In Every Angel, A Demon Hides...

A knock startled me from my work one evening as the wind blew dangerously outside and the everlasting darkness grew darker by the second. The moon was setting for the night and it was just about time for my most prized warriors to return to the Human Realm, once again, to haunt their assigned earthlings.

"Sir!" Came a voice from the other side of the door. "Your Highness!"

"Come in, Wolfe." I called pleasantly, steepling my fingers beneath my chin.

Wolfe, with wild eyes, stepped inside my office followed by his twin sister, Winter. His paws twitched spasmodically and his usually grey tail seemed to have been dipped in purple paint.

"Is everything okay?" I asked raising one eyebrow at his appearance.

"Your Highness," his chest was heaving. "I swear on your father, the deceased King of everything Evil, that I will never go back to that wretched little thing's manor ever again, for as long I live!"

A sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it as I stood up to grab Wolfe's file from the cabinet.

"He's resigning." Winter added unhelpfully.

"Yes, I understood." I replied, coolly. "A week ago Draven said the same. And
Grendel the week before that. And the week before that was Nightshade. I had two resignations in one week at one point… I think it was Salem and Frankenstein."

"Wait, Nightshade and Frankenstein both resigned?" Winter gaped in astonishment at me with her one eye. "But, they're two of the most talented creatures I've ever met!"

I nodded solemnly at her words. "It's true. I had to assume that the child was not afraid of Witches so, after Salem left, I assigned a Monster to intimidate her. Frankenstein quit two days later and, Nightshade was an obvious choice for replacement. The Demon seemed unprepared for the job, though, since he returned to me begging to let him use his gifts elsewhere."

I paused, handing Wolfe a pen to sign the document I had placed on the desk.

"Anyway, Grendel, the Gargoyle volunteered so my work to find someone else was over… Until he quit as well. Draven was just a temporary fix for he may be a Skinwalker, but he lacks the creativity necessary to be out in the field. So, I thought you, Wolfe, would be an excellent choice being that you are a very talented Werewolf but…"

"Why don't you send Vladimir?" Winter wondered patting her brother on the back.

"Vladimir is my trusted adviser and Semi-Retired. I don't think he's up for it."

"So what are you going to do now?" Wolfe put in, sliding the paper over to me.

I sat back in my chair and chewed on a pencil. "I'm unsure. At this point I'm tempted to send a Manticore or a Chimera. Or even a Manticore-Chimera. Perhaps, our resident Dragon wouldn't mind stopping by the youth's dwelling." I smiled at my own words. I knew, of course, Virgil would be less than pleased if I assigned him to this Human. "I'll think of something." I conclude, placing an envelope in Wolfe's outstretched paw. "Thank you for stopping by."

"Thank you so much, Your Highness." Winter bowed.

"My sincerest apologies and good luck to you." Wolfe added before exiting the room.

As soon as the door was shut, I crossed to my mirror and gazed at my reflection there. My Human form watched me watch him, my electrically auburn eyes sparkling as an idea began to form in my head. Pure crimson overtook the weak reddish-brown in my irises and I embraced the darkness that called out to me, using it to morph into my true form. The form that everyone under me fears and respects.

"Vladimir." I growled, my voice deeper and scratchier than it had been moments prier.

A bat flew through the open window, poofing into my favorite Vampire. "What is it, Sire?"

"Keep an eye on everything until I return." I jumped nimbly onto my desk and spread my wings, crouching on my four legs as if preparing to pounce.

"Where are you going, Your Highness?" Vladimir opened the window a bit more so that I would have extra room passing through it.

I grinned maniacally at him and leapt into the night. "Earth!"

I arrived at the youngling's place of residence just as the sun was beginning to set.

"Perfect timing." I whispered to myself, creeping up to the second story window.

"G'night, Mommy." a high pitched voice, the child's voice, reached my ears, causing me to pause under the sill. "G'night Daddy."

"Good night, Ciel." the boy's father smiled, kissing his son's forehead before leaving.

Ciel turned his attention back to his mother, kicking his small feet under the blankets.

"It's time for bed, Love Bug." his mother told him in a soft tone, reaching over to blow out the candle on his bedside table.

"I know," Ciel rolled her eyes. "I said good night to you already."

Tinkling laughter filled the room and the child crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed that his mom was teasing him.

"Good night, Ciel." the boy's guardian pecked him on the cheek and vacated the room.

Ciel, finally alone, promptly began to sing, closing his eyes and nestling into his pillow. When I was sure his eyes were shut, I scampered quickly and silently through his window and underneath her bed. That's when I noticed his song had changed.

"Come out, come out wherever you are,

You think you can scare me? I'm tougher, by far!

I've seen lots of Creatures, all quiet as mimes.

So, who's here to haunt me? What are you this time?"

I was so surprised at his lyrics, I nearly sprung up from my hiding place. This little boy certainly did seem brave… But, there's a fine line between stupidity and courage. Plenty of my people would see his words as a challenge and kill him in an instant, but I could never do such a thing. Especially not to a child.

He repeated the song a few more times until he got bored and jumped down from his bed. I saw his tiny feet touch the carpet and watched them as they turned around, his toes facing me. And, suddenly, there were big blue eyes in my face, framed with thick, black lashes, smiling at me.

"Hello." Ciel spoke.

I remained tight-lipped, refusing to answer him. That was not how us Creatures operated. One mustn't speak to their subject.

"I can see you, you know." the boy continued. "You don't have to be so quiet."

After a few moments of not talking, he reached to me and beckoned, signaling that I should follow him. We weren't supposed to do that either, but curiosity got the best of me and I crawled out from under the bed and sat in the middle of the room.

Ciel grinned widely again and walked in a large circle all the way around my body. "You're pretty big." he commented, looking me in the eye. "What are you?"

"I am a Prince." I replied simply. I had already broken one rule, I might as well just break them all.

"A Prince? A Prince isn't a type of Creature, is it?"

"No. It is not."

"But what are you?" he asked again, searching my face as if that would give her an answer. "What powers do you have?"

I scratched my head with my claws and flicked my tail, seemingly uninterested. "All of them."

"All of them?" the girl's eyes lit up in wonder and admiration.

"All of them." I repeated, grinning a bit. "My father was the King but, he died so, now I rule my land with all of the powers known to my kind. And," I added. "I was very intrigued when my best warriors came running to me, tail between their legs, begging to quit, all because of some tiny Human Being."

Ciel giggled. "They wanted to quit because of me? I didn't even do anything scary!"

I tilted my head and leaned closer to him, the tips of my sharp teeth peeking out from under my lips. "What did you do?"

"I tried to play. That's all."

"You didn't find any of the Creatures I sent you at all terrifying?"

"Not really…" he frowned, lost in thought. Looking up at me he asked, "Why? Was I supposed to?"

His question caught me off guard and I just couldn't help it. I all but exploded with laughter. "That was the idea, yes."

"Oh," Ciel murmured sullenly, his fingers fiddling with each other as he stared at the ground. "Sorry"

"Don't apologize."

"So…" he clasped his hands behind his back and rocked to and fro on the balls of his feet. "What now?"

Without bothering to respond, I took his shirt in my teeth and lifted him up, dropping him in his bed. "I think you should go to sleep."

Ciel straightened his pajamas and flopped onto his back, gazing up at me with his sapphire eyes. "Will you tell me a bedtime story?"

My eyes hardened. "No."

"Will you sing me a song then?"

"I believe that you are quite capable of singing one yourself."

"I guess." he let out a delicate yawn, his eyes fluttering as he strained to keep them open.

"You're tired." I stated firmly. "You should sleep now."

"Okay." he murmured almost inaudibly, grabbing my claw in his little fist before he fell into a peaceful slumber.

Over the course of the next few months, Ciel and I became the best of friends. He would wait for me every night by his window, and every night I would come to sing him to sleep. I marked him as my own, and he marked me as his. Everything seemed perfect. Until, one fateful day, it wasn't.

Ciel had informed me that he was going on vacation with his parents and that I should visit him in their family cabin out in the middle of nowhere. I was, of course, fine with the sudden change in scenery but, as I was flying through the woods to see her, I smelled smoke.

I got there as fast I could, but I was too late. The fire was raging and there was no one left to save. I landed nearby and found a half charred teddy bear at my feet and I clutched it tightly to my chest, feeling an unfamiliar, prickling sensation at the corners of my eyes. I stayed there, refusing to move as tears, wet and warm on my scales, flowed freely.

But, then, I heard a high pitched voice calling my name. Glancing up and searching desperately around, I saw him standing a few feet away. Ciel looked exactly the same except he didn't.

He had a black Devil's tail and two Dragon wings to match but he was still little and he still had his magnificent lapis tinted eyes.

He ran to me, his Demonic features melting away as he hugged me close.

I pushed away the darkness from my form as well, my eyes once again reddish-brown and my shape once again Human. "You shouldn't be with me." I rasped, pulling him into my lap. "You should be with your family. You should be full of light."

"This seemed funner." he smiled.

"But you could have been an Angel. Or a Dryad."

"I wanted to be with you." the boy whispered.

Needing no further permission, I scooped him up, placed him on my hip and started on our trip to my homeland.

And it was just us against the world.

That is, until I met Ciel...

And In Every Demon, An Angel Strides.

A.N. Hey! I hope you enjoyed this story! To be honest, I was kinda hesitant to post it because it makes Sebastian out to be a mushy and sentimental character (which he totally isn't) but I enjoyed the possibility that he knew Ciel's older twin... Maybe he had made a deal with Sebastian and his wish was fulfilled right before they sacrificed him and so Sebastian took his soul and made a contract with the younger Ciel, thus starting the whole series. Anyways, if you liked this, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you liked and/or give me any suggestions you may have for future stories. I'm always looking for ideas!

-Blue