The Return of the Order: Act 16

A low growl left Sebastian’s throat as he watched William alight from the coach and hold out his hand for Lilith. Raven followed behind, helping Margaret. Seeing their father, the twins rushed in and threw their arms around him. He hugged them tightly and kissed their foreheads. Sebastian was in the process of extricating himself from the twins when Lord Birch arrived to greet his newly arrived guest.

“My Lord, I was just on my way to inform you of their arrival.”

“It is of no matter; I think we can dismiss normal protocol for this evening. Would you please introduce me to your family, Sebastian?”

“Yes, my Lord, these are our twins, Raven and Lilith; children this is Lord Malcolm Birch, my current master.”

The twins bowed to Lord Birch and moved to stand with their mother while Sebastian introduced Margaret. Lord Birch looked at the final member of the party, “And this is?”

“This is William T. Spears, head reaper, who should be leaving now.”

“Nonsense, if he has taken the time to bring your family safely here, the least I can do is invite him to dine with us.”

William glanced at Lilith and seeing her smile, he gladly accepted. Sebastian saw the exchange and opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, he felt Louisa's hand on his arm and saw the almost imperceptible shake of her head. He huffed but said nothing.

The silence was broken by Lord Birch, “Excellent, then I will show our guests to their rooms while Sebastian prepares dinner.”

Sebastian bowed, and left for the kitchen, he pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply. He may be one hell of a butler, but he was finding that he was utterly unprepared for his children reaching adulthood and everything that entailed. More concerning still with the fact that in all the years he had known William, he had never shown an ounce of emotion and only ever smiled once to Sebastian’s knowledge, on the night that the angel had been defeated.

William’s head was no clearer, as he moved through Lord Birch’s manor with Lilith once more on his arm. He strictly applied the rules on not interfering in the human world into all those that worked for the company. But here he was breaking his own rules, consorting with demons and making decisions based on a smile from the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. The realisation that Lord Birch was addressing him snapped him out of his contemplation.

“William, will you be staying with us tonight?”

A strange feeling gripped his insides, “I am afraid I will need to return to London after dinner, I cannot leave certain members of my company alone for too long.”

“As you wish.”

He didn’t wish to leave, and he could sense Lilith’s disappointment as they all returned to the parlour. Raven sensed it too. He didn’t understand the emotions that flooded through his sister whenever William was present, and it made him uncomfortable.

Sebastian arrived soon after to inform them that dinner was almost ready.

"Excellent, once dinner is served, we will forgo the normal formalities, and you will join us, Sebastian. I have many questions, and hopefully, over dinner, we can ensure we all have the same answers."

“Yes, my Lord.”

Sebastian served dinner and took his seat next to Louisa. Lord Birch looked around the table. It seemed like a lifetime ago since there was anyone but him in the house, and now, he shared his table with six others, only one of whom was human. An array of questions fought for space in his mind.

"You will forgive me if anything I ask is too personal, but from what I already understand, time may be of the essence here, leaving little space for subtly." He looked around the table, seeing no descent, he continued, "If I may begin then by understanding how Margaret and William fit into all of this."

Margaret glanced at Louisa, while she was Louisa’s mistress, she had no intention of speaking without her agreement. Louisa nodded her ascent.

"I was a friend of Louisa's parents, and when her mother fell pregnant, I became her midwife. I stayed close to the family home after Louisa was taken by the Order. With the help of another, I hid the home from all but the family. Doing so took a toll on my health. I entered into a contract with Louisa that would allow me to see her children reach adulthood so that I could continue to play my part in protecting her family, as I had promised her father many years go."

“And, when the contract is up?”

"My fate will be the same as yours, Lord Birch, my soul will become demon food."

Lord Birch paled slightly at the thought and at how easily Margaret embraced her fate. “And William, I do not fully comprehend you, let alone your role in all of this.”

William removed his glasses, cleaning them, he responded, “I am a reaper of souls, we attend humans in the final moments of their lives and determine their fate based on the content of their cinematic records; the record of their lives. We generally do not interfere with what happens in this world as doing so can tip the balance between good and evil.”

He replaced his glasses before continuing, "however, certain events have conspired to ensure that our not acting would cause greater imbalance. That, coupled with the promises made by a certain ex-reaper and a debt owed by us to Sebastian, means that we are now bound to protect the family and aid them in stopping this threat."

“May I ask what events you are alluding to?”

William looked at Louisa before he answered, she placed her hand firmly on Sebastian’s arm before nodding for him to continue.

"We have known for some time that someone was targeting individuals that carried demon and even angel blood. What we did not know until Louisa's family, and more precisely, her daughter, was attacked, was that a faction of reapers was involved."

William paused, Sebastian's eyes glowed, and a growl formed in his throat, Louisa tightened her grip on his arm. "Why am I only now hearing this," he hissed.

“We could not reach you, it happened after you were summoned; had anyone told you before you saw us, the consequences could have been dire for all involved, my love.”

Sebastian's anger was tempered by her words, he knew she was right, but it didn't stop him from wanting to tear the culprit limb from limb, "who dared attack my family, William?"

“He was from another company, and he has been dealt with.”

"In the same way that you dealt with Grell?”

“No Grell was merely demoted, the reaper in question was punished by your daughter before being questioned and summarily dismissed. I believe what is left of him now resides in the lower circles of the demon realm, where if he is incredibly unlucky, he will fall foul of a newly invigorated demon Lord that you know rather well.”

Sebastian frowned; his mind swarmed with so many questions. Seeing his confusion, Louisa grinned, her gaze met that of her children, their eagerness to tell the story was overwhelming, “Ok, you may tell your father, but no embellishing.”

In perfect unison, the twins recounted the story of Louisa’s visions, her journey to the demon realm, the fight with the wolf demon, and her warning to Ciel. As the children finished their tale, he turned to her, “You took on and defeated Amo and secured your father’s throne instead of taking the prize for yourself?”

“Yes, my love, what use is my father’s throne to me when you are bound to this realm.”

As she spoke, she slipped her hand from his arm to his leg, her fingers travelling unseen up his thigh. His eyes showed his pride in his mate’s actions, the hardness that twitched under Louisa’s caress, spoke of something more.

The rest of dinner passed with the group of unlikely allies getting to know each other. Louisa continued to tease Sebastian under the table, while he attempted to focus on the conversations in an attempt not to lose his composure. Many things still troubled him, including the attention that William paid his daughter.

Louisa leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Warn him by all means, my love, but as I was reminded, I was not much older when I chose you, and Lilith is more than capable of defending herself, should she need to."

“But he is a reaper, detached and incapable of feeling.”

"Really, does that sound like the reapers we know? Does he look detached to you? Some would say the same of demons."

Sebastian watched as William and Lilith talked, Lilith’s face shone, her eyes were bright, and her laughter came easily. He shook his head, Louisa was right, but he would still speak to him when he got him alone.