|London Estate|
Trust him? Trust him? How the hell did the demon presume she would be trusting him near her nephew without her being around to keep a close eye on the proceedings?
Fuming she opened the front door, wiping her now soaked shoes on the carpet. She had walked the entire way back in order to clear her head, and now it was already dark out. Not that she had feared much, human robbers wouldn't be able to do her any harm. Still the walk had done little for her brooding, something she was now indulging in a way she hadn't done since she had been five.
'I'm home.' She grumbled, nor really counting on anyone answering her. That was the reason her surprise doubled when Agni's head popped around the door frame, welcoming her back with a cheerful smile.
'Miss Madeleine, how nice to see you back? How was your errand?' he asked her, trying to see if she had brought back Ciel and Sebastian. The fact that he hadn't expected her to fail was something she found she appreciated.
'I was sent back.' She said, trying not to sound too sulky. Someone of her age should act more mature and wise, really. Not as if she were some chastised puppy who wasn't allowed to play with the other dogs. 'My help at this moment was not deemed necessary.' Perhaps there was a tad more disappointment in her voice than she would have liked after all.
Agni commented nothing further on her statement, instead gesturing her inside the common room. 'Let me pour you some chai tea, miss. I have understood that you understand something of the game of chess, and my master would like a chance to hone his skills. If you would be so kind as to grant him this favour?' the Indian man asked her with a smile.
Madeleine suppressed an even sour look at the request. Though prince Sohma had learned to behave a little bit, he was still a demanding, nosy brat who should learn that other people had better things to do than act on his every whim. And yet, she had taken a liking to Agni and found she couldn't easily deny such a modest request.
'As you wish, prince Sohma.' Madeleine replied as she entered the room. The young man welcomed her with more enthusiasm than kindness – she was after all a servant, and a woman at that – but at least he didn't look down his nose at her. She assumed the few threats she had spouted in the kitchens at his address might have reached his ears as well, the times he had made some unreasonable requests of the staff or hindered Ciel in his studies. 'Though I must warn you, I will not go easy on you.'
Sohma grinned at her, hands spread out towards the chess board in an air of superiority as he spoke. 'If I cannot beat a mere woman at this game, how can I ever hope to beat shorty?'
Madeleine huffed as she sat down opposite the prince, more because of the small insult at Ciel's account than for her own ego. When it came to a woman's position in the eyes of men, she was already used to much worse from her own century. Though in the end, very little had actually changed in her eyes.
Agni returned with her tea, before retreating at the side of his master to observe the game. Madeleine gestured for Sohma to begin, sipping her tea. She assumed chai tea was something delicious, so she made a vague comment in that area. Thanks to the bond with Sebastian, the tea tasted more like smoke and ash. She forced herself to keep a smile on her face.
Her mind was still racing as she thought about the way she had been the one to be left behind. Oh sure, she would be the first to grudgingly admit that Sebastian was stronger than her, had more experience and would vehemently defend his prey. But when it came to actually caring for Ciel, she believed herself to be more suited to the task. There was no knowing what the demon would deem suitable for a human boy to partake in.
'You're leaving your queen too unprotected.' She commented as the game progressed. Sohma played aggressively, without any regard of defending his stronger game pieces. She leant her head on her hand, drinking some more tea. 'I know the game ends when the king is defeated, but the queen is the one who's best suited to defend him. Once you near the end of the game, the king is most useful for attacking and defending.'
Sohma looked surprised at her comment. When Ciel played he rarely gave advice, and only when the match was over. 'But if the king is going to be important in the end, why should I use the queen?'
Madeleine puffed her cheeks, thinking over her next move. It had been literally centuries since she had last played, and certain parts of the game were more fuzzy than others. Still it was fairly obvious Sohma would be losing to her.
'Check.' She announced. 'If a piece will only be useful in the end, it must be protected until the end. The strong pieces therefore protect the others, until they at such a moment become strong and finish the game.' After Sohma's move she took a pawn, moving it in a position that made it glaringly obvious she wanted it to be attacked. 'Of course, other pieces are only suitable to be sacrificed.'
'Check and mate.' She finally announced, to the great amazement of Sohma. Agni clapped his hands for what he had perceived as a wonderful match, giving his heartfelt congratulations to the two participants. Sohma admitted his defeat far more gracefully than she had expected, issuing a challenge for another day. Madeleine wondered if she wouldn't be able to persuade him to play something less high-strung, such as cards.
As she retreated to her room she passed the door to Sebastian's bedroom. She paused in the hallway for a second, considering her options. Surely, going through somebody's belongings was bad, but Sebastian had taken Lord Michael's blade from her. That belonged to an angel, and not in the possession of a demon surely?
Finally she made the decision to enter the room, after carefully checking nobody would see her enter. The inside of the room was sparsely decorated, with less than half the care products Sebastian had back at the mansion. The room itself had very little hiding spaces, unless the demon had busied himself with opening up the floor or ceiling to create hiding spaces.
The shelves of his dresser contained nothing of note, paper and ink. One of them contained a map with the information he had been able to gather about the current mission. When she opened it up, she could already see the information in this wouldn't be able to help her one bit towards solving the case. She opened his closet, vaguely fearing some hellish guardian beast leaping out at her. When nothing came, she quickly checked the contents. Several of the same shirt and butler outfit, two pocket watches and a rope made of dark-colored silk.
Finally she checked underneath his matrass, having to face the reality that Sebastian had nothing hidden underneath there as well. With a deep sigh she sat down on the bed, looking up at the winter moon that was shining through the window. She folded her legs underneath her after kicking her shoes of, finding herself strangely bored. It seemed to be true that even living in a house with a perverted demon could in the end grow on someone.
With growing horror she realized that she missed Sebastian. She was actually missing that long-legged smug bastard who's prime reason for existence seemed to be annoying her. She lied to herself that that wasn't true, she only missed the rare opportunities she had for throwing something at his face, all the while being thankful that only spoken lies caused pain to an angelic body.
She gripped her long hair with both hands, tugging it slowly, deliberately. She admitted to herself that she might have a tiny crush on the demon. Hardly worth calling it a crush, really. So microscopic one would hardly be able to discern it if it were a tangible thing.
Absolutely. Nothing. More. Not one shred more.
|Noah's Arc Circus|
'Uhm… Miss? Are ye sure ye should be on 'ere?' the man called Dagger asked her. Joker had appointed him as a sort of bodyguard, convinced that a mere maid would probably blunder into the tiger cage the first chance she got. Right now they were lying on top of a tent, courtesy of a hay cart that had been placed so conveniently she could climb on top without showing any sigh of supernatural powers or immodesty.
'Perfectly sure.' Madeleine replied dryly, keeping a close eye on Ciel through one of the stage binoculars she had borrowed from the estate. Right now the boy seemed to be practicing how to walk on a ball with his roommate, a young boy called Freckles. 'My nephew would feel highly inconvenienced if I were to hover around him constantly-' Actually he would send her straight home, forbidding her to come back until their research was over. '-And it would be good for him to learn some independence.'
She couldn't see Sebastian anywhere near, though that probably meant nothing. The man was very likely somewhere within earshot.
'Ye sure are fond of yer nephew.' Dagger observed. There was a slight tone of approval in his voice, along with a heavy dose of worry for her safety.
'If I could get away with locking him up in a box for his own safety, I would.' Madeleine said, pulling a Funtom candy from her pockets. Perhaps it would shut the man up for now, leaving her to spy-… observe in peace.
She ran her tongue past her teeth, feeling a sudden chill draw past her leg. Today had been chilly, but not as could as it could have been… and yet…
'Are you feeling cold as well, mister Dagger?' Madeleine asked, trying to convince herself that she wasn't feeling anything out of the ordinary. Before the man could reply, she let out a cry of indignation and shock.
'What is it?' Dagger asked, looking at her in worry.
Madeleine squirmed, trying not to scream out and give away her location to Ciel or Sebastian. 'There's something beneath… my skirt…' she bit her tongue when the thing slithered past her underwear up her back. How it even found room in the dress to do that was beyond her, but somehow it did. It was cold and flexible and sent shivers all over her spine. 'Help me…' she whispered. If she made too much sound, Sebastian was bound to come running and antagonize her.
Dagger was in an obvious panic, looking at her squirm in an attempt to keep quiet. He started to move around as well, his hands in the air as if he wanted to help her check but at the same time very unwilling to put a hand on a woman that was not Beast. With his erratic movements, one of his daggers that were usually tucked away safely behind his belt fell out. He scrambled behind it, trying to catch it. He did, but by slamming his hands on it he managed to slice a hole in the tent.
Madeleine stopped her suppressed whimpering just long enough to see that they were in trouble. Dagger moved in an attempt to reassure her, placing his knee right in the newly created hole. The very audible rip was enough to send a new surge of panic through the pair of them, and even though the angel was able to keep her mouth shut, Dagger shouted loudly enough for the two of them.
Five minutes later Joker found himself staring at a destroyed tent, with a disheveled Dagger and Madeleine in the middle of it, the latter looking like she was trying her hardest not to scream out.
'Wot the 'ell is goin' on 'ere?' he asked, scratching the back of his head. Finally the source of Madeleine's distress was revealed as a dark brown snake appeared from between her breasts, slithering up her neck. He saw the woman's eyes grow big, before she slumped to the ground in an obvious panic.
'Snake!' Joker bellowed, hoping the snake charmer would show up soon to reclaim his pet. Fair enough, Joker had asked Snake as well to keep an extra eye on the maid, but using his snakes to actually creep up on her was too much.
The man appeared soon enough, having the decency to at least look like he was ashamed of the lazy method he had employed. But then again, Snake always looked like he was ill at ease.
'Snake, what were ye thinkin', sendin' a snake up the girl's skirt?' Joker chided, pointing at a passed-out Madeleine. Dagger was softly patting the woman's cheek, trying to wake her up without having to bother the Doctor with another case. The guilty serpent was plopped on the woman's stomach, clearly carrying out it's perceived duty. 'It's obvious she wasn't expectin' that.'
Snake frowned. Though he knew people weren't fond of his friends, he hadn't expected her to faint from having one so close. On the other hand, it wasn't every day they crawled inside their clothes, so he supposed he could draw a lesson from this. He ran a hand through his nearly-white hair, trying to discover just where he had gone wrong. 'Sorry.' He finally said. 'We told Goethe to keep a good look on her, that's all… Says Emily.'
Some colour was already returning to Madeleine's cheek, making Joker urge Snake to remove Goethe from her stomach. Snake obeyed, bending over to stretch a hand out so Goethe could return to his kin.
Just at that moment Madeleine opened her eyes, causing the snake charmer to freeze. Her brilliant blue eyes focused on him, and for a moment Snake could feel something off about her.
Then the moment had passed, as her eyes focused once again on the snake that was now just an inch away from her body. 'Could you please, very please, get that thing away from me?'
Snake obliged, not feeling as offended as he could have been. Apart from being used to that sort of reaction, there was also the fact that he had been responsible for her fainting. It wasn't even directed at him; the woman had been so concentrated on the snakes she had hardly registered their caretakers.
Madeleine got up from the ground, dusting of her clothes. She could feel herself blushing so fiercely she was surprised the surrounding snow hadn't melted from the heat radiating from her cheeks. The three men looked at her, only intensifying her blush. 'Please forgive me for fainting. It's just that I don't handle being around snakes very well.'
Not only snakes. Angels had a very obvious dislike for anything that was traditionally seen as unclean or associated with demons. Rats, fleas and spiders were part of the list, as was the snake. Though fainting had been a rather extreme reaction. Mentally she chastised herself for being so weak.
'Perhaps I should be getting home for the day?' she mumbled as a question. She didn't really want to go back home. There hadn't been a chance for snooping around yet, thanks to Joker giving her a bodyguard for every moment she was here. But there was a very good chance that someone would talk about the maid with the blue eyes and long chestnut hair who had just fallen through a tent. However much she would have liked to disagree, that stunt had Madeleine written all over it with permanent ink.
The men smiled and nodded, Joker being so kind as to offer her an escort out of the camp. This of course after he offered to bring Sebastian, who had said 'ye two are as thick as thieves'. She declined, not wanting to admit to the demon she hadn't been able to stay away from Ciel for a mere twenty-four hours.
Snake watched as the woman walked away with someone he considered to be family. She had an easy smile for as far as he could judge, and hadn't nearly made as much fuss about the snakes as she could have had. She could just as well have thrown a huge fit, demanding some kind of compensation. He ignored Dagger who was currently mumbling something about Beast once again, trying to comprehend what it had been that had seemed so very off in the woman's eyes.
He turned around to the practice tent, hoping to find Doll there. As he walked, Goethe started to communicate what he had found out about the woman.
'Sshe hass nothing under her clothess. Sshe didn't ssmell like danger or predator. Jusst very sscared. And very clean.'
Snake nodded, though the last statement seemed a bit odd. It seemed rather obvious that a maid would be more clean than a circus help, but still… 'Cleaner than us?'
Goethe slid around his neck, exuding a very agitated feeling. 'Too clean. I have never ssmelled anyone who wass sso clean. There was no dirt ssticking to her. Not human clean.'
Snake raised his eyes at that last comment, looking back to see if he could catch a glimpse of the woman who was walking away. That seemed to be a rude comment about a woman who had been, if a bit prejudiced, still very understanding about being put under constant guard. He could see her, a spot of dark blue accompanied by the red-head who was the circus leader. Although the smile on her face was reserved, it reached her eyes.
If she wasn't human, then what was she?