You woke up, feeling groggy and dazed, to a rap on the door.. You grumbled into your pillow and turned your head to face the wall.

"I'm coming in." You heard before the door was opened and footsteps made their way to your bed. "I see you only managed to remove your gloves, apron and shoes on your own." There was a smirk in that voice and you turned to face the man, eyes still half closed. "If you were in need of assistance you need only ask," he said as he placed the candle he was holding on the table beside your bed. He picked up the apron and gloves you had thrown off somewhere last night.

"Mey-rin was asleep before I could get her help," you rebutted, pushing yourself up with your arms until you were sitting upright. You rubbed your eyes and ran your hand down your face and through your hair.

"You could have asked for my help." He hummed a little as he picked up and moved your shoes to the foot of your bed. "You need not worry about me seeing your indecent body, even blindfolded I am quite good with my hands." His eyes slid over you and you felt the urge to cover yourself with your arms. Something about that gaze made you think he could see through your clothes. Feeling a shudder run up your spine you were reminded of what happened last night and your cheeks flooded with warmth.

"Last night..." you trailed off, wondering if it was even worth mentioning, "when you saw me in your room." you said, looking at his face but avoiding his eyes.

The look he gave you suggested he was pretending not to know what you were talking about. "I believe you were dreaming, I did not find you in my room last night, [Y/N]," he informs, attempting to sound convincing. You knew he was able to convince the people of this world into believing him, but you had seen enough of his tricks to know better.

"I don't believe you," you declared, standing up and smoothing out your dress. "Whatever, you're not going to admit it, just help me put my shoes on." You placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted one foot, balancing on the other. The look he gave you made your knees weak.

"I suggest we change your clothes first." He moved your hand from his shoulder and pulled a strip of black cloth from his back pocket. You put your foot back down and watched him wrap the cloth over his eyes and tie it behind his head.

"You really can't see me?" you said, waving your hand in front of his face and looking for a reaction.

With a sinister lilt to his voice, "If that makes you feel better, no I cannot," he said. He made his way over to the wardrobe, bringing down the black dress and placing it on the bed before holding his arms open a fraction, beckoning you towards him with a finger. You didn't do as he wanted, not trusting him in the slightest.

"I'll just ask Mey-rin to help me," you decided, staying in place and running your hands up and down your arms trying to ease your nerves.

"She is attending to her own duties. Hurry, we do not have all morning." It took you a moment before you reluctantly accepted, figuring it was not as if a demon really cares how you look. "We do not have enough time to change your undergarments unfortunately." You noticed a playful smirk on his lips and had to stop yourself from falling into his arms.

With you at arm's length, his hands fell onto your waist and you jumped a little at the pressure. He moved closer, one of his hands snaking further around you and moving up your back. "You're facing me, I will need you to turn around." He says, though you suspect he knew that already, you didn't press him on it, instead you quickly turned around and he got to work undoing your dress.

It felt like he was purposely letting his fingers linger on you and you almost wanted to lean into the touch. You moved your arms and legs when he instructed and before you knew it, you were already in the black dress and Sebastian was securing the apron around you.

"Perfect," he remarks, untying and removing the blindfold, bringing his eyes to rest on you once again. "Please sit on the bed so I can help you with your shoes." He took your hand and walked you to the edge of the bed. When he bent down on one knee you couldn't bring yourself to look away from his eyes. His lashes were long and dark, casting shadows on his pale cheeks under the faint glow of the candle light. His nose was strong and straight, his brows dark and prominent yet soft. You also didn't expect those strands of hair that he had laying down his face to look kind of silly. As if in a trance your hand moved on its own to brush the hair behind his ear.

He looked up at you, the red of his irises flecked with blacks and pinks. His lips, smooth and cat like, curled upwards at the ends into a deceptively genuine smile, soft as the rest of his features become. "Your shoes are tied, [Y/N]." His words brought you out of your trance and you looked down at your feet. You hadn't even felt him put them on.

"Oh," you respond, "thanks." You were certain you could feel your neck burning up and you placed one of your hands on it to cool down.

He extended a hand for you to take, having already stood up with the candle holder in his other hand. You took it and let him help you up, your legs feeling like jelly. There was something weird about the way you were feeling, it wasn't the normal reaction your body had when you were swooning. It genuinely felt like something had taken control of you.

The demon pulled you to his chest and leaned down to press his lips to your ear, "Do not fret, it will wear off soon enough," he whispered, trailing his lips along your cheek. You closed your eyes, willing to accept whatever the demon would put you through in that moment.

You snapped out of it when you heard the door open and the butler call out to you, "We do not have time for you to stand there, you must get a start on your chores before the young master wakes up." The candle cast ominous shadows on his face and you looked at him like he was insane.

"Wha-" you were cut off when your throat clenched slightly, "Wait, what was that?" Your hand came up to rub at your chest.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Come now, you have no time for this." He stood to the side waiting for you to walk past. You wasted no time following his orders but as you left you tried to keep as far from him as possible.

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ ⟨ ⏣ ⟩ ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

It was sunrise by the time you began your duties, the rays streamed through the manor windows giving it a completely different vibe from the previous night. You had set about completing the chores Sebastian showed you yesterday, doing some dusting, mopping and general house upkeep. It had been a few hours since you started working when you got lost in your own thoughts washing the dishes.

You thought about what happened in the morning and then about what happened the night before. Something wasn't right, you knew Sebastian was a demon but you hadn't expected those demonic tricks to work on you. Though you suppose there wasn't a good reason to think that they wouldn't.

You sighed as you placed the plate you were drying to the side and braced yourself on the sink. What could he want from you? This wasn't like the fanfictions you'd read, he wasn't just supposed to fall in love with you. He was a creature from hell. You knew this... But you could dream, couldn't you?

As you daydreamed, you became vaguely aware that someone had joined you in the kitchen. "Oh, 'ey, uh,'' there was a pause and then a snap of fingers, "[Y/N], right?" they said. The accent was unmistakably American and you looked over at Baldroy, whose hair was tousled and clothes disheveled.

You smiled at him and stood more upright, "Hey, yeah that's my name, don't wear it out." You giggled somewhat nervously, trying to tamp down the thoughts you were just having. He laughed along with you but was interrupted by a yawn. "Just wake up?" you asked, sure you were probably right.

"Yeah, was takin' a nap an' Sebastian came in an' nearly skinned m' hide when he caught me snorin' n' all," was his response. "Y'look good all tidied up like that," he said, but it wasn't in a way that implied it was anything more than a compliment.

"Thanks." you looked down at the rolled up cuffs of your sleeve, there were like that to prevent them from getting soaked. "You look tired. Big night ahead of us, with that guest tonight and all," you said flippantly, getting back to work on the dishes.

He groaned, moving further into the kitchen and pulling things from drawers. You kept a watchful eye on him, ready to bolt if he pulled out anything particularly explosive. "Yeah, Sebastian tol' me if I touched tha food it won't be th'only thing burnt to a crisp."

That sounded about right. "Are you going to listen to him?" you questioned, scrubbing faster at the dishes to try and get them done quickly.

He clicked his tongue, "I'm th' chef 'round 'ere, I should be able ta' cook for a guest."

That was your cue to make a safe escape, you continued with casual conversation until you're done with what you need to do and then you got out of there.

You got a little lost on your way to the bathroom, noticing you hadn't gone yet and regretting it. Along the way you found Mey-rin dusting some vases in the hallway. "Hey Mey-rin, perfect timing," you call out to her. She jumped and, as you should have predicted, the vase was shattered on the floor before either of you realized what happened.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees to begin picking up the pieces. You rushed over to help, apologizing profusely and offering to do it for her. She told you there's a dustpan and broom in the storage closet down the hallway and you grab it, coming back to clean up the mess.

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask you where the toilet was," you admit, feeling guilty at the events that had unfolded.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "there's one in the servants wing." As soon as you were told where it was you set off, almost running in desperation.

When you got to the toilet it's... very awkward to try and navigate the situation. With all the poofy crap you were wearing it took you way longer to go than it should have. When you step out, having washed your hands, you bumped into Finnian, who was carrying a bottle of yellow liquid.

"Hey!" he yelped in surprise. He got a good look at you and his eyes widened, as did his grin. "Oh hey! You're tha' new advisor right?" he asked and you nodded, a polite smile on your lips.

"My name is [Y/N], it's nice to meet you." You dipped your head a little in a bow, assuming that was the greeting you were supposed to give.

He shook his head and put the bottle he was holding on the floor before pulling you into a bone crushing hug. "Nice to meet ya', I'm Finny." You would have told him you knew that but you couldn't get the words out with him crushing your body.

He let go and you sucked in a breath, rubbing at your sides to try and ease the pain, "Yeah," you cough, "what's the bottle for?"

He picked it up and then told you it was an extra strength weed killer that he'd developed. Sebastian had told him to tend to the weeds that morning and he was going to do it quickly by using an extremely concentrated mixture. Oh boy. You told him that was interesting and then make an escape after some pleasant small talk, telling him you had stuff you needed to do.

Your aim was to find Sebastian, having not seen him all day and wondering if he would let you take that nap he promised you. When you couldn't find him you instead opted for calling out, assuming he would hear you if he wasn't busy. "Sebastian," you whispered at first, and when he didn't show up you called out a little louder.

"You called?" you heard from behind you and you whipped around, finding the demon standing close. "Is there something you need?" he asked.

You nodded and suddenly felt your body grow warm. "I was wondering if I could take that nap." You looked down at your shoes.

He hummed, "I need to ask what you know of today. Is there a lot of work coming my way." You looked up and he was looking at you like he was teasing you. The way he asked that makes it seem like he was talking to a magic 8-ball.

You caught on, "Right, fortune teller." you trailed off, trying to come up with a response that sounded mystical and fortune teller-esque. "I see a lot of chores in your near future." You wiggled your fingers like you had said something spooky and laughed.

He chuckled with you and the sound made your hands sweat a little and your heart race. "I assumed as much. Might I ask what messes in particular I will be cleaning up?"

You told him all of what you knew; that Baldroy would burn the food, Mey-rin was going to ruin the fancy chinaware and Finny would not only kill the weeds but destroy the garden in the process.

He sighed and checked his pocket watch, "I knew I expected too much from them today." His eyes softened when he looked directly into yours, "Thank you, can you tell me how I fix this?" he asked.

"Well, in terms of Finny's disaster, you make it into a Japanese rock garden," you informed him. He bowed, thanking you.

"I see, that is all I need to know. Now, as for what you called me for." He inched closer to you and reached a gloved hand out to your face, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear, "You may take a nap. Thank you for your hard work today, I will wake you in a few hours when the guest arrives," he told you in finality before turning to leave.