-Cerelia's POV-
The bright morning sun poured in from both windows of the relatively large room. In one corner, rested a large bed with a nightstand to the right and a chest at the foot. There was a lamp on the nightstand and a vase with a single stemmed pink rose. A desk made of dark, rich wood sat across from the bed. Upon it rested yet another lamp, papers and a pen complete with inkwell. A mirror was also placed on the desk, reflecting the light that came in from the window on the adjacent wall. The closet was on the same wall as the nightstand, and on the opposite wall, a fireplace. Resting on the mantle were a four framed photographs. Most of a little girl and a man. Sometimes she was with another young boy about her age, but for 3 out of 4 of the photographs, it was just the man.
His hair was lightly mused at all times as though a wind was always blowing through it even when it was clear there was not wind at the time the photos were taken. He always looked very peaceful, never cracking more than a wistful or soft smile that would barely turn the corners of his lips up. Gentle eyes delicately reflected his wistful smile.
The morning sun played in the room, gracing everything in its path with a warm glow. Even the more…unwilling forms in the room were lit up with such a gentle light. Hidden deep beneath the covers, I defied the sun's call to wake up. I was still sore from practice the previous day. My body ached and I didn't want to move. At any moment, my door would be knocked on, opened and I'd be scolded for still being in bed. At the current moment, I didn't care.
Regardless, I was not too keen on being forced into an extra hour for the 3rd time that week, thus I threw the covers from my form and slowly got up, groaning at my tense body's protest. Upon standing, I reached up towards the ceiling, large feathered wings outstretching on either side of me as well. Relaxing, I ran a hand through my hair and tucked my wings close to my back, the softer feathers tickling the back of my neck and my ankles.
My long, sleek tail trailed just above the ground as I made my way to the closet to get my clothes for the day. They consisted of long pants, a white shirt, black leather corset and matching knee high leather boots. The shirt and corset were modified to go around my wings and there was a hole in the pants for my tail. Despite this, it was still frustrating as ever to pull the clothes on.
Settling at the desk, I brushed my tangled and matted, brown hair till it was soft and smooth once more. I was careful to tie it up in a ponytail, knowing loose hair would only get in the way. For just a moment, I felt a nagged sadness, no, emptiness. I was missing something…someone.
Looking out the window, I took in the familiar sights of the large manor's grounds hidden in the center of a thick forest. There were sparing fields, gardens and open areas for simply existing. The only thing keeping all the beings inside was a large, imposing fence that coiled around the perimeter and was only broken up by tall towers in which observant guards marched and well…observed.
I kept getting this strange feeling. Like I was waiting for someone. Someone who was supposed to come for me. Find me here in this place, but who would? No one. Why would anyone care about a creature like me? I was an abomination. Something that was never meant to exist. I looked to my reflection once more and brought my hand up to where I knew a locket should have been and scowled again.
'I should never have been born…or at least I should have died with my family…'
The uniform clack of footsteps soon followed by 3 stiff knocks on my door rudely pulled me from my self-loathing. Standing up and replacing my disgusted face with one of indifference, I paced across the room and opened the door.
"Good morning. Good to see you're awake on time." Derek greeted, blue eyes shining. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," I replied, resisting the urge to leave him with some sassy or sarcastic comment.
"Come on Cerel~" he teased, playfully draping an arm around my shoulders and dragging me out of my room. "Cheer up."
"D-Derek!" My protests were left unheard as the blond continued to pull me along through the halls.
His toned muscles were easily seen beneath his white t-shirt and brown leather vest. His pure white wings were playfully ruffled. A few others were in the halls. Some with wings, some with dark shadows tailing them. Some had horns or halos, never both. Wing or tails, never both.
A few said good morning, mostly the white winged ones with halos who tended to be the early birds. The ones with dark auras, tails and/or horns tended to simply glare at the floor or give an acknowledging grunt. They were not morning 'people' and probably wouldn't form a comprehensible sentence till nearly noon. Mostly I took after them.
I half-stumbled, was half-dragged, to the mess hall. I suppose being the oldest has its perks. Derek and I got first dibs in the morning other than Master and Dr. Von Hinklestein. Just thinking of the name of the 'Dr.' made me shudder in disgust and my wings to twitch. I hated the man.
"Cerel…it's not nice to glare," Derek complained, frowning at me.
I only growled in return.
Just as I was about settled down for my breakfast of eggs and what I prayed to whatever God was out there was bacon, the mess hall doors were slammed open and three white winged figures shot into the room as if from a gun. Their ruffled feathers and wide eyes were enough to give us a pretty decent understanding that something wasn't right. However, it was really hard to decipher what they were saying as they all were talking at once. I being the wonderfully annoyed being I was at the time, ignored them and returned my attention to more important things, like the stuff on my plate that was supposed to be food.
"Would you all shut up!" Derek commanded from next to me, obviously more invested in whatever got his fellow white feathered friends' panties in a bunch.
"Thank you, Mr. Swallowtail." Master spoke calmly, his light and airy voice resonating clearly. His pale grey eyes turned to the three with as calm an expression as his voice. "Now, one of you tell me exactly what happened."
"It's time to wake up!"
Iceberg cold water brutally tore me back to reality as a bucket of it was hurled onto my formerly limp form. Dazed and confused, I cried out in shock and began trembling violently. My vision was a messy puddle of grey and brown before everything cleared up. Tears pricked my eyes from the cold shower I'd just received. Cold metal cuffs chained my wrists above my head while equally frozen anklets bound my legs to the wall. The areas the metal touched burned sharply both from the cold and my previous bout of struggling.
"You look chilled little rose," A sadistic voice purred in delight from in front of me. He ran his grimy hand sickeningly along my jawline before taking a soft hold of my chin and tilting my head up to look at him. "What a sight you are. Hair plastered to your face, a dark glare in your eyes...I can almost see Heaven and Hell raging inside you."
I felt my skin crawl, hairs on the back of my neck standing on end despite how wet I was. Looking at this man disgusted me to the point I could feel bile rising up in the back of my throat. He was a grimy, chubby man with crooked, yellowed teeth and oily grey brown hair that looked unkempt. His lab coat was dirty and torn in places while the clothes underneath still had bloodstains to match the ones on the cuffs of his coat.
"Doctor..." The second figure, Derek, chastised, seemingly very irate. They exchanged a cross look before the vile man looked back at me.
I shook my head free of his hand while he was distracted and bit down on the fingers sharply, enjoying the surprised and pained cry from the other. I had to spit out the hand quickly though so I could lean away from the strike to my head that would have come from the other. It was amusing to watch him swat at air, completely missing me. We shared a glare, defiance facing off with irritation.
"Now darling, as much as I love seeing you this way, I don't have time for your petty little rebellions. I need to know, are you ready to obey?" The doctor asked as a sick grin overtook his furious expression. He reached to the side as he spoke and plucked a silver knife from the tray beside us, slowly dragging the dull side along my bare arm to my shoulder.
Trembling from the touch and a hint of fear of the pain I knew would from from that little instrument, I closed my hands to fists. I pulled at the chains so that I could bring my nose to nearly touch his, glaring into his disgusting eyes.
"No way in hell." I spat, quickly leaning back once more to avoid his attempts to swipe me with the knife. I lifted myself up defiantly, attempting to stand as tall as the chains would allow me. "I only obey the orders of my master."
"Ciel Phantomhive."
-Sebastian's POV-
-the time was 11:45pm-
I kept low to the ground as I streaked through the forest quickly as I could allow myself without making my presence easily noticeable. It was unsettling how easy it was turning out to be to track down Cerelia and the angel that had taken her. However, what concerned me more wasn't the angel, no, it was the amount of angels I could sense. More than that, there were other demons as well. It was far beyond confusing. To have such a large concentration of either one would be cause enough for concern, but to have both? Something wasn't quite adding up. Even humans should have been able to pick up on something strange in this forest by now, but I'd heard of no such rumors when I passed the closest towns.
However, I now stood before one rumor I had heard. Deep into the forest, there was supposed to an abandoned manor that was once owned by a very charming noble who still haunted the place. The townspeople believed the manor was a myth told to keep children from running into the forest, but here it stood and it didn't look abandoned at all.
I could easily see forms moving around inside the candlelit windows from my spot, perched in a tree. The walls around the building were tall and gated, getting over them without being noticed would be rather difficult...for a human. If only my master hadn't given me a time limit. I might have taken my time exploring the place. No matter. Might as well move quickly. I had to be back in time to prepare breakfast.
There was no doubt the strange feeling demons and angels inside had already sensed my presence; I wasn't exactly hiding. So I wasted no time in leaping over their pathetic wall and walking calmly to the front door. I may have been uninvited, but I was on orders from my master thus I figured it would be alright to drop in unannounced like this just this once.
An arrow streaked through the sky towards me bringing a delighted smirk to my lips. I hoped this would at least prove entertaining for me.
-Cerelia's POV-
I was in the middle of screaming in agony when the door flung open and the meat cleaver that had replaced the scalpel moments before was brutally torn from my leg. I looked up at the newcomer pleadingly, silently begging them to do something to end my suffering. No matter what I told them, these people just wouldn't get through their heads that I wasn't going to follow their orders. I missed the grey haired man. At least he was kind. I felt safe around him.
"T-There's a demon attacking!" The boy cried out, looking terrified. "H-He's a pure blood. I don't think we can last much longer. Not with so many of the angels gone or asleep already!"
"What? Do you know what he wants? Demons don't do anything without a reason." Derek growled, instantly taking charge.
"H-He wants Cerel,"
"Well he can't have her! She's mine!" The grubby man shouted angrily, throwing the meat cleaver to the floor and grabbing my hair hard enough to make me shout. "Pump the air ducts with Holy Water and lead him deep in to the angel's side of the manor. I want him alive. Do you hear me?"
"When you notice him started to be affected by the Holy Water, shoot him with this. It should knock him out long enough for you to drag him to the containment areas." Derek instructed, giving the boy a strange looking dart and a dart gun to shoot it from.
"No. Bring him here once he's down and chain him to the walls. If he wants Cerelia so badly, we as hosts should oblige~"
"Leave him alone!" I protested, struggling with renewed vigor against my restraints. He wasn't a demon. He couldn't be. He was too kind; too caring. I wanted to think this attacking demon could be anyone else, but who else could be looking for me? Certainly not Ciel. He was far too innocent.
"SILENCE"
-Sebastian's POV-
-the time was 1am-
I smirked as I walked through halls now filled with cowering demonlings and young angels. Honestly, I hadn't expected most of them to come at me with the strength or ability they did, but it didn't even take much effort to put them down. I supposed that's what you get with cheap knock offs. I had one girl by her throat, forcing her to take me where I wanted. I really wasn't in the mood for wasting time or bothering to be polite. They'd already ruined my brand new tailcoat and put me behind schedule. At this rate, it'd be difficult to return before it was time to prepare for breakfast.
"I'm warning you. Y-You'll regret this..." The girl choked out at me, her black wings flicking out a bit as my grip tightened a little.
"Just be a good girl and tell me where she is." I hissed.
"D-Down the stairs...last door...y-you'll hear her before...before you...get there."
Dragging her with me, I followed her instructions down the steps of the pristine manor nearly unopposed. Any left that still tried to fight were swiftly dealt with. However as I progressed, I couldn't help but begin to feel almost dizzy. I shook my head a few times, but my vision progressively started to fade out from the outside in until I was shrouded in darkness and my limbs became limp. I couldn't bring myself to feel alarmed however. I just felt...limp.
I heard the girl I'd been using as a guide cackle maniacally and wondered if this was her fault...
Cold...it was very cold. I did my best to make it impossible for anyone there to notice I was coming to so I could get a chance to figure out where I was. Judging by the cold stone behind me and the metal supporting my body, I guessed I was in a dungeon of sorts. A brisk breeze alerted me to my lack of shirt and I was nearly hesitant to open my eyes until I heard soft sobbing. It was gentle and broken, full of agony and sorrow.
Slowly and carefully, I opened my eyes, surprised to find the area extremely dark. The only light came from sparse, high windows and spaced out torches. In the flame's light, I was able to make out a figure on a wall adjacent to my own. As I blinked and my vision returned to being crystal clear, I nearly gagged at what I saw.
She was nearly unrecognizable beneath the cuts, scrapes and torn flesh. Some were deep enough to reveal the pale bone beneath. Her once beautiful brown hair was caked and matted in what I could only assume was blood. It stuck to her like a second skin and only then did I notice she was soaking wet. Each sob racked her entire form and encouraged more blood to pulse out from her wounds as she convulsed and shivered.
"C-Cerelia..." I managed to speak through a parched throat. I was stunned. Who could have done this to her?
"S-Seb...stian..." Her voice was small and tears fell freely from her eyes. "Why did you..."
"A butler always follows the orders of his master. You're a Phantomhive servant. We can't have you running off now can we?" I made an attempt to tease as I pulled at my restraints. It was surprising to find they wouldn't budge or even bend a little.
"You won't be escaping from those demon." A whispy, airy voice sighed calmly from across the room.
He stepped out slowly, as if walking on a breeze. The first things I noticed was his silver, wispy hair and piercing grey eyes. He didn't feel right. Not at all.
"Oh, and why is that?" I asked, tilting my head as I smirked.
"Pure silver ring a bell for you? Well, how about blessed pure silver? You're not the first pure blooded demon to come wandering onto our lands you know." He said before his gaze turned to Cerelia and his cool expression became one of worry.
"My dear what has he done to you?" The man questioned, anxiously running his eyes over her beaten frame. "You're not even...I swear to you he will suffer for this, my precious rose."
"Get away from her." I growled lowly.
"Oh? Why should I demon?" The man turned on me once more. "What is she to you?"
"..." I had no answer.
What was Cerelia to me? A fellow servant? A pawn in my master's game? Or maybe she was simply an assassin we should have killed the night we found her unconscious on the front lawn of the manor. These were all liable labels or things she could potentially mean to me, but none quite fit. Especially not when I was as furious as I was to see him able to comfort her when I was chained up to a wall. It didn't make sense. I am a demon, incapable of feeling human emotions...and yet...perhaps I was...jealous?
"What's wrong? Lucifer got your tongue?" He taunted, earning him another growl from deep in the back of my throat.
I wasn't feeling well at all. Whatever they'd used to knock me out had put me in quite the mood. I felt the strangest combination of being tired, hungry, sore and overall irritated to the point I doubted I'd even be able to put up with my master's antics, and I sure as hell was not wanting to put up with this stranger's. These over sensitive feelings disgusted me which only proved to irritated me further.
"Well you certainly look like you could use a nap." He teased, walking over and trying to poke my nose with his forefinger. I bit him.
"Ow!" He cried and jumped back away from me, eyes wide in surprise. "You bit me! Cerelllll You've made a mean friend. I will not forgive this."
A sharp wind blew within the room suddenly, and the man's white trench coat billowed around him.
And then he was gone.
Before I could try to look for him, he appeared in front of me with a hand against my throat, slamming me into the wall behind me. I didn't need air at all, but it was extremely uncomfortable to be unable to breathe and the sensation of someone's hand around my neck wasn't pleasant. I made a choking sound and struggled vainly to free my neck from his grasp.
"S-Stop! Leave him alone..." Cerelia cried out, her voice barely supporting her attempts to sound upset and commanding. "Please...don't kill him. He's not a demon..."
"Oh he's a demon alright. Isn't that right, M~~~~~~?" He purred, tightening his grip on my throat and leaning close to my hear so he was sure I heard what he'd said. "How about it? M~~~~~~, relax."
The sound of my demonic name sent a shiver down my spine, causing my eyes to flicker to their demonic state. I hadn't heard it in so long and the fact that this person knew it was far beyond unsettling. I felt myself a being forced to relax as the effect of my name being spoken by someone other than a blood relative took its effect. A low whine drew itself from somewhere in my chest, expending what little air I'd had left and I found myself wishing I could breathe again.
"Good boy~" The man hummed, finally releasing my throat and patting the top of my head as if he were rewarding a dog. The action made me want to growl or voice my irritation, but I couldn't bring myself to it. All I could do was glare up at him as I drew in large gasps of air and coughed.
"Sebastian! What's wrong?" Cerelia cried out to me, suddenly very vocal despite her physical state. "W-What did you do to him?!"
Lunara: O-O Sebastian's been captured, Cerelia's mortally injured and still somwhat alive, and what's this...could it be...it is! HEADCANNON TIME.
Ok, so it's very very simple.
All demons have a name, the name their master gives them and their True Name. Their normal name in Hell holds no power over them and their given name only serves to strengthen the contract between them and their masters. But their True Name? Now that's something they NEVER tell anyone because whoever knows it essentially can control them just by tagged it onto their commands like this mystery flowy guy has done. It does have its limits though. Humans can't hear it or understand it so they can't speak it unless it's written down for them. They would then be able to summon the demon regardless of contract and demand a single request that the demon can deny if their name is butchered, the seal drawn to summon them is drawn poorly or their current master makes an order for them not to follow through. (their True Name will then disappear from the summoning human's memory) All supernaturals can hear it and say it. With angels, it gives them the power to send the demon back to Hell regardless of contract or even forced the demon into submission. This holds until the angel is killed, forced to release them or the demon returns to Hell. (as with the others their name is then erased from the memory of the angel: This does not apply to Archangels) Finally with other supernaturals, it tends to just allow them to force the demon to do as they please almost like an unofficial contract that could eventually drive the demon to insanity, especially if that demon is already under contract and both the supernatual and the demon's master start giving contradicting commands.
With other demons who are not blood related to the demon in question, it has more of a dominating effect and can be used by mates to make some things more...interesting or simply make the demon do as they say and essentially takes away their freedom until that demon can be convinced to release them or is killed. (once the demon is released, their True Name is erased from the other demon's memory: This does not apply to mates)
So, what does that make this grey newcomer? Where the heck did Derek go? What was with the beginning of this chapter?
These questions may or may not be answered.
Favorites and Reviews are always appreciated and loved! Tell me what you think~ Good headcannon? Bad headcannon?
Special Thanks to: Lady Mary Michaelis who reviewed and gave me the encouragement I needed to finish this chapter~ and