Hell Bent

"Where is she?"

Mey-Rin, Bardroy and Finnie stood in a line, each wearing equally guilty expressions. Having dealt with the hypnotized patrons, Sebastian immediately returned to his master's side. Upon scanning the vicinity, Sebastian couldn't see, hear, or even smell Blaire. He approached the servants, everything else forgotten. His smile was tight, voice clipped and sharp.

"We swear, she was right here with us!"

"Clearly, she no longer is." Sebastian silently inhaled. He estimated that she hadn't been within the building for at least an hour.

"She might have gone out to get some air?" Offered Finnie.

"Gone to the ladies?" Tried Bard.

"…maybe she got peckish?" Whimpered Mey.

Sebastian stared at each of them in distain. "I had one very simple instruction for each of you. What could have possibly drawn all three of your attention so?" Each of them remained silently staring at the ground. Finnie looked as though he was going to cry. Sebastian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can any of you recall where you last saw Miss Coleman? What was she doing?"

"We was jus' watchin' the curry contest. Then we went to have a try of the food after. Turned an' she was gone." Said Bard, rubbing the back of his neck and deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"Anything else?" Snapped Sebastian.

"Well.. before…" Began Mey. "Actually, it's probably nothing."

"Go on." Said Sebastian with ill-contained impatience.

"Well, we noticed she wandered off. We found her, looked like she was talkin' to someone. Dunno who though." Said Mey, stammering and words flying out of her mouth at great speed.

"What did they look like?" Asked Sebastian.

"Didn't see her face. She was wearing a purple dress with a matching purple bonnet and… and I think she was blonde. Really blonde." Said Mey.

"Hair was more of a white I'd say. Might've been 'er nan." Bard chimed in.

Sebastian went very still. That sounded like Angela. He closed his eyes, blocking out all of his other senses. He took in a deep breath of air. His eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't smell the angel at all. Again, he took another breath of air. He could smell the servants. Ciel, Agni, Soma… the other patrons. Various spices. Herbs. Very faintly, Blaire's scent lingered. He focused, tuning out everyone else.

The three servants glanced at each other warily.

"Um… Mister-" Finnie was cut off by Sebastian raising his hand. He remained still like a stone statue, eyes closed.

Amidst Blaire's scent was that of another's. The scent of lavender and jasmine hung in the air, intertwining with Blaire and claiming her as its own. Blaire did not wear perfume, nor did she work in the gardens. Even if she did, Ciel did not have lavender or jasmine plants in either of his homes. Ciel detested jasmine especially, unless it was in his tea. The heavy scents would easily mask that of an angel.

"Very well." Sebastian finally opened his eyes, meeting the concerned gazes of the household staff. "I must go and collect our dear colleague. I will ask that Agni accompany the young master safely to the townhouse. I suspect that taking care of an earth worm would be an arduous task, even between the three of you." With that, he turned on his heel, following the fading smell of lavender and jasmine.

Blaire felt like she was experiencing sleep paralysis. There were disjointed images shattering through her mind and she couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe. She felt a gust of wind, the caress of feathers and the sensation of being held, yet all she could see was the grey English sky whirring by. Beyond that, it felt as if her body was being torn apart. When she came to, all of the thoughts and sensations which had been repressed, slammed into her like a tidal wave.

She gasped, clutching her head with both hands. After several minutes, she was able to calm herself down and was able to think again. Blaire was sitting on stone ground with her back against a brick wall. She was inside, and it was dark and desolate. She tried to stand up, only to realize that she was restrained. Her ankles were tied together with wrought iron and she was shackled to the wall. Blaire scowled.

"Angela! You fucking trick bitch!"

On cue, a man entered the room. With a heavy slam, the door closed behind him, effectively isolating the two. Blaire hid her trembling hands behind her back and fixed him with a steely gaze. His hair was pure white. He had a perfect complexion and a masculine, though pretty, face. Beneath his tranquil appearance, held within a slender frame and rigid posture, was divine authority. He was celestial elegance in a tailored suit.

"I bid you a warm welcome to the Tower of London, miss…?" He waited for Blaire to answer.

"Hello, Ash. You look better as a woman."

A moment of silence followed her retort, Ash's features momentarily frozen. But then, a smile emerged, as serene as a winter's dawn. He began moving towards her, his steps slow, deliberate, and unsettlingly graceful. As he moved, reality seemed to ripple around him. Delicate tendrils of white smoke formed behind him, entwining and coalescing into something tangible. Large white wings unfurled, dragging behind him when he walked and adding to his already formidable height. They were beautiful.

"Such petulance," he mused aloud, his voice an uncanny mixture of amusement and reproach. "And yet, might I detect a touch of vibrato?"

Blaire swallowed and when she spoke next, her voice was small. "What do you want? Why am I in chains?"

Ash tilted his head slightly, his cold blue eyes glancing down at the human before him. There was a chilling elegance to his voice. "My mission? Simply to cleanse. Humanity, in its ever-unfolding chaos, seems to disregard the most fundamental truth: sin begets retribution. It is not a matter of personal will, but rather, divine ordinance." Ash's gaze cooled as he eyed her, his voice as precise as a scalpel's edge. "But you...you insist on becoming an obstruction, a thorn in my side. Unwittingly or not, you possess knowledge that presents a troubling inconvenience." His words were as cold and unyielding as winter frost. "It's particularly worrisome given your unsavoury affiliation with that demon, that foul creature who goes by the name Sebastian Michaelis."

Blaire took a deep breath, trying to regain control of her breathing. "You think I'm scared? I've dealt with that demon; I can deal with you too."

The corners of Ash's mouth curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Oh, the audacity," he murmured, his voice echoing softly against the cold, stone walls. "But tell me," He began, calm and measured as he approached her. He crouched down, levelling her with the icy chill of his gaze. "Have you truly dealt with the demon? Or have you merely danced on the strings he's so subtly tied around your fingers? You fear him, just as much as you fear me. Your determination to survive, to resist, it is indeed admirable. But it is also blinding you, preventing you from seeing the grand design, the divine order. I don't seek to torment you. But your knowledge, your connection to that demon... they make you an anomaly, a wild card in the grand scheme. How did you come to be?"

Should she tell the angel? What would happen to her? Then the reapers, Sebastian and a corrupted angel would know of her supposed foresight. She had already let slip that she knew too much, how much worse could it get? Would the information be tortured out of her again? Oh, why was nothing ever easy?

She flinched when she felt Ash cup her chin in his hand. Her tired eyes met his hooded violet ones. "I understand your reservations, Miss Blaire. Secrets are a heavy burden, and their power should not be underestimated. You must be so tired of making decisions. Allow me to alleviate all of your worries…"

Blaire frowned, a fog descending over her mind as she gazed into his otherworldly eyes. She felt a pressure building on her skull, gentle like the brush of a wing, but definitely there. "I didn't tell you my name."

"Ah, you are from the future. …Or at least. You truly believe you are. Fascinating. And… oh, how quaint. You believe seen the future in a collection of books about the young Earl Phantomhive. But it's impossible…. Oh my… " He leaned forward, the space between them shrinking. "You're no ordinary human. You possess knowledge that sets you apart, knowledge that makes you both valuable and dangerous."

"Get out of my head!"

"Oh, but this is just dreamy. You truly are a conundrum, aren't you? Your knowledge about this world, about me, about the demon... It's inexplicably precise. One might think you possess some form of... divine insight," he mused. "But, as we know, such abilities are not typically within the human realm." A small frown creased his forehead. "So, the question that lingers is this: How? How do you know what you know?" His gaze was intense, his words pointed.

"Well, you seen for yourself! Because that's all you stupid creatures do, you just take! You take and you dominate and you toss us around like we're dollys! I can't even tell the difference between angels and demons anymore!" Blaire was now crying, her throat felt raw from screaming.

"What I saw was nothing more than your own insanity. It is simply not possible for a human to slip through time as you so believe that you have. But with this… prophecy of yours, you could be a very powerful weapon indeed." He paused, fixing her with a cold stare. "Then again… dangling from a balcony…? You are hardly a force to be reckoned with. And I cannot blame you. For what that demon has done to you…" The pressure Blaire felt in her mind began to move, like a soft caress. She immediately felt calmer. The angel's voice began to change, distorting and morphing from the deep masculine baritone, to a sweet, delicate lilt.

When Blaire looked up again, she was met with the gentler face of Angela. "You changed…"

"You feel more comfortable in the presence of women." Angela remained kneeling in front of Blaire, her wings coming to encircle the two, brushing against Blaire's sides.

"How much did you see?" Asked Blaire.

"I find myself intrigued by your steadfast belief in this... translocation from a distant place. Your memories of the recent past also tell a tale, a tale of a delicate soul caught in the unrelenting tempest of this world." Angela's voice softened, a shade of genuine sympathy colouring her words. "Such trials you've been subjected to, such torment... Does it not stir within you a yearning for vengeance, particularly against that creature, Sebastian?

"All I want is to go home and have a nice quiet life." A tear slipped down Blaire's cheek.

Angela reached out to brush it away. "You must see the irony in your desire. You've somehow found yourself inside a world filled with darkness and chaos, a world that is anything but quiet. You've already stirred the pot, so to speak. You have involved yourself in matters which ought not to be tampered with. Moreover, you are deluded. A part of you believes that this world is not real. And if this world is not real, then your actions have no consequences. And thus, you approached me, so foolishly revealing yourself. You are fortunate that it was me whom you approached."

Blaire swallowed. "I… I was so worried…"

"You were worried that the demon would punish you if you failed to prevent what you perceived as a disaster." Angela spoke softly. Through their connected minds, Blaire felt Angela's pity. Blaire nodded, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.

"Poor little fragile human…" This time, the angel caressed her physically, smoothing her hair as though she were a dog. It should have been demeaning. But it was a rare moment of physical contact Blaire had experienced in this world that wasn't to inflict pain or carelessly drag her between places. Blaire wept, collapsing into Angela's chest. She felt Angela's arms, then her wings come to embrace her. It felt like being hugged by a warm blanket.

After a moment, Blaire was finally able to speak again. "You don't believe me either?"

"About using some tatty books as a means to see into the future? It seems as though I must agree with the demon on this one. No matter, the distorted lens through which you observe the world serves to preserve your purity. I fear that the truth is far worse…"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Your mind is delightful. But there is something more to it. Something missing. Your memories are changed, distorted and blurred where there should be absolute clarity. But I can help you to recover what was lost… if you give me your consent."

Blaire stared for a moment, trying to understand what the angel was saying. "But I remember clearly, my life before coming here. I remember being on that beach in Barcelona with my friend…" Blaire frowned.

"What was your friends name?" Angela prodded, waiting patiently while Blaire silently stared at space inbetween them in deep concentration. "What did she look like?"

Blaire was breathing heavy now. The lump in her throat prevented her from speaking.

"What about your family? What were the names of your mother and father?"

"…I don't know." Blaire's voice cracked. "Why don't I remember?"

"You must be swift." Angela inhaled deeply; her eyes fluttering closed as though in deep thought. She frowned. "The demon is already coming for you. Join with me. We will discover it together." Angela pressed her forehead against Blaire's, startling her. "Do I have your agreement?" She whispered.

Nan – short for Nana, aka grandmother.

Still working to improve upon previous chapters - they'll just be replaced on here and no major changes to the story will be made. The improved version of this story is slowly being uploaded to AO3 with some fun little uncanny AI images, if anyone wants to see vaguely how I picture the characters and settings. They may not be to everyone's taste, you have been warned.