Darkness. That's all Vincent could see as he ran through the empty streets of London. The man looked frantically around for any help, but it was all in vain. He was bloody and bruised from falling on the smooth stone roads. The mist almost left him completely blind.
Slow, even footsteps were echoing on the path behind him. Glancing behind himself, Vincent saw a high heeled shoe step out of the shadows. Just the sight of it made his adrenaline go through the roof. He quickly sprinted down the street and made a sharp turn into an alley way, not realizing his mistake until it was too late.
Seeing that he ran into a dead end, he slowly turned around. What he saw was enough to make him wet his expensive imported pants. The figure was tall and slender, with a perfect hourglass figure. A long, pitch black cloak clung to its body until the legs, where it flared out around it. A hood adorned its head.
"P-Please, spare me. I will give you anything you want. I've got money, drugs, men, anything! Just let me live!" He pleaded.
The hooded woman did not answer. She tilted her head slightly up, only to reveal glowing magenta eyes with black slits. "Why Vincent, you should know why I am doing this," the figure spoke.
"Please, let me go." He dropped on his knees and sobbed.
The figure paused in its movements, almost seeming to think it over. Vincent seemed to look at this as a sign of hope, a small smile slipping onto his lips. The figure then snapped its head up and vanished, only to reappear behind him. His arm was pulled back with a sickening snap, resulting in him screaming in pain. A slender pale hand reached out from the cloak and wrapped around his mouth. By this time, she had already dealt a number of wounds on his body, and blood splattered everywhere. Just as the man's eyes were about to close for a final time, she whispered one last word into his ear. "Kutabare*…" Her melodic voice echoed in his head as he seeped into darkness.
The next morning, a young woman walked down the street and turned into the ally way to take out the trash. Then she froze, a high pitched scream echoed through the alleyway and through the busy streets of London.
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"Sebastian," a young boy ordered. Almost instantly a male, clad in black, appeared in front of him bowing.
"Yes, My Lord?" he answered.
"The queen has some concerns about men going missing. They recently found a body in London. We will go there immediately, prepare the carriage," Ceil ordered.
"Of course, My Lord," the 'man' replied.
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At the crime scene, Scotland Yard was already there, much to Ceil's disappointment.
"What are you doing here?" an officer spat, sending saliva everywhere.
"The queen has asked me personally, as her guard dog, to look into this matter. It might even be tied to cases that went unsolved in the past," he replied coolly. The officer looked shocked at the answer, then started to laugh. "You honestly believe that I would fall for something like that?! Preposterous! Your just a little toy poodle, Now run along before I have to call the dog catcher," The man kept laughing until he saw Sebastian's glare, flashing a glowing pink for a split second. That's all it took for the man to shut up. "Now if you will please excuse me, I will need to see the body with the crime scene,"
The boy and his butler, who was quiet during the whole conversation, swiftly walked past the baffled man.
"I will never understand why people kill each other. It's just more work for me," Ceil said with a sigh.
"Young master, May I offer some insight to the problem?" Sebastian said with his usual smile.
"Go on Sebastian," Ceil replied as they stopped at the body. In the alleyway, the shadows covered the lifeless corps. The young Lord stepped further and felt queasy. Crimson liquid painted the walls, though it was neat, just like the bodies broken bones were. The man's back was broken at the base, a few ribs were broken and his leg and arm was twisted as well, like Sebastian had played with his food.
"My Lord, it seems that a demon has passed through hear recently. She must've tortured the poor man before she devoured him," he sighed.
Ceil took but a moment to analyze the information, until a word popped out at him.
"Sebastian, you said 'she'. Are you implying that it is a female?" Ceil asked, interested.
"Yes, you don't get to see a female demon just anywhere. Especially an unclaimed one," he said with a smile. It wasn't like his usual smiles, oh no. It was a more evil smile, like he a plan. Ceil shivered a bit, but quickly regained his composer.
"And why is that?" Ceil asked curiously. He was happy that he could get the butler to spill some information about his kind.
"Well, there really was no need to reproduce since demons were immortal unless killed by a soul reaper, another demon, or a select few weapons. So the need for females declined over the centuries. But when demons got into an argument and ended up killing each other, the population began to dwindle. There weren't a lot of females to begin with so the remaining population were quickly claimed. Now unclaimed females are hunted, a rare gem," the butler finished.
"Do you know where this female is? Or how to track her down?" the young lord asked.
"But of course. If I couldn't track down a female demon, what kind of butler would I be?" Sebastian replied.
"A normal one," Ceil mumbled.
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"Meow!"
"Awe! Look mommy! Look at Paris dance!" a little boy called out in awe. He was engrossed in watching the little feline prance about.
"Mommy?" the little boy got up when he received no reply. The snow white cat was more interested by the light which was reflected by the jewels embroiled in the tapestry on the opposite wall. The entranced kitten never notice her owners stare, much less when it came off of her. He walked down the empty corridor, only lead by the candles on the walls lit by the servants.
"Mommy?" the little boy crept up the stairs, slightly frightened by the lack of servants in the area. The candles painted horrifying shadows upon the dull golden walls. The crimson carpet painted with gold designs shuffled underneath the young noble's feet.
Silently, the boy walked up to his parents chambers, where he expected to hear his sire and mother talking over wine, but instead heard two female voices.
"Is the job done?" one of the voices asked. It was a stern, alto voice, obviously belonging to an older woman. It must've been his mother, for only one person can demand something so kindly.
"But of course, my Lady. If I could not carry out a request such as this, then what kind of maid would I be?" A higher voice answered, seemingly belonging to a younger woman. The child's eyes widen as he recognized the voice as his chamber maid. The one person who was always there for him when his parents could not be. The one who sang him a lullaby every night before he was tucked into bed to retire. The one who kissed his cuts and hugged him when tears escaped the confines of his eyes. The one who cried along with him when Lisa, his old cat, died and got him Paris.
The little boy gathered the courage to open the door a crack. Inside, the room was pitch black. The only source of light coming from the lightning flashing outside the grand window that settled in the middle of the wall. In front of the window stood two figures. The 5'4 skinny figure of his mother, her back facing him. The second figure stood at a 5'8 stature, perfect in every shape and form. That was Kathrine Bell, or as he liked to call her Ms. Katie.
"I have one final request before I pay my debt," his mother's voice dropped.
"And what may that be?" Kathrine asked sweetly, her shoulder length black hair swished gently behind her.
"I wish that you place Thomas with another family. One that may provide for him better than I ever could." A sob broke from the woman's lips and salty liquid trailed from her eyes.
"As you wish, My Lady." The maid bowed at the waist.
"Then you may take what you desire from me," the older woman moved a step closer to the maid.
A hand reached out for the woman's chin, ensnaring it within its grasp. The maid sharply pulled the woman's neck up, then opened her mouth. A gasp filled the space, emitting from the captured female. A dim blue light filled the room as a mist of the same color of the light, snaked its way out of her lips and eyes, making them completely blue.
The strange mist made its way from the Lady of the House's body into Kathrine's mouth. The 'woman' then dropped the now lifeless corpse onto the ground with a quiet thump. Kathrine licked her lips after she finished her meal, then turned her head to the door way. "Why don't you come out Thomas? I know that you saw most of our… interaction."
The red headed boy came out with tears forming from his green eyes. "What happened to my mommy, Kathrine?" he hiccupped.
Kathrine scoffed while rolling her eyes. "Please stop calling me that name the woman gave me, it is unbecoming for one such as I." Thomas's tears only tripled in quantity. Again, Kathrine rolled her eyes. "Boy!" she snapped. She then waited till she got the child's undivided attention. "Where you aware that your mother and I had made a deal of some sorts?" Thomas shook his head in reply.
"Well, she had thought wanted something so much that she summoned a creature of darkness. What she had summoned, was in fact a daemon." The demon paused before continuing again. "It never ceases to amaze me on how idiotic you humans are. What she asked for was freedom from what she was married to. So I gave her the petty little thing. It's quite amusing really, asking for freedom to only have your soul devoured after you've obtained it."
"You ate my mommy?" Thomas asked.
"Well, if you want to put it that way… Then yes, I did eat your mother, though she was a little on the sour side," she recalled, putting a well-manicured black nail on her chin. "Well, time to get you to a new home. I promised your mother."
"NO! I'm not going anywhere with you!" the boy proclaimed.
"So you want me to leave you on the streets? A pampered little man like you wouldn't last a day there," her voice sounded like she really would leave him there. "And don't think that the rest of the servants will help you, for they have been relieved of duty." Thomas thought about it. He had seen children on the streets when he went walking with his parents. There little stomachs were growling and bones were showing on almost every occasion.
"F-Fine, I'll go with you,"
"That's a good boy. Now, I will leave you with another wealthy family so you won't have to leave this… pampered life style."
Thomas responded with silence, then added a yawn soon after. The woman took him within her arms and cradled him. The she started to rock the child slowly, all while singing a lullaby.
Hush now, my baby, be still love, don't cry
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream
Sleep and remember, my last lullaby
And I'll be with you when you dream
Drift on a river that flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling so peaceful and calm
And holding you, I'm smiling, to
A soft snoring could be heard as her melodic and haunting voice faded into nothing. Her cloak then appeared around her, a snake pendent held it together. The hood covered her eyes and the boy was trapped inside. She then disappeared within a mist of shadows, leaving the mansion permanently.
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Amanda walked to the front entrance to see what was disturbing her mistress's slumber. Her brain wandered to what the source of the racket was. It sounded like rattling, or banging. Her mistress was a very kind woman, but she could be a monster when her rest is disturbed.
The maid opened the door, and was shocked to see a sleeping boy. He was no older than the age of 6, covered up with a worn blanket lying on the doorstep. The female looked left then right, as if to locate the person who left the child there. When all she saw was the night scenery, she picked up the child and carried him inside, not noticing the large figure slipping away into the forest.
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The morning after, a butler clad in black was opening the curtains to let the warm light flow into the room. He walked over to the grand bed, gazing down upon the small person sleeping within the confines of the sheets.
"Young Master, it is time to get up," the male gently shook the boy, coaxing him to rise.
"Good morning young master," the man made a beautiful smile with his lips, one that would have most women fainting.
"Sebastian, what's on the menu for breakfast this morning?" a hand reached out to grab the eye patch laying on the dresser positioned next to the bed. Black- blue hair rose up from the bed, with one clear blue eye looking around lazily.
"Today we have a fruit cobbler with a dash of freshly imported yogurt. On the side are a bottle of milk and a peach."
As the boy ate the meal like a noble, with elegance and grace, while his butler explained the news. One part of the report jumped out at the Phantomhive heir.
"I have found a witness to the crime committed last night. Turns out he was the Birchmark's son. He is currently in the care of the widowed Ms. Owens."
"Call ahead and inform Lady Owens of our visit at once," Ceil said as he put down his fork. The butler had gotten him dressed during the report and the Lord Phantomhive had finished eating.
"Of course, Young master."