Lilliana could hardly contain her excitement as she rushed down the gangplank of the large ship that had carried her across the sea to England. Nearly 6 months had passed since her 18th birthday and she grew more impatient to find her soulmate every day. When she had awoken the day after her birthday, she discovered several things. First, she had been gifted her familiar that would be her guide and companion so long as the magick flowed in her blood. It was the spirit of a beautifully fluffy white cat that had a black nose, black socks, and a black-tipped tail. With the help of her coven, Lilliana learned how to bond her familiar's spirit to an intricate silver locket and cast a spell over the locket so it could never be removed from her person. Thus, she could hide her familiar when it would draw too much attention and summon it when needed. Their bond was strong enough already that Lilliana was able to telepathically communicate with her familiar, something that her family members said took years to achieve with their own familiars.
Second, Lilliana was, in fact, covered nearly head to toe in very ornate mate markings. She had inky black feathers and tiny black birds in flight that made up a lace-like design over her arms, legs, collar bone, neck, behind her ears, and framing her stomach and breasts. Over her heart was a scene from her vision of the raven/crow perched on the bare branches of a dead tree. There was a single feather across the back of her neck that she noticed would occasionally shimmer with an opalescent emerald green. On her left arm were the only scars on her entire body- perfect impressions of the raven/crow's talons where they had touched her in her vision, the raised white skin providing a stark contrast to the surrounding inky black markings. Perhaps the most startling marking of all was the one that dominated her back. It was an intricate, realistically detailed portrait of the raven/crow when it flew down from the tree to land on her arm. Its wings were outstretched across her shoulder blades, sharp talons extended from her midback, beak open in a scream on her upper spine, tail feathers spanning her lower back, and bright crimson eyes that seemed to glow.
It was only natural that some of her coven feared for her future after discovering that her soulmate was an extremely powerful demon. They raised concerns that she was cursed and would bring harm to the coven if she were allowed to stay. Some even speculated, when they thought she couldn't hear them, that she was mated to the devil himself. Lilliana, however, felt an overwhelming curiosity fill her and choke out any fear. She was swiftly taught how to hide her mate markings with magick to avoid staring, suspicion, and insults. Unfortunately, she soon learned that after 6 hours or so, her mate markings would begin to show through and she would have to cast the spell to hide them again. It was quite troublesome and she really had to pay attention when she was out in the public eye.
Third, Lilliana discovered that she was a very unusual witch. Nearly everything she felt magickally inclined toward was incredibly rare or unheard of within her coven. For example, she was able to access greater reserves of magick and exert more control over it if she sang the spell instead of speaking it. This was considered a lost art from the time of her ancestors, as no one in the last several generations had been able to master their magick with music. Another oddity is her inclination for elemental magick. She felt the strongest connection to water and was overjoyed to be able to sharpen her skills and deepen that connection throughout her overseas journey.
At present, Lilliana was making her way off the docks and into the bustling city of London. She cast a quick spell to shrink her two travel bags to fit them in her pocket while she was exploring and, remembering her coven's warnings, also cast a spell to block the energy waves of her magick, effectively camouflaging her soul to resemble that of a normal human's. Better not to draw unwanted attention to myself, she thought. That done, Lilliana set out to explore the city of her ancestors.
Despite her efforts to mask her magick, Lilliana could not mask her beauty. Men and women alike found it difficult to look away from the young girl once they caught sight of her porcelain skin, bright emerald eyes, and flowing black hair. Her dark blue travelling gown peeked out from her long, black velvet cloak that hid her slim figure. The silver locket where her familiar currently resided was resting just below the neckline of her dress. Indeed, she was a beautiful sight amongst the drab colors of London.
After spending some time gleefully wandering around a large street market, Lilliana overheard a newsboy shouting the latest headline.
"Get your papers here! Jack the Ripper strikes again! Prostitute mysteriously murdered!"
Her eyes widened. Murdered? Strikes again? She suddenly was very aware of the fact that she was travelling alone. Lilliana caught the attention of the middle-aged woman tending the produce stand she had wandered to.
"Excuse me, madam," she called. "I've just arrived here from the States. Can you tell me about the murders that young boy is shouting about?"
The older woman sighed. "Ah, my dear, it is a dreadful thing. There's a murderer running around the streets of London brutally murdering ladies of the night. The crime scenes are just awful to behold, so much blood everywhere. I find it hard to believe any of those women deserved such deaths. In fact, the latest killing that young boy is heralding occurred just a few blocks east of here." She shivered. "Makes it hard to sleep at night, my dear."
Lilliana was horrified. "How awful!" she exclaimed. The older woman nodded before turning to assist another customer. Walking away from the stall, she tried to get her bearings in unfamiliar London. Closing her eyes, she searched for the pull of element air to guide her east. She smiled and silently thanked her magick before heading in that direction. The lady at the market was right, it was only a few blocks away and there was a crowd gathered. She carefully made her way to the middle and saw several policemen holding the people back while Scotland Yard Inspectors gathered around a cloth-covered figure on the ground. Lilliana noticed a strange feeling in her stomach, which at first she attributed to the shock and horror of being this close to the victim of a gruesome murder.
The crowd parted as a young child, no older than 13 and dressed as a proper noble with an eye-patch covering his right eye, and a tall, dark-haired man in a long black trench coat approached one of the Yard's men. She was too far and surrounded by too much chatter to hear what they said, but she noted the Inspector's shock. Her stomach twisted again and she frowned, closing her eyes. She gently called upon her magick to discern what this feeling was and her eyes flew open in shock. It was a demonic aura! Where was it coming from? Could it be her soulmate?!
Following her instincts, she began to search the vicinity for the source of the aura, starting with the shadows and rooftops before scanning the edge of the crowd. To her complete surprise, she was led to the tall man accompanying the noble child. He must be contracted, then, she thought. While his aura was not overpowering, she could sense that he was strong. He had black hair with messy bangs, piercing amber eyes, broad shoulders, and perfect pale skin. She could not look away from his face and found herself wishing he would look in her direction so she could better see his eyes. Her cheeks heated slightly as she attempted to control her thoughts.
While she had been lost in her admiration of the tall man, an older gentleman with a deep-set frown had come forward to address the young noble. When the tall man had bowed, Lilliana realized with a start that the boy was leaving. Suddenly panicking, she tried to push her way through the crowd to stop them but was met with resistance and many grumbles of curious townsfolk. By the time she made her way to the front of the line she had lost sight of the tall man. The Inspector they had been talking to came forward to stop her progress.
"I'm sorry, madam, but you cannot come closer to the crime scene."
Abberline stuttered when her striking emerald green eyes suddenly looked up at him in despair.
"I apologize Inspector, I was not meaning to intrude. I only meant to try to catch that young noble and the tall man with him." She sighed, surprised at how upset she felt over missing those two complete strangers. She didn't even know if it was her soulmate, just that he was a demon.
"Lord Phantomhive? What did you want with him, miss?" Abberline asked, confused by her interest.
Lilliana's eyes lit up. "You know who he is, sir? Please, tell me who he is and where I might find him. Was that tall man with him his father?"
Abberline was caught off guard by her questions and how her eyes suddenly sparkled with hope. What an unusual woman, he thought. Shaking himself lightly, he answered her.
"Sir Arthur just informed me of his identity, miss. I never met him before just now. The tall man was his butler, though, not his father, and Lord Phantomhive called him Sebastian. If you wait here a moment I can find out where his London estate is for you, miss."
Lilliana beamed at him and waited for him to return from conversing with Sir Arthur. After she obtained the townhouse's location, she thanked the young Inspector and set off for the wealthy, high-class part of London. Upon arriving, she spotted a cute boutique with several beautiful dresses in the window. Glancing down at her simple cotton travelling dress, Lilliana decided it would be a good idea to have at least one dress that fit London's current fashion standards and headed inside the store. A saleswoman immediately came to assist her and together they picked out a handful of dresses for her to try on.
She had already chosen a deep red dress that reminded her of the raven/crow's eyes from her vision and a dark green dress that matched her eyes. As she stepped out of the dressing room to the tri-fold mirror with a purple gown that had black and silver accents, she heard a gasp and high-pitched squealing behind her.
Turning slightly, Lilliana was suddenly face-to-face with a young girl who had very bouncy blonde ponytails. It was difficult to comprehend the words this pink ball of energy was squealing at her, but she gathered the young girl was complimenting her. A bit overwhelmed, Lilliana smiled and thanked her.
"You are very generous in your compliments, my lady. May I ask your name?"
The young girl practically oozed energy and happiness when she answered. "Oh, you're not from London, are you miss?! Your accent is different! How exciting, you must tell me where you're from! Oh, my name is Elizabeth! You can call me Lizzie. We're going to be best friends, I just know it! Oh, oh, you must come to the ball with me tonight! It will be the last one of the season and you simply must come with me!"
Lilliana was trying to keep up with Elizabeth's high-pitched voice. "You are right, Lady Elizabeth, I have just landed in London from America this morning. My name is Lilliana and I would be honored to consider you my first friend here in England."
Elizabeth was jumping up and down, her eyes shining with excitement. "Oh, America, how wonderful! And I get to be your first friend here! Oh, now you must come to the party with me tonight! My fiancé, Ciel Phantomhive, might even be there tonight and I'd just love for you to meet him! He's so cute and he makes me so happy!"
One name had her heart pounding. Phantomhive! Could it be the same boy from this afternoon?! They do seem like they would be around the same age. "Lady Elizabeth," she said somewhat breathlessly, "I would love to accompany you to the party tonight and meet your fiancé."
Amidst Elizabeth's delighted ramblings, Lilliana changed out of the beautiful purple gown and back into her blue travelling dress and black cloak. She purchased the three new dresses and, upon Elizabeth's insistence, travelled back to her family's townhouse with her. The young girl talked continuously the entire carriage ride but Lilliana was distracted by the idea of seeing that tall butler dressed to the nines for one of the season's last parties.
Upon arriving at the Midford Manor, Lilliana was shown to a room and allowed a moment to freshen up and recast the spell covering her markings, absently noticing that her magick seemed a tad stronger here in the land of her ancestors. She briefly considered the possibility that the tall man with the demonic aura may not be her soulmate and felt her mood dampen. If she could find a way to dance with him tonight at the party then she would know, for since her vision had only revealed her soulmate's animal form she had to rely on physical touch to find him. It was rather inconvenient, honestly. However, despite the doubts swirling in her mind, she felt strangely excited to see the butler again. The butterflies in her stomach refused to settle whenever his face flashed through her head and her cheeks darkened. Surely I'm not lucky enough to find my soulmate on my first day returning to my ancestral homeland… Right?