Disclaimer: Aigoo!
A/N: *kneels and asks for forgiveness* Don't hate me 'cause of this. I'm trying my best with everything.
Chapter XII: London Bridge
"Don't! P-Please, let me go!" Ciel kept on screaming while struggling from Oz's tight grip. "No! I-I don't want to do it! Please! N-No more! It hurts! It hurts!" Oz panicked once more when he saw more tears escaping from the boy's closed eyes. It was obvious that he was having a day nightmare. Leaving him on that state would only make the situation worst.
This time, Oz pinned Ciel to his embrace, while whispering soothing words to his ear. "Ciel, calm down… It's over. No one's going to make you do it again. I won't allow it. Hush, you're safe now. Come on, open your eyes. It's me Oz. I have you now."
From those words, Ciel finally stopped wailing and opened his eyes—much to the relief of the other four individuals in the room. He looked up and suddenly wrapped his arms around the older lad's neck; eyes still filled with tears. "O-Oz… t-they were… hurting me again," he said, whimpering.
"No, it's only a dream. No one's going to hurt you now," Oz answered, lulling the boy by rubbing his back and head. "Don't cry. We're in a safe place."
Ciel released the lad from his grip and stared at him this time. Oz responded by giving him a warm smile and by wiping the tears on his pale face. The red marks on the boy's cheeks didn't escape his eyes—both from the blue-haired boy's embarrassment and high fever. Ciel had to plop his face on Oz's chest just to hide it and to avoid an untimely dizziness. Oz picked him up from the floor in a bridal style, bringing him back to the small bed and tugging the blanket up to his chest for warmth.
"I think we need to call for a doctor," Oz heard Ilyasviel spoke. He glanced up at her, giving a look of approval.
"Are there any doctors around here?" he asked.
Isabel shook her head, explaining, "The closest one you can find is in London. We need to at least travel for an hour by carriage. This is the only house you can find here around this place. The rest are already far from here."
"A-An hour? I-Impossible… how on earth did we manage to come here by foot?" he said, almost whispering the next two sentences of his speech. "Do you have any vehicle we could borrow?"
"I'm afraid there's none for now. The wood supporting the wheels of our cart got broken from a while ago. We still have to fix it. I believe it will be ready by evening. But it would be too risky to travel by night. We still have to wait for tomorrow," Isabel added. The look on Oz's face stated that he was almost near from crying. "Don't worry, Oz. I'll try my best to look after him. He just needs some rest and a light meal."
Oz sighed and gave Isabel a worried smile. "Thank you. You really save me for the second time." Isabel instantly blushed. She turned around and excused herself to get some soup and another basin of cold water. Ilyasviel excused herself as well to help her sister, leaving Ivenrei with the two lads.
Ciel had stopped weeping and had his eyes closed now. Oz was still by his side, holding firmly his hands. The blonde lad let himself sank into another thought for a while, only to be pulled back into reality by Ivenrei's question. "Are you that worried about him?"
Oz turned to look at the black-haired lad with a surprised look. He wasn't able to answer from the start and only managed after a few seconds."Yes. I-I just couldn't bear to see him like this." He could only answer a simple one, considering that he didn't even have the slightest idea why he was so anxious of the boy's condition. He admitted that he had become way too overprotective of him, especially during the time when those two bastards touched the boy with perfect ease. He wasn't even like that towards his best friend.
"Well, it's expected from a brother," Ivenrei commented. Oz gave him another surprised gaze, which made Ivenrei doubt his own statement. "You are his brother, right?"
"U-Uh, y-yes… yes, of course. He's my little brother and his name is Ciel." As much as he didn't want to lie, he couldn't think of a better excuse. He couldn't just say that he just met him. That would be too awkward in relation to their current situation. They just seemed so close to each other.
"Knew it… though I'm wondering why a Vessalius like him doesn't own blonde hair and emerald eyes."
Ah, he didn't see that coming. "W-Well, we are… half brothers. Yes, we have different fathers. His has dark hair and blue eyes."
"Oh… you mean he's a child out of wedlock? As far as I know, the Duke isn't dead yet."
"Damn. I shouldn't have lied. He didn't realize that Ciel is a Phantomhive… and it looks like he hadn't read the news surrounding me." He just have to nod and smile at that.
"It's kind of amazing… since you guys have different fathers, yet you're so close to each other. You're just like that famous Bridge of London, still keeping it together throughout the years despite the constant fall it had."
"You'll find it more amazing if you found out that we're not really related by blood or any other connections." Oz smiled once more, giving Ivenrei an interested look. "The London Bridge, huh? I like the sound of that. You have a good poetic mind there. Thanks, Ivenrei."
Ivenrei offered him a nod. A short silence drew in between them, followed by another question from the black-haired lad. "By the by, what happened to the both of you when we found you lying there? You were full of wounds. Were you attacked by a beast? Moreover, what are you doing in a place like that?" Oz thought for a second whether to tell the lad what happened. After deciding that he definitely should, he told him everything from the start up until the part where he lost consciousness (except the one when he killed the two abductors). At first, Ivenrei couldn't utter a single comment. It was just too shocking. Plus, he found it odd since a lad like him, bearing the same age as Oz, didn't even get kidnapped by those sickos. He never even heard of any kidnappings as of yet.
After the two individual's conversation, Isabel went back bringing with her the tools she went to get. By her help, they managed to feed the ill boy and sent him to sleep without any problems. After that, Ivenrei told his siblings the two boy's former situation from Oz's approval. As expected, they gave the same reaction as what Ivenrei had given. Oz had promised the three that there won't be any troubles anymore and that all of them were safe.
At that very moment, Zwei was on her room, wide-eyed and currently staring at the rows of displays on her table cabinet. Still, she refused to eat her breakfast and go out of her room. Bearing the knowledge that her brother wasn't home yet, gave her less drive to do anything that day. Zwei brushed a finger on one of the displays, until the said item found itself sitting on the girl's palms. She remembered it perfectly. It was the gift her little brother gave to her on her 13th birthday. The boy even insisted their mother to accompany him to town just to buy the gift his sister had once told him that she had been eyeing on for weeks. It was a silver music box, draped with little blue roses, made from the toughest porcelain. She examined it carefully; a smile forming on her lips, though the melancholy on her eyes remained. She opened it and a familiar melody instantly filled the silent room.
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair Lady…
There it was. Someone was singing. It was a pretty, tranquil voice. Somehow, he could feel its authenticity.
Ciel opened his eyes. He found himself on a beautiful garden. All his worries and pains disappeared and a smile crept back on his small lips. "London Bridge is falling down," there came the song again; this time much clearer. He turned around and saw his sister smiling at him—beside the girl was his parents. There was no confusion that haunted his thoughts as he ran to dive at the comfort of his family. The next thing he knew was he was being dragged gently by his sister as the both of them walked hand in hand around their parents as they were singing the London Bridge's theme song. That simple game, alongside their laughter, instantly took Ciel's fears away. When he was caught as the last sentence was sung, the vibrant laughter around him was replaced by terrifying screams and chuckles.
Take a key and lock her up,
Lock her up, Lock her up.
Take a key and lock her up,
my fair lady…How will we build it up,
Build it up, Build it up?
How will we build it up,
my fair lady?
In a blink of an eye, he was back to that sweets-filled room, but it was darker this time with the same tune still playing. His sister and his parents were nowhere in sight. He tried to scream but even a single whisper never escaped from his dry lips. He looked around him, hoping to find the other lad. Oz was there at the corner; his dress was filled with dark stains. To his horror, Ciel hurriedly ran towards the door and tried to open it, but found it futile to even try after learning that it was locked.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, Silver and gold.
Build it up with silver and gold,
my fair lady.Gold and silver I have none,
I have none, I have none.
Gold and silver I have none,
my fair lady.Build it up with needles and pins,
Needles and pins, Needles and pins.
Build it up with needles and pins,
my fair lady.Pins and needles bend and break,
Bend and break, Bend and break.
Pins and needles bend and break,
my fair lady.Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, Wood and clay.
Build it up with wood and clay,
my fair lady.Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, Wash away.
Wood and clay will wash away,
my fair lady.
He tried all of his might, but he didn't seem to advance any further on what he was doing. When he realized how useless his attempts were, his tears finally gave in. He stayed like that for a short period of time, until he felt warm arms embracing him from behind. He looked around and saw Oz. He was smiling and there were no blood on his shirt anymore. The older lad pulled the latch on the door, instantly opening it. Ciel couldn't understand what was going on, since he was certain that it was locked; but with the gentle lift of Oz's hand, they were able to get out of the room.
The two of them ran in an endless hallway. But wherever they go, they just couldn't seem to find the exit. They just continued running and in every door they would set their feet on, the floor underneath would just crumble down over and over again no matter how much they tried to get over to the other side. Ciel finally gave in and forced Oz to take a break. When they did so, the hallway was suddenly engulfed by darkness. When the lights came in, Ciel could only scream from the horrible sight of Oz being stabbed on his left chest by a red-hooded individual.
Ciel shut his eyes from terror, and when he opened it for the second time, he found himself in a small cozy room. The aura of the place seemed to put him at ease, although somewhat, he could still hear the tune. The only difference was it no longer had an eerie feel to it. It was comforting, more like inviting him to think that there would be no 'crumbling' and 'falling down' anymore.
Build it up with stone so strong,
Stone so strong, Stone so strong.
Build it up with stone so strong,
my fair lady.Stone so strong will last so long,
Last so long, Last so long.
Stone so strong will last so long,
my fair lady.
Yes, he was sure that this feeling of comfort would last long. After all, what he saw was all just a bad dream.
Author's Note: The abductors didn't take Ivenrei for the sole reason that he looked more manly and mature for his age, unlike Oz who looks more feminine (no one can deny that). This characteristic can be proven in the manga, itself, mainly at Retrace XLVIII: Isla Yura, when Oz and Alice dressed as maids in order to sneak freely in Rufus Barma's Villa. When a random servant saw them, Oz had to act like a sweet girl, which really pissed him off to no end especially after the man blushed at him. He ended up saying, "No matter how you look at it, I'm still a guy. Don't blush at me like I'm some cute girl you're drooling over!" with Gilbert following, "It's alright, Oz. You look gorgeous." Heh, talk about scenes like that. I have to admit that Oz do looks like a girl at some point, although he still won't win against Ciel's all-over-feminine characteristic.
Before forgetting, when I was surfing the net for the lyrics of 'London Bridge is Falling Down', I came upon two versions—one is much longer than what I had used above. I chose the Mother Goose version for its lines were much more suited for the scene I came up with. (And yes, it's my favorite Nursery Rhyme, that's why.)
Still wanting to read some reviews from wonderful viewers out there! Have a nice day!:)