The Painter and The Devil ...? (Black butler/Kuroshitsuji Fanfic)

Painting #8 The Big Bad Factory

Ari smelt the factory before she saw it. Its grey walls were stained with black soot and the place was literally rotting. “You sure about this?” She asked Erika and Erika nodded. “It was burned down in a recent fire.” 

“Fire really planned everything.” Ari marveled but felt a sense of hatred. Fire had tried to kill Erika the moment he saw her. If Ari hadn’t interfered, Erika would be dead or really, really scarred for life. 

“I guess.” Erika muttered under her breath. Seems like she was talking to herself again. Ari did talk to herself sometimes, to wonder about something, but most of the time it was deliberate, she knew she was talking to herself, not some other conversational partner. It’d be so creepy and weird to have someone in your head, living there with you. 

“Let’s go.” Erika stepped into the burnt down factory and opened the door with rotting pieces of paper stuck to it, stating “WARNING!” and various other things to keep out and away. 

Ari followed suit, sighing as dust drifted down from where she was standing just a moment ago. What if there was nothing in here? 

She took in the grey looking walls and the window barred in the corner before her eyes fell on a figure in front of another door. It looked like a heap of cloth before the thing moved up. She almost screamed. 

It was a little blond haired girl. Her hair would be so pretty if it was correctly brushed, but it looked like she had given up the thought of brushing. She looked frail and almost close to shattering, like glass. The cloth was a dress made from different piece of material, and it was a big dress, almost like a gown in rags. It looked like some sort of horror movie’s main character, the dead and mystified girl who didn’t know she was dead, and was about to go attend her ball, which was never to be.

“Master came in a moment ago. You’re not master. You’re not mother either. You cannot pass...but you cannot leave either. Sorry.” She said in a monotone and Ari saw Erika shudder from the corner from her eyes. She wanted to shiver too, the girl was like the walking dead. 

“Erika, go on. I can deal with her.” Ari said and felt for a knife in the folds of her dress, already formulating a plan to defeat the sad looking thing. 

“No one goes on.” The girl said again in that monotone and suddenly she had a silver rod in her hand. It shifted into a long whip like weapon, the end she was holding on to was a straight metal stick but the rest of the weapon was just...chains. It fitted well with her faded gown. 

“I guess I’ll have to go. Be careful.” Erika barely spoke when she darted to the door, her hand already closed around the knob. The little girl hadn’t even turned around yet the chains whipped up into the air and curled its iron fingers around Erika’s waist, hurling her back against a wall. “No, no. It’s too much trouble. I’ll help you. Both of you.” The girl stared at Erika, no emotion on her face. As soon as she spoke, the chains snaked around Erika and she was bonded, instantly. 

Erika had her eyes closed and a grimace on her face, blood slowly trailing down from her mouth. Ari didn’t have time for this. She threw a knife at the girl’s heart. 

The girl flicked her hand and the chains slithered and moved as fast as an arrow, intercepting the blade. The knife embedded itself in Erika’s shoulder. She stifled a scream and tried to get out of the chains but they held on, steadfast.