Chapter Nineteen

Shadowy feathers brushed against small delicate fingers, reaching out to grab hold of at least one of the long graying feathers. They hadn't ever been white, for as long as I could remember, yet I knew that they once had been such a glorious white it would have been impossible to look at them. For the moment though, these feathers were a pastel gray at the tips but towards their bases grew into a dark stormy gray that lingered somewhere between the fine line of where gray morphed into black.

"White are for the pure ones, innocent, and glorious. Gray are for the falling, descenders, abandoners," my voice was soft as the ancient song left my lips. It floated through the air much like a haunting lullaby as my fingers continued to run along the edges of the gray feathers; my eyes following the path my fingers took.

"Black are for the fallen...broken...damned."

"Tessa."

I started, letting my gaze flutter upwards towards Sebastian who looked down sharply at me. His lips were tugged down in a scowl as he looked from me to our surroundings. I sighed and stood up, realizing that I'd been working at the same task of sewing a rip in someone's costume for much longer then was necessary. It appeared I'd actually added a new decorative stitching to the side of the fabric in the gold thread I'd been using.

I flexed my hands, stretching out the cramps from my fingers due to holding onto the thin needle for so long. The movement caught my attention and I couldn't help but to stare at the appendages as I flexed and moved them about, Undertaker's words ringing through my mind once more. I shouldn't have asked him those questions, I should have forced myself to forget what he said he knew and walked away.

Ignorance is bliss.

And yet I could not bring myself about to fully regret my decision last night. I'd gained knowledge about myself I would never have known otherwise. It was surprising to think that I could actually do any of those things. That if I released that particular bloodline, my capabilities would be increased to an entirely new level.

I bit my bottom lip gently as I mauled over the new possibilities the Undertaker had opened up to me with just a few answers to a few curious question. It was amazing what such small knowledge could do to one's mind frame. Words could indeed change the direction of the entire world.

"Tessa," Sebastian voice cut through my thoughts, sharper then before.

I shoved the thoughts into the far corner of my mind, locking it with a key. I would dwell on them later when I didn't have to worry about prying demons.

"Forgive me, Sebastian. My thoughts are elsewhere today," I mumbled lowly, placing the now fixed costume onto the table that doubled as a vanity for the circus crew preparing for this evenings show. "I assume you are pestering me because there is something the young master wants us to do?"

"Indeed," he answered. "The young master plans on using the next available opening to perform a thorough investigation of the circus and its members."

I pursed my lips in thought, "Tonight's show would create the perfect distraction, would it not? I assume this is what you mean by next available opening."

He smirked, "If it is what the master wishes."

"Then so it shall be," I mocked lowly, as I turned. "I'll be waiting carefully for the next orders then."

The chaos in the small tent made conversation impossible beyond that point and I separated from him to make myself at least hold the appearance of being busily at work. I had no idea as to what Ciel and Sebastian might have up their sleeves, but it would be interesting to see the new turn of events. In the mean time though the most important thing was to hold the facade we found ourselves still delicately weaving.

"Blaze!"

I turned on cue at the mentioning of the circus nickname to see Freckles bounding up in her Doll costume. She flashed a large smile at me as she gave a large sigh of relief upon skidding to a halt a few feet before me.

"Gem 'ere tore her costume earlier 'nd seein' how talent y' are with those hands o'yours, I was wonderin' if y' could lend a hand?" She asked, holding out the said costume.

I picked it up tentatively, "I shall try, but there will be no promises of it being done before the show."

"Ah, that'll be j'st fine," she giggled. "Gem ain't preformin' till the end anyways."

I nodded, "I'm sure it shall be done by then."

"Great! Thanks Blaze," she grinned, before dancing off once more.

I shook my head at her retreating figure before settling down on one of the benches and looking over the pile of white fabric she'd handed me. I picked over the silk fabric carefully, fretting that I might tear it further if I should grab it too roughly in the wrong spot. To my eyes the costume seemed alright, until I stumbled upon the various parts of the sleeves. Long, thin, white feather were attached to white lace which were plainly meant to be some sort of draping over the shoulders of the wearer. These had become torn from the main part of the costume and needed some simple stitching to find their way back into place.

But my eyes couldn't get past the feathers.

They seemed to gleam almost silver in the dim lighting provided by the lanterns spotting the tent. It almost hurt my eyes to look directly at the tips, where the whiteness was nearly too pure to take in. Reluctantly, I let my eyes drift to the very bottom of the feathers, were they found themselves sewn to the lace.

Slowly my eyes grew.

"Tessa."

...Gray...

"Tessa."

...Feathers...

"Tessa!"

...Descenders.

"Dear... hell," I muttered softly, dropping the costume as if it had burned my flesh.

A rough grasp found its way around my arm, yanking me from the bench and around to face them. I didn't have time to compose my expression before I found myself staring straight into those familiar dark eyes. They only served to startle me even more.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed by an ever so slight degree as they carefully took in the half horrified look I knew painted my face ashen. Even if I tried to wipe it away I knew the attempts would prove futile.

It was all too clear where those feathers came from.

And I dreaded what might lay behind their appearance here of all places.

Slowly Sebastian's eyes left my face to land on the thing that caused my horror. I watched as his face drew into a deep frown as he stepped around me to lift the costume up and examine it closer. I knew that he of all people would know what those were.

And of course he didn't prove me wrong.

"Where did you find this?" He asked, dropping the item with disgust clearly written across the planes of his face.

"Doll gave it to me," I explained softly, my voice wavering as I tried to resettle myself. "It's Gem's costume."

He nodded, laying a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "What is a circus performer doing with these?"

I shook my head, "I haven't a clue, but I know the sight of them unsettles me as does the performer they belong to."

Sebastian's frown deepened, "The blonde human?"

"Something isn't right with that one," I mumbled. "Humans don't reek of sin unless they've been tainted in unimaginable measures."

"Sebastian!"

I snapped my head around to see Ciel running up to us with a determined look on his face. He barely offered Sebastian a chance to respond before grabbing a hold of his coat. I took a small step back to remove myself from being in his way.

"We don't know when the next chance will come. Let's get through investigating that tent now!" Ciel ordered, his words causing me to look around us and surely enough we were the only living beings at home under the folds of the tent.

"Have it be over with in ten minutes," he commanded, turning to run.

Sebastian smirked, "Yes, my lord."

I was about to open my mouth to inquire about what I was to be doing while they went gallivanting through the circus, when someone beat me to it. Sebastian's circus name acted like a railroad switch, bringing both Ciel and Sebastian to a complete halt in a matter of moments. Slowly they turned their heads to find the origin of the voice, who was none other than Joker himself. The head of the circus was carrying one of the smaller performers on his back with a distressed look on his face.

"Missy Wendy twist'd 'er ankle, so she cun't appear in performance 'nymore," he exclaimed, referring to the child on his back. "So Black, please go out in 'er place. The show will be find if ye do it, Black, so I beg of yer."

Ciel's face dropped at the words and I muffled my chuckle as he let out a faint noise of annoyance at his plans being disturbed. I was sure that had we been anywhere else and not been masquerading as innocent circus performers he'd have allowed his annoyance to be known more violently. The look hidden under his long bangs proved that enough.

"It'll be yer turn shortly, so please git ready soon!" Joker called out, turning and leaving without another word.

Sebastian sighed, "Tis a pity, young master. We'll have to wait for another chance."

Ciel remained silent, a pensive look on his. I smirked, leave it to the young earl to not let such a small thing deter him from completing his assignment for the Queen.

"Young master?" Sebastian asked.

Ciel turned on his heels, heading for outside, "We don't need to sneak into that place for long. On top of that, now might be the only time when that person is not in there."

He paused, looking up at the sign stating the program, "I have time. The tough part is just the venomous snakes. According to the program your debut will end at 19:50 and the encore is at 20:00."

"You'll catch all of the snakes in five minutes from now, then appear in the show," Ciel commanded. "Finish your debut at 19:50, and once you've gone into the back and released all of the snakes, you'll return for the encore. I'll investigate the rest."

I cleared my throat, effectively gaining their attention, "And I'll be joining you, Ciel."

Ciel look straight at me for a moment with a blank stare, before giving a curt nod. "Let's go."

Five minutes later we stood in the entrance to the top tier's tent, all the guard snakes effectively twisted into undoable knots and placed into a nearby cage. The sheer amount of them was enough to make anyone question the innocence of those inside the top tier. One certainly did not keep that many venomous snakes to guard nothing.

"This is the last of them, isn't it?" Ciel asked, watching as Sebastian just smirked in response. "Alright. You go straight to the show tent. You'll be suspected if you're tardy."

"Certainly, my lord," Sebastian stated, already heading for the exit. "I'll be back at once."

Once he was out of sight, I sighed, "The inner folds dwellings are further in, follow me."

Ciel frowned, but followed closely behind me as we explored the inner depths of the top tier's tent. Needless to say I was greatly disappointed with the overall decoration of the place. It wasn't at all what I had known from my past life as a circus performer. I expected so much more than this rather dry and plain interior. There wasn't much of anything to be in awe over. No glamor or comfort at all. In all it was only slightly larger in size compared to the tents that the bottom tiers lived in.

"This tent looks quite austere," Ciel muttered, pushing aside the flap to one of the adjoining rooms.

I nodded, following after him, "My thoughts exactly."

I gave the small room a quick once over. There was a small cot pushed against the far edge, only slightly more comfortable in appearance then the things the bottoms tiers considered beds, and a small trunk laying on the ground besides it. On top of the trunk lay a gas lamp and a small picture frame which seemed to catch Ciel's attention. He squatted down next to it, lifting the rough wooden frame with his fingers so he could get a closer inspection of the image.

"A photo of children? Are they from the troupe?" He mused aloud, allowing me to glance over at it from above his shoulder. "Hm? Who's this...?"

A small scowl slipped onto my face as I looked at the man he was indicating. It was obvious that the children around him were very much so the members of the top tier, but the man himself wasn't any of them. He looked friendly enough, but there was something beyond that almost too jolly smile that he wore.

"Ciel, let me see it," I asked, holding out a hand for the picture.

Ciel frowned, but handed it over willingly enough. Behind his harsh expression I could see a flicker of curiosity flare up in his sapphire eye as I took hold of the picture. I could only offer a small smile before I turned my attention to the picture. Allowing my eyes to fall closed I let my fingers drift across the surface.

The memories from the time of the image danced across the back of my eyelids as I found myself drowning in the sensations of a joyous group of people. Each one was a familiar face, though all wearing smiles that were less forced than the ones I was accustomed to seeing them wearing. This was a time when they all were more carefree; more innocent.

But the man was missing.

I opened my eyes and placed the picture down onto the trunk where Ciel had taken it from. Straightening back up, I met the curious gaze of Ciel as he tried patiently to wait for my verdict. I couldn't help the smirk that worked it's way onto my lips.

"What I saw, will be of no use to you," I laughed. "Let's investigate a little further in, shall we?"

Ciel sighed, "Very well."

We ghosted our way through a series of rooms, finding nothing of interest as we went. Everything was perfectly uniformed in certain manners. Each adjoining room consisted of a small cot and a few spare personal affects, nothing that Ciel or I thought was of importance to the investigation. It was frustrating to say the least, but for Ciel I imagined it was only more so. He was the one after all that was living through this nightmare until he could prove if they were innocent or not of this crime, and so far there was nothing to prove much of anything.

Ciel led us into one of the last groups of tents, this one surprisingly the most elaborate we'd stumbled upon. The cot here was much larger than the others, a printed blanket thrown over it with various pillows tossed about it. Crates acted as tables with small shawls placed over them to act as decorations as they supported lamps and various trinkets. Boxes, shoes, and hanging clothes also found their home in this particular tent.

"I would bet my existence that this is Beast's room," I muttered as I stared at one of the leather costumes.

Ciel wasn't listening though, he had another picture in his hand. A questioning look adorning his face. "And here too," he muttered.

I looked over his shoulder at the image, "It's that same man. I wonder of what sort of importance he is to these people?"

Ciel shook his head, before he scowled, "The signboard behind them says... 'workhouse'."

I needlessly squinted to see closer, "It appears you are correct, but why would they be there?"

Ciel looked just as stumped as I felt, but he just sat back with a determined sort of look on his face. I let the room around us fall silent as he thought over the things he'd discovered. With the history he had, I knew that he'd be piecing together things and trying to figure out the things he was missing. It was just Ciel and I found he was better left alone when he was doing so.

Backing away silently, I stood on the opposite side of the room. It was best to leave him be until he decided enough was enough. Trying to entertain my mind I looked over the tent, finding the decorations to be even more ostentatious then before. It was shameful to believe that I actually preferred the plainer ones to this one.

Footsteps broke through my thought process as they registered in my mind. Someone was coming...straight here.

"Ciel," I managed, before a certain black uniformed man made his appearance as well.

"Beast is on her way," Sebastian informed us, scooping Ciel up much to the boy's dislike.

The sound of the tent flap opening stopped anymore conversation as Sebastian slipped into the trunk and I slid under the cot quickly. I didn't dare even a breath as I watched Beast's booted feet cross the tent. She plopped down onto the cot, causing it to creek as the unexpected weight was added onto it. I closed my eyes, silently hoping that she would just get up and take her leave quickly.

This, of course, would not happen.

Leather and cloth found its way onto the dirt floor in a careless heap. The cot groaned once more as Beast shifted her weight about it above my head. I stifled the urge to grit my teeth, why must she insist on taking her time?

"Aw, and I liked this one," she mumbled to herself.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a leather top slide itself from between the creak in the trunk, just as Beast was leaning down towards it. I released a small sigh as he grabbed it without opening the trunk. Ciel and Sebastian would have been in a predicament if she had and I'm not sure any amount of talking would have gotten them out of that one.

My breath drew up a small cloud of dirt from the ground, sending it in the general direction of the black haired woman. Both of us froze at the same time. I cursed my fate feverishly as her head turned slowly in my direction, two eyes meeting my own gaze.

I was caught.

A/N: Busted? We shall see. The next chapter will reveal a little of what the Undertaker had revealed to Tessa. I wasn't about to give it away just yet, now you'll just have to wait until chapter 20 for the revealing.