I'll be Waiting

by Snaboon King

Way back when hoop skirts and tights were the latest fashions, two lovers find their way when their love is scrutinized. One is a Noble, the other a servant. AU ExB. All human cast with one acception Edward is a Demon .

I stared out at the picturesque landscape from my balcony window. The leaves of the Oak tree, which stood proudly outside in the courtyard, twirled like magic as the soft summer breeze swept gently across my face, making my hair blow in front of my eyes.

With my blind eyes, I took a step forward, unfortunately loosing my balance in the process, and tumbled helplessly over the railings that were supposed to prevent incidents such as these. I fell down to the gravel path that winded along my house, four stories below. I let out a scream of terror as the wind rushed up around me. As I fell, the hard gravel traveled ever closer, my impending demise coming within seconds. I close my eyes, not wishing to see what happened next.

The bizarre sensation of someone coming up beside me and wrapping their arms around my body surrounded me. I had to be hallucinating, or already dead.

I heard the sound of great wings beating. My imagination told me that this must be my angel, taking me to heaven, though I couldn't be sure, as my eyes were still closed. I clung on to my angel instinctively, unsure of what to do when I got there.

Within a few moments (however with the adrenaline pulsing in my veins it felt more like minutes than seconds), the beating stopped. I felt strong fingers begin to attempt to pry my own fingers away from his clothing.

The wings stopped when I realized we were at our destination. Slowly, I opened my eyes; the only part of me that I was able to move freely at that moment.

The being that I clung to so desperately left me more in shock than the fall that I now believed had killed me. He had to be an angel, who else could be so beautiful, or have wings?

It was the voices of my parents that told me where I really was. My mother tore me from my savior, and embraced me in a tight squeeze that I suppose was a hug. I nearly passed out, as I still had not taken a breath since the fall, only seconds before, and my lungs where empty from my scream.

My mother dragged me inside, talking about something, though I couldn't be sure just what. I stared at my savior as he disappeared around the corner of the building in which I lived. I was taken back by his beauty, but the feature that held me captive, was not his great, feathery wings protruding from his back, or even his unnatural white hair. The feature that held me captive were his blood red eyes that somehow looked worried, though I couldn't be sure. The expression seemed the most unnatural thing, even with all the other strange features of his face that were all inhumanly beautiful. I had a bizarre urge to make that expression disappear, and make him smile.

It wasn't until a few days later when I saw my savior again, but he wasn't quite what I had expected him to be. He was inhumanly beautiful as I had remembered, but

As it turned out, he wasn't an angel, quite the opposite actually. As it turned out, my hero was a simple demon slave, one of our many to be slightly more precise. My mother had told me that he had been working at our estate for about a year now, but I just hadn't noticed him. This confused me; how could I have not seen such magnificence?

I thanked him for saving me, but he said nothing, only looking at me with strange expression of detachment, as if he didn't was only in the right place at the right time. If that were true, why were his eyes filled with such pain while I was being dragged away from the scene of the fall. I was pretty sure I hadn't imagined it.

I found myself looking for him in my spare time, quietly watching him work, only to be shooed a few minutes after my arrival there by one of the humans who worked in our gardens. Eventually, I figured out that I had fallen for him.

I knew what I felt was entirely illogical, for one, he was below me. Demons were slaves, and I was an upper class human. In the social hierarchy, demons were even lower than commoners! Another reason why my affections for this demon were incredibly idiotic was the fact what he had the ability to kill me, easier than someone picking up a flower petal, or feather off the ground. Even with these sensible reasons racing through my mind, I was still unable to stay away from him.

When I saw him, he never smiled. He always had the same detached expression that he had when I thanked him, as if he held no interest at all with his surroundings. Whenever I saw this, I always got the urge to make him smile, tough I didn't quite know how.

I figured out his name; the demon keeper called to him earlier. His name is a long one, but it suits him well; Edward. It means, "Noble Dragon." I found it a strange choice, but I could think of no other name that could fit his beauty, his grace, or his heroic abilities.

The days went by, and I had made no progress as to telling him my feelings. Then again, I made no progress with getting his attention at all. I tried talking to him when no one was around, but he didn't seem all that responsive, as if he was trying to be rid of me. When I think of it, it feels like my heart shatters. I have to tell him, though I don't know if I can find the courage, or the words to describe how I feel.

I saw him again, and this time, I made sure I didn't have time to feel reservations, and just blurt out the feelings I had been keeping to myself. The then proceeded to explain to me that it was not his place to be with someone of my linage. At that moment, my heart disappeared all together, however, before I could run away crying, then said that it was not his place to be with me, but that he couldn't ignore the fact that he had taken a liking to me the first day he saw me, approximately the first day he arrived. His exact words were, "It was love at first sight." I think I am still in shock.

At this particular moment, he thought it was a good idea to laugh at my expression. He has a beautiful laugh. It is musical and joyous…it's a shame I cannot hear it more often. He pulled me into a fight embrace. Though he was still vibrating with laughter, it felt like I was melting in his arms, like I was meant to be with him, no matter who thought wrong of it, which would be pretty much everyone, especially my parents.

I can hear them now! "How can you do this to us? Do you have any idea what this will do to our social standing?" or possibly "You are disrespecting yourself, but more importantly our family" it would probably end up as "We are sending you off to be married!" It could also be a mixture of the three…I suppose it would be in the best interest of both of us to keep our affections for each other secret from everyone else.

I went see him everyday, as I did before we confessed ourselves, and still I was constantly shooed out from my elaborate hiding places. Each time, I swear I can see him smirking to himself when he heard the gardeners make a scene about how I was disturbing their work. Each time, I fight the urge to demand the reason why he finds my getting into trouble amusing. This frustrates me so, even though I still want to make him smile. I would have liked it better if it wasn't because of me making a fool of myself.

We sneak around at night, spending time together. He is a remarkable being. I never knew that demons had the ability to read or write. He teaches me much about the demon customs, and why they serve people. As it turns out, the only reason why the demons won't free themselves is because they can't. People who own demons, such as my parents, have ways to extract all their power, leaving them worse off than me if I were ever told to do his chores. The demon keeper for our family holds what looks like a bullwhip. According to Edward, one lash of the beastly thing can leave demons unable to move for days. Even with the knowledge of this, the keeper apparently makes them work anyway.

I realize I have to do something about this, but I have no idea what. I would not want suspicion to arise as to why I suddenly care for the treatment of the demons. I fell they are suspicious enough already, with my being incredibly tired during the day; hardly able to keep my eyes open. I fear that I cannot do anything to help Edward's situation.

It seems my worst fears are coming true. My parents have put everything together, and they are getting rid of Edward, as well as some of the other demons. I was heart broken, unable to even think properly to cry. As if to make matters worse, they are sending me away…to be married!

My new fiancé lives in one of his family's many estates, away from his parents. My parents had informed him that a demon had stolen my heart, so they say that he as agreed to rid his property of all demons.

My darling Edward has left to be sold by merchant. He told me, than he would always love me, and that he would wait for me for an eternity. He also said that if I were to fall in love with my fiancé, he would continue to love me, but he would never again act on those feelings. I was unable to say what I wished, because I was already gurgling with sobs. They were quickly silenced however, because he leaned down to give me, our first, and probably the last, kiss.

I am still unable to describe how it felt. My heart was breaking fully in two, yet at the same time, the thought of his lips on mine was undeniably the most amazing sensation I had ever felt in my life.

I arrived at my new fiancés estate, unable to even gather up enough love for my parents to even say goodbye. Under regular circumstances, I would probably be awestruck at the size of the property, as well as the size of the building that he called a home. It's like a castle that you hear about in the fairy tales, with the high towers. I can imagine myself in the tallest one already, waiting for my demon to come rescue me.

My fiancés name is Jacob, I find this highly ironic. The name Jacob means "Good" or "Righteous." Where in reality he is like the bad guy in my own fairy tale, but so far it seems there is no happy ending.

Jacob is true to his word, there are no demons working or otherwise in his estate. Instead, he has hired commoners to do the work that the demons would otherwise be doing, such as planting large trees, or making a new addition onto the building.

I am not able to bring myself to even try to become closer to my fiancé. It feels that I am fouling my memories of my Edward when I am with him. It feels like I am two-timing him; it feels wrong. I try my best to spend time away from him, on my won, but he always seems to find me, I don't like it.

The guilt I feel for doing this, is unbearable. If I ever saw Edward again, I would not know what to do. I don't feel that I would be able to face him again. I cannot deny the fact that I still love him. This is what is making this whole situation so unbearable.

Jacob has told me that we are to visit the estate that his parents are currently living in. They are hosting a ball, supposedly welcoming me into their family. I can think of nothing that I wouldn't rather do. It does not seem as if I have any choice in the matter though. Jacob is exited, though I can still see his reservations. Perhaps he is nervous about me meeting his family. I guess I won't know until I get there.

When we arrived, I was slightly surprised to see that there were thousands of demons bustling about, getting everything ready for the ball. Never before in my life had I seen so many demons in one place. The foolish side of me hopes that Edward is here somewhere, but I do not dare get my hopes up.

Jacob's parent's estate is perhaps more extravagant than the one Jacob stayed at. The landscaping could only have been done by demon hands; there was no possible way any humans could have created the garden.

The night I had been dreading has arrived. I had been here for a week, and still I have not seen hide or hair of either of them. However, if I had seen them, I would probably not know it was them.

I am still in awe with the incredible amount of demons running around. I can only hope that they are being treated well enough for the amount of work they are doing, though just by looking at them it is easy to tell that they are being treated of ill.

My maids have been poking at me and trying to make me look presentable. They try to make me more cheerful, without knowing the read reason to why I am so depressed. I have realized why I am depressed more so than normal though. I have allowed myself to hope. I have allowed myself to dream that he is here. I cannot let it continue, but it might be too late.

I have ruined my resolve that has kept me somewhat sane. I wish we were to leave tonight, so my now non existent heart is torn from my chest once again.

I tried to put on a face that resembled enjoyment, though I was sure I had not fooled anyone. Demons weaved through the congested crowds of nobles and those in acquaintance to the Emperor. Jacob has been dragging me around to see everyone; dragging me somewhere new whenever a demon were to approach, which was often. He is still cautious, though it seems that it is for nothing. It seems that the reason why he was nervous earlier was because he didn't, in fact know exactly what demon it was that has captured my heart. I am grateful for this, so that Edward cannot me further punished for what I brought about.

It was around the time of dinner when I saw him, or I think I did. It was just a glimpse, but that was all I needed for my heart to feel like it was about to explode. It took all my self control to make sure I didn't rush to see if it really was him. I think my sudden jolt of excitement made Jacob even more nervous than before. He said he had never seen me smile before this. I think it made him suspicious, because he was wheeling me away from every demon within twenty feet of us.

I had to get away from him, so I gave Jacob the excuse that I needed to use the lavatory. He was so uptight that he walked me there. His efforts to went to waste, fortunately for me. There had been demons assigned to take care of the guests in the lavatories. I asked the demon to give Edward a note, though it was in all likelihood that it would never get to him.

The note contained a meeting place, though I was almost positive that Edward would not show up. He was in full right to detest me, though I could still only hope that that was not the case.

After the ball, and after I was sure all the people were asleep, I made my way down to the meeting place, and I was surprised to find that he was already there, waiting for me. I could barely see his dark silhouette in the moonless night, but I was sure it was him. As soon as he saw me, I apologized for what I had done to him, making him come to this estate against his will.

He said he didn't blame me for any of it, and that he still loved me. I couldn't help but burst into tears, and wrap my arms around him. I felt him hesitate then wrap his own arms around me. He squeezed me tight, so that I was unable to breath, but still I wanted to be closer to him. I felt a liquid on his back, but it didn't seem like it was anything important at the time. I was still sobbing when he pulled apart. He told me to go then. I watched him disappear into the darkness before I ran back, stumbling in the dark.

It was not until I was back in my room when I found out exactly what the liquid was; blood. Demon blood. It took great effort not to scream, but I somehow managed. I stayed up the rest of the night worried sick about what had happened to him.

When I awoke, I found Jacob furious, though I didn't quite understand why. I found out later from one of the servants that he had been spying on Edward and me. Immediately my heart fell to my feet. He had been listening in last night. He had been watching me and Edward. The servant told me that Jacob was trying to convince his parents to kill him.

I was in too much shock to realize the seriousness of what she had just said, but it eventually kicked in. I started sobbing the second the shock wore off, but I knew that I could not hide in my room. Somehow I had to stop it.

I raced to where the demons had been kept, though since I had not been allowed to be there before, I had to get directions from a couple of demons working in the gardens. The room in which they lived was much smaller than I would have thought considering the incredibly large amount of demons. It was only slightly larger than the chambers in which I lived. This infuriated me, and I knew that I had to find and somehow free Edward before it was too late.

I did find him, and it took everything I had to stop myself from screaming and crying. His body was now covered in whipping wounds and he was sitting before me, tied up against a poll with the same material that they use to create the demon whips. I rushed to his side, unsure of exactly what I could possibly do to ease his pain in the slightest.

He told me he was alright, though in the state he was in it was hard to believe what he said to be true. He smiled at me, though his eyes showed only a slight amount of the pain I knew he was in. We sat in silence as I began to clean his wounds. Part of the reason being was the fact that I had such a large lump in my throat, the other part was the fact that I was unsure with exactly what to say.

I heard angry voices outside the place where we sat. One of them sounded much like Jacob. In a hurry and without thinking, our lips met. In that instant, time stood still. Our lips molded together as one in the heat of the moment. He seemed surprised at first, as was I, with my actions, but soon enough he crushed his lips more firmly against my own. They were soft, and warm. In that instant, everything was perfect. In that instant, Edward wasn't sentenced to death, nor was I so confused at what to do. It felt I was melting from the inside out; like magic. The outside world seemed to disappear, only to reappear all too suddenly. Edward broke our kiss, and I placed one hand on his face, for a moment while, I stared into his eyes. The angry voices were now closer. I ran out the room as quickly as I could because I knew if I was there a moment longer I would have broken down. At this time, he didn't need to worry about me. He muttered something as I ran out, that sounded similar to I'll be waiting for you…

I ran to my chamber, tears falling down my face in a steady stream. Already I was lost, like he was already dead. My thoughts raced back to our kiss, and I knew I somehow had to do something to stop his sentence from being fulfilled, but I didn't quite know what.

Time passed unbelievably quickly, and before I knew it, the hour had come when Edward was to be killed. I was not able to convince Jacob to set him free, nor could I think of a plan with enough cunning to set him free myself. I refused to watch the execution, so I sat on my bed in my chamber, my mind now numb in preparation for what was about to happen. I remembered the last words I heard him speak. I'll be waiting for you.

My eyes wandered around the room, when I spotted a sword mounted upon the wall. Outside I heard the drums beating as I reached for the sword, now holding the tip of the blade to my stomach. I took a deep breath as the drumming stopped, and I pierced my own flesh, a tear rolling down my face.

First there was a moment of pain, then darkness. I was alone, and I wondered if I was dead or just unconscious. A vivid bright light appeared before me, and started to come closer. It took me a moment for me too see that it was Edward standing in front of me, holding out his hand, smiling. It looked like his wounds never existed, and he looked like he was without pain. I reached out, so he could grasp my hand in his own, and together we walked to the light, neither of us sure of what would happen, but I knew as long as we were together, nothing else mattered.