The Scourge of the Demon Hunters—Act 5

The next morning started just as the previous day had; Sebastian brought Louisa her breakfast, checked her wounds, and carried her to the chair. She felt safe enclosed in his arms, and lost as soon as he left her to tend to his young master. She knew that he was no human, but when she had asked, he had simply smiled and said, “My dear, I am simply one hell of a butler.”

He returned later that morning with Ciel. Sebastian positioned a second chair facing Louisa and stepped back to assume his usual position as Ciel sat down.

“Good morning, Louisa, it is good to see you looking so much better.”

“Good morning, my Lord, and thank you. I believe I am all but healed now.”

“Excellent, I will have Mey-Rin take over your personal care from tomorrow.”

Ciel must have seen the disappointment cross her face, he continued. “It is more appropriate for you to have a maid, and Sebastian has many other responsibilities.”

“Of course, my Lord, I understand.” She replied. She looked briefly at Sebastian, but his expression gave nothing away. She felt slightly confused by this, but shrugged it off; it was Ciel’s home, his staff, and his butler after all.

“I was hoping you may be able to tell us more about what happened,” continued Ciel.

“Yes, I will try.” She said, unsure of where to begin.

Seeing her uncertainty, Sebastian added, “maybe you could begin by explaining the events that lead to you being taken by the Order?”

Louisa took a breath and began.

“I couldn’t have been more than about five years old when they came to the house. My father knew immediately that something was wrong. He hurried my mother and myself to a hiding space that he had created below the house. He had just covered the boards when they entered; we heard shouting, and the clash of blades. My mother held me tight, covering my mouth to stop me from crying out as the shouts of pain from my father grew louder. Then, there was quiet, and the smell of burning. Smoke started to fill the space where we were hiding, and I could feel my mother’s rising panic. We had no way out; if the flames reached us, we were dead. As the smoke grew thicker, the boards above us were ripped apart. For just a second, we both thought that my father had beaten them and had come for us. But it was not my father’s hands that reached in a grabbed me from my mother’s arms. As they dragged me through the floor, my mother was screaming, I was kicking, biting, doing anything to try to release their grip, but I was no match for the man that carried me away. My mother’s screams were the last thing I heard as they chained me into a cart and took me away from the burning heap that had once been my home.”

Louisa stopped, tears streaming down her face. She had worked hard to suppress the memories of that night, and now it all came flooding back along with the pain, the fear, and the hate that she had felt.

Sebastian fought the urge to go to her, to comfort her, to put an end to all of this now. He could see the effect that the story was also having on his young master, the memory of his own parent’s death still raw and close to his every decision. Instead, he did what any good butler would do; he poured the tea.

Louisa became aware that Sebastian had moved from his master’s side and was standing in front of her, teacup in hand. Shakily, she took the cup that was offered and sipped the tea. She looked at him, willing him to say something. She could see the unease in his eyes, yet he stayed silent. She placed the cup on the table for fear that it would shake out of her hand. It was Ciel who was first to break the silence.

“Please, continue if you can.”

Louisa breathed and calmed her sobs.

“I was taken miles away to a castle in the middle of nowhere. I was a prisoner, kept in a small room. Alone and scared, every day soon began to follow the same routine. I would be brought food and along with it would come a lengthy sermon on the evils of my parents. How I was a result of their evil doings, and how I still had time to redeem my soul. How I could be pure again if I took the right path.”

Lost in her pain and memories, she did not see the look that passed between Ciel and Sebastian.

“Did they say how this might be achieved?” asked Ciel.

“By joining the fight against evil and destroying the demon race,” she replied.

Continuing her story, she said, “As I grew, they made me repeat the sermons they had given me. If I refused, I was beaten, starved, and locked in my room for days. It was on one such occasion that I heard my father’s voice for the first time. It was weak, barely audible, but it was him. It calmed me, gave me strength, as no other voice had ever done at that time. In time, I learned to listen more closely, to hear the words, and even to reply without ever speaking out loud. Knowing he was alive made me more determined than ever to escape and to defy them. But he encouraged me to make them believe that I was heeding their words, that I was truly ready to be saved. So, I repeated their lies, convinced them that I truly believed my father was evil and that he and my mother deserved their fate. They must have believed me because the beatings stopped and instead, they began to teach me how to fight. I learned to defend myself without weapons, to wield a sword, a knife, and even a bow, and to move without being seen.”

Louisa stopped. Ciel and Sebastian waited silently while she caught her breath and gathered her thoughts.

“I was taught to deny that part of me that wasn’t human; taught about the different demons and how they were corrupting the human world and making it impure. Every night, my father would counter these lies, giving me images of the beings that existed between worlds, in the grey shadow between light and dark. But even as he filled my mind, I knew he was holding something back. Fear stalked him, fear that if he let too much through, he would put me in greater danger. I would not find out what that something was until the night I drove a demon sword through my father’s heart.”

Sebastian noticeably stiffened at that revelation, and his eyes grew cold and distant. Louisa saw the change, and for the first time since waking in the manor, she felt fear for her life.

“Please let me finish before you judge me too harshly.”

Realising what was happening, Ciel turned to his butler.

“Sebastian, I have given no orders, you are to remain silent and still, do you hear me?”

“Yes, my young Lord, I exist only to serve you.” His voice was cold, but he remained unmoved as Louisa returned to her story.

“On what I was told was my 18th birthday, I faced my final challenge before becoming a full member of the Order. I would kill my first demon and receive my mark. I was readied and lead to the great hall. I expected to face my opponent in a fair fight at least. But that was not to be. My kill was chained to the far wall, enchanted chains held him in place, sapping his strength and stopping him from transforming to his demon form. As I moved closer, I realised that the chained form in front of me was my father. He had been held in the same building, in chains all those long years. Not once had he given up his location for fear of what I would do. Even now, as he spoke to me, he urged caution in my responses, telling me to do what had to be done so that I could be free and revenge the wrongs done to my family. I stood, unable to move as the sword was placed in my hand, and I was instructed to plunge it deep into his heart. I stood, sword in hand, watching the man I idolised and knowing that both our lives now hung in the balance. If I hesitated, if I refused, then my life would be forfeited as well. He gave me two names before telling me to strike true and to give him peace. I plunged the sword in quickly and twisted the blade, destroying his heart to give him quickest possible death. He died smiling with the name of my mother on his lips.”

Louisa looked up and met Sebastian’s gaze; the coldness had gone, replaced with anger and pity. She could feel both emotions coming off him in waves, but the anger was not directed at her, of that she was certain.

“Two names. You said he gave you two names before he died. What were they?” asked Ciel, cutting through the tension that had grown in the room.

“One was Fantomhive; the other was Malphas.”

Both Ciel and Sebastian stared at her now, neither moving, Ciel barely even breathing.

“My lord, forgive me, but if I may…”

“What, yes, you may speak and move as long as you wish our guest no harm.”

“Nothing was further from my mind, young Lord, I simply needed clarification, which we now have.”

Ciel looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“That we had not unwittingly invited a demon hunter into our midst.”

“But, how can you be so sure, it is just her story after all?”

“My young Lord, the lady is sat right there, some manners, please. However, to answer your question, simply because it is her story, demons do not lie, and even if the young lady were able to, I would know.”

Ciel grew more confused and agitated, “But why would your father utter my family name?”

“I honestly do not know, my Lord. As I said, I remember little that happened before the night I was taken, and nothing of any connection to anyone, let alone you.”

“And, the other name, what does that even mean? It is not a family name I am familiar with at all,” said Ciel.

Sebastian just looked at his master, raised his eyebrows, and began to clear the tea things. “There is one way to find out more; if the young lady is willing.” He said with a slight smile. Ciel, still disconcerted, replied, “Which of your tricks do you wish to employ this time?”

“No tricks, my Lord, a pseudoscientific method of hypnosis should be all we need to access Miss Louisa’s earliest memories; the answers should be hidden there somewhere.”

“Ok, fine,” said Ciel, “If you are willing to give it a try Louisa?”

“Yes, of course, but I need to rest now.”

“Of course, please accept my apologies for putting you through all of that. However, once you are rested, I do have one more favour to ask of you?”

And that was when Louisa learned that she was to dine that night with Lord Fantomhive and his betrothed, Lady Elizabeth.