Lost In Dreams

After a crushed heart, Alois is sick of Claude's disloyal bastardry. He brings his boot down hard on the spider demon who wronged him so, but a mind so relentlessly perverted is bound to retaliate…

Out to teach the other a lesson in who rules their contract, devilish power struggles and wild mind games ensue. Their dirty tricks corrupt the Trancy Mansion into a psychological minefield in which no body is left un-disheveled. They want each other, but in what state? Dead? Alive? …Strapped down?

Take a ride on a rollercoaster, where reality becomes the transient foreplay of imagination, and tensions run deliciously deep. The question is; who dares crumble in the web of this sexual elysia?

Writhe. Dominate. Whimper. Ravage. Beg. Destroy. Cry. Devour. Yes. That is the way of the Trancy Household.

Author's Note: A warning, that sex scenes, fantasy and suspense are part of this wicked little story.

Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji is the intellectual property of Yana Toboso.

Rating: T (elevated to M at certain times with warning)

Chapter 1 : Bloody Strawberries

The heart is restless.

I'm running to you. If only my feelings were know, but somehow you don't see them. You turn to go, and as I reach for you to call you back, I fall into this sudden abyss. The world turns from day into night, as you always say, as if by your own ignorance you've let me die. My heart beats as I cry out for you in the dark. It's so silent here…What do you always say? …'Salt into sugar'…

"This is too sweet, Claude."

"Would Your Highness prefer something else?" Careless gold eyes gazed from behind sharp glasses.

Alois toyed with the miserable strawberry tart before him. He knew without seeing; the new dish would be just as uncomforting as this one. His butler just didn't put in the effort to please him, "No…I think I'm not in the mood for dessert, anyway."

On hearing this, Claude dropped his caring pretence and stared back into the distance, thinking unreadable, private thoughts.

His neglected master sat at a little round table with one lonely chair, a vase of yellow roses, and a spread of tea and miniature pastries. They were in the estate gardens surrounded by rose hedges and marble features, as today, Alois had requested lunch be held in the fresh air. It was as if the Trancy mansion had offended his senses.

The blonde youth rested with an elbow propped on the table, and cradled his head in his palm. The other hand directed a malignant fork that harassed the sweet slice of strawberry and creamy custard, relentlessly prodding and poking it until it was deformed far beyond its original presentation. The tormentor wedged out some pale red glaze on the surface of a fat strawberry, and held it up to the sunlight between the prongs of his weapon.

"Why are you so colourful? There's nothing to be happy about today. Such audacity," he sneered, and flicked the transparent gel away, smirking as it landed to stain the delicately crotched tablecloth. Nothing was satisfactory today.

Claude seemed to stiffen as he noticed the pink stain on the tablecloth he made himself. But Alois simply tussled his blonde hair and reclined lazily, kicking his heels atop the curved edge of the table. Under his disdain for high society's etiquette, he brewed with a private frustration. He had a need that remained persistently unfulfilled. The boy let his lidded eyes wander about the verdant landscape of the estate grounds, but they were soon transfixed by the only blurry shape out of place; his tall, dark butler who stood a stubborn blank pillar in the background of Alois' world. Always there, but never there. A deviant smile crept onto Alois' young face.

"Oh Claude, you look so…dull," his voice jumped forcefully to life, "Let's brighten you up a little!"

He speared a strawberry and bent back his fork by its prongs, creating enough tension to fling the innocent little fruit right into the face of the demon. It bounced quickly from Claude's cheek down the front of his tailcoat, as if in fear, and lay apologetically at his feet.

"Your Highness…" Claude's voice was measured, but underneath irritation was lingering. He seemed to despise impropriety of any kind.

Alois ignored this attitude in favour of his own, and laughed hard at Claude's stubborn frown, "I can't help it. I'm so damn bored."

"Your Highness rarely leaves the estate. Nothing else is to be expected," Claude threw fact to his master's emotion as he withdrew a napkin from his breast pocket to wipe his face clean.

Alois' face darkened and he turned away to brood. His voice lowered to a mutter, "I don't want to go out there. All there is are fools, laughing, gossiping. They don't understand me. Just talking about those bastards sickens me... And to think, I could live without ever leaving this place. Really, I won't ever need to. I have you to go out for me."

An uncertain moment passed between them.

Alois prompted hopefully, "Protect me from those idiots, Claude."

"Yes, Your Highness," Claude performed a cursory bow. Alois had been expected something more, and so this bland response only frustrated the teen further. His attention returned to his dessert, and he suddenly attacked another strawberry with his fork. As he crushed it, it went flat, its juices oozing shamelessly out of itself.

"…Idiots."

Beneath his shaded visage, Alois was blushing.

Note: Ah, Alois is giving his feelings away. Don't! Next, he gets an unexpected visitor in the night. Dark things for a dark-minded child…

If you felt bad for the lil' strawberries, review! This story is just warming up.