March 1st, 1888, Phantomhive Estate
"My hair...my face!" I say, looking in the mirror, looking at myself. My complexion was mostly clear now, save for the few freckles I had, and my hair was long to my butt, formed in ringlets. Ringlets, I say! My vision is sharper, I noticed, as everything is in better focus. I can hear the lightbulb's flickering, and smell the heavy scent of dust in the air...
I look...unhuman! I...I don't like this at all, the purple in my hair is gone and faded... like some photoshop taken to the extreme.
Looking in the mirror, I watch as the perfectness fades, and my old face replaces the perfect one. Than, my hair shoots back into my skull, sending tingly feelings on my scalp. I watch as my hair turns to its normal curly-frizziness, and the purple color returns, but more vibrant. My eyes glow liquid silver, before fading to their normal grey, and I sigh in relief.
Wait...if all imperfections dissipated...
Lifting up my dress to reveal a bit of my stomach, where the scars still line it, and I sigh in relief. Those are my battle scars, as I call them, and I'm proud of them. They're a reminder of the past, too.
Remembering Conall's memory, witches have features used to draw in prey to steal their youth and an essence of their soul to stay young...ew.
Taking the diary and placing it back under the rock, I turn from the room, a spring in my step. I had gotten that flashy-glowey thing from Conall, and I had acquired everything she learned too from it, and now I can go study in that room...
I'm so excited!
Bursting up the steps, I arrive in the main floor, and I see a crying Mey-Rin on the staircase. "Mey-Rin...is everything all right?" I ask, walking to where she sat on the staircase, and she looks up at me in shock, tears streaming down from behind her glasses.
"Ivy! You're back!" She exclaims, jumping on me in a hug, and I stumble backwards slightly as I catch her in a hug, and she sobs frantically into my shoulder. "Woah, woah Mey-Rin! What do you mean?" I ask, and she pulls from the hug, wiping away her tears.
"You were gone for 2 weeks with no notice, and even Sebastian couldn't find you," she sniffles, "and we all thought you died!"
"No, Mey-Rin, I would never leave without letting anyone know first..." I say soothingly, rubbing her back. "I accidentally ate some really bad food, and passed out in the basement, and had a food comatose...it's happened before too." I lie, and she laughs sadly, perking up.
"That's good to hear, yes it is. I must go tell Finny and Bard! Don't eat anymore of that bad food...or Bard's cooking to be safe!" She exclaims, running outside, and I lightly chuckle at her excitement.
"Ivy!" Another voice, more child-like though, calls out from the top of the staircase, and I turn my head to see Ciel, with a glowering Sebastian behind him. "Why did you run off again?!" He demands, stepping down the staircase, Sebastian flanking behind.
"I went into a food comatose, but I'm back now!" I exclaim, and he arches a brow. "A food comatose?" He asks, questioning my logic, and I nod in confirmation.
"Food. Comatose. It must have been some of Bard's old cooking..." I say with a chuckle, and the front door slams open.
"Ivy~!" My 2 favorite Indians declare, smothering me in hugs as the servants join in, and my eyes widen.
"I forgot to write my weekly letters to Arno and Lee, shit! They must've thought I fell off a cliff!" I declare, as Mey-Rin points to a small pile of letters in the corner. "These are all yours." She says, and my jaw drops at the sheer size of it, all of them stamped from America from Arno and Lee.
"I must write them now, but it's good to be back!" I say, sprinting up the stairs with a new lightness in me, as I storm to my room and frantically write letters to all my friends.
As I finish writing the letters to my friends, a light knock is sounded from the door. "Come in!" I call out, and Sebastian enters the room, a tray in hand.
"Ivy, are you alright?" Sebastian asks, and I look up from my letter to see his concerned face. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I question, and he sighs lightly.
"Because you're wearing the same clothes you were wearing the day you went missing two weeks ago." He says, "Aren't you a bit hungry, too?"
On que, my stomach growls, and I sheepishly grin at Sebastian, who now dons a smirk as he lifts the top of the tray to reveal a BLT...
"I brought you some food," he says, setting it on the desk, and I give him a big grin. "You're great Sebas-chan, thanks!" I say, and he smirks widely. "Now, can you tell me where you were, in exchange for the sandwich?" He asks, pulling the sandwich back as I make a grab for it, and my eyebrow twitches.
"Well, I went to Buckingham Palace and had tea with the Queen for a bit..." I start off, leaning back in my chair, and Sebastian's eyes widen. "Dressed like that? And so suddenly? And tea?"
"Yeah, it was really casual. I drank the tea too, you should be proud of me. Then I came back here, and I ate some food I found sitting down and it knocked me out." I say, and he raises a brow. "How do you believe you got knocked out?"
I shrug, and he sighs, sliding the plate over to me, and I grin, taking a bite of the sandwich, and my eyes widen at the realization how long I've been out. "Wait, two weeks!" I say, "Yes, we're hosting a party tonight. We planned this two weeks ago, on the day you went off." Sebastian says, and I do the math. "March 1...my birthday is in a month! Sweet, I can drive now! Well, legally, that is." I say, adding a wink at the end at a confused Sebastian.
Oh wait...cars weren't released to the public for a few more years... "Nevermind that. I must get ready now...also, you may wish to check Ciel's room after the party, especially in the vental ducts. Just sayin'. Now, out! I need to get dressed, and eat my food!" I say, standing up and shoving a bewildered Sebastian out the door, before quickly locking it.
I feel as if I'm the only 'commoner' here, as everyone here is famous for something, or wealthy in some way. Even Arthur, who feels a little left out at the moment, is supremly important! The only reason I'm here is because I stay here in Ciel's mansion, I should move out one day...make my own name instead of a shadow of Ciel.
"Hello!" I say cheerfully to Lau, who raises a brow at me. "Ivy, you've been out and about. I haven't received a letter of yours in 2 weeks." Lau says in his calm-'I'm actually quite high right now'-voice.
"I went into a food comatose, must be Bard's cooking..." I say with a laugh, and he smiles slightly, as Ran Mao coddles up to his side. "Oh, hello Ran Mao!" I say in greetings, as she wraps her leg around Lau. "Hello." she says quietly, putting her hands on Lau's shoulder.
Her dress was 'scandalous' for the time, and in my time period I'm from, it'd be considered a lingerie, but I'd rather be wearing Ran Mao's outfit...
For I was wearing a dress tailored to match Ciel's.
On Ciel's orders.
Wearing a gross dark green, I had 3 layers of this green dress with layers of white lace in between. With my shoulders exposed, I had two off the shoulder green sleeves, white lace coming off them. Two ribbons identical to Ciel's were tied around my buns, and my regular necklace from Lee hung around my neck. Ciel was furious when I refused to remove it, but I told him I'd wear pants and a shirt if he made me take it off, and that shut him up. Such a controlling little butthead! And Sebastian, when he saw me, he looked oddly angered that I was matching with Ciel...
Of course, Sebastian has no feelings for me, he only wants to mess with me, teasing me to his amusement.
Dressed like this... I felt like Ciel was trying to show I rely on him or something!
Footsteps clack at the top of the staircase, and I look up to see Ciel and Sebastian.
I walk over to the Phipps guy, and interact with him for a bit. He's really nice, and causes me to blush at his kind words.
"You have something on your right hand," Phipps says, and I look at my hand. "Oh, I do?" I say, looking at my right hand. "I don't see anything."
"You must not see it, here, let me..." he says, taking his left hand, intertwining my fingers in his, and I blush like crazy. "Smooth," I say with a slight laugh, and he chuckles.
"Ahem," a voice calls out, and everyone turns to him. "Thank you for accepting my invitation today, I am the head of house, Ciel Phantomhive." He looks around the room, eye lingering on me, looking at my hand intertwined with Phipps, as he makes his way down the staircase. Sebastian looks over at me too, frown twitching on his face.
"After the dinner party starts, I'll once again call upon each of you to exchange greetings. This includes both of my regular guests, and the ones I am meeting for the first time." I look away from Ciel, and he turns to the guests, and questions Sebastian about the last guest.
That old creep called Georg Von Siemens enters with Charles Grey, but I am paying no attention as I'm thinking about the murder mystery arc. Gah, I just want to practice the new magic I've obtained!
We all proceed to the dining hall, and I walk up to Charles Grey from behind.
"Wow, I wonder if any strong, handsome butlers are here today..." I say absent-mindedly, and Charles Grey's head turns to me, a lazy grin on face.
Unknown to me, Sebastian's head also whipped around once I said those words.
"Hello again, Ivy. How are you?" He asks, bending his head slightly to kiss the back of my hand. "I am faring well, how are you?" I ask, as he pulls up.
"Excited." He says, and I arch a brow, "What are you excited for, Charles?"
His eyelids lower, "Why, this party is sure to be exciting."
No shit, because you're going to murder people. His eyes turn to my hair, "Did you re-dye your hair?"
"Oh, you noticed?" I ask, reaching my hair up and squeezing a bun. Must be the magic..."Yes, I did. It was fading, and I love having purple hair."
"Well, no one looks as good as you do with the purple hair." He says with a smile, and I lightly laugh, a small blush coming to face.
Ciel looks over to where Ivy and Charles Grey were interacting, and he frowns slightly. He did not like the idea of having Ivy there with that womanizer...
"I'm going to talk with others now, but I'll be seeing you later." I say with a smile, and he nods. "See you later, Ivy." He says, and we part ways.
"Hello, Ivy." A cool voice from behind me says, and I turn to see Sebastian, champagne flutes balanced on a tray with a lone, steaming coffee mug there. "Oh, hello Sebastian."
"Would you like some hot chocolate I prepared for you?" He says, lifting the mug for me, passing it to me, and I nod, taking it from him. "Goodness, this smells amazing! Thank you, Sebastian." I respond, taking a sip of the amazing chocolate in liquid form.
He nods, before walking away, giving champagne flutes to others.
I walk to the corner of the room, leaning against a pillar where chairs are lined up at the wall nearby, casually sipping from my mug. I watch that Georg Von Siemons guy be rude to Ran Mao, and the theater people interact. Ha! I can't sing for my life, imagine if they saw me rapping. They certainly wouldn't find Hamilton interesting either...
From the corner of my eye, I watch Arthur walk over to a chair, sitting down and looking the combination of awkward and disappointed.
"Come here often?" I ask, and he turns to me abruptly. "Oh, uh, no?" He says, more like asks, and I smile, walking towards him.
"That was a joke, don't worry," I say with a light laugh, sitting in the chair next to him. "You look awfully disappointed, what happened over there?" I ask, nodding towards the crowd of the rich and famous, and Arthur sighs.
"Introductions... everyone here is rich, famous, or the owner of a wealthy business." Arthur says, as Sebastian makes his way over to us, bending slightly.
"Would you like a glass?" He asks Arthur, who takes a glass, muttering a thanks, as Sebastian walks away.
"Top-class people have top-class servants, the butler has such beauty and ambiance. He could appear in a book by Oscar Wilde," Arthur says, and I laugh.
"That's just Sebastian's charm, don't worry about him too much." I say, and he looks at me surprised. "You know the butler?" He asks, and I nod, leaning back in the chair as Arthur takes a sip. "Well, if you were disappointed in introductions, why don't we fix that by you introducing yourself to me?" I ask, and he smiles lightly.
"I'd like that, I'm Arthur Conan Doyle, an eye specialist and a bit of a writer..." he says, almost embarrassed.
"You aren't simply a bit of a writer..." I mutter, taking a sip of my hot chocolate, and he arches a brow. "What do you mean?"
"I've read A Study in Scarlet, it's a genius piece of work!" I exclaim excitedly, and Arthur flusters. "W-well, I wouldn't call it that-"
"You're right, it's a masterpiece! You created a genius mystery, woven with aspects on how to solve the toughest of crimes, without even explaining it! How Sherlock identified the clues of the murderer just by evidence...you inspired me to be a detective for a bit, actually." I say, and his eyes widen.
"Well, um, I don't know how to reply-"
"You don't have to, if you wish. Just keep producing great works." I say, looking at the crowd of people. "Your writing will be famous one day, don't worry."
"Thanks..." he says, and we are silent for a moment. "What is your name?" He asks quietly, and I smile lightly.
"Ivy, Ivy Adams." I respond, and his eyes widen. He's heard whispers of her name before around London. He should have had suspicions at the moment he heard her accent, but he never would have associated this girl with the name Ivy Adams.
"Nice to meet you," he says, and I smile. "Likewise."
"And, what relations do you have with Ciel Phantomhive, if I may ask?" He says, and I think.
"I casually live here, I guess." I say, and his eyebrow twitches in surprise. "Casually?" He asks, and I shrug.
"I'm not a servant, or am a rank of any importance. Heck, I'm still in high school, wait, nevermind that last thought. I am in my schooling years is a better way to phrase it." I ramble, as he raises a brow. "With the way you're dressed, I believed you to be the fiance or wife of the Earl."
I blushed heavily, "Hell no!" I whisper, "He forced me into this awful outfit, I feel as if I'm wearing Kermit the Frog's skin!"
He chuckles, "I take it you do not like the outfit."
"I definitely do not." I scoff, and I think. "I'm still 15, 16 in about a month, and I feel as if I haven't done anything great in my life yet. I could solve mysteries, murders, and crimes single-handedly with ease if I wish, but I don't wish to put forth effort if I won't be taken seriously. Hell, this outfit reminds me of how I'm relying on a person."
"Why do you say that, if you could solve such crimes?" Arthur asks, intrigued. "I don't wish to put forth the effort, Arthur. I'm a woman, and no one would take a short woman who looks like she's 12 seriously."
"Why haven't you tried, than? See what reactions you get, see how to go about it." Arthur replies, and I laugh.
"The only people taken seriously in this day and age are white men. Ciel over there has a hard time enough as it is, as he looks like a child with the brain capacity of an adult, but a white teenager? Oh lord, that's hilarious, even if I'm better than everyone in this room, I'd still be considered lower." I reply honestly, and he sighs.
"I suppose that's true, but why not try to change it? It's never too late to change fate."
I think, he's not wrong... "You're right, but it'll take a long time. The first step would be walking into a room with my pants and shorts and no one being surprised. In fact, I could rip off my skirt of the dress right now, revealing the pants on I have underneath." I whisper the last part, and he gets slightly nervous.
"I was speaking metaphorically! Please don't do it rig-." he says, and I stand up, passing him my mug. "Besides, no one pays attention anyway," I say, as I put my hand to the side, unbuttoning the skirt that attached, before ripping it away, and sitting back down.
No one noticed.
Arthur gawks at how I actually did it, and at the outfit. Now, it looked like I was wearing a dark-green shirt with off the shoulder sleeves that ends at my midrift, exposing my belly button and a bit of my abs, which isn't very 'feminine'. You can also see my battle scars, but who cares.. I'm wearing long khaki-tight pants that are rolled above my brown combat boots; with the heels able to rip off to reveal knives, and a throwing dagger in the back of my right boot, pepper spray in the back of my left.
These babies were custom made, and I valued them over my life.
"Woah! I didn't expect that!" Arthur says, blushing like crazy, covering his eyes and I laugh. "I always wear clothes under my dresses, which are all two-pieces so I can rip away the skirt."
"But, you're not wearing a corset...and I can see your midriff!" He exclaims, pointing at my stomach. "I don't wear corsets, never have, never will. Very unhealthy for ya', and yes, you can see my belly~" I waggle my brows, and he averts his eyes.
"Weren't you encouraging me?" I ask, and he sighs, peeking through his fingers. "I suppose I was, but I told you I was speaking metaphorically!"
"Hey, at least I'm not some old, fat white man wearing this," I say with a laugh, and he chuckles in agreement, blush fading.
"Ivy, what are you doing in...those clothes?" Ciel asks, approaching us, as Arthur appears flustered.
"I was too hot in this room, so I took off the skirt." I say, and his eyebrow twitched. "That's indecent exposure, cover up Ivy."
"I'm literally wearing pants and a shirt, now. And yes, we were all born, so we all have belly buttons. And you're wearing pants and a top, so it's not that different. Ciel, do you know how babies are born?" I tilt my head to the side, and he flushes.
"Of course I do!"
"Than you should have no problem with my outfit," I say, standing up from where I was sitting. "It was nice to meet your, Arthur. I'd love for you to sign me a copy of your book later." I say to Arthur with a smile, and I look at Ciel.
"And this green is the ugliest thing I've ever seen, so ugly I want to Kermit. Ha! That's a pun...which you don't get. Ugh, I ramble to much." I say, turning away and walking off.
"I told you to please stop it!" A feminine voice cries out, and I whip my head around to see a drunk Georg get close to Irene. Leaning back, I grab my pepperspray from the back of my boot.
Ugh, perv! I make my way over there, and she crosses her hands over her chest. "To have you all over me with your disgusting hands, I can't take it anymore!"
"Whaaaat? It's your fault for wearing those clothes." Georg slurs, stepping close to Irene, hands about to grope her shoulder, but I step in, pushing Irene behind me with pepper spray in hand.
"What part of no do you not understand, asshat? No means no, nein means nein." I scold, spraying the German idiot in the face causing him to step backwards, hands over his eyes.
"Ahhh!" He says, moving his hands away from his eyes, as he starts coughing, revealing red, agitated eyes. "What did you do to my eyes?!"
"A concentration of peppers put into a sprayable form," I say, as pepper-spray had yet to be invented, so no copyrighted names yet! "I use it as self-defense. You're a lord or something along that lines, so please, be polite and have actual manners!"
"At least I'm cough not dressed like a skank!" He wheezes, and I roll my eyes, placing my hands on my hips. "You're just jealous you can't work this outfit, Georgia."
"My name is Lord Georg Von Siemens! Not Georgia, you Teufels Geliebte!" He says, blindly grabbing a wine bottle, hurtling it towards me. In a flash, an angry Sebastian catches it and uncorking it mid-air so it hits Georg in the face, as he flips up to a pyramid of glasses, filling it with champagne. Georg rubs an angry-looking circular mark on his forehead from where the cork hit him, still coughing from the pepper spray, as I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to face a smiling Irene.
"Thank you, Miss, you really helped out there. What is your name?" She asks, and I offer my hand to shake hers. "Ivy Adams, pleasure to meet you." I say politely, and she nods, looking at my outfit in distaste, but not saying a word.
"This is a fantastic wine from the village of Purcari in South-Eastern Moldova." Sebastian says, proudly displaying the glass.
"It smells delightful in here," I note, as the guests take sips from the champagne glass. I walk away from the crowd, going back to my corner where a stunned Arthur sat.
"That was quite amazing, Ivy..." he says, and I give him a wink, putting my finger to my lip in a 'shhh' manner, as Sebaciel stood a few feet away.
"So once that solemn man gets some alcohol into him, that's what he becomes?" Ciel asks in French to Sebastian, who nods. "Even so, showing how little self-constraint one has, I wonder whether he's just an immense fool or whether he knows no shame at all, especially taunting Ivy like that." Sebastian responds.
"Seems like the incurable type of guy that'd make a doctor hopeless..." Ciel mutters in French, as Arthur and I giggle like school girls at his comment. Ciel puts his finger to his lips, indicating to us that we should keep his words a secret.
"They sound and look like a mother and daughter who are bitching about people they dislike..." I whisper into Arthur's ear, who nods in agreement, leaving an amused Sebastian and a confused Ciel.
Arthur and I talked for a while, and eventually, we discovered Lord Siemon's body.
"He's dead!" Arthur comments, and I gasp in shock as I look at the body, although I already knew what was going on.
Everyone freaks out, and I zone out for a bit, until I snap out of it to find everyone's gaze on me.
"Ivy, what is your alibi?" Ciel says, and I point to Arthur. "I was with him, Irene, Grimsby, Grey and Phelps in the Billiard's room."
"I can confirm," Grey says, raising his hand.
Everyone starts to accuse Ciel, and I zone out again. Gah, the author must be trying to cram an arc into one chapter again.
"I'd like some insurance that we'll get out of here alive," Grey says darkly, leaning against the pillar.
"What do you mean by that?" Irene asks shakily, and Grey shrugs. "Well, one could say this mansion is currently under the control of a killer, you know? And we cannot get out until this storm settles down. What if we were all gagged before the storm settles?" He responds darkly, as the guests all shudder.
"Well then, let's confine him!" Lau says cheerfully, as the servants freak out.
"Sure, if it comforts the guests." Ciel says with a sigh. Grey thinks, "Nobles' rooms generally have some kind of secret escape room built in, if we're going to confine him it can't be in his room. I'd know, my place has them too."
"Well then, I'll keep an eye on him while attending to his-" Sebastian starts, but Lau cuts him off. "That won't work, seeing as you might help the Earl escape."
"So, in other words, I suppose you're saying one of the guests should stay and watch Ciel?" I ask, and Grey nods. "It's up to you, Mr. Wordsmith!" Lau says, laying a hand on a startled Arthur. "Wha?!"
"Well then, I'd like to spend the night with someone so I don't die. Can I bunk with anyone?" I ask, and Grey and Sebastian's head whips towards me.
"You can spend the night with me, Ivy!" Mey-Rin says before Charles or Sebastian could interrupt, and I'd smile. "That'd be great, thanks Mey-Rin!"
We all go off our separate ways, and Sebastian brings a spare mattress, blankets and pillows to Mey-Rin's room, and I flop onto the mattress.
"Thanks Sebby~!" I say, snuggling under the blankets and he gives me a smile. "You're welcome, Ivy. Sleep well." He says, before closing the door.
"Ooo~ Ivy!" Mey-Rin says, "Are you and Sebastian...involved?" She asks, and my cheeks flush. "Of cou-course not!" I stutter in embarrassment.
"Well, he treats you differently than everyone else. He's more...emotional, don't you think?" Mey-Rin questions, getting into her bed.
"I don't know...good night." I say, tucking the covers over my head as she starts stuttering. "Don't fall asleep on me! Tell me, Ivy!"
"Too late..." I mutter groggily, falling asleep quickly.
"Wake up, Ivy..." I hear a smooth voice say, shaking my awake gently, and I crack an eye open while I'm half-dreaming...to see Michael.
"Ye...?"
"Take care of everyone, will you? Keep everyone calm as possible, please." He says, and I groggily shift over, grabbing his face gently. I rub my thumb over his cheek, his cheek as cold and smooth as marble.
"Your face is cold as if you just die...are you really not alive?" I ask, and his face shifts in surprise, before relaxing. "Yes, my heart doesn't beat, so no warm blood pumps.
"That was a dumb question, I know for a fact you're dead already. But, I don't leave me ever again..." I mutter, as tears run down my cheeks. "I need you..." Michael's eyes widen, flashing pink for a moment.
Pink?
"Ivy..." Michael says softly, caressing my face, wiping away tears with his...gloved thumb?
"Michael, I never knew you wore gloves..." I mutter, and the hand pulls away gently. "Michael?"
Snapping my eyes open, I see Sebastian, not Michael...shit!
"Oh god oh god oh god..." I say, bolting upright as my face burns red. "I thought you were someone else, I'm so sorry..."
He frowns at me in distaste. "Is this...'Michael' your lover?"
"No...don't worry about Michael. He's millions of miles away..." I mutter, thinking of how he won't be born for a loooonnggg time.
"Alright than, sleep well, Ivy. I leave the young master in your hands." Sebastian says softly, leaning forward and kissing me lightly on the forehead with cool lips, before he turns and leaves the room. In a haste, I throw the covers over my head. How embarrassing! I called Sebastian my ex! My face flushes scarlet as I place my hand to my forehead wwhere Sebastian kissed me.
Struggling to fall asleep with embarrassing thoughts coursing through my head, I finally manage to doze off.
"Please wake up, Ivy! Something terrible has happened, yes it has!" A voice calls, and I open my eyes to feel salty tears drip onto my face from a crying Mey-Rin.
Oh shit, Sebastian died!
We run upstairs, and I arrive in time to see a dramatically-placed Sebastian.
"Seb...Sebastian?" I ask, hands trembling as I put them over my mouth in shock. "Sebastian, please don't tell me this is one of your jokes again... you always have such silly jokes when we tease each other, replacing the sugar with salt when I made those cookies. Is that ketchup mixture, a tomato paste?" I ask, causing my knees to tremble, as I drop to my knees.
"Ivy..." Finnian starts, placing his hand on my back, trying to comfort me, but all I could see now was the body of Michael on the beach's sand, washed upon with sand mixed in his hair; bleeding from his chest the same way Sebastian is.
"No! Don't die on my like this!" I cry out, tears streaming down my face. "You can't do this to me, I can't be all alone again!"
"Ivy, you shouldn't see this..." Grey says, stepping in front of me, lightly patting my shoulder, snapping my out of the nightmare. I look at him, tears streaming down my face.
"Grey!" I cry, lunging forward, wrapping my arms around him in a hug, as I bury my head in his shoulder, tears streaming down my face, as I mourn the loss of Michael, not Sebastian.
"You should not see this," he says, rubbing my head affectionately. Unknown to me, he smirks victoriously, and Ciel steps into the room, a look of shock on face.
I close my eyes, as Ciel does his lament, a slap ringing through the room. "I'll take you out, now..." Grey says, and I nod my head, pulling from the hug, as I wipe my eyes.
"No...I need to accept that Sebastian's gone," I sniffle, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. "I can mourn when we catch the murderer, or else we'll be joining M-Sebastian in the grave."
Grey hesitantly nods, as Grimsby shudders.
"What the hell is with this mansion?! Two murders, overnight! Unbelievable!" Grimsby yells in shock, as I look at Sebastian's body. I've snapped out of the Michael-trance, and now I could see the 'dead' body of Sebastian.
"He was stabbed with the poker..." I note, slapping gloves onto my hand, picking up the murder weapon. "The ridge on here created a larger hole, making it impossible to pull out without causing more damage."
"How brutal..." Arthur says, looking at the body, lifting the head up, eyes widening. "Unbelievable, there's also traces of being smashed on the head. He must have been hit from behind while collecting ashes."
"You're saying that wasn't enough to kill him...so they gave him a final blow by stabbing him in the chest?" Bard says, gritting his teeth on the stem of a lollipop.
"Either way, they'd continue attacking him to ensure the butler was dead. Two hits would be more likely to kill him than just one..." Grey says, putting his hand to his chin.
"This means, that even if the blow to his head didn't kill him, why'd the killer do it again? Perhaps...there's two culprits..." Arthur says, sweating nervously as everyone gasps, including me.
"I see what you're getting at... one culprit could have come up in front of Sebastian and started chatting to attract his attention. Meanwhile, the other snuck behind and bonked him on the head with the poker. Then in a flash, the one up front would give the final smash by stabbing Sebastian, making a permanent K.O" I say, as Ran-Mao nods.
"Well, no matter what method, it's certain that this killer doesn't feel mercy in any situation. To have killed even the butler, this culprit must be extremely-" Lau starts, and Finnian gasps, clasping his hands over Ciel's ears, pulling Ciel to his chest.
"Why are you having this conversation in front of the young master?! Please think of his feelings!"
"Finny!" Mey-Rin scolds, bowing to us all. "P-please excuse him!"
"Don't worry, it's alright. Instead of standing around this corpse, let's temporarily move it to the basement. We can discuss who did it and such later over food." Grey says calmly, and Karl Woodley's eye twitches. "Aren't you a bit too calm?!"
"I'm starving, actually. Also, seeing the body of the butler is a bit...sickening." I say, turning my head from the body. "The initial shock is a bit over, but it still doesn't help."
I've seen more bodies in my life than most experienced morticians. I still don't like viewing the bodies of innocents...
I leave for the dining hall, the other guests following behind.
At the dining table, Ciel had me sit at the opposite head, which was very...er... odd.
"Why is there an extra plate?" Charles asks, as we all turn to the chair next to mine, laden with food. "The one who prepared breakfast was Sebastian, he would never mix up the numbers." Ciel says dully, and everyone thinks.
"Where's Phelps?" I ask, and everyone gets worried...didn't I tell Sebastian to check the vents in Ciel's room, though?
Everyone rushes to Phelp's room, but I remain eating, the food is simply too good.
And I wasn't in the mood to see another body, so close to breakfast. Of course, I've seen bodies in all positions, but I'm not in 'the mode' right now.
'The mode' referring to the small emotional block I've learned to put up.
I finish eating, when Ciel walks in. "You've discovered the body of Phelps?" I question, taking a sip of my water, as he nods.
"Precisely, why did you not come with us?" He asks, as everyone else enters the dining room, looking at me suspiciously.
"Well, if a guest was not attending breakfast after a series of murders occur, it's only logical to consider another person murdered, and seeing how gory the last ones were, I'd rather not be seeing it, as I am still eating breakfast." I say with 'proper' grammar, and Ciel looks at me oddly.
Arthur fills me in on what happened, and a crease forms in between my brows. "You idiots believe it's a vampire?" I ask, as some sheepishly nod, some furiously nod, and others remain neutral. With a sigh, I look at each of them, eyes rolling over the people with ease.
"What animal has fangs?" I ask, as everyone thinks.
"A bat!"
"Payara?"
"Sabertooth deer...? No, a baboon!"
"..." I look at all of them with a 'really' look. "Just ignore my question..."
"Phelps was your business rival, correct, Lau?" Ciel asks Lau, looking towards him. Lau thinks, "I suppose so." He says, taking a sip of his tea.
"Don't you have a big-ass needle up your sleeve?" I ask, and everyone gawks at me with the sudden change in language, as Lau smirks.
"What?" Arthur asks shakily, as Lau whips out his long, needle. "Yes, I am carrying one, it's used in oriental medicine though."
Everyone freaks out. "Y-you killed Phelps!" Woodley accuses, and Lau raises his sleeves in defense. "Oh my, aren't you all being a bit rash?"
"You bastard! You searched the Earl's room right now didn't you? Are you sure you weren't destroying evidence?!" Grimsby says, and I smirk.
"Calm down ladies, listen to Lau's alibi." I say, taking a sip of the water. Lau nods.
"How do you think I could make a locked room a murder from that far walk in closet? There's no door going outside there and even though we're Chinese, it's not like we can just pass through ventilation or anything." Lau says. "And, I have an alibi for the time Lord Siemons was murdered anyway. But awwww the Earl is such a bully, you don't need to take revenge on me now, do you?" Lau finishes teasingly, causing to Arthur and Ciel to sweat drop.
"Well, in any case, no one who could have killed all three even if they teamed up with Sebastian." Ciel says, taking a sip of his tea, as Arthur nods in agreement.
Arthur proceeds to put the alibi list into chart form, and I look at the alibi characters. Aww, I look so cute! With two lil' circles on my head...and a lil' smile.
"The only one who could have murdered Lord Siemons at 10 Past 1 was Earl Phantomhive, the only one who could have killed Mr. Phelps at 2:38 was Sebastian, and anyone but me or the Earl could have killed Sebastian at 10-3." Arthur says, "So, even if they worked with Sebastian, it's impossible that a single person could have caused this string of murders!"
Woodley starts to freeak out, and stands up, slapping and kicking plates. "Sit down already, Woodley." Ciel says darkly, as a veins bulge from Woodley's forehead.
"Don't order me arouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuund!" He shouts, and I stand up, taking a step in front of the Earl and catching Woodley's strong punch. Everyone gasps in shock, and I admit, I'm a little surprised I could do this, but it must be the witch gene...
Explanation: I usually don't catch punches, I usually smack them aside.
"How rude, that's child abuse if you smack a child." I say, as Woodley tries to pull his hand back, but I don't let him.
"Wh-wha?" He questions nervously, and I pull him downwards, so his head is by my lips. I lean my face forward to his ear, and smirk.
"I know who you are and what you do, you sad, old, perverted fuck. Try making new relations instead of killing others for your benefit," I whisper, leaning back, as I toss him to the wall like a rag doll. Damn, I feel like freaking Hulk! Hitting the wall, he bounces off it, falling to the ground in a moaning heap.
"This makes you only appear worse, Woodley. After all, you tried attacking a child." I say, as Arthur's eyes widen. "No way, I didn't see her move at all!"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's Japan's Barititsu." Lau says, and Arthur's eyes widen. "Baritsu? Ivy, tell me mo-"
"Tanaka knows more." I say, sitting back down, sipping on my water, as Arthur pesters Tanaka, writing in his notebook all the while. I look up from my cup, to find multiple pairs of widened eyes facing me.
"What?" I question, and everyone quickly looks away.
"Since Arthur is the only one with a full-set o' alibis, he should be the one making the shots here." I say, and Arthur flushes. "Me?"
"Yes, I agree with Ivy. I don't really want a criminal prowling my mansion." He says, and everyone nods.
"Than, let's get the murderer." I say, as rain starts to fall outside, sending pitter-patters coursing against the window
"As a result of my conversations with everyone, many things have become clear, however...the thing I'm most stuck on is the whereabouts of the key to the Earl's room. According to the original scenario, the only one that could have been able to kill Mr. Phelps was Sebastian. But, if we considered that the key could have been passed onto a third party, it becomes a whole different situation."
"So, in that scenario, I would be right in thinking that the person who currently holds the key and killed Sebastian is the criminal?" Ciel asks, and Arthur nods.
"Precisely."
"Well, first let's confirm whether or not the butler is carrying the key himself. Even though it would mean our theory ends there." Grey says, and I nod.
"You're right. Also, from now on, whenever we move, I'd like to as a group. Since it would be difficult asking a woman to accompany us to the corpse's storage room, I'd like to ask Miss Ivy and Miss Irene to stay here with Mr. Grimsby."
"Yes," Irene says shakily, and I stand up. "Y'all, I'm coming with you. I'm prepared to go." I say, and Arthur's eyebrows crease. "Really? Are you sure, you didn't seem well when you saw...well, the butler."
"I had a...unfortunate flashback. I'm fine now, so I'm coming. End of story." I huff, crossing my arms, as Arthur sighs. "Alright, and I'd like Mr Woodley to stay too."
"Hmmph."
"I'd like you to allow me and Ran Mao to enjoy some tea over here." Lau says, as Ran Mao nods. "I'm tagging along!" Grey says, raising his hand.
Bard and Finny come along, as our party sets off to the ground floor, and to a spiral staircase.
"This place has the kind of atmosphere where one might expect a ghost to come up..." Arthur says, causing Grey to freak out, wrapping his arms around Ciel. Giggling to myself as I'm the last person, trailing behind the others, I run my finger nails against the stone wall, causing eerie sounds to echo.
"EEK! A GHOST!" Charles says, as I force my voice to become child-like and high. "Come play with us, Charles," I take on a darker tone, "forever!"
The voices I used echo off the wall, bouncing up and down the staircase.
"AHhhhHHHHHhHHhHHH!" Charles screeches, practically squeezing Ciel's arm off.
"We're here," Bard says, as we creak open a large, wooden door, revealing the wine cellar with 3 sheets over bodies.
"Put these gloves on when you touch the corpses, will ya." Bard says, tossing us all gloves, and I slap mine on my hand.
"Well, please excuse me..." Arthur says, lifting the sheet from Sebastian's body, revealing a dripping wet Sebastian.
"He's wet?" Arthur asks confused.
"Well, one could say that Sebastian's just dripping with good looks," I say, and everyone looks at me, sweat dropping. "Kidding, kidding. There must be a leak in the roof." I say, as Bard nods in confirmation.
"Poor Mr. Sebastian! Please move him!" Finny says, and Arthur nods. "We should, if he's wet his body will decay faster."
Finny freaks out, and stands by the door so he doesn't have to look.
"Let's look," Ciel says, as he unbuttons Sebastian's clothes, and by clothes, I mean all of them. "Dammmmmmmnnnnnn, Sebastian must've developed that 6 pack from hauling your ass all over, Ciel." I say, as his brow twitches.
"I have a 'six pack'," he mutters, and I look at him with raised brows. "Really? You consist of skin and bones, Ciel. Eat more pork, chicken, and drink more milk." I say, patting his cheek.
We continued to undress Sebastian, and I looked down.
"And...Sebastian's a bit smaller than I expected. Oh well..." I say with a sigh, as all the boys flush.
"Hey, I have a joke! Who wants to know something disappointing?" I ask, as Charles Grey smirks. "Blow us away, Ivy."
"6'1", 3"." I say, before bursting into giggles, and everyone looks at me with confused expressions. Damn American conversions messing them up!
"The key is not here," Ciel says, turning Sebastian onto his front, and my eyes widen. Dat ass! It's paler than the moon, and as full as the moon too!
"I'm blushing like crazy you guys," I say, face turning red. "Sebastian has more booty than I'll ever have, and it's hard to say I'm jealous of a deceased man. I'll wait with Finny." Quickly walking away, I step over by Finny, face still red, as the images are burnt in my mind.
Ciel frowns, he's jealous of the dead man too if he gets attention from Ivy. Though it might not be helping that he hasn't tried wooing Ivy yet. He looks back at Sebastian's body, who now looks like he's smirking ever so slightly...
"This is Sebastian's room." Ciel says, as we all step inside a plainly dressed room.
"It's pretty spacious..." Arthur says, as Bard nods. "It's because he's a senior servant."
"Can't you guys think of a place where he might've hidden it?" Ciel asks.
"Ciel, leave the room." I say, and he looks at me. "What."
"Leave~~~" I exclaim, pushing him out the door, slamming it close, locking us in. Arthur's eyes widen, "Are you...going to murder us?! I should have never trusted yo-"
"Silly Arthur, I saw some cat hairs on the floor," I say, pointing at the floor where small cat hairs lay. "And Ciel's allergic to cats."
Everyone sighs in relief. "Oh."
We all look around, and Finny opens the wardrobe door, as all the cats flop on top of him.
"Kitties again~!" I say excitedly, as everyone's brow twitches. "Again?!"
"So cute!" Finny says, picking one up, as I giggle, as one sits on my foot.
"He doesn't seem to have any personal items..." Grey says, looking through Sebastian's drawers. "Wouldn't it be nicer if you have anything in your drawers from your original home? Where did he come from anyway?"
"Who knows-none of the servants know. Or even what he does on his days off. The only thing we know is that he is ridiculously good at his job, he's the perfect butler. If anyone's to know, it'd be Ivy, who's closest with him, or Ciel."
Everyone looks at me, and I seriously look back at them. "Sebastian and I have talked about our origins...and though it may be hard to believe, I know where he's from."
"Really?" Everyone asks excitedly, and I nod. "Sebastian's an alien from the planet Jupiter, duh!" I say, and everyone sweat drops.
"Just kidding, no one knows. In fact, no one really knows where I'm from, except the word California. That's a funny thought, ha, ha!" I say, as I open his drawers to find perfectly folded socks! Why would you fold socks?!
"We should check everyone's luggage," Arthur says to everyone in the parlor.
"The women's luggage will be checked by other women, so we won't see it. Except Ivy can come with us," Grey finishes, and my jaw drops.
"No way!" I explain, "I bet you boys are expecting to go in my room now and raid the drawers!"
"What a lovely photo, Irene," I say with a smile, looking at the photograph she has of her and Grimsby.
"Oh no! I left that out..." She says, as Mey-Rin looks at the photo. "I hadn't heard you two were lovers, so I was surprised yesterday." Mey-Rin chimes in.
Irene chuckles nervously, "I'm sorry, I don't really talk about it publicly or anything... me and Grimsby have been seperated for 12 years already, so it's kind of embarrassing to tell people..."
"12 years?!" Mey-Rin says in shock. "It doesn't look like that, though!"
"Oh thank you!" Irene says bashfully.
Mey-Rin looks through Irene's luggage, as I look at Ran-Mao putting underpants on her head. "Hilarious!" I say, taking out another pair, placing them on my head.
"Ran-Mao has an excuse, but you're an American!" Irene scolds, as I laugh, plonking a pair on her head. She lightly screams, ripping them off her head.
"Why are we rechecking Sebastian's room?" Ciel asks, as the men re-enter the room without Ivy.
"We are now searching for clues to the murder instead, this is a wider variety," Arthur finishes, as he looks at the bookshelf, observing it closely. "Oh! A photograph," Arthur notes, as he slips out a photo wedged in between a Bible, only noticeable as an edge had peaked out. Ciel walked over, examining the photo with a frown.
On the photograph was Sebastian, his traditional smirk on face, and by his side was Ivy Adams herself. She was dressed in a delicate, lacy dress, and she was placing her right hand on Sebastian's shoulder.
"So the butler and Ivy were close," Grey snarls, obvious distaste in his voice. "Seemingly so..." Ciel replies in the same tone, his eyes boring unto the photo.
In the kitchen, I prepare red velvet cookies...at 1 AM. I was really tired, and decided to sleep instead of going to dinner. I shiver... this was not a good night to be wandering. Sighing, I continue to mix the recipe.
"What a horrible night to be out..." I say, lightly 'singing' the tune to an American classic as I mixed.
"She take my money when I'm in need
Yea she's a trifling friend indeed..." I sing, as I take the dough, plopping bits onto the cookie sheet.
"Oh she's a gold digger way over town
That digs on me...pum-poom-poom-poom!" I exclaim, doing the beat drop.
"Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing with no broke ninjas!" I sing, shaking my groove thing, as I open the oven, slamming the cookies into the overn,
"Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing wit no broke ninjas," I set the timer, as I start to clean up the kitchen.
"Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head!"
"...are you the chef?" A voice asks, and I turn my head up to see a taller, older man with black, slicked back hair, a beaked nose, and high cheekbones.
"Severus Snape...?" I ask, and shake my head. "Oh, no, your hair is too short for that, sorry. I'm Ivy, Ivy Adams, but I'm not the chef." I say, turning back from him.
"You want anything to drink? We gots the milk, the waters, the...apple juice, I believe that's what the label is. Who knows what crazy stuff Ciel buys. Well, the servants, Ciel probably doesn't know how to tie his own shoes." I say, and he smirks.
"I'm Jeremy Rathbone, an adviser to the local church." He says, "Please, call me Jeremy, though. Excuse my rudeness, but what do you do if you are not the chef?"
"I'm the head of slack-offness department, that's what I am." I say, and he chuckles, before looking me up and down in slight distaste, and slight...lust, glimmering in his eyes. Ew Sebastian...you can disguise your looks but not your eyes...barf. It's so creepy seeing older men look me up and down, even if they're actually younger! 'Jeremy' sits down on one of the chairs, and I look away from him.
Looking out my outfit, I see my get Nalasked shirt and a pair of spandex shorts, and you can see the strap of my lace bra. "Oh, I usually just wear my bra and shorts, so...yeah. Sebastian got so triggered whenever I wore just my bra and shorts...it was hilarious." I say with a smirk, dropping down to the balls of my feet, looking into the oven.
"What was your relationship with Sebastian?" Jeremy asks, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Time to mess with Sebastian.
"He's honestly the worst person I've ever met. He makes me extremely uncomfortable, and always freaks out over dogs like a wuss. He's clever, though, but it's all due to his slyness. He's untrustworthy and always had a god-damned smirk on his face. And, he's obsessed with cats...which is gross." I say, looking up at Jeremy, who's eyes flash angrily for a second before returning to a neutral state.
"Really...now?" He asks through gritted teeth, and I nod. "If he was alive any longer, I'd have done something to him that would make him pay for all the things he's done to me. You wanna know what I'd do?"
"Yes..." he replies, almost angrily, and I smirk.
"I'd have Ciel ban him from seeing, touching, or looking at a cat for the rest of his servitude, the bloody bloke would have to follow Ciel's order, ha ha!" I exclaim, and Jeremy's eyebrows furrow.
"You can't do that!" He says quickly, and I sigh. "I know...Sebastian's dead now. You know what my favorite thing about him is, though, despite all of his horrible characteristics?" I ask, and he nods stiffly.
Smirking, I walk over to Jeremy, leaning my face close to his, eyes locking with his. "He does a bloody great job of convincing everyone he's dead when he's actually not...wouldn't you agree, Jeremy?" I ask, and Jeremy smirks, eyelids lowering in a lazy manner.
"How did you know?" He asks, leaning close to me, his fake-Gru nose touching mine now. "It's quite obvious, no disguise can hide that dark aura of yours." I say, and the timer for the cookies rings, and I pull away, turning to the oven. Striding over to it, I put on the mitts, pulling out the cookies and setting them on a tray.
"Also, Sebas-chan, I can't believe how tiny you were!" I say with a light laugh, and he frowns. "I can increase my height and lengths at will-"
"That doesn't change the fact you're naturally the size of a circus peanut!" I say with a light chuckle, turning my back to him when I feel two hands on my shoulders.
"Darling, if I'm a circus-peanut, than I'm the biggest circus peanut you've ever seen..." he says huskily, leaning his lips near my ear. "And your mouth will probably not be able to eat the whole 'tiny' circus peanut, either.".
Gasping, I push him back. "Ew ew ew!" I exclaim, wincing as I flail my hands around. "That was kinda hot, but looking like an old dude that was so~~~ gross! Try again when you'r-"
Sebastian quickly rips the mask from his face, revealing the dashing, damned butler! Damn him! My cheeks tint pink.
"I hope you do not have the young master ban me from seeing cats, as I cannot see your pus-"
"Woah Seb! Blaaaaahhhh!" I say, putting my hands on his mouth, face turning pink. I forgot the damned word was invented in the early 1800s as a slur!
"Your hands smell like red velvet cookies..." he says, and I smile. "Yup! I made the cookies, if you'd li-"
"I'd like to taste you instead," he says, licking my finger tips, and I shudder. What the hell, Sebastian! I'm kinkshaming! My face flushes cherry red, and I attempt to pull my hand away, but he reaches up, holding mine steady.
He looks down at me, eyes blazing pink, and his now extended canine cuts my finger tip, and I feel a bit of a string. "What the fu-" I start, when suddenly, my voice is gone!
What the frickle frackle! Sebastian licks the tip of my finger, and the cut closes up...magic voodoo shit!
"I can control you for the next 12 hours with that tiny drop of blood, you should be more careful when dealing with an all-powerful demon honestly." Sebastian says with a smirk, and I glare at him, flipping him the bird.
Come on Ivy, you're a witch now! You can overcome this! Now think, he was able to do something before...but that was before I wore the choker I believe...
The choker on my neck feels tight, and it pulses, almost as if it has a hearbeat.
That's it, the choker!
Closing my eyes, I envision chains surrounding me, made of inky black smoke. Imagining a cool-ass mind katana, I cut down the chains, leaving the lock. Creaking open an eye, I see a devious looking Sebastian.
'Let me talk again you butthead!' I mouth, and he smirks wider, sitting on his chair. "I can let you scream my nam-"
In my mind, I cut the lock with my katana, and it turns white, before disappearing.
"Hell no!" I exclaim, and Sebastian's eyes widen. "Wh-"
"I'm out!" I say, taking the cookie rack in my hands, and quickly running from the room. A dozen of fresh mini-cookies lie on the plate and waft up my nose, and it twitches in all-goodness.
Sebastian is such an asshat, trying to control me with his freaky-ass demon powers...urgh!
Going to the room I shared with Mey-Rin, I ate all of the cookies. So...mad!
Nose twitching, I look at the clock. And it's only 3:00! I get dressed in sweat pants and a shirt that was for some orthodontics, and I put on a pair of grippie-socks. Walking out of the room, I go to the direction of Conall's room, the hidden one.
Walking down there, I do the routine, entering the dusty room, as the flames light up on the candle. Snapping my fingers, the fire place in the room lights up.
"Alright...I should practice transfiguration and summoning like Conall did..." I say, as the spells rush to my mind of what to do. When I received Conall's memories, the transfusion of spells that she learned also happened to me, like 3rd hand smoke.
Grabbing an unlit candle, I imagined it turning into a duster, and it quickly morphed into a duster in a silver glow. With a light smirk, I took another candle and turned it into a bandana, tying it around my mouth. I'm slightly allergic to dust, and wouldn't want to inhale too much!
For the next 30 minutes, I dusted the room manually, than I learned that I could make the objects do it for me, which I obviously did. It was some really cool stuff, I had the mop cleaning the floor, while the broom swept the dusty walls. I stoked the fireplace manually, and looked around the now-clean room.
Going over to the bookshelf, I fingered through oddly titled books, like Rune Translations, Frog or Toad eye, etc. Finding one of interest, labelled 'How to Properly Fly', I picked it off the shelf, skipping over to the plush chairs and plopping down.
Opening up the book, I placed my hand on the page to feel the book, and it emitted a silvery glow. I remember that witches supposedly read witch-books at once to obtain all the knowledge like 'downloading' a book...how interesting.
A rush of images fill my mind, and suddenly, it's gone like that. Hmmm...I must practice this later...putting the book back on the shelf, it blends in with the rest, and that is that. A sudden wave of tiredness comes over me...
"Okay plush chair, can you turn into a recliner, please?" I ask, as it shifts into a recliner, and I snuggle into it.
"Lights out, save for one, please..." I mumble sleepily, as all but one candle goes out.
3rd person's POV~
"Where is Ivy?" Ciel asks, as the guests gather for breakfast, Ivy's chair being empty. Jeremy Rathbone frowns, he had seen her this morning at 1 AM.
"Was that possibly the young girl with purple tinged hair? I saw her in the kitchen this morning while I was searching for something to eat." Jeremy says, causing Ciel to frown, eye widening.
"You don't possibly believe..." Ciel asks, as all the guests gasp. Images flash through Ciel's mind of possible ways Ivy could have been murdered, and he shivers.
"Let us search for Ivy!" Mey-Rin calls out, as everyone runs from their chairs, save for Lau, Ran Mao, Irene, Woodley and Grimsby, running around the mansion for hours to possibly find the young Ivy.
She was nowhere to be found.
Ivy's Dream, and Conall's POV.
NOTE* THIS CASE IS A REAL THING CALLED "JACK THE STRIPPER", AND I'M BASING IT OFF THAT. IT CONTAINS MENTIONS OF NUDITY, BLOOD, AND MENTIONS OF RAPE, SO PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
February 12th, 1850
"This case is titled "Sam the Stripper..." Cloudia reads, looking at the paper with a pair of dainty reading glasses which had slid down her nose, as she lounges in the carriage from the Queen's castle to the site. "2 daughters of a wealthy man who owns a ribbon and fine silk factory went to the opera house for the performance of Macbeth at 7:30 after being dropped off by their footman at 6:30. It was due to be finished at 10:30, where they would be escorted back home from the opera house to their mansion by their butler. The butler claims he had not been able to find the two young girls, and searched the opera house until midnight, until he called for the police. They arrived at 12:45, and had found the bodies of the two girls 5 blocks away in an alleyway at 5:00 AM. Apparently, this has happened before, and this man apparently assaults young, rich females and strips them of their clothes, leaving them in an alleyway."
I shudder, looking at the papers in my hands. "This has happened...4 times before, with Natasha Viamont, age 17 and her family owns a large tea leaves business, Mary Gibbenson, age 15 and daughter of CEO of Marmeen Chocolates, Leah Madison, 14, fiancée of an importer of flowers, and Miranda Cosgrape, age 12, prodigy opera singer in a series of operas. These two daughters were Abigail and Grace Williams, Abigail 15 and Grace 13." I read out loud, as the carriage pulls to a stop, and I shudder slightly, as Cloudia passes me a pair of gloves. Slipping them on, I pick up my skirts as we enter an alley way where a section was taped off.
(mentions) Making our way to it, I cringe at the bodies of the young girls. Displayed in the nude, there blood seeping out from the girl identified as Grace as she slumped against the wall, bruises on wrists, upper arms, stomach, with a light blue bruise on both of her shoulders. Abigail's body had no blood underneath her head but under her buttocks, and she had bruises on her wrists, left ankle, neck, inner thighs, and a red handmark on Abigail's face. She was on the ground face-down, a knife stabbed in between her shoulder blades
Their brown hair was tangled and matted in blood, dirty on their cheeks. Raising my eye to the wall of the alleyway, I note how it's extremely close to the girls' heads. "Let's start with the most obvious," I start, as Cloudia pulls out a notebook. "The girl identified as Grace, on the right with the blood seeping out of head, was most likely discarded , Grace tried resisting, and was pushed by the shoulders into the wall. I believe it played out as Grace was resisting, and the murderer held her to his chest so she could not run away, her body's front to his front. Than, Grace attempted to twist out, but the murderer must have kneed her in the stomach to keep her from twitching. Throwing her back against the wall with too much force by pushing on both of her shoulders, she hit her head. Quickly blacking out, she slid down the wall, leaving a bloody trail."
Looking towards Abigail, I cringe. "This girl was a virgin, and was...raped. She was slapped so she would stop resisting, and the murderer continued to rape her. Since she was so resistant, he must've pulled her thighs apart to have more...access. He must have given her sloppy kisses on her neck, leaving behind marks. When he was done, she tried crawling away, still in pain from the rape, and he pulled her back by the left ankle so it would be painful for her bare skin to rub against the alley floor, and he ended it by killing her in the back."
How could I figure it out so easily? I call it the 'fangirl's mind,' for my love of mystery novels have me able to figure out mysteries and riddles easily. It's all about creating a story with the evidence about you, for once something is confirmed it all falls into place.
Cloudia finishes writing, looking down at me with her blue eyes. "Time for the analysis..." she says, as we we walk towards the young girls, squatting down.
"You cover Abigail, you're best at noticing smaller details." Cloudia continues, as I nod, looking over at Abigail, pulling out my magnifying glass, hovering it over her body. About 6-inch red hairs were on the ground near her, and I pick up a hair with tweezers. "There's red hair on this, meaning that our murderer is a red-head with average male hair. It's somewhat flaky, meaning he uses a cheap hair gel product because it dried up between...midnight at least to 8 o' clock this morning."
Shuddering, I hold my hand over her thigh, and I notice something very odd. "There's paint dried paint flecks on her pants... Cloudia, is there any operations nearby that produce paint?" I ask, as she thinks. "I believe there's a factory that carves wooden products and there's a section of that factory that employs Irish immigrants."
"Of course! The Potato Famine is bringing over lots of immigrants..." I think, standing up from where I was, turning back to the carriage, taking off my gloves.
"Miss Taylor," the footman says, taking Cloudia's and my gloves, as we enter the carriage.
"When we get back, we'll analyze the victims connections."
"Here is your hot chocolate, Miss Taylor." Tanaka says, bowing to me as he sets the mug in front of me. "Thank you, Tanaka," I state, not paying much attention to him as I look at the papers scattered across my desk in my office. Cloudia has a much larger office than mine, but I have more information databases in my office, so we use it more oftenly. Cloudia is scouring through the file cabinet in my office for victims so we have a much better understanding.
"Would you like the newspaper for today's date?" He asks, and I nod. "I'll read it later..."
He sets the newspaper in front of me, and I reach out to my mug, taking a sip. The hot liquid runs down my throat as I run my fingers through my loose hair. "Found anything yet, Cloudia?"
"I've found the deeper information regarding the victims." She says, passing me 6 files. I open all 6, setting them on the table in front of me, and observe the,. "There seems to be no similarities between all of them, except that they're all under 20, have brown hair and gray eyes, and are the daughter, fiance or some person of high status. Ugh! I'm taking a break..." I exclaim, taking the newspaper and my mug, going to the window bench. "Our brains won't be able to function properly unless we start fresh, so let's regroup in an hour." I tell Cloudia, and she nods.
"I was starting to get a migraine too..." She says, going to one of the couches and pulling a pillow close to her, and she drifts off to a half-asleep state.
Cloudia...was so beautiful. She had pink tinted lips, large, child-like eyes, with long, black lashes. Her perfectly ringleted hair still was perfect as it hung loose, and she had perfect, porcelain skin. She was just so...perfect looking. I'd hate for her to be hurt... I've felt like I've relied on her so much. Living, food, clothes... and I hope my assistance in the Aristocrats of Evil Nobles helps her.
Turning my attention to the newspaper, I see there's a poem for Valentine's day.
"To you, my darling, I'd give thou the elixir of life,
For you are sweeter than chocolate,
But to my flowers, thoust glowers
And recoil from my touch
And I loved you so much
I sing out to you, my love my dreams
Hope my words wrap around you like fine silks, and entrance you to love me back
My words drip like honey..." Ugh, it's too cheesy. I can't bear to read it anymore, besides, I'm tired of reading the words 'flower and chocolate,' because of this damn case...
Wait, flowers and chocolate?!
Looking at who wrote the poem, it was signed by an anonymous person. Standing up from my window bench, I make my way to the table.
First...elixir must refer to the tea leaves once brewed. Than, chocolates, the flowers... sing must be Miranda, the opera singer. The silks is the two recently murdered girls...
Between the first and second murder, there was 42 hours... but how is that given away? There is no quantitative data...
Wait!
Counting the letters from elixir to chocolate, I'm stunned that there was the 42 hour difference. Continuing, the 26 hours and letters matched up with 2-3 murder, 55 between 3-4, and lastly, 60 hours for the two recently murdered girls!
We have a lead!
"Wake up Cloudia! I got a lead for this case!" I exclaim, and she groggily opens an eye, sitting up. "We do?"
"Yes! Now, listen closely-" I say, before launching into an explanation, and she raises a brow. "So... the next murder would be someone who's related to a honey business?" She asks, "If the murder happened at around midnight and it's 1 AM now...it's precisely 25 hours later. Meaning 17 hours until the next murder...which is at 6:00 tonight." I say, and she thinks.
"The only honey business is Megan Benson's Honey...and she's one of the only female business owners in the London area at the age of 17..." Cloudia says, as she walks to the file cabinet, pulling out a file, opening it. "And she's a brunette with gray eyes."
"Oh god, what are we going to do?" I ask, as a stern looks comes onto Cloudia's face.
"Tanaka!" She calls out, with a singular clap of her hand. Suddenly, Tanaka walks into the room. "Yes, mistress?"
"Please go to the Benson manor, and tell her that someone plans on murdering her. She knows you are my butler, she's seen you before..." Cloudia says, as she walks to my desk, hastily writing a letter before stamping it with the wax seal.
The Phantomhive Crest.
"Take her to our safe house, and make sure she takes her bodyguard." Cloudia says, giving Tanaka the letter. He bows, as he tucks the letter into his tailcoat.
"Of course, Mistress. I shall return by dawn." He says, than turns from the room, walking with long strides away from us.
"Sleep now...Conall. For we may have a sleepless night tonight." She says, and I nod, walking out the room, heading to my bedroom for a long, deep sleep.
Adjusting my trench coat, I shift awkwardly in the seat of the carriage. We weren't wearing corsets, in fact, we were wearing trousers under our skirts! Scandalous!
Conall was wearing a navy blue dress with a dark grey redingote coat, with it opened revealing her sword and gun strapped to her torso. She was wearing heeled shoes, and her usual braided hair was tyed up in a ponytail, curls spiraling out of it.
Looking down at my outfit, I was wearing a black capelet, with a dark grey dress with dark purple stitched patterns on it. It would rip aside to reveal black trousers and males shoes, and I had a sword and gun strapped around my waist...and a bag of marbles in each coat pocket.
We rode in silence, until Conall looks at me with stormy eyes. "Same as always?"
"Correct." I respond, as the carriage stops, and I get out while it continues on it's way. Same as always meaning our motto:
Normal entity is put under arrest.
Supernatural is killed.
Supernatural entities will escape arrest most likely, and it's too much of a hassle.
I twist one of my curls that plopped out of my buns behind my ear, as I look up at the warehouse in front of me. Made of aging brick, it completed the dreary picture of it being set by the ocean, as the seagulls lazily caw above it, circling like vultures. I eye the building in distaste, there's holes in it, and bird droppings.
Why were Cloudia and I at this place, you may ask? Well, Tanaka received the schedule of Megan Benson for the day, and she was scheduled to have a meeting here today with a business client, who wished to sell her factories...
A set up for murder.
Briskly stepping inside the building, it's empty save for random bricks laying around, and a table in the center with a straggly looking man sitting there.
"I am with Scotland Yard, sir, you are arrested for the murder of 6 girls, rape of 1, and attempt of murder for 1. Everything said from now on will be held against you as evidence." I say with a loud, clear voice as my American accent bounces off the walls in an eerie echo. The man chuckles, and stands up, walking towards me.
He's wearing a holy, moth ball ridden grey suit, with a holed fedora with red hair poking out. He has a duck-walk, and as I look at his shoes, I see a purple-tinted big toe stick out of his left shoe. He looks like your average hobo.
He removes his hat, sending choppy, long red hair with flakes in it tumbling down to his shoulders. He lifts his face up so I can see him properly, and my eyes widen.
"Malachi?!" I exclaim, reaching into my pocket, plucking a marble between my fingers as I let my hand remain in the pocket.
"Ah! You recognize me!" He exclaims, clapping happily. "I wrote you a lovely poem. Don't you just love it?! AH! You alwayyyys loved puzzles and riddles!"
"Not when you bloody murder someone! What are you doing, Malachi?" I exclaim, as he flashes me a yellow-smile, making the corners of his chapped lips rise into his stubbled face. "Well, I wanted to get your attention...and I did! Now, we can marry, I have a job!"
"...I was never going to marry you, Malachi, I apologize if I somehow led you along." I say, and his eyes turn dark and scary.
"You will marry me, after all, I did all of this for you. I grabbed your attention with those lookalikes, I wrote you love poems, I'm now telling you that our courtship days are over and you shall be my wife!" He says, and I sigh, grabbing another marble at it.
"I'm sorry, Malachi, that isn't happening." I say, turning the two marbles in my pocket between my fingers. "Reformabit," I mutter, as one marble turns into handcuffs, while the other turns into chains connecting the handcuffs. I can cast spells wordlessly or with words, but with words it's a better chance of being stronger spells.
See, every witch has one aspect to them that's in their 'witch line', as I like to call it as. All witches can control the 4 elements and cast all spells, though they may be weaker or stronger in some areas, but there is some things that only specific witches can do. This is their unique ability that all witches with that gene have. The woman who supplies me books can communicate with animals, but on the downside, while she does this she cannot talk to a human. My witch ability is that I can wordlessly cast spells, but my eyes will freakishly glow, and I don't want to give away my position right now.
Pulling out the chains, I see him smirk. "This will be interesting..." he says, as he slowly takes off his coat, revealing his pale chest, coated in freckles and strange, coursing symbols, throbbing from his skin like old scars. They look like the stuff from fairy tales, mixed with Irish folklore...
Gritting my teeth, I watch as he hunches forward, and the scars on his shoulder bleeds open, revealing a thick, golden liquid. From this, something flat emerges, growing and extending into what seems like mutated and torn butterfly/dragonfly hybrid wings. They have the same pattern as a monarch butterfly on the wings of a dragonfly, yet they're tattered and gross.
Malachi looks like he's on the verge of crying, but he stands up, a smirk on his face as he wipes away sweat. "I always thought playing games was more fun..." he says, and with the flap of his torn wings, he's up in the airs.
"You're a fucking fairy?!" I exclaim, taking the chains at my side and discarding them to the side, putting my hands towards my sword, which I clean in a holy water/salt mixture. He flashes my a grin, but his teeth resemble yellow needles now. "No, honey. I'm a changeling...we only change into our true form once 21, and from there we can summon it at will."
My eyes widen in shock, a changeling! They were faeries that were considered ugly at birth, so their family would take a human baby and replace it with a faery. They usually didn't last for more than a year due to the change into dimension plains (faeries live in a different dimension, only coming over when they feel like so, but they hate human beings as they are not 'pure', so that's why they only take the baby). If they last to 21, they can summon their faery wings, but they lose half their mind to the faery side, as it struggles to take over. The human side fights back with it using their passion...but it usually amplifies the crazed-faery side with the human emotions.
He's a monster!
I watch as his skin has thin, pink lines crawl up his face, creating odd symbols, then continues to spreads all over his body. "Come at me shit eater!" I exclaim through gritted teeth, holding my hands in clenched fists. He grins with his needle thin teeth, and he raises his hands.
Soon, he flies towards me, fluttering his hands in a series of attacks. I block each one, as I struggle to try to hit him. My eye catches Cloudia, who's standing by the back door. Malachi hasn't yet noticed her...
Wait...Malachi's attacks have a pattern. 2 punch right, 2 punch left, face, privates, repeat twice, than do this backwards thrice, than repeat. So...if I just...
Reaching my hand outward, I grab his wing, clenching it in between my fingers.
"Ahhhh!" He exclaims, flying away from me quickly, his wing now half-ripped off. I discard the ugly, almost-scaly feeling wing to my side, as I reach my hand towards my sword, pulling it out. The fragment limply twitches, flakes falling off.
He flutters around blindly, running into a brick wall, and smashing the ceiling once, before he looks towards me, hate filled within his eyes.
"You know, I haven't torn my wings since that one girl tried to pry me away from her sister when I was having my way with her! She was such a stupid bitch, I pushed her away! I'm not going to push you away, Conall, just PUNISH YOU!" He exclaims, flying towards me angrily. I expand my aura, my life energy around me, and the moment I feel the slight tingle of him pushing into it, I raise my sword and cut his head clean off, sending it flying to hit the ceiling.
Looking at his twitching body which oozes a thick, golden liquid, I plunge my sword into where his heart would be, and retract my sword to see a silver liquid now dripping from my sword. Turning my gaze back to what was Malachi's body, it was now bleeding silver...so fae must bleed silver once they are dead.
Suddenly, a crumbling comes from the ceiling, and I look up to see where the head hit the ceiling where a pile of bricks started to tumble down.
"Cloudia, move!" I exclaim, as she looks up, eyes wide in shock. As she starts to run, her heel catches on a niche on the floor, and she tumbles forward in the splits, as the pile of bricks barely grazes her...
...by landing on her back right calf and down.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" She exclaims in agony, and my eyes widen.
"Surgere!" I exclaim, as the bricks lift from Cloudia's foot, falling off to the side where they burst into a fine dust. My eyes blaze silver...how could I have been so careless?!
Walking over to Cloudia, I look at her torn ankle, and see how bloodied it is, showing the bone sticking out... I can't even fix this completely, no healer can. I can help her walk again, but she'll have a limp. Looking at the rest of her leg, it's in the same state that the foot is in. Cloudia just passed out from blood loss... she's going to fucking die!
"Cloudia P Phantomhive... born April 5th, 1830, due to die today, February 12th, 1850. How sad, it truly is..." A familiar voice says, and I turn to see the damned silver-haired man from before. The only difference is his hair is slightly longer now, with another braid added in.
"You..." I say, eyes glaring, as he grins. "Me! I'm here to collect Cloudia's soul due to blood loss, so if you can move aside for no-"
"No!" I exclaim, spreading my arms out. "You'll have to get through me first!"
He grins, yellow-green eyes flashing. "How about...we make a deal."
My mouth sets in a firm line. "What is it then?"
"I let Cloudia live for now...but I get to visit you anytime I want~" He says with a sing-song voice, and my eyebrow twitches.
"Fine, as long as I'm not in the bathroom or naked." I say, as he flashes me a large, chesire grin.
Whatever to save Cloudia...
"Great!" He says, sticking his hand out, and I take it firmly, as we do a singular shake. His large hand almost engulfs my baby hands completely!
"Well, I'll be off! That Malachi's soul was very odd to watch...and funny!" He says with a cackle, and than he disappears in the blink of an eye. Looking back at Cloudia, I sigh. Reaching into my pocket, I draw out a marble, and toss it into the air.
"Grabatum!" The marble stretches into a large, white cloth stretcher, and floats mid-air. Turning my gaze to Cloudia, I raise my hand up, as she floats upward, looking as if she fell asleep...save for the giant, bloody gashes on her leg, as I lift her onto the stretcher.
"Gah, I'll have to fly to get to the mansion fastest." I say, as I reach into my pocket, pulling out another marble.
"Virga..." The marble turns into a broom, and I scurry over to where I layed the handcuff and chained earlier, and I connect the broom and stretcher.
Summoning rope, I tie Cloudia to the stretcher, and I also wrap her wounds so she stops bleeding. Than, I pick up the broom, sitting on it.
"Alrighty, let's go!" I say, jumping upwards as the broom slowly rises into the air, Cloudia's stretcher level with my broom. I exit through a hole in the roof, and I wrap a protective bubble around us, so no wind or anything displaces us.
"Alright... I'll have Tanaka make me a whole pot of coffee when we get back, I already feel the magic toll..." I say, as the broom speeds up into the direction of the manor.
Arriving in 10 minutes, I rush her to my workplace, where I arrange different potions, lathering them on her leg. I give her drinkable medications to speed up the process, I used magic to re-arrange the bone placements, I magically sewed her muscles and veins back together, I practically re-constructed her foot, and than finally, I put it into a cast. This all took about 7 hours, and I had that blasted 'Undertaker', as I call him, appeared at random with a bowl of popcorn, and watched me do it for about an hour SILENTLY, and then disappeared.
Ugh, he seems like the type who'd watch me in my sleep.
I cast her foot, and with a sigh, I wheeled her back up the stairs to her room, where I lay her on her bed.
"Tanaka, there's a boot on her foot. I have written instructions how to care for her..." I mumble, passing Tanaka, who somehow appeared the moment I entered the room. "Make sure she doesn't walk or leave the bed for at least a week, and pick her up to take her to the bathroom for her. She can have visitors come once she's well rested enough... I have her diet here of what she will eat for the next week, and when her cast turns a blue, wake me up if I'm still sleeping..."
"I appreciate what you have done for my mistress, Miss Taylor." Tanaka says with a bow, "I hope that I have the joy of helping you one day."
"You can if you want, just stay with the Phantomhives. If one of my relatives swings by, I hope you will teach them how to sword fight and be a bad ass like you so they aren't a wimp..." I mutter, as I make my way to the room next door. My muscles ached, and I had started to get a migraine...
Taking off all my clothes, I barely put on a nightgown when I collapse onto the bed, my aching muscles too tired to move as I collapse into a dreamless hibernated-sleep.
"Miss Taylor...please wake up." Tanaka's voice says, and I groggily open my eyes to see the blurry shadow of Tanaka. "Yes?" I ask, sitting up.
"The mistress' cast has turned blue."
"...I'll be right there, give me a few minutes to get ready..." I say, standing up and grabbing my robe, putting my right arm through it. "How long have I been asleep?"
"About 2 weeks, today is the 22nd." He says, and I nod, grabbing a ribbon and lazily tying my hair into a messy bun.
I'm not surprised, I've exerted too much magical force. Slipping on my slippers, Tanaka leads me to Cloudia.
Walking into the room, I see a paler than usual Cloudia sitting on her bed, a book in hand, glasses perched on nose.
Tears well up in my eyes as my gaze travels to the boot on her foot that is now a sky-blue. "Cloudia..." I start, and she looks up at me, nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Do not cry over me, Conall. This is not your fault, if that is what you are thinking." She says, "Just do whatever you need to do with the damned boot."
Looking over at Tanaka, and he wordlessly nods, leaving the room and closing the door behind him soundlessly.
Walking towards Cloudia, I place my hand on her boot, and it evaporates into the air, leaving behind Cloudia's red calf and foot, with thick, plump light pink scars lining around her foot. Her toes were bent at odd angles, with a large knot on her big toe.
"I'm sorry...but you'll never be able to walk again like you used to. We'll have to help you to start learn to walk again... but you'll be using a cane most of the time to support yourself." I say, and she sighs.
"I should have known, but better my leg than my life." She says, as she places her cold, bony fingers of her left hand on top of mine, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb in a comforting manner. "Do not worry, you did the best for me, and I thank you for this."
Looking at her hand silently, I note there's now a big, fat diamond on her left ring finger...
"Cedric proposed?!" I exclaim, and she slightly nods, a smile flickering on face.
"He's been visiting me almost every hour on the hour, putting fresh roses in the vase over there... from where I do not know, for we don't grow red roses here. And red roses don't bloom like this in England during the early spring... I would like to start growing them, I'd bet they'd paint this manor a lovely color..." she says, as her eyes fill with what seems to be passion and love as she spoke of Cedric. "We spent hours talking together, and away from the public face of courting, he is much more sweet and gentle..."
"You've fallen in love?" I ask softly, my gaze turning to her, and she nods slightly. I grin, wrapping my arms to her in a hug, her cold body starting to warm up.
"I'm so glad you are happy...that's all that matters. I hope this Cedric gives you the world." I say, and she wraps her arms back around me. "Thank you, Conall...I hope you find a man like this for you too..."
Pulling from the hug, I smile slightly. "So...when is this wedding?"
"May 5th...it's going to be so lovely... it's so soon, but the wedding planner, Tanaka, Cedric's family and the servants are planning everything so I can work on recovery from the 'carriage crash.' Though, I'd love for you to be my maid of honor." She says, and I laugh slightly.
"Thanks for reminding me that I am unmarried..." I say jokingly, "Now, let's get you back to walking." I say, standing up tally, offering my arm out to her, as she takes it, and pulls herself up.
She shifts her weight onto her left leg, as she hobbles...more like hops, as she winces when she puts her right foot on the ground, as her leg shakes at the same time.
"Tanaka," I call out, and he appears in the room. "Yes, Miss Taylor?"
"Please bring us some crutches, we'll get you a cane soon enough, Conall." I say, and she nods. "I want to walk to the alter from my father's hand without a cane..."
"Of course, but we'll have to help you recover first." I say, and she sighs, nodding.
May 5th, 1850
I had helped Conall recover enough until she was able to walk from where she would leave her father's arm...but other than that, she was to use a cane for the rest of her life. And even so, she'd have a horrible limp...
Sighing, I look at the decorations around the chapel. Red and white roses proudly displayed, and I was dressed in a light grey lace dress as her 'maid-of-honor...'
Hell, I was her only bridesmaid. My hair was donned in a braid, and I was wearing a ridiculously tight corset under this damned dress.
"Conall!" Cloudia's voice says, and my head turns to her to see her in all beauty, donned in a lacy white dress with a long train. Her blue hair was pulled into a braided bun, with sprirals curling down the side of her face. A silver cane rested in her hand, pressed against the floor, with floral patterns engraved unto it. "Yes...?"
"The man of honor is down varicella, and couldn't come! You'll have to walk down by yourself, I'm so sorry." She apologizes, and I lightly laugh. Honestly, I could care less, the man-of-honor was so awkward...and was also 13.
It was Cedric's younger brother, and I think Cedric and Cloudia were trying to set me up. Ew!
"I can handle this..." A familiar, snobby voice says from behind me, and I turn around to see that damned Undertaker fellow...
Today, his hair was somewhat less messy, and fell straight down, a tad past his shoulders. His bangs were neatly slicked back, revealing his odd green-yellow eyes behind their spectacles. A black bowler cap was placed over his hair to keep it in place, and it matched his black and white tuxedo.
Cloudia looked him up and down, than shrugged. "Alright, I don't see why not."
"EHHH?" I ask, as my jaw dropped, and the Undertaker laughed. "I've known Conall here for years...she and I are quite good friends, aren't we?" He asks, rubbing his face on mine almost comically, and I push him away. "Yeah..." I say, as I sweat drop, shuffling away from the Undertaker.
Cloudia sighs, as her aging father comes up to her. "The ceremony will start soon... I believe I saw the Queen here with her husband too."
"Bloody Hell! No way!" I say with an excited gasp, and Cloudia rolls her eyes at me as the Undertaker chuckles. "The Royal Family has always been involved in our public gatherings unless something intervenes." Cloudia explains, and I nod. "Makes sense."
But still amazingly exciting!
The organ starts to play, and the Undertaker and I step behind Cloudia and her father. She nods, and the servants open the doors to reveal the small chapel with a small amount of people on each side. They only fill up the first two rows on each side...
I recognize some people, like Emerio, the freaking Queen! and her husband. They were holding hands... that married couple is my future partner goals. Than there was her two butlers sitting behind the Queen. Cousins and family members of Cloudia sat on the left side, while Cedric's are on the right.
Stepping forward, the Undertaker intersects his arm with mine, and I shiver slightly. "What's the matter, Conall?" He asks, a smug look on his face.
"Nothing." I snap out, forcing a smile onto face as the Undertaker and I glide down the aisle to our respective positions. Than, Cloudia and her father walk down the aisle together, practically floating. The lacy veil covers Cloudia's face, but I can practically see her smile on her face, which mirrored Cedric's.
When her father turned to her, kissing her on the forehead and she hugs him, she turns to the priest. Stepping forward as rehearsed, I walk up to her, and take the cane, holding it in my palms as I walk back to my position. The cool metal against my warm skin, I watch as Cloudia slightly limps up the steps to Cedric, where he takes her by the hand, and holds her up steady.
The ceremony proceeds, and soon they exchange their rings and kiss, ending it all. We all cheer as I return the cane to Cloudia, who accepts it gratefully, leaning her weight on it.
We're at the Phantomhive Manor now, and all the guests interact for the celebration part. A whirlwind of skirts cover the ballroom floor, as giddy couples and married ones dance in the celebration of a new couple.
I, of course, am by the buffet table, absent-mindedly sipping my golden champagne.
A year ago, I would have never imagined that I'd be at such an expensive, lavish event...
"Miss Taylor," A smooth, feminine voice says from behind me, and I turn to see the Queen, and a look of shock comes to my face.
"Oh, your majesty, I apologize for not having see-" I start to curtsy, but she holds up a hand to stop me.
"No...do not worry about it." She says, as we are silent for a moment.
"What emotions do you feel when you see a new, married young couple? What things do you think?" She asks, as I look at Cloudia and Cedric at the center of the floor.
"I...feel warm inside. Like that may one day happen for me... or it's the feeling of happiness for others who are happy themselves, as they have love. I think they can't wait to start a life together...to start a family... and to grow old with each other." I say softly, and Queen Victoria nods.
"I see... Conall... how would you feel about taking the position of Queen's Watchdog from Cloudia?" She asks, and I nearly spit out my champagne.
What?!
"No, I think that would be unacceptable for me... it's always been the Phantomhives, and it should stay that way, in my opinion. Besides, what would Cloudia do?" I ask, and Queen Victoria chuckles slightly.
"I thought that's what you would have said... that's why I'm offering you another position." She says, and I arch a brow.
"This position is something I have thought of due to the dawning of recent information...about creatures that are not human. I don't believe the general public would deal with the revelation of such creatures easily... and I don't think Cloudia in her...current state would be able to handle it as easily."
"So...I do not by any means wish to sound disrespectful, but you want me to do the dirtiest work now? Dealings with the supernatural in the Underworld..." I trail off, and she nods. "Technically, all the supernatural dealings will be in the Underworld... but yes, you'd be doing the dirty work. I was considering, for you to be officially part of the ring Cloudia runs, having you able to access more land with ease."
What?!
"What do you mean, your majesty?" I ask, as she smiles lightly at me.
"Well, I was considering making you a countess-"
WHEFKAFNAEIFNEALFON
"-of a small town called Dunton. I wouldn't announce it publicly, but you'll have the paperwork and everything to confirm it." She finishes, and I slightly sweat drop.
Of course it would be Dunton, Cloudia wasn't joking when she said I should be Countess of Cows...
Cow-nall... he he he...
"Do you accept?" She asks, and I curtsy to her. "Of course, thank you for this, Your Majesty." I say, and she smiles.
"You can still live here, of course. But, you'll be the Countess until you die, or pass down the title." She says, turning from me. "I'm off to a rendezvous~ with my hubby Albert! Laters!" She exclaims excitedly, flipping a pair of circular tinted-glasses over her eyes, as she runs away from me quickly for a woman in heels.
With a sigh, I roll out my shoulders. Cloudia must have had something to do with this... she must wish for a family soon.
"Hello, Countess Conall..." A sarcastic-sounding voice says from behind me, and I turn to that blasted grim reaper. "I can't believe I get to be hanging out with a REAL~~ Countess! Until you die!" He exclaims excitedly, and I sweat drop.
"I'd kill myself within the first year..." I mutter, and he chuckles, almond-shaped green eyes flickering up to meet my eyes. "Than you'd be stuck with me for the rest of eternity. Shinigamis are suicides." He places his fingers to his lips, and I quirk a brow. "Wha-?"
"Shhhh..." He shushes me, leaning his head so his lips are close to my ear.
"By the way...your little reader might want to wake up now." He whispers, as the world starts to fade to black. "What are you..." I start, before the world overturns into black.
