Story: A Touch of Color in the Gray
Book 1 : Shading the black.
Date : June 25, 2021
Beta: Lucky's-Dice
Fandom : D Gray Man
Disclaimer : No, I do not own D Gray Man and I am not making any profit from this story.
Summary : After waking up in the 19th century, Ennaël took the name Eve, became the companion of Tricia Kamelott and decided to make her own opinion on the charac ... people of this new world despite her knowledge of the manga. Little by little, she became aware of the difference in social codes for women of this time and began to fear for the future, especially when Road, the twins, Allen, Tyki, The Earl, Lulubell and Skin Bolic arrived little by little.
While trying to flee the Earl, Eve meets Victor Hugo who gives her a lot of information on the holy war before dying. Eve discovers she has a strange talent for musical instruments and wonders with horror if she could be the 14th. It doesn't help that the Earl has discovered her talents and seems to be more and more interested in her.
She then argues with Tyki who fails to kill her with his Noah powers, begins a correspondence with Conan Doyles and again nearly dies of Tuberculosis. And since things always come in threes, she once again avoids dying by falling into an icy lake after having celebrated Christmas with the Noahs. Yeah, not her best year. But the next will be better!
Kof ...
And in the last chapter : Tricia and Sheryl kind of oblige Eve to marry Tyki. Ho, also, Eve is somehow the Earl's daughter now…?
French version: ...FINISHED !
English version: A moment of silence for Lyra, AxZi, Koneko, Nouilleverte and Fluffyluffy our wonderful past-Beta (... I'm going to think there is a curse)
Fanart: You can see drawings of Eve and some fanart made by readers on my Tumblr (Ennael too). Also, Elogane made a canon side-fic but in french, It's "Nuancer les sentiments"
Italic: french, important thought (or both)
Next time I'll post a chapter, I will be a week away from finishing my exam… It looks so far away and soon at the same time...
Anyway, Good Reading !
-April ~ May 1887 -
After our discussion and agreement, Tyki and I went downstairs to discuss our decision with the Earl. Obviously he was with Sheryl and Tricia and if the Duke accepted the thing with a modest nod of the head, Sheryl immediately rushed over to his brother to kiss him to the death, chirping about his sudden maturity and marital bliss. Sensing Tricia practically ready to do the same for me, I shamelessly left Tyki to his brother and hurried on a strategic retreat to avoid my boss… My former boss? Technically I was of higher rank than her now… What a mess.
Sighing, I walked over to the library and hid upstairs, leaning against a shelf, a book on my knees and invisible from downstairs. Even when I heard Tricia walk into the library and call for me, I didn't bother to come down or even answer, teeth clenched and jaw aching. My heart ached and it was not difficult to know the cause for once. I saw Tricia's attitude as betrayal, far worse than Road or Sheryl's attitude, even if it was still hurtful. Despite my good resolutions, I had always prepared my heart for a bad mood change from the Noahs, but Tricia… Tricia was human, the one with whom I had spent the most time here, whom I had accompanied all day or almost, with whom I had spoken about everything and nothing and confided my secrets and my fears. Her reaction was like a stab and suddenly I felt like she didn't know me at all, despite the two years spent together.
"Eve?" Suddenly a voice called from below and I jumped out of my thoughts. It was the Earl and telling myself that I hid my face long enough, I sighed and made up my mind to resurface. Not sure if I had the right to be upstairs or not, I hurried down the hidden staircase silently to tumble between the shelves, slapping my dress in the process, hoping to remove the dust.
"Ah, here you are ! Are you coming to eat?" Asked the Earl when I got to his level. I hesitated for a second then nodded, my previously knotted stomach waking up to notice that it hadn't eaten anything since morni ... since the day before.
Following him, mentally preparing myself to face Tricia, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw only Lulubelle at the table and only three plates set.
"Ah, they went back to the Kamelott mansion an hour ago, the road is long and Sheryl needed to be at the mansion for a work meeting this Monday." Explained the Earl when seated when I asked him where the others were. Blinking, I suddenly realized that they had left me here alone. In an unknown mansion. With the Millennial Earl and the Noah of lust. Feeling another stab to the heart, I narrowed my lips sadly. Fortunately, before I could stammer out a question that was probably poorly worded, the Earl came to my rescue. "We figured it wasn't very adequate to have you and Tyki live under the same roof now that you're engaged. And since you're my daughter…" he said but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "I know the whole situation is a bit… weird but I hope you'll enjoy your stay here." He said with such a smile that despite my best feelings of anger, I could only nod, my eyes blurry.
His charisma was way too strong for me.
This is how my first evening at Campbell Mansion ended. An awkward silence interspersed with short, embarrassing little discussions. And then, finally, a flight to bed far too early, to try to believe that the last twenty-four hours were just a bad dream.
Unfortunately it wasn't and the next day I woke up in my strange new room, in an oversized bed and a maid knocking softly on my door to help me get ready.
Categorically refusing to let the maid dress me, I was infinitely happy when she didn't argue and replied with empty, cold eyes that she would wait for me in the hallway if I needed help. Squinting at this utter lack of emotion, I washed and dressed, telling myself that, yes, it must be an akuma.
The only human in a mansion filled with Akumas, the Millennial Earl, and the Noah of Lust. It sounded like a bad start to a joke ...
Descending once my hair was loosely braided, the maid following in my footsteps as soon as I got out of my room, I made my way to the large dining room, not sure where else to go and too uncomfortable to ask my new babysitter. Fortunately… or unfortunately, Lulubelle left her room just as I walked past and after awkward greetings, I followed her downstairs.
Unlike the Kamelott Mansion where everyone ate breakfast separately (except for me and the twins when they were there) at the Campbell Mansion, this seemed like an important time of the day. Breakfast went a bit like the day before, with Lulubelle only answering questions with a word or two, but for my part I was a little less in the cabbage and the conversation with the Earl was much more fluid. A little puzzled as to what was happening now, I was relieved when the Earl broached the subject at the end of the meal. Obviously, I knew I was getting married… but when? Where ? What should I do? Maybe I could have prepared a 21st century wedding with a lot of willpower and the internet at hand, but here I was afraid I had no idea where to start. Lucky for me, it seemed like Tricia had decided to take care of it so that I could focus on all of those things good-to-marry women should know.
Too kind to her.
Cursing Tyki of all names again, I mentally prepared myself for another hard workout from hell and I wasn't disappointed. Every morning was devoted to mental tasks like learning how to manage a budget for a house or hiring employees and the afternoons consisted of survival exercises in society. At first glance, the first course in "how to be a good noble" that I had taken in anticipation of Road's ninth anniversary ball had only scratched the surface of all those things that we should or should especially not do in good company. It was with a lot of self-persuasion that I refrained from dragging my feet throughout the whole affair. Already this marriage did not enchant me in the slightest, but it didn't help to know that three-quarters of these things that I was learning by the sweat of my brow… would not help me at all.
Because yes, I was the heiress of the Duchy Campbell.
But again, I was the heiress of the Duchy Campbell.
Yes, the Millennial Earl 's daughter. And he wasn't called "millennial" to look pretty. My life expectancy will not be very long as the wife of a Noah, but then as the daughter of the Millennial Earl... I would be dead before him. Or at least I wouldn't live long after his death. And if ever I found myself the sole mistress of the Duchy Campbell, the Earl and other Noah ... gone, well I would not stay playing the noble, I would sell everything, including the title, to settle in a nice corner and play the bourgeois as a hermit.
Unfortunately, I didn't even have time to daydream about this glorious destiny because the tutors hired by the Earl immediately put me back on the right path with rulers to the fingers. My only moments of relaxation were, strangely, the three meals and the tea that the Earl insisted that we take as a family, that is to say, him, Lulubelle and me. My new big sister did not speak any more than before but I was at least relieved to say that our conversations were very relaxed with the Earl. So much that I actually came to wish the meals would arrive faster. In addition, even with my diet drastically revised by the chef of the house, as a French chef, his dishes were even better than at the Kamelott manor. I didn't want to betray Berthe, but French cuisine had no comparison and even if she was taught by her French Father, it still somehow was not the same. And I only said that because of 30% nostalgia and misplaced patriotism.
Fortunately, as soon as dinner was over, all the remaining time was free to use as I saw fit! Obviously, it ended more often than not in the library, especially on the second floor where I had replaced the magic book in case someone came to pick it up. That didn't prevent me from coming to see it whenever I could and I was proud to say that I hadn't broken another window since I arrived at the mansion even after I managed to summon a ball of light.
...
Maybe it was because there weren't any around.
But a victory was a victory! And there really was no need to count the number of piles of books I had sent crashing to the ground. Technically they weren't destroyed… just a little damaged.
However, sometimes I read one of the many books on politics or etiquette (I was largely up to date on all the literature, to my great pride.) That was given to me as homework in the small salon of the family wing. There, I was reading in peace, a comfortable armchair under me and a crackling fire in front, the Earl knitting on the sofa opposite a black cat purring on his knees or playing with a ball of wool.
It was not useful to specify that Lulubelle was never present during these evenings.
My schedule continued like this for four days, training during the day, family meals and magic in the evening until Friday April 1, 1887. Despite the last two April first, it was still difficult for me to make my mind understand that , no, I was no longer born in October and even if Tricia reminded me so kindly last Sunday, it was still with a certain astonishment that I welcomed my birthday.
Hey, I was internationally of age!
... and it didn't change anything.
Dragging myself out of bed with a somber expression, I jumped like a maniac when I noticed my maid, waiting by the door, a pile of tissues in her hands. Calming my frenzied heart, trying not to wonder how long she had been there, I waved at her before heading to the sink. A real sink, with running water! If being a duke's daughter brought anything, it was the amenities… oh how I missed the good regular baths!
"Monsieur le Duc is sending you a new dress which he hopes to see you wearing this morning." Said the maid with a flat tone and dead eyes. Glancing over my shoulder, the water beading on my cheeks, I opened my eyes wide when I saw the ball of fabric embellished with lace and embroidery she held in front of me. It was, it had to be admitted, quite impressive. It happened to look sophisticated and elegant while having more ruffles and embroidery than I had seen even on Tricia's best dress. I didn't even dare to think about the price and just looking at the flowered fabric made my stomach ache at the thought of doing a stain on it. But on the other hand… My cosplay-loving self really wanted to try it.
Going down to breakfast with my new dress on and even my hair carefully done for once, I felt hyper-aware of myself and had only one urge: to run into my bedroom and put on one of my tasteless but comfortable dresses. Unfortunately, as if sensing my desire to escape, Mahulda (my assigned housekeeper ... and yes, it was somehow a real name and even a fashionable one for the time.) Followed me closely and I finally arrived at the dining room.
"Eve!" The Duke greeted me with a beaming smile that automatically made me answer him with one of my own without even realizing it. "Happy Birthday !" He said and I blushed slightly at this much positive attention.
Settling into my seat, I awkwardly thanked him for his felicitations and the dress.
"It looks great on you, It goes nicely with your lovely eyes, I'm happy with my choice." He said happily before suddenly taking on a shy look. "By the way, Eve, I was thinking, maybe you could consider calling me something else now that you're my daughter?" He said, his face oddly hopeful.
Now it was I who felt uncomfortable. I really, really didn't see myself calling him "Daddy" like Road did with Sheryl or even the more serious "Father" who was a little less awkward. Even though the English equivalent of "Papa" didn't have the memories of my own father attached, it was still very strange to call the Earl like that. He was right though, I could hardly keep calling him "Monsieur le Duc" now, it was a little ridiculous ... But ... Adam was hardly better too. Whatever, that was what Lulubell called him when I could hear him, wasn't it? Even though she had called him "Father" in public. Come on, it was like everything, it would take a little effort to adapt to it, but I had to at least be able to call him by his first name.
And so I did, but the sound of "Adam" only produced a thin smile and a look of disappointment. I really couldn't bring myself to put out the word he wanted to hear, however, so I pretended not to notice and fixed my eyes on my plate, begging it to pass.
Luckily, he seemed to read my mind as he went on so quickly, "Come to think of it, you won't have to try this on wearing this new dress, but I thought it might make you happy." He said with a half-nervous, half-excited look. At his words, a servant put down a large wooden chest encircled by a fabric knot. Uncomfortable, I told him that he had already offered me the dress but he ignored my words with a gesture, asking me to open it. Pulling on the ribbon, I lifted the lid to discover a pile of brand new oil painting supplies. Eyes wide open and my fingers itching to try it on right away, I looked up at the Earl to warmly thank him. "I'm glad you like it, I hope you will allow me to add one of yours to my painting collection!" He said and I stammered an embarrassed response even as Lulubell entered the room.
"Congratulations." Lucie said to me simply after greeting the Duke, handing me a small square of paper carefully wrapped with a red ribbon.
Thanking her again, surprised to receive something from her (and worried because I was not even sure of her date of birth ...?) I curiously grabbed the small package and untied it to discover a beautiful handkerchief. embroidered with so many flowers in different shades of purple that the original white fabric was no longer even discernible. "It is beautiful, thank you very much Lu ... Lucie." I smile, having trouble taking my eyes off the details. Despite that, I didn't miss the Earl's victorious smile at Lulubell or his nervous movements in response.
"Lady Eve." Mahulda called to my shoulder, startling me and I looked up to see her carrying a small pile of presents which she placed on the table next to me. The Earl assuring me that they were all for me and urged me very heavily to open them here despite my reluctance. I took the bouquet from the top of the pile, smiling at the pretty yellow flowers that I could not name and I undo the small hanging craft paper package. Inside, a thick letter from Arthur awaited me as well as a large bundle of papers that made my eyes open wide. It was the manuscript of the first Sherlock Holmes! With great difficulty restraining myself from reading it here and now to see all the differences with that of my world, I put it all next to my plate and took the next package. It was a very small package, but given the extremely pink packaging, I didn't need to look at the tag to guess it was from Road. Opening the small box, I took out a pretty colored glass bottle with a sort of viscous liquid inside.
At the same time, the Earl spat his tea on his plate and began to cough violently.
"Are you okay?" I was asking worried when he continued to cough uncontrollably. Glancing at Lulubelle, I saw her staring at the vial in my hands and quickly put it back in its box, out of sight.
"Who sent the… gift?" Asked the Earl a little red when he had calmed down a bit. Replying to him that it was Road, he only poured himself a new cup of tea before drinking it dry, as if it was a shot of alcohol.
A little puzzled as to what just happened, I quickly grabbed the next present to distract attention and grimaced when I saw the wooden box full of undoubtedly high-end makeup. Closing it sharply, I pulled it away from me under the Earl's curious gaze and immediately took the next present. Obviously, if the previous one was from Tricia, this one was from Sheryl, but instead of a manners book or some nasty piece of jewelry, it was just a pile of paper that looked… like certificates?
"Ho, that's perfect!" Exclaimed the Earl, leaning over to see the documents in my hands better. "Really, Sheryl has it all in mind! It saves us the trouble of forcing catechism classes and ceremonies to go hand in hand into your already tight schedule." He said and I lowered my eyes and scanned the titles to finally understand that I had before my eyes documents proving my first communion and confirmation. A horrible lie that I welcomed with happiness. How did Sheryl go from getting me murdered for being too close to his brother to sending me a gift that had no other purpose than my own comfort, I had no idea but I wasn't complaining. It would have been so much easier to let myself suffer in a crash course in religion every day than to do this for me… on the other hand, how the hell could the Earl have thought for a single second that I was going to be able to study this in top of all the other things in the next month ?!
Putting the certificates aside, wondering how I was going to be able to reciprocate a gift as good as this one to Sheryl other than disappearing from his life, I was a little disappointed when I saw nothing from Tyki. Nothing from the Twins either, sure, but that wasn't the kind of thing they were thinking about so I didn't take it to heart. And just having changed my address less than a week ago, it was no wonder I didn't get anything from Allen either. But Tyki on the other hand ... I thought, however, that we had agreed before his departure, that there would be nothing between us except, perhaps, a little clumsiness ...
That's why when he knocked on my window that evening, with a leather bag slung over his shoulder, before slipping into my room I could only send him a beaming smile ... while hiding my notes of magic as discreetly as possible under my pillow.
"Hey." He saluted, putting his top hat on the window sill where I usually sat to read. "Happy Birthday."
I thanked him warmly, happy to see him again after a week of only the Earl, Lulubelle and Mahulda but I held myself back very hard to give him a hug. Not having seen Road for a week either, I hadn't had my necessary dose of hugging and I missed it a lot in this new environment, not exactly hostile but not very comfortable either. Unfortunately, with the current climate… it was a bit strange to touch Tyki.
"I feel like I'm playing… What's his name again? The guy with the chimneys you told us about." He said as he walked over to my bed to sit up before stopping dead and instead pulling my desk chair to sit in front of me. Looks like I wasn't the only one to feel a little uncomfortable ...
"Santa Claus" I smirked, deciding to ignore his abrupt change of seat if he didn't want to talk about the problem either.
"Yes that's it! Everyone gave me presents for you, I had to come this far." He said dramatically as he rummaged through the small leather bag he had placed at his feet to pull out a rather large bundle wrapped in kraft paper.
"More presents?" I whispered pleasantly surprised. Apart from Allen I couldn't see who could have… oh! It was a common package of my fellow servants at the Kamelotts, he told me, but he wouldn't have needed to tell me. Homemade jams and dry cakes shouted Berthe and Louise and I saw canned mushrooms and a small wooden figurine that just reminded me of Guillaume and Jean.
"Your brother hasn't forgotten you either." He smiled as he handed me an envelope and I rolled my eyes. I did not understand why it still amused him two years later but if it pleased him ... It was a big letter and given the postage stamps it was not difficult to guess that it was, indeed, from Allen. The interior contained several carefully folded sheets as well as small sachets of orange powder fabrics and a quick reading of the letter told me that he was sending me henna.
"Do you think I could use it to annoy Road?" I asked with morbid fascination, refraining from opening the little bags above the silk sheets. I had no doubt that the mixture was volatile and very difficult to remove.
"If you want to be tortured to death, of course. Otherwise, I'll abstain in your place… I've seen women use it to get temporary tattoos or dye their hair though." He offered instead.
"Tricia would go crazy if I did that." I mumbled with an evil smile before putting the letter down to take the last present. "Who is this from?" I asked surprised when I saw the little apple pie.
"From Eeze." Tyki smirked and he looked, I have to say, terribly proud. "Well, technically I bought it, but he did it himself when I told him it was for your birthday, he wanted to thank you."
"That's too kind of you two." I smiled before asking him if he wanted any. When he only smirked as he pulled out his Swiss army knife, I rolled my eyes before pushing the pie towards him for him to slice. "It's been at least since November since I've seen him…" I sighed. "He must have been so tall now! The twins are already past me and if Allen hasn't already, I'm sure he will be taller than me when I see him again." I mumbled morosely.
"Fortunately we have proof in this case." Tyki laughed, patting his jacket pocket where I knew to rest his wallet with the photo of the three of us. "Speaking of seeing him again… do you want to invite him to the wedding?"
Allen? Right in the middle of the clan with active innocence and Noah genes on the verge of waking up? Nop, nop, nop. But obviously I couldn't say that… "Even if we send out an invitation now and his teacher lets him come, he'll never be here in a month." I answered with a shrug.
"That is true." Tyki thinks. "He's going to be surprised when we tell him, maybe we should write the next letter together? He might blame me for marrying you."
"Whatever." I laughed before taking a bite of the pie. "It would be quite the opposite, he adores you, I'm sure he prefers you."
"Where did you get this from?" He laughed as he leaned forward, his head resting on her hand. "He always sends you letters at least three times the length of mine."
"Maybe, but he never tells me anything important, it's always you who gets the tales of his fights or his most dangerous odd jobs." I mumbled annoyed. It was a point that really worried me when we had exchanged our letters from Allen all to find that mine was certainly much lighter and more joyful than the ones Tyki received. I didn't even dare think about that time when, in the same envelope, he asked me to send him an apple pie recipe and Tyki, how to knock someone out without killing them.
"He doesn't want you to worry, that's all." The Pleasure Noah replied, rolling his eyes before teasing me. "You do the same thing, you didn't tell him about that problem with the servants or the bicycle accident. Like brother, like sister."
Not knowing what to say to that, I stuffed the rest of the pie into my mouth so I could sulk quietly. I barely had time to chew on my bite though, when something hit my face before it landed on my knees. "Tyki!" I groaned in annoyance as I rubbed my forehead as I retrieved the little box from the folds of my dress. It looked a lot like ...
"A ring was needed." He said embarrassed. "You know… to make it official."
It was indeed a ring in the little box, a very thin thing of intertwined dark silver that distantly resembled the one my father had given me in the next world and which I had worn for years. The biggest difference, besides the pattern of the interlacing, was the small purple stone neatly nestled between the blackish bands.
"I wanted to reproduce the ring you showed me once, I thought the name was funny, 'unfaithful' nothing more ironic for our situation, right?" He said taking the ring from my fingers. "But the jeweler didn't have one and he said it would take him longer to make. So I took this one for the engagement and we can do the cheating rings for the wedding if you like?" He offered and held out his hand to me.
"I would love to, for sure that would be damn ironic." Placing my fingers between his so he could slide the ring in, I refrained from sniffing with emotion. How the hell had he remembered this ring affair? It had barely been a sketch I had shown him months before in a random chat. "That's too nice Tiky, way too nice. Thanks but… I feel bad for being difficult on this wedding thing now, when you put so much effort into it." I laugh softly.
"Hey, I got you entangled in this thing, that's the least of it… Besides, I'm cheating a bit, I'm using the engagement ring as a birthday present." He said with a victorious smile before sighing and collapsing in his chair. "But I'm glad you like it! It's hard to choose jewelry… I admit Road helped me select the engagement ring, she was the one who told me you didn't like big stones, otherwise I would have just taken the biggest amethyst in the store. At least I know purple is a safe bet for you. "
"I'll have to thank her then, I'm afraid I would have accidentally lost it if you had done that." I answered very seriously, wincing at the thought of a large, screaming stone stiffening my hand. "But I've never seen such a dark alloy before, is it silver? It's almost black." I asked in admiration, watching the ring sparkle in the light.
"I am not sure." He said uncomfortably so I didn't ask for more. I suspected that it was the first time that he had had to choose a piece of jewelry and that he knew as much as I did on the subject, in other words: Nothing. "By the way, I brought you some stuff." He said hurriedly, handing me the leather bag that still looked full.
"Ah great, you took my notebook! I just wanted to work on the illustrations for the last Harry Potter. Jasdero asked me about it last time." I responded excitedly as I searched the bag. He even thought about the sheet music I had left loose in the music room and ... to! "You're the best!" I smiled, naturally extending my hand to give him a half-hug like I used to before stopping oddly when my hand almost touched his shoulder ... then hurriedly changing direction to grab the presents. "I'll put them away." I say needlessly in a voice a little too high.
Urgh, that was weird, too weird… the mood was great as usual and then all of a sudden it was like the word marriage was flashing neon lights above our heads and we were acting all weird.
"I… should go." Tyki muttered and I thanked him again for his delivery and the ring before walking him back to the window.
It was going to be difficult to resume our relationship from before, but, I thought as I looked at my new ring, I had hope.
A few days later, exhausted from an intensive etiquette course but terribly curious to try my new painting equipment, I wandered around the gardens trying to find a subject for drawing. Well, it would be more accurate to say that I got lost in the gardens trying to find a subject for a drawing.
How could you get lost in gardens, you ask? This is because the gardens in question were made up of a quarter of a large freaking plant labyrinth which, if from the windows of the mansion looked very pretty, were much less pleasant inside. Because it was a real maze, not those two-lane hedge garden species that just mimicked the thing. No, there I was totally and irreparably lost.
This is why, when I finally emerged in the middle of the labyrinth after having turned between the hedges for I do not know how long and saw Lulubelle sitting at the little table in the Gazebo, I froze without knowing what to do. On the one hand, I never knew what to say to Noah of lust, especially not now that she had become my big sister, on the other hand, I didn't want to burn my whole lunch break by running in circles… although it might allow me to skip afternoon classes a bit.
Either way, the choice was taken out of my hands when Lulubelle turned her head and saw me. Being even more uncomfortable now to turn around and leave, I approached her with a rueful smile. "Hello Lucie, um, sorry to bother you, I was just walking around, I'm just going to…" I mumbled, waving a hand towards one of the dozen paths that rushed back into the maze.
"It's not that one." She said and I stared at her without really understanding. "To get out, you have to take this one." She clarified when she saw my empty stare, pointing with her needle to a path to her left. "It's the fastest way to get back to the mansion."
However, I was already no longer listening to her instructions, barely casting a discreet glance at the path she had presented to me before turning my gaze back to her, or rather, her hands. "Do you embroider?" I wondered curiously as I recognized the hoop and the coils on her knees. Approaching, all fear gone, I opened my mouth in surprise when I saw the magnificent half-finished bird in his hands. "It's amazing Lul..cie!" I exclaimed, barely catching up on the name. I really had to stop thinking about Noahs with different names in my head, I can't even count the number of times I almost went wrong, especially with the Earl… uh, I mean, the Duke!
"Thank you." Lulu said simply… no, Lucie, her fingers still forming the elegant gestures for creating the next stitches.
"Oh! So was it you who embroidered the handkerchief you gave me on my birthday?" I asked, taking the said handkerchief out of my pocket. It was still so magnificent, so beautiful that I dared not blow my nose in it even as the dust of the library kept making me sneeze. That didn't stop me from always carrying it with me though, it was perfect for packing snacks or protecting my earrings when I felt like taking them off.
She seemed a little surprised at my sudden interest and I calmed down immediately when I saw her pull away slightly. "Yes." She said, her eyes this time frozen in mine and her hands still on her embroidery.
"Waw, I am really impressed, it is beautiful." I thanked her again. And…. that was it, it was over. I was already struggling to maintain a basic conversation but then if my interlocutor did not put a little in it too ... well we came there: Two people with nothing in common looking each other in the eye without really knowing what to say. "Um, so I should…" I opened my mouth as she did.
"Do you want me to…" she said and we both stopped. Using platitude, relieved that she finally said more than two words, I asked her to continue. "Do you want me to show you how?" She said and I looked at the embroidery, interested.
I vaguely remember learning some embroidery in elementary school at lunchtime clubs, but I hadn't done any since and I wasn't sure I had the patience. Still, I would have liked to try again ... but maybe not with Lulubell as a teacher.
"I would love to, but I should go home for my afternoon classes… How about next time?" I smiled at her and she puckered her lips back. Was she trying to smile? It almost looked like a smile. Or a nefarious grimace. Frankly I couldn't say ...
"I can guide you to the mansion." She said getting up with a determined air before grabbing her things and heading towards one of the paths, planting me there. Getting my brain back on track, I jogged towards her to walk at her level. It was even worse than before, the silence was heavy and I had a troop of mini-Eve in my brain screaming at me to say something, anything. So, picking up the first thing that came to me, I asked her if she often came to embroider here.
And there: miracle! A flood of explanations came from her lips, a pile of information about sewing so intense and focused that I had difficulty even conceptualizing what she was telling me. It didn't help that the already very specialized vocabulary was thrown into fast English that made my head spin with incomprehension. I don't know how long it took us to reach the mansion, but it seemed like hours. It couldn't have been that long, however, since we passed the Earl in the hall. Seeing us, his smile lit up with joy and he hurried towards us looking terribly happy.
"I see you seem to be getting along great!" He said, patting Lul… Lucie's shoulder, a gesture that would have gone better on a cat than a human being. Or a Noah. Still, just a gesture or a smile from the Ear... DUKE, Lucie was immediately put at ease, it was quite impressive. Forcing a smile on my lips, I forced myself to listen to his twitting, head aching, it had been a long time since I had had so much trouble with English... Still, I thought as my smile grew a little frozen in spite of myself, the Duke having a tendency to ramble, "Getting along well" was perhaps not the term. It had been impressive to see Lucie so passionate about something when she usually didn't say a word. And just for that, I was ready to go get a dictionary on sewing vocabulary to understand what she would say to me the next time I launched the subject. It must be said, I didn't have much else to say to her and I preferred to practice my English with obscure words rather than remain again in a silence as heavy as in the labyrinth.
It Looked like Lucie's proposal was sincere and not just small talk because hardly the next day, she approached me again after lunch to offer to teach me embroidery. Having no more excuses, my next class not starting for another half hour more, and was interested all the same, I followed her curiously to her room. I had never seen the room open and had to keep my jaw from falling when I stepped inside. If I had thought I had an unhealthy obsession with old books, it was nothing compared to the cult Lucie seemed to devote to embroidery. I could never have thought this of her before... Now however, it was impossible not to see the dozens of small glass cabinets containing all the colors of coils imaginable and even less easy to ignore the frames protecting the embroidered fabrics. dispatched by hundreds on the walls.
"Wow." I huffed, my eyes wide.
Letting myself follow Lucie to her little sitting area, I spent the entire end of my break learning the basics of embroidery. Lucie was not particularly a good teacher, she kept using complicated words and never thought of demonstrating slowly what she was doing but she was trying, she was really trying. Without getting upset, she took my remarks to heart and did not hesitate to remind me repeatedly of the points with infinite patience. So much so that these little moments at lunchtime became a real daily rendez-vous that I looked forward to every day.
Unfortunately, the lessons didn't stop and I soon even had to give up all my other side projects (besides magic, I wasn't sure if I could study it after marriage and when I might need it. so better put the odds on my side now.) so that I could focus on another more pressing problem: Marriage.
Because yes, Tricia (supported by Road, Sheryl and the Duke) was taking care of it but I still had to get my hands dirty in the preparations ... other than by learning to be a good noble wife and heir of the Duchy, of course.
So I spent my evenings giving my opinion on trivial things that I didn't want to deal with. From the flowers to the colors of my dresses or the paper of the invitations, I had to choose without even knowing if it would stay that way. My choices were illusions, the final word going to Tricia. And so much the better in a way, because I had no idea what I was doing but at that point I would have preferred that they left me alone instead of giving me the illusion of choice.
The only thing I had really vetoed was the wedding dress.
The end of the 19th century seemed to be the time of all tastes, some certainly more doubtful than others. The styles of dresses were as motley as they were varied with things that encompassed each square of skin, others that were so covered in lace that it was difficult to see anything else and still others that looked more like princess dresses of the last century than anything else. Three quarters were horrible, heavy, obnoxious and far too extravagant. It didn't help that the color was far from defined. Farewell to the traditional white dress of the 21st century, the tradition was not yet established at that time. In fact, I had learned very quickly that the idea was only happening because of the marriage, in white, of Queen Victoria. Tricia had wanted this color to show our respect to the crown or something and I hadn't objected to it until the seamstress came to the mansion with the designs my future sister-in-law had chosen.
As said before, they were horrible and it was with a forceful calm and categorical "No" that I had made my voice heard for the first time since the beginning of this debacle. The servants had to make several trips back and forth between Kamelott and Campbell mansions to deliver our hastily written letters and I really hoped for them that they were akumas and that they could use the ark.
Tricia had ended up quitting in rage and accepting the much simpler, less restrictive design I had chosen when I told her that if she tried to force me into the dress she wanted, then I would go naked at the ceremony. Not that I would have done it, though, I'm not this brave. The dress the Duke gave me for my birthday would have perfectly worked.
It was not without a satisfied and somewhat vicious smile that I had received her last letter, I have to admit. Her betrayal hurt still, even more when it was accentuated every day by her choices about my marriage which obviously did not take into account my tastes. And not Tyki's, of course. I wasn't even sure Sheryl had asked him anything, anyway his letters were about nothing other than complaints about all the socialization he had to do with the other nobles. I really wasn't sure which of us had the most awful jobs.
So, obviously, in my state of deep pettiness, I did not refuse a new means of revenge when it presented itself to me. Or presented themselves to me.
For indeed, the instruments of my wrath were none other than the twins. Visiting us the weekend after my birthday, it was with round eyes that I saw them arrive in my room.
"... Did Tricia see you like that?" I asked in a whisper. Squirming nervously (even Devit!) The twins shook their heads. It must be said, if they had started to assert their own ... style since entering the boarding school, adopting low-class clothes, then torn, cutting their own hair, putting on colored wigs etc ... They really had skipped a level in the last month when I hadn't seen them. "It's perfect." I huffed and the two boys immediately looked up at me allowing me to observe their new tattoos at my ease.
"Aren't you going to yell at us?" Devit muttered suspiciously as Jasdero looked at me with hopeful eyes.
"You do what you want with your body." I replied with a shrug before turning to my closet to look for what I had put in there a week earlier. And I, who didn't expect to release it anytime soon… or even never for that matter. "As long as it's not me who has to face Sheryl and Tricia… Ah ah!" I hummed in victory as I pulled out the box Tricia had given me on my birthday. "Considering your new tattoos, I think you will like this."
Turning to them, my eyes twinkling with mischief, I opened the box to show them the inside. "What is that ?" Jasdero asked me, brushing one of the small boxes of colored powder with his fingers.
"Make-up ?" Devit supposed, playing with one of the small containers before sticking it to Jasdero's cheek leaving a big orange mark on it.
"Since you like tattoos, I thought you might like it. It's a little less permanent so you can try things out." I winked at them.
"But makeup is for girls." Devit replied and Jasdero, who was already trying all the colors on his arm with excitement, stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his brother with eyes so wide I wanted to crush him with a hug.
"Seems like I am not a girl then, that does not interest me." I answered with a shrug. It was no use rubbing my feminist thoughts in their faces, better to offer them the option without showing any judgment. Either they would try and maybe they'll like it (or not) or they wouldn't but in that case I would have shown them that it was a valid option. "But I would love a tattoo to match yours…
Would you like to draw on my arm, Jasdero? "
Leaving his brother to look at me instead, he bit his lip. It had been a long time since I had seen him so shy. "Do you want one of my drawings?"
"If you want." I smile before offering him my arm. "You are really good at drawing butterflies, I would like a blue one here."
Suddenly much more enthusiastic, Jasdero rummaged curiously in the box. Soon both my arms were covered in colorful scribbles and I was supervising Jasdero as he tried to draw a skull on his brother's face. Obviously, after I let Jasdero play with my arms, Devit was way too jealous and had let his brother use it as a canvas for his creative delusions. It was good to know that I still knew how to handle them even though they were as tall as me now.
It was not without a satisfied smile that I waved my hand the next morning to say goodbye to the twins. They were covered in makeup and Jasdero was hugging my old-new makeup box like it was his most precious possession. They seemed even happier that the Duke (and Lucy) had said absolutely nothing when they showed up for breakfast like that that morning. By the way, speaking of the Duke ...
"Is there a problem ?" I turned to the Duke with the most innocent face I could make when I felt his gaze linger a little too long on my back.
"Oh, no, nothing at all." He smirked, shaking his head, but it was with a kind of amused abandon, as if he knew exactly what I was doing. Which potentially was the case given his next words: "I wish I was a fly on the wall when Sheryl and Tricia go to see them this afternoon." He laughed and unwittingly my lips curved upward.
"I'm sure Tyki will be happy to tell us the whole story." I answered by following him down the hall, Lucie on his other side.
"I have no doubt, we might even see him tonight if Sheryl's reunion with his godchildren is too… explosive." He said before turning his head towards me. "Besides, if he comes, we could have tea with some nobles from around here, now that you have your engagement rings, what do you think?" Seeing my painful grimace, he let out a small chuckle, his hand gently resting on my shoulder. "I don't even know why I'm asking the question, you're exactly the same… Yeah, I think it'll be a good marriage." He said softly and suddenly his eyes looked as old as his name.
Hopefully he will be right about that ...
A special chapter with the Earl, Lulubell with a bit of Tyki and twins and overall everyone with the presents, what more could you ask for? (marriage. Yes, it does happen, next time I swear!)
Someone convinced me to put one of the characters I was booking for the continuation, STW, in the next chapter ... so expect a certain head of red hair to come and say hi ;) Even though I'm not sure you'll be able to guess who and where ^^
Think about letting a review and see yah next 25th!