*Author's Note: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I got a new phone and couldn't remember my iCloud password, so I ended up having to email all of my stories to myself and I have like fifty stories on my phone! It took forever! Anywayyyyy! I hope you al enjoy this chapter! It's a bit longer than usual so it can be like my apology for taking so long! Haha! Please let me know what you think! I looooveeee getting reviews! And thank you so much for reading! :)I super appreciate all the support! :-) *
Haven couldn't sleep that night. There were far too many questions that jumbled her dazed mind.
So... She had awoken in the Undertaker's home, a bloody and dirty aimnesiac... He refused to say where he'd 'found' her, or what had happened to her... Then, mysterious murders started happening, and Haven had gotten flashes of her memory back, just enough to convince herself that maybe she'd witnessed one of these murders... And then, the murderer himself had said that she was familiar to him... And that she had lovely eyes...
What did it all mean?
If she had been attacked by the man at some point, and that was why she'd awoken in Undertaker's building, surely the killer would have recognised her...?
But Haven knew she couldn't just sit around and do nothing anymore.
She had to find out her past!
She had to get her memories back! The feeling of her mind being blank was unsettling, like the mysterious and dangerous depths of black water... Water that could hold something harmful if only she could see through the darkness...
It was slowly driving her mad, not knowing.
With these thoughts stirring around inside her head, Haven finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.
...
Haven awoke to the room being cast in pale yellow sunlight that filtered into the main room and shined through the doorway beside her.
She'd had dreams all night of awaking in a dark street with Undertaker's face peering down at her, his long hair gently brushing against her cheek as he bent over to study her.
"Well, now," his voice had said to her in the dream. "What would a lovely li'l thing like you be doin' in a place like this?"
Then, he reached down and touched her face for some reason before Haven awakened from the dream. She'd had the same one three times during the night.
But now...
It was a new day. The day that Earl Ciel Phantomhive and his butler were to come and interrogate her over the events of yesterday.
Haven felt unnaturally calm about it, as if she'd now accepted the fact that she'd almost died but had been saved by the Phantomhive staff.
She stood up and stretched, all of her muscles screaming in protest.
Her calves hurt, her ribs were sore, her feet were bruised and painful to stand on. Even the cheek where she'd been slapped was burning a bit, as if the man's hand had only left her face moments ago.
Finishing her stretches, Haven made her way into the main room, where Undertaker was not.
The room was empty, so Haven assumed he was either underneath the floor in his secret room, or maybe upstairs in his other secret room.
Disappointed, Haven sat on a coffin and sighed. She'd really wanted to ask Undertaker some questions before their guests arrived, but she'd have to wait until later.
Deciding to go into the kitchenette to make herself some tea, Haven stood up with a groan from all her muscles, and approached the door.
Just as she was reaching out to grab the doorknob, the door suddenly flew open and Undertaker walked out backwards with a tray of normal biscuits and a pot of tea.
He glanced over at Haven in surprise, and his usual grin broke across his face.
"Mornin' to ya, dearie!" he exclaimed, waltzing over with the tray and setting it on top of a coffin. "How'd ya sleep, how'd ya sleep?"
Haven watched as Undertaker plopped down on the floor carelessly, glancing up at her with his hidden eyes as he started pouring two cups of red tea.
"I slept fine, thank you," Haven replied, gingerly sitting across from him on the floor.
As soon as she'd sat down, Undertaker reached across the coffin and gently took her chin between two fingers and turned her face away from him so he could see her neck.
Haven's ears burned but she waited for him to say something.
"Hm," Undertaker hummed as he looked. Haven glanced his way and noticed that his jaw was set a bit sternly.
"What?" Haven finally gathered enough courage to ask.
"It's still there, it is," Undertaker replied, finally turning her face back toward his own. "The mark."
"Oh," Haven said, still more than creeped out by the fact that the man had left a mark on her somehow that had lasted this long.
Undertaker brought her face a bit closer to his own and Haven found herself unable to breathe.
His nose was so close, it was almost brushing hers. She could feel his heartbeat in the fingers that gripped her chin.
What was he doing...?
His face passed hers up and his lips hesitated inches from her ear.
"Whenever I see that on yer neck, this anger runs through me veins, dearie," Undertaker whispered, his breath against her ear. "I don't rightly understand why."
He didn't say anything else, just continued to lightly hold her chin, his long nails brushing her cheek, making her ears burn red.
Finally, after a long moment, Undertaker released her chin and leaned back to his side of the coffin, a grin spreading across his face.
"Well, now, lady, let's have some tea," Undertaker said, handing her a cup that was already full of the red liquid.
Haven hesitated before accepting the cup between her shaking fingers.
"I... I have some questions for you, Undertaker," Haven told him, trying to sound stern but sounding more worried instead. "If you'd please answer them now."
Undertaker seemed to freeze in his seat, hand holding his cup frozen in the air by his face.
Finally, he reanimated and set the cup back down on the makeshift table.
"I'll answer the questions I think you're ready for, dearie, how's that sound?" he replied with a chuckle.
"Well, it's a start," Haven allowed, taking a sip of the warm tea to steady her nerves. "Alright. When you said that you 'found' me... What does that mean? Where did you find me?"
"It means exactly as it sounds," Undertaker answered, his shoulders shaking as if he were amused. "I found ya just as ya were, in an alley."
"In an alley?!" Haven gasped, shocked. "What do you mean? Why was I in an alley?!"
"Ya were quite ill, ya were," Undertaker said. "Were burnin' with fever and bleeding."
"Did..." Haven started in a whisper, her dream suddenly coming back to her with a strong force. "When you found me, did you say, 'well, now, what would a lovely little thing like you be doing in a place like this'?"
Undertaker leaned back in his seat, seeming surprised.
"I did," he replied.
"I remember that," Haven added, putting a hand to her temple.
"I saw ya layin' in the alley, and I thought to meself... It'd be a right shame to let a face like that die out here all alone," Undertaker added, cocking his head as he studied her from beneath his hair.
Haven's face felt warm again, but she ignored it, and tried to meet his hidden gaze.
"So you took me here?" Haven asked again.
"Indeed I did, dearie," Undertaker said. "Because I am an undertaker, I know a bit of how the body works. It wasn't all that difficult to save ya, it wasn't... But I always feared a relapse."
"Relapse..." Haven repeated, her stomach feeling a bit nauseous again. "Do you know how I came to be in that alley?" she questioned.
Undertaker turned his face away from her, and brought a hand to his chin.
"I don't," he said.
Haven could tell that he was lying, but she was so relieved that he'd answered the few questions she'd asked that she didn't bother to pry. There was always the chance she could ask him more questions later.
"Have ya been rememberin' anythin' else?" Undertaker suddenly asked her. "Before, ya said you'd been havin' nightmares. Anythin' o' the sort recently?"
"No... I remembered seeing you in the alley in my dream last night," Haven finally admitted. "I thought it was just a dream... But I guess it really happened."
"Are ya sure you're ready to answer the young Earl's questions, love?" Undertaker questioned, sipping at his tea. "Ya know I can always tell 'em that you're asleep. They'd come back later, they would, to give ya more time to calm down."
"No, I'm ready," Haven insisted, firmly. "I want to help catch him. I feel a connection with him somehow, as if we'd met before. I want Ciel Phantomhive and the detective Abberline to catch that man and put him to justice... So he can't hurt anyone else."
"I understand ya, dearie," Undertaker started. "I hope yer instincts prove true, 'cause we've guests."
"Already?" Haven asked, turning to look at the door, which someone rapped against just as her eyes made contact with the wood.
Undertaker bounded up from his seat, joyfully humming as he opened the front door to allow in the young Ciel Phantomhive and his butler Sebastian.
Haven was surprised not to see Abberline, but assumed that maybe the detective was busy with the case somewhere else.
"Ah, it's the young Earl Phantomhive and his butler," Undertaker greeted cheerfully. "Come in, come in!"
"Undertaker," Ciel greeted in his young, serious voice.
Sebastian helped the boy remove his coat and Ciel turned towards Haven, his only cobalt eye showing hints of hidden concern.
"We've come to ask you about the attack yesterday, if you're feeling up to it," Ciel told her. "If you'd prefer to rest a while longer, we can come back later."
That had been exactly as Undertaker had predicted. Maybe he somehow knew Ciel Phantomhive better than he let on...
"Thank you, but I'm fine now," Haven assured him. "I'd like to answer your questions and help catch this man as soon as possible."
"I understand. I admire your strength," Ciel gave her a quick nod and took a seat on the coffin he'd sat on the last time he'd been to visit.
Sebastian hovered behind his master, calmly studying Haven with his intense scarlet gaze.
Undertaker closed the door behind them and poured the nobleman a cup of the red tea that Haven had been served earlier. He seemed to know that Sebastian wouldn't drink the tea, as Haven had discovered last time, and didn't pour the butler any.
"Right," Ciel started, clearing his throat. "I'd like for you to think back and describe the man who attacked you as best as you can."
"When I first saw him," Haven started, remembering the man in her mind's eye. "He was wearing a brown cloak with a hood that covered his face. He was a bit taller than me- about the height of Undertaker... But he was hunched over, so he could've been even taller. He had a young voice."
"Sebastian, are you taking notes?" Ciel demanded, glancing back at his butler, who was writing down everything Haven said on a notebook that was reminiscent of the one that Abberline used.
"Is that the detective's notepad?" Haven questioned suddenly.
"Yes," Ciel answered. "He wanted to accompany us with another detective, but I've asked him not to come so you wouldn't have to answer questions in front of any more men."
That sort of shocked Haven silent for a long moment. She'd never realised it before but the Earl Ciel Phantomhive was quite thoughtful... She'd even venture to say that he was considerate.
"Thank you," Haven replied, her voice coming out sounding choked.
"Please continue describing the man," Ciel urged.
"Right," Haven continued. "He pulled me into the alley... And... I kicked him in the groin, but as I was running away, I remembered that I needed to see his face so I could describe him for you... So I turned back around and pulled his hood off..."
"You pulled off his hood?" Ciel repeated, his voice sounding forced but also surprised.
"Yes, because I already knew that he was the murderer at that point," Haven continued. "When I pulled his hood off, he covered his face with a hand but I could tell that he had black hair. And his skin was pale."
"Black hair, and pale..." Ciel repeated, trailing off in thought.
Sebastian continued to write down everything Haven rattled off, his handsome face concentrated.
"Is there anything else we should know that could help identify him?" Sebastian asked her as he looked up.
"He had a wealthy accent, he'd been educated," Haven added. "I... I don't think he was a commoner."
Everyone seemed surprised at that. Sebastian's eyes widened and Ciel's mouth dropped slightly agape.
"That's quite a serious accusation," Sebastian informed Haven, gently.
"I know," Haven replied.
"Sebastian, stop questioning her," Ciel said, his voice sharp. "She was the one face-to-face with the man. If she says he was a nobleman, then we take her word for it."
"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian replied hesitantly.
"And... He mentioned having a carriage," Haven added. "That made me believe he was wealthy, as well."
"Right. A wealthy, pale man with black hair," Ciel mumbled to himself.
"Did you see anything else of his face, my Lady?" Sebastian questioned.
"I only saw the lower half of his face because of his hood," Haven said. "He had a straight nose, and was clean-shaven."
The butler wrote all of that down as well.
"Did you see which way he went after you got away?" Ciel asked, finally returning from his thoughts.
"No, I'm sorry," Haven replied. "I was running away and didn't look back."
"That's quite alright," Ciel said, turning to look at his butler.
"If we were to get a man into custody of Scotland Yard, would you be able to identify him?" Sebastian asked.
"I... I think so," Haven replied. "If I could hear his voice, I would know for sure."
Ciel and the butler continued to ask Haven more questions and then to recount the entire story so Sebastian could write it down for Abberline.
They stayed for a couple of hours, until Haven's mind seemed numb from remembering the painful events over and over.
"Well. I believe that's everything we need," Ciel concluded, standing up and putting a hand on Haven's shoulder. "Thank you for your help, Haven. I can promise you that your suffering won't go unrewarded. The information you gave us will help us identify the man who's been hurting all those women."
"Thank you," Haven replied, not really meeting Ciel's gaze. "I'm glad I was able to help in some way."
"If you remember anything else of importance, get ahold of us immediately," Ciel added, letting Sebastian help put on his coat.
Without much more talk, Ciel and Sebastian bid them both goodbye, and left the building.