Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji. Please refer to: d-6th blog for original author/artist, Yana Toboso's works.
Author's Note: Hey guys sorry I'm taking so long to update chapters. I kinda have been really distracted lately and it's hard to do any writing. I feel really bad about neglecting this so much. Sincerely I really do apologize to you guys, but I can't lie to you and say that I'm going to try to keep up with it. I've got a lot going on right now so if I can update I will. Again sorry for not being very reliable.
Hands in the darkness, a ghost, a specter, winding fingers into her hair knotting it pulling her down into a watery abyss. She couldn't breath. She was drowning. Her lungs burned as they filled up with liquid. Her heart felt like it would explode and everything grew weak. She had been here before. This pain was not unfamiliar. Like an old friend death caressed her holding her dearly in a lover's embrace. I've missed you, it said, It's been too long. She let it swallow her, not bothering to fight. The outcome was always the same anyway.
"...lia..."
What was that? Hm... well it didn't matter. She was comfortable here in this darkness, in this pain. Nothing really mattered, not when she was here.
"Mi... ilia..."
How persistent! Wait! The familiar feeling of cold stiff fingers were fading. Death was leaving her. Come back! She was calling after it, but it was too late.
"Lilia!"
She gasped her eyes flying open. Convulsing she heaved and hacked up dark water her chest and throat stinging. Before her were a set of glowing ethereal eyes. They pried into her issuing a silent warning that their wearer was in a foul mood.
"Of all the places to fall asleep," Out of nowhere the butler had taken her cheeks between his thumb and forefinger squishing her face in an uncomfortable and embarrassing way, "why the bath?"
She felt like yelling at him. Kicking and screaming like a toddler because she was still unable to cope. It's your fault! I don't even know what's wrong with me! But then she realized his proximity to her; exactly three point four-two centimeters, and she lit up like a flame. Scrambling for a reason she rushed about inside her head screaming why into the void of madness. Why did she react this way? Why did it matter? He'd been close to her before hadn't he?
Her state of inner chaos caused a lapse in observation. She missed his change of expression. The way his eyes lighted at the pink of her cheeks and the feeling of her blush through his glove. How his lips turned ever upwards in a smirk of satisfaction and amusement. How proud he looked. How proud he was. Somehow it even seemed her hearing had momentarily failed as his soft chuckle did nothing to phase her from looking practically dumbstruck and terrorized all at onceLouise Fourché.
And then just before she could reign her sanity back in and function as she once had, it was gone. He was irritable and very keen to let her know that fact. "If you are trying to appeal to my sadism then I regret to inform you that suicide is not alluring." He glared down at her finally releasing her face. Lilia was relieved rubbing her cheeks tentatively. "What if one of the servants had walked in?"
She had no answer.
"You would have had to take responsibility for cleaning up such a catastrophe. They must not know of what you are. They are rather dense so I doubt they would be able to figure it out even under the circumstances..." the demon added the last part under his breath, "Regardless, you must be more cautious, love."
Love? Love? So now he was calling her pet names? She did her best to hide the brilliant hue that overcame her cheeks.
"Is something wrong?" the damned black butler asked. Playing innocent huh? Well, she wasn't buying it. This was definitely happening because of him.
"Bastard," she muttered pushing him away as she stood from the water and quickly hid herself within the confines of a fresh linen towel. To her displeasure she found her attempt at creating distance for nought as his breath chilled her wet shoulder from behind and naked hands held her firmly in place.
xxx
Sebastian had found himself in wonder and disgust at the scene of her nude form submerged and blue beneath the dingy water in the servants' claw foot bath. It upset and angered him to see her in death despite the knowledge that it was not a permanent condition. Something in him stirred deep beneath the surface sending forth a need to vindicate without a target.
He corrected himself. She was fine. This was his mate. She would not be defeated so easily. So he admired her from his the position of kneeling beside the tub. It was the first time he'd taken to really look at her form and he was not disappointed. She was not as well endowed as the type of woman he would normally play with, but he did not intend to simply play with Lilia. Everything was fit enough for the purpose he had in mind, and were she buxom it would only cause more problems. It was to be expected he supposed. He knew the sexual appeal of a demon affected humans rather strongly. Even so this particular demon was his, and no human was going to get close without dire consequences.
So he woke her and her reaction to him came as a pleasant surprise. At first it was mild irritation as he knew it would be painful to come around again with water in one's lungs. But then she looked up at him a glare on her face only to slowly become a deep flush. It was the reaction that he got from most women upon their first encounter, but only now was she reacting to him? Why? What had he done? Had he gotten through to her? Had his charm won the long battle at last?
It was gone as soon as it had come, that view into her, and the butler was having none of it. She'd retreated and reverted, now she stood cold and closed again. Her back to him, drenched by long dripping wet tendrils of inky hair. So he decided he would pursue her, drag that expression back out. He needed it. He needed reassurance that he could do this, because despite everything he had begun to doubt his own abilities. His charm had failed him with her. He had fallen short. Lilia was an like some sort of strange enigma that stood simply for the sake of pointing out his faults, the cracks in his polish that he himself had even been unaware. The conversation he'd had recently with the young master still weighed heavily on his mind slowly taking a bite out of his ego as the perfect butler every moment since.
"I gave you a week Sebastian, you have only two days left of that time to turn that woman into a respectable servant. You can't even keep a leash on her so how am I to expect any change? Perhaps I should just send her away—"
"No!" The demon surprised even himself at the outburst and then there was his little master. The look of sheer shock and rage on the boy's face was like one the butler had not yet once seen set on his person. Others perhaps, but Ceil never looked at him that way. "Please, excuse me. That was out of line."
"Quite, now get out of my sight."
Disregarding the woman before him being wetter than a dog, or the fact he was fully clothed he pulled her against him basking in the increased warmth of her back against his chest. Enjoying the lovely view of her bare and slender neck glistening in the light from the gas lamp on the wall.
"What the hell do you think you're— Mmmph!"
He'd slapped his hand over her mouth. Not now. He didn't want to hear it. He just wanted to hold her, to gain solace in the fact she was there and she was his. She would not be sent away. Sebastian had been thinking on the subject all day and he had made up his mind. He was going to have to force the bond on her so that his brat of a master would no longer question his abilities.
He had only two days.
xxx
"That bastard!" Lilia growled tossing her apron against the wall with gusto. Poor unsuspecting Meyrin jumped as she had very narrowly missed being hit by said piece of cloth.
"Are you alright Miss Lilia?" the maid asked.
A heated almost glowing set of angry eyes flicked in her direction causing the bespectacled woman to flinch. "What exactly is it that you see in him?"
Meyrin didn't understand this girl at all. She had gone the whole day prim and perfect seeming of a calm and content disposition and on the turn of a hat she had exploded. There were almost flames coming off of her. "P-pardon?" Was she referring to Mister Sebastian?!
The girl sighed leaning against the inner kitchen counter defeated. "Nevermind. I'm sorry for acting like this. It was uncalled for, and I have been awful. Please forgive me."
The bustier of the two women was at a loss. Miss Lilia did not have to apologize for being upset. "It's alright to have feelings, you know? You are only human after all." The moment the words slip from the maid's lips she watched the younger girl's expression change. Lilia looked bitter. Meyrin was not sure what it was, but she knew she'd made some sort of mistake.
"Sure," the girl muttered with a half-hearted smile. Her eyes fell down to the flatware she had just finished drying. Meyrin then watched in horrified fascination as her friend lazily pushed the pristine, irreplaceable, one-of-a-kind, imported, floral dish to it's inevitable doom. The crash of the handcrafted china shattering against the stone floor made Meyrin want to curl inside of herself. A horrible sense of foreboding began replacing the air in the room in the most suffocating way possible. And there stood Miss Lilia, a small smile tilting one side of her mouth, and nothing more than a mumbled "oops," to say for herself.
Like clockwork, the maid knew, Sebastian would appear in the doorway glowering and furious in the most terrifyingly controlled way. So, of course, she wanted to dive beneath the counter and seal herself in the cabinet, though she knew well hiding was useless. Though this time she hadn't been the one to break something. Still she was confused. Miss Lilia had not once made a mistake, so what exactly was going on? What would happen to the newest edition to the house? And if Sebastian knew that the girl had done it one purpose—no! Meyrin must have been mistaken. The girl would most definitely not have just done that on purpose. No, no, no. Surely she was suffering from overwork. Mistakes happen more when one is stressed, yes? Because committing such a sin intentionally would be a grievous error for a maid anywhere else, but at Phantomhive estate—Meyrin was sure—it was something akin to a death sentence if not exactly that. She'd seen Mister Sebastian deflect bullets, tear men in half, and worse all in the name of serving his master. A disloyal servant... oh heavens, she shuddered to think what could happen.
"What have you broken this time Meyrin?" she heard a familiar and strained voice ask behind her and swallowed hard, but before she could turn around she Lilia step bravely forward like a man walking to the gallows.
"It was me."
The silence that followed seemed even worse than the seething anger she knew lurked behind her before. She wondered what Mister Sebastian's face must look like, however she could not take her eyes off of the girl next to her who carried herself so boldly, yet it became glaringly obvious how frail she was in comparison with everyone else. She seemed to be on the same level as their own little master. And in the moment, the maid admired the cold determination that this girl exuded, the way she did not falter, or shake in the face of what Meyrin herself had once considered the closest thing to the devil she'd ever seen even if he was godlike in his appearance.
Then, the beautiful picture of a strong-willed woman disappeared as Meyrin noticed it, seeping in. Miss Lilia had the faintest of pink dusting her cheeks.
That was it. Meyrin turned to stare at the beautiful specimen of a man who she'd always fancied. He too seemed to have noticed as a strange look appeared on his face. Amusement? Was this... was this what Meyrin thought it was?
The butler sighed no longer readable aside from his usual menacing glower when he was angry. "Meyrin, you've done enough for now. Please excuse us."
The maid jumped at the sound of her own name. Once his words had registered she quickly scurried from the room. "Yessir, Mister Sebastian!" Her heart was pounding as the closed the door behind her and leaned on it for support.
Surely he wouldn't be too hard on the poor thing. Not kind Mister Sebastian. No, he would be merciful... she hoped.
When the echo of a slap reached her ears she winced. No. No! She turned bravely ripping the hallway door back and tearing through the main kitchen to the servant's kitchen further and ran to the girl on the floor. Her cheek was quickly turning a from bright red to purple and one single scratch became evident slowly welling up with blood. "Miss Lilia!" Meyrin cried pulling the girl toward her and gingerly inspecting the mark. She turned to look up at the man now behind her in confusion. What was this? Why? How could the man she admired do such a thing? Meyrin was shocked, hurt, and frightened. Sebastian had never done such a thing to her or the other servants, though he was quite good at bopping them on the head, never had he done anything like this.
"I believe I dismissed you," the dark-haired man stated smoothly in a low tone that usually meant business, but the maid held her ground.
"Mister Sebastian..." she began staring at the floor in an attempt to fight the tears that the girl she cradled refused to cry. "How could you? The young master would not like this at all..." When she glanced up at him again she was met with ice. Never had she seen such a cold expression from the butler and it made her more uneasy than she had been before.
"Out." It was stated quietly.
No. She would stay and help Miss Lilia. Because this was not Mr. Sebastian. This was someone else entirely. He wasn't his usual composed self, and it did not sit well with the maid to know that he had let his anger get the better of him in such a situation.
As it turned out, she was not given the choice as she next found herself in her bed with no memory of how she came to be there and with a terrible headache.