A/N: This is my very first Kuroshitsuji fanfic, and I'ma tell you in advance that this has an original character that I made for my friend since... I don't know. Since sixth grade? So, please, don't read if you don't want to experience my inner workings.

Zero: Present.

Me: Where's daddy?

Kaname: You are one horrible little girl.

Me: *mumbles* Am not.

Zero and Kaname: *sighs and rubs head* *looks at audiences* Please do not, and we mean DO NOT, sue, kill, murder, assassinate, mutilate or rape the little kid. She is just a nonsense author.

Me: Did you guys have to say the R word?

Demon and Prey

What is below grandfather's basement?

My little feet walked and walked towards the door. I am so small. I try to reach grandfather's shiny knob made of gold. I turn it around like a circle and go inside the space. Under all of the things that grandfather kept, there is a door behind a table.

When I walk forward, I hear a sound.

What is behind the big black door?

Once you open, it is lost forevermore

Once you trade this little life

It stabs you at the back like a knife

What is behind the big black door?

What is cold and heartless that soars

What is behind those tainted wings?

In every note that he will sing

Grandfather forgot to use that table to close the door. I went for it and wonder what is inside because of the scary song. I opened it and said, "Hello?"

Black things fly. Black things with two red eyes.

I screamed because I am scared.

"Meala, no!" grandfather said.

"A choice, you must make," the sweet voice said, "to give up your life for us to take."

I yelled with fear as a cold shiver ran through my spine. Sweat mingled with tears ran through my entire body and I was so happy that I was in my bed, safely covered with the warm comforter.

"Whoa, Meala," I heard a voice beside me as warm fingers traced my eyebrows that were already soaked. "What happened? Did you get a nightmare or something? Are you hurt? Are you alright?"

I snuggled deep into my fiancé's warm body. Looking up, I smiled at Senri, his pale blue eyes smothering me with warmth. He gave me a gentle smile and I couldn't help but ruffle his red hair.

"It was about grandfather," I yawned, still feeling sleepy.

"Grandfather? You mean Kuran Kaname?" he said, his voice sounding very concerned about our grandfather.

I exhaled deeply. It was grandfather who stuck the Kuran family with the old traditions of cousins and or siblings marrying each other. I have to admit, I was surprise at first when I found out my aunt is my cousin, one way or another. Either way, she married uncle, therefore, she is my aunt. Senri and I, though he is not truly a Kuran, but a Shiki, is my cousin, therefore, we must marry to keep the bloodline of royalty pure.

Senri hummed me a sweet melody. He usually did this whenever I was scared since I was still a toddler (yes, I do have fond memories as a kid).

I fell back to unconsciousness, the mass of darkness overflowing.

"Modelling," I hummed, "great."

I was dressed in a dress covered with some kind of a see-through cloth and I felt naked, despite the fact that the cloth underneath me isn't. Maybe because it was the baby blue color that was sleeveless that was shaped like a tube.

As Souen Luka, my sempai and Senri's classmate with the glossiest brown hair and stunning blue eyes, brushed my hair smoothly, she smiled and said proudly, "You are a Kuran, princess. Remember that everyone in your family inherited this kind of beauty. You should be proud."

I snorted, and she gave me a glare.

Somehow, just to change topic, she said brightly, "Look, princess! This amethyst necklace matches your eyes!"

I turned to see a jewel inside Luka's hand and I smiled. Yep, the gem resembled my eyes of luscious purple, though I hate the fact that my hair is wavy, which I inherited from my father. The only thing I didn't inherit were my eyes. They were once maroon colored like grandfather's, but, after that memory, it changed when he came.

I stared at the window beside my vanity mirror and sighed. If modelling was a career, I would surely fail. I hated the attention that I get because of this face, and this body.

Just then, I saw a movement coming from the forest that surrounded the manor. As quickly as it came, it disappeared.

"Luka-sempai," I distantly said, "I want to check something. I'll be back."

She bit her lip. "The party is starting within four hours."

I smiled at her and placed a sweet kiss on her lips, which she returned eagerly. "I love you so much."

I am a very curious person. If I want to know what's happening, I pursue it without any delay, so I followed that shadow's footsteps. I came upon what seemed to look like a weird tomb with a pentacle. Runes of the old mingled with Latin and I had to unfortunately get my hands dirty just to understand what was written. God, Luka is going to kill me.

"Black..." I squint my eyes to be able to read and understand more, "demon...Sebastian."

As I said the Latin inscription, the tomb suddenly opened to lead to a passage way.

Now, I am not scared of the dark, but what frighten me in the dark are the spiders.

"I can do this," I said as I used a rune to light a pathway in the dark. The stairway was all twists and turns and by the time I arrived at the bottom of the stairway, it has already been thirty minutes. I came upon a crypt and was somehow curious at what it was doing underneath the mansion.

"Meala Artemis Zala von Kuran," I heard a familiar voice.

I gasped and turned around. Familiar red eyes glowed in the dark. As the red eyes drew closer, I heard gentle footsteps walking towards me. I closed my eyes as I remember that day when grandfather sacrificed his life for me just to appease this monster.

And now I'm next...

"Not really," he replied to my unspoken thought.

As he drew closer, I moved back against the wall. Still, he drew nearer.

"Don't come any closer," I said, trying to sound brave.

I closed my eyes, feeling hopeless as his voice whispered out loud, "That old man got in the way. Last time, I couldn't have you. Your skin, so smooth and young, and those eyes," he tilted my chin, yet I didn't dare open them, "I want to take you piece by piece."

I felt a soft stab at my neck. I opened my eyes and there, drinking my blood, was the most handsome man I have ever seen. His hair was black, and his eyes...they matched him perfectly well. Damn, even he's hotter than Senri!

A pain shot through my skull. Images of the past came fluttering by, and I remember:

"Your life? Why should I take you when I could have her instead?" the evil voice spoke nonchalantly.

Grandfather replied mournfully, "Please, it was I who summoned you! She's just an innocent girl!" I stared at his position, fear vibrating from his every being.

"Exactly," the voice replied after a while. I suddenly felt warm hands touching me at places that made me feel high and my breathing began to hitch. "Something so innocent, something so young to corrupt... it is all here in her body that I want." I whimpered as I felt something fumbling through my clothes.

"No!" grandfather commanded. "She is not yours to take! Signum Demonata!"

Grandfather was swept away along with the demon, and I was left there, crying.

"Sebastian," I whimpered, even more frightened now. "Why me?"

Sebastian released me from his grasp. His eyes were animalistic and he said in a very playful yet deadly voice, "Isn't it obvious? It is because you are my prey."

I succumb to him, his breath against my skin.

But I remembered the party.

"I have to go," I pulled away and ran without looking back. My heart pounded roughly against my ears, and by the time I arrived at the manor, it had already been two hours. Did I really take that long down that catacomb?

Dirt covered the bottom layer of the dress. I cursed and went for my room to change. When I entered, a black dress with a red sash was already displayed on the bed. Curiously, I went for it and saw no name card or even a greeting. Without thinking much about it, I took off the blue dress and placed the black one on. I looked once again at the vanity mirror and found myself doing my own hair.

"Princess, I came to – what did you do to your dress?" Luka exclaimed when she entered and saw the mud that stained the blue one.

I stammered stupidly, "Well, I sorta...got it dirtied while I was tracking something, hehe..."

"And where did you get that dress?" she asked scandalized. "It's an indecent color for a child of eighteen to wear, princess."

I sighed, "I found it on the bed, ready to be worn."

Her eyes widened. Quickly, she went to the door and peeked outside and then closed it once more and made sure the lock was precisely secure. She turned to me and whispered out loud, "Don't tell me you were conversing with the demon."

I stared at her. She knew?

She let out a worried sigh. "It looks like we can't stop him now. Your grandfather was afraid that he will claim you as his own, just like how the demon had claimed your mother, your grandmother before that, and so on." She walked towards the window and gazed out towards the horizon. "He can only be sealed momentarily, but that's that. Now that he is free from his cage, he will never stop."

I stood from wherever I was unconsciously sitting at and said in a care-free sort of way, "Whatever it is, we can't do anything about it, right?"

"Princess," she stared.

I placed on the mask that I picked a couple of weeks ago and smirked.

I stared at Touya Rima, the girl who had been admiring Senri since I could remember. Her blue eyes of forget-me-not were looking nonchalantly at me through her mask as she greeted me her congratulations.

"Um," I started, "I know you like Senri –"

"Don't start, Kuran princess," she said, her orange brown pigtails bouncing along her energetically, "he chose you because it's his duty. We can't do anything about it. I suggest you go and dance with that prince charming."

I stared at her.

Somehow, I feel guilty deep inside. I don't love Senri that much, but we do share a deep bond. It's not just that deep enough for me. It seems like I don't even care if we go through the marriage or not.

When the dance finished, I heaved a sigh.

"Are you okay, Emi?" I heard Senri ask me with the affectionate nickname from my name 'Artemis'.

I nodded and said, "I need to get some fresh air," and I looked uncertainly towards him, "You don't mind, right?"

He nodded. Kami-sama, how he spoils me.

I decided to wander a bit around the garden with questions unanswered. Could I tell him? Should I tell him? Will it hurt him? Will it break him? Will he hate me? Can he ever forgive me? Am I sane enough to do so?

What is behind the big black door?

That song's line echoed behind me.

Once you open, it is lost forevermore

I felt two hands holding my shoulders gently. My skin tingled at the feeling, but I openly welcomed it.

Once you trade this little life

It stabs you at the back like a knife

My heart pounded, aware of the crimson gaze that lingered still.

I turned around to meet the person's gaze, and I was locked in his strength like a prey.

What is behind the big black door?

What is cold and heartless that soars

What is behind those tainted wings?

In every note that he will sing

I muttered in reply, "A demon in disguise."

A soft chuckle rumbled through him and my resolve was made.

I am letting Senri go. I can't hurt him, knowing that I don't feel anything for him but a love of a younger sister.

"Meala," Sebastian whispered.

Please, I thought, kiss me. I want to feel your lips against mine.

He wiped my eyebrow with his soft, gentle fingers and whispered, "Is that so?" and placed a kiss gently on my lips. He slowly traced his lips on my cheek, going down my chin until he reached my neck and planted a very exciting kiss right there on the spot.

"Senri," I called out.

Quickly, he went for me and he said in a very low but concerned voice, "You look flushed, princess. Is there something going on?"

I went straight to the point right away, "I can't go through the engagement."

Senri nodded slowly, surprising me. "I know. I do, too, but I just felt that I have to do it as an obligation. Dear, sweet, little Emi," he said as he caressed my face, "I only love you as a sister, but I was not sure if you felt the same, so I decided to go through the engagement, even if..."he stared off at the one place where Rima was standing. Happily, I turned my head to look at him and said, "Go to her, Ri. She needs you more than I do."

"How can you tell?" he asked.

I faced him proudly and said, "Because she loves you, too. Too much for my taste, though," I winked, stunning him.

I stared out into the forest from my window and whispered to myself, "Not all happy endings have romances. Sometimes, if you make someone very happy, everything will turn out right in the end of it all."

"So, all's well that ends well, am I correct, milady?"

I turned to look at Sebastian and nodded.

A new regime has begun. It is no more royalty to royalty, but royalty to butler. No one would know. If they take him away, they will suffer my curse.

But as he stays, I am cursed.