Hooray for the Stomach flu! Yes, I am sick and am still posting a chapter. I expect a lot of love from you guys. JK, Love you all! I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

A manor house.

Made with colorless cement, but was grand nonetheless.

Arise was in such a state she could only think in snatches of images before her mind was completely taken over by the thought of Ronald and her family.

Arise had cried herself dry and only felt crashing misery whenever tears would have come.

"What did you do to her Sebastian? She's not talking, she's not eating, she's not even moving!"

The voice was young, but familiar. Arise would have tried to muddle it out but she found she just didn't give a damn.

"My apologies, Bocchan, she has been through quite a lot in a short time. Not to mention you've tied her to a chair."

"We'll see about that."

She felt a small hand grip her chin and force her to look into an ice blue eye.

"Well girl? Are you in shock?"

Silence.

"I asked you a question! Do you want to end up like your friend? Because that can be arranged!"

The rage that seeped into his voice made Arise's heart harden. She felt anger rather than sadness at the words. She found energy from that pure anger, the energy to fight them.

"I actually have a question for you, Ciel Phantomhive. How is it that a boy, like yourself, with one eye covered isn't constantly running into walls and falling down stairs? I mean, you must have no depth perception at all!"

Ciel slapped her across the cheek, but she only smiled.

"Do what you will Little Earl, I don't have you precious record, nor do I know who does. As I told your faithful Dog."

She knew it was a risk, by putting the emphasis on 'dog' she had shown them that she knew more than she was letting on.

Ciel's eye narrowed at her words.

"I can see your lies plainly on your face."

"Pretty impressive for someone with only one eye."

For that she got another slap.

"Bocchan!"

Sebastian grabbed Ciel's wrist to stop him from riling on her anymore, but the little hot head wasted no time turning on his butler.

"Have you gone soft on me, Sebastian? Why do you protect someone as incompetent as her?"

Sebastian relinquished his hold but his eyes said he was throwing Ceil across the room.

"She is my daughter, I feel somewhat. . . . Protective of her."

Master and servant stared at one another for a moment, apparently they came to some sort of silent understanding.

"Fine, but keep her in her place."

He began to walk out of the room before Arise stopped him.

"Wait! Why do you need the Record so badly?"

He emitted a dark snicker that didn't suit a boy his age and he pulled what looked like a piece of candy from his pocket.

"I am quite accustomed to the good life. Lady Brown has become quite popular these days and will pay almost anything to get it. I would just like to have figured that out sooner."

With that he and Sebastian left the room with an impressive slam of the door.

"Lady Brown huh? You've been a very, very bad boy, Ciel Phantomhive."

At some point in the night Arise started singing the most ridiculous songs at the top of her lungs. They may have her tied up, but she wasn't going to make it easy for them.

"Someone's in the kitchen with Diiii-na!
Someone's in the kitchen I know-oh-oh-oh!
Someone's in the kit-!"

"The young master wishes for you to be quiet."

Sebastian had entered silently; Arise only glared at him and kept singing, even louder this time.

"Is there anything wrong young lady?"

Arise looked at him even harder, trying her best to make him feel like an imbecile.

"Of course there's something wrong! You must be thicker than two boards stuck together with dumbass glue! You've had me tied to this chair, for what, two days now? I can't feel my bloody fucking arms anymore, you soul-sucking twat!"

Arise wiggled around, longing to scratch him with her scythe. See him bleed, and writhe in agony.

"If you can't learn that speaking so. . . Freely only gets you into trouble, you are going to stay there."

He sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child for having her hand in the cookie jar before dinner.

"Fine I'll tell you something, you might want to know."

Sebastian was immediately kneeling at her side.

"Tell me what, exactly?"

Arise leaned closer to his face, as if she was telling him something greatly important, which she was of course.

"When I get out of these ropes, I am going to enjoy watching you drown in your own blood as I rip out your heart and force feed it to you like medicine with a bad after taste. I will laugh as your eyes grow blank and you finally get what you deserve. You sickening pile of shit."

He slapped her across the face just as his master had, but this time she actually felt it.

"Really, Sebastian? I'm disappointed; I thought someone like you could come up with something more creative than that."

He grabbed her flaming her and pulled back her head roughly.

"I could cut off this pretty hair of yours and gag you with it."

Arise yawned.

"It will only grow back, plus I'd still be prettier than you."

He let go of her hair and opened his mouth but she stopped him.

"Don't you get it? You can't beat me! You can kill me sure! But it won't be because I gave up and you can also rest assured you wouldn't come out unscathed!"

He left the room with a disgusted snort and another slap across her cheek.

Arise was suddenly so mad, the corners of her vision turned red. She struggled with the ropes binding her legs and she ended up falling over on her injured shoulder.

She wouldn't let them hear her cry out; she bit her tongue until she felt blood then she spat on the light blue carpet watching in satisfaction as the beautiful red color stained.

Her shoulder was burning, so she began to sing, softly now, every single Within Temptation song she knew.

"They tied her to a chair! And her shoulder! Oh God that's a lot of blood!"

Arise felt herself lifted off the ground and her shoulder screamed in protest, it had gone numb at the constant pressure.

"Arise? Please tell me your all right, at least awake!"

"Ronald?"

She opened her eyes to see her best friends face just inches from hers.

He breathed out a huge sigh.

"Yes, it's me now tell me where your scythe is, mine isn't good for cutting ropes."

"Under the bed, under a loose floorboard; but what are you doing here? I thought you were hurt!"

He appeared back in front of her, his face close enough so she could see every gold spark that dusted his green eyes.

"He caught me by surprise that's all."

Without really thinking about what she was doing, she leaned forward so her lips were gently pressed against his. She was so glad he was all right, she didn't think about what she had done until she pulled away and saw Ronald's blushing face.

"I thought I had lost you."

He stroked her hair back.

"I thought I had lost you too."

He sliced open her ropes and gathered her into surprisingly strong arms and kissed her again.

"By the way,"

He asked looking at her.

"What was that first one for?"

"I've been tied to a chair for three days in a house with two demons that have no moral compass; I thought I was going to die."

"Fair enough."

With Arise in his arms, Ronald leapt out of the window.

Though she was overjoyed that Ronald wasn't hurt, or dead; she knew that this would not be the last time she heard of the aforementioned demons.

This was now war.