Yes, My Queen (Black Butler)

Chapter 10

I stared at the door as it closed, blocking my view of Sebastian and Lisa as they went to search for this attacker.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked. "You've been staring at the door for a while now. Surely you know he'll come back to you."

I nodded, but I couldn't keep my chest from tightening. "This anxiety that comes with watching him leave, I've felt it so many times before, and yet it never gets any easier."

Jasmine's worried expression lifted to a small smile. "He's done so much to protect you over the last several years, Chrys. Ever since you got out of the hospital after hiding in that cave, I could tell something had changed between the two of you. He looked at you differently, and every time you were in trouble, there was a fear on his face that I'd never seen from him before." She sighed dramatically then, falling back onto my bed. "Man, I wish you'd told me you loved him. Honestly I should've picked up on it, being your friend and all, but I would've loved the chance to talk about boys!"

I couldn't help but giggle. "We still can. Haven't you seen any cute demon boys you're interested in?"

Her face suddenly turned bright red. "Um... I-"

Sarah and I laughed at her embarrassment. "You don't have to tell us anything, Jasmine," Sarah said. "Besides, it wouldn't be nearly as fun since Chrystal hasn't seen them herself yet."

At that, my mood dropped. "I just hope I can soon. What happens if I really am cursed? If someone really is out there trying to weaken my powers, then I still won't be able to leave this room since I wouldn't be able to defend myself."

"All we can do for now is hope that it really is just amnesia doing these things to you. Once you have your memories back, we can figure out our next step."

I nodded, then started at a noise coming from the other side of the room.

The door was being unlocked, and slowly began to open. I sat up stiffly, ready to reach for my swords. There's no way Sebastian and Lisa would be back already...

Suddenly, a familiar man with black hair poked his head in. He looked between the three of us, and when his eyes rested on me, he smiled.

"Hey, Chrystal. Long time, no see."

The others relaxed at the sight of him, but I continued to stare, letting my mind process who this man was. Suddenly, the images played through my mind. I saw bright red eyes shining in a dark cave, a fire lit and an outstretched hand, the pain of being unable to breathe, then lips on mine as I was slowly healed. I saw him standing before me on a wooden porch, him and Sebastian fighting to protect me, and his worried stare as I begged him to keep my mind calm when my body was wracked with intense fear.

"...Evan?" I asked softly.

His smile brightened, and he entered the room completely, closing the door behind me. "Glad you remember me. Someone must be doing something right when it comes to helping you get your memories back."

Sarah and Jasmine both seemed thrilled as well at the fact that I was able to remember him. I smiled a little, starting to feel proud of my accomplishment.

Evan began to walk toward us. "You have no idea how relieved I was to hear you were awake. I would've come and said hi sooner, but Lisa said I should wait until you remembered more. Of course, she would've preferred I'd waited until all of your memories were back, but given the current circumstances, that wasn't an option. She needed someone you knew to come protect you if anything were to happen, so here I am." He smiled again. "So, how have you been?"

I looked down at my hands, realizing they were clenching my nightgown. "Confused and depressed, mostly."

He stopped walking. I snuck a quick glance up, and his smile was gone.

"I'm sure you are. It must be so hard not knowing anything about yourself or others. How much have you remembered?"

"Well, everyone was finally telling me everything until I had that vision. I think I remember up until I turned 18, but not much after that." I looked up at him, his smile was back, but just barely. I smiled at him. "But I remembered bits and pieces once I saw you. You've healed me and protected me."

His smile grew. "That I have. I was simply doing what I had to in order to protect you. You have a unique destiny you need to fulfill."

I cocked my head in confusion. "A destiny?"

He simply continued to smile. I looked between my two friends, and they both looked slightly alarmed.

"It has something to do with that prophecy, right? And people calling me a queen?" My grip on my dress tightened. "I know you can't tell me. At least not without Sebastian in the room. He seems to be the only person who can calm me down when I lose control..."

Evan's smile returned. "He's been your rock ever since you spent that month hiding in the cave. He always calmed you down when you were scared and made you feel safe. The love between you two is the strongest I've ever seen."

I tried to smile back. I believed his words, but the fact that Sebastian wasn't with me now when something bad was going to happen had me shaking again. My fists tightened on my dress, my nails digging into my skin even through the material.

I felt a hand place itself over mine. "Evan, can't you-"

"I doubt it," he interrupted Sarah. "It started to do more harm than good before she was transformed-"

"Well that was then. This is now. My friend is distressed. It's the only thing I can think of that will help her."

I looked up slowly from my hands and glanced between Sarah and Evan, my anxiety skyrocketing. "What is it? What do you want him to do?"

Sarah placed her other hand over her first, trying to comfort me. "He has the power to calm you down. He can help you if you let him. You just can't fight whatever you feel."

"Really? How do you know?"

"He helped us while we were worried about you," Jasmine answered. "While you were unconscious all that time, we worried about you every waking moment. He helped when things got really bad."

I turned my gaze to Evan.

He sighed. "I can try, but you can't fight me off or it will only hurt you. You also won't be able to fight if something were to happen. You'll be more vulnerable then you have your entire three months here."

I tried to think. Lisa, Sebastian, and surely plenty of other demons were outside hunting down this intruder. Even if I couldn't protect myself, Evan would be able to keep all of us safe. Even with my limited memory, I knew I could trust him. Looking up at him, I nodded.

"Alright," he told me. "Just relax." He walked the rest of the way over to the bed. Jasmine stood as he sat beside me, and I started when he wrapped his arm around me and rested my head on his chest.

Slowly, I felt my body relaxing, and every invasive thought about what could be happening beyond the walls of my room vanished. I leaned further into Evan, and he wrapped his arms around me soothingly.

"Everything will be alright now," he whispered.