Yes! It's me! I'm alive! I'm sorry for making everyone wait so long for this chapter! ^^;; this was already hard to write, and then I totally lost insperation for this story...but my muse has returned! So I'll defiantly be updating much more!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuro. I only own my ocs.

Chapter 8:

Chance Meetings

Amelia frowned as she walked through the hallways. "Leiah…" she said quietly, hopefully getting the attention of her demon maid.

"You called?" a shadow humanoid figure asked from behind her. She turned to face it.

"Where are you?" she asked the figure. She was used to this by now. A shadow was often used by the demon to communicate to her mistress.

"Sorry my lady. I got…tied up." she could hear the smirk from the demon.

"Well, hurry up." she huffed. "I wish to get back to the party."

There was a chuckle. "Yes my lady." she nearly sang as the shadow vanished. Amelia rolled her eyes and continued walking through the hallway.

"God, how did I end up with a demon like her?" she wondered, sighing. "Honestly…I hope she's having fun doing whatever she's doing. Stupid demon."

"What was that my dear?" a someone asked. Amelia jumped, before turning to see a butler with glasses and shocking golden eyes. In front of him was a boy with long blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail, only a few years older than her. The boy studied her for a moment, before smiling widely.

"You're Amelia Auburn!" he shouted, bouncing forward and taking her hand. "I'm Jacob Trancy! Please to meet you." he smiled and kissed her hand. She felt herself blush.

"Please to meet you Lord Trancy…" she said, smiling before pulling her hand back. Something was off. Not that the other two seemed to notice. Jacob was still smiling.

"You're Ciel's fiancée, aren't you? I've been waiting to meet you." Jacob held out his hand. "Would you be so kind as to walk with me?"

Amelia blinked at him in surprise, before a small smile took over her face. "I would love to." she replied, taking his hand and letting him lead her off.

Ciel sighed as he too navigated the hallway of the mansion, Sebastian following behind him like the loyal butler he is. "Are you sure the screams were coming from this direction?"

"Quite certain my lord." was the reply.

"Well then, they must have come from one of these rooms…" he trailed off as he noticed a red liquid oozing out from underneath one of the door. "Sebastian."He didn't even need to give the command. The demon knew what it would be already.

Sebastian walked over to the door and carefully opened it. He then sighed. "My my, what a mess." He said as his master walked over. Blue eyes widened in shock as the young earl covered his mouth.

A hazy memory passed before Ciel's eyes. "What the hell?" he asked in a shaky voice, wide eyes scanning the torn remains. Something about this seemed so familiar.

"It appears as though something has torn them apart." Sebastian replied, stepping into the room. "Like a wild dog." At that, something growled. Sebastian quickly stood knives and forks at the ready.

"Sebastian?" Ciel scanned the room, looking for the source of the unearthly growl. Blue eyes landed on something moving in the shadows in the back of the room. A large dog, if it could be called that, stepped out of the shadow. The creature did look like a dog, although it looked like it was all skin and bones. Around its mouth the skin was gone, exposing the teeth and gums.

It growled again, looking between the earl and his butler. Sebastian's eyes flashed a glowing pink, alerting the hound as to what exactly it was dealing with. The creature didn't care though, as it howled and pounced. Quick as ever, Sebastian threw one of his many knives, hitting the creature square in the head. It collapsed to the ground.

Ceil stared at it with wide eyes. "What the hell is that thing?"

"That, my lord, is a spectral hound." Sebastian said watching the hound for any signs it would attack again. "They live in hell, as do all shadow creatures. It's rare to see one here."

"So what is it doing here?"

"I imagine it was summoned here, although by whom I'm not sure. Very few beings have the power to summon this type of creature…." Sebastian's voice trailed off as he glared down at the creature.

A howl pulled the demon out of his thoughts. His eyes narrowed as another hound dashed past him and into the hall, knocking down Ciel in the process. It looked at them, before running off. "Sebastian! Catch it!" Ciel yelled. His butler nodded, before chasing after the creature.

"I have to apologize for before Lady Amelia." Jacob said as the two walked in the garden outside the manor. His butler was behind them a bit, giving them enough room so they didn't feel crowded.

"Hum? Apologize for what?" she asked, looking up at him.

He smiled down at her. "For leading you away from the ball earlier." he replied. "You see, I wanted to talk to you, but I wanted to do so in private. That's why I approached you earlier, and then ran off." He explained, leading her to the center of the garden. There a fountain stood, statues of angels pouring water into the pool below.

Amelia blinked, before it dawned on her. "You were the boy with the black hair?" she questioned as she sat down on the edge of the fountain.

He smiled. "Yes. You're a sharp one, aren't you?" she cast him a glare, to which he laughed. "I'm sorry my lady. I didn't mean to offend you. I truly meant that. I can tell just from looking at you. You're no ordinary lady, are you?" He tilted his head. "There's something otherworldly about you."

"Otherworldly?" she looked up at him innocently. "What do you mean my lord?" He merely looked up to the sky.

"Not of this world. There's a certain something about you. Something with tells me you're not one to be trifled with." He sat down next to her. "Now, what is it about you that gives one that impression?" he asked rhetorically, a slight smirk on his face. "But then again, I may just be imagining that. Although…" He turned to face her, his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. A hand cupped her chin, tilting her head up. "I doubt I am. The look in your eyes tells me I'm not." He half mumbled, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Amelia felt her face heat up. She was sure her brain had mostly stopped working. Mostly, because some part of it was telling her he was to close and to get away. However, it wasn't convincing enough as she made no move to push him away. That is, until an unearthly howl made her jump and snap back to reality.

A scowl took over Jacob's face as he pulled Amelia closer, casting a glance back to his butler. On cue, a large almost skeletal dog ran into the garden. It growled at them, to which Amelia smirked. "She really doesn't trust me for a moment, now does she?" she thought, looking over the creature.

"My lord," The butler stepped in front of the two. "Allow me to dispose of this creature." He said, pulling a throwing knife from inside his jacket. The hound tilted it's head then howled again. A cold smirk was on the man's face as he threw the knife. The hound dodged it, running past the three and into the shadows.

Amelia turned to look at where the dog ran. Blue eyes met glowing pink, and a small smile appeared on the blonde's face. "My lord." She squirmed out of Jacob's grip. "I'm sorry, but I should be getting back before Ciel starts to worry…."

"Oh." a light embarrassed blush appeared on the other's face. "Yes, we should be getting back." He offered her his arm. With a smile, she took it, and the two started back to the ball.

The butler turned to look at the shadows. "So, are you going to hide there for the rest of the night, or are you going to show yourself?" He asked a slight smirk on his face. With a scowl, the other stepped out. Gold eyes trailed up legs covered in leather pants and a tight tank-top. "Now now, are you really giving me that look my dear?" he asked, walking over to her and cupping the side of her face. "My dear Julia?"

"That's not my name. Not now." she snapped, glaring up at him.

"Ah yes. You're going by Leiah currently." He smirked. "What a name."

"It's the name that was chosen for me by my mistress." She huffed, before hitting his hand away. "So that's what I'm going by." She pushed him out of the way and began walking towards the ball when she was stopped. A black collar had formed around her neck, and a chain attached to it, the end in the butler's hand.

"Are you going into the ball like that?" He asked, smirking again. She huffed, rolling her eyes.

"No, I wasn't. I have a dress I was going to change into." She huffed, closing her eyes and letting cool black shadows wrap around her. After a moment, the vanished, leaving the younger demon in a black dress, much less fancy then the one she started in, but beautiful none the less.

The other chuckled. "I see." The collar and chain vanished. "Well then, I'll let you go. But remember one thing." Striking gold eyes met furious brown ones. "No matter what, in the end, you still belong to me." with that, he vanished deeper into the garden.

Leiah huffed, moving her hand to her neck, fingers rubbing the top of her collar. "I know that." her hand wrapped around her neck. "Believe me Tallen, I know."

And thus we meet probably the last two important OC characters! ^w^ Yes, meet Jacob Trancy and the mysterious demon Tallen. (before you ask, I have seen the second season, so I know Claude is the butler for the Trancys...but don't worry, I have everything planned out!) They'll be playing a large part later on, so be on the look out for them.

Anyway, I have to apologize again for the long absence. I have been busy...but I did lose my muse for this story. I just couldn't write...but it has returned, so expect more updates as soon as I have the chapters written.

Anyway, if you're still with me, even after all this time, I thank you. *gives everyone left cookies and yaoi*

Don't forget, reviews are loved! I read every single one of them!