Here you go! I got the next chapter up! I'm still stuck right now...but have a nicely detailed list of what is supposed to happen and when so all I gotta do is get writing! I have one more chapter ready after this I think. Sorry for so many cliffhangers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji nor any of its characters.

Warnings: Swearing...Claude...some weirdness...(as usual)

Enjoy!

My mind froze, unable to process this turn of events. He wasn't supposed to be here. What was he doing here? He…he was supposed to be gone somewhere. Hit and run…that was his style. Wasn't it?

But here he was. Claude was chained to the bed in a sitting-up position. The chains glowed faintly; they must have been made of some sort of magical anti-demon kryptonite-like material. It seemed as if Claude was unable to break them. If they had been normal chains, breaking them would be easy.

Claude continued to smile at me. It seemed like he'd really snapped. He was bat-shit insane at this point. Finally, my body caught up to my mind and I screamed. Memories assaulted my body, the images almost feeling like physical blows. Claude taking care of me…Claude being the loyal, perfect butler…Claude contracting me, saving me from that man…Claude betraying me, poisoning me…Claude trying to kill me…Claude raping me…Claude kissing me…Claude…Claude…

Small hands took my arms, gently but quickly steering me out of the room. A pair of arms wrapped around me and light kisses were placed on my forehead. "Shh…shh…Alois, calm down."

"Calm down!" I turned on Ciel, who had been holding me. "What the hell is going on?"

Ciel sighed. "Sebastian captured Claude when he attempted to kill your baby. He has temporarily imprisoned Claude in that guest room."

My mind was still numb, still trying to understand the barrage of emotions. I felt faint and leaned against the wall for support. "Why didn't you tell me? Why aren't you telling me anything about what happened?"

Ciel reached for me and I pulled away. He frowned. "Alois, don't you think this might be hard for me, too?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to feel guilty. I didn't want to be selfless. I just wanted to know what happened to my son damn it! "Just…leave me alone unless you want to talk about the shit that matters, Ciel." I pushed away from the wall and walked away from him. It kind of hurt to fight with him like this. But after everything we've gone through, I hoped he would have stopped treating me like a child! At this point, I could at least earn his damn respect as an equal!

I went to my old room and sat on the bed. My back hurt. My head hurt. I didn't want to talk to Ciel. I didn't want to be bothered. I just wanted my son back… I wanted things to go back to normal… Softly, I called for Hannah, knowing that she would come to me. As expected, she was in the room in about a minute.

"Yes, danna-sama?" She was confused at my location, but curtsied loyally.

"Make sure I am left alone for tonight. Only you are allowed in here. I will take my dinner in here when it is time." I commanded.

Hannah frowned. "Understood, danna-sama. Would you like anything else?"

I shook my head. "Just…stay here." I crawled under the covers, lying on my side to relieve some of the pressure on my back. "Get your knitting or whatever that was you were working on."

Hannah curtsied again. "Very well. I will return shortly." She left.

I sighed and shut my eyes. What was happening? I couldn't tell anymore… Ciel and I never fought, even in the beginning of our relationship…well, besides trying to kill each other. But after that, we were fine. Right now, Ciel was the only thing keeping me sane. But right now…he was the one thing that was pissing me off. So much had happened… I needed to sleep… I needed to hear my son…

Hannah returned. She took a chair by the door to sit in. She hummed softly, beginning to work on whatever it was she was making. I watched her, the soft tune soothing my swirling thoughts. For some reason, the very person who always pissed me off was now the only one that could calm me down.

I sat up against the headboard and watched her. "Hannah… Can you tell me a story?"

My maid nodded, her humming stopping but not her hands. "This is a true story. Once, thousands of years ago, there was a very powerful demon. He was the oldest of my kind, and stronger than any but the creator."

I sat back, listening curiously. I didn't exactly know a lot about demonic history…nothing, to be honest. And this sounded like it was going to be a good story. Hannah's hands continued working as she spoke, her voice almost melodic.

"This demon went for thousands of years alone. Even after other demons were created, he chose to isolate himself. But after a couple billion years passed in solitude, the demon finally found someone.

"Unfortunately, he had done the one thing demons were forbidden to do. He had fallen in love with an angel."

I blinked. "Wait, how? Don't demons hate angels?"

Hannah nodded. "Somehow, love had prevailed in this case. The demon was completely enthralled with this angel."

I frowned. "Weird. So what happened?"

"They were together for centuries. They never bothered to keep their love secret. Even though all of Hell was against their relationship, no one could stop it; the demon was too powerful.

"Finally, they had a child, a little girl. She was half angel and half demon and very powerful. The angel and demon raised her together for thousands of years and trained her as if she was one of us."

"Trained? What do you mean?" I asked.

"They taught her to hide her angelic features as well as how to form contracts, and how to behave." Hannah explained, turning the mass of fabric in her lap. "She was able to pass as a demon, except for her smell." She made a face. "Demons can smell non-demonic blood from miles away. She reeked of angel."

I nodded. "Did she get killed?"

Hannah shook her head. "Everyone was too afraid of her father. Instead, they focused their attention on the second child – their son – who had been born four thousand years after their daughter. From the very beginning, it was apparent that something was wrong with this child.

"The boy seemed as if split, perfectly in between demon and angel. He was evil one second and caring the next. His mother took him away to the human world in order to control his personality and train him as well, to the extent of their abilities. While there, she became pregnant once more with her third mixed-blood child, one thousand years later."

"You keep skipping a lot of time." I frowned, annoyed. "What happened during those thousands of years?"

Hannah smiled. "Time passes quickly for demons, danna-sama. Those years were uneventful by our standards. I would not know what happened."

I pouted. "Fine. Continue. What happened to the third kid?" I set a hand on my belly.

"It was another son, though this one was much more controlled. It was apparent he was well-suited for our society." She paused for a moment, as if finding the right words. "He was known for sleeping with many others and forming many contracts. He quickly surpassed his older brother in terms of power.

"Thousands more uneventful years passed as the family lived in isolation, raising and teaching each other, never quite fitting in among demonic society." Hannah smiled lightly.

"Is that it?" I frowned again. "There has to be more! What happened? Did someone die? Did they live happily ever after?"

"Patience, danna-sama." My maid turned the mass of fabric again. "As I said, thousands of years passed without much to note. But then a fourth child was born, a second daughter. This child had obviously inherited more angel blood than her brothers and sister. She was also much kinder.

"She was raised as her siblings had been. She never received her training or at least hasn't yet since she has not reached the proper age. But when the youngest daughter neared her seven hundredth birthday, a catastrophe struck."

There was a quiet knock on the door. "Lord Trancy?" Hannah paused as Sebastian's voice came through the door. "May I come in?"

Hannah looked to me questioningly. I shook my head. "Do not let him in."

My maid stood and opened the door. "Lord Trancy does not want any visitors at the moment. He wishes to be left alone to rest."

There was a pause before I heard Sebastian say "Understood. I will pass on the message to my master."

Hannah shut the door again and sat. She resumed her crocheting. I sighed and watched silently for a moment before speaking. "So what happened?"

She paused briefly. "Perhaps some other time, danna-sama. For now you should rest."

I frowned. It was just getting to the good part! But I did need rest… "Fine…" I lied down on my side again and closed my eyes. Hannah began singing a soft lullaby, soothing me to sleep.

Mommy!

I sat straight up in my bed, panting and setting a hand on my belly. It had only been a dream… I still couldn't sense my son. I looked around. The room was dark except for a single candle. Hannah was absent. A shaky breath left me as I stood. I needed to walk…and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

My steps were quiet as I walked through the halls, carrying the candle with me. It really was creepy in this godforsaken manor. There were so many hallways…but it was so empty…so quiet… I shivered. Usually Ciel or Sebastian or Hannah was with me as I walked…or at least my son. But tonight I was alone.

I silently went to the door, taking care to open it slowly. As I stepped in, I noticed that the room was dark except for the candle in my hand. Despite the darkness I could still see my butler chained to the bed.

He looked up. "Your highness…how can I help you tonight?"

I set the candle down. "Claude. It's about time we talked."

Dun dun dun! Oh, by the way, that story was actually about a very familiar demon...though only myself and three others know who. It's just a little backstory my Ciel and I made up for a certain demon.

Also, that "powerful demon" that fell in love with an angel was Lord Death...a creation of ours as well. It's such an interesting story, really.

Anyways, please review! I've been getting a lot of watches and faves, but no reviews...so I'm not as motivated to write anymore. Please please review!

Kitsune Curoryu