A Demons Mate (Black Butler)

Chapter 23

"How are you enjoying your trip to the Victorian era, Serena?"

Her head snapped around so fast it hurt. There was nothing to give away his thoughts on the man's face, only a smile. Eyes that she hadn't been able to see before were blue as the sky, seeming to contain a world all their own, and laughing at her. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Until the man started laughing.

"You! You're the one who brought me here?" She finally asked.

"I am." He nodded.

"Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am?" He teased with a gentle smile. Serena looked at the ground as her hands dug into the wood of the bench.

"After what Undertaker said, I could only think of two beings that could mess with time." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "But, which one are you?"

The man leaned close as though telling a secret. "Actually, there is only one. You could say that I'm on the opposite side of your Sebastian."

Serena's eyes bugged out of her head and the man laughed again.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, breathless with shock.

"You're not supposed to ask why." He turned back to the crowds, dismissing her question.

"Then how is anybody supposed to know anything?"

"How will you learn the truth if you believe everything that is told to you?" He countered.

"Well, since you're the only one who knows why you brought me here..."

"True." The man seemed to think for a minute. "I guess I could tell you this once."

Serena waited. When nothing was said, the redhead turned back to stare at him and waved her hands. "Well?"

He smiled at her impatience. "Your Sebastian."

"Sebastian?"

He nodded, a smile still in place.

"But why bring me here? He's a demon. He could just as easily find me in 100 years." The redhead put some effort into whispering when all she wanted to do was yell. It wouldn't be good for the rest of the park to think she was crazy.

The man stared at Serena, one eyebrow raised, unwilling to give her any more information. After a minute of thinking, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"His contract with Ciel."

"I was hoping a mate would...shift his focus." The man looked back to the people in the park, blissfully unaware of what was going on at the bench. "Your Sebastian has given me a little trouble for a while now. He is rather intelligent and I had thought that it would occur to him that I was holding back your meeting for a reason."

"Again, how are people supposed to know this?" Serena threw her hands up and he just laughed at her.

"And again, you're supposed to find the reason for yourself. I expect there to be some higher thought involved. Even with demons."

"So, I was sent to distract Sebastian from Ciel? Why didn't you just send me to before their contract was made?" She didn't wait for an answer that wasn't coming as a tear ran down her cheek at the thought of the young Earl's fate. "I tried. I've tried to get Sebastian to let Ciel go, but he won't. And I think that Ciel...It's more than just a deal is a deal for him. I think he's almost looking forward to it. He'd hate it if I got Sebastian to let him go."

"Shh, child." He picked up a lock of her hair. "You are right. That boy is rather attached to his demon. Your Sebastian certainly is more...likeable than some demons."