Chapter Text
I saw Nico slumped on the couch and I welled with anger. I drew my weapon and Sebastian only laughed. “My lady,” he said walking into the room, “vampires look dead when they’re asleep.”
“What?” I said, and he shook his head.
“Nico is a vampire now by order of Hades.”
“But, but…why would he do that?”
“Because he can’t deal with the death of his children. Soon even you might face the same eternal fate as Nico by a different path.” With that, Sebastian gently shook Nico’s shoulder and he woke up. I was nearly knocked off my feet when he hugged me.
“I missed you.” Nico said simply, “I missed you a lot.”
“I missed you too.” I said hugging him back, “Hades, I thought you were dead.”
“I’m not.” Nico said, “But in some respects I suppose you can say the Nico you once knew is dead.”
“Nico, you’re my brother no matter what you are.”
He hugged me a little tighter, then let go. He looked back at Sebastian. “HEY! What are you doing here?” Even though Sebastian had been the one to wake him up, he hadn't noticed him, and now seemed defensive.
“ I am the butler, why wouldn't I be here for a major event such as this?”
“ But I gave you three weeks off.”
“ Sorry sir, but I figured my presence was required for the coming of your sister in case she planned anything.” His smile vanished. “Or were you planning something, Master, against Master? She’s here, and you know her hate is still raw for monsters. Did you think of the likelihood that she would kill him, where you planning that as well as an escape?”
“ No, what, no!” Said Nico, “I would never do that to Ciel, and you know it!”
Sebastian chuckled. “Just testing you, Master.”
“You bastard.” Nico glowered at him, yet he smirked and approached the doorway. Nico grabbed my arm. “No. I don’t trust you with my sister!” Sebastian’s gaze turned a little hurt.
“Fine.” He said, “I suppose you will show her the mansion then.”
“Yes.” Said Nico and Sebastian left.
“I don’t trust him.” I said, noting how in old Bible stories the devil always seemed tempting. Well, "Sebastian" seemed to fit that profile to a fine point.
" Neither do I, and I see him every day," Nico said.
Nico and I walked around in silence even though there was a lot I wanted to say. I think he was expecting me to say something, but I wanted him to tell me a little bit first. I began anyways. “So, L and Dante, are they here?”
“Yup.” Said Nico, “They're just in different parts of the house right now. L stays in his room a lot, and Dante does whatever the heck he does.”
“ Rude!” I jumped ten miles before turning around to see Dante. He'd been silent when he came in. “I do quite a lot even when you aren’t around to see it.” Dante said, and then he smiled at me. “Oh Hazel! How wonderful to see you again.”
“You too.” I said, and he grabbed my hand.
“Come! Let’s go do things!” He dragged me off somewhere, and Nico followed behind us, eyeing Dante suspiciously. It didn't take me long to figure out that Nico didn't trust these people at all.
He brought me into a very purple room where Luka and an unknown blond boy sat. I assumed it was Alois; the boy whom I had assumed was Luka’s sister until he laughed and told me that Alois was his brother. “Hello Hazel!” The blond waved at me. “My name’s Alois, Alois Trancy.”
“Hi.” I said, and then looked at the butler standing in the corner. I knew he was the butler because something just signaled him off as a butler. He stood up straight, wore a black suit that was different from Sebastian’s, and wore steel framed glasses. “Do all you people have butlers?”
“Everyone except Erik.” Said Alois with a smile, “I suppose Luka has Hannah, but he also has Claude since he’s my brother, so.” He shrugged. “And why isn’t Sebastian showing you around? Isn’t Nico entitled to the servants just as Dante is entitled to mine?” He looked at Nico, and laughed. “Perhaps Claude really is the better butler!”
“No,” Nico said, “I don’t trust him alone with Hazel because she has a soul.”
“Yes.” Said Alois in a tone that sent chills down my spine. It was almost dreamy, yet it sounded hungry and calming like that of a monster. “A very nice one too. If Luka were a human with a soul like that, I wouldn’t trust him alone in this house either. Out of sheer curiosity, Hazel, what blood type are you?”
“No.” Said Nico, pointing a reprimanding finger at Alois.
Alois laughed. “Just keeping you on your toes, Nico! You’ll need that sooner than you think; after all, the Halloween Dance is in a few days!”
“That’s right, isn’t it?” Nico sighed, “We’re hosting it?”
“You bet!” Said Alois, and then his smile turned into a frown. “Dammit Nico! Because of all of you here we haven’t been able to hold dances for the longest time! Get over it!”
“ So,” I said, “I’m going to be surrounded by monsters.”
“Yes, and demons.”
“Oh joy.”
“Don’t worry, they might not kill you!” Alois said happily, “just don’t mention anything about your life, perhaps not even your name. Man, is Soma in for a nasty surprise!" He laughed, it was obvious something was wrong in his head. " Let’s hope Agni is ready to fight!” When I began to think about it, Soma and Agni weren’t like the people I was encountering. They seemed like normal, nice and friendly people. I wondered how they could stand stuff like this kid, who apparently had a few screws loose.
“Uh, so, yeah.” I said, slowly backing away. Dante grabbed my hand again.
“Hazel, sometime tomorrow or another day would you like to go shopping?”
“Shopping for what?”
“Clothes, shoes, the usual.” His mad smile almost seemed hopeful.
“Sure.” I said, even though I didn’t want to. I almost felt bad for him for some reason, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just kind of sad to think that at one point he was just a normal demigod kid and now he was this deranged monster.
“If you don’t mind, Dante,” Nico approached calmly, “now that you have showed Hazel your boyfriend, I would like to show her mine.”
“Oh! I almost forgot, she hasn’t met Ciel!” He laughed, and sat next to Alois. “ By all means, go.” Nico nodded to me, and we left the room.
“ Well, they’re odd.” I said, and he nodded.
“ That’s just them, they’re kind of not there in the head if you know what I mean. Don’t take it personally. Dante threw me off a roof.”
“ Why?”
“ Because he did. Finny was below to catch me, so.”
“ Finny?”
“ He’s a Phantomhive servant, the gardener in fact.” Said Nico, “ that’s who I’m bringing you to. The head of Phantomhive house, my boyfriend, Ciel Phantomhive.”
“ The one who Percy tried to strangle and got stabbed while trying to kill?”
“ Yeah, that’s Ciel.” Said Nico, “ Don’t bring that up, okay? It’s kind of hard for me to think of him like that.”
“ Okay.” I said, and he turned down the hallways. I tried to make mental notes to myself of where stuff was, but lost it because it was overwhelming. The house was big, and it almost seemed like how I would imagine Daedalus's labyrinth. Finally, Nico knocked on a door, and Sebastian the butler opened it. He smiled, but did not say a word as we came in. His smile sent shivers down my spine-it wasn't a normal human smile. That was a demon smile, as creepy and scary as demon smiles could get. But at the same time it was almost beckoning, like it was waiting for bad things to happen or as though it was waiting for you to do bad things. It was one of those smiles that would linger with you in your mind, that you could still feel was on as you slept in the night, suspecting bad things to happen.
The office looked very official. There was only a bookshelf, a small table, and a desk. On the desk was a computer and paper work in piles and stacks. On the side of the desk was a large filing cabinet, and in the front of the desk were two official vintage chairs. At the desk was a boy. He looked around Nico’s age, though he seemed short for his age. His skin was pale, making his red eye stick out more. The other eye had a black eye patch concealing it. He had delicate hands, and though his figure vaguely resembled a woman’s, he was handsome. He had black hair, and his nails were unnaturally black too. As he looked at his papers, he glanced up at me, and then down at the papers. He seemed hardened like stone, perhaps even a little sad. Yet there was a certain feel about him when he looked at Nico. I could tell he was waiting for Nico to make the introductions, and he did. “ Ciel, this is Hazel.” Nico said, and Ciel Phantomhive looked up from his paper works.
“ Good morning, Hazel.” Said Ciel in a tone that I felt was usual for him. I looked around the office.
“ So, what kind of business do you run?” I asked him, feeling more comfortable with him than Alois. Even though I knew he was a demon by his eyes, the feeling I got from his presence felt less crazy, less ominous. I wasn’t dumb, and I knew that he could be worse.
“ I run a toy and confection company, but today I’m handling business with demonic fugitives that came from America. They were caught by Earls and put into proper confinements, yet I’m sorting the paperwork out. If they eluded the Earls and hid, it would be my job to find them. You are bringing a lot of trouble-makers to this country.” Said Ciel in a cool monotonous voice, “ on the bright side, the reapers will have plenty of demons to kill and it will be good for us that they are dead.” He seemed like he was of aristocracy, fine and polished.
“ As in, the Grim Reaper?” I shivered, remembering the judges of the Underworld and Thanatos.
“ No, there’s more than one, as well as more than one breed and dimension.” Said Ciel, “ Nico’s met one.”
“ Grell.” Nico said with a nod. “ Grell Sutcliff, who was also Jack the Ripper.”
Ciel nodded, but I did not understand one word. I guessed that I would though.
“ Either way, Hazel, it is a promising sign to see that the three of you made it back here. That’s not enough to gain the Earl’s full trust, but it’s a start. You did not tell, which means you can be trusted.” Said Ciel, then he looked back down at the papers.
“ Are Earls mostly demons?”
“ Yes, mainly because demons are around Hades more because obviously, we are acclimated to hell. However, you have a mix of Earls, like Soma. He is a werewolf; lycan or lycanthrope is a preferred term however.” Said Ciel, “ it will be my job to protect you during the lunar phases, even though they still can. They’ll just look like very large wolves.” He looked back up at me. “ Doesn’t Camp Jupiter have a connection with wolves? Lupa, correct, the one who raised Romulus and Remus?”
“ Yes.” I said, “ As a Roman demigod, I suppose I have a connection to wolves.”
“ Perhaps that’s why he saved you for the end.” Said Ciel, “ either that or he hates all of his children equally.”
“ Excuse me?”
“ Think of this, Hazel. He sends Nico to live with a demon, forcing him to live with a monster, one of the things he hates most in the world. It sounds like torment one would inflict on their worse enemy: making them live with the thing they hate the most, and then making them into that thing once the living with the thing they hated proved unsuccessful in bestowing pain. He lets another son go mad, let’s monsters take everything he has until he has no family and not even a penny to his name. He lets said son’s Mother die, the Mother who was initially his only protection from the horrible things that awaited him. Your Father let this son, Dante, chip away into complete madness, and never even once suggested he go to America by shadow traveling." That sent a bit of sympathy through me as I remembered his insane smile, the insane gleam in his eyes. He had never been happy, he was broken and no one ever helped him just like Hades had never helped me. Only in Dante's case, it had broken him. "He did not even tell him of you and Nico’s existence." I couldn't help but to think that, despite his insanity, he had been as welcoming as he could be. " Then we have L. L barely talks about his own childhood. He lets him grow depressed and lets him lead himself into death’s way. Once he dies and is brought back, he must flee, and he has almost nothing to start out on again." L did seem kind of sad in his own way, and he didn't talk about his life at the house as much as Dante seemed too. " Then there is you. You are one of the most wronged. He lets you sacrifice yourself, he curses his own daughter and leaves her with her Mother who essentially hated her very being up until the very end. When your brother leaves and is said to be killed, he lets you suffer, and then forces you to leave everything you once loved behind in order to see him again.” The truth seemed even worse when it was told in the monochromatic tone of Ciel’s voice. I didn’t know what to say after that. Nico looked over to me sadly but quickly looked away. I wondered what he could have seen in this obviously cold-hearted demon, or why he would even think of being a relationship with him. Did he even love him? Did Ciel even love Nico? I didn’t know. Nico put his hand on Ciel’s desk, and sighed.
“ Was that really necessary to say today, if any day?”
“ Yes, I believe it was.”
“ You’re not helping your cause of getting her to at least respect monsters.”
“ Nico, that was never my intent. She can believe anything she wishes even if it is a lie. However, those beliefs may kill her.”
“ Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?” Nico said, there was anger in his eyes, but he calmed down, looking like he realized something. “ Ciel…” Nico shook his head and looked at me. “ Let’s go, Hazel, I have the rest of the house to show you.” He said bitterly and I nodded, hoping that I would figure out what he and Ciel were talking about.
***
“ Young Master.” I said, walking towards him. “ I know why you are being like this.” I laughed, it was very apparent how he felt about it.
“ Don’t mock me and my feelings, Sebastian.” Said Young Master giving me a warning glance. “ It is just that with her here now, she and Nico will be doing things together. I want Nico all to myself, Sebastian, and with her here there is no way that I can fully have him all to myself. I want to own his heart completely, just like a child does not wish to share their toys, I do not wish to share my lover. I don’t want him to love anyone else even if it is love in a different form.“ That was the Young Master I knew. He did not like to share certain things, and apparently, Master Nico was one of those things. He was jealous of the attention Lady Levesque was getting, for he wanted to own copious amounts of the other Master's time. “ I will try not to show it, no matter how much it pains me.”
“ Why not get rid of what’s in your way?”
“ I don’t want to hurt Nico. I love him, Sebastian, I love him so much." I concealed my shock as I had never heard him even utter those words, let alone proclaim them with such vigor. " I believe that I have hurt Nico enough. I stabbed Percy Jackson because I was forced to in self-defense, I brought him into this demonic, monster world which he hated so. I hate what I have had to do, and I try to make up for it however there is no way too. He should hate me, Sebastian, and I’m afraid that if he breaks away he won’t come back, for something that is lost can never return.” The Young Master’s voice was tainted in emotions I had never heard from him ever, I would probably never hear them again. They were very uncharacteristic of him, but love made people say things they usually would not say. He kept composed despite the fact I knew he was close to tears. He said not a word to me after that, not a single syllable. He did not do paperwork, yet he just sat there, head in his hands, thinking. Seeing my Young Master that way brought me unpleasant feelings, feelings that could be easily dispelled but at the same time they could not be. So I stood there half-loathingly, watching my Young Master sit in pain and emotional distress when there was nothing I could do about it. I think it was then he realized just how dependent he had become on Master Nico, how much Master Nico meant to him, and how much he wanted him by his side.
***
Unlike the usual, with the new edition, the table was quieter. I stood, on looking and serving the food as usual, however I could not stop looking at that gem of a soul that Lady Levesque had. As a mere butler, I was not worthy and could not eat it as order of my Master, but looking at it made me hungry. So, as conventional, I avoided eye contact with her at the table. She looked at me with her golden eyes curiously as though she wanted me to state my name. However, I did not, for if I opened my mouth any further it would be that much more enticing to pluck her soul out and eat it.
After dinner, it was relieving to be away from the temptation. I went to put a ward on the spider in the upstairs cobweb, only to see unfortunately, the smiling crow butler had come to it first. Whack. Whack. Whack. Four whacks turned into five, and five quickly turned into ten, which turned into thirteen whacks total. The spider beneath had no chance whatsoever of hope or life. Sebastian did not smile at me, which was unlike his custom after killing a spider by whacking it thirteen times with an old newspaper. Instead, he walked with his head cast down slightly, standing by my side for a moment. “ My Master is in pain because of her.”
“ Oh? Is it the pain of starvation, lack of an adequate meal?” I smiled, it was unlike Lord Phantomhive to want a soul just as it was unlike my own Master, but such a tantalizing soul made even the humblest demon’s mouth water.
“ No,” said Sebastian defensively, “ it is not. It is the fact that he shall not have the undivided attention of the other Master.”
“ That’s it?” I snickered, and he shot me a glare.
“ So you all underestimate his feelings for the other Master.”
“ No, I do not. It is merely the fact that Lord Dante wishes to invite her to shop with him, my Master, and Master Luka.”
Sebastian scoffed. “ If the other Master does not trust even me with his precious sister, how is he to trust you, a demon known to do anything for the best soul? And, if he trusts you, which is still unlikely, how is he to trust Lord Trancy or Lord Dante for that matter?”
“ If you are a truly the Phantomhive butler, Sebastian, why are you airing the feelings of your Master to me, your worse enemy?” I eyed him cautiously, he did not answer me. Instead, he left, walking down the hall and away from me. As usual, he was leaving me to clean up the spider and the spider’s web. I took a feather duster, and took away the remains of the hopeless spider away.
***
“ He was never mine to begin with.” I said to Sebastian as he came into my room. “ He always belonged to and with demigods. He’s like a caged bird. Yet, even though the door has opened, I long for him to be in the cage again. I want him to be mine again, just as he was before she came.” I did not turn to him, but I had a feeling it was him.
“ I-Is that the way you feel about it, Ciel?” I whipped around towards Nico.
“ How could you not know, Nico? With her around…you won’t be with me, you’ll always be around her and you cannot convince me that this is not true.” I said, and he laid next to me on my bed. “ Deep inside, you always longed to be there again. You missed Percy, you missed Hazel. And just when you were getting over it, this happens. I've known this probably ever sense that first day I saw you there, in the Underworld.”
“ No, Ciel. That’s not how it is.” Said Nico, he got closer to me and held me, and I enjoyed his embrace. He laughed, “ you jealous little demon. Hazel will more than likely get back to Camp Half-Blood. If she misses Frank as much as I expect her too, she’ll find her way back. And until then, I’m not going to leave you behind. Hazel will just have to get used to you. I shouldn’t have acted that way before…I should have seen that you were jealous.”
“ I was and am remaining to not be jealous!”
“ Ciel, jealousy by definition means being envious and demanding loyalty. You want the attention that Hazel gets and you always want me with you. I know you better than you think, I just need to think more in depth I guess. I was caught off guard.” He held me closer. “ It’ll be okay.”
***
“ Oh Hazel!” She faced me, looking confused.
“ Hey, Soma, where’s Nico?” She asked, looking around.
“ I have no idea.” I said, “ But have you seen your room yet?”
“ No.” Said Hazel, “ actually, a nap would be nice right around now.” I nodded, noticing how tired she looked.
“ Come on.” She followed me to her room, and I opened the door. She looked around the room, and gave an approving nod.
“ It’s nice.” She said, laying on the bed. “ How’d you know I liked these colors?”
“ Your dad.” I said, “ Well, anyways, I think you need to get some rest, so.” I left her, and closed the door behind me. That was when I realized she hadn’t met Erik or Krista because they were on a date somewhere. Krista was the only official human in the household, so of course Hazel would want to meet her. I shrugged, figuring that the next day was always a good day for everything, and went to bed.