A Posthumous Promise: A Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji Fanfiction

Fever

Haggard gasps for air filled the large room, which was otherwise silent. Lizzy, her lips pulled down in a miserable pout, clasped at her fiancee's hand as she sat in the plush chair next to the bed. Ciel, whose head was propped up by a mountain of pillows, was not aware of anything since he was trapped in a feverish nightmare. 

"Lady Elizabeth, don't you think that you should stay away from this room?" Baldroy asked as he moved into the room, closing the door behind him. An unlit cigarette hung from his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Why would I leave him?" the blond young woman asked, her green eyes flicking up to meet his. She unconsciously squeezed Ciel's hand as she continued, "He could very well be dying..." 

"I know, but your kids-" 

"Paula can take care of them!" Lizzy sharply interrupted as she focused her eyes back on Ciel, who had let out a soft, wheezing cough.  A determined expression crossed her face as she said with finality, "Ciel is still hanging on, so I'm going to stay here until he is alright." 

"Lady Eliza-" Baldroy stopped himself from continuing as he shook his head in defeat. Before his wife had finally recovered from her deathly illness, he had held onto hope even with the threat of her death hanging over his head. 

As dedicated as Lizzy was to Ciel, there was no possible way that she was going to let go of him easily. 

"At the very least, make sure to quarantine before you go back to your children." 

Lizzy silently nodded as she watched Baldroy set a porcelain bowl on the mahogany nightstand. Peering into the bowl, the nineteen-year-old found that the bowl was filled with water and had a towel hanging over the side. As soon as she had finished rolling up her sleeves, she reached for the towel and dipped it into the water. She rubbed the damp cloth against Ciel's forehead, which was soaked in a light sheen of fever-induced sweat. 

"Lady Elizabeth, that is his butler's duty," Sebastian stated as soon as he had walked into his young master's bedroom.

Lizzy flinched and retracted the rag from Ciel's forehead, quite startled at the sudden appearance of the raven-haired butler. A soft groan left Ciel's lips because of the loss of the rag. Eyebrows shooting up, Lizzy quickly moved to place it back on his forehead.

"Oh. You poor dear..." she whispered as she softly sighed and placed her lips on his shaking hand.

"Consider your actions carefully. You might catch whatever it is that the young master has." 

Lizzy paused as she mulled over Sebastian's words, her bottom lip jutting out. 

"That may be true, but if I do come down with it, I will have a decent recovery time," she rebutted as she glanced down at Ciel. "However, he doesn't have that, and it is my duty as his wife to tend to his every need.'

Once Lizzy's eyes were no longer fixated on him, Sebastian rolled his eyes, frustrated at how stubborn she was acting.

"You are Ciel's future bride, Lady Elizabeth," Sebastian corrected, moving forward to take the rag from her much smaller hands.

Affronted by his words, Lizzy straightened up with her cheeks set ablaze. Her hands curled by her sides, but she did not attempt to open her mouth again. Instead of leaving, she moved to sit back down in her chair and watched silently as Sebastian tended to his feverish young master.

"Do you not wish to spend time with your children?" Sebastian offered as he glanced over at the girl.

"I would have to quarantine before going to see them. I would much rather wait until Ciel gets well. Then, we could quarantine together."

Sebastian's lips puckered in indignation as he continued with the task of looking after Ciel. After a few minutes of dabbing cold water around Ciel's eyes, the boy finally opened his bleary eyes. Thankfully, his bangs covered the contract mark that emblazoned his right eye.

"Sebastian...?" he weakly got out as he blinked in confusion. "What in the world are you-"

His words were cut off by Lizzy lunging toward him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Elizabeth, let go!" he exclaimed, somehow finding the strength to pry himself loose of her grasp. He fell back against the feather pillows with a heavy sigh. He fixed his eyes on the blond-haired young woman, who looked back at him with worry. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to take care of you-"

"Take care of me?" Ciel repeated, frustration dripping from his voice.

"Yes, like your aunt used to do!" Lizzy replied, a soft smile overtaking her features. "Auntie Angelina would always care for me when I got a cold~"

"Elizabeth, this is not some simple cold. If you get infected, it could become as serious as mine. Do you understand me?"

"I suppose so.." Lizzy murmured as she cast her gaze down to the scrubbed hardwood floors. "I only wished to do something special for you."

Ciel let out a heavy sigh before responding, "Well, I do appreciate your gesture dearly. However, I must implore you to get away from me. It would not do us any good if we both got ill."

"That's true. I'll leave now..." Lizzy offered Ciel a tiny smile as she moved to leave his bedroom. "Please get better."

Sebastian watched as the lady closed the door behind herself, shaking his head. Of course, Lady Elizabeth could only do as Ciel asked of her. How ironic...

"Sebastian, don't leave just yet," Ciel ordered, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"What is it, my lord?" Sebastian asked as he pressed the rag back up against Ciel's forehead.

"I need you to be as honest as possible. Do you truly think that my survival rate is high?" Ciel got out as he was wracked with a heaving cough, which shuddered his entire body.

Sebastian shook his head in answer as he continued, "This sickness is ravaging your body. I am surprised that you managed to hold on for this long."

"If I do die, I have one final request for you."

"And what might that be?"