Blacker Butler

By: Sierra S.

Prologue

The walls chilled my fingers to the bone as I pounded with my fists at them in vain. I knew it was stupid to think I could escape. The madwoman also known as my stepmother would never let me out. Or tolerate escape. Stepmother had always told me I was too ugly to go outside. No one wanted to see my brown hair or my violet eyes, wet with tears. They didn't want to see my scar-covered body, too curvy to belong to a 14 year old. Stepmother had attempted to skin off my hips and chest before, but Father would always stop her. He would yell and scream at her about how much he needed my curves. Damn pervert… I wondered how much he missed my chest and hips when I was locked away.

As for the scars… They're from my wretched family. They'd beaten me, whipped me, punched me, hit me, cut me, and starved me. They enjoyed causing me pain and seeing me in agony. Especially stepmother. I suppose it's because I'm not her biological child, and because I was an accident.

My rear was cold from the concrete floor, my bare stomach quivered with cold. My disgusting father insisted on very little clothing, while my mother wanted me cocooned in cloth and sewn up that way.

"It will portray the pitiful insect you are Noroma. Noroma, a name fit for an inferior swine." She would spit the venomous words at me with a look of true hate.

Staring at the grey wall, I wondered if either of them was right. I wondered if any of them loved me. I'd awoken many a time to my stepmother with a knife at my neck, threatening to kill me on the spot. My younger brothers and sisters never loved me much either. Stepmother and them all wanted me dead. Even at occasional extended-family dinners, I'd overhear them discussing my murder as casually as they'd discuss the weather. I hate them all, every last one of them. Not as a whole, as individuals.

I had disobeyed stepmother and father. Stepmother had told me to go to this damp, cold cellar while Father had told me to come with him. I didn't want to follow either of their directions. Both outcomes wouldn't have been pleasant. So I went outside. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The scent of fresh bread, the trees, the blue sky! I didn't even pay attention to the looks the neighbors were giving me. Mothers were covering their children's eyes, though the young men nudged their hands aside to reveal their blushing faces, flustered from looking me. The women and elders gave me nasty looks and mumbled about my lack of appropriate clothing. But I could have cared less. I was free for a few moments, until, of course stepmother dragged me down and locked me in the cellar…

I examined the cracks and bumps in the wall, then noticed a large hole in the corner of the room that had not been there before. I crawled over on my hands and knees to peer inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of a friendly mouse, but what I saw was definitely no mouse. Vibrant green eyes stared back at me through the hole. They looked almost amused to see me. In my head, I knew those eyes were telling my something. Run. Stay where I am. And… A sentence. One that I'd heard before.

I'd hidden outside my elder brother's room and heard him use it to summon a maid. She was very beautiful, and did a lot of my chores for me. Things were happy then, and my brother had finally married the girl of his dreams. But soon after, we found my brother dead, and the maid had disappeared. He had told me she was a demon who would grant a wish of his in exchange for his soul.

I didn't mind giving up my soul if it meant the extermination of my family. The words slipped from my mouth like a string forcefully being pulled out of me. They flowed off my tongue smoothly, like water or blood.

The cement walls around me melted and were replaced with nothing but a scaly body surrounding me, enclosing me, and nearly suffocating me. Those enticing green eyes stared straight into the depths of my soul.

"You wish to create a contract with me?" The soothing voice was clearly male. It was soft, yet firm like a stone that had been smoothed by flowing water.

"Yes, I do." My voice was a bit shaky. Despite knowing that this demon would not hurt me yet, everything inside me told me to be afraid. I think he knew how afraid I was. His scaly body uncoiled from around me.

"There's no need to be frightened." He cooed.

"I wouldn't hurt a beautiful young lady like you. At least, not if you don't get something in return," I blushed at that. I could feel the heat slowly spreading in my cheeks.

"I'm not afraid," I lied,

"And are you always going to be this flirtatious?" I asked, still flushed and he laughed.

"Yes, unless you ask me to stop of course." He smiled with his fangs tucked in so I wouldn't be scared

"Kill all of my relatives, every last one, along with their friends and their loved ones. Then, I will grant you my soul." My body trembled in fear. I didn't necessarily want to die, but if it meant having freedom…

"You seem to know how this works," he grinned again.

"But I'd hate to eat a precious soul like yours all at once. No, that would be dreadful. I want to be able to enjoy slowly eating away at you.

As soon as I fulfill your request, I will take your soul slowly. When you forget everything you will remember me and only me. You shall accompany me everywhere like a good little pet, and we will decide how to end our contract then," The giant snake began to transform into the figure of a young man, though still much taller than me. His green eyes never changed.

"Such a precious girl with such a precious soul, stained so darkly with sadness and hate… Sebastian and Claude will be jealous ;I just know it." He smirked.

"Do you think that's fair enough?" He asked in my ear with a hushed, whispery tone.

"Yes. That sounds fair enough," I said with slight disbelief. How could this demon be going easy on me? There must be some sort of twist to this…

The lean, muscular man walked out from behind me and faced me. He placed a warm hand on my stomach. It began to burn, and I winced in pain.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.

"It is a mark showing our contract," He removed his hand to reveal a violet pentagram, slightly lighter than the color of my eyes. He then turned his hand around to show me he had the same mark, but with a fluorescent green hue.

"How are we going to get out of here?" I shivered from the cold as the walls turned back to concrete and the scaly background disappeared. But the man with green eyes remained in front of me.

"Leave that to me young mistress," And with that, he scooped me up in his arms, carrying me like a small child. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight as he kicked the metal door to the cellar down, and ran out of the house faster than the speed of light.

"We shall come back to take care of your parents and siblings later, but for now we need to find a place to stay. I know you have a very wealthy widowed aunt with no children. I can get rid of a few nuisances and we'll be sleeping there in no time." He smiled at me warmly, and I gave a small grin in return.

"What's your name? I never heard you mention it…" I ask curiously.

"Oh! How rude of me. I'm Alexander Reddbank. And you are?"

"N-Noroma Eviyre." I stutter. My name has always sounded pretty to me, but my mother has made it perfectly clear what my name means. Twit… Dunce… Slowpoke… I saw his eyes widen in surprise.

"That name doesn't suit you at all young mistress," He began looking at me in a way I can't describe. He almost looked as if he felt sorry for me… it astounded me how this demon could possibly be so kind to others. My brother's maid had been so merciless…

"What about… Amara? Meaning 'night rain?' Your eyes remind me of that sort of thing. That enchanting violet color…" He reached his gloved hand out and cupped my face in it. I was paralyzed. I didn't dare to move, for I knew that could happen if I went against this demon. He would kill me without a second thought in his mind.

"Amara Eviyre. That suits you much better." He grinned at me yet again.

"Yes, I quite like that name," I smiled to myself and I could tell he was pleased that I liked it. I looked up at him incredulously.

"I've never met anyone as seductive as you. Is it a popular trait in demons?" I said in all seriousness, but he laughed anyway.

"Most of us can be quite charming. I'm the youngest of the male demons, so I'm still trying to work on that skill." He tightened his grip on me, holding me close to his chest; our heads close as we ran across a grassy field toward the city. I could feel myself blushing hard.

"I think you've got it down… I'm starting to wonder if you really intend on being my butler. By the time we find a place to stay, you could be moving farther than that."

"What makes you think I'll go any farther?" He asked in an amused tone.

"You grabbed at my rear when you picked me up. Did you think I wouldn't notice just because I've grown used to it?" I smirked up at him, feeling superior.

"Oh, I knew it wouldn't go unnoticed. But… There is one thing you've failed to realize,"

"And what would that be?"

"The little clothing you were wearing blew off when I started running. Don't look now young mistress, but you're in nothing but your underclothes." He looked down at me, smiling in a seemingly sweet way. My superior feeling was replaced with my hot red cheeks.

"Don't look! For god's sake, don't you dare look at me Alexander!"

"Yes, my Lady."