Chapter 2 – Chasing the harlequin
"Darn it..."
I stood still in the alley and listenend. I could very vaguely still hear the music, so I ran towards it as fast as I could. When I came out in a side road I was surprised to see carriages blocking the way. Something must have happened. I made my way through and then saw a girl get out of one of the carriages. It was Elizabeth! What was she doing? I noticed she ran down another alley and I followed her. Did she perhaps hear the music too? Perhaps it had her enchanted?!
I was out of breath when I managed to catch up to her and saw her go into a shop. It appeared to be a gift shop of some sorts. I looked at the things displayed in the window and then realised to my horror...there were small dolls in the window and I recognised them...they looked like the missing girls...
"Elizabeth!" I called and had to kick in the door which was locked. Inside the store it was dead silent. I kept calling out, but got no answer. I went through the back door into a corridor of some sort and then into another room. There was a life-size doll standing in the middle. I was shocked.
"Frannie?" I asked. It was my cousin, standing stock still, staring ahead. Was she under some kind of spell?
"Frannie!" I called out and shook her shoulders. She was ice cold. I quickly let go and stared at her in horror. Her eyes looked alive somehow, but her body felt cold like a dead person's... The kidnapper...killed them. I couldn't stop warm tears from welling up. Frannie was one of my few cousins that I actually liked. She was always so cheery; it reminded me a little of Elizabeth. Oh, right! I need to find her before it is too late!
I turned away from the doll and then realised too late that it had swung something at me. I didn't realise that she was holding a knive behind her back and it sliced into my shoulder. If I hadn't moved when I did my head would have been done for... A mechanical doll perhaps? I kept calling out to her as I dodged the next assualt, but Frannie didn't seem to recognise me. This definitely wasn't her anymore. With that decided I fought back and very quickly managed to take the knife from her and plunged it into her chest. No blood came out, but straw. It seemed to be a doll looking like Frannie stuffed with straw. I hacked away at the doll and more straw came out until eventually it couldn't get up again. I didn't find any mechanism that controlled the doll, which was odd. I could hear that creepy London's bridge song again so I quickly got up and followed it.
I had to fight with more dolls, but each one was filled with a different material. The latest one was filled with all sorts of gold jewellery and to my amazement the stolen necklace from Mr Brown's was there too but the gems were removed. I knew this because I saw a picture of it in the paper.
This was confusing. Was the kidnapper also the thief? That could not be since the the kidnappings had been happening elsewhere while things were getting stolen in London. It must be two people. Then, they must somehow work together? Why would a thief and a kidnapper work together? For what purpose? And why fill up dolls with stolen goods? None of it made sense...
The next room I went into smelled horrible. The smell of blood and rotting flesh was almost suffocating. There were all sorts of equipment lying around and tables. It was something straight out of a horror scene, worst than any I had ever seen before. This must be where... I choked up, now that I knew for sure that Frannie was gone. My aunt was always hopeful to get her little girl back... I didn't look to see what was inside the large buckets that stood around. I had to save Elizabeth before it was too late!
I found another door and went through it. Elizabeth was seated on a chair with her eyes closed.
"Lizzy!" I called out, but she didn't respond. I rushed over to her and felt her pulse. She was still alive.
"Thank goodness!"
"What a fortunate night," a monotone voice spoke up and I turned around to face it. The mannequin was standing there. He almost looked like a doll himself somehow, his movements were mechanical.
"Why are you doing this to young girls?" I asked. I couldn't keep the anger and anguish from my voice.
"What do you mean? We are doing them a favour. Now they will be beautiful and young forever. They never have to grow old and suffer."
"But they are dead! What good is it to be beautiful forever if you can't live to appreciate it?"
"I...don't understand what you mean," the harlequin said while his expression never changed.
"Don't worry, we will make you beautiful too."
The harlequin made a movement with his hand and the next moment it felt like I suddenly got stringed up. Strings wrapped around my arms and legs and even my head. I could no longer control my body.
"Stop it!" I yelled.
"Now, now. Don't be so impatient my lovely Angel. I have been waiting for you for a while now. I know you are jealous of the other girls, but you will be the most exsquisite once I am done with you."
I was carried suspended in the air by the strings to follow the harlequin wether I wanted to or not.
"Elizabeth! You have to wake up! Elizabeth!" I called out before I got taken into another room and the door closed itself.
There were pots on fires in this room. At first I was horrified thinking of what could be in them, but then realised it smelled metallic in here and it was unbearably hot.
"Here is where we make you beautiful. Normally I would have to remove that which is fleeting in order to put in what is eternal, but it is not always necessary."
The harelquin leaned over a pot and lifted up a ladle. Liquid gold glowed out of it.
"Fill you up with silver and gold, silver and gold, my fair lady," he sung in an eery voice. The strings held me in place so that I could not move away as the harlequin came closer with the ladle in his hand.
"Come now, be a good girl and drink up."
"No! Stop it! I do not want eternity, I am happy the way I am!"
"Your words do not reflect your true desire, my fair lady. This you will soon see."
The strings were starting to pull my head back to force my mouth to open. I shouted the only thing that for some reason came into my mind.
"Ciel! Help me!"
And then just on cue the door flew open. It literally got torn of its hinges and slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. Sebastian came in first, followed by Ciel and Elizabeth clinging to his arm.
"Didn't I tell you to wait for my orders?" Ciel asked with his trademark scowl on his face. He didn't seem affected by the horror of the place. Perhaps he didn't see the other room?
"Sorry, I couldn't let sleeping dogs lie," I retorted and was satisfied to see his eyebrow twitch.
"I'm afraid we will have to post-pone your beauty session," the harlequin said and then as if pulled by strings himself he hoisted himself up onto one of the rafters in the high roof.
"Coward!" I shouted, trying to free myself from the strings binding me, but then the strings started to move.
"Watch out!" I shouted, but could not stop myself from grabbing a red-hot poker from one of the fires and lunging at Ciel and Elizabeth. Sebastian grabbed the poker mid-air and pulled it out of my hands.
"I can't control myself!" I managed to shout before the strings made me throw a punch at Sebastian. He grabbed my fist in his hand and I knew at once that he was not human. He could easily have crushed my hand. Apart from his strength, his eyes were glowing red. He swung the poker with such force at me that I was convinced this was it. I closed my eyes tightly, but then felt the strings that had been controlling me go slack and realised that he had simply cut the strings above my head.
I was so shocked and relieved at the same time that I sunk to the ground.
"Sebastian, I want him captured alive. I want him to take us to his master. This is an order," Ciel commanded and then shouted at me.
"Pull yourself together!"
Elizabeth was still hanging on his arm and crying. I got up and then something fell on the floor by my feet. It was the harlequin.
"Sebastian! I told you to keep him alive!" Ciel scolded.
"He is still alive my lord, if you can call it such."
"What do you mean?"
That was when I noticed that his leg was now badly twisted and straw was sticking out.
"It's a doll," I said. I guess I should have known.
"A doll? Ciel asked, "you mean like those we found lying in the other rooms?"
So he had seen the other rooms.
"Yes...the harlequin was filling girls up with different materials to make them 'eternal dolls'. They somehow came alive when I was there and attacked me. I couldn't tell how, but now I see that everything was being controlled by these strings... the harlequin is not the mastermind. Someone else was pulling the strings."
"In that you are correct," Sebastian suddenly said next to me. He had landed so soundlessly.
"But, then who is the mastermind?" Ciel asked in thought.
"It could be the thief...or the thief could also just be another puppet. In which case things have just become a lot more complicated," I said pressing my palm against my temple. I was getting a bad headache from blood loss and disturbed sleep.
"Whoever the mastermind is, he or she is not here," Sebastian said silently, "I have done as you asked my lord and searched the entire building."
Everything was starting to get fuzzy and unstable around me. Ciel's voice sounded like it was coming from far away.
"Then we should take our leave. Scotland yard will be here soon," Ciel explained and then turned to me.
"Are you in a state to walk?"
"I'm fine. Just a little bloodloss, nothing to...bark about..." I heard myself saying, but the last part slurred and then I blacked out.
When I woke it was dusk. I felt well rested and stretched before getting out of bed. Where was I? I recalled the events of before I fainted and looked at my shoulder. It was bandaged and I was clothed in a fresh sleeping gown.
Just then the door opened and Sebastian walked in with a tray with a teapot and cup.
"Did you rest well, lady Cortez?"
"Er...yes, thank you... please tell me, how long was I asleep?"
"This is the second day."
"Two days?!"
"Your body did experience a lot of trauma lately and combined with sleep deprevation it is no wonder."
I was surprised that Sebastian was so talkative to me, and so informal. He handed me the teacup he had just filled.
"Thank you...does my father know?"
"Yes, he had been informed as soon as we returned to the Phantomhive manor."
"And Lizzy...I mean Elizabeth, is she allright?"
"She was unharmed physically."
"Okay, that is good news..." I said and took another sip. It would take longer to heal the pshycological scars though. In my line of work I had seen some gruesome scenes, but this definitely took the cake. For someone like Elizabeth...I wonder how much she saw? She was unconscious when I found her? This maniac has to be stopped! I need some sort of plan. Where to start?
"I should get going just now," I said to Sebastian who was still waiting on me.
"Lord Phantomhive requested that you come see him after you had something to eat. As it is already passed dinner time I will bring you something to your room. And it is already almost dark outside so you might as well stay the night."
Before I could object Sebastian then listed a long list of foods which I didn't even know what all of them were. Was this a normal dinner at the Phantomhive manor?!
"Which would you prefer?"
"Oh...um...a scone will be fine, thank you."
"As you wish."
With that he left the room. I would have to face Ciel and he was probably mad at me.
I stood in front of a window and looked out onto a courtyard with beautiful flowers, sipping my tea when I heard the door open again. Thinking that it was just Sebastian returning with the scone, I didn't turn around.
"I am surprised you haven't got yourself killed sooner," Ciel's voice suddenly piped up, making me jump and almost spill tea. My superb relexes managed to keep the dangerously turbulent tea sea from bridging its dam walls.
"Don't scare me like that!" I retorted. I didn't care that I was being informal to the lord in his own manor. He was rude by just coming into my room anyways. I thought he was waiting for me to come see him?
"And may I ask what is the meaning of this?"
I looked and saw the doggie pin in his hand. I couldn't help but laugh. Ciel was frowning and I quickly suppressed it.
"What do you mean? I saw it at the fair when I was with Elizabeth and heard it was your birthday and decided to get you something. It's a birthday gift."
Ciel looked at the pin silently.
"Then I dare say it is in poor taste."
"Oh, then I apologise," I said, but couldn't keep the smile completely off my face. We both knew I had been making fun of him.
Just then there was a soft knock on the door and Sebastian came in.
"To show consideration of my guest I have asked Sebastian to serve you something special for dinner," Ciel said as a plate got put down on the table. On it was a scone and next to it a tin of cat food.
Sebastian sighed in a tone that suggested exasperation.
"Oh, how sweet of you. Thank you so much!" I said in a jovial tone. I picked up the scone and bit into it. It was delicous. For a moment I had wondered if the scone would be filled with sardines or something alike. I didn't realise how hungry I was and finished it off in no time and was actually considering the cat food...
"Huh, never knew a girl could eat that fast," Ciel commented. I was surprised that he was still here.
"That's nothing, you should see me when I grab something while out on a mission, my record time is 10 seconds for finishing a hamburger."
"That can't be good for digestion," Ciel said sounding a bit disgusted.
"Well, it is better than not eating anything at all."
"Sebastian said that your body showed signs of malnutrition and starvation. No wonder you're so thin."
"What?! Don't tell me you undressed me?!" I said in shock staring at Ciel and then Sebastian.
"No, lady Cortez. That would be improper, but since I am also the resident doctor of the Phamtomhive household I had to treat the wound on your shoulder. I merely made an observation, nothing as improper as your ladyship imagines, I assure you. Mei-Rin had been present and changed your clothes after I had tended to your wound."
"Oh... thank you... for saving my life," I eventually said meekly. There were times were one just had to be. Sebastian excused himself and an awkward silence fell on the room.
"What, did the cat catch your tongue?" Ciel suddely said sarcastically.
"No...I'm just trying to figure out who the mastermind is. There must have been some clue that I missed."
Ciel looked surprised.
"You are not even fully recovered yet and already back on the job? Admirable if not foolish."
"The longer we wait the more girls might fall victim to the killer. Once the case is closed I can worry about licking my wounds."
Did I see... a slight smile for just a second? Nah, must have imagined it. Ciel always frowned or scowled.
"I have asked Sebastian to look into it. Once he reports back we can take it from there. You should just rest in the meanwile. Must I remind you that you agreed to follow my orders on this case?"
Ciel left my room with that. I didn't understand him. He seemed to care and not to care at the same time. And why did he bother to come see me about the dogpin? Surely he knew I was just poking fun? Or perhaps he felt he wanted a reason to come into my room? Why? Perhaps to see if I knew anything else about the case. That must be it!