Chapter Twenty-Two
Butler, Takes Flight. Bride, Mothering
Sebastian knelt before Ciel as he unbuttoned the boy's shirt. Marianne stood by his side, patting down Ciel's soaking wet hair and skin. Droplets trickled over the earl's sharp collar bones, and slid beneath the off-white fabric.
"Now if we can just search the first-stringers' tents, we can go home." Ciel said. "I'd planned to quietly work our way up the ladder, but I can't spend that much time in these conditions. I'm at my limit."
Marianne folded the towels while Sebastian slid a dry shirt over Ciel's slender shoulders. The demon nodded his head quietly.
"Personally, I'd find brute force easier than infiltration, since the Reaper keeps me from moving freely at night," he said.
The girl looked at him over her shoulder.
"I thought I heard something while I was asleep. He stopped you from looking around then?" she asked.
Ciel ignored her comment and snorted.
"The Reaper's presence doesn't prove them guilty. Behave yourself."
Sebastian wrapped the blanket more firmly around him.
"Very good."
Ciel shook out the last drops of water from his hair and sat down on a nearby crate.
"The time to strike is during a show, while they're all away from their tents," he explained. "First I need a way to slip free of the freckled chap who tails me everywhere. If I can't go, there's no point."
Sebastian wiped down Ciel's cold legs. Marianne wrapped herself around the boy as he began to shiver under the layers he had been given.
"I want to get home and eat something sweet." Ciel moaned.
Marianne pressed her lips to the crown of his head.
"When we return, I'll make you a nice Victoria Sponge with winter berries. How does that sound?" she asked.
"You're making me hungry at the thought…"
The demon smiled.
"I'll prepare you some nice hot tea as well."
He slipped his hand into Marianne's behind their master's back.
That night, the circus was once again ready to put on a show as more and more people came flooding through the entrance. Sebastian walked past Wendy as she was getting ready.
"Anyone seen my headpiece?" she asked.
He handed her the item in question.
"Here it is!"
On the other side of the tent…
"Oi, there aren't enough knives! Where are the spares?!" Dagger shouted.
Ciel ran over to him with a box of them.
"Here!"
With the ladies…
"Where's my other glove?" Beast called.
Marianne gave her the glove.
"Right here!"
Joker called out over the din.
"It's almost show time, so look lively!"
The lower-stringers were running around in desperation to get everything ready for the show. Ciel placed a box down on top of some crates and sat down on a nearby stool, panted heavily. He felt his lungs rattling inside his ribcage, a slight wheeze caught at the back of his throat.
The question is whether I'll collapse from exhaustion before I check the tents… He thought to himself.
One of the stringers walked past.
"So, what should I do next…? Hmm?" he asked, but they walked away before he could get an answer.
Glancing around, he saw only a handful of people remaining, including Sebastian and Marianne. Ciel hurried over to them.
"Sebastian! Marianne! Freckles isn't watching. Let's check the tents right now. We'll get it done in ten minutes," he whispered.
The demon bowed with a devilish smile.
"Yes, My Lord."
Marianne nodded her head and followed after them, but not before she caught sight of William watching them out of the corner of his eye.
The trio ran out of the tent, but were stopped when they heard a voice call out to them.
"Black!"
They turned around and saw Joker running towards them, Wendy was on his back and Peter was at his side.
"We've got trouble! Old Wendy's twisted 'er ankle!" Joker shouted. "The show's already on, so I need 'ee to take her place!"
Sebastian immediately thought up an excuse.
"But surely I'm not a fit substitute…" he protested.
"Fit and ready, me 'ansome. We'll count on 'ee."
Joker and the two trapeze artists ran off towards the medical tent. The man then turned back to the trio for a moment.
"'Ee haven't much time, so be quick!" he said.
When they were gone, Sebastian sighed heavily.
"Nothing for it, I'm afraid. We'll have to find another chance, Young Master."
He looked to the boy, and was surprised by what he saw.
"Young Master?"
Ciel looked up at him.
"We don't know when the next chance will come. This may be the only time he isn't with me." He said. "You may be in the show, but Marianne and I have some time. The only trouble is the snakes."
He thought for a moment before deciding on a plan.
"Right. Come with me, Sebastian!"
Sebastian nodded his head.
"At once."
Once inside Snake's tent, Sebastian knotted all the snakes and tossed them into their cages. Marianne held Ciel as she looked around to see if there were any more snakes remaining to be caught.
"This is all of them," said Sebastian.
Ciel led Marianne towards the entrance.
"According to the program, your act ends at 7:50 and the encore is at 8:00, so you have about a ten-minute window," he said.
"To do what?" the demon asked.
"As soon as your act ends, release all these snakes and go back for the encore. Marianne and I'll look through their tents."
"Will you be alright by yourselves?"
Sebastian was reluctant to leave Marianne in a place where he would be releasing venomous snakes, when he had no certainty about them doing what they needed to in the time limit. But he couldn't go against his master's orders. Ciel scowled as he gripped Marianne's hand.
"Fine. Now get back to the show tent, they'll be suspicious if you're late."
The demon bowed.
"Yes, My Lord."
Dressed completely in his costume and wearing his stage make-up, Sebastian stared with wide, incredulous eyes. William Spears was standing opposite him.
"I thought Miss Wendy was the only one injured?" he asked.
Dagger, who was standing between them, spoke up.
"Right, but old Peter obviously can't hold your weight!"
William adjusted his glasses.
"I don't see why I should have to pair with you."
"I don't like it either, but it can't be helped." Sebastian groaned.
The Reaper looked away irritably.
"Honestly, I can't believe I have to collaborate with such vermin."
Sebastian reached into his pocket and checked his pocket watch.
"Half seven…" he muttered.
At the first-stringers' tents, Ciel stepped inside the first one, followed by Marianne.
"These are certainly bare quarters," he commented.
He spotted something on the vanity table.
"A photograph of children…" he whispered. "Are these the first-stringers?"
"It certainly looks like them. But who's that man in the background? The dark-haired one with the glasses and moustache?" Marianne asked, pointing out the man in question.
Sebastian swung back and forth on the trapeze, scowling from his upside-down position. His red eyes glared up at the Reaper before him.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
William stared back at him, also upside-down, and adjusted his gleaming glasses. His Death Scythe remained firmly in his other hand.
"I'd sooner die than take the hands of vermin like you." He retorted.
Sebastian smirked.
"That hardly makes for a good show!"
"Hmph!"
Down below, Beast, Dagger and Doll watched them from the shadows.
"What are those two doing?" asked Beast.
The laces of the back of her corset caught on a nail in the wood behind her. She gasped when she realised they came undone.
"My strings…!"
Dagger reacted instantly. The image of a flushed Beast entered his head. His face turned bright red.
"Nobody look!"
They didn't notice Sebastian listening to their conversation.
"Miss, please go change. We've got time before the encore." Dagger pleaded.
Beast nodded her head in agreement.
"I suppose I'd better."
Sebastian's eyes went wide when he saw her walking away.
Oh dear.
Ciel was searching through Beast's tent while Marianne stood guard in the shadows. The boy pulled out another photograph from Beast's chest.
"Here, too… It's the same man with her."
Marianne spotted Beast approaching with a purple cloak wrapped around her shoulders. She gasped.
Sebastian, finally having had enough of William's obstinacy, reached out his hands.
"Stop this nonsense and put out your hands!" he shouted.
William sneered.
"I told you: never!"
He aimed his Death Scythe at the demon. Sebastian had to arch his spine to avoid the attack.
"My fingers would rot." The Reaper said.
Sebastian bowed his head in acknowledgment.
"Very well."
He reached out and grabbed the pole of William's shears.
"Then you'll have no objections to this!"
Using the momentum, Sebastian pulled the Reaper off his trapeze.
The crowd started to scream…
As Beast walked past the tent, she tilted her head to the sound of the shrieks.
"The crowd's excited."
She continued to walk.
Ciel found something in the photograph that caught his eye.
"That sign behind them, 'workhouse.' An orphanage?" he asked himself.
Marianne saw Beast approaching not far away, and immediately ducked out of sight.
"I'm going to have to create a diversion…"
Sebastian stared down at the Reaper as he shouted up at him.
"Unhand my Death Scythe!"
The demon smirked.
"I'm afraid not."
William gritted his teeth. The crowd gasped beneath them. Even Dagger looked worried.
"Look out!" he cried.
William pressed a button on his Scythe, and the distance between the two supernatural beings began to shorten.
"Let go!"
Sebastian smiled.
"All right."
He let go.
A series of aerial manoeuvres was performed, and they landed on the separate high platforms without breaking a sweat. The crowd burst into enormous applause while they got to their feet. Sebastian was the first to turn around and bow to the appreciative audience. William merely snorted and pushed his glasses up his nose.
Marianne bit her lip as she saw Beast coming closer.
Come on, Ciel. You need to hide soon, or get out of there!
Ciel pondered Joker's words from before.
"We all come from the same place."
"So they all must have come from the same workhouse. But where is it? I need to get a clearer shot…" he whispered.
Behind him, Beast's shadow was close to the entrance.
With the woman so close to entering her tent, Marianne decided it was time to act.
"Miss Beast!" she called out.
Beast turned towards her and arched her eyebrows.
"Oh, Kitten. What are you doing out here?" she asked.
"I saw you come out of the tent, and wondered if something was wrong. You wouldn't leave the show before the encore without a reason."
The woman looked at her for a moment.
"The strings on the back of my corset snapped, so I need to change into another one before the encore."
Marianne smiled and saw an opportunity.
"I noticed earlier you needed another person to help you. Would you like me to assist?" she offered.
Beast pursed her lips in thought, looked her over, and sighed.
"That would be most helpful. Thank you."
They walked into the tent together. Marianne glanced around and saw no sign of Ciel. He must have hidden somewhere when he heard them talking.
"I appreciate you helping me," said Beast as she removed her corset. "I would be here a lot longer if you hadn't come along."
The girl blushed and looked away in search of a new corset. Her eyes widened when the chest in the corner of the room opened slightly, and saw an identical black corset slip out. She picked it up, tapped her finger against the lid, and watched as it closed. Marianne held up the corset for Beast.
"Will this be alright?" she asked.
Beast, her arms folded over her breasts, nodded her head.
"This will do."
Marianne allowed her to slip her arms into the holes. She began to tighten Beast's strings. Beast glanced at her over her shoulder while she worked.
"I wonder how that man managed to get you to say yes," she said.
Marianne looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Seeing the innocent expression on her face, Beast shook her head with a smile.
"It's nothing. Just talking to myself. Thank you for your help."
She left the tent after that.
Marianne looked behind her and saw the chest fully open. She was surprised to see Sebastian come out as well as Ciel, although it looked like the poor boy had been partially crushed.
"I was right to return ahead of schedule." Sebastian said as he climbed out the chest.
Ciel groaned irritably.
"Oi, get off me!" he complained.
Marianne could only stare in amazement.
"How in the world did you both manage to fit in there?" she asked.
Ciel explained the significance of the photographs he and Marianne had unearthed.
"I see. You think the photographs are important, then?" asked Sebastian.
"Yes," answered Ciel. "Do you notice anything?"
The demon examined the photograph and pointed to the ring on the man's finger.
"Ah, yes, I've seen the imprint from this signet ring recently."
"Signet ring? Imprint? You can make out details that small?"
"Yes. If memory serves…"
Sebastian's eyes glowed in the darkness.
"This matches the seal at the joint of Beast's prosthetic leg."
Marianne realised the seal he meant.
"You mean the one with the horse standing on top of a shield?" she asked.
Ciel pondered the information.
"The seal, the workhouse… We need to know more about this man."
Sebastian looked down at his pocket watch.
"It's almost time. Let's stop here for today."
Ciel shook his head.
"We've still got Joker's tent left."
"But, My Lord…"
"We should manage it if we work through the encore." Ciel's eye narrowed. "I'll end it all today."
He turned to Sebastian and gave an order.
"You go back so they won't suspect us. When it's over, get back before they do and free the snakes. Got that?"
Grabbing Marianne by the hand, Ciel dragged her out after him. She waved at Sebastian while sweatdropping.
It's going to be a long day…
Sebastian watched them as they went, and bowed with a slight smirk on his face.
"Yes, My Lord."
Ciel and Marianne searched through the contents of Joker's tent. Marianne spotted a strange skull prop in the corner with a crown on its head, and an eye patch strapped over its socket.
"Got any ideas what we need to look for?" she asked the skull.
It didn't answer.
"Me neither. But you must be incredibly bored having to watch over everything."
No answer.
"Indeed." She turned to look at Ciel as he was bent over another photograph. "You found anything?"
Ciel glanced at her for a moment before turning back to the picture.
"His dress makes him either wealthy, or a nobleman. Given that he's in the photographs with the workhouse children, he could be a philanthropist," he said. He then realised the full extent of what she was doing. "Why are you talking to a skull?"
Marianne shrugged her shoulders.
"Thought I would find something useful with it."
She then saw something under Joker's pillow, which the skull was facing.
"And I think it just proved its worth."
Swiping the paper out from underneath it, she saw the same seal as the one on Beast's leg staring back at her. Although who it was from was very strange…
"'Tom, the piper's son'?" she asked.
Ciel arched a brow as he took the letter from her.
"The Mother Goose character?"
He opened it and began to read.
His reaction sent Marianne's blood running cold. His eye widened and he crumpled the paper between his fingers as they shook.
"Why?! This… is my name!" he gasped.
Marianne hurried over and read the document over his shoulder. It was a fact file on him, even naming him as the Queen's Guard Dog. Something was really wrong at the circus…
The crowds were leaving the circus at the end of the show. Joker looked around with a smile as the lower-stringers hurried around to clear up after the performance.
"Good work, all!" he laughed. He then saw Dagger and William approaching him from behind. Sebastian wasn't with them. "Hmm? Where'd Black get to?"
Dagger merely shook his head.
"He ran off right after the encore. Maybe he needed to piss," he smiled.
"Ha, could be! Might've even leaked a little."
William watched them in silence.
Back at Snake's tent, Sebastian had released the snakes without a word. They circled around his feet, but didn't touch him. The demon nodded his head as he walked out of the tent. He smirked, but a small furrow remained on his brow.
"What is my name doing here? Are they on to us?!" Ciel exclaimed.
Marianne tugged on his arm.
"Come on, the show is just about over! The first-stringers are going to be back any minute!" she hissed.
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the tent.
They hid in the shadows as they waited for a chance to slip away.
"I should've stopped sooner. We have to get back without being seen…" Ciel whispered.
Marianne pulled the boy into her side when she caught sight of a slithering movement along the ground. She barely saved him from a vicious snake bite; the snake loomed over them with sharp fangs and glinting eyes. Refusing to submit, the girl stared the snake down; her left eye flickered demonically.
Just then, a lantern hovered behind them. The pair turned and saw Doll standing there.
"Oi." Doll said. "What are you two doing there?"
Marianne pulled Ciel close and kept her eyes on the snake.
"Don't move," said Doll, slamming her hand down on the crate.
She flipped herself over them with one hand and landed behind the snake. Ciel made to cry out.
"Seba-!"
Doll's hand slapped over his mouth.
"Quiet."
She lifted up the restrained snake with her free hand.
Dagger called out to her.
"Oi, Doll!"
She emerged without a word.
"What are you waiting for? Get changed, and we'll go eat…" Dagger continued until Doll showed him the snake in her hand.
"This snake is loose. We've told him not to let them outside," she explained.
Dagger stepped back and shivered.
"Snake! Put it in your tent!" he cried.
Snake came up to them, and accepted the snake as it entwined itself around his shoulders.
"I don't want a careless step to kill me." Doll told him.
The snake man merely walked away. Dagger called after him.
"Please, keep 'em shut up!" He then waved at Doll. "See you later."
Doll went back over to Marianne and Ciel's hiding place, and grabbed Ciel by the arm to bring him to his feet.
"This way," she said.
She pulled him along after her, Marianne following swiftly behind. The three of them got to another area of the circus, and were met with barbed ropes alit with lanterns.
"Don't touch the rope." Doll told them as she crawled under the barbed rope.
Ciel and Marianne crawled after her. The three of them hid beneath an erected wooden fence.
"Right, we should be clear now," said Doll, glancing around the corner.
The girl wrapped her arms around the young earl as he panted and coughed, rubbing soothing circles into his back while her eyes remained on the white-wearing Doll.
"Why did you help us?" Ciel asked.
Doll looked at him in surprise.
"You still don't get it?" she asked.
Marianne looked at her for a moment, paying particular attention to her eyes and how the rose wig fell over her left eye.
"I see it now… Tell me, how would you rather be addressed?" she inquired.
Doll giggled at her words. Ciel only pouted.
"What do you mean?" he snapped.
The tightrope walker shook her head.
"It's me."
She removed her white wig and revealed a head of brown hair down to her chin.
Ciel gasped at the sight.
"Freckles?!"
Doll/Freckles pouted at him.
"Hey, that's not a very nice name to call me!" she snapped.
The boy stepped back slowly.
"You're a bloke who wears dresses onstage?"
Marianne slapped him on the back of the head.
"Don't be rude! She is clearly a lady!" she chastised.
Doll smirked at her.
"That's right! I'm a genuine maid, I'll have you know!"
She grabbed Ciel's hand and placed it on one of her breasts.
"See?"
Marianne slapped a hand over her mouth and blushed bright red. Ciel's reaction was the same, and immediately yanked his hand away.
"Want to check down below while you're at it?" Doll teased.
"No thank you!" Ciel cried.
"I think we've traumatised the boy enough, don't you?" Marianne added in.
Their conversation then drifted to more serious matters.
"So, what were you doing there?" asked Doll. "They must've told you it was dangerous."
"Well…" Ciel muttered.
I suppose I'll have to pretend to be a thief.
"I'm sorry! But I swear I haven't stolen anything today!" he cried. "I promise! Please don't chase me out!"
Marianne could only watch with wide eyes as the performance unfolded before her.
"Wait 'today'?!" Doll gasped.
"The truth is, there was a period when me and my sister were separated, and I ended up living in the East End before she found me again and I became a page, and I got by however I could!" he explained. "I know I shouldn't steal, but I just can't break old habits! It's why my sister came after me, to make sure I didn't take anything!"
Ciel fell to his knees.
"When our last master found out… If the circus turns me out, I'll have to go back to the East End, and I can't bear being separated from my sister again!"
I may have laid it on a bit thick.
Marianne wrapped her arms around him as best she could, and stroked her fingers through his hair, muttering reassurances in his ear. Doll watched them with a softness in her visible eye.
"You swear you didn't take anything?" she said.
"Yes! I swear to God!" Ciel cried.
"I can assure you, he has taken nothing. I even checked his pockets. There was nothing." Marianne added.
Doll sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"Well, alright."
"Thank you so much!" the siblings cried.
"It's fine. I owe you one anyhow." Doll smiled.
She remembered the incident in the shower block.
"We've all got our secrets, right? So, what I did to you earlier was wrong…"
Ciel bowed his head, his eye shining under the shadow of his hair.
"So, I'll keep this quiet." Doll said with a soft smile. "Now we're even. But no more sneaking about!"
Ciel nodded.
"Right."
He coughed before he continued to speak.
"Say, can I ask you… If you're a first-stringer, why are you sharing my tent?"
Doll pondered his question before answering.
"Well, I don't like staying by myself. I sleep better when someone's with me," she replied. "Hey, you'll still room with me even though I'm first-string, won't you?"
"Yes, of course!" cried Ciel.
"Oh, good. Right, then what happened here stays between us three."
They joined their hands together in promise.
Ciel thought to himself as they waved goodbye to the circus performer.
Words are cheap. There's no guarantee she won't told anyone. Humans lie without a second thought. Including me, of course.
Marianne drew him close as the smile he plastered on his face slipped as Doll disappeared from sight.
They returned to Marianne's tent, where Sebastian and William were relaxing. Ciel snapped the tent flap open, his face red and his breath gasping. Marianne entered after him and rubbed his back between the shoulder blades.
"Young Master! Marianne!" Sebastian greeted.
Ciel coughed.
"You knew we were still there when you freed the snakes, didn't you, you bastard?!" he snapped before coughing again.
Sebastian looked at the boy for a moment before giving a shit-eating smile.
"Yes. You did order me to return before the first-stringers and free them. I was quite reluctant since you had Marianne with you… But your orders were absolute. Problem?"
Ciel glared at him while Marianne pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh.
"What are you glaring for?" asked the demon. "Rest assured, My Lord, I won't let you die while our contract holds. But you may encounter some non-fatal suffering if you give the wrong orders. You knew as much."
Marianne walked over to him, slapped him on the shoulder, and poked his chest while she spoke.
"Your sadistic humour, while funny most of the time, nearly got us in a lot of trouble, and I'm not just talking about the first-stringers! You're really lucky none of us got bitten by one of those snakes!"
As Ciel watched Marianne chastise the demon, he clenched his fist. Sebastian stroked Marianne's hair as he smirked at his contract holder.
"Every game needs its thrill. You're such an avid player, I assumed you shared my opinion."
The boy, his cheeks still red, snarled at him.
"Your game is in sickeningly bad taste, demon."
"You flatter me."
Marianne stood between them.
"Stop it, both of you! What's done is done. Let us just move on."
Ciel silently agreed and moved onto what he discovered in Joker's tent.
"Never mind. We found a letter in Joker's tent that mentioned my name," he said, coughing again. As he moved around Sebastian and Marianne to lean against the frame of the bunk bed, he continued. "It had my rank, the location of my estate, and even a biographical sketch. The sender…"
"You there!" William shouted, snapping his Death Scythe at the boy's foot.
It was apparently crossing his line.
"Ouch!" cried Ciel.
"You're three centimetres into my territory." The Reaper explained as he adjusted his glasses. "If the master can't abide by our agreed-upon boundaries, he's as bad as his dog."
Marianne pointed to herself.
"What am I, then?"
William looked at her for a moment, but didn't answer.
Ciel shook his head in irritation.
"Sebastian, Marianne, let's go outside."
The demon nodded his head.
"Certainly."
The trio stepped outside and Ciel began to explain what he had discovered.
"The sender used the name 'Tom, the piper's son.'"
"A Mother Goose character." Sebastian commented.
Ciel nodded his head and huddled into himself.
"Yes, though I don't know why…" he coughed. "And the sealing wax showed a crest with a horse and the initial K."
Marianne clapped her hands together in realisation.
"Then it's the same as the ones we've seen so far."
"Signet rings are generally engraved with a motif and initial that represent the bearer or his family." Sebastian explained.
"Which means Tom the piper's son has a coat of arms featuring a horse. Would that mean it's someone with a knighthood, or a soldier perhaps?" Marianne asked.
Ciel shook his head.
"Not necessarily, but philanthropy is probably impossible without a certain degree of status…" he coughed again. "The heraldic authorities have all coats of arms in their registers. We have enough criteria to narrow it down so that however many they have…you should be able to find the one."
His coughing grew more and more incessant. He clutched his throat and rasped painfully before he continued.
"The missing children, the circus, Tom the piper's son, and me…"
Ciel leant forward and released another fit of coughs.
"Young Master?" called Sebastian.
Marianne wasn't sure, but there was something familiar about the way Ciel was reacting.
"We'll go back… to the town house for…" Ciel tried to continue speaking.
But then, out of his mouth came a fountain of white bile. Ciel fell to his knees from the pain.
"Ciel!" Marianne cried.
"Young Master!" Sebastian gasped. "Young Master, what's…?"
Ciel tried to bring himself up, but only succeeded in latching onto the demon. He watched through blurring eyes as Doll, dressed in her Freckles persona, saw what was going on and ran over to them.
"Smile! What's wrong?! Oi!" she shouted.
The world faded to black.
Marianne and Sebastian took the boy to the medical tent, followed by Doll, and stood vigilant at his bedside while Doc tended to him.
"It's asthma." Doc told them.
"Asthma?" Sebastian asked. "We've lived together for three years, and I've never seen him have a fit like this."
Doc looked down at his patient chart.
"If he hasn't had an attack in three years, he may be essentially cured…" he explained.
Marianne then spoke up.
"But with the right conditions, it can easily return. When exposed to abrupt stress, chill, or even catch a cold, they relapse."
"You are familiar with the condition, Kitten?" asked Doc.
"My… I mean, our mother suffered from it. I know how to take care of someone who has suffered a relapse like this." Marianne reached down and stroked Ciel's hair away from his sweating forehead. "What do you think caused it this time? He has suffered colds before, but never had this reaction…"
Doc pondered her words for a moment.
"There were probably multiple triggers this time. And I hear he took a tub-bath with our weight-lifting addicts?" He pointed this comment at Doll. "It's no wonder he caught cold!"
Ciel groaned as his eye opened.
"Water…"
Doc turned towards him.
"Ah, you're awake?"
Sebastian hurried over and offered him a small drinking teapot.
"Here, drink this."
Ciel sipped it gratefully, and suffered a small fit of coughs after swallowing.
"Smile, did you have a bad case of asthma as a young boy?" Doc asked him.
The boy remembered Madame Red's words from long ago…
"People can die from asthma, so even if you think he's better, you have to stay careful."
"Aunt An…"
He slipped back into unconsciousness.
Doc shook his head sadly.
"This is no good. His mind is muddled. We'll have to keep a sharp watch until the fever and coughing stop."
"I'll go get ice!" Doll proclaimed before running out of the tent.
Doc turned to Sebastian and Marianne.
"What about you two?"
"I'd like to stay and help, if I may." Sebastian replied.
"Me too. I can't leave my brother alone when he is like this." Marianne added.
Doc nodded his head.
"I'd be much obliged."
They continued to watch over Ciel as he slept.
"What? Black, Kitten and Smile snuck in? What were they after?"
Snake was with his fellow first-stringers, listening to him as he told them what his snakes had told him.
"That, I don't know." Snake replied. "…says Wordsworth."
"Can you really talk to snakes?" Peter snapped.
"Do you doubt me, you simpleton?! …says Wordsworth."
Joker then spoke up.
"Why didn't 'ee say so before?" he asked.
Another snake joined Wordsworth in its coils around Snake.
"There, I told you to report it straightaway! …says Emily." Snake said.
Joker accepted the answer with a nod of his head.
"Well, never mind. Thank 'ee, and off to bed, now."
"Goodnight. Sleep well! …says Wordsworth and Emily."
Snake left the room after that.
Joker glanced between Jumbo and Peter.
"I reckon they might know. That fool Doll…" sighed Joker.
"Doll's such a little twerp! I told you we shouldn'ta brung her!" Peter snapped.
Joker's skeletal hand rested under his chin.
"Black, Smile and Kitten… Who are they?"
"Let's get rid of them, and soon. Maybe tonight," suggested Peter.
"No, wait!" Jumbo interrupted.
"What?!"
"Jumbo's right." Joker said. "If they be with the Yard, killing them puts us in a bind."
Jumbo nodded his head.
"We'd have to break up the troupe, at the very least."
"Yes… I reckon I'll ask Father." Joker said, getting to his feet. "I'll leave now. But what Father wants is the target. So, if they get up to anything whilst I'm gone…"
"We know," said Jumbo.
"If they do, we'll move without you."
Back at the medical tent, Marianne sat vigil at Ciel's bedside while Sebastian soothed the boy's brow with a wet cloth. Ciel coughed again and blinked awake. He looked up at the demon and the girl, bowed over his head much like his parents had when he was a young child. Not that he would ever say that to Sebastian's face. Marianne reached over and stroked a lock of hair out of his face.
"Finally awake, precious boy?" she whispered.
"Marianne… Sebastian…" Ciel croaked.
Sebastian immediately got to his feet when he heard someone approaching.
"How is he?" Doc asked as he rolled his wheelchair to the bed.
"He still seems poorly off." Sebastian answered.
"I thought as much." The doctor rolled over to the table. "I just remembered that mint oil can help these fits… Now, where did I put it?"
While Doc searched his supplies, Sebastian saw Ciel gesture towards him out of the corner of his eye. He brought his hand down to Ciel's, and let the boy write a message with his finger.
'This is an order: Go to the heraldic authorities and identify the man with the signet ring. The registers are in London and Edinburgh. If I move now, the doctor will make a fuss. Come fetch me and Marianne in the morning.'
Sebastian bowed his head with a smile, twisted their hands, and proceeded to write his own message on Ciel's hand.
'Yes, My Lord.'
He slipped around out of Ciel's sight as the boy closed his eyes. Sebastian ducked behind Marianne and wrote a message to her on the back of her neck. She shivered as he repeated Ciel's order to him, and blushed when he added his own part to it.
'I shall return to you soon, my darling. Protect our charge.'
Marianne smiled as he disappeared into the night. It had been the first time Sebastian actually acknowledged that Ciel was maybe someone more than a contract. Doc turned around at least with the mint oil.
"Ah, found it at last! Now, we'll just pour some on a rag and… Hmm?"
He looked around for Sebastian, but he was nowhere to be seen. Marianne pressed a finger to her lips.
"He's just fallen asleep," she whispered.
Sebastian stood outside of the tent.
"I'll start with the closest…" he muttered.
However, before he could take a single step, William's shears surged straight for him. The demon dodged the blades three times, and glared at his attacker.
"You again? Well, this won't do."
William stepped out of the shadows, clad in his pyjamas.
"And where are you off to?" he asked. "I believe I told you not to wander about without your master."
Merry Christmas! I have been writing like crazy to get this done for the big day.
This one has been a lot of fun to write. I always thought a sort of friendship could develop between Marianne and Beast, because from the start, Beast has viewed Sebastian as a seducer of an innocent girl, and feels that she needs to protect Marianne from him in a sort of sisterly way.
Also, having her as a buffer between Sebastian and Ciel works well, because while she loves Sebastian, she will stand up to him when his sadistic side becomes too much and it puts Ciel in danger.
Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Please read and review!
