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Margaret had been given a small flick knife from Ceceila and she kept it gripped tightly in her right hand. The carriage ride had been a tense one with Ceceila's eyes darting to the window constantly, and on more than one occasion she had gone to wipe her eyes to prevent tears from falling. The raven-haired girl had hardly spoken, but Margaret could tell that she had been feeling guilty, because she had left things on such bad terms with Warren after their disagreement this morning. If something had happened to him, Margaret feared that the younger twin would never forgive herself.

Upon arrival they had split up to search the water front area and the numerous warehouses and abandoned buildings near the docks. Ceceila had stated without room for argument that they would search separately, and as much as Margaret wanted to help Ceceila, she figured that she would only hinder her efforts rather than help them.

Margaret had just finished searching the second warehouse and was moving onto the third. She walked quickly from one to the other trying to seem inconspicuous, but she really had no idea how to do that apart from keeping an eye out to make sure someone did not spot her. She did stick out like a sore thumb, what with her well kept appearance, obviously expensive green and maroon dress and well fitting black gloves, she probably should have changed her clothing as Ceceila had. If someone did spot her it would be evident she did not belong here.

She tried the side door of the third warehouse only to find it was locked, she then tried the large sliding front doors – also locked. She sighed in frustration, if only she could pick locks or was strong enough to force the door open. Warren might be in there and there was a possibility the Doctor might have locked the place up. She went back to the metal side door and tried to ram her side against it in an effort to open it.

"Ow!" she let out an audible cry she gripped her left side and doubled over. That really hurt, she paced around in a circle for a few moments trying to walk off the thumping pain that now resided in her arm, in hindsight that was a bit stupid. All right she was clearly not getting in.

She moved around to the next warehouse - number four – again as inconspicuously as she could, but immediately she stopped, backed herself against the warehouse wall, and awkwardly sidled into a shadow as she saw two figures emerge swiftly from the large front doors.

She saw a tallish well dressed man in a brown suit with a moustache and a brown bowler hat pushing a cart with a large white dust sheet over the top and he was followed by Lysa, the woman she had been talking to earlier, she was also pushing an identical cart. It was Dr. Crippen!

They both pushed the large carts down to a boat on the river that had a loading ramp ready for them and they started quickly unloading the carts onto the boat. Margaret did not know what to do, they were right there, which meant Warren was most likely in the warehouse they had just left. She considered confronting them, but stopped before she took a step. This man was a killer and what was she? A young girl trying to help a friend in an awful situation was what she was.

Horror set in as she realised they would escape and she had to let them, but if they were leaving now then where was Warren? A cruel thought that he was under those dust sheets passed through her mind and she dismissed it as quickly as it came. She saw that the side door had been left open, so Margaret waited until the two had started the boat up and were far enough down the river that they were no longer looking and even if they did they would not see her. She then hastily ran to the side door and opened it; at first she thought the room was empty, as she heard nothing but the heels of her boots clicking off the damp stone floor. Then as she went further inside she heard muffled groans. She followed the sound and as she rounded some large wooden crates she felt her heart stop.

Warren was bound and gagged, tied to a chair and deep crimson blood covered his pinstripe navy blue suit and white shirt.

"Warren!" she shouted as she sprinted over to him removing his gag.

"Help me… please… help me…" his continued mumbling was incoherent and Margaret had to try very hard not to vomit at the sight of his face.

His right eye had been completely removed and all that was left was a dark empty socket, a severely damaged and swollen eyelid, and blood slowly but steadily trickling down his face onto his clothing. As she looked down she noticed that his right trouser leg was also soaked red and dripping blood onto the floor. She simply stood in shock and stared unable to move before catching herself and realising that he needed a hospital, now.

"Warren, it's me, Margaret, I am going to untie you and get you to a hospital, but you are going to have to walk to the main road so we can get a carriage." She received no response from him. "I will help you as best I can. You will be alright, I promise." She said, her voice and hands shaking.

She tried to untie the ropes binding him but they were too tight and her trembling hands kept fumbling. Then remembering she had it, she pulled out the flick knife she had been given - suddenly incredibly grateful for it - and sawed at the rope bindings with the serrated edge as fast and as hard as she could until they gave way. Warren almost fell off the chair, but she quickly grabbed him around his waist. It took all of her of strength to pull him up; despite his small stature he was still heavy. Margaret managed to swing his right arm around her shoulder with great difficulty, to lift his lagging weight to hers.

"We are going to start moving alright? But you need to try and help me. I know it must be painful Warren, but please we need to get you to a doctor." Again she received no response but she felt him shift some of his weight to his left leg easing the weight on her back and shoulders.

As they reached the outside of the Warehouse she saw the daylight was beginning to fade, what time was it? She thought about searching for Ceceila, but decided Warren's well-being took priority and as if her thought of the other Phantomhive twin could summon her, there she was, suddenly in front of them as if she had appeared from air. Her black hair was dripping wet and her street urchin's clothes were also soaked and covered in blood splatter that was clearly not hers, her breathing was heavy and laboured, and her face was unreadable. Ceceila's eyes however were not as they should be, they were glowing neon red and as she moved towards them Margaret automatically stepped back in fear.

"Ceceila?...What happened?" she said nervously.

Instead of receiving a reply, Ceceila moved to take Warren from her and gently draped him over her shoulder as if he was feather light. She blinked and her eyes receded to their normal obsidian colour then she looked the young Scot dead in the eye with no emotion present on her face.

"Thank you for your help. Sincerely." She said. Her voice, which had earlier been so frantic, had returned to its usual flat monotone.

"Ceceila, he needs a hospital immediately. The Royal London is near here." she said and pointed in its general direction. She then paused and considered her next words, for the eyes she possessed but a moment ago were not of the human realm. "And whatever kind of Spirit or Sidhe you are; please, use your netherworld magic to help save him."

Margaret saw Ceceila's blank mask slip for a second as she blinked rapidly and frowned in confusion. Then looking down she nodded and faster than lightning she ran towards the hospital.

The carriage could not pull up fast enough to the Phantomhive townhouse. As soon as Sebastian had told Elizabeth he had reinstated himself as head butler she could think of nothing but her children. After sleeping off her initial shock and fear, she had ordered a carriage straight to London. Before the carriage had fully stopped, she darted out with her light baby blue dress flowing behind her like water and her greying golden hair carelessly tied up. Elizabeth's expression was hard and determined and her eyes were tired yet focused, she would make sure no harm would befall her children due to Sebastian's meddling's.

It was dark, night had fallen and the lamps flickered outside the front door of the townhouse as Snake opened it to greet her. As Elizabeth approached a dark figure encroached behind the thin footman. Sebastian. Elizabeth immediately slipped into the voice and demeanour she used when she was conducting dealings as the watchdog

"Snake take my bags from the carriage to my room now." Snake bowed and slithered away to fulfil his lady's order. "And you-" She stared daggers at the black butler. "-I will see you in my study."

"Yes, my Lady." Sebastian smirked and bowed low placing his gloved hand on his chest.

The Countess of Phantomhive whipped past him, her well-tailored cream ankle boots clicking confidently along the black and white checked marble floor and up the wooden stairs. Her strides were fast, but Sebastian was never more or less than two steps behind her, Elizabeth marched into her study and turned to face him as he elegantly shut the door behind them.

"You will answer any and all questions put to you and you will do so truthfully." Her green eyes were filled with fury.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Sebastian smiled and he took a few paces closer to her, but Elizabeth stood her ground firmly. This time she would not be shaken so easily, this conversation would be on her terms.

"No, you have never outright lied to me crow, but you have a unholy talent for manipulating the truth and twisting it into something unrecognisable. This night though you will speak plainly to me, I desire none of your eloquence or clever duplicity. I simply wish for answers that are straight and true." She took a small step towards him which made them less than a foot apart now.

His smirk softened to an amused smile "Very well, the truth you shall have, but be careful Elizabeth, sometimes the simple, plain, truth is overwhelmingly crueller than a deceptive half truth."

"Where are my children?" she said.

"If I had to guess they are somewhere in central London near the river. Their exact location, I do not know." He said.

"Why are they there?"

"Why? They are carrying out your work of course, your order for your children to 'deal with' Dr. Crippen still stands does it not?"

She looked away, if only for a second before returning her gaze to his.

"Margaret is with them?"

"Yes she is."

"They should have returned by now, their plan was time sensitive. Why have they not retuned home? Sebastian?" Elizabeth felt her heart rate increase in alarm.

"Most likely, and this is mere speculation, because my little raven and that simpering silly little girl are trying their hardest to save your son's life. The little one did seem inconveniently agitated when she figured out the brat was walking straight into the Doctor's hands. I would have accompanied them to provide aid, however I was asked to stay here as it was thought by the young Miss Sinclair that my comments and remarks would not help the situation. So, as such, I remained here lying in wait for their return." he smiled and tilted his head as he finished speaking.

"If you know they are in trouble then why have you not gone to help them?!" Elizabeth shouted angrily as she grabbed her swords from the cabinet next to her desk and shouted down the stairs for Snake to ready a carriage again.

"I have not helped them, Elizabeth, because I do not wish to help Warren or the Sinclair girl. That arrogant brat is an unwelcome reminder of my former master and a wretched 8-year long hunger that I wish never to repeat and the Sinclair girl, well, she simply vexes me with her pure-hearted goodness. But rest assured my Lady that our child-" He grabbed Elizabeth's wrist and pushed his power through her using the mark "-is very capable of taking care of herself and others in anyway she deems fit. Even if she does not fully know it just yet."

Elizabeth stumbled and dropped her swords as Sebastian held her wrist and pushed that incredibly familiar feeling through her body. She knew what he was doing; he was stalling her so that she would not be able to reach her children before something dreadful befell them. As she righted herself and went to wrench herself away she caught sight of her face in the darkened window and halted. She looked different, not exceedingly different, just a little. Her face was thinner, her eyes were brighter, the dark shadows beneath them had vanished, and her skin was lighter and porcelain smooth with not a wrinkle in sight. She looked down at her body and noticed it too had changed, her breasts were smaller, her hips were narrower and she felt stronger as if she possessed more energy. She looked younger.

"What did you…" her voice sounded lighter, higher pitched.

"You asked for my plain and simple truth, well this is the truth I see when I look at you. You are beautiful Elizabeth and you will forever be beautiful. Your beauty will remain captured; as it was the night I marked you. Your outward human beauty may fade and your mind succumb to time, but to me this is what I see when I look at you and what I will always see – your soul. You began a white rose in another's garden, but when I plucked you and stole you away, your petals were dyed an inky black. That is what you are to me, you are my black rose, a sad porcelain doll brought to life by my deviltry." He had moved closer to hold her and had snaked his hand around her waist to sit at the small of her back.

She needed to move her feet to go, her children needed her, but his words were like poisoned honey and upon looking at her younger self in the window's reflection, she was reminded of a time when he had lavished his own fiendish brand of affection upon her. Said fiends lips were now slowly moving closer to hers.

"Don't." she had meant to say it bitterly, but it came out as a light breathy whisper and he bent her back so he was leaning over her smaller frame.

"Then step away my Lady." His hushed voice whispered.

Elizabeth saw his eyes glow and his demonic form shift around them, encasing them and the room in shadow. The only gleam of light came from her dress and her hair, as the moon coursed through the window and flitted around Sebastian's moving shades bouncing off the light fabric and golden tresses. With his right gloved hand he held her left wrist tight to his side and his left hand was leaning her back further and further until she could only push herself back up towards him. There was hesitation as Elizabeth tried to fight the power she could feel coursing from him to her through the mark on the back of her neck. Images of the past long gone flashed through her mind and eventually she gave in, closed her eyes and leaned into him as their lips met.

His kiss was just as she remembered, all fire and passion yet methodical in its execution, every flick and lick of his tongue was deliberate, every bite of her lip done with firm intent. He was utterly unyielding to her attempts to control the kiss. So she breathed the demon in remembering everything that she loved about him, remembering why she fell for him. What Elizabeth would have noticed if she had caught sight of herself in the window as she kissed the demon butler, was that as his power flowed through her, her eyes were no longer their striking green colour. Instead they glowed a bright red, but as it was her eyes were shut, relishing in a moment that deep down she had secretly coveted for for years.

She felt him smirk against her lips and he pulled her closer so that their bodies were flush against one another, and then he slowly removed his lips from hers. Elizabeth leant back up as if to recapture them but found a single gloved finger on her lips.

His eyes were lusted over and still glowing as he smiled and brushed a stray hair from her face and leant down to her ear.

"They are at The Royal London Hospital." He said smiling.

Elizabeth's eyes snapped open and she immediately sobered up and yanked herself away before planting a solid, loud and resounding slap straight across his face. His lip bled slightly and he flicked his tongue out to lick the blood away with a mischievous grin. She picked up her fallen swords from the carpet and went to leave.

"This conversation is not over." She said with steel in her voice.

Sebastian chuckled "Of course my Lady, I would not have it any other way."

Elizabeth did not look at him as she left the room and headed straight for the carriage. She was loathed to admit to herself that she had wanted that for a very long time. She was loathed to admit that she had missed him. It hurt and angered her to think he still had such a hold over her feelings even after all this time.

She quickly climbed into the carriage and rubbed her hands over her face, she was the Countess of Phantomhive and she needed to appear composed. She removed her cream gloves from her dress pocket and slipped them on. Then she pulled out her small pocket mirror to make sure her lip rouge had not smudged and she looked somewhat presentable. As she did she could not help but take in her appearance. She looked so old. The fair and light beauty she had possessed as a young lady had indeed faded and she could not help but think how beautiful she had looked when Sebastian had held her. She felt a small pang of guilt in her chest for John, the man who cared so much for her and was gentle and sweet. She should be discarding any feelings she had for Sebastian for John, but it was tremendously difficult.

Elizabeth willed all current thoughts of the crow out of her mind as the carriage started to move, she had given direction to the hospital and she was determined to make sure that if anything had happened to her children the one responsible would suffer a pain unlike anything they could even fathom.

A/N PLEASE REVIEW! They really motivate me and I want to know what people think of the characters and stories. Also follow and fav, thank you!