him!? He's been acting strange anyways, but he seems to have gotten worse since Ciel arrived. I will have to have a word with him later.

"How are you feeling?" Ciel asks me.

"Well, I've been better, this thing hurts like a bitch," I say motioning to the bandaging on my lower stomach.

"Are you really, ok? Something seems to be bothering you."

"I'm fine, just confused about, things."

"What kind of things?" Ciel asks as he sits on the edge of my bed.

"Just," I begin, "Things."

"Is it about what I said to you during our duel? Because I meant it, I do want to be there for you."

I tense up, he's smarter than he looks, "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why would someone like you care about someone like me? I'm a terrible person. My life has been nothing but pain for as long as I can remember."

"Surely it hasn't been that bad."

"No? I was abandoned, the only family I had was my younger brother Luka. The townspeople hated us with a passion and got pleasure out of watching us suffer. Then the fire happened, everyone in town died, I found Luka dead just outside of town. Every night, I remember the way he looked, his lifeless, empty eyes staring up at me. Shortly after the fire, some slave traders picked me up and sold me to the former Trancy head as one of his sex toys. He would use me, he would hurt me and I could do nothing about it. I begged the servants to help me, but they all said the same thing. 'It'll be ok, you'll get used to it' but I never did. Claude saved me, even helped me inherit the Trancy estate but he doesn't care about me at all. Hannah and the triplets abhor me, but they try to hide it because it's their job to serve me. No one cares for me, and the only person who ever did died a long time ago."

I'm crying now, but I don't care anymore. Ciel knows my past now, he'll push me away like everyone else has. After all, I'm destined to be alone.

Ciel's POV

I look at the crying blonde before me and feel a pang of pity. Alois has been through so much, and every time he reached out to someone, the turned him away. No one should have to live in the shadows like that their whole life. I reach out and pull Alois into me. He tenses up a little at first, but relaxes and cries into my chest. I feel his tears soak through my coat to dampen my shirt, I have never known someone who has suffered so much. I lightly pull Alois away from me and look into his azure, blue eyes.

"Alois," I tell him, "Now that I know more about you, I want to be your friend more then anything. It's an injustice that you've had to suffer in silence for so long. Confide in me, if someone hurts you, let me know and I'll make sure they never hurt you again. You won't have to suffer alone ever again. I will always be there for you."

"You really mean that?" Alois asks me softly.

"If I ever do anything to hurt or betray you, I will end my life by my own hand. This is my promise to you, so that you'll never be alone again."

"Thank you, Ciel," Alois tells me, tears welling up in his eyes, "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Alois lays his head on my shoulder and cries again, but this time in happiness and I hold him in a light hug as he cries, and I won't leave until he's done.