A/N: Hello dear readers! I'm a new and aspiring author, and this is my first fic...I'm glad you've found it and I hope you stay with me all the way until the end.
Please leave some reviews when you're done reading! I really want to improve my writing, and in my opinion, critique from readers is the best way to do that. Also, I'm going to give all of you a fair warning: this story will progress a little slowly romance-wise, because I don't want to deviate from Sebastian's or my OC's characters, and I want to give them a nice, long development. So be patient! :)
I think that's all for now. I hope you enjoy!
The call of a desperate soul tugged at him from Far Shore. His attention turned to it slowly, almost unwillingly; many others like this had proven to not do much more than disappoint him.
But this one was different… He sensed it was a strong, capable soul, glowing with light and luminosity, so unlike the fickle, weaker souls he had encountered in the past.
It had a color, too: it was golden and shining like the sun. Gold! A golden soul, blessed by an angel, was worth a hundred silver ones and thousand plain ones. What rareness, what beauty, what raw potential! Without a second thought he took the soul's tether and pulled himself from the Netherworld. He smiled inwardly at the thought of this soul that would sustain him for a century.
Her back was raw with bloody slashes and her body was covered in bruises and sores. She was already beaten beyond recognition, but her tormentors refused to release her from their grasps.
"Girl, you will soon be dead if you do not yield." The harsh voice sounded far away to her, even as the speaker leaned close to her ear, holding a cold knife against her throat.
"I do not-I will not betray my family," she grit her teeth, tears spilling from her eyes.
"Family?" A cold laughter resounded in the dark cell. "A hollow, meaningless concept. Where is your 'family' to save you from your fate now? They are as good as dead to you, child."
"No! Please…please…spare them…" she begged them desperately, her voice thick with fear and pain.
The cruel laugh echoed once again. "Even nobility like you know their place as humans. You are at our mercy, inferior to even the lowest of demon-kind."
Demons. They are not human. Such a notion bore little shock to her; surely no human could commit such unspeakable horrors. Cold, cruel, evil, hellish, filth, beasts…
The cold edge of a knife pressed into the flesh of her arm, drawing blood. She screamed gutturally, writhing in the chair she was chained to, hoping for something, anything that might save her…
Am I to die here? Alone? Forgotten? Undignified, sullied, with my family's name as tarnished as blackened silver? What of my father and my mother? What of my beloved William?
Her mind dipped into unconsciousness, only to be jarred back to reality by the sharp pain carving into her skin.
She was screaming, screaming, screaming, until the sound drowned out everything around her. Blood, sweat, and tears pooled in a sickening mixture around her on the floor.
SAVE ME. Her thoughts resonated with desperation and pain no one could hear.
Her eyelids drooped as her consciousness once again slipped. This time, though, she was immediately enveloped in a cloak of darkness.
A black, wispy figure materialized before her eyes.
"Human," the figure spoke in a deep silken voice. "Your calls have been heard from across the Far Shore. What is your wish?"
She stared at the figure, not daring to hope. "Who are you?"
The mass of black smoke did not answer.
"Are you a demon?"
There was a pause before it answered, "Yes."
She felt bile rise in her throat. But she was in no position to deny aid. I will do whatever it takes, she decided, to save my kin from despair.
"Then," she said, "I wish to escape this torture and save my loved ones."
"As you wish, human," the figure seemed to smile with malicious humor. "In return, I must have something of yours."
The figure said, "You must give me your soul."
"My soul?" Her unwavering golden eyes were fiery with determination. "You may have it."
"Very well. It seems we reached an agreement for a contract."
She nodded, her eyes still alight with fire.
"Be warned: there is no turning back once the contract seal is placed. Are you certain of your decision to go forth with this contract?"
"Yes."
"Then I shall now place the seal."
The black substance curled around her head. She felt a burning sensation at the base of her neck as the seal printed itself onto her skin.
There was a whirl of movement and light, and suddenly she was back in the cell. But there was an addition to the dark chamber: A raven-haired man stood in front of her now, dressed all in black.
He bowed and then said, "Your orders, my Lady?"
Her tormentors backed away, unnerved by the sudden appearance of the man in black.
Looking straight into the eyes of her savior, she said, "Take me away from here."
"Yes, my lady."