Crimson Trance (Black Butler)

Crimson Trance (ch. 34)

Grell's voice brought me back into the world.

'It would be a lot easier if we killed our lover.' Grell sighed, 'when you think about it, he's good for nothing.'

I thrusted the blade up and felt the body fall against me. Throwing it off, I soon came to realize that these reanimated corpses were properly reaped. Killing another, I remember overseeing her cinematic record with Will about half a decade ago. It was almost dull like seeing a boring movie again, except this time, it had a surprise ending.

'I refuse.' I told him plainly.

'Please?' He begged.

'Hmm...Sure.' I released another cinematic record, 'Why not?'

'Really?!' He sounded excited enough to have killed Sebastian on spot. I swung around and met Sebastian at knifepoint. "Beautiful." I murmured, pecking his cheek, "It's over, Elizabeth, sweetheart, you can come down."

Sebastian, stunned by my boldness stood still for a second.

"Young master." Sebastian bowed.

'No.' I told Grell as I stared at Sebastian. He turned to look at me and smiled something dashing. Returning the smile, I turned away, 'Of course not, baka.'

'Just his heart.' Grell said, 'That's all. It'll be a quick plunge into his cold dead heart. Come on, he cheated on me with my sister. My twin sister.'

'No.' I hissed at him, 'I get one guy in every few milleniums. Let us keep this one in tact.'

Sebastian's arm slipped to the small of my back. "My Lady." He said politely, "We should get out of here." I nodded, complying as I watched them climb down from the boxes. "Hey, Sebastian." I leaned my head on his chest, "Watch your back."

"Of course, but I know you have it, right?" He said. I shifted on my feet, smiling back, "Well of course I do." Of course I did....

~

"I'll be going for a bit." I said, "Grell needs me for a moment."

"But who's more important?" Sebastian asked, holding me close. I stared up at him as if he should already know the answer. The demon looked at me as if I should also know the answer. The only difference was that even then, he looked as if he were having fun seducing me to stay.

I hooded my eyes and slowly brought my face close to his.

Mixing breaths, I smiled. "Grell." I whispered before pulling back. He gave me a shocked forelorned expression and I grabbed his gloved hand and kissed the back of it. "I promise. I'll be right back." I winked, "Don't miss me too much, love."

Walking away, the heavy weight in my heart stopped me. I clutched my hand to my heart. Rushing back to Sebastian's side, I pecked him on the cheek, "Just for luck, ay?"

He tugged on my wrist and pulled me back in as I reached for the closest door. Kissing me on the top of my head, he gave me a sly smirk, "You're adorable."

I slipped my hand away, "I know." I mocked him as I opened the door. "Grell stood right in front of it, however and gave us this bored expression. "You guys are so sappy, it makes me want to puke! You know he was mine right? Sebby's babies are mine, got that?!"

But I pushed him back towards the horde of undead. "But his heart," I said, before closing the door, "Is mine." No stabbing, Grell.

Slipping out a pair of daggers down my sleeve, I prepared for the bloodshed. Grell posed behind me. His beautifully modified reaper roared to life as I felt him back up into me.

"Save the cute ones for me, Gwen." Grell hopped into the crowd. I rolled my eyes, "Don't worry, I go for demons."

"My demons!" Grell sliced and scalped multiple of the Animated while I made my way past the mob with two daggers. "It was supposed to be my Romeo and Juliet story!"

I laughed, "Don't be ridiculous. It was because you and I were in a small quarrel that Shakespeare even thought of the story." 

"The only true ending is death~!" Grell sang. I rolled my eyes. "I liked the ending of the original draft better." I mumbled, taking down four at once, "I should have never introduced you to him."

"I'm telling you Gwennie. Let's just kill our Sebby-chan. He's just a nuisance. Maybe then, Death won't have to take Will." I accidentally shoved my knife in too fast and too hard, breaking and entering the skull.

Shaking off the goop with a shiver, I turned around to fend off those at Grell's bad side. "Fine. Do anything so that Death doesn't take Will. I might even help you."

Missing a move, Grell slipped and I quickly dodged a body and threw my dagger towards the open mouth that closed the space between it and my brother's throat. I heard a crack as the blade tore through bone and tendons like butter.

"But Grell." I warned, my voice low, "If you dare...hurt another hair on Sebastian's body, I'll make sure you'll end up somewhere worse than the convent of hell."

"Consider me warned." Grell dodged another one of the Animated that continued coming in waves. I turned around with a whip. Wrapping up three, Grell chopped their heads off.

"Do you ever think that Death has always had it out for us?" I asked, laughing bitterly as we attacked another Animated corpse. Grell twirled like a ballerina, "What are you talking about, Gwen?" But he knew. He understood. I dodged Grell and took down the one at his back. "Even after we died...we became reapers together. And now, because we're reapers...we're going to be separated."

We both knew that if Will didn't go, I would go. There was no stopping it. "As if, loser." Grell said, which cheered me up somewhat even if I knew that he didn't mean it.

"Have you seen Ronald?" Grell asked suddenly, cutting close to my neck. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing he did that on purpose, "Yes, I have. Um, question: why did you bring him?" I was confused. Why Ronald of all Shinigami's? What happened to Will? Grell shrugged, "Will was assigned to go with me, but you know, with a terminal illness of impending death and all, the branch let him sit out."

I scoffed, making him dodge one of my throwing knives, but I did get an Animated, "Is that so? They can't assign another shinigami onto Sebastian, but they're willing to allow any other portion of Will's list to be given to others? Sometimes I wonder just what the branch is doing. They're such cowards." Grell nodded, seeing why I felt so slandered, but he tried to console me, "Demons are formidable opponents, and with a good enough Shinigami, you can take one down, but they're not stupid, Gwennie. They know that they're not facing just a demon. They're facing a demon and the Ace of the Shinigami Society." 

I smiled, about to say something about how he was being pretty generous with his compliments, but he continued, "They knew it was wise not to get on my bad side."

"Whatever. Carry on, death worshipper." I rolled my eyes, clearing the corridor of the last moaning Animated. Grell huffed and whined, "I was supposed to get that one!"

I shrugged, working my shoulders, "You'll have more." I looked down at the twisted expression of the porcelain like corpse.

"Death is upon us." I said, turning to Grell, "Watch your back." Grell stepped over a pile, lifting up his red coat, "Ewww, their blood is black! Don't touch it!" He tip toed over to a clearing. I let out a laugh, "Whatever, go get the other reanimated corpses. We need to get out of this mess as quick as we can."

I put my hand on the door and Grell quickly stopped me, "Where are you going?!" He asked. I tucked a lock behind my ear, "Back to the lover you want dead."