Surrounded by Doubt | Kuroshitsuji

Chapter 8 - A Frightend Master

There was no longer any doubt in Sebastian's mind as his young master was looking him in the eye in terror and flinched with every move the butler made.

He must have been exposed to that wretched gas at some point or this new behaviour would be going unexplained, though it must have been a kind of variant considering the effects hadn't revealed themselves immediately like with the other victims.

The one thing calming down his nerves was the fact that the young master exhibited the exact same reaction as the rest, that being falling unconscious, having high fever and now nightmares commencing doubt as well as fear into their minds, meaning like the other cases the effects were bound to tone down after a few days.

If he was to base his assumptions on his master's response to being awoken it would seem like the boy's frightening nightmare had struck deep down to his cores.

Sebastian watched him shaking uncontrollably after smacking the butler's hand away, the child even backed up til his back hit the beds headboard to create a distance between himself and what Sebastian could tell from the petrified look his master gave him, a ravenous beast.

"My lord, how are you feeling?"

He used his most gentle tone in the attempt to placate the frightened child, the boy was obviously in the know about Sebastian's demonic side, furthermore the arrangement they had agreed on when conducting the faustian contract would tell the boy that in order to acquire his soul, Sebastian was to follow those three wishes the earl had decided on during their first meeting.

Surely this was to some degree making the earl feel a bit easier around the butler, although judging from the pure expression of shock lingering in his features, Sebastian guessed it would be a while before he could even attempt having a proper conversation with his young master.

The night sky had cleared and a blanket of stars was visible, as eye-catching as the view was, to Sebastian this meant it had to be well past the earl's bedtime.

He kept it in the back of his mind that the child would only throw a tantrum at his butler's endeavour to get him into bed, and so he had to come up with a different strategy. One that would result in the same outcome but without any hassle.

Ciel Phantomhive, a precocious and most fraudulent young boy, a unique boy whom Sebastian had the pleasure of serving, now sat in his bed, not moving a muscle except when flinching at the butler's insignificant movements.

The sight of this arrogant child in this state was amusing to the butler, truthfully he was a surprisingly easy target at the moment and a would-be satisfying meal at that, it was almost like he was beseeching to be preyed on.

The thought of the boy's soul at the end of their agreement, still filled with devastation, wrath but as a cherry on top gratification once his retribution was conducted, made the starvation worthwhile as well as obstructed any ploy the demon had to claim an early reward.

"Well my lord, whatever shall we do about this?" He said, a smirk hiding with the darkness of the room.

His young master had not uttered a single word since waking up, not even to answer any of the questions asked, instead he bore the resemblance of a cornered rat.

The butler was in his mind debating whether or not brute force was the way to go here. If the earl was going to continue fearing Sebastian's movements, touching him would undoubtedly be out of the question. He really would leave the demon no other choice.

From what he could tell, a decision had to be made before long as the boy's eye kept glancing at the door. This boy was most certainly not himself. It's the mere fact that Sebastian could even tell what his next move was going to be that revealed this truth.

The Phantomhive hier may be a child but he was never obvious about his next moves, making him unpredictable even to an experienced demon like Sebastian himself. But right now there was no doubt about it, the boy was going to make a run for it.

"If you are not going to answer I suppose I'll just have to take charge over the situation"

The raven butler seeked the attention of his master and made sure to have their gazes converge. Once eyecontact was engaged regardless of how desperately the other struggled to avoid it, the butler was the one to leisurely break off the connection between them.

As expected, he made his move the second Sebastian's attention appeared elsewhere when in fact the demon was very well aware of what was going on in the earl's mind. Covers were thrown at Sebastian, he could make out the bed springs squeaking right before a loud thump was heard.

He ripped apart the sheets covering his vision and turned to face the bluenette scampering towards the door. He caught the boy by the waist a fraction of a second before he'd managed to put one hand on the handle, all within the span of a heartbeat.

It appeared as if the boy needed a moment before comprehending what just happened as he at first didn't move even though he was in Sebastian's grasp. Although once a few seconds passed he seemed to realise the situation as both arms and legs were thrown around like he was drowning in the ocean.

Sebsatian stood there for a while, even with the yelling and crying he stood still until the distressed child calmed down in his actions, despite his master's best efforts, trying to hit the demon would only result in pain equivalent to that of a mosquito bite.

Only after the earl finally tired himself out was Sebastian able to bathe him without the boy throwing as much as a fist his way.

The boy even closed his eyes and ended up in a deep slumber, quite surprising to the demon as he thought about how one would not fall asleep in the presence of a predator unprotected like this.

Maybe this meant his master was still deep down aware of the fact that Sebastian wouldn't do anything before the time came?

The butler proceeded to dry the sleeping child with a white fluffy towel, then dressed him in a clean nightshirt before putting him down on the bed.

He pulled the drapes towards the middle of the window with a gracious move, Sebastian then turned his heel to gaze one last time over the room and his master in particular. With that he left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.