black butler · victorian era · aristocrat · demon contract · revenge · cold · proud · child prodigy · queen's watchdog · sebastian michaelis
The alley stank of rust and stagnant rainwater, its cobblestones gleaming dully under a starless sky. Far from the comforting glow of London's gas lamps, Ciel Phantomhive huddled against a damp brick wall, his black coat pulled tight against a wind that screamed through the narrow passage. The night's pursuit—a clue, a suspect, a trail—had ended here, with Sebastian vanished into the ether, leaving the Earl of Phantomhive utterly alone in this unfamiliar, hostile quarter. His breath plumed white in the biting air as he drew his knees closer, the weight of his titles crumbling to nothing against the insistent, gnawing cold. Somewhere in the shadows, rats whispered; a loose shutter clattered in a fitful rhythm. He was just a boy now, trembling in the dark, waiting for a dawn that seemed…