The White Butterfly of Phantomhive

Chapter 38: Tomorrow. May It Bring Hope or Demise

Mei had awoken from her sleep and stretched her body in her bed. As she rubbed her eyes, she wondered how long she'd been asleep for. Hopefully not for too long. When she remembered about Ciel, Mei threw off the sheet and got up to go see him. She grabbed an extra blanket before running out of her tent and headed straight for the infirmary. On her way there Mei turned her head and stopped when she had caught a glimpse of Sebastian and Beast. She was about to call out to the handsome butler but her words were caught in her throat when she saw that they were entering Beast's tent. She stared at confusion when Beat's tent became dimly lit.

Then an idea came to her. Ah, maybe he's gathering information from her. But why would they go into her tent for? He was just going to question her, wasn't he? Why the need for privacy? The grounds were entirety empty. Mei was curious and wanted to go and see what was going on. She only took a few steps forwards before something inside her began screaming, 'Do not go in that tent!!'. That echoed non-stop in her head as she continued to stare at Beast's tent. Mei didn't know why...but now she was getting a bad feeling about this. She took one last look at the tent before turning around and continued heading back towards the infirmary.

When she got there, there was no one other than Ciel around. Doctor must've retired to bed already. Mei went over to a desk and lit up a lantern to provide some light. She went over to the young earl's bedside and found him still in his deep sleep. He seemed to look a bit better than he was before. Mei looked up and notice that Freckles was sleeping right beside him. Hm, he must be trying to help keep Ciel warm. Mei thought it was nice of him to be looking after Ciel like this so she decided not to disturb them.

She turned down the lantern just a bit before setting down to the side. Mei found a stool nearby and seated herself beside Ciel, deciding to watch over him until he wakes up. Mei reached over and took his hand in hers, hoping that he'll get better soon. She was so scared that this was going to be a repeat of the past. With her, it was something so curable she was sure that she would get back up and smile just as she used to. With her, her condition was curable...but with Ciel, it was a whole different story. "You're not going to end up like her... You'll get better, right?" Mei softly asks as she held his hand tighter. "Don't end up like her..."

Sometime during the night, Mei had fallen asleep. Slumped in her seat and resting her head on the bed while still holding on to the young Earl's hand. She stirred slightly in her sleep when a much larger hand gently caressed her short hair. Sebastian smiled down at her as he proceeded to wake up his master. He placed a hand on his forehead as Ciel let out a tired groan as he opened his eye to see his butler smiling down at him. "You..."

"And a good morning to you, my lord." Sebastian said with a smile. "Yes." Ciel glances at the side and notices that Doll was gone. She must have gone to breakfast already. "Your fever seems to have come down. Are you on the mend, how are you feeling?" Sebastian asks him.

"Not well yet, but..." Ciel coughed a bit before speaking again. "I am better than yesterday." He began to let out a nasty cough and Sebastian hands him a cup of water to help. When Ciel takes the cup he notices that Sebastian's gloves were gone. "You appear to be missing your gloves. Your nails and our contract seal is showing." He said as he takes a sip.

"Ah, yes. I'm afraid I might've soiled them just a touch." Sebastian told him. Ciel was unaware of what he meant but decided that it was of less importance to him than the matter of why he sent him off. That's when he noticed something holding onto him. He looked down and blushed when he saw Mei asleep by him and holding his hand. When did she...? Had she stayed like this the whole night? Ciel shook his head and tried to move on.

"The errand I gave you, I assume you have been able to completed by this point?"  Ciel questioned as he hands him back the cup.

"Yes. Of course. There's no need to remain here any longer, we can leave unobtrusively while everyone is breaking their fast." Sebastian tells him as he gathers both Mei and Ciel in his arms. He then spread a teasing smile as he says to Ciel, "Did you sleep well? Not to worry my lord, your secret is safe with me. I shan't inform Lady Elizabeth that you shared your bed with two young ladies last night, I assure you." Ciel's face flushed with embarrassment when he said this. The fact that he did meant that he knew of Doll's, or rather Freckles, in this case, gender from the very start, much to Ciel's chagrin.