A/N: I am severely sleep-deprived. What is 'sleep'? Hopefully, you've all had an okay month. Also, bit of a warning, things will get dark in this tale. Though I wouldn't think that'd be an issue considering the manga's subject matter, in case any of you are uncomfortable with some gore here and there and gallows-humour, a little heads up from me to you.
A special 'thank you' to all those who followed and/or favourited: BarleyRice, BettyMoore21, Crossdresser123, Skylar Kitz, Pokelover619 and the lovely Mavissll!
Disclaimer: I, ABitterRabbit do not own Kuroshitsuji nor any of its characters, they all belong to the wonderful Yana Toboso! Except for my OCs and original plot.
As always, read and review if you feel it's merited!
Chapter III: That Rabbit, Feather in Her mouth
"The question is always the same with a dragon: will he talk with you or will he eat you?" - Ursula K. Le Guin
The runaway ushered through London's chilly streets, now well into the East End as she approached the Limehouse district.
Locals stood around fires, warming themselves with bawdy jokes and swigs of gin. Shouting and barking laughter rang through the air now and then, and she'd turn red when her keen ears would detect...suggestive sounds. The fantastic side-effects of my hearing, she rubbed her temples, lovely.
Snow fell sparsely, though it would surely worsen come mid-December—pretty if not a tad bothersome. Her bonnet kept most of it out of her line of vision, but with the winds blowing so strongly it wouldn't hold up much longer. She sighed wearily, at least it wasn't raining. The air was acrid, though it was no surprise as London could hardly be considered the definition of cleanliness.
With her sense of smell, however, she'd had no choice but to put up with the stink. Even if it made her want to gag on more than one occasion. She attempted to keep her mind off her nausea by going over her plan.
Now, if she snuck onto a tea clipper, she might be able to head to the Far East. Or perhaps even stow away on one of the clippers in the wool trade toward Australia? She'd never been past Germany, but she would have to adapt. Somehow.
In any case, she had to be sailing by dawn and then she'd be good as gold. She'd find somewhere nice, and rural...a little village in the mountains or somewhere densely populated to slink about within the swarm. And if necessary, she could hide out in the wilderness.
If her kind weren't so scarce perhaps she wouldn't need to do all this running and hiding. Then again, even if they were not few in number, very few of them managed to live for very long.
Was it cruel of her to wish this man-hunt on someone else?
Yes. Yes, it is, her conscience chimed in.
After all, she was no different. Every day could've been her last and would have been if she wasn't constantly looking over her shoulder like some paranoid fugitive. She shrugged. At least a stab to the back wouldn't take her by surprise.
Speaking of paranoia, she could still smell that butler's stink even now. She made a show of adjusting her bonnet to skim her surroundings without completely turning her head. No sight of him, but the scent nagged at her. Her heart stopped for a brief second. Was he stalking her?
"What's a bit o' raspberry like you doin' all by herself?"
Her lips pressed together slightly. Running from a serial killer, though now it appears I have a proper abomination tailing me as well. It's been a rather stressful day, jack.
She kept walking, ignoring the smirking stranger leaning against a wall. He eyed her bag, which was in good condition. He looked to be in his early twenties and seemed fairly well-dressed. A member of organized crime? There were opium dens around these parts.
The girl had absolutely no time to dawdle. She did her utmost to school her features into one grand sign of 'not interested', but her height did little in terms of intimidation. Louise had once said she was about as scary as a brandy snap. A lovely vote of confidence.
He did not comprehend rejection apparently. The smile on his face was unruffled as he followed her.
"Now now, don't be like that. I'm just trying to be nice." His hands were in his pockets, and he sauntered behind her. "Cold ain't it? I know a great pub nearby...We could have a couple of drinks." Her eye twitched at the word 'pub'.
There was another waiting for her at the next turn. The dark-haired girl could hear his excited pulse. It was probably in case she refused to take the bait of his younger partner.
Was this some sort of ploy they had? This ratbag would charm unwitting victims into having some drinks, maybe drug them, and then rob them blind. Or maybe even harvest their organs and leave them to bleed out in some dirty corner. Maybe they targeted maids and had them leak details of their places of work and ransacked their employers' houses.
In all seriousness, she was tempted to just run for it. It wouldn't take much effort to lose these humans, and she wasn't itching to cause a sce—
She smiled.
This could work.
. . .
Perched upon a rooftop, the Phantomhive butler tucked his ornate pocket-watch back into his coat. His orders were to keep a close eye on the girl. She'd behaved normally enough during their questioning, but the human boy did not trust her. And so, here he was. Watching. Waiting.
She'd left her employer's house, seemingly for good, and slinked through seedy alleyways. Still, there was nothing of interest.
A human male approached her and though she acted coy at first, she gave the urchin a faint smile and took his arm. The butler raised an eyebrow at that. Bashfulness breathed life into pale cheeks as her escort steered her in a new direction. They appeared to have no relationship before this chance encounter, but perhaps the maid was more worldly than he'd initially assumed. The lad made a great show of conversation, eager to impress the little chit.
How tedious.
Surely, if she made a habit of these questionable excursions, she would not speak of them. Could this have been the reason for her earlier behaviour? Fear of having unrelated, yet sordid secrets of her own upheaved…It was plausible. Such a thing would no doubt get her dismissed if it were to come to light.
Sebastian trailed after her.
. . .
For the umpteenth time, the young woman stopped herself from taking the stranger's wandering hand and plucking one of his nails out. Normal people would not do so, she reminded herself.
The demon had indeed continued with his surveillance. He'd followed her to a seedy little pub, and she was well-aware that he sat on the other side of the room. How a being who did not even bother to blend in could pass as a human was beyond her. Were people really so eager to turn a blind eye to the supernatural?
It was bustling inside the old though clearly favoured public house. The small band of musicians played jaunty tunes with all the gusto one would find in music halls.
"With me gun on me shoulder to the woods, I did stray...In search of some game, if the weather prove fair...To see can I get a shot at the bonny black hare~" Drunks sang merrily, a few of them leering at the barmaids, and in turn, got a couple blows with the trays the girls carried.
Not that they could cop a feel, what with other regular patrons giving them the evil eye, especially those who were sweet on the girls themselves. It sobered them up pretty well. Nothing worked wonders quite like silent threats of bodily harm.
"I met a young girl there with her face as a rose...And her skin was as fair as the lily that grows...I says, My fair maid, why ramble you so...Can you tell me where the bonny black hare do go?~"
The girl sat at a small table with the bloke she'd run into or 'the jack' as she'd dubbed him. Just as he'd promised, the jack had been buying her beers—one after another. She wore a dreamy, absentminded sort of expression and giggled vapidly at whatever joke or comment he thought witty. Her face was red, much like it would be if she were tipsy, but it was not the drink but the words the drunks' slurred out so cheerfully that made her cheeks flush.
"The answer she gave me, O, the answer was no...but under me apron they say it do go! And if you'll not deceive me, I vow and declare...We'll both go together to hunt the bonny black hare!" They belted out with gin in their eyes.
Good grief. The second-hand embarrassment could make her spontaneously combust. What kind of person found this sort of entertainment pleasant? Much less bearable? Eugh.
Her eyes flitted about, aiming to single out the perfect method to get things rolling.
A little havoc was all she needed. With a distraction and careful timing, she could buy herself enough time to slip past the butler and rush to the docks. Hopefully, before he caught wind of what she was up to.
She turned to her right when she saw her unwanted human companion move.
"I'll get us another round of beer, poppet", the jack purred into her ear. "Don't go wanderin' off, hm?" His hand lingered on her leg, and she clutched her skirts in a tight fist.
The girl smiled complacently and nodded.
Then she saw him—sleek black hair that had stirred somewhere to her far left. Her jaw clenched instinctively. Damn it all, he was coming over. Her pupils constricted; desperately scrambling to find a scapegoat. Anything.
Here her eyes landed on the glass bottle inches away from her. The one her escort had left behind.
She shifted her feet and watched as the young man pushed his way through the other customers'—empty bottles in hand. In his hurry, he knocked into a burly patron, who promptly glared and swore at the shorter man, giving him a rough shove to the chest. The lad was apparently smart enough not to pick a fight with an opponent that large nor angry.
Unfortunately for him, he had no say in the matter.
The bottle she'd snatched with nimble digits came hurtling through the air just as the towering sot turned his back. It shattered against the back of his skull and the pub fell into immediate silence.
No one dared to even breathe.
Ever so slowly, he faced the confused jack and then spat right in his face.
Needless to say, things got out of hand rather quickly.
. . .
The collared beast dodged a punch without batting an eye. He did not have time to get involved in such a petty brawl. Blood and molars graced the air...As amusing as it was to see these inebriated mortals have at each other.
Red eyes sifted through the chaos only to stop when the table he'd been watching proved empty. They narrowed slowly as he scanned the environment for the small female.
Women in domestic service were cowed creatures, it having been ingrained in them since birth that they were to be unseen and unheard as soon as they entered the profession. One such creature would've frozen or crawled under a table in face of such violence.
And yet this one girl had been the catalyst of the mess surrounding him. Said lady was nowhere to be found. Yet she'd been there mere seconds ago.
Exiting the pub, the butler caught sight of a grey blur in the distance and felt the gust of wind its speed left behind. Oh? A bit too fast for a simple human wasn't she? It seemed things would not be quite as easy as he'd initially assumed. Sebastian adjusted his gloves.
The corners of his mouth curled upward.
How quaint.
. . .
The heels of her boots dug into the ground as she raced through the streets. She stumbled a few times, clumsy in her footing after four years of domesticity. She had to be careful. It was a gamble to take harm; unable as she was to predict if her bones would snap or withstand blunt force trauma.
It was an answer she didn't want. Not with the lack of time and privacy to process what it meant for her—what it entailed. She shook her head, later.
Her eyes shined at the sight of the Thames. The boat was pulling away, but she'd have no trouble sneaking aboard. One final leap and she'd be off.
Relief flooding her chest, she kicked off the dock.
Only to have a gloved hand snap shut around her ankle.
Her heart lurched violently. The grip flung her down against wooden boards, knocking the air out of the girl.
"You're quite fast." His smile imbued his baritone voice with poorly hidden contempt, "But not fast enough it seems." The little urchin had concocted an elaborate and offhanded scheme, and all while wearing a tame smile on her face. The deceiver tilted his head in thought, and how faithfully she played the clueless servant girl.
He watched as she did not move from her spot on the ground, trembling like a frightened child. The raven observed the young woman with mild interest. Fear—something he evoked in lesser beings, yet had never known himself. Demons were not capable of empathy. Therefore he could not even imagine what such an emotion would feel like. To sympathize with one's food would be paradoxical—after all.
It was common knowledge; one that even animals were wise to.
Dawn broke through the horizon, the faint orange light outlining the dark forms on the bank of the great river.
A single thought rang true amidst the deafening white noise within her mind.
Failure.
How bitter it tasted upon the tongue.
Silver eyes watched the clipper pull away, heading far away from whatever grim fate awaited her in that damned city with that...devourer.
Tears burned against her eyelids. Anger and fear swirled together in her gut, and the butler's words were drowned out by the gravity of her situation. Her muscles spasmed; the girl's heart beat so brutishly it felt like others could see it through her garments.
The old shawl around her shoulders whips about her as she runs. Her lungs burn. The child curbs her urge to scream—to scream for her father.
Why had she followed this woman?
Why had Father lied?
Magic, fairies, and dragons...He'd made her love them. Made her yearn to see them with her own eyes—to believe such beauty and wonder existed only if she cared to look.
Bitter tears drip down her bleeding cheek.
He had painted her stars from soot and blood. And monsters were what she'd found in those woods.
Small teeth clench tight, smothering horrified cries as she clutches a shard of glass. Leaning against the gnarled bark of an old tree, the child makes quick work of her palm. Bile rises in her throat at the sight and the squelch of peeling skin as it falls on dead soil in bloody ribbons. How badly she wants to stop.
But she can't.
Not until she's done.
Only then could she run—far, far away from here.
From her.
A polished Oxford came down on her small back, pinning her to the damp boards. Her insides threatened to come up and she struggled for air. It was difficult to ground herself in reality.
Adrenaline she hadn't felt in years unearthed old fears and birthed new ones.
Whatever stood above her, was unlike anything she had encountered before. Her mind shrieked: Monster. MONSTER.
Demons, as a rule, were strong, both females and males alike, but this being was not one tethered to the earthly plane.
It had slithered out from the stygian entrails of the Abyss.
The little creature had only ever heard tales of them...and now she had stupidly crossed one's path.
Did she attack so as to provoke him to end her then and there? Or did she submit and wait for the unlikely chance to outsmart him while he counted this as a victory? Could she outwit him? Had he realized what she was? If he had...she had no opportunity for survival. Not anymore.
"I do apologise for my roughhousing," large hands grasped her by the waist, pulling her up, "but I can't have you running off, Miss Hargrove. Do understand." Sebastian noted the apparent frailty of his target. Such a small thing; perhaps even a tad smaller than Lau's female bodyguard.
His grip migrated to her wrists, and anyone observing the two could have mistaken them for parting lovers. How dreadfully wrong they'd be.
Each of his fingers exerted pressure, calculated to be precise enough to serve as a solid reminder not to test him. For he would not hesitate to crush those little bones of hers at a moment's notice.
The smaller of the two kept her head down. One look at the beast would undoubtedly shatter what little bravado she had left. He taunted her with his candid speech; aware of just how much he truly horrified her. And he did not even bother to hide how much he relished it. Still, it filled her with wrath—to be bullied so shamelessly.
The male drew closer, looking down at her, "And what might you be, I wonder?" She withdrew into herself even further; the proximity of his teeth made her squirm. Said maw curled into a perfectly nasty grin. "No need to be afraid. I shall not eat you—I have my orders."
She laughed.
The butler blinked. Taken aback, he raised a dark eyebrow.
She immediately pressed a hand to her mouth in intense regret. She hadn't meant to do that. She was simply too nervous. A terrible, anxious mess of emotions. As a child, she had the habit of giggling when uncomfortable or nervous, but she'd assumed she'd grown out of it. Not the case it seemed. Good grief, how badly she wanted to cry. It was too much for her worn and stressed brain to deal with.
"I do not tell lies." He hummed, clearly insinuating she was not as blatantly honest as he.
The captive nearly laughed again. Was he really pointing fingers at her? Him of all people? She did not allow her indignation to show on her face, though her body did tense at his accusation.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed in amusement; aware that he'd hit a nerve. "Shall we?" He didn't wait for a response, throwing her over his shoulder like a deer carcass. Thus they travelled through the falling snow in silence.
"'Mary Hargrove'...Another lie, I suppose." The raven peeked at her from the corner of his eye, "Quite the nasty little habit for a young lady."
"..." She ignored him, lacking the energy—and desire—to give him the answers he wanted.
Sebastian Michaelis' grip miraculously slipped, and the young woman just so happened to fall right into a fountain with a strangled yelp. The poor girl spluttered and coughed; she shivered violently, soaked right down to her shift. The demon pulled her out, patting her on the back like a child to get the water out of her lungs. As though he was not the cause of her current misery.
She would be no good to him dead.
"W-What is wrong with you, you git?!" Her voice sliced through the quiet square in a whisper-shout. "Are you a six-year-old bully?"
The jackass looked to be in his early thirties and was most certainly several centuries old—if not millennials! Her blood boiled. Just one—one good punch to the face was all she wanted. She would no doubt cut her knuckles on his pearly teeth, but it'd be worth it if only she could knock a couple of of them out. Those and his arrogant smirk. But no, she was not one to let anger go to her head. It'd be no smarter than kicking the stool right from under herself with a noose tied around her throat. Violence would not be a clever move with one of his ilk.
He simpered down at her, "Oh good, I was worried the lady may have accidentally swallowed her tongue."
The exhausted lass did nothing more than give him a hard stare when he scooped her up again. Her fingers dug into his back lest he decided to drop her whenever it struck his fancy. What a proper ratbag. She withered when she found the children's keepsakes ruined; only Benjamin's sock had survived her impromptu swim.
Her nose twitched.
When the twosome arrived at their destination, he moved to set her down, only to halt for a second and then stiffen.
She acted oblivious when he stared down at her impassively. Until he—once again—dropped her like an old ragdoll.
Rubbing her sore bottom, she huffed quietly.
The Phantomhive butler's eyebrow twitched as he removed the melting snowball from the confines of his collar.
Her response was to give him a small were six-year-olds were they not?
...
Curious eyes watched them from a tree.
A/N: *Feather in her mouth = Capable of showing temper, but holding it in. (Victorian saying)
Reviews:
James Birdsong: Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.
Manon: Merci! J'espère que vous continuerez d'apprécier l'histoire! :-3
: Thank you for your patience! I do hope this chapter was something to tickle your fancy! We shall see, dear Lauren;)
DragonClanMaster: And how are you now?
Jummper: Halo! Terima kasih atas kata-kata baikmu. Saya senang Anda menikmati cerita ini di kedua versi, dan saya harap Anda akan terus melakukannya!
Semoga hari mu menyenangkan:)
P.S. I'm sorry if the translation is weird. Thank you for your kind support, Jummper :)
Aleta Wolff: You're very sweet! I'm honoured to have readers from other continents! Well, 'Mary' seems to be rather...hyper-aware of Sebastian's less than charming qualities, haha. We'll just have to see! You flatter me, I'm just trying (lol). Hope you liked this chapter.
Milianna07: Ooh, fresh meat! :} For real though, I'm kidding. It's always a pleasure to have new readers! Welcome! *waves* Glad to have caught your interest, ahaha. I mean, I wouldn't think it's an AU? I plan to follow the manga and perhaps weave in certain episodes from the first season. Though they're like one or two I think, ones that have nothing to really do with the anime's plot.
And darling Aservis Roturier: I'm going to just gush over in the backchannel, bud. That way I can just ramble about how top-notch you are. The real MVP, right here. For now though, please pardon my going into a coma from lack of sleep.