Ta-da! I am alive everyone! Ah~ Well a lot happened so I apologize in advance, but if you wanna know what happened I'll add it at the end, so stick around if you want, but anyway here's the chapter again sorry ehe.
Chp.18
"I wonder if I should tell him about this. After all, he didn't seem too worried about getting information on the place we are going. Maybe Sebastian has a reason for hiding this from us, whatever that reason was; I think I can relate to it. This is going to be fun." I swung Gynx around the room just thinking of all the outcomes.
"So now what am I supposed to do? We still have a day before we get started on the case, what if Ciel finds out eventually? Knowing him he will reject the whole thing." I conversed to myself.
The letter is very suspicious considering it didn't include vital information such as…that but maybe it was altered. Would the Queen really send a letter like that?
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."
I walked over to set down Gynx and continue to read the history of the Academy. It seemed very secluded, women and young girls were able to attend whether it range from regular knowledgeable tasks, to companies and house-work classes.
This really does draw the line between the abilities of men and women, sure we can't do as much as men, but we can sure as hell succeed and possibly free ourselves to more choices.
"Well there isn't that much information left for me to go on, maybe it's time I head out."
I replaced the books to their original location and headed for the rooms, Mey-Rin had gotten me more, 'common' clothing so that I could blend in with others in the town. Even if they were for going out undercover, I usually wore them whilst in the manor. A simple beige, short-sleeved dress would be just fine, but under my circumstances I used a scarf, and a 'pageboy' hat. It might make me stand out more, but it did let me gain more resources.
One of those resources include helping out a newspaper salesman sell more of his merchandise, to my advantage I was able to keep up with recent events through those newspapers. I got my things and went out the back door, naturally Gynx hid inside the pocket of my coat. It had been what, a month? And Gynx's appearance had drastically changed. His once piercing green eyes had turned to a cold gray, from time to time shades of green lit up his icy expression, but in my opinion it suited him a lot better. If anything Sebastian was still obsessed with him no matter what. His black coat was longer now and glossier when light hit it, at night the darkness took hold of him and all you would be able to see was his muggy eyes.
"Hey, where are you going?" a voice called from behind, was almost at the gate too.
"What is it now?" I sighed heavily and turned to look, what a pleasant surprise to see my good for nothing servant, Kidding, if anything we are both a pain, and a life raft.
"Just simple precautions, don't you think you should take your glasses?" Derrick asked.
"I don't particularly need them, why?" I replied.
"If you say so, anyhow, Shorty over there told me to go with you, so here I am. Personally I'd rather take a nap." Derrick yawned rubbing his eye. He wasn't wearing any sort of gloves, the Mark stood out shockingly against his pale skin.
"Sure, but you should go get some gloves or a really long coat to cover your hands," I strained.
"No need, I'll just keep my hands in my pockets, it's not like you'd be stupid enough to get yourself in trouble right?" Derrick smirked.
His hair looked much lighter than it had before; the brownish-golden color had regained its definition in the sunlight. Although, his skin was still pale and looked, cold. He wore his uniform like usual, it surprised me that he still hadn't changed, he didn't like to show up to his classes to begin with anyway.
"Something wrong? You've been staring intently at me for the past couple minutes, I don't suppose you might actually have feeli—" Derrick began; it didn't take long for me to realize what he was going to say.
"T-Th-That's wrong! No I certainly don't what are you thinking!? Geez! Come on I don't want to speak any more of this nonsense!" I stammered and stormed through the gate, Derrick followed behind laughing like a mad man.
"Could you stop?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"I just find it hilarious about the way you reacted! I did not expect that if anything I thought you would have slapped me or something, that would make more sense. You should see yourself you're as read as a tomato!" Derrick continued to laugh.
"Shut up already god!" I screamed and stopped in my tracks.
"Look it might have just been a joke, but I had, I have no idea how to react to things like that. If you didn't already know, I don't socialize that much, so how did you think I'd reply. I don't see anything funny about that because it, to me wasn't at all funny." I finished.
"So it's Ciel huh? Well I would've guessed you two do get along." Derrick murmured.
"Wha—" I began but silence was all that came out.
Those words were like a curse, a curse that silenced anything that came out of my throat, or at least tried to escape.
Ciel? What does he have anything to do with this? Why did Derrick even bring that up? Ciel is engaged, he has a fiancée, Elizabeth. W-Why would Derrick even dare say that, what do I say? This conversation, these questions are all too sudden, how do I do this. How do I get myself out of this situation, how? How?
"I—"
Derrick stared intently, even as I dropped my head, my eyes were locked on the floor, I felt his gaze study my movements, my fists clenched, but they shook. They shook so vigorously I could've sworn they had fallen off. The weight of his gaze lessened, and his presence had disappeared. I didn't have the effort to look up, but I felt his cold hands on my shoulders, this time they weren't cold. They were warm and inviting, tears threatened my eyes but why would I cry?
I'm not going to cry; crying is all I know how to do. I have no idea how to respond, but crying won't help.
"Sorry, I crossed the line." Derrick whispered.
"…No, no I— I, I don't have feelings for Ciel other than respect, and, trust. As for you, I'm conflicted. These feelings, feelings of hatred, annoyance, envy, no not envy, but every negative feeling that I shouldn't feel towards you especially. After all, I should feel trust in you, and I do, but very little, I should feel safety, and security, but it seems like I have only little faith in that. I don't know, everything is jumbled up." I mumbled words spilling over each other each time I opened my mouth.
"I see." Derrick replied coldly.
No, that tone, his voice it seems strange. It's not how I want him to reply, I, did I hurt his feelings?
"Derrick, I, you know I don't mean it in a way to hurt anyone. Like I said before, it's all so confusing. I don't, nor do I intend to hurt you in any sort of way. So I'm sorry if it came out sounding wrong or—" I began but a cold breeze shut out all sounds, chills ran down my spine and Derrick came closer.
Each second he moved slower, and slower, his movements were smooth and swift. He held out both arms and grabbed my shoulders. Softly he spoke,
"It's fine, I don't really understand what you mean, but if you don't either then what's there to believe?" Derrick released his grip and walked to the gate.
He sounded, hurt, lost, it was indescribable, but at the same time it was cold, his voice was hollow.
Was the sky this gray?
The clouds moved at a stunningly slow pace, it was as if they'd been frozen there, gloomily looking down at the ground. The sight was depressing, lonely, it seemed to me that my emotions, Derrick's emotions, were pinned to the sky for everyone to see overhead.
"Come on let's get this over with." Derrick's voice echoed.
Wait, what were we doing?
"No." My voice seemed alien to me, I couldn't recognize it as my own.
"What? Don't you have things to get by tomorrow?" Derrick asked.
"No, I'm going alone, just as I had planned to in the first place." Was this really me, was I actually speaking?
"Fine," Derrick sighed deeply.
"If you get into trouble you know what to do."
"I can't just keep relying on you!" My voice echoed around, the atmosphere was strained and the silence was cold.
It was unbearable to stand there, waiting for something to happen, waiting for something, someone to solve the problem at hand. I knew that if I'd wait any longer I'd end up back at square one, always hearing empty apologies, filling up with regret and rage.
"I've been able to do nothing without some sort of help; I know I can do something on my own. How far have I come already?" Tears threatened the back of my eyes, but what was it worth?
"These arguments are futile, and frankly I don't think either one of us have time to waste. If you'd like to tag along go ahead, but don't get in my way." I replied coldly.
No that wasn't what I wanted, why can I never speak my mind when it comes to Derrick. I have things well thought out, worded perfectly. Why can't I ever say them when the time is right?
The dismal atmosphere snapped.
"Alright then, let's go." Derrick chuckled lightly holding a hand to cup his mouth from further noises.
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"Don't you have any other type of information on this case?" Ciel asked shuffling through papers.
"I'm not familiar with anything other than the information we already have, but, if it's any consolation Clarissa is on her way to gather more information." Sebastian replied.
"Maybe I should do some of my own research; after all we don't have much to go on from what we have." Ciel sighed.
Ciel sat up rumbling thoughts through his head. Just as he left the room a sudden noise echoed through the manor, it was faint, but painfully intolerable. A sort of static or ringing noise; It was almost impossible to trace where it had come from but whatever the case, he had to stop it. Given the circumstances, he would have asked Sebastian to locate it, for of course he would have it under control in no time.
"Geez, what's with this blasted noise?" Ciel grumbled to himself as the sound kept echoing.
He kept walking through the manor but the sound grew softer and softer.
"Tch! I guess it's the other way."
Ciel stormed in the opposite direction, his nose began to itch and his throat the same. Not too long he was sneezing every two minutes and sniffing in between breaths.
"Great just what I needed." Ciel sniffled staring at the pair of grey eyes staring back at him.
"I thought she'd gotten rid of you." Ciel said to the feline who was rattling its ears.
"Ah, do you hear that nuisance of a noise as well?" Ciel asked, kneeling down cautiously.
Am I seriously talking to a cat? Well considering their heightened sense of hearing, maybe it could be of use. Now what was its name again? G…Gordon?
"Listen here, cat, if you prove yourself worthy of staying in my manor then lead me to that noise." Ciel stated.
"It's coming from the kitchen in the south dining hall; Says Wordsworth." A faint reply echoed.
"Huh, Snake? That's peculiar; you don't normally wander about at this time of day." Ciel remarked brushing off his pants and stepping away from the feline.
"Are you going to leave Clarissa's pet there? Says Wordsworth." Snake replied as he gradually came closer.
"I have no time to deal with mongrels." Ciel seethed.
"In fact," he continued,
"That thing shouldn't be here, I know I made that exception, but she's going to have to uphold her end of the line as well." Ciel muttered as he walked off with the guidance of his footman.
Oh god it smells horrible down here did someone die? The air is stuffy and thick with a smoke like substance. What the hell is going on?
A loud crash echoed throughout the hall, along with that the yelps of a familiar maid. Ciel sighed deeply, he already knew that it was Mey-Rin, though, Sebastian was the one who usually dealt with that responsibility, Ciel had encountered a few casualties as well.
"Mey-Rin? What happened this time?" Ciel asked impatiently.
"A-ah! Y-Young Master, you see um, I went to prepare for your evening tea so I grabbed a tea set that we haven't yet used and I kind of tripped on a fold in the carpet and fell." Mey-Rin scrambled frantically.
"It can't be helped, just clean up the mess you made and report back to Sebastian." Ciel sighed again.
Well that obnoxious noise is gone now; it still doesn't change the fact that the atmosphere was heavily damaged by something.
"B-Bard?! What the bloody hell did you do?" Ciel exclaimed as he peered into the kitchen.
The walls had been charred in several places, the tables were covered in ashes, and there stood the person responsible. Bardroy, his hair had been poofed up to the T.
"What do you have say for yourself?" Ciel growled clenching his teeth.
"Y-Young Master it's a surprise to see you down here…" Bard chuckled nervously.
"W-Well s' long as it wasn't Mister Sebastian, if it were he'd 'ave my head." he continued.
"What was that?" Sebastian grinned maliciously as he entered the room.
"Mind explaining the situation in advance?" he asked.
"U-Uh w-well you see-" Bard had started.
Frankly enough Ciel didn't need any other information on the subject and let himself out. It wasn't his job to discipline his servants anyhow. He had other things on his mind.
|/|
The atmosphere between Derrick and I had slowly dissipated to a thin, uncomfortable feeling. Whatever the case I need information on these disappearances. Not many people looked like the kind who'd have any information on the subject. After all this little town wasn't at its peak of wealth. Not to be of any offense but I highly doubt any daughter living within this town would have any chance getting into that prestigious school. Not many women had a chance at an education either way.
"Don't you think we'd have a better chance elsewhere?" Derrick asked, his hair glistening in the evening sun.
Wait why am I thinking of how his hair looks right now?
"Yeah I agree is there any other, wealthier, town we could visit?" I whispered.
"Sure, [insert title here] is only a few minutes away." Derrick replied.
"Let's check there then, wait, shouldn't we tell Ciel and Sebastian that we won't be in this area?" I asked hesitantly.
"No need, it isn't that far anyway." Derrick smiled shyly.
Walking through the streets a group started to slowly form around a couple. It was hard to see considering the amount of people surrounding them. With the commotion starting only sounds of the bystanders were heard.
"Do you think we should check it out?" I asked tugging on Derrick's shirt.
"Why not, might as well pick up on something that doesn't apply to our mission at all further distracting us from our original path. Let's go!" Derrick exclaimed, his every word filled with utmost sarcasm.
"I'm going on ahead thanks!" I rejoiced, surely it would tick him off.
Wow it's a lot louder over here. Oh I see something!
A woman dressed to the high nines was doubled over shrieking and crying. Every time she took a breath sounded like gasping for her last breath of air. A man knelt over her trying to get her up but each time failing. She lashed out but gave in to her emotions; whatever was going on wasn't good. The crowd only got bigger and harder for me to see any more than that. Trying to push myself through I ended up on the floor squeezing myself through people's legs. A few causalities like being stepped on but nothing more. No matter what I had to see what was going on.
Damn! I can't see a thing, should I just trip them? No I can't do that what am I thinking?
I crawled my way through enough to see that she held a paper, a newspaper, the ink had smeared everywhere because of water?
No, they're tears.
"All I need is a newspaper and that's it-Ow!" I exclaimed, dragging myself out of the crowd.
Shit.
My skirt had gotten caught on something. Wriggling as much as I could it would break its hold.
"Damnit." I muttered turning to pull the thing free.
The collar of my blouse was tugged on vigorously and I was hoisted up onto my feet.
"Ah thanks Derrick." I said turning around to face him.
"My, what a surprise to see you here it seems as though you've made quite a few friends." A man said.
"How long has it been?" he continued.
"You've grown so much, it's a shame that it'll go to waste. If only that day had gone as planned, this wouldn't have been so troublesome."
"Clary! Where'd you go?!" Derrick hollered.
"It seems this is my time to depart. I bid you farewell."
"Who was that?" Derrick asked shaking my lightly.
"I don't know."
Just who was that…
Just for further reference I'm about 1,000 words in the next chapter so it'll be up in no time.
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For the reason I was gone it's been about 2 months no? Probably more ah my deepest apologies, well my "new" laptop suddenly crashed like the whore it is, so I took it to best buy, many weeks without a word. I got a bad fever due to stress (I don't even really know I wasn't that stressed other than a couple last minute placement tests), 102 degrees for 3 days straight and then 5 more with a mild fever and throat infection. My parents got my laptop but never told me about it because I use it like everyday. They like to torture me for it (no not really I guess they thought it was for the better) So once I got healthy I unlock my laptop and behold! All my documents were gone :))) Yeah, it was hectic, but what matters is I'm back now, it's summer break, faster chapters, and more time to work. Thanks for all your support and hopefully I captured Bard's character this time? Well I'll try my best, also, sneak peak at why I made it an all girls school without Ciel knowing.
*Whisper* I just wanted to make him crossdress because I have the power ;)
See you guys soon! Any questions just ask me, if you don't have an account then comment.