- The Layer of Ice -

16. White is the colour of...

I'll tell you a few words of advice. Listen well.

Keep your enemies just out of your reach, so you will see them if they come and have time to prepare your defenses.

Keep your friends closer, where you can come to them if they need help and strike them down, should they prove to be false.

Keep your loved ones the closest.

Where you can push them behind you, protect them, should they be in danger.

Where you can hold them close to you, let them hear the beat of your heart, were they ever afraid.

-/-/-

(Third Person's POV)

'How is this even possible?' Sebastian could not help but think as he and the king of the Underworld stood in front of Madame Red's house.

The sight that greeted them he in his wildest bout of imagination would not expect. Nevermind the fact that he mostly used his imagination for matters much more productive than demonic hunters. Matters which included Ciel, for example... or comfy beds. Or better yet, both of the aforementioned together. Yes that sounded quite good. Not the time for such thoughts though.

Because the demonic canines which had been following Sebastian and Ciel in the last hour... those were not just any trackers as he may have thought. No, his very eyes were telling him otherwise.

They were no ordinary Blood hounds even - as ordinary as demonic dogs a size of small pony could be - as Sebastian had thought when he heard the first howls. They were quite obviously the Palace Blood hounds, even if their eye-colour seemed off.

And nothing could be stranger than that.

For the specific breed that none called differenty than simply "Palace Hounds" were supposed to listen to Lucifer. To answer to only Lucifer, in fact. They were created by the demon king, raised by him from but a wisp of dark magic into what they were at the present moment... doing something their master had not ordered them to was nigh on unthinkable. It was a direct betrayal from them in fact. Why had they done so then?

'Well, unless Lucifer is a master of acting and him mooning over the chocolate tarts the last week when he and Angelina visited was his attempt at lulling us into false sense of security.'

Sebastian had trouble suppressing a snort at the very image of that.

After all if all the Underworld knew one thing about its ruler, it was the fact that if he was ever displeased with someone, he did not hesitate to show just that to the demon, or any other Underworld occupant, in question.

Setting a fire to the Phantomhive residence only to send his Hounds after them? No, certainly not the demon's style. Nevermind the fact that if he truly wanted them dead, Lucifer was strong enough to make them disappear with just about a wave of his hand, his strength unrivalled by anyone in the Underworld.

'However if Lucifer can be for all purposes ruled out...' Sebastian thought. 'Then who stood behind this? Why did the Palace Hounds hunt us?'

The involvement of the Hounds was the most baffling of it all. There were other breeds of demonic canines that could have been sent after them. Why the Palace Hounds?

'Well, when one bypasses the obvious fact that none of the other breeds has a hundred-percent kill-rate.'

Seemed quite an incintive to use these, if one were very set on seeing someone dead. Also one of the reasons why Palace Hounds were usually the ones sent after the creatures of night that went feral.

And while Sebastian had went through Aftermath, he was in no aspect feral.

'What was the reasoning behind sending them then? Why would it be so important to kill us? To kill Ciel? To kill the baby?'

Sebastian itched to return to the house where he knew Angelina was taking care of his Bond-mate and their still unborn child. Even at that moment he could hear her talking softly to her nephew, said nephew occasionally answering with a soft, pain-filled voice.

"He's going to be okay." Lucifer's voice tore Sebastian out of his thoughts. "Angelina won't let him go."

The voice also brought him back to the situation on hand.

A situation which had changed quite a bit since Sebastian was aware of it last.

Some of the Palace Hounds were on the ground in front of the demon king, whining pitifully, their eyes having changed from the bright white colour they sported to the red that was their natural state.

"They had been enchanted." Lucifer explained, then motioned ahead. "Most of them were, that is."

It was only when he saw differences in how the demonic dogs reacted to Lucifer's power that it became apparent to Sebastian that what had thought to be a united pack were in fact two groups of demonic canines. One group comprising of actual Palace Hounds, ones who dropped before their master once the enchantement was lifted and a second group, encompassing those that only looked like the Palace Hounds, but in fact clearly were not.

Where the true Palace Hounds had red eyes when they were touched by Lucifer's magic, the fraudulent ones' eyes stayed white.

Where the the Palace ones repented for their sin, growelling miserably at their master's feet, the false Hounds were still growling at Lucifer and Sebastian, baring their teeth and looking quite intent on attacking.

"What a filth." Lucifer said in an almost bored a tone, as he got rid of the latter group, one sweep of his hand making them disintegrate into dust.

There was something eerie in the sight of the clouds of dust floating away in the autumn breeze.

Seeing the fate that befell the ones they thought their kin, the few remaining Hounds whined lowly. It however spoke of their training that they remained meek still. They knew that going against their master could only mean punishment.

"What about these?" Sebastian asked, grateful that Angelina thought to call for Lucifer. That the two had even gotten so close to each other in the first place. He could only imagine what it would have been like were he supposed to take on the whole dual pack of Hounds on his own.

The matter certainly wouldn't have been resolved so easily.

Whilst he would probably be able to break the enchantement on the true Palace Hounds, even detecting it would take time... And then there was of course the matter of the spurious hounds...

"They had been controlled, they couldn't have done otherwise." Lucifer sighed only, getting down to the ground next to the dogs who crawled closer to him pitifully. "What would you have me do?"

"I don't know..." the raven-haired demon admitted, sighing. Just imagining what they could have done though. Imagining his mate who was still in the house. Fighting for his and their child's life...

Hurt.

"Ciel!"

And in a split-second's time Sebastian was gone.

-/-/-

A red sky, covered with clouds.

Rain, falling down onto the charred ground.

A demoness, looking into the distance through her milk-white eyes.

"It's coming." she said suddenly, her eyes closing for a moment, only to be opened soon after, coloured anew.

She looked up into the sky which was weeping still, as it had continuosly for what would maybe pass as an hour on the Earth's surface. Not that the Underworld used the surface-dwellers measures of time.

"He is coming." she spoke again, turning her whole body around to address the ones she called her family.

"He ... will be born soon."

Tadah? (._.)

As for the reason for this being as late it is... well... Uni... Sorry about that. (And the chapter isn't a long one even (Q.Q))

BUT next time we finally get to meet the baby! Yay! Which brings me to the fact that I honestly forgot what I planned to name him.. Which means I'm open for suggestions! If anyone comes up with a name that catches my interest they'll be credited of course.

Just remember it needs to be a boy name, ideally of Latin/Greek/French origin - it would work the best with the story.

Love you all! \(OvO)/

See ya~ ( "-.-)/