My brain hurt. No everything did. I opened my eyes slowly. This wasn't my room. I got up quickly from the bed, and looked around. It took me a second to remember where I was. The Trancy estate. I covered my face with my hand, feeling my pulse beating wildly.

"Calm down." A female voice said. I looked to my right to see a middle aged woman with purple and white dress on, long braided gray hair, and a bandage that went all around her head staring at a huge cage full of beautiful blue butterflies. "The poison is out of your body. Your body just needs to recover."

I nodded, "Thank you for…saving me."

The maid took a butterfly from the cage, and let it rest on her finger. "Young Master wanted me to. I took you and started taking the poison out, all while Young Master paced around, saying how he'd slap Claude for this. You are very lucky to live, my dear. My name is Hannah."

"Thank you so much Hannah." I said, trying not to think of my throbbing head. "You like butterflies?"

"Well I…." She started, seemingly not happy with my question. "I just take care of them before the Young Master's spiders eat them. Young Master hates butterflies, but adores his spiders. I find them so beautiful though…"

Her words where sad, and made me feel bad for her. I knew who she was really though. A demon, just wanting Alois's soul like Claude. I suddenly had no emotion for her, Hannah the Flower demon (as weird as that sounds). She was better than Claude at least.

"By the way, I must say th-." Her sentence was cut short as Alois burst through the door and ran into the room.

"Nichole!" he yelled and gave me a great big hug. Big enough and hard enough that I couldn't breathe. "Oh my Devil, I'm so sorry! I slapped Claude twice for being such a bloody fool! He'll have a bruise that will last until next week!"

"Okay!" I said, still struggling to breathe. "Can you- ya know, get off me now?"

Alois quickly pulled back from his hug and gave a weird little bow to me. He then turned to his maid. "Hannah!" he snapped, "Get Lady Nichole your nightdress. She's staying here for rest of the night!" Hannah ran out of the room as swift as the butterfly that was still on her hand. He then mumbled some very bad words about Hannah that made me want to wash his mouth with soap and water. Who knew a noble had such a…colorful vocabulary.

I, being baffled why he had said 'the rest of the night' looked out the window to see the moon and stars. But, it had been only 6:00 before!

That was when I saw that Alois had a silky white nightgown dress thing on, and was carrying a small candle. "It's nearly midnight." He said, reading my thoughts. "Claude made me go to bed after ten, but I wanted to make sure that you where alright. You've been unconscious for a while. Are you?"

I nodded, still stunned. I had just nearly died. Claude was definitely trying to get rid of me. This was war. A war that was being fought to save a single life. But this small blonde-haired, booty-shorts-wearing life was worth fighting for.

"Hannah will come back soon with her night dress. It might be too big for you, but it's the only thing we have. Do forgive me…" Alois said, bringing the candle in his hand closer to his face. It was swollen from crying, and his face still shown with tear stains.

"It's fine. I'm alive, aren't I?" I told him, sad that he had gotten all worked up over me. "…So I heard you like spiders?"

Alois looked up at Hannah's butterfly cage, and started walking towards it. "Yeah….I lived on my own for five years, in the forest behind this manor. The only things that I talked to were the spiders, always busy making webs and killing butterflies. They became my friends." With that, Alois took a butterfly out of the cage, set down the candle, and began tearing its blue wings off. I cringed as he did. Poor butterfly.

Once the wings where gone, Alois put the ripped up pieces in the palm of his right hand, and with the left, put the dying bug back in the cage. He sat back down on the bed next to me. "Put out your hands." He ordered. I did, and he put the wing pieces in my outstretched palms.

"Thanks…" I said, trying not to get creeped out. For what? Disembodied animal parts? I wonder if PETA is for Insect Abuse too.

"Now, promise that you'll stay here, and be my Spanish dancing teacher! You'll be my new maid!" Alois snapped, "Swear on the butterfly wings! I'll give you a room, and meals. We practice dancing every day for two hours. What do you say?"

I wanted to jump up and celebrate. Being a dance teacher/maid wasn't in the plan, but I was staying at Alois's place, and he trusted me. "I promise!" I said, as enthusiastic as I really was.

Alois smiled, "Great, now you blow the wings away! Like a candle! That's how I make a contract with you. It's like sealing our little deal, 'ya know!"

I did as he said. The wings didn't go far, but it was done. I was well on my way to saving Alois.

Alois watched them float to the ground, than looked around. Once he saw no one he whispered to me, "Can you ask the fairies to sing again?"

I nodded, "You have to close your eyes again!" I said playfully. He was like a little kid. A cute, nearly fifteen year old, Spanish wannabe, lost everyone he ever loved, dead then resurrected by a demon, slightly mentally challenged little kid.

Alois did as he was told, and I popped by phone out (I hid in the pocket of my dress) and ran through good songs. One stuck out more than the others. I typed "No Way out by Phil Colins" into the search bar, and played the song.

Alois smiled as he listened to the piano, and swayed to the slow beat. It wasn't until the words began did his smile fade.

"What…." He said as the song continued, "This song….it's just like….like me…" Alois lowered his face so that his eyes were covered by his blonde hair.

"Alois?" I said, worried that I has pulled his heart strings a little too hard. "You okay?" I stopped the music and reached out to place my hand on his shoulder.

Without even looking up, Alois grabbed my wrist in mid-air. He had an iron grip on me, and after a second, my hand twitch from the pain. It only made him squeeze me harder.

"Sing." Alois commanded.

What? "You want the fairies to sing again? I'll ju-" I started, but before I could finish, Alois lifted his head up, revealing tears running down his eyes at a cheetah's pace.

"NO!" he yelled and grabbed me. He lifted me off my bed using sheer force and surprise, and then forced me to the wall. Once there, he held me against the wall using his arms. "YOU!"

"What!" I asked, shocked and scared. "You want me to sing? I won't! I-AHHH!" Alois kicked me in the shin, making me shutter and nearly fall over.

"DO IT!" he practically screamed, his eyes wild.

"Alright!" I said, a few tears of pain slowly going down my cheek. "I'll sing!"

I began singing the song Alois seemed to connect with, my heart beating fast and arms hurting from being pushed against the hard, cold wall. I wondered why I had even thought of this song. I knew Alois would feel something about it, but not on this level! His anger and sadness of his dead brother, his old mean master, his parents he never knew, where all going through his crippled body. It, along with his bipolar, had taken over, and where going wild. This was why I need to save him. To let the anger and sadness be filled with love and happiness.

I finished the first part of the chorus when Alois let me go. I dropped to the ground and grabbed my leg. A bruise had already begun forming.

"Alois, I'm not mad at you…" I tried explaining to him. It wasn't his fault. It was everyone who had ever touched his heart and tainted it with hatred. "I'm really not. It's not your fault."

Alois covered his eyes with the back of his hand and made a grunting noise. "It is." He said, "No one gets it. I'm sorry." With that, he ran out of the room, bumping into Hannah with a white silk nightdress in her arms on the way.

The older maid watched him go, than looked at me sprawled on the ground. "Young Master hurt you? He's hurt me too out of his anger." She motioned to her bandaged eye. "But I love him anyway. You will too."

"I already do." I said, getting up and limping to the bed. "I just hope that he has a little love left in him."

The older demon maid nodded, "I'm sure Young Master does, he just needs to know that you love him too. By the way I need to tell you this…"

...

I sighed and laid on the bed. I was dead tired.

Hannah left the gown on the bed next to me. "I'll leave you for the night. Welcome to the Trancy Servant Family."

She closed the door and left me alone. The only light that illuminated the room was the one candle Alois had left. I sighed. Time to report for the day.