Rosalina froze. A dozen?, she thought. There's no way.
"He'll survive, of course, but I doubt it'll be unscathed," Johan continued. Lowering his voice, he said, "Go, Rose. I'll cover for you as long as I can."
She turned to face him; her eyes were widened with curiosity. "What makes you think I'd go help him?"
"Because I know you." Johan narrowed his eyes. "You can deny it all you want, Rose, but you've never fooled me. Now, go."
She studied his face once more. He was right. She did want to go. "I'll never be able to come back, you know. They'll likely send more once they realize I'm gone," she spoke softly.
"Then you should hurry." They exchanged glances for a moment more before Rose stepped off the cliff for one last time. "Now we're even," he whispered with a growing smile.
Sebastian stood at his window, waiting. He expected headquarters would take action once Rose made it back. He had made sure Ciel was in the central-most room in the castle. Prepared as he was, he held his breath for a second when he sensed the oncoming horde.
Rushing down the corridors and stairs, he paused before opening the door. A Hunter's howl broke through the white noise of the wind outside. His eyes began to glow as he stepped out, the first Hunter landed before him, digging its claws deep into the ashen ground. The creature crouched low before leaping towards its prey.
Sebastian's expression went unchanged as he dodged the Hunter's first attacks. Three more Hunters landed a few yards away. He quickly rid himself of the first by crushing its skull with a spinning kick. The corner of his mouth twitched into a small, but noticeable smirk. He would enjoy this.
Rosalina had been flying as quickly as her wings would take her. She had made it nearly to the second level when she heard the howling ahead of her. Looking towards the ground, she saw three Hunters running towards the castle. With the steady beat of her wings, she was gaining on them. Before she was ahead of them, the castle came into sight, as well as the demon butler fighting off another two. She noticed five corpses littering the grounds.
Sebastian had downed one and the other seemed to be overwhelming him with swipes of its claws. Its teeth gnashed at every opening it could find, each time failing to catch him. Rose noticed the three on the ground closing in. The first has already reached the grounds and was speedily running towards him.
She pulled her wings back and dove directly towards it. Right before the Hunter's final leap at the demon, she turned and sent the creature and herself skidding across the ground. After a roll, she dug the heels of her boots into the dirt as she slid backwards away from the massive form of the beast.
Remaining in her demonic form, she quickly leapt for the next Hunter. Sebastian stopped for a split second when he noticed another enter the fight, but continued without a second thought, landing a hit in the chest of his enemy.
He had taken a few hits from his attackers, but it was nothing serious for him. The smell of blood flooded the air around him. One scent in particular made him quickly down his current opponent in order to help Rosalina. He had smelled the blood that was flowing from her shoulder.
After sending the last enemy flying, Sebastian turned toward her. Rose was catching her breath as she looked around. Sensing that there were none left in the area, she allowed herself to shift back into her human form. He watched intently as her erratic curls fell into soft waves, her sharp nails and teeth recede, and her eyes transform into the emerald green he knew so well.
"Chikusho," she cursed as she grasped her shoulder. Sebastian took a step towards her and reached out. "Don't. I'm fine. We need to get out of here fast. They'll be sending more soon." Rosaline started towards the castle.
"Why did you come back?" he asked, walking next to her.
"Because no one could've handled that many Hunters on their own."
"Botchan," the butler said as he gently shook his master's sleeping form. "Botchan."
"Hmm? What is it, Sebastian?" Ciel groaned, annoyed.
"Forgive me, Botchan, but we must leave immediately." He pulled the covers back and helped the boy to his feet and into a plain pair of pants before pocketing his master's ring and eye patch. Ciel didn't protest and, still sleepy as he was, began to drift off as Sebastian carried him downstairs.
Rosalina stood by the door. She had been waiting and listening carefully. She couldn't sense any more Hunters yet, but both demons expected them at any moment. Walking from the castle, she avoided stepping in the puddle of blood oozing from the neck of a Hunter. Although its rotting smell didn't bother her, the appearance of the creatures made her cringe. Their shriveled, decomposing bodies were something she'd never acclimated to.
"Follow me," she said. "I know of a place you can hide for a while." Rose allowed her shape to morph and didn't wait for Sebastian to do the same before she took flight, heading towards Limbo.
The winds had died down as they sensed their enemies approaching from behind. Rose quickened the beating of her wings, the demon butler sticking close behind her. As they passed over lonely, wandering spirits, a dense fog bank could be seen ahead. She didn't worry about not being able to see inside; there was nothing there to see. Both demons felt the shift in the atmosphere and no longer felt the suffocating air of Hell.
Now, they just needed to suffer the long journey back to the world of the living, which she hoped would be in silence so that she could get her thoughts under control before he started asking questions.
The approaching dawn had just barely lit the overcast skies of England as they found themselves back in the familiar city of London. She couldn't help but remember the last time she had been there with the same demon in her company. The air was still moist from the evening dew as she led them just outside of the city to an old manor.
"It's vacant still," she murmured to herself before descending upon the grounds. "They shouldn't come looking here…at least for a while." Rosalina approached the doors, took the knob into her hand, twisted it, and rammed her uninjured shoulder into it, breaking the lock. She reminded herself to fix that later. Gazing at the sleeping boy in Sebastian's arms, she began up the stairs towards the South wing.
She opened a couple doors and, after finding one that still held a bed, she quickly uncovered the furniture, careful not to scatter the dust. Sebastian laid the boy onto the mattress and covered him with his coat. Rose watched and, shaking her head, exited the room with the soiled linens in her arms.
"You know this place," he said, though it was framed as a question. The demon had followed her down the stairs.
"This was the residence of my previous mistress," she noted, tossing the sheets down a laundry shaft. "There's a butler's quarters down that hallway at the end," she pointed behind him. "Feel free to use it."
"Why are you helping us?" he asked before she could walk away.
"That's beyond me." She didn't face him. "But now, I can't go back and they'll send someone after both of us."
"I'll take care of it when they do," he said confidently.
Rose laughed. "You've been away for too long, Sebastian." Turning to face him, she lowered her tone in warning, "You have no idea what we're up against anymore." She didn't give him time to comment before she walked up the stairs and headed towards the furthest side of the manor, far away from him and his young master.
Though she healed quite fast, she removed her coat and looked at the gash across her shoulder. It had stopped bleeding, but was still a major open wound. Her coat was obviously ruined. "Damn," she sneered at the lump of purple fabric on the floor. Falling back into the chair facing the window, memories came flooding back. Sebastian.
A/N: So, I hope that you all are enjoying it up to this point! Please review; it's the only way I know what you readers are thinking…
*Chikusho - Damn it!
