"I didn't think you'd come," Syn smirked as I walked over to him. He was stood right by the edge, throwing down blood red roses.

"I didn't think he'd do that," I replied, looking over the edge of the cliff. "Terrified me though,"

"Of course, that's why you can't sleep," He replied. "You still get nightmares from it,"

"I didn't recognized you, Brian," I mumbled. "You've changed so much,"

"Hmm.. I knew it was you... your eyes gave it away," He replied, before throwing down the roses.

"You blame me don't you?"

"You told the police who to look for," He growled.

"Brian, your dad was a criminal," I stated, looking at him.

"He was a good man," He replied.

"Really? If he was that much a good man, he won't have taken his 11 years old son and his best friend's son hostage... and he wouldn't have shot my dad or killed himself!" I growled.

"It's your fault he's dead!" He growled.

"I didn't tell him to jump and if you remember I saved your life," I spat, turning away from him. "Of course, this is just an excuse for you... you didn't really care for your dad... like me, he's just a stepping stone to where you want to be,"

"Yes, you're right," He replied. "You're always right... Zack,"

"You lied to me," I replied, looking at him.

"Well... yeah," He replied.

"You used me,"

"Yeah,"

"You're fucking insane,"

"Oh, you only just realized this?" He laughed, mocking me. "Guess what?"

"What?" I asked.

"All these crimes," He smirked, moving closer to me. "I made them for you... my dearest detective... it was so easy to get to fall into my trap!"

"Your trap?" I asked. "Why?"

"I get bored... so bored!" He grinned. "As you well know, Zachary, I love been in control but you just couldn't be tamed... I had to try... I had to play.... and you played too... but as much as we are players of this cruel game.... we are also it's creators and do you know how a game ends?"

"The creators finish it,"

"Exactly... we finish it,"

"ZACKY!" Johnny yelled as he ran over to us. Syn grabbed my shirt.

"There's only one way to end this," He replied, looking down at the cliff.

"Then let's end it," I replied before he slammed his lips to mine in a bruising manner and jumped over the edge taking me with him.

Johnny's POV

"ZACKY!" I screamed as I ran to them then they just fell. I froze in my tracks as I watched my only friend fall into the foamy darkness of the sea. I fell on my knees and screamed as I heard footprints running over to me.

"Johnny," I looked up and saw Syn's friend, Jimmy. "Johnny... what's happened?"

"They- he- Syn," I cried as Jimmy hugged me.

"Ssh... it's ok," He whispered. Everything else that happened was a blur. Shadows phoned Gerard and the police got here. I was questioned repeatedly but I had no answers. No one did. Gerard wanted the answers but the only person who could give them to us for in the dark depths of the sea. The funeral was awful and there was hardly any point in finding the bodies. There was no answers... then one day a letter came for me. I frowned and opened it.

Johnny...

I'm sorry this happened but there was a reason for it
Please forgive me, it had to end this way. I didn't mean
to hurt you and tell Gerard that I'm sorry. It was the only way
you lot could be safe I miss your stupidity and normality already
I hope you have a great life. Don't be an idiot all the time. Get drunk for once.. no get very drunk

your friend

Zacky

I blinked at the letter. This just didn't make sense. Zacky would never commit suicide. Jimmy looked at me then the letter then frowned.

"Why are so off the letters bold?" He asked. I looked and noticed that they were. I grabbed a pen and paper and starting writing them down. I looked at it then gasped.

"Syn and I live," I whispered. "Jim... he's alive!"

Chapter 1.



"Get in the fucking car." My car had been idling in front of Issac's house while Ted, a rather tall slender nerd who had been Issac's neighbor since childhood, froze at the door. "Am I speaking German?" I shook my head and gave Brandi an eye roll as I was scolded for being mean.
Soon enough, the car was almost loaded. Scott, another friend of Issac's, leaned on the front passenger side window and pleaded with Brandi for her seat. "I don't need to be sitting all on Issac's junk."
"Oh, Scott, we know you love the dick." I added a devious smile before rushing them along. With a nod the petite passenger traded spots with our slightly rounder friend.
We were an odd group. Issac was the giant with dark hair and an even dark style. Scott was shorter and had gained a few extra pounds thanks to a lack of exercise and an addiction to video games. Ted was a complete nerd, glasses, argyle and everything, but he was rather cute. Don't tell him I said that, he might just nut himself. Brandi was my best friend. She had a kind of sweet disposition, until you pissed her off. Then she turned into a five foot two, brunette ball of fury. Finally, there was me, Faith. I was almost as tall as Scott and my blonde hair made me stick out more than I wished to, most of the time. Some odd reason, despite our mismatched looks and styles, we all were tighter than most.
Then again, not everyone was like us. We all met in Juvenile Detention back in our teens, except for Ted. Issac and Scott held up a little corner store. They were caught and sent about six months before I landed myself into big trouble. I stole my mother's car. I had a record for joy riding. I had stolen a foster parent's car once. I had gotten off before. That time though, the cop tried to get in my pants in exchange for letting me off, seeing as it would have been my third strike. I nailed him in the nuts and continued to beat the shit out of him.
Unfortunately, it got me sent to juve. Within my first day I was getting jumped for taking the last apple pie. Who jumps someone for apple pie? Well, it wasn't the Hilton and such luxaries like apple pie, no matter the quality, weren't available at all times. My luck changed when the tiny girl came around the corner. Her redish brown eyes narrowed on the bitches who were trying to beat me up. She threw up her hair and helped me out.
"Hey, I'm Brandi." She flashed a innocent smile.
"Faith." I offered her a hand and we were friends ever since.
"What ya in for?" We walked along a hall to the craft center.
"Joy riding and beating a cop, you?"
"Oh, B&E." Brandi said it with such innocence you would guessed a B&E was baking and eating.

"Hey Issac." The same sweetness from juve was in Brandi's voice even after all these years.
"Hey Brandi." He moved over a little to give Brandi some room in the back, resulting to sending Ted's face into the window. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
Soon enough as we were driving toward the Alpha Beta Omega house my music was being criticized by Scott. Issac chimed in that the remake of Super Bass was much better than it's pop original. Disagreement came from Brandi and I, they were equally as good depending on your mood.
"I drive. I pick." I reached for my iPod and held it in the steering wheel while I glanced back and forth at it and the road. I looked for a song all of us would like but it was hard. For starters, Ted liked Jazz, which almost none of us liked. I didn't really care what we listened to as long as my attention was taken care of. Brandi liked anything "pretty" and the other boys would listen to anything that had screaming and some sort of head banging potential.
By the time I had picked a song, the music was lowered. That night we had a ritual to uphold. It was probably the one thing that held our group together. "Okay, When we get there we've got to be in and out in two hours." Scott leaned on the console and looked into the back of the car. "No drinking, Faith."
"What? Are you nuts? It's the last frat party for the summer. You really think I'm not going to drink?" I swatted at him, missed his head and my hand planted on his arm.
"I'm serious. This time is going to have to go smoother." Scott glared at Issac, then at Ted. We all knew what Scott was getting at. Ted had witnessed our last ritual. That meant he was stuck with us. It was too risky to let him out of our sights. Not like we were going to get caught but Ted was a loose end. Everyone knows what happens if you don't tie up loose ends but Issac couldn't kill the poor guy. They had known each other for so long. Issac expressed the need for Ted to keep his mouth shut. With death looming over Ted talking, he kept his silence and tagged along.
"Don't worry." Issac muttered and tensed his jaw, he was kind of embarrassed that he had been reminded for his slip up. It was also a blow to his "alpha male" status. Alphas never made mistakes. Sucks for him.
"Plus, you are the best at getting away if we do have any snags in the plan." Scott added to his tirade about my drinking habits. Which for the record I could drive after a six pack that I knocked back in two minutes.
Port A faded and we were cruising through the country side and entered campus. The remaining students were headed to one of the biggest parties of the year. Anybody who was anybody always waited for the last day to move out so they could make it to the ABO party.
"Park over here." Brandi leaned on Issac's knee with her hand and reached into the front pointing toward a side street that had been poorly lit.
"You sure?" Ted said with a shaky voice.
"Criminal masterminds here. I'm sure we can handle finding a good spot to keep the car." Issac's words caused Ted to shut up and bury himself into the seat.
With the car parked we made our entrance at the party. We were fairly popular. Even Ted got a pat on the back but the ABO brother called him Terry, clearly he didn't think Teddy was worth remembering. Brandi fluttered about the room, gathering the eyes of the guys who were strewn about, Issac being one of them. Which, if you were wondering, was the usual. Issac liked Brandi. Brandi liked Issac. Both were oblivious to the mutual attraction.
I found what I thought was far more important than anything in the room, the bar. Tyler, another brother, asked me what I wanted and got to making a jager bomb. I had a record to uphold. Two of the newest brothers had challenged me last party and lost. They wanted a rematch and I wasn't about to turn it down. Sure enough the second I put down my drink No Hands started to play. Brandi flew through the crowd and dragged me to the group of fellow students dancing. "Sorry boys, maybe next time."
Two girls dancing together always got the attention of the guys. With our luck, the wonderful ex-boyfriends we hated took the bait. I felt a sense of disgust as Mark's body pressed against mine. I gave Brandi a look as we both tried to remember that this was a necessary evil. Our partners seemed to be enjoying themselves. I saw John, Brandi's ex, exchange a few gestures of triumph to Mark, who I assumed, returned them.
The song ended and I turned to face Mark. I looked around to find the rest of my little club and they were with whom they needed to be. It was going to be an easy night. "Hey Fai." I hated how Mark called me that. It always made me think of my mother. "Fai!!" She would yell. How I loathed that woman. She made my life hell. She always wondered how I got to be such a "bad child" because I was "so sweet" when I was a toddler. The bitch had her hand in how I turned out.
"Hi Mark." I faked a smile as I returned the greeting. "What is it that you want?"
"Just wanted to dance with you." His devastatingly amazing smile beamed down at me. "Would you like a drink?"
"Nope. I'm driving."
"So? You've had a few shots and drove before."
"Maybe I just don't want a drink with you." I broke the eye contact as I saw Brandi lead John outside. My eyes flew to Issac then to Scott, who were also watching Brandi. She was the first to head to the car.
When she got there she reached a little snag in the plan. It was supposed to go easily. Subdue, knock out, load up and wait for the rest of us. John, who happened to be a fighter, tried to get away. Brandi was resourceful. I also kept a bat in the car, along with a few softballs just in case I was pulled over. She grabbed it and with one good hit, John was on the ground. She had told me that it was almost impossible to get the asshole into the trunk of the small SUV but she got him in none the less.
While that was going down, Issac was arguing with his ex-girlfriend. She had been yelling at him from the second the music stopped. Issac decided it would be easier to get her to the car if he just walked out in the middle of her yelling. Gerry followed him and he quickly gave her a shot of animal tranquilizer. She fell limp in his arms and was put with John into the trunk.
Scott's ex-girlfriend was just as easy to get in as Gerry. Girls were so predictable at times. The three waited across the street hidden underneath a tree while sitting on the curb. I had been last to leave. I waited to see Ted get the call that Brandi, Issac and Scott were done and ready for the rest of the plan.
I had evaded a real conversation with Mark due to the music giving a chance for us to dance again. His hands got a little comfortable on my body. I hated being last, yet again. It made my part of the little game we played almost unbearable. Although, the end result was what kept me going.
When coming up with this years game we mulled over who we hated the most. It was such a pain to pick. I hated professors but they were hard to get to. Issac hated some of the students but they wouldn't be at the party. Scott just hated his ex-girlfriend for playing with his heart. Brandi, well, she didn't hate many people. She did, however, hate John for cheating on her. That was when we got to talking about exes. They were good targets and we had all dated the kind of people who would be at the party.
Mark had been abusive. I stayed with him because he was smart, handsome and had money. The promise of a secure life with him is what kept us together. We would fight. He would hit me. I would dump him. He would come crawling back bearing gifts. I would take him back. It was how we worked.
Every second standing with him made me want to kill him in front of everyone but there was a game and I needed my player. With enough skill I was able to pretend to want to go to the roomy backseat of my SUV and reminisce over past times with Mark. Like most of my plans, it panned out gloriously.
Once at the back driver's side door I leaned against it inviting Mark in for a kiss. A knee flew up into his groin and he doubled over in pain. He let a few choice words like bitch, cunt and motherfucker slip out of his mouth before Brandi came up behind him with the bat. Issac and Scott lifted the dead weight into the trunk and we loaded back up into the car.
Ted's face looked pale compared to his usual mixed Latino complexion. God, how I wished Issac didn't fuck up last time. Ted wouldn't be here and he wouldn't be such a scaredy-cat.
Scott and Issac leaned over the back seat and duct taped up the exes while Brandi fiddled with my GPS and I weaved through the side streets avoiding any main road until it was safe.
Finally, the adrenaline of phase one faded and we were on the interstate toward James and Bethany's place. James was Brandi's older brother. Bethany was my older sister. They happened to get married, go figure. Two delinquent sisters would bring a couple together. They had been at the end of our game. We were going to spend a night there and spend the next day with them after our little game. It was always relaxing afterwards.
Everyone was quiet until our stomachs started to rumble and Brandi looked on the GPS for a place to stop and eat. "Fifty miles to the next town and there is a twenty-four hour diner there." We weren't about to be picky. It would have set us back a few miles and we would end up taking the scenic route but food beat out our overall goal to finish the game.

Neon lights brought hope to our empty stomachs. The place was almost empty. Waitresses perked up once they heard the gravel against the tires. Issac was able to give the players a shot to keep them out for another two hours, just in case they decided to wake up and cause us trouble.
"Phones." Brandi held her hands out. We should have handed over phones way before we even left the party but it wasn't on our minds while we were taking the exes to the car. Scott sent a message to his girlfriend, Amber, and heaved a sigh. Once off and handed over, Brandi handed out the game phones.
The criminals that we were meant we knew all the tricks. Burn phones, which we referred to as the game phones, were the only phones to be used. We got new ones each time. We also were only allowed to call one another. We gave Ted a fancy little one that way he could use his nerd skills and hack an ATM if he needed.
Ted turned out to be more resourceful than he seemed. He had offered up his assistance with our  money issue. "I can make it where you can make a withdrawal without them being able to trace it." It made me like him a little bit, just a little.
The game phones were snuggly put into our pockets and we headed into the diner where we were waited on by a young girl that went by the name Cathy.
Cathy was rather adorable. She had that southern belle quality to her."What can I get y'all to drink?" She smiled at the boys then Brandi and me. We got the usual drinks. Brandi got a Dr. Pepper. Issac wanted some jack and coke but the waitress informed him that they didn't have any so he got a coke sans jack. Scott got a Mountain Dew, followed with a vulgar joke. "Mount and do me." Ted decided on orange juice. I just got a Sprite since asking for a redbull and vodka would have resulted in a disappointment.
"What?" Issac was caught staring at Brandi, which happened a lot. It never made any sense how neither of them caught on that they liked each other. Scott and I had talked about the issue on countless occasions.
"She does like him."
"Well, he likes her."
"Why doesn't he ask her out?"
"He doesn't think she likes him."
"Did you tell him that I told you she likes him?"
"He didn't believe it. Why doesn't she just ask him?"
"'Cause it's Brandi we are talking about. She doesn't think he likes her either."
And in unison we would sigh slamming a palm into our foreheads.

"Nothing." Issac turned to face the window, hiding the shades of embarrassment that were coming through his cheeks.
Cathy returned with our drinks and we ordered. The time between ordering and our food coming out gave us some time to talk without intruding ears.
"How long until we reach the hut?" Scott leaned in so we could hear him.
"If we don't stop? By the afternoon." Brandi answered.
"Then we will have to wait till sundown." We nodded in agreement.
The bell hung on the door chimed as a dumb hillbilly came in. He walked by and stared at us. Issac and Scott kept the man in their sights until he was seated. Brandi lowered her eyes and picked at the threads on her ripped jeans while I sipped at my drink and Ted pretended to play with his game phone.

"I don't like the way he eyed the girls when he came in." Issac turned toward Scott.
"Me neither." The two of them looked at man. "He looked like a hungry wolf."
"Here y'all go." Our food came out and the conversation was dropped. Our mouths were too busy satiating our hunger to speak.
As I ate my pizza bagel, I heard a waitress squeal followed by a crashing of drinks. We all turned to face the ruckus. It was the hillbilly. He had groped the poor waitress, who looked eighteen. We tried to keep quiet and finish our meal.
Which we did and the pervert left and didn't even leave a tip for the poor victim of his wandering hands. Once we got our check we paid and I walked over to the girl. She must have thought I was going to punch her cause as I handed her a few bills, she recoiled. "Here you go." I smiled and followed the rest of my motley crew out the door. They were all laughing at what had happened with the young waitress. I had a few intimidating piercings on my face and I guess the girl wasn't used to people like me. We also, collectively, didn't look like a group to be messed with.
Which came to be a surprise once we went out to the car and were approached by the hillbilly.

~ "Sojourn"~

It was pointless, utterly futile.

Try as he might, Sebastian could not disengage Andromalius from his waist.  In all honesty, he hadn't expected such resilience from the flamboyant Serpent Demon, and yet…

Cadencia blinked, eyes wide, and completely uncertain of how to even react to the bizarre situation. Of the people you'd expect to be 'glomped' by another person, Sebastian was certainly not high on the list.  For lack of a better word, Sebastian was the type of person you could perceive generally as 'Un-Glompable.'

"Andy…what bring you here today?" Cadencia asked.

"Ah, little miss, you're so endearing! Just as always! Dear Malphas, however do you manage to resist dressing her up like a doll!" Andromalius exclaimed.

Cadencia blushed, embarrassed, but nonetheless appreciative of the comment. Even if she was eighteen, there wasn't anything wrong with feeling prideful when someone thinks you're cute, right? Especially when that 'someone' happens to be an attractive Demon…

"But, in all honesty, I decided to pop in to ask if I could borrow Malphas~"

Sebastian's gaze shifted immediately over to his mistress. Although she could have been mistaken, it looked as though he was silently pleading for her to decline.  

All the same, Andromalius was her friend, so she couldn't just reject him.

"Well…" Cadencia began, trying to hide her anxiousness. "What did you plan on doing with him….?"

The Crow Demon cast a look of disbelief at Cadencia, who could only flail her arms indignantly in response.

Andromalius' expression became serious, however, much to both Sebastian and Cadencia's shock.

"Information, little miss. Specifically for dear Malphas."

Well, color the Crow intrigued.

"Whatever about, Andromalius?" He asked, quirking a dark brow.

"Belial." Was the Serpent's singular reply.  

Visibly taken aback, Sebastian began eagerly, "What of him?"

"We shouldn't talk abut this in the presence of little miss, Malphas. There's no need to get her involved, wouldn't you agree?"

Sebastian was reluctant on the matter of leaving Cadencia alone, but….

"It's be fine, Sebastian." She smiled reassuringly. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. Go ahead."

"Are you certain, Milady? I do not know for how long I shall be."

"It's fine. I won't get lonely that quick."

"That s not what I meant, Milady. You were attacked by assailants not even three days ago. Is it wise for me to assume I can leave you alone safely?"

Abdromalius' eyes widened in shock. "Little miss, you were attacked?! Who were these undignified ruffians?!"

Cadencia held up her hands quickly. "There's no need to worry, Andy. Sebastian and a friend took care of them."

Andromalius quirked a pale brow. "…'And a friend,' you say?"

Her face reddened at the thought of Kenshin swooping in out of nowhere and rescuing her. Really, it had been all of him who'd done all of the saving.

"He…uhm…he left town, though. I guess he's a wandering bumpkin, or something." She giggled nervously.

Sebastian cleared his throat, feeling the unfamiliar grip of awkwardness. "At any rate, even if you do have information about Belial, I do not believe it is worth leaving and putting Milady in jeopardy."

Andromalius stared at Sebastian, unsure of how to even begin for a moment. "I understand your concern for little miss, but to think that it outweighs expedience in finding your own-"

Sebastian directed a sharp glare at the Serpent Demon, who fell silent immediately.

"Honestly, I'm just touched that you care." She grinned.

He blinked, finding her words true enough. Merely a year ago, his feelings were worlds different from what they were currently.  Then, humans could offer nothing but sustenance and amusement. This hadn't exactly changed per se, but Sebastian had believed that was all they were capable of. Before meeting Cadencia, he'd never thought a human could understand a Demon, and he himself had never believed he could genuinely care for a human if it didn't involve obtaining a soul.

He stared at her cheery expression, feeling a warm slice of sentiment. Somewhere, I lost myself in that smile, I'm certain. He let his self suggestion sink in. Maybe being lost isn't such a misfortune after all…

"Anyway, why not just stay here and tell him, then, Andy?" Cadencia wondered why the idea hadn't been thought of sooner.

"I wish I could, but there's something troubling I have to show Malphas as well. I do believe it could be connected to Belial."

"Nevertheless-" Sebastian prepared to reiterate his unwillingness to leave Cadencia, but she stepped in with her own take.

"Sebastian…" She gently poked the Demon's forehead. "I'm eighteen years old; definitely old enough to be left alone for a few hours. This is important. Go on."

He sighed, and turned to Andromalius. "This won't take long, will it?"

"No. I don't feel it should."

"I will not leave for more than an hour, Andromalius. Can this excursion be concluded by then?"

The Serpent groaned agitatedly. "If we hurry, I guess…."

Sebastian nodded, affirming. "Milady, please, stay inside the mansion. I understand I am being presumptuous in asking this, but…."

"I will stay in the mansion, Sebastian. Don't worry."

Andromalius clapped his hands together. "Well! Shall we, dear Malphas?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

The Serpent blew Cadencia a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you again soon, little miss!"

The young Marchioness smiled and returned his wave, watching the Serpent Demon step through the door. "Yes! I'm looking forward to it, Andy!"

Sebastian gave a gentle nod of the head; his bid of departure, and stepped out alongside his fellow Demon. Ever acting the part of the dutiful butler, Sebastian ensured the door closed behind him without so much a click.

She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. It hadn't been so quiet in the mansion for quite some time. Not since Sebastian had come to reside at the mansion with her. Surely, it was lonely like this after her parents had passed, but still….

Maybe it was the suddenness with which the quietness had progressed….?

Throwing her arms rigidly above her head and stretching, Cadencia gave a yawn and smiled cheerily.

"I know I told Sebastian I wouldn't leave…but surely a short walk wouldn't hurt~!"

~"Strike! The Mysterious Wanderer"~

"Really now, Sebastian….why are you wearing a tailcoat….?" Cadencia asked, after looking up from her book.

"It is the proper attire for a butler, is it not, Milady?"

"I don't like that! Don't restrict yourself to a uniform, Sebastian. Wear whatever you want! I already said I hate the idea of servitude, anyways. In fact, I'm sure I've said it many times…"

Sebastian gave an amused chuckle. "I suppose I should have expected your usual level of resistance…."

She shrugged. "It couldn't have hurt."

"That reminds me, Milady…"

"What?"

"Are you really not curious as to how my wounds have already healed? I was certain you would have said something about it…."

"Why? You were healed the next day after I first met you, too. This isn't any different. Besides, you are a demon. It figures you would heal faster than a human would."

"It doesn't bother you?"

She thought he was trying to provoke her in some way, but his tone wasn't malicious. Although she thought it impossible, or at least, quite bizarre, his tone sounded rather self-conscious.

"Of course not. I'm glad you heal quickly. I don't like it when people are in pain for a long time."

"I see." He didn't say it to simply end the conversation. He was avidly taking her words in and appreciating them.

A brief moment of silence passed between the two of them.

"You won't take the tailcoat off, will you, Sebastian?"

"Why, Milady…did you not say that I could wear whatever I wished?"

"Yes, but….you really want to wear that of all things?"

"I do. It is visual proof that I am useful to you."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Do as you wish."

"Thank you."

Cadencia groaned. "Don't thank me for letting me do as you please; it's a given right!"

Sebastian simply smiled; amused, but nonetheless grateful.

Things had been different between the two of them. It seemed like they were actually connected on some deeper, personal plane. She couldn't really explain it vocally, so she simply went along with it, and allowed the feeling to do the explaining. Things felt different, that's all she could figure.

"Milady, I do believe we are running low on cinnamon. Seeing as though it is your favorite sweetener, I will go and procure more. Please excuse me."

"Ah, no! I'll go get it."

"It is the butler whom should be doing the errands, Milady."

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't want servants, damn it all!"

"Oh…" Sebastian mused. "There is a bit of a ruffian in you, isn't there, Milady?"

"Perhaps a little…." She said, pouting. "I find it strange you haven't realized it yet."

"Who ever said that I hadn't?" He paused. "Well, I suppose if it is truly your desire, then you should do it, Milady, even though it is unfitting."

"Yay!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms skyward.

"A truly rousing level of maturity…." Sebastian remarked, usual smirk firmly in place.

"You'll never enjoy yourself if you're always a stick in the mud! As long as you're mature when it counts, I don't see the problem."

"Hm, it's not as though you're incorrect, Milady….." Sebastian conceded. "Either way, if you're so insistent, you should hurry. It is seven 'o' clock. The shop will be closing soon."

"Ah~!" Cadencia exclaimed.

She quickly rose to her feet, and, ever the graceful one, promptly tripped over the table on her way to the door. Stumbling a bit, she grasped the doorknob and gave a salute.

"I'm going now!" She smiled. "And that little incident from just now is our secret!"

"But of course." Sebastian returned her smile.

She pulled the door open. "All right. I'll be back soon."

The oak door closed behind the Marchioness with a soft click, and Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle. What am I to do with you, Milady?

Cadencia took a step down from the front entryway, and stared up at the moon, risen high above. It was a crisp night. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been on a late night errand. It must have been before she met Sebastian, which she could hardly believe was over a whole month ago. Dogged in direction, she took a short cut down a small street, enclosed on either side by the walls of buildings; homes and businesses alike.

-"Oh! Look at this! The pretty little Miss is out for a late night stroll!"

Cadencia whipped around quickly, and immediately came face to face with several men. They weren't ordinary street thugs, she could tell that much. Ordinary street thugs don't carry swords around.

One of them gave a chopping laugh. "She's here. Just like he said she would be."

Cadencia frowned. "What….do you want?"

Truth be told, she thought they were dressed strangely. Their clothing looked rather like robes, and they wore cloth masks to conceal their faces. She hadn't ever seen outfits like theirs. Cadencia was absolutely certain they were foreigners.

"Ah, we're just hired mercenaries, Missie." Another man spoke, presumably the leader, given that he headed the group and that he was the only thug without a mask.

"You want to kill me?" She asked, unbothered.

"Of course not! We've simply been paid to bring you to our client. You'll be completely unharmed. Your butler, on the other hand, I can't say the same for."

Eyes widening, she blurted, "What are you going on about?! Whatever this is, leave Sebastian out of it!"

"Sorry, Missie. We've already dispatched our gunman. The kill order can't be cancelled now." He was apologizing, but smiling regardless.

She knew that a bullet couldn't kill Sebastian; he had been shot in the head by Andromalius, and had survived, but the idea of it still mortified her to no end. She clasped a hand to her mouth, disbelieving.

"Why? I don't understand this…"

"Introductions always come first. Missie, the name's Wado. We are members of the Yakuza. I can't tell you who, but someone has had their eye on you for quite awhile. They paid us quite a hefty sum to kidnap you and kill off your butler."

Cadencia took a step back. Who could have possibly….?

"Now, come with us quietly, Missie." Wado grinned.

No…. Cadencia took another step back. I've got to get home and save Sebastian…!

She turned about on her heel and bolted as fast as she could away from the group. Panting, she ran down the street, mercenaries hot on her tail. Taking an unfortunate right turn, Cadencia found herself head on with a dead end.

"Really  now, Missie. You're not being very cooperative…."

"Excuse me, I'm not just going to let myself be kidnapped!" Cadencia retorted.

"So, we'll have to use force….it's a shame because you've got such a pretty face, and it's gonna get cut up."

Cadencia gritted her teeth, knowing she was completely unarmed and against several mercenaries wielding swords……well, that's a fair enough reason to be afraid, right? Nevertheless, Cadencia kept her composure.

"Go right ahead! If you've killed Sebastian, you might as well kill me too!"

"Any other time if you kept talking like that, we'd be all too happy to oblige, but we were asked to bring you back alive." Wado nodded to his group. "Go on and rough her up a little, though!"

A few of the masked thugs advanced at Cadencia, who braced herself for some serious man-handling.

-"Just a moment!"

Right then, Cadencia heard a voice she didn't recognize. Even odder still, it had come from above her. She turned about and craned her neck upwards, with the mercenary group doing the same in tandem.  The collective gaze came to a young man, who had taken a stand upon the rooftop of the building behind the young Marchioness.

His very appearance captivated Cadencia. The grandiose full-moon at his back illuminated his figure, and seemed to cast a soft glow about him. It was the first time she'd ever seen a man with such long hair, and of such a vibrant crimson color.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave that girl be, that I am." He said, never breaking his eye contact with the group.

Wado's gaze fell to the side of the young man's waist, at which was also a sword.

"What does a mere street swordsman think he can do against members of the Yakuza?" Wado asked, taking a stab at some provocation.

Without a word, the young man drew his sword from it's sheathe, as if the look in his eyes wasn't frightening enough.

"Wa..wait, boss….that guy…." One of the other men began.

"What is it, Shido?"

"Surely…..surely you recognize him, boss…..he ain't no simple street swordsman……"

Wado narrowed his eyes, and slowly, slowly the realization dawned on him. "Red hair…..and that X-shaped scar….Hitokiri Battousai?!"

Cadencia could only stare. What are these weirdoes talking about….?

Dissent streaked through the mercenary group quite quickly.

"N…no freaking way…."

"I'm not fighting with him…."

"Yeah, really! I didn't take this job to die!"

The miserable lot turned tail and fled. The whole scene very much reminded Cadencia of a dog running away with its tail between its legs in complete submission. Wado raised his fist; the entire arm trembling furiously.

"Don't get too comfortable, Missie! Our clients always get what they pay for. Rest assured, there are members of the Yakuza who are far stronger than us!" He exclaimed his warning before also turning on heel and fleeing shamelessly.

Cadencia let out a huff. "Don't try to sound threatening while running away!"

Tongue in cheek, she turned around and went to focus her gaze upwards, but even though it had been such a small span of time, the swordsman was now on the actual ground, only a few feet from her.

"Ah….thank you for helping me." She said, appreciatively.

"I wasn't expecting a confrontation since I was simply passing through, but I'm glad I could help, that I am." He smiled.

Cadencia frowned. His eyes were different. When he was talking with the mercenaries, his eyes were….they were cold and menacing, but, now…..they were completely different. They were warm and inviting.

….And the most lovely shade of violet I've ever seen…. Cadencia's face went red. She was rather embarrassed she'd just had such a thought about the eyes of someone whose name didn't even know.

"Ahaaahhh!" She laughed nervously. "So! Where are you staying tonight?"

"Like I said, I was just passing through-"

"-Then come stay at my house!" Her face went red again. "At least for tonight. You shouldn't sleep outside. You'll get a stiff neck."

"I'm grateful for the offer, that I am, but I really don't want to impose…" He gave an awkward smile. "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've slept outside, Miss."

"But…" She began softly. "I feel badly, since you went out of your way to help me. Won't you let me at least try to make it up to you?"

He gave her a gentle look. "Miss….you don't even know my name, that you don't."

"Well, then let's start simple~!" She held out her hand. "My name is Cadencia. Cadencia Winfield. And you are?"

The crimson haired swordsman took her hand gingerly, the proper way to take a lady's hand, but she huffed.

"Shake my hand. I'm not a dainty little primrose, you know." She gave an energetic grin.

The swordsman blinked, but quickly found a smile. "So I've noticed." As asked, he shook her hand. "Kenshin Himura."

"What a name!" She remarked. "Err….forgive my asking, but…..are you…from around here?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No, Miss Cadencia. Like those mercenaries, I also came from a place, far in the east, that I did."

"Where might that be?"

"Kyoto, it is."

"Kyoto?"

"Yes."

"Say, Kenshin?"

"Hm?"

"Are you…..some sort of travelling hero?"

He smiled. "No, nothing of the sort. I'm just a wanderer, that I am."

"Really? And here you looked so noble atop that building too…."

"You think too much of me, that you do." Kenshin gave a small laugh.

"I'm not so sure about that….ah well….who are the Yakuza, anyway?"

"They are…..well, I suppose you could think of them as a mafia. I had no idea some of their organization had also come here until now, though, that I did not."

"Ah, I see."

"By the way, Miss Cadencia…"

"What is it?"

"Aren't you curious as to what a simple wanderer is doing in Paris?"

Cadencia shrugged. "You must have your reasons. Whatever it is, I don't see a need to pry at it. You seem like a person whose word I can trust, Kenshin."

He stared at her for a moment before smiling. "Thank you."

"Huh? Don't mention it." She gave a little yawn, and politely brought her hand to her mouth. "We should head back to my house. I'll make some tea."

"Tea sounds quite pleasant, that it does." He admitted.

"All right, then! Let's go."

About a moment after she'd resumed her walk, she came to a grinding halt without warning, and Kenshin almost plowed right into her.

"Oro….? Is something the matter, Miss Cadencia?"

"Sebastian…" She had just remembered about her Demon.

"Who?"

"My…..my friend! Those thugs hired a gunman to kill him, I've got to-"

She went to run, but Kenshin quickly grasped her wrist. His touch was firm, but gentle.

"What are you doing, Kenshin? I have to-"

"Someone is approaching, that they are." He let go of Cadencia's wrist, and took a protective step in front of her. She watched with intrigue as his hand went to his sword, ready to draw.

-"Oh….so there you are."

Cadencia felt relief wash over her. This voice….!
Kenshin was certain his eyes must have been playing tricks on him; he could have sworn he saw some sort of tall, feathery looking thing, donned in black leather and elevated heels.

"Sebastian!" Cadencia exclaimed, dashing forward.

Kenshin blinked, trying to re-focus his eyes, and it was gone. The feathery thing had disappeared completely, leaving in it's place, a butler in a tailcoat.

"I finally found you, Milady, I'm relieved you are unharmed."

"Did a gunman try to attack you?!"

"Why, yes. He was but a small trifle, however. He was even kind enough to tell me that you were being targeted. I began to search for you as soon as I finished with him." The gaze of auburn eyes shifted towards Kenshin. "Who might this be…?"

She swallowed nervously. "This is Kenshin Himura…..he saved me from the Yakuza thugs, Sebastian. Um….please don't eat him."

Sebastian and Kenshin kept their eyes locked together, unblinking.

"Why, Milady, I assure you I thought nothing of the sort."

Cadencia felt her whole body go rigid.

I forgot that Sebastian has possession issues…..

~"Circiensis"~

Cadencia's eyes snapped open abruptly, and the first thing she saw was the endless purple sky hanging heavily above. Where was she? What was this place? Very obviously, she was not in Paris anymore. It didn't look like earth at all. The ground, for as far as she could see, was tiled in alternating light and dark colors, and all around her appeared to be the gigantic stone effigies of chess pieces. It looked like a game board. The sudden screech of metal drove her gaze back to reality, and she could see blatantly that Claude and Sebastian were in the midst of a duel.

"To think you would stoop so low as to use a weapon like that…." Sebastian remarked with disgust at the crystal-like lance in Claude's hand.

"The qualms of the losing opponent…"He said without remorse. "Laevateinn…." The bespectacled demon raised the lance, aiming it squarely at Sebastian. "…Will end you, and then, the Queen Piece will be mine for the taking."

Sebastian gave a dark smirk. "The sword that can kill even a demon with one blow, yes, it is certainly a trifle. However, there is no way I can allow myself to lose and leave Milady with the likes of you."

"Are you so certain?" Claude gave a forward thrust of the lance, and though Sebastian managed to dodge, he was barely able to do so without it nicking him.

Cadencia grew terribly worried. "That weapon….can kill a demon? What on earth is it…?"

Claude, without remorse, engaged a high-speed barrage of strikes, and Sebastian quickly found that he could focus only on defending. Even he smallest cut would eventually prove fatal. Sebastian gracefully leapt backwards, and although he evaded the side-slash of the Laevateinn, something still cut his face. A small rivulet of blood streaked down his cheek, and the crow realized he'd been caught in the spider's web.

Sebastian let an irritated hiss slip through his clenched teeth. "This is….."

"You let your guard down, Malphas. I must admit I'm rather disappointed. Could it be….is it Her Highness who has had such an effect?"

Sebastian glanced about, able to see them clearly now; a series of black, tensile structures running this way and that, like cables, but razor sharp to the touch. The crow demon's sight locked upwards, focusing on the spider, who had, in an instant, perched himself atop the cables. With a flamenco style tap of the foot, Claude made the cables shift closer to slice at Sebastian, and in tandem, leave even less room for maneuvering.

"You look rather flustered, Malphas…" Claude observed, pointing Laevateinn squarely at the face of the crow demon. "Why, I might go so far as to say you're about to lose your head." A dark smirk twisted the spider's expression, which was commonplace apathetic.

Sebastian gritted his teeth. He will kill me…and take Milady….

"The victor of Circiensis……will be me!" Claude exclaimed, leaping downwards at Sebastian with Laevateinn boldly brandished.

"STOP….!" Cadencia cried out desperately.

To her surprise, Claude halted, though merely out of curiosity.

"Please, Mister Faustus!" Cadencia fought back the trembling in her knees and ran forward, to the side of the crow. "Please, don't kill Sebastian!"

"Why should I not, My Highness?"

She blinked; incredulous he could ask such a thing in complete seriousness. "What the Hell kind of answer could you possibly be expecting?!"

Claude frowned, and said nothing.

"I don't want you to kill Sebastian because he's important to me---no, he's….he's dear to me! I couldn't bear to lose him!"

The effect of her words was akin to a fired arrow piercing through solid ice. Something….something became strange and warm inside of the crow then.

"Milady….."

Claude arched a brow, his expression growing increasingly disgusted. "I…do not understand a word of what you're saying."

She smiled; a somewhat dark smile. The sort of smile Cadencia never wore. "Yes. It's quite clear you don't. I pity you."

"What….?" Claude couldn't believe his ears. He was insulted. "You….a human…..is pitying a demon…..?"

Cadencia let out a short, chopping laugh. Clearly the idea was ridiculous to her, as well. "Sounds strange, doesn't it? I understand. I'm weak. I don't have half the physical endurance that you do, Mister Faustus. I'm not immune to poisons or diseases, and I'm certainly not immortal. 'What reason could I possibly have to pity you,' that's what you're thinking, right? It makes sense, given that I'm the pathetic one. I barely understand why I feel that way myself, so I can imagine that you probably think I'm crossing the line of insanity…..nevertheless. If you feel a certain way, there's a reason for it. I pity you, Mister Faustus, and all demons, for the simple fact that you don't know what love is."

She saw the demon's eyes widen considerably, and knew well that her words hadn't fallen on deaf ears.

"I'm thinking harder now, and I'm realizing more than I ever have before. The religion of humans; they all say that demons are terrible, horrendous monsters. They believe this without knowing that there is no Heaven, no Hell, or even a God. They don't know about the Gate of Truth and the Gate of Time, that demons really aren't the monsters they've made them out to be…."

"What you say….isn't wrong…" Claude conceded.

"I understand why you don't know what love is." She smiled sorrowfully, and locked eyes with the spider demon. "No one ever showed you."

She took a step forward, and simultaneously, Claude took a step back.

"Don't be afraid, Mister Faustus. It's not you I'm trying to touch."

She walked past the spider demon, and reached out to the tensile cables which had ensnared Sebastian. Kneeling down, she said, "You both are demons. I don't want you two to fight to the death over my soul. The idea is unbearable."

Claude, as well as Sebastian frowned, unable to predict her next move.

Cadencia took a lateral cable into her hands, the mere touch cutting her skin deeply. Crimson began to slowly streak down her arms.

Sebastian felt a terrible sensation begin to rise from that confounded 'stomach' area again.

"I'll simply end the conflict by dying." She smiled, leaning forward and pressing her throat to the cable.

There it was; the sensation bloomed fully, and Sebastian finally felt the full throes of guilt and mortification. Without another split second's thought on the matter, he forced through his ensnarement, and snatched her away from the cables. Tightly, he clutched Cadencia to himself, resolute in his decision.

"Sebastian….why?" She asked after a moment. "Look how injured you are now….do you really want to eat my soul so badly?"

He held her even tighter. "Your soul….is the rarest sort; a soul not meant to be attainable by a human, and it is by far, the most delicious. I wanted to claim your soul for myself, I cannot deny that. But….although I do not understand why, I do not wish for that any longer. I want you to live, Milady." He stroked a strand of hair out of her face. "….And….I want to live by your side."

She felt a lump begin to grow in her throat. With a slight begrudging, she knew her eyes were watering, and it would be only moments before childish tears threatened to spill over. "Sebastian…..is that really what you want?"

"Yes. I wish only to remain by your side, Milady. Only that. Even though I am a repulsive demon, I am selfishly asking this of you."

Cadencia touched his face. "You aren't-"

The crow pressed his hand against hers. "You have not seen my true form, Milady. I assure you, it is quite perverse."

Cadencia sighed. "You are you. That's all that matters." She paused. "And…I have no problem with you remaining by my side, even though you think you're repulsive. You are dear to me, I said it already. I'd be crushed if you ever left me."

"Would you?"

"Of course."

"The both of you….are strange." Claude remarked suddenly.

Sebastian and Cadencia turned their attention back over to the spider demon.

"Why, Mister Faustus?" Cadencia asked.

"I don't understand why you want Malphas around you, and I don't understand why he doesn't wish to obtain your soul any longer. However, I will take my leave now, without spending another moment trying to understand these infuriating, pointless things."

"I see." Cadencia said.

"A final word; I'm quite disgusted with you, Malphas. Disgusted by how soft you've grown." Claude turned on his heel, preparing to leave.

"Mister Faustus!" Cadencia called out. "Next time I see you…..we'll have a party to celebrate!"

Claude's brow twitched in annoyance. "….What a completely infantile idea."

Despite the spider's words, his lips curved and formed a faint smile. Without another word, his body became transparent, and he gradually disappeared completely, marking his departure.

"That…..ended on quite a bad note….I'm afraid." Cadencia sighed.

"Ended? The whole song was sour, Milady." Sebastian chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Sebastian." She turned her gaze back to the face of her ever more precious butler. "But….now we can turn the page, and begin writing a much happier song!"

~"The Tangled Web"~

A white gloved hand gently touched Cadencia's forehead, tenderly stroking her bangs out of her closed eyes as she slept. The warmth rose her from her slumber, bringing her back to consciousness.

"Sebastian…." She smiled, opening her eyes. The smile dropped instantly upon the realization that it was not Sebastian who was touching her, but Luceille's butler, Claude.

She sat up quickly, alarmed, and pushed his hand away. "You…" She glanced around, finding herself in her own bedroom, rather than the tree she'd fallen asleep under, with Sebastian by her side. "What are you doing?" She asked tensely.

"I am simply waking you up. This is one of the duties of a butler, is it not?"

"What are you talking about? You aren't my butler….Sebastian is!"

"Are you certain?"

"What?"

"It appears you haven't noticed his departure, then."

It hit her. Where was he? Surely, if she was in any danger, Sebastian would have been there….but….

"Where is Sebastian?" She grew worried. "It can't be…..did you kill him?!"

She swung her fist in Claude's direction, but with insufferable ease he caught her wrist. She expected him to twist it, to hurt her, but he did not. In fact, he appeared to be admiring her hand.

"Delicate….it feels like fine bisque…" He remarked.

Hurriedly, she pulled her hand out of his grasp. Something about him….he wasn't like Sebastian at all. This guy was….for lack of a better word, positively beyond creepy.

"Don't…don't' change the subject! If you hurt Sebastian in any way-!"

"Hurt him? I most certainly did not. How could I? I haven't seen him."

"You're lying! He was by my side when I fell asleep!"

Claude adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps. Though, when I found you, you were quite alone."

A dull pain seemed to shoot through her stomach. "He…he wasn't….?"

"If I had to assume what had happened, it would perhaps go like this; Malphas grew tired of remaining by your side because you wouldn't form a contract with him, so he decided to move on. Indeed, that is what any sensible demon would do."

"He…" She couldn't find any words. He had abandoned her so easily…. "He only….wanted my soul after all…?"

Claude gave a nod. "Yes."

"Then…he never actually cared about me…." Her eyes fell downcast.

"I am afraid not, given that he blatantly abandoned you."

It hurt. She had no idea it could possibly hurt this much, even though it made sense. Sebastian was a demon. Why should he care about a human at all, save for a meal?

A tear rolled down her cheek, and more quickly followed suit. Cadencia had couldn't bring herself to do anything but simply sit there and let her tears fall. Claude brought the side of his thumb to her cheek and carefully wiped them away. He did the same to the other side of her face before sliding his hand under her chin and tilting it upwards.

"You poor thing…." Claude said with false concern. "Forsaken by your loyal servant……"

Cadencia could only stare at him, at those gold eyes. "He...he wasn't my-"

"I would never abandon you."

"You…..wouldn't…..?"

"Certainly not. I would remain by your side for as long as you wished it. I would never treat you so casually as Malphas did. Every day, I would admire your beauty."

She frowned. "My….beauty….?" She let a pause fly by. "I don't care about that."

"Hm?" Claude mused.

"It's too trivial to be of any concern to me. Personal appearances don't matter much to me, mine or anyone else's. I like people for who they are."

She has exquisite beauty, but is not consumed by vanity….

"May I ask you something?" The bespectacled demon queried.

"I don't see why not, Mister Faustus…."

"What do you want most? If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? Tell me, and I will give it to you."

She looked rather surprised

"I guess….."

"Do you desire wealth? Wealth even greater than you already possess?"

"I told Sebastian many times that money means nothing to me, that I don't need to live in such a large mansion. If I had about twenty people living here, then perhaps it would be more appropriate. In truth, I really want to live in a much smaller house."

She has wealth, but is not consumed by greed….

"Perhaps you wish for power, then? To conquer people and make them do as you please?" He suggested.

She gave him a strange look. In a genuinely innocent tone she asked, "Why? What point would there be to that?"

She has courage, but not arrogance….

"Is really nothing that you desire?" Claude asked.

Cadencia shrugged and gave her awkward smile. "I…guess not."

"Really…." Claude said, trying very hard to keep his apathetic tone, and not sound incredulous. A human who is not overcome by human weaknesses….what sort of person is she….? "But….I can guess that there is something you do want, something not of materialistic nature…."

"And what might that be, Mister Faustus?"

"You want company, don't you? That's the only real reason you permitted Malphas to linger around you, a demon. That, and the fact that he was your servant who did things for you."

Cadencia frowned. "Sebastian was not my servant, and I never let him do 'things' for me. Besides, Mister Faustus, you are a demon, too."

"True, but my point remains the same. You dislike being alone, and even though I am also a demon, I am asking that you create a contract with me."

"A contract…." Somehow, she had a feeling that was what he had been getting at.

"Create a contract with me, and I will remain by your side for as long as you like, even until the day you die."

Although it is a rather long time to wait….for this soul, it most certainly worth it.

Something about him struck Cadencia as rather pitiable. There had been a similar feeling she'd gotten from Sebastian, but not at all to this extent.

"I'm sorry." She said after a moment.

"'Sorry?'"

"I can't."

"'Can't?'"

Although she wasn't really sure why, she didn't want to reject him harshly. "There is something that I have to do. I can't promise my soul to anyone before I do it."

"Surely, what ever this thing is, I can do it for you if you create a contract with me."

Cadencia shook her head. "No. It is….something I must do myself. With my own hands."

Claude frowned. "I see…."

"Can I ask you something, Mister Faustus?"

"Certainly."

"Where is Luceille? I thought you created a contract with her….didn't you?"

"No." He lied. "She has gone someplace far away. She won't be returning."

He was rather bewildered as her expression took a turn towards lament. "Oh…."

"Why does that bother you?"

"Well…..although I don't really understand what I did wrong or why she was so angry at me…..I had really hoped I'd be able to talk to her and try to set things straight…."

"You didn't hate her for being so unreasonable? For wanting to kill Malphas, purely to spite you?"

"I can't forgive her for that, but I still wanted to try to fix up our relationship. Even it wasn't mutual, she was my friend. I don't like to end things on a bad note."

I do not understand these complex, human ideals….

"Unfortunately, things must end on a bad note. She is never returning."

"So I see." She let a rather lengthy pause slip by. "By the way, Mister Faustus…."

"Yes?"

"I'm not sure if you want to hang around, since I won't form a contract….." Her mind momentarily wandered to Sebastian, who had abandoned her without a second thought because of her decision on the matter. "But you can stay here if you need…."

"How kind of you to offer." He said, though he had intended to stay near, even if she hadn't allowed it. "I shall."

Cadencia smiled. "Perhaps….we might even become friends."

Claude frowned. "'Friends,' is it? You presume you could befriend a demon?"

Cadencia's face reddened. "Ahh! Well, I mean, if you wanted to, anyways." Her giggly behavior sobered up a little. "Sebastian…..Sebastian was my friend too, before he left me. No, I shouldn't say that, he still is my friend."

Claude looked utterly lost. "Why would you want to be friends with a demon?"

"Eeeh? You know, Sebastian and Andy were confused about it too…." She said, remembering thoughtfully.

The spider demon arched a brow. "'Andy?'"

"Maybe you know him? His name's Andromalius. I just call him 'Andy.'"

"Andromalius? You are familiar with the serpent demon?" Claude paused. "Why would you refer to him so casually?"

"What do you mean?"

"Andromalius is one of the ten Marquis of the Void….." He shook his head. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, of course…."

"Mm-mm, I do. Sebastian explained the Void to me, and the ranks that demons hold. He said that Andy was a Marquis as well."

"Yes….I cannot believe that Andromalius would allow you to give him such a nickname…."

"He seemed insulted by it at first, but it doesn't seem to bother him now. Anyway, it's what friends do!"

"I do not understand something so whimsical."

"Clearly." Her smile became gentle, placid. "Maybe….you never had the chance to understand it."

Claude's eyes snapped in her direction. "Exactly…..what is it that you are presuming….?"

His tone was dangerous; daring her to answer. She knew now that she was right.

"Sebastian said…..he said that demons were predecessors of human beings, created by the Gate of Truth, and were subsequently rejected. Your own creator never showed you compassion, and humans…..humans are afraid of demons. That being said….I can understand why you don't understand things like 'love' and 'friendship.'" Cadencia explained her reasoning.

Claude's eyes widened, ever so slightly. So this girl…..could even understand the feelings of a demon….? Somewhere, deep, deep down, he appreciated what she said.  
Aloud, however, he scoffed ruefully. "It appears you are quite arrogant, to come up with all of these assumptions yourself…." He had forgotten himself for a moment. "Please forgive me," He said quickly. "My words were-"

"It's all right. I suppose it is rather arrogant of me to just assume things. It just seemed that way to me."

"How forgiving…." He remarked, placid in tone.

"If you feel something is wrong, you shouldn't be lashed for speaking against it."

"Hmm….it appears you are the sensible sort…."

"Maybe." She paused. "You know….in some ways….you sort of remind me of Sebastian."

"Do I? How so?"

"Well….he always made remarks like that, "it appears you are the sensible sort," almost like he couldn't believe it as he said it. But then again, you know humans differently than I do."

Claude said nothing, and Cadencia gave an exerted yawn before lying back down onto her bed.

Sebastian....to think that you would have actually abandoned me….

~"Of A Different Feather"~

She was a noble. She was an heiress, an aristocrat, an important person, but she was not beautiful.  She had all the riches and wealth she could possible ever want, every whim and necessity attended to, but for all of her wealth, she wasn't beautiful.  It irked her, she had so much money. She could buy anything, save for the one thing she genuinely desired.

She hated her red, frizzy hair; dull and riddled with split ends. She hated her stocky body and the way it was splotched with blemishes and unbecoming freckles. She hated her thick arms and legs, her big feet. Most of all, she hated her round face which always seemed a swollen nest of black-heads, blemishes….and freckles, of course.

She stood amongst the other girls stolidly, something of a frog in the company of swans.

"I've never met another noble who looked as unbecoming as you, Luceille." Snickered a young noble, dressed in maroon garb. The quail feather in her hat rustled lightly in the balmy breeze, along with her auburn curls.

"Adelaine," A pale blonde, dressed in light blue addressed her friend. "Don't you wonder how she could be in the upper class?"

"Oh, Christelle, you know I do."

There was a collective giggle from the circle of girls.

"So," Adelaine began. "Let's hear it, how did you become a noble, anyways? Surely you weren't born into the upper class, right?"

Beautiful girls. Beautiful girls were yelling at her.

-"That's enough, Adelaine." A bold voice cut in.

The group of girls parted like the Red Sea before the person to whom the voice belonged. Luceille stared at the young lady, captivated. The other girls were beautiful, but this girl was breathtaking.  Her long, dark hair and blue eyes were a rare combination. She's never seen a person with such features. It made her a striking figure. Even the tail coated butler at her side was impeccable and painfully handsome.

Aforementioned girl turned about, locking her green eyes with Cadencia's blue ones.

"Oh." She began. "It's the strange one."

"Yes."

"You aren't still feeding those disgusting crows, are you?"

Sebastian arched a dark bow, irritated. It was hard not to find the remark offensive.

"When they're around." She said simply, unblinking.

Sebastian was rather curious as to how his mistress would handle this situation. Save for her sister, he couldn't recall any previous interactions with girls around her same age. The demon thought she might back down, but he was certain that look in her eyes said differently.

"So, what do you want?" Adelaine asked finally.

"I'd like you to stop picking on her." She gestured to Luceille.

The downtrodden girl perked up immediately. A breathtakingly beautiful girl is defending me…!

Adelaine looked almost bored. "Make me." She challenged.

"Sure you want me to?" Cadencia said, rolling up her sleeves, ready to accept.

Sebastian became acutely alert. Would she really…fight with this girl in the middle of the street…??

Without another split second passing, Adelaine leapt at Cadencia and tackled the young Marchioness to the mud laden street . Fighting dirty, Adelaine grabbed at the Marchioness' long hair and gave it several unmerciful pulls and tugs. Furiously, Cadencia delivered a swift kick in Adelaine's ribs, and pushed the older girl off of her, and the maroon, quail feathered hat went flying.  The older aristocrat scooped up a handful of mud and slung it in Cadencia's  direction, but she paid no heed as it hit her in the side.

"Hurry and beat her up, Adelaine!" Christelle urged.

The two girls were locked in a stalemate for a moment, each trying to overpower the other. Cadencia couldn't' understand it. She had been so strong the night she beat up Andromalius, and now…now she was barely able to out muscle the witch trying to pin her to the ground.

Sebastian stared in disbelief as he watched the two girls' tussle. Never, in all his many years had he ever seen such a thing.

Gritting her teeth, Cadencia raised her fist and clocked Adelaine hard in the jaw. The older girl stumbled at the impact, and tried to regain herself as quickly as she could.

"You..." Adelaine hissed, snatching up a loose chunk of cobblestone.

Brandishing the hunk of rock as a weapon, Adelaine bolted at Cadencia with the intent of actually striking her with it.

Before the rock could come within another inch of Cadencia's face, a white gloved hand caught the wrist of the enraged older aristocrat, stopping her cold.

"That…." Sebastian began. "Is not very lady-like." With his free hand, the butler easily pried the stone from Adelaine's hand.  "A true lady should never resort to such an underhanded tactic."

"Sebastian…." Cadencia was slightly relieved he had intervened. The idea of getting hit in the head with a chunk of cobblestone is never appealing.

"Goodness, Milady….you are in complete disarray…" Sebastian remarked, releasing his grip on Adelaine's wrist.

"What…?" She finally took stock of herself. Her hair had been half-way pulled out of it's usual up-style, and much to her embarrassment, the centerpiece bow at the collar of her dress had been ripped off, which created a long tear in the torso, exposing a considerable amount of cleavage. If not for the corset Sebastian had recently persuaded her into wearing, her breasts certainly would have been visible. Clumps of dirt stuck and smeared here and there were the minor casualties, however.  She had a few bruises and several scrapes. She let her shoulders slump. "Oh….my…"

"Ah, Milady. What am I to do with you?" Sebastian said, smiling. His tone wasn't angry in the least, to her surprise. She thought for certain she'd be getting a lecture.

"You….you're just a servant!" Adelaine stuttered, shocked that a butler would have the nerve to physically make contact without permission. "On what premise did you have the right to touch me?!" She demanded.

Cadencia shot in before Sebastian could retort. "Don't act all high and mighty! You want to go again?!"

"Oh, absolutely, you obscene little tramp!"

"WHO is a tramp?!"

Once more, the two girls attempted to beat the other down, but this time, Sebastian was ready. He stood between the two furious females and kept them separated, though both still tried to reach around the butler with swipes and punches.

"Sebastian, move!"

"I cannot do that, Milady. You might actually kill this girl."

"I'm not going to kill her! I'm….I'm just going to punch her until she isn't breathing anymore!"

"Would you really do such a thing, Milady?" Sebastian asked calmly.

Cadencia's anger fizzled. "I…. I guess….I couldn't ever kill someone."

Adelaine swung her arm around Sebastian and hit Cadencia squarely in the cheek, but the Marchioness didn't retaliate. Even though there was a dark red bruise now ruining her flawless complexion, she didn't' even seen affected. Her expression remained the same as it had been before she'd been caught with a cheap shot.

"You're right, Sebastian. I couldn't'."

Adelaine gave a condescending laugh.  "Giving up?"

"Perhaps you cannot kill anyone, Milady." Sebastian gave a malicious smirk. "But I certainly can."

Cadencia grasped Sebastian's sleeve, stopping him abruptly. "No."

"Milady, I do not understand why you will not simply-"

"There is no point."

"What do you mean?"

"Killing someone….isn't the answer."

Although he still didn't really understand what she meant, Sebastian let it drop. "As you wish, Milady." He paused. "However…"

In the blink of an eye, Sebastian had grabbed Adelaine's wrist and flipped her backwards, landing her hard on the ground. It goes without saying that she was rendered completely unconscious. Christelle, as well as the other girls looked on in shock.

"…..I am not going to stand idly by and allow someone who has harmed my mistress to depart unscathed." The demon butler said, lethal in tone. His eyes took on a luminescent glow.

Cadencia stared at Sebastian, shocked, but nonetheless appreciative.

"You…you couldn't even see him move!" Christelle exclaimed. And…his eyes…he…he's like a monster….

Sebastian extended a gloved hand to his mistress, who took it gratefully.

"Now then," Sebastian addressed the other girls. "I don't suppose anyone else would like to fight?"

The response was a decisive and collective, "No." Quickly, the group dispersed, leaving only Luceille, who stood trembling.

"Mister Butler, I don't want to…." She began, swallowing nervously.

"Oh, please do not worry. I was not posing the question to you, Miss. You are the person my mistress was defending. It would reflect very poorly on me as a butler if I were to fight you." He gave his classic smile.

Cadencia approached Luceille. "Are you all right?"

Luceille nodded. "Y…yes….thank you, for defending me."

Cadencia grinned. "Certainly.  Uhm…" She extended her hand. "My name is Cadencia Winfield. Who might you be?"

The red-head stared at Cadencia's hand, admiring the pale, flawless skin, the well manicured and even nails. She shook the Marchioness' hand hesitantly.  "L…Luceille du Bois. Are you really the Cadencia Winfield?"

Cadencia blinked. "'The?' I'm not sure. I can't remember being a 'The' at any point. Why?"

"W…well…are you the Cadencia who solved a murder case at a dinner party? The same Cadencia who entered a burning mansion and saved a little girl?"

Cadencia's face reddened. "Errr…ehh…."

"Yes. That would be my mistress." Sebastian said.

"R…really? Y…you're her?!" Luceille said, wide-eyed.

Cadencia gave a nod. "Yes."

"A…all those things have made you so famous!"

"Ah….well, I didn't do those things to gain fame….." Cadencia rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"S…still! It's very impressive."

Cadencia gave a wry smile. "Well, thank you." She paused. "Would you like to come visit sometime? I'd really like to be friends. Ah! If you want to be, anyways!"

Luceille blushed, disbelieving. A breathtakingly beautiful person wants to be my friend…! "Y…yes! A…absolutely!"

Cadencia's parents were murdered….surely it will be refreshing to visit such a beautiful person who is worse off than even I…!

~"That Mistress, Up In Flames"~

Night. The endless black that stretched far and wide across the heavens had always been alluring to Sebastian. Always, he'd admired that pure black. In the Void, there was no such thing as "night," or even "day." It was always simply gray. Time was nonexistent and completely irrelevant.  But, much to Sebastian's annoyance, that perfect black was smudged and ruined by a bright red illumination in the distance. He sighed and re-entered the mansion, deciding that it would be best to wake Cadencia and leave before it got dangerous.

Gently and dutifully, Sebastian touched the sleeping young woman's shoulder. "Milady, you must wake."

She stirred gradually. "Sebastian…?" She pushed back a stand of hair and sat up. "What?"

"Milady, there is a fire in town. We should leave the mansion until it dies down."

She looked alarmed. "A fire?"

"Yes. Please hurry. Is there anything you'd like to take with you?"

Cadencia just about jumped out of bed and threw on her black and red dress over her night gown. Quickly, she slipped on her low heeled shoes and met the eyes of her demonic companion.

"We need to hurry, Sebastian."

"Yes, indeed we do. The fire may spread, and it may do so quickly. We need to get to a safe distance."

Cadencia said nothing, and they left the mansion together. Sebastian told her that going up the hill behind the mansion would be a good distance to start, but as he began the ascent, he quickly realized that she was not following, and in fact, going into town where the fire was.

"Just what are you doing?" He asked.

"People might need help. I'm going to see if I can be of any assistance. Coming?"

"Milady, why do you concern yourself with other people's problems so unnecessarily?"

She stared at him plainly. "Coming? Or not?"

Sebastian gave a defeated sigh. "As you wish, Milady."

Without really understanding why she was so insistent on helping other humans, the crow demon accompanied his mistress into the heart of Paris. Indeed, the fire had spread. Many people had gathered outside, knowing it would be safer, rather than chance getting stuck in a burning home.

"Is everyone all right?" Cadencia asked, rushing up to the group.

"Young Lady!" An older man, most likely in his late forties approached Cadencia.  "My mansion is ablaze! Can you get to a fire station?"

"Never mind that, is there anyone still inside?" She asked.

"Well…." He looked away, guilty.

"Is there?!" Cadencia demanded.

"Only one servant didn't escape.  Felicia, I just hired her a few days ago, I…I…I…" He rambled.

"What does she look like?"

"Why?" He asked alarmed.

"What does she look like?" Cadencia repeated, firmly.

"A….a little girl. Dark hair, why?"

Without a further word, Cadencia rushed to the mansion's front doors and pushed them open.  Flames immediately leapt at her. An intense wave of heat hit her like a gust of wind. Sebastian stared at his mistress in disbelief as she entered the blaze.

"Milady, what are you doing?" His controlled voice lost composure for a moment.

"Forget her, she's only a servant! It's likely she's already dead, anyways!"
The mansion's owner called.

Cadencia pointed a finger at the owner, eyes burning akin to the blaze. She said simply, "I'll deal with you in a minute."

The young Marchioness turned away and submerged herself into the house. Cautiously, she ventured further.

"Felicia! Honey, can you hear me?" Cadencia called.

There was no response. What if the girl was trapped on one of the higher levels? Despite the intense heat, she couldn't bear to turn back without searching every possible place. The stairs creaked loudly as she took a first step. Each progressive movement evoked a deep groan. Cadencia bit her lip, knowing that they wouldn't last long. Flames jumping this way and that, she hurried to the second floor and tried again.

"Felicia! Can you hear me?" She called.

-" Who's…there?"

Cadencia felt a surge of hope. "Honey, where are you?"

-"I'm in here. The bedroom"

Cadencia followed the response down the hall to the left and threw open the first door. Indeed, the girl, exactly as earlier described, was huddled between the bed and the wall.

"Who are you?" She asked apprehensively.

"My name is Cadencia. Come on, we've got to get out, okay?"

The young Marchioness extended her hand to the little girl, who took it readily. Cadencia rushed out of the door, clutching the little girl's hand.  Pacing, she led the girl back to the stairway. Not a moment before Cadencia took a first step, the wood gave way, and the stairs collapsed completely.

"What way do we go?" Felicia asked, panicking.

"It's all right. Let's go higher and see if we can get to the roof, okay?"

The girl nodded, consenting.

Quickly, quickly, Cadencia rushed back down the second floor hallway and to the stairway which led to the third floor. She gave a hoarse cough as she breathed through the smoke which had risen. She was getting faint fast. Cadencia gave herself a good crack across the cheek in an effort to keep herself conscious. If she passed out, not only would she die….but so would Felicia. And…she couldn't' let that happen.

She hurried to a window through which she spied a nice embankment of roof outside. Cadencia undid the latch and pushed the window wide open. Carefully, she helped the little girl through the window and climbed out herself.

The slanted roof was hard to stand on evenly, and even more so when delirious from smoke inhalation, but Cadencia was determined.

-"Look, there they are!" Cadencia heard a woman's voice.

-"She's got the girl, too!"

There were a few cheers from the group.

"I don't believe it." The mansion owner said. "She saved her."

Sebastian's worried expression gradually became a relieved smile. "Milady…."

The owner turned towards the Marchioness' butler. "She's rather peculiar, don't you think?"

"Oh, sir, you do not know the half of it." Sebastian conceded.

Without a word more, the demon turned his gaze back to the roof top.

"Go slowly, Felicia." Cadencia cautioned as they made their descent.

"Okay."

The little girl took a step down onto a lower abutment, and slipped. Cadencia, quicker than lightning, grabbed Felicia's hand before she could fall. The young Marchioness' could only grasp the roof with one free hand.

"I've got you, its okay, Felicia." Cadencia donned a reassuring mask, but she could feel her own hand losing its grip on the roof.

She grit her teeth as she felt her fingers slip away completely. Faster, faster, they slid down the roof. Several alarmed cries erupted from the crowd as they looked on.

"Oh, God! Sebastian, catch her!" Cadencia cried, not knowing whether or not she could be heard over the roar of the blaze. It was purely instinctual; the words just shot out from nowhere.

The Marchioness managed to catch herself at another embankment of roof at the first floor, and cautiously opened an eye, expecting to see Felicia upon the cobblestone below in some morbid fashion with her head split open, but the girl was gone all together. Eyes darting this way and that, she looked desperately for the girl.

-"My, my, Milady. That's quite the undignified pose…." A familiar tone mused from behind.

Cadencia chanced a look back, and breathed out a sigh of relief, seeing that Sebastian had Felicia safely in his arms before she voiced a retort. "Well, I can only look so dignified whilst falling off of a roof, Sebastian."

Said butler chuckled softly.  "Are you unharmed, Milady?"

"That's not important now, is Felicia all right?"

Sebastian cast his gaze to the little girl whom he held. "Young Miss, are you unharmed?" He posed the same question.

Slightly intimidated by his auburn eyes, she gave a slow nod.

Those auburn eyes returned to Cadencia reassuringly. The young Marchioness gave a sigh of relief.

A deep groan rattled the air. Cadencia, slightly shaken, gave a worried look in Sebastian's direction.  The groan returned, even more vocal than the first. Cadencia was just on the verge of addressing her butler over the matter, when the ceiling gave way and caved in, weakened by the intense flames. Cadencia fell down with the roof, back into the burning mansion.

"Milady!" Sebastian exclaimed.

His instinct was to dash forward, but all the same, he knew that the unstable roof would only collapse further. In the span of mere seconds, Sebastian rushed to the ground, set Felicia down with a young woman and leapt back up to the roof. Carefully, the demon made his way over to the hole and knelt down so he could look down inside, desperate for any sign of the black of her dress. Sebastian grit his teeth, and let his eyes take on a luminescent, fuchsia glow.  It was but a trifle for a demon; jumping into a burning mansion.  

Without another thought on the matter, Sebastian leapt down through the roof and into the room of which Cadencia had fallen.

Some people are strange and do strange things. The owner of the mansion was certainly strange and did a strange thing. Just who would keep explosives in their basement, anyways? Ah, well, perhaps he never anticipated the possibility of a fire, and the hazard it would pose….

Relieved, Sebastian finally caught sight of his unconscious mistress upon the burning floor. Hurrying, the butler knelt beside Cadencia and shook her shoulder, but she would not stir.

A sudden explosion at the far end of the mansion shook the very frame of the building and sent flames surging forward.  Having no time for an escape, Sebastian turned his back to the oncoming tidal wave of fire and shielded Cadencia.

His desperate attempt to protect her was in vain, however. Despite his valiant effort, they were both engulfed in the raging inferno.

~"Soon, You'll Know How"~

Before Andromalius could even blink, the unsuspecting serpent demon found himself pinned against the door he'd entered through by his throat, held fast by one hell of a furious butler.

Cadencia blinked, left momentarily speechless by the suddenness of it all.

"Ma--Malphas…! You…you're killing me…." Andromalius struggled for an intake of air.

"You'll live." Sebastian snarled, in a tone which Cadencia did not recognize.  

He sounded….dangerous and it gave her amazing sensation she'd never felt before.  What was it….oh, yes. Pleasure.  The young Marchioness shook her head. No, no! Marchioness Cadencia Clairvaux LaFontaine Winfield was not a common harlot who allowed herself to engage in such thoughts and feelings. Not because they were not "proper," oh, she cared not for stuffy traditions set by aristocracy, she did not engage because of her own dignity and pride. Besides, there were more pressing things to attend to at the moment, such as her butler strangling her new friend.

"You…you took it upon yourself to tell her of my past?" Sebastian asked in a tone which dared Andromalius to answer.

"What else was I supposed to do? Watch her sulk around thinking that you were going to kill her?"

Sebastian's grip tightened. "You thought I would do such a thing…?"

"She did…!" Andromalius struggled for more air. "I convinced her you wouldn't…."

"So you thought telling her about my debasing experience would make things better….?"

"Yes! I thought if she knew more about you, she'd see that you aren't the blood thirsty type…" Andromalius paused. "….Well, save for this little gem of a moment, anyway…."

"Sebastian…!" Cadencia took hold of his arm. "Stop this, please!"

Said butler turned and locked eyes with Cadencia's light blue ones. That luminescent fuchsia held her transfixed for a moment before it faded back to the usual auburn.

"Your eyes…." She said slowly.

"Forgive me, Milady. It must have been alarming-"

"No….it was….." She couldn't find the perfect word. "Pretty."

Sebastian frowned, obviously taken aback. Of all the answers he'd expected, "pretty" was certainly not one of them.

"Milady…"

She knew all about his degrading experience as a slave… well, too be honest, he was rather embarrassed. His ever stoic expression would allow for it to show, of course.  

"Sebastian…please… stop choking Andy." She said gently.

For whatever reason, he couldn't' resist the way her eyes begged of him. Sebastian obliged, albeit reluctantly, and released Andromalius.

Said serpent demon ducked behind Cadencia for protection. "Little miss…..don't go too far away, all right?"

Cadencia smiled. "It's fine. He's not really going to kill you, Andy." She looked up at her butler directly. "I'm sorry it took me this long to realize that."

Sebastian gave a small smile. "It's quite all right, Milady."

"No…" She took a long stride so that she was but a few inches from him. "It's not all right. I made a terrible misjudge of character, and I can't make it right. All I can do is promise you….that it won't ever happen again."

"Milady…." That strange, warm feeling began needling him again, not unpleasantly. "I'm not quite sure how to respond, forgive me."

"It's fine." And then she smiled again. "Soon…you'll know how."

~"Don't Let It Drop"~

What if he was wrong? What if Andromalius had made a severe misjudgment? What if Sebastian was not simply angry, but seething with fury? Was it a terrible mistake to re- enter the house in an attempt at reconcilement?

Cadencia wasn't at all sure. All she was able to do was wander through the house, searching for her demonic butler, pondering what might be the result of the aforementioned searching.

She began to grow worried after a few minutes. What if he'd left? A terrible guilt knotted itself nicely in her stomach at the thought of his leaving whilst thinking that she hated him, especially given what she'd only recently learned of his history.

"Sebastian!" Cadencia cried, throwing open the door to the record room.

Said butler looked up placidly from the stacks of business files to be sorted through and asked evenly, "Yes, Milady?"

"I…."

The words got stuck for a moment. She hustled over behind the guised demon and enclosed her arms hesitantly around his waist. Cadencia laid her head against Sebastian's back and tried again.

"I'm so….so sorry, Sebastian."

Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment. Upon re-opening them, he smiled wanly. "There is no reason for you to apologize to me, Milady. My actions were, as a butler, beyond appalling."

"No. They weren't."

"But-"

"I understand."

"What?"

"I understand, Sebastian."

"What are you talking about, Milady?" Sebastian arched a dark brow.

Cadencia disengaged her embrace around her butler and stood, changing her position to beside the desk before Sebastian. "I understand why you are….the way that you are. Why you're so apathetic, why you're so pessimistic, why you can't ever seem to see much good in anyone, and I understand why you grabbed me the way that you did, I…..maybe you wanted to love someone, to make friends, and no one ever gave you a chance…." She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.  "Sebastian?"

"Yes, Milady?"

"You….you are a demon."

"True…." Sebastian said, slightly pressing in tone, curious as to where she was going.

"….And even though you're a demon, I'm….I'm not afraid of you."

Sebastian was silent. He listened thoughtfully and appreciatively, and said nothing.

"If you want me to stay with you…." She smiled gently. "Then I will. I don't want to separate from you, anyways. You….you're my friend. You're important to me."

Sebastian's auburn eyes held a glassy, misty shine to them. Softly he gazed at her, unsure himself of how to respond. He wasn't familiar with it; that choked up feeling.

"I….sincerely appreciate that, Milady." He smiled solemnly. "I do want you to stay by my side, if you'll forgive my bluntness about the matter."

"Don't even think of it, Sebastian. An answer is an answer, blunt or not. To be honest, I prefer bluntness, rather than side stepping an issue."

"Yes, I have admired your directness for quite some time now." Sebastian admitted.

Though he couldn't fathom the reason why, it wasn't her soul he desired. It was...something else. He couldn't put his finger on what that thing was, however.

She smiled. "You know me; just doing as I am."

"So you've said before." Sebastian said, returning the pleasant smile.

Cadencia sighed lightly, relieved. "Oh, yes. I'd nearly forgotten. Andy's here. He wanted to talk to you."

"….'Andy?'….?" Sebastian was perplexed for a moment. "Oh," He'd remembered it was nickname she'd nestowed upon Andromalius. "What does he wish to speak about?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. " She let a lengthy pause slip by. "Sebastian?"

"Yes, Milady?"

"Andy…Andy told me something."

"Such as?" Sebastian arched a dark brow again.

"He told me….he told me about…."

"About….?" He pressed her.

"…..Seere." She said, low and soft.

Visibly, Sebastian's auburn eyes widened. "What?"

He said it, but it didn't really sound like a question.

"And…."

"And, what?" Sebastian felt a wave of slight dread fill him.

"What happened to you….after….."

Things were quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. Thankfully, that silence was broken by the sound of the record room's oaken door being thrown open.

"Oh, little miss~!" Andromalius called. "Cleared the air with dear Malphas yet?"

Sebastian whirled about furiously, eyes flashing an inhuman fuchsia. "Quite. I must say you've arrived at an impeccable time."

Cadencia swallowed hard. Right now, she was certain that someone was going to lose their head.