A Promise is a Promise (Black Butler Fanfiction)

A Promise is a Promise (Chapter 3) Ciel's Misadventure

The boys spent most of the day around the house. They wandered round the garden, had lunch, played 3 games of chess (at which Ciel beat Alois soundly, much to his displeasure) and one game of pool (Alois won, because Ciel was so short he had to sit on the side of the table to play), then after dinner returned to the balcony at a loss for what to do.

Ciel looked over at Alois. Sometimes, he noticed, he would catch the other Earl staring off into space or looking over at Claude, with such a sad look in his blue eyes that it made Ciel uneasy. However, soon enough, Alois would frown and shake his blond head, or notice that he was being watched and grin over at Ciel. But still, the sadness was there.

Knowing how quickly Alois's mood could change, Ciel quickly asked him: "What do you plan on doing tomorrow?"

"Oh, I was planning on taking a boat trip down the river," Alois replied, leaning back lazily in his chair.

Ciel choked on the cup of tea he was drinking. Recovering himself, he echoed:

"-A boat trip?"

"Yup," Alois said. "Why, is there a problem?"

"N-no, it's fine..." Ciel heard himself say.

"That's good!" Alois beamed. "I always wanted to go on a boat."

Having nothing more to say, they just sat for a while, each with his own thoughts until the sky grew dark and the stars twinkled like diamonds in the the velvet night.

--

The next day was bright and sunny, with a slight breeze. It was a good day for a boat ride, but Ciel was apprehensive as Sebastian buttoned up his shirt, and slipped his shoes on his feet. Sebastian seemed to notice that his master was unusually quiet, for he asked:

"Is something the matter, my Lord?"

Ciel, snapping out of it, replied "No, it's nothing," but continued to look uneasy, and didn't eat much of his breakfast. Sebastian didn't enquire further, but wondered to himself as he completed his morning chores.

Alois, oblivious to Ciel's brooding, was as energetic as ever, and chattered happily about the trip to Ciel, Claude or whoever else happened to be listening.

Ciel only got more anxious as they got on the boat, and even Alois must have picked up on something, for he smiled encouragingly, grabbed Ciel's arm and yanked him off to see the view from the front of the deck.

The young Earl's mysterious fears only became apparent when the boat started chugging up the river at quite some speed. Alois and the others were sitting in one of the cabins looking out of the window (Ciel had gone up on deck "for a walk, to get some fresh air"), when the boy staggered into the cabin looking ghastly. Sebastian jumped up, as did Alois. The butler looked sharply at his master.

"My Lord, are you all right?! You're white as a sheet!"

"Mm, I don't feel so good..." mumbled Ciel, then suddenly ran out of the room. Sebastian vaulted the table and ran after him, closely followed by Alois, then Claude.

The three of them found Ciel being sick over the side of the boat. Sebastian went over and laid a hand on his back, brushing his hair out of his face until he was finished. Alois came over, took him by the shoulders and cried in concern, "You should have told me you got seasick!" Sebastian looked relieved by the fact there was nothing seriously wrong with his master, but agreed with Alois.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Ciel looked up, still rather green, and muttered "I suppose I thought I would be all right..." before collapsing into Sebastian's arms.

--

When Ciel awoke, he found himself in a place he didn't recognise. He blinked several times, and sat up. Looking around, he realized he must be in one of the small cabins below deck. The boat seemed to have stopped moving, and he felt much better. He suddenly noticed there was an unfamiliar weight on his legs. Wondering what it was, he looked down groggily and saw that it was Alois, who must have been sitting beside the bed and had fallen asleep on him.

There was a knock at the door. It was Sebastian coming in to check he was alright. Noticing he was awake, he nodded down at Alois, and gave Ciel a what-are-we-going-to-do-with-him look.

"He refused to let go of your hand."

Ciel yawned, and asked: "Where are we now?"

"We're back at the dock. You slept through the rest of the trip. Since you're awake now, we should go."

Ciel peeled Alois off his legs and tried to get up and walk, but failed miserably. Sebastian laughed, and picked him up with one arm.

"Let's go and inform Claude that we're ready to go." And with that, he carried Ciel out of the cabin.