Notes that pertain to this chapter:

I just realized that I haven't done this yet. DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kuroshitsuji. Please don't sue me, or else I shall have to flee the country because I am poor, making it impossible for me to finish this story. If you've come this far reading it, I assume that you'd care. XD

I will give more information about specific place references in the next chapter, probably. For now, I don't want to give important plot points away. :)

Putting the cart before the horse: An English expression. If someone says that you are putting the cart before the horse, it means (in modern lingo,) "You're getting ahead of yourself." In this instance, what Lydia is trying to say is "You're really getting ahead of yourself."

Tuppence: Colloquial reference to two-pence, or two pennies- a very cheap amount of money in Victorian English currency. If someone doesn't care tuppence about something, it means that they don't consider it to have much value.

So I've gotten some questions lately about whether I have written any other fanfics, and for what fandom. It just so happens that I have, actually! XD If you don't care about the other random stories that I've got floating around on my computer, please carry on with reading this one. For everyone else's information: I have two Naruto fanfics, one Harry Potter, and one Vampire Knight, all in various stages of being done. One of my Naruto fics is half-finished, and the other is just bits and pieces of what would be a really long story if I ever did write it all, involving nearly everyone in the cast. :P I only have the first few chapters of the Harry Potter and Vampire Knight fics, and I will probably never finish them, due to the fact that they'd be really complex. Oh, and I also have the beginning of an Avatar: Last Airbender fic, which my sister demanded that I write; but that doesn't really count. :)

So then, on with this story!

Sebastian stood in the middle of a marshy, boggy river, watching a group of men labor to haul to shore the lady whom he had just pulled out of its mud-coated bottom. He was paying no attention to any of them; truly, the entire annoying situation seemed to merely bear down upon his mind. The lady had been grateful, gracious. She had taken one look at his ethereal features and porcelain skin, and had held out her hand to be rescued. Her undignified squawks had turned into graceful coos. It was as if she thought that this sort of event might mean something, she, the lovely damsel in distress, and he, the tall-dark-and-handsome hero of the hour. Sebastian thought that he would never understand the endless silliness of the human species. And what could an event like this possibly mean? He was merely doing what was necessary in order to ensure the continuation of his master's house's good reputation. He did not bother to follow the woman to shore, instead turning around and wading through the shallow water to the opposite bank, leaving the mud-covered aristocrat to play up sympathies among her fellows through the use of dramatic lamentations on the state of her dress. He had placed Meirin in charge of accompanying the woman inside and replacing her garments, a task better suited to a lady servant, although he suspected that the woman would not have objected to his doing it. The dark-haired creature brushed off the reaching gazes of both of them as he headed swiftly for the manor, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he felt the soaking wet bottom halves of his pant legs slap dully against his calves. He would have to change his attire before he presumed to appear before his master again.

Lydia: Lydia, Lydia, Lydia, Lydia. What surprised him the most was her stubbornness, her firm adherence now to the path which she had chosen back then. She had actually refused him today- refused him multiple times, and calmly! The Lydia of the past had not been like this. From the time that she had first gained awareness to the time when she had reached thirteen years of age, Lydia had been quite agreeable toward him. Sebastian had found it comfortingly easy to subliminally influence her in whatever direction he thought best. This was owed in part to the fact that she had been a child, impressionable and inexperienced; but also due merely to her nature. Lydia had been a peaceful type who preferred calm and balance in her life, and it was calm and balance which Sebastian had given her, so she had never known reason to oppose him. This was why her refusal to take the contract, on the very eve of the expected ceremony, had come as such a shock to everyone- especially him, especially him. The entire population of Phantomhive manor had reeled. Where had that come from? Over the ensuing months, her aunt, her mother, and himself, especially him, had all endeavored to convince her to change her mind. For the good of the family, for the good of her future, for the good of something. And yet she had refused. She had refused him. This tiny girl, who had been too shy to even speak at the family reunions, who had spent half her time hiding behind her butler from the other males of the household, who had trusted him and allowed him to ease his pain through her means, was now rejecting this most important of bonds. And not merely once, but over months and months of continuous persuasion, she still continued to refuse. Where had that strength come from? Sebastian was furious; with her, but mostly with himself. He had done something wrong. He had practically raised this child, but throughout all the time spent with her, he had been careless. He had allowed something, somewhere to slip into her consciousness which he should have barred. He had been too assured. An ostentatious manor haunted by a demon, indwelled by an arrogant and cruel family, a family which had been banned from the Church, no less!- surely, he had reasoned, there was little chance of The Named ever managing to slip its quiet way into the hearts of anyone here, especially his little master, around whom he spent so much time and exerted so much influence. But he had underestimated that spirit. Lydia had not been acting on her strength alone; alone, she never could have stood up to the combined force of all those displeased adults. It became more and more obvious, as he looked into her eyes, that within their shine was revealed the presence of that which he could never see directly. The Named had planted a seed inside her. Then, knowing that it could never bloom within such a harsh environment, the spirit had endeavored to pull her away entirely, to supplant her in the soil of its chosen world. And it had succeeded. Despite how desperately Sebastian had fought against it, determined to undo the seriousness of his mistake through sheer force of will, the spirit had taken Lydia away. This fact was the dreadful shock and the utter bane of his existence; he still spent most of his cursed days wondering how on earth it had happened, how his utterly brilliant plan could have fallen so badly. All the factors within the environment had been in his favor, everything, and yet she had still managed (without effort!) to gain an awareness of The Named, and with that awareness, to follow him. It was utterly incomprehensible. He wondered if it was at this point in time, even before the occurrence of that incident, that Lydia's soul had begun to expand.

And now she was back, yes, she was within his reach again, but in temperament she had utterly changed. She had verified her human notions of family and love through whatever she had been doing out there in the world, and was now as stubborn as a rock about them. She had grown physically too; she was no longer a diminutive size for her age, but seemed to have hit a growth spurt, rising up to graceful height and normal proportions. And what was this fine-tempered, half-amused gleam which she kept in her eyes? Most disconcerting of all was the new way in which she looked at him. It was as if she had gained new knowledge, as if she understood him better now, instead of simply observing him. But how could this be, since she had been away for so long? Frustrated, Sebastian clenched his contract hand as he strode along, whisking down the back hallways of the manor to his out-of-the-way bedroom. One thing he was certain of; he was going to get his master back. Whatever undesirable qualities she may have gained from the world and from the spirit, she was still Lydia, still possessing that which he desired the most. That inexplicable willingness to accept him, to let him in and to feel for him, had remained untouched. He needed that, especially after everything he'd been through. She was smarter now; he was going to have to try a method other than direct persuasion if he wanted her to take the contract. Still, Sebastian had never been one to back down from a challenge. This time, he was going to redeem his mistake.

The demon pulled a fresh pair of black trousers out of his dresser, and slipped them on. He peeled his outer butler's vest off next, stained with muddy handprints, and tossed it into the corner, to be cleaned that night. He sifted through his uniforms in search of another one, glancing up from his dresser suddenly to gaze at his reflection in the mirror. His chest was pale and defined. His pants wrapped around his hips, only just covering the place where the mark was laid into his flesh. Sebastian's fingers reached down to hover over it as he drew nearer to the glass, treading slowly. Up close, he looked at himself, his perfect body, features which both desired and caused desire. He pressed his palms against the mirror and leaned down toward it, closing his eyes. He wished that he could feel as well on the inside as he knew he looked on the outside. Strong, controlling, calm…. But such was the existence of one such as himself, a demon, perpetually doomed to agony and unfulfilled desire. The souls of humans on which he fed would never completely eradicate his hunger, and all of the blood and misery spilled out upon the earth could never slake his thirst. And forever, forever, this fire would burn him….

Sebastian twisted his shoulders in discomfort as the flames flared up within his chest, as if they were conscious of being thought of. The flames were sentient, he was sure of it, almost. This was a private horror which he kept within him, hoping that he could make it not true by refusing to give voice to it. He hated the idea that he was bound inextricably to something which laughed at his weakness and gloried in his pain. He hated it. How he longed to rip it out of him, once and for all!...but he could only imagine what this would feel like. The demon panted and squirmed, just barely refraining from digging his claws into the mirror's pane. Quiet, monosyllabic noises of complaint were forced up his throat into the still air of the room. He thought of before, of Lydia's arms wrapped around him by the peach tree, and he bit his lip. That response had been so unexpected that he hadn't known what to do. They had just been arguing, and then she had gone and hugged him. Humans were very strange. Even so, the familiar gesture had not been unwelcome. Sebastian winced as another tongue of fire brushed against his heart. He had not touched her skin for long enough to protect him from this. Even with Lydia here, with the light of her soul in the air, he still couldn't get rid of the pain entirely, although it was much better than it would have been had she not come today. He needed to work on convincing her to stay the night. Intent on distracting himself, he closed his red eyes again and spread his demonic senses out through the manor. Lydia was in the kitchen, exactly where he had hoped she would be. He ought to go and speak with her now; there was not much time, if she really was planning to leave before nightfall. The demon peeled his hands off the mirror and set about slipping on a clean white undershirt and black outer vest as he headed down the dim hallway. He hissed as the burning relentlessly pursued him, and twisted in anger against its tight hold. He wished that he could confront the worm and rip it in half, or at least demand that it leave him alone. But alas, this was not an option for one such as himself. All confrontations with that creature were fated to go very badly for him.

Lydia was finishing up her tea when Sebastian entered the room. The girl had seated herself at the kitchen counter, her green-covered legs dangling half-on, half-off of the worn wooden chair. The demon bowed deeply, quietly drawing up alongside her and leaning against the counter. She seemed more at ease here than out in the open. Languidly, she rolled her cup out of her hand and back onto the countertop. "Hullo, stupid demon. Did you rescue the angry aristocrat?"

Sebastian nodded, then frowned. "Master, I apologize for sending one such as yourself into the servant's quarters in this manner. I do not mean to offend your sensibilities. It is only because you are still not safe in the general household, but once the guests leave-"

Lydia choked on another sip of tea, guffawing lowly as she set it aside. She swallowed and gave him a cockeyed smile, which masked a harder look. "And what sensibilities are these, Sebastian? You really are too funny."

"A lady of your social class-"

"Sebastian, just because you live with and serve humans, doesn't mean that you must parrot their more ignorant beliefs. You know better, don't you? I don't care what they teach at the Royal Preparatory Academy nowadays. My own studies have convinced me that peoples' 'sensibilities' are half learned mannerism and half hereditary chance. And I spent my entire childhood running around the servants' quarters and playing in this kitchen. It is far more comfortable and appropriate for me than is the main manor."

Sebastian frowned; troublesome indeed, the things this girl had learned while she was away. Still, he did not want to displease her, so he inclined his head and murmured, "Yes, master."

"You're ridiculous." She said more seriously, reaching out to brush a piece of black hair out of his eyes. Her bare fingers, temptingly sweet, floated across his forehead like butterfly wings, feeding his painful discomfort when they were withdrawn. The demon gritted his teeth. She was so close to him. He wanted badly to close the gap, to reach out and take hold of some uncovered part of her body and draw her to him. He was determined not to act inappropriately, however; it was part of his aesthetics as a butler. He may be a demon, but he still wore the form of a man, and Lydia was no longer a child, but a grown woman. He must not simply grab her without invitation. All the same, he had to roughly suppress his basic pain-sensing impulses with every moment that passed. Lydia was currently staring out the window toward the road. "I need to leave soon. The carriage-"

"Stay." Sebastian requested, leaning toward her. "I can put you up in a room far away from the guests. I can sleep beside you in cat form if you wish. No one will harm you overnight, master."

"I'm not worried about people harming me," she insisted, looking back from the window with a toss of her head. "I simply don't feel right staying in the manor again. I need to return home."

The demon sighed, twisting his shoulders futilely. "And where is home?" he asked in a quieter voice, half-raising his eyes to hers. "Where do you live nowadays?"

"With my father, of course."

"A rather vague statement…."

"Camden Street, London."

"In the borough of Camden Town?"

"That's the one, exactly. It's where my father settled down originally when he came here."

"Is that where you've been all this time?"

"Yes. Mostly."

The demon hissed, sucking in the air through his teeth as if baring them at the intervening years. "All this time….still in London." He bit his pale lip. "I looked for you every chance that I managed to obtain some temporary freedom of movement."

"I know. I mean, I knew you would." Lydia stared down at the cracked-tile floor, her tanned face coloring a little more. "I saw you once."

The demon's head shot up from its half-hung angle. "You did?"

"Yes. About a year and a half after I left this place. In Saint Pancras's Square. You were walking along behind Ciel; there was some sort of event. I was most surprised to see you two there, given that Camden Town isn't the most luxurious of neighborhoods from the aristocratic point of view. There were others there from the aristocracy also, and the crowd had formed a passage for them. I watched you walk away down into a melee of huge gala-tents."

"Where were you?" Sebastian demanded, racking his picture-sharp memory of this particular event, in which he had supervised Ciel's (reluctant) attendance of a carnival-themed charity gala in the city of London. He found it nigh impossible to believe that Lydia could have been so close, yet he had not sensed her presence.

"In the crowd. On the left side, I think. I was just walking by the square on my way home when I heard the commotion and decided to amuse myself a little. I never could have thought-" Her voice became more strained as she gazed down at the painted, patterned teacup now empty before her. "Well, I knew that if I tried diving into the bushes or something like that, you would detect the abnormal movement and see me. So I just held still and watched- like everyone else, and….you passed me by."

"Damn you, master!" the demon burst out, spearing the table with his claws. "You should have come to us! You should have let me take you home that very evening!"

"It wasn't time yet, Sebastian!" Lydia insisted, strongly gripping his arm as she strove in vain to make him understand. "Everything would have been for nothing if I had returned back then. Anyway, that man was still alive- oh, but don't look at me like that! As if I have no heart! I cried for weeks afterward, and I didn't cross through that square again for a whole year! I missed you two dearly. Come, you are the master of liars- look at my face and tell me if I'm speaking untruths."

Sebastian sighed angrily, his eyebrows knitting together like javelin spears. This girl, this girl and her stubborn ways! And what was more, this awful, keening, wretched fire inside his skin, which was clouding his mind as he tried to think of the best course to undo these ways. Deciding that she owed him this much at least, he reached behind her while simultaneously peeling off his glove, and cupped the back of her neck with his bare hand. By his own volition this time, he drew her head in close to his chest and lowered himself down into the seat next to her, petting and stroking her skin, not retracting his claws completely because he was still feeling rather malicious. He instantly felt the light begin to gravitate into him, silk-like and eager, as if it didn't know that he was a demon. However, humans could share this light, shalom, naturally- it was only creatures like himself that needed to depend on artificial means of obtaining it. Lydia remained agreeably still, breathing lightly onto his chest, and Sebastian slipped his hand down her back a little and quietly kneaded the place in between her bones. He felt his frustrated discomfort begin to drain away slowly, grain by grain.

"Do you enjoy living on Camden Street?" he asked, honestly curious.

"Well enough." Lydia's pensive voice floated up to his ears. "I rather wish we lived in Kentish, for Camden is so much busier and louder. I get over to Kentish quite often, as it's very near to our house. I love the beautiful parks, the Churches, the medieval cemeteries, and the quiet atmosphere in general- I'm sure you know of them from an earlier time, hmmmm? Unfortunately, these things have made property there rather desirable among the middle classes. We can't afford housing in that district. But Camden is the next best thing, I should say, and I do enjoy its atmosphere in its own way."

"You could live here." Sebastian murmured, folding himself over her so that his lips were just above her ear. "It is very peaceful here, normally. There is an abundance of space. Beautiful parkland. You could go wherever you wanted."

She swatted his head away lightly. "That is putting the cart before the horse so far out- so far that- that the horse couldn't even see the cart. I already have a home."

"But master, you said that you planned to involve yourself here again."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to waltz right on in and declare to the general population, "All right, I live here now!" Who does that? Half of the people in this manor have never met me before in their entire lives!" Lydia protested, gesturing awkwardly within the demon's strong hold. "Besides, there are practical reasons that I need to live in Camden."

"But don't you think-"

"And speaking of people in this manor, I need to ask you something." Lydia cut in suddenly, turning her head up to peer into his face. "When I was speaking with Ciel earlier, I was quite surprised to learn that my aunt Angelina does not stay here with him, but only visits occasionally."

"Yes, master. It was your grandfather's blatant desire that she keep to her own lodgings after the young master's father passed away. I am not entirely certain of the reasons behind this."

"He was a dominating bully who believed that he owned other people and could control their lives." Lydia stated with a sigh, as matter-of-factly as if she were reciting a science equation. "But that aside….I know that none of my older half-relatives would have made it a habit to stay at this manor after that man died, since they all have their own estates and don't care tuppence about any but themselves. So who has been taking care of my brother?"

There was a pause, while the demon silently debated how upset his master would be if he told her the truth directly. When Lydia had been a child, she had naively assumed that the Phantomhive way of doing things was the correct way. Now, though, Sebastian would bet his pocketwatch that those warm, intelligent eyes which so inconveniently took apart his tricks could also take apart theirs. Seeing as he was unable to lie, he half-closed his eyes and answered shortly, "…I have, master."

Lydia gauged him stoically. She exuded the distinct air of a woman who has anticipated bad news, and has already conditioned herself in advance to not explode upon hearing it. "You have. Just you."

"Yes, master."

Her right arm gave an involuntary twitch, and she closed her eyes as well. She did not pull away from him, however. "Well, bother that."

"Master, I have worked very hard under him." Sebastian protested, feeling the need to justify himself. Lydia squeezed his shoulder gently.

"It's all right. I know you have. It's not really your fault, Sebastian, considering your condition….and the contract that binds you, after all….you did what you were able to do, and I thank you for that." Lydia lowered her eyes and laid her head against his chest. The demon curled himself more closely around her, wishing he could understand how to make her unhappiness vanish.

"I protected him. I gave him everything he wanted."

"I know." Her voice was muffled, distorted. "And you don't understand, Sebastian, but that is part of the problem."

Thoughts? Questions? Clarifications? Rants? Click the review button!

Also, we shall find out more about Lydia's past soon, including the identity of her mysterious father. So tune in next time! And thank you for reading. :)