Revelations part 1

Chapter 23

Blue eyes fluttered opened as a stream of sunlight shone over Ciel's face. Slender arms stretched above his head and he yawned loudly, feeling completely rested for the first time in months. He didn't know what had caused him to slumber so peacefully, but he had a nagging suspicion it might be because of the graduate student who had held on to him so protectively last night. The man who now seemed to be no longer in the bed.

Ciel sat up and looked around the dorm room, noticing how he was indeed alone. A blinking red light on his cell, now conveniently on the night stand next to him instead of in the jeans pocket he had left it in last night, let him know there were notifications and he picked it up before tapping in the security code to find out what it was. The first was a text from Sebastian informing him that he had some errands to run and he didn't want to wake him this morning. He smiled at the considerate gesture before letting out a sigh of relief.

The student was glad that he wouldn't have to face the awkward 'morning after' conversation he had heard about so many times from Alois's sexual escapades. Ciel grimaced as the thought occurred to him that Claude had not shown up last night, which meant he had slept elsewhere and most likely elsewhere was with his best friend's. Shaking the image from his head, he purposely ignored the numerous missed calls in favor of scanning through his email.

There was a message from the university flagged as important and Ciel's eyes grew in shock at what he read. The email stated that classes were cancelled for today due to an incident the previous evening that involved police activity on the campus. He frowned at the message, finding the necessary police force disconcerting most of all. What could have happened that required the authorities to be engaged? Ciel ran several scenarios through his mind from vandalism to petty theft before giving up and deciding that he would probably hear about it from Lizzie at some point.

He sighed in disappointment when he realized that no classes also meant that fencing practice would not be taking place either. Nothing was a better distraction for him than fencing and after the terrifying dream last night he could definitely use that to keep him from dwelling on it. However, he was thankful that his back had not started acting up while Sebastian was around and he praised God for that small miracle.

Tapping a quick text to Bard with instructions to pick him up at the front of the school, Ciel slid out of bed and proceeded to use the restroom. In there, he changed into his now dry clothing from the evening before except for the dirty boxers; he would keep on Sebastian's loaned pair until they were washed and he could return them.

A quick look outside told him that is was chilly and Ciel cursed himself for having left his coat and scarf at the café. He made a mental note to make Bard collect the items from the business later and grabbed a hoodie from Sebastian's closet to ward off the elements for the time being. Lifting the fabric to his nose, Ciel inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to fully appreciate the spicy scent of the graduate's clothing. He took one last look around before locking and shutting the door behind him.

Despite wearing the fleecy extra layer, Ciel had to wrap his arms around himself to keep warm as he trotted across the courtyard. An odd whim struck him suddenly and for no particular reason he turned left towards the church instead of right in the direction of the school's entrance where his ride would be waiting. As he approached, his pace slowed down until he stood about a hundred feet away, jaw dropping at what he saw.

Two police barricades and been set up in front of the weathered stone steps, barring anyone not official from entering. Long strings of yellow tape were strung across the large double doors; the bold black words 'Do Not Cross' emblazoned against the light background. A man in uniform leaned against the door frame, brim of his hat lowered and arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he might be sleeping standing up. It took a moment for all the pieces to clink into place in Ciel's mind, but when they did, he felt like the floor had dropped out from under him. This was a crime scene; this was the incident with police activity that had caused the cancelation of classes. But what had happened?