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—
Alois held onto Ciel, clutching her to his chest tightly while Charlotte raced into the forest.
Ciel had no idea where her eldest child was intent on going or when she would return.
What did it matter?
Ciel thought that Charlotte hated her and considering the circumstances, she couldn't completely blame her daughter.
No, all Ciel could do was hold onto Alois and bury her face in his shoulder while the blonde cooed to her softly.
—
Charlotte kicked her horse, spurring the animal to run faster and faster into the forest.
Charlotte rode past ponds and streams.
Charlotte rode past several other fine manors that bore a strong resemblance to the Trancy and Phantomhive estates.
Charlotte wept as she rode along, gripping the horse's reins as her tears fell into the animal's thick mane.
Charlotte was only running away, she wasn't running towards any particular thing, and soon, she found herself wandering the streets of London.
Charlotte had parked her horse outside of a quaint pub.
The eldest twin had found a small pouch of money in one of the saddle bags and had been quick to pocket it.
The sum inside the leather bag was far more than one teenager needed for a night on the run.
Hurt, angry, confused, and lost, Charlotte milled about aimlessly.
Ciel and Alois had sought to protect their children, and they had.
Actually, Ciel and Alois had protected their children a little too well.
Charlotte was a sheltered, wealthy, young aristocrat.
She lacked Ciel's experiences with the world and Alois's street smarts.
The eldest of the twins did not realize when she started to drift into the dangerous part of town…
The laughter became louder and the characters became more volatile as Charlotte, petite and beautiful, blindly strolled through opium dens, dodgy sailor-crowded streets, and dark alleys with plenty of wandering eyes falling over her young, slim figure.
Charlotte never knew exactly how much danger she was in, and just as a pack of ruffians closed in on her with hungry smirks, a loud, brash woman chased them off.
"Oi! Away with the lot of ya! Can't you see that she's with me?!" The woman threatened, opening her steel-tipped parasol and pointing it at the men, threatening to stab them all.
The scoundrels shouted hasty apologies and fled, leaving Charlotte alone with the woman, a girl who was scarcely older than the heartbroken noble.
The woman's face was painted with white lead powder and her lips were colored a deep, blood red.
Charlotte admired the flamboyance of the woman's bright, flashy, red dress.
"I'm Abigail." The woman smiled. "You don't look like you belong here."
"I'm ...Charlotte." Ciel's daughter nodded, grateful for first-name-only introductions. "I….I don't know where I belong, anymore."
"Is 'at right?" Abigail quipped. She gestured to the establishment behind herself as she talked, "Then go on in, love. Sit at the bar and have something to eat. You can't think on an empty stomach."
Charlotte nodded at Abigail and walked inside the building.
It was dirty and it reeked of smoke and…...body odor?
Cigars?
Blood?
No, the place reeked of all of that.
It smelled awful, but still, to Ciel's oldest child, she felt that foul-smelling place was better for her at the moment than her home.
How could Charlotte ever go back home?
Charlotte sat down at the bar and ignored the rowdy crowd around her, keeping to herself while she quietly ordered a plate of fish and chips.
Alois's favorite meal.
Charlotte didn't care for the food, but she ate it in defiance.
Charlotte ate the greasy fare because Alois would have.
It wasn't true.
It couldn't be true.
Her mother was a liar and that Sebastian was nothing more than a…..than a…
Charlotte sniffed.
Sebastian was not her father.
Or Isabel's.
And the eldest Phantomhive twin pushed any other possibilities from her mind.
While Charlotte ate though, she mused over Isabel's eyes.
Amber….
Amber….like Sebastian's…..
No!
No.
"How much, love~?" A gruff voice suddenly blew into Charlotte's ear.
"How much for what?" The bluenette repeated, turning suddenly to scowl at the dirty man who stood uncomfortably close, offering her some business for the night.
Charlotte was too innocent to realize that the woman, Abagail, was a prostitute.
Charlotte also did not understand that she was sitting in her scandalous fencing outfit, in the middle of one of London's most notorious bordellos.
"I have nothing to sell! Do I look like a merchant? Get away from me!" Charlotte resisted when the man grabbed her arm.
The man sneered just as a voice rang out.
"Thomas, let her go, please. She isn't one of mine." A dark-haired, middle-aged woman in an opulent green dress called out.
The man blinked over at the woman and snarled, dropping Charlotte's arm with a growl and stalking off.
"Who was that?" Charlotte asked the woman. "Who are you? What do you mean "one of mine"?"
"I am Madam, that's all you need to address me as. I help lost girls recover themselves, I turn them into fine flowers that only bloom at night. Men like to come and admire them, that's all." The woman smiled at Charlotte.
Madam was older but she was truly beautiful.
Madam explained the situation to Charlotte just as she would have if she had been speaking to a little girl.
That's all Charlotte practically was…...
A lock of Charlotte's hair fell onto her chest and she grit her teeth when she just happened to see a few strands of pure, raven-black mixed with the bluenette….
"You make girls into what they want to be?" Charlotte repeated.
"No, I make girls into what I want them to be so they can earn money." The woman explained.
Charlotte considered that for a moment….
Perhaps she had a use for this place after all…..
"Well, I already have a lot of money and I want you to make me into who I want to be." Charlotte commanded.
Madam raised an eyebrow and looked intrigued.
"How much will that cost?" Charlotte asked, flinching as one man broke a bottle over another's head behind her.
Madam smirked as she asked the innocent sheep who had wandered into the wolf's den, "How much have you got, dearie~?"
—
Sebastian still had no idea about all of the drama that had transpired.
However, he did notice that there was quite a bit of wailing in the house on such a happy day…
Sebastian removed his hand from the cut on his cheek that his eldest daughter had given him.
What had gotten into Charlotte?
Sebastian frowned while he attempted to get the room which Charlotte had nearly destroyed during their fencing match back into shape.
Sebastian stopped when he felt someone staring at him…
Sebastian turned around and blinked in surprise when he saw Isabel standing there, frowning at him with reddened, watery eyes.
"Oh dear." Sebastian said quietly. "Whatever is the matter, Miss Isabel?"
The youngest twin regarded Sebastian silently for a long moment before she spoke.
"I've always been afraid of you." Isabel admitted quietly.
Sebastian frowned. "And why is that?"
"Because I've always known there was something off…with you and Mother." Isabel related.
"Off?" Sebastian questioned.
"Do you think that I've never noticed our eyes are the same?" Isabel asked in a small, sad voice.
Sebastian stopped his cleaning efforts and stood before his youngest daughter.
Two similar pairs of amber eyes bore into each other.
Sebastian realized that the girls had indeed been informed that he was their biological parent, not Alois.
Sebastian had been waiting for this day, but…..
This was not happening how he had hoped.
Sebastian had been denied a chance at executing his plan and delivering the news to the twins the right way.
Now, the girls despised him.
But who was to blame?
"Did your mother speak to you about this?" Sebastian asked Isabel.
"Why is it you?" Isabel asked with a quiet grief, her lip trembling as fresh, hot tears sprang to her eyes, spilling over to roll down her perfectly porcelain cheeks.
"Miss Isabel, please, who told you this?" Sebastian asked again.
"Don't call me Miss Isabel." Isabel requested quietly from her natural father.
The smallest twin looked down at the floor with a melancholy frown as she silently walked away. "Please…...don't call me anything at all."
Sebastian frowned as the Isabel left the room with her spirit and heart both broken.
Who had done this?
Who had ruined his plan?
Who had broken his daughters' hearts?
Sebastian thought carefully….
It couldn't have been Ciel.
The bluenette never wanted the girls to know, so why would she finally break her silence?
From the hallway, Sebastian heard Hannah speaking softly to Lucas while she offered the young boy a cookie.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
Hmm…..
—
Lucas had a sweet tooth like Ciel and Hannah soon found that her plate of treats was empty once the little boy got to eat his fill.
Hannah allowed Lucas to have as many sweets as he liked.
The Trancy maid could never deny her master's adorable son anything.
It would break her heart~.
Lucas skipped off to play and Hannah walked back towards the kitchen.
She sighed happily to herself as she stepped into the room and sat her tray down on the counter.
It wasn't until Hannah heard the kitchen door close and lock behind her that she realized she wasn't alone.
"Oh dear, tell me, was it you that upset my daughters so?" Sebastian asked Hannah plainly, standing ominously in front of the door with a disappointed frown on his face.
Hannah didn't feel threatened.
After all, Hannah and Sebastian were in this together, both biding their time until they got what and who they wanted.
Hannah chuckled quietly, "They're young women now. I thought there was no better time than today to tell them the truth. Besides, I've grown tired of pretending." Hannah added bitterly.
Sebastian's frown turned into a scowl.
Sebastian despised both Hannah and Claude.
They were rude, lazy, impatient…..
Alois Trancy had very poor choices in servants.
And now, Hannah's carelessness may have cost Sebastian a chance at a positive relationship with his children.
"That was not the plan." Sebastian said in a low, dangerous voice.
No, it wasn't the plan.
Sebastian had been plotting to tell his daughters when the time was right, but…
Hannah had ruined everything.
Sebastian wanted his twins to have their cake and gifts, Sebastian wanted his twins to smile, and most of all, Sebastian had wanted the twins to be happy when they heard the news.
"Perhaps it's time we made a new plan." Hannah suggested, eyeing Sebastian as he pulled out a knife from his pocket while he approached her.
Sebastian smirked as he prepared to strike, "Indeed~."