Chapter 49: Sebastian POV

I pulled Danny into a hug, blinking the anger that boiled up, even as she clung to me, digging her fingers into my flesh and tried to soothe me. I laughed; she had been thrown to the curb like a useless rag and she was trying to comfort me.

"I can't," I started to say. "I can't… go."

Danny pulled me down and kissed me, nodding as she did. "I know. You know he will make it an order if he thought you could see a way around this."

"I could take his Soul," I muttered, turning into her hair and sighing. "I could run with you."

"No, you can't. Please, my love, nothing of this moment is going to last forever." She cupped my head and bent it to look at her. "This is a moment in our lives. A small moment in eternity. You promised me eternity with you, and I did the same - this is just a small separation of that."

"How can you be so calm?" I asked, pulling her closer.

"Because otherwise I will burst apart in utter grief," she said, turning her head into my chest, her hands clutching at my jacket. "I have no other home then this," she whispered in a panic. "Nowhere!"

"The Undertaker can take you in. The Master simply said not here, not in the Manor, he never said not to be in London. And we can bare a small distance," I said, bending and looking her in the eye. "We will move you to London and all will be fine."

She sniffled and shook her head. "No, he will not tolerate me being so close. Think about it Sebastian, even if there is a remote possibility that Vincent could see me, the Earl will be horrified and most likely will find a way to end all this." She turned and pulled at my hand. "He will try to end me, actually. He knows better than to mess with you."

I pulled her back. "If he touches you, he messes with me. I love you, and have made a promise to keep you safe." I cupped her chin and smiled slowly. "My love."

"I have until tomorrow night."

"I would like to get you out tonight," I breathed. She raised an eyebrow and I smiled a bit. "I don't have to try so hard to be quiet if we are not spending the night here."

Her eyes sparkled and she pulled me out of the room. "Either way, I have to pack." She paused at the landing and looked up at the family portrait, soon to be updated with the young Mistress. I placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed as she silently once more cried.

"Come, we soon will have an audience," I whispered as I felt Mey-Rin walking to the kitchen stairs to continue her cleaning. "We have all day to pack and cry over this." I pulled her up the stairs and we missed the Maid by a few steps. As much as it would hurt to tell the staff about Danny's departure, I didn't want to do so in front of Danny.

Danny stood in the room and then slowly sat on the bed, her hand pressed to her mouth and tears slipping down her face. "Would you like me to pack?" I asked softly. She nodded and I opened the steamer trunk at the foot of the bed and began to place her few clothes in it. I placed a pair of pants and a shirt out for the trip our of the Manor, when she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around my left arm and leaned into me.

"I'm going to the last place I called home," she finally said, leaning her head on my shoulder.

I frowned. "You can't go back to the Society. You are a Demon."

"I know I can't go there. That's not where I would want to go back - imagine how William would react!" She gave a short laugh and smiled sadly. "No, not back there. I think I will go back to America."

I unwrapped her arms from me, and looked at her. "America?"

She wrinkled her nose and looked at me. "Don't say it like that. I am American. I just cultivated this sexy British accent over the past 50 years," she said, looking at me. "Look, I know it's a far place to run. And perhaps I am reacting as harshly as the Earl, but I do miss my homeland. The sun and air, and the valley and hills - I may even still have a place there." She took some of her clothes and placed them in the trunk.

"You are very calm for all this."

She stood up and turned and looked back at me. I could see she was not as calm once she met my gaze. "So much has happened in the past year, and the Earl has stood by me in each instance. He… he has every right to be so mad at what happened." She shook her head and wiped her face. "You really took a big risk, Sebastian."

"You deserve to live as you are. And," I sighed and once more gathered her in my arms. I wanted to keep her there, protected. "And the young Master needed to know. His attachment to you - he will only grew into the role of the Watchdog. He will need protection and an enchanting Demon to draw in his enemies, has advantages."

"I'm just trying to keep reminding myself that this is a moment in our lives. And then I'll come back, I'll serve the young Master if he wishes, and we can be together."

I frowned and caressed her cheek. "Well that is a good perspective. Another one is that you are not even a year Born and already leaving my protection."

"Children have to fly the nest sometime," she whispered. She blinked and looked down at the trunk. "I can't… we can't change the Earls mind - please don't try. He is right, I scared the young Master, I broke his trust. I took his heart for me, his awe and trust in me, and I broke it. We broke it. And I understand why you did it. I love that you did it, but his eyes… his Soul, Sebastian… I broke it all to pieces. Shattered him."

She collapsed on the floor, her own life shattering. I knelt down and swept a piece of her hair from her face. I could learn to have my anchor far away from me. I would shut my emotions back down and back off from everything Danny had slowly opened in me. There was silence as we simply clung to one another. An hour later I scooped Danny into my arms and laid her on the bed. She had cried all the tears for now, and had fallen asleep.

As she slept, I went down to see the Master. I needed time to process this as well and I was prepared as he gave me a fairly dismissive tone.

"How many lifetimes have you lived? And this one - this one woman - is your Achilles Heel? You have until the morning. Be back."

I bowed and gripped my hands to my side. I rushed down to the kitchen and quickly barked my orders, not minding how they quickly scattered. I avoided the Master to gather a few more minutes with my love.

She was walking around and was looking out the window as I came in. "Are you ready?" I asked gently. She nodded and placed an envelope on the dresser and moved the plant to the window.

"Let's go," she said softly. She took one more breath and smiled abit. "I haven't thought about ever going back to America. I was grabbed by London Reapers right after graduation and I never knew any others. But I suppose there is no reason to worry about that," she said giving a small laugh.

I picked up her trunk and walked down the stairs. I paused as Finnian came into the house and ran down the hall. His muddy footprints made me cringe, but Danny's hand on my arm reminded me I had other things to take care of.

"Clean the floors, dear," she said as she looked at the mud. "We have time."

"Let me tell Mey-Rin," I simply said. She nodded and took the trunk and walked to the automobile. I found the maid and placed a bucket and mop in her hands and zoomed back to Danny. She was sitting in the back of the auto wiping her eyes. I felt a pair of eyes on us and I turned as I closed the door. The young Master was watching from the second floor. I made my gaze sure and sharp, and he met mine with so much anger and disappointment.

I started the automobile and drove into London, to stop by the Undertaker. He could help with the distance, the pain of separation, or simply offer some advice for me not to simply snap the Master's Soul.