The Queen's New Pet (A Black Butler Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty Part One

Three Years Post-Capture
(1 year after last chapter)

Maria was a ghost of her former self, a shell of who she once was.

Despair and hopelessness sucked her down into the quicksand pit of depression.

She continued going through the motions, training, eating, sleeping. Beyond that, there was nothing.

Cas acted as if nothing had happened, Samuel merely looked at her with disappointment. Ronan treated her with more contempt than before, and Zeke...

Zeke was gone.

He had left 6 months after Maria's explosion of power, and had been gone for nearly 6 months now.

She didn't know where he was, and she didn't ask.

At the moment she was staring out her window, but really her blank gaze looked at nothing.

Someone opened the door behind her, her power recognizing the person as Castizel. She heard his footsteps coming her way, muted slightly by the carpeted floor.

He came and stood behind her, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Maria closed her eyes, standing as still as she possibly could. She trembled slightly in fear and anger.

"I love you."

Those words meant nothing to her. Love was meaningless, merely a state of mind. It was impossible for her to comprehend that she would ever truly love again.

Three years had gone by since she had last seen them. A million more in which she would never see them again.

"Let's go for a walk." Castizel suggested quietly, gently pulling her away from the window by her wrist and dragging her outside.

Once outside, she pulled her wrist away and started to trudge the path around the perimeter she and Cas had walked everyday for the past 3 months.

Usually they walked in silence. Today was different.

It wasn't long before Castizel stopped. Maria walked a few more steps before also stopping.

Look at me, Maria.

She obliged and turned to see what looked like a broken man. He was thinner, there were dark circles under his eyes, and he gazed at her with a deep sadness.

"I hate seeing you like this." His voice pleaded for her to understand. "I never wanted to do that to you Maria, but you forced my hand. I just wish you could understand why I did it and forgive me. I want us to go back to the way we were before you escaped. We were happy. Please, Maria, forgive me." He was practically begging her.

She met his gaze with her own blank eyes, hoping he saw just how far he pushed her. The kidnap, locking her away for years, the invasions of her mind, and forcing her to submit had overwhelmed her completely.

"You were happy, Cas. I never asked for any of this. I didn't ask you to choose me." She swallowed determinedly, "I didn't ask you to kidnap me, to lock me away, to love me."

"You can't choose who you love. It just... happens."

Maria shook her head. "What we have Castizel, it is not love. You love what I'm not, you love me for my power. My ability to become a strong queen, isn't that it? That's why you've trained me for these past years, right? No, Cas, if you truly loved me you would have let me go."

His eyes hardened. "Don't tell me I don't know my own feelings, Maria."

She watched him stomp away, and that's when the skies opened up and it began to rain.