Where to Go Now: A Kuroshitsuji Fanfiction
Chapter 1: A Past Unable to be Left Behind
The night my estate was raided, I lost everything.
Flashback
"Estella, you must wake up," my brother said. I groggily rubbed my eyes and sat up. "What time is it?" I asked, still half asleep. "That doesn't matter now. We need to go," August said. "Why? What's wrong?" I asked, picking up on the urgent tone in his voice. "Now Estella," I realized at that moment, something bad was going to happen within the next few minutes. August and I both get a hunch before anything bad happens. We crept out of my room towards the wine cellar. That was the one place we knew no one would look. Not long after, we heard the sound of glass being broken. August put a finger to his lips, signaling that I needed to stay quiet. "Remember, jus' the Earl an' his wife," a man said. "We want the brats t' pay the ransom." I heard the footsteps receding and I could hear the stairs creaking. Not long after, I heard doors being thrown open, gunshots, and the unmistakable scream of my mother. I let out a strangled scream and August clamped his hand over my mouth.
They can't be dead, they would have to be alive for a ransom to be offered. The next thing I heard was something, most likely my mother and father, being dragged down the stairs. "We got yer folks. Pay the money er they're dead. Have it by the end o' the week," a different voice said. The front door was shut forcefully. "I'm going to see if anyone is still here and to assess the damage," August said. He eased open the door and crept out. I sat with my knees pulled to my chest. It was dark, and the cooler temperatures of the cellar were seeping through my thin nightgown into my bones. After what seemed like forever, August opened the door. "You can come out now," he said. I took his offered hand and exited the cellar.
As I looked around, I saw that the side window had been broken and had a hole in it large enough for an average-sized man to fit through. Besides the bloodstains on the stairs, nothing else looked disturbed on the first floor. We walked up the staircase, carefully avoiding the crimson marks on the gold-trimmed blue rug. We approached our parent's bedroom. The room was destroyed. Their things were scattered around and there were more blood stains on the teal walls. Then, I saw the bodies. Not mother and father, but our five servants. I walked over to the servant that attended to me. Her name was Gabriella, and she was less like a servant and more like a friend. The servants seemed to have been shot in various places, ranging from the head to below the knee. On the bed, I saw the note. "Three-hundred thousand pounds" I read. Twenty years' worth of money? "We have six days," August said.
We helped out, disguised as peasants, whenever we could. But, by the end of the week, we had only earned a mere twenty pounds. "Damn it," August said, slamming his fist down on the mahogany table. "Still not enough!" I realized, cold horror, that we failed them. With that thought, I began to cry. My brother must have heard me, because he said, "There's still a way. I can go after the kidnappers." I nodded. He went to his room and came back with the gun he kept under his bed in case of emergencies. He gave me a smile. "I'll be back with Mom and Dad before you know it." He walked out the door.
I waited a week. No messages from August. My manor, once filled with happy memories, seemed dark, evil. I made up my mind. I was going to run away. I dug through clothes until I found a pair of old, patched-up trousers, a stained white button-down shirt, a brown jacket, a flat cap, and a pair of boots that didn't seem like something a noble would wear. The shirt was loose-fitting, so I didn't have to worry about disguising my almost non-existent curves. Now for my hair. It would be a dead giveaway that I was a Goldstein, because no one else has hair this color. I dug through my mother's things and found the brown hair dye she used for her graying roots. It said it was long-lasting. Good. I took the hair dye to my bathroom and leaned over the tub. I rubbed the dye into my hair and waited with it on for thirty minutes like the package said. After thoroughly rinsing, I rapped my hair in a towel. When it was dry, I brushed it and looked in the mirror. I didn't want to do this, but I had to. Snip. Strands of hair fell into the sink. After giving myself a boyish cut, I got dressed, packed some supplies, and left.
It was colder than I thought. An elderly woman was selling scarfs. "Scarfs here! Hand-knitted and keep out the chill!" I walked over and gave her the ten shillings she wanted. I gratefully accepted the red knitted scarf and put it on. I found a dead-end alley and crouched in the corner. Eventually, I fell asleep.
The next day, a boy trying to sell newspapers was shouting, "Earl Goldstein and his wife found dead in mysterious building. August and Estella Goldstein missing. Presumed dead." I walked on. I didn't want to hear about that. After all, I left that life behind. Right?
Author's Note:
This is my first Black Butler or Kuroshitsuji (whichever one you want to call it) fanfic. What do you think of Estella? Is there anything I could have done differently that would improve the story? Leave your answer in a review.
Estella: Goodbye!
Well, see you next chapter!