Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fictional characters and/or none of the plot from the Kuroshitsuji anime and/or manga and any references are nothing more than that, references.
Claimer: I do own the plot of this story and my Original Characters.
Enjoy!
"It's a beautiful world
if you've been lied to
by parents and priests
the vain and the tired..."
-Anywhere by The Scarring Party-
"Plum! Time to wake up!"
She quickly sat up and threw her legs over the little wooden bed she slept on. She kneeled on the ground and pushed a familiar crate from under the weak structure. With maybe more strength than necessary she opened it and pulled her uniform out, trying as hard as she could not to touch any spider webs as she dressed it. She smiled widely as she walked out the small room to an overly illuminated hallway.
Plum was truly content with her life and 'happy' was normally the word used to describe her. It wasn't common for a maid to attract as much attention as she did; even considering how wide people's eyes would become as they noticed the caramel skinned woman whenever she went to the market for her masters. It was something that came with the job (she would say), she should be unnoticed while taking care of the house and realizing her masters wishes without much interference. But no one could help but notice the smile plastered across her face as she cleaned the rooms and served the food. What else could she ask for? She had food, a warm place to sleep and the knowledge that she wouldn't die the moment she closed her eyes as she knew many poor souls out there did.
Yes, she was happy indeed.
"Coming, ma'am!" Plum shouted as she ran to the kitchen to meet the head of the household, Audrey.
"I've told you more than once not to yell inside!" The older woman smacked her slightly on the shoulder. "Not to mention running."
"Sorry ma'am." She pouted, putting her hands behind her back and crossing fingers in secrecy. "Won't happen again!"
"That's the fifteenth time you tell me that." Audrey turned to the table that was covered with the breakfast they would serve in a few moments. "Now get to work, these can't stay here forever!"
They both set up the big oak table that was the only furniture in the dinner room. Plum couldn't help but sigh to the delicious smell of freshly baked bread and strawberry juice as she and Audrey stood against the wall, faithfully waiting their masters enter the room.
"I said no Victoria!" The door was opened with a bang by the head of the family, Lord Joseph Dowling. "And don't mention it again."
"But darling, he's getting worse…" Lady Victoria Dowling pleaded her husband. "He doesn't even want to come to breakfast anymore!"
"I said to not mention it again." The man sat heavily on his chair. "Good God, I'm trying to have a nice meal with my family, woman!" He slammed his hands down on the table, making Lady Victoria look down and sit on the opposite chair by the door. "And I thought I had hired servants in this house or am I going to have to stand up and serve myself?"
Audrey proceeded to pour tea on Lord Joseph's cup and Plum jumped in surprise before walking over to attend Lady Victoria, who glanced at the dark skinned woman with surprise and scooted her hand away when she was served bread.
"Anything else, my lady?" Plum asked with a smile.
"No." She quickly looked away from the maid. "And take away Peter's plate."
"Isn't master Peter joining us?" Plum asked curiously and received a glare from Audrey.
"He isn't feeling very well this morning, Plum." Lord Joseph answered, seemingly in a better mood after having eaten half of his plate of bagels. "I would like you to take him to the gardens later, if you will."
"Yes, my lord." Plum nodded and removed the silver cutlery of the third seat in the table. The rest of the meal went silently, save from Lord Joseph's description of his daily schedule to his wife. The couple left the room and the table was quickly cleaned up before Plum stormed out of the kitchen to finish her chores of the day. She gleefully cleaned the rooms assigned to her and moved to the furthest room on the west of the mansion. She did have to thank Audrey for giving her fewer tasks today because of her visit to Peter; her superior knew it was Plum's favorite perk of the job.
She approached the door and knocked five times, starting from the bottom up to the end of the wood. It was their secret knock, so whenever he was inside, he knew it was Plum and would let her in. In the last few months Peter had developed a habit to stay in his bedroom and not let anyone else inside, aside from his mother, Lady Victoria, and Plum.
"Come in!" A tiny voice called from the other side of the door.
"Oi, little Peter!" The maid greeted the small eight ear old sitting on the floor.
"Hi, Plum!" He smiled widely and held up a miniature hippo for her to see. "Look at what I've got from daddy today!"
"That's really nice." Plum sat down in front of him and smiled back before taking something from her one of her apron's pockets. "I've got you something too… that is, if you are interested." She smirked and waved a white package in the air.
"What is it?" He stared with his mouth gaping. "I want it!"
"You don't even know what it is!" She giggled. "…and what's the magic word again?"
"Please, Plum!"
"Good…" She handed him the bag. "Hope you like it, sweetie."
"Pear drops!" Peter beamed at the bag of sweets that Plum had bought on the market yesterday. "They're my favorite. Thank you, Plum!"
"You're welcome, sweetie." Plum smiled before frowning as the boy ate one of the drops and tucked the rest of the bag under his bed; Peter usually ate all of the sweets Plum bought him in less than ten minutes and the maid usually warned him about his health in return. "Just one?"
"I'm not really hungry…"He looked down at his toys.
"Peter, you have to eat." Plum sighed. "Why haven't you come to breakfast this morning? And did you have lunch?"
"No...I didn't feel good." Peter answered meekly. She wondered why Audrey didn't tell her that.
"Your mommy was very concerned for you, you know…"
"No, she wasn't!" Peter crossed his arms and pouted slightly. "She only talks about Teddy these days… She doesn't care about me."
"Don't say that!" The woman exclaimed. "She loves you very much, sweetie…"
'Teddy' was Theodore Dowling, the five weeks old youngest son of the Dowling family, whose care had been the main occupation of Lady Victoria since its birth; which left Peter feeling terribly alone aside from Plum's visits. Those visits had escalated from weekly to daily, mostly ordered by Lord Joseph and complained about by his wife; she used to say 'she didn't appreciate the likes of her near her son' until they had an overly heated argument in front of the entire household that ended with a slap across Lady Victoria's face and Lord Joseph's victory. "… Is just that babies need a lot of care, you know?"
"But what about me?" Peter had an air of melancholy when he looked up to her. "Mommy and Daddy don't come here a lot since that man in white came…"
"That was your Doctor, sweetie." Plum gave him a sad smile. "People tend to become sad and worried when Doctors come, but it doesn't mean they forgot about you… They are just very busy now."
"Really?" He asked with genuine curiosity and she nodded. "Then I don't like doctors!" The boy made a face.
"Me neither!" She whispered with a fake suspicious look on. "But don't tell anyone, it's a secret!"
"I won't, Plum! I promise."
"Hm... I suppose I can trust that." The woman laughed and planted a kiss on the boy's forehead.
The two of them played with Peter's Noah's Ark set of miniatures for a bit and after that Plum finally succeeded convincing the boy to come out to the gardens, where they spend the afternoon playing games of hide n' seek. When the sun started to set, Peter started to yaw and rub his eyes too often, even though he claimed that 'he was just a bit sleepy'. He ended up falling asleep on Plum's side when they sat down on the grass to observe the clouds. The woman picked Peter up on her arms and carefully carried him to his room, putting him to bed with the promise of not letting anyone know that she let him go to sleep without a bath. She was thanked with a tiny whisper before the boy was sound asleep, wrapped tightly in his covers.
Plum closed the door behind her and started making her way to the kitchen to meet Audrey and see what else she could do before ending the day. She was climbing the stairs when she heard the yelling coming from Lord Joseph's office.
"And what the bloody hell am I supposed to do with him now?!" She heard his angry voice and was frozen in her spot.
"It doesn't matter, just send him away!" Came Lady Victoria's angry reply. "He can't be seen!"
"The family has already met him, you idiot! He isn't that young, for God's sake!"
"Them pretend death, no one will know!"
"He is as healthy as a horse. Who do you think would believe that?"
"Then… murder."
A slapping sound was heard from inside and the voices became quieter, making Plum regain sudden control on her body by the premise of one of them leaving the room, so she started climbing down the stairs to the opposite direction.
"And all of this happened because of you, you stupid woman!" As if on cue, the door slammed open. "Can't hold you skirt down, can you whore?!"
Lord Joseph stormed out of the room and made for the stairs that Plum hadn't had time to run away from, his angry stare locking with her terrified one. The maid gagged and struggled to force words of her mouth.
"M-My lord-" She was interrupted by the sudden apparition of Lady Victoria by the office door. The woman had her face red and her usually straight hair looked messier than Plum's naturally frizzy waves.
"You bitch!" She pointed a slender finger to her and gave her husband a furious look. "Don't stand there, Joseph, do something!"
Without a second of delay, Plum felt her master's hands push her chest and she wasn't quick enough to grab the handrail before falling down the ten feet high staircase. The last thing she remembered was the distant cry of a child as she hit her head on the floor and the scene slowly went black.
x-x-x-x-x-x
She could hear the rain fall when she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes with a jolt and suddenly felt the cold as she adapted her vision to the dark. She was in an alley and a very dirty one at that. She didn't remember what she was doing sitting there. She didn't remember where she lived either, so the possibility of her being homeless crossed her mind. But then her eyes descended to the small bundle of cloth that she had been holding close to her body before waking up. It was warm and she could feel it breathing.
She pulled the cloth and stared to the sleeping face of a baby. She didn't know his name, but the sudden idea of him being male came to her and she didn't know why, but she accepted it and decided it was a little boy.
"Hello there…" She smiled and ran a hand across a chubby cheek, careful not to wake him. "I'm gonna call you…Peter." She settled for the first male name that came to her. "Little Peter… because you're so tiny!" She giggled.
Little Peter scrunched his nose and started to move his arms and legs when a sudden rain drop hit his head. She needed to find shelter for then… She didn't know much about babies, but it wasn't good for him to be outside in the air and cold. She took the apron she was wearing and wrapped it around Little Peter to warm him better when she noticed something written on one of the sleeves.
"Plum." She read out loud the word neatly knitted in black, contrasting with white fabric. "Hm… It must be my name!" She held one of her fingers up in realization. "I like it!" She beamed to herself. "What do you think, Little Peter?"
The baby still held the same frown from before and his small hands gripped tightly the board of the apron around him. "Oh yes, I'm sorry Little Peter." She held him closer to her chest, trying to cover him how she could from the rain. "Let's find a place to stay now…"
Plum walked out of the dark alley and into a nearly empty street of what she could only assume was England. She had heard a few people speaking in a British accent and noticed the way she herself pronounced her words so she assumed she was either British or had spent her life in this country. Unfortunately, finding a shelter wasn't as easy as deducting facts about herself. It seemed that at this late hour the few people that were outside weren't too eager to speak with a soaked woman carrying a baby, namely inpatient prostitutes that claimed she was bad for business and drunken men that couldn't form a word correctly. The pubs were the only places that were still open and whenever Plum entered one, she was pushed through the door right away by the owners because of her baby.
This turn of events left the woman walking aimlessly around hoping to find at least a roof she could keep her and Little Peter under before both of them would catch a cold. She was about to try another pub when she started seing the same two men too often and started believing she was being followed.
"Oi pretty, c'mere!" Her suspicions were confirmed when one of them shouted.
Plum proceeded to make a sharp turn when she heard their footsteps become fast and started running herself through the streets. It didn't seem like she was making much progress when they continued to call her but as soon as she took another turn and pressed herself against a random door, hoping to blend with the wood on the darkness, the door opened with her weight and she fell. Plum held Little Peter safe in her arms as her back met the floor and quickly kicked the door closed. She held her breath when she saw two shadows pass on the windows and silently thanked Little Peter for miraculously not waking up in the whole process.
The woman locked the door closed with the key that was luckily already in the keyhole and her eyes widened when she turned around to find herself surrounded by coffins.
"Oh my!" Plum explained. "Seems like we found ourselves a very odd place to stay, Little Peter…" She commented, despite the fact that the baby was still asleep.
The room was dark despite the candles illuminating it and, aside from the several coffins of various sizes and colors scattered around the room, contained very little furniture; no more than a few shelves and barrels, a sink and a big writing table next to the wall opposite to the door. The place was also very dusty, Plum noticed as she covered Little Peter's nose with her apron.
"..To whom do I own the pleasure at such a late hour?" Plum jumped at the screechy voice coming from the dark spot behind the desk that she couldn't quite see.
"Who's there?" She asked, having thinking the place was empty before.
"Ah, ah, ah…" A pale hand started lightening the candles on the writing table, revealing Plum the ghastly looks of her host. The man had long snow white hair and only slightly darker skin. He wore all black and had long matching nails. He had scars that laid across several places of his skin and he wore a long top hat that, along with his bangs, covered his eyes but that didn't make him look less alive; the enormous smile in his lips didn't allow it. "I asked first."
"I'm sorry to intrude your…" Plum flicked a glance at the grimy room." …home, sir, but we have been looking for a shelter… would you please allow us to stay the night?"
"Us?" The man arched an eyebrow.
"Yes…" She lowered the cloth covering the sleeping form on her arms for a moment before pulling it up again. "...Little Peter and me."
"Hmm…" He nodded in response and pointed to the baby. "..Is that your son?"
"…" Plum' mouth hang open for moment. She didn't know the answer to that question and the only person she knew until now was an infant that was hardly a year old. "…Yes." That is why the only thought on her mind when she replied was that they were both alone… They didn't have any past or conections... or more accurately, they didn't have any way to know if they did. Since they didn't have much, they might as well have each other. Even though Plum liked seing them much more like partners, it just happened that he couldn't take care of himself, much more of her, so she would have to do it. And that sounded like being a mother to her.
"I see…" The man held an intricate expression and not once the smile faded from his face. "I will help you…" He started, making Plum lit up a bit. "…But I demand payment."
"I'm sorry, sir… we don't have any money…" Her smile faded, but she still had hopes in this man; she had to. "…Maybe I could find myself work?"
"I don't want your money, dear…" His face went dark and he somehow managed to beam wider. Plum tensed up and a shiver ran up her spine when for a moment she was able to see a glimmer of his eyes from under his hair. "…I want you to make me laugh."
"What?" She tilted her head to the side and crooked an eyebrow at that, legit confusion in her eyes. "Make you laugh?"
"Yes."
"B-But… Make you laugh?"
"Yes, yes!" He waved his hand like one would do to a child who couldn't understand math. "Go on, I'm positive you can do that."
"I'm… not certain, sir." Plum didn't know what else to say at the man she was now sure was insane.
"Why don't you start with your name? Which you kindly refused telling me earlier, I must add."
"I'm sorry, sir…" She sighed and accepted the fact that she wouldn't be able to avoid that. I was better than money, she supposed. "Well, my name is Plum-"
Plum covered Little Peter's ears when the man started laughing and was astonished by the fact that he still didn't wake up, because the coffins all started to shake and she thought she heard something that sounded like a plank falling from the roof outside.
"Stop that, you'll wake Little Peter!" She hissed as he banged his fist on the table, his non-stop cackle making a dog start barking somewhere on the streets. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, dear…" Giggling, he lifted his head up with seemingly tears streaming from his eyes. "You can stay as much as you want… Plum." He put a hand over his mouth as he laughed harder.
"Really? Thank you, sir!" The woman beamed and looked down to the warm body in her arms. "See, Little Peter? We're gonna be alright, thanks to Mister…" She looked up to ask his name when she found the man standing before her, alternating between giggles and snorts.
"Call me Undertaker."
R & R in the name of love!
Sweetooze :D
