Chapter 14: Grell

Grell looks carefully at her notebook. Ciel Phantomhive's face returns her gaze. Under his personal data is the cause of death. So that's what happened to you. She reflects a moment, then stamps on his photo "No special considerations."

Around her, the room is in shadows. There are no sounds that come from any corner of the home.

"How dreary. Let's let the sun in!"

She flips the curtains open. The room is lightly lit and then wrapped in shadows again. Dark clouds overshadow the recent clarity. They are still scattered in the sky, but soon they will unite to make way for the inevitable storm. She grimaces in disgust.

"Well..." She sighs, turning around.

The stage that receives her is worthy of a horror movie. There are traces of blood all over the room, on the sheets, the furniture, the walls ... some splashes have reached the ceiling. Cinematics could end up being brutal when they were left free for a long time. Fortunately, she had managed to get to the scene before the damage was greater.

"You've been lucky, dear. Although, I must say that I could have freed you before, but William decided to take my Death Scythe. You know, for the whole Campania affair ..." She winks in complicity.

The bloody figure that is now Undertaker does not return her gaze. He does not even seem to have noticed her presence.

She has seen him like this before. She knows what is the best way to proceed. At this moment, he is very far away and will delay to return.

"Good, enough of chatter. You need to take a bath and sew those wounds. Come here." Using her body as a support, she gets the other Shinigami recharge his weight on her.

Upon reaching the bathroom, Grell releases him carefully from his black robes, the reliquaries and leather boots.

"Very well, the tub is ready, you can enter."

Undertaker is docile and malleable in her arms. He follows the instructions, does not ask questions, does not resist. Almost as if he were a doll. She does not like that state at all. But she knows that must be patient, that sooner or later he will return.

The water soon dyes red. She takes a sponge and submerges it, to later, slide it releasing the water on the Shinigami's pale shoulders. Then, she does the same with his face and neck. Withdrawing the hair and taking special care not to press too much, she cleans the blood that covers him.

Undertaker keeps his eyes closed during the whole process and she can not help but feel the unstoppable urge to kiss him. It is a soft gesture, without pretensions, she does not want to take advantage of his situation but it was so long ago that she did not see him ..

"You're still handsome" She says showing her sharp smile.

She was not kidding. He seems a handsome man, despite the scars, his current vulnerability, the new wounds that mark him.

She would always love him.

Her love went beyond the attraction of the could understand each other. Both were fighting against something that they could not change and lived in a constant contradiction. A contradiction that, at times, made them lose their heads. She cursed a body that could not give her children, and he was tied to his love for humans.

Leaving aside her course of thoughts, she decides to concentrate on his hair. Gently disarms the braid to be able to wash it with ease. She lets the water drain on the silver strands. Her hands massage his temples in such a casual gesture that soon the whole situation takes on a homely touch.

At that time, the two seemed a stable couple sharing a sleepy afternoon of a holiday. Relaxing in the warmth of the water . Honestly, there would be nothing to indicate otherwise. Except for the blood, of course.

Sitting in the tub, with multiple wounds piercing his body, his bearing does not resemble at all the powerful Shinigami she knows he is. The man in front of her was defeated.

Grell knew first-hand the taste of defeat. She also embodied an eternal struggle in which she always ended up losing. There was no point in having hope, her masculine body always ended up showing her the reality, in spite of how she felt, how she chose to be ..

She had learned not to get excited, to adapt to her inevitable destiny. Undertaker, on the other hand ...

You have failed. You have made the mistake of involving your feelings again and that has cost you.

Nevertheless, she would remain by his side as far as he was willing to go ...

Oh! And she knew how far he could ..

To sink transatlantics, to form armies of the dead, to destroy nations. She did not keep a deep appreciation for humans. In fact, she had not had any trouble killing a few, by taking revenge on women who rejected the gift of life. She understood that he must do the same with those who had harmed him ...

However, his plans went further. They involved many departments and violated innumerable rules of both the human and Shinigami worlds. Any association with him would culminate with her desertion and probably with her imprisonment.

She would be ruined. It would ruin not only her work and reputation but also any possibility of redemption she might still has on that plane.

She was aware of everything, of the inevitable fate that would sooner or later overtake them, of the punishments...

And despite that...

She could not be more sure of her decision.

Because deep down they were the same.

Absurds.

Shinigamis who loved life.

For that reason, she had followed each of his instructions. She had behaved in the way he required, providing data and information about the movements of the staff and finally, when the situation required, becoming a timely "distraction."

Her performance in Campania had, in effect, been a carefully elaborated number that sought to eliminate any possibility of association between Undertaker and her. He had gone for her face and she had acted accordingly. She had shouted and unleashed her anger against him. She had made sure not to measure herself, to seek to harm him, even to have a witness who could give credit for her actions. She still felt sorry for Ronnie. The boy did not deserve the beating he had been subjected to, but she had no alternative …

The office could not suspect. They knew her. They were aware of her effusiveness, of her passionate behavior, of her weakness for men. William had seen her interact with Undertaker previously.

Because of that, it was necessary to make a show that cut off any link between the two. A show that would make her place clear. Thus both could move freely.

In the end, she was a great actress ...

Her gaze instinctively falls on the recent wounds that trace patterns on the white complexion of her partner.

" I'd better take care of you."

While moving him to another room, she thinks that they should bury the boy's body. It will not be a difficult task. The mansion offers multiple places for burial. Then she will take care of that. Now she has to suture the wounds.

She makesUndertaker sit on the edge of the bed. With wet hair and wrapped in towels, his appearance is of extreme vulnerability.

"Don´t move, I'll be back." He does not answer but she feels the need to tell him.

It takes a while looking for a needle and thread in the guest room. Finally she finds them. As she comes up with the sewing equipment in her hands, she can not help but think of his scars. When she met him, she would have sworn they were the results of his fight against other Death Scythes. In light of the recent events, she understood better.

No, it has not been Death Scythes that have marked him.

Cinematic records. The records had broken through in his flesh to the point that they had left their traces in their wake.

How many times have you let yourself be dragged by them?

How many human deaths have destroyed your heart?

She does not need an answer to that. They have been enough.

" You just have to be patient .." She says once she is next to him.

Standing on her knees in front of him, she sets aside the towels to start work. She is inches away from brushing his skin when she is stopped abruptly. Undertaker clutches her wrist, his gaze fixed on her.

"... Grell?" His voice is a raspy, barely audible whisper.

She smiles pleased.

You're back.

To be continue...