Chapter 33 - Her Fears Were His Resolve

Snow crunched under their heavily padded boots as the two made their way down the cobblestone path towards the apartment building, not a single word was spoken to each other ever since they started moving. The sound of their footsteps and heavy breathing were all that kept the air between them from falling completely into silence. They did not feel the need to talk. Investigation was all that mattered at the time being. When they finally reached the lamp post that was rooted in front of the bricked building, both raised their heads to look at the towering building.

Ciel snorted at the news report he recalled reading two days after he received the Queen's letter regarding the case. It was ridiculous how the residents could give up their homes so easily.

The dark windows and the stillness that indicated complete abandonment of the building was something that failed to surprise Ciel as he had already expected this. But it seemed the opposite for the red head who blinked in puzzlement at the building.

"They'd left to live somewhere else." Ciel said in a bored tone when he saw the puzzled look on Estella's face, and started his way towards the building, pushing his way past the tape the police had put up.

Estella slowly dragged her gaze away from the building above her and rested it on the back of the boy who was glancing around the out-of-bound place he entered. "No wonder." She went under the tape his waiting hand held for her, muttering a 'thanks' under her breath which didn't go unheard by Ciel who brushed it off with a lazy flick of his hand.

….

"Filthy." His disgust took its form on his face as a grimace with a scrunched nose at the cloud of dust that greeted them as soon as he pushed open the door to the stairs. Ciel raised his eye disdainfully from the dusty floor which he clucked his tongue in annoyance at, to the flight of equally dusty stairs that was waiting for them.

Estella scrunched her nose in agreement as she tried to block off the stench of alcohol in the air of the stairs passage which rushed into her nose the moment she breathed in. "It stinks too." Another cloud of dust kicked up as she moved to follow Ciel who had started climbing the stairs.

Already so much dust after one week? Ciel thought with displeasure, hating the uncontrollable twitch of his irritated nose. As they tread up the steps, Ciel's eye darted up to the flights of stairs above them and pinpointed the one that stopped at the eighth storey where the fire broke out on.

The girl beside him quirked an eyebrow at the steps ahead of them and blinked at a smoking cigarette she caught onto. Estella nudged his side with her elbow for his attention. "Hey Phantomhive."

Ciel glanced over at her with a questioning look.

"Look…"She pointed at her discovery.

"What?" He tore his attention away from her face to the direction her finger was pointing at. Ciel's eye widened at the cigarette almost instantly, following the thin trail of smoke that escaped from it.

Silence stretched between them as they paused at the steps to peruse the stick which sat innocently in front of them.

Ciel clenched his jaw solemnly at the realization of a possible danger. He raised his head to glare at the flight of stairs above. "Someone's here…"

Estella followed his gaze and looked back at him with a frown. "That's what I thought. Now what?" She watched as the boy peered up at the tiers above for the other trespasser.

"Up quietly." Ciel pointed a finger heavenwards, looking up at the steps ahead after throwing her a warning look.

As stealthy and silent as possible, the two continued climbing the steps, glancing up from time to time as they went. Their ears were straining to capture any sound from above, and adrenaline was already burning in their blood.

Silence was almost overbearing.

Estella's eyes darted to the front where Ciel was leading them and noticed that he was rigid with anticipation, just like how she was. Her sharpened hearing didn't fail to capture the soft echoes of their breathing that was accompanying them as they tip-toed their way up – it felt as though the building itself was anticipating with them.

Then suddenly…

A deep chuckle from above prickled into the thick silence.

Both raised their eyes in surprise.

However, it was double surprise for Estella when Ciel suddenly came to a halt.

Her face bumped into his back, and its force managed to knock her off balance when Ciel jerked to a stop in front of her. Luckily, the boy noticed her loss of balance and swiftly grabbed onto her wrist, quick enough to break her fall.

"Careful." He murmured as he released her arm when she could stand properly again.

Estella nodded as she watched Ciel carefully stuck his head over the banister they were holding. "See anyone?" She whispered and waited for his response.

She tilted her head in confusion when Ciel held up two fingers in response.

"Two?" Estella watched Ciel withdrew his head.

His eye was hard with seriousness when he turned back to her. "I can't determine accurately from here, but I think there are two of them up there." His voice which was full of caution was so low and soft that she had to lean into him to catch his words.

"Then should we continue?" She eyed Ciel whose head was still inclined towards top.

"Of course." Ciel's face was tight, and his eye was dancing with caution when he glanced back down at her. Another crack of laughter from above stole his attention just as he was about to start moving again.

What a noisy pair, Ciel thought with a shake of head, glancing back to the steps in front and started forward.

….

The voices grew louder as they edged closer and closer to their sources. The content of the conversation by the muffled voices had become recognizable and clearer, and he was highly aware of the presence on the stairs above the one they were on. A tingling sensation traipsed down his spine the moment he reached the staircase landing, as if to warn him not go up any further.

Ciel turned back to the girl behind him and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her advance towards him. He leaned in closer to her. "We've reached the end of the road." He whispered to the puzzled girl and drew back.

Estella mimicked his action, and whispered. "Here?"

He nodded and pointed at the set of stairs above them.

"Where exactly?"

His mouth moved mutely. Right above us.

She realized that Ciel was right when another fit of laughter once again cracked through the silence of the building. Indeed right above.

…..

"Oh, that woman was fucking gooood! She kept screaming my name when I was screwin' her! Totally made my day, no, night!" Unknown to those two people who both roared with laughter, there were other two who were cringing in disgust on the stairs below them.

Ciel, who scoffed in disdain at the dirty talk, lazily let himself fall back onto the wall behind him and folded his arms. A bored look settled over the disdain look on his face as he turned his attention back to their conversation.

"Hoooo…What's her name?" Another set of voice asked.

"Annie, no, I think it was Anna or Annabelle or…or Annabeth…Urgh, who cares about her name!? Anyway, we'd better start investigating this fire before Boss kills us!"

A heavy sigh came from the other party. "Tsk. Whatever. I still think this is just a normal fire outbreak."

"Nah, it's not normal fire. Just like what Boss suspected. It's demon fire."

Ciel and Estella snapped their head over to each other at the mention of 'demon' with widened eyes.

"Demon fire?" A scoff came in response. "Ridiculous. I don't even know why I joined this organization. SIGMA is full of nuts!"

Their eyes sprang wide the second time at the organization's name.

SIGMA?

Estella gaped in horror at the stairs above as she desperately tried to grasp what the voice from above just said.

Her already racing heart quickened its pace as a chilling sensation of horror seeped into her skin, and into her very bones. Along with her heart, her breathing was starting to go out of control. The rhythm and audibility of her pants seemed to be growing quicker and louder as her brain pressingly tried to assimilate the organization's name she just heard.

"Blancbaston?" She watched an anxious Ciel approach her quietly from the sides of her eyes.

"I-I'm okay…"

Refusing to meet the concerned look on Ciel's face, she fixated her eyes onto her shoes instead and wrapped her arms around herself, desperately trying to calm down. The scarf and the thickly padded coat on her seemed to have suddenly lost their capability to shield her from the cold because she was beginning to shiver.

Ciel felt statued, seeing her fears so raw on her face for the very first time. Something about her expression and actions made him stop his advance towards her. And for an instance, time seemed to have stilled along with his body. It was as though there was no one but just the two of them.

He couldn't keep his eye off the trembling figure in front of him.

The way she brought her arms around herself, as if to give herself a sense of security, and the way she fearfully squeeze her eyes closed, took his breath away. It was strange and shocking for him to see his usually tough and seemingly fearless red-headed servant looking so small and vulnerable.

His dark blue eye quivered as a rush of overprotectiveness he never thought he would possess for her pulsed through his body. Seeing this side of her was new and nerve-wrecking. He never want to see that frightened look on her face or see her trembling like that ever again because this side of her just did not sit right with him. He simply couldn't shake the uneasiness and the surge of overprotectiveness off him no matter how many times he told himself to let her be.

The urge to pull her into his arms was driving him crazy, he couldn't hold back anymore.

….

Her trembling closed eyelids sprang open in surprise when she felt a pair of arms pull her into a warm embrace, and found herself buried in someone's chest. While her brain was still trying to figure out who, her nose twitched fondly to the similar sweet and soothing smell that was embracing her body.

Estella slowly raised her eyes and let out a soft gasp of shock when she found herself tucked under her master's chin. A blush slowly crept up her face as she became aware of how gentle he was holding her. One hand held her head to his chest while the other was wrapped protectively around her waist.

His body heat enveloping her sent waves of sensation like gentle fire down her body. New and comforting.

"Everything's going to be fine." His boyish voice drifted softly into her ears. It was soothing, as soothing as the scent he emitted. "You're safe. As long as I'm with you, you will not be their prisoner again, I promise." She didn't know how, but she found herself gradually calming down and relaxing to his words.

"Really? You promise?" She muttered hesitantly and softly.

"I promise." His arms tightened reassuringly around her.

As her arms circled around his torso, she gingerly let her head drop back onto his chest, feeling happy yet strange about what she was doing. Yes, maybe she would really be safe as long as she has him.

"Hey you two, whatcha doing here?"

They froze.

"Shit." Estella heard the boy curse under his breath and felt the warmth around her disappear along with his arms. As soon as the comfort disappeared, she started panicking again. This time, her heart was pounding even faster. She couldn't help but uttered the same word under her breath over and over again.

Ciel chose to keep his eye fixed on the panicking girl in front of him instead, now that she looked like she was about to hyperventilate. "Hey hey, calm down." He whispered urgently, shifting his body slightly to the right to hide her from their view as he continued racking his brain for answers.

They MUST NOT see her face. Think, Ciel. What do we do now?

His eye widened for a moment and narrowed at the answer he had reached.

Run.

That was the solution. There was nothing they could do but escape now while they still could.

But first…

His hands flew up to the buttons of his cloak and popped them open, and this earned him a confused look from Estella. As soon as he was free from his cloak's grip, he ripped it off his shoulders and hurriedly draped it over the confused girl's shoulders.

"Wha-What are you doing?" Estella whispered, growing even more anxious and confuse.

Ciel made no reply as he continued spending his concentration on his fumbling fingers which were trying to secure the cloak around her instead.

"Answer when someone's asking you question, you brats!" His shoulders tensed at the annoyed voice. He forced himself to ignore the men the second time, hastily wiping the sweat that was just about to enter his eye. He cursed at his struggle, trying to suppress the trembling of his fingers.

Hastily pushing the last button through its hole, he quickly reached an arm over her shoulder and flipped its cape over her head, earning himself a surprised "Hey!" from Estella as a result.

Her ice blue eyes which were peeking out at him danced with desperation. "Please. J-Just tell me what we are about to do."

Ciel grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him again, just as she was about to peek around him to get a glance at the men. "Blancbaston, calm down and listen to me."

"O-Okay." She nodded her head, gulping nervously.

"We are going to run. Keep your head down as we go down this stairs." He swiveled his eye over to the said staircase which Estella's eyes followed to. It was the staircase they came up from.

"What rude brats! You two…."

Ciel's scowl deepened and he continued despite the angry voices, more urgently this time. "You must not let them see your face, okay?" A nod from her was all he needed from her as the cue to start running. Sliding a hand down her arm, he grabbed up her hand that was at the end and secured his hold around it. He didn't missed how her breath hitched when he did that.

He felt weird and embarrassed about it as well, but he knew there was no time to think this over.

They had to run.

They must not be caught.

He had to protect her.

Ciel sucked in a deep breath and looked down at Estella with a gaze full of determination and assurance. Giving her hand a squeeze, he turned and led their escape.

...

"Hey, that was Ciel Phantomhive!" One surprised voice rang from above.

The two teenagers who were scrambling their way down the tiers of stairs flinched responsively to the men's claim of realization. This urged them to quicken their pace.

"They saw your face!" Estella gaped in horror at Ciel who tightened his grip around her hand in response.

"After him NOW!"A second voice rang from above.

"Shit." Ciel cursed when he heard the sound of pounding footstep from stairs tiers above, and yelled over his shoulder in frustration. "Hurry!"

Estella frantically tried to gather up the rest of the cloak that was obstructing her movement. "I'm trying!" She yelled through pants. "I can't run properly! Your cloak is too big for me!"

Ciel swept a look over the girl behind him. "Damn it." He cursed again when he saw what she meant. As soon as they reached a landing, he released her hand and kneeled on one knee in front of Estella who managed to avoid crashing into him in time. "Climb on." He ordered, adjusting his position so that his back was completely facing her.

Without a question, Estella nodded and quickly draped herself over his waiting back, understanding how dire their situation was. There was no time to waste. "Let's go."

Once Ciel was sure that the girl secured to him, he stood and continued their way down.

….

Frantic movements of his feet sent chunks of snow scattering everywhere as he sprinted down the snowy pavement. Heavy pants in the form of white wisps continued puffing out of his mouth as he swept his eye across the street for a hiding place.

He'd already eliminated the carriage as one as he couldn't risk leading them to their transport home. Sighing gratefully, he couldn't be more relief as he recalled himself ordering Sebastian to hide the carriage earlier. Now that the carriage was safe from sight, he just needed to find them a place to hide.

He glanced around tiredly.

But where?

"They went that way!"The pair of voices that penetrated the silence of the night and managed to reach his ears told him that they were already out on the pavement like them.

Cursing for the umpteenth time, he forced his legs to move faster. His heart was pounding to the rhythm of his feet racing over the ground as a mild burning sensation seeped into his muscles. The beads of sweat on the sides his face was causing his hair to curl into his face like a sort of frame.

He'd better hurry before their pursuers catch up with them, Ciel thought with a sigh.

Sweeping the area with another glance, he sped down the pavement lighted up by the golden glow from the lamps.

"Enough, Phantomhive." His eye darted up to the girl who was leaning over his shoulder. Worry could be clearly seen from the way her eyebrows were quirked inwards. "You're tiring yourself out. I think I can run by myself, now that we're on flat ground."

"You think?" Ciel shook his head. "No, not yet. I can't risk letting you down yet. What if it's still difficult for you to run fast?" His tongue flickered out to lick his dry lips.

"But-"

"We can't stop. They're right behind us!" He grunted, adjusting his grip on her thighs. "We-We need to hide!"

Frowning at him, her hands tightened their grip on the front of his shirt at his urgency.

Estella hastily glanced around. "Okay, how about over there?" She pointed at the alley ahead. "Behind the crates!"

Ciel glanced over at where she pointed and saw stacks of crates the alley had. "Alright." He nodded when he saw how useful the crates in the alley she was pointing at could be for hiding.

"Phan-Phantomhive, I'm kind of s-scared…" Ciel frowned when he felt the girl on his back trembled. Oh, how he hated hearing the shakiness in her voice. The fear that was so palpable was making him uneasy.

Her words were like fuel to fire as the urge to protect her within him grew immensely.

"We are going to be fine, Blancbaston."

At this point of time, his promise to not let her fall into their enemy's hands strengthened into resolve.

Taking a deep breath, Ciel tightened his grip on her thighs and charged forward with eye steeled with promise.