Another week, another chapter! And so begins my weekend of term paper writing, hooray! Sarcasm, of course... -_-;
Uwaa I forgot to mention last week how excited I am for Madame Red to be in this story! She's awesome and I'm so pleased I found a use for her character here! Who read the newest chapter?! Can't wait for the next one, I need my SebbyxCiel again!
Alright, to the chapter, shall we?
The Undertaker's Apprentice
"Stay by my side, I'll handle them," Madame Red cautioned as she gently pushed Ciel and Finny behind her. The three of them approached the guards standing at attention on either side of the front gates. Ciel stared at the ground and tried not to look at the guards' guns at their sides.
"Morning, ma'am," one of the men greeted the Madame as they reached the gate, "Can I help ya wit something?"
"Actually, yes you can," she leisurely swung herself into a façade, "You see, I am here to visit my chef. He's here—debt, you see."
The guard looked down his long nose at Ciel, who was grasping at Madame Red's wrist. He looked Finny over as well. "Who are they?"
Madame Red smiled in stride. "Oh, these boys? They are my chef's sons, I'm taking care of them until their father can return. They've been looking forward to seeing their father."
The guard glanced across the gate at his companion. The man shook his head. "I don't think it's best for them to see their father until he is released," he called over.
Madame Red blinked. "What's that you say?"
"'s whot I just said," the far guard said, "Goin' in and visiting their father might not be the best fer them. 'e could be sick, er worse."
Madame Red stamped up to the guard and shook her finger in his face. "Don't you dare suggest such a violent thing in front of these boys! They want to see their father and by God, I'll have them see their father! Let us in."
The guard shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am."
Madame Red stepped back and took a deep breath. She smoothed out her skirts and adjusted her hat. Going back over to the first guard, she took out a purse—also red—and pulled out a tight roll of bank notes. Ciel craned his neck ever so slightly to see the amount, but only got a glimpse of three digit spaces. Getting into Newgate was apparently rather pricy. Good to know.
The guard glanced down at the notes, looked around the street, and upon his companion's approving nod stuffed them into his coat pocket. "One moment please," he said as the two guards knocked on the great wooden doors. They slowly opened inwards with an ominous creak. The first guard walked back to the group of visitors and swept his hand to the entrance. "Enjoy your stay," he said with a sarcasm that made Ciel's stomach flip.
The group walked past the guards and into the front yard area. Ciel's mouth dropped open at what he saw; he had been luckier than he knew to have places to stay with Angela and the Undertaker.
The people out in the yard were in shambles. They wore tattered rags, smeared with dirt and filth, and Ciel could see the sharp outlines of their bones from hunger. He looked down at the ground and grabbed Madame Red's arm again. Finny averted his eyes as well. The East End was like this in places, but at least there you could go where you liked. These people were just cooped up like chickens.
A half-starved young woman limped over to them, holding out her hands. Ciel could see that, despite the desperate hunger, she had been beautiful once. But beauty never stayed long in London, especially when you never knew where your next meal was coming from. "'ello, miss, d'ya 'ave anythin' ta spare a starvin' wretch loike me?" she croaked out.
Madame Red kept her eyes fixated on the door to the prison and said nothing. More people began to flock around them as they walked toward the door.
"Some coin fer me family? We're hungry!"
"Please! Me mum's sick!"
"Jus' somethin' extra fer me ta pay me debts!"
Madame Red fought through the mob, grabbing hold of Ciel and Finny to make sure they did not get separated. Two prison officers arrived on the scene and blew their whistles. The people quickly left and went about their business.
One of the officers shook Madame Red's hand. "How d'ya do, ma'am? Can I help ya with something?"
"I'm here to visit an acquaintance for my sister, Sebastian Michaelis. Could you show us to his cell, if you would be so kind?"
The officer looked down at the two boys with a sniff. "And these two?"
The lady gave Ciel a squeeze. "My nephews. My sister is ill, you see, and I've been charged with escorting them today."
The officer jumped with a look of surprise. "Michaelis? Nay, sorry, but you can't see 'im. No one's allowed ta see him, Queen's orders."
Another flash of bank notes and the officer was all ears. "You say ya want ta see the duke?"
Madame Red nodded and smiled coyly. "That would be excellent. Thank you, officer." The man led them into the prison and down the long, dank hallway past so many doors the corridor seemed endless.
Finny suddenly stopped and looked into the window of a cell door. Ciel made to stop and join him, but he whispered, "Go on, Ciel, I'll catch right up. Jus' gotta see something."
Confused, the boy obeyed and continued with the two oblivious adults. He didn't give Finny's strange behavior much thought—he said he'd catch up later, after all. The remaining group walked down the hallway and up a flight of dimly lit stairs to a smaller corridor. It smelled less up here. Must be where the rich canaries are.
The officer took a ring of keys off its latch by the corridor's entrance and twirled them around his finger. He whistled a cheery tune as he led them down the eerie hallway. The song was familiar to Ciel; he sung along in his head:
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady
At last, they came to a door and the officer stopped. He jangled around with the keys and tried a few before opening the door with a squeak. There wasn't much light in the room beyond, and a dim light faintly spread itself across the corridor. The officer ushered the two of them inside. "Quickly, quickly," he hissed, "Where's the third one?"
Madame Red looked behind her. "He's gone? Oh dear, better go find him."
The officer shook his head. "Like I'm goin' ta do that on my own time. Unless, 'o course, ya pay up."
The woman shrugged. "No skin off my nose if he gets caught and you are exposed for taking a bribe."
"I—" the officer fumed. Ciel couldn't remember the last time he had seen someone's face turn purple, but this was definitely one of those rare instances.
The man stormed off without a word. Madame Red waved him goodbye. "Now," she said, strutting into the cell, "We have business to attend to. Hello, Sebastian."
Sebastian looked up from his cheap iron frame bed. He looked a bit worse for wear, but he seemed to be managing alright for the circumstances. "Well, well, Angelina Durless. Imagine you coming here to see me." He did not bother to get up and greet her properly, Ciel noticed. Where these two really friends?
"Please, call me Madame Red. It's become more commonly used than my actual name, I guess you could say."
"What are you doing here? And why did you bring Ciel?" he asked sharply, boring right through the boy with a harsh look. "He should not have come here."
"Sebastian, I'm—!"
"Did you come alone? Imagine what could have happened if Angelina had not found you!"
Ciel stamped his foot. "Finny's 'ere, too! 'e ran off somewhere in the jail, found somethin' in a cell. Stop treatin' me like a child!"
"I will until you begin to act more maturely."
"Then what about the dance—" Ciel hushed up when he remembered Madame Red was there, too. If word got out about the kiss, Sebastian would be on death row for more than just serial murder.
Madame Red looked from Sebastian to Ciel, then back to Sebastian again. Finally, she heaved a sigh and clapped her hands together. "Right, now that this happy little reunion is over, on to the next step: escape."
Historical notes! Newgate Prison was the oldest and one of the largest prisons in 18th century England. It was a prison for convicts and for people awaiting execution or trial, but it also acted as a debtor's prison (where people would go if they could not pay their debts - there were A LOT of people in this situation!). It was extremely dirty, and people had to pay fees for everything if they wanted to have any basic necessities like clothes and bedding. They also had to pay when they were admitted and when they were released. As you could imagine, especially for people who could not pay off their debts to begin with, Newgate Prison was a pretty terrible place.
Ah, so cheerful. But now Ciel has found Sebastian! What will they do to escape? Where's Finny? Come back March 26, the day after my birthday, for the next chapter! ^_^