Chapter 3~ Shades of Gray
Mireille had not spoken to Kirika for days all she did was try to gather information on these new inner trees. She hadn't gotten far almost everywhere she turned there was another dead end. Kirika had been looking for anything in the news about mysterious murders. Mireille found an article on Mona's death one day "Police officer is killed mysteriously" It read. Mireille read it aloud to Kirika "Mona Beaumont, age 30 was killed last Tuesday when intruders broke into her apartment and stabbed her through the chest apparently using swords. There were few clues left at the crime scene and the only witnesses are her murderers. The rest of the Paris Police Department has now made it clear they will do whatever it takes to find those who have killed their officer." Kirika just watched "is that it?" she asked. Mireille nodded "not only do we want information on these…people who claim to be Noir but the police do too. Which means if we cross paths with those two again chances are we'll probably have to deal with the police as well." Kirika looked out the window "I think we'll be seeing them again."
Elizabeth welcomed Madeline and Bali back with open arms "God has kept you safe," She said to them. The two inner trees nodded and said in unison "We have been kept safe because we are Noir." Elizabeth smiled "You are not Noir yet." Madeline and Bali said once again in unison "But we will be soon." Elizabeth brought Madeline off to the side "Your real mission is to eliminate the soldats traitors. Bali and Adelirose will take over while you are gone. You will be posing as Mireille Bouquet's cousin so that you may get closer to her and learn about her and then ultimately, kill her. But as you are you could never pass as anything other than Noir." Madeline nodded "I am to become her cousin and then kill her." Elizabeth nodded "you will need to be conditioned so that you may sneak in without being suspected." Madeline replied "then do so. If it is my mission to kill them then do what you need so that I may fulfill my quest." Elizabeth smiled "very well." She walked back over to Bali "you will be with a new partner for awhile." Bali replied "I am Noir with Madeline." Elizabeth in return said "but you are also Noir with Adelirose. You need training with both to determine if you are worthy of the title Noir." Bali seemed to go somewhere else "will I see mother again?" she muttered so low that it was almost inaudible before snapping back to her regular self.
"I am Noir. I will be so with whoever I am paired with." Elizabeth nodded to her "that's right." She called to Adelirose "Adelirose! Adelirose come here." Adelirose wandered over to Bali and Elizabeth "yes Madame Elizabeth?" Bali looked her up and down "You are not Madeline." She said. Elizabeth addressed Adelirose "You are going to be partners with Bali until Madeline's mission is fulfilled or if it fails." Adelirose nodded "I will get to test my training." Elizabeth nodded "Yes. Your next target is one of the elders…his name is Bernai." Bali and Adelirose chanted in unison "Le Noir, ce mot designe depuis une époque lointaine le nom du destin. Les deux vierges règnent sur la mort. Les mains Noires protègent la paix des nouveaux-nés." They then grabbed the two swords still stained with Mona's blood and headed off to kill Bernai. Elizabeth took Madeline to see someone who could help with getting Madeline prepared to 'become' Mireille's cousin. Elizabeth brought Madeline up to the home of a woman who specialized in a complex hypnotism technique. Gently, Elizabeth knocked on the door "Sibyla? Are you home?" a dark haired woman opened the door "Yes Elizabeth, Madeline I've been waiting for you both." Sibyla wandered back into a room where she sat down by some burning incense and closed her eyes in deep meditation. Madeline and Elizabeth sat down across from her.
Sibyla spoke "Madeline, listen to my words carefully. Soon you will not be Noir or Madeline Destin. You will be Madeline Bouquet, Mireille Bouquet's long lost cousin." Madeline's eyes closed and she listened intently in a trance "I am Madeline Bouquet." She whispered softly to herself. Sibyla continued "You will go to Mireille's home and when you see her face you will not be Noir or Madeline Destin you will be Madeline Bouquet. Until then you will still be Noir you will still have Noir's personality and temperment. You will become Madeline Bouquet but you will still have Noir's abilities and the mission in mind you will kill the Soldats traitors. Do you understand?" Madeline replied still under trance "Yes, I understand." Elizabeth thanked Sibyla, and didn't pay attention to the fact Madeline was waking up. Madeline stood and walked towards the door. Elizabeth followed and walked back to the manor and prepared some luggage for Madeline.
Mireille and Kirika walked to their favorite café in the area and sat down for a little something to eat. They were also expecting a new informant that they had found over the Internet. Mireille ordered a couple of Danishes for herself and Kirika. Munching on her own Kirika noticed a man walk into the café and sit behind the table her and Mireille were seated. Mireille noticed as well "are you the one? Pierre?" she said without turning to face him. The man replied "Yes. That would be me," He also said without turning.
Mireille answered him, "Good. Tell us what you know of these knew trees in Soldats." He began "Well. They are all young girls from the Soldats village. They have been trained since a very young age. The two who will most likely be chosen as Noir are a tall blond called Madeline and a dark blue haired girl named Bali. Do you want me to go into their histories?" Mireille nodded "Yes please." Pierre took a deep breath "Well. Let me break you the bad news Mireille…Madeline's your cousin. Apparently, your Uncle Claude married a woman in Soldats named Celesse without anyone knowing. One of the higher up officials in Soldats has made Madeline into a killing machine so that she will be ready for Noir. As for the other two Bali was ripped away from her mother at a very young age, since then it seems she's channeled her hate for the one who took her away into hard training and consciously she might not even remember her family.
Adelirose's mother wanted her daughter to become Noir for some unknown reason her and the trainer of the three girls go back a very long way. You have to be careful around these three it's unreal how strong they are." His eyes drifted in Kirika's direction when he finished his explanation, their eyes met. Kirika's eyes widened for a moment and her head began to feel heavy "Mireiyu…I have a headache…I'm going to step out for a moment…there's a drug store down the street I'll get some aspirin or something like that." She got up from the table and wandered out of the café. Mireille watched intently then turned back towards Pierre "My Uncle Claude never had a wife. I can confirm this. I lived with him for most of my life and I never had any cousins…you had better have some good excuses for your lies…I'll give you 10 minutes. Come with me to the alleyway behind the café and explain there."
Pierre looked severely frightened and followed Mireille to the alleyway. Once in the alley Mireille took her gun out "Explain." She commanded him, "Mireille after you left Corsica he married and had a daughter, that's Madeline! You have to believe me! You'll see for yourself because she's coming to visit…" Mireille interrupted "Shut up!" She clenched a fist. Pierre watched then opened his mouth again for the last time ever "You'll see for yourself…" Mireille pulled the trigger on her gun and a single bullet forced itself into his chest, he dropped to the ground. He was dead. Mireille quickly put her gun away and fled.
Kirika entered the drug store "How can I help you today miss?" a man behind a counter asked as she wandered in. Kirika jumped slightly "Oh…I was just looking for some aspirin." Her head throbbed and she put one hand up to her left temple holding it. That man in the café, Pierre…he was trying to force Kirika to enter that psychotic state she'd been in at Altena's manor and perhaps it was working. "Miss?" the man asked apparently she'd slipped deep in thought and missed where he'd said the painkillers were. "Miss are you ok?" Kirika slumped to her knees and everything went black. 'Noir…' the words flashed across her mind 'that is me…I am Noir…' she opened her eyes, The man was standing over her "Miss? Can you hear me?" Kirika looked up in his direction 'why is he asking me this? I'm perfectly fine!' she thought to herself. The man saw her eyes and backed away she had entered her true Noir mentality. Kirika sat up "I won't be needing that aspirin. But perhaps you will." She drew her gun and shot him before running out of the store.
Mireille saw Kirika run from the drug store, 'oh no…don't tell me…?' she ran to catch up with Kirika "Kirika! Kirika!" she called after her. Kirika turned around and Mireille could see that Kirika had slipped again into her frightening true Noir State. Kirika narrowed her eyes and drew her gun. Mireille ducked and a bullet went whizzing past her head. Mireille tackled Kirika and managed to get the gun from her hands "Kirika! Snap out of it! You're creating a scene!" she hissed. Kirika stopped for a moment "Mireiyu?"
Mireille nodded "yes. It's me, what happened?" Kirika looked around "we'd better not talk about it here." People were starting to gather and stare at them. 'Damn. What are we going to do? What if some of these people saw us at Mona's apartment?' Mireille thought to herself. She stood and helped Kirika up; the apartment was just across the street. They got up in the apartment and sat down for some tea.
There was a knock at the door. Mireille got up to go see who it was. She looked out the peephole to see a blond woman in a pink shirt with long purple sleeves and jeans. The woman tugged on her shirt and blinked. Mireille narrowed her eyes but answered the door anyway. "Hello?" Mireille said to the woman as she opened the door. The woman smiled and hugged Mireille tightly "Mireille! My cousin! It's been so long!" Mireille looked astonished "Cousin?" the woman set Mireille down "oh that's right you don't know me…how sad that we could've grown up together!" Mireille blinked "umm would you like to come in?" "Why, thank you Mireille!" and she marched right in. Kirika stared "Mireiyu? Who's she?" Mireille shrugged. The woman sat down next to Kirika "oh! Aren't you cute!" Mireille sat down on the couch and took up her cup of tea and sipped it "She says she's my cousin." She mentioned nonchalantly.
The woman nodded "I am Madeline Bouquet, Mireille's long lost cousin." Mireille raised an eyebrow but kept sipping her tea. Kirika nodded "un." Madeline yawned, "Oh this is such a cute apartment! But I have had a long journey I need to take a nap." Mireille showed Madeline to the bedrooms and set the bags Madeline had brought with her right outside the door. She walked back into the living room where Kirika was still drinking her tea. Mireille sat down "I don't have a cousin." 'Who is she really?' Mireille sighed. "She's one of the new inner trees Mireiyu. I know it." Kirika answered her. Mireille furrowed her brows "we'll have to keep a close eye on her." Madeline was listening to it all eyes narrowed 'when I am Noir I will make sure they die.' She thought to herself 'but then again that is why I am here. To kill them.' She got up and slipped herself back into bed.
Mireille had not spoken to Kirika for days all she did was try to gather information on these new inner trees. She hadn't gotten far almost everywhere she turned there was another dead end. Kirika had been looking for anything in the news about mysterious murders. Mireille found an article on Mona's death one day "Police officer is killed mysteriously" It read. Mireille read it aloud to Kirika "Mona Beaumont, age 30 was killed last Tuesday when intruders broke into her apartment and stabbed her through the chest apparently using swords. There were few clues left at the crime scene and the only witnesses are her murderers. The rest of the Paris Police Department has now made it clear they will do whatever it takes to find those who have killed their officer." Kirika just watched "is that it?" she asked. Mireille nodded "not only do we want information on these…people who claim to be Noir but the police do too. Which means if we cross paths with those two again chances are we'll probably have to deal with the police as well." Kirika looked out the window "I think we'll be seeing them again."
Elizabeth welcomed Madeline and Bali back with open arms "God has kept you safe," She said to them. The two inner trees nodded and said in unison "We have been kept safe because we are Noir." Elizabeth smiled "You are not Noir yet." Madeline and Bali said once again in unison "But we will be soon." Elizabeth brought Madeline off to the side "Your real mission is to eliminate the soldats traitors. Bali and Adelirose will take over while you are gone. You will be posing as Mireille Bouquet's cousin so that you may get closer to her and learn about her and then ultimately, kill her. But as you are you could never pass as anything other than Noir." Madeline nodded "I am to become her cousin and then kill her." Elizabeth nodded "you will need to be conditioned so that you may sneak in without being suspected." Madeline replied "then do so. If it is my mission to kill them then do what you need so that I may fulfill my quest." Elizabeth smiled "very well." She walked back over to Bali "you will be with a new partner for awhile." Bali replied "I am Noir with Madeline." Elizabeth in return said "but you are also Noir with Adelirose. You need training with both to determine if you are worthy of the title Noir." Bali seemed to go somewhere else "will I see mother again?" she muttered so low that it was almost inaudible before snapping back to her regular self.
"I am Noir. I will be so with whoever I am paired with." Elizabeth nodded to her "that's right." She called to Adelirose "Adelirose! Adelirose come here." Adelirose wandered over to Bali and Elizabeth "yes Madame Elizabeth?" Bali looked her up and down "You are not Madeline." She said. Elizabeth addressed Adelirose "You are going to be partners with Bali until Madeline's mission is fulfilled or if it fails." Adelirose nodded "I will get to test my training." Elizabeth nodded "Yes. Your next target is one of the elders…his name is Bernai." Bali and Adelirose chanted in unison "Le Noir, ce mot designe depuis une époque lointaine le nom du destin. Les deux vierges règnent sur la mort. Les mains Noires protègent la paix des nouveaux-nés." They then grabbed the two swords still stained with Mona's blood and headed off to kill Bernai. Elizabeth took Madeline to see someone who could help with getting Madeline prepared to 'become' Mireille's cousin. Elizabeth brought Madeline up to the home of a woman who specialized in a complex hypnotism technique. Gently, Elizabeth knocked on the door "Sibyla? Are you home?" a dark haired woman opened the door "Yes Elizabeth, Madeline I've been waiting for you both." Sibyla wandered back into a room where she sat down by some burning incense and closed her eyes in deep meditation. Madeline and Elizabeth sat down across from her.
Sibyla spoke "Madeline, listen to my words carefully. Soon you will not be Noir or Madeline Destin. You will be Madeline Bouquet, Mireille Bouquet's long lost cousin." Madeline's eyes closed and she listened intently in a trance "I am Madeline Bouquet." She whispered softly to herself. Sibyla continued "You will go to Mireille's home and when you see her face you will not be Noir or Madeline Destin you will be Madeline Bouquet. Until then you will still be Noir you will still have Noir's personality and temperment. You will become Madeline Bouquet but you will still have Noir's abilities and the mission in mind you will kill the Soldats traitors. Do you understand?" Madeline replied still under trance "Yes, I understand." Elizabeth thanked Sibyla, and didn't pay attention to the fact Madeline was waking up. Madeline stood and walked towards the door. Elizabeth followed and walked back to the manor and prepared some luggage for Madeline.
Mireille and Kirika walked to their favorite café in the area and sat down for a little something to eat. They were also expecting a new informant that they had found over the Internet. Mireille ordered a couple of Danishes for herself and Kirika. Munching on her own Kirika noticed a man walk into the café and sit behind the table her and Mireille were seated. Mireille noticed as well "are you the one? Pierre?" she said without turning to face him. The man replied "Yes. That would be me," He also said without turning.
Mireille answered him, "Good. Tell us what you know of these knew trees in Soldats." He began "Well. They are all young girls from the Soldats village. They have been trained since a very young age. The two who will most likely be chosen as Noir are a tall blond called Madeline and a dark blue haired girl named Bali. Do you want me to go into their histories?" Mireille nodded "Yes please." Pierre took a deep breath "Well. Let me break you the bad news Mireille…Madeline's your cousin. Apparently, your Uncle Claude married a woman in Soldats named Celesse without anyone knowing. One of the higher up officials in Soldats has made Madeline into a killing machine so that she will be ready for Noir. As for the other two Bali was ripped away from her mother at a very young age, since then it seems she's channeled her hate for the one who took her away into hard training and consciously she might not even remember her family.
Adelirose's mother wanted her daughter to become Noir for some unknown reason her and the trainer of the three girls go back a very long way. You have to be careful around these three it's unreal how strong they are." His eyes drifted in Kirika's direction when he finished his explanation, their eyes met. Kirika's eyes widened for a moment and her head began to feel heavy "Mireiyu…I have a headache…I'm going to step out for a moment…there's a drug store down the street I'll get some aspirin or something like that." She got up from the table and wandered out of the café. Mireille watched intently then turned back towards Pierre "My Uncle Claude never had a wife. I can confirm this. I lived with him for most of my life and I never had any cousins…you had better have some good excuses for your lies…I'll give you 10 minutes. Come with me to the alleyway behind the café and explain there."
Pierre looked severely frightened and followed Mireille to the alleyway. Once in the alley Mireille took her gun out "Explain." She commanded him, "Mireille after you left Corsica he married and had a daughter, that's Madeline! You have to believe me! You'll see for yourself because she's coming to visit…" Mireille interrupted "Shut up!" She clenched a fist. Pierre watched then opened his mouth again for the last time ever "You'll see for yourself…" Mireille pulled the trigger on her gun and a single bullet forced itself into his chest, he dropped to the ground. He was dead. Mireille quickly put her gun away and fled.
Kirika entered the drug store "How can I help you today miss?" a man behind a counter asked as she wandered in. Kirika jumped slightly "Oh…I was just looking for some aspirin." Her head throbbed and she put one hand up to her left temple holding it. That man in the café, Pierre…he was trying to force Kirika to enter that psychotic state she'd been in at Altena's manor and perhaps it was working. "Miss?" the man asked apparently she'd slipped deep in thought and missed where he'd said the painkillers were. "Miss are you ok?" Kirika slumped to her knees and everything went black. 'Noir…' the words flashed across her mind 'that is me…I am Noir…' she opened her eyes, The man was standing over her "Miss? Can you hear me?" Kirika looked up in his direction 'why is he asking me this? I'm perfectly fine!' she thought to herself. The man saw her eyes and backed away she had entered her true Noir mentality. Kirika sat up "I won't be needing that aspirin. But perhaps you will." She drew her gun and shot him before running out of the store.
Mireille saw Kirika run from the drug store, 'oh no…don't tell me…?' she ran to catch up with Kirika "Kirika! Kirika!" she called after her. Kirika turned around and Mireille could see that Kirika had slipped again into her frightening true Noir State. Kirika narrowed her eyes and drew her gun. Mireille ducked and a bullet went whizzing past her head. Mireille tackled Kirika and managed to get the gun from her hands "Kirika! Snap out of it! You're creating a scene!" she hissed. Kirika stopped for a moment "Mireiyu?"
Mireille nodded "yes. It's me, what happened?" Kirika looked around "we'd better not talk about it here." People were starting to gather and stare at them. 'Damn. What are we going to do? What if some of these people saw us at Mona's apartment?' Mireille thought to herself. She stood and helped Kirika up; the apartment was just across the street. They got up in the apartment and sat down for some tea.
There was a knock at the door. Mireille got up to go see who it was. She looked out the peephole to see a blond woman in a pink shirt with long purple sleeves and jeans. The woman tugged on her shirt and blinked. Mireille narrowed her eyes but answered the door anyway. "Hello?" Mireille said to the woman as she opened the door. The woman smiled and hugged Mireille tightly "Mireille! My cousin! It's been so long!" Mireille looked astonished "Cousin?" the woman set Mireille down "oh that's right you don't know me…how sad that we could've grown up together!" Mireille blinked "umm would you like to come in?" "Why, thank you Mireille!" and she marched right in. Kirika stared "Mireiyu? Who's she?" Mireille shrugged. The woman sat down next to Kirika "oh! Aren't you cute!" Mireille sat down on the couch and took up her cup of tea and sipped it "She says she's my cousin." She mentioned nonchalantly.
The woman nodded "I am Madeline Bouquet, Mireille's long lost cousin." Mireille raised an eyebrow but kept sipping her tea. Kirika nodded "un." Madeline yawned, "Oh this is such a cute apartment! But I have had a long journey I need to take a nap." Mireille showed Madeline to the bedrooms and set the bags Madeline had brought with her right outside the door. She walked back into the living room where Kirika was still drinking her tea. Mireille sat down "I don't have a cousin." 'Who is she really?' Mireille sighed. "She's one of the new inner trees Mireiyu. I know it." Kirika answered her. Mireille furrowed her brows "we'll have to keep a close eye on her." Madeline was listening to it all eyes narrowed 'when I am Noir I will make sure they die.' She thought to herself 'but then again that is why I am here. To kill them.' She got up and slipped herself back into bed.