A/N Hello! Thank you for the lovely reviews so far and I would first and foremost like to apologise for any spelling errors within this fanfiction. I'm writing it on an iPad and autocorrect likes to make assumptions sometimes when I write. I know you can turn it off, but I like it there to check my spellings are usually alright. Oh the irony. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and more will be coming ups soon. Reviews are always appreciated! :)

- FLASHBACK of Claude's perspective-

He sighed for the umpteenth time as he followed his Penelope through the manor house. Of course he knew where she was going, he had watched her go on the roof plenty of times when she was upset or annoyed at something. However, she had never been upset or annoyed towards himself, so Claude couldn't comprehend the emotions that were spinning around his head.

He thought that by saying he was her friend that Penelope would be satisfied, or even happy, not the reaction he had received. He admitted over the years he had slowly become more distant from her, but in reality this was for her own good. She had no idea how much he now lusted after her. Although he blamed it on her innocent soul. As a seventeen year old, Penelope possessed an amount of natural beauty that Claude knew others would kill for. Her blood red hair had become slightly more tamer over the years, meaning that although it could easily get out of hand without care, when it was properly brushed, it framed her angel like face perfectly. Claude would never admit it out loud, however, that he didn't care what her hair looked like, as he found her waking up in the morning to be one of the, dare he say one of the 'cutest' things he had ever seen. On top of that, her body had matured greatly, and although her chest was reasonably small, she still had curves and a womanly shape. The corset she wore would only highlight this further, making her slim waist more punctuated. And of course, he couldn't leave out her face. Her skin which was only a shade darker than his own, still making it porcelain, was contrasted with dark lashes and glowing green eyes that reflected wisdom beyond her years. His thoughts were driving him crazy and he let out a frustrated growl as he made his way up the ladders to the attic.

'How could she not see the way I desire her?' He thought bitterly. Claude had over the years changed his attitude towards this friendship they had. At first he had resented it all, finding the task of pleasing the small child tedious, yet as the years went on, her happiness somehow reflected on him, and now at this point, Claude cared for her more than he imagined. He tried to explain it to himself, or even come up with a reason. But it was useless. For all he knew, she had become an intelligent young lady, she loved to learn and laugh and had somehow managed to worm her way into his cold undead heart.

Shaking his head, Claude climbed through the window and immediately felt the same as he did every other time he came to find her. Concern. There was a considerable drop from the roof and he always would try and inform her of the risk she put herself through. Of course, her stubborn attitude would have her agreeing, yet doing it once again. Now, getting on the roof he looked around and couldn't see her at all. 'How odd' he thought 'perhaps I had misjudged her'.

He then heard a sound coming from the lower floors of the house and had a suspicion that was where she was. As he made his way gracefully off the roof, in one fine leap and felt his feet touch the floor, his eyes widened for a moment when he saw the front door completely open. Walking in, he closed them and looked around. A horrible smell was in the air. He knew that smell very well, since he had to deal with it for years. It was only reasonable for him to be able to detect it, considering he was the one who got rid of it in the first place. His desire to find Penelope over powered the desire to get rid of the new infestation as he would refer to it in his head. Just as he was about to run up the stairs, a powerful force collided with his chest, sending him sprawling backwards. Sharp talons wrapped around his biceps and he gave the creature a bored look.

"You are a foolish creature for attempting to get my mistress" he spat coldly at her. Lucy in reply just laughed softly. He had known from the start what she was when he had joined the estate. And of course to protect Penelope, he only saw fit to remove such a disgusting threat.

Without blinking, Claude threw the winged monster against the wall, causing a bang to echo around the manor. She came at him again, and narrowly missed his face. He returned the gesture by nearly breaking her wings. She gave a cry of pain and he felt satisfied when his glove was covered in her blood. He had managed to rip some of her lower back in the process. However, Claude's biggest weakness was perhaps his own arrogance, as he was too busy basking in his success, that he suddenly found his glasses falling to the floor followed by himself, and a very nasty scratch on his cheek. Growling, his golden eyes became a glowing blood red, and he launched himself at the beast once again. They fought fiercely for another couple of minutes and just as he was about to deliver a final blow, Lucy threw him through the wall into the dining area. That gave her enough time to disappear, for when he returned she was no where to be seen.

Knowing that she could only be going towards Penelope, Claude gave a small groan of frustration and began to follow the putrid smell up the stairs. It led to Penelope's bedroom, and for a moment he almost rolled his eyes knowing that her bedroom risked being damaged once again. Yet as he entered he narrowed his eyes in irritation. The creature was messing with him, the whole room was in perfect condition except a small patch of blood on the floor. He was just leaving when he heard a bang come from Penelope's parents room and watched as Penelope ran past him and straight for the stairs. She didn't notice his figure pulling back into the room as he prepared to stop Lucy from following. Knowing that she had gone downstairs, he waited and just as Lucy came soon after, he wasted no time in throwing her to the ground. Taking his trusted golden knives, he impaled her through the hands to get her to stay still. However this proved to be fruitless as he had seriously misjudged her power. She used her battered wings to create enough power and threw him off her.

She gave a horrible cry and proceeded to race after Penelope down the stairs. However, she didn't get that far as Claude grabbed her wings and then punched her forcefully in the gut, sending her sprawling down the stairs and at Penelope's feet. For someone who lacked a heartbeat, in those seconds he swore he felt it thunder in his empty chest and out into his mouth. Realising that unintentionally he had placed the young girl in more danger, Claude in one movement had lifted her off her feet and proceeded to take her to the furthest corner. Her body pressed against his own, filled his cold body with an odd warmth but he could not enjoy it.

"Please stay here mistress" was his simple command, and he moved in a fluid movement towards the threat.

He had to admit that the fight was stimulating, as it had been a good two years since he had really fought or killed another. And as she kept using her sharp talons to go for his eyes, he would only react by punching back. She narrowly missed, and he enjoyed the growing frustration in her eyes as she kept pursuing her target. He then would use his trusted golden knives to break her skin, almost laughing at the pitiful creature she was. However, the way she looked at Penelope made him feel increasingly angry. Her look was filled with blood lust and greed, something Claude could not stand. So, having enough of her, he ruthlessly grabbed her wings with his now soiled hands and continued where he left off upstairs. With a mighty crunch, he snapped one of the wings in two causing the beast to scream in agony. He briefly glanced at Penelope and was surprised to she her hands covering her face, so deciding that he didn't want her to be overly disgusted at the scene, he placed his hands around the squirming creatures throat.

Seeing that his mistresses eyes were still covered, Claude allowed his sadistic nature to show, as he removed one had from her neck, and raked his fingers down the remains of her blood soaked back. Hearing her shriek some more, he gave a nasty smirk before grabbing her neck once more and snapping it.

Turning to walk over to Penelope, he was surprised when Lucy clumsily rose from the floor and snapped her head back into place. Giving them both a glare, she shrieked and crashed through the window near the door. Glancing at Penelope he found her tired confusion quite amusing.

-PRESENT-

Claude watched the girl hug his body closely and he allowed a contented smile to grace his lips. She had fallen asleep quickly and he was glad for it. Although as a butler, this would be deemed as extremely inappropriate, because of her wish for him to be her friend, he therefore had to comfort her as a friend and protector would. But the warmth of her body was also appealing to Claude and had he not have been indebted to her, Claude knew that he would have freely devoured her soul. Yet, he was contented that he hadn't done so, especially since he cared for her. 'No' he thought 'lusted for the girl'. He hated the idea of feeling something other than lust as demons rarely felt anything different.

Taking his glasses off, he carefully placed them on the bedside table and moved himself so he could wrap his arms around her. Resting his head on the top of her own, he deeply inhaled her delicious sent and slowly closed his eyes. Just because demons don't need to sleep, didn't necessarily mean that they didn't sleep at all.