Monochrome

Those who love a demon will be the bearers of eternal agony

For that love can never be returned.

"Help… Me!"

The two words were barely audible against the sound of the rain crashing down on top of the girl. Panting, she used her arms to pull herself along the cobbled stones of the mansion entrance, trying to get her body as close to the door as possible, though it offered no protection; the wind was pushing the water towards the building, pinning her against the wood- it was as if she was giving the door protection, as opposed to the other way round. Once again she placed her fist against it, drew it back and thrust it against it as hard as she could. It was hopeless- she couldn't be heard, and in a building as huge as this, there was no hope of the tenants catching the sound of her pounding.

The girl whimpered and drew her legs up to her chest, which was a task in itself, given that the coldness had almost completely numbed the whole of her lower body. How long would it take before she either died or someone realized she was here? The thought gnawed away at her, sending a different kind of shiver through her. Death was just so… Final. There was nothing she could do to prevent it, and that frightened her beyond belief. In her mind she pictured a scale, with the shining embodiment of life at one end, in all its shining glory and with so many promises; however, at the other end was death, a horrible, black figure that drew in everything, giving nothing back.

This was the end… This was… The end…

All of a sudden the girl felt the surface behind her give way as something moved with an audible creak. Shivering violently, she forced herself to raise her eyes until they fell on a figure, blurred through her frozen line of vision. Relief swept over her, but at the same time she could sense something macabre- something wasn't quite right. However, anything was better than this, even if it was dealt by the hands of a sinister figure in the rain.

The figure smirked. "Well now, it seems we have a visitor."

When the girl awoke, something was different.

For the most part, she wasn't freezing to death; on the contrary, her body was warm through and seemed to be wrapped in something unfamiliar yet strangely cosy. Lifting one eyelid with great effort, she let her view travel around the room- a fire blazed in the middle of one wall, and there was a sofa directly opposite her. Everything seemed still, almost too still… There was something homely to this place, but then again, something very cold and inhuman, and she just couldn't place a finger on it.

Just then, something moved across from her, and both eyes fixed on it, large and afraid. A small figure, leaning lazily against one arm on a large red chair, uncrossed his legs and then folded them again impatiently.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked. The words themselves were kind, but they were said so blankly they communicated no feelings of concern, as if her wellbeing meant as much to him as the dirt under his feet.

Slowly the girl opened her mouth to reply. "I, um… Where am I?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. No, make that his eye- his right one was hidden behind a black patch, and that was barely visible behind the hair that hung low over his forehead. The light from the fire made one side shine a dark silver, but the girl could tell that it was all a very dark grey, unlike hers, which was dusty pink and fell down to her shoulders.

"You're in Phantomhive Manor." He scowled. "My name is Ciel Phantomhive, and I'm waiting for you to tell me why you were on my grounds."

His grounds? This was his manor? He barely looked a day over fifteen, maybe even fourteen- how had he come to own such a huge place? The look that he fixed the girl with burned right into her. What's more, she couldn't remember anything before her arrival at the daunting oak doors of this house.

"Um, I…"

At that moment the swinging of hinges filled the air, and a tall man dressed all in black walked across the room balancing a silver tray on a white- gloved hand. His hair matched his clothes, and wrapped neatly around his face, one strand falling between his eyes like a black scar.

"Do you or our visitor require anything to drink, My Lord?" he asked politely, addressing the boy, Ciel, as he stopped at his side.

"I don't think so."

The man bowed and began to move towards the door. There was something overly- graceful about his movements; even the simple action of walking across the room looked perfectly choreographed. However, Ciel called his name lazily. "Sebastian, I'd like it if you were to accompany us here."

Silently, the man whose name the girl assumed was Sebastian lay the tray down on the side and stepped over next to the red chair the boy was sitting on. With a smirk, he bowed his head slightly and uttered the words, "Yes, My Lord."

The girl couldn't believe this- he had his own butler as well? Or perhaps he belonged to a family and served them all. However, the boy seemed to carry with him a sense of superiority that only the head of a family would assume. If so, why was he the only master of such a huge place? She could only guess that he'd inherited it.

"Why are you here?" he demanded. "Do you remember?"

Concentrating hard, the girl dug back into her memories, trying to order them and find the most recent; however, the moment she went too deep she hit a wall in her mind. It was as though there was a section in her head that was sectioned off to her, an impenetrable barrier that couldn't be broken through.

"I can't… I don't remember."

"Oh?" The boy looked disappointed; he frowned, and for a moment his face resembled that of a three- year- old. Then he returned to his careless composure and sighed. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you lodgings for the night- perhaps then you'll have some recollection."

Her eyes lit up- she could feel them. "Really? You'd do that?"

Ciel avoided my gaze. "Yes, I think that would be an appropriate course of action. But first, there are still some questions to ask." Just them he hit the girl with a gaze that seemed to burn into her. "Your name? I assume you have one?"

"Oh, yes… It's Dusk." That much she knew.

"Hmm." The boy seemed quite uninterested. His butler, Sebastian, was still standing next to him with a contented grin on his face. His eyes, a rare shade of brown that made them look almost red, were rested on Dusk and making her feel rather uneasy. She shifted in her seat, trying to find a position that meant her body was as small and close together as possible. The clothes she was wearing were not her own- obviously she'd been changed whilst she was still unconscious. However, as she moved she felt her lungs suddenly heave and she hacked violently. Once wasn't enough, though- her body launched into a fit of forceful coughs that shook the whole chair. Still going, she rolled off the seat and hit the floor hard, trying to catch her breath, but that breath turned into blood, staining the carpet and her newly- acquired clothes.

"What… What's happening to me?" she whispered shakily once she had finally stopped. Blood continued to dribble from her mouth, sliding down her face and dripping off her chin. Inside, she felt as if someone was ripping her apart- it was agony.

"Sebastian, take her to the fourth bedroom," Ciel ordered. The butler nodded in respect and then slowly walked over to her. For a moment he paused before bending down taking my wrist to help her up. She tried, with all her strength she tried, but she simply fell to the ground again like a puppet whose strings had just been severed. Everything blacked out before she hit the floor.

"No! Leave me alone!"

Small feet pummelled the ground as a figure raced across a field. A girl, dressed in a ripped shirt and trousers, sprinted over grass and weeds to get to the forest ahead of her. It would be a clean run- no rivers or obstacles to cross- but that was only if they didn't catch up to her first. The horses were quickly advancing, their riders relentless and lusting for blood- her blood.

She didn't dare turn, not until she was hidden within the trees.

Finally! The change of ground against her bare soles marked the cover of trees for the girl. She'd outrun them- she'd escaped! Sharply she took a left turn and continued to sprint, though her body was screaming for her to stop. However, she'd only gone a few steps when she slammed into something rigid. With the exhaustion and impact, her weak legs collapsed underneath her, leaving her in a mess of limbs on the floor and panting for breath.

Something cool touched her face, and her eyes flicked upwards to look at what had blocked her path. A person, their face not clear in the darkness, but most definitely a man; the hand against her cheek was cold, but compared to the freezing feeling circulating her skin, it carried with it a heavenly heat that seemed to thaw her out. She placed her own hand over it, pressing it further into her cheek to warm her up, and another covered the opposite side of her face. There was a shuffle of fabric as the figure crouched down in front of her.

He spoke in a deep, silky voice. "Where are you going?"

"I-I… The monastery, they…" She couldn't form a sentence, partly because of her physical condition, but also because of the uncontrollable racing of her heart. She'd never been this close to a man before! At the monastery she'd lived in all her life, the only men she'd seen had been the priests, and they hadn't exactly adopted a friendly attitude towards her, or any of its inhabitants. From the prayers in the morning to the constant ceremonies throughout the day, she'd been forced to worship a god she knew barely anything of. But surely the teachings of this god didn't involve beating its followers brutally if they forgot to bow their heads when praying, or failed to turn up for one ritual? The scars remained on her back, and she had no doubt that they would remain for the rest of her life. However, would the scars in her mind be erased by her escaping? She would begin again, and this time, she would live as she wanted to.

Just then the voice sounded right next to her ear, a whisper that was dangerously close. "If you want, I could show you a new life."

The girl froze- had he read her mind? His words practically mirrored her thoughts, and she had been so lost in her own horrific memories that she'd failed to notice his movement. She pulled back to get a better view at his face, but the lack of light still impaired her vision. Instead, she filled in the gaps herself- what kind of face would fit such a smooth voice? In her mind she pictured hair black as a starless night, a mouth set in a straight line, but upturned minimally in the corners, and eyes that were filled so deeply yet communicated so little. This image was the first that came into her mind- it was as though the sound of his voice had seeped into her head and transferred a figure into it. It was weird, but she couldn't imagine him looking any other way.

"What do you look like?" she asked, spilling her thoughts out into her words.

There was a small sound of amusement. "Why, do you want to find out?"

She did- she had to see if the face fit the one in her mind. It was as if she needed to find out everything about this man; what his appearance was, where he came from, why he had been standing in the middle of the woods by a field. After living a solitary life of misery, she decided the first person she met outside of it would be the one she remembered for as long as she lived.

Slowly the girl leaned forward, and then gave herself a small push. Her lips met the soft skin of a cheek, but with a small adjustment she found them locked with those of the man. There was a small moment of uncertainty between the two before she closed her eyes and let herself melt into the kiss. The man's lips were like feathers and seemed to fit perfectly into hers; strands of his hair brushed her face and caressed her skin.

She'd seen it before but never done it, yet now that she had she understood why people loved it so much. Sharing a kiss was like… Being in perfect tune with someone, two musical instruments playing in exact harmony. The man made it perfect for her. Perhaps he knew that she had never given anyone something like this, but he didn't pull back like she had expected him to; instead, he pushed his hands up through the back of her hair and pulled her closer into him. The two of them sat there, the man crouching and the girl kneeling, for seemingly infinite hours, but finally the girl had to break free and fall back onto her legs, gasping slightly. However, the man didn't reach at all; he merely remained still as if he was grafted from stone. Then slowly he stood up and turned round, as if intending to leave.

"No, wait… You're not going, are you?" The girl was shocked.

All of a sudden, the man was in front of her again, his face an inch from her; how he'd moved so fast was a mystery to her, but she was concentrating more on the fact of how close he was to her.

"Do you want to know what I look like?" he whispered, and she imagined his face was that of a smirk due to the tone of his voice. "I currently reside at a certain manor, where I serve a master- if you get there within a turn of the moon you may find out."

"Wait… 'A turn of the moon'… What do you mean? No, don't go…!" Her hand shot forward and tried to grab at him, but her fingers clasped around thin air. She could no longer feel his breath on her face either- she was gone.

All at once she felt empty. The man had only been in her life for a few minutes, five at the most, yet he had already formed a considerable section of her heart. And now that part was gone, she wasn't complete. However, there was only one thing for her to do now.

Behind her, shouting signalled the arrival of her former captors- they were close. A manor…

She knew what she had to do.

Gradually, Dusk's eyes eased open. The first thing she became aware of was the fact that she was moving, or rather, something was making her move- she was floating above the ground and drifting sideways. With a little further inspection she realized that she was slung over the arms of someone, with one supporting her legs and the other slid under the top of her back. That was the second thing: the one carrying her was a man with hair black as a starless night, a mouth set in a straight line, but upturned minimally in the corners, and eyes that were filled so deeply yet communicated so little. Those eyes were turned towards her.

"W-what hap-p-pened?" she whispered shakily.

Sebastian smirked and opened his mouth. "You shouldn't have kissed a demon," he said. "You don't know the rules?"

A kiss…

Dusk shook her head slightly, which brought amusement to the one holding her.

"You don't? How unfortunate… Maybe if you had you would have known that the kiss of a demon only brings eternal agony."

Inside her, Dusk's heart froze- a demon? The monastery and its preachers had taught her about demons, hideous creatures that tore the lives from those who followed them. But this man, a demon? He didn't seem dangerous, nor was he grotesque- quite the opposite, in fact.

The man saw the anguish in her face and decided to fill in the gaps for her, even if it meant nothing to him. "Anyone who exchanges a kiss with a demon becomes cursed; they have but a full cycle of the moon to have that love returned, or else they fade away from this world and their pain continues into the afterlife. Though I'm not a malicious being- I wouldn't bring that upon someone like you of my own accord." His eyes sparkled.

"B-but… What do you mean, 'fade away'? I'm not…" The girl couldn't control her words, but when she lifted her hands up the broken sentences came to an abrupt halt.

Blood stained her skin, was dripping off it onto her clothes, slid down her wrists and continued to creep down her arms.

"What?"

As soon as she spoke, the liquid dribbled from her mouth as well- she could taste it, warm and metallic; inside, she felt rotten, like an apple that was decaying from its core. Whether it was the words she'd just heard or her physical condition she didn't know.

Why? The word was the only one she could think of. She'd spent a whole month vainly searching through every manor in England, knocking on the doors to speak with the tenants. She'd been turned down and brushed away a great deal of times, but still she'd continued to seek out the place she knew the only one who had shown her kindness in this world resided. The intensity of her crazed search had sealed everything in her mind, her memories, feelings, logical thoughts, in a box, and now it had finally been re- opened. She remembered everything, the anguish of her whole life before the moment when she had met Sebastian; he had been a brilliantly shining light in the abyss, a hope that she may, at last, be able to live a happy and fulfilled life with him. But now, as she looked up into those eyes, she felt no connection to him- there was nothing there to suggest that he had any kinds of feelings for her, nor any disregard for her life. And now, she was going to die because of that one person, the one who she believed would bring her to life- the moment they'd locked lips, she'd been doomed to die, all because of the fact that this man was a demon.

"Do you believe me?" Sebastian asked.

Dusk nodded- she believed everything he said. Why would he lie? She clearly had moments to live, so the least he could do was tell her the truth. It was… The whole truth.

"Demons like me are unable to love," he said firmly. "The emotions I feel are nonexistent- I live only to serve the one who makes a deal with me, and at this moment that person is Ciel Phantomhive."

The boy… How lucky, she thought, that he could live his life with someone so perfect, even if he did only serve as his butler. She would've given anything to swap places with Ciel right then, even if it meant sacrificing her soul.

"Sebastian…" Her voice was barely above a whisper, a strained gasp filled with such agony. "Please… Kiss… One last time…"

The man's eyebrows raised for a moment, but then he smirked. "If you wish."

He bent his head down and pressed his lips against Dusk's; it was an emotionless gesture, as if it was a chore to him as opposed to an act of love. But of course, he couldn't love, and even if that wasn't so, why would he feel anything for this girl? He already had a life serving Ciel at Phantomhive Manor, and once the clock had ticked over he would devour his soul, as was stated in the pact that they'd made upon meeting. His purpose, at the moment, was to serve, whereas hers was to perish.

When he pulled his head back he could taste blood, thick and sweet. His tongue ran over his bottom lip lightly and he raised his eyebrows again- the girl wasn't moving. What's more, he couldn't sense any life coming from her- death had passed her by and left her lifeless.

"Hmm, shame," he mumbled, and proceeded to the front door.

The rain was still relentlessly assaulting the ground when Sebastian stepped out onto the paving stones; he ignored this, however, and continued round to the side of the mansion to where a pile of refuse was waiting for immolation. Slowly he bent down and let the limp body of the girl slip onto the collection of kitchen waste, paper, ash, broken objects and other useless, dirty or otherwise unwanted materials that the rain had saturated. He paused for a moment, staring down at the broken body, tainted with the crimson of blood. Even in death she looked in agony, strained, and most of all, incomplete; the only thing she'd wanted to do was to spend her days with Sebastian, to find the one who'd shown her life when she'd been living in such hell. Yet now, all that was over in one turn of the moon, a whole life wiped away. He understood what had happened- humans were so weak when it came to love.

Gradually a smile pulled at the corners of Sebastian's lips. "Well this has certainly livened up an otherwise monotonous day," he mumbled to himself. Then, slowly, he turned and began to walk towards the mansion again. The rain had caused his hair to cling to his face, hanging low over his eyes, but he still remained smirking up to the moment when he placed his pale gloved fingers on the handle of the door.

"Sebastian." Ciel Phantomhive fixed his eye, the one that wasn't covered by an eyepatch, on his butler. "Who was that girl? Did you know her?"

The man carried on arranging the fountain pens on the desk in size order, and locked eyes with him for a moment, eyes that were filled with amusement.

It seemed that Ciel didn't appreciate being toyed with. "Sebastian, that's an order!"

Still, the man dressed in black continued to tidy up the desk around his master, and then picked up the candle that was perching on the edge. He began to walk towards the door of the study, but just before he closed it behind him he pivoted and said calmly, "Of course not, My Lord." The door swung shut.

In the hall, Sebastian stopped; the candle illuminated his face in the darkness, causing his hair to cast shadows over his skin.

"My Lord." His words melted like ice into the empty room. "The pact made between us means I cannot lie to you. So why would I break it?"