Her Demon, His Demon, and the Story of Us - A Black Butler Fanfic

Dolls

"And one more time. 3, 2, 1, and up! Come on, Eve! That ladder's not going to climb itself! Grab that rung! Keep going! Higher, higher! I don't want your feet touching the ground! Let's go, let's go! You've got Sebastian abo- no, you've got that Mey-rin above you, too blind to see that she's almost stepping on your hands! Come on, you don't want your hands being stepped on. Next rung, reach and go! Grab it! Good, now the next! And the next! Come on, Eve! Even Finny could go faster than you, and he'd be breaking the bars along the way! And next, grab it! Keep your arms at a ninety-degree angle! That's perfect! And the next! And-"

"SHUT UP, WILL YOU?!" I yelled, glaring down at Royce as I hung suspended from a ladder.

He'd come up with this as part of my training regimen. I had to use my arms to heave myself up the bottom of the ladder, and then drop, roll on the ground, and then run back to the base of the ladder. Then, from there, I had to run up it, stepping on each rung, without breaking the ladder or falling off it. And then I had to flip out of the tree so that Royce could catch me. At no point during this training could I call upon Royce's powers, which was annoying, as without his powers my body felt like a heavy rock that could snap this ladder at any moment.

"But you're doing so well! Come on, Eve, you've got five more to go! And up! And up! Hurry up before I peek up your skirt!"

"Oh my God, Royce!" I exclaimed as I reached for the next.

"Hehe, you're doing great! Reach, grab, and swing. Reach, grab, and swing! Well done, well done! One more! Reach pull, and swing! Great, now stop, drop, and roll! And this time, don't sprain your ankle!"

I sighed and dropped from the ladder, twisting my body in a semi-circle before touching down on the ground with a thud! To disperse the energy, I immediately rolled forward, slamming my hands on the ground to absorb the extra impact, before standing up and dashing to the base of the ladder.

"Alright, now this time, don't fall off!"

"Shut up!" I said and charged up the ladder, keeping my center of gravity as high as I could. Each one of my steps was as light as I could make them, and as centered on each rung as I could possibly hope for them to be. When I reached the top, I jumped up into the tree's branches, planting a small kiss to its trunk before twisting around.

Royce was applauding down on the ground, "Great job, now flip to me, my agile Lady!"

I shook myself off before crouching and springing out of the tree, curling as tight as I could while I flipped. When I felt that I was at a mid-way point, I spread my limbs out again, hooking my arm around Royce's neck before landing in his arms. The man didn't move at all, my momentum and weight like nothing to him as he smiled at me.

"Light as a feather," he smiled and kissed my forehead, "For a tenth try, that wasn't so bad."

I frowned and climbed out of his arms, brushing myself off. We'd been training a lot recently, trying to increase my speed and agility. I definitely felt it as I went about my daily tasks, that I was improving more.

"What's the rest of the schedule look like today?"

"Well, we could train more, but you've got some duties to attend to today, I believe."

I nodded, "Let's return to the manor, then."

Royce nodded and we started walking toward the manor. It was a few weeks after the frost fair now, and the snow on the ground was partially melted, so we could safely train outside. When it snowed in London, it snowed hard, but that didn't mean that it lasted long.

A sudden chill went down my back, and I stumbled, tripping over nothing. Royce caught me before I could fall over though, looking at me with worry.