Nevermore

EXTRA WARNING: This part of the chapter might be disturbing. It contains memories of rape and torture. There is also vomit and some blood, though nothing is described in excruciating detail, it was still a little troubling to write. I'm sorry, poor little Ciel!

The usual warnings of future shota/yaoi/homosex still apply. I don't own these characters, I just enjoy making them do my bidding. My sexy bidding.

....

"Young Master?" Sebastian's voice rolled out in a low, tentative tone, swift and barely audible, almost like the flickering of a snake's tongue as it tested the air.

Ciel's face had gone pale, despite the thundering of his heart, which would normally cause him to flush. He felt hot and cold all at once.

"Seb- Sebastian." He attempted to order, but found that there wasn't much that the demon could do to rectify the situation. Demon. Sebastian attempted to reach for the boy, his expression one of rare, genuine concern – whether such concern was for his Master's wellbeing or that he might lose a future meal was unreadable though, as usual. The hellish butler remained silent as Ciel finally closed his eyes. "I feel ill all of a sudden. Cancel all of my appointments, I am going to my room." The feeble boy attempted to stand, wobbling on his way to his feet. Sebastian's hand came dangerously close and Ciel screeched. "DON'T TOUCH ME." It was nearly hysterical, his behavior, and soon the slate haired boy had turned on his heel and was walking up the stairs and toward his room in as dignified a manner as possible, given the circumstance.

For once, Sebastian was completely and utterly lost, and he did not like it.

Upstairs, Ciel's hand braced himself against the wall as he wandered haphazardly back toward the imposing double doors of his bedroom. Something was wrong and Ciel knew it. Was the answer in the dream from the night before? Was he going mad? Was Sebastian up to something? The young male took a deep breath and pushed the door open, locking it behind him.

Those eyes. Those fucking eyes. Something had seemed so off about them in the dream, something so… un-Sebastian was behind their gaze. They had looked like Sebastian's, but why? It had been the color and the unnatural feline slit, narrowed into dangerously pin-thin slivers of black. Malicious. Hungry. The trauma had exhausted the poor young earl and despite his distrust of sleep, he was too tired to continue on with being awake.

Downstairs, Sebastian had quickly taken care of politely relieving the tutors of their duties for the day – with pay, of course, after all, they'd travelled all the way to the Master's mansion just to be told to go home, leaving their schedule's barren! Not that Sebastian cared, but he couldn't have his master look bad because then Sebastian would look bad as well, and he had his aesthetics to keep up!

He frowned darkly, those claret hued irises darkening to a nearly black maroon. Something was trying to harm Ciel. His master. His Ciel. The problem was that Sebastian didn't know what it was or how to get rid of it, because, apparently, it had yet to manifest itself entirely.

'I had best go check on the Young Master'. Sebastian thought, turning elegantly on a heel – silently, of course. Lips pursed, the demon glided up the stairs with all the grace of a shark beneath the water.

The door did not open or close, the demon simply appeared in Ciel's bedroom, deadly eyes glowing in the darkness. Ciel had drawn the thick curtains closed, muting out the last glow of the afternoon. The teenager turned over slowly, a light frown upon his brow. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he knew better than to trust that which 'seemed'. Sebastian remained in the shadows, ready to attack or console – whichever action was needed first.

No other being had the right to so much as touch his perfect young master's mind, soul, or body. He'd eviscerate and suck the soul out of whatever had disturbed the young nobleman's home.

Ciel whimpered. Sebastian's black claws flicked out like a cat's, tearing through the fabric of his gloves. Otherwise, the butler and demon remained motionless like a statue, that was, until Ciel's head began tossing from side to side, then he was at his side, gripping that limp body in an attempt to wake him...

Numb.

There was the blackness again, black like the smoke that filled his lungs – this time, it was the smoke from hundreds of candles. Everywhere, seemingly floating on black nothingness and red velvet. Where was he? It was cold. Burning cold. His wrists and ankles hurt and Ciel didn't know why, his eyes would only open far enough to see faint outlines in the dim smoky darkness. There were eyes everywhere. Most human, some not. Animalistic grunting tore through the quiet sound and Ciel felt pain – horrible, wet, burning, tearing pain splitting through him. Thin limbs jerked in opposition, caught in place by rope and chain. Cuffs, why was he cuffed? There was pain again, spreading throughout his lower abdomen from… oh God.

Chapped, bruised lips parted in a scream but the only sound that escaped was a dry whimper. All the boy could do was tear his head from side to side, gasping and writhing – sobbing and hiccupping.

In. Out. In. Out. The sound of laughter. In. Out. Blood. In. Out.

There was the hissing sound of serpentine laughter, and a voice. He could not identify the source of the sound, as if it was inside his head and not his ears. But why was this happening again?

The snake-like voice seemed to purr, if snakes could do that, at least. "Little SssCiiiieeeellllll… Where issss your sssserrrvant? Why don't you call for him to hellllp you?" The mockery in that tone might've been infuriating, but… the pain.

Humiliation.

In. Out. InOutInOutInOut.

Ciel choked out a trembling breath.

It was as if a light went on inside the boy's head, illuminating the darkness, a wind blowing the hideous smoke and darkness away from the fat white worms that were the limbs of the pig-like men that had been violating him. "Sebastian. SEBASTIAN."

Ciel screamed but no sound came out. It was as if he was trapped within this bright white nothingness, forced into the light to behold these swine as they used his body, hurting his body and peeling away his pride like skin. He couldn't tell if it was blood, tears, or something more filthy that stained his cheeks as he screamed silently, lungs and throat raw from the effort, stomach muscles aching from the tension. That delicate back arched up as he tried to wiggle away from his assaulters, but the sickening sound of wet flesh slapping against his skin continued. He felt the blood trickling in hot little rivulets down a thigh, and vomit rose in the boy's throat, burning as his head was violently shoved to the side by an unknown fist, the bile spilling from those dry and aching lips like lava.

Why wasn't Sebastian helping him? Where was he?

There was that voice again, taunting him.

"I can help you, little booyyy…. I can take theeesssse memoriiieessss away foreverrr. Your sssselfish butler doessss not caaarrrre about you. He is not coming."

Ciel shook his head violently, the dream rapists and torturers mindlessly continuing their assault. "No." Ciel mouthed silently, unable to produce sound. "NO."

The darkness fell like a thick blanket then, and there was only the red glow of a pair of blood red eyes, staring right down into Ciel's soul with slitted feline pupils. It was almost as if he could feel the wind-like tendril of a cold and clammy tongue dipping into him to give his very soul a lick. A taste.

Ciel could feel himself gagging again, then woke up screaming and thrashing in Sebastian's arms.

"Young Master!" He exclaimed, body stilling. Apparently, his demon had been holding him up and shaking him bodily in an attempt to wake him.

Ciel said nothing but sat, stunned, staring at Sebastian's eyes, so much less… malicious, less cruel – hell, even kind in comparison to what his mind's eye had just been staring at. Shaking violently, Ciel turned his head and leaned over the side of the bed in one swift move, then retched onto the floor, emptying his entire stomach contents onto the floor as he vomited with sobs that shook his entire body.

However, he did not shed a single tear.

Sebastian might've had a heart attack, had he been human. The sun had fallen beyond the horizon completely by that time, and even such a short nap had caused such… well, it was bad. The normally quite eternally untroubled butler had to take a moment to gather his wits before going through the motions of taking his Master's temperature, cleaning up his vomit from the hard-wood floor, then holding the shaking boy until the trembling stilled.

It was only once Ciel appeared to be returning to a more normal state that Sebastian disappeared to retrieve a slice of French bread and peppermint tea to settle the young master's stomach. When he did return with this, Ciel sipped at it with a blank expression, obviously going back and forth between whatever had happened in his dream and to the real world.

"Young Master." Sebastian started, tentative for once. When he got no insult and was not told to 'shut up' the demon continued. "I do not know what it is, but something is attacking you."

With a blasé expression, Ciel's blue and violet gaze turned upward upon Sebastian's as he sat his empty teacup down upon the saucer in his other hand. "I believe it is another demon." He stated simply, hand trembling at the thought – not the idea of a demon, no, but how it had forced up memories and sensations that he'd worked so hard to bury away and just forget. It was trying to turn him against Sebastian, who was looking quite serious for once and leaned in to take the empty teacup and set it on the tray, out of their way. His larger hands enveloped the human's own smaller pair, tightly containing the trembling digits within his own sure and steady ones.

Ciel had never really noticed how warm Sebastian's hands were. One would think a demon would be cold, or perhaps burning hot. Not warm. Not comforting. He frowned but did not wish for the other to leave or let go.

"Young Master," Sebastian started again, his eyes silently asking for permission to continue. Ciel nodded, knowing it was likely important, whatever he had to say – his expression didn't have that mockery to it that it sometimes had.

"Just what do you know about possession?"

….