Hi hi!

Who's ready for poop to smear the ventilator?

...And with that, I've proven that big words don't make everything sound cooler; rather, it just sounds like English isn't my first language.

But hey, who's really here for an English lesson? Cause, honestly, if you are, with all the typos I make without really correcting, you're in the wrong place.

So, I'll stop wasting time, ONWARDS!


The tension had to blow up at some point.

For a little less than a week, Kuro waited around, invariably on high alert. She had to keep an eye out for Marax, who would eventually be the one to tell her when Shax and Vale had everything in place. The moment that he told her the code word, she had to be ready to drop whatever she was doing and leave.

She hated to admit it, but with every passing day, a lot of what if's were beginning to rise. There were a whole lot of second thoughts arising, but as quickly as they came up, she'd shake them away. There was a reason she'd gone out to meet with them, they had a plan and it would work.

Maybe it was just the extra stress that was forcing such thoughts. Of course, it wouldn't be enough to just worry about escaping hell. No, she also had to worry about the two princes.

Every time Kuro was with Corvus, whether it be because he had time he wanted to spend with her or he was taking her along to some hearing that required the "new princess" to show, he always seemed on edge.

While Kuro was constantly looking at everything, nearly jumping at anything that changed too quickly, Corvus was much more analytical. Kuro did it as a sort of means to keep her head on, if she wasn't looking for faults in everything, she'd go crazy, assuming that something would go wrong the moment she wasn't attentive.

Corvus, on the other hand, almost treated it as a game.

Kuro shook her head, taking another look around, before settling back into her chair. For the past few days, Corvus has been sent to public meetings within the capitol to keep the nobility calm and under control. Of course, with how famous he was, it didn't matter much for what he said, since most of the demons who'd show up would believe any shit he was being told to say.

As he got off the stage, as per usual, a squadron of guards surrounded the two. They walked back to the castle, before Corvus sighed, rolling his shoulders, "Remind me, when they finish making our late Cresil's travel invention, I will be the first to test it out." He said in a joking tone. Not that the guards were really allowed to react anyway, "What did he call it? a 'Litter'? And odd name for a means of travel, but it beats walking about like commoners."

It wasn't that Kuro was ignoring him or anything, she was just also taking in everything else going on. She noted how there had been some demons gathering on the top of the roofs of the buildings, she had to blink twice to make sure it wasn't Abraxas up there, sniper in hand and ready to fire.

"...Kuro?"

"Hmm?" Kuro murmured, before shaking her head, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I asked if you have been feeling ill as of late," Corvus murmured, keeping his voice low. While guards could keep bystanders and commoners away, it did little to keep away unwanted ears, to a point, "You haven't been...yourself for some time. Is something bothering you? Perhaps, if within my power, I could help you?"

Kuro instantly shook her head, trying to put the realest smile she could onto her face, "There's nothing wrong, don't worry about it."

Kuro didn't need to look at his expression to know that he wasn't believing any of it.

But, for whatever reason, Corvus chose to keep quiet, no longer questioning her about it. She didn't question it in the slightest, the less he tried to pry into it, the better.

Although, she had to admit, their relationship up to this moment had come a very long way. She no longer loathed him just for being in the same room as her, even if she still thought that he could be a rather arrogant asshole a majority of the time, still flaunting his power to get what he wanted.

Kuro shook her head, a headache rising. She didn't want to think about it. Just, at the moment, she wanted to get back to the castle to just sleep away her problems.

you know, like a good follower of Sloth.

But, as the castle drew nearer, the gates behind them, Corvus dismissed the guards, "Tell my father I've returned and that the last of the meetings has been concluded. There will be no more needs for public hearings about the angel problem."

the guards bowed respectfully, before rushing off to do guard things.

Right before Kuro could go and dash off like them, a hand grabbed hers. It didn't matter that the grip was a gentle one, it still made her jump ever so slightly, "As your mate-to-be, any issue of any kind is my problem, whether you like it or not."

For whatever reason, his tone seemed to take on that of a father scolding his child. She couldn't see if they did, but she could have sworn that her ears were down, "I'm sorry." For what, she didn't know, but there seemed to be nothing else that could be said.

With a sigh, Corvus rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head, "You have nothing to be sorry for, I'm positive that you are just not right in the head at the moment, no more and no less."

He led her farther into the castle, making sure that no one else was around, before placing the back of his hand on her forehead. Maybe it was the fact that his face was a bit too close, or just that fact that there seemed to be a little bit of unease in his eyes, but something was making her black heart pound.

Finally, he backed off, "When was the last time you had something to eat?"

"Umm...Is it bad if I really don't remember?" Kuro said sheepishly.

Corvus sighed, shaking his head, "Maybe that's why you seem very absent-minded as of late; you must be hungry."

He then cursed, making his way to the dining room. Being how she'd only eaten there once before, she didn't remember the route well, but it wasn't hard to get lost when she had Corvus leading her.

All the while, Corvus barked orders for something to eat on his way to the dining room, every servant and maid they came across bowing before rushing off to where Kuro assumed was the kitchen.

"I swear, that personal servant of yours is no good," Corvus muttered angrily, more so to himself than her, "If you weren't so sentimental with the girl, for whatever reason, I would have had her replaced already. With someone more qualified, like Sarai, or maybe I could lend Prescot to you."

Kuro didn't know what to say. It was nice to see that he cared, a lot as it turned out, but to have Vanth replaced...That was a major no-no. Not that Kuro could really explain, of course she wasn't exactly the healthiest, to demonic standards. Whatever meals Vanth brought up to her room, Kuro would have her eat it, knowing that the little girl needed it more than she did.

She was brought from her thoughts when Corvus sat her down at the dining room table, a gentle smile on his face, "It shouldn't be too long now, Kitten." He murmured, watching the doorway from behind her chair.

Studying his face, she noticed the tense lines on his forehead. How his stance seemed a bit too stiff, or the very light but visible bags under his eyes, "Corvus? Do you wanna sit down?"

Corvus looked like he was gonna refuse, before sighing, "If you wish me to do so." He murmured, pulling the chair to her right just a bit closer, before taking a seat.

Yet, even as he attempted to relax into the chair, he still seemed agitated. It was kinda funny, he just finished pressing her about her problems, and here he was looking like he was going to snap at a second's notice.

So, as always, she did what she did best.

"So, I spent a lot of my free time at a bar with friends, right?" Kuro started, almost startling Corvus into listening to her, "And, as I'm sure you know, a lot of weird stuff often go down in bars, especially bars in the Rift."

"Where are you going with this?" Corvus sighed, looking like he really didn't want to hear what she had to say, but was still curious as to where this was going.

"So, there was this one time that it's just me at the bar, and I guess you could count the guy behind it since I've been there so many times. I'm often told that it isn't a good thing when the bartender knows you by name, face and drink; but still, dude's a good friend."

As per usual, Kuro could feel herself calming down with each word. It honestly worked better than just bouncing her knee and tapping her finger to some sort of tune stuck in her head, only problem was that it was also a bit more annoying than the other two, "So, I'm sitting there, bartender hands me a drink, and this asshole walks in behind me. And I know, I'm an asshole too, but with the way that this guy was ordering people around, it didn't take long to realize that it was some noble guy that got banished to the Rift. For what, I never asked, didn't really care to either, but either way, his commands were starting to get real irritating."

"So, me being the demon I am, I walk up to the guy and tap him on the shoulder. He turns around, tells me to get lost. I tell him that no one wants to listen to his crap, and to prove my point, I get all up in his face."

"Well, like most of you rich stuck-ups, he isn't taking anything that I'm saying, so I get socked across the face." Kuro said, before grinning, rubbing the back of her head, "I was kinda asking for it, in a way. You can't expect to get up into someone's face without something happening, right? Anyway, I get clocked in the face, and dude gets all arrogant and starts going off about how superior he was over Rifters. Not that punching a little girl in the face is much of a feat, but he wasn't about to give it up easily."

"Now, most demons would assume it stupid to beat up the weakling, er, the child of a certain area and then go on about how that made you so much better, but apparently, he didn't get the memo. Of course, he did finally get this wake-up call when the other demons in the bar, a few...acquaintances included, decided to go ahead and take him to the back-alley roads. You know, to show what the Rifter hospitality was really all about."

"You wanna know the kicker, though?" Kuro said, a finger to her lips, as if she were about to tell a secret, "I go over and ask the bartender what why it took so long for everyone to come over and help. He replies with 'no one cared to step up, but after watching you get your butt kicked, your colleagues decided to step in, and they followed from there'."

"And from then on, I learned a valuable lesson." Kuro said, elbowing Corvus in good fun, "My taste in friends suck!"

Kuro could see the tension slowly rising from his shoulders, much to her relief. There was no way that she'd be able to deal with an agitated and possibly angry Corvus. She's seen his father when he got mad, she didn't need a comparison to see how similar he was to his father.

What he did next shocked her.

He turned to her, a full smile on his face. Its wasn't one that mocked her, not that sly shit-eating smirk that usually adorned his face. Nor was it a full blown almost-fake grin that she normally wore, not to say her smile was fake, it was just so large that it sometimes looked forced.

No, he had a nice soft smile, one that reached his eyes. He'd put a hand on her own, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, "You, my dearest, are my most treasured possession."

She honestly wasn't sure how to feel about it. He made the words sound as sweet as honey, as if they were an actual declaration of love, but at the same time, it was similar to a leash and collar.

Possession.

Before she could think more on it, the food arrived.

She smelled it must sooner than she saw it, not that it really mattered. She didn't want to think of where the souls came from, nor did she really want to think about how the souls were made to be eaten like this. As soon as her plate was revealed, she dug in.

She didn't notice how Corvus seemed content watching, not seeming to have ordered anything to eat, "You know what," She murmured in-between bites, "It's your turn."

"I beg a pardon?"

"I'm always telling stories," Kuro murmured, looking up from her meal just long enough to give him a small smile, "Come on, you've got to have some sweet stories up in that head of yours, something that's just a bit entertaining."

Corvus thought for a moment, and when Kuro was sure that he would just dismiss her rather stupid request, be cleared his throat, "A long while ago, when I was entering my teen years alongside Aranea, there was this event. I'm sure you've heard of it, the breach event?"

Kuro racked her memory, only to shake her head. Being how they weren't too far in age (Give or take a few thousand years), she could back track. And, if she was correct, his time as a teen was her time up on the surface, "I don't think that I was around for that, no."

Corvus seemed shocked, before shaking it off, "I'd assume that you've heard of it, but if not...There was a period of time when a human managed to come to hell."

"Well, that honestly doesn't sound too odd," Kuro murmured, before pointing off, "I mean, Limbo is right over there-."

"What about a human, who hadn't died, being able to pop into the throne room?"

Okay, Kuro had to admit, that was possibly a bit odd, "That...Sounds like something that makes me in the castle seem normal. How'd he manage to do it?"

"Apparently, it was a demonic summoning and contract gone wrong," Corvus muttered, "It was a servant, he had tried to answer the call of a vengeful human, one that didn't even know what he was doing, not until it was much too late."

"Of course, the servants and maids here are, to a point, bound to the castle. The only way for them to leave is if someone living within the walls accompanies them. So, when the servant tried to agree, rather than being pulled out of servitude, he instead pulled that human into hell, right into the middle of the throne room."

"I remember it rather vividly, as does Aranea I'd imagine. One moment, we're listening to Marax drone on about the expansion of the guard, and the next, a human materializes and falls from the air. I'll never forget how he looked around, dark blue eyes filled with shock and terror. I will not lie, it was just a bit...captivating. Of course, it was my first look at a human, and to see something that looked like a demon and yet not, it was odd. Of course, the look of terror was the last one he wore, since he was killed on the spot. They dragged away the body before my father could bring it upon himself to take a good look at the intruder, quickly going back on with the meeting as if nothing ever happened."

Kuro couldn't think of how fitting it was. The King was a very busy demon, of course he wouldn't bat a common demon and eye, much less a pitiful scared human.

"Well, would you look at that," Kuro finally managed, finishing up whatever was left on her plate, before leaning back in her chair, "Looks like you can tell a story decently."

"I'd hope so," Corvus said, brushing a hand through his hair, "I've spent many millennia being tutored by only the best."

"...And then you had to ruin it by talking more," Kuro sighed, shaking her head. Of course, she wasn't being serious, if the stupid childish smile on her face said anything, but with a full stomach and a calm atmosphere, she was beginning to unwind. Satan knew she needed this, "Seriously, you can't just take a damn compliment? You don't have to act like egotistical rich boy all the time?"

"Oh?" Corvus said, an almost playful look in his eye, "Well, if that is the case, I'm sure that you don't have to be an apathetic kitty cat all the time."

"Okay, first off, never call me kitty cat again," Kuro said, a smirk on her face as she poked her finger at him, "I hate to admit it, but I'd prefer Kitten over that."

"Suit yourself, Kitten."

"Shut up. Second off, have you taken a good look at me?" Kuro muttered, gesturing to herself, "Might as well put lazy in my name, that word is a part of me. You know what, Lilim Kuro 'Lazy' Akuhei. I could totally rock that name. Or just Lazy Kuro Akuhei. Still has the same ring to it. When you decided to steal me away from home, I hope that you knew that you were being set up to marry this."

At first, Kuro cringed slightly at her choice of words. She could only take a joke so far, something she'd learned from years of hanging around a bar and drunk demons. But, to her surprise, all Corvus did was raise the hand he'd been holding this entire time, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.

"From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that, no matter what, you were the one and only for me."

Now, Kuro didn't have too much experience with this. Normally, her only type of interaction with the other gender was through the team, whom of which would never say anything like that for fear of her wrath, and her targets, who never got enough time to even think to try and kiss her ass.

So, this being the first real time he'd been genuinely sweet, added to how this was the first time anyone has ever really tried to flirt with her, of course it would end in something bad.

...All of that was just a way of me telling you that she turned so red. She was every shade of red. She was so red, Bob the tomato, on whatever kitchen counter he resided on at that very moment, got so mad he exploded.

Of course, Corvus thought it funny and cute, "If I were aware that you were capable of blushing, I would have tried this tactic a lot sooner."

"Oh, shut up, General." Kuro scoffed, looking away in embarrassment. Of course, she'd blushed once before around the guy, or maybe twice who was really counting, but the first time and the only clear time that came to mind was because he had no shirt on.

Thus, it didn't count!

At least, not in her book.

"You're adorable." Corvus cooed, much to Kuro's growing (playful) irritation and embarrassment.

Of course, it had to come to an end the moment someone else walked in. As if on instinct, Kuro whipped her head around, expression dropping when her eyes met the ones of cold gold, "Oh, hey, Arc." Kuro murmured.

While it would feel odd to have said nothing and just leave the guy awkwardly there, she quickly regretted saying the spider demon's name when Corvus' head whipped around, his almost easy-going expression changed to one of enmity thinly veiled by the shit eating smile, "How kind of you to join us, dear brother."

"A feeling that I share with you." Aranea said with a dismissing tone, before turning to Kuro, "If you do not mind, Kuro, I'd like to borrow a bit of your time."

As much as she wanted to hang out with the spider prince, Corvus stepped in before she had a chance to do so, "I do apologize, but I believe that she's not interested."

"She has her own mouth," Arc insisted, once again ignoring Corvus, "Now, if we could please speak, Kuro?"

"No." Kuro said, cringing at how forceful and almost angry she sounded. Not that she really had any other choice, if she had gone along, there was no doubt that the king would find out and, if she were to die, who knew who else would get dragged down, "I'm sorry, but...I can't. Not right now."

To this, Aranea's eyebrows narrowed, before giving both her and Corvus a look. She didn't need to turn around to know that Corvus was wearing a smug grin, "What did you do to her?" Even if he had been ignoring Corvus, there was no room to doubt that he was angry, directing said emotion onto his brother.

Kuro gulped, the once calm air being replaced with heavy strain, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Aranea." Corvus sighed, slowly rising from his chair, "But, while we are on the topic, I'd like to ask; have you done anything...questionable?"

"Are you trying to imply something?" Aranea scowled slightly, meeting his challenge, "Do not try to put this on me, Corvus, you're not as coy as you attempt to paint yourself."

"And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?" Corvus asked, meeting his brother in the doorway.

"You know exactly what I'm speaking of, you dirty crow." Arc said through closed teeth, not stepping down, instead glaring down at the ever so slightly shorter older brother, "She's been acting just a bit differently for a while now, hasn't she?"

"My thoughts exactly." Corvus scowled, before pushing Arc back, almost childishly so, "But, it's not as if small petty words can do anything to turn back the hands of time now, can it?"

"Something we can agree on." Arc snarled, anger and irritation flooding his expression, before pushing Corvus right back, "Petty words can't settle an altercation like this, can it?"

"Indeed, it doesn't." With a low growl, Corvus lunged.

While Arc didn't seem entirely surprised, he stumbled back, nearly falling backwards in the hallway. Kuro dashed out after them, "Come on, don't fight!" This was getting out of hand.

She wasn't stupid, both thought that the other had done something so horrid, something tragic enough for her to act differently. Of course, it wasn't like she was trying to hide it at times, the idea of masking her expressions at all times largely overshadowed by the towering fears of everything else, but it was only now that she realized that such a thing should have been higher on the list, "This is childish, and you both know it!"

But, as children tend to do, neither of them listened to a word she said, instead going all out. As narrow-minded and arrogant as Corvus seemed, that didn't amount to him being the weak frail hide-behind-my-power demon.

Kuro cringed when Corvus' fist connected with the side of Arc's head, nearly throwing him into a wall, "Corvus! Stop it! You're going to hurt him!"

"It's only fair, beloved." Corvus said, as if landing blow after blow upon his brother's head was just another routine thing for him, "After what he's done to you, it's only fair I bestow upon him the same gratitude."

Right before he could land another punch, Kuro grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stop, "Do you not hear how stupid you sound right now!? Back the fuck off already, you've made your point!"

For a second, Kuro could have sworn that she could see just a bit of reevaluation in his eyes. But, it didn't last for long, as Arc came back at him with a fury, a harsh kick right for the back of Corvus' knee, "As if I'd submit to you and your arrogance so easy!"

Before Kuro could protest, Arc firmly yet gently pushed her out of the way, out of harm's way, before going to kick the Crow while he was down, "Do you dare to assume that I'd ever hurt her? You ignorant fool, all I've ever done was stay by her side, allowed her to grow and flourish! All you ever wanted was to hide her away, keep her all to herself!"

"Arc, calm down!" Kuro said, her voice squeaking, as she looked around. Half of her wanted to go and find help. She could only do so much to stop them physically, but at the same time, she feared that if she were to leave, she'd come back to a vile crime scene.

"You'd understand that as normal if you were to ever have a mate." Corvus growled, catching Arc's leg, before turning around, quickly enough to throw the spider demon to the ground, locking his leg in place.

Corvus held the spider demon down, going back to delivering hit after hit to his face, "Come on, get off of him!" Kuro shouted, attempting to pull him off to no avail.

"Prince Corvus, what is the meaning of this?"

Marax had always seemed to come in clutch when the time called for it, but Kuro couldn't help but feel lucky when the captain of the guard made his way down the hall.

Kuro half expected Corvus to wave him off, maybe toss some I'm-the-prince-and-what-I-say-goes bullshit Marax's way, but instead Corvus backed off, that shit eating grin back on his face, "I'm simply ending a rather taxing argument, no more and no less."

Marax looked like he wanted to say something, only to shake his head, helping Aranea up to his feet. Kuro looked over his face, only to wince. It looked like his right eye would soon go black, as well as a few bruises and gashes littering his face. Of course, being a demon, it wouldn't take too long to heal those, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt any less, "My prince Aranea, are you alright?"

Arc could only manage a nod, looking almost pitiful as he leaned on Marax, depending on his for support. Marax then proceeded to give Corvus a look, "I hope you realize that your father will be hearing about this."

"He'll understand my reasoning when I come in to explain." Corvus murmured, before holding Kuro close, keeping a firm hand on her shoulder, "I was merely protecting what is mine. but, by all means, if you would like to testify against me for the approval of my father, go ahead and be my guest."

Marax only sighed, giving him a rather forced but still polite bow, before walking away, helping Arc with each painful step.

All the while, Kuro couldn't help but cast Corvus fearful looks. too think that she had been calmly chilling with him not too long ago. He had so easily flipped from calm and happy to nearly mindlessly angry and ruthless. Bipolar didn't even begin to explain this demon's problems.

No, it was one of the many issues.

"I'd do it again for you, you know."

Corvus' voice brought her back from her thoughts, "I'm sorry?"

"If he ever hurts you again, I don't care for what others may think," Corvus said firmly, "Even if it's only a scratch, just the faintest sign of some sort of damage; I will not hesitate to kill him where he stands. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Kuro said, a light joke not enough to get this tension off of the back of her neck. She needed to go outside, some fresh air, something to help get her mind off of this entire mess, "I hope you don't mind, but I could use a bit of...alone time, after all of that."

She winced, subconsciously thinking she sounded a bit blunt, only for Corvus to move to the side, a faint smile on his face, "Do as you please; if you need me, I'll either be up in the library or in our room."

Kuro nodded a thank you, before rushing off. She didn't even notice she was sprinting until her breathing grew heavy. Yet even then, she didn't stop running. She didn't stop until she had thrown open the doors to the garden, breathing heavily once she was amongst the flowers.

She made her way over to the bench, light headed and scared, before sitting down, head held in her hands.

As if Satan breathing down her neck wasn't enough, now she could get in trouble for something like this as well. Two demons, rich and not bad looking ones at that, fighting over her like children.

"My life is a fucked-up fairytale." Kuro groaned, just about to rip her hair out as her mind went into overdrive.

Would the King chalk this up against her? Kuro shook her head, no, Corvus wouldn't allow it, that was for sure. But still...Jeez, she couldn't take it. If the stress didn't get to her, drowning under all these problems in her mind would surely do it first. Or no, wasn't that the same thing?

"Prince Aranea said that I could find you here."

Kuro jumped, instantly going into fight or flight, only to realize that it was probably a bad idea to attempt to punch a guard clad in armor with only her bare fist.

Of course, the realization only came AFTER the attempt.

Kuro cursed, cradling her left hand, before giving Marax a sort of look, "Thanks you the heart attack. Though, next time, try harder so I have a bigger chance of dropping dead."

Marax ignored her, taking a seat next to her, "...He assumed that you'd be here."

"Don't play the damn pronoun game with me, Marax."

"Prince Aranea." Marax sighed, before finally removing his helmet. He shook his head, allowing his hair to be free and hopefully drop the curse of helmet head, before going on, "The moment I helped him to his room, he wanted to go back. He worried that Prince Corvus would attempt to...damage you, as he put it. The moment I told the Prince against it, he commanded that I go look for you, to make sure that you are safe."

Kuro shook her head, fighting the smile that threatened her face. It sounded so charming, after all the hell that he'd gone through, he was still worried about her, "That idiot should worry about himself first, dude took a whole ton of hits to the face." She then faced Marax, "Will he be okay?"

"He will recover, at most it'll take a few days." Marax insisted, looking a little hesitant, before patting her almost awkwardly on the back, "Do not worry, he will be fine."

Kuro grunted in response, before drawing her knees in, holding them close to her chest as she sat on the bench. As she sat in silence, her mind began to go off, thinking and forming ideas and ideals, only for them to be forgotten in favor of a new one.

As was common for her mind, before one thought grabbed her attention, "Marax, when is the next time that you'll be able to get out and communicate with the team?"

"I could assemble a squad to do an inspection through the Rift within the next two hours," Marax said, before looking to her, "Why do you ask?"

"If you have the time, I'd like you to send Shax and the others a message." Kuro said, eyes and tone filled with nothing but tenacity, "Tell him that, if he wants a time opening, go for within two days' time. Everything is going to, well, hell, and it's going there faster. The sooner we launch an attack, the better."

Marax sat there silently for a second, "...Of course I can relay the message, but I still have a small question to ask of you, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead and shoot, my dude." Kuro sighed, slowly willing herself to relax.

"You have more than that reason to ask for a frontal assault at this time, don't you?"

"Haha, no wonder you're probably Vale's only one true, almost gay, friend. You two are so alike." Kuro said with a small grin, "I won't lie, every second I spend here, I feel like I have to constantly watch my back. It was never safe before, but now...This is too much. Either I'm going to be killed or I'm going to get others hurt, neither of which I want."

Kuro rubbed the back of her hands, trying to soothe the phantom aches, "Call me a coward, but all I want to do is run. Once you bring it up with Shax, he'll understand."

Marax sighed, before standing, "Understood, I'll relay the message as soon as possible."

To this, Kuro grinned, before reclining, finally able to relax, "Thank you, Marax; I think that I can finally retire just a bit, you know, before the stress and anxiety gets to settle itself in once again."

"Do as you please, my lady." Marax said, bowing once more, before leaving Kuro in peace.

Finally alone, she did what she could to try and keep that air of peace and serenity for just a bit longer, anything to escape from the dread breathing down her neck.


I don't know if you guys notice, but I love dropping Ciel Phantomhive winks and nods here and there. This one has got to be my most obvious yet.

Of course, it's not our Ciel, but I was trying to write it so that it seemed like a sort of distant-not-so-distant ancestor, but hey, anything and everything counts, right? I'm thinking about putting him in the very last chapter, but I'm not too sure yet.

On a different note, as this story goes on, I can't help but compare it to the story on DeviantArt that I based this off of, and how different the two are.

Of course, the entire idea came from forevergotenandbra, the only thing from me were, well, you can tell when you check out her story.

Have I said that before? I probably did, but who cares, doesn't hurt to make it seem like I'm a commercial, right?

Lol, jk, I swear guys, I'm not a sell out.

However that would work.

...Where was I going with this again?

Ah, who cares, no one's keeping track!

I hope.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll cya next week for the next chapter! Or, even sooner if I can get it written out quickly enough!

Till then, bai bai!