Beyond Redemption
Author's Note: Just to give my OC some justice, I've always thought that in Kuroshitsuji that angels get a pretty bad rep. However, I thought: "Hm…maybe not all of them are crazy about purging people?," and thus, my OC was drafted. I've been working on her for a little while, and I think she's ready to see the light of day, enjoy.
Chapter 1: That Stranger, Sings
It was another full house at the London Opera as Evangeline Clarkland, the new rising soprano, peeked through the red curtain from backstage. The usual before-performance 'butterflies' started settling in her stomach as she was anxious to perform once more. Nobility from all across Britain would be attending tonight's performance: Viscount Druitt, the head of the Phantomhive and Trancy households, a Prince Soma and his companion Agni, and it was rumored that even Queen Victoria herself might make an appearance! An audience with such people riled up the theater group quite a lot as of recently, resulting in numerous practices and the director striving for nothing but pure perfection. Evangeline walked away from the small ray of light that escaped the curtains and back to her dressing room until her cue came on. For this particular play, she didn't exactly land the lead, but at least it was something…
Meanwhile, a certain Young Master looked on with a bored expression at the stage below his private box's seat. Of course, his loyal and faithful butler was also at his side.
"Sebastian, just how long is it going to be until this starts?," Ciel asked. "The others down there won't stop fidgeting in their seats and making complete idiots out of themselves." He said, referring to his three servants that sat down in the lower section of the audience, a good distance from the stage, but still close enough for Maylene to see. Being lowly, menial servants, Bard, Finnian, and Maylene were fascinated by the glorious theater and the sights and sounds that it had to offer.
Just opposite from the Phantomhive heir's private box was the earl of Trancy himself: Alois and his butler Claude Faustus. Ciel would've preferred death over having to look at Alois any longer. The head of the Trancy household did not possess the same class that Ciel Phantomhive had. Unlike most nobles, his language was more like that of a commoner, not to mention his atrocious and inappropriate behavior at times.
Alois gave Ciel another smug look from across the theatre before Sebastian stated, "Young Master, it's starting."
Walking around in the background among the other lead singers, Evangeline played her menial, lowly role with as much humility and grace as possible. This was an original opera about the hardships of the destitute of London of the time. (A/N: This opera is just something I made up and I thought it would be appropriate for the time period, although I personally think it sort of resembles the musical Les Miserables.) For the majority of the first act, Evangeline played as a servant of a wealthy, spoiled young mistress. Her role consisted of acting out practical chores around the young mistress' mansion, slowly being driven to insanity, going to the extent of vowing revenge on London's nobility. Cecilia, her character would eventually act like a vigilante, slaying the corrupted nobles, much like how Evangeline was once before. An angel's job is to correct and purify humans…right?
The intermission finally came and Evangeline took her break in her usual spot: the roof. Yes, the roof, she was an angel (a fallen one…), and that meant having wings, so there's no need to worry about falling off! The trek to the top floor was tiring, but the incoming wind immediately cooled her off. This was also the only place where her wings could stretch out freely. Of course now, they were no longer an immaculate white, but a dark, depressing grey, showing that she has turned her back on the duties of an angel…making herself "unclean." Evangeline immediately brushed off the negative thought of her betrayal against her God and her fellow angels.
For ages, she had wandered the Earth, purging one soul after the other…not knowing of what she was actually doing. Rewriting a human's entire life was something not to be trifled with. In taking away their flaws, Evangeline realized that she was taking away what made humans…well, human! By believing in such a profound, but in her opinion, righteous philosophy, Evangeline was cast out and gave up her immortality to live among humans. Her appearance never changed, but she was more vulnerable to physical wounds than she was before. However, with the ability of not being able to age, she became nomadic, moving across Europe and once in a while into the Orient.
Reminiscing on her past life made Evangeline depressed and weary, hoping to turn back time. However, despite the divine power she has to rewrite time…she can never go back in time… She moved a lock of her now dark brown hair (having once been a golden blonde) out of her face and dangled her feet from the edge of the roof. Now taking on the alias of a young soprano, where was Evangeline to go from here? It had been a couple decades since she had decided to stop by in London, so perhaps she could stay for a while…
Meanwhile, Ciel Phantomhive and his bulter, Sebastian Michaelis (insert fangirls screaming here) had remained in the noble's private box.
"Sebastian…something's troubling you, isn't it…or maybe it's that Trancy butler?," Ciel calmly asked him.
"It's nothing, Young Master…except there was another presence on that stage that wasn't…human.," the butler replied.
"Another demon? If so, then who's he contracted to?," Ciel was intrigued by Sebastian's reply. Another demon meant more competition…
"That presence wasn't that of a demon, and it was a she.," Sebastian continued.
"Hmph…we'll see…," the head of the Phantomhive family duly noted his butler's observation.
Opposite from the Phantomhives' private box was Alois and Claude: Alois looking quite bored as he surveyed the opera house and Claude awaiting his master's orders. Not every noble brought their butler's out on such extravagant occasions, so there were a couple of curious glances at the Trancy earl here and there. Alois felt the need to stretch his legs, but the opera's second act was about to start.
Alois pouted as he had to sit back down and asked Claude, "Do you know when this bloody thing is over? I'm getting sleepy…"
"It should be over in about an hour, Master, but do try and keep a dignified face for the sake of your good name.," Claude retorted, then drew his attention to the new soprano he heard everyone talking about. She was a bit on the pale side and looked a little underweight, even with a corset on. The soprano was clad in all black and grey: she could've been mistaken for a demon if she were out on the streets. He could tell that she wasn't a demon, human, or even a shinigami…if she was, that weird redhead, the kid with the lawnmower, or that William T. Spears person would've shown up. If she was neither a demon, human, or shinigami…then could she be an-?
…
Claude thought it was too early to determine this 'soprano's' true identity, perhaps the head of Trancy will have a talk with her after the performance…
It was now time for Evangeline's character's huge solo (but with the tenor and bass chorus in the background…): she's on the brink of madness and about to finally murder her spoiled, former Young Mistress. The stage lights dimmed and everyone's attention had turned to her. Her head was down, facing her feet clad in worn black boots, as she gripped the prop sword in her hand and the orchestra played softly in a gradual decrescendo. The music had begun to swell when she opened her mouth…
"Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam,
Et lingua eius loquetur indicium..."
"The mouth of the Just shall meditate wisdom,
And His tongue shall declare judgement…," Alois said, deciphering the Latin lyrics.
Meanwhile, his butler contemplated the religious references that she sung, perhaps it was a message? A plea? A warning? Who knew?…
"Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem,
Quoniqm cum probates fuerit accipient coronam vitae…"
Although Sebastian wasn't completely fluent in Latin, he was able to roughly translate her lyrics:
'Blessed is he who endureth temptation,
For once he hath been tested, he shall receive the crown of life'
Ciel wasn't as patient, not understanding what she was singing, although he was impressed with her voice. She was indeed something worth talking about in London, but there was something off about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on…
Evangeline had finally reached the chorus, and taking a deep breath…
"Kyrie, fons bonitatis!
Kyrie, ignis divine, eleison!"
The conductor had signaled the orchestra for the grand pause before Evangeline began again…
"O quam sancta, quam serena,
Quam benigma, quam amoena esse Virgo creditur…
O quam sancta, quam serena,
Quam benigma, quam amoena,
O castitatis lilium…
She grew silent again as the orchestra took it away with a moving, humble instrumental. Evangeline smiled, this song always never failed to make her happy, it sang of humility and reverence… She is a fallen angel, who had long-forgotten these virtues in the eyes of her Almighty. The tenor and bass chorus had finally emerged, singing in complete harmony. However, Evangeline kept her eyes on her feet as she held the prop sword, awaiting the crescendo that would cue her in.
"Aaahhh~…," she had begun to vocalize with the chorus, her notes resonating off of the walls and making fragile wine glasses clink to the point of breaking into dust. Some noble ladies in the audience even started to feel faint at the sound of her voice.
The song had finally reached its coda, its end, its grand finale…
"Kyrie, fons bonitatis!
Kyrie, ignis divine, eleison!
O quam sancta, quam serena,
Quam benigma, quam amoena esse Virgo creditur…
O quam sancta, quam serena,
Quam benigma, quam amoena,
O castitatis lilium…"
Evangeline had returned the sword to its sheath at the end, marked by a thunderous applause.
The theater was bursting with the conversations of the nobility, all over some trivial and frivolous matter. In the meantime, Ciel Phantomhive and his butler made their way down to backstage, where bustling gaffers and other staff members scurried to make sure everything was put away in order. In all of the madness, they walked over to where the star soprano was. Like all English gentlemen, Ciel had politely knocked on her door.
"Come in.," he had heard a soft voice.
Upon opening the door, there was Evangeline Clarkland herself.
"My, my…," she sighed, "What honor do I have for an audience with the head of the Phantomhive family?"
"Miss Clarkland," Ciel began.
She quickly glanced over at the demon butler.
"May I ask who is your companion over there?," she asked, slightly frowning.
"Why, he is my butler Miss Clarkland.," Ciel replied. "And nothing more…"
"Young Master, may I speak?," Sebastian asked.
Ciel gave him a rather annoyed look before replying, "You may."
Clearing his throat, Sebastian began while closing the door behind him, "Miss Evangeline…you wouldn't by any chance have any affiliation to the late Angela Blair?"
Meanwhile, Ciel stood back in the corner, watching the show. This would be the second angel that he's encountered, and she's already proven to be quite a mysterious character.
"Coming out as a soprano with no known background? That certainly wasn't very wise. Surely, the police, or maybe even Scotland Yard will start to wonder of how you rose to fame so quickly.," Sebastian continued.
"I haven't been to London in over three decades, I thought it would be…sort of…cleansing after being in the crossfire of those ridiculous drug trades. The Orient simply isn't as pleasant as it once was.," Evangeline replied. "This young man's soul…is that what you're after?"
Sebastian's eyes glowed at the possibility that she could be after his Young Master as well.
…
"Well, I'll have no part in it. Ciel Phantomhive has already made his choice, and I respect that.," she went on. "If that's all you have to say, I believe the earl of Trancy is outside, patiently waiting for me."
Ciel nearly jumped at the mention of Trancy's name. Alois opened the door wide and glanced at Ciel as he was leaving with Sebastian.
"Perhaps we can further discuss this elsewhere…away from prying eyes.," Sebastian bid farewell to Evangeline as well, in addition to quickly glaring at the Trancy butler.
Claude closed the door as Alois began, "So you're the lady that everyone's been talking about… Well, you're a lot more pleasant to look at rather than that other fat bitch-"
"Oh, dear, what a brusque young man…that 'fat bitch' is a renowned soprano as well. Certainly," she replied to his insult at another soprano in her theater group, and then turned to Claude. "At the very least, control your master, we wouldn't want any trouble…do we?"
Her purple eyes flashed with a superior look on her face. "Now what exactly do you want from me?"
"I simply assumed that you were possibly another demon, Ms. Clarkland.," Claude replied.
"Well, I'm not, as you can see.," she held up her hands, both lacking a demon's signature black fingernails.
"Seeing how that assumption has been proven wrong, I simply ask: just what are you?," Claude asked.
"Seriously, she smiles too much to be a demon if you ask me.," Alois commented. "Plus, she'd only be here with another loser she's contracted to anyway."
Evangeline hesitated with her response as Alois then commanded, "Turn around."
"Excuse me?," she looked sincerely puzzled.
"I said, turn around.," Alois repeated.
…
"Turn around, bitch!," his smile ran away from his face, then turned to his butler.
Claude took a couple of steps toward Evangeline, but then she complied with Alois out of fear of what the butler might do to her, and then turned her bare back to him.
"If you're looking for a pair of wings, then I'm afraid that I'm clearly not an angel, if that's what you're looking for.," Evangeline said, hiding them.
"Hmph, let's go Claude.," Alois stormed out.
Before departing with his master, Claude gave one last look at her that just screamed, 'You haven't heard the last of us.'
To be continued…
A/N: By the way, the Latin song that Evangeline sang is called "Lilium" and it's the opening theme to the anime Elfen Lied.