Of Moonlight and Poison

Chapter V: A Moment's Contemplation

Their moment of departure from the Remington manor could not have been at a more precious time. Right as the carriage containing both Earls and servants pulled away from the drive, behind them the light breeze of early dawn brought the boisterous clamor of vehicles and shouted orders. There was no need to look back to know someone had heard the gunshot and informed Scotland Yard—though what good they could be now that the two incidents had occurred was a matter to be pondered. Cain was only too glad to have left when they had. He could already image those buffoons attired in police gear questioning them nonstop and antagonistically coming to the ludicrous conclusion that they were the murderers.

As mattered stood, neither Cain nor Ciel had anything good to say when it came to London's elite police force. It was due to their lack of imagination and brains that compelled individuals like Ciel and Cain to conduct their own investigations and lift the stamp of impossibility placed on each case that the Yard dubbed unsolvable. At times they found it vexing, but then again it gave them both something to do with their time and provided some entertainment, as well as daring risks that both knew from experience carried grave consequences and tragedies.

Taking a very brief moment to discuss matters before departing, Cain and Ciel had decided it best to return to the Hargreaves estate. It was the most convenient rendezvous when it came to which estate was closest and swiftest to arrive to with as little time consumption as possible.

Sensing that their masters wished for a moment of privacy after such an eventful night, Sebastian and Riff decided to share the driver's seat in a terminal stretch of silence. Neither man endeavored to engage the other in conversation, leaving them with only the early noises of dawn to fill the silence. Betwixt them there existed an icy tension forged from disapproval each borne for the other. Or so it would appear. However, that was the wrong diagnoses. If observed with a more critical eye and a sense of human nature, then it would have been seen that only one of the twain butlers was the one who harbored discomfort, whilst the other found cynical humor.

Dismissing the tension between Sebastian and Riff for the present, the atmosphere in the carriage was different from what the two servants were experiencing. The mood was a mixture of lost contemplation and puzzlement and the ever-persistent seed of doubt. The two young earls were engaged in their own world of reflections during most of the trip. They both gazed out the windows, vaguely seeing the edifices and scenery that passed them by in a blur. Even now, they were vaguely aware of suspicion and doubt fermenting in their minds, placing the urgent inquiry if the other was to be trusted. Although both showed reluctance to give voice to their personal views of the events that had occurred a few hours before, in the end Ciel determined to speak.

He turned around and stared at the inert figure seated on the opposite seat from him. Ciel found the wickedly handsome countenance deep in consideration, those alluring eyes blank and unemotional like a statue. The fine black brows were furrowed and the corner of his lips strained into a deep-set frown that further proved the strength of his contemplation. Whatever it was that he was turning around in his mind, it was clear to Ciel that he in some way tangled in the strings of Cain's agitated mind.

"Is there really any need for you to be contemplating whatever you are thinking about with so much effort?" the words sprung out of Ciel's lips without much consideration of his part. Much to his on surprise, his tone was cold and rude.

Cain looked up startled and for the first time since they had started, realized that there was someone else inside the carriage with him. Ciel noticed the look of recognition brightening Cain's exotic eyes and instantly his humor turned sour.

"My apologies. Did you say something just now?" Cain questioned politely, unaware of Ciel's unpleasant mood.

The corner of Ciel's eye gave a faint twitch. He glared heatedly at Cain and said, "Do you make it a habit of ignoring people when they are trying to speak to you?"

A cynical smirk spread over Cain's lips. At last, he became aware of the younger boy's vexation, which he knew for a fact,was directed at him. Cain found it amusing that he was the cause of frustration. It actually touched him in a twisted way.

"No, not usually unless my mind finds the topic boring. But I suppose I was too absorbed in my thoughts to have heard you." Cain replied, calmly.

"Then are you implying that what I just asked you was of no interest to you to capture your undivided attention?" Ciel questioned curtly, watching Cain's face unabashedly.

Cain looked blankly into Ciel's eyes, unruffled by his rudeness and said, "I never said that I found anything you have to say boring. However, as I have said before, I was too deep in thought to hear you. Do you want me to apologies again?"

Ciel averted his eyes, unable to have those greenish-gold eyes staring at him. He felt his cheeks flush a light red, and in an attempt to hide it from his companion, he placed his hand over his cheek and pretended there was something of interest outside the window. Cain saw his flushed cheeks and smirked.

Titling his head to the side, he inquired impassively, "Aren't you going to answer me, Ciel? I admit I should have been more aware of your presence, but the truth of the matter is that I have had a lot on my mind before the events of last night. I'm sure it was not as pleasant for you as it was for me."

Keeping his gaze fixed to the window, Ciel returned dryly, "I am not actually concerned about having been shot rather then knowing the identity of the person who shot me and for what purpose."

"What leads you to believe that that tainted gunshot was for you? It could have been destined for anyone in that crowd room and you just so happened to be inconveniently in the sniper's view point. And furthermore, why would you ever place yourself directly in front of an open window where you could be an easy target to be gunned down?" Cain reasoned with that same smug smirk that those closest to him knew him by.

Ciel stared hard at Cain, unable to bear to be chastised by anyone despite age differences and snapped, "What are you saying? Are you incapable of giving frank answers without supplying cryptic meanings behind everything you say? I will not be mocked by the likes of you or anyone else. You know nothing about me and do not pretend to. And the odds of that bullet being aimed for me are just as fair as it having been meant for you or another."

The passion in which Ciel spoke left Cain in a mixture of awe and admiration. From those lividly uttered words, Cain realized more then ever he was lured to Ciel through a sheer sense of curiosity to know more about this youth whose life sorrow he could see reflected in those hard cold azure eyes, which in his opinion, would have been far more brilliant if they were touched with ecstasy rather then a merciless pain.

Cain's face softened and a soft smile replaced his cynical smirk, minutely putting Ciel off and sharpening his distrust. The words he next gave voice did nothing but throw Ciel into a whirl of bewilderment.

"If you were but to furnish the privilege that would allow me to know you better, I would gladly accept despite the consequences, which I am positive that you fear." These words Cain voiced were spoken in so sincere a tone that they produced in Ciel a strange feeling that made his throat contract. Right before Cain's eyes did he see the young boy's features alleviate and lessen their unjust burden upon so young and tender a soul.

Feeling as if he were weak and humiliated by such foreign words of sincerity from a person he scarcely knew, and whose motives he questioned, Ciel swiftly looked away and kept his eyes fixed to the murky vault prevailing over London. Without turning around, he sneered almost reproachfully, "Save your generosity for someone else who needs it. Because I do not need sentimental charity from someone who lives such an unorthodox and scandalous life as you do Cain."

To Ciel's surprise, Cain laughed and waved a hand as if to dismiss Ciel's heated words. Cain leaned languidly back in his seat; his silver topped cane resting readily besides him and smirked. His cat-like eyes were alive with mischief and forever-present sadness.

"I was not offering sentimental charity, as you put it just now. My offer is very much sincere and it will remain valid for whenever you may wish to accept it. And you are right. My life is in fact unorthodox and scandalous but I can do nothing to change it otherwise. My very nature is established on those two matters. To change them to something else is like wishing to revive a corpse. It simply cannot be done. At least not for me…" Cain trailed off, lifting his eyes and concentrating on the uninteresting ceiling of the carriage.

Ciel saw Cain reflected clearly upon his window and noticed the pensive mood capture those greenish-gold eyes until once more they were submerged into thought. So much so, in fact, that as one earl observed the other whilst the other stared at the ceiling that they were caught completely off guard when the carriage ceased to travel upon a smooth surface and was instead traversing over a jagged terrain. The violent motion proved as an efficient method to free them from the plaguing thoughts and suspicions and jostled the twain as the sea jostles the waves during a powerful storm. Cain was thrown further into his seat, his head making a fierce acquaintance with the wall of the carriage but somehow managing to grasp onto the framework of the window to steady himself.

As it would appear, Fortune was not much in Ciel's favor as shall be seen. Young Ciel was projected from out of his seat only to be flung unceremoniously into Cain's slender, girlish body. The force of the impact left the two earls breathless and heads spinning like a torrent. Ciel was the first to recover from their unpleasant experience. He gradually regained sense but still had his eyes closed. He became aware that he was pressed against something soft and warm, and not at all feeling like a well-cushioned seat. He cracked open a vivid azure eye and much to his horror discovered that his cheek was on Cain's warm chest, his shirt being mid-way open and revealing flawless pale skin. Instinctively on impulse, his body tensed and not knowing precisely where his hands were, they clung onto whatever was underneath them.

Once more, his cheeks were colored in a fierce redness. Ciel titled his face upwards and the tip of his nose brushed lightly over Cain's neck and chin. The sensation was almost like a feather being led over delicate skin, its objective to produce some kind of encouraging response. Cain remained utterly inert, his eyes closed and his body deadly still. Ciel tentatively pulled away, a sense of fear seizing him, and stared at the beautiful face of Cain Hargreaves. From such a close proximity, Ciel quietly observed the long graceful neck, the delicate and sensuous lips that cried out to be kissed, the elongated thick eyelashes that loomed lightly over high cheekbones, and the lushes pure black locks that shielded those lidded extraordinary eyes. All these things he had seen with a superficial glance when he had first spotted him amongst the throng of women, but not in a thorough and intimate contemplation.

Some bewildering emotion that he had never experienced before in his life until that moment, prompted Ciel with an urgency that commanded him to commit a most sinful act as to kiss the lips of the boy he was pressed against. Sensing rather then reading what demanding dilemma troubled Ciel's mind, Cain discreetly fluttered open his eyes and borne audaciously into the other's eyes. Silently they regarded one another, each wondering what the other would do given their most suggestive and intimate position. In Cain's eyes, Ciel read a taunting light prompting him to act as he saw fit. Right as Ciel was reaching a decision, a voice spoke from outside. It was now that they realized that the carriage was no longer moving. They had at last reached their destination.

"Lord Cain, we have arrived home." Riff informed impassively.

Without looking away from Ciel, Cain replied with a single word: "Good." Cain then gently pushed Ciel aside, placing him tentatively on the empty space beside him. He grabbed his cane and in that moment Riff opened the door, his eyes averted more from dejection then for the sake of courtesy. He offered his hand for Cain to take and helped him down. Cain looked over his shoulder at Ciel smiling mischievously as was his constant wont, and promised, "Perhaps another time, Ciel."

Cain left with Riff, who knew nothing concerning his mater's cryptic words, and a moment later Sebastian appeared with Ciel's cloak in hand. He observed the flushed color of his cheeks and arched an inquiry brow. He held out his hand for Ciel to take but the latter hesitated a moment before taking it at last. Sebastian frowned and asked tentatively, "Is something the matter, young master? You are very flushed. Have you caught fever, I wonder?" He reached out to touch his master's forehead, but Ciel brushed it aside and jumped out of the carriage.

Relishing the cold breeze that cooled his heated face and taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Ciel composed himself to his former haughty and languid manner and turned to face his butler with an unflinching stare. "Of course I'm perfectly alright." He allowed Sebastian to drape the cloak over his lean shoulders, a hint of suspicious lingering in his mind until a curious thought entered mind and he could not help but lightly taunt his master.

"I don't think I have ever on any occasion but when seen you so colored in the face, young master. Perhaps…" Sebastian paused, and then resumed, "Perhaps something unexpectedly happened between you and Lord Cain? Something that perhaps you were not prepared for." A cynical smile spread over Sebastian's lips and added easily, "Of course that is merely a presumption."

Ciel snatched his own cane from Sebastian's hands and slightly looked back to regard his butler with a cold hard glare. "A butler should never make his own presumptions if he wishes to keep his job. They should remain concerned with providing their master's with absolute loyalty and impeccable servitude. Leave such presumptions for me to make."

The corner of Sebastian's lips curled into a dark smile, his eyes momentarily vivid red like some demonic omen in the early hours of dawn and bowed gracefully in submission. In the recesses of his own thoughts he despised being treated like a dog by a mere human boy, but such was the temptation that he himself had succumb to when he had first been called out by Ciel to seek his revenge for all the pain and humiliation he had suffered from those who had been his tormentors. Sebastian could have easily denied him and allowed him to perish or seek the assistance of another of his diabolic kind. Yet he was never one to relinquish any soul, especially one as delectable and promising as Ciel's own. For the sake of the great reward that lay before him and that would be his soon enough to enjoy and dispose of at his leisure, what was one or two more insults to endure? The end was near enough at hand and all that was required on his part was the patience of a saint and the easy submission of a dog—though even the most loyal of dogs turned against their masters at any given moment.

In addition, regarding souls, Sebastian was curious to know where he and a certain silver haired manservant found themselves now after a long interval. Their business was still yet to see an end until a satisfactory compromise was reached that left the two parties gratified.

The long corridor in which Cassian walked down was poorly illuminated and sickly damp with heavy droplets of moister dropping every other second to the floor or landing on his head. The measurements of the corridor could at best be described as claustrophobic. He had never understood why Alexis could not settle for establishing his rendezvous at more sane location like an abandon warehouse by the docks or even a deteriorating manor house on the outskirts of the capital, rather then constantly resident in the filthy and oppressive realms of the city's drainage system. It was as if the Card Master relished sharing his plans with the gigantic rats that were everywhere including his own sleeping quarters. During his time with the circus, Cassian had known hard times. But even then, he and the other members had never been compelled to share their rotting bread with rats the size of full-grown cats.

Quickening his pace, he hurried along the corridor until he reached the door he sought and knocked upon its moist surface. No response came and he knocked once more only to be answer by silence. He turned the doorknob before pushing it open with some force. At once, his nose was assaulted with the ghastly smell of overbearing chemicals and the distinct odor of decomposing flesh. He shut the door behind him and entered the fairly large room. Of its three walls were occupied by large cabinets containing both medical books and supplies; one cabinet alone housed jars of human parts that glistened in the compressed light of the room. The room was lit with gas lamps and candles rather then electricity as was becoming the newest luxury amongst the rich and prosperous. Here amongst the rats and filth of the sewers such a luxury was nonexistent. Most of the light was orchestrated to illuminate the center of the room where the dissection table was stationed and where the object of his errand was standing.

Cassian quietly approached the dissection table where rivulets of dead blood dripped and stained the stone masonry, and saw the corpse of a person he could not decipher its sex. He noticed something curious about the sexless corpse's face. Its mouth was agape like a fish and even he who had no knowledge of anatomy knew there was something amiss with its mouth. From the base of the neck to the region above the pubic hairs, a long and clean incision had been made, allowing the severed folds of flesh to part like a book. Organs of various size and functions lay out in a heap upon the surface of the table, whilst some had fallen to the floor, squashed under the leather soles of the Doctor's shoes.

The Doctor was aware of Cassian's presence and acknowledging it he said calmly, "Will you please hand me the forceps that are on the tray, Cassian. Thank you." Cassian handed them to the Doctor and watched in fascination as he led the menacing tip of the scalpel coated in blood across the corpse's short neck and skillfully slashed four perfectly deep incisions that freed the skin. Placing aside his scalpel, the Doctor used the forceps to separate the corpse's neck and discovered something that curled his lips into a small smile.

Cassian took a closer step to see what he had discovered and saw the object held between the secure arms of the forceps. He stared and realized the long, tender looking piece of flesh to be a human tongue. His eyes flickered to the agape mouth and now understood why it had appeared to be missing something.

"It seems this poor unfortunate thing died by swallowing its own tongue. How amusing." Jezebel dropped the severed tongue with the heap of other extracted organs and tossed the forceps on the tray, and stripped off his gloves.

Cassian continued to stare at the corpse until it no longer offered him any interest and said getting straight to business, "I came to tell you that Ida has returned and that your father requires your presence at once to hear how her assignment faired." He paused, and then added, "But she isn't alone. She came accompanied with that strange fat man that your father was talking to the other night."

Jezebel stood still for a moment, musing over what Cassian had said. He lifted his eyes and sought a moment's consolation with a specific set of jars containing organs. His expression softened for a very brief second before resuming a calm and calculating countenance.

"Then we shouldn't let them wait more then they have already." Jezebel said retrieving his coat from a chair to his right and headed for the door. He threw it open and the two of them headed down the corridor and bound for Lord Alexis's throne room.