Chapter 12: The demon world

"All right. I guess that's my cue to leave. We'll see each other again, Sebas-chan!" Grell said as he hopped over the water and out of sight.

"He was a weird one." Raven said. Lily burst out laughing. Even Ciel laughed slightly.

"I'll leave as well. I don't think I'm welcome in the demon world after what I've done. I wish you all the best." Ash said.

"We'll see each other again, Ash. I hope you find an attraction so you can come into the demon world and see us again. Take care" She said.

"It was a pleasure having you fight with us." Sebastian said. Ciel merely nodded.

"Bye, Ash" Raven said. Ash smiled and jumped off the bridge and out of sight. All four of them stepped into a circle and held hands.

"Don't let go until we're there." He said. A cloud of white and black feathers surrounded them and blocked their vision. Once they cleared, Lily took a look around.

"Oh wow!" Raven said, her eyes lighting up.

"It's not bad." Ciel said.

Those two were in their demon forms. Raven's was elegant. She didn't look at all different than when she was in her human form. She wore a short black dress with very long and billowy sleeves that were halfway see through, and black gloves and black boots. She had black shadowy tattoos beside her eyes that made them look like the cat eye look that so many women favored in England. Lily folded in her black wings and they disappeared into her coat. Ciel's was rather interesting. He too, was dressed in all black with triangular shadows across his cheekbones like Sebastian's. The four of them walked down the street.

"This is where demons live? I thought it would be creepier." Raven said.

"This is the only part of hell that looks like this. Everywhere else in this dimension probably looks more like the way you imagine it." Sebastian said.

It looked like a regular London complex with rows of mansions on every street. At the end of the road gleamed a black castle that looked like it was made of enormous chess pieces. The grass here was black, and the sun never shone. It was always cloudy, but it still looked pretty.

"Hmm… It's very nice." Lily said, hanging onto Sebastian's arm.

"There's a row of manors not far from here that are uninhabited. We could look at those to see which ones we want." He suggested.

"That sounds nice. Do they all look as nice on the inside as they do on the outside?"

"Even better" Sebastian said.

"Well then, I can hardly wait." Lily and Raven were all smiles. Sebastian and Ciel were also smiling. "You know… I've been thinking. Why not go back to the human world and live like a regular married couple for a little while? I'd love to try. We could move into the outskirts of London. No one would know us. We could easily pretend to be an Earl and Countess who were out travelling and just came back."

"It sounds like a nice idea. However, I've been in the human world for too long. I'd like to try living here first." Sebastian said.

"Sure, if you want." The possibilities were endless now that they were almost free. They needed the demon queen to break Ciel and Sebastian's contract, as well as Ciel and Raven's contract. They made their way up onto the cobblestone pathway to the black castle. Two demons in black, red and gold uniforms were waiting for them.

"Ssss… what isss your duty?" One asked. He had the tongue of a snake and the tail of a snake. Sebastian had told Lily that the less human a demon looked, the less powerful it was. The demon king and queen looked exactly like humans. Except for her wings and eyes, Lily looked exactly like a human.

"We request an audience with her majesty." Sebastian said.

"Your namesss?"

"I am Sebastian Michaelis. These three need to be registered, as well as two contracts that need to be broken." The snake guy looked at Lily.

"Isss that an ifrit I ssseee?"

"Yes, now we need to see the queen." Lily said.

"Pleassse come in… I will inform her majessssty of your arrival." He motioned to his silent friend and they pushed some keys on the door and it opened soundlessly. The waiting room was huge. Lily had the impression that if she knocked out all the walls and floors in her home, that room would still not be as big as this palace. Two large obsidian and demon gold thrones stood in front of them on a mounted staircase.

"It certainly is grand." Raven said, looking around.

After a little while, a feminine voice echoed through the throne room.

"I apologize for making you all wait." A woman materialized in the throne on the left. She was fantastically beautiful, and yet looked exactly like a normal human being. She had thick luscious dark red hair and brown eyes. She wore a billowy black ball gown with matching black gloves and a necklace and crown made of demon gold. Sebastian instantly knelt down. Lily, Ciel and Raven followed his lead. "Rise, my friends." She said. "I see three unfamiliar demons before me. You all may come closer."

They walked closer to the throne.

"I see we've finally found our first black angel." The demon queen mused. "Step forwards." Lily walked forwards.

"You were created because of an attraction?" She asked.

"Yes, your highness"

"With the black haired man over there?"

"Yes"

"What's your full name, child?" She asked. Lily didn't like being called 'child'. She was twenty one years old.

"Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Blackwell-Middleford." She replied.

"It sounds like a fitting name for a princess."

"My lady?" She looked up at the queen.

"My husband's powers, as well as my own are slowly starting to vanish. We have no children to take the throne after us. There will come a time when, very soon, we will no longer be able to rule the underworld. There will be people more powerful than us. We always thought that an ifrit would probably take the throne after us. You seem very trustworthy. You remind me a little bit of myself. I see kindness in your eyes, Lilyanne. I also see the ability to give good orders, and reluctance to follow orders. You have the qualities of a good leader. Do not prove me wrong."

"Yes, my lady"

"I expect you at the palace soon. We'll get to know each other a little. You'll become royalty, along with your fiancée, very soon." She said, looking at Lily's ring. "I expect you'll make a good princess." A thick, heavy brown book that was leather bound hovered in the air beside the demon queen. It opened with a flick of her fingers and turned to a page.

"Do you want to keep your name as Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford?" The queen asked. "Because you are a demon, you can pick a new name for yourself."

"Yes, I'd like to keep my name."

"Step forwards" She said to Sebastian. He walked to stand beside Lily.

"Your current name?"

"Sebastian Michaelis."

"That is the name your master gave you?"

"Yes"

"Do you wish to keep that name?"

"Yes"

The queen clicked her fingers and a feather pen appeared and wrote Sebastian's name onto one of the sheets.

"In that case, Lilyanne, your name must be changed as well. It will no longer be Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford, but Lilyanne Michaelis." Lily smiled.

"That works nicely" She said as the feather pen scribbled in her name beside Sebastian's. She noted that the place where she put their names was blank except for two names.

"You two, step forwards." She said to Ciel and Raven. They walked forwards. "My… I've never seen younger demons than you two." She said, resting her chin on her hand. Her fingernails were long and painted red. Ciel bristled. Lily glared at him so that he wouldn't say anything. "Your name?" She asked Ciel.

"Ciel Vincent Phantomhive."

"You wish to keep your name?"

"Yes."

"You look like a pretty, young demon. What's your name?" She asked Raven.

"Raven Elisa Penbrook."

"Very well then…. You will become Raven Phantomhive." The pen scribbled their names down and the book closed. "Well all of that is settled now. Sebastian and Ciel, will both of you come up here?" They took a few steps forward. The queen laughed. "You need to come closer than that. I'm not going to bite" They walked closer to her until they were directly in front of her throne.

"Sebastian Michaelis, Ciel Phantomhive, I release you two of your contract. You are no longer bound together." She said. The mark on Sebastian's hand glowed, as did the mark on Ciel's eye. The mark on his eye disappeared and was placed onto his hand.

"Sebastian, you may join Lily. Raven, come up here." Raven came to stand beside Ciel.

"Ciel Phantomhive, Raven Penbrook, I release you two of your contract. You are no longer bound together by the Faustian contract, but are now bound by life. You may go back. Sebastian and Lily, I need you two up here."

Ciel and Raven walked down the stairs while Sebastian and Lily came up the stairs. The queen snapped her fingers again and the air shimmered.

"You two are going to be the future rulers of the demon world. That gives you a lot of responsibilities. You can, however, choose to decline the throne. You aren't pressured to accept it. There are several others who are waiting to get the throne… though I'm not sure they will be as good as you two."

Sebastian and Lily looked at each other.

"We'll accept." They said in unison. The queen smiled as she raised her hand. They were both jolted back into their human forms.

"You no longer need your demon forms. All your power is in your human forms. You two will stay the way you are now forever." A silver circlet formed on Lily's head. It was like a thin headband that sparkled and shined in the light. Little diamonds were placed in the circlet so skillfully that it looked that the entire thing was made of one huge diamond, smooth as a mirror yet shining and bright. The Phantomhive badge that Sebastian always wore was replaced by a gold one with a single ruby on it and the demon royalty symbol carved on it.

"I'm sure you two will do this place much good."