MADAM RED: this next installment has been uploaded in thanks to AloisTrancy and wazzapmoikay for reviewing and watching. Things are going to become very uncomfortable for our favorite demon butler! Grell was supposed to give a disclaimer today but he is still sulking after reading about his obsession's sex life… I only own Aiko. I don't own the king of France, real people in 1666 that are mentioned, Kuroshitsuji characters, or biblical demons depicted therein.

The raven haired demon stared out the carriage window with an inscrutible expression over his sharp pale features. He was worried about Aiko. When the Undertaker had tried to wake her up back at the stables a few hours ago, she coughed violently until she passed back out from asphyxiation. Both men had been flustered and secretly regretful at the sight. Now she was lain across the seat opposite them with a pillow and blanket from the owner of the coach. Her face was ashen and she had a fever that made her feel like a furnace in your arms. Her gentle eyes were also a puffy red that made her appear to cry every once in a while during her sick slumber. You did not have to be a doctor to know she was very sick and in quite a bit of pain. Despite all the inconceivable things they could accomplish between the two of them; neither knew any way to treat ailing humans. The only flesh they dealt in was in a sexual sense and obviously it would do naught but worsen the situation anyways. All they could do was clutch onto the letter of recognition from King Louis XIV as they clip clopped through the city of Paris out into the countryside to reach Versailles where there would be rich beds and a human doctor that COULD do something for her.
The demon couldn't help but think himself powerless and responsible. If he had not been hell bent on cutting himself on that scythe of blissful release... He would begin that line of thought and become derailed with the still lingering desire every time. Then he would glance at the grinning wigged shinigami, whom was noticeably eyeing Aiko, and follow his gaze to the poor child and begin the cycle all over again. He was being painfully torn over his desire to die, and his cursed attachment to Aiko. He barely grasped this topic. It was always a matter of singular whims and lust for him. This indecisive and contradictory state of mind was completely foreign to him. That was why Aiko was on the other side of the coach instead of in his arms. He was too confused, too hapless to have her close to him at the moment. It would surely make the strange guilt, hate, and love well up stronger if he touched her right now. That was something even he, a demon, could not handle. He knew he was becoming soft and hated it.
The country side whirled past as he returned his gaze to the window after going through the cycle again, completing and restarting it. Even here he was caught up in the monotonous way time passed. It would speed up and slow down, speed up and slow down, then stop for a moment, speed up again and then slow once more. Many unexpected things would happen, but the Undertaker had made spontaneity vulgar with his life threatening surprises. Little surprises that only emphasized how much he wanted to die, how he hated life in the human world, and how easy it was for the shinigami to befuddle his mind. If only he had not been hell bent on cutting himself on that scythe of blissful release...
His round of thoughts was interrupted by a clear amused voice that never seemed to change with time. "We should be almost there, Aiko will be all right, kitty." he said pointedly looking at him going about his list of stares.
"I am sure you are very concerned" he replied brusquely ignoring the fact that the retired man was, in fact, at least as concerned as he was. Neither of them showed it but it was silently understood that both feared for her life. They had no idea how severely humans reacted to smoke... Well, except for the fact that they could definitely die from it. This was the first time either one of them had considered saving a life. Not judging, or choosing whether to consume or not, but wanting to keep it alive for personal reasons.
The man smiled softly and leaned over to kiss him, brushing aside a curl in his face from the wig he had returned to the demon. "Just stop fretting and calm down unless someone says she is going to die, which she is not. I should know she will not die from this."
The demon did not respond. Now was not the time for him to be messing around. Aiko was right in front of them, sick and asleep. He felt long fingers thread through his brown wig to pull him in closer. The shinigami was stroking his face tenderly. The kiss was soft and unobtrusive for the moment, just letting them feel each other. He let his fingertips graze over the Undertaker's smooth and uninflected cheek. The demon had nearly forgotten how soft the man could be on occasion. The last several times of intimate action were violent and forced, but he had also been gentle once before in the Austrian bedroom. The other times had all been fast, messy, and harsh. His heart ached with the memory of the scissors piercing into it and twisting as he was raped.
He pulled away quickly. "Don't tell me to calm down if i am not worried." he stated icily looking out the window once more. Off in the distance he could see the city fade into existence. They were almost there.
The Undertaker chuckled. "As you say, kitty." he conceded with a flip of his creepily long nailed hand.
It did not take long before they were rolling through the beautiful streets of Versailles and being admitted through the large gates to the ornate palace. Needless to say, the hunting lodge turned royal dwelling was grand indeed. Construction equipment was being removed off to the side and workers were busy clearing all evidence that they had been recently building. It would seem they arrived at a good time to see the new features Louis set up. Aiko would appreciate that if she ever got well. As if replying to his thoughts, the small Nepali girl cracked her eyes open as well as she could with the swelling. "Angel?" she croaked, her eyes searching wildly in a feverish haze.
The slender man clutched her burning hand in his own cold ones worriedly, forgetting his reasons not to for the moment. "I am here, Aiko. The carriage is pulling up to a place where we can get a doctor. We will get help there, alright? How are you right now? Does it hurt?" he asked quickly. The coachman knew to call for a specialist immediately upon arrival, so the demon did not bother to move when the carriage came to a halt.
"I am okay, Angel." she smiled weakly before her eyes turned confused "What happened? I was dancing and then daddy came up behind me and-" the girl started to gush when the funeral director cut her off with a silencing look.
He smiled hugely and wagged his finger when the other man turned to see what had made Aiko stop. "You really should not make our child talk when it clearly pains her to do so. I know that she needs all her strength to recover, not placate your motherly instincts." he said giggling when the demon glared at him angrily.
Before he could so much as lash out for the impertinent comment, the door was opened to two men in fine silken clothing. "Sieurs, i am the doctor. If you would please let us take the Madame into the palace to find a room, i would be honoured to take a look at her." the first one said with a small bow.
The formal guised demon picked her up and easily stepped out of the carriage without the proffered helping hand. The Undertaker dropped down beside him a second later to shake hands with the two Frenchmen. He did not speak anything other than English and choice Austrian words, so he had not caught but the titles used to address them and Aiko. He did, though, understand that a third man carting a strange metal contraption wanted the demon to hand her over, which the raven stubbornly refused. The Undertaker put a comforting hand on his shoulder-well, it looked comforting on the surface, but in reality he was pressing down to indicate his order. After a moment of hesitation he finally gave in and set her in the wheeled chair.
The doctor nodded sympathetically and turned to leave as Aiko was wheeled away by the assistant. Finally, the one who had come with the doctor spoke up. "We will take care of her, do not worry. But i must now accompany you to pay your respects to the King before i can take you to your rooms. You will then be notified when the Madame is ready to be seen." the demon steeled his will and plastered a pleasant small smile on his face as they were lead into the palace. He did not care for being told when he could see her. Stupid humans assuming they had any authority whatsoever to debar him from his child. He fought the urge to grimace as they were escorted into the large and capriciously decorated throne room.
There, sitting on a common sized velvet cushioned chair between two large golden candelabras, was the dark wigged Roi Soliel himself. His face was rather plump and aristocratically arrogant looking and the outfit was very flamboyant for a man. He wore tights that exemplified his dancer's legs under a preponderance of rich cloth and skirts all topped with a wig that was shaped almost like an M. Both immortal guests bowed deeply in the french fashion as they were once again introduced as sieurs Fête and Éclair, back from a visit to Austria.
"You went to Schönbrunn? What arts do you partake in?" the King asked interestedly. As expected, they had not even been questioned on their titles.
The demon stepped forward to answer the man in fluent french. "I played the violin with Franz Biber and for the late Austrian Emperor's widow on a few public occasions. I participated skillfully also on the fields of architecture, poetry, and fencing with the long sword. My daughter, Aiko, took violin lessons along with her already impressive show with the Palace cooks. She is also quite the dancer at parties." he informed formally with a touch of pride when he touched on Aiko's little achievements.
His head bobbed slowly as if he was disinterested, but his eyes belied the fact that the king was very pleased to have such artisans visiting. "And the man with you, what does he do?" he asked after a short pause.
The raven's eye was attracted by a flicker of movement. His eyes locked with a midnight set for the briefest of glimpses before it was gone and he had to bring his attention back to the Frenchman. He could have sworn he recognized that gaze. "Sieur Fête is a skilled carver and carpenter. A man who can create beautiful almost lifelike reliefs from his bare hands." he said simply but equally bombastic for the sake of appearing grand. He knew Aiko would be more readily accepted if she had talented company. Maybe then they would teach her many things she wished to learn. Perhaps someone could take her... Even as he thought of leaving her with the fear of her dying, he dismissed the notion. He knew that he was inevitably drawn to her. That child would be his one day.
The dark wigged King shifted in his red velvet and gold seat. "Then i welcome you three to my Palace. I have but one request, as well, if you would grant it." he said pulling back some the thick expensive skirts up his thigh. "When the Madame is better, would you have her join my Danse Academé? If she is a good dancer i would be greatly pleased to see my troupe grow." he requested.
He nodded his annoyingly curly wigged head. "If that is what the majesty pleases, then i shall ask her upon her regain of health. We are honoured to have you accept us and offer our child a wonderful opportunity to learn and be graced with your presence." the demon said with false appreciation.
It seemed to please the king none the less seeing as how a small smile graced his stiff lips. "I also believe that you, sieur Éclair, would be greatly pleased to meet with my friend, sieur Jean-Baptiste Lully. He is an incredibly skilled musician, dancer, and violinist." a dark wigged Italian bowed graciously to the left of the throne's high platform. "Beyond that, i am sure you will have no trouble catching the architects and artists that have just finished refurnishing my Palace. Please, relax and tour the halls for now, Lully will accompany you two to your rooms as well as show you around. Tell me what you think of it over supper night." he smiled holding out a hand to gesture Jean-Baptiste after them.
With one final bow, all three men left the throne room without any further words from either party. Annoyingly, right off the bat, the demon noticed the Italian's eyes scanning over his body through his short lashes. Lully was definitely failing if he was trying to be coy about stripping him with his eyes. "This is the front foyer. The murals on the ceiling were freshly painted recently, as the reliefs on the fireplace have only been carved these last few months. As you nodoubt already know; this was the King's hunting Palace before he decided to make it his new home. So many things here are very new, with the exceptions of the foundation its self. The muralist-" he began with a hardly noticeable accent in his french as he led the two guests around the various buildings.
Many were just highly decorated; murals on ceilings, reliefs on the wall and arches, large portraits scattered about the rooms of him and his ancestors. The demon found the style interesting enough in its human glory, but he was not fond of the plump and pompous nobles depicted therein.
The two rooms he genuinely took a pleasured interest in was the hall of mirrors and one of the reception rooms. The grand hall lined with shiny panes of cold glass that reflected your image back to you in the glowing midday light from the opposite windows simply amazed him. The rays bounced off the chandeliers and almost made him feel like he was in heaven. If it were possible for a demon to go to heaven, that is. It certainly did have a warm enveloping light though. The second floor reception room he adored was the simplest one; just rudimentary gold accents and a large oval portrait he had not recognized the subject of.
"-now then, would you do me the favour of joining me this evening to exhibit our skills on the violin? I must admit, i am very curious to find out many interesting talents you have." he said stopping in front of a gold accented door in the guest wing. The demon simply smiled feeling angry thoughts pierce into him from behind.
"Of course, after supper and visiting our daughter i would be glad to join you for a friendly bit of competition." he smiled opening the door for the secretively sulking Undertaker to go on inside.
The musician smiled hugely with his slightly pudgy cheeks and pointed nose. "Thank you, i will await your arrival in the gardens after supper." he said turning to take his leave, presumably by the King's side.
As soon as the door was shut behind him he let out a sigh. "At least we know Aiko will like it here." he said softly in the direction of the other man sprawled out on the short bed. The raven sauntered over and sat on the edge of the bed next to him.
The retired man groaned melodramatically. "i wonder where they put Aiko..." he mused tracing a finger down the demon's back causing a small shiver. "Hoho~ somebody is very tense" he giggled sitting up to wrap his arms around the other man's waist.
The demon Hissed lowly at the touch. "Do not put those filthy hands on my person." he attempted to pry off the pale hands before he remembered the Undertaker was much stronger than him. Soft white lips trailed down his exposed jaw where his curly wig had been torn off a moment ago. "Let go of me, idiot, we need to find Aiko. Stop dallying around and playing games." he growled a bit louder this time.
With a short derisive chuckle the shinigami let him out of his hold. "Then let's go on a little walk. Care to take a bet? Whoever finds her first gets an IOU from the other. Agreed?" he sniggered fixing the demon's wig back into place.
"agreed." he accepted quickly wanting to get on with the search for her.
The moment he spoke, the shinigami bounded out of bed and into the shadows, not giving the demon any semblance of warning that the game had begun. As not to waste any more time, he sprinted out to the hall at top speed. No mortal eye could catch him so he did not have to worry. His senses were fixed on locating her 100% at the moment. She was close...
"Little child" a familiar silky voice called through his thoughts.
The demon stopped and caught a flash of dark gleaming eyes before the apparition appeared. This time he knew better. It seemed an old friend or two are residing here. Why had they not revealed themselves?
His thoughts snapped back to the task on hand. He could not let the Undertaker win this. Who knows what that pervert would have him do if he won. The raven raced towards the door he had been heading for and threw it open... To the sight of the Undertaker patting her little hand. Neither of them said a word since the shinigami's smirk already claimed clean cut victory. Instead, the demon watched her sleeping face. A gold handled window had been opened to give her fresh air and many blankets covered her small frame. She did not feel hot but mildy warm now, so he assumed that was good. Her face was less ashy if not a little ruddy from the fire. Her breathing was a tad smoother as well. Maybe the humans could take better care of her than they could, the demon thought duly. They both sat there watching Aiko sleep peacefully until the doctor's voice roused them to slip out through the shadows.
Once back in their designated room, the Undertaker smiled hugely. "I won, kitty! You should not have underestimated me." he grinned jovially.
He held back a snort. It had not been anything of the sort. "I was merely distracted on my way over." he replied flatly.
"Excuses, excuses, you owe me one." he chuckled happily poking the demon on the tip of his nose.
The raven rolled his eyes and turned his head to the other side to deny him the satisfaction of seeing his face. That man from his past that distracted him would get an earful when he showed up again. If the brief glimpses registered correctly in his memory, this was going to be a very complicated stay. "Do not let your head grow too large. It does not matter." he scoffed moving away to peek out the curtains.
The shinigami came up to wrap his arms around the younger man's waist tightly so that he could nuzzle his pale neck. "You know, i don't think this is just the usual paranoia of me or Aiko. There is something else bothering you..." he trailed off when the demon tensed the tiniest bit. "Is it something you should tell me? I know i am your favorite, so you don't have to keep secrets from me."
The raven stood silently for a moment. "I thought you were the expert on my past but it seems you only know what i destroyed. Such a pittance of all i have done." he mused in a light reverie. Hopefully they showed themselves soon so he could get those two away from Aiko and Undertaker.
A small chuckle reverberated against the joint between his shoulder and neck as he kissed i softly. "I cannot know everything, kitty." he smiled letting him walk out of the embrace. This was why he did not like to live on earth, he grumbled inwardly as his thoughts went over worst case scenarios.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Surprisingly, the two figures that were always in his periphery vision did not confront him. It was nerve wracking when Aiko was restored to health a week after their arrival. She still had a cough and a faraway look in her eyes that bothered the two men. Her cheerful demeanor seemed to have dampened during her illness. She just was not the same loving and happy child they had known. Perhaps it was mostly their fault for putting her through so much. Their little girl could not handle their violent relationship.
To offset her growing introverted mood, the demon took her to the gardens every evening to practice the violin with Lully, Guided her to the kitchen during the preparation of supper, and accompanied her to the King's Royale Danse Academe. The Undertaker would frequently take over watching Aiko during class in case her coughing became fatal from the exertion. That usually left the demon scrambling to find contests hosted around the Palace to occupy himself with until she was done. He won everything he participated in; saber fencing, painting, puzzles, races, arguments with the architects, and acting. Nothing was off limits to his boredom. Often times, he would return to the dance session to watch Aiko's practice in secret. He learned dances as she did and still waited patiently at the end of practice as if he had just arrived. She would return to their room to take a bath before being escorted to meals with the other guests and residents of the Royal Palace. Few words passed her lips.
This went on for a few weeks until one afternoon, while the demon and shinigami waited for her together, one of the men finally saw fit to reveal himself.
The demon immediately stood and nodded his head before the unnamed man embraced him lightly but warmly. "Ah, child, you are still quite the handsome fiend, i see." the silky dark haired man smiled as he held the raven out at arm's length.
His face was softly glowing with eternal youth and small stress lines pulled down the corners of his pink lips. "I almost believed you did not wish to talk to me. It has been a long time." the raven replied hiding his dread for this encounter.
The attractive friend of the raven chuckled silkily. "You know how HE is; he is not even free for his best child. Though, admittedly, i was thrown off for a while with that human guise. Very clever use of sheep skin." he patted the wigged raven on his angular cheek affectionately, almost proudly.
The ostracized Undertaker's mouth hung agape for the duration of the conversation. "Who exactly are you?" he questioned the stranger with quelled jealousy.
The naturally short wavy haired man ignored him as if he did not exist in his world, but kept his attention on the raven. "So Asmodeous is the other one with you, Lucifer? I assumed as much fro-" he was cut off as slender hands wrapped around him from behind to stroke his heavily costumed chest.
"Have you missed me, child?" the flared blonde Asmodeus smiled slyly beside the raven's face. His child leaned back to greet him with a deep kiss as Lucifer tapped his foot to regain attention.
The shinigami awkwardly and jealously watched in silence. Three demons- no, two Princes of Hell and a favoured demon- were standing there ignoring him. The raven seemed uninflected about all of the closeness and touching from those two, but not from the Undertaker. "Kitty, are you going to tell me who these people are?" he cut in before their conversation could pick back up.
Lucifer did not turn his head towards the voice with the other two. After a moment's consideration where Asmodeus bore holes into the pariah's head, he resumed the earlier conversation. "So why is it that you have come here? I was surprised to see you amongst the courtroom with the french nobles." he asked.
It was not noticed when Asmodeus' arms left his waist and disappeared with the Undertaker with a stifled giggle. "I was originally following your sovereign, but this caught my eye and i made him settle down here to go about his business. We have found the Palace to be very accommodating for two beings as we are... I would say you would already know the abundance of villagers available, but i can tell you have not consumed anything in over a month. Even though you are of another element, you still are partially my child. I can even go as far as to say that you are drifting from your origins." he said darting his eyes in the direction the Undertaker had been a moment ago. "Is that true?"
The demon sighed; this was why he did not want to see them again. His masters that sculpted him and praised his perfection would not be happy to hear what he had made of their creation. A demon bonded with a human child and... Involved... With a shinigami, the annoyance of the demon world, is not to be taken lightly. "The opposite is being strived for, in all honesty. I wanted to return home and ended up getting tangled in things i did not realize until i had crossed the bridge. Things have become a little unclear lately, so i have unknowingly crossed many hidden bridges." he explained vaguely as the studio doors swung open and let out the young students. "Aiko!"
The twelve year old took her place next to the demon and studied the new man's face quietly. "Angel, who is he?" she asked softly.
The raven smiled nervously. "Aiko, this is my old friend and tutor, Lucifer. Lucifer, this is Aiko, my child." he introduced tentatively, watching his expression for any sign of rage or offense.
Instead, the fair featured Prince raised a brow at him "we will be discussing this later, after you tell me the undoubtedly interesting story." he stated firmly but without malice.
Maybe Lucifer would not be mad. Asmodeus would not care, but Lucifer was not one to forgive blasphemy against the angels, even if it was harmless and committed by his favoured child. Even if Asmodeus used his claim of ownership to spare the raven; Aiko would receive no mercy.
Lucifer walked back with them to their room as the two adults shared a bit of casual banter. Aiko tugged on his sleeve gently to have the fallen star look down at her. "Are you an angel too?" she asked simply.
Life was going to be very difficult from now on, the raven thought as Lucifer briskly left their company lest he show his nostalgic anger to the human. Aiko stood fixed on the spot with a confused expression across her features.
The raven prodded her through the door. "Do not worry about him; he does not like people talking about him. It's nothing you did intentionally wrong, Aiko." he comforted half-heartedly.
The moment the door closed, Asmodeus was pressed up against him tightly with one hand pushing Aiko further into the back bedroom where Undertaker was drinking tea. "You, dear child of mine, are in very deep trouble if Lucy gets the whole story. Raising a human child to call you angel, sharing your inherit ant skills with a retired management class shinigami, and not feeding... You might be getting too soft for flesh." his master laughed. "But you are still the best child i have taught, and i find this very amusing, so i will not tell him before you deem to. Be careful, i do not want to go against that Prince to get your severed head back."
He pressed his lips to his child's and shared a silent tonguing tango to reaffirm that his promise was valid. When Asmodeus pulled away and moved to leave through the door, he looked back for a brief serious moment. "You also might want to educate that shinigami of yours in his demonology. I cannot believe his race is so stupid as to call Lucifer by the name Satan." he rolled his eyes as if it was the stupidest move in the world (which it could be, if said before one or the other) and shut the door behind him.