His Butler, Beloved {KuroWattyAwards 2014}

XI: His Butler | | Arrested

Ezzelin opened the main front door within his mansion's lobby, his thoughts only riled up with the fact that his butler had left abruptly, as he'd done a time before. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes met with the singular, narrowed electric blue one of a familiar lad he'd met nearly two weeks ago: Ciel Phantomhive. Inhaling a sharp breath as his gaze shifted from the young boy adjacent to him, to the pale, apprehensive man standing next to him, Ezzelin internally cursed himself for being so reckless.

"Well," said Ezzelin in a feigned casual manner, "to whom do I owe the dubious pleasure of our encounter once again, Earl Phantomhive?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept his eyes fixated on Ciel.

"Must you pretend such daftness in front of your guests?" inquired the crow-haired boy as he rolled his eye.

"Care to enlighten me on just what you mean, Earl Phantomhive?" asked Ezzelin, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "I truly don't take too kindly to such snideness within my presence."

Ciel reached into the depths of his vest's pocket beneath his blue cape and pulled out a rolled-up document and allowed it to come undone in front of Ezzelin's face. "By the order of the Queen, I am to arrest the remaining heir to the Mondadori household for reasons of suspected murder and fraud."

The guests all adorning the balcony of the staircase gasped, some even whispering amongst one another as they watched their host take a step back. "Wh-What's the meaning of this?!" he asked, his wide eyes fixated on the words: bound by chains in the prison of London. "How could I be suspected of such atrocities and . . ."

"You've been covering up the true identity of one of your contacts for the past two years," interrupted Ciel as he gestured his head towards Ezzelin. "Not to mention the multitude of suspicions surrounding the death of Countess Rosa and her chauffeur---bind him, Sebastian!"

The tall, black-haired butler smirked and took swift steps towards Ezzelin, the pair of shackle-like handcuffs dangling in his right hand. "Lord Mondadori," he said, halting in mid-distance from the horrified boy, "please do not make me use force. I have been granted the authority to punish you if you do so."

Lady Marie stood less than seven feet behind Ezzelin, her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she watched the boy, who'd been known to never willingly compromise with anyone, was now standing still and allowing himself to be taken into the custody of the Queen's Guard Dog. What have you gotten yourself into, Monsieur Mondadori, she wondered, shaking her head as she glanced up to the balcony and spotted a smirking Antony, his arms propped upon the intricately designed railings and blue eyes boring a satisfied hole into the back of Ezzelin's head.

Sensing the woman's eyes, Antony shifted his gaze from Ezzelin to her, then winked. Marie's emerald eyes quickly averted from his and back to the brown-haired boy, just as Sebastian and Ciel guided him out as if he were a dog on a leash. I won't rest until you are free, she thought, feeling a pang of pity in her chest when the boy glanced over his shoulder and took a last, agonizing look over his England mansion, and his guests, and lastly . . . Lady Marie.

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

Ciel and Sebastian had loaded the boy up within their carriage, led by two black horses once they'd arrived outside of his mansion. As they'd entered the bustling city of London, they had ordered their stage-coach to a halt outside of a tattered building of less than fifteen meters in height with a sign above its doorway with the words "Newgate Prison".

Sebastian opened the carriage door and allowed his young master out first, then the boy in handcuffs. Ciel was ahead of Sebastian and Ezzelin as they went inside of the dreary complex, spoke with the warden, whom walked behind Ezzelin and shoved him in the direction of an arched doorway. "Scum like you deserve to rot, rich pig!"