Black Butler, but with a demon maid who is not the gender-bent version of Sebby. Enjoy!
Nightmare Maid
Prologue
Ciel huddled in terror in the furthest corner of his cage. So many children had been slaughtered by this evil cult. As the little girl on the alter breathed her last, Ciel realized he was the only one left. Is there no one who will help me? He wondered in despair. Are guardian angels a falsehood? Am I doomed to die in this wretched, filthy place, at the hands of these monsters? Please, someone, anyone, save me!
The ten-year-old boy was brought out of his thoughts as he saw a blue flame blossom seven feet over the alter, growing larger, until it was about five foot, six inches tall. From within the flames, a dark object came into being, curled up in the fetal position like a baby in a womb of fire. The figure unfolded its legs and arms, revealing a slim, hour-glass figure and slender arms and legs. The whole being was still shadow-black, but two small horns crowned its head as long hair flowed down its back.
They succeeded?! They actually summoned a demon?! Ciel wondered in horror. If they'd truly called forth a demon from the bowels of Hell, would it demand Ciel as its first meal?! The demon opened its glowing blue eyes slowly, blinking a little, as though waking from a long slumber. It yawned, then spoke. "My goodness, it has been such a long time since I have breathed deep the air of the mortal realm into my lungs," it said in a demonic, yet feminine voice. Was it a female demon? "About 100 years, I do believe? I had hoped to be awoken to a beautiful new world, where my lovely night was no longer feared and misunderstood, yet you foolish mortals have tainted it with your vulgar slaughtering of innocent children. Your swine make me sick!"
"Eh? B-But, you're supposed to grant our wishes for summoning you," The leader of the cult stammered in confusion.
"What do I look like to you, a genie?" the demon sneered. "You have murdered innocent younglings in cold blood. Demon though I may be, I shall not grant the wishes of those who harm the youth. Furthermore, I was not summoned by you wretched beings, but by the plea of a child." Her eyes fell upon Ciel, and her gaze seemed to soften. She approached his cage at a non-threatening pace, her feet finally touching the ground to make the distinct click-clacking of high-heels. She knelt before him, meeting his eyes. "Be not afraid of me, young one," she said, her voice taking on a soothing tone. "I have been where you are, alone and afraid and in pain. You have been forced to endure humiliation and torture unfit for even the lowest criminals in Hell, and borne witness to the death of not only your family, but to the slaughter of innocent children, as I have. I offer you a choice. No matter what you choose, I will still release you from this cage, but your choice will affect not only your fate, but that of many others. You may form a contract with me, and I will aid you in the avenging of your name, or you may not, and I will simply leave you with your closest relative, and we will part ways from there. The choice is yours."
"If I make a contract with you, what do you want in return?" Ciel asked. There had to be a catch. There always was. "No one ever serves another without promise of reward. Even a three-year-old from the slums knows that."
The demoness chuckled at his cleverness. "When your revenge is complete, I will make you a demon as well," she said. "That's not too high of a price to pay, now is it? Now, choose."
The anger and hatred toward the cultists who'd tormented him and the other children, the people who killed his parents, and all the pain he'd experienced, finally bubbled to the surface. "Demon, I'll make a contract with you!" he declared.
"Then let us carve the mark of our contract onto our bodies," the demon said, smiling, showing her fangs. "The more conspicuous the location, the more powerful it will be. Now where-"
"I don't care where! I want more power than anyone!" Ciel yelled.
The demon chuckled in understanding, thrusting a hand into the cage to cover his right eye. "Your small frame belies immense greed," she said. "Not that I should talk. I shall place my mark on that great big eye of yours, which reflects a hopeless world!"
With a blinding flash and a shock of pain, the mark of their contract – a crescent moon surrounded by a circle of stars, was branded into his eye, glowing pale blue. "Now… command me as you will."
"I command you… KILL THEM ALL!" Ciel screamed.
The demon smiled. "Yes, my lord." She said, licking her lips hungrily.
About five minutes later, the cultists all lay dead in pools of their own blood, killed in horrible, painful ways. Some were on fire, others were ripped limb from limb, and a few had been reduced to miscellaneous pieces of meat no longer recognizable as human. The demoness smiled at her handiwork, then returned her attention to her new master, breaking open his cage. She extended a hand to him, helping him to his feet. "What is your name?" she asked.
"I am Ciel Phantomhive, heir to the title Earl Phantomhive." Ciel said, hoping to sound more confident than he felt. Kinda hard to look confident when bloodied, bruised, and wearing only a tunic.
"Ahh, then I must take a form befitting the servant of an Earl, then." She said, as she was still in her demon form surrounded by blue fire. She stepped out of the flames, wearing a midnight blue maid's uniform with a frilly white apron. Her stiletto boots were replaced with black Mary Jane shoes, her legs covered with long black stockings. A pair of pure white gloves covered her hands. Ciel looked up at her face, saw that her skin was pure white, like snow. Her hair was the same color as her dress, and her eyes were as blue as his own. She could've been his older sister! She even had a small birthmark under her left eye, just and his father had! "Will this be acceptable, young master?" she asked, her voice now very human, and smooth as silk, with an upper-class Victorian-British accent, giving him a calm smile.
"It'll do," Ciel said, not wanting to admit he was a bit unnerved how familiar she looked.
"Very well, young master," she said with a curtsy. "Then let us return to your manor."
"I don't know where it is," Ciel said sadly. "I don't know where we are, either. I never left the manor much."
"Ah." The demoness said simply in understanding. He has been sheltered all his life, then. She realized. I assume he must have frail health then. I'll have to see what I can do about that. "In any case, we must also see to it that your wounds are tended to."
"My Aunt An works at the Royal London Hospital, so let's go there," Ciel said.
"Very well, young lord," the demoness said with a bow. "But first…" she snapped her fingers, and suddenly, Ciel was dressed in clean clothes and had shoes on his feet. The outfit was simple, but would suffice. "I cannot very well have my master walking about in only a dirtied tunic, now can I?" she asked. "Now, let us be on our way." She turned, ready to lead the way to London.
"Wait, demon," Ciel said suddenly, catching her sleeve, stopping her. "What is your name?" he asked.
"You may either call me by my demon name, or choose a new name for me." The demoness said with a gentle smile.
"What is your demon name?" Ciel asked.
"Nocturna Reginae." The demoness replied, clearly taking pride in her Latin name.
"What does it mean?"
"Nightmare Queen, translated from my native Latin to English." Nocturna replied.
"I like the name." Ciel said. "It suits you well."
"The English version or the Latin version?"
"Latin." Ciel answered. He began to sway on his feet. "Could you… carry me to the hospital? I'm sleepy." He asked with a pouty face.
Nocturna gave a soft chuckle, bending at the knees to scoop him up. "Gladly, my lord," she said, carrying him as one would a child of his age. "Now, let's get you to your Aunt An."
In a matter of minutes, they arrived at the hospital, and the demoness gently woke her charge. "Young lord, we've arrived," she said as he opened his eyes. Looking into his mind, she saw he wished to be put down, and so she gently set him down on his feet. They entered the hospital, where Ciel asked the receptionist to send for his Auntie An, Doctor Dallas.
It was there that they found the butler of the Phantomhive Household, who fell out of his wheelchair upon seeing his former master's son alive.
"Old man Tanaka!" Ciel gasped, running into the old man's arms, relieved to see the elderly man was alive.
"I am glad, I am so very glad that you at least are alive," the Japanese man said in relief, hugging Ciel like there was no tomorrow.
They were moved to Tanaka's room, where they talked about what happened. "So… you didn't see the culprits either?" Ciel said regretfully.
"No. I am sorry I have failed you, young master," the elder said.
"It's not your fault, Old Man Tanaka," Ciel said, still depressed over the whole ordeal.
After meeting Ciel's Aunt, a carriage was called to take them to the remains of Phantomhive Manor. While Ciel grieved for his dead parents, Nocturna quickly repaired the manor, surprising Ciel greatly. After getting the boy inside, she prepared a feast for him in the blink of an eye. Having only been away from humans for a hundred years, she hadn't forgotten how human food was supposed to look, smell and taste, and so, Ciel ate quite happily. However, he wasn't entirely pleased. "Nocturna, don't ever make a meal that quickly again." He ordered. "It'll seem too suspicious if anyone who doesn't know what you are sees you do something like that."
"Understood, young master," Nocturna said with a nod. "From now on, I shall prepare meals and the like at a more human pace."
"By the way, when we first spoke to each other, you mentioned that you'd been in a similar situation to my own," Ciel said, finally bringing up what had bothered him for a while now. "Care to elaborate?"
"It is painful for me to speak of it, but if you wish to hear my story, I will tell it." Nocturna said, the pain in her deep blue eyes was all too visible to be fake.
"Let's hear it." Ciel said, sipping his tea.
"Very well. My story begins in Rome, sixteen years before that empire fell into ruins," the demoness began. "My father was an emperor well-known for his cruelty toward his subjects, regardless of their religion, color, or social standing. He viewed them all as pawns, and life itself as one long game of chess. I have sworn by the moon to never speak his name again."
"Isn't swearing by the moon a sign of insincerity?" Ciel asked.
"Only to those Shakespearian fools," Nocturna replied. "There is much greater depth in taking an oath on the moon. You see, no matter what face the moon shows us, full, half, a crescent, or none at all, it's still the same moon. Though it's appearance changes, the moon never changes itself. Thus, by swearing on the moon, one is promising that even if the situation they are in changes, even if what they need to do to uphold said promise changes, their promise still stands. It is the most binding oath there is. Anyway, back to the story. My mother, Satan rest her soul, was a demoness, a princess of Hell itself. Despite being one of the Seven Siblings of Hell, and the Princess of Greed, she was a very kind-hearted person… at least, as kind as a demoness can get. Certainly, the Romans preferred her over her husband. Her name was Nox Terrorem, or 'Night Terror' in English. Aside from being a Princess of Hell, she was also a nightmare demon, like me. Whenever someone has a nightmare, that's just one of my kind messing with your head for kicks and giggles. Anyway, I also had a brother, who was pretty much my polar opposite. He was called Factus est Dominus, 'Dream Lord.' He was a kinder soul than I, despite being blind and mute. Mother and I loved him very much, and wanted him to take over the Roman Empire someday.
"Alas, it was not to be. Father envied our love for each other, and as neither I nor my brother looked anything like him, he accused Mother of infidelity and killed her mortal form, banishing her to the depths of Hell for all eternity. I knew she wasn't really gone, but… it was still painful to hear her scream in pain and see her bleeding like that. My brother and I were thrown out of the palace, forced to fend for ourselves and hide our demonic powers, lest we attract angry mobs. We lived as beggars for a great many years, until we were 17. We had grown sick of being treated so poorly by the Romans, who sneered at us as though they'd just seen a couple lepers. Thus, we came up with a plan to get revenge for the lack of respect we'd been shown as royals of Hell. Taking on new forms, we returned to the Palace, Factus as an eagle, playing off their pagan beliefs, and I as a raven. Our foolish sire believed we were messengers from their gods, Jupitar and Pluto, and we made our demands, telling the Emperor that the gods were furious with him for his maltreatment of his subjects, and if Nox's children were not allowed to return to the palace, Rome would suffer famines, plagues, ravaging storms, and those who died would not be allowed to rest in peace. The Romans bought our story and demanded that Factus and I be allowed to return. But our father found a loophole. While the demands had been that we be allowed to return to our birth-home, we'd said nothing about being allowed to live. Thus, as soon as we were inside, Father ordered our deaths. Factus was killed by our sire's own hand. As he was only half demon, he was not immortal or invulnerable. He died with a silent scream.
"I was beyond fury at that point. At that moment, all I could feel was pain, hate, rage, and a greedy desire for revenge and power. Casting aside all human traits, I took on my demon form for the first time. I denounced my human half, cut all mortal ties, embracing darkness alone. I slaughtered my father, his sons that he'd had with another woman, and let the barbarians and the plague rule over Rome. In short, I caused the fall of the Roman Empire.
"From that day on, I ruled over the nightmare demons, or tantibi, as they are called in Latin. I still do. And whenever I complete a contract, my former masters join their ranks. Since then, I have seen atrocities committed by mankind in an attempt to gain my favor. Fools, the lot of them. I don't know what makes them think I enjoy seeing innocent children or virgins sacrificed in my name. I've no need to feed off of blood or souls when I already gain sufficient sustenance from both human food and the fear produced by nightmares. And I'm sorry that you were forced to witness that foolishness yourself."
"For a demon, you don't act much like one," Ciel said after a few minutes of silence, after he'd fully absorbed her story. "Though I suppose destroying the Roman Empire can be considered rather demonic."
"You think that's bad? You should've seen my uncle, the Prince of Lust, when he created the Black Plague, and unleashed it upon 14th century Europe." The nightmare bragged. "Or my aunt, the Princess of Envy, when she started the Salem Witch Trials. So many innocent men, women, and children were sentenced to death by hanging, stoning, and burning at the stake! While the real witches themselves were the ones persecuting them!"
"So demons and devils really are what inspires such things?" Ciel asked.
"Not all the time," Nocturna said, taking away the dishes to have them cleaned. "Now and again, a Reaper will go stark-raving mad and start murdering those not on their lists of the dead, or an Angel will fall from grace, go mad, and start killing innocent folks. No creature that walks this earth is ever completely free of sin. No matter the age, gender, or personality, everyone is capable of evil. Be it something as small as bullying someone about their name, height, weight, or color, to something as serious as murder, none of us remain pure for more than a couple years of our lives."