Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji or its characters, the same goes with ideas that originate from another manga/anime/game/book, etc.
Chapter Ten: Attending a Funeral
Bells rang from the church the next afternoon, carriages pulled up in front of the holy building.
"Wait, brother," a young girl called out as she and her other brother chased after their eldest sibling before the two younger siblings stopped.
"Hey, look, the church is really crowded today," the brown-haired boy pointed out, holding onto the bars of the fence.
"Wonder why?" The girl looked up to her oldest brother for an answer.
"Don't know."
"But you're older than us, so doesn't that mean you should know," the younger boy asked.
"You're stupid," the girl declared, pointing a finger at him.
"Hey, I'm still only twelve! It's not like I'm supposed to know everything yet," the black-haired boy retorted, his cheeks slightly flushed from embarrassment.
"You have a point," someone spoke up, drawing the children's attentions. "At only twelve it would be a shame if you understood what's happening," Undertaker told them, leaning forward on the other side of the fence with his shovel next to him. "Let me explain it: today is a special noblewoman's big day."
"What do you mean, Mister," the girl asked, only to be pulled back by her brother, who was crept out by the silver-haired man.
"Well, it's the ultimate ceremony of any person's life: a funeral."
Inside the church, many were gathered dressed in black. At the front of the room, Madam Red's body was placed in a casket filled with white flowers, dressed in a white gown. Elizabeth was in front of the coffin, her dressed in black with hands clasped together as she cried.
"She has departed from us now, as all mankind must do. Her flesh will turn to ashes, but her spirit will remain," the priest spoke, holding a bible in his hands.
"Goodbye, Auntie Ann," Elizabeth whispered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
Everything went silent when the church doors suddenly opened, and everyone looked back to see Ciel dressed in a black suit with his hair combed and parted. Sebastian, who wore his trench coat over his butler attire, stood at the door. Ariel, for once, was dressed in black (out of respect for the funeral) and Vincent stood behind her. However, what caught everyone's attention was the red dress that was draped over Ciel's right shoulder.
"You're here!" Elizabeth's voice was filled with relief at seeing the young Earl.
"Is that the Phantomhive boy?"
"With a scarlet dress?"
"How inappropriate."
"Not so; think of how she loved the color red," the other attendant muttered.
Ciel walked down the aisle, ignoring the whispers of the people around him. When he got close enough, he jumped to land seated on the edge of the casket, the red dress draped over the white one.
"White flowers and plain dresses didn't suit you in life and they don't now," he said to the body, retrieving the rose from his breast pocket and placing it in her hair. "You belong in red — the color of passion, the color of spider-lilies. Farewell, Aunt Ann," he whispered, leaning down to where his forehead was almost touching hers.
Everyone turned back towards the door again when red rose petals began to flow into the building. Elizabeth could hear someone singing "London Bridge is Falling Down" as a memory of her and Ciel in their younger years playing the game with Ciel's mom and Madam Red. Outside, Sebastian, Undertaker, Ariel, and Vincent stood in front of a carriage with no doors filled with red rose petals.
"Rest peacefully, Madam Red," Ciel whispered once he had gotten off the coffin and stood in front of Elizabeth.
Later on, after the funeral had ended, Ciel, Ariel, Sebastian, Vincent, and Lau were standing in an empty hallway that would've led out to the cemetery.
"You're not going to report the true identity of Jack the Ripper to the queen," the Chinese man inquired.
"I don't think it's necessary, and Ariel has already agreed with me," the boy replied. "She simply instructed us to stop the incidents, and now, we've seen to that."
"Your world is full of quicksand, and you keep letting yourself sink further and further in. But even if you reach the point of no return and all looks lost, you'll still never call out for help. No, none of us will hear Lord Phantomhive's pathetic screams. The Queen's Dog is too proud for that, the same with you, the Queen's Lioness," Ariel narrowed her eyes at the man, "which makes the two of you formidable opponents. I'll have to be careful around the both of you."
"Now that you mention it, opium dens are beginning to become a problem. If you want to get out, now's the time," Ciel warned.
"If I did that, then I'd have to think of another business to run, and that sounds like more trouble than it's worth," Lau replied as the young Earl put on his top hat.
"Well, you could always go back to your home country," Ariel suggested, her tone stating that she didn't really care what he did one way or the other.
"Oh, but I haven't exhausted my interest in this country quite yet, or, for that matter, in you, my lord, my lady," he replied, pushing off the wall and placing a hand on their shoulders. He then walked off to head home. "I fully expect more interesting challenges from you," he said, waving over his shoulder.
"We have somewhere to go," Ciel said, mainly to Sebastian, as he started walking the other way and following after Ariel. "Come."
Outside in the graveyard, they stopped in front of the grave for Jack the Ripper's last victim: Mary Jane Kelly.
"This is her," Sebastian asked.
"Yes~ indeed it is. My last customer from Jack the Ripper," Undertaker replied, holding a bouquet of white flowers in his right hand.
"Apparently, she was an immigrant. She had no family in the country to claim her body," Ciel spoke.
"So our kind-hearted Earl here hired me to pretty 'er up," Undertaker inputted, poking the boy lightly with one of his long fingernails. "Even had this gravestone erected, a truly noble act on his part, eh?"
"This isn't noble at all," Ciel denied. "The noble thing to do would've been to save her, and I could have if I put her life first. But no, I had to catch them. Apprehending Jack the Ripper was more important. I knew they intended to kill her. I knew and I let her die...along with my aunt."
"You regret what you did, young Earl," Ariel asked, watching the boy carefully.
"No, I don't," he replied. "Jack the Ripper is gone forever, and we have done exactly what Her Majesty asked of us."
"Victoria, aye? I don't much like her," Undertaker said. "She just sits back and watches while you and Lady Vega do all her dirty work for 'er. Doesn't seem fair to me."
"Life isn't always fair," Ariel stated.
"That's what the Phantomhives do; it's our duty. The same with the Vega family. It's passed down through generations along with these rings," Ciel replied, holding up his blue diamond ring.
"That ring reminds me of a collar a master puts on a dog. You and Lady Vega are forever tied to the queen by the leash of duty."
"I chose this life! Stop," he ordered when the funeral director tried to wrap his arm around him, only to have Undertaker grasp his tie.
"Lord Phantomhive, you should be wary of the path which duty will take you; that collar may choke you yet," he warned before letting the boy go. "We wouldn't want that now, would we?" He gave the flowers to Ariel before walking off, picking up his shovel along the way. "Do come by if you need my assistance again. You and hilarious butler of yours are always welcome. As are you, Lady Vega and Mister Valentine," he told them, cackling at the end as he walked away.
'That man...' Ariel thought exasperatingly. "...It's about time I head back to my manor; I've spent enough time here in the city," Ariel said after a few moments. She paused and turned back to look at the young boy. "Goodbye, Lord Phantomhive. It was pleasure meeting you, though I don't think this will be the last time we meet." With that, she walked away with her butler following closely behind. "Vincent, when we get home, make me some Earl Grey tea before you prepare for tomorrow."
"Yes, milady."
The days to come were to be interesting, that was for certain...especially now that they had been acquainted with the Her Majesty's Guard Dog.
It's the end of the Jack the Ripper Arc, and I was able to reach chapter ten! I'm so happy \(^_^)/
Please review.