I can't believe I just said that.

Why the hell did I just say that?!

I ran through the woods, rather ungracefully I might add, hoping that Sebastian wasn't going to catch up and proclaim his eternal love to me or something. What the hell came over me? Did I feel omnipotent or something when I woke up? What the fuck! So what if I came back from the dead? I still belong to a damn demon! I'm still some piece of property to him! And here I thought I wanted to leave him, to be free!

But he did tell me he loved me…

I almost tripped and fell.

At first, it would've made more sense that I was hallucinating or something, that I imagined Sebastian saying that. However, he just confirmed it! He's in fucking love with me! And in the final moments (or at least what I thought were my final moments), I believed that I was in love with him too! I mean, what's there that's so attractive about Sebastian anyways? He's annoying, frustrating, possessive, thick-skulled and perverted!

And the age gap must be immeasurable…

I finally reached the academy where the others, including the Chairman, were waiting. I dropped my tattered dress back on the ground after realizing that Sterling was staring, and Sebastian probably wouldn't hesitate to do something if he caught the vampire. The Chairman smiled at me, and began his little spiel.

"Your friends have already explained what happened," He handed Ciel a white envelope; "This is just a letter to the Queen about how useful you all were. You'll have to give her all the gory details yourselves, though. I'm not exactly qualified to send her a report like that, as you may understand," He chuckled, "Thank you for all your hard work, and my niece Juliet will certainly miss you, 'Echoes'. Unfortunately I'm going to be the one she cries to for the next two weeks," He hung his head.

"Yeah...sorry about that," I tried to recover from his quick mood swing.

"Oh, it's not your fault at all!" The Chairman snapped back up, smiling again, "Anyways, I'll have a car ready for you by early morning. It would be best to have you leave before the students wake up, if you still want to remain undercover."

"Yes, that's perfect," Ciel gave the eccentric man his fake gratitude, "We'll be ready to go in a few hours."

"Wonderful!" He gave us all hugs, much to the men's surprise, "Again, thank you for all you have done!"

He then skipped away into the darkness, like any sane man would do…

As we all dispersed to our room to get cleaned up, I felt a cold hand grab my wrist gently. Expecting it to be a certain crow demon, I began to panic, but when I turned around I saw white hair instead of black I calmed down somewhat. His lavender eyes stared into my deformed ones deeply, almost as if he was reading my soul or something. I coughed to try and get it on with, since I was in dire need of a shower.

You know. Since I was covered in my own blood and dirt. And make up.

"Are you really going to leave?" His fingers trickled down to my hand, where they intertwined with mine. I kept my extremities limp, which just made him squeeze them.

"Yeah, it's not anything personal, really," I untangled my limb from his, and began to walk to my dorm.

Then I heard the distinctive sound of sniffling, and to my horror, Sterling Cross the pure blood vampire was crying. Like, he was letting the tear ducts go. There was enough water to make a river.

"Hey hey hey," I rubbed his back awkwardly, "It's nothing to break down about. There're more fish in the sea and uh...stuff like that. Besides, I'm only fourteen, so society would never accept us. I'm sure-no, I'm very positive that you'll find a girl that's way better than I am. Like you saw earlier, I've got a lot of baggage, dude."

"You can become the princess over all vampires, live a luxurious life, and never have a care in the world for as long as you live," Sterling paused, "I could even turn you into an immortal vampire."

"I really can't, not even if I wanted to. Besides, did you forget about Sebastian? He'd crucify you in a heartbeat."

"Then give me one last parting kiss. At least then I'll have something to remember you by," Sterling gave me the most pathetic look in the world, and I felt my resolve weaken. Even though I knew I was going to regret this, I made sure that no one was close enough to see what was about to happen.

Stepping closer to the pure blood, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and mashed my lips against his, slowly moving my arms to the nape of his neck. Sterling nipped my bottom lip with the tip of one of his fangs, and thinking what the hell, I welcomed him into my mouth. Cross made sure to explore every crevice, nook and cranny like a madman.

Well, then again he did say he loved me.

And we were probably never going to see each other again.

Once I felt like I was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen, I detached myself from the blood sucker and took a big gulp of air. His lavender eyes still held sadness, but I think he'll live.

You know, without trying to commit suicide by sunlight.

"This stays between us," I glanced at the brightening horizon, "And you should be getting inside. Looks like the fiery ball of death is coming."

He chuckled, bright teeth shining in the dim lighting. His eyes lingered on me, in the bloody and torn dress, with hair the resembled a bird's nest. However, I didn't see anything that resembled disgust or judgment for my unkempt appearance. Sterling kept looking at me like a person would when watching a sunset for the first time.

"Before you go, please take this," The vampire reached behind his neck and unclasped an amulet he had hidden underneath his shirt. It was a deep red, probably garnet, my birthstone. The jewel itself was pretty big, about the size of a baby's fist. The silver that held the stone to the chain was wrapped around it in an intricate pattern of swirls, resembling poison ivy climbing a wall.

All in all, it was beautiful.

Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to wear it, I could tell that Sterling wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So I accepted it.

"Goodbye, Sterling Cross," I gave him one last wave and my signature half smile, amulet in hand, "Maybe we'll meet again. But don't count on it, dude."

"Goodbye, Echoes, Artemis, Diana," He laughed quietly again and scratched his head, "Whatever your name is, just know that I will always remember you, especially your lips."

We went our separate ways, hopefully for the last time, where I promptly took a shower and packed up. I stared at myself in the mirror, specifically at my chest where Helen stabbed me like a live Latina kabob. It still hurt like a bitch, and there was a star-shaped scar, forever reminding me of what happened. It was a couple shades lighter than the rest of my tan skin, and I wondered if it will ever truly go away. Shaking my head, I whipped on a ripped black sweater and jeans. When I was packing the rest of my clothes in the suitcase, I contemplated wearing the present Sterling gave me.

What the fuck is wrong with me.

Do I want to die again?

I buried it deep within my clothes, and left the dorm. I met up with everyone else outside of the academy, which were already placing their bags in the trunk of the taxi. Sebastian took mine off of my hands for me, and we were well on our way back home.

As the hybrids whispered and cuddled amongst themselves, I was sitting in the back between Ciel and Sebastian. I would have preferred the window seat; however these two demons were so damn tall they'd block the rear window.

God dammit. I don't know if the situation was awkward for them, or if it was just me. Maybe I was making it uncomfortable for myself by sitting like a statue, trying to avoid any and all physical contact with them. Perhaps it was the way I couldn't hold a conversation with these two.

It's probably my fault.

The drive was longer than I remembered, and once we got back to the manor I was about to die from sleep deprivation and social awkwardness overload.

As I was trying to lug my baggage upstairs, Shanna called for me.

"Hey, Art-er Diana," She held a letter, "There's mail for you."

"Thanks," I ran down and plucked it from her hands, "And please, I go by Artemis. Diana is the name my parents gave me."

"I know but I was wondering… didn't your mom call you Artemis when you last talked to her?" Her eyebrows scrunched together, "I would've thought they'd still know you as Diana."

"I'm pretty sure that social worker lady told them," I rolled my eyes and shot her a smile before finally making it up the stairs and into my room, which was a bit dusty. So I opened my window and flopped onto my bed, taking the letter with me. I ripped it open, and noticed an airplane ticket was inside as well. Confused, I checked the return address, which was missing.

Time to actually read the letter then.

"You may call yourself Artemis Von Vanity now, but you will always be Diana to us, your real family. We recently found out that you had worked for the President of the United States, and now for the Queen of England alongside that damned monster we fought for so long. You have made so many aliases no one really knows who you are. People all over the world acknowledge you as the President's Mercenary, his loyal Snake or Kitten. And not that long ago, we found out that you have another name, the Queen's Cat. Diana, this isn't what we wanted. Mom, dad, us (your siblings), aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. We love you and we want you back. Mom and dad regret abandoning you all those years ago, and we want our sister back. Please return. We even found Grandma's book, and we can free you from this curse."

It was signed off by Cindy, Nancy, and Jeancarlo.

I stared at the ticket again, designated for the States. I haven't been to Virginia in years. Well, when I did stay in America I lived in Washington D.C., which is like Virginia's hat. But I never crossed the border, always scared that I would recognize someone.

Should I go?

The date on the ticket isn't due for another two months, so I still have time to mull it over.

I'll just procrastinate until then.

Hiding the ticket and letter inside my pillowcase, I fell asleep and entered a world of vibrant colors that only existed within my mind.

In this world, I had a family that accepted me for me, and I held hands with a crow.

Nothing could beat my imaginary universe.

To have lived as long as I, life gets predictable and redundant. With a bratty Master in tow, and four half humans as immature as toddlers, I was ready to beg to those worthless gods to finally put me out of my misery.

However, that's when she came.

A sassy and independent girl, who miraculously turned out to be mine from the time of her birth, entered my accursed existence. I not only have cats in this world, but a part cat, dragon, and human. Something not even Satan himself can create.

As she slept soundly, I caressed her cheek. I traced the Faustian Mark on her right hand, and listened intently to her steady heart beat. Something that didn't exist for approximately five, long minutes. It's something I took for granted.

She is someone worth living for.

And no one, no god, angel, demon, shinigami or vampire will ever have Artemis.

I stayed in her room until the break of dawn, where I left to begin another day with her.

My love.

Shanna and Rosaline stared at me, eyes wide and mouths gaping. I met their gazes evenly with a blank face. The letter and ticket were on the top of my bed, and they had just finished reading it for the umpteenth time.

"So…what should I do?" Very rarely do I ask others for advice, but here I am with the only two women in this manor.

"You should go see them!" Shanna declared suddenly.

"How exactly is she supposed to do that?" Rosaline questioned, mostly to herself, "Sebastian isn't going to let her go that easily."

"…" There was a moment of silence. I guess that was the part where I contemplate about my escape plan; however my mind just wasn't working.

"It's a risky idea," Rosaline began, "Although, I don't think Shanna will mind executing her part."

"What do you have in mind, girl?" Shanna asked without hesitation.

"Well, Artemis' car is still in the garage, collecting dust," The blonde tapped one of her fingers on her temple, "And we could be very useful as distractions…"

"Oh, okay," Shanna had an evil smirk on her face, "I'm starting to catch your drift."

"Well, that's good and all for when I leave, but when I come back Sebastian will have my head! I like my head!" I worried some more, "Maybe I should tell him about it, get him to come with me to the States and stay at a hotel."

They both gave me incredulous looks.

I sighed.

"Okay fine, I'll deal with his punishment when the time comes," I muttered, not looking forward to meeting the crow demon when I come back from the visit.

"Are you sure you're going to come back?" Rosaline inquired softly, playing with a golden lock of hair.

I thought about it.

If they managed to lift the curse on me, Sebastian won't be able to sense me anymore. I won't be his possession, and he'll have no control over me. I'll be my own, independent person. It's what I've wanted for so long.

Then why do I feel so hesitant? Am I missing something? I still hate that prick, or at least I think I do.

And I say that I 'think' because right now it sounds like a lie.

"I'll come back," I assured her, "I still work for the President, and I'll still be stationed here with you guys. My family can't do anything about my job."

After talking about the plan more thoroughly, Rosaline and Shanna smiled before leaving. I took a deep breath of air, and wondered what I was going to do for the next couple months.

A/N: ….so um… hi.

Happy belated holidays! Yayyyy (imagine streamers and cats everywhere)

Soooo I think it's been about a month since I've last updated, and I want to apologize for that…

But hey! I was doing some future planning, 'cause some really twisted shit is about to come.

And I need to prepare for that.

Just know that there's going to be blood very, very soon. Not in the next chapter though. The next couple chapters are going to be some bonding time within the Phantomhive estate, since the holidays have just begun in this fanfic.

And my birthday's coming up! I'm almost sixteen! (Also Artemis is turning fifteen soon)

So ummm yeah…

(I'm also going to start applying for jobs soon…*cries*)