Well, after getting such good reviews about the first chapter of this story, I quickened my pace to write the next chapter to get the story rolling. I hope I can make this story good. As always, please read, review and enjoy.

Her Butler, Reassigned

"My lady, it's time to get up," came a voice through the muddled dream. The voice was comforting, drawing her towards it until blinding sunlight hit Arianna's face, jolting her awake. The room shifted as she sat up straight, startled by the sudden burst of light. Her lips parted for breath, cold sweat beading against her skin.

"Did you have to throw the blinds open in such a manner?" she grumbled, rubbing her eyes and turning her squinted eyes to the man responsible for waking her.

Outlined by the bright morning sunlight stood a tall man, his body silhouetted against the light blazing in as the curtains covering the high windows were thrown back. Arianna's eyes widened as they landed on him, growing wide with a hint of fear as he turned to face her. Spread across his face was the smile that she remembered so clearly from that day. It sent shivers up her spine to see a demon smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his smile disappearing as he faced her, the coattails of his suit moving behind him as he moved. The man was dressed in a black swallowtail suite with coattails that hung in the back. His black tie was straight and neat, perfect, just like everything with his appearance. From the day Arianna had met him, he had been dressed like a butler from the eighteenth century, right down to the cufflinks around his wrists.

"Nothing's wrong, Sebastian. I'm just surprised that you'd wake me up when it's only ten o'clock on a Saturday," Arianna replied, erasing all traces of her shock with a yawn.

"Forgive me, my lady," Sebastian apologized with a bow, his black hair falling across his face. "You looked like you were having a nightmare." Arianna stiffened and looked down at her trembling hands.

"It was nothing…Just a dream about that time…" she muttered, wiping her sweaty palms against her thighs. Deep down she was grateful for Sebastian's intervention; Arianna thought that she have drowned with the fear if the nightmare had continued.

"You're still having those nightmares?" Sebastian asked as he walked around the bed towards her.

"Every once in a while. It's getting better though; I've only been having a few lately. It's about once a week now," Arianna assured him as he pulled back the fluffy covers, smoothing out the black and white floral print under his white-gloved hands.

Even though it had been six months since her kidnapping, there were still nights where

she woke up screaming, clawing at the sheets as her eyes darted fearfully around in the dark like a frightened animals', but it wasn't as bad as the sleepless nights she spent pacing around, too afraid to fall asleep for fear of having the memories appear. Those nights where Arianna woke in cold sweat, gasping for air with her throat raw from screaming, Sebastian was by her side like a faithful shadow, soothing her until she had calmed down enough. For that, she had been grateful for.

"Should I prepare you some tea to help sooth you, Lady Arianna?" he asked, his face calm as he tried to get her mind off the unpleasant thoughts of the past.

"You're doing it again," she huffed as she slid out from under the covers, shivering against the cold air from the vents in the ceiling as it circulated around the room.

"Doing what?" Sebastian inquired, as his eyebrow rose curiously. Arianna met his red eyes with her icy blue ones, staring at him blankly.

"You're trying to baby me and do everything for me. You know how much I hate that," Arianna told him as she brushed her hair back off her face. "Also, you're way of speaking seems way too proper for a butler in New York. To be honest, you look like you're dressed from the eighteen hundreds or something. I know that you've lived along time, but doesn't staying dressed like that feel stuffy to you?" she asked, running her fingers over the covers, still feeling the faint warmth from where her body had been pressed against them.

"Sorry, old habits die hard I suppose," Sebastian said with a slight shrug. "These clothes were given to me by my last master." He placed his hand over his chest as if he was speaking about something precious.

"Your last master, huh?" Arianna repeated, shivering inward at the way he said "my last master." Someday she knew that she would end up as his last master and the thought didn't sit well with her. "I guess that person must have been pretty important to you."

"I guess you could say that. His soul was a very rare kind; something that doesn't come around very often." She could see his red eyes turn slightly lustful as he spoke. "I hadn't eaten such a meal such as that in a very long time."

"So souls vary in…flavor?" Arianna searched for the right word to put at the end of the sentence to make it sound less creepy, but it didn't help. She was dealing with a demon; nothing she used to make the situation happier would make any difference.

"Yes, but I won't go into great detail right now. I'll save that lecture for another time," Sebastian said as he headed over to the kitchen to retrieve a teapot. "Now, moving on to today's schedule-"

Arianna moaned loudly and flopped back down in the bed, feeling the downy mattress shift under her weight. "No! Don't mention my schedule!" she sighed rolling over on her side. "It's Saturday for crying out loud! I wanna sleep 'til noon, eat what I want, lie around and be lazy; things teenagers do!"

"Children these days are quite lazy. It seems a lot has changed in two hundred years or so…" Sebastian mused as he poured the steaming water into the blue and white embroidered teapot, watching the steam rise up as it flowed through the tea leaves sitting in the tea strainer. "But I guess children will be children."

"Don't talk about me when I can still hear you," Arianna muttered. "You may be in another room, but it's still open to the rest of this apartment room." She waved her hand through the air, referring to the massive apartment room that she was living in. It was the penthouse floor of one of her family's most prestigious apartment complexes.

As impressive as it may have seemed to people, it was just a small drop in the bucket for her family. Out of all the hotels and apartment buildings that the Millié family owned, it wasn't anything that special. It was just another accessory that the filthy rich Millié flaunted, along with their island resorts, private jets, and whatever the rich love to buy with their endless amounts of cash.

"My apologize, Miss," Sebastian said as he returned with the teapot in one hand and a delicate teacup balanced on a saucer in the other. "I've prepared a black raspberry tea with a delicate sweet flavor to it." Arianna gazed at the butler as he elegantly poured the amber liquid into the teacup and waited for her to sit up to accept it. It was scary how perfect Sebastian was at everything.

It wasn't human, but then again, he was a demon; nothing human about him.

"You certainly know your teas," the girl commented as she lazily pulled herself to a sitting position. Her hair made a crackling sound as the static on the covers caused her hair to stick out.

"A butler of the Millié family should know a wide variety of teas," Sebastian explained promptly, a faint smile on his pale face.

"Sebastian Michaelis, you are not a butler of the Millié family. You are my butler, my

bodyguard." She looked up at him over the rim of the steaming cup, watching his face carefully with narrowed eyes. "Your contract is with me, not my family. You follow my orders, not theirs. Or have you forgotten?"

"I shall never forget, my lady," Sebastian assured her with a deep bow. 'Our contract binds us together for all eternity. I shall protect your body until the time comes when the contract is over." He kept his head low as he spoke.

"No matter how many times you do that it's still creepy." After taking a long sip she set the cup down and continued watching Sebastian with calculating eyes. No matter how human he seemed, no matter how much he tried to serve her, Arianna remembered that he was a demon with eyes only for her soul.

"It is a butler's job to serve his master. If you keep telling me to change I won't have anything left to do," Sebastian said straightening himself as he reached out to fix her tank top strap that had slipped off her shoulder, revealing the bluish pentagram mark over her right breast. It was the mark of their contract; the mark that forever tied her to the demon. A chilling reminder that she could never escape him.

Arianna saw his hand and her eyes widened with terror as the image changed to the past. All she could see was that man's hand reaching for her, ready to strike and defile her. Her throat tightened, cutting off her air as her blood roared in her ears. Before she could control herself, her body began to react on its own.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, slapping his hand away and shied away in fear. The sound of her hand hitting his skin sounded like a whip cracking through the air, sparking another wave of terror inside her.

Sebastian stared at her in surprise for a moment before stooping down onto a knee in a bow, he head lowered. "Forgive me, my lady. I foolishly forgot that you still don't like to be touched," he apologized, unable to raise his head.

Arianna looked down at her as she slowly regained her senses. "No…It's…It's my fault for being this way…" she whispered in a trembling voice, holding her quivering body as she struggled to regain her composure.

Even though it had been six months, the fear of being touched still remained. She had gained all the weight she had lost back, recovered the ability to talk after she had been shocked into being unable to speak, and was able to walk again, but inwardly she was damaged without any hopes of returning to normal. No matter how many therapy sessions she went to, the thought of being touched terrified her. All she could think about was that man's touch, all the things he had done to her. It made her feel nauseated and dirty, less than human.

"I'm sorry…" Arianna's voice was barely audible.

"It's not your fault. You do not have to apologize," Sebastian told her as he raised his head, giving her a sincere look. It was neither a pitying nor judging; just an honest look.

Arianna let her arms fall limply to her sides and hung her head, unable to meet his gaze. Without a word, she stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the teaming city of New York below. The sunlight glistened off the windows of the skyscrapers that fought to dominate the sky. Below, people and cars rushed about, going on with their daily lives, unaware that one girl was watching them from her room.

"You know, from up here, it's easy to see that this world is so small and fragile. Yet, it still manages to break people and force them to the edge of insanity. Why do you think that is?" she asked, putting her hands against the warm glass.

"Humans are pitiful creatures. They fight amongst themselves for the most foolish of reasons and will be willing to kill each other out of greed. They are a corrupt race of beings that try to justify their actions through self-righteous means. When faced with desperation, they'll use anything they can to pull themselves out of the darkness," Sebastian replied without a shred of emotion.

"Sounds familiar," Arianna chuckled humorlessly. "You must find up truly disgusting. I don't blame you. Sometimes humans can be the ugliest things. I think we're more frightening than any demon."

"More frightening than a demon? What a funny thing to say," he said with a smile.

"Isn't it? I guess I'm not better than the rest of them. I summoned you and formed a contract with you to get back at the people who pushed me into this situation. And I'm willing to do anything for that purpose."

"That is a very humanlike thing to say," Sebastian commented.

"So it is. Seeing as we have a contract, you'll have to obey me no matter what." Her eyes traced the skyline as she looked out over the city that had brought her so much happiness and sorrow.

"I will humbly follow every order you give me, my lady. After all, I am one hell of a

butler."

"Has anyone ever told you that that is one hell of a cheesy line?" Arianna asked as she turned to him with a faint smile.

"I believe you are the first."

"Oh well. Come on, Sebastian, it's time to get moving. The day's a-wastin'. We have things to do," Arianna told him suddenly, pointing a finger at him. "It's about time that we began this game!" the sixteen year old proclaimed with a sly look in her eyes.

"As you wish," he answered with a slight bow as she brushed past him to go change. "You truly are a terrifying woman when you get serious about something. I think you might be more frightening than me."

"I'll thank you for the comment, but just this once." Her sudden change in attitude was nothing new. It was what Arianna did to keep herself from dwelling too much on unpleasant things otherwise she'd go insane.

"So begins the deadly game of cat and mouse."

"I'll make sure I'm the cat who obliterates the unsuspecting mouse," Arianna said from inside the bathroom.

"But the cat must be careful because the mouse isn't as weak as one might think. Our mouse is more like a sewer rat, crafty and clever," Sebastian added as he began to clean up the room as they prepared to head out.

"Yes, our opponent isn't someone to be taken lightly, but neither am I." The cold tiles felt smooth under her bare feet as she stripped down, the mark standing out against her pale skin. She touched it, remembering that is was also a mark on how much she was putting on the line to bring down the people who had put her through such hell.

"That you are. You will have a faithful knight by your side that will make sure that you will succeed."

"A knight. Now that's a funny thought. I'd never have thought that a demon would become my knight in shining armor," Arianna laughed as she slipped into her worn jeans and stripped sweater, feeling the familiar material against her skin. "Now, Sebastian, it's time to discuss our plans over breakfast."

"It's lunchtime now, miss," Sebastian corrected her as she stepped out of the bathroom.

He stood in a coat that covered his suit, waiting for her. In now black-gloved hands he held out her phone and laptop for her, her jacket hanging over her right arm.

"Whatever; food is food no matter what time of day you eat it at," she informed him, rolling her eyes as took her things from him. "But I digress. It's time to begin planning our coup." She slipped on her shoes quickly, eager to begin. She had been waiting months for the time when she could begin hunting down the ones who scorned her.

"Where will we be planning this?" he asked as he followed her out into the hallway, locking the door behind her.

"Someplace they'd never suspect."

"The usual place?" Sebastian asked knowingly.

"The usual place," she replied.

"We'll have until two o'clock to get most of the planning done," he warned her as he pressed the elevator buttons to take them to the lobby. As soon as the elevator arrived and the heavy metal doors slid open, Arianna was already giddy with excitement and fear.

"I know, but we'll get it done. After all, I must come up with the most fitting punishment to thank my mother and father for what they've done to me," she chuckled with a dangerous look in her eyes as the doors of the elevator shut and they descended.