"Now, Lord Phantomhive - let's repeat that day three years ago!"
Baron Kelvin's voice echoed throughout the large room, his gravelly tone bouncing off of the concrete walls. Evelyn winced at the shout, shrinking back as best she could without the Phantomhive butler snapping her wrists. The illusionist looked over towards Joker as the Baron rambled on about the past - some nonsense about "sub rosa" lifestyles and perfection. Taking in the sight of the redhead held tight against the butler's chest made her heart race, her stomach drop with worry and dread. What if I was right? Evelyn thought earnestly, feeling hot tears begin to burn in her eyes as she struggled to stay quiet. What if this all goes wrong? At that, a cruel thought chimed inside of her mind, one that caused her stomach to churn.
It already has.
"I've never been able to forget that pain," Kelvin continued, catching Evelyn's attention once again. "I, who gave up everything to meet you, was the only one who couldn't. Why is faith so bent on keeping us apart, I wondered? And then, on that day... they were all gone." The Baron's voice became sly as he addressed the young noble, his eyes glittering with sick delight as he spoke. "It was you who killed them, wasn't it, my Lord? Oh, how I envy them," the old man's tone became wistful as his eyes clouded over, memories long since past making themselves apparent once again. "A beautiful end, with the cold moon at their deathbeds... Please, make me one of them." At that, Joker looked positively distressed, his eyes widening in disbelief as he listened to the man babble.
"Look!" Kelvin cried out, raising his arms to gesture around him. "I've prepared everything just as it was then! This ritual chamber... and the lambs..." His eyes glanced briefly towards the three cages in the room, holding many dull-eyed children. "And finally, my Lord... you!"
A single shot rang out.
Evelyn froze, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched blood explode from the bullet's entry point in the Baron's stomach. Unable to breathe and with her mouth agape, she felt her eyes slide over to peer at Joker, who let out a tormented yell as he watched the red liquid stream from his savior's belly.
"Father!" The anguished cry tore from the redhead's throat, ringing in Evelyn's ears as the ringleader threw all his weight against the butler's arm, breaking free from his grip. With a stifled sob the man yanked off his skeletal hand, pulling a hidden dagger from his wrist as he shot towards the young Earl, letting loose a murderous scream.
Time seemed to stand still as the Phantomhive butler let go of Evelyn's wrists, whipping out his own blade and forcefully cutting through Joker's arm as he broke away.
"Joker!" Evelyn found herself screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes widening in horror as she watched Joker's limb fall limply to the floor of the ritual chamber. The redhead's eyes widened in shock as he tripped, his body slamming to the floor as he began to shriek in agony.
"Please stay out of my Master's way," the butler said coolly as the ringleader writhed on the floor, clutching the remainder of his upper arm as he thrashed on the ground. Even then the Baron paid no attention to Joker, dropping to the floor himself and reaching towards Earl Phantomhive and breathing heavily, grasping the young boy's ankle and begging him for a preferred death. Evelyn stood frozen for only a moment before realizing she was no longer restrained, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at her suffering lover. Her mind went blank, and only one thought stood out among the mist as her eyes flitted towards the butler.
Kill.
"You... fucking... bastard!" Evelyn roared, launching forward against her better judgement and yanking the dagger from Joker's discarded limb, wrapping both hands around the handle as she raised it towards the back of the butler's head.
"Evelyn, stop!" Joker cried as she brought her hands down, her eyes widened and teeth gritted in rage, wondering only briefly why the redhead didn't want her to tear the black-clad man apart.
Her answer came in the form of a knife, digging into the flesh of Evelyn's chest and ripping downwards to rest in her stomach.
The butler gave her an irksome smirk as she stared down at her torso, watching blood quickly begin to drench the light blue fabric of her dress. Evelyn's mouth fell slightly agape as she stared at the wound, pain beginning to shoot through her body as the servant slipped the weapon out of her abdomen. A warm, sticky liquid began to pool in her mouth, and Evelyn coughed, blood streaming from the corners of her lips as she weakly fell to her knees next to the ringleader.
Unable to support herself, Evelyn's torso hit the cold, concrete floor, salty tears beginning to slip down her cheeks as she pressed her shaking hands against her wound. "Evelyn, oh, lord above..." Joker choked out, struggling for air himself as he tried to move towards the girl. Swearing loudly at his inability to protect her, the redhead turned, glaring hatefully at the butler as he pressed the bones of his prosthetic over Evelyn's wound, blood beginning to stain the ceramic, white limb.
A loud click caught the attention of both the illusionist and the ringleader, and Evelyn turned her head, her breath shallow as she hazily watched Earl Phantomhive point his pistol at Baron Kelvin's head. Joker stretched his bleeding stump towards the Earl, his eyes filled with pain and despair as he cried out to the boy. "Please, don't kill him!" He begged desperately. "Whatever else he may be, he's still our savior! Abandoned by our parents, abandoned by the state, he saved us from the daily fear of starvation! We have lots of brothers and sisters at the workhouse who are still young! They can't live without him! So-" The ringleader pleaded, only for the young Earl to interrupt.
"So that's why you kidnapped all those children? To save your own skins, you obeyed him and sacrificed others." It was more of a statement than a question. Joker stared at the boy for only a moment, before swallowing, looking guilty and full of regret as he dropped his gaze to the floor.
"That's right. England is a living hell for people born like us," he confessed. "We had nothing. No money for bread, no arms to shield our friends with. But Father rescued us from the streets, gave us hands and feet to protect the people we care about. That's why we decided to live. Even if another hell is waiting for us..." Joker trailed off.
"You mean, for you." The Earl's pointed statement caught the ringleader off guard.
"Wha-...?" He asked, looking utterly confused.
"For you. Not her," the Earl tossed his head towards Evelyn, whose half-lidded eyes widened in confusion. "She's done nothing, nothing the likes of you have done. Her parents, maybe. But that's why they were eradicated."
"...What?" Evelyn slurred out, looking at the Earl in befuddlement. The boy briefly glanced back at her, his eyes cold and uncaring.
"Maria and Bernard Glassow. Highly trained assassins of the nobles of London, eliminated by the Queen's guard dogs five years ago when a plan to take down one of the Queen's top advisers was set into motion. Their daughter, Evelyn Anne, kept their estate up and running for only a few months, before disappearing." The boy's butler recited, casting a slight smirk at the girl laying on the floor. Evelyn's already pale face drained, a slight shock running through her body as the information registered in her mind. Assassins...? Struggling to comprehend the information, Evelyn turned her head to look towards the butler in bewilderment. "Imagine our surprise when that same daughter turned up at a ratty circus, with a specialty for disappearances."
"Evelyn...?" Joker sounded strangled as he looked towards the girl, shock and confusion laced throughout his tone. The girl shook her head weakly, her eyes narrowing as she rasped at the Earl.
"That's a lie, my mother and father weren't assassins. Their deaths were heartless murders." She spat hoarsely, growing weaker with blood loss, pain throbbing throughout her abdomen. "But I reckon I deserve the same hell they do. I pledged my allegiance to them four nights ago." The Earl lowered his eyes. examining the pistol in his fingers before replying.
"Very well," he said simply, before turning towards Joker once again. "But, you aren't wrong. You fought to protect your world - what's wrong with that? In the end, 'justice' is just an official line taken by those in power to serve their own ends. No one's looking out for others. If you're careless, you'll be robbed." The boy said, with a note of finality. "There are only two kinds of people in this world. Those who steal... and those who are stolen from." The child tilted his head at the ringleader, scrutinizing the man.
"And today... I steal your futures." The phrase sent a bitter feeling streaking through Evelyn's heart. "That's all this is."
Joker stared at the bloodied floor for a while, before his shoulders began to shake. Small, quiet chuckles turned into full-fledged laughter as the ringleader flopped on his back next to Evelyn, calming down just enough to choke something out. "Yeah, you're right." He laughed, earning a strange look from the Phantomhive butler. "But guess what?" Joker asked savagely, leaning up just enough to glare viciously at the Earl. "You two will lose something precious tonight, too. The troupe is on its way to your mansion!"
In a strange wave of cruel satisfaction, Evelyn felt a smile grow on her face at the words. "How do you think we captured all those kids without being caught?" He asked, as Evelyn weakly raised her head to chime in.
"All the witnesses... disappear."
"We're pros," Joker continued. "If anyone crosses our paths on the job for any reason, we eliminate them," he hissed. "You're the target - I wonder how many will be killed while they search for you?"
"Killed?" The young noble asked, sounding almost... amused.
"Yes," Joker swiftly replied. "Everyone, even the servants."
"My servants?" The way Earl Phantomhive posed the question caused Evelyn's blood to run cold - and rightly so, as the butler chuckled. "Who do you take them for? Those are Phantomhive servants," the Earl said plainly. "For your sake, I hope you said goodbye." At the boy's words, the smile dropped from Evelyn's face, replaced with a look of pained dismay.
Oh, no.
And so it's revealed - the reason why Sebastian kept giving Evelyn strange looks!
I've had this planned from the beginning, the whole Evelyn's-parents-being-assassins thing. Ciel knew that she didn't know, and was unwilling to have her killed, because in his eyes, she hadn't done enough to merit it - simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time can't be a reason to kill. Evelyn understood that he was hesitant, but felt that she was in it for the long run. Hence the "same sort of hell."
Now, we're caught up to episode 8 in the Book of Circus series - the anime was what I was taking the storyline from. But I've actually ordered volume 7 of the Kuroshitsuji series, so you shouldn't have to wait long for another chapter!
Although, you may not have to wait that long, anyway, considering what I have planned... heh. :)
Also, a bit of news, friends! I have a poll up on my profile! I'm thinking about starting a roleplay account for a Black Butler character on Instagram, and I'm wondering which one I should try. Evelyn is not a choice because she's an OC, and I wouldn't have sufficient pictures, etc. to make a good account out of her character. If you're interested in that sort of thing, feel free to vote!
See you in chapter 16!
Edit: Hi again, guys! I found out that I needed to clear something up.
Evelyn's parents had set up a plan to assassinate one of the Queen's advisers, so their deaths were widely known across London, seeing as they were nobles themselves. Ciel and Sebastian, despite knowing each other for only three years, would have known this - Ciel because it was a large feat his parents had accomplished and received gratitude for, Sebastian because he's - well, Sebastian, and has to know the history of the Phantomhive cases.
Evelyn's father had been trained as an assassin since his young adult years, because it had been something done in his family for ages - Bernard's family fancied themselves as a force that would rid London of corruption, and the plan to eliminate one of the Queen's advisers came about when an economic scandal presented itself and traced back to the adviser. Evelyn's mother was pulled into the mess after she married Bernard, and ended up becoming trained, herself, in order to assist him. Our illusionist's parents didn't intend to reveal their behind-the-scenes activities until she got older, and that's why she didn't know.
I hope that cleared it up! After seeing a review from Mazgrl98, I realized I needed to clarify the situation. Lots of thanks to Mazgrl for notifying me about the timeline!