( chapter fourteen ! )

"Hey. What're you doin' there?"

A chill runs through the air as Doll's voice cuts through the silence. Beneath her, Leah and Ciel stare up with wide, alert eyes, knowing they have been caught and their cover is most likely blown. Wind swims through their hair as they stare silently, no one having the courage to break the silence.

Diving to cover their mouths, Doll shares a similar look and forces the teens to press against each other. "Don't move," she whispers eerily.

The quiet of the night is still, rustling leaves filling their ears but fails to calm to unnerving atmosphere.

"Hey, Doll~" Dagger calls out, staring at the girl standing over the boxes. "Doll, what are ya doing?"

Ciel's face flushes under Doll's hand, twitching lightly with small beads of sweat dripping down his face. Now behind him, Leah keeps a hand firmly gripped around her cheeks, preventing herself from making any noise.

"Snake!" yells Doll, ignoring Ciel's noise of protest. "A venomous snake was slithering about. Didn't I tell you not to let them loose outside? You'd better put 'em away in your room properly now."

The betrothed teens peer from behind the boxes, watching Dagger scream at the reptile that Doll holds tightly in her hand. Snake, however, seems to have little reaction upon knowing a snake fully capable of killing a person was freely roaming the circus grounds.

Snake is initially silent as he lets the snake wrap around his shoulder before looking off to the side. "I'm sorry for my carelessness that could have sent you to the next world," he states, turning around to walk towards his tent.

Agreeing with Doll about keeping the snakes away, Dagger also walks off and sighs a breath of relief. Watching the two men disperse, Doll turns back around and hops over the boxes. She grabs ahold of Ciel and Leah's wrists and begins to drag them away from the scene.

"This way. Hurry," she says. Doll leads the nobles past the first-string tents, stealthily moving past objects like the rope dictating the area they should not be in. "Don't touch that rope."

Traveling a bit further, their movement comes to a stop as Doll checks around the corner. Huffing and trying to get air inside of him, Ciel lets out an occasional cough and accepts small pats on the back from Leah who overall appears fine except for a couple of passing shaky breaths.

"It should be fine now since we came so far." Doll continues to look out for any signs of people.

Coughs sound from the blue-haired boy and a visible patch of air leaves his mouth in the cold air, hand on his thigh as he looks at the back of Doll's head with a flushed face. "Why did you help us.."

Doll turns around, staring at Ciel with an odd look. "You still don't get it? It's me," she reaches up to pull off her elaborate floral wig, revealing her normal brown hair with a smile as Ciel nearly screams in shock.

"Freckles?!" Ciel yells. "You're a guy.. yet you wear that costume?!" he stares incredulously as if he has not been dressed in such a way before.

Furrowing her brows, the young Barrett glances over at her fiancé. "You couldn't tell she's a girl?"

"How rude! It's obvious that I'm a girl," exclaims Doll while subtly smiling at Leah. Stepping closer, she takes ahold of Ciel's hand and presses it to her chest. "Here."

Moving back with an uncomfortable shout, clutching his left hand tightly. Leah also stares in shock, mouth wide open at the sight.

Doll moves her hands in the way of a bear. "You can take a peek downstairs next if you want?"

"No, thank you!"

"Have you no shame?!"

Both the Phantomhive and Barrett appear appalled by Doll's actions, Leah taking it much more harshly than Ciel. 'These people are barbaric.. What kind of a lady does such a thing? No shame.'

Clearing his throat with a cough, Ciel keeps his distance with a clenched fist raised to his mouth. However, Doll decides to rightfully interrogate the nobles.

"So.. Why were you in there anyways?" she asks with crossed arms and knitted brows, clearly displaying her displeasure. "Didn't Joker tell you about those venomous snakes?"

"About that.." Ciel starts, his face blanking as he confirms his plan. "I'm sorry! I didn't actually steal anything today though! Please don't boot me out of here!"

Doll and Leah both seem surprised at his sudden outburst, the taller one of the duo not realizing her fiancé would resort to playing a thief. "Today? You.." Doll is at a loss for words.

"Before I became a page boy, I was actually in East End having to do all I could just to survive. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help myself. The mansion I worked for previously found out about it.." Ciel acts better than many would assume, shocking Leah with his feigned shaking and forced voice. "I..If I was driven out of here, I'd have to live on East End again.."

'A bit dramatic but it's quite believable. Doll seems more on the immature side, surely she falls for it..' Leah thinks to herself, choosing to stay silent and offer the girl a shrug. 'I assume I just play bystander? She has yet to question me.'

Silence falls upon them as Doll thinks before she releases a puff of air. "So you really didn't steal anything, eh?"

"No, I didn't. I swear to God," Ciel confirms, tightly clasping his hands together.

Turning to Leah, Doll eyes her. "What about you? What were you doing over there?" she questions.

For a moment Leah begins to sweat but she is quick to recover. "I was just following him.. Making sure he didn't get hurt or cause trouble," the girl lies through her teeth, flashing a thin-lipped smile she always gives when she is caught.

"Oh well, I have no choice then.." Doll scratches the back of her head and loosens the hold on her wig that sits under her left arm. "It's okay. Anyhow, I owe you."

Ciel feigns a smile. "Thank you so much!"

"I think everyone has some things about them that they don't want anyone to know.. Besides, I did something bad to you today," Doll lets her face soften. "So, I won't tell anyone about this. But now we are even. However, don't steal again no matter what!"

The noble's faces darken at Doll's words about secrets for their respective reasons. They still make no complaint.

"Yes." Leah and Ciel confirm.

Coughs sounds from the blue-haired boy. "Um.. Can I ask you something?" He takes the small period of silence as a go-ahead. "Why does a first-tier member like you share a tent with us?"

"Ah.. I'm just not a fan of private rooms. Staying with someone else seems to make me sleep better sometimes," Doll shifts to face the gate rather than the two teenagers. "I hope that you two don't mind sharing a tent with me now that you know I'm a first-tier member.."

"Of course not."

"I don't mind, I suppose."

A bright smile works its way onto the performer's face. "Neat. So we will keep what happened today our secret," she outstretches two hands towards the betrothed pair.

Ciel is first to take Doll's hand in his, flashing his smile as he grips it tightly with a shake. Leah on the other hand is initially apprehensive but still shakes her hand, offering a small smile that brings out a glimmer in her blue eyes.

Pulling back from the contact, Leah and Ciel wave off Doll as she walks away. The Phantomhive's smile slowly fades, unnoticed by his fiancé who now focuses on her feet, as he begins to lead her away to the tent homing Sebastian and William.

The walk is short. The teenagers share a comfortable silence while they walk with their arms touching, creating a small friction that doesn't work to heat them in the cold of the night. Stopping before the tent, Ciel approaches the opening but looks back when he realizes Leah isn't following.

"Aren't you coming in?" he asks with a raised brow.

Wind flows through the brunette's hair, pushing it against her cheeks and contrasting against her pale skin. "That's a man's tent. I refuse," she says stubbornly.

Ciel sighs through his nose. "Suit yourself."

Watching him walk off inside the tent, Leah takes a couple of steps back and situates herself in a quiet corner. She stares up at the moon with a twinkle in her eyes, not bothering to fix her scarf that is coming loose around her neck.

For the first time since she's stepped on the circus grounds, she feels a sense of solitude. A calm that she basks in. A silence that comforts her. No pressure to speak with another person. The night is perfect. Until it's not.

"What're ya doin' out here, lass?" Joker stops beside her with quiet steps and looks down.

Leah sighs through her nose at the intrusion of her peace yet still forces a believable smile, glancing up at Joker with her best innocent look. "I'm just waiting for Smile to finish speaking with Black. And watching the sky, I suppose," her voice is soft.

Eyes softening, Joker watches Leah shift on her feet. "Are ya alright from earlier? When you were cryin' and all."

"Yes! Yes.. I'm alright. I was just— a little overwhelmed is all," she grows a bit uncomfortable as the topic is brought back to her behavior earlier, the cold working well to mask the growing flush on her face.

Grass moves beneath them with the wind, creating a chill around the two in their sudden silence. A small smile forms on Joker's face, observing Leah's as she looks up at him with doe eyes and nearly mesmerizes him for a mere moment with her beauty.

Stepping closer, Joker grabs ahold of the Barrett's scarf. "Well don't stay out here too long now. Yer so thin, yer asking to catch a cold in this weather," he says as he adjusts the material around her neck.

Leah blinks in surprise at the action, though she hardly has time to think it over when she hears the sound of someone clearing their throat. The brunette and ginger turn their heads to see Ciel and Sebastian, the teen looking unimpressed at the sight.

"We should go back to our tent, Diamond," Ciel says, signaling for Leah to follow.

Pulling away from Joker with a nod, she steps over to Ciel with a hum. Ciel takes ahold of her wrist and begins to subtly drag her away from the scene, not bothering to turn his head to watch Leah and Joker share a silent goodnight. Pursing his lips, he turns a corner and situates himself and his fiancé between two tents, Sebastian standing in front of them.

Crossing his arms, Ciel gives a side glance towards Leah before he begins talking. "So, the sender's name is Tom the Piper's son."

"Tom the Piper's son?" Sebastian asks.

"It's a character from Mother Goose. I have no idea what it means.." Ciel trails off with a cough. "Also there is a hallmark of a hose in the sealing wax along with the initial k."

Sebastian nods with closed eyes. "Then, it's the same as what I saw."

"Normally the sealing is engraved with a symbol of motivation and the initial of the person plus the family crest," Ciel says, acknowledging the hums from the two beside him. "In other words, Tom the Piper's son is someone who holds a family crest with the prefix of a horse. People who have their family crest displaying a horse are usually knights or other soldiers. It's not a rule, though it's basically impossible to get one without a rank of some level."

A couple more coughs sound from the Phantomhive, making Leah's face contort in concern.

"All of these crests are recorded by a heraldry. No matter how many records they have, I know that you are capable of finding it with this information alone," his coughs begin to sound worse, shaking his body. "Disappearing children, a circus, Tom the Piper's son.. and me. I wonder how all of these pieces are connected."

Doubling over, Ciel continues to cough into his hand. He leaves the corner in between the tents, much to Leah and Sebastian's apprehension.

Glancing over, Sebastian gives the boy a strange look. "Young Master.."

"Firstly, I'll return to the townhouse," Ciel's coughs cut through his sentence, getting rougher before a wet sound starts to come from him.

"Young Master? What's wrong?"

Both the butler and girl approach Ciel from behind and are just in time to see the vomit leaving his mouth, watching him fall to his knees. Sebastian is painted in worry, while Leah is inclined to back away.

"Young Master?!"

"Oh, that is vile.."

Doll also approaches. "Smile?! What's wrong?"

Lying on an infirmary bed is Ciel Phantomhive with flushed cheeks and sweat slowly dripping down his face, covered by a blanket and surrounded by peers. Standing the closest to the bed is Leah, leaning down to observe her fiancé amidst his sickness.

"It's asthma," Doctor says, holding up a clipboard littered with notes.

"Asthma..? This is the first time I've seen him in this condition even though I have been with him for seven years," claims Sebastian.

Doctor pulls his wheelchair away from the bed to turn it around, facing Sebastian and Doll while Leah continues to stare at the blue-haired boy. "If he hasn't had this condition for seven years, it's considered as being recovered. Though all you need is a sudden chill or time of stress.. then if he gets a cold it can abruptly come back."

Sebastian glances off to the side in thought. "I have seen him suffer from a cold once or twice though it was never this bad."

"This time it's probably because the main causes coincided together," Doctor shifts his attention back onto the Phantomhive. "It's natural for him to get a cold since he went out bathing with our brutish people."

Ciel's eyes open with a cough but they appear glossed over as if he can't focus. They fix on the first thing they can see — Leah standing above him — and his hand shoots out from under the blanket to grip her wrist.

Face contorting into a grimace, the young Barrett forces a smile onto her face. "Oh! You're touching me with your soiled hands.."

"Oh that's great, you have regained consciousness!" says Doctor, wheeling a little closer to him.

"Water.." croaks Ciel and doesn't move his eyes away from Leah.

Picking up a small teapot, Sebastian strides over to the bed and places it against his master's lips. "Here you go."

"Smile, you have had bad asthma since you were very young right? There are cases where people have died from it. You should be careful even if you think you have fully recovered," Doctor looks genuinely concerned, folding a fresh towel to place on Ciel's forehead. "Rest until the fever and coughing have stopped! Okay? You guys should get going then."

The Barrett gives her betrothed a smile of pity pulls his hand away from his wrist, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and steps back. Grabbing an old towel, she uses it to wipe off her wrist and places the back of her finger against his cheek.

"Get better.." she whispers, stepping away to follow Sebastian out of the tent.

Blades of grass move with the wind, shifting beneath the body of Leah Barrett as she sits on an open section of land. Her face is devoid of any expression, staring ahead of herself breeze sifts through her hair.

'I cannot do this. I shall lose my mind.'

Sucking in a big breath through her parted lips, she looks out at the trees ahead, trying to calm her racing thoughts. 'Dilemma after dilemma.'

She blinks.

Thomas stands in the far distance.

She blinks again.

Gone.

Leah's brows furrow, reaching up a hand to rub her eyes. Blinking a couple of more times, she can only see the empty group of trees. 'I must be going crazy..'

Standing up with a shake of her head, the brunette gives one last glance to the trees before setting off for the infirmary tent. Her steps are long, naturally, until the tent is in her sight, noticing a particular butler clad in black slipping out.

Turning his head at the sound of footsteps, Sebastian gives a small smile when he notices the Barrett. "Lady Leah."

"Sebastian," she returns with a nod of acknowledgment.

Passing by each other, they both go their respective ways. Sebastian is off to complete a mission, and Leah checking in on her fiancé.

Lifting the tent flap, she steps inside quietly, careful to not disturb Ciel if he happens to be resting. But her brows furrow once more when she sees another figure in the bed as well, approaching cautiously.

Getting closer, Leah realizes the second body in the bed is Doll, lying freely against Ciel and snoring obnoxiously. The Barrett's face darkens, a faint string of hurt dancing around and showing in her eyes. Her steps come to a stop directly beside the bed, staring down at the scene in distaste.

'How unpleasant.. Letting another woman in your bed.' Leah's hand twitches. 'How distasteful— unladylike.. to lay in the bed of a man that isn't your husband. The lack of decorum is astonishing.'

Dragging her eyes across Ciel's face, she takes in a deep breath and shuts her eyes. For a moment, she knows peace. But she opens them and peace is no longer. Pursing her lips, she slowly backs away from the bed, not bothering to spare a glance at the sleeping Doll.

"Enjoy your rest.." she whispers.

Leah swiftly turns around and leaves the tent, taking coordinated steps as she swallows the lump in her throat. Adjusting her fuzzy scarf around her neck, wrapping it tighter than necessary but it works to comfort her and calm her nerves.

"Yer still out here?"

A gasp sounds from the brunette and she whips around to see none other than Joker looking down at her. However this time around, his expression is a bit different than anything he's previously presented to her, like he knows something.

"I was checking on Ci— Smile.." caught off guard, Leah quickly corrects her crucial mistake. "What are you doing?"

Joker's eyes narrow for a split second before shifting back to his original look. "I'm goin' to see someone. Ye should really get to bed, somewhere warm. Stayin' up late ain't good for yer health, 'specially someone as young as ya," he voices, grabbing ahold of her coat to pull it together.

The Barrett's cheeks flush. "I—I will. Be safe on your trip.." she smiles, though it hardly reaches her eyes.

Bringing a hand up to smooth a stray hair, Joker smiles softly before brushing past her arm as they set off down their separate paths.

"Lady Leah? We are leaving now, please excuse me," Sebastian peers down at the sleeping girl with Ciel in his arms bridal style, swooping Leah up to perch her on his shoulder.

Opening her eyes with a groan, Leah can feel the unsteady path beneath her. "Hm?"

Her eyes fall upon Ciel below her, still coughing. The Barrett shivers as well, realizing she is only in a nightgown while Sebastian effortlessly carries both nobles back to the Phantomhive's townhouse.

'Dear God.. kill me now.'

The walk is not fun. Cold and slow, due to Sebastian having to hold back with a conscious Leah there to witness everything. But the townhouse is finally in view, welcoming them inside like a warm hug.

"Where the hell did you go for two days without telling me anything? If you were gone any longer, I would have had to send out a search party!" Soma yells in aggravation, a happy Agni welcoming them back behind him.

Ciel coughs into his hand. "It's none of your business..."

Wriggling off of Sebastian's shoulder, Leah hastily approaches Anna who stands in apprehensive silence. "Please gather yourself, Anna. I want to go home. Now," she demands.

"You're not staying?" asks Ciel in between coughs.

Leah lets Anna begin to lead her away to a room to get dressed in more appropriate clothing. "No."

Rubbing her eyes and stuffing down her hair, Leah and her maid leave behind the loud voices that fade into the distance. 'Why is it so challenging to find some quiet..'

"Where have you been?!" yells Lucius, practically throwing himself down the stairs at the sight of his daughter.

The interior of Barrett Manor is warm and inviting, calming Leah down now that she is finally home like she has been wishing.

"I was with Ciel," she says.

"For two days?! And you didn't think to say anything?!" Lucius paces back and forth, Vivienne and Daniel turning to the corner to observe the scene.

Leah's mouth opens and closes like a fish. "Well.. I assumed Anna would have sent a letter or something."

Shaking his head, Lucius envelopes his daughter in a tight hug. "At least you're safe.."

She wraps her arms around him in response, resting her head against his shoulder. Tears well up and threaten to spill from Leah's eyes before she notices the inevitable blonde hair she hoped to not see, taking in a deep breath through her nose.

"You have a letter, My Lady," says Thomas from behind her father, holding up a crisp envelope.

Pinching the paper from his hand, Leah pulls away from her father and opens it to reveal its contents. Dragging her eyes across the words, she lips purse. 'Elizabeth is inviting me to Ciel's manor? I suppose I can go.. It has been quite some time since I've seen her.'

"Anna," she turns around to the empty spot where her lady's maid previously stood. "Anna?"

A pout spreads across her lips, feeling alone now that her family has also filed out of the room. Shifting her eyes to the blonde butler, she sighs in reluctance.

"Thomas, come with me," Leah states.

Alerted by the mention of his name, Thomas tilts his head. "Where are we going?"

Stuffing the paper back inside the envelope, the Barrett leaves it to lay on a nearby table as she approaches the door to her home.

"To Phantomhive Manor, of course."