Erica sat there on the grass for a while, deep in thought. Ally sat across from her, and Sebastian sat beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him, and some connection happened. They didn't even need to talk, but Sebastian could guess accurately what Erica was thinking. It was silent.
"Okay…" Erica said at last. "Whatever she… I mean I… gave to you, give it to me." She said.
"It's the right choice" Sebastian said quietly. She nodded. He knew the look on her face too well. She always wore that face whenever she was nervous. She would bite down on her lower lip and frown slightly.
Ally fished inside what seemed to be a bottomless pocket. Her arm sank almost all the way to her elbow inside it, though it only seemed barely big enough for her hand. She retrieved a silver circlet from her pocket, as well with a little vial.
"The crown will restore your powers and this antidote will restore your memories." She said, first handing Erica the antidote. She took a deep breath and swallowed it. She shuddered.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked.
"Ugh… nothing…it just tastes awful." She shuddered again. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open again. She lifted her head to the sky. She stared at the little silver diadem in Ally's hands. The silver seemed to be almost liquid, changing forms faster than the eye could see what they were, but the jewels stayed in the same place.
"I remember now…" She said in an oddly constrained voice. "Thank you so much, Ally Arivera"
Ally's face broke into a wide smile. No one but the princess could have known her last name. With shaking hands, Erica reached for the little diadem. She paused.
"You three should really stand back." Ally scrambled off the grass as fast as she could go. Sebastian and Grell followed her. Erica placed the diadem on her head. She spread her arms to the sky as the wings burst out of her back.
A bright light seemed to glow inside her chest. It got brighter and brighter until it covered her entire figure. The red royalty demon symbol whirred above the clearing in a huge projection. Trees were being blown sideways, in danger of being snapped right in half from the wind pressure that was blowing in a tornado in the clearing. The rattling of chains could be heard as the light died down.
Erica's hair was now in pigtails, her bangs making scary shadows under her eyes. The silver diadem rested on her head as if it had been there for centuries. She wore black shorts and thigh high black boots that were attached to the shorts, a black top, and a red knee length coat that split from the waist. The demon symbol was engraved on the front of the coat, just under where her collarbone would be.
In her black gloved hands, she held another replica of the demon sword. This one was plainer than the other demon swords Sebastian had seen, but the power coming off that thing was almost four times as powerful as a regular demon sword. As Sebastian watched, the blade seared with dark fire. In the hilt just above her hand blinked a single lidless red eye. She brought it up in a swinging arc and slashed downwards, making a huge slicing arc of dark fire. It lit up the ground in roaring flames as tall as the young master's manor itself. She clicked her fingers, and the fire went out instantly.
"Sweet… I'm back." She said, and fluttered to the ground. "You guys can get out of the trees now." She said. Both Sebastian and Ally had enough sense to hang onto a tree trunk. Grell had been just barely hanging on by his hands. When the wind died down, his legs hit the ground with a thud, and he sighed in relief. He ran to retrieve his chainsaw, which had been swept away by the wind.
Erica brushed some of the dust off her coat and tucked in her wings.
"So… if you have a chainsaw, why do you hang on to those scissors?" She asked Grell.
"Scissors are a back up." Grell said, plucking a leaf out of his long red hair. "Just in case William decides to take my pretty chainsaw away again…" he stroked it fondly, as if it was a cat.
"Weird…" She muttered to herself before turning back to her usual quiet assistant butler self. She smoothed the bangs out of her eyes and threw the sword in the air. It hung there for a minute before disappearing into a pile of ashes. Her crown had vanished with her outfit.
Erica looked almost the same as before, with only a few slight changes in her appearance. Her eyes were darker and seemed bigger. Her fingernails were now the same color black as Sebastian's and Ally's. The red royalty demon symbol, an upside down pentagon with a triangle running through it, and an eye in the middle, rested on the side of her neck. It was barely visible from the high collar of her neck. If she let her hair down, it would be completely invisible.
"I guess that's that then… I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth before, Sebastian."
"That's not a problem. At the moment, you were telling the truth because you didn't remember. To be honest" he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I think it's not a surprise that you're royalty. You have all the amazing qualities of a princess." He said. She blushed as he hugged her again. She didn't resist though, and gave him an awkward one armed hug. They were really close now.
Now that Erica thought about it, she had only ever seen Sebastian once in the greater demon district. Most likely it was because he spent most of his time in the human world, learning. No wonder he was such a knowledgeable person about humans. Besides Sky, Sebastian was one of the only demons who didn't pay much attention to royalty. He treated her with a lot of respect if he saw her, but had no interest in taking the throne.
Sky Landers had however, turned into a madman, as Ally had put it. Just like his little brother Ash. Ash didn't have a demon name. He and Angela had given themselves their angel names after knocking Erica out of the sky. Angela Blanc… Erica had never met anyone who looked or acted less like an angel. She didn't deserve that name at all. Her soul was darker than Erica's last name. Or should she say Anne Mina's. Erica couldn't start calling herself that, though she had all her memories and powers. She had spent too long calling herself Erica to start calling herself by her true name.
"Sebastian, do you have a spare pair of gloves?"
"Yes, here you go. They might be a little big, though." He held her hand in his. Her hand was rather small compared to his. Her fingers were very long and spidery, however, so perhaps they would fit. He gave her the gloves, which she put on. They were completely opaque, so no one could see her fingernails.
"Let's go. Master Ciel is probably wondering what is taking us so long. We'll probably have to tell him everything, though." She said, turning to face the manor.
"Yes, let's" Sebastian said.
"I'll see you later, Ally. Go back into the demon world. I don't want you fighting with us, however." Erica said. "As soon as Sky's army is in the human world, go to the demon king-uh…mom and dad- and tell them what's happening. Tell them that I'm really confused and I need them here to stop Sky. Be safe there, okay?"
"Okay, anything my lady says will be done!" Ally skipped away, turned twice on the spot and vanished into a pile of ashes, which blew away with the wind.
"I guess that's my cue to leave too" Grell said, blowing a kiss to Sebastian. "I'll see you later my darling. I will be there to help you fight, little princess girl." He said, and jumped into a tree. He was long gone very quickly.
Sebastian and Erica slowly started walking towards the manor, holding hands. They took their time, even though Sebastian knew that the young master would be rather upset. However, he had no idea how Ciel would react to knowing that he had one of the most powerful demons in existence working for him. He would probably be happy that he gained another powerful pawn to use in his game of chess against everyone.
He was ready to face anything with Erica by his side. He really did like this woman, quite a bit, ever since they had danced together. Trust was never a good thing when you fought, but since she was so powerful, he was more likely to get into danger than she was. He had never seen anyone prettier than Erica, or more gentle or kind. She was truly a priceless gem. The manor loomed over them as Sebastian unlocked and slid through the kitchen door.
