hurrrrr
ughhh
Brrrrghh
Frrreerrrrr
These noises in the void can be heard, even through the haze of rain.
But sometimes-like pain-the noises fade. The pain was below the darkness, and she asked if there really was darkness after all. There was no sense of light, but what was light? She didn't know why she was asking that. But she could hear the noises, if that's what noises were, but she didn't bother to ask. She just knew. She didn't bother to care either.
In the darkness, with the fading rapid pain, she couldn't think through the haze. She couldn't ask, her mouth couldn't move, but she didn't care. The pain was rising now, like an old friend at the door. And she couldn't move, couldn't think, didn't know who she was, or what she was, or where, when, why? Did it matter? The pain was burning, and she had a sense of self at least, and through the pain and darkness, she wanted to die. Did she care? Not really. Through the pain and rain filled haze she didn't know what she wished, if she could wish at all.
But the noises were the only source of outer existence called her out. She didn't wish to wake. She rather stay in the blackness.
The pain came again, a stomp it felt like. A boot perhaps? On her stomach.
That's right, wasn't it? She was a person. Pain was just another factor of existence.
More pain, and then the noises were clear now. Voices. Angry gruff voices.
She didn't care to listen to the words. All she could feel was pain. The feeling of utter loss, of detachment, a failure to identify a sense of self. She didn't like the pain. She wanted it to stop.
With the thought, she regained something out of the void.
An inch. Her very last. And she would guard it jealously, never to give it away. Her very last inch. And it was hers. The last thing she would own.
I want it to stop
More pain. Stinging, burning, laughing.
Please make it stop. Make it stop hurting.
And suddenly Vision! Blinding vision, laughing face. Cruel grins fixed on her crying eyes, stinging pain, furious, hateful, disgusting eyes.
MAKE THE PAIN STOP. MAKE IT STOP. STOP STOP DIRTY PAIN HORRIBLE PAIN ON DIRTY TRICKY HATEFUL PAIN OH STOP!
What would you do? What would you give away?
You can have it! You can have it! You can have the very last inch of me! Take it! Take it! I don't want it!
What do you want in return?
The laughing face drenched in blood.
I accept.
Their screams blanched, hot musky blood splattered against her face. She smiled.
The bat clawed and shrieked, violet eyes blazing, fangs glistening.
We have a contract, sweet one?
Yes, yes. You can have everything/
Every inch. Down to the last one.
What do I call you?
Whatever my Lady wishes.
Elenora. Elenora Ayers. The name of a rag doll, loved and lost.
We're partners now. Until you take every last inch of me.
+X+
Their first victim cried and blubbered like a piece of filth.
She laughed while she did it. She can see his hate in his eyes. She swallowed it. Went into the flames and swallowed his hate. Her delicate hands, porcelain with dirt scraped under her nails, they grasped the barbed wire in his hands. His words had no real value, they meant nothing. All that mattered was the hate, and she wrapped the wire around his legs, then his arms, and finally his neck in a compressed position, gently wrapping it like a mother. She cooed and smiled kindly.
Elenora watched with hungry eyes. Her violet hair cascaded down her shoulder, her pink hungry eyes flaring. Her skin was not delicate porcelain, but whitest alabaster. She dressed in a spiky black coat, almost like a bat.
She wrapped the final piece of wire, and tightened her grip, watching the blood dribble out of her victims face. The pressure was too much. He gurgled, and then slowly died.
And that was the only time she ever felt anything at all.
+X+
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?"
"Just a breather William~! It's so stuff in this office!"
"Get back here and finish your paperwork Sutcliff. You're not shirking your responsibilities AGAIN!"
"Aw William, you a slave driver ~ I just want a break!"
"You can have breaks on your own time Sutcliff," Will pushed his glasses back, "Honestly, you keep complaining about you death scythe, you'd think you'd do something about it."
"But it's been months William! I doubt just a couple of pieces of paperwork is going to count in the long r-"
"Mr. Spears! Mr. Spears!" A frantic woman burst into Grell's office. Grill humphed. How dare she interrupt his time alone with dear William~
"What is it this time Cecilia? I've got enough on my plate at it is-"
"We just ran over the numbers for last week's report, and we've got mismatched numbers! They don't add up!"
"And why are you telling me this now? Last week's numbers should have been run last week! Do you know how much paperwork it will take to recover-"
"Its rouge Mr. Spears! Someone died that shouldn't have! More than a someone! Several Someones! Their souls are probably floating 'round London-"
"Get out. Now. Thanks you Cecilia."
William turned to glare at Grell.
"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
"Wasn't me Willy~ Besides, what am I going to do with-these?" Grell brandished his scissors in disdain.
"If not you- then it's probably that blasted demon."
"Oh! Sebas-chan is involved? William can I please-pleeeaaassseee-!"
"No."
"C'MON! You want me to do work, I want to get out of this office! How many other reapers do you know can waltz up to Sebas-chan without getting attacked! I can investigate! C'mon Willy!"
William gritted his teeth before turning to Grell.
"You can go. But you must report back immediately. I want a full account of what you find. And try not to get into too much trouble."
"Yes! Thank you Will~! You won't regret it!" And with that, Grell leaped up and planted his lips on William's, pulling away quickly and waving goodbye at him frantically.
Will scrunched up his nose, blushing and scowling at the same time.
"Then why am I already regretting it?"
+X+
Ciel almost didn't want to open the letter in front of him. It was outlandish, and smelled of something that was supposed to be Flowers.
Sebastian smiled at him from behind the desk, "Young Master, do you really expect to avoid this?"
"No," Ciel sighed, "I supposed I've ignored her long enough. I've run out of excuses."
"I'm sure Lady Elizabeth will be delighted. Should I prepare a response?"
"There's no need. I'll write one myself. You can go and prepare for our departure-"
"MASTER! MASTER! A letter has come in fer you, it did!" Meirin clambered down the hall into Ciel's study, seemingly out of breath.
"Who's it from Meirin?"
"I don't rightly know Master, I found it on the back patio I did! Looks urgent!"
Sebastian plucked the letter from Meirin's grasp and sent her on her way, handing the letter to Ciel.
The blue eyed boy opened the letter bearing the familiar crest of the queen. He sighed.
"It looks like you'll be needing to write a letter to Elizabeth after all. Explain that I am being called away on business. Prepare our carriage to London. We're leaving immediately."
"Why the suddenness, My Lord?" Sebastian smiled.
"There is a new string of murders occurring in London. It breaks the Queen's heart. We are to stop the culprit immediately."
"Yes, my Lord."
+X+
"AARRGGHH! Is that any way to treat a lady?"
"I see no lady,"
"Ah! Sebby~ You offend me!"
"Wounded even?"
"Hurt, Sebby!"
"I'm sure you'll survive, much to my distaste. Now, why did you take it upon yourself to hide under the master's carriage?"
"Sebastian, put him down. His squabbling is annoying."
"Of course Young Master," Sebastian grinned while dumping Grell unceremoniously on the floor.
"Now Reaper, I'm only going to ask once, and it better be the truth, and if I find out you're lying, I'll be severely annoyed, and people tend to get hurt when I'm annoyed. Do you have anything to do with the Murders going on in London?"
"Funny thing actually," Grell smiled, while dusting himself off, "The reason I'm here is to ask Sebby the same thing~ Those murders weren't supposed to happen, so now Dispatch is going crazy with all the unclaimed souls roaming around."
"Unclaimed…"
"They weren't supposed to die. Poor William! He's probably furious~!"
"Blast," Ciel gritted his teeth, "We're dealing with a demon, aren't we?"
"It appears so Young Master, but we won't know until we investigate. Shall we go then?"
"Yes, you're right," he shot a glare at Grell, "You're here to investigate right? You're coming with us. And it you make any suspicious moves, I won't hesitate to avenge my Aunt's death."
"Oh poor Angelina! Why'd you have to go and remind me of that travesty! I miss her so!"
"And yet, you go around parading in her clothes."
"Only in sweet memory brat! Now, why don't we exchange a little in-for-ma-tion~! I'm expensive though! For every word I get a kiss from my dear Bassy!"
+X+
"The Murderer carries out his kills in an odd but specific way. It earned him his name. The Scavenger's Daughter."
"A torture device isn't it? I've heard of them. I've seen what they can do. Nasty things aren't they? There used to be an old riddle some of the more eccentric torturers use to tell to their victims before they were sent off to bite the big one. It was fairly obvious. What is the gift of the Scavenger's Daughter? The answer is blood. Quite morbid."
"Yes, but instead of using the torture device itself, he uses barbed wire in its place."
"Oh!~ What a creative soul! I really must meet this killer!"
Ciel frowned, "It makes me wonder why a demon would go to such extreme lengths to execute a murder. These aren't crimes of passion. These are thought out beforehand. These are hate crimes."
"It's of no matter of importance to me, whether these are accidents or assassinations. The killer needs to be stopped."
"That's funny, coming from you," Ciel sneered.
Grell flicked his hair over his shoulder, "It's different. At least I collected the souls I killed. This murderer is just letting the poor things wander. That's just irresponsible."
"Why is that such a problem?"
Grell shot up in his seat glaring at the Phantomhive boy. He was lucky Sebastian was driving the carriage, or Grell would find himself thrown under it.
"A soul can't exist without a body, and vice versa. A body is a shell. It protects the soul! Imagine not having skin! Your body shields the soul from all the nastiness of the world. Without a shield, your soul will rot. And it can go on forever, just rotting away. It's the duty of Reapers to safely cart souls into the next stages of life. It's just saddening to see the poor things just wither away!"
"Then it's not wrong of me to assume you want this done as quickly as possible."
"Are you kidding? Maybe William will give me my scythe back~"
+X+
They stopped in front of the Undertaker's, much to Grell's displeasure.
"Ugh! I thought we were going to see the body!"
"I've learned a long time ago that I have a better chance of gaining information from him than the Scotland Yard. We won't be long."
The parlor was just as drab as it always was, the Undertaker was cackling behind the counter.
"I've been expecting you Young Earl! Welcome! Welcome! I see you brought the lovely lady in red! William's pitching a fit I expect!"
"No more so than usual," Grell frowned at him.
"Oh dear! Still upset about that comment I made! I assure you my dear, I was speaking only from a mortician's view."
"My corpse would've been fabulous and you know it!"
"Can we please move on from this chatter? We have business to attend to," Ciel frowned at the two reaper's banter.
"Ah yes! Business business! Since I'm in such a good mood, I'll let you skip the laugh today!~"
"Why so generous?"
"I was already visited once today! By a young girl no less! She was terribly funny she was! A little older than you Earl, but a little titchy thing she was! Came around and asked about the murder's she did."
"Who was she? Why would she want to know about the murders?" Ciel demanded, growling.
"No one of importance I'm sure. There must have been a lifetime of dirt and grime on her. But she did give me this-"
"The Undertaker pulled out a scrap of paper from his robes and handed it to Ciel.
"What is this?"
"It looks like a puzzle. A crossword perhaps? Why would she give it to you, I wonder?" Sebastian remarked.
"She said the killer left it at the crime scene. The Yard couldn't make much sense of it, so they tossed it, thinking it to be of minimal importance. But I think I know what it is. A clue."
"Sebastian," Ciel shot a glance at him.
"Already done my Lord. The trick question in this was the question Mr. Sutcliff asked himself, in a foreign language. What is the gift of the Scavenger's Daughter? Once you answer that, the puzzle is relatively easy. The answer is 10131 Springwood Lane."
"The location is the crime scene of a murder that occurred a week after the first." Undertaker mused.
"Which means that this crossword was on the scene of the second. The killer is teasing us. He wants to show us that we're stupid." Ciel snarled.
"Oh~! This makes things a lot more interesting!" Grell giggled, "Come out with it you old reaper! You know more than you let on!"
"Yes, I discovered an interesting connection to the murders."
"Which is?"
"They're all related. Several times removed perhaps, but they all come from the same family. So far, the victims were each other's cousins."
"Sebastian!"
"Yes my Lord?"
"I want to know who the victims are. Who their friends are, who their enemies are. I want to know the family. The Family is what is being attacked. Not the victims."
"Yes my Lord, of course.
"There is one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Maybe nothing. Maybe something. A rat told me it has seen the killer. Or rather, who appears to be the killer. A woman with violet hair."
"Violet?"
"Dart violet. And pink eyes."
"That's helpful. Thank you Undertaker."
"Happy to help. Farewell Earl. And goodbye to you, Red Maiden."
Grell shook when he stepped out of the shop, "Sometimes even I second guess my gender while I'm around him."
"Let's go Sebastian. I'm tired. Tomorrow we'll go and investigate the victim's families. Also, prepare a room for Mr. Sutcliff, and please make sure that he stays put in his room. I don't think I'll be able to sleep at night with the thought of him wandering about."
"Oh! My goodness! Like a sleep over! But I don't have any night wear! Maybe me and Sebby can share some trousers!~"
+X+
A/N:
Well, here I am, the author of this thing. I hope I did a decent job of doing the characters justice. The last thing I want is an out of character Grell Sutcliff, we wouldn't want THAT train wreck on our hands. This story won't be too long I hope. At least, I want to be able to finish this, so I can get on with the other stories that need finishing. But I do have a good idea on how I'm going to finish this, and I hope you all find this story interesting to read. It's more for entertainment than anything else. Please please please comment and critique and tell me what you think. Love it, hate it? I don't care. I have room for improvement.
