"Meena…"
"Prince Soma…" The woman turned away from West, facing the teen.
"I… I finally found you!" Soma called, happily, hugging the shocked woman tightly, close to tears of relief. "I've been looking for you for such a long time. You must have been so worried and frightened when you were kidnapped to England. You don't have to worry anymore. Let's go home together."
"Prince…" She pushed him away suddenly, the shock wearing away into a bitter, angry expression, glaring at the prince. "Are you some kind of idiot?" Meena stepped back, edging closer to West, raising her voice coldly. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming this far just to get in people's way." She huffed, hands on her waist, bracelets clinking harshly, the gold gleaming. "Go with you? Don't make me laugh." She looked away, her dark eyes cold and hard, mirroring a life that had left very little untouched. "Who would want to return to a place like that?"
"You were hiding this, weren't you?" Soma stuttered, shocked, realization hitting him, his posture growing limp and defeated.
"Sorry for not wanting to live my whole life bound by my social class. I even took great pains to sneak out of India." A gold-digger one with aspirations, expensive tastes and a mean disposition. Mouser arched an eyebrow, identifying the sort easily. Most of the maids and valets that would sell their hirer's secrets were that kind of person. Higher or lower all had a price, or an emotion that could be used to obtain what the blackmailer wanted.
"Then you wanted… with West…" Soma looked at the man behind his former nanny, starting to understand a bit more of a world he had not seen until that moment.
"That's right." She preened, looking proud of the result of her scheme. "Even a child could understand what is better. A rich wife or a servant." She glared at the prince, flicking her hair, arms going around West. "I'm sick of looking after a selfish master."
Agni wept, the defeat, the broken promises, the dashed trust weighting on his mind. It was obvious what kind of deal had been made between Agni and West for the Prince's sake.
"So that was why." Soma whispered, shaking his head, walking towards Agni, his eyes moist and soft. "Sorry." He whispered to his manservant, making him look up, confused. "We were that close and I did not understand her feelings." Soma walked to Agni, leaning, placing one hand on his shoulder. Then he turned to Meena, serenely "I am sorry for never thinking about being a bother and chasing you all the way to England." The prince flinched a bit but faced Sebastian nonetheless, walking past the woman he had crossed half the world to rescue. "And… thanks for everything until now. Until now… I always blamed other people. Being alone in the castle was my parent's fault. Meena leaving was West's fault. But I was wrong. Even though I was gnawing at my parent's ankles I did nothing but complain. There's no one who would love a brat like that." He sighed softly, turning back to Agni, smiling kindly. "But you stayed on my side even though we were separated. I've given you nothing but trouble until now. Will you stay and be my khanasama Agni?" He asked softly.
Agni's tears changed, his tight expression loosening, the burden simply fading.
"Jo Ajha" The Prince's khanasama said, bowing.
Mouser smiled slightly, glancing at the discreetly retreating figures of West and Meena. Lau was smiling and nodding. RanMao was chewing on a last piece of curry bread. She caught the Chinese's glance and smiled. Good. She wasn't the only one thinking about it.
"It seems somehow everything ended up for the best, wouldn't you say..." The Queen had been watching the scene unfold with quiet curiosity. She was smiling, clapping in calm acceptance. "Isn't that good… boy?" She spoke chuckling. Mouser glanced at Queen Victoria suddenly. That was such a motherly tone to use and… boy. The thief smiled. The other servants also seemed to find the moniker hilarious much to the boyo's dismay.
"Your Majesty I humbly requested you stop referring to me that way." He almost shouted at the Queen, flustered, gesturing hard.
"Is that so?" She chuckled, covering her mouth with a glove. "But you'll always be a cute little boy to me." The Queen added playfully.
"Your Majesty…" Ciel managed to put the trio in order after a quick bout of discipline. Mouser kept hidden behind him to avoid any sort of retaliation. "Why did you come all the way out here today?" He managed to finally ask, top hat in hand, looking humble.
"I was at St. Sophia University's choir concert." The Queen explained, still smiling, still looking as though she was full of life and hope. "But when I heard your company was coming to the curry contest I had to come and see you. You only send letters and never come visit after all." At that she took on the appearance of a granny, a normal woman scolding her child. Ciel was not softened, looking down.
"Someone like me shouldn't be around your Majesty too often." The Earl of Phantomhive admitted calmly.
"Please don't say such things." The Queen placed a gentle hand on his cheek, looking kindly at him. "You are still young but you perform your duty so seriously, just like your father Vincent. Besides that it has been such a long time since I've come to the Crystal Palace." She looked around, walking a bit, the skirts rustling. "It seems like only yesterday that Albert and I were here for the opening ceremonies… Aaaaaalbert…" Victoria fell back into her sobbing mood.
Cue puppet. Her aide was immediately at her side, using the toy to calm the Queen.
"I wish I were here today too…" John Brown said through the puppet, until the Monarch was recovered.
"Oh dear… I must be leaving soon." John brought the horse back and helped the Queen onto the saddle. "I'll have the Grand Chamberlain's office send you the authorization documents for the Royal Warrant. I'm looking forward to eating curry bread in the Royal Salon as well." She pulled the reins and dashed off, waving "You have fun now boy. "
John Brown stayed behind for a moment, earning a slight glance from the boyo.
"Shouldn't you be going too?" Ciel mentioned. The man seemed startled before breaking into a run, following the woman he served, leaving the ear shaking his head. "She's the same as always." He muttered to himself, placing the top hat back on his head.
"Ciel." Soma approached solemnly, Agni close by. Lau and RanMao were missing. "Thank you for winning. You have my gratitude." The prince placed his palms together and bowed slightly.
"It was not for you. It was for my own sake." The boyo repeated. "But your babysitter coming back was killing two birds with one stone. He shrugged despite the grateful look Agni was beaming his way.
"Ciel… if I had never come to England I probably wouldn't have learned all sorts of truths." Soma continued, caught in a net of growth. "If I had never met Ciel I would still be ignorant of the ways of the world. From now on I want to learn all sorts of things and become a great man. I won't lose to anyone. I'll show you. " The Prince was now showing off, looking excited and ready to move on.
Mouser chuckled, shaking her head.
"If you just say it, it won't happen." Ciel said dourly.
"If I say it, it will happen!" Soma rebutted, arms shaking, going for a hug which the boyo was trying hard to avoid.
"My, my… how bustling…" Sebastian walked down from the stage, joining the commotion, immediately hugged and pampered by the trio.
"Sebastian!" Meyrin clapped. "Congratulations!"
"How do you want to celebrate?" Bard was saying, patting the butler's back hard, chuckling. "We should celebrate!" Finny was dancing with the trophy being scolded by Bard as soon as the cook saw. Sebastian disentangled and got away, surprised when Agni stood in front of him before kneeling down.
"Sebastian… I wonder how I should apologise for this, for everything..." The Indian began, contrite.
"Mr. Agni. There is no need for that kind of thing." Sebastian spoke warmly, crouching to the other man's level, offering one gloved hand. "Please raise your head."
"At first I regretted accompanying the prince to England. But now…" Agni looked around. Smiling faces, a prince willing to grow… "I think it was a very good thing. We both have learned a lot from you all. I feel I must thank you somehow. "
"You have been apologising from the beginning. I fought for my own reasons and you fought for yours. That's all there is to it. There is nothing to thank me for." Sebastian stressed his selfishness once again before continuing, closing the issue. "The goddess Kali you believe in and Shiva realized their faults through their mutual pain just as you two are doing now. Ah… the sun is already setting." The butler said, as if just now noticing, turning to the Phantomhive household. "Shall we go home?" He gave them some time to gather, Agni walking silently next to him. "And as they say «no pain no gain»." Sebastian added, glancing at the boyo. Mouser smiled, rolling her eyes. Enough time had passed now…
"To have the philosophy of my country explained to me by an Englishman…" Agni chuckled conversationally. "It's a little embarrassing."
"It has nothing to do with England or India. No matter where or when it's the same." The demon stopped, turning towards the group, smiling slightly, the bloody red sunset glowing through the glass panels behind him. "Humanity that is." He added.
"That's right. The evening sun as seen from the banks of the Ganges… the sunset in England… it has the same beauty." Agni nodded, seeing nothing behind his words, accepting their face value and the clear meaning.
"Meeenaaaa!" Soma began to sob suddenly having grabbed Ciel in a death-grip hug. Agni smiled slightly, hands clasped.
"It's good we came to England. Both the prince and I were able to make good friends." He continued as the servants swooped in an tried to comfort the prince while the boyo seemed interested only in escaping, struggling like a fish out of water.
"Friends, is it? It's the first time anyone said that to me." Sebastian noticed with a bit of shock, showing then a simple calm smile as he watched Agni move in to pry the Young Master free.
"That touched you." Mouser whispered embracing Sebastian softly, relieved the day was coming to an end and that no other disasters had struck. The demon nodded slightly, caressing her cheek before she parted from him. "I'll be home soon." Mouser said, sneaking away.
"Damn it! They spoiled my plans…" West was shouting angrily, like a child in the middle of a tantrum, slumped against a brick wall on the alleys, face covered by the expensive gloves, out of view. The sunset was low enough for the area to be shrouded in a purplish shadow.
"Cheer up… there is always next time." Meena was trying to soothe him seeing that he still had enough money and status to be of some further use. He had enough to buy her kindness. The wife had crouched down, patting his knee softly, the skirts spread around her. Neither of them seemed aware of the possibility of a mugger or worse being close by.
"Yes, yes." Lau's voice came from the narrow entry of the alleyway, eyes still closed, giving him a calm and blissful air while he approached. The smile he was wearing on the other hand was one that he had rarely shown the boyo but that was known and feared throughout the Underworld. "Always next time." He mused, gesturing, the sleeves dangling casually. "Thank you for your hard work." He praised with a quick clap.
"You are?" West stood. Meena stood. Both faced him, unaware of the little shadow that was approaching from the other side of the narrow street.
Lau shrugged, opening his arms. He had been there all the time. His features, outfit and RanMao had been flashy enough to be seen. And yet West had seen nothing beyond the Earl's fancy title and rich clothes. But it was not something he took much offence in.
"The Earl said that there is no point going after the small fires but someone who tries something once will try it again. Letting them go… that sort of thing is going too easy." Lau chuckled, opening his eyes. Cold and merciless. A lot of people had seen them. Most of them were dead. Others attributed the iciness to the opium, being too drugged to separate the reality from their smoke-dreams. Others were simply not surprised that the representative of the Chinese crime world was such a cruel creature. "Well that's the boy's cute point though. I've got to exterminate the bad rats infesting my city. So I keep a cat." RanMao slammed Chinese decorative clubs to the ground, splintering cobblestone. Then she attacked. "Meow." Lau chuckled, raising a closed hand, mimicking the feline, glancing to his left, to another alley as his assassin took care of the annoyances. "And nowadays so does the Earl. Isn't that right little kitty?" He asked playfully.
Mouser huffed, lighting a stolen cigarette, leaning against the wall, walking out, staring at the soon to be corpses and then at the closed windows around. It would take some time for them to be found and reported. They were also very mangled, still twitching, a low groan or whine coming out of them. She blew smoke into the air casually.
"It seems you dealt with it before I could." She noted. Lau moved near her, patting her head like she was RanMao. She shook his hand away, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "I'll let the boyo know you are helpful."
Letting someone like that live was a mistake. Spiteful and petty.
People like that would always stab each other on the back.
It was just a matter of time.
One thing they were quick to learn on the streets was to just let them die. Or kill them. Whatever worked best.
So she had thought about taking the root of future problems away. Finding them, following, waiting till they were home and then making it look like a burgle job gone badly awry. Stolen valuables, broken furniture, murdered owners, blood everywhere, a couple of shots fired to make it look like there had been some struggle, the whole picture painted properly and primly for the servants to find.
Lau seemed to have thought roughly the same although method veered towards a vengeance or payback due to the state of the bodies and the still present baubles. Maybe by the time they were found some scavengers would have absconded with the glittering jewels.
The Chinese's original intentions were more on the selfish side, to protect his own status on the street and climb a slight notch on the favours to the boyo. Never a bad time to get on his good graces he often said.
"And I appreciate it." Lau waved her goodbye, walking back towards his East End den.
Mouser glanced at the corpses, noticing the cinematic records leaving in thin black and white stripes, showing glimpses of their past, their schemes, floating upwards, disappearing into some sort of blade. A Grim Reaper was standing on the rooftop, looking down with those gold-and-green eyes wearing a prim and pristine dark suit. Not Grell then. Too bad she could use another supernatural entity to ask questions to. Mouser smirked for him and walked away, slipping her hands into the sleeves.
The ambient of the kitchen was heavy with cigar smoke, the coils of silver moving lazily against the flickering light of a gas lamp and the scent of alcohol. Bard was chomping down on his cigarette, slightly nervous, staring at the cards occasionally taking a swig of cheap whiskey. Mouser balanced her cigarette in a smug smirk, fanning herself with the cards, the rum bottle next to her elbow.
"Woman you're ruthless." The cook threw his cards down in frustration wearing only his apron, the last piece of clothing he had been able to retain throughout the game.
"I had to follow through with my threats." Mouser poked the butt of the cigarette on the cracked clay ashtray, snuffing it out. Throughout the night she had taken his money, his weapons, the stashes of ammo, some war memorabilia and his clothes. She had been cheating mercilessly, tilting the game to her side and getting him good and drunk in the process. Still as a former soldier Bard was hard to put under the table. "Now parade."
"I give." The man chuckled and stood carefully, fidgety. He dropped the apron and slammed it down, making the piles of trinkets and coins topple, defiant till the bitter end.
Mouser laughed and poured him the whiskey, covering her eyes with the cards. His physique was still that of a soldier. Undeniably he was handsome.
"Come on." She pushed the glass towards him. "A round for the naked guy."
Bard laughed too and downed it, sitting once again.
There was a sudden gasp and stutter from the entry.
Meyrin stood there, red faced, in her nightgown, staring. Mouser sipped her rum slowly, waiting for the explosion.
"B…B…B… Bard!" The maid shrieked suddenly, covering her eyes, hand on the lenses. The cook jumped and tried to cover himself, stuttering. Mouser laughed starting to gather the cards.
"Let's call it a night then…" She whispered as Bard managed to run off from the kitchen, hurriedly and embarrassed, leave a blushing maid behind. They might as well stop, the thief thought checking her watch. Nearly two… and they would be leaving for the Manor in the morning. Finny had gone to bed early, tired and exited, talking non-stop about seeing Pluto again. Mouser also felt a bit of need to see Pluto and try again to take that collar away from its furry neck. Oddly enough neither Finny's massive strength nor her claws had been able to pry the thing away when they tried, after the dolls' incident. Mouser hadn't asked Sebastian and because nothing had come of it she had nearly forgotten... but the voice and the threat… it was a dangling loose end that was bothering her. "Something you needed?"
"Water." Meyrin said softly, walking in a daze to the pitcher. "Why was Bard naked?"
"I made him gamble until he had nothing to bet but his clothes. And then I continued." Mouser lit another cigarette. They had been gambling from the moment the boyo's dinner had ended and the dishes were done. After she managed to pry herself out of the dress. The servants had questioned her a bit about why she hadn't returned with them to which Mouser simply answered that she had been running some errands for the boyo. "I'll return them in the morning though. I don't have the heart or the visual fortitude to watch him walk around naked in winter." She stood and stretched. "How's the chapter?"
Meyrin blushed again.
"I'll give it to you tomorrow." The evening paper where each week the next chapter of Mrs. Levant's adventures came out. It was Meyrin's turn to read it first. The Wicked Dove it was called, about a woman that murdered and disposed of her husbands as soon as she felt unloved. Going by the crimson maid's expression the hunt for victim number four had been completed.