"I could've helped you get to bed if I knew you'd be that clumsy while tired!" Norman gasped, acting far too cheerful and forgiving for the current situation.
The night, normally darkened in a way that made even traversing across the lawn an impossible feat, was currently lit up by the orange tongues of flame coming off the dorm section of Sapphire Owl. The fire was loud and lapped at the sky hungrily; it was amazing only half of the dorms on the first floor had been lost.
Ciel didn't respond and instead hugged himself tightly, feeling far too cold in the midnight air. He shivered. He still recalled that wet, inky hand forcing itself down his throat, into his mouth, reaching down further and further until his entire innards were just leaking that black, disgusting ooze-
"Thank goodness nobody was hurt," Joanne hurried over to Ciel and Norman, a smile on his face. "They must've noticed it early,"
"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked instead.
"They evacuated all of the other Houses for safety reasons,"
"Oh my, it's such a shame something like this had to happen on our first day back, hm? It makes sense that it's from your House...but are you okay?" The twin asked curiously as he walked over to Ciel, trying to grab him. Ciel managed to dodge. "From here, you don't look burned at all! That's good. It'd be very bad indeed if you got badly burned!"
"I never expected a lone wolf like you of all people to freak out and set your dorm-room ablaze. Are you sure you are truly of sound mind?" Maurice tittered as he twirled a strand of finely-curled hair around on his finger.
Ciel chose to ignore him, looking the other direction. Even in this universe, Maurice was a manipulative jerk who got off on taunting people. He briefly wondered if Maurice and his brother were close friends.
"Only half of the first floor was on fire! That's pretty impressive!" Norman continued on.
"I think Father and Mother should hear about this. It's their right. They were correct, you're too overwhelmed to return to school! You should send them a letter," Ciel's brother suggested. "It's the right thing to do,"
Ciel winced at that thought inwardly. If he did, his parents would be confident in their belief and pull him out, making it nearly impossible for him to continue his research on what happened to him. And what of his mystery attacker? He somehow knew even at home, he wouldn't be safe.
"For once, I agree with him, " Edward was the last one of their group to walk over, also being the only one dressed in a pair of striped pajamas with his blazer thrown on over it. "Uncle Vincent and Aunt Rachel care for you a lot. If something's truly troubling you, they should know,"
"Nothing's troubling me. I just slipped and dropped a candle because something in the mirror startled me," Ciel grumbled. "Accidents happen,"
"Everyone, get with your proper House and form a single-file line in front of your Dormitory Master! When they call out your name, answer immediately in the affirmative!" The Dormitory Master for Scarlet Fox, Lord Whitehall, commanded, still maintaining his poised and regal composure.
Joanne briefly waved to his friends as he walked off, and Edward hurried off in the other direction. Ciel and Norman took their spots in the line as their other dormmates were called.
"Don't the Prefects usually do this?" Ciel found himself whispering as his own Dormitory Master started to call out names.
"They mainly do it during drills. Since it's a real emergency this time, maybe they couldn't assemble them all in time," A third-year behind him whispered back carefully.
"Phantomhive, Cedric!" Mr. Tiwise called out, and Ciel stood up straighter as he answered back. His Dormitory Master was a short but thin man with dark hair and large glasses he stopped to adjust every few minutes. He was the exact kind of character Ciel pictured as being in that position before he infiltrated Weston and got Sebastian to replace the job. He shivered a bit.
"Alright. Sapphire Owl, you may return to your dorms unless you were on the first floor. In that case, please make your way to the spare dormitories that Scarlet Fox have graciously given us permission to use. It has been a long night. In a few day's time, you shall salvage what was left-over from the fire with me and Bluester," Mr. Tiwise continued, adjusting his glasses.
"How long will it take for our dorms to be rebuilt?" A first-year shyly asked.
"Only a few weeks, as the damage was mainly contained. No need to worry,"
"Come on, let's go," Norman eagerly tugged on Ciel's arm, only running off alone when Mr. Tiwise approached them.
"Sir? Am I in trouble?" Ciel asked formally, bowing a bit. "I'm sorry for what I did,"
"No, you are not in trouble. From what I understand, you were startled and dropped the candle on accident. Accidents happen, especially at your age," He began slowly, and Ciel nodded, looking up in surprise.
"I...I can pay for any damages caused. I am truly sorry for all of the inconveniences," He flinched when Mr. Tiwise suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder.
"However, this is not something I can just let alone. I will be sending a letter home to Earl Phantomhive, informing him of your condition. I will also be suggesting that you visit our school's alienist for a few days,"
"Y-You don't have to tell my parents anything!" Ciel gasped out, suddenly feeling very grateful that both Scarlet Fox and Sapphire Owl had already gone back inside. The only Houses left outside were Violet Wolf and Green Lion, who were bustling around to try and put the flames out. "I mean...you said it yourself, it was just an accident. Father won't be very happy at all if you send him a letter that tells him his son dropped a candle on accident," He attempted a smirk, but it looked more strangled as he swallowed down a tickle in his throat.
"Lord Phantomhive, this school has been forgiving of many transgressions of yours, but one thing we will not tolerate are students endangering others because they are found jumping at shadows. Nobody was hurt this time, but what of next time? What if you hurt someone like Duke Harcourt, a friend of yours?"
Ciel finally clenched his fists, looking away from Mr. Tiwise.
"Lord Phantomhive?"
"Yes, sir. I understand. I promise I will be more calm," He gave another bow.
"That is what I wanted to hear!" He adjusted his glasses. "Now hurry along to bed. I have kept you away long enough,"
Ciel did indeed hurry along, finding the inside halls of Scarlet Fox's dorm to be decadently painted in shades of scarlet red and gold. It hurt his eyes to stare for too long. Lots of paintings and decals were arranged neatly on the walls, and suits of armor manned every corner. He finally arrived to his borrowed room and found Norman there, already asleep. Ciel just collapsed into the bed beside Norman's, falling asleep immediately. He felt drained for no real reason at all.
####
Ciel awoke the next morning and hurried to the tea-room, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in his uniform as he went. It didn't need to be perfectly straight, right?
"Cricket practice for the tournament starts today!" Joanne exclaimed happily as he joined Norman and Ciel at a smaller table. "I wonder who will win this year?"
Ciel stirred the tea around in his mug, watching the cream slowly dissolve.
"Wouldn't it be something if Sapphire Owl won again like it did thirty years ago?" Norman asked. "We have a Phantomhive on our side, so it can't be that impossible!"
"No way! I don't mean to brag, but the winners will probably be us again. Us or Green Lion. It's always been," Joanne laughed, sipping his tea.
"Hey, I can dream, you know?" Norman gasped in mock offense, making Joanne laugh more.
"I think we might have a chance," Ciel responded quietly, making them both look over at him. "If I have enough time to prepare..." He still recalled how he did it in his other world; a lot of filthy cheating. But it got the job done, didn't it? He was positive his own father likely did a similar thing in order to get his own team to victory thirty years ago. He subtly glanced at Joanne, watching him happily stirring sugar into his own tea. If he did it, he'd have to not hurt Joanne-
No. Joanne might've been a supposed best friend of his here, but he was likely still one of the best cricket players in the school. If he left him alone, it didn't matter what else he did to the other teams, Joanne would likely still bring his team to victory alone.
"What did Mister Tiwise wish to speak to you about last night?" Norman asked curiously, adjusting his glasses.
"Just that...he's going to send a letter home to my parents," Ciel admitted. "I think he's just overreacting. I got scared and dropped a candle. He even said it himself, accidents happen,"
"Yes, but...you seemed really upset last night," Joanne sighed with wide eyes.
"He's just overreacting, as I said. Everyone coddles me like crazy and I'm starting to get sick of it. I was hoping Weston would give me a break from getting coddled, not coddle me further!" Ciel bitterly sipped at his tea. Norman and Joanne just stared at him helplessly.
"Goodness, look at the underclassmen, all sitting together as it should be," Maurice snickered, walking past the table with his hands on his hips. "They only got into this school because they have brains, unlike status. I suppose that shall suffice,"
"Some of us came from wealth! Like Phantomhive!" Norman shouted, making Ciel jump.
"Perhaps he came from it, but he's surely not going to inherit it. He's the younger son," Maurice twirled a curl around on his finger.
Joanne awkwardly looked away, sipping his tea anxiously.
"Come on, Cedric, it's nearly time for our first lesson! We have it together, or did you forget?" Ciel's brother popped up at that point, helping Ciel out of his seat.
"Fine, whatever. I don't even remember what it is anyway," He mumbled.
"French!"
Joanne and Norman awkwardly waved to Ciel as he was pulled away, and only then did Ciel finally realize Joanne had a rose clasped to his jacket instead of the regular emblem he and Norman both had.
####
After a grueling day of classes, Fag duties, and cricket practice, Ciel felt about ready to collapse heading back to his temporary housing. His brother caught him and started walking beside him, obvious concern on his face.
"Are you alright?" He asked immediately, and Ciel nodded, swallowing down a tickle in his throat. "Mister Tiwise told me you've been assigned to see an alienist beginning on Friday,"
"Why'd he tell you?" Ciel grumbled.
"Because we're family and he knows how concerned I am over you!" The twin gasped before smiling. "I think those sessions would be good for you. Maybe you'll meet some new friends, ones who don't follow behind you like a diseased mutt,"
"I think it'll just be me and him. Which is good, as I don't want anyone else to know about my sessions. It's already embarrassing enough half of the school thinks I'm crazy and jumping at shadows,"
"Everything will work itself out in the end," His brother patted his shoulder. "Just wait until the cricket game...our whole family will be there. No shadows to jump at there,"
Ciel just flinched and walked into his room, shutting the door in his brother's face. Norman wasn't there yet, so Ciel assumed he was still at the library. Tired, he managed to take his shoes and part of his uniform off before falling into bed again.
He shivered in his sleep that night, dreaming of those inky black tentacles forcing their way down his throat, through his eyes, into his brain, eating away at his body.
When he woke up once more, he was drenched in a cold sweat.
