Yes, My Queen (Black Butler)

Chapter 5

(I'M SO SORRY!!! I don't know how I managed to forget about updating this considering I check my notifications daily, but my life has been so hectic and stressful with work recently that I guess it just slipped my mind. I promise all of you I'm alive and I hopefully won't make you wait another 2 weeks for the next chapter. (Someone might have to remind me...) Anyway, I hope you enjoy!)

I saw her. It was weeks after the accident, and I'd finally been allowed to go home. Sarah was helping me out of the car when my eyes locked onto the strange girl on the porch. She wore casual clothes, a t-shirt and jeans, and was watching me nervously.

I looked up to Sarah. "Who's that?"

Sarah followed my pointing finger. "Oh, that's Jasmine. I hadn't realized you weren't already acquainted."

My mind went back to just before the crash, when Mom was telling me about this new servant. "No," I told Sarah, my voice low as I tried not to cry, "I haven't had the pleasure."

She stared down at me for a brief moment, then helped me stand and walked me to the front door.

"H-hello, Miss Foster," Jasmine greeted nervously. "Welcome home. My name is Jasmine. My condolences about what happened."

I only nodded to her. I wasn't in the mood to talk. My head was beginning to hurt.

"Sarah, I want to go lie down," I whined, moving a hand to my bandaged head.

"Is it hurting you again? Let's get you upstairs and I'll find some medicine."

I responded by walking forward. Jasmine stepped aside to let us pass, and as the doors closed, I heard someone muttering "I'm so sorry. She's usually not like this, but she's been through a great deal."

I turned to look back for a moment, and saw Jasmine smiling brightly at whoever was speaking to her. "Oh, it's no problem at all! I hope she feels better soon so we can be friends."

The doors closed then, and Sarah led me up the stairs and into bed.

*

The next day, as I was eating breakfast in the dining room, Jasmine entered with a plate of her own. "Is it okay if I join you, Miss Foster?"

Only when I looked up and saw her face did I realize I was crying. I quickly wiped the tears away. "I don't mind. I think I'd like the company."

She smiled, then sat in the empty chair beside me. "How's your head? Does it still hurt?"

"Sarah gave me some more medicine this morning. I'm okay for now."

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry you won't be able to work here for very long," I told her.

She gave me a puzzled look. "Why's that?"

"Because I'm an orphan now. Eating here alone was enough for me to finally realize they're gone. They won't let me stay here with the others. The court decided to send me off to an orphanage somewhere."

"Oh," was all she said.

I looked up at her suddenly. "But the last thing I told Mom before the crash was that I hoped to be your friend. Please, while I'm still here, can we be friends?"

Jasmine smiled. "Of course we can!"

At that, I smiled for the first time in weeks. I'd never had a real friend before. Even if it was only going to be for a limited amount of time, at least I could do this one thing, both for myself, and for my mom.

*

"So," I said to Jasmine a couple days later, "what's your story?"

"My story?" she asked.

"Yeah. Everyone here is someone with no other place to go. I just was wondering why you came to work and live here."

"Really? The others all have stories?"

I nodded. "Yup. Sarah's father has amnesia and doesn't remember her, and I think Thomas and Maia both ran away for some reason or another." I watched her. We were in the middle of cleaning my bedroom and packing my necessities for the orphanage. I was trying to distract myself by asking Jasmine different questions about herself. "So? What is it?"

Jasmine, seeming to sense my reasoning, smiled and put down the shirt she was folding. "I ran away too. My parents and siblings were abusive, and I'd had enough. There isn't much more to it, really."

(A/N: Not sure I like that for Jasmine's backstory. If you notice it saying anything differently in later chapters, then it's because I came back and changed it.)

"Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

She shook her head, still smiling. "No need for you to be sorry. It was a mistake my family made. I'm just happy I was able to get away from it."

I smiled at her. "Me too. Especially because I get to have my very first friend now."

Her smile grew, as did our conversation, the chores forgotten as we discussed our pasts, presents, and futures. Somehow, in that moment, we agreed that no matter where life took us, we would be the best of friends forever.

***

I sat up slowly, rubbing my aching head. It was dark in the room. I assumed I'd slept away the afternoon and it was the middle of the night now. Not that the room I was in had any windows. The only way I ever knew the time of day was based on how brightly the candles were burning. Now they were emitting very little light, letting me know it was indeed late.

Movement on the bed beside me startled me, and I jumped and backed away. The figure sat up slowly, carefully, as if it, too, was scared of me. It only took a moment for me to see the shoulder length brown hair, and I realized who was beside me.

"Jasmine?"

She stared at me through the darkness. "Chrystal. Sebastian let me in. He said you wanted to see me. I guess I fell asleep waiting for you to wake up..."

"Don't worry about that. It's fine." I turned my gaze to the candle on the bedside table, wondering if there was any way to brighten the room so we could talk. But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, the candle before me and several others all came to life with bright orange flames.

I started at the sudden brightness, but quickly shook it off and looked at Jasmine. She was watching me in return, a small smile on her face.

Suddenly, I remembered my dream. "Jasmine, I-"

"Sebastian said you passed out suddenly. Are you alright?"

I nodded, then smiled at her before turning my own gaze to the photographs on the wall. "I don't understand what's causing this horrible pain that's preventing me from remembering things, but while I was out, I did remember something."

I saw her perk up out the corner of my eye. "Really? That's amazing! What did you remember?"

I returned my gaze to her, my smile brightening at her excitement. "I remembered you. Our friendship. I remember meeting you."

Jasmine smiled widely, and I saw tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry about what happened when I woke up, Jasmine. I was so confused-"

"No. Don't apologize to me. I shouldn't have run up to you like that. It's not your fault that you lost your memories, or that you can't control your powers." Her smile softened. "I'm just glad you're slowly getting your memories back. I can't wait to hang out with you again."

"Honestly, I think I might be remembering everything too quickly. Maybe that's what's causing the headaches. Maybe I should be focusing on my powers for a little while so I can get myself out of this room."

Jasmine nodded, yawning. "That sounds like a good idea, but let's save it for tomorrow. Just because we're demons now doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good night's sleep."

I smiled and nodded, then we both tucked ourselves in, and I managed to drift into a dreamless sleep as the candles once again dulled their flames.