Anyone like the new story cover that I made?
You're the broken one, but I'm the only one who needed saving...
'Cause when you never see the light, it's hard to know which one of us is caving.
—Stay
Rihanna
The bell Elizabeth had woken to came from down the corridors somewhere. It must have been Ciel sitting in the study, signaling for Sebastian's assistance.
Unlike the eerie setting of her dream, the day sky outside was currently bright and luminous. It probably had to be high noon already, and Elizabeth was surprised she slept so late. More or less more surprised that she was allowed to sleep this long without any servants disturbing her.
She straightened the folds of her gown and ventured room after room minutes later until she located Ceil in the study indeed, busy examining receipts and files.
"...Ciel?"
"Oh. Lizzie, hello," he said bluntly as ever, before he stood and rounded his father's desk to greet her properly. "I didn't hear that you were up. I just asked Sebastian to make a fresh pot of tea if you're interested of having any sent to your room as well."
Though Elizabeth let these words slide past her. The sight of him moved something deep inside her she couldn't really describe and she couldn't speak. She simply strolled forward without a sound, flinging her arms around his neck, pulling him in close.
The stiffening of Ciel's body indicated that he was confused by this, but he still responded. His cool fingertips made contact with her shoulders. "Lizzie...is everything alright? Sebastian mentioned last night you were feeling ill?"
"Yes," she murmured into his collar, "It was such a dreadfully day! It was raining, and there was a fight at home before that, and I...I am sorry that I didn't ask permission to come here, but it was just...an impulse I had."
Elizabeth felt herself being drawn away by him then. She sniffed and she re-stepped backwards on cue, pouting a little.
"Does anyone know you're here?" he inquired firstly.
"No, not exactly," she admitted, now making direct eye contact. Ciel's visible eye studied her for a long moment, as if he were waiting for her to cry. But Elizabeth honestly wasn't sure if she had any tears left to shed that morning. She wasn't even sure if she had the energy to put on a show and produce false sobs just for the sake of filling the awkwardness hovering over them.
Her heart thumped on and on and on, realizing Ciel had yet to release her wrists completely. It was more gratifying to know he must have cared more about her than the rest of her family gave him credit for.
Acting on instinct, Elizabeth shut her eyes and leaned into him again. She felt him leaning into her as well...or she thought he was, when Ciel happened to drop his hands, cleared his throat, and added, "Well, in that case, I shall personally go contact your estate."
The whole moment was lost.
Shattered into pieces, really.
Elizabeth tried her best to hide her newfound disappointment on the matter as it passed. What could she say otherwise? Say that rejecting her was wrong? That she needed him to show some sign of true love? Or complain about it, accuse him of being inconsiderate of her troubles? Elizabeth couldn't tell him the truth. Even if she tried, she'd have to prove to him it was the truth—and if she did that, he'd never speak to her again! Who would want to?
"Ciel," she pleaded again, "I don't want to go home right now. Please...let me stay."
"I think your mother would not approv—"
She cut him off desperately, "Please."
Relatively defeated, Ciel—although still quite curtly—decided on an alternative. "I suppose spending one more night her wouldn't hurt. I will see to it that your chambers are made up again. But, in the meantime, don't cause any trouble and you rest yourself. I do have work to attend to for the rest of the day, after all."
Her head hung low. "Whatever you say, my love."
Couldn't he give a more effort than that? As one of the Queen's top crime agents, couldn't he see the unseen?
Her heart screamed at him in that following instant, urging him to dig a little deeper!
Though he merely departed from the room, never glancing back at her not even once.
Elizabeth heaved in another shallow breath and waited a second longer before leaving the lonely room herself.
Entering the upper drawing room, Sebastian maneuvered the food trolley next to the chair Ciel evidently chose to read his papers in now instead.
"Here is your tea, Master. And if I may ask, what is the update on Lady Elizabeth?"
"She practically begged me to stay another night."
"Is that so?"
"I'll contact Aunt Frances soon after I finish these reports, but go check on her in an hour or two for me, alright?"
"Me?" the demon echoed, unimpressed, "As her host and as her fiancé, shouldn't you check on her?"
"I do not have the time today to watch over a girl who ran away from her parents because of a fight and then later panicked about getting a little wet! Elizabeth will lighten up again once you play the violin for her or bring her some sweets."
Ciel didn't exactly know what had gotten into Elizabeth earlier on. For someone who apparently could hold a blade properly, and swore to be devoted to him, she still acted quite meek and fragile in his personal opinion.
"Forgive me, Master, though you seem unusually flustered right now. Has something else happened?"
And Ciel huffed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he favored doing so much. "It's nothing. Completely nothing. Just do as I say?"
Sebastian bowed to him. (What else was new?) "Yes, Master."
Elizabeth flitted about the Phantomhive Manor on ghostly feet and had successfully passed Bard's distracted eye as she slipped outside through their servants' door. In spite of the warmth of the sun that suddenly beamed down upon her back, she still felt nothing resembling good. No, Elizabeth just felt tingly inside. Restless. Her bones were becoming heavy with anxiety and more aggravation than fear.
She marched across the front courtyard back to the tree where her stallion still waited, but was making his way through a pile of fresh apples most likely provided by Finny.
Flashes of the almost-kiss were invading her mind all the way there.
How dare he!
Ciel...everything I've done for him just to make him the least bit happy and content, and one small sign of affection is impossible! He reacted as if I burned him too!
She stopped and studied the surrounding grass.
Where is it?
Her heel tapped it by stepping backwards.
Picking up the hideous book, Elizabeth examined its hide, its edges, flipping it front and back. There was a brass clasp on the side, though it was clenched shut over the binding, refusing to budge.
Puzzled by this, Elizabeth started to doubt her sanity all over again. What was the point if the book wouldn't open for her?
Her left hand ran over the surface again, more slowly this time. And when the skull medallion somehow came to life unexpectedly, it opened its mouth slightly, teeth briefly nipping at her fingertip hard enough to draw blood, Elizabeth dropped it entirely with a pained squeak.
The book landed back on the grass with another thud and she heard the clasp release with a loud click.
She looked down at in wonder as the pages flickered open magically before her eyes, while she nursed the fresh cut between her lips. Once the book paused somewhere in the middle, the blank yellowed parchment began to reveal invisible transcripts and symbols in red ink, which crawled across the pages inch by inch in little curling streams.
Not red ink...it looked like blood.
Luca had said, "Blood is the key."
Knowing the book wasn't safe to inspect (or to read) any further in broad daylight when the servants were prone to run about across the grounds to complete their chores, Elizabeth bent down, slid it under her nightgown and she snuck back inside, returning to her guest suite.
I could use a drink.
Hours later, Sebastian arrived at Elizabeth's door once more as promised, violin in hand. He knocked, waiting for an answer.
"Who's there?" he heard the maiden inquire sharply.
"It is I, Lady Elizabeth."
"Oh. Come in then."
He obeyed—and the scene inside awaiting him stirred his curiosity right away—and it also frankly, managed to catch him off guard.
Elizabeth was lying upon the bed propped on her stomach, bare legs angled up and ankles overlapped behind her in a rather suggestive way. An open book rested right in front her with a bottle of whiskey in her reach. Her expression was composed, lips pursed, chin held high as she dared him to keep looking.
"My apologies," he said swiftly, "I can come back at a more decent time..."
"Do I really disgust you that much, demon?" She shot out at him right as he began to turn around.
Naturally he rethought his actions at the sound of that word. Meeting her gaze for a second time, he replied, "Excuse me?"
"Am I that difficult to be with?"
Sebastian exhaled, placing his violin on the top of the side flower table near the doorframe and drew closer to the end of the bed. "I'm guessing something did happen between you and Master Ciel today, after all?"
"My intended husband will not give me the simplest comfort that I seek. He was my last hope, and he will not even hold me. He refuses to share any affections I give him."
"Surely you've always known that the Master is not the most—talented—at showing his emotions openly."
"Yes, I am aware of that, and by now I am tired of it!" she half-yelled in response. "His excuses not to do so are not just piling up...they are wearing out and they are wearing thin."
"That's quite a bold statement, Milady."
"Well, could you at least try to imagine how I am feeling? I've been told by Lucifer's Spiritual Echo, no less, that I have until my twenty-first birthday to essentially remain fully human. And for now, as a human being, don't I have the right to have one thing I want in life, despite my place as a woman this society?"
"And you desire Master Ciel to give you that one thing?" he anticipated.
"Yes," she shrugged, "but no. More than anything...I want to be desired."
"I assure Milady is wanted."
"No, Corvus," she shook her head. "I'm needed. I always have been needed! But I need to be wanted. And honestly, I don't think it's too much to ask."
The demon heard a trace a venom lingering in her tone.
"Where did you find that liquor?" he asked then, assuming she couldn't be all that sober right now.
She proved him wrong however by staying directly on track with him. "I only had a taste. Father lets Edward and I have some whenever our nerves are running high at home after fencing. I've gotton used it. And I remembered where Uncle Vincent used to stash bottles for special occasions. Although, I was somewhat surprised to find some still there, considering the house burned down."
"Master Ciel ordered everything in the Manor to be restored down to the very last detail remember, Milady? That included dusty bottles."
Elizabeth glanced at the open bottle nearby. "They were quite dusty. Does he even drink?"
"Whisky straight out, like you are doing now? Never." The demon scoffed. "He can barely hold his tea some days."
Elizabeth hummed shortly.
"So, what is Milady now going to do about the situation?"
Elizabeth figured he wanted to circle back to the previous part of their conversation. "Here's what I've been thinking...when it comes to Ciel—and everyone else—I'm willing to take the risk in changing my approach, and I want your help with that."
He said nothing, but he moved forward even more (seemingly to take the bottle from her.) Elizabeth quickly spoke up again in hopes of distracting him from the idea. "I am an Unholy Child...and yet I feel everything a human does, or still should. How am I capable of carrying love inside me?"
"You are not like me. Not exactly." The demon clarified, surrendering to her need for more answers. "Your Father was once Holy and loved, up till the very hour in which he Fell below. All parts of you, human or otherworldly, are able to love because he is, if he truly wants to. The truth is, he knows about real forms of love more than any of us he's made."
"So you cannot ever love?"
His only response to this was, "It's not really in our nature."
Elizabeth rose up from her position and stood on her knees before him so they were nearly eye to eye. "Would you go against your nature? For me?"
"Meaning?"
"That is why I want your help."
A hint of resentment shown in that hellish gaze of his. "You are planning to become a siren and a schemer to get what—whom—you desire?"
"You don't believe I'm capable of doing that?"
"I didn't say that."
"You're not afraid of me, are you, demon?"
"I fear nothing," he corrected her, almost sneering.
"Do you fear my Father?"
"I highly respect your Father. That is quite different."
"Respect has many levels to it," she retorted, dragging the challenge further and further. "And fear is always one of them."
"Reasonably put, Milady," he countered back just as easily, "but I do not fear you."
"Then what is the matter?" Elizabeth's pressing tone earned her another light scowl from him.
"I am wondering if Milady's words are going to be stronger than her actual actions. Humans are prone to feeling regret after they attempt something like this; and as you said so yourself, you are still human. Are you certain you want to jeopardize what you have now for something that may not work out? Some things cannot be undone."
Something along the lines of realization or insightfulness seared across her features when hearing that last sentence. "...Is it Ciel you're worried about?"
"I cannot deny that he has crossed my mind. It may not be wise to push him in that manner."
Elizabeth sighed deeply, knowing this was the time to push him into checkmate. Bending around briefly, she grasped the book and showed it to him.
His eyes glowed red at the very sight of it and he seemed surprised she had it.
Demons had heard about Lucifer's great collection of journals, though no one had ever physically seen it. How could he not notice that was what she was reading when he walked in sooner?
"This Book of Damnation claims that all demons in existence are under Lucifer's control, and that Power would be passed down to his Heir, which is supposedly me." Elizabeth's current voice was almost testing him again for opposing her wishes. "And he hadn't deemed any demons worthy to read it themselves so far, no matter how much he cherished them as his soldiers... But I'm showing it to you now, because in the recent passages mention you, Corvus. He mentions you and me, as if we are some type of duo that is not meant to be divided."
She could see how that little piece of information had suddenly snagged his attention on a whole new level and she finished with, "Therefore, were you or were you not are sent here watch over me...or are you only here for my cousin?"
Feeling cornered to an extent, the demon actually resorted to the facts and he even made a point to back them up with a clear sense of loyalty: "Your Father sent me Topside to guard you and to keep you pleased."
"In that case, if I am forced to start my own reign that includes you in it, where you play by my rules, then I need to know. How does Ciel fit into all this?"
He stared at her.
"Well?"
"We have a Pact."
The Book of Damnation discussed many things that could make a grown man's blood run cold. There were secrets and certain details about Heaven, how Hell was created, and even on other Ancient gods that no human could find in a Bible.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth was attracted to any section which involved demons. She learned there was a kind of Hierarchy for them. There were seven kingdoms—the Seven Circles—which Hell was built on. The first outer Circle was the largest and it was known as the Fiery Pits. The second Circle was the Trading Ports, where demons usually gambled and auctioned souls for slaves. The third Circle in was home to creatures of the night, like vampires, ghouls and sinister ghosts who were not all demonic themselves but were cursed by demons. The fourth was for demons like him, those who made Pacts to either eat or sell trade the souls at the Ports. The fifth was where the additional Fallen Angels loyal to Lucifer lived. They lived as uniformed officers amongst the rest. And the sixth Circle was where Lucifer established his palace, having the majestic Seven Deadly Sins for his neighbors. Lastly, the seventh and smallest Circle in the very center of the Underworld was a dark sealed-off chamber where The Box was kept. The Box had once birthed the legend of Pandora long ago. Inside the Box were the restless spirits of very personal demons such as sorrow, regret, madness of the mind, other addictions, the weight in a heavy heart.
"Demons of your Circle are usually called Soul Eaters." Elizabeth recalled, mentally processing this over again. "...That's the big secret Ciel's been avoiding to share? He made a deal with a demon? With you?"
He just nodded once.
Elizabeth grew quiet, gazing right back at him with her mouth slightly parted. But soon, her lips spread into a hysterical smile and a giddy, dark laugh bubbled up from the bottom of her ribcage.
Just when Sebastian thought that nothing more that day could throw him off, that happened. All of it was open to Elizabeth's ears now, those secrets about her Father, about the Young Master's disappearance, about him... She had just learned everything they'd put away for so long, and laughing over it was not the first reaction he had expected of her.
Then again, he was not certain what he had expected her exactly. Maybe some tears or some panic? This laughing fit of hers though, did not sound pleasing. It was dripping with more frustration and anger than before, if that made any sense at all.
In fact, finding about the Pact might had been the last thing required to send her over the edge.
"Do you find that amusing, Milady?"
Once the laughter subsided into nothing but a little wicked girlish grin, Elizabeth stepped off of the bed, balancing a hand on his shoulder as she did so, and began pacing around the room. "Ohhh, my dear Ciel. I bet you think you are so clever, don't you?" She sunk into sheer rage, getting lost in her thoughts. "What was he thinking?!"
"If it's any consolation, he was in trouble, in grave danger actually. I believe you should realize that much."
"He was ten years old when he disappeared," she growled, shooting him a scolding scowl. "Selling his soul for your help? He thinks having a demon on his side is really better? How idiotic. He is a child. He has always been a child!"
"You are blaming him for it," the demon mused aloud then. "You are more disappointed in him for making the Pact than you are with me offering it to him."
She ceased her pacing, her hands raising to her hips coolly. "Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from a thing like you."
Ouch.
Silence fell.
Elizabeth finally sensed that he took her last insult as a signal to keep quiet until she carried things along. Impressive, she noted at the moment, he is devoted.
"I still want him to want me." She added firmly.
"Understood."
"This is going to remain between us, right? Until I say otherwise?"
"If that is what you wish of me, then I will play my part."
Elizabeth watched him carefully as he bent real low towards her. True, she'd seen him do this perhaps a thousand times over, but somehow, this action had never felt more significant until now...
He suddenly made her feel powerful. It made her feel like a queen, like a goddess.
"Then we start tomorrow morning."