Thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed! All shall be revealed soon :)
Enjoy.
Chapter Ten
Blackthorne
I am thoroughly confused when I enter the kitchen, where everyone is already conversing over the happenings of today. Ciel Phantomhive sits at the head of the table, looking completely out of place in a room designed for servants.
"What did you find out, Skye?" Sebastian enquires. I glare at him: don't think I haven't forgotten about you walking in on me. He looks back nonchalantly. I push that out of my mind, and focus on the real issue at hand.
I draw up another chair to the table, and begin to tell them about the love life of Angela Durless. But I tell them nothing about her strange reactions to my parents.
"That makes sense." Sebastian states when I'm finished, deep in thought. "That fits in perfectly with what Maylene found out about marriage"
"What else did you all find out?" I ask, and Sebastian gives me the overview, shamelessly holding eye contact with me:
"She basically confirmed that she didn't go to the wedding of the two victims. However she said it's because she didn't get along with them – Maylene doesn't think it was out of jealousy. However what you said about her love life...that shows that it is jealousy. We found out that she went on a business trip last year, which was a touchy subject for her. I am going to research what the business trip was, according to the dates and places Finny found out."
"So...did she murder them?"
Phantomhive sighs, "we don't know. We're no closer to the answer than we were this morning"
"That's not true," Maylene pipes up. "If our research is correct, then that 'business trip' will give us more information."
"Yes, I think that is correct. We will need another few days to come up with a definite accusation." Sebastian says.
"She kept saying something to me...Something about 'the sake of progress'. That leads me to assume that the victims where preventing her from doing something...If she indeed was referring to them." I mention.
"I...I found out something which would support that" Finny says quietly, "I recognise her. I recognise her from the...'human experimentation' I went through before I came here"
"What? Finny, you've met her before?" Sebastian asks urgently,
"No. I just heard them speak of her, through a code name: Red."
"How do you know it's her?" Sebastian asks, unconvinced.
"Because they also said things about progress."
"So...That business trip..." I trail off, not sure how to phrase it.
"...Was a human experimentation project. Yes, I think so" says Finny.
"But how can we confirm that?"
"I found out something which may be of use," Tanaka stands, and we all turn to face him. "She was a doctor at St Charles a few months back."
Realization floods into Sebastian's face. "Do you think there will be any documents of hers on the school database? Or the nurse's computer?"
"I have reason to believe there could be, yes" Tanaka says.
"Well then. Looks like we'll be going to school this week." Ciel says, a mischievous smile curving his lips.
.
.
By Friday, I have confronted Sebastian about the walking-in-on-me-half-undressed incident (to which he retorted mockingly "it would only matter to you if you had feelings for me". At which I replied by throwing everything within arm's length at him).
But more importantly, we have a full plan of what we will do in order to maintain the information about Madame Red.
"Sir" I gaze at my English teacher, my face pale and drenched with sweat (or water from my water bottle. Same thing.) "I...I don't feel so good..."
"Oh...Miss Riverson...Good Lord, yes – go to the nurse's office," he replies worriedly. As I stand shakily, Sebastian stands too. Of course, the over-protective boyfriend is in full swing.
I stumble out of the door after fumbling with the handle. We rush down to the nurse's office, as quickly as we can without being suspicious. If Sebastian is right, the nurse goes on a break any moment now.
We reach the office just as the nurse disappears down the other end of the corridor. I smile: thank God. That was lucky.
Sebastian slowly pushes the door open. We freeze, me surveying the corridor and him checking the office. Hopefully, Ciel is distracting the secretary enough, or we're screwed because there is CCTV everywhere. Really, is there no trust in this school?
Oh wait. I guess not, seeing as three students are already trying to hack into the computers.
"Clear."
I enter the office, and Sebastian begins to tap into the computer, immediately accessing Madame Red's emails in the trash section. We give each other a look of surprise, but also confusion. Surely...Surely that was far too easy.
"Bingo" he murmurs, having found every email to and from Angela Durless, to a company named 'Blackthorne'
"How do we know..." I trail off, because he has just opened the first email. I need only read the first line to feel sick.
A MESSAGE FROM BLACKTHORNE
Dear Angela Durless, it has come to our attention that you wish to join our ranks here at the human experimentation camp...
"So Finny..."
"...Was right, yes." Sebastian prints off the emails to and from 'Blackthorne' with a flourish of the mouse, and within minutes, we're out of the office, emails in hand.
"Sebastian..." there is something uneasy in the pit of my stomach.
"Yes?"
"Don't you think...Don't you think that was far too...easy?"
He smiles devilishly, and once again I suddenly find myself trapped by his arms against the wall of the corridor, which is now deserted. I frown at him, fighting a blush.
"Skye Riverson," he murmurs into my ear, "do you really think I would be stupid enough to fall into a trap?"
I fight for air, "yes!"
He chuckles, and then slowly kisses my neck. His mouth makes its way up to my jaw, so gently that I can't help but stare to ensure that it's really happening.
"Sebastian" I glare, trying pathetically to push him off.
"What about now?" he whispers into my ear. I try to put up a solid fight, but he's so...Distracting.
"Okay fine, fine! You're not stupid enough to fall into a trap!" I gasp, hating the way my heart is beating so much faster because of his touch.
I feel his lips smile on my neck and, as suddenly as it started, the moment is over.
"Good, well then we shall meet Ciel by the school gate, as planned" he says, as the bell for the end of the day rings. Students begin to flood into the corridors and he walks away. I catch up with him, scowling. Why does he have so much control over me?
.
"Did you find anything?" Ciel asks, as we reach the deserted forest on the way home.
"Yes. She was definitely involved in the human experimentation Finny was talking about," Sebastian reports gravely.
Ciel takes the emails out of Sebastian's school bag and begins to flick through them, his eyes widening.
"Wow. There's a lot here - even a list of member names. You did well to..." he trails off, and stops right in his tracks.
"Skye...what are your parents' names?"
"Edward Riverson and Rosanna Brown...Why?"
Ciel looks up from the documents, his face pale.
"No...No, this isn't happening" I mutter, my legs growing weak as I snatch the list away from his hands. I grow dizzy as my eyes set on two names.
MEMBERS OF BLACKTHORNE
Brown, Rosanna...
Riverson, Edward
"No...No way. It's a set up. My parents wouldn't have been involved in this. These emails were far too easy to retrieve...it must be...It's not real!" I scream, and the papers are gracefully gliding down to the floor as they escape from my hands.
But my parents were good people.
My legs collapse and I'm on the path, my head in my hands.
You're a fool, Skye Riverson. Sebastian's words that time, just before I had fallen asleep in his lap. They feel like a slap across the face.
"You knew. You knew they were...were bad people." I gasp at him, realization flooding my face.
"Yes, I did."
"What...How? How could you possibly know they were involved in Blackthorne?"
"I didn't know about Blackthorne. I did a background check on all the servants when I started work, and your parents have a criminal record."
Why is everything around me being destroyed? My parents were the one true thing I had left, and they lied to me?
"It makes sense, Skye" Ciel says quietly, "why else would you have been taught about pressure points and shooting? There are people who rebel against this sort of organization. They were preparing you."
"No. Oh God no." I whisper. It's all so clear now: The reason why I was locked in my bedroom when they held social gatherings...It was to protect me from any possible rebels of Blackthorne.
"Is that why they were killed?" my throat is dry, my mind is numb.
"Rebels...That would be perfectly logical" Sebastian admits quietly.
"That's why I could escape? They didn't know I even existed, because they kept me in my room when they had parties?" I cry.
"It makes sense." Ciel says quietly, in a matter of fact tone.
"This...This doesn't even have anything to do with the victims' murder..." I murmur. This isn't getting us any closer to finding the answers to their death. All this is doing is ripping up everything I used to know.
I think they're still talking, but I don't care. I do the only thing I can do, and try to escape to my Dream Land; or at least something like it. Breathe in...Breathe out...Breathe in...Breathe out...
As I fall into a choking black haze, there is just one final image in my mind:
"Stay under the bed and stay alive." My mother whispers as she hugs me tight, before grabbing her pistol and running out of the room. "Mum?" I whisper.
But she's gone.
Who were my parents, really?
Oh lordy, a turn of events eh? So Madame Red is involved with the murdering of those two victims AND the human experimentation of Finny? Blimey, what a woman...And Skye's parents! Talk about family issues...
Review please? I'm hoping there aren't tonnes of loop holes in this plot O_o
See you next chapter for more secrets ;)
~Ched.~