Chapter Text
Ciel fiddled with the deep blue ring that sat still somewhat loosely on his left thumb.
Daddy's ring is too big... he thought to himself as he twisted it smoothly over the digit, taking it off and sliding it over the finger it was meant to rest on. He watched it hang there, the gap between the silver and his skin big enough for him to fit his smallest finger in alongside it.
It was cold outside, the windows fogged from the heat emanating from inside the house hitting the cold glass. It was always snowing on their birthday, which was good and bad. It meant snowballs and hot chocolate by the fire. It meant Sebastian running inside with snowflakes stuck to his fur and his long dark eyelashes as he ran in circles around them before settling at their feet before the fire and sleeping. But it also meant brother couldn't play as much, and he'd get sicker easier. Winter meant a lot of time in their bedroom, the sound of coughs filling the night, mixing with the sounds of either rain or snow. The cold made brother cough, it made his lungs hurt when he breathed, which meant he couldn't play. And Ciel loved playing with his little brother. But he always knew one thing, he'd always be well on their birthday. Aunt Angelina was a doctor and always helped to make sure brother could get out of bed and play for a little while and eat dinner with mummy and daddy before they opened presents and went to bed, wrapped in warm clothes and cuddling until morning.
Today was supposed to be like that, but father had pulled him aside during breakfast and given him the ring from his finger, telling him it always belonged to the head of the family, the person who would help take care of the country and the queen's worries. It would be his now. Ciel walked with those words in the pit of his stomach all day.
To his right, Cyril tucked into his eggs at the breakfast table enthusiastically, feeling much better today. Their father sat at the head of the table, reading the morning paper, and their mother beamed at her twin boys from his left. Today was a special day and everyone knew it. This day marked one decade to the boys' names and it would be full of joy, sweets, and presents. But before the meal, Vincent Phantomhive pulled his oldest son aside and told him he needed to speak with him. Cyril had seen their father do this before, but something seemed different this time. What did he need to tell his older brother and his older brother only? Cyril felt a familiar stab of jealousy as he watched Ciel hop down from his chair and follow Father to the lounge just off of the dining hall. He tried to swallow it down...of course Ciel would tell him what their father had said later, but it still bothered him.
Cyril's change in expression was not lost on Rachel. She leaned forward, "I'm so glad to see you doing better today, honey. You're going to have an amazing birthday."
Cyril managed a small smile despite himself. He would get to play with Sebastian and his brother today, and that was reason enough to celebrate. After the talk, both father and son had returned to the dining hall and sat back in their chairs to finish the last few scraps of the meal. Only a few minutes had passed in their absence, mostly filled with silence until Rachel had spoken. Cyril had seen his twin return to the table with a serious expression on his face, fiddling with something on his left hand. While Vincent folded his newspaper to set it to the side of his plate and Ciel finished the last few bites of fruit on his own, one of the many servants the Phantomhive family employed was let into the hall and bowed politely to the family before Vincent nodded once, letting him know it was alright to say what he had come to say. Walking behind the earl, the servant bent forward at the waist to whisper something to him. The man of the house nodded and jerked his head toward the door once, a silent allowance for the servant to leave, his expression remaining staunch. Once the servant had left, the eldest of the two children spoke up.
"What is it, father?" His voice held the air of innocence it always did when he didn't understand a situation, and the slightest hint of worry. Children were always more perceptive than their parents assumed, and the Phantomhive twins were no exception. The older especially felt the answer his father gave had nothing to do with the news he'd just been told.
"Your cousins are to visit today for your birthday, as well as both your aunts." He was sure the thought of seeing Elizabeth would cheer his eldest son and distract his curious mind from snooping further, but Ciel was smart and knew not to push it. He nodded with a smile and raised the fork to his mouth for his last bite with his left hand, where the blue ring now sat. Both brothers noticed the slight change in their father's expression. Cyril said nothing, and then became distracted by the dark blue ring upon his brother's thumb, the ring that daddy usually wore. He knew the ring was important to the family but wasn't sure what it meant now that his brother was wearing it. Cyril absentmindedly moved his fork along his plate, hoping that his brother would explain it to him later.
When servants cleared away the plates and the two parents stood, the twins followed suit. Vincent looked to the head of staff, always standing by in wait for commands. "Tanaka, could you help the boys get into some warmer clothes? I think a walk outside would do us good as we wait for Frances and the children." He paused, straightening his cravat before turning back to the older man, speaking quietly. "Mind Cyril, he's still getting over his recent fit. He's so fragile..."
Meanwhile the older of the two was still fiddling with the jewelry that now adorned him, long eyelashes downcast. Tanaka took them up to their shared bedroom, helping the twin 10-year olds into warm under clothes and soft sweaters. Cyril felt a swoop of excitement at the prospect of playing in the snow. It had been so long since he had been able to. Tanaka put their winter coats on them, soft and warm with fur trim, and wrapped a blue fleece scarf around Cyril's head, thoroughly covering half of his face. Then placing wool hats on their dark blue heads, Ciel could now barely make out his twin's face, except for his eyes. The sight made him giggle. Cyril sent his twin a glare, which only made him laugh harder. Cyril then quickly moved forward, reached up and pulled Ciel's hat down over his eyes. The boys began to push and shove and Tanaka had to come between them.
"Save it for outside, you two," he said, chuckling softly. The boys stopped fighting as they straightened their winter clothes. Cyril made a mental note to get his brother good with a snowball at the first opportunity. Ciel still chuckled as they rushed to the best of their abilities downstairs. It wasn't because Cyril had to wear so many extra clothes that the older had laughed, he knew he had to dress more warmly so he wouldn't get sick. It was that just at that moment, he'd had a funny thought. If their scarves hadn't have been different colors, Cyril's being light blue and his being red, with their faces half showing nobody would've been able to tell them apart, not even mother who said she always could.
When they got to the front doors, Vincent was walking with Rachel into the entrance, both wearing their coats and scarves as well, and Rachel with her hands folded in a white fur muff in front of her. Vincent told a servant to make sure the fireplace in the twins' room and the sitting lounge were both kept going so the room would be warm for later in the evening when every one arrived. Cyril covered his eyes with his gloved hands when the front doors opened to the winter wonderland. It was even brighter than he had thought. As his eyes began to adjust to the bright white environment, he took in all the details of the front of the estate. It seemed to go on forever and it was all covered with freshly fallen snow.
He looked up and soft snowflakes fell from the grey sky. A few of them landed on Cyril's long eyelashes and he giggled. The air was cold, but not uncomfortably so. He caught some snowflakes on his blue gloves and brought them up to his barely visible eyes, gazing at the frozen crystals closely. There was so much detail if one looked hard enough.
Vincent and Rachel followed the boys outside and Rachel came close to Cyril to see what he was looking at. She smiled and bent down close to his ear. "You know, there are no two snowflakes that are exactly the same."
"Really? But there are so many!"
"Every single one is different. All the crystals form in infinite combinations, each snowflake unique in its own beautiful way."
Cyril was catching more snowflakes on his gloves, looking at how different they all were. Vincent came up on Cyril's other side.
"It's the same with people. Even identical twins have differences, particularly in interests and personalities." Vincent looked at Rachel and they shared a smile as Cyril looked up from his hand and noticed Ciel had already gone down the outdoor stairs. He raced down them, faster than his parents liked, almost slipping on the bottom step. He caught himself just in time by putting his hands out and touching the snowy ground. Then, his hands having met the snow, he pushed a bunch of it together and straightened up, compacting the snow together and making a snowball. Ciel was still fiddling with the ring, making sure it stayed secure under his glove so it wouldn't fall out and be lost in the snow until spring. His boots sunk into the snow, but they were warm and thick and he barely felt the nip of the cold except against his cheeks which turned bright pink almost immediately. He didn't look up until he felt a chunk of soft snow hit just above his bottom. He gasped and spun around to see his twin laughing.
A mischievous grin broke across his face which he'd previously tried to make remain angry and he bent to pick up snow from the ground for himself. He compacted it as well as he could through his gloves and threw the tiny ball towards his brother, making sure not to hit him in face, aiming lower for arms or legs. It didn't matter that the sky was grey, they were surrounded by all this beautiful white and bright happiness. This is all he could ever want.
After several minutes of an epic snowball fight between the two boys, Cyril laid down on a soft patch of snow and moved his arms and legs back and forth, making a snow angel. Ciel soon joined him and made his own angel right next to his brother's. They stood up and gazed at their handiwork. Then, feeling that his brother's angel needed something, Cyril went over to Ciel's and drew a halo in the snow with his finger. Ciel gave him a quizzical look.
"Because you're always taking care of me and protecting me," said Cyril.
Ciel looked at his little brother with a wide smile and hugged him so hard they toppled into the snow next to their angels. Ciel sat up and proclaimed, "You need one too!" He rushed through the snow, tripping over his own feet once and going to the top of his brother's angel, drawing it its own halo, a little lower than Ciel's since he was younger and smaller. "Because we have to look the same. Plus, you're really nice to everyone, and you get sick a lot, but you're always happy."
Cyril gave a wide, slightly sheepish grin, his cheeks rosy against the whiteness of the snow around them. "I try to be...I'm really happy I get to play outside today."
"Me too, I'm glad you're feeling better."
"So...um...what did Daddy want? After breakfast..."
Ciel's happy mood melted back into one of worry and he looked down at his glove, where he could see the outline of the precious stone through the fabric and traced it with a finger. "He gave me his special ring...and told me what it means. It always belongs to the person in charge of the family, the oldest. But...doesn't that mean daddy should still wear it?" Ciel looked up at his twin with a worried look of utter confusion. He didn't know what this all meant, or why it was time for him to have it. So of course he'd try to figure it out with his brother.
Cyril saw the worry and confusion in his brother's eyes. He wanted to cheer him up but he didn't know what giving the family ring to Ciel meant either. Surely his brother wasn't about to become the head of the house already? "Maybe he just wanted to give it to you early...as a symbol or something...to prepare you." Cyril wasn't sure his words were making any sense but it was all he could muster. When Ciel's worried expression didn't change, Cyril placed an arm around his twin's shoulders and smiled. "Don't worry. When you do become the head of the house, I'll help you. You won't have to do everything yourself."
Ciel laughed a little bit, leaning his head against his twin's. "Yeah...we'll always be together, won't we?" He said, more like a statement instead of a question. And he really believed it.
After running around for another twenty minutes or so, Rachel's cough began to come back in small spells, and she began to worry about what the cold could be doing to her youngest. They were called back into the house to warm up by the fire with hot drinks. The twins sat together on the couch by the fire in the lounge, bundled up in warm blankets, each holding a cup of hot chocolate. By the window stood one of many Christmas trees that had been placed throughout the house, the largest one in the entrance hall. The twins had watched the servants decorating them over the past week. The entire manor had been transformed to reflect Christmastime. A large Advent calendar with small boxes containing gifts for each day in December stood in the corner. Cyril felt his insides warming as he sipped his hot chocolate. The day was going well and he had so many reasons to be happy. However, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread and he wasn't sure why. Was it because of the ring their father had given Ciel? Father had done many strange things in the past that didn't seem to make sense, but the boys had always explained them in their minds as 'adult things' or 'Watchdog stuff', things that would eventually make sense to them when they got older. And for the most part, that had been true. But this felt...different....
Cyril tried to tear his mind away from the ring and focus on his birthday. Lizzy and the others would arrive soon and then there would be party games. Aunt Angelina would be so happy to see him doing well. With that positive thought, he continued to sip his hot cocoa. Ciel pulled the blankets closer around him and over his head like a hood to hide his warm cheeks from the hot fire and sipped at the drink in the mug he held, warming the pinched pink skin of his fingers. The ring clanked against the ceramic every time he moved his hand, making it very hard to forget about it. He tried to keep his hand as still as possible, which was getting easier as the shivering died down. He sat pressed against his twin in silence as they both waited anxiously for the sound of horses braying or their aunt's loud voice as she arrived into the main entry hall, a little ways away from the drawing room where they were sitting before the hearth.
A new voice had been added more frequently into their play time. Their cousin Lizzy would come and play with them more and more now that it had been explained what her and Ciel's engagement meant in more detail. When Ciel was older and became the Watchdog after Father, he would marry Lizzy like Rachel had married Vincent, and she would be the Countess of Phantomhive. Until they had children, her brother Edward would be named next in line, and then Cyril. It had been a confusing lesson to follow, with many words they didn't quite know, but they had it memorized nonetheless.
Ciel loved Lizzy, and mummy said he was supposed to, but he felt like it was in a different way from how mummy loved daddy. Cyril didn't know what to think about Lizzy and his brother's engagement. She was their cousin, but of course, 'nobles marry other nobles'...and as the eldest son, it was more important for Ciel to be married than his younger brother. High society seemed to be nothing but titles, arranged marriages, and flaunting money. Was that the way it was supposed to be? It also didn't seem right to Cyril that Lizzy's brother Edward would inherit the Phantomhive estate before he would, but he told himself there was no point in being resentful about that. Who would have thought that being born just a few minutes after his twin would have such a major impact on his life?
Cyril wondered if their parents would find a girl for him to marry, or if he would have to find one on his own. Would anyone want to marry me? Maybe if Aunt Ann ever has a daughter, I can marry her...
Ciel watched his twin a moment before a high pitched voice ringing through the front hall caught their attention. They got up immediately and ran out to where their cousins were waiting. The rest of the day was filled with playing games and presents. Aunt Ann would be late because of a patient she had to tend to and would be over later in the night. After the twins' bellies were full of cake and all their gifts for the night were opened, their parents told them to go play before bedtime while they saw the Midfords off.
"Let's play hide and seek!" Ciel suggested. "The mansions big, and if it takes a long time to find one another, maybe mummy and daddy will let us stay up until Aunty gets here." He beamed at what he considered his clever idea.
"Perfect!" Cyril agreed, as they stood in the drawing room. "I'll be 'It' and you go hide. I'll count tooooo...50!" Cyril went to the corner of the drawing room and covered his eyes as he began to count. Fifty wasn't a long time to find a hiding spot but Ciel knew the manor very well and knew a lot of places to hide. There was a room where father played billiards with guests and businessmen when they visited. In that room was a cupboard where the cues and balls were kept and he was small enough to fit inside. He rushed there as fast as he could and crawled inside, tucking his knees to his chest. The sun had set on Phantomhive manor. When Cyril had finished counting.
He uncovered his eyes and took in the drawing room. He quickly checked the room's various cupboards and under tables, though he was pretty certain that Ciel had left the room. Cyril entered the hallway and set off at a light jog, careful not to run too fast and trigger his asthma. He went through the lounge, the library, and a few of the bedrooms, but didn't find his brother. He closed his eyes and tried to picture where his brother might be. Cyril saw in his mind a few images; a cramped space, knees drawn up...a small door, slightly ajar. He opened his eyes. A closet, perhaps? Maybe a cupboard. Well, that narrows it down a bit, but I still don't know which room. Cyril kept going, heading towards the second floor.
Ciel closed his eyes shut tight on instinct, almost thinking of the superstition that if he couldn't see Cyril, Cyril couldn't see him. But he knew that didn't work. Somehow if Cyril found him he wouldn't magically become invisible to his eyes, but if Ciel closed his eyes, he knew Cyril wouldn't be able to see where he was in that way. He hugged his knees closer, giggling to himself.
Cyril entered the second floor hallway and began checking the bedrooms for his brother. No sign of him. He continued down the hallway, rounding a corner, coming to the billiards room which was one of their favorite rooms, due to all of the games it held. Ciel, hiding in one of the cupboards, saw his twin through the slightly open door and leaned back as far as he could into the darkness of the cramped space, trying not to giggle.
Cyril was looking under the pool table when he heard Sebastian's sudden, frantic barking down the hall...