Yes, My Queen (Black Butler)

Chapter 11

I had no idea how much time passed, but by the time everyone returned, the candle flames were low.

Sebastian, Lisa, and a couple of other demons I'd never seen before entered the room. I would've been worried, but I couldn't feel any kind of fear or anxiety with Evan's hold on me.

As the door closed behind them, I saw Sebastian's gaze instantly fall on me. His eyes narrowed for a moment, before a look of understanding crossed his face. "Thank you, Evan. You may release her now."

At Sebastian's command, Evan removed his arms from around me, and I felt his hold on my mind vanish. Immediately I felt a wave of relief that Sebastian and Lisa were alright, and as much as I wanted to run to my love, the two standing behind him kept me frozen in place.

Lisa followed my gaze, then turned back to me. "Don't mind them, Chrystal. I'm merely showing them the area they will be protecting."

I turned to look at Lisa, cocking my head in confusion.

"We were unable to find the person you saw," Sebastian said, sounding defeated. "We can only assume that your vision wasn't of the near future, and may be more delayed than usual. As a result, we are posting guards outside your room as an extra precaution. Hopefully they'll be enough of a deterrent to scare away this man altogether."

I didn't say anything. As much as I thought it was a smart idea, I was worried about having two strangers outside my room.

"And they will not have keys to enter this room," he added, seeming to sense my growing fear. "They will only be guarding the hallway." He took a step forward. "I fully intend to stay in here with you, and should something happen where I must go, someone else I know you trust will take my place until I am able to return." He smiled softly at me. "As I said before, someone will always be with you. I will never let you be alone like that again."

At that, I smiled brightly, and this time I stood and raced over to him. He wrapped me in his arms and held me while I blinked away tears of joy.

"I'm going to go show these men their posts," I heard Lisa say. "I'll be back in a moment." The door opened and closed, and then silence filled the room again.

I was the one to break it. "Oh! Sebastian, I didn't tell you!" I exclaimed, pulling away slightly. "When Evan came into the room, it took me a second, but I remembered him!" A second later, I lost my smile and looked down at the floor. "Some things are still fuzzy, like the places we were and why he was helping me, but I was able to remember who he is..."

Sebastian took my chin with his thumb and forefinger and gently tilted my head up so our gazes met. He was smiling. "I'm very proud of you. Was there any pain this time?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

His smile brightened. "Even better."

My own smile reappeared. I felt childish exclaiming my small victory, but I was able to remember a part of my past without someone telling me about it. It wasn't something that happened very often, and I was happy that I was able to remember someone who had definitely been on my side in the past and helped me.

The door opened again after a beat, and Lisa reentered the room. She was no longer accompanied by the two men. "There. They've been assigned to their posts and shouldn't leave until told otherwise. Now, where were we?"

I looked from her to Sebastian, then back again.

Lisa smiled. "We were trying to get you to remember, weren't we? Did we leave off at your birthday?"

I nodded, finally understanding. "I think I remember up until about a month after that. Something big must have happened, right?"

Sebastian led me back over to my bed, and I watched as Evan and the others stood to get out of our way. Something about that sight felt weird to me. Maybe it was watching my friends move away from me?

"Yes," Sebastian said as we sat together. He then recounted to all of us everything that had happened over the course of about a month. James, a police officer, had visited and told me there were still suspects in the cold case of my parents' deaths. Then my home had been attacked, and I'd been lured out to a cave to speak with Evan about the future. Then, he told me about the prophecy.

"Wait," I stopped them, closing my eyes and letting memories sort themselves. When I opened them again, I stared at Sebastian. "I was turned into a demon to become a queen?"

He looked away from me, nodding. "My Love, please do not think this was forced upon you. I made sure you got to choose your fate." With that, he continued the story. I sent my friends away so they wouldn't be attacked. My home was attacked yet again, and I was choked and being taken to the hospital when we found Evan and he healed me. Then I was relocated to a small ghost town looking place, where I spent a couple of weeks having visions and discovering my powers.

"Stop," I told them again. "I think it's coming back." I looked to Sebastian and Lisa. "Sebastian left, and I got really worried and accidentally teleported Lisa and myself to him. Is that right?"

They both smiled and nodded. "And that hotel room was where you chose your destiny," Lisa said.

"And I had my last trial in the lobby," I murmured, then turned to look at Sarah. "That's where I saved you."

She smiled sadly, nodding. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

Lisa spoke up. "Don't be. Even if you weren't supposed to be there, because of the events that unfolded, Chrystal unlocked another one of her powers. We are beginning to realize just how powerful she truly is."

"And all this power," I said softly, "is the reason people want to kill me?"

"That's part of it, yes," Lisa answered. "You are very strong, and some people find it threatening. Others simply know that if they kill you, things will go back to the way they were and they won't have a ruler to tell them what they should and shouldn't do."

I tried to listen, but my brain suddenly decided to go through the memories again. I'm a queen. I was turned into a demon to become a queen. They know I'm the one from the prophecy because I can see the future. Demons want me dead because they don't want to have a queen... I'm a queen.

"But," I started, "I don't know how to be a queen."

"We've actually been training Sebastian already on how to be a king, and I've appointed myself as your advisor. We'll teach you everything you need to know, but first I need to know how you're feeling. Do you remember everything? Do you feel any different?"

Right, I suddenly remembered, they all believe I'm cursed. I stared up at their anxious faces, trying to see if I felt any different.

Immediately, I felt as though something was trying to crush me. A weight on my heart that kept pushing further and further. I knew. I remembered.

I returned my gaze to Lisa and nodded. "I remember. I-"

I couldn't finish my sentence. There was a sudden pain in my head, worse than any I'd felt before. I cried out and gripped my hair as everyone called out to me and Sebastian wrapped his arms around me. I fought to stay conscious as I stared and saw spots, leaning on Sebastian.

"Girls, get back!" Lisa shouted.

I wanted to be worried about my friends, but I couldn't think straight. The pain in my head increased, and at that point, I gave up trying to fight it and succumbed to the darkness.