Chapter 1: Poor, unfortunate soul

A/N: Hey everyone! This is was an old Black Butler story that I made back in the day. I really didn't like how it was going when I wrote it back at the time so I felt it needed a revamp. Hopefully this version will be better. To those who enjoyed the old version, I'll still have it up until I get to where I last left off with this story so it won't be going away.

Hope you all enjoy the newer version of My Sweet, Tender Beast!

Disclaimer: I don't own Black Butler; I just own my characters.

Enjoy!

/

The snow sparkled in the moonlight as it covered the Earth. Everything was coated in a thick blanket of pure white as it continued to fall. It was quite a mesmerizing scene. So pure, clean and untouched.

Yet like all beautiful things, over time they lose their charm.

The once beautiful filed of snow was soon tarnished by a river of red. Blood sprayed all over the landscape. Red clashing with white. The metallic scent was pungent in the air while the wind howled with screams.

A bloody figure collapsed into the snow, tarnishing its beauty even further. Blood ran down across porcelain skin, draining the body's lifeforce.

The scenery grew dark as the person's life started to end. The last thing they saw was a cluster of feathers as someone dropped down beside them and picked them up. The person cried in agony as they watched as the one in their arms began to die.

"ALEXIA!"

/

Eyes shot open to stare at a dusty ceiling. Shooting up from her bed, Alexia sat up breathing heavily.

Once again, she had the dream of dying in a snowy field. And it always ended with someone screaming her name. She knew it was all a dream but it felt so real to her. She could still smell the blood as if it was still on her. Looking at her hands and clothes to see they were blood free, she sighed.

This was not the best way to start her day. But then again, she was used to it by now.

Going over to her mirror, she tried fixing her messy dark brown hair. It was always a pain trying to make it look nice, so she tended to have it in a messy ponytail. The final touch was making sure her eyes were covered by her bangs. She always made sure her eyes were covered because of the rather unusual color they were. Instead of having a nice pair of brown or blue eyes, she instead had dark purple. She didn't recall ever seeing anyone aside from her brother with purple eyes. All she knew was that she didn't like it when people stared at her or whispered behind her back.

Seeing that her hair was somewhat decent, she decided to begin her day.

Drownsville was a small, little town that resided on one of the remote areas of London. While it wasn't as big as its neighboring down, Houndsworth, it still had quite a population.

Alexia had been living in this town with her brother for over a year. With no parents to take care of them, they had to fend for themselves and made sure they didn't wind up in the streets. It wasn't an ideal life, but it was the only life Alexia could remember.

She lived at the town's local tavern where the owner housed her brother and herself. In exchange, they helped around the bar. It probably wasn't the safest place for a young woman to live in but nowhere was really safe.

She started her day by cleaning up the tavern from the night before. They never got any customers during the day, so they used this time to get ready for the evenings. Her brother, Damien was busy checking the inventory making sure they had enough liquor for tonight's rush.

"Damien, you think you can help me unload the shipment that just came in? Feels like my body is finally catching up with my age" the owner asked.

Damien put down his list to help while Alexia looked up from wiping a table.

"Do you want me to take care of checking the last of the inventory?" she asked.

"Naw, we should be fine" the owner said.

"But if you could be an angel, would you please run to the market for some medicine? I have a feeling we're going to need it for a few of our regulars' hangovers"

Alexia nodded and grabbed her jacket. Since she finished the cleaning, it was time to take care of her other tasks for the day.

"Please be careful out there. Everyone's been talking about the Devil Dog" Damien pleaded.

Alexia just waved her brother off.

"You're such a worrywart, Damien. It's daytime so I doubt the Devil Dog will appear"

Damien made a face as he watched his sister leave the tavern.

"No, but there are worse things that hide in plain sight" he muttered.

/

Despite living here for a year, Drownsville was home to Alexia. She couldn't remember anything from her past, so it only made sense why she felt that way. She didn't know why she lost all of her memories but part of her felt like it had something to do with the dreams she always had.

She had asked Damien if she suffered a serious accident, but her brother would always say it was in the past and to not worry about it. She always felt like something bad happened but she tried not to press her brother about it. If it was bad then he was just protecting her so she wouldn't have to remember it.

Still, it would have been nice to remember something outside of Drownsville.

'I want to remember something besides the dream of me dying. Surely my life wasn't that morbid' she thought.

As she walked through town, she could hear people gossiping about various things. One of the things they spoke about caught her attention.

"Did you hear what happened in Houndsworth? I heard the Devil Dog appeared last night and killed someone"

"Yeah, it was that James bloke if I recall"

"That town is such a nasty place. Sometimes I feel like it's cursed"

Alexia shivered as she walked away. She had heard tales of the Devil Dog and how it roamed Houndsworth. Drownsville didn't have to worry too much about it since they weren't that close, but they still warned everyone to stay inside at night.

She always wondered if such creatures existed. She had heard of tales regarding demons, angels and monsters, but she had never seen them. She wondered if like the Devil Dog, did they actually exist?

Well, it didn't matter to her since they had nothing to do with her. She was just a boring human living in a boring town.

Finishing with her shopping, she started making her way back to the tavern. It was already noon and she had to help Damien prepare for the evening.

"Alexia? Is that you?"

Stopping in her tracks, Alexia bit back a groan. Turning around, she plastered on a fake smile.

"Angelia? What a pleasant surprise to see you"

Angelia was the maid for Lord Barrymore who ruled over Houndsworth. Every once and a while she would come to Drownsville for supplies that Houndsworth didn't have.

Alexia didn't know why, but the maid always put her on edge. She didn't know why, but whenever she saw her, she felt the urge to get away from her.

"I take it you're doing your monthly shopping for Lord Barrymore?" she asked.

She wanted to get away from the maid, but she didn't want to be rude. Last thing she needed was having a maid scold her about manners.

"We have guests staying at the manor so I wanted to get a few extra supplies" Angelia explained.

"Plus, Lord Barrymore has been paranoid lately and I wanted to do it before he snapped"

Alexia had heard rumors about Lord Barrymore's temper and how he tended to last out at others. It always bothered her that Angelia would continue working for someone like him.

"I've been hearing rumors about the Devil Dog attacking people so I can imagine why he's nervous"

Angelia made a face as if she was angry, but quickly covered it with a smile.

"It's nothing to worry about but we're figuring out why it's appearing" she said.

"In the meantime, do be careful. Lately it hasn't been safe at night"

Alexia waved her off.

"Don't worry we have our own version of the Devil Dog and it takes the form of the town drunks. Once nighttime falls, they change from man to beast" she teased.

Angelia made a face at that.

"You should really leave that place. It's where the all the foul and corrupted souls go to" she said.

Alexia sighed. Whenever Angelia came into town, she always boasted about how this and that was tainted and foul. She knew the maid was very religious but sometimes she thought it was too much. Not everything was foul and untainted. This was one of the reasons why Angelia put her on edge.

"I could ask Lord Barrymore for you to work at the manor. A pure soul such as yours will be tainted living in a foul place like this" Angelia said.

Alexia took a step back and gave her a weak smile. Like hell she would serve that nutjob.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm okay with where I work" she said.

"The owner is a very sweet old man and makes sure nothing happens to me. Besides, I just can't leave my brother. We're a team"

Angelia frowned but didn't push the subject.

"Very well. But if you ever change your mind don't hesitate to ask me"

Alexia bit her lip.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind" she lied.

"Well, I should head back. It's gonna get busy soon and I need to help my brother and the owner get ready for the night"

She started to walk away but Angelia stopped her again.

"Wait, before you go, I have something for you. I made extra sweets back at the manor and I thought you and your brother would like some" she said.

"I guess I made too much for our guests and had extras"

Alexia gingerly took the gift and placed it in her basket. She wasn't very fond of sweets but she figured she could serve these at the bar.

"I'll see you later, Angelia. And thanks for the treats"

She quickly hurried back to the tavern. When she turned her back to the maid, she failed to see the wicker smirked that spread across Angelia's face.

/

Like she predicted, the tavern was packed as evening came. As men got off from work, they stopped in for a drink while others decided in hopes of winning some extra cash.

As Alexia wove around the tables, she made sure not to bump into anyone. The last thing she needed was an angry drunk yelling at her for ruining their drinks.

When she made it to the counter, she quickly filled up her tray with another round of drinks.

"Sure, seems busier than usual tonight" Damien commented.

Alexia shrugged as she loaded the last of the drinks up.

"They probably heard about the Devil Dog and want to have their last drink before it comes for them" she teased.

Damien just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"The people of Houndsworth are such superstitious individuals. They'll believe just about anything"

The owner came over to them carrying the package of sweets Angelia made.

"Alexia dear, where did you get these from? They're quite tasty"

"Angelia was in town and gave me some. I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I thought everyone else would enjoy them instead" Alexia replied.

"Oh, I should have known. She always makes such lovely treats" the owner said.

Alexia left the two mean to start her next round. The owner smiled at Damien and handed him one of the sweets.

"Eat up, Damien. You should put some more meat on your bones"

Damien put on a fake smile as he accepted the treat. When the owner left, the smile fell to be replaced with a grim frown. Starting at the treat, he tossed it away as if it burned him.

As the evening grew on, the rowdier the men became. Some of the became so drunk that they were sleeping at the tables they sat at.

Alexia just shook her head at them. She aways wondered why men would drink themselves to the point of passing out. If they had problems with their lives then they shouldn't handle them with booze.

As she walked past a table, she failed to see someone had stuck their leg out. Tripping over it, Alexia fell forward, spilling her drinks onto the customer.

The drunken man swore as he wiped ale from his face.

"You clumsy wench!" he roared.

Alexia quickly sprang up and tried to clean the man off.

"I'm so sorry sir! I lost my footing and-"

The man swatted her hand away.

"Don't touch me, you worthless whore!" he snapped.

"This is why women shouldn't be allowed to work. They just make mistakes and cause trouble"

Alexia pulled her hand close as she looked at the man fearfully. She came across men such as him who believed women were useless except for producing children. She had heard these things so many times but it still hurt to hear that her gender was worthless.

The drunk man scoffed when Alexia didn't say anything.

"What, cat got your tongue? You really are a daft thing ain't ya?"

When Alexia remained silent, he started to grow angry.

"Not gonna apologize are ya? Well maybe this will make you speak up"

He swung his hand back, ready to strike her but before he could hit her a hand grabbed him and held his wrist in a bone crushing grip.

Damien gave the man a cold glare as his purple eyes flashed with anger.

"Don't you know it's not proper to strike a lady?" he said.

"But then again you're more of a dog than a man so what would you know?"

The drunk growled as he tried to pull his hand free.

"Let go of me, you bastard. I'll have you whipped for this"

Damien just held his wrist, not letting this piece of filth harm his sister.

Before a fight could erupt, the owner quickly intervened before fists started flying.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. There's no need to fight like a bunch of barbarians" he insisted.

"I do apologize for my employer. It's been a long evening and she's been on her feet all day. Why don't I offer you a round of drinks of the house and some fine sweets to fest on?"

The owner shoved the plate of treats Angelia made into the drunk's hands before getting another round of drinks. The drunk grumbled but didn't argue over the notion of free booze.

With him distracted, Damien pulled his sister away from the scene and ushered her upstairs.

"Go wash up and get ready for bed. You've had a long night" he ordered gently.

Alexia's face was flushed as she fiddled with her apron.

"I didn't mean to cause a scene, I swear" she insisted.

"I know you didn't but men tend to act like pigs no matter what. That why they're the filth of this world" Damien teased.

He gently pushed her up the stairs.

"Now go wash up. I'll see you when we close up for the night"

Alexia nodded and slowly made her way up to her and Damien's room. Closing the door, she leaned against the wooden slab that separated her from the inhabitant's downstairs. Sighing, she undid her hair and let the messy tendrils spill across her face.

Tonight, was rough. Sure, she dealt with rowdy drunks but none of them had the nerve to strike her. She was starting to wonder if maybe Angelia's idea of working as a maid was a good one.

She quickly shook her head. She knew if she worked for Lord Barrymore, she would for sure be hit.

Not feeling the urge to wash up, she went to her bed and flopped on the worn mattress. Looking over at Damien's bed, she saw his journal poking out from underneath his pillow. That was the only thing that he brought with him when they moved into this town. There were many nights where she wanted to sneak into it and see what he had written. Surely, he wrote down things that happened way longer than last year. Surely, he wrote about how she lost her memories. But every time the urge to pry into the journal arose, she squashed it back down. She had to respect her brother's privacy.

Turning on her back, she stared up at the dusty ceiling. She wondered if tomorrow was going to be anything like today.

Closing her eyes, she felt the pull of slumber. Taking even breath, she felt her body relax and her mind drifted towards things that had nothing to do with today's events.

/

Snow kicked up as Alexia ran across the white field. Her pace was frantic as she desperately tried to reach something. The ground shook and trembled as a battle was fought against the snowy planes. Every now and then huge clumps of snow would fly into the air only to coat the ground once again.

As Alexia ran, she spotted two figures fighting each other. Both looked like they wanted to kill one another. Growing fearful, Alexia ran faster and reached the two people fighting. Sliding in between them, she threw herself in the middle and protected the individual behind her. Moments later, blood splattered everywhere, covering the once white snow into crimson red.

Pain flared within Alexia's chest as she crumbled to the ground in a lifeless heap. The person behind her screamed in agony and dropped down to her prone body.

Picking up her bleeding body, the person held her tightly, willing her to stay alive.

"ALEXIA! ALEXIA!"

/

"Alexia! Alexia wake up!"

Snapping her eyes open, she found Damien hovered over her worriedly. Slowly waking up, she realized she was breathing heavily and was gripping her chest tightly.

Damien sighed as he slowly let go of her shoulders and helped her sit up.

"You were thrashing in you sleep. It looked like you were having a nightmare"

Alexia rubbed her chest. Once again, she dreamed of herself dying only this time she felt the pain from it.

Damien sat next to her and rubbed her back.

"You alright?"

Alexia looked at him and wondered if she should tell him about her dream. It wasn't right having dreams of yourself dying but then again, she didn't want to worry her brother.

Reluctantly she slowly nodded her head.

"I guess what happened downstairs really frazzled me" she lied.

Damien rubbed her back and gave her a soft smile.

"Don't worry too much on it. After the owner gave that guy his free ale he was as happy as a clam. He even wolfed down those sweets Angelia made"

Alexia bit her lip as she recalled Angelia's offer as a maid.

"She actually mentioned that it would better if I worked somewhere other than here" she admitted.

Damien frowned but didn't say anything as Alexia continued to speak.

"She offered me a position to work Barrymore's Manor. There's no way I'd work there, but maybe working as a maid might be better than dealing with drunks every night"

Damien squeezed her shoulder showing he didn't like that idea.

"Angelia has no right telling you what you should and shouldn't do with your life" he said.

"We both know he beats her and calls her horrible names. That's disgusting that she would suggest you do the same. For someone who boasts about how filthy the world is, she works at the dirtiest place in town"

Alexia looked at her brother tiredly.

"Surely you're tired of dealing with drunks every night. I know nothing happened tonight but what about tomorrow or the next? I don't want to work at a place I don't feel safe in"

Damien sighed and stood up from the bed. Going towards the window, he looked out towards the darkened town where everyone was asleep.

Nothing was said between the siblings, but in the end, Damien came up with an ultimatum.

"I was you to be safe too and work in a place where you don't feel threatened" he admitted.

Turning around, he walked back over to his sister.

"I'll make you a deal. If something like what happened tonight happens again, be it someone says something foul or threatens to strike you, I promise to find us another place to work. But not in Houndsworth-nothing ever good comes from there"

Alexia looked at her brother hopefully.

"Do you mean it?"

Damien nodded.

"You're my sister and your safety means everything to me. But until I can find something you help out at the bar and ignore what Angelia says"

Alexia nodded eagerly.

"I can do that" she teased.

Damien gave her a lopsided grin and kissed her forehead.

"Now get some sleep. You had a long night and will probably want to sleep it off"

Alexia hummed and bid her brother goodnight. She laid back down and closed her eyes. She knew her brother wouldn't lie to her. If he said he would find them work then he meant it.

Turning to her side, she prayed that tomorrow would be a better day than today.

Little did she know that tomorrow was going to be a living nightmare.

/

Not surprising, she woke up from yet another nightmare about herself getting killed. She was starting to wonder if this was a bad omen or if she secretly wished someone would kill her. Either way, it wasn't how she wanted her morning to start.

The tavern was quiet that morning or rather a little more quiet than usual. The owner usually bustled about trying to get ready for the following evening but it seemed like he was rather sluggish today. The poor old man didn't look so good and he checked over what liquor he had.

Alexia watched as he staggered a bit and held onto the wall for support.

"Are you alright, Owner?" she asked.

The owner gave her a weak smile and waved her off.

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head over me. I must have had one too many last night and it's finally getting to me"

Alexia knew it wasn't a good idea to work with a hangover. Putting her washing rag down, she went over to him and carefully helped him upstairs.

"Why don't you rest for a bit? It's not busy and Damien and I can handle everything until evening comes"

The owner gave her a grateful smile.

"Bless you, lassie. I don't know what I would do if you and your brother weren't here to help out"

Alexia just patted him on the back and ushered him upstairs.

"Off to bed with you, and no drinking tonight. You don't want to make your headache any worse"

The old man laughed as he slowly trotted up the stairs. With him out of the way, the poor girl had twice as much work to do now. Going back downstairs, she went back to cleaning, letting her brother know they were in charge this morning.

"I told him he shouldn't be drinking himself under the table each night. One of these days it's going to get him" Damien sighed.

"Poor old man. He shouldn't be working this much at his age" Alexia sighed.

Damien just shrugged as he swept the floors.

"I don't think he has family that will take over, that's why he keeps running the place"

"Oh...well at least he has us to help"

"Aye, that he does. He needs our help as much as we need his. And that's another reason why it's better to work here than at Barrymore's place"

Alexia made a face at her brother and threw a rag at him.

"I said I wouldn't work there" she insisted.

"I understand you wanting to plan ahead for the worst-case scenario, but I would rather you plan it for somewhere other than Houndsworth" Damien explained.

Alexia put her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"What do you have against that place anyway? You've never even been there"

Damien stopped his cleaning for a moment, looking serious as he thought of the neighboring town.

"I feel a bad vibe when I think of that place" he said.

"The people of that town are not normal. The way they treat one another and how Barrymore is cruel and superstitious about everything. It's like that whole place is a cult where they talk about a Devil Dog and everything is ruled by it. I don't want us caught up in that mess so that why I won't find us work there"

Alexia bit her lip and decided not to argue. She knew the rumors of the Devil Dog and the people of Houndsworth.

Damien sighed and put on a forced smile.

"But we don't need to worry about that. We have a nice job here with a boss who needs us. There's nothing to worry about"

Just then a strangled scream was heard upstairs followed by a loud thump. Both siblings looked up before rushing up the stairs to see what was wrong. Kicking the owner's door down they rushed in to see their employer thrashing about on the floor.

"Owner!" Alexia cried.

The poor old man screamed in pain as he gripped his chest.

"I think he's having a heart attack" Damien said.

"Stay here while I go get help"

He ran out the room to go find help while Alexia tried to help the owner out. Getting to the floor, she propped his head into her lap and tried to keep his thrashing body still.

"Don't worry, owner. We're getting you help, you're gonna be fine" she said shakily.

She had never seen the old man this way so she didn't know what to do. Being calm was the only thing she could think of that would ease this stressful situation.

The owner lashed out and gripped the top of her dress, pulling her down to his face.

"Alexia, you must leave this place! You're not safe here" he said frantically.

Alexia looked at him worriedly, wondering why he was saying such things.

"What do you mean? Why am I not safe from?"

"Everything! This whole place isn't safe! It's vile, dirty and corrupted. It's not safe for an innocent soul like yours"

Alexia started to panic as the owner thrashed around some more, eyes darting all over the place as if afraid of something.

"I'm fine, owner. If anyone isn't safe right now it's you. We'll have the doctor here soon to help you and-"

"This world shall go up in flames! Snuff out the unclean! Snuff out the unwanted!" the old man screamed deliriously.

His body convulsed violently as his eyes rolled in the back of his head. The next thing Alexia knew was he projected blood out of his mouth, splattering her with it before collapsing to the ground dead.

Alexia screamed with fear as she backed away from her dead boss. Her body shook as she looked at the corpse, wondering what just happened. It was as if he was possessed by something, as if he spoke tongues.

When Damein and the doctor finally arrived, they were greeted to the gruesome scene. Alexia couldn't help but look at her clothes that were stained with her boss's blood.

She didn't know why but she felt like this was a bad omen.

/

The rest of the day was a blur. After the owner's sudden death, the doctor had his body taken so it could be determined how he died. Damien closed the tavern and tried to figure out what to do next.

Alexia changed her dress since she couldn't stand to see the blood. Her body felt numb over the whole ordeal. She couldn't get the image out of her head. The owner's words kept ringing in her ears, repeating over and over again. She had never heard her boss speak like that and it bothered her.

What did he mean by snuffing out the unclean and unwanted? How was she not safe?

Gripping the mug in her hands, she tried not to think about it.

"How are you holding up?" Damien asked.

Alexia gave her brother a sad frown.

"How do you think?" she asked weakly.

Damien ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do.

"The doctor said it'll take him a couple of days to find out what happened. He reckons it was either a heart attack or something ruptured in his body"

Alexia didn't want to think of the owner suffering before he died and tried to focus on another important matter.

"What are we going to do now? Do we see if someone will take over this place or do, we look somewhere else for work?"

Damien had been thinking that all morning. He didn't expect their employer to drop dead all of a sudden like that. But they did mention if the worst-case scenario popped up then they would act on it, and now was that time.

"First let's take care of the owner. He has no family so we're the only ones who can put him to rest. After that...then we'll find somewhere else to work. This place won't be the same without the owner here"

Alexia slowly nodded. This was probably for the best. The owner would want them to live their lives and have a better future.

"Where do you think we should go? I can't think of anything else out here and Houndsworth isn't an option"

Damien didn't need to think hard on that one.

"London" was all he said.

"Once we've taken care of everything here, we'll go to London. There's always places looking for work there and they have more to offer than this small town could"

Alexia seemed lost in thought.

"London" she muttered.

"I don't remember what it looks like...then again I don't remember anything"

Damien clasped her shoulder tightly.

"You can make new memories to replace the ones you lost" he said.

"And who knows, maybe you'll remember something when we're there"

Alexia thought it over. Maybe going to London was a good idea. If she couldn't remember anything from her past, then she could at least look forward to building her future.

She smiled and nodded at the idea.

"Ok, London it is"

Their little moment was interrupted as the door opened. The drunk from the night before staggered in, clearly already intoxicated.

Damien frowned as he stood up. He swore he locked the door so no one would come in.

"We're closed tonight. The owner passed away this morning so we won't be open"

The drunk took a swig of ale, clearly not caring.

"That old geezer had it coming. Surprised he didn't croak sooner" he slurred.

Alexia stormed up in her seat enraged. How dare he disrespect the dead this way?

"Leave this instant. We're closed" she ordered.

The drunk staggered into the tavern some more, spilling his drink as he went.

"Come to think of it...I'm surprised this filthy place is still up" he said to himself.

"Then again how else are you gonna collect the filth of this world in one place?"

Alexia started to panic. He was starting to talk like how the owner did and she did not like that.

The drunk tipped his drink over and let it splash on the floor.

"Filthy, filthy, filthy"

Damien pulled out his knife and pushed Alexia behind him.

"One last time, leave or else I'll make you" he ordered.

The drunk just muttered gibberish as he rummaged into his pocket.

"They told me if I get rid of this place then my soul will be saved" he mumbled.

"Filthy can never be mixed with clean"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damien asked.

The drunk pulled out a box of matches and lit one up.

"In order to make this world pure again we must snuff out the unclean and unwanted"

Alexia gasped when she heard those words. The same words the owner said.

The siblings watched in horror as the drunk dropped the match on the ale-soaked floor. Within seconds the ground was up in flames as it traveled down the liquor trail the drunk made.

Damien swore as the flames spread fast, licking the walls and filling the air with smoke.

The drunk cackled like a madman as the fire consumed everything. He didn't even care or noticed that his body began to burn as well.

"Snuff out the unclean! Snuff out the unwanted!"

Damien grabbed Alexia and ran towards the back of the tavern where there was a way to escape.

The smoke was so thick in the air that it made it hard for Alexia to breath. She fought past the tears that stung her eyes. The flames were so hot that they licked at her skin, threatening to burn her if she got to close.

The ceiling started to cave in as the fire burned away at its wooden structure. Damien saw it was about to collapse so he quickly pushed his sister out of the way before it could crush them. The siblings were separated by a burning barrier. Alexia looked at her brother in horror, knowing that he was trapped within the burning tavern.

"Damien!"

Damien shielded himself from the flames heat, trying to look for another way to escape.

"Don't worry about me! Get out of here while you can!" he ordered.

Alexia shook her head. She already lost the owner today; she couldn't lose her brother too.

"I'm not leaving you trapped here!"

"If you stay here, you'll die. Run while you have the chance!" Damien ordered.

"Get out of here and run from this place! It's not safe anymore!"

"But Damien!"

"Just go!"

"But-"

"GO!"

Holding back her tears, she looked at her brother one last time before she ran. As she reached the door, one of the wooden beams caved in and fell landing on her back. Screaming in pain, she pushed herself to run through the door and out to safety.

She didn't look back as the tavern went up in flames, spreading across to the other buildings.

In an instant, everything she knew was gone. Her boss, her brother, her home all gone.

As she continued to run from everything that held the past she only knew, she was taking a step towards the unknown. Whether it was towards good or bad she did not know.

She could only hope that her feet lead her towards a path meant for her.

/

Up at Barrymore Manor, Angelia looked out the window to see the town of Drownsville go up in flames.

The maid wore a cruel smirk.

"I told you that place was nothing but corrupted, Alexia. If only you had listened to me"

/

A/N: Damn Angelia is one crazy bitch. Don't know why she's so obsessed with Alexia but it can't be good.

Poor Alexia, she lost everything in one day. Hopefully she can bounce back from all of this.

Hope you liked the chapter! I made it special by making it extra-long!

Please let me know what you think!

Take care!