Greeks Bearing Gifts
Blaire drew her head back from the angel, blinking rapidly. They were in Ciel's mansion, still embraced on the floor. Blaire stood up upon noticing that she was no longer in chains. It was dark inside; the lamps were extinguished and an eerie silence permeated the air. The hallway felt cold and deserted without the usual buzz of the other servants bickering, breaking things or blowing things up. She wandered over to the window to peer outside, the floorboards creaking beneath her weight. There was nothing but thick, swirling white fog outside. Angela stood clasping her hands in front of her with her wings outstretched. She was a picture of elegant beauty, though she harbored a sly cast. And she was watching Blaire carefully.
"How are we in Ciel's house?"
"We aren't. We are still in the Tower of London." Angela replied calmly.
Blaire turned to Angela sharply, eyebrows knitted together. "I don't understand."
"Turn the lights on." Angela commanded.
"All of them? It'll take ages-" Before she could finish speaking, all of the lamps lining the hallway ignited, orange flames bursting forth from within the sconces. Blaire stood and stared. "How…?"
"Turn them off."
"I can't-" All of the lamps flickered, before turning dark and suspending the two in shadows once more.
"We are inside your mind. You are in control."
"Why… why here? Of all the places for my mind to dream up, why Ciel's crooked old mansion?" Asked Blaire, looking around tentatively. Everything seemed so real.
"You have been spending a lot of time there. You have many strong emotions in connection with this place." Angela let her gaze drift around where they were stood, before returning to Blaire. "It's no matter. In fact, this is the perfect metaphor for us to begin our journey. Close your eyes for me."
Blaire swallowed, unconsciously stepping back from the angel. "Why?"
"Trust me." Angela smiled, coming forward and maintaining eye contact. "You needn't fear me, dear child." Her voice was soft, her eyes gently aglow and pulling Blaire in. Obeying, she closed her eyes, feeling the angel move around her. She felt Angela's hands on her shoulders. "Now imagine that this hallway is filled with doors, right down to either end. Make the hallway as long as you need." Immediately, silently, doors appeared in the hallway, which now seemed to stretch on infinitely. Each of the doors looked like the same dark oak in Ciel's mansion. "Very good. Now, behind each of these doors is a memory. Any memory. The most recent memories will be the nearest." The doors began to change, most of them now bearing dates in golden numbers.
Blaire opened her eyes. All of the doors around them were dated within the 1800's. Angela stepped forward. "Let's have a peek." She opened the door and glanced back towards Blaire, offering her hand. "If we happen upon anything you would rather remain unseen, imagine the door closing."
"A-alright." She took Angela's hand and they stepped through the first door.
The first thing Blaire noticed was a claw foot bathtub. A leaded window allowed her to see that outside, was the same white fog. The tiled walls were green and the floor was concrete. Somewhere behind them, a door creaked open and she saw her past self, hair matted and covering her face, being carried by Sebastian and a nurse. Blaire recognized the memory instantly, noting how strange it was to view the scene from a different angle. As the bathtub began to fill, Blaire felt her heart racing inside her chest. She squeezed Angela's hand tightly.
"I, I know what's coming. He-he's going to… I can't relive this-!" Her voice broke and she turned away from the scene, hearing her past self being water-boarded.
Angela's thumb swept across the top of Blaire's hand. "Imagine the door closing Blaire."
But Blaire couldn't. She was remembering the feeling of the frigid, dirty water filling her nose and mouth, of being held in an iron grip and unable to move. That was the first of many times that Sebastian had made her cry. She felt a sudden sense of impending doom. Her heart felt as though it was about to burst out of her chest and she wondered if she was about to have a heart attack. A wave of uncomfortable warmth flooded over her as she brought her clammy palms to clutch at her throat.
"Blaire?"
She tried to talk, but her throat had closed up and was constricting around her cries for help. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling Angela drag her back into the hallway in Ciel's mansion. Her legs wobbled, threatening to buckle beneath her weight as she blindly stumbled behind the angel. She felt hands cupping her face and a voice pleading with her to calm down. She was trembling and lightheaded. She was going to die.
Blaire! Think of home. Imagine that you are home and safe. Imagine that you can breathe again.
Angela's voice reverberated through her mind. She gasped in a deep breath of air. Her fuzzy surroundings became focused. Her heart was still pounding but she could at least breathe again. She felt an inexplicable wave of calm washing over her. Finally, her eyes found Angela's and she knew that the source of calm was not coming from within herself.
"I'm sorry, I," She swallowed thickly.
"It's quite alright." Angela smiled. "We can go into a different memory."
"I-I can't go inside another one of those doors. They're all… I don't think I have a single pleasant memory from this place. Even when the other servants are nice to me, I'm still… always sad." Blaire let out a shuddered breath.
"You must. You can think of a specific memory you would like to visit this time. One that is not from the recent past." Angela pleaded, gripping Blaire's arms tightly. She was gazing at Blaire intensely, a frown clouding her ethereal features.
"I… I don't…"
"I will be right here with you." She squeezed Blaire's arms again. "No harm will come to you."
Blaire exhaled deeply. Her legs still felt shaky. "…okay."
"Excellent." Angela smiled. "Now, I would like you to think of the day that you first… arrived here."
Blaire did just that. She thought back to the day that she appeared on the ice. The air around them suddenly grew very cold and Blaire began to shiver, remembering how it felt to be in a tank top and shorts in weather that was cold enough to freeze over the River Thames. Her teeth began to chatter and she was vaguely aware of Angela's wings wrapping around her, however the cold persisted.
"What happened before the ice? You mentioned a beach?" With Angela's suggestion, the cold was gone and replaced by a radiant heat. It felt as though she was standing directly in the way of the sun on a warm summer's day. Blaire opened her eyes, disappointed to discover that they were still stood in a derelict mansion. However, directly in front of them was a door, like all of the others, which read 1891. There were no other clues to suggest that it was the right door, other than a feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Angela gestured towards the door. "Shall we rediscover what you've forgotten?"
Swallowing thickly, Blaire nodded, grasping the handle and pushing the door open. When they stepped through, Blaire's foot promptly landed on soft, warm sand. She frowned, looking all around. Like the angel had said, everything seemed blurry. The people were all faceless blobs, the colors of the summer sky and the ground blended together like she was viewing a painting. In the distance, she seen her past self in her summer clothes. She felt Angela beside her. "Why can't I see anything properly?"
"Because you are unable to remember properly. It seems like you can recall a generic beach but nothing else."
Blaire squinted, looking all around. "But why can't I?"
Angela remained staring at Blaire's past self, her eyes narrowing. "That is precisely the question. Who is that gentleman there beside your other self?"
Blaire followed Angela's gaze. Beside her past self was a blurry, slender figure dressed in black robes that billowed in a gentle breeze. He wore a top hat and had long, silver hair. However, she was unable to see his face. "I…I don't know. I don't remember…"
"Indeed you do not... " Then she gasped, taking Blaire by the wrist and forcing her back through the door with great haste.
"What's wrong?!" Blaire shouted, alarmed by her sudden actions. Through their connection, she could feel Angela's anxiety.
"The demon is here."
And with that, Blaire was ripped back to reality. She blinked, feeling dizzy. Even the dim lights within the cell were too bright for her and she winced. Her head felt oddly empty. And it hurt. A lot. She was vaguely aware of the chains around her ankles being ripped off, before she was hauled up into Angela's arms as the door slammed open, sending reverberations through the walls, as well as Blaire's skull. Her eyes were fluttering shut as she fought to stay conscious.
"Foul beast." Angela hissed.
"Celestial parasite." Sebastian returned.
The two stared at each other intently, before Sebastian's eyes moved to where Blaire remained cradled against the angel's chest. He grinned, bearing his sharp teeth. The corners of his mouth curled much higher than should have been possible. "Using humans as shields, are we?"
"I'm merely protecting her from you. Such a creature should not be sullied by your impurity."
Sebastian chuckled. "How touching. You need not keep up the pretenses with me, however. You see the potential that she possesses, and I assume that is where your concern lies?"
Angela remained still, not taking her eyes from Sebastian. "There are so many secrets within her mind. It's utterly… refreshing. Humans are usually so simple."
His sharp eyes scanned over Blaire, unblinking. "Did you forget the dangers of using telepathy and hypnosis on humans? Miss Coleman is barely conscious and bleeding from her nose. You retreated from her mind too quickly." He sighed. "Another matter I must attend to." He stepped forward, holding out his arms expectantly.
Angela tightened her grip. "The touch of a demon's mind is far too excruciating for a human. All that your kind is good for is torturing lesser beings. I presume this is why you haven't forced yourself into her mind before? It would be like dropping a demon hound onto a mouse…" Angela giggled. "Splat."
Sebastian's eyes grew redder. "I can be gentle when required. Speaking of, you ought to relax your grip of Miss Coleman. You will leave a mark. I want her unharmed."
Angela barked a laugh. "Her perception of you tells a different tale. Tell me, are you aware that humans need to breathe? As creative as your use of that bathing vessel was, it seems that those memories still haunt her. If she takes her own life due to your continued ill treatment, how much use will she be to anyone then?"
"I can erase those memories." Sebastian growled.
"Even if it were possible for you to enter her mind without harming her, you have nothing to replace those memories with. I can offer her a blissful existence. Free from sorrow and pain. Something which you, cannot."
"You require her consent. Something which you cannot attain while your prize is unconscious."
Startled, Angela glanced down, seeing Blaire's head lulled back with blood still trickling from her nose and up into her hairline.
Seizing his opportunity, Sebastian lurched forward. The shadows flickered and thick black tendrils of smoke seeped out from his skin, wrapping around Blaire and causing the angel to gasp, dropping her into Sebastian's awaiting arms. The tendrils of darkness ensnared both human and angel.
Angela dropped to her knees; her enormous wings outstretched behind her. She glared at the demon. "Your essence will ruin her purity! Get your filthy, beastly hands off of her!" However, the tendrils of darkness held her firmly in place.
"Foolish angel. You are in no position to make demands of me. Miss Coleman possesses a far greater potential than you can comprehend. And I shall unlock it." And with that, the darkness enveloped the room. Sebastian's chuckles faded and when the light finally returned, the two were gone.