Decided this was going to be a continued novel from the hiatus. A new book is coming shortly!


"Hello, I'm Ivy, Ivy Adams." I say, looking up at the damned demon named 'Claude.' He peered at me over his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and he pushes them up.

"Greetings, Miss Adams. What business do you have at the Trancy Manor?" Claude replies smoothly, and I smile.

"I'm here to meet with the Earl Trancy, based off orders from the Queen. Is it alright if I talk to him?" I ask, as I hear the pattering of feet coming down the stairs, and soon a blonde blur comes behind Claude.

"Wow! You're really short!" A British-teen's voice says, as the teen's blue eyes peer down at me, causing me to sweat drop.

Wowie zowie! I'm SHORT? I can't believe I haven't noticed that before!

"I guess I am," I reply with a small laugh, as he reaches forward, squishing my face with his right hand. I do a 'fish face', as he turns my face, examining it.

"You're quite pretty, but I've seen prettier. Aren't I right, Claude?" The brat Alois asks, as he looks up at Claude. Claude remains silent, his golden eyes trained on my face.

"Claude! Tell me I'm right!" Alois demands, as Claude breaks his gaze on me, turning to Alois. "You are correct, your highness."

"Alrighty then, onto other manners then how un-pretty I can be," I say through Alois' squishing-my-face grip. "I have some business I'd like to discuss with the Earl of this house."

Alois breaks his grip, putting his hands on his hips. "That is me, what business do you have?"

"Queenly business, if that makes sense." I reply with a shrug, as Alois looks me up and down, before turning to Claude.

"I'll allow them to stay as a guest, prepare a room," Alois demands, as he turns back to me, a small grin forming on his face. "Come on in, now!"

Grabbing me by the hand, he leads me into the manor, pushing me down to sit on a couch. I could have easily resisted, but I'll let this roll for now...but this brat will soon learn. If I remember correctly, he's one year older than Ciel, meaning he should be 17 or so.

Plopping down next to me, he looks at me with excited eyes. "So tell me, what business do we have to conduct?"

"I have another Queenly Role, aka as the Queen's Owl. I oversee the affairs of parts of the Underworld to make sure they stay under wraps. Mostly paperwork." I tell him simply, as I lean back into the chair. Of course I wasn't going to give away that I was a witch to this little turd head.

And paperwork? Ha!

"I was told to meet the Watchdog and the Spider, and I've already met Phantomhive, so I wanted to meet you next."

"Ah, so you saved the best for last! How considerate!" Alois applauds before his face quickly morphs into a thoughtful one. "I believe I've seen you before...at a circus, possibly?"

"Oh, yeah! I was working on a kidnapping case and was disguised as a performer named 'Violet,'" I reply, remembering the act I did. He stood up, hopping a few steps back.

"You looked simply amazing!" He says, spinning around. "Like a ballerina in the air!"

"Thanks Trancy," I say, and he stops spinning.

"Alright, but call me Alois."

"Ivy, incase you didn't know already." I reply, standing up. Damn it, Alois was still taller then me!

"Well, since it's early enough in the morning, I'll suppose we should have breakfast!" He says, and I nod. "Alright," I say, as he claps his hands. "Oh~ Claude!"

Claude enters the room, and bows. "Yes, your highness?"

"Prepare a wonderful breakfast for my guest and I," Alois demands, as Claude bows again, before leaving the room.

"How long do you plan on staying, Ivy?" Alois asks, as I think. I don't want to be here forever, yet I don't want to be rude...

"I'll stay as long as you deem," I respond, and he grins. "Alright then, we will be having guests tonight for dinner. Join us for it," he demands, and I nod as Claude enters the room, a large tray on his hand.

"I have prepared breakfast," he says, and my eyes widen. Already?! I knew he was a demon and all, but not even Sebastian could do that!

Claude leads us to the parlour room to a small, round table, and I sit down in a chair, Alois plopping down next to me. Claude sets the dish in front of Claude and I, removing the top with the flourish of his hand.

"I have prepared a Cheese Souffle with a side of fresh raspberries imported from California, and freshly squeezed orange juice, with the oranges imported from Italy," Claude states, setting the flute of orange juice in front of me and Alois.

"Thanks...?" I trail off, hoping to get his name and he looks at me. "You're welcome."

Gah! I can't call you 'Claude' until you introduce yourself to me!

"What is your name?" I ask, and he blinks. "I am Claude Faustus, butler to the Trancy household."

"Well, pleasure to meet you Claude. I'm Ivy Adams," I finish with a slight smile.

"Your highness," Claude says, turning from me to Alois, "Arnold Trancy will be joining us tonight, alongside a priest."

That Sebastian-copycat ignored me!

"He probably wants more money," Alois grumbles. "It seems Arnold has suspicions about the time you were... 'abducted by faeries.'"

Alois' eyes widen, as he sits up straighter. "What will we do Claude!? I changed all the awful things the old bastard liked! The awful curtains, the horrendous rugs, the ugly ornaments..."

"It is no problem, I will resolve the matter at once." Claude replies, pushing up his glasses, a glare reflecting them.

"You better," Alois spits out, as Claude bows respectfully, leaving from the room. I pity Claude slightly, though he is a douchey demon, but Alois is a little brat!

"Come on, this will be interesting to watch!" Alois says suddenly, turning joyful as I take a bite of the delicious souffle. I stand up as Alois drags me from the small parlor to the dining room, as we watch through the doorway as Claude does an intricate dance. In the blink of an eye, the room color pallet has changed to red and gold, with a table of pink roses.

"Day into night, sugar into salt, living to dead, and dark blue into gold. That's what makes a Trancy butler." Claude says, as his glasses land on his face. Alois steps forward, examining the roses.

"You're amazing, right Claude?" Alois asks, as he pulls a pink rose from the bouquet, it limply flopping about in his hand. Sighing, I remember the bouquet of roses I was given back at Weston, and how I turned it to the balcony's flowerbox... "I don't need other servants as long as I have you."

Stepping out from the door, I stand by the table, looking around the dining hall. From the corner of my eye, I watch as Alois places the rose in Claude's mouth.

"Olé!" Alois says, as he does a clap, turning and spinning, as he conducts different poses.

"You look more like a ballerina on crack then a Flamenco dancer," I mutter in Spanish, and from the corner of my eye I see Claude smirk. Ah, so he can speak Spanish?

A dark look crosses Alois' face as he finishes his dance, looking out the window as he sees the carriage coming towards the manor. "May those bastards be covered in horse shit," he curses, and I roll my eyes.

You're a grumpy little munchkin, aren't you?

"Is that your family coming?" I ask quietly, as he looks at me, pure disgust etched on his face.

"The filthy pig who is my 'uncle' is not related by blood, only by last name. I have no such thing as 'family' left," he says, and I place a hand on his shoulder.

"My family is all the way in America, and I didn't see them 3/4 of the year since I was 10. In the meantime, my friends became like my second family..." I trail off, as I look him in the eyes. "Since we're friends, you can consider me family, alright? After all, we both have Queenly roles, we gotta stick together."

Alois pauses, before he nods slightly, turning away from me, facing Claude. "I shall go greet, my 'Uncle.'" He says, as he bursts out in a sprint out of the room. My eyes land on his mid-thigh boots, how can he run in such tight, high boots? I can do it, but damn, I spent years of training for it!

And it still sucks!

"So, Claude," I remark, as I look out the window at the carriage pulling into the gates of the mansion, "what's up?"

"What do you mean by 'what's up,'" he replies, and I roll my eyes. "Sorry, I forget that not everyone is used to my American phrases. How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Damn, even a demon butler is allowed to have fun and emotion," I remark, as his eyes flash red. "Chill man, I don't let the general public know who's a demon and who's not. Besides, if I let anyone know, they'll think I'm looney and will put me in a house."

"Alright," he says, "I shall keep that in mind."

"Having fun or the 'put me in a house?'"

"No comment." He replies smoothly, and I roll my eyes.

"You are going to be around for a very long time. If you live a boring life, this immortality will be a curse. If you live an exciting life, this immortality will be a blessing." I assert, as I smooth out my skirts.

"How did you know I was a demon?" He asks, and I smile. "It's quite obvious, you don't seem to try very hard to disguise your abilities. I don't think any ordinary human can accomplish the feats you have done. Let me guess, the other servants are demons?"

"Lesser ones. We should get going, Miss Adams." Claude states, as we begin to walk outside. "Please, call me Ivy. Only God knows how long I'm staying, so we should stay informal for the time being." I reply, grabbing my parasol from where it leaned against my suitcase, placing it over my shoulder.

"Odd that you believe in God." He remarks, opening the door for me as I glide out, placing a smile on my face.

"Well, anything's possible if demons exist," I mutter quietly, before looking up. "Hello everyone." I greet calmly, as everyone turns towards me. The Viscount's eyes widen.

"A beauty that rivals one of the peacock! With sparkling blue eyes that reflect the sky above filled with wisdom, smooth movements like a predator, you are a majestic, rare owl!" He declares, and I sweat drop. He was so ignorant that he didn't even recognize me with short hair!

"Shall we come inside?" Claude asks, as he leads us inside, where the Viscount fawns over EVERYTHING.

EVERYTHING I TELL YOU!


"I spent an awfully long time in the village. I don't even know the name of the village, nor how long I was there. I couldn't go out, and I was made to work like a slave." Alois says, standing up at the foot of the dinner table. The priest looks down, shocked by the 'experience' Alois went through.

"Oh my," he says. "There was another little boy there, and I thought of him as a little brother. But...in the writhing flames, in the midst of seemingly eternal screams, there was a dark silence," Alois continues quietly. "A-and..."

"You don't have to continue telling us if it's too much," the priest says, as the Viscount dabs away tears. At the other right side of Alois, I was next to the creepy uncle who reminded me of Donald Trump and Goofy's love child.

"What happened to the village, though?" The priest asks, as Alois sighs. "I have no idea, my father came and rescued me." He turns cheerful, "I am glad he did though, as I'm no longer alone!" His gaze looks at me for a split second, before turning to his creepy Uncle Arnold.

"But...then my father passed away just as we were reunited," Alois recounts sadly.

"Oh Lord! I cannot forgive you for taking away this poor boy's father!" Lord Viscount announces, cursing the Lord.

"All is well, though, as I still have my beloved Uncle Arnold!" Alois says cheerfully, as he makes his way over to the shocked Donald Trump lookalike, enveloping him in a hug.

"Ah, yes," the Uncle says, as he turns his face to Alois. "Don't put your face so close to mine, your breath stinks like a dog's arse." he mutters so quietly only those with supernatural hearing could hear his mutters, and the Donald Trump clone.


"Alois, are you really going to throw all that money and titles at him?" I ask, looking at the golden platter laden with papers next to a suitcase filled with money.

"Yes! It will be quite hilarious, watching him dance for money like a shameful stripper!"

"But...wouldn't it be more funny if the papers were fake?" I ask, and Alois looks at me. "But that's not funny, he'd be dancing for lies."

"I believe she meant that since Arnold would be caught up in the moment by collecting the papers, it would turn out to be nothing, making him appear even more stupid." Claude remarks, as Alois cackles.

"That's genius, Ivy! Claude, go retrieve fake notes and papers with random scribbling on them!"

"Yes, your highness." Claude replies, and in a flash he was gone, returning moments later with two silver platters.

"Great Claude," Alois says, before turning to the window. "Uncle Arnold, wait up!" Alois shouts innocently, as the Goofy-twin-Uncle looks up at us.

"Yes?" He grumbles, as Alois smirks. "You only came for money, correct? Here! I'll give it to you!" Alois shouts out, as he grabs the platter from Claude. Alois dips the platter downwards to his Uncle, causing the fake notes to slide off.

"You can have it all! I don't care for them, these moldy papers. I wouldn't even feed it to the goats! Take the land papers, and some horses too!" The papers dance through the air, drifting down to the Uncle Arnold who attempts to catch them. I 'make it rain' as I dish out papers, a frown settling on my face as I watch it thunder in the distance.

A large storm is coming.


July 1st, 1888

"Ivy, don't you think a fried egg is pitiful? It's shell is broken open, and it is forced to reveal such an indecent appearance." Alois laments to me as I sit next to him at a circular table for breakfast.

I remember this is the scene where Hannah's eye is injured...oh god, hopefully nothing happens...

"I don't know, Alois. All eggs are fragile, the shell is nothing but a thin layer of clothing." I reply, taking a bite of toast.

"But normally, it would become eyeballs, internal organs and feathers," Alois continues, bumping the tip of his knife into the yolk of the egg. "But I rob it of all possibilities." Alois presses down harder, and cuts open the yellow yolk. He sloshes it around his eggs, and I straighten my spine.

"How have you robbed it, Alois. You only continued onwards after what happened to it," I say, and he looks at me with his icy blue eyes. "How so," he replies, gripping his knife slightly tighter as he rips his egg to pieces.

"You import your eggs, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then you weren't the one preventing it from being fermented. The person who didn't put the rooster and the hen together is the preventer. Everything just continues on its merry little way from there," I reply, and he plops his egg bit into his mouth.

"I suppose," he replies, and I smile slightly. Maybe he'll prevent the tearing out of Hannah's eye.

His eyes drift upwards to my hair in their buns."Why is your hair purple?"

"Because I quite like purple," I respond simply, as he looks down at his purple overcoat.

"Oh! Your hair matches my overcoat! Only I am allowed to wear purple and look good in it in this manor, and only the triplets can have purple in their hair!"

"What about Hannah? She has a lovely lilac hair color, and wears a nice shade of purple."

"She looks like a pregnant grape, it is quite comedic, isn't it?" He asks, as he cackles like an insane man. From the corner of my eye, I watch a disappointed Hannah look downwards.

Damn it, I have a lot of work to do.

"And the way you do your hair, it looks like a pair of monkey bollocks!" Alois cackles, and I arch a brow. That was rude! These monkey bollocks are bigger than his bollocks I bet!

"I like my hair the way it is, and I'd like to keep it the way it is. If it looks like monkey bollocks, that's quite alright with me." I testify, and Alois' brow twitchs.

"Have it your way then," he grumbles, as he picks up the steak knife. Before I could react, he yanks on one of my buns, straining my neck back.

"Alois, let go of my damn hair," I calmly say, as he raises his steak knife. "No can do, Ivy. I don't like seeing these monkey bollocks."

With a swift movement of his hand, the steak knife hammering down onto my pulled hair. The steak knife separated the bun from my hair, and Alois raised the bun over his head victoriously.

"Should have taken out your bun, Ivy." He taunts, as I look at the curly purple bun in his hand. My hair on that side drifted downward, falling at my ear level in its usual curls. It was all brown now, and looked rather bland.

"Oh well," I chime in, picking up my steak knife, raising it towards Alois. His eyes widen, as he holds up his hands defensively. "Ivy, what are you-"

Before he can say another word, I reach my free hand up and tug slightly on my bun. Taking the knife, I slice my other bun off, holding it in my hand.

"It takes me an awful long time to have a significant amount of hair growth, but I always looked good with ear-level short hair," I say, and Alois smirks.

"Now you don't have any purple-"

"Oh, I will still have purple, dear Alois." I say."You can chop off all my hair, but I will still keep the things I love, like the color purple."

"And what if I shave you bald?"

"I shall regrow my hair long again, and it shall be purple." I respond, "You cannot change the course of others' wills just because you dislike things, Alois."

Standing from the table, I push in my chair. "I am going to the garden, do not let me stop you from enjoying your breakfast."

Quickly turning from the table I walk away to the garden doors, frowning slightly. I don't want to stay here too long and get sucked into drama between Claude longing for Ciel's soul. Though, that bullshit shouldn't happen as Ciel hasn't achieved his wish for revenge yet. And Ciel will come back in a couple weeks because of him going to Germany, I would like a little time to myself. Ya know, hit the town, maybe bust some crime, sneak out to a ball.

Running my fingers through my hair. I loved my short hair from Weston College, but I felt like Dora with it being this short. And I can't regrow my hair yet, or else Alois will have suspicions...

Sighing, I examine the garden. It wasn't anything grand like at the Phantomhive's, but Ciel had more property and wealth than Alois.

God, what was I thinking?! In just a year I had become accustomed to all this wealth and fancy talk of the Victorian Era! I sound like a little bitch!

I'm actually glad I have the least amount of property out of the bunch. A little spot in Dunton, with cows milling about. I can probably build up a house there on the property, with apple trees, rope swings, window benches, balconies, a roof I can go on, a small flower garde-

But...if I have to have a house like that, I'd have to constantly be around to maintain it. And I'd rather see the world instead of having to stay home and do the works of a housewife to maintain the condition of the house. I'd rather be homeless and free to explore the world then be restrained as a house-wife for the rest of my life.

Walking towards the lavender, I squat down and took a large whiff. Mey-Rin is apparently extremely allergic to lavender, so Ciel was considered this in replanting the flowers and planted camellias this spring in their place.

And camellias are my absolute favorite flower!

But, lavender is always a treat to see, they're like purple corndogs of the wild!

"Ivy, what are you doing in the garden?" A calm voice says from behind me, and I turn to see Claude. "Just looking at the lavender, aren't they lovely?" I reply, and Claude nods. "I suppose. If I may inquire, what happened to your hair?"

"Alois happened, but hair always grows back. Eyes don't." I simply put, and nearly slap myself.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I had an odd dream last night, where Alois gouged Hannah's eye out," I half-lie, as I turn back to the lavender, trailing my finger on it. "It was a horrific dream, and I didn't wish to see Hannah like that."

"Alright," Claude replies, and we are silent again. "Why are you here?" I ask, turning back to him. "I was planning on trimming the hedges when I saw you, and wondered why you weren't at breakfast with the young lord."

"Ah, well it felt somewhat awkward after he cut my hair with a steak knife, so I decided to go." I answered, and Claude pushes up his glasses.

"I see, when do you plan on leaving the Trancy manor?" He asks, and I lightly laugh.

"Is my company not pleasing?" I ask, and Claude's face remains neutral. "I would just like to know of your preference."

"I've already covered the points I was required to speak with Alois about, and he told me he would tell me when he'd like me to leave. After breakfast this morning, I suppose it will be soon." I note, as I attempt to tuck a curly strand behind my ear, but it pops back into place.

Damn this curly hair!

"Alright. I shall see you later, if at all, Miss Ivy." He finishes, turning his back to me and I crack a smile.

"Are you sure you cannot call me Ivy?" I ask, and he arches a brow. "What do you mean? I did."

"Call me Ivy, not 'Miss Ivy' or 'Miss Adams.' You remind me of someone else who called me Miss Ivy for the longest time, and I would always ask them to call me Ivy."

"And who is this person?"

"Ironically, another butler to another Queenly role." I respond, and Claude frowns slightly.

"He should not be calling you 'Ivy'. That's inappropriate for a butler to use such formal titles with a woman of your standing." Claude says with a tint of anger in his voice, and I snort.

"A woman of my standing? I'm not of a high class," I explain, and Claude arches a brow, looking down at the Taylor ring on my pinkie.

"What is that then?" Claude questions.

"My grandmother's ring, she gave it to me when I took the Owl role." I respond, and Claude rolls his eyes ever so slightly.

"Technically, you have a high social class because of this role under the Queen." He remarked, "So you are no longer 'Ivy'. If you work under the Queen, like my lord does, you are most likely a Countess, correct?"

"Yes," I say quietly, "but I don't go by Countess Adams, or Countess Ivy. I go by Ivy, and would prefer to be called Ivy."

"And why so?"

"Because, I was Ivy before I was a Countess." I state, standing up fully and brushing off my skirts.

"What do you mean by that?" Claude asks, as I step away from him, walking towards the center of the garden. Claude falls into pace with me, as I look at the blooming flowers around me.

"I came from America, where I had no idea what role my grandmother was. I came to London, and met the Phantomhives. I hung out with them for a while, did a tad bit of adventuring myself, before I met my grandmother. She told me I was the heir, and I went back to the Phantomhives." I recall, half lying to fill the gaps about me being a witch.

"But aren't you glad you are a Countess? Don't you wish to show off this title?"

"Not really," I respond honestly.

"But you would earn more respect from the title, more privileges than being just 'ivy.'" He defends, and I shrug.

"Then I hope to manually earn the respect of others. After this occurs, I'll obtain those privileges."

Claude sighs, adjusting his glasses. "Whatever you say, Miss Ivy." has he turns his back for the last time and stalks away.

Rolling my eyes, I tuck a stray curl behind my ear.

Ah, the frigid winds of demon rebellion.


Entering the guest room I was residing in, I creeped into the connected bathroom. Slipping off my dress, I watched the silk pool around my feet as I stepped out of it, putting on the silk robe in its place. Glancing towards the mirror, I look at the horrendous chop it was in. Raggedly framing my face, the right side was longer than the left. Snorting in distaste, I run my fingers through my hair.

Almost like magic (gee, wonder why), my hair levels out, transforming from it's tight curls to a straighter look. Purple creeps up from the tip of my hair, as my bangs shorten to turn into garage-cut style.

Smirking, I turn to the tub as it begins to flow with water. Looking at my pinkie, I look at the Taylor ring. Raising my index finger of my right hand, I type a simplistic message to Ciel:

'Everything's going fine. I hope you fare well too.'

Taking off the silk robe and slipping inside the tub, I relax within the warm waters and slowly shut my eyes.


9:00 AM, July 2nd, 1888

"Your hair is purple again?! Even more so than before at that!" Alois exclaims at breakfast, as I tucked a straight strand behind my ear.

"Why, of course I would re-dye it." I calmly reply, taking a sip of water. "But, how is it straight and long? Your hair is curly!"

"I straightened it, then trimmed the tips. I also decided bangs would look cute," I explain, and he sighs.

"Whatever. Since your hair is shorter than a prostitute's skirt, I won't cut it off again," Alois mumbles grumpily, biting his cheek. Smirking to myself, I munch on a bite of toast.

Alois: 1 vs Ivy: 1.

"So, anything interesting going to happen today?" I ask, and he sits up.

"Actually, yes! I will be sending Claude into London to deal with a German man, who's in charge of brothels. Recently, the prostitutes there have been murdered frequently."

Now...what case in history was this?

"Well, why don't we tag along?" I ask, finishing with another bite of toast before I stand up.

"What?! We don't need to deal with that business, Claude will handle everything!" Alois says, voice lighting up when he said 'Claude.'"Claude is the best servant I've ever had!"

"Doesn't mean we cannot go along. I doubt you've had much field work, or been out much." I state, as I walk from the room quickly to see Claude standing out the door.

Creep...

"Hello Claude, I shall be joining you on your rendezvous today, I hope you do not mind." I breeze past him, and he looks slightly surprised.

"Really now? In all respect when I ask this, what work does a female have to do in a brothel case?" Claude asks, as he falls into step with me as I walk to my room.

"I'm not an ordinary girl if you haven't realized, I am the Queen's Owl after all." I answered smoothly, and he quirks a brow.

"I believed you said that was mainly paperwork."

"Doesn't make me any less capable of doing fieldwork. I have this position due to me maintaining it after it was handed down to me. If I did zip-zero nothing when the opportunities present themselves, I would be out of a job." I pointed out, and he sighed.

"We will be leaving at the end of the hour, meet me at the front entrance. Will you need help tying your corset strings?"

"No, I'm good." I reply, stepping into my room. "See you in an hour!"

Closing the door, I smirk. Finally, a work case that I didn't read about! Of course, the Sweden case with the occultists was one I didn't know about until AFTER the case, but this is an England case!

I'm so excited!

Donning a white blouse tucked into a long navy blue skirt. Putting on my grey trench coat over this, I place on my brown combat boots underneath the skirt, hidden to the eye. Though these clothes aren't a dress, they aren't uncommon in the time...

Quickly scrubbing my teeth and grabbing my parasol, I run to the door where Claude awaited me. He arches a brow, "You're 15 minutes early."

"I'm excited to go," I state, "Is Alois coming?"

"Yes, because after he would like to go around town." Claude states, as he opens up the door for me. "The master is in the carriage outside."

"Great," I reply, as I walk to the carriage. Claude falls into step with me and opens the carriage door for me, offering a hand for me to get in. Ignoring the hand, I plop into the carriage, looking at a bored Alois.

"Alois, aren't you excited to go into town?" I ask, as the carriage starts moving. He pshhs, and looks out the window.

"I don't have to go into town, I'm going for you. I don't think you could handle yourself if you went with Claude, after all you're only a stupid girl."

"This 'stupid girl' knows what she's doing," I defend, "besides, based off your disinterest in coming along, I can assume that Claude primarily does your dirty work."

"It wouldn't matter if I do it or not-"

"I do my work, so does Phantomhive. If something were to happen where we cannot use our servants, we can do it ourselves." I clarify, "We have skills from experience. When was the last time you were on the sight?"

"Never, I don't even have to leave my house! I only leave when the Queen summons me, and that isn't often. I receive orders in the mail, then I have Claude take care of them for me. It is effective and easy." Alois says jovially, and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever." I mumble, and Alois and I are silent once more.

"What do you mean you use servants?" He asks, and I look up at him again. "What?"

"You said 'if something were to happen where we cannot use our servants, we can do it ourselves.' Do you have servants?"

"No, I do not. I'm just speaking hypothetically. I was trying to explain how life is all about experiences, ya know? You won't know what to do, since you've never gotten experience." I say, looking out the window as we enter London, streets hustling and bustling.

We're silent as we enter the shadier parts of London, before Claude opens the carriage door for me. I step out, and Alois follows.

"Is this the building the German pig is in?" Alois asks, and Claude nods slightly. "Yes, this is the location he goes to every Tuesday."

We step into the building, and I look around inside. It seems like an average house, with wood bannisters and wooden stairs.

"And where is he, exactly? This looks like a regular peasant's house!" Alois exclaims, and I roll my eyes.

"A killer involved in brothels wouldn't show himself on the surface, you gotta look beneath." I state, as I look around the house for any details. From the corner of my eye I see a large rug, slightly folded.

Bingo.

"Found the entrance," I start, as I grab the rug and snatch it away, revealing a trap door.

"Good job, Ivy! Let's go Claude!" Alois says, as Claude lifts the trap door.

"It is going to be awfully hard for a woman in a skirt to walk down the ladder, you can remain here." Alois says with a smirk.

"Actually," I start, as I rip aside the skirt to reveal a pair of athletic shorts. "I'm good to go down."

Alois' jaw unhinges as Claude looks shocked, before Claude composes himself. "This attire will be easier for you to maneuver around in."

"Yes, it will." I say, as I walk to the ladder and begin climbing down. My eyes adjust quickly to the darkness around me, and I see curtains of velvet surrounding us, lanterns adorning each wall. Luxurious arm chairs are by each curtain of the octagon shaped room.

Moving aside from the ladder as Alois and Claude come down, Claude snaps his fingers as the lanterns light up.

"This is an obvious set up, this is the waiting room. Behind each curtain would be room where a woman is kept, so we have to find the room." I lament aloud, as Claude nods.

"I see..." he says, as he looks around in a circle. "I sense a soul coming from behind that curtain," Claude points to a curtain.

"Alois, do you have a weapon?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "No, Claude will-"

"Shut up about Claude for once, no offense to Claude. But you need to learn self defense in case Claude or I am not around," I chastise, as I reach into the inside of my coat, pulling out a Swiss-Army knife.

"Here, it's not the greatest weapon, but it's able enough." I toss it to him, and he catches it in his hands.

"A pill shaped red thing?"

"Swiss-Army knife. You pull out a metal tab and there's a knife, basically."

"Miss Ivy, where is your weapon?" Claude asks, and I smirk.

"Guess." I say, as Alois and Claude look me up and down.

"2?" Alois says, more like asks.

"8." Claude says, and I shake my head. "So close! You're only one off, it's nine!"

"What?! Why does a woman have so many weapons on her?!"

"Well, I have 2 razor blades on each arm, the heel of both of my boots can pull out to be a foldable knife, the same for the back of the boots, a foldable knife in one pocket and a handgun in the other...what am I forgetting? Oh yeah, my favorite! But, I won't give away that secret now," I say with a happy expression, as they both sweat drop.

"Let's just get this German pig," Alois mutters, as I pull out the large knife from my pocket. I didn't bring my usual weapons because those ones are super custom made, and I didn't want them to freak out too much.

Claude held open the curtain for us as we stepped into a long hallway. Slinging my parasol into a loop inside my trenchcoat, I pull out a knife with my free hand. Claude was in the middle, while Alois was on the left and I the right.

We walk to the final door which I kick open to reveal a dead woman with her chest exposed lying on a bed. She was completely naked! A pool of dark red haloes her dark brown hair, and a crater-sized dent in her stomach, showing her organs...

Gross!

Looking upwards, I see a woman that matches the one on the bed sprawled on the ceiling, but she was wearing clothes.

Ghoul. They start off human, but are extremely weak to sunlight, causing them to receive sun burns. After a few weeks, they stop eating human food and leave their environment for a quieter one. They then proceed to prey on the dead in graveyards and eat their corpses, but will turn to the living if things once their body starts deteriorating. They can change into the form of any live human they eat, but the more humans they have eaten means they have to eat more often than ever. They're created by a powerful vampire who inserted the controller gene and are finally discarded either by death or just succeeding from their master after fulfilling their task...damn it.

The ghoul jumps down from the ceiling, looking at us. Claude's eyebrows furrow, as he unsheathes his butter knives and throw them at the ghoul. The knives embed themselves into the ghoul, but continues to look at us.

"Damn it," I swear, as I pull out my parasol, putting my knife back. Alois scoffs, "What are you going to do, whack them with an umbrella?"

"Shut up," I start, as I unsheath the umbrella part of the parasol, revealing the sword beneath. Alois looks up at the blade in shock. "That's a ghoul, they can only be killed by complete decapitation."

The ghoul, disguised as the woman, looks at Alois. "A noble," it growls, and Alois looks at Claude. "What did it say?"

"I...do not know. Ghouls are only able to be understood by other ghouls, their masters, shinigamis and witches for 24 hours after eating." Claude says, as the ghoul looks at Alois.

"The young are so tasty," it screeches, and in a blur it's across the room. Stepping forward, I quickly lift my blade a few inches higher than eyebrow level, and I hold it in front of Alois.

The ghoul impales its neck on my blade, and I pull the blade forward, completely decapitating the ghoul. Alois lets out a girly shriek as the head thumps on the floor. The eyes of the ghoul turn white, as it twitches slightly before turning to ash.

"Damn ghouls," I say, as the body turns to ash alongside the head.

"What just happened?!" Alois demands, and Claude pushes up his glasses.

"Your highness, I believe the ghoul took the form of the German man we were supposed to kill. Since the German man had become suspicious, the ghoul wished to change forms."

"Yeah, I feel bad for the woman though, if only we had gotten here earlier..." I say, sheathing my parasol.

"How did you know how to kill that ghoul creature?" Alois asks, as I place the parasol back in the loop.

"I lied about the Queen's Owl role, sorry." I say, as I dust myself off as I walk out of the room. "What I really do is wipe out the supernatural entities in the Underworld that do not abide to their specific creature's rules. Most creatures follow their rules, so I don't have to do the work oftenly."

"But, why are you in this role if you're just a human! Without any help, you'll be dead in the next year!" Alois whines, and Claude pushes up his glasses as I walk up the ladder.

"She's not a human, she's a witch." Claude says, and Alois gasps.

"Wow Claude, thanks for letting the cat out of the bag," I say, as I re-attach my skirt. "What gave it away?"

"Your soul smelt like a witch I met a long time ago. She looks similar to you, so I automatically assumed you were her kin and inherited the witch gene." Claude says, and I raised a brow.

"Oh, you met Conall. How did you meet?"

"In 1865 I attempted to make a contract with her after she was dusting cobwebs off her trees in the surrounding forest. I would become a familiar since she was a witch, and when she died I would consume her soul. I remember she told me to "get off my property, you big loser.""

I snort, rolling my eyes. "Sounds like her."

"Alright, I don't believe you're a witch. Do a trick or something!" Alois demands, and I look back at him, eye twitching.

"I don't do parlour tricks."

"What are you, a disabled chicken? Bock bock!" He mocks, and I roll my eyes.

"Claude's word should be enough for you. I don't need to prove anything to you."

"But why didn't you use magic against the ghoul? It would've been way faster!"

"I didn't need to, and you ask too many questions." I get into the carriage, leaving an annoying Alois get in behind me.

"I guess we won't go into town if you don't show me anything," Alois says, and I blankly stare at him.

"Are you seriously bribing me with a ride into town." I deadpan, looking at the little brat.

"Possibly."

Rolling my eyes at the little smart ass, I open the door and step out, and start walking in the direction of Big Ben Ten.

"Woah! What the hell are you doing, you're gonna walk to town?!" He asks, seemingly having no idea that I own a pair of functioning legs.

"Yes." I state, as the carriage starts slowly moving beside me as I walk.

"Just get into the damn carriage Ivy!" Alois yells at me through the window, but I continue to walk.

"No thanks, I'll use my legs. Much more reliable. Carriage crashes kill people, but if you're legs crash all you'll have is a bruised pride, and possibly a bruised behind depending if you trip..."

"You make as much sense as a horse posing as a human!"

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you." I smoothly state, as my eyebrow twitches. This boy needs to learn how to insult people...

"You won't have a ride back home~!"

"Now that you know I'm a witch, I can always apparate there. In fact, nothing is stopping me from apparating to London right now." I smirk, as I watch Alois' smirk fade.

"What? You're going to leave?!"

"Yes, I think I shall." I say, slinging my parasol over my shoulder, as I burst into a sprint around the corner.

"Clau-" before Alois could even finish that word, I focused my mind on the alleyway next to the Undertaker's shop, and in a flash I was there.

Falling over onto the damp brick of the dark alleyway, my eyebrow twitches. Why are all alleyways so damn moist?

Hehe...moist.

Standing up, I exit the alleyway and look at the hustle-bustle of the masses. Women being paraded all over by men, children playing soccer in the unused parts of the road, a carriage with a wheel rolling away from it, a random dog barking at the meat shop-

Wait, a carriage with a wheel rolling away from it?!

Turning back to the 3 wheeled carriage that was heading in my direction, I had an overwhelming sense of deja vu. But this time, I won't be hit by the damn vehicle!

Hitching up my skirts, I rush out of the way as the carriage crashes into the side of the Undertaker's shop. The horses' latch falls off, and they thunder away from the crash.

That was probably the fastest delivery the Undertaker would get! Of course, I wonder where he is, the manga left off on the Music Hall blood withdrawals which he most likely will end up later...

"Help~" a weak voice calls from the carriage, and I run to the carriage which is turned on its side. "Hey! Are you okay? Are you injured?"

"I-I don't know" they call out slightly stronger, and I note how they're voice is light and higher pitched: the one of a female. "-but please, please help!"

"Of course m'am," I say to her, as I turn to the gathering crowd. "Someone, please call for an ambulance! I'll remove everyone inside."

"You won't be strong enough, you're just a woman!" An older man cries out from the crowd, and I roll my eyes.

"Idiots," I grumble, as I crawl on top of the carriage, grabbing the handle and tugging. It's locked!

Damn!

Placing my hand back on the handle again, I apply a lot more force and break the handle, flinging it limply to the side. Reaching my hand in the hold where the handle was, I pulled it open from there.

Poking my head inside the carriage, I see a thin woman of 20 or so, with curly blonde hair framing her face and frightened sea green eyes brimmed with tears. A little mole dots the underside of her quivering red-painted lips that smear onto her pointed chin. My nose twitches, as I catch the slightest smell of the devil's cabbage.

She's fucking high!

"I'll get you out, just try to breath nice and slowly. Count down from 100 with each breath, alright? I'll try to get you out before you reach 0, deal?"

"Deal," she stutters, as I lower myself downwards into the carriage.

"99..."

Enhancing my vision slightly, I notice how her right foot it bent inwards at a 90 degree angle and a large bone sticking out...she'll never be able to walk again! The medical world isn't as advanced as it is in 2016, and-

Inhaling through my nose, I place my hands on her ankle.

"93..." I'll keep tuning her out so I can focus on the spell.

Closing my eyes, words flash before my eyes as I whisper them, feeling energy leaving my finger tips and absorbing into her skin. Pressing slightly more with each word, slowly her ankle goes back to the original spot it was in.

Opening my eyes, I look at the the ankle. There's a large open wound where I healed her, and I smirked. This will work well.

I end the magic as I turn back to the high woman.

"31..."

Picking her up in my arms, I held her up in my arms, sliding her to the roof of the sideways carriage, before pulling myself up.

"She's suffering an open wound, I can only assume it's from a jagged edge of wood in the carriage," I say, as I tear off a strip of my skirt.

"I called for an ambulance," a man in a brown suit says, walking up to me with a brown leather suitcase. "I'm also a doctor, and can treat the injury here as to not get infected."

"Thank you, sir." I say, nodding to him as he tips his bowler hat to me. The man in the bowler cap had twinkling brown-red eyes, with a small red goatee that matched his mussed hair. I estimate he was... 5'10"? 5'11"? He smirked at me with plump lips. His teeth were pearly white, though his canines were slightly pointed, which wasn't uncommon in this era.

"You have done more than enough, which probably saved this young woman. What is your name?" He says, and I smile.

"Ivy Adams, pleasure to meet you," I say, as he opened his case, pulling out liquid.

"Can I borrow your dress scrap?" He asked, and I nodded, tossing it to him. He caught it, and poured the disinfectant on the cloth, before applying it to the wound of the woman.

"...0. Am I out yet?" She asks, wincing slightly at the sting of the disinfectant.

I sweat drop, is she really that high? "Yes honey, a doctor is currently disinfecting your wound until an ambulance arrives."

"I'm Gregory, Gregory Mapone." Goatee-man says, as he begins to wrap bandages around the girl's ankle. "I run the local clinic in London for people tha' cannot afford the big hospital."

"I don't do have a job yet, I'm only 16." I half-lie, since the school I went was technically a job-education. Oh, and the fact that I'm the Queen's Owl.

"16? Sorry, I thought you were 10-13," he says with a small laugh, and my eye twitches. I get it, I'm short and have baby face that makes me look like a toddler!

"I'm only 25, but look like I'm 30 though. Stress does tha' to you," he says, as the ambulance pulls up from behind us.

"We should get going so the ambulance can take care of her. I'll see you around, Mr. Mapone."

"Alright, but you better call me Gregory next time, Miss Ivy."

"Then call me Ivy, Gregory."

Gregory smirked down at me, "I'll await that."

He reached down and pulled up my hand, bending down to kiss the back of my hand. My cheeks tinted pink slightly, why do so many people in this era kiss the back of my hand?!

Greg grabbed his suitcase and walked into the crowd, blending with the people. I walk into the crowd, but turning in a different direction onto a different street.

Stealthily walking into an alleyway, I closed my eyes and imagined myself at Alois' manor, and with a spiralling feeling and a whirlwind of air, I find myself in the garden.

Trudging inside, I stomp up the stairs and to my room, collapsing onto my bed in a tired heap.