Disclaimer: And so, this is the seventh disclaimer.

A/N: There will be random pairings here: SebastianxCharlotte, for example. If you don't like the pairing, well, it's fine. I like them together that I even made another crossover fanfic wherein they are a married vampire couple. I haven't posted it yet, though it's already finished.

Chapter VII: The Prince in the Tower

Oz couldn't remember how he managed to end up in a place like that. The eerie-looking mansion was surrounded by tall trees, fallen captive in an unfamiliar forest. All he remembered was he went out in the cold and started walking towards that who-knows-where place, not minding the cold and the thick pile of snow beneath his shoes. He couldn't even understand why he entered the manor in the first place; he just unconsciously did. Now he was sitting face to face with the man who found him.

"Why won't you try the food? It's not poisoned," he heard the man said across the table. "I asked the cook to make it for you since you looked so weary and ready to faint a while ago."

"Uhm, I appreciate it, sir," Oz answered. Right, he was hungry and the food looked very tempting, but now's not the time to be thinking about it. He needed some answers. "Don't mind me asking, but where is this place?"

"This is the place where you'll find leaving impossible." He glanced at the lad's right arm. A smirk escaped from his thin lips as he eyed another watchful stare the familiar silver bangle on his wrist. Something about the man's words and stares left unfathomable shivers down Oz's spine. He just sighed in ease after hearing him laugh. "I mean, my mansion is far from London or any other places near it." Of course, the man should be lying. There was no way he had ended up walking for only mere hours if that place he bumped into is far from London. "Now, I think you should be eating. Of course, you need a place to sleep after that tiring walk, so I'll give you a room. I'll be sure to escort you back to your home once you had rested." Oz felt much at ease at that moment. He ate a lot from the food and after taking a little rest, the man led him to a hallway leading to another somewhat endless corridor.

"Your mansion is quite magnificent… and intricate," Oz mentioned while they were walking side by side inside the hall.

"That's a compliment." The man smiled. "Ah, you haven't told me your name yet."

"Oh! My name is Oz, sir. Could I know yours as well?"

"Just call me Aleister." He made to halt after mentioning his name; in front of them stood a big bronze door. "This one leads to a tower. There's a room upstairs. I hope you'll find this to your liking."

"Why the tower, Sir Aleister?" Oz asked both out from curiosity and doubt.

"It's a pretty big room, and I just thought of showing you my little prince upstairs. He must be lonely by now," Aleister said with a fake sadness on his face.

"You have a son?"

"Son? Oh, no!" The Viscount laughed. "He's just a little friend of mine." He opened the door and led him upstairs. Oz bloomed with more curiosity. He was wondering who that little prince Lord Aleister was talking about. There was a certain sentiment that crept inside of him—a feeling of familiarity and fear. He wanted to see him right away. He was dying to know every bit of his existence.

Meanwhile, Sebastian searched every place he could. He still couldn't pick up any signals from the air. That blasted barrier was driving him nuts. He made a halt and banged his fist on a nearby concrete wall; he cursed and cursed until droplets of red blood flowed from his hands. The only thing he hasn't lost yet was his sane mind, which he would soon give away if he hadn't found his young master. The Demon in him was starting to let out loose due to his almost uncontrollable rage. "Ciel! Where are you?" He released another outbreak. He couldn't believe he ended up being useless to do anything.

A distant cry reached Sebastian's ears. He turned around only to see Charlotte running towards him. Her heavy pants could be seen by the huge amount of air she was releasing as she breathes. She had been with Sebastian ever since the beginning of their demon life. She was also an immortal; the male demon had found out about it when they first have their meeting somewhere unimaginably unexpected. Ever since that day, the two of them had been together.

"Sebastian! Will you stop it?" she yelled as she managed to approach him. "This is why I told you not to put your rage above your head! Look at your hands! It's bleeding!"After realizing the constant worry she has with her, she ended up following the man. "Stop using your powers too much. You'll drain all your energy!"

"Then let it be!" Sebastian shouted back. "I don't care if I die as long as I see Ciel safe!"

Charlotte stopped from dismay. She just tried to calm herself in order not to provoke the man's anxiety. "Look, Sebastian. We are all worried about him, but we can't just risk doing something that we know won't lead us to something good. Before you know it you're already killing yourself and you're not even halfway into finding him. Don't just put the burden all to yourself." Even how much she tried to conceal her emotions, she just couldn't seem to do it. Tears were already springing out from her eyes. Anger and anxiety overwhelmed her whole body. For a dignified demon girl such as her, this is very unbecoming.

Sebastian lowered his temper and sighed. No matter what he does, he just couldn't help himself in front of Charlotte. He pulled the lady closer to him and hummed an apology to her ear. "Forgive me, Lotti. I lost myself out there. Dry your tears and I will try to remain calm."

Charlotte gladly did so and faced the tall man in front of her. His pale white complexion and strong build personality was enough to make the lady melt. She couldn't help falling in love with those mesmerizing ruby eyes of his. In fact, everything about Sebastian makes her feel that way. She couldn't bear to see the man into fits of tantrums and sorrow. "I'm sorry. I know how much you care for Ciel… but please think of yourself once in a while."

Sebastian tried his best to smile. He gave the lady a peck on the cheek. "Would you like to come with me search for him?"

"Glad to," was her answer. They both ran on their heels around the corner, hoping to find something.

At the same time, at the same place, Gilbert and Alice were on a search for their friend as well. It was just an hour ago when they found out that Oz was missing. It's not the normal incident where he would just randomly go missing for half an hour for an adventure on his own. He never goes out without informing a single person and he never goes out as well in the cold not wearing his scarf and wool coat.

It was Gilbert who first noticed it so he had informed Break and Sharon about it; the two promised him they would do their best to help. He decided to go look for him alone, but then Alice caught him going out. It turned out that she, as well, felt Oz's absence so he forced the raven-haired guy to let her come.

"Oz! Where are you? Can you hear us!" Gilbert called. Alice followed by yelling, "Oz! Come out or I won't give you any meat!" The two of them ran around the corner until they happened to bump into Sebastian and Charlotte. "I-I'm sorry!" Gilbert apologized.

"No, it was us who weren't looking." Sebastian bowed slightly.

"Seaweed head! What are you waiting for? Come on!" Alice called through her high-pitched voice. Gilbert bowed as well and then ran after the girl.

The two were left standing on the pavement. Sebastian felt stiffed. There was something on that girl who was with the lad.

"Sebastian," Charlotte called for his attention. She had felt it too.

"Yes." Sebastian nodded. "That girl is a Chain."

Oz had his eyes focused on the silver door in front of them. When the Viscount opened it, a startling image made his eyes glowed. The room was filled with fancy decorations—to foods and toy decors. He was pretty amazed by it, though a little disappointed to found not even a single soul inside.

"Oh, I wonder where he is hiding?" he heard Aleister said. "Sorry, he is such a shy kid." He walked across the bed, then straight to the little closet beside it. He found him inside, curled into a ball. Ciel instantly backed away upon seeing the Viscount. Right at that moment, his impulses were shouting at him to stay away from the man. "What's wrong? Did something scare you?" the latter asked innocently. Ciel was now trembling from fear; tears were already springing out from his round blue eyes, although he didn't yelp when Aleister pulled him out from the closet. When Ciel landed a glimpse at Oz, without hesitation, he pushed the man holding him and ran towards the blonde boy.

Oz's eyes widened when Ciel hugged him. The blue-haired boy surely wasn't intending to let go of him.

"Oh, my! I wonder what had gotten into him. It looks like he grew a liking to you already." Aleister strode his way back to the door, attempting to go out. "Oh, well. I'll leave you two here to get along. Just eat if you get hungry." He left with a broad smirk on his face. "Innocent children really make my day."

Ciel immediately released himself from Oz when the Viscount was already nowhere in sight. Oz looked at him, quite puzzled. "I-I'm sorry, sir, f-for clinging to you like that."

"I-It's alright, I guess?" Oz answered. He smiled at Ciel, who in return, blushed from embarrassment. "Is there something wrong?" Oz asked after realizing that the boy was trembling and the corners of his eyes were still filled with unshed tears.

"I… want to go home," was his soft reply.

Oz gave him a more perplexed look. "You mean you don't live here?" Ciel shook his head. "I-I don't understand. Then, what are you doing here? Did you get lost too, like me?"

"I-I don't know. I don't remember anything. T-The Viscount said he found me outside… but I'm sure I was with my sister. We went to bed together," The little boy wasn't able to control his emotions and burst into tears. "I-I w-want to go h-home to my mommy and daddy. P-Please take me home, m-mister."

Oz felt a sudden surge of fear. If what Ciel said was true, then something must be really off with the situation. They both don't remember what happened, plus they both ended up in the same place. He hoped that the Kidnapping hadn't got to do with this, though he feared that was impossible given the situation they were in. "Don't cry," he said, soothing the child by his tight embrace. He didn't want to scare him so he said nothing about his assumed problem. "Don't worry… I'll think of a way to bring you back to your parents. But for now, rest assure. Is that alright?"

Ciel wiped the tears away and looked up at Oz with a nod. "Thank you, mister."

"You can just call me Oz. How about you tell me your name too?" After Ciel told him his name, Oz let out a surprise, "Ah!" He thought for a moment, making sure that he wasn't mistaken. "Now I remember. So that's why you look so familiar. You're Earl Phantomhive's son… the one who just celebrated his birthday. I was at your party, but I'm afraid we weren't able to meet. My uncle just dragged me with him, since he and the earl are good friends."

"R-Really? I never saw you. Thank you for attending."

Oz smiled, but then it abruptly changed into a worried façade after noticing Ciel's colorless and worn out complexion. "You look tired. Do you want to rest?" Fear instantly grew on the little boy's face. He never wanted to sleep; afraid that something might happen again. Oz noticed it too so he put on his best soothing words in order to put the lad at ease. "I'm here, so there's nothing to be afraid of. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll look after you while you sleep." He led him on the bed and gently tucked him under the covers. He sat by the bedside and remained on guard. Ciel just asked him a favor to lie beside him so he did. The younger boy had his hands on him, never intending to let go. Oz was quite surprised that he managed to instantly gain the trust of a boy he just met. The reason alone gave him the guts to hug him for the second time. Just looking at the peaceful face of Ciel made Oz a little comfortable despite the dilemma they were facing at that moment. Somehow, he felt that there's something special with the lad, which his body and mind are eager to cherish.

The comfort of the warm bed under his skin weren't able to escape Oz's senses. He couldn't deny that he was tired as well. In a matter of minutes, he fell into another slumber. When he woke up, Ciel was no longer at his side, instead found his way on the arms of the blonde-haired man he didn't wish to see again.

"Looks like the young King had just wake up. Good evening. Are you looking for your little Prince?" The Viscount was sitting on a high chair with the sleeping Ciel on his lap.

"Y-You… trickster…" Oz cursed himself for being such an idiot for letting his guard down like that.

A malevolence smirk instantly fell on the Viscount face.

"The Prince had just let down his cute little innocence for me. Would the King care to climb up here and retrieve it? Let us start this little nice game, shall we?"

A/N: If you can notice, it's a slight parody of "The Princess in the Tower" or well known as "Rapunzel". Ciel is Princess Rapunzel, Oz is the Prince—though I made him a King there since I made Ciel a Prince instead of a Princess, and the Viscount is the evil Witch. I know it doesn't look like Rapunzel at all. Oz didn't climb up the window using Ciel's hair. That would be brutal, considering that Ciel is a boy and obviously has a short hair. Lame or not, I don't really care. Oh, and by the way, Oz didn't sleepwalk either. The same happened to him. They had him fetched by a waiting carriage. Of course, walking on foot would be a hassle, considering that the Viscount's mansion is located outside London.

It's still not good. Sorry again for making Ciel such a crybaby. I like it when Oz hugs him. :D

It's fine even if no one leaves a review, as long as you read it.