Chapter Text
***
I slammed the book down on the table and rubbed at my forehead in frustration. It had been two days since I’d witnessed Alois lose his shit and I’d been sitting stagnant the whole time. None of the servants spoke to me, except Hannah, but even then, it was like talking to a mute. I hadn’t seen Alois or Claude since the incident in the dining hall, which I was totally okay with, but it set me on edge. Why hadn’t he come to see me after what happened?
Then there was the incident with Undertaker that I couldn’t wrap my head around. What the hell was he trying to pull showing up out of nowhere? How had gotten past the barriers? If he’d been able to do that, why couldn’t he have taken me with him? It was annoying being the only full-fledged human in this whole situation and being absolutely clueless. Undertaker was hiding something. Whether that was entirely for his own gain or because he wanted to see how I would react, I didn’t know, but I was damn well centered on finding out.
I took a deep breath, pulling myself up from the chair I’d found in the midst of a hidden library a few doors down from the room I’d been forced into. According to Hannah, I was able to roam the mansion as long as I didn’t get in the way or try to escape. Considering I had nothing better to do, I did just that, and finally found a library. It was filled with old manuals and novels; even dustier than the ones I’d seen in Ciel’s office. I had been trying to find things on witchcraft or folklore on demons, but nothing had turned up yet. Alois was thoroughly keeping me on a short leash, the bastard.
The sound of voices suddenly sprang up from just down the hall. I moved to the doors, peeking my head around the corner to have a look at who it was. The blonde of Alois’ hair shone brightly in the sunlight coming in through the windows he passed. Claude was right behind him, his eyes trained directly to the back of his master’s head. He looked like a pining puppy. It was almost sickening. Was that how Ciel and Sebastian looked?
When Alois grew nearer, I inhaled sharply, the slowly healing wounds on my face throbbing at the memory of his anger. I squared my shoulders and did my best to walk casually from the doors, keeping my eyes cast down as much as I could. Silence took over the hallway for a moment before I heard the sound of his chuckle echoing through the walls. I gripped the stupid blue fabric of the dress Hannah had provided that morning and kept my head down.
“Find anything interesting, my dear,” I heard Alois ask as they neared me. I froze, feeling rather than seeing his presence only a few feet from where I stood. “You’ll find nothing in there besides old manuals, I’m afraid.”
I bit back my retort and pursed my lips. Dick. “I was bored,” I lied. Alois scoffed quietly, reaching up to grasp my jaw. I winced as his thumb grazed a bruise, but turned my head with his hand, not keen on feeling anymore pain than necessary. “I was told I could roam the mansion if I wanted to.”
“Were you?”
The look he gave me was a clear sign that he hadn’t actually given any such orders, and I felt the blood drain from my face. “H-Hannah said it was okay,” I stuttered embarrassingly, my voice giving away my uncertainty. Alois looked irate for a split second before he broke out into his usual smile. What the hell was up with him?
“Well, if I’ve given that order, why don’t we make this interesting ourselves,” Alois suggested, tapping his chin with his gloved fingers. I bit my cheek, waiting for him to continue. His silence was deafening, but finally, he looked down at me again. “Claude will fetch you for supper. We will be dining in my bed chambers.”
My mouth fell open. We were what?! “Huh?!”
Alois smirked at me, brushing the back of his fingers over the cut on my cheekbone. I flinched away. “Don’t make me wait, will you?”
“B-but-“
He walked off, continuing a quiet conversation with the demon at his back. I stared open mouthed at them, my blood boiling ever so slightly at his demands. What was so hard about eating in the dining hall like normal people? Although when I thought about it, having a ‘dining hall’ wasn’t exactly normal either. Pursing my lips as they disappeared at the end of the hall, I circled around to find my room again. What was the point of trying to be sneaky when obviously he knew my every move?
Hannah was waiting in the room when I found my way back, a fresh gash on her cheek that looked to be quite painful. She didn’t say a word, but poured tea for me as I sat down on the bed, eyeing her carefully.
“Does he do that to you every day?”
When she didn’t answer, I sighed, leaning back on my hands. I hated to admit it, but Hannah was the only refreshing part about staying in the Trancy mansion. Despite her appearance every time we crossed paths, her presence was a constant in a world of change. I picked at the lace on my dress, waiting for her to finish preparing the tea. When she did, I sat up again, eyeing her suspiciously.
“Hannah, why did you tell me I could wander the halls when Alois clearly hadn’t told you so?”
She faltered for half a second, but long enough for me to notice. When she still didn’t answer my question, I stood from the bed and quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her to sit instead. She didn’t meet my eyes, which was fine. There was no point to her looking at me anyways. I just wanted her to answer my question. Spotting a trail of blood starting to crawl toward her jawline, I grabbed the cloth napkin from the tray and bent to look at her.
“What’s in it for you to tell me something like that? To get me killed faster,” I asked, gently wiping away the blood from her cheek. The silence dragged on while I cleaned her face, but I knew the answer already. Why else would she make up something that may or may not kill me in the end? It didn’t matter at this point though. Regardless of what anyone said, I would freely roam around, and hopefully get answers without putting myself directly in harm’s way. Hopefully.
I tossed the rag in the water and rubbed the back of my neck, watching her while she moved everything onto the cart sitting in the corner. The frustration I’d felt from her silence was gone, replaced by the growing anxiety of having to see Alois again, only this time in his room. Why the hell would he have me go there? It was obvious he didn’t want sex, or anything remotely close. I disgusted him for some ungodly reason, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“Would you like anything else,” Hannah asked, her voice almost as quiet as a mouse. I shook my head, watching the steam from my tea rise while I waited for her to leave. When she finally did, I sighed, slinking onto the bed.
Hannah was a hopeless case when it came to digging for information. Despite everything she faced with Alois, she was still at his side without a complaint. I would never understand that connection, or at the very least, try to understand it. Alois was insane through and through. There was no amount of money in the world to make me do anything with that…man, if you could call him that.
I flopped back onto the pillows, rubbing my eyes slowly. Why exhaustion was creeping on me at a time like this, I wasn’t sure, but a nap seemed a hell of a lot better than going nuts staring at the wall. Turning over, I pulled my knees as close to my chest as I could get them and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.
***
I woke with a start, the sound of a door shutting immediately knocking me from my sleep. When I saw Hannah with another dress draped over her arm, I inwardly groaned. Was it already that time? I took a deep breath, sliding off the bed so she could help me take the stupid ‘day’ dress off. Sooner or later, I’d have to boycott his decision to put me in dresses. I know he’s from the old times, but come on, pants are where it’s at. Maybe I could steal some of his while I was in his room. At the thought of his expression, I cracked a smirk.
It wasn’t until Hannah was finishing up tying the back of the dress that I actually considering looking at it. A jolt went through my heart at the color, and I could have sworn Alois did it on purpose. The dress was dyed perfectly to the beautiful blue of Ciel’s eyes, a deep purple woven into the seams and folds. My stomach did a painful flip, and it took all I had not to burst out in tears. Alois knew he could beat me to a bloody pulp, but it wouldn’t do anything to my pride. Put Ciel into the mix, and I was done for. That bastard fucking knew.
I slapped Hannah’s hands away from my hair before she could do anything to it. There was no way I would become exactly what Alois wanted me to be, especially after this jab at my psyche. In the back of my mind, I knew he did it to see my reaction, to see me get riled up, and I was dancing to his tune just like he wanted.
Not anymore.
When the three stooges returned to bring me to Alois, I gave Hannah an unfaltering look, watching her tuck her hands into the folds of her dress before I was taken out of the room. I was growing more and more suspicious of her as the hours ticked by, and leaving her behind seemed more like a burden than a good idea. However, I tossed that out of my mind when the three came to a stop at the large double doors down the hall and pushed them open.
“Ah, there you are,” Alois said in a grandiose voice as I entered the room.
There was a table set in the middle of the room with two lounge chairs on either side, a vase of red roses sitting on top. Alois seemed to have a thing for red roses, which I’m sure reminded him of blood and carnage. That’s certainly where my mind went when red and Alois came into the same picture. He was dressed in that ridiculous purple frock again, his hair pulled back with pins as he leant against the arm of the chair behind him, a smirk planted on his face.
“I was beginning to think you may not join me.”
“Something tells me I didn’t have much of a choice,” I quipped, earning a chuckle in return. He waved his arm to the chair beside him and, despite wanting to shove my fist down his throat, I sat, the rustle of the dress loud against the surrounding silence.
Alois sat across from me, and while he got comfortable, Claude removed the roses from the table, vanishing from sight. The silence in the room was palpable, the three stooges having followed Claude out of the doors and leaving Alois and I to stare at each other. He eyed me quietly, tapping on the table with his fingertips as he leaned back and folded his leg over the other.
“I’ve heard from the little birdies in my home that you have exhausted that poor ratty old book of mine.”
I didn’t answer at first, watching his face as he spoke.
“Tell me, Alexis, have you found anything of interest? Is it as heartbreaking as your dear Ciel’s?”
Curiosity lined his features, but it was his eyes that gave him away. His usual spiteful, hate filled eyes were now cast with a sadness I hadn’t seen before. Part of me wanted to feel bad for him, to tell him I was sorry for his god awful past, but with every painful breath I took, the ache in my back told me there was no point. He was cruel and hateful, allowing his past to create a monster.
“I haven’t found anything useful yet.”
He chuckled, darting his eyes across my face. “Useful, you say. What would be useful to you in my past, do you suppose?”
I knew he was trying to poke and prod his way into finding out what I was looking for, but honestly, I had no idea. My first thought had been maybe something that took Ciel out of the picture entirely, but with the Sebastian debacle, I couldn’t think of any way to separate Alois and Ciel from their pasts. Ciel was hell bent on getting back at Alois, and Alois was hell bent on getting back at Sebastian via Ciel. It was a vicious cycle that, in retrospect, probably wouldn’t ever end unless one or the other was dead.
My bet was on Ciel winning that battle.
When I said as much, Alois threw his head back and laughed, slapping his hand on the table. “I think you fail to see the power balance, Ms. Carmichael,” he said when he finally let his laughter die down. His cold eyes met mine and, if I hadn’t been so defiant, I may have cowered at the look. “I have all the pawns, I have the rook, I have the knight and, one might say, I already have Ciel’s queen. What could he possibly have that I don’t?”
“I don’t know, maybe a will to change what happened to him?”
Alois seemed to mull that over for a moment. He tapped his fingertip against his chin. “Does he though? Has he tried letting go of the past? His parents are long gone, there’s no way to bring them back,” Alois mused, “his hatred for me has brought him more chaos than perhaps he realized.”
I let his words sink in for a moment. Had Ciel’s life always been chaos, from the moment his parents passed? Or had he brought it on himself when he made his mind up to get revenge? Could he, maybe, one day, have a normal life?
I almost scoffed at my own thoughts. Right. Half demon. There was no way he’d have a normal life, not after the curse Alois laid on his head.
“What of the curse?” His brows lifted in question. “You set a curse on him, to create a demon and stop Sebastian from consuming his soul, right? Will he always be part demon or-”
“Assuming he makes it out alive and defeats me somehow? Yes.”
So Alois either didn’t know that his death would break the curse, or he was lying to me. I slid my hands into the folds of my dress, leaning back into the seat as I thought that over. Alois was sly, that was for sure. Not like Ciel, but in his own way. He was a good liar to a fault, but excitement was his downfall. Right now, I couldn’t tell if his demeanor was excited to be getting questioned so he could boast or if he was as thoughtful as I was in the moment.
BANG!
The sound of exploding glass and shattering panes from across the room shocked both of us out of our chairs, the table falling to the ground as we turned to face what had caused the destruction. Before I could comprehend what was happening, an arm slid around my waist and pulled me from Alois. The softness of a refined coat brushed against my skin as I was pressed into a chest made of stone.
“Hold on, my lady,” I heard Sebastian say above my ear, and in the time it took to exhale, we were off the floor, bounding across the room. I gripped tightly onto his jacket, a scream caught in my throat. “If you could, my lady, slip your hand underneath my coat, will you?”
“I am NOT moving my hands, Sebastian!”
Wind whipped through my hair as the speed progressed, Sebastian as light on his feet as he jumped and ran down another winding hallway. He let out a sigh and shifted my arm under his coat, in the same swift moment as he pulled a handful of kitchen knives from a hidden pocket.
I chanced a look over my shoulder and balked at the sheer speed with which Sebastian was easily running through the hallways, hardly bouncing me as he weaved this way and that to avoid the threat behind us. I watched as knives – another and another and another – flew out of Sebastian’s hands, aimed directly at the three stooges bounding quickly towards Sebastian’s retreating form. Panic rose in my throat when my eyes caught the glint of a knife, one of Sebastian’s own, coming back to hit us straight us.
“Sebastian!”
He shifted, his arm hooking tighter around my torso. I held my breath as the knife slid right past my ear, a soft whisper and then a thud when it connected with the wall where my head had been just a second sooner.
“You’re having way too much fun with this,” I seethed.
There was no answer, just the whooshing sounds of his knives exiting his arm. Where the endless knives were coming from, I wasn’t going to question. I pressed my face back into the stone cold chest and hoped, wordlessly, that Sebastian was as good a demon as Ciel claimed – that I wouldn’t die by a knife in the back of my head.
An ear splitting BOOM echoed as Sebastian’s back collided with a wall, or a door – something – and sent us both onto the floor. Sebastian slipped with ease from my tight hold and bent in a calm stance in front of me, waiting, silently waiting, for the three to approach us. My heart thudded in my chest, aching, damn near ready to break out of it’s cage.
“Sebastian, do not yield,” came the icy familiar voice behind me.
My heart shot to my stomach.
“Yes, master,” Sebastian replied with a slight lilt to his tone. Seconds later, the three figures burst through the doors.
A set of hands clasped my elbows and tugged me none too gently from Sebastian’s crouched form, cold against my skin, but familiar.
“Move your legs, will you,” Ciel said gruffly, hauling me towards the corner of the vast room we now we cornered in. I shoved my feet on the crimson carpet, until we were hiding behind one of the many chairs lining the wall. When I was able to finally get my breathing to slow enough to speak, I turned, facing the man who’d kept me waiting.
He looked run down, weary, like he’d had nothing to eat for weeks. His cheeks had sunken in, the one visible eye lined with purple from lack of sleep. Lips that were once full now were cracked, gnawed, bitten with stress. His hair, always so prim and proper, looked like a crow’s nest of black tangles surrounding his head.
“You-you came for me,” I managed to whisper, earning a grunt in return.
“You have quite the knack of getting caught in bad situations, Miss Carmichael.” His voice was that of disappointment and slight malice – towards me, I couldn’t tell. But as he said the words, his fingers traced the vague yellow-purple bruises on my cheeks that were almost healed. His eye flashed with anger, lips disappearing in a tight line.
Behind us, Sebastian was still taking his time, dancing with the three. I’d seen Sebastian fight Grell, heard of the battles he’d faced with Ciel’s enemies, and despite Ciel’s orders to not yield, he seemed to be enjoying this. He could so easily end them, finish them off, but by the sounds of his jeering stabs and restless legs hitting the walls, the railing, the floor, he was certainly doing more than simply running away.
“Ciel, you need to feed,” I said, returning my attention back to the man in front of me. His eye flicked from my neck to my face. I knew before he said anything that he would attempt to fight me, to say he could do this without it, but he was weak. He knew as well as I did that he needed it.
A beat of silence passed between us, my heart racing as his façade began to falter, his face revealing his ultimate need.
“You are not scared.” It wasn’t a question.
“I am,” I urged. It wasn’t entirely true, because as much as I was terrified of Alois, knowing Ciel was actually here, in front of me – I wasn’t as scared as I should have been. I was relieved.
He couldn’t fight, not in the state he was in currently. If it came down to fight or flight, flight would be the way we would go. Alois would make it nearly impossible, but with Sebastian, I was sure they’d thought of a way not only to get into the mansion, but of a way out as well. I pressed on, reaching for Ciel’s wrists.
“You have to feed on me, Ciel! You need your strength to get out of here!”
Another crash, splinters of wood spraying over our heads. I felt the rain of wood in my hair, on my bare shoulders, smelled the fumes of ash and embers. Sebastian was continuously egging them on, but the fight was getting closer to us. I trailed my eyes away from Ciel, biting hard into my lip. Think, think, think.
I watched as Sebastian dodged yet another knife being hurled at him, a smirk clear on his lips as he zipped away towards the opposite end of the room. Why on earth was he playing with them? Was he killing time so Ciel could feed? Or did he have another purpose entirely?
“We must go, Alex,” Ciel said, quiet near my ear. His chilled breath sent a shiver down my spine and I peered back at him. He too was watching Sebastian, but his hands gripped my wrists like chains. “Sebastian is distracting them. Allowing us time to leave.”
I shook my head, but he gripped tighter, and I felt the bones shift little by little. Pain shot up both of my arms, eliciting a whimper from my lips. He was not doing it to scare me – he wasn’t Alois, who used pain as a ploy. No, Ciel was using it to get my to succumb to escaping with our lives rather than being impaled with shards of broken wood and glass.
“Alexis, I swear to all the Gods in this world, if you do not get your ass up and move, I will leave you here to rot, do you understand?”
His voice was cold, laced with urgency. I winced, but nodded. There was no way for me to be scared in this moment, not of him, not when I knew our escape was so close. We weren’t going to have time to find a way for him to feed, and as I looked down at his hands around my wrists then back at his tightened jaw, I nodded again.
“Okay.”
In an instant, he was on his feet, pulling me up into his arms. As weak as he looked, he still had strength enough to haul me up, hooking his arms under my back and my knees.
“No matter what you hear, Alexis, you keep your eyes closed.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but he clenched his jaw. Not the time. Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I slid my eyes closed, tight and unseeing.
Ciel began to whisper under his breath. I listened, straining against the sounds within the room. It was a language I’d never heard before, but Ciel didn’t falter, not as another explosion of wood came crashing towards us. I ducked my head into his chest, listening to the rumble of his voice.
Seconds passed, and I waited, waited for the okay, hearing the chaos, hearing his chants, and then I felt them. Nails, sharp as razors, pressed into my knees, into my back. I gasped, the urge to open my eyes almost too much as the nails continued to grow and sink into the bodice of my dress. A hiss of wind ruffled my hair, brushed my cheek, my arms. It felt like a cold snake slithering along my skin and caressing me like a lover.
I clung to Ciel’s form and then I heard the clicks as he began to walk. It was like weighted heels, every step echoing like a hammer on a door.
“Do not open your eyes,” Ciel again warned, this time his voice deep, nearly a growl.
My heart pounded in my chest as he continued to walk, the wind swirling and shifting through my hair, his nails digging uncomfortably now into my back. Was this Ciel’s demon form? Is that why he didn’t want me to look?
And then all went silent. I could hear Sebastian falter in his assault, and then his footsteps landing next to us.
“They are gone, Master,” Sebastian muttered.
He received only a growl in response.
“CIEL!”
The demon stopped, the wind seemingly freezing around us, the chill on my skin lingering and causing goose bumps. Alois’s voice reverberated throughout the room, seizing Ciel’s attention through his chanting. My heart began to race. No, no, we were so close. So close to freedom.
“Let’s finish this, you and I,” Alois shouted. It was a mild taunt, but a taunt a vengeful demon couldn’t pass up. “You’ve used all your power summoning your demon. You’re weak and even your precious love can’t help you. That spell you’ve used won’t help you out of the confines of my home. Finish this with me, friend, and perhaps I’ll let her live!”
I wanted to spit at the word friend. He knew how to taunt, how to get through to Ciel. The demon holding me was clinging to my back and, if I thought hard enough about it, I could feel the sting of several mild cuts beginning to form on my skin.
“Ciel, don’t listen to him,” I whispered, pressing my cheek to his chest. I could hear the slowed beat of his heart, the low rumble of his breath. “Please, you can get us out. Don’t stop now.”
Desperation drew my eyes open and when I looked at Ciel’s face, fear struck me, bile rising in my throat. This was Ciel’s true form. A monster. A face of nightmares. Twisted and grueling and cruel, skin black as a shadow. The air around us hadn’t been wind, but tendrils of energy snaking and swirling, a ghost of his darkness. It caressed my skin as a lover would, as Ciel would. I audibly gasped as his deep crimson eyes stared down at me, a snarl on his black lips. Razor sharp teeth peeked out, a warning to stay quiet.
This was why he’d told me not to look. A demon’s true form was a sacred form – a fact Ciel had told me when I asked if he could change. He remembered Sebastian using his true form to kill twice, and he was scarred for the remainder of his life. A nightmare come to life, he had said.
And now I was staring at my own nightmare.
“You see, Ciel, no matter what you do, where you go, how you spin it,” came Alois’s voice once more, “she will never accept you as you are! You will never be the man you wish to be for her!”
Another low growl emitted from Ciel, but I shook my head. “It’s not true, Ciel, please, you aren’t always the demon,” I urged to him, peering over my shoulder to look at Sebastian. He was oddly quiet, standing just a foot away, but staring at Ciel, his face blank, unreadable. “Please, Sebastian, tell him!”
“Even as you ravage her, day and night, Ciel, she will never completely love you,” Alois taunted. A razor sharp nail dug directly into my skin and I yelped, shifting in his arms as pain erupted in my back. It felt like a red hot iron being branded against my back, and I was sure my skin was sizzling from the burn. “Your demon will always destroy that which you love.”
A sudden roar erupted from Ciel’s lips. I screamed, Sebastian grabbing me from Ciel’s arms as Ciel rounded, his demon form beginning to fade. The tendrils were first to go, slipping back into the depths of his darkness. The talons that were now stained with my blood disappearing into his fingers, leaving his bare hands tainted in red.
I could see Alois grinning from below, and I realized too late that we were in the dining hall on the upper level. The railings in the room had been completely destroyed, the table split in several pieces, chairs disintegrated, and – oh my god – the bodies of the three butlers spread throughout the room. Sebastian had played with them, but when he’d taken their last breaths, he’d ripped them limb from limb. That nausea crept up into my throat once more as I stared at the blood and chaos that Alois now stood in front of.
Ciel allowed his demon form to force him over the edge, to the pit of hell below. I shoved Sebastian off of me, bracing myself on the edge of the balcony, my heart thumping in my ears. Alois’s eyes caught mine, filled with excitement and malice.
“Now, Ciel,” Alois said as he turned his full attention to the now completely human form of Ciel. He stalked slow with his arms behind his back, a playful grin on his lips. “Are you ready to finally let go? Are you ready to die, dear friend?”
Ciel said nothing, keeping his face neutral as Alois continued his taunting. “I’ve been waiting a lifetime to get my revenge on you, on your demon. I want to take from him his most revered possession.”
“I am no one’s possession,” Ciel snarled, though his face was calm, taking in every step Alois took.
A chill ran down my spine as Alois gave a short chuckle. “Are you not? You became the demon’s plaything the moment you made a deal with him.”
“What of you, Alois? Are you Claude’s simply because of your bargain?”
A flash of anger came and went in the blink of an eye, the slyness returning to Alois’ face. “We are partners, caught in a game to destroy both of you.”
Claude. I shifted my gaze to just beyond Alois and sure enough, Claude stood merely feet from his master, watching and waiting for his next order. I’d nearly forgotten he was here. Why had he not engaged with Sebastian during the fight?
“The difference between your bargain with Claude, and mine with Sebastian, ‘dear friend’,” Ciel bristled, his hand coming up to the back of his collared shirt. I watched in awe as he pulled a sword I hadn’t noticed at his back. My shock was mirrored by Alois. The sword was long, bracing, intimidating. I could only assume Ciel had been hiding it by a sort of spell. “Is that I can fight my own battles. I don’t hide behind pretty spells and conjurings, or parade and lust for my subordinate. I fight, and I win. You, Alois Trancy, wouldn’t lift a finger unless your bitch was within reach to fix what you’ve wronged.”
Alois’s face contorted with spitting anger, rage spilling from his every pore. Ciel stood with pride, sword in his hands, every bit the Ciel Phantomhive I’d come to admire.
“You want to end this, Alois, do it without your demon. Fight me, here and now, to the death,” Ciel declared, his entire being swimming with arrogance and pride. He may be weak in stature, but he wasn’t going to show it, not now, not when it counted. He pointed his sword at Alois. “Or, are you too scared to face me without magic?”
“Claude,” Alois said after a beat of silence. The demon stepped forward, bowing slightly at the waist. “Give me my sword.”
My breath hitched in my throat as Claude summoned a sword, presenting it to Alois swiftly. This was going to happen, and I’d have to sit and watch.
Ciel’s face turned up towards where I was perched beside Sebastian. I licked at my dry lips, waiting for him to call for Sebastian, but he merely looked at me, pulling the eye patch away to reveal the remnants of the deal between he and Sebastian. It flashed a violent purple as he finally spoke, keeping his eyes trained on me.
“Sebastian.”
“Young Master.”
“This is an order. Do not intervene, no matter the cost.”
“NO!”
I couldn’t help the scream from his words, panic settling into my bones and pulling my heart taut. If Alois was as dirty as he’d been so far, there was no way in hell he was going to play fair now. Sebastian lay a hand on my arm as he replied, bowing his head to Ciel.
“Yes, young Master.”
“Keep her safe.”
“I will, young Master.”
Ciel seemed content with that, flashing me a curt smirk before he turned his attention towards the foolish man in front of him. I felt the burn of tears, the sting in my back more evident as the words sank in. He knew something I didn’t. They both did, and I wasn’t going to be privy to what it was.
I hated the betrayal that hung over me like a cloud. Too late, I realized they both knew this was going to end badly, with the death of Ciel a very real possibility. Alois was too hell bent on winning, on being the best, of outwitting Ciel. There was absolutely no way in hell he would play by the rules, and Ciel knew. Sebastian knew.
Hell. I knew it.
“Alexis, my dear,” Alois drawled, calling my attention. I eyed him suspiciously. “Have you ever witnessed a duel between men?”
I remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
“It’s quite the spectacle, you see. Honorable men have died being too arrogant with their sword,” he mused, keeping his eye on Ciel as he spoke. He let out a chuckle. “It seems where Ciel is concerned, he may have been a little too arrogant with his, don’t you think?”
Anger bubbled in my stomach and I clenched my hands in the folds of the dress, feeling splinters from the wood that had stuck there.
“Get on with it then, Ciel, we haven’t got all day,” Alois said when he was done laughing at his own joke.
“On the contrary, Trancy, I believe we do,” is all Ciel said before the clang of a swords sounded in the air.
It was indeed a spectacle, but not one I wanted to see ever again. Ciel was skilled with a sword, his steps swift and precise, but it seemed Alois was as well.
With every jab, every spin in one direction, Alois was there, matching him foot for foot, swing for swing. Ciel dipped low, sliding his foot to kick Alois from his stance. The latter stepped back, slamming his back into Claude. He pushed off, yelling as he lifted his sword to Ciel’s lowered form.
It was a mistake. Ciel took the opportunity. He slid quick, pushing himself up as Alois passed him and pushed at his back, watching the blonde haired man fall to his knees. Alois spun, lifting himself to his feet before Ciel could drive the sword into his back. The clang of metal resounded, echoing in my ears as I watched the two glare, locked together by their swords.
“Sebastian taught you well, young Ciel,” Alois mewled, bringing his face too close to the edge of the sword. His smile was ruthless, always taunting, pressing Ciel’s buttons over and over. “How many times did you get punished, hm? Did he treat you as his young master, coddle you until you got it right? Bed you, perhaps, to keep you willing to continue your lessons?”
It was gross, how much Alois wanted to bait Ciel. Baiting was his tactic, to get Ciel to lose his temper. He knew Ciel had the anger dwelling within, waiting to be unleashed.
Ciel scoffed, driving his knee into Alois’ abdomen and shoving their swords apart. He stood over Alois, his chest rising and falling with every breath.
“Sebastian did not teach me, you fool,” Ciel gloated, bringing his sword to hold it against Alois’s own. “My teacher was my father, something you know nothing of, you insolent, conniving brat.”
Alois had the mind to look offended, his own anger growing, clear as day on his face.
“Unlike you, Alois, I know how to bait someone into a rampage. If you could look past your disgusting obsession with your little brother, you’d know true anger.”
“Don’t speak of my brother,” Alois said, his body taut and shaking. Ciel chuckled low.
“Tell me, Alois, did you get to say goodbye to the tiny murderer? Or did you find him in a dirty shed, covered in shit and piss, where he fucking belonged?”
A savage yell rang through the walls of the mansion, Alois jumping to his feet to again charge at Ciel, his sword raised over his head.
Ciel’s hand came and seized the sword’s sharp edges, blood spraying as it sliced his palm. I could hear the hiss of breath and the rip of flesh, but it wasn’t Ciel’s hand that had made the noise.
I watched in mild shock as Ciel’s sword slipped too easily into Alois’s stomach, piercing his front and exiting through his back. Alois sputtered, blood spraying into Ciel’s face. The shock in his own face was evident, his eyes widening.
“You, Alois Trancy, are the world’s worst opponent,” Ciel said, twisting the sword cruelly and causing Alois to yell out in pain. I pressed my hand against my mouth, watching the blood spill from Alois’s front, the bright red staining the carpet at his feet. “You are weak, a mere ant upon the ground. Your brother made a deal with a demon to save your life and you spent it between the sheets of an old man to gain power.”
“I-I did what I had to!”
More blood sprayed across Ciel’s front.
“You did what you knew best,” Ciel said in a cruel, inhuman voice. So much hatred and anger soaked within him, claiming his heart. “I rose to power with hate and revenge driving me to do what needed to be done while you idly sat until the old man chose you as his best toy. You of all people I’ve encountered would be the best doll in the Funtom business. Do you know why?”
Alois huffed a cough out, staring angrily, wildly, at the man who now had the upper hand.
Ciel sneered, driving the sword deeper into Alois’s gut. “Because you play the game like a fucking child.”
Suddenly, Ciel lifted his foot and kicked Alois in the chest, sending the man flying from his sword, knocking him into the wall. It was sick, a grotesque show of force, as Ciel stood over him, the sword dripping in blood. But Alois wasn’t looking at Ciel. His eyes were trained on Claude.
“Claude, help me,” Alois begged, his voice hoarse. He held his hand against the gaping wound, sputtering. More blood slipped from his mouth. “Please, Claude, I’m dying.”
His demon butler stared down at him, waiting. Patiently waiting. Ciel tossed the sword away, landing with a loud clang against the floor. He wouldn’t need it. Claude was bound to do Alois’ bidding, and it seemed the blonde was more concerned with living than he was with Ciel.
“CLAUDE!”
“I will as my master commands,” came Claude’s simple reply.
“Th-the spell,” Alois managed to stutter out. “D-do the sp-spell.”
Spell? I glanced between Ciel and Sebastian, both watching, waiting, quiet. Alois was dying and yet they were still here, waiting for the man to die. Why the hell weren’t we on the move already?!
“I said D-DO THE SPELL!”
“As you wish, Highness,” Claude said, bowing his head. Immediately, purple smoke began to emit from Claude’s hands, wrapping itself around his wrists as he spoke, the words tying together so quickly, I couldn’t understand them.
“Time to go,” Ciel yelled, but before he could turn fully, a blast of purple hit his back, knocking him to the floor.
“Ciel!”
I got to my feet, only to feel a ball of heat at my chest, the purple smoke now finding its way to me. Ciel stared up at me in horror as the smoke began to lift me from my feet, carrying me up and up. I screamed, the heat digging into my veins, burning at my flesh. Thrashing, biting, clawing my way through the heat, but I couldn’t run, I couldn’t hide, I couldn’t escape.
“Alexis! Sebastian, grab her!”
I couldn’t feel anything but the fire under my skin, and when I opened my mouth to scream, I felt it in my throat, burning away at my esophagus. My hands reached for anything, anyone, before it was black and all I could hear was the sound of Ciel screaming my name.
***
I was floating. The air was crisp, bitingly cold on my skin. My limbs were jell-o, unable to shift and move when I willed them to. My throat was dry, my tongue thick and in desperate need of water. I wanted to move my head, but the numbness filtered through every bit of me. Ciel’s voice, his unending screams, echoed in my ears. I wanted to cup my hands over my ears just to stop them. I wanted to tell him to stop. I was okay. I just needed to rest.
A moment passed and then my foot moved. It tingled all over, like it had been asleep for hours. The tingle crept up through my leg as I willed the rest of my body to move. Slowly, achingly slow, my body responded, allowing me to move my limbs just a few inches. The relief was great, but I could still hear Ciel’s screams over, and over.
I made to open my eyes, and when I did, my vision was blurred. I felt groggy, no doubt a side effect of the spell Claude had cast on me. My brain immediately remembered the purple smoke, the heat, the burning. I groaned, rubbing at my eyes, as I rolled onto my stomach.
Freezing cold water seeped into my clothes and I screamed, the bitter cold forcing my eyes to focus once more.
Beneath me was a massive puddle, my hands pushing into it and meeting gravel. I sat up, my eyes darting this way and that, taking in the unfamiliar walls. Brick by brick, my eyes trailed up and down, side to side. The sound of people shouting from my left caused me to continue my slow appraisal of my surroundings. I was in an alleyway, tucked in the back corner in a puddle.
How the hell did I get in an alley?
My head felt heavy as I sat up against the dirty wall away from the puddle. I needed to find Ciel, Sebastian, anyone to let them know I was okay. It took several minutes for the feeling in my legs to return, allowing me to stand up slowly. I grimaced at the cold wet heavy dress clinging to my form, dirty and torn from the chaos in the mansion. Daylight had not yet come, but I could see the changing skies above my head.
Ciel would be frantic, no doubt, knowing that I had been sent elsewhere. I almost – almost – chuckled at the thought of what his face might look like.
With a deep breath, I hauled the skirts up, bracing myself of the pain in my back as I made my way out of the alleyway, my first stop to a phone booth.
The sounds of hooves on gravel and pavement stopped me dead in my tracks. I froze, staring wide eyed at the bustling street in front of me.
Horse drawn buggies, carriages, wagons waltzed up and down the street, men and women hurrying along the sidewalks, dressed in day gowns and tunics and loafers. A little girl wearing a bonnet and swinging a basket passed by me, looking up at me in wonder while her mother pulled her along. I watched them leave, disappearing into a shop not too far from where I was standing.
I swallowed the fear, gripping my skirts tightly, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. No one stopped to look at me, no one even spared me a glance. My heart raced like a hummingbird’s wings within my chest.
“E-excuse me, sir,” I said, my voice weak and unheard at a man who completely ignored me. I bit my lip and cleared my throat, but the ache was incredible. Whatever that spell was, it had done quite the job on my ability to speak more than a whisper.
Another few strangers passed me by, ignoring my quiet plea for answers. I sighed, pressing my hands to my forehead, tears brimming and threatening to slip down my cheeks. This wasn’t happening. There was no way they’d transported me back in time.
I was dreaming. That was the only explanation for this.
Again, I lifted my head, unsure of how I would prove it to be a dream. You can’t die in a dream, right? Or at the very least, if you get injured, you wake up. That’s what my mother had always told me.
Time to test the theory, I thought.
Steeling myself for the biggest, dumbest mistake I’ve probably ever made – save for calling upon the Reapers – I rolled my aching shoulders and began walking towards the middle of the street. No one stopped me, no one even looked, but I was determined.
I glanced down the street, waiting for another buggie to come along, and I spotted it. 30 feet away, coming at a nice gallop on the cobblestones.
I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
20 feet now. The horses were faster than I thought.
My breathing picked up, my eyes trained on the hooves of the massive animals.
Dumb, go back to the sidewalk, don’t be stupid.
10 feet.
5.
I braced myself for the hit, but it wasn’t what I expected. Out of nowhere, a woman’s voice screamed loud and a body hit mine, landing us both with loud groans against the sidewalk. I could hear shouting and yelling for help as people surrounded us, but I couldn’t care less. My back, right where Ciel’s nails had dug into my skin, wrenched in pain, sending a shiver down my spine and into my legs. A spasm went through me, and I opened my eyes, waiting to see Ciel’s face.
But it wasn’t.
Eyes as green as an emerald, curls framing her young, now adult face, worry etched in her brow and lips of pale pink mouthing to me. I knew her face. I’d seen her in Ciel’s book, a painting in his manor. So familiar, so real. I knew this was not a dream.
Alois and Claude had successfully sent me back in time and I was now staring at the face of Ciel’s betrothed.
Elizabeth Midford, alive and well.
***