❦Bʟᴜᴇ Assᴀssɪɴ❦

Hɪs Assᴀssɪɴ, Cᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ

The Month That Never Happened...a very real, a very gruesome fever dream Ciel experienced. One he revisited almost every night—or even when he simply closed his eyes.

Flames licked at every surface in the Phantomhive household. With fire creeping up the walls and smoke contaminating the air, a young Ciel struggled to find his parents. He dashed from door to door, room to room, calling for them, only to find no one. He did his best not to take breaks, but he was just a child—of course running around such a large manor would take a toll on him. It was a tedious process, but he was desperate to find his parents. And, of course, his dog. Even with him screaming his name at the top of his lungs, Sebastian had yet to run into his arms.

Finally, he arrived at the grand doors that led to the dining room. His hope was draining and quickly being replaced by panic, even as he opened the doors. The doors weren't even fully opened when he saw something he knew he could never forget—something that made a sickening amount of bile rise to his mouth. Nausea swayed his vision, but Sebastian's corpse—his precious dog's corpse—was crystal clean. Azure eyes trailed further up and shook with horror upon seeing the corpse of his mother.

"Mother!" He screamed, trying to rush towards her body, only for smoke to enter his lungs and make him enter a coughing fit. He squeezed his eyes tightly as he hacked. He ran out the room, eyes still shut, yelling, "Someone help me! Everyone is going to die!"

Strangely enough, when he opened his eyes, he was sprinting towards Tanaka. A taller, slightly younger version of Tanaka, of course.

"Tanaka!" He desperately cried. "Help!"

"You shouldn't have come here!" The older man responded, hastily closing the window behind him. He grasped Ciel's shoulders before continuing. "Please, escape, Ciel. It's too risky for...you..." The light in Tanaka's eyes faded as he fell forward—right into Ciel's short arms.

"Tana-" the boy exclaimed, collapsing with Tanaka slumping over him. He briefly caught a glimpse of the attacker, only for his vision to go black immediately after.

When he awoke, he knew three things. First, he was sore. His body ached and lying on the floor didn't help. Second, he was in a cage that was covered by some foreign material. His foot brushed against the cool metal as he sat up, but he quickly lied back down. He didn't want to draw any attention to himself. Lastly, he was terrified. His body shook more than a leaf clinging to a branch. He had covered his mouth, hoping to muffle any sounds he made and kept his eyes shut—he was too focused on his racing heart to focus on analysing his situation.

'I want my mom and dad,' he inwardly cried. 'I want Tanaka. I want to go home. Why is this happening? Where am I? Why me?' Tears struggled to slip down his cheeks. Ciel, luckily, was able to blink it back to its dam, but that wasn't enough to distract himself from the voices beyond the cage.

"Shall we get him now? He'll be sold at a good price," a gruff voice wagered. "There are some really whimsical people out there."

Suddenly, the cloth parted and revealed an old man dressed rather fashionably. Though Ciel was just a child, he instantly knew that the man before him was a noble. He shrank back in fear as the man's ebony eyes scanned him. Discomfort crept along Ciel's skin as he wondered, 'What's going on?'

"Ooh, this is...!" The man exclaimed.

"Rare, huh?" The sound of coins clinking reached Ciel's ears when the light disappeared.

"This is worth more than two people!"

"Thanks." Footsteps then echoed throughout the room, albeit slightly muffled in the cage. It faded with every second—similar to the way each second added another ounce of dread to Ciel's system.