Author's Note: I'm so glad that everyone is liking the new beginning. For those that haven't read it before, it's much better now…trust me. I don't plan to redo all of it, the beginning was just bugging the crap out me and there are a couple other places as well that I'm going to change a little. The core story isn't going to change though, I'm just aiming to make it flow better.

This chapter is brought to you today because Tangled Mirror is finished and is now available through Amazon under the J. Saire name. Woohoo! Happy Dance! The sequel to Winter's Eve will hopefully be done within the next month. I still haven't decided what to name it yet…and I'm finishing edits at this time.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed. The love of this story is all coming back to me now. And to those that pointed out mistakes…Damn, I thought I was doing better this time. I see I still need to spend more time with the editing hat on, and thank you. I'll go back and fix later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters. I only claim Serena as well as the descendants and demons that I introduce.

A Demon's Mate

Chapter Two

Bardroy, better known as Bard although he never could get that uppity butler to understand that, enjoyed the delicious nicotine flooding his system as he stood in the winter sunlight. Sebastian would absolutely not let him smoke in the house, even the servant's rooms. Seeing the young master's reaction to a small cold last year, he could understand the ruling now.

That was a tense few days. The young master's lungs were weak and he was sensitive to anything in the air, and any illness always settled in his lungs. For those five days, the servants had all ended up camped out in the hallway outside the Earl's door. Just in case they were needed.

His breath puffed in a scoff. They were never needed. Of course not. Sebastian sailed easily through caring for their young master as he did everything else around the place. The damned butler hadn't ever had a stitch out of place, although he must have slept standing up the whole time. He had been completely unruffled, looking down on the rest of them yet again.

It was like he wasn't human.

The thought struck a cord. If Bard hadn't seen Sebastian bleed from an injury when the manor was attacked some time ago, he would believe the man was a machine. Maybe one of the automata that the nobles seemed to like so much.

He just thought they were creepy.

Thankfully, the young master seemed to agree with him. A gift from another noble, looking to get in on the Funtom Company, had been an automaton of a young woman that sat under a tree reading while a bird sang in the branches behind her. Every once in a while she would look up at the bird and smile before turning the page of her book. The Earl had accepted the gift graciously of course, but it had disappeared shortly after.

If he remembered from when he first came to the manor right, it resembled the portrait of the previous countess. The portrait had also disappeared, eventually. Not that he could fault the Earl. His parents had been murdered in his home. As a child, although he never really seemed like a child, the young master had left up the pictures of his parents. As he grew, the painful reminders went away.

How long had he been here? The young master had only been eleven when Sebastian had pulled Bard out of a foxhole surrounded by the rest of his dead squad. The stupid general wouldn't listen that it had been a trap, too trumped up by his own importance to see the death hanging over all of them. He still didn't know why he survived. Sometimes, he wondered if he was even happy that he had.

But had he not, he wouldn't be here. Bard looked at the great house. He was more at home here, surrounded by the others, than he had been on his family's farm or even amongst his fellow soldiers. Even so, he still wasn't sure of his function.

Look at them all right now. The young master had been called to London a few days ago for some kind of audience with the queen. Many may look at the higher orders with envy but Bard sure never felt that way about the Earl. The boy was working himself into an early grave and had been the entire six years that Bard had known Lord Ciel Phantomhive.

At least there wouldn't be anymore 'interviews' until they returned. He could use a break from Mei-Rin's complaining. And she did, every time a new woman appeared at the servant's door to be seen. At first, they thought the young master was hiring more staff since his fiancée appeared to be wanting to spend more time at the manor. Maybe he was even thinking about entertaining? But, no. It was Sebastian…interviewing for a wife.

Interviewing a wife. What was that butler thinking? Maybe it was fitting for the cold being that was Lord Phantomhive's shadow, but Bard still didn't think it was right. It shouldn't be such an icy process. Right?

He didn't even know what Sebastian was looking for. There had already been five women met and sent on their way again. The rest of the servants here interacted with the village just down from the manor, they would be more likely to know someone that could possibly fill Sebastian's expectations, if he told them what they were.

Maybe he was looking for someone just as perfect as him? Good luck with that, buddy. He had never met anyone like Sebastian, male or female. Maybe that was the point. They needed to look for the opposite.

Couldn't hurt, they had nothing else to do anyway. Sebastian had already done everything before he and the young master left. Meals had been made ready for those left behind and stored in the manor's icebox, the house was sparkling and the snow stopped any outside work other than clearing the walks and drive. Which they had already done twice today.

Why were they even here? They all collected pay, but for what? They were paid by the estate to break things, really.

He flicked the finished cigarette into the empty urn Sebastian had filled with sand and placed next to the door. Bard took a deep breath and thought about lighting another one. What else was there to do?

The distinct ring of a bell in the kitchen stopped his hand from reaching into his pocket. The alarm for the west side of the property was going off. The servant's door to the kitchen popped open and Finny was out, ready to go. Behind the younger man, Bard saw Mei-Rin headed for the rooftop and the small arsenal hidden there. Snake and his pets were confined to the house after the snow came. And wasn't that a shame? As Bard ran past the greenhouse to the other side of the manor, he saw Snake looking out. Maybe there was some way to put firepots or something out here so that they could be useful too.

This was why they were here. Sebastian protected the Master, they protected his home. After all, the Earl had already lost it once too.

******************************A Demon's Mate*****************************

Serena stumbled through the trees that shouldn't have been there. She must have fallen through some street-level window she hadn't notice into a prop room or something. Too bad the trees felt real whenever she fell against one. The dead leaves and snow under her feet smelled like dead leaves and snow. She was freezing.

She had never felt the brick of the building behind her, but she must have hit her head. Her eyes weren't focusing on anything and her limbs weren't listening to her. For a strange second, the red head wondered if she looked like a new foal learning to walk.

She certainly felt like it.

Something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. It was July in Tokyo and the dress should have been a little warm with its three-quarter sleeves. There was no forest in the area of the theater, she shouldn't be pushing through dead leaves in her heeled sandals.

Just keep moving. Serena figured that something would eventually make sense if she kept moving. Moving would also stop her from freezing. She reminded herself that every time the pain her head urged her to stop for a minute and rest. Freezing to death wasn't very appealing.

The world spun sideways in an instant and Serena grabbed onto the tree she fell against until things settled down again. Maybe there had been an earthquake and some refrigerant or something was leaking into the air. Yeah, still didn't explain the rest of it.

She heard something moving nearby, crunching through the leaves and frozen ground. She turned toward the sound, but her eyes still wouldn't focus. Like there was some kind of film over them. All she could see were confusing blurs of color. Bright, daytime color dappled the area around her. The sun was setting when she had gotten to the theater.

The sound came again, a little closer. Serena pressed her back against the tree.

"Who's there?"

Bard stopped behind one of the trees and watched the woman. She looked ill, holding her head and stumbling through the Earl's forest on unsteady legs. Legs he could see. He knew that there was a blush on his face, felt the burn and was glad that he had told Finny to wait while he scoped out the situation. He knew that he was staring. Only Lau's 'sister' showed so much skin. He supposed the rest of her was covered, but the black fabric didn't really leave anything to the imagination.

He needed to get closer. His gut said the girl wasn't a threat. Where would she even hide a weapon in that getup? His gut said the girl was sick, perhaps injured and in danger of freezing to death. Maybe she had been attacked and then dropped somewhere nearby.

Weren't the young master and Sebastian always going on about the Phantomhive hospitality or some nonsense?

The Earl wasn't even home. If she was a threat, it could be taken care of before he returned. They would just all be on high-alert until a decision was made. Either way. A woman left to wander in such clothing wouldn't be missed.

Decision made, Bard stepped out from his hiding place and made some noise to alert her to his presence.

"Who's there?"

Bard stopped as the girl, she wasn't much older than the master, shoved up against the tree she was holding. So nothing could come at her from behind. Her eyes were unfocused as she looked around and he could hear the fear in her voice even as she tried to sound calm.

Or she was the greatest actress of all time, his soldier's suspicion reminded him.

But no actor could make their pupils so retracted on command. Bard had seen the same thing when he was in the army…from men that had been blinded by cannon fire. There had been nothing like that around here. They would have heard battle sounds. Maybe the girl was blind normally, and was lost without a keeper.

She pushed away from the tree, trying to stand on her own. Bard waited as she took a couple steps. If she was going to attack him, it was better to know now before he took her to the house. The girl tripped, leaves and snow parting to show the branch previously hidden. He heard her whine a little as she tried to stand again. Sick, he was sure of it.

"Shh."

The girl flinched and tried to scramble back. Bard had a flashback to his old comrades who had done the same thing, not sure if the voice around them was friend or enemy.

"It's alright," he said in the same soft tone the medics had used. "I'll help you."

He saw her breathing speed up in the cold air and recognized the symptom. Should she trust him? Should she try to get away again?

Bard slipped off his coat, sure that part of her shivering was cold. Besides, it could be seen as a peace offering.

"Here."

The red head batted out as the white fabric came toward her and he let it go immediately. She looked confused, feeling the coat to know what it was.

"Let me help you," he said as he pulled the coat from her tight fingers and slipped it over her shoulders.

She still looked around wildly, trying to focus on anything. Not normally blind then. Bard pulled gently, helping the girl to her feet. "Come with me. The house isn't far away and we can get you warmed up."

"Where…" She took two steps and collapsed.

"What do we do now?"

Bard looked up from pulling the blankets over the strange girl. He didn't have an answer for her. He knew that the girl needed help, but they knew nothing about her at the same time. Should they call for a doctor? But what if she was a threat? They couldn't do anything with a doctor here.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of horses and wheels on the drive.

"Oh, no." Finny dropped the logs that he was carrying in for the fireplace and ran to the window. "It's the young master. They're back."

Bard stood and followed the others to the window.

"No, this is great." He was out the door before any of the others.

He didn't have to think about it anymore.

**********************************A Demon's Mate******************************

Sebastian opened the door to usher his current master into his home and heard the sigh of relief from the human. Even so close to adulthood, London didn't hold much wonder for his master. At least the Prince and Agni were away, not that it had made the Earl any more comfortable.

It wasn't quite right. He had always thought that his master would be more comfortable in the city. He was a bachelor, for the time being anyway. Of course, his master wasn't a fan of gatherings but there were many things to occupy one's time in town. From what he understood of humans, his master's aversion to being adored by the ladies who thought they might have a chance at the Countess's cornet was not normal. The other masters that he had bargained with had loved lording their power over others.

It probably had to do with his master's soul. Such a delicious soul.

He was taking the Earl's coat and noticed how much the young man had grown. His master was not much shorter than himself now.

"Sebastian!"

The demon sighed at seeing the three morons running down the stairs. And it had been such a nice morning.

"What is going on here?" The Earl yelled as the three rushed past him to latch onto Sebastian's legs.

"There's a woman here, Master."

"Lizzy's here again?"

Sebastian found himself slightly upset at the hunted look that came over his master. He never looked that way when dealing with his demon.

Perhaps he should do something about that?

"No, sire. There was a girl wandering through the woods."

And they just brought her in? Sebastian could feel the burn of rage start, just beneath the surface.