A/N - Hello, all! I've been away from this site for years, and I've desperately wanted to come back and write! This fic is pretty much a creative outlet for me, so I'm sure this will be a wonderful fic, despite it being my first in about 5 years. I know some people aren't a fan of OCs, but I hope you'll stick around anyway! Enjoy, everyone!
The scent was a mix of anger, resent, and repressed innocence. Esther's stomach was empty, and her ordinarily gentle nature as a demon was getting her no closer to feeding her apatite. As she walked along through the chilled forest, she knew she grew closer to her next meal: The soul of some unsuspecting human.
"This isn't how I wanted my afterlife to be," she thought, noticing a large mansion protruding through the horizon of the trees. She knew it must be where the smell of her dinner was coming from. "I don't want to eat anyone's soul. I never want to harm anyone," Despite the all-you-can-eat souls in Hell, Esther had been doing whatever she could to stay on Earth. Recently, however, her energy had been running desperately low, and she began hunting the souls she knew, deep down, she could never devour. As she emerged from the shadows, she glanced up at the lit windows of the mansion. Just a few windows were lit, meaning someone was most likely about to lie down for, what Esther would hopefully make, their last slumber.
"O-okay," she stuttered, nervously, "it smells like a child, and children provide quite a bit of energy," She looked down, a pang of pain in her still heart sending signals to cry up to her crimson eyes. Not a tear shed. Demons don't cry. She was conflicted between taking a sweet child and possibly starving. Was that something that could happen to her? "How could I even do it? Should I pretend to be a monster, or take the soul peacefully in the child's sleep?" What would happen if she ran out of energy? It's not like she could die. As she debated starving herself to possible death, the sky let out a sudden roar, then rain poured down.
The opportunity was too great for her not to take. The nighttime mist around her was replaced with a dark fog that wisped her long, wavy black hair into a flowered hat and wove a navy and white lace gown out of nothing. She stepped toward the front porch, taking her time and making sure the rain soaked her well. She wasn't going to pretend to be a monster, she was going to pretend to be a damsel in distress.
She grabbed the knocker and beat it hard against the wooden door. No more than a couple knocks in, the door slowly creaked open. The man behind it wore a fine suit and carried a lantern. "My Lady," the man said in charming yet devilish voice, "What brings you to this manor at such an hour?"
"I was lost in the woods, good sir, and it began to rain," she bluffed, "May I please seek shelter in your manor?"
The man shot her a suspicious look, as many humans would have done in the same situation. After a few seconds, he widened the opening in the door. "Right this way, My Lady," he said with a bow. As she stepped into the manor, he introduced himself. "My name is Sebastian Michaelis, the head butler of Phantomhive Manor,"
"My name is Esther James, very pleased to meet you," she curtsied.
Sebastian lead her through the manor and into an extravagant and inviting guest bedroom. She could smell the soul not far away, and knew getting to it should be no problem. However, she smelled only four souls in the entire mansion, and none of them seemed to be coming from Sebastian. Writing it off as being fairly new to being a demon, she sat on the couch across from the cracking fireplace. Warmth wasn't anything a demon necessarily needed, especially since they live in such a...warm climate; however, the warmth from a fireplace was a special luxury Esther had dearly missed. Lost in the glow of the fire, she hadn't noticed Sebastian making his way towards her. He kneeled in front of her.
"It may not be as warm as you're used to where you come from, but it's still rather nice from time to time," he said looking into her eyes. She noticed the familiarity of the color of his eyes. It was the color of her own. "What business do you have here, my dear?"
"I told you already," Esther defended, "I was lost, and I really needed shelter from the downpour..."
"Don't play ignorant with me," Sebastian interrupted, irritated yet patient, " I know what you are. It's not hard to recognize my own kind. I surely hope you don't intend on consuming my young master's soul. It's been promised to me, and I intend to protect what's mine." His eyes flared up with a touch of demonic glow, then simmered back down to normal. "Now, dear Esther, what is it you're here for?"
Sebastian was a bit cold, yet still far more kind than most demons she had met, so she told him her predicament. She told him how she didn't want to hurt anyone, but she was too hungry to ignore it any longer. She told him how staying on Earth and starving was better to her than going back down to her new hellish home and having a river of souls to choose from. Mostly, she told him how she was once human expecting to live out her eternity in paradise, but instead, became a demon against her will.
"My, my, that is a problem. You're awfully kind for a demon." he said with a mischievous smile. He stood, and began to leave the room. "Kind demons never make it very long,"
"WAIT!" Esther shouted as Sebastian was about to close the door behind him. He turned to look at her. The fear of what could happen to her if she didn't adapt to her demonic self constantly lingered in her mind. "What if I stay here? Will you teach me what I need to do to survive?"
"How truly...pathetic," He said with a smirk, "However, I suppose I could stand another competent hand around here. The other servants couldn't do their jobs if their lives depended on it; however, they're all here for a reason, so you mustn't take any of them. Their souls are off limits." He turned again and began to leave the room. "Stay if you wish, but you will earn your stay." With that, Sebastian blew out his lantern and closed the door, leaving Esther with the flame of her new home. It was much lovelier than the searing flames of Hell.
A/N- I have to admit, it was a little rough around the edges, but I have big plans for this fic. I hope you all enjoyed it and will stick around! Talk to you all soon!