"Where have you two been?" Louise asks the returning couple, as she brushes one of her daughter's hair. Sebastian explains, "Ah, just strolling about. Mia wanted to see the sunrise,"
Apparently, they were already able to pass by the local shops and the housekeeper gets herself some cheap paint and small canvases. While the Linton couple was busy with their belongings, they were comfortable enough to let Amelia entertain the children once more. The food rations for breakfast arrive, and Amelia gets to taste human food as a demon.
The male demon warns her in a whisper so low only their kind could hear, "I rarely say this my love, but do not swallow." Amelia does not understand the reference or what he was trying to also imply with that statement.
She tries not to cringe too much at the served food, despite her enjoying such meals long ago. The brunette is fascinated by Sebastian for he really seems to be eating and swallowing all the stuff given to him. After the humans gobbled up all the food, she and Sebastian deliberately spit them out after excusing themselves. After wiping the corners of her mouth, the brunette seems impressed and slightly bewildered as she asks, "Seriously? How can you manage to cook so well when all you taste is... garbage?"
With a gloved hand to his chest, Sebastian says the one line he shall never forget, and quite cherish, "That is because, I am one hell of a butler."
Amelia smiles sadly, "...why does it already feel so nostalgic when it's only been just a few days?"
"Time is but a fleeting thing; you'll only notice its passing when you think of it."
The sounds of laughing children break off their conversation. The Linton's daughters run up to Amelia with young Charles coming after; and at first, they pull her by the hand, all yelling that she watch over them play. At this, Sebastian sighs, and ends up following her anyway. The brunette walks along still, while looking back at her lover, "Can I ask for a favor? Please do get the loot I bought earlier, and meet me up the hill." The male demon shrugs, lets Ery down, and makes his trip back inside the church.
Some other kids follow the Linton sisters, then it was Amelia's turn to hold them and lead them to the hill, singing in chorus the nursery rhyme, "Jack and Jill". Ery the cat was quite the star with the youth, and off they played, rolling and running down the hill. Most of the children stayed down there, finding it tiring to climb up again.
Meanwhile, Charles decided to stay with the female demon, as he was already satisfied with just her company. Sebastian soon arrives and hands her what Amelia had asked for.
"Why don't you join them? They seem to be having fun and you're missing out," the brunette tries coaxing him, while she begins to sketch the landscape. Sebastian remains silent beside her, having already picked up and saved their pet from little prying hands on his way up, and massages Ery behind her ears.
Charles doesn't look away from her drawing, "But I do find it enjoyable just watching you sketch." Amelia looks at the child with a smile, "Wait until I add some color to it; do you like art? Or hold an interest for it?" she asks, outlining the church. Charles hums, "I don't know yet,"
"Would you like me to give this to you then?"
The child gasps, before he does a big nod with a large grin on his face. One of his sisters call for him from down below, asking him to play with them again. The brunette encourages him, along with the promise of after his playing, the painting shall be done.
"But... but I want to try it as well?" The boy begs at her with wide eyes, and his lips pouted ever so slightly. The brunette chuckles, "Is that so? Then after coloring the sky, do you promise to go play with your sisters, and make new friends?" Charles nods excitedly while he was handed a paintbrush.
Sebastian shakes his head. "Why have I never seen this side of you?"
Amelia gently guides the child's hands, "That is, I did not have the freedom to do so as a servant, with Elizabeth, nor Ci..." she gulps, remembering her cousin and she felt his name so foreign now, to her ears. "If only Ciel were not so, let's say, hungry for vengeance; and if only I never ran away; you'd see me lots as a mother hen around the manor."
She gives him a look and raises her left hand, the back of her palm facing him to continue to make a point, "But then, I would have already been married to Harvey." Sebastian tilts his head, "Ah, and I would have tarnished my image as butler after making sure he shall never again, lay a finger on you. I am quite the greedy one, am I not?"
The brunette stops for a while just to slap his shoulder really hard that the demon winced. "You would go that far?" Sebastian rubs at the area that was hit, "You have gotten stronger indeed, I am already aware of that. And yes, after all, what belongs to me, is mine forevermore. As I said last night, I would have found you, somehow."
Amelia rolls her eyes and speeds up with having Charles finish his part, hopeful that the child could not understand their conversation. "There, you did so well, Charles! Quite impressive for a little lad like you!" She pokes the tip of his nose, with him feeling bashful all of the sudden.
"Now, off to your sisters, and be careful." The child, with some paint on his cheeks and hands, stands up and runs to the rest of the children. Soon as he leaves, Amelia works at her own pace and manages to bring out her newly-acquired speed without being so conscious about it.
About five minutes later, the painting was done, and she lets it dry beside her. She hands the other demon a canvas as well, confusing him. "No need to be so shy, my dear. Did you not tell me long ago, one fine night, that you could have drawn lots of Pluto's with little effort? Go on, I want to see you do it."
"You'd request to draw a hound from me?"
"Oh nonsense, I merely stated that as reference to your current reaction. What I want you to do, is me." Amelia had blurted that out without much pause or thought and Sebastian smirks. "Yes, that, I would gladly do you." Blinking innocently, the brunette continues to hand him the art materials, "Splendid! Now, paint me a picture of myself. The 'me' as a human, that you'd never forget, that by picking me out of all beings, you were sure not to regret." She chuckles at the realization that she had unintentionally made a rhyme.
Sebastian sighs, wanting to face-palm at her inability to understand what she previously said but went against teasing her further for he will look like a complete and total pervert. "Would that be all?"
When he was answered with silence, the demon begins to think back to the quickly gone days of just about a year ago, and reminisces all times he spent with this newly-turned demon beside him. He begins tracing the pencil on the canvas, forming an image that even Amelia has never seen herself in such state before.
"Oh? Could that be?"
Sebastian turns his back on her, "No peeking, my love." Amelia sighs, then looks at the children playing with branches as swords. She stands up, "Take your time then, I shall train the little ones as I wait." She goes to them and begins her make-shift fencing lesson for kids. But when she got down, and began assembling the young ones, the male demon has already finished the outline of a disheveled Amelia in his arms, in his point of view, on the day they discovered her in the kitchen.
He adds color to it, this exact image clear in his memory, and made it come to life. He was able to pick up all the details that even a mere human would not be able to identify. When he was done, pleased, he too, lets it dry beside the painting she made. But then, he decides to alter hers in a way, since the kids are obviously taking up her supposed time with him. As he waited, Sebastian plays with Ery for a while.
Amelia got carried away and soon, the church bell rings, signaling that lunch has already arrived. Amelia lets the children be on their way, their parents about to fetch and call them. Making sure they were all inside, she walks back to where Sebastian was and sees him tidying up.
"May I see?" she asks with barely hidden excitement and curiosity. Sebastian hands Amelia the painting, making the brunette gasp. "This is...? The day I returned to the manor? Why?"
"What were you expecting for then?"
Amelia shrugs, "I don't know. I just really, was not expecting this." She traces her fingers across the painting, specifically on the paint of fresh scratches and bruises on her face and how accurate Sebastian must have gotten it down. "I mean, I thought it would be in a much more recent event, but this? It is hard to believe that it has been just... over a year,"
She looks at him in wonder, "And your reason?"
Sebastian sighs, carrying Ery in one hand and he offers the other towards Amelia, opting to walk down the hill as he discusses. Amelia takes it, two already dry paintings clutched to her chest and listens.
"Think about the last time an intruder went past me, without my knowledge." He watches her reaction and when the brunette was silent, he continues, "You see? The truth is, I never sensed your presence then, even during the Jack the Ripper incident; and it still intrigues me how that is possible."
Sebastian looks ahead, "Perhaps that could be the reason why I felt so... attracted to you: your uncanny soul. I constantly had an internal war with myself, for tremendous times; do I eat your soul now? Or do I let you live and tarnish it further? I wanted to kill you so badly just to end my unusual frustration, but then it also agitates me that I cannot imagine a world without a human like you."
He shrugs, "That is why I marked you, initially. Just so I can make sure and am aware of your presence; yet having no exact plans on what to truly do with you." Amelia glares at him at the revelation of such thoughts, but he wasn't fazed, because what shame should there be to the truth. "However, I could not bring my self to do any such harm. Because then, I already felt a sudden want for you."
The male demon smirks, with his brows furrowed, avoiding to look at Amelia. He puts Ery down and lets her run off, "My excruciating hunger overshadowed my reasoning then, hence such morbid thoughts. Then I found a clearer sense of the situation; the real reason why I ache, why I instantly felt the hollowness of my unending being: I was not just curious, nor was I simply trying to toy with you. In the end it was myself who yearned for you, and it grew on me, despite knowing that I could hurt you or kill you. If not by my own accord, then, death is always at the door."
Sebastian raises a hand, as if presenting to Amelia the man by the church doors, their companion, Mr. Linton; who, at that moment was waving at them and calling them out from where he stood. He crouches down to caress Ery's fur as the cat rubs her body against his leg.
The demon speaks, "A human's life, for me, is akin to a quick, afternoon's walk in the park. A human being in itself, is glass waiting to fall to its demise and end up in shards."
Amelia's brows are furrowed as she tries to process his words and look for a connection, "I'm still quite confused."
"I'm not finished." He stops their walk and faces her, with eyes focused only on her; the brunette only stares back. This time she admits to herself that she indeed can melt and drown in those eyes for as long as she exists.
"What urged me, the hint of the reasoning behind my feelings for you, were the puppet's words back then. It gave me the idea of what my kind refers to as, soul mates. I have already told you that yes, we are soulless creatures, but I suppose putting it that way is their method of making a dark joke over such a human-like emotion."
Sebastian tucks her hair behind her ear, as the wind blows by, letting his palm rest on the junction between her neck and jaw. "I chose that moment because if not for it, all this is but an illusion." Amelia smirks knowingly at him, "So you could have just killed me or continued to play me."
"Perhaps," he smiles shortly and leans in, planting a chaste kiss to her lips. "But I chose you. And so did you choose me. You could have walked away from me, from all this darkness, but look at where you stand now."
Amelia chuckles, "Honestly, I had always wanted to go to heaven, but after seeing how those angels were; I'm not blaming God for that, because I still do believe in Him. But I digress. I felt that maybe by being with you, I can already have a taste of something 'heavenly'."
Sebastian rolls his eyes at the first part of the statement and growls after, fangs faintly showing, "Amelia dearest, I swear to you, I can give you something better, something more than just a taste."
Their little sickly-sweet moment was cut off by the sound of Paul's footsteps nearing them. The couple pulls away from each other but the male one had a hand at the small of her back.
"You lovebirds are certainly not going to get some nutrition in you if you keep this up. Once everybody has their own share, the servants will let us all be. Some people are, well, greedier than others. So it is best that you two head in before the trays are empty. And she's getting hungry as well," Paul says, now carrying the caf with him.
Amelia replies, knowing that Sebastian might just sass at the human. "We appreciate your kindness, but I have... no appetite, to any meal at all. Perhaps I am just... feeling so many emotions at the moment."
Paul scratches his stubbled chin, confused. "Pardon me for asking but, could you be... with child?" He looks worriedly at Amelia.
His sudden question caused the demons to raise their brows. Sebastian immediately replies, "Absolutely not, Mr. Linton. I am afraid that would be impossible given our current situation."
Paul chuckles sheepishly, scratching his balding head, "Ah, of course, I understand. Besides, you have other plans and raising a family during this time might not be for the best. Wise decision,"
The demons look at each other, the female one hiding her uneasiness with a smile and the other one clenching his fist. "Well, if that is so then... I will just save you some food alright? And feed this beauty,"
"That's too kind of you," Amelia replies, then follows up, "Ah, I'm just really nervous into personally meeting the Duke..."
Sebastian picks up on her train of thought and plays along, "You'll be fine Mia. After they have their lunch, it will soon be time."
"I know that..." she sighs deeply to be convincing.
Paul gets one of their hands to hold them in his and squeezes lightly, "I am sure the Duke can help you both. He has helped us all, so I'm positive that he can bring you to your uncle."
A carriage arrives by the church's doors, and the three of them walk back. Just in time, the coachman was already looking for the demon couple, saying that the duke requests for their presence immediately.
Before she steps in, Amelia quickly calls for Charles and gives him the painting, which she just noticed had a silhouette of her and the ex-butler on top of the hill, and the children's tiny, tiny, images below, playing. It seemed like someone had taken a photo of the day's morning, and all she could do was smile at Sebastian's work appreciatively. Then, she also hands the young boy, the sack with leftover paint and the brushes inside.
"Take care of these for me, alright sweet?"
"Th-Thank you Miss!" The lad blushes, and blushes deeper when the lady pecks his forehead with a kiss and ruffles his wavy hair. "It was nice knowing you all,"
"You'll be back later, right? So we can play lots!" He pleads, hopeful. Then suddenly, all the children that he and his sisters made friends with, approached behind him and they all looked up at the brunette demon with large eyes. This only made Amelia chuckle, surprised even, that she had this effect on the children. How those innocent souls are attracted to a being like her, she doesn't know. "Now, now, be good to your parents. We best be going,"
Paul Linton stops her, "I shall watch over your furry friend for the mean time," Amelia turns around, looks at Ery in the man's arms. She only smiles, planting a kiss on Ery and sighs, "Be a good one, and... thank you," Meanwhile, Sebastian had his back turned, not wanting to say goodbye to his special pet.
The children waved their hands, as she got in the carriage, sitting beside Sebastian and placing the painting of herself on her lap. There were two men inside as well, sat across the couple, and the coachman closes the door. They hear it lock from the outside, even when there was no way for it to be locked inside; and even without sharing a look at each other, Amelia and Sebastian knew something was going to happen sooner or later.
"'Be good to your parents,' you say? Quite surprising for someone like you," Sebastian murmurs, looking at Ery from inside the carriage. The brunette places the other painting beside her, between the carriage walls and herself. "I know, besides..."
The two men remained silent, listening without understanding the meaning behind their words. Amelia smirks, facing the raven-haired man beside her, while her eyes flash their bloody crimson, and for a split-second after, it turned fuchsia.
"Naughty children must be punished."
The carriage ride was silent, although Amelia mostly anticipated and remained on guard. It took about an hour and a half before they arrived to the duke's castle.
Amelia has taken a liking into giving the two men some names, but only in her head, lest they should "try" to kill her or Sebastian. She names them "Crook" and "Chin", for the short, lanky-seeming fellow had a crooked nose, and his companion, taller than him and slightly chubbier had a long, prominent chin. Only Crook and Chin were to lead them to Edmund, and there was not any sign of other servants lurking about the place.
'How convenient; so this could be a trap,' the brunette thinks, looking around the castle as though she was only marveling at the decorations. Her thoughts continued as she held Sebastian's painting closer to her form, 'And they left not a single trace of my Father here... not even a single portrait! How distasteful,'
They continue their walk, which seems to take a while, and it was too quiet for her liking. So, she begins a conversation to see if it garners or triggers a response or something else. "The Duke's castle sure is a sight to see! And... quite large; pardon me for asking, but, how much longer until we get there?"
Crook and Chin look at each other, still silent. They look ahead before Crook speaks his rude reply, "You know, you're being such a nuisance, especially to the Duke. That's why," he and Chin, quickly bring out a gun of their own and shoots, multiple times, at the brunette.
However, Sebastian acts to "save" her, using his own body as shield. He whispers, while effectively hugging her body close to his, "I'll come after you in a while. But for now, I shall indulge in being an observer, if you may," he winks at her before he drops to the floor, looking similar to the way he "died" back when Ciel held a party for Siemens, as ordered by the Queen.
Amelia had to avoid cringing at the memories that came along with that, and mustered her best terrified look. She even had to force her eyes to well up in tears, and lets her knees buckle, and drop to the floor to clutch onto Sebastian's "corpse".
The painting she held gets stained with blood, and due to his previous hold on her, he got some blood onto her dress, especially because the old demon let a bit of his blood drop on her exposed collar bone while he was whispering.
"Wh-Why? What di-did I do?" she was about to scream but then, Chin crouches down and points the gun to her neck. "Yeah, yeah, let the Duke answer that. Anyways, we got one less bastard out of the way. So, shut up already, will 'ya? You're just going to make it harder for us all here,"
Amelia picks up footsteps from behind her and waits, continuing with her act, only to see some servants drag Sebastian's body away. 'Crook must have beckoned them; or better yet, they have already been told what would happen. Did this... happen often?!'
Chin harshly grabs the brunette's arm, forcing her to stand and the painting to drop. They push her harshly so she can begin to walk on. She can feel their guns by her ribs, and all the female demon could do was to make them believe in her. Minutes later, they arrive in front of massive double doors, with golden handles. Crook yawns, before opening them.
Amelia fought the urge to gag and puke.
In the inside, there were murals of Edmund's portraits, all in different attires and settings and poses. 'How insanely narcissistic,' she rolls her eyes internally.
The floors were well carpeted by velvet, with oriental designs, and the areas around it that it didn't cover were waxed and polished to a shine. There were books lined up in shelves, a marble bust of Edmund in one side, and lots of unnecessary things. The leather swivel chair turns, as the three enter the overly majestic room.
It was Edmund sitting there, clapping his hands at his approaching niece, enjoying her distraught state. Crook and Chin were still pointing guns at her, as they stopped and stood in front of the duke's desk. Edmund holds his hands together, "I'm sorry about your uh, husband-to-be. Frankly, I thought he would be a nuisance, so I told them to treat you both with the sincerest hospitality!"
Then he grins, "But it seems he was the perfect subject to test just how much longer until you break."
Amelia glares at him, unmoving and silent. At this, Edmund resorts to standing, taunting her further, "Do you like my office? I did some minor changes ever since your... father, died." The brunette narrows her eyes at this, seething, "You mean, killed."
Edmund raises his brows with fake innocence, "Really?" then he looks around, as if he were thinking and slowly nods as he replies sarcastically, "Oh, right, yes. I remember, I did have him killed. I cannot risk having my dear brother's blood on my own hands. I can't even hurt a fly."
"Then you're nothing but a coward!" Amelia bites back, earning a twitch from Edmund's well-put, smug facade. "That's all you are: a coward, a leech living off of all my Father's hard work."
He grits his teeth beneath his forced, tight smile and decides to change the topic, "It's a pleasure that I found that assassin. She's really good! What's her name again, May? Mary? M... Mey-rin? No matter; anyway, it was too bad she wasn't able to finish Flora off, but at least she got you. Almost, am I right?" Edmund leans forward slightly, both hands on the desk, eyes wide.
Amelia had to practice extreme self control, at the monster of an uncle she unfortunately had and at the heart-wrenching revelation. A million thoughts ran through her head, and she felt so much and began to get lost in finding what she should truly think or feel.
"What did you say? Who was the assassin?!" she tries to shake Crook and Chin off so she could step forward but the guns went deeper into her, and she didn't mind since she knows that they can not kill her. 'All this time! I was with... and even treated her as a friend. No! It can't... it must not be! Not her...'
Edmund continues to lean casually on his desk, brows furrowing slightly and head tilting in confusion and disbelief, "You seem like you know her? Then if that is so, I was planning on contacting her again, but then there was not a single trace that she left behind. Mind telling me where she is?"
The female demon grits her teeth, jaw tightening, avoiding her fangs from showing. She speaks through them, her blood boiling in fury, "Bastard."
Edmund laughs mockingly at her, applauding. His voice and the sound his claps made, echoed in the room. His noise dies down while he walks to and nears her, and his voice sounded menacing when he speaks, "Between the two of us my dear, just who exactly is the bastard?" he then, lands a hard, backhanded slap across her face that made her head snap to the side.
Amelia smirks, defiant, tasting blood from her busted lip, "You are."
Edmund hears that, and he scoffs as he takes a tobacco out of his pocket. He puffs in some smoke, then harshly grabs Amelia by the hair and pulls, glaring at her. "You know, I have waited a long time for this." he blows the smoke harshly at her, before continuing. "You weren't supposed to have lived this long. You and your mother have already served your purpose: being his weakness."
He smokes again, releasing her and shoving her head aside, "But I guess, it's time for you to go to, I don't know, heaven? So you can go see your lovely parents for me and... ask them how they are? Because here? Oh," he pauses, raising his arms and turns, "I am doing so great, much greater than what your father had been. And I'll continue, until I become King!"
Edmund drops his arms to his side, his back facing her and shrugs. "I shouldn't even be wasting my breath on plebeians like you. Go on, you two, end this." He looks at the two men over his shoulder, then walks to a door on the far right of the room.
Amelia breaks free from Crook and Chin's hold when she realized Edmund was leaving. She tries to reach her uncle, to strangle Edmund and rip him apart limb from limb; but then, a loud bang echoed through the room.
She feels blood spilling from her side, and she gasps, collapsing.
"Well done," Edmund faces them and applauds Chin's quick reaction to the situation. Chin simply nods his head, and another series of gunshots followed, because Crook made sure to shoot Amelia to her head and chest, twice each to confirm the kill. Her blood begins to seep through the velvet carpet, and Edmund looks down on her with disgust, even stepping on her face a bunch of times as his way of releasing his anger. "This is why... we have to keep... pests out of the castle!" his eyes were wild, crazed, and he had a grin as he continued to destroy his niece.
Once he was done, his leather shoes were drenched in blood, and he shoves the tobacco on her, stuffing it between her cleavage. "Throw her away."
Edmund was already on his way out, when suddenly, Crook and Chin scream together in agony. The duke spares them a look, trying not to be annoyed again, and the scene before him made him gulp. The two men's limbs were twisted, contorted as though they were boneless and flexible. A resounding crack of their necks end their pain, and Amelia begins to laugh while still lying on the floor, pretending to be dead.
Edmund takes uneasy steps, shakes his head to make sure he wasn't mad.
But Amelia had other plans.
"Heaven? I beg to disagree, but..." she gets up, wiping a hand over her face. She stood smoothly, and her contorted face was back to its original state. Amelia spits the bloodstained bullets out onto her hand, "I no longer have any affinity with that place." Her once forest-green eyes were now completely gone, having turned her back on her last strand of humanity left. She slowly lets go of her control and her eyes became the bloody red that they were now supposed to be.
The room went dark, the temperature drops that it made Edmund's hairs rise, feeling a chilling shiver shot through his spine. "N-No! H-Ha, Ha-ha! You're dead, so stay dead!" he runs and grabs a gun hidden underneath his desk and shoots.
Now, it was Amelia's turn to mock him further, and her laugh was far more inhuman-sounding than his.
She catches the bullets between her fingers, "Ah, killing me with toys like these won't help you. However, I shall save your servants the clean-up. Blood is quite difficult to remove."
Edmund runs, his eyes on her slowly approaching figure, trying to escape through his massive double doors. However, instead of wood, he collides with a firm body that caused him to fall to the floor on his bottom. Edmund looks up at the one blocking his path and all color drains from his face at the sight of Sebastian.
"Leaving so soon, Your Grace? You gave me such a heart-warming welcome. So I thought I should surprise you as well," he speaks, and both his eyes and Amelia's glowed, their irises forming into thin slits.
Amelia was suddenly by Edmund's side and she lifts him by the neck, strangling him, her nails pressing hard on it, feeling his quickened pulse. She shoves him up on the wall, "You are far worse than what I am now. I can think of so much just to end your life. Answer me while I'm still patient,"
Edmund's legs dangled above the floor as he did his best to scratch his way out from Amelia's grip. "Why? Why did you do it?"
The duke looks down on her and attempts a kick. But the brunette dodged it easily, sighing. "I should have known I'd garner this response. Have you not had enough of stepping on me?"
She throws him to one side of the room, the impact strong enough that the portrait hung on it drops on Edmund. He yells in pain, and the brunette demon follows suit, standing tall before him.
'I've finally done it, Father.' She thinks shortly, then she lets her rage take over, all reason thrown out the window. "I'll make sure your soul is delivered safely into the depths of hell!" her pitch black nails became long and sharp, and the blackness spread to her forearm, just before it reached her elbows. Amelia digs in through his chest and she closes her hand around his heart. Edmund wasn't even given the liberty to scream to his anguish and death.
Then she pulls the beating organ out, squeezing on it before her uncle's still-open eyes. Blood splatters on the walls and on her body, as it pools around the floor. The brunette's chest heaves, fists still clenched, some mushed parts of the muscle stuck in between her fingers.
Sebastian watches through the whole scene, unblinking and even relished at the sight of her breaking loose.
Then a door opens with a creak, loud enough for the demons to hear.
Edmund's son enters the empty office, blood splashing with every step he took towards his father. "Papa..."
He kneels by his body, "Everyone... everyone's... dead, Papa... I heard their screams,"
There was silence, then there was sobbing, and soon it shifted to wailing, the child bawling his eyes out from the images that he can never not see; all the while, he was being watched by the demons blurred out by the shadows. "You killed the rest." Amelia whispers to Sebastian, already knowing the answer even without it being a question in the first place.
"Burn it."
Sebastian smirks, "Are you quite certain, My Lady?" His tone implies that he was more amused than actually trying to stop her from what she wants. "It's the perfect way to end this. Burn everything, dead or alive; not a single trace of their existence be left behind."
"Very well,"
"...However, leave that child to me."
Sebastian lifts a brow, narrowing his eyes. Then he flees, and starts setting fire to the castle from the first level, to even the flags with their family's arms.
The child coughs as he still cried, flames and smoke surrounding him yet not touching him, because of Amelia. She reveals herself, and the kid chokes on his gasp. He fumbles for anything to hit her with, so he throws a shoe at the cousin he never knew of.
"You! Y-You're that lady from the church! You killed my Father! Why?! He wanted to help you, right?! You're bad, and ungrateful! Get away from me! Monster!"
Amelia exerts some effort to control the flames, so it wouldn't reach the frightened child, as the latter backed away as much as possible from her approaching figure. "Monster... you say?"
She glares at him, making the boy's body freeze. "Make another move and you're nothing but ash." The brunette sighs, then her eyes become red instead of the demonic ones. She kneels in front of Edmund's son, at arm's reach, and asks, "Who are you? Tell me your name."
"E-Edwin Theodore Hugh Howard...?" he hiccups, and the hiccup became a harsh cough. The demon cuts to the chase, "Edwin, you're asking me why I did all this, correct?"
She places a hand to her chest, and feels the tobacco that Edmund stuffed in and finally remembered to pull it out. After tossing it away, she resumes her attention on the boy. "I am Amelia Hetherington-Howard, the only child of your uncle, Henry Howard."
Edwin gasps, "Uncle Henry has a... daughter?"
"Yes, and you have a cousin: me."
"No... No! You're lying! Auntie Flora never had a child, so I have never seen anything about you! Nobody has told me anything about you! What do you want?!"
"That's because my Mother is no noble. She was a housemaid, in fact, and not Lady Flora. Your father wanted my family dead, especially my Father. You're too young to understand, but you must know this,"
Amelia looks at him with sheer determination into telling the truth, "Everything around you was stolen by your father, from my Father. And as her daughter, I am simply taking it all away from you."
Edwin whimpers, "... but... why me?"
The brunette smiles bitterly, "That was the same question I asked when I nearly died from when I was young all due to your father's doing. However, I suppose... I'll give you the chance. I will let you live because you had nothing to do with all this."
Edwin gasps, "No! Kill me instead!"
But Amelia was not having any of his fit, so she renders him quiet by hitting a weak point. The child collapses, which she caught effortlessly before he hit the ground, skull-first. "I'm sorry you got into this mess. But as I said, I'll take responsibility."
Sebastian was suddenly beside her, the flames around them. "We cannot bring a human; not unless,"
"No worries, dear. I know with whom I can leave this young one."
Soon, people came rushing to see what was left of the castle. They were frantic, distraught, and left wondering just who or what caused the fire.
"Was it the Royal family?"
"Nawh, could'a been an accident."
"Yeah, the Queen isn't that low..."
Investigators had difficulty in identifying bodies, saying, "there were absolutely no traces at all," and everything inside the castle was nothing but ash. Some local police went to the church to ease the crowd of families, who were worried about their state because their source of everything was now gone.
At this, Charles decided to step out of the church, away from all the toxicity and he runs. He stumbles on his way up the now-familiar hill, and with the help of little hands he gets up, and trudges on. The boy exhales loudly as he lies on his back after reaching the top, staring at the morning sky.
After a few moments, he stands again, "...I hope Miss Mia is safe... wherever she is now," Charles wipes at the corners of his eyes and was about to walk back.
But something caught his leg.
Something that's like another little hand.
Charles' head turns and looks down, only to see Edwin with his face tear-stained, and blackened by smoke.
"H-Help... me..." the duke's son croaks out, weak from what he's gone through, the fear from his nightmares keeping him awake. Charles kneels down and checks on him, "Y-You... You're His Grace... his son? What happened?"
Edwin faints, "...pl-please...!" and he gasps. Charles turns him over and his eyes widen even more to see a certain painting in the boy's arms. However, it was burnt around the edges and broken, and only a ghost of the brunette demon's face was left. Charles hastily grabs it from Edwin's body, already crying again. "No, Miss Mia... she... they're..."
Two pieces of folded paper falls from behind the canvas, its edges also torn and burnt.
He picks them up and saw in the first one, there were his parents' names, scribbled as though it were written in a hurry. Charles decides not to open it and instead places it inside his pocket.
Charles flips the other paper and sees his name. He reads for a while, and when he was done, he looks at Edwin.
With renewed determination, Charles tucks his letter in his other pocket. He leaves what was left of the canvas and swings one of Edwin's arms over his shoulder and he walks; back to the church.
People flocked around them upon their arrival and soon, Edwin was taken to the hospital, and Charles insisted on coming along. At first, he was not allowed but soon, a few days later, a carriage arrives to the church to fetch him. It seems that ever since Edwin woke up, he was looking for "the boy who saved him".
Meanwhile, during that interval of days, Charles had given Amelia's letter to his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Linton surrendered that single evidence to the police to finally close the case and clear the growing suspicion on their name. The police tried to talk to the only survivor, but Edwin refused to speak of that day.
Somehow, Edwin would respond only to Charles, and somehow, along those days and weeks of being together for his recovery, the two little boys found solace in the other and had their own world.
It was soon a month since that day, and when Edwin was discharged, days after that, the Royal family gave him his title, as the new Duke of Norfolk. He and Charles made a promise to each other that they would meet again, no matter what.
Edwin had a lot to work on, and to work for: restoring the castle, continuing the construction of the church and some more. During the castle's reconstruction, he lived in their London home. There, he tells the servants that he will bring them with him once the castle is done. Edwin also began to summon his previous tutors, and he carried along, trusting no adult as he ages, and even without the presence of a butler.
When the time would be right, Edwin will send for Charles, and have that little boy, younger than him by three years, to be that butler he can trust. And the only person left he will trust.
And only then, will a certain female demon reappear and tell everything to that blond, wavy-haired boy.
After all, it's their little secret.
