|Madeleine's Room|

Sighing she turned her head to the side, deeper in the soft pillow, away from his touch. Hands touched her sides, black nails running across her smooth, white skin in a demanding way. Sebastian's red eyes looked at her, as he straddled her hips with his long legs, viewing exactly what he was doing with her. She had stopped trying to get away, she wasn't a match for his strength. The seal on her chest seemed to beat in unison with her own heart, thumping a bit louder, a bit faster with every breath she took.
He grabbed one of her thighs, fingers digging into firm flesh. With a gasp she lifted her abdomen to him. His other hand held her down by the shoulder, not allowing her to move even an inch away or towards him. He was in control, and he would never allow her to take the lead. She wanted to tell him how much she loathed him, how he should remove his hands from her. Her voice got stuck in her throat, only producing a soft little gasp as he pushed his own abdomen against her a little bit harder. He bent over towards her opened mouth, his breath already slowly striking over her face. She tried to lift her own face towards him, tried to meet him halfway. Just when she thought that she could feel his cool lips against her, he pulled back again.

Her eyes fluttered open. Her room was still dark, and she was alone in it. She didn't move, not just yet. First she had to be sure that she was indeed alone. It would be just something for him to somehow trick her. The only thing that seemed to be truly alive in the room was the seal on her chest, still beating underneath her skin like a second heart. A bit too fast, a bit too strongly. Too painful to ignore.
She wiped away her bangs, looking blankly at the closet opposite of her bed. The dream had been… vivid. And inappropriate. Very much so. She thought she could still feel his nails dragging across her skin, leaving red marks. Her sleeping shirt was still in place though, and it felt like it would still be a few more hours before she would be required to actually get up. So nothing had happened. Yet her body felt like it was ready to continue what had been happening in her dream.
Angrily she buried her face in her pillow, not pleased at all with what her mind was suggesting to her. She would not do something like that, never, not in a million years. The demon had been winning too many fights from her, she wouldn't give in to this kind of temptation.

Snarling at her own stupid reactions, she walked over the small desk with the mirror on top of it. She slammed herself in the chair, hands to the sides of her head as she looking in the mirror. Small bags under her eyes showed how sleepless her night had been as soon as she lighted up a candle. She pulled down one of the shoulders of her night shirt, looking at the faint white scars tracing her skin. She should be happy to still be breathing after what had happened this night. Angels usually didn't tell the tale when they had been defeated by a demon. The scars would fade away, in a few days. Her body had gone into overdrive repairing the most important damage. Aesthetics weren't a priority for an angel body, only battle efficiency.
'Pretty efficient I am.' She muttered darkly. In the dark of the early morning, the mansion was still filled with sleeping people. Sebastian had told her to go back to her room as soon as he had brought her clothes, before he had started cleaning up his room. He hadn't really looked at her that much. Just as much as you could expect a demon to do when there was an undressed angel in the room.
'I'm pathetic.' She muttered again to her reflection. Sebastian was right, she was still human in her mind. And humans didn't fight demons, they made deals with them. Just like she had done to save Ciel. She pulled the fabric of her shirt lower to look at the seal that was just above the center of her chest. The dark symbol seemed to suck up all the light the candle was emitting, made even more sinister by the fact that it was on her body. It wouldn't have been there if she had had time to think of another plan. If she had been stronger. Now she was stuck with this thing. Sebastian had said that it would allow her to tap into his strength when necessary. It probably also meant other things that he hadn't mentioned. If it was something that stronger demons gave to weaker ones, it probably also meant that the receivers of this sigil were some kind of servant.

She stuck out her tongue at the mirror, covering up the mark again. 'You really do just get yourself in more and more trouble every single time, don't you?'
Her reflection didn't answer, but at least she looked as worried on the outside as she was feeling on the inside. The sigil would fade as long as she didn't use any of Sebastian's power. But how long would it take to fade? She would be fine in the long run, if she didn't use his power. But she could already feel how it was calling to her, a vast ocean of accessible energy, that she could use. Her own power felt so tiny in comparison. At the time, she hadn't had the time to really sink in the feeling of using demonic energy, but now she remembered how it had threatened to completely overwhelm her. If she used it in a more controlled environment, it would leave her trembling on her knees.

Madeleine kept running her hands through her hair, mumbling 'think, think' to herself as she did so. There had to be a way to get rid of the sigil sooner. Her head almost slumped on the desk when she realized Sebastian had taken Lord Michael's dagger as well. He would never give it back to her when he thought she might try to use it against him. That dagger had been her only real way to protect herself from his advances.
Feeling dejected she started to dress herself, mentally rebuking herself for every moment that she could imagine having handled differently. At least Ciel was safe. With a little luck, he wouldn't remember having gone to the Nether Realms, and that would mean there was little explaining to do. She didn't want to lie to him. She didn't think she would be able to tell a lie that wouldn't leave her screaming in order to cover this one up.
She fixed her headdress, looking over her long skirts and study shoes once more. When she finished, her door opened. Sebastian stepped in, a bucket in one of his hands. When he saw her standing at the desk, fully dressed, he showed a wry smile.
'Up already?' he asked, sizing her up slowly.
She nodded once. She didn't feel like talking to him in the least. She could see Maylene's head sticking out from behind Sebastian's back. Her fellow maid seemed to be equally surprised, and a bit pleased that for once Madeleine had managed to not oversleep this time. Sebastian turned around, motioning her to follow him. Biting her tongue, Madeleine fell in step behind him.

|The Kitchen|

'Yay, hot coco!' yelled Finnian, handing Madeleine and Maylene a cup of their own as soon as they walked in. The two women blinked surprised, looking at the luxury drink in their hands.
'The young Master's reward for dealing with those two ruffians this night.' Baldroy explained, wiping away a chocolate milk mustache from his own face. 'That was sum' really nice work from the both of you, Madeleine.' He added.
Madeleine nodded, embarrassed by such praise first thing in the morning. With a smile she brought the cup of cocoa to her lips. Her smile froze on her lips as Maylene went to sit on the bench next to Baldroy, leaving Madeleine a space next to Finnian. She sat down, and tried to keep smiling.
'What's wrong, Maddie?' Finnian asked her. 'You look like you've seen a ghost.'
'Ah… I'm a bit… exhausted from this night, that is all…' she muttered, ignoring the slight pang of pain through her stomach when she uttered the lie. That wasn't all. She brought the chocolate milk to her lips again, taking a long, thoughtful gulp, instead of the sip she had taken before. The flavor was just the same as earlier.

Instead of a deep, slightly bitter but yet delicious taste on her lips, there was instead nothing but the taste of burnt ashes on her tongue. Even the texture seemed to be extremely unpleasant to her, as if somehow the milk thickened in her mouth, threatening to choke her as it went down.
She put down the cup on the table, and tried to participate in the small talk the others were having. A dark shape loomed over her right shoulder as Sebastian offered her some more chocolate milk. She nodded, somehow suspecting the demon of playing a trick on her. It had to be him. She kept her eyes on him, as he continued to fill the cups of the others as well. She felt her stomach sink as the next sip tasted like ashes again.
None of the others were complaining. She didn't think they would drink down this kind of bad chocolate milk, no matter how expensive the stuff was, if it tasted like it did to her. Even the scent seemed less appealing that it had before. She thought she could feel Sebastian's mark, tightening her chest. Demons devoured souls. Because that was their food. They could eat human food, but it wasn't sustaining or appealing for them, nor did it for pure blooded angels. They lived on ambrosia. But for angels that came from humankind… they just kept on eating normal food.

As soon as breakfast was done, Sebastian handed out the chores for the day. When he announced Madeleine would help him to prepare for the young Master's trip to London, Finnian protested loudly. 'But I thought she was going to help me with the seed organizing and everything!'
'Change of plans.' Sebastian declared, shooing the rest of the staff from the kitchen, before gesturing Madeleine to come with him.
When she made a move to go up the stairs, he stopped her. 'Not there. This way'.
Sebastian walked towards one of the smaller doors outside, closest to the forest. Madeleine followed, on her guard. Did he intend on attacking her already, after what had happened a few hours ago? They walked in silence, until they reached the woods. Once a bit further in, Sebastian turned around, looking down on as she tried to not bump into his back.
'What was wrong with you in the kitchen?' he demanded.
She squinted her eyes. 'Why should anything be wrong?' she asked him right back, looking up at the towering demon.
He glared back at her with the same kind of gusto that she was displaying. 'Don't try to play me for a fool, Madeleine. I know you well enough by now to see that there was something the matter. You can either tell me know, or suffer for however long you plan on holding out before you come complaining to me about it.'
She huffed, turning away slightly. 'The chocolate milk… it tasted funny.'
'Funny?' he asked, waiting for more details.
'It tasted like someone had just shoved the dustpan in my mouth, like you once threatened to do.' She snapped at him.

'I see.' He replied, eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. 'Any other symptoms?' he required further.
'Let's think… I also feel a compelling need to lure minors in a contract so I can later eat their souls.' She replied sarcastically. 'What more do you want to happen to me, huh? Food is ruined for me. How do I fix this?' she demanded to know.
In a rare moment, Sebastian shrugged, looking at her rather sheepishly. 'I don't know. I warned you, a demon has never gone into a bond with an angel like this before. But, if we combine this with the gray feathers I saw on you-'
'What?!'
'Some gray feathers.' He specified. 'If we combine the two, then I believe it is rather safe to say that you may be contracting some… demonic aspects. How much, we will have to wait and see.'

Madeleine's eyes widened in surprised fury. 'You mean to tell me that I'm part demon, or well on my way to becoming part demon? That's impossible! I'm an angel in training. I cannot… it can't… IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!' she blurted out, hands balled into fists at her side. She turned her back to him, stamping one of her feet on the ground. 'I refuse to believe this, it's probably just some freakin' temporary allergic reaction to your seal, that's all.'
She heard a chuckle behind her, but refused to turn around. Sebastian's voice came from behind her, sounding extremely amused. 'This might be beneficial to you. Give you a wider point of view, if you will. And it might make you more even-tempered.'
At this she did glare behind her. 'I'm perfectly even-tempered, thank you very much.'
He gave her a rather crooked smile, a coy look in his eyes. 'Angels are generally quite hot-tempered. You all fight for rationality, but are ruled by your emotions.'
'Which means you demons are all so perfectly sound of mind, I assume?' she looked at him in that insulted way she had since long mastered around him.
'I believe I'm the currently living proof of that, aren't I?' he asked her. He gestured her to follow him back to the mansion. She sped up, walking next to him, even if she had to almost run in order to achieve that.

'You are the most excruciatingly annoying demon I've ever seen!' she made clear to him under way. He gave her a sly look from the corner of his eye, never once slowing his pace.
'I'm also the demon that has saved you, last night being the more shining example.'
'I wouldn't need saving if you had kept your hands of my nephew.'
'You'd be well underway being an exemplary student and angel then. Never setting a foot in the outside world until you were perfectly conditioned to believe that all demons are pure evil.' He answered dryly.
'And you aren't?' she asked, almost with a laugh. They stopped just outside of the mansion as Sebastian grabbed her by the arm, tossing her against the wall with force. She looked at him in shock, thinking this would be one of the days that only verbal abuse was to be expected. He brought his face lower towards her, until his breath gently passed by her face as he was breathing. His dark eyes were looking into hers, almost as if they were searching for something deep inside her, something that even she was aware of. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered how close by he was. Close enough to press another kiss on her lips. It didn't require much. When he spoke, his lips almost touched hers as he continued to gaze into her eyes.
'What do you think? Madeleine?' he asked her, without a hint of humor in his voice.

She couldn't speak, and for a moment she couldn't even think. What was the point in asking her something like that? Of course all demons were pure evil, and he was one of the baddest ones out there. But for some reason she couldn't get the words out of her mouth. After a few more seconds, he let go of her wrist, almost flinging her towards the door.
'Start packing the young Master's things. And afterwards, start packing your own. You're coming with us to London.'
'Ciel wanted me to come?' she asked, lingering in the doorway.
'I want you to come. As I made clear previously, you are still too weak and too much of a liability. You'll be accompanying us so I can give you some proper training, so I can stop worrying about you, and focus my attention completely on the young Master. I can not always keep saving you, after all.' He answered her.
Madeleine nodded, not looking directly at Sebastian when she spoke up again. 'I don't remember thanking you for saving me. So… in case I forgot… thank you, Sebastian.'
He gave her an amused look. 'If you really feel like thanking me, I have a task for you tomorrow morning. You may attend my room an hour before breakfast.'
Madeleine colored red. 'Don't you ever change?!' she yelled, slamming the door shut behind her, stomping furiously up to Ciel's chambers.

Sebastian remained outside for a little while longer, taking of one of his gloves. He rubbed the nails on his left hand slowly, one by one. He wasn't evil in the way that the angels made it out to be. He was merely… him. Though he wondered how much longer he would be able to remain himself if business with the angel continued much longer. Her name found its way down his lips more easily now, with less disdain than before. He didn't want to hurt her as fervently either. He just wanted to possess.
'Madeleine…' he mumbled softly, rubbing the single white speck on the nail of his middle finger. Though infinitely small, it seemed to scream out at him, and he imagined it burned his entire hand.
'I will not allow you to change me.'