So big part of the plot I'll explain right here, SEBASTIAN DOES NOT FALL IN LOVE NOR WILL HE EVER, HE WON'T SAVE CIEL'S SOUL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. He is a demon! They do not love or have compassion. Thank you for your time. P.S. this chapter is just a set up for the real action, mostly fluff here.
Today was the day after the young Earl's dramatic announcement to Valerica and to say the least, it left Sebastian quite preoccupied. While he was preparing his lord's breakfast he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander over to the fiery girl that had the audacity to insult his master. He had encountered a soul like hers only once before, a human soul tormented with rage and grief from past experiences, one that had a demonic flair to it. Her scent only conveyed that she was prey, just like every other human yet somewhere inside her was a dark magic he had yet to discover. The night they followed her to the tavern he could sense it strongly, but the smell she emitted now was nothing like the tantalizing scent of power her soul had carried when she was slicing apart that low level demon. "Tch," Sebastian spat, low-level beings like that were what gave demons such an untrue reputation, he would never attack a human for food, he preferred to harvest his souls and allow them to grow before he consumed his prey. To build their confidence just to take it down was quite delectable. Sebastian's eyes glowed brilliantly red before dimming, thoughts like these were what made the cattle suspicious. He chuckled darkly as he finished his master's breakfast. Oh well, he would soon find out all the secrets that she kept, it was in his nature after all.
Valerica was not sure she would survive this household, a smug brat as it's lord and a condescending butler were the last things she needed to encounter on her journey. After her pathetic submission, Ciel had ordered her to spend the day memorizing the long corridors and plethora of rooms, greeting her fellow servants and performing several basic tests to see if she was able to behave well-mannered, not to mention if she was even literate. Needless to say, she had passed all of the tests and the layout of manor was locked away in her mind. However, the servants were a completely different matter. The cheerful strawberry blonde gardener had seemed normal, if not eccentric, but that impression of him being gentle and kind-hearted completely shattered once he had almost shattered her in a spine-crushing hug. After Finny, Val had the pleasure to meet the american cook, Bard, who like Finny, ruined his first impression by blowing up a simple snack in the kitchen with a stick of dynamite. Lastly, she met Tanaka who did not talk at all, to her extreme relief, and she also acquainted herself with the other red-headed woman she would be living with for god knows how long. She was rather beautiful, but her lenses were so thick you could not see three fourths of her face. By herself, Meyrin was quite charming and cute in an odd way, but turned into a blubbering mess of chaos when the devilishly attractive butler was around. Her peers had left her emotionally drained and broken, so Sebastian reluctantly allowed Val to wander around the mansion and accustom herself before the real work began. She had eventually recovered her stolen equipment as well, only because the earl had found her weapons enticing and wished to see them in action. With her reunited trusty sword she made her way to the spacious gardens to train before her skills turned to mush, Val never went a day without practicing. Her former mentors had some not-so traditional methods for combat, rather than positive reinforcement it was harsh metal whips, being locked away in the dark without food and small amounts of water, but they were always worse punishments. They had instilled discipline in her to quell the raging storm of self-destruction when they had found her under that desolate bridge begging for change from passing strangers. Her first lessons were the worst; Sleep was for the weak, love was weak, that the hate she so powerfully felt could turn her into the very beasts she hunted. (Flashback)
"Child, we do not follow the queen;We are not a people nor are we a nation. We have no allegiances, no family, no friends. You are just a shadow in the night, we are the remnants of our forsaken loved ones that were hunted by those hellspawn. You will never go back to this life, you are no longer a part of humanity," the cloaked figure chanted to Valerica as she sat in front of the raging bon fire that held the burning corpses of fallen comrades and the acid blood of the demons.
"What if I want to change?" A young Val whimpered behind curtains of crimson hair. The figure had removed their hood and stared into the windows of Val's soul. Half of the man's face was warped by singed skin and gnarled scars, whilst the other half of his face was expressing his pity for the child's words.
"You changed the day your family was murdered," he spoke softly.
Valerica pulled herself from her reverie and got back to the task at hand. She discarded that tasteful dress and corset for her old leather armour that felt like a second skin to her. The durable material was like a comfort blanket; It allowed her to clear her mind of her past haunts to focus on her training. Simple stretches were always best before training, it kept her limber and keen. Tranquility ran coursed through her veins as she took her left leg and placed it on the manor's outer wall performing a full split, she was what you would call a contortionist. Her head arched back as she raised her leg further, feeling the tightening of her leg muscles and the relief that soon followed. "Ahhhhhh," She breathed a sigh of relief, it was nice to turn back to routine. As she moved on to the right leg Finny ran up like a adoring puppy dog.
"Hey Val! What are you doing out here?" He chattered eagerly.
Biting back a sigh of disappointment, Val forced a smile on her face and answered, "Oh just trying to stay limber in case of an emergency."
Finny bristled with excitement, asking,"Wow! Could I stay and watch?" He batted his eyelashes and pulled a cheerful puppy face that melted Val's annoyed mood.
She look at him reluctantly and sighed,"If you're done with everything I don't see why not." The eccentric gardener cheered and sat himself down on the ground watching Valerica attentively. No longer feeling secure stretching in front of a man, she moved on to dual wielding her blade with a gorgeous silver blade with a ruby hilt she discovered in Ciel's home. Ignoring her new audience, she began to swing the blades slowly, testing their weight to see if she could keep her arms up during battle. Confident with her choice in weaponry, she started to slash and hack in intricate patterns while performing evasive maneuvers. Finny, shockingly, remained in awed silence as her pace grew faster. Sweat grew on her brow as she threw both of the swords straight through the air at a makeshift target, one of Finny's butchered hedges, and did a backflip onto the soft lush grass. Before the swords could obliterate the remains of the hedge, Sebastian had caught them in the blink of an eye and stood patiently in front of the target. Val grit her teeth and jogged to the fiend of a butler, her scent overpowered with annoyance.
Sebastian smiled and tilted his head to the side, and reprimanded Val as if she was a child, "The young master would not be very pleased to hear that you and Finny are single handedly destroying the gardens."
"Well I think they could use a makeover," Val hissed towards Sebastian.
"Oh please let her continue sir, she's amazing to watch," Finny pleaded desperately. His only answer was a withering basilisk stare from the demon, which cut Finny short during his pleads. Wordlessly Valerica held out her hands for her weapons, only receiving the abyssal black sword.
"I had two, where's the other one," she demanded.
Sebastian smirked, "I believe this belongs to our lord," he said amused. Knowing it would be pointless to argue further, she continued to train tirelessly until her limbs were sore. Finny had returned to the servant's quarter's when Sebastian had left with the silver blade, leaving Val in peace. After awhile she just layed down on the grass and star gazed, the countless constellations reflecting off of her hair and her blade. The clouds had dissipated from the sky's earlier fog and let the moonlight shade the grounds of the house. Time passed slowly as Valerica sat staring at the stars, thinking aimless thoughts. A lone crow sat and watched her from the same hedge used for practice, it's red eyes bore into the skull of Valerica, and the silence continued uninterrupted for the remainder of the night.