AN: I'm back from Japan! I actually wrote this chapter on the plane back, but ended up writing the next chapter into it so had to rewrite it when I got back. That's why there was a bit of a delay. Thanks to everyone again who's reviewing, faving, and following! :D

Warnings: None.

Chapter V

Marked

The black shadow hovered above Lotte like a ghostly mist. For a moment she couldn't move. Her body froze. Eyes widened. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. She could see the glowing red eyes, and misty-like wings stretching at least ten feet across the wide hallway. Lotte wasn't bothered by demons, but it was different with spirits. She had only come across a few spirits in her supernatural career. They were usually a white, humanoid form - showing an outline some visual features. Never like this. This was dark power. The black shadow radiated an evil aura. This was the first time she had ever see a spirit like this.

The pistol on her hand remained glued to her skin. She did not raise it to shoot the misty spirit as it started to growl. The sound grew, and all Lotte could do was stare into the spirit's glowing eyes. She started to wonder...the eyes seemed familiar. Then in a rush of wind, the black shadow flew above her. She ducked her head, and turned around to see it tumbling in the darkness, hissing sound emitting from another source.

It crashed through the doors of the lounge. She ran after it, preparing to shoot it need be, stopping before the door way and aiming. Then she lowered her weapon when she saw what was happening - Sebastian holding a man by the neck and squeezing the life out of him. But the yellow eyes of this man told her he was of another kind.

And her blood boiled.

Hands curled into a tight fist.

A demon.

She raised her pistol and took a shot at him. It hit the left side of his chest the first time. She saw Sebastian turn his head slightly at her, his eyes still glowed the bright red. The angry demon still in his hand chuckled as black blood leaked from his mouth. Then she notice Sebastian's eyes grow wide as she noticed a second presence behind her.

Lotte turned in time to see a second demon's risen arm swinging towards her. She dodged, rolling to the side, missing a slash to her head, but feeling the demon's claws slice deep in her right forearm. She hissed quietly, feeling the warmth of the blood leak through her leather jacket. She shot at her attacker, missing. Seconds later, her demon butler was already on him, shielding her from her attacker.

She stood up, watching both of them. Then in a fast blur, Sebastian was already on him. The two moved around the room in a black and white-grey mist. Her eyes tried to follow them, but they moved too fast through the room. Instead she focused on the demon who struggled to remove the iron bullet she hit him with. She aimed the pistol and shot his left leg, making the demon cry in agony. She marched over to him, shoot at his right leg this time, collapsing his legs, making him kneel before her like a servant before a Queen. She kept her left arm raised with her finger resting on the pistol's trigger. Blood dripped down her right arm, falling onto the marble floor in small drops.

"Move and you die," she hissed through her teeth.

Then she heard a loud swish of wind above her and the crashing of the window breaking above her. She shielded herself from the oncoming shards, but felt a dark shadow cover her moments later. She looked up to briefly see Sebastian's shielding form above her. He looked down on her, and his red, glowing eyes softening.

She didn't say a word.

He removed himself and faced the demon kneeling before them with glass shards scattered around. Lotte watched his expression closely. His eyes still glowed and his lips pursed in annoyance.

"Oh dear, now I'll have to cancel the dinner I had planned for my mistress and clean up the mess you two insects made," Sebastian commented coldly, sighing. "What a waste of time."

She questioned his words for a moment, and watched him slid of his blood-stained, white gloves, dropping them on the floor, before moving back to the demon at their feet. The demon panted on the ground, spitting out black blood onto the floor. Outside, the moon and stars lit the dark sky, letting Lotte have a good view of the gardens beyond the shattered opening. Lotte raised her pistol again, narrowing her eyes on the creature.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

The creature started to chuckle.

"Why did you come?" She asked again.

He laughed louder.

Lotte growled, taking the pistol in both hands and aiming it at the creature's forehead. "Tell me!" She demanded.

The creature looked up with black blood still dripping from his mouth. "She will come."

Lotte's lightened her grasp on her pistol and lowered the weapon slightly. "She? As in Lilith?" She asked in a softer tone.

Sebastian cut in. "Why is Lilith seeking myself? I have done enough already for her."

The demon chuckled. "It is not you she seeks…you know...you of the Black Crows should know...those who serve...those who kneel before the White Queen know the reason…"

Then it hit her…

"She's after me," Lotte stated, lowering the weapon fully. "You came to bring me to her."

"Smart girl…but not smart enough..."

Lotte heard Sebastian hiss beside her. "Do not believe you can take her so easily from my grasp." His arm rose to strike. Lotte placed a hand on his arm.

The demon continued to speak. "...we were ordered by She. We were to kill the final member of the Phantomhive family…the one who bares the mark of The Black Crows…and to find the one who is missing."

Lotte swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling the heat on the mark etched on her back.

"The gate will open…"

"The gate? The gate to what?" Lotte asked carefully.

The demon only chuckled. "We have failed...She will come...She will appear."

Lotte raised her pistol again. "What will open?"

And the demon smiled. "Hell."

In a puff of grey smoke disappeared into the ground.

Lotte watched the spot where the creature disappeared from. Her arm hurt. Her head swarmed with thoughts and questions about the creature's words. She knew Lilith was after her, but didn't know why. Now that she knew, she was slowly feeling the nauseating heat in her stomach.

Fear.

Sebastian had lied to her.

"Lotte, we must retire to a different room in the manor. I shall clean up the parlour at a later hour." Sebastian announced.

Lilith wasn't after him, but her.

Her mind grew agitated. More questions for Sebastian to answer. More concerns for ending this madness and moving on with her life with no demons ahead. Her eyes moved around the room. The smashed window. The glass, blood, and books - ripped- littered the floor. The red velvet couch torn. And above the fireplace, her grandfather and grandmother's painting, revealing a giant tear across from corner to corner.

"Please," she heard Sebastian's soft voice, "we must aid to your wound."

She looked over to her right arm, seeing the blood still drip from her finger tips. It had become numb from the fear. But hearing the demon butler's voice reminded her of who she was.

"Okay," she replied, taking a step forward.

Then her head grew light and felt gravity push her forward towards the marble floor.

Strong arms caught her falling form, and she clung onto them, letting them pull her up. She felt her body being lifted from the ground and being carried out of the room.

"Wha- what are you doing?" She began.

"You've lost significant amount of blood."

"I'm fine… this has happened before, Sebastian."

"I don't care if it has, however; you need medical treatment and will not have you collapsing from blood loss. I am unable to take you to a proper medical facility so please, behave for now."

"Excuse me; I'm not a child needing a band aid. I'm really alright."

He stopped and sighed. "Very well."

Once her feet hit the floor, the world twisted and she felt herself falling again, with the same arms catching her.

"As you were saying?"

Her arms wrapped around his neck, still feeling light headed. "Oh, shut up."

"You sound just like the old master."

xXx

Lotte sat on the top of the counter while Sebastian made careful work at removing her jacket. She felt like a child being mended by her mother, although; her mother rarely even did this to her when she scrapped her knee on the sidewalk. It was part of her mother's lesson of growing up tough. Her mother grew up in a military family, so Lotte learned at a young age that death was part of living, and one must move on when one gets hurt and fight. She learned this when her father was killed.

"You owe me a new jacket," she started, "hope you realize that."

The demon gave a soft chuckle. "I'll order one immediately."

They were quiet for a few minutes. The only sound came from Lotte when Sebastian started to clean her wound with alcohol. The smell burned her nose, and stung her skin, but she knew it was helping.

"Hm, seems as though you might need stitches," Sebastian announced. "If I may?"

Lotte nodded. Stitches were nothing new to her.

When Sebastian started with piercing her skin with the sterile needle, Lotte's eyes remained on his ever-stilled stone face. It became a distraction to her when she felt pain internally and externally.

"You lied to me," she stated quietly out of the blue. "You told me once that you never lie, and yet you did."

The demon froze for a moment, but continued. "Whatever do you mean?" he answered with no hint of emotion in his voice.

"You told me that Lilith was after you, but she's actually after me. So, why tell me something different."

A small sigh escaped the demon as he finished with the final stitch, wrapping a cloth around her arm. "After being imprisoned for so long, you lose touch with the outside world. I believe Lilith locked me in this manor to punish me for refusing to do what she ordered. Although she is few with words, her actions can be clear."

"That's right; those demons said you used to work for her."

His eyes shifted to hers and she gasped silently. His eye narrowed with curiosity- a hardening glare to test Lotte's words. "This doesn't have to do with hunting Lilith down, does it?"

Lotte swallowed. "No, of course not, I was just curious."

"Lotte, promise me one thing, and I will promise you something in return: don't seek Lilith. You will die if you do. And I promise to never tell you something if I don't truly know the answer."

She nodded shortly, watching the demon stand up and put the medical supplies away. Then he came back up to her and shockingly rested a hand on her shoulder. All Lotte could do was sit there and stare up at the demon's face.

"I only want to keep you safe," he stated.

Lotte opened her mouth. "Thank you," she answered shortly, and then blinked, continuing once she got her bearings. "I should be mad at you for lying to me. I don't forgive easily, especially to demons, but since you saved my life, you'll be the first I forgive. By the way, why did you save me?"

The hand disappeared. "It is my duty to protect the one who holds the contract."

"But that's only if I order you to. I never did. And if I did die, then you would be free and get my soul, correct?"

"No," Sebastian answered. "It would only mean Lilith would win and she would get the prize of your soul. Undoubtedly, she would probably end up killing me as well."

"Ah, I see," Lotte gave a small smile, "you did it so you wouldn't let her win."

Then she watched him bow slightly to her. "It's selfish, I know."

"No," she replied, "it means you care about us humans."

Lotte looked at the demon butler's surprised expression. His wide maroon eyes, slightly opened mouth. She gave a small giggle in return.

"It almost makes you human yourself."

The demon chuckled lightly. "Human? Are you sure you didn't hurt your head as well?"

"I'm fine. Besides, you should take it as a compliment. I've never come across a demon with a human side to them."

"And you never will. I do not carry nor feel human emotions. Your species are nothing but a meal to me, nothing more." Lotte's smile slowly disappeared with every word he said. He bowed slightly towards her then. "Everything you see me doing is all part of the show of being your butler."

"So you felt nothing when I got hurt?" she asked with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

He stood back up. "You are simply my prey."

"Your prey?" She blinked back the tears in her eyes. Anger radiated through her body. Tears behind her eyes prickled, threatening to surface. She sniffed loudly, looking dead into his eyes. "Then kill me."

"I'm sorry?"

She jumped off the counter; feeling slightly light headed, and then stepped forward. "Kill me. That's an order. Come on." She raised her arms out. "Kill me. End this right now. Kill me, eat my soul, and free yourself. You can go and fight Lilith. Come on, I believe you'll win. You are only a level below her, how hard can she be? Kill me, Sebastian! End my life and my bloodline! This mark on my back proves I'm yours so do what you want! I don't care anymore! Let me be with my family! End this curse on me! Free me!" her voice continued to rise. She kept stepping towards him, closer until they were only inches apart. Her voice grew soft and the tears that had hid behind her eyes started forward, rolling down her cheeks. "Kill me."

Her teeth clenched as her hands gripped his black tux. Her head rested on his chest in front of her as tears poured down her cheeks.

"Kill me, please."

A heavy sigh escaped him again, and Lotte felt his hands grip her wrists, pulling them away from him. She looked up through her blurry eyes to his softer ones. "Do you not value your own life? Did you not tell me you wanted to take vengeance on Lilith for your father's death? If you die now, you will let Lilith win. Like myself, you are also selfish."

She breathed, collecting herself. "Don't tie me with yourself. I am nothing like you."

"You're correct. You're more like the old Master."

She locked eyes with him. "No, I'm my own person. But this does prove to me one thing."

"And what is that?"

Lotte showed him a smirk. "That you are more human than you realize. You're just in denial about it. And sooner or later you'll have to accept it or Lilith will win."

xXx

Lotte's hands gripped the side of the hallway as Sebastian aided her towards her room. The small grandfather clock she passed by could still be heard ticking loudly through the empty halls. Half passed one it read, and all she could feel is the adrenaline of wanting to hunt Lilith down and the fear of spirits roaming the corridors of the manor. No doubt she wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Her arm hurt too much to even lie down.

She felt her head lighten once again as she rested at the side of the long corridor. Her eyes closed slightly, not from exhaustion but from fatigue and anemia. She heard the demon behind her click his tongue.

"Didn't I tell you to rest and not stand?"

She rolled her eyes, inching down the hallways. "Didn't I tell you to leave me be?"

"I would rather you not die on the carpet. It would be a pain to clean."

"Oh poor you having to clean up a dead corpse of someone who could end all of this," she sarcastically snapped over her shoulder. "You know following me to make sure I'm okay and to scold me only proves that you're more human that you think."

The demon heavily sighed. "Believe what you wish, Lotte. I am not anything close to a human. What I am doing is an act, nothing more."

"Then why not act and help me to my room," she replied.

In seconds her wish was granted. She felt her body being lifted and a rush of wind through her until she was safely placed onto a soft mattress. She looked up to the dark, shadowy figure of her demon butler. His face in the shadows of the faint candle light was eerie to look at. His red eyes glowed slightly in the dark. His stone face read horror like in the campfire stories told during summer. Lotte swallowed.

"If that is all you wish for, I shall retire for the night."

Lotte hesitated for a moment while Sebastian was preparing to leave her room. She looked around in her one-lit candled room. Then she spoke quickly without even thinking about what she was saying.

"Stay."

And that was it.

That one word made the demon butler pause at the door and slightly turn his head towards her. She sat on her bed dumbfound at what to do or say next.

"I…" she looked around the dimmed-lit room. "I don't believe it's safe enough for me to be alone right now. Those demons who entered…what if…what if they come back? Or worse? I don't think I could handle that many demons right now in my condition."

Her words were something she never thought she would say. She had asked a demon for help for the first time in her life. Lotte's mind swarmed with misleading thoughts of anger and confusion on what appeared out of her mouth. Half her conscious yelled at her about keeping a demon close while the other begged her to keep the demon near.

"Please…" she spoke again. "…this is…an order."

Then the demon bowed and smirked. "Of course, my lady."

She winced at his words, but watched him settle down in the corner of her room. Her eyes watched him intently. He's creeper than before… "Can you come closer?"

He did, stopping at the foot of her bed. She realized he would not come any closer to her without her word. She sighed and carefully stood up from her bed. Her body was slightly stiff and her head still felt light from the lack of blood. She grabbed a hold of the bed's canopy posts as she made her way to the full sized mirror beside one of the windows. From there she stood, having a perfect view of the outside as well as the demon behind her – watching her.

Her hand touched her right shoulder blade lightly, feeling the slightly rise of the skin under her thin, white shirt.

"Tell me, who are The Black Crows," she spoke with a soft tone. "I've never heard of them."

"I suspected you wouldn't. Not many humans do. Not even the old master knew about my past." Lotte watched him eye her as he continued to speak. "They are my clan, a very old clan. We've existed since the beginning, since Her rising, and ever since, we've served her.

"When we started out, we had many human contracts, but over the centuries, they dwindled since my kind started to decrease in numbers. Soon Lilith decided we would no long be in service to her and wanted to destroy us. There were only a few left until I was able to convince her to let our clan live if I promised to remain loyal."

"What did you do?"

"I created a contract. First one in over two-hundred years."

"The Phantomhive family," Lotte said, answering her question in her head. "You made a contract with my grandfather to keep your clan alive so Lilith wouldn't destroy you."

"Correct. Lilith probably had a plan of bringing the Underworld to the surface for centuries, but she needed the perfect amount of souls to do that. All she told me was to grab contracted souls, nothing more. I didn't question her. You don't question, Lilith. Not many demons were powerful enough to serve under her and those who were made contracts that didn't prove enough loyalty so they were destroyed as soon as they ate the soul. She was angry, so I begged. I made a bloodline contract with the Phantomhive to keep the rest of my clan alive. As long as the Phantomhive family kept producing heirs…"

"Your clan would live," Lotte finished. She turned to face Sebastian. "You did all of this to protect your family."

He nodded.

"I had no idea. But what about you? Don't you need to eat souls to survive?"

He scoffed lightly. "I've lived almost a century without consuming a soul I sealed a contract with, Lotte. My kind can go centuries without consuming souls. However, we do like snack those souls who have already left the bodies. I ate many while serving your grandfather."

"So you even lied to him."

"I do not lie; I only keep things private from the master I'm serving."

"So, does this mean you didn't consume my grandfather's soul?"

He smirked. "Would you be relieved if I said 'yes'?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know what to think right now."

"That mark on your back means you belong to my clan. Your father had it located on the back of his neck for a short while until he summoned Lilith, and she took his soul for herself and killed him. The old Master had it located on his right eye. However, his soul…"

Lotte stepped forward. "What? What is it?"

"His soul…is missing."

She blinked. "Missing? I thought you told me you took his soul."

"I said no such thing. I only said that you would know that answer to your question."

"Then where the fuck is his soul? Did Lilith get it?" her voice grew agitated.

"That I don't know." His gaze moved to out the window. "Lilith is a mysterious creature. When she wants something she gets it without any remorse. But even if she did have his soul, there is still the matter of yours."

"Then what happened when my grandfather died?"

Sebastian closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "When he died…I wasn't present in the room. Only your father was. I came in only later to remove the body. Your father didn't want me to question the soul."

"Great," Lotte breathed. "So either Lilith has my grandfather's soul, or it's lost somewhere. How do you even find a soul?" she walked to her bed and sat down with a thud. "What am I saying? I'm talking like a crazy person. Next I'll start seeing the ghost of my grandfather roaming the halls."

She saw Sebastian open his mouth to say something but she beat him.

"Don't say anything about ghosts or this place being haunted. I had enough of that from Mr. Wilson when I was coming up to this manor in the first place. I don't need to deal with ghosts." She lowered her voice and muttered under her breath, "Just thinking about ghosts gives me the shivers."

Sebastian came around to her and smiled. "Very well, but you should get some rest. It's been a long day for you."

"I honestly don't know if I'll sleep tonight," she answered, getting under the covers. "You're staying, right?"

The demon nodded, bowing. "As long as you wish me to, I'll be by your side," he looked up to her, "until the very end."

She blinked. "Good, and by the way, that was a really cheesy line."

She giggled as she lay on the pillows, watching Sebastian stare off outside as she drifted off to sleep.

xXx

It was a soft thud in the room that awoke her in the middle of the night. She yawned, sitting up to look around the dark room, thinking it was Sebastian. But when she sat fully up, he wasn't present. The moonlight spread across the room, casting strange shadows on the walls.

"Sebastian?" she called, receiving no answer. Now where did he go?

She got out of bed, going around the room to find the source of the strange sound she heard. She looked at the clock on the wall above the fireplace. 3:00? I must've only been asleep for a few hours.

Her eyes scanned the floor for any sort of item that might've fallen. Then she spotted it. A black gun she had placed on the small round table beside the lounge chair was now lying on the floor. She picked it up, feeling the foreign handle of her grandfather's gun in her hands. I must've placed it too close to the edge and a mouse must've knocked it down running through. I'll have to let Sebastian know to do a mouse sweep of the house in the morning.

She placed the gun back on the table, making sure it was in the middle before heading back to bed. Where ever Sebastian went off to better be important. I told him to stay. She yawned deeply.

Another thud sounded through the room again once she began to crawl into bed. Lotte swung around, looking through the room. Immediately she saw her grandfather's gun gone from the table. She marched over to see the weapon lying on the ground once again.

What the…?

She looked around again. Her heart beat pounded through her ears. She didn't feel any demonic presence, but something inside her knew this wasn't a demon playing pranks on her.

Then she turned around.

A bright, white orb hovered eye-level five feet away from her. Lotte froze, not knowing what to do. The orb hovered for a moment until it started to move slowly towards the door. Her eyes followed it, silently.

She swallowed the thickness in her throat.

Okay, Lotte, there has to be a reasonable explanation for this…Wilson was just kidding when he said there was ghosts here, right? "Oh, fuck no."

She started to follow it carefully, cursing silently in her head with every step she took. Demons were one thing, but ghosts…she couldn't kill ghosts! What was she supposed to do if a ghost attacked her?

She had come across on once before in New York hunting down a demon. A pale, white figure sitting in an old lounge chair in an abandoned home; its face saggy and half bone like. It looked at her and she ran from the place screaming. She was fifteen at the time.

But this thing was an orb. She knew spirits manifested in orb-like shape due to lack of energy. So as long as this thing didn't become some creepy thing…Lotte wouldn't run out screaming out of the manor.

She followed the white orb down the dark corridor. She was only five feet behind it as it floated down the hallway until she questioned her madness and the fact that it would be possible she was only dreaming.

Lotte pinched herself. "Ouch," she said quietly.

She wasn't dreaming.

Farther down the hallway she followed the mysterious, ghostly-white orb. The farther she went with the strange thing the farther her thoughts of Sebastian went away. Curiosity replaced fear. And her demon protector – even though abandoning her – was completely cleared from her head.

The white orb moved quicker down the corridors. She had to walk faster to keep up. Around the corners of the hallways, she slowly fell behind until she turned another corner on the west wing, meeting a dead end with the orb no longer in sight. She breathed heavily, looking around on where she followed the strange, floating object. This part of the manor was new to her and she was now completely lost.

"Shit…" she cursed under her breath.

When she turned back toward the other end of the corridor, she came face to face with the white orb again. She gasped as it circled around her and disappeared behind a closed door at the end of the corridor. She followed it quickly, turning the doorknob to find it locked.

Lotte stepped back, trying to figure out the situation. But soon she realized that with no key there would be no way in and no way to know what the orb was and what room it went into.

She took in a deep breath and eyed the closed door.

"What are you hiding behind there?"

And she left back down the hallway without another word.

xXx

Lotte awoke in her bed early. The sound of rain pattered against the windows. Her eyes were wide awake as she lay in bed wondering about her bizarre night adventure through the dark corridors of the manor. She was awake.

For the first time in a long time I am utterly, wide awake.

She sat up with no Sebastian in the room, and her grandfather's gun safely sitting in the middle of the round table. Perhaps it was just a dream?

She didn't hesitate to get downstairs to find Sebastian. Even in her strange sleeping ensemble of boxers and a white t-shirt, she ran down the stairs calling out the demon's name.

"Yes?" she heard his voice behind her once she was down the stairs.

He was standing quietly at the dining room entrance. She marched over to him, her lips pursed – upset with his disappearance act last night.

"Where were you last night? I woke up to find you gone," she said.

He bowed. "My apologies. I had to go prepare breakfast for this morning since last night's dinner was unfortunately cancelled with no warning. I wanted to make up for it so I prepared the old Master's favourite breakfast dish for your liking."

Lotte raised an eyebrow as Sebastian opened the door for her. She gasped as she entered the large dining room. The table was covered with dishes from all over Europe: crepes, pouched eggs, muffins, scones, German sausages, and tea spices like it was fresh from a bizarre in India.

"All of the lord's favourites," Sebastian announced.

Lotte was speechless. She looked around the table unable to decide what to have first. "Wait," she paused, "what's the catch?"

"Catch?"

"Well, you are a demon," she looked over her shoulders at him, "you know my feelings towards food made by someone else other than myself."

"These are all the Lord's favourites. You may decide to eat them or not. No catch. It's all to make up for last night."

Lotte smiled. "You made enough to feed a whole village."

"If you wish to know, the old Master used to have a lot more food on the table."

She carefully took a scone from the table. "Such a spoiled brat," she giggled.

"I greatly agree."

She looked at the array of food on the table and thought back to when her grandfather would be sitting and dining. He probably had a dozen servants at his hand and foot at all times. "Sebastian, if I may ask you something," she started, picking up a piece of the scone. "What happened to the other people who used to work here?"

"Others?" he paused. "They left shortly after the old Master passed. Well, they were more placed into a nursing home. They were reaching a staggering age."

She swallowed the piece of scone, eyeing Sebastian carefully. "Is there a way they could be still alive?"

"Why do you want to know?" he looked back with a curious stare.

She shrugged. "I guess it would be nice to know others who knew my grandfather a different way than you did. They were the staff so they took care of him."

Sebastian gave a small sigh. "Only three out of the four remain alive. They live in a care facility not too far from here." Lotte nodded, looking out at the rainy outside. "What is bugging you, Lotte?"

Her head snapped to him. "Nothing…I just want to know more about my grandfather." And you.

Hopefully it was an alright chapter. Had some Sebby and Lotte stuff in there. No fluff yet, but it'll be here soon. ;)

Review for more! ^^