Welcome back to Hello Charlotte everyone, I really hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. Please remember to VOTE and COMMENT it means a lot to me plus I love chatting with you guys. ~XOXO BUTTERBALL~

The song is Team by Lorde.

_________________________________________________________________________________

-Kessel-

A high pitched blood-curdling scream rang out even through the pure darkness. My eyes widened as the smell of blood entered my nose. Beneath that, however, was the smell of thick ash and something burning.

My skin itched and heat licked at my face, I began panting as I slowly turned behind me only to see another wall of flames. I looked down, in front of me lay Queen Elise and...Ivo.

I knelt down running my hand through Ivo's long raven colored hair, my hand leaving streaks of bright red blood.

"Ivo...where...where did it go so wrong?" I whispered as I moved him slightly to look him in the face.

My eyes stung as both the smoke and my emotion caused the tears to gather. I jumped however as Ivo's eyes snapped open but in the middle of his pitch black was an odd white pinpoint pupil.

"You failed me, you failed Charlotte and you'll fail everyone too."

His voice, however, didn't sound his own.

The world moved around me at a pace I couldn't keep track of. The world suddenly stopped, the flames were gone but the smell of blood was there, possibly even heavier than before.

It took a moment to realize where I was now.

"I'm in the church's attic..." I whispered. When I looked up, however, I saw a table and on that table lay Charlotte while her father stood across from me. Her belly was open, jaggedly split up the middle.

That's right her father came in here, he begged for help. And she was dying, losing blood rapidly, almost too rapidly and she needed a new stomach. I had to make a new stomach for her and insert it.

The moment I stood up Charlotte began to scream and cry, her weak bloodied body barely arching off the table as her limbs just barely flailed. Her pained screams tore at my eardrums and unsettled my stomach.

Smoke wafted out of her mouth and I could see her flame sac contract and expand as I looked into her open body.

I reached out to calm her down but the moment my fingers brushed her face she disappeared as did her father. I stumbled back my eyes wide, "C-Charlotte...Lottie?" I whispered my hands shaking almost violently.

I flinched as I began to search the room for her.

I-I just need to calm down! Charlotte's fine!

"You keep telling yourself that Kessel, but at the end of the day you're not with her. I am," Ivo said as his younger self-looked at me.

I let out a shaky chuckle before I found myself able to speak. "I know you Ivo, you would never do that to a contract and Delilah would never let you," I growled.

Ivo smirked at me it was a look that I had seen on his face a lot when we were together. His eyes met mine, those strange white pupils caused a chill to roll over my skin. I saw a flash of his sharp white teeth before he spoke.

"To kill you...I would do anything Kessel," he told me his voice full of malice but at the same time, there was calmness and coldness.

I flinched back as he stood up on his tiptoes and whispered in my ear. "Wake up Kessel, I'm going to snap if you stay here..."

~~~

My eyes snapped open and I let out a gasp my head throbbing as I began to groan. Eizen's voice met my ears.

"Fucking hell Kessel! Why are your nails so sharp, you scratched the shit outta me!" Eizen hissed as he held a hand to his throat.

Lorithia approached him and examined the cuts. "I told you not to stand over him when waking him up, " she mumbled.

"Lord Kessel are you okay? You look really pale," Seras asked me as she approached my desk paperwork in hand.

I let out a soft groan as I put my head in my hands, but even as I tried to calm down I could still smell Ivo and Charlotte's blood.

I heard Eizen sigh before he grabbed my upper arm and dragged me to my feet. "I'll take care of him, he just needs some air ladies," he reassured them.

I let him drag me down the hallway only stopping when I refused to go any further. Eizen partially forced me to set down on a nearby bench as he sat down next to me.

"The bathroom is right there if you need it. I swear you look like Seras when she got her first paranormal kill," he said as he let out a chuckle.

I was still incredibly disoriented though, I let out a groan and I took a deep breath, "Is Charlotte doing okay? She should still be recovering from..." I trailed off as the memory of her laying on that table, gutted rose up fresh in my mind.

I tried to swallow as saliva began to rapidly fill my mouth. If Eizen was still talking I couldn't tell anymore as his voice faded into the buzzing background.

He didn't look the least surprised as I ran into the bathroom. As I knelt retching over the toilet he grabbed my hair and began to play with it. "Wow, I knew your hair was long but it's really long almost like Lorithia's. Soft too," he said more to himself than me.

"Charlotte, I-Lottie-" I choked off as more bile came up. Behind me, I heard Eizen sigh.

"She's not here, she never was. That vision, whatever it was really fucked you up," he told me.

When nothing else could come up I let out a deep rasping breath, then I shook my head. "It was a fucking nightmare," I whispered as I stumbled to my feet.

I slowly walked over to the sink and began washing my mouth out.

Charlotte's not here. Ivo has her and she's safe. She'll be okay.

"The way you act when you mention her...is she like your sister or long lost daughter or something?" Eizen asked.

I scowled as I looked at him in the mirror. "Eizen, what in the blue hell possessed you to ask such a stupid question?" I sighed.

However, a smile spread across his face. "If you can lecture me then you're definitely starting to feel better. You were signing paperwork and kinda just passed out. Since you rarely get any sleep we all figured we'd just let you rest for a bit," he explained.

"I think I would've been better off without the nap," I mumbled as I headed toward the back towards the library.

Seras walked over to me holding a small white envelope in her hand. "Lord Kessel, this came for you. It's an invitation for a gathering of supernatural and human leaders," she informed me.

Before I could take it though Eizen snatched it and held it up to his nose. As he sniffed the letter his eyes narrowed then he began to open it.

"Eizen, what are you doing? That's Kessel's!" Seras snapped.

Eizen gave her a quick glare. "Shut up dumbass, I'm doing my job, or would you rather this thing possibly blow up in Kessel's face."

Seras frowned but didn't say anything as Eizen carefully opened the letter. However a second later he let out a hiss and threw the letter on the floor. My eyes went to his hands as a familiar sizzling sound enter my ears.

Lorithia rushed past Seras reaching for Eizen's hand but he snatched it back holding it toward his chest. "Don't touch it you have shifter in you too idiot!" he growled at her.

I reached over and grabbed the cup of water on my desk. I walked over to Eizen and grabbed his injured hand, already the flesh on his palm was covered in a red bubbling rash, as the skin began to instantly eat away.

When I poured the water over his hand he let out a sigh of relief. Almost immediately his hand began to heal as the toxin washed off. "Silver dust is a bitch," he grumbled.

I picked up the letter and opened it a scowl. "Prophet Kessel of the Aveon Union we invite you to join us for a night of fun, oddities, and excitement," I muttered.

"If you go you need no less than ten guards. Ten non-human guards," Eizen told me.

I could practically see the gears in his head turning as he worked out the numbers in his head.

I made him my Second in command for a reason. He may act like a crazed idiot but he's so much smarter than he looks. Observant too.

"Maybe I should..." I whispered to myself.

Eizen looked at me a scowl on his face. "What do you think you'll need more?" He asked his voice taking on a familiar yet strangely serious tone.

"No, I just figured I'd take you, Lorithia and Seras," I said calmly as I stared at the invitation.

Eizen's eyes went wide and his curved ears twitched slightly. Then he let out a small growl. "You can't be fucking serious!" He snapped.

I glanced at him. "You said I needed non-human guards. You and Lorithia aren't human and Seras while human, is very proficient in magic," I told him calmly.

Eizen continued to growl as Lorithia let out a chuckle and Seras walked over to Eizen.

"It's alright Eizen, that just means Kessel trust us more than other people," she told him carefully.

That just made him growl louder. "I make all of these statistics, these ideas, these guard formations and get everything down to a t! And what do you do? You fucking take a red marker and draw a giant ass red X on it! God fucking damn it Kessel you make my job a fucking nightmare!" He yelled.

I calmly looked at him then, I reached over and patted his head between right between his horns. "Are you good now?" I asked gently.

Eizen let out a long sigh and nodded. "Yes, I'm good. Can I have a kiss too?" He asked suddenly smiling.

"Absolutely not," I answered immediately as I sat back down at the desk. "Now if you excuse me I have a literal mountain of paperwork to do. While I'm doing this you all should probably get your outfits ready for tonight, we'll leave in two hours."

~~~

"Lord Kessel, is it a good idea to let Eizen drive?" Seras asked me softly.

I looked over at her, while she sat next to me in the back seat Lorithia was in the passenger seat, and Eizen was driving the car.

"When Eizen's actually doing his job, he's competent," I reassured her.

This is an Aveon licensed car anyway so he won't risk wrecking it especially not while I'm in here.

"I know how you feel Seras, realizing Eizen wasn't an idiot was the biggest shock of my life," Lorithia told her.

Eizen gave a short chuckle as he tapped one claw on the steering wheel. "Yep, and it only took four months of constantly harassing our neighbors with animal warfare. When I pretended to be their rooster I had to learn how to inseminate a chicken with a turkey baster overnight."

I gave a small snort. "You're really lucky that your mother never saw your internet history while we were at the academy," I said.

"I can already hear her hissing with the fur on her ears standing up. Holy shit, she'd be like, Eizen why did you order five vials of rooster semen?" Eizen said a grin on his face.

"Eizen, you ordered five fucking vials of the stuff?" Seras asked sounding surprisingly shocked.

"Listen birds are weird, you try inseminating a chicken while you're a rooster and they're trying to fuck you. Now just multiply that until you have a herd of them. I had to do that shit for four months," he sighed.

Eizen stopped the car and pointed to a large lit up building. "Um...Kessel, why is this party held at a fairy palace?" Eizen asked as he stared at the building.

I didn't answer him as I got out of the car. The palace in front of us was literally something out of a fairytale, it's golden color reflecting the shining lights. The white marble stood out starkly against the night sky.

"It's the Seelie court, so we can expect a warmer welcome than we would get from the Unseelie court. I'm assuming that this party is going to be part political, part I'm high I should try hiding in a dead bush," Eizen sighed.

As the others left the car I looked over at Eizen. "You say that like you have experience," I pointed out.

"It's because he does. In fact, last month while he was off duty he decided it was a good idea to get high off vampire blood. Five hours later I had to save his ass from being run over, because he thought it was a good idea to get naked and lay down on the train tracks while chanting 'I am a speed bump.' Needless to say, it was hectic." Lorithia told me.

Eizen rolled his eyes and let out a huff of air. "You are ruining my job and giving away my secrets you stupid bitch! Love you sis," he snapped as he walked next to me with a slight grin on his face.

"I'm assuming the fairies believe I'm an elf," I said as we reached the door.

"You mean you're not Lord Kessel?" Seras asked sounding confused.

"He's a weird subspecies of nature nymph. It's called...a Godhand contract demon," Eizen sighed in a bored tone.

"So he's not what Caius is?" Seras whispered.

Eizen shook his head as he opened the door. "No, Caius is a contract demon commonly called Duplicants. Kessel's dad is one," he explained.

I smiled slightly as I glanced at him. "Someone's done their research," I complimented.

Eizen just shrugged as we entered the lobby. As we headed toward the security checkpoint I noticed Eizen glancing around the room and mumbling numbers under his breath.

"Fifteen. There are fifteen guards, twenty windows, and five different doorways," he told me in a barely audible voice.

As the others passed through the checkpoint one of the guards stopped Seras. "Sorry ma'am no weapons allowed beyond this point," he informed her.

Eizen's eyes narrowed before he spoke. "It's okay Seras," he told her as he crossed his arms.

Seras handed her weapon over and after a brief pat down she was allowed through. Eizen led us to a nearby empty hallway without saying anything.

Seras sat down on a marble bench and let out a sigh. "If I had known weapons weren't allowed, I wouldn't have brought it," she said softly.

"Oh they're allowed, they let Lorithia keep her spell book. They don't want any humans entering to have weapons," Eizen said as he approached Seras. "Stand up," he ordered.

A confused expression spread over her face as she got to her feet, the moment she did Eizen reached out touching the area under her left breast. Almost instantly Seras let out a slight scream as Eizen drew his hand back and held it up.

Between his finger was what looked like a miniature butterfly its head, however, was a small blue light.

"That's..." I began.

Eizen turned to me and nodded before he crushed the item in his hand. "They knew we would come and they know what we look like. That listening device was made to blend in with an Aveon uniform. This is why I suggested non-human guards and a lot more of them," he explained.

"They hate humans and they hate us for helping them," Lorithia said.

"That's right this is a party held by fairies they would rather help their enemy court than a human. So needless to say we can expect a very frigid welcome." Eizen informed us.

He turned to me. "Looks like I'll be spending time with you the rest of the night."

Seras flinched, "I'm sorry Lord Kessel, I wouldn't have come if I'd known."

"Kessel you hate humans too so this should be a perfect match." I bit my lip as Ivo's voice echoed through my head.

I absolutely hate to say this but he's right. Plus it'll give me a chance to see just how far the Seelie court will go to avoid extinction.

I smirked. "It's alright Seras, besides it gives me a chance to show them what the Aveon organization can do."

Eizen let out a small chuckle. "That's the look I love seeing in my dreams at night you know."

We left the hallway heading for the ballroom, loud music entered my ears the doors barely doing anything to stop it. The moment I opened the door many eyes looked at me.

I frowned as I walked down the steps, entering the crowd. Lorithia and Seras took off, leaving Eizen and me together.

"We should find our gracious host," I said as Eizen grabbed my hand a smile on his face.

As we walked through the crowd I took catalogue of the leaders.

The elder vampire, the elder werewolf, Queen of the witches, Lord of the Shifters, hmmm there's even more here than I thought there'd be. Well except for the King and Prince of Contract demons. But then again if I tried to take on both Vincent and Ivo at once I should expect a very painful death.

I stopped as I noticed the Seelie Queen approaching me, as the crowd parted for her.

I watched carefully she was admittedly beautiful, her eyes glimmering like rubies, her bright red hair and paper-thin pink wings displayed proudly. Her skin was sky blue as was her dress.

Light...blue...skin. Blue scales...

I squeezed my eyes shut briefly.

Not now, anywhere but here. Your dead Queen Elise so stop torturing me.

"Ah, Prophet Kessel, I'm happy that you could grace us with your presence," the Seelie Queen told me a grin covering her face.

I bowed slightly a forced smile on my face. "I'm glad I could make it. May I introduce my boyfriend Eizen we've been together for quite awhile now," I said calmly.

Even though Eizen was more than likely filled with happiness, he somehow managed to contain himself at the mention of him being my boyfriend.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty. Your Summer Court is incredibly beautiful," Eizen told her his tone measured yet polite.

The Seelie Queen narrowed her eyes briefly before turning to speak to me, "I had no idea that you favored shifters." she said.

I noticed some of the leaders glance over at me.

She's already testing me.

"It is not that I favor them. It is that they are useful, especially Eizen his ability as a shifter tends to exceed others which makes him useful in the field," I replied calmly.

The Seelie Queen laughed softly. "Ah, you are correct. Shifters can be incredibly useful in the field. Would you like to join me for a drink before this event gets too hectic?"

Eizen let go of my hand as I hooked my arm through the Queen's, however even as we headed to the table Eizen didn't let me out of his sight.

The Seelie Queen picked up a glass of what appeared to be a strange glowing green wine. I choose some of the bright red liquid.

I carefully took a small sip as she watched me. "For one of us, you seem to adore humans," The Seelie Queen said softly.

I glanced around noticing that Eizen was the only one paying attention.

Best to play dumb for a moment or two.

"I don't understand what you're implying," I told her feigning ignorance.

A smirk crossed her face for a moment before she came slightly closer. "You feign ignorance in my court yet have a human guarding you. The guard informed me that she also brought a weapon made of silver and iron," she said her voice taking on a menacing tone.

I smirked behind my glass as I finished off the wine. "You're trying your best to anger me apparently. You invite me to your court, injure my friend with silver dust, bug one of my guards and finally try to poison me with iron," I said calmly as I reached for a fresh glass.

With each accusation, I made the Queen's eyes widened. "Also, Aurelia I am not one of you," I whispered in her ear.

As I finished off my second glass of wine I closed my hands around the glass and focused. A burst of energy filled my body and ran down my arms as the glass changed forms.

When I opened my hands a hummingbird sat there curiously looking around. As I released it people began clapping.

"You...know my true name..." The Seelie Queen whispered.

"Yes I do, now if you excuse me I'm going to enjoy myself at the other festivities," I told her nonchalantly.

As Eizen and I walked away I couldn't help but smile.

~~~

Later into the party, I walked out onto the balcony where Eizen was.

He looked back as I walked over.

"So this is where you went," I said as I looked at him. His face was flushed from the alcohol and his previously slicked back hair was out going back to its usually messy style.

"It started winding down so my job became slightly less awful. I was honestly waiting for one of the other rulers to make a move but so far I haven't seen anything. Well, except for the Lord of the shifters telling me that I'm a disgusting hideous traitor to my species," Eizen informed me.

I patted his head and when he turned towards me I kissed him, my tongue entering his mouth as I pulled him closer to me by the waist. His expression when I drew back was a strange mixture of happiness, surprise, and confusion as he let out a soft moan.

"But-I....you-I'm not Caius," he stuttered out.

I let out a chuckle. "You earned it. You've been working nonstop all night. And even when your drunk and completely exhausted your observational ability is through the roof. Not to mention it was you who dug around to find the Seelie Queen's true name which would've been impossible for anyone else."

I held up one hand showing him a room key one of the servants gave me. "Wanna go back to my room?" I asked softly.

His eyes shone with excitement as he rushed forward and wrapped me in a hug. "Yes, please! Wait...you mean we're gonna fuck right? Last time you pulled this key thing at the academy you told me it was for the pancakes."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, we are going to have sex. I checked the room beforehand and there was lubricant in the nightstand."

Eizen let out a small squeal of happiness before he frowned suddenly. "But...what about Caius won't he be mad?"

"No, it'll be okay. Caius is very level headed," I told him.

Besides this will be the last mission Caius will ever go on.

"Just like I said, Kessel. You failed me, you failed Charlotte and you'll fail everyone"

For the first time in a long time, I couldn't help but smile as Ivo's voice echoed in my head.