History: A Touch of Colour in Grey

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date: 25 March 2019, corrected February 2022

Beta: Koneko has tentatively taken over ! (2019) and none (2022)

Fandom: D Gray Man

Disclaimer: No, I don't own D Gray Man and I'm not making any money on this story.

Summary: After landing in the 19th century, Estelle quickly realizes that she has been hired by the Kamelott family, basically the villains of DGM. Taking the name Eve, she then becomes Tricia Kamelott's lady-in-waiting and helps her with her daily tasks. Now that her life is a little less chaotic, Eve reflects on her arrival in this world and decides to make up her own mind about the people in this new world despite her knowledge of manga. However, she soon becomes aware of the social difference between women at that time and starts to fear for her future, especially when Road and the twins arrive... Deciding to visit London, Eve meets Allen, then Tyki, and they become friends. A few days later, the three separate. But not for very long as far as Eve and Tyki are concerned. After having a rather awkward first meeting with the Duke, Eve decides to flee like the plague, her attempts to escape leading her to make a trip to Paris with Tyki, where she meets Victor Hugo who entrusts her with a bunch of information about the holy war before dying a few days after.

Chapter Trigger: Fainting

I know it's a thoughtful month for some people, so I hope reading about Eve's struggles will cheer you up a bit :)

Enjoy your reading!

Shading the Black, Chapter 18: First Ball

Saturday, June 6, 1885

" ...22, 23, 24, 25... "

... and actually, looking back, the trip to Paris hadn't gone so badly. Oh, sure, I'd had an emotional breakdown and a real unpleasant revelation, Tyki had also terrified me by showing me his Noah side and I'd had my first hangover... But I'd met Victor Hugo! ...who'd died earlier than in my original world, most likely because of what I'd said to him.

" ...32, 33, 34, 35... "

Well, okay, I probably wouldn't keep our trip to Paris as a very good memory... but it had given me a lot of useful information and a certain maturity of mind. Or at least I hoped so in both cases.

" ...39, 40, 41... " But it's true, I admit, I had panicked a bit when I received the poet's package. No, because what was I supposed to do, as an ignorant pseudo civilian, with a bunch of information about the holy war in the Noah mansion? Yes, yes, there was my notebook where I had written the DGM timeline but it was encrypted with an infamous number of obscure internet references. And then the drawings I'd done before were certainly not as sensitive as that, and if Road stumbled across them unintentionally (hmm, hmm) I could always explain it... but a bunch of sheets detailing the akumas, the Black Order's power structure, their experiments and history and theories about the Millennial Earl?

Yeah, no, my two-cents lies weren't going to cut it.

" ...48, 49, 50, 51... "

And at the same time, I just couldn't destroy them, could I? So, taking a page out of the clichéd hiding places, I got out of bed in the middle of the night to study each floorboard, hoping to see one of them peeled off. Indeed, near the fireplace, one of them was a bit damaged and with a bit of tugging, it had finally given way, allowing me to slide underneath several large sheets, the manuscript and my notebook while I was at it before replacing the board and pushing the wood basket on top.

But still, it would have been a good deal... er, wait a minute, I was supposed to count to 30, wasn't I? "... 63, 64, 65... uhm... 30! READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!" I called in a loud voice, but without shouting so as not to wake Tricia who was sleeping upstairs.

Folding my braid over my shoulder, I started walking towards the kitchen, turning randomly in the corridors without a clear goal in mind. Opening door after door, I was careful this time to stay away from Sheryl's office, fuck it if one of the children was hiding there. Continuing towards the rooms more suitable for reception, I stopped near a small lounge when I heard voices coming out of it. Thinking quickly, I knocked on the door. Sheryl was in his study, Tricia was asleep, so at worst I would only be disturbing the servants. Hearing a distinctly male 'come in', I pushed the door open, noting that the voices had fallen silent.

There was visually only one person in the room... and that was the Duke. Restraining myself from groaning loudly, I put on a neutral face and gave a slight bow. Quiet and forgettable: not worth killing or caring about. I chanted inwardly, shaping my mask to match my new line of conduct. "Good afternoon, Duke Campbell, I didn't know you were at the manor today?" I say lightly even though I wanted to flee from the room. Don't draw attention to yourself, I repeated to myself, keep up a bland and boring conversation so that he rejects you on his own.

"Wonderfull day to you too, Miss Campbell! I've just arrived. I was in town and thought I'd come and have tea with Tricia as she so kindly offered last week," he explained as I sadly closed the door behind me before approaching him slightly, politely.

Oh yes, I almost growled, another reason against the trip to Paris was that it had not served its original purpose at all. Not. At. All. Because the Duke had taken to coming to the manor once or twice a week at random times and so, obviously, I couldn't call in sick on every visit. That would be ridiculous. Tyki had been terribly helpful with that, effectively diverting the Earl's attention to himself or one of the other family members when Tricia forced me to stay with them. Not that I was the obligatory center of attention, mind you, but the Earl seemed to take great pleasure in reigniting a conversation about me after Tricia had finished telling us all the latest gossip about high society. On the bright side, I now had a completely established and particularly morbid life story. Well, the little I could 'remember'. Anyway, unfortunately for me, Tyki wasn't there, and that meant I had to fend for myself.

"Ha, yes, what a good idea, the children will be happy with your visit." I replied in the flattest voice possible. "As it is, I was looking for them, have you seen them by any chance?" I continued without missing a beat, proud of my transition.

"Ha, well..." the Duke began but was quickly cut off by a howl from the back of the sofa to my right. Less than two seconds later, a weight fell on my back and it was only by force of habit that I didn't fall to the ground like an idiot.

"You found me Vivi!" Road chirped as she tucked her head under my arm. Ah yes. Vivi. It turns out that Road had felt terribly outraged when Tyki had started calling me Ivy after Paris. So she'd felt compelled to come up with her own nickname for me, and... well, there it was: Vivi. On the one hand, I was kind of happy to have a nickname in this life, having never had one before, but on the other hand... urgh, Vivi. Besides, Tyki only called me by it from time to time, usually to tease me, Road was really using it for everything. Even in front of the goddamn Millennium Earl.

"I'd say you found me but, oh, well." I replied, rolling my eyes as I tried to remove her hands from my waist. Calm and forgettable I repeated to myself as I pulled on another of her fingers. Calm and forgettable

Trying is the key word.

"It's my turn to count now!" exclaimed Road happily as she finally removed her iron grip.

"But I haven't found the twins yet." I replied confusedly as she started to push me towards a comfortable sofa.

"It doesn't matter, I'll get them! You just stay here, okay?" She said quickly with a falsely innocent smile before disappearing through the door before I could even open my mouth to retort.

Restraining myself from insulting her, even mentally, I turned my gaze to the Duke, who was quietly sipping his tea without seeming to care about our little drama. "Tea?" he asked and I nodded, thanking him gently, not too sure what I should do in this situation. I had never been alone with him since we met, how was I supposed to act?

"Um..." I began awkwardly as the silence stretched a little too far for my liking. Unfortunately, I had no idea what to say. Or at least, nothing that wouldn't lead us onto a slippery slope. Like the akumas. Or exorcists. Or holy war in general.

"It's a beautiful day, the weather is getting warmer," he said suddenly, causing me to glance at the window in surprise.

"Of course..." I replied doubtfully, looking at the massive layer of grey clouds that covered the sky. Add to that the fact that it had already rained twice since I got up this morning and I wasn't sure where that statement came from.

As the silence began to set in again, I nervously played with the spoon in my cup of tea, no doubt making an awful noise. Just as I was beginning to seriously consider nervously ranting my life story, if only to fill the heavy silence, someone knocked on the door. Well, well, my knight in shining armour... I thought sarcastically when I saw Tyki stick his head through the doorframe. Seeing me in the chair, he sent me an amused smile to which I almost stuck my tongue out, barely holding back as I saw the Duke move in the corner of my vision.

"Ah, Adam." called Tyki as he fixed his gaze on the Duke, opening the door a little more to slip into the room. "I ran into Road just now, and she was talking about a ball...?" he asked, settling into the chair directly across from the door, between the Duke and me as the man motioned for him to make himself comfortable.

"Oh, yes, I haven't held one for quite some time. It's not the season, but a summer ball is always appreciated. I was thinking of doing this for the solstice, on Road's birthday, what do you think?" explained the Duke, taking another sip of his tea.

Road's birthday...? Finally, feeling that I didn't want to be present for this conversation, I let my gaze pass from Tyki to the Duke. Normally, I wouldn't interrupt them and wait for them to reject me, but in a normal case, they would have already done so... What was I supposed to do? Undecided, I chewed my lower lip and wriggled slightly on the couch, hesitating whether or not to get up.

"Ho, I think any date would be good..." Tyki replied with a dark look, seeming to hesitate to ask something. "Should I be there?" He finally asked with a certain hope in his eyes.

"Of course Tyki," the man replied at once, shattering the young Noah's hopes. "You're in your prime, you can't afford to miss a ball, in case a pretty young lady finally catches your eye," the Duke declared, taking another sip of tea. I could just feel the teasing ooze out of him despite his perfectly calm tone.

"Ah.." Tyki sighed with a pained look before regaining some composure. "Of course..." He muttered. Biting my lips to keep from laughing at his misfortune (Hey, don't judge me! He's practically doing the same thing all the time, I'm entitled to some harmless revenge!) I unintentionally bumped into the leg of the coffee table making the china above it rattle loudly.

Oops.

As if remembering my existence at that sound, Tyki turned his head towards me, an ominous glint taking possession of his eyes. "Actually..." he began, seeming to gather his thoughts. "I was asking because, having not participated at all in the last dance season, I'm afraid of the... overreactions some of my potential dance partners might have." he said. "And I was wondering, if, perhaps, I could go to the ball accompanied for once."

"I have no objections... were you thinking of anyone in particular?" asked the Duke as I finally understood in horror where Tyki was going.

No, absolutely not. I refuse to be involved in such a disaster!

Rising to my feet before Tyki could open his mouth again, I quickly stammered something about not wanting to disturb and walked briskly towards the door, throwing the politeness out the window as I went.

Unfortunately, I had not taken three steps when a strong hand grabbed my left arm, preventing me from going any further. Turning sharply with an annoyed look on my face, I saw, unsurprisingly, Tyki standing behind me. "Yes, Eve would be ideal to accompany me. She's certainly not from a good family, but that is an asset here." He began and I could just hear his brain putting his whole story together. "If we don't say anything, they'll just think she belongs to the bourgeoisie or nobility of another country but as she has no ties to England's high society, it won't thwart any future marriage possibilities, either."

"Yes, I can see the advantages..." The Duke nodded before giving me an appraising look. "But Miss Campbell doesn't seem too thrilled with the project."

That was an understatement. Try as I might, I couldn't help but pull a three-foot-long face. "Listen Ivy." Tyki began to whisper to me, stepping in front of me to block both our faces from the Duke. He was really calling me that more and more since Paris. And yes, I liked it, it made me feel closer to him. But he only tended to call me that when he was teasing me or going to drag me into a new mess. And this time didn't seem to be an exception... " You owe me for all the times I helped you!" He said, throwing a hard look in the direction of the Duke, making it clear what he was talking about. "And it's nothing, really, just smile a lot, pretend to have fun, compliment the other nobles and dance! We won't even have to deal with the political discussions this time, there's really nothing difficult about it."

Biting my lip, I gave him a conflicted look before sighing slightly and nodding slowly. Taking a step forward to get back to Tyki's level, I addressed the Earl. "Oh no, I don't mind helping where I can... but..." and then, as if suddenly realizing what I'd just said, I hurriedly backtracked. I had certainly improved a lot in etiquette but I only knew that in private, certainly not for a public evening. I had no fucking idea how to act at a ball and Sheryl was going to eviscerate me if I harmed his darling brother. Frankly, I wasn't going to throw my peace, anonymity and possibly my life out the window just for Tyki's sake, was I? "...but still, I'm not sure that's a very good idea..." I replied with a falsely apologetic look, holding back a grimace as Tyki's hand tightened harshly. "I don't know the manners of the nobility, I'd only be making a fool of you."

"Nonsense, if Sheryl and I could teach Tyki how to behave in good company, I'm sure you won't be a problem," the Duke replied as I looked at Tyki his smile gaining dangerously on a pale face and haunted eyes.

"Actually, I think Eve is right, it's a bad idea, I'll just..." He began before the Duke cut him off by standing up.

"Yes that's perfect, I'll talk to Sheryl, we need to get this organized." He said as he headed for the door and in less than a second he was gone.

"Well..." Tyki said solemnly as I turned to him in horror. "Good luck," he said and his voice was so full of apology that I suddenly felt very afraid for my future sanity.

The next few weeks were just... horrible. I understood now how rude I would have been if I had been in high society. Luckily the Noahs (if you didn't count Sheryl) weren't big on manners and Tricia was just too nice to bother me much with it.

But that was before.

Tricia had been totally ecstatic at the Duke's decision and after making sure I agreed (as if I could really say no to the Duke... that's right...) she set about teaching me every morning the manners befitting a lady of high society. She took great care to teach me buffet manners with a fan and the proper way to walk with big books (I took great pleasure in choosing the Pierre et Jean novel and smiled every time it crashed on the floor). And yes, it was totally cliché, I was actually quite amazed when she presented the exercise to me.

Every afternoon, as soon as Tricia went to bed, I would drag my feet to the ballroom to join the Duke for my ballroom dance lessons. Luckily I wasn't alone with him, as Tyki had to be there as my partner. I usually liked to dance mostly rock and waltz with my brother or father at weddings but what they were teaching me here was... the quadrille.

By the third afternoon of repeating the same slow, repetitive steps, I was beginning to harbor a deep hatred for this dance and Tyki didn't seem any better. Boring as hell. You had to repeat the same ten seconds of steps throughout the song and it was just walking with a bit more rhythm, no use of music, just a monotonous step. I liked the idea of swapping partners and forming patterns but with a bit more spirit it wouldn't hurt...

Unfortunately for me, my ordeal was far from over.

Do you remember when we went to the dressmaker a few weeks before? We had also gone to the hatmaker and the cobbler to finally get a pair of shoes that fit me. However, despite Road's crisis, I absolutely refused to get shoes with heels. It was bad enough that I couldn't keep up with Road and the twins in their games, but to wear heels was simply asking for a catastrophe. And yet it was with a sour smile that I had to thank Road and Tricia when they gave me a beautiful pair of light blue heels that morning. "Adam told us you dance quite well now, you can try it in heels now!" Tricia had said cheerfully as I walked awkwardly around the room in my new shoes.

And so of course, my 'teachers' being smart enough to consult each other, I had to put on the torture devices for the dance lessons.

Taking a deep breath, I got up from the chair and took a few stiff steps towards Tyki. Putting my hand on his shoulder, he also got into position and we looked towards the Duke for the start. Cautiously, I repeated the steps. One right, one back, left turn and... Tyki winced as I stumbled over my heels and crushed his left foot.

Oh.

Merlin, it was incredibly nice.

"I'm terribly sorry!" I said sharply as the Duke and Tyki assured me that it was all right.

Resuming the dance, I continued to pay attention to the steps until Tyki had his back to the Duke and when he took his eyes off us for a second, I took the opportunity to step on his right foot, this time deliberately.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it at all." I whispered to my partner with a smile that could not be more ironic.

And then, a few minutes later, my voice oozing with sarcasm "Oh, dear, how clumsy of me! I apologize, really..."

As I 'unintentionally' stomped on his foot for the fourth time, Tyki sighed and on the next set of close steps whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry Eve, I didn't think they'd make you do all this, but, please, please, could you stop your petty revenge?"

Giving him a sharp look, I sighed sullenly, but stopped my childish attacks all the same. "I swear Tyki, you're going to owe me such a big favor when we're done with this nonsense." I hissed at him a few steps later when we were close enough to talk again without the Earl being able to hear us.

He gave me an amused look before grabbing my hand to spin me around. The steps having become automatic over the last few days and the conversation distracting me from my fear of falling over because of the heels, we were dancing not too badly in retrospect. "Weren't you doing this to clear your debts?"

"Oh, please!" I replied annoyed, placing my hand back on his shoulder and allowing myself to be guided through the next few steps. "Just the first lesson with your brother was worth all the little favors you'd done me before," I muttered with a fake look of dread, triumphantly drawing a laugh from my partner.

And indeed, despite Tricia's courtesy class and the Duke's dance lessons, nothing could compare to Sheryl's excruciating questioning.

Fortunately for me, this homework didn't happen every day, as Sheryl was far too busy to grace me with hispresence. But that also meant they were pretty damn random. At least five months without worrying about school had taken a toll on my memory and I now spent every spare moment revising what I had learned about propriety with feverish fervour. I spent my evenings in the kitchen scrubbing pots and pans and spouting everything I could remember to a fascinated Louise. Then it was Clarisse's turn to interrogate me without mercy, the young woman having surprisingly an unfailing knowledge of the oddities of the nobility. John had tried to help me but he knew as much as I did so instead he kept the other employees busy. Oh yes, because... well, even I, who wasn't very good at noticing these things, had seen that the discussions stopped dead in my tracks when I passed other employees. And there was a sort of uneasy whispering at the dinner table where there had previously been a great deal of merriment. Clearly, my trip to Paris had made some people jealous, and worse, the ball seemed to charm more than one. I understood their point of view, it was a classbook Cinderella story and the thought that it could have been anyone else but me on the arm of the Marquis' gorgeous brother made heads spin. It didn't help that I would have been glad to give away my place, they took it as an insult and I was even more annoyed. Fortunately, Louise and Clarisse were not concerned and with Jean, I had a nice cushion between the peddles.

Anyway, if Sheryl used to make me uncomfortable, I could easily say that he terrified me now.

Okay, that was a bit of a strong word, but I still dreaded each session more than any exam I'd ever taken. It usually went something like this: if the housemaster could get hold of me alone, then he spent the next half hour at least spitting questions at me with his eyebrows furrowed and his teeth clenched. It was an understatement to say that Sheryl had taken the Duke's announcement that I would be accompanying Tyki to the next ball badly. I'd never felt so hated by anyone, a particularly bad feeling, especially when our previous relationship, while far from rosy, wasn't particularly negative either.

I knew that Sheryl didn't particularly hate me. In fact, I think he was jealous. With all the work he was doing to move up in society, Sheryl was seeing less and less of his wife, brother and daughter and it didn't help that when he did make time for them, he couldn't have them to himself because I was almost certainly in their presence. Of course, it was he who had hired me to do just that, to keep his wife company, but I think it troubled him that I had become so well integrated into his family.

And so all the progress we had made in our relationship before Tyki's arrival had definitely fallen apart like a house of cards. Now I was just trying to limit the damage by being as discreet as possible, scurrying and almost hiding when I crossed his path. No reason to provoke him unnecessarily after all. And on the whole, it had worked quite well over the last few weeks. Giving him time to think, the Marquis had finally calmed down. But of course, things just couldn't be easy, and he'd got it into his head that if he couldn't stop Tyki and I from having a 'relationship', then I had to be at least bloody perfect to do the family credit.

Hence the impromptu examinations.

Like today, for example, when despite my best efforts, the master of the house had managed to ambush me while I was actively avoiding him. I strongly suspected that Road had betrayed me. In any case, it had been ten minutes since we had entered the small sitting room next to his office to have tea. Despite my nervousness and his piercing gaze, I didn't think I had made a mistake this time, but I must admit that the length of the silence didn't make me feel particularly confident...

"The five rules of behaviour," Sheryl suddenly asked, startling me. Placing my cup back on its tray, I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and stated them clearly with an apparent calm that I didn't really possess:

"A lady never makes a scene in public" I began slowly, trying to use a higher level of language than usual. "A lady never reads the newspaper and never talks politics" I continued, holding back a sniff of disapproval: an ordinary tactic, limiting the source of information and preventing reflection on the ruling hands... A lady never smokes and doesn't gamble" I added, trying to limit the grimace that was surely already darkening my features. Personally, neither of these things appealed to me, but they were the main sources of amusement for 'gentlemen' in those days, so forbidding it to women was yet another way of putting them down. "A lady should never be alone with a gentleman for more than five minutes," I had to restrain myself from laughing at this one. I didn't think this rule was often respected, or at least I hadn't followed it at all those long afternoons reading with Tyki in the library or even that time at the café with Sheryl. Then again, I wasn't considered a 'lady' so maybe it was acceptable? "And... uh..." I stammered, searching furiously in my hole-ridden memory for the last rule.

Oops.

Pale as I finally remembered, I slowly tried to uncross my legs while holding Sheryl's gaze. "Uh-... a lady never crosses her knees but holds them side by side."

He raised an eyebrow and I looked down, holding back a wince. Welp, looks like I was due for another lecture on manners...

Sunday 21 June 1885

The next few days passed in an indefinable blur and then the 'big day' arrived.

Well, almost, it was Road's birthday first. Because yes, the ball was for her birthday but of course there was a family party on the same day. Anyway, it suited me. Not invited to the family party, I had been able to enjoy a day without lessons for the first time since the whole nightmare began!

So on Saturday the 20th, the little family had happily travelled to London for an emotional day. From what Road had told me when she came to jump into bed with me that evening, they had started with lunch in a fancy restaurant and then a walk around London which more or less acted as a shopping catalog for Road. By the time they got to their third activity, a boat trip, Tyki was already loaded down with toys and sweets that had had the misfortune to catch her eye for more than a millisecond. Sheryl's speed was not to be doubted, that's for sure... Road swore she didn't know how, but Devit had ended up in the water and Tyki had thrown away half the packages so he could dive in and retrieve him. It looked like Sheryl had swallowed a whole lemon tree from the look on his face when he got home, but it was no wonder, the way the boys were still dripping on the tile floor. I can imagine that the Marquis' brother jumping in to retrieve one of the godchildren from their care was not good for their reputation... Road had then opened her multitude of (other) gifts (those not wet) at dinner and everyone had gone to bed early for the next day's ball. Anyway, it was a good thing Clarisse had offered me to participate in the joint employee gift for Road, otherwise I would have been a dead Eve when the crazy little girl ambushed me in my bed to find out where her gift was.

The next morning I stared at the ceiling for half an hour before I even made a move. I didn't want to face that day. Not. At. All. At this point, more than two weeks into my apprenticeship, I just wanted it all to end. In a foul mood, I hadn't spoken for days for fear of insulting one of my Noah's employers. And thus hasten my death. But fortunately, the morning went relatively well. The afternoon, on the other hand, dragged on, leading me to devour my lips without care. Tricia had only gotten up for a few hours in the morning to eat something and then promptly went back to bed to be in top shape for the evening. By 3pm she was up again and had whipped me into a frenzy of preparation much, much worse than what we had done for the first mass. In fact, that was the only good thing about the day, that the ball gave us an excuse not to go to Mass, I mean. After many baths, grooming, hair, make-up... it was finally time to put on the heavy ball gowns over the stuffy petticoats but more importantly... the corset.

This thing was the invention of the devil.

I had worn corsets before, in my previous life, at parties. In fact, before I sewed a passable attempt at a sports bra, I was even forced to wear them every day, being the closest thing to a bra here. I would have gone amazon's style, as I sometimes did in the other world, but the dresses were really cut in a particular way which meant that, apart from being covered with a big shawl, it really showed if you weren't wearing one. Anyway, these were usually cotton and I didn't have to tighten them to the point of suffocation if I really had to put them on. But the one Tricia had shyly ordered for me for the ball? It was a frilly, underwired monstrosity, clearly of high quality and therefore quite impossible to put on alone. It had taken no less than Rosina and Clarisse to close it as I almost kissed Tricia's bedpost to keep myself upright. Of course, they didn't listen to me when I assured them that yes, yes, it was fine, no need to tighten it any more. And when it was finally over… I realised that the ordeal had only just begun. The filthy thing was serving its primary purpose of making me thinner, but to do so it was compressing every ounce of soft body against the bones, making every breath painful and difficult. I felt like I was drowning out of the water and it took all my self-control not to convulse on the floor, drooling.

If Tricia hadn't been so polite, she would have rolled her eyes and even Road dared to say that I was exaggerating! And... Well, okay, maybe a little bit... Still, I didn't feel very comfortable in it but, I guess it was like everything else, you get used to it with time? The thing is, I didn't want to get used to it. The corset was probably just a scapegoat for my frustrations and... yes, my fears too. But… well… at least I wasn't screaming at a Noah.

And then it was time.

Fortunately, as guests, we did not need to be announced at the grand staircase. Sitting in a small lounge adjacent to the ballroom, we simply waited until enough people had arrived to slip quietly into the crowd. However, if you wanted to know what Tyki and I were discussing at that moment, I simply could not answer. The music that could be heard through the walls was not helping to calm my nerves and although I had become somewhat accustomed to it, I was still having trouble breathing. Although I was fairly sure Tyki had complimented me on my appearance as the good gentleman he forced himself to be.

To which I may have responded with a threat of vivisection.

Um, anyway, we hadn't even been in the ballroom for five minutes when the Duke managed to cut us off at the buffet. After complimenting us, he not so subtly told us to hurry up and warm up the dance floor. So it was with a heavy heart and nerves of steel that I grabbed Tyki's reluctant hand and we headed like warriors towards the middle of the room, ready to put our countless sessions of tortuous dancing into practice.

Surprisingly, everything went very well.

No untimely falls or crushing of feet, no interruptions by a few nobles wanting to make conversation, nothing, nada.

In retrospect, I should have known that it would not be long before the shit started to hit the fan...

But at that moment I was still blissfully innocent and it was after two passes of the quadrille and a waltz that Tyki and I, by mutual agreement, scurried off the dance floor towards the buffet. We had reached our promised minimum quota and although the Duke seemed annoyed, he rolled his eyes, let out a pained sigh and turned the other way, which we decided was a permission to do as we pleased for the rest of the night. Or it could have been an active request to go back to dancing but, frankly, we couldn't tell, the mistake was honest... Or at least that's what we decided to tell him if he came to ask us about it the next morning.

In our defense, we had tried (albeit with very little goodwill) to continue dancing but I was feeling increasingly unwell and Tyki was suspicious of my paleness. So, taking refuge near the long table not far from a door leading to a small private room (in case a strategic retreat was in order), we undertook the difficult task of playing hide and seek in full view. Quite frankly, I think we were doing quite well... we moved with the crowd, slipping in behind another guest as soon as a family member was in our sights, being careful not to be noticed or to appear too busy raiding the buffet if we failed.

Unfortunately, despite all our hard work, it wasn't enough. As I suspiciously tested some sort of greenish scone, Tyki suddenly grabbed my arm, a strangely panicked look on his face. Following his gaze, I came upon a crowd of naive girls, ranging in age from the twins to Tyki, with rosy cheeks and annoying giggles. The typical girl from a good family, in short. Raising a disillusioned eyebrow at Tyki, he raised his hands to his chest as if to defend himself. "I'll have you know that these ladies are absolutely terrifying," he whispered in a voice that left no room for denial.

"Oh, I'm sure they are." I replied amused as I watched one of the girls turn tomato red to the giggles of the others when a young man asked her to dance. Suddenly, perhaps sensing our eyes on them, one of the girls in the group let her gaze wander and it naturally fell on us. Or rather Tyki. Elbowing her neighbor hard without taking her eyes off the Noah, the group was soon fully aware of Tyki's presence and, feverishly, they began to come towards us, their previous sheepish looks suddenly migrating into hungry ones.

Hu

Okay, I didn't say anything, I forgot the whole 'don't judge by appearances' thing.

Exchanging a troubled look with Tyki, I tried to reboot my poor oxygen-deprived brain because of this damned corset to think of an escape plan. I might have been very angry at Tyki for taking me into this mess, but I wasn't about to abandon him to that pack of hungry hyenas! However...

Unfortunately, my brain didn't seem to have a good priority at all, so it chose this moment to bring to the front of my mind all the horror stories I had heard in my past life about the corset crushing so much the body that a rib had pierced a lung. And even though, inwardly, I knew it wasn't true (... it wasn't true, right?) my body didn't seem to get the memo and I began to hyperventilate and have a panic attack. Of course, that certainly wouldn't help and before I knew it I was gasping as a fish, desperately trying to breathe. I breathed in and felt air enter my trachea but it was as if there was no oxygen in it. My throat clenched and refused to swallow any more, black spots already playing in the corner of my vision.

Of course, Tyki was far too caught up in his own drama to notice what was happening to me. Anyway, the point is that when he finally turned to me and whispered, "We need a distraction," I barely had time to mutter, "No need," before I passed out in his arms.

And the rest... well, as they say, is history.

I've had this urge for a ball since the first time I looked for ideas for this story :) The chapter is definitely not going the way I imagined it at the time though... I don't think it's worse, just different, but I'm a bit disappointed that I can't seem to do anything funny lately :'(

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget that Elogane wrote canon OS for NLN, it's called "Nuancer les sentiments"

Think about letting a review on your way out and see you on the 25th of next month!