Disclaimer: I'll ask Yana if she can give Black Butler to me in exchange of cats. (Which I doubt would be impossible) XD
A/N: Here comes a sweet, sister-like Charlotte, a crying Zwei, and a serious Sebastian! Don't kill me for making them act like that.
Chapter VI: The Lost Lamb
Zwei was staring blankly at her window when Charlotte entered the room she where in. The older lady hesitated for a bit, but then found herself approaching the girl, who seemed to be lost in her own melancholic world. She knelt in front of her and held her dotingly by the arms. "Young lady?" she called in a whisper but loud enough to be heard by the girl.
The girl stirred from her daydream, realizing that there was someone who was with her. She glanced down at her, though averted her look in a matter of second after she saw the worry on her face.
"You can always talk to me, young lady. You've been too harsh on yourself. That won't do you any good if you kept it all to yourself," she preached. She had done it in a soothing manner in order not to put another burden on the poor child.
Zwei raised her head once more, giving the lady a broken expression. "Ciel… will he… Will my brother come back?"
Charlotte tried so hard not to show her a disheartened look. She pressed the girl's palms gently and smiled at her. "Of course, my lady. Your father and mother are already looking for him. I'm sure they'll find him. Have a little hope."
Zwei nodded her head a little. Charlotte thought that she had fully calmed the girl down, but was defeated when she saw tiny droplets of tears escaping her eyes. Zwei could no longer conceal her unhappiness. Being separated by her beloved brother broke her heart into tiny pieces, until there were no longer could be seen of it through the naked eye. She cried uncontrollably and held on to the lady who was at that time had plopped herself on the sofa beside her. "Lotti, I-I'm scared… afraid that I will lose him forever. I-I do not want that to happen. H-He's everything to me… Ciel is my precious brother. He's one of a kind. He's the only one who can make me laugh. T-To lose him is like dying." Zwei had never lied to her own feelings; though she had the habit of concealing it deep within her for a period of countless times to avoid nonsense outbreaks. But if it would come down to the point that she needed to let out what she feels, she gladly do so. The only case was it rarely happens and the only persons who often sees her with her stained, unbecoming behavior were Ciel and Sebastian that even her parents seldom sees her like that. That is why she believes that her brother had always been a part of her, that once that thread connecting them both be severed, she will surely find herself into ruin. She never wanted to burst like that in front of anybody, but the situation calls for it that even Charlotte had ended up seeing her in her worst.
The lady felt devastated. She embraced Zwei tightly as she continuously rubbed a hand on her back to calm her from crying. "N-Now, don't be like that, Zwei. The little master won't go anywhere. I assure you that he'll be back in no time. You don't have to be afraid." She did all her best to soothe her. After quite some time, she managed to bring the girl to sleep; just looking at her little lady's pale and teary face made her so weary that she couldn't even bring herself at ease. Even the thought of seeing her giving in from wrecked heartedness shutters her own heart to little fragments. After putting the sleeping girl on the couch beneath the window and pinning the curtains close, she briskly went out of the room towards the place she would most likely see her male companion. Just across the courtyard of their garden, she saw Sebastian standing beneath the snow-filled oak tree. The cold weather didn't seem to mind him even in the slightest. "Sebastian, I'm afraid we really have to move on."
The ever-so-perfect butler of the Phantomhive family looked at the half-weary lady with a slight frown on his face. His firm composure seemed to betray him this time. Just by looking at his face and his poignant ruby eyes, Charlotte could deduce that he, too, was very much troubled by the loss of his dear young master. The child had always been so close to him and he, as well, had always been so warm to the boy, despite his demonic nature that only she and the master knows.
"Sebastian?" Charlotte repeated calling for his name. The tense aura between them made her shiver. "Where do you think he is now?"
"God knows where," was his sarcastic answer. He bit his lower lip and closed his fists in a tight gesture.
"Can you pinpoint him?"
"I can't," was the other reply. "There seems to be a barrier of some sort repelling me from finding his location."
"Is that a no, then?" She knew the answer, of course. If Sebastian couldn't pinpoint the location of the abductors in the first place, then there's no hope in finding the young master. Going out in the cold in the middle of nowhere would be deemed futile.
"If anything happens to my little master, I swear I will tear that bastard into pieces," Sebastian said through his clenched teeth. Vincent had left him the task the first thing they heard it from Zwei. But after realizing that he couldn't use his supernatural powers he immediately informed his master which sent so much discomfort to the both of them. He cursed himself for not being able to do anything, though he did promise his master that he will try and identify his location once more even if it takes him the whole damn twenty-four hours to do so.
"Now, there's no need to add fuel to the heat. If you can't do anything about it, we have no choice but to wai—" he cut her short instantly.
"I will not sit around and wait!" He wailed from anger—both at himself and at the sick bastard who took Ciel. His eyes turned into a deep shade of pink instead of the normal red. Turning his back away, he vanished into the cold air, leaving Charlotte sighing to herself. He would gladly look for him even if it takes him forever. That's how far he is willing to go for that family, especially to that boy, who had been a great part of his demon existence.
Back at the Vessalius estate, Oz had been having a hard time swallowing his thoughts. Lately, he had been haunted by nightmares, which he couldn't decipher the message it was trying to convey. It was always the same dream of dark rooms, burning hallways, and pools of blood. In it, he was always running into the oblivion with his hands clutching a somewhat unfamiliar hand. He always wasn't given a chance to get a glimpse of the other person.
Wrapping a roll of cotton scarf around his neck and securing a thick coat over his body, Oz went out from his room to have a little stroll outside. The sensation the cold breeze was giving was a little low compared from the other days; it wouldn't kill him to stay and play outdoors—not that he would play in that kind of weather, anyways. He started to walk straight to the garden, every step creating a trudging, quirking noise. He couldn't hear anything aside from the noise of the passing and swirling air, swaying trees, and the noise of his boots. If everything could be this peaceful, then why wouldn't his mind leave him be? He kept hearing disturbing voices from his mind and annoying buzzing in his ears. Ever since he met Alice, these things had started cursing his everyday life. It's not like he was blaming the girl for it; he was just stating a mere fact. He knew how nice Alice is and how she could be cute at times despite her somewhat barbaric attitude. She's innocent and obviously doesn't know a lot from the real world, so there's no way she had done something to him when they formed that pact. Maybe it was him from the start. Maybe he has something which he didn't realize himself. Now— it's not the time for over thinking.
Oz just managed to escape from his swirling thoughts when he heard that familiar call. He looked around and saw his best friend by the window at the nearby wall. He was looking at him with a smile; his black raven hair was flowing along with the direction of the wind. "I was looking for you. What are you doing here outside? It's cold."
"I'm just taking a stroll by myself," Oz answered and decided to approach him. He put on a grin and helped himself up the window. Gilbert caught him by the hand before he end up hurting himself in case of falling. The blonde teen thanked him as he untangled the scarf from his neck. "Why were you looking for me?"
"Ah, here." He handed him a small package wrapped in green paper and white ribbon. "It came just today. It says it's for you."
Oz examined the box. The parcel contained no name or address of the sender. "Who would send me a nicely-looking present without even a tag?" Gilbert just answered him with a, 'who knows'. He carefully ripped the paper off after pulling the ribbon, and opened the lid. He released a confused look after seeing the content. The gift revealed a silver bangle with a small emerald gem attached somewhere at its middle. "Now, this is odd."
Gilbert took the box from Oz after noticing a piece of parchment attached at the inner side. The note consisted of the words, 'Here's an early present for a beautiful lad. This might seem rather embarrassing, but I must say that your hair is like the sun's golden threads and your eyes are like bright emeralds in its grandeur. Those are merely enough to captivate me. I desire for you to wear that simple gift until our meeting, which won't be long enough from now.'
"Now, that is something! Is that a confession? What do you think, Gil?" he asked with his rather excited voice. "Maybe it's from that girl I saw at the party I attended yesterday. I caught her staring at me thrice."
"Well, I don't think this came from a younger girl," Gilbert commented, adding more spark to the lad's excitement. Just thinking of unbounded mysteries thrills Oz to no end.
"Let's see after that meeting she was talking about."
A loud ringing tone was heard from a small quarter on the second floor of that immensely castle-looking mansion. Viscount Druitt trudged his way inside the said room and picked the telephone up from its rack. An enigmatic, hoarse-sounding voice greeted him from the other line.
'Do you have any news with you, Lord Chamber?' asked the one who called.
"If it's about the boy, Oh, yes I do," answered the almost grinning Viscount.
'Ooh! Do tell me, where is he? I will go there in a whim!' The man seemed thrilled now. He was the one who gave Aleister Chamber the order—or rather, asked the favor—to help him find the boy of his fantasies whom he had set his eyes on four years ago in a party held by an acquaintance. The Viscount had been working with him on various aspects, such as the underground selling of women's body parts, the occults, and the kidnappings they were currently into. They bumped into each other on one of the parties the Queen, herself, held in the Buckingham Palace. Being a handsome noble of status and a graduate of medical arts, Lord Chamber had been ever since attracting a lot of attention, and one of those avid fans was the Baron Kelvin. They were both into the occult and underground matters. The Baron, being a sick pedophile, had once conducted a kidnapping of children—boys and girls. Just like Viscount Druitt and Earl Phantomhive, he, as well, is fond of charity events. He even had an orphanage built for those street brats he found twenty years ago, who were now acting as his sons and daughters. They were trained to be performers at a travelling circus known as 'The Noah's Ark'. The Circus was cleared of suspicion from the abduction act after the Baron returned the kidnapped children back to their families without giving in his identity and whereabouts. It seemed like Baron Kelvin is also working under the orders of an unknown persona.
"Now, don't make haste, Lord Kelvin. You'll get down to it," the Viscount reminded.
'I cannot wait to feel that beautiful, untainted skin under my palms!'
"I'll make this clear to you, my lord. I will just merely lend him to you. Now that I was the one who found him, that little lamb is my property."
'Yes, yes… Will we stop getting more now? I will be much contented to have him alone.'
"Right after I led this other lost lamb back to my home," he said with light sinister chuckle. "Expect to have you pick up by tomorrow… And a good day to you, Baron Kelvin," and off he put down the thing without waiting for an answer. He went out from the room and head back into the little tower where he kept little Ciel plunged into his sweets. "Now, it's time to play my pretty melody."
Oz was lying on his bed now, watching constantly the silver bracelet hanging on his wrist. Gilbert had forced him to wear the thing to show his gratefulness in case he and the sender meet. Feeling half sleepy, Oz rose from the bed and stood beside the window. He opened it, letting the cool breeze in. There was an utter silence between his and the outside world for about some couple of minutes, when a vibrant noise penetrated his ears. It was faint, but he was very sure that it was a melody played with the use of a flute. Somehow, the tune made him feel at ease; it was enticing as well. Oz could no longer contain himself. He neglected the warm comfort of the mansion and went out. He wasn't wearing any scarf or a thick coat, just his long blue coat with trimmings, white collared shirt, black vest and black ribbon, blue knee-length breeches, white thigh socks, and a pair of black low-heeled shoes. He didn't mind the coldness; all he cared about was the tune which he followed without hesitation.
Oz made a halt in front of that same castle-like mansion. When it swung open, he looked at the man standing just inches away from the mahogany door. The boy's face showed signs of weariness, his eyes instantly giving in—as if asking the said man some pity to let him in and rest.
"Ah, what a poor lad! You must be very tired. Would you care to come inside and have some snacks? Come in. This is a house which shelters lost little lambs such as you. I'll be much pleased to have you".
A/N: I have nothing to say except for this: Oz will finally join the Viscount's fun! Poor laddie.