His Butler, Beloved {KuroWattyAwards 2014}

XII: His Butler | | Exfiltration

"You are a damned soul to seek refuge with a demon." 

"Where are we going?!" exclaimed Ezzelin as he shoved his palms into the man's gray-vested chest. "Is that butler truly that formidable a foe to face or are you just a coward, Jasper?"

Jasper didn't bother to glance down at the panicking lad as he turned the corner of the second floor's flight of stairs and raced up the third obstacle, the tails of his red-coat whisking rapidly behind with the force of his sprint. "My lord . . . serpents make meals of such avian creatures."

The brown-haired boy's eyes widened as he relaxed his arms and shifted his gaze upward to examine his butler's broad, smirking lips. "Avian . . . creatures?"

The words that had escaped Ezzelin's lips had came in the form of a mere whisper; however, Jasper had heard them clearly with his keen ears. "Crows are filthy, scavenging, and highly-unwanted birds that survive by picking clean the flesh from corpses of those fallen from causes other than their puny claws." He straightened out his left arm and held Ezzelin against him with his right as he slammed open the door---causing it to break free from its rusted hinges and fly to the opposite side of the rooftop, then slide from it and plummet to the ground below.

Jasper strode towards the edge of the roof and stared at the cobblestone pavement below, Ezzelin held securely in his arms. Curiously, the lad glanced over his own shoulder and furrowed his well-groomed eyebrows in frustration. "Are you truly pondering the lea---"

"Shouldn't you know by now that serpents weren't meant to fly," said a cool voice from the doorway Jasper and Ezzelin had just come through, causing both of the males to shift their gaze from the ground, to the butler smiling in a satisfied manner at the pair. It was none other than Sebastian Michaelis. His head tilted to the side and his eye closed as he mockingly asked, "Or did you manage to grow a set of wings overnight?"

Jasper's gloved hands tightened on the boy, yet his face remained calm and collected. A smirk slipped upon his lips as he tapped his right foot a single time. "Are you attempting to taunt me, Sebastian Michaelis? I am afraid such words will not harm my demeanor nor that of my master's," he said, bending his left knee.

The black-haired butler began in his stride towards Jasper, a broad smile on his wide, foul lips. "I do not wish to harm your master; you, on the other hand, are in my crosshairs, slithering fiend," he retorted, slowly removing the white glove from his right hand with his teeth. "Do you have any final words to share with your master before I tear you away from him?" he inquired as he placed the glove into his vest's pocket.

"Au contraire---it pains me to inform you that we're not in the same class when it comes to our fiendish titles, Sebastian," said Jasper in a satisfied tone, bowing his legs ever so slightly. "I apologize to cut this bittersweet reunion short, but I am afraid we've been chatting for quite too long; forgive me, but I must take my leave or else my master will grow uneasy and rather displeased with my service as his butler."

As the final word parted from his wide lips, the silver-haired man's crimson eyes flashed a brilliant fuchsia color while he clutched the boy into his chest and shielded Ezzelin's face from any harm as he did an elegant back flip over the ledge of the building.

Ezzelin's heart was pounding rapidly against his ribcage as they fell to the ground, the wind of the descent causing Jasper's hair to whip at his and the boy's face.

"Jasper!" he screamed as they were nearly two meters from the ground.

The butler glanced down at him and smiled as he made his crimson tailcoat mold into a large set of bloody wings and stop them mid-air. They flapped in a powerful manner, causing a large gust of dust and dirt to billow around he and his master.

Ezzelin's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked over his shoulder. He was beyond baffled at how quickly they had halted and at how swift Jasper had been to create such a mighty pair of wings. "H-How did y-you . . . manage to . . ."

"A make-shift set of Cardinal wings?" inquired Sebastian from above as he leaned over the ledge and walked down the side of the gray-bricked wall. "Couldn't you conjure up something more . . . awe-inspiring, Luca?" Sebastian paused in his stride down the building and massaged his temples with his white-gloved hand. "How unoriginal of you," he said, smirking, "to mimic the adaptation of your predator."

"There are times when even the predator can become the prey, Sebastian Michaelis," he said, his tone evident with distaste towards the handsome man scaling the wall. 

The black tail-coat cladded man suddenly kicked himself from the building, doing a sort of front flip in the air as he landed elegantly upon the cobblestone ground. He released a low chuckle as he stood upright and bowed his head, swiping some grime from his vest as he'd done so. "You humor me with your feigned idiocy, Luca---treating me as if I were beneath you and your veiled ploy."

Ezzelin looked between his butler and Sebastian, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why the hell does he keep referring to you as 'Luca', Jasper?" he asked. "What relation do you have with that ma---" 

"Lord Mondadori, I ask that you not speak of me as though I am not present---it's rather demeaning and rude, even if I am considered nothing more than a humble, yet lowly butler," interrupted Sebastian, his head tilted, eyes closed, and lips curved into a smile. 

Ezzelin narrowed his chocolate eyes at the butler. "I will speak as demeaning as I wish to towards you, butler," he spat out, his jaw set in a firm, angry manner. "Given the fact that you imprisoned me upon false charges in that filthy cell!" 

"My lord," said Jasper, causing the boy to pause in his glaring and glance up at him. Ezzelin had never seen Jasper appear so . . . frustrated before, it was almost as if this confrontation with Sebastian had brought to light a foul emotion the man had wished to never be seen by him. "I wish to return you to your estate before midnight; will that be suitable for you? I'm quite positive that your guests have all but left for their homes as well." 

Sebastian released a low laugh as he looked up at Jasper. "Tell me, Luca, why have you gone this far? Is your liking to Lord Mondadori of your own avarice, or of your petty cohort's?"

Jasper's grip tightened on Ezzelin's ribcage and legs, causing the boy to stare at the man's face worriedly. "It is not of your concern, Sebastian Michaelis---my master has wishes that only I can fulfill and demands that only I can meet. I wish only to assist and protect him to my fullest extent and exterminate any adversary that dare stand in his path." 

Cohorts? wondered Ezzelin, as he examined his gloveless hand. Of whom does that butler speak? His gaze shifted back to Jasper and focused on the slit pupil of his fuchsia eyes. A demon must have his secrets, like any other being; however, a butler should not be permitted such freedoms. To withhold secrets from his master, even if he be a temporary one or not, is deemed unacceptable. 

The crimson wings upon Jasper's back fluttered and whisked a cloud of dirt and dust towards Sebastian as they sent the butler and his master higher into the air. "Worry not, my lord, we shall be at your estate shortly and have you tucked comfortably within the halls of your manor," muttered the silver-haired man as he fixated his now-crimson eyes on the lad in his arms. "Your troubles will be gone come morning, fore we shall take our leave from London and arrive back in Florence in half a fortnight." 

Ezzelin internally scoffed at the man as they were nearly fifteen meters from the ground, where Sebastian stood, his narrowed eyes focused on the pair taking their leave from him. I have a fear that my troubles have only just begun, Jasper . . .