PART 1
"Akane…" One of the triplets hums quietly, laying his head in my lap as I brush his violet hair.
"Yes, Thompson?" I take my finger and take the bottom of his chin, moving his head a bit to the left.
"Will you be back soon?" He asks, playing with a blade of grass in his hand.
The wind gently nips at my skin, and I shudder a bit as I feel it bleed through my sheer sleeves.
"I might," I respond, playing with a small bit in his fringe. "I might not. It depends."
I hear the trekking of shoes on the stone path heading towards us, and Thompson stands from his sitting position on the ground.
"Akane," Another one of the triplets,Timber, walks towards me from behind, presenting me with three black ribbons. "Can you tie our ribbons?"
"Of course, I always do." I take the ribbons from his hand, then look around me from the chair I sit in. "Where is Canterbury?"
"He is coming, he just got a little hung up with Lady Hannah." Timber answers.
Thompson helps me out of my chair, and I tie the ribbon around his neck.
"Is her eye alright? I heard what Trancy did to her, I pity that woman for putting up with that child." The ribbon is tied with a final tug, and I move onto Timber.
"Lady Hannah claims to be quite alright." Another voice joins us, and Canterbury shows up next to Timber. "She definitely won't be able to see out of that eye though."
"That's too bad." I shake my head, tugging on Timber's ribbon. "Hannah has such beautiful eyes, though I've never seen them up close."
"That's because you never come inside the Trancy Manor." I step in front of Canterbury, and place the ribbon around his neck.
"And we all know why." I say, giving Canterbury a look as I begin tying the ribbon, feeling all three of their eyes watching me.
"There we go." I tug on the ribbon, then pat his chest. "You all look wonderfully handsome now."
"Hopefully we stay that way."
"Most unlikely."
"Now, now," I calm them, and I place a kiss on each of their foreheads. "Just do your jobs, and be as quiet as possible. The less you say, the less Trancy can get angry about. I'll be back tomorrow morning, and watch Hannah for me."
"Will do, Akane." They all say in unison, then start walking together around the building towards the front.
I gather my black dress in my hands, and spin on my heel to walk towards the forest in which I arrived here from.
I feel twigs and dead leaves catch at the ends of my dress, and I reach to try and pull them upwards.
Nearing the end of the forest, I find myself in the middle of town, quiet and empty due to it being so early in the morning.
I drop the fabric in my hands, and head towards the other side of town. The sound of my heels echo across the empty streets and brick walls, the only sound heard by my ears.
I reach a small red brick building, and open the green door that leads inside.
The door closes behind me, and I let out a sigh, walking further into the empty room. Small boxes accompany every corner, and all there is left is a coat hanger near the door, an empty counter, and a half filled bookcase.
I slip my trenchcoat off my shoulders, and hang it onto the wooden statue, along with my bonnet which is placed on top.
I walk towards the back of the small room and open a box, pulling out a book and a white feather pen.
"Akane?!" A familiar voice calls out, and I quickly put the book and pen back into the box. "Akane where the hell are you?!"
"Right here, Mr. Trancy." Sighing, I get up onto my feet and walk out towards the door, where Alois Trancy stands in all his glory.
"Good, you're here." The blonde boy prances in, his butler following him curtly. "I need more information. About a certain someone."
"Is it the same person that you wrote to me about, Your Highness?" I fetch a paper I left on the counter, and a book from the bookshelf behind it.
"Yes, it is." Mr. Trancy hops onto the counter, crossing his legs and watching as I flip the book open. "Selene Davis."
"Davis…" I murmur to myself, paging through until I reach her matching last name. "I'm sorry Your Highness, I don't have anyone under the name Selene Davis."
"See, I told you Claude!" Mr. Trancy hops off the counter, pointing a finger to his butler's face. "Of course she wouldn't write her real name! There's no such person as Selene Davis!"
"I must have made a mistake. I apologize, Your Highness." Claude bows, putting his hand over his chest.
"Of course you do. Come along Claude, let's see if that bloody Undertaker man has any information. I'll see you later, Akane!"
"It was a pleasure to serve you, Your Highness." I force a smile, and bow towards him.
As soon as I hear the bell jingle as the door is slammed shut, I slump against the counter. I've always hated when Mr. Trancy showed up unannounced.
The cover of the large book closes with a large thud, and I place it back onto the shelf underneath the counter.
Being one of the few places run by a woman, I usually don't get many visitors. Everyone prefers to go to The Undertaker on the other side of town when gathering information, but sometimes I get a few people to come to my small shop everyday.
This place used to be a small bookstore, but I cleaned moved in and made this my home. I tend to gather information about every person I meet, and write them down in this large book.
Then, when I met Mr. Trancy by accident when I was heading over to meet the triplets, he seemed to take interest in me and has been coming here ever since, whether it's to research something or to annoy me to death.
The sound of clicks of horse hooves come from outside, signaling the town coming to life and everyone finally coming outside.
I grab a rag from underneath the counter, and begin wiping the surface down for today's slow business.
There's a neigh of a horse, then the clacking of heels on the pavement right outside my door. A sort of empty and dark aura surrounds me as the sounds of the person's shoes gets louder, until the door swings open and the bell chimes.
A small boy with dark hair and an eyepatch waltzes in, his dark blue eyes darting back and forth in the room as he studies it. A tall gentleman with raven hair and a tailcoat follows him inside, standing behind him like his shadow.
I've seen them before, at the Trancy manor. Earl Ciel Phantomhive and his butler Mister Sebastian Michaelis.
A lump forms in my throat, but I clear it, earning his attention.
"Excuse me, Earl Phantomhive? What brings you to my small shop?"
"You are Miss Akane Nakahara?" Mister Sebastian asks, his eyes finding mine.
"Yessir." I nod, setting my cloth aside and flattening my dress over my corset, hoping there were no leaves or anything on me. "May I help you with something?"
"What a peculiar hair color…" The Earl mumbles to himself, his eyes fixated on the reddish maroon ponytail over my shoulder.
"I am told so all the time." I give him a small closed mouth smile.
"I trust that you have heard of the strange kidnappings recently?" Mister Michaelis asks in place of the Earl.
The Earl interrupts his butler. "We have come seeking information about someone we suspect to have something to do with the kidnappings." The Earl's attention leaves my hair, and his dark eyes meet mine.
"Of course." I bow, and walk over towards the box in the corner, pulling out a blue and gold book and a white feather pen, bringing them towards the young Earl. Flipping to the 'P' section, I point to an empty space underneath 'Ph'. "Sign here please, Earl Phantomhive.
"My signature?" The Earl raises an eyebrow at me, not taking the pen from my hand. "That's all you need from me to give us information?"
"Yessir." I nod. "While I give information on people, I gather info on the people who ask, in case someone else comes along and asks about either one of you two. That's how I do my business."
"Quick and efficient, I like it." The young Earl hums, taking the pen from my hand and signing at the space I point out. When he finishes, I show the book to the raven haired man.
"You're the young Earl's butler, I presume? Mister Sebastian Michaelis?" I mumble to myself, flipping towards the 'M' section and pointing to a spot under 'Mi' and holding out the feather pen.
"You need my signature as well?" He asks, but takes the pen and quickly signs anyways.
"Anyone could come ask questions about a handsome man like yourself." I snap the book shut, and take the pen and book and set them on the counter. "Alright, what do you need to know?"
"We need to know everything about someone named Serine Davis." Mr. Michaelis answers, and I hum.
"Alois Trancy actually just left from here, asking about a Selene Davis. I wonder if it's anything related." I tell them, heading towards the back of the room and getting a green and silver book, flipping it open and reading its contents as I head back towards the two.
"Probably. Selene was Serine's pen name, what she signed all of her letters with." The Earl answers, tapping his cane into the floor boards.
"You're right." I set the book down, and read from it. "Serine was an undiscovered author for most of her life, until her best friend found her notebooks and made her publish them. She lives in London, with her two children. Her husband was killed in a boat accident about seven months ago. She-"
Something catches in my throat.
"What is it? Spit it out." The Earl pushes.
"U-Um," My voice cracks, and I clear my throat. "She's been charged with over 15 murders, but she was found innocent in all of them. She hasn't spent a day in prison. She came to me about four months ago, asking about her son, Jaune Davis."
I close my book. "That's all I have."
"You have all of that?" The Earl looks onto his butler.
"Yes, my young master."
"Good." He nods, then spins on his heel. "We should head off then."
"Thank you." Mister Michaelis bows, and follows his master out the door.
The bell chimes, and they are gone.
