A/N: New chapter! I probably won't update as soon as this usually, so be grateful, lol. Remember, read and review! It gives me encouragement! And I can't update fast enough without encouragement! (puppy-dog eyes) xD
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC(s).
Chapter Two:
Two Times Too Many
Stepping out of the carriage, the navy-haired boy took a deep breath of the cool city air. The streets were bustling with people, talking, shopping, and children played innocently with one another on the paths. Adjusting his top hat so that it sat firmly upon his head, Ciel beckoned his butler to follow as he entered the swarming mass.
The two approached a group of people, an exasperated looking Scotland Yard police commissioner with a mustache and a clearly unstable woman in a long, extravagant gown, who stood clutching to her bag as she sobbed dramatically.
"Oh, dear, it's horrible!" she said for the umpteenth time, her brown curls bouncing as she shook. "The thieves! They took it, I say, my great grandmother's golden locket!"
"Madam, please remain calm. We are trying to get this settled," said the police commissioner, Lord Randall. Another man, noticeably younger and with a mustache as well, stood by and attempted to help his superior by telling the woman that they would find the culprits soon. Contrary to his intention, this hadn't helped her in the least, and she began to sob uncontrollably once again.
As he came over, standing upright and dignified, Ciel cleared his throat loudly; his expression remained impassive.
"Pardon me, Madam, but I have a few questions for you," he intervened, without the slightest amount of consideration for the members of Scotland Yard that were already there. Randall spun around to see a rather spiffy young boy with navy hair and an eye patch. He immediately covered up the slight shock he displayed, and stared down at him, a familiar feeling of anger beginning to upsurge within him.
"Lord Phantomhive… what business do you have here?"
A small, but shrewd smile spread across the young Earl's face. He held up the documents from the Queen, watching as the police commissioner's distasteful expression changed to an even more obvious appearance of loathing.
"You must know by know that you are not the only ones with duties to perform, Lord Randall."
"It's Commissioner Randall to you, you insufferable little—" he spat, before his assistant Fred Aberline clasped a hand to his shoulder, trying to calm him down. Randall sighed. This day had just been getting worse by the minute.
Ignoring the comment, Ciel turned to the woman, who, at this point, had stopped sobbing pathetically, and was dabbing her eyes daintily with a handkerchief. He cleared his throat once more and asked her if he could come with him for a moment. The woman nodded, following behind the young boy and his tall butler in black.
.*.*.*.
"If I'm not mistaken, Madam, you are saying that a young group of thieves stole your grandmother's locket?" Sebastian clarified, as he took notes on a small pad of paper.
"My great-grandmother's locket," the woman corrected, as if this detail had mattered much. Ciel deeply wanted to slap his forehead in exasperation, but without further ado, he moved onto the next question.
"Could you possibly describe their appearances in any way?" the boy asked, impatient. He just wanted to be done with this useless case. "Hair and eye color, age, clothing…?"
The woman thought for a moment, bringing fluttering fingers to her chin. "Ah, yes! There were two boys, one with brown hair, untidy, of course, and blue…no… green eyes, I think, and he looked rather small for his age. The other was taller and wore a hat, but his eyes… what were they…? His eyes, I believe, were this strange yellow color, like amber or… gold, I suppose. Both of them wore, I daresay, disgusting peasant clothing, but I presume that's typical of those repugnant thieves. Hmph! They have no sense of style! I mean, how could those ridiculous shoes they wore be in vogue? It's highly preposterous! I remember the time my husband wore that awful…"
This time, both Ciel and Sebastian mentally threw a chair at the woman. How could she go from describing the thieves, and then commenting on their fashion sense? The people here… Really…
"…coat. I literally took the hideous thing and burned it with my own—"
"If you would excuse me, Madam, but we must stay on topic," Sebastian interrupted, much to the navy-haired boy's relief. As it was of no use pondering over the many ways that they could kill her, Ciel asked her his final question, before she started rambling again.
"When did this incident take place? Yesterday? Two hours ago, perhaps?"
"Just a few minutes before you arrived, actually."
"What?"
.*.*.*.
"Ha ha! We get 'er good, Scamp! Did you see the way she looked around? 'Er eyes were as wide as saucers!" a certain young pickpocket sniggered, knocking fists with her partner in crime.
Scamp grinned, returning the gesture. "Nah, you was the one who got 'er, Ash. I jus' helped, is all."
Ash smiled at the younger boy, a very slight and unusual glint of kindness in her light golden eyes. However, this disappeared and was replaced with greed as she held up the locket, dangling it in front of themselves, their faces lighting up with voracity.
"Can you imagine what Badger'd say? This is gold, real gold!"
"I can't believe it! We might get to eat some fish—or even—chicken for supper! Ain't it great?"
The two laughed again, giddy at the thought of receiving more than gruel tonight. They were standing in an alleyway, where they had escaped after nabbing the victim's locket, and were now thinking of a good way to head on home before any officials noticed them. Ash peered out and as soon as she began plotting a course, something caught her eye in the streets of the crowded city.
There in the center stood a young, respectable looking boy, and beside him, a tall man in black, presumably his servant or companion of some sort. But the thing that she had noticed was his unusual, navy-colored hair and eye-patch. He was obviously a nobleman, judging by his clothing and rather pompous way of standing, glaring around.
"Oi, Scamp!" Ash whispered, waving a hand to her partner. Curious, he neared her, looking in the same direction. She pointed inconspicuously at the boy she had seen.
"Look at him! He's sure to have loads on him, don't you think?"
Scamp glanced at him skeptically before eyeing the older girl. "I dunno, Ash… We should pro'bly just go to Badger now. He'll be worried."
She snickered. "Badger, worried? Don't fool yerself, Scamp. He don't care what happens, long as we come back with somethin' in our pockets."
The boy shrugged, knowing she was right. He let out a tiny sigh before shaking his head.
"Alright, but I ain't comin'. Give me the locket; I'll take it to Badger."
"Scamp!"
"Don't, Ash! There ain't no way, no how, that I'd be riskin' my tail again after stealing something as valuable as a gold! I'm goin' home, and you should, too! Now give me the damn locket!"
Ash groaned and reluctantly handed over the locket.
"Say, Ash. You jus' be careful, got it?" Scamp said at last, preparing to leave. He earned a sarcastic eye roll from the girl, but deemed it good enough, as he cautiously headed out towards home. After he had finally disappeared from view, Ash lowered the rim of her pageboy hat so that it hid her eyes, and walked lightly on her feet as she entered the streets. She bent her head a tad lower, and as she watched the navy-haired boy turn around, she immediately turned with him, blocking her face from his view.
Slyly, she moved to the side, observing the boy scan the street. His tall companion had left his side and was talking to some other people, men and women, as well as jotting down the things they said in a small notepad. Ash was thankful for this, as it had made her task a whole deal easier. She stepped discreetly closer.
Since the streets of London at this time of day were swarming, it wasn't too hard for her to simply move within the crowd, bumping shoulders and even pocketing a few shillings on the way. Finally, she reached her target, moving close behind him.
Ciel felt something brush his coat and fingers and as he turned around, he noticed a poorly dressed figure walking hurriedly away. Suspicious, he checked his pockets, and was astounded to see many of his gold sovereigns missing. Just as he was about to fume after the suspicious figure, Ciel caught sight of his right hand, which was lacking the blue stoned ring that showed he was the head of Phantomhive.
That boy… He was the pickpocket. He had to be!
"Sebastian!" Ciel called, sternly. The butler in black looked up instantly at the sound of his master's voice. He was pointing to the scrawny lad running at the end of the street.
"I order you—catch him!"