A Demon's Love.

A Familiar Story.

I felt at peace, encompassed within fresh linen sheets, the cozy warmth from the comforter cocooned around my body. 

The mild aroma of tea, and lavender filled in the air while I buried my head deeper into the soft down feather pillow. 

I wasn't still in prison, I knew that for I was comfortable, in a soothing environment, yet where was I? Was this tranquility merely a dream, and if I were to open my eyes would this fragment of calm fade away? Would I find myself still trapped in that dreadful cell, being tortured, and abused like an animal ceaselessly? If I were to open my eyes would this serene mere moment whither into nothing? 

I cracked open my foggy blue eyes, seeing that I was sleeping in a beautiful bedroom. Complete with decorative antiques, wool rugs, velvet drapes, and crown moldings. 

I could see half of my now clean, healed reflection in the vanity mirror across from the mattress, and then the sound of the door opening alerted me. 

"You're up?" I heard a familiar silky voice say, making me flinch as I sat up immediately, resting my back against the carved out headboard. 

"I remember now..." I thought to myself, feeling the icy, rigid anger of seeing Sebastian boil to the surface again. I was in the Phantomhive manor as a rather unwelcome guest, and I had fallen asleep yesterday in an almost coma like state. 

Loosening my cobra like grip around the blankets on top of me I shifted to the edge of the bed, the soles of my bare feet meeting the wooden floorboards. 

From the corner of my eye I saw Sebastian walk over with a silver tray balancing on his white gloved palm. A transparent crystal wine glass that sparkled with brilliant clarity sat a top the tray, filled to the brim with a deep burgundy liquid that was almost black. 

Catching a whiff of the rather fragrant substance I knew exactly what it was when Sebastian set the glass onto the surface of the nightstand beside me. 

With an aggravated expression plastered across my pale features I picked the wine glass up by its thin stem, and gazed down at the muddled purple liquid, sniffing it. 

"Is this your blood?" 

"Yes, you are still weak, and you haven't drank enough blood." Sebastian answered, tucking the freshly polished silver tray under the crook of his bent arm, his stature perfect, and poised. 

I was half tempted to pour the rather bothersome familiar mulberry hued blood onto the intricately detailed, ornate rug that was beneath the mattress sprawled out over most of the bedroom, but I refrained from doing so. Mostly because Sebastian is now a perfect butler, and a mere blood stain was nothing to him. 

So, instead I settled for just placing it back down onto the nightstand, completely forgetting about its presence. 

"No, thank you. I'll just go kill someone later." 

"I'm surprised, Elsbeth. You never used to be able to kill humans for their blood before. You were always too kindhearted for that." Sebastian spoke, earning a simple grave, yet dark glare from me. 

"Yes, well I seem to remember someone saying that he'd be my blood until I was ready to kill a person on my own. Though that certain someone left abruptly without warning, so I had to be able to do it. Ready, or not." 

Sebastian brushed off my rather acidic remark with a simple sigh before going back to his butler persona. 

"There is a dress on the armchair in the powder room through these double doors all laid out for you. If you need any help getting ready i'll send in the maid."