History: A Touch of Colour in the Gray

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date: 25 April 2019, corrected March 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. Eve was dragged to a ball by Tyki, because he does not want to suffer alone, the sneaky guy, and Eve faints spectacularly because of her too tight corset.

Chapter Trigger: None of what I can see

I remember I was a bit "Meh" with this chapter… Well, anyway, have a troll Earl, Tricia being too nice for this world, Tyki having a hard life and Eve screaming in her head.

Enjoy your reading!

Shading the Black 19: The Piano

Tuesday 7 July 1885

Letting out a tired sigh, I quickly looked around to see if anyone was near and, seeing no one, I tugged at the front of my dress a few times, trying to get some fresh air into that cotton coffin. The summer this year was, according to the servants who still spoke to me, particularly awful. I, who had always heard bad jokes about England with its "360 days of rain" a year and its "At 15°C in shorts" could only disagree: it was as horrible as in the south of France.

Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit at this point, but it must be said that the winter had been so harsh in this country manor without modern heating that the arrival of the summer heat all at once a week earlier had felt like whiplash. My body hadn't yet adjusted to the sudden rise in temperature, so everything felt too hot and the lack of air conditioning or a free shower didn't help. With only a basin of water and a towel, I felt like I was constantly bathing in my own sweat and it was downright unpleasant.

Even more so when it came to interacting with the Noahs.

Maybe it was their enhanced genes and bodies, but neither of them seemed to feel any pain from the heat. Road and the twins were running around as much as usual, Tyki was still reading by the fireplace and Sheryl was wearing his jacket without flinching. Just the sight of them made me want to faint.

Speaking of fainting, Tricia had already fainted twice since the summer ball and...

Urgh. The ball.

Just thinking about the incident made me sigh. Even now, three weeks later, Sheryl was still giving me a displeased look every time I passed him in the corridors. I guess, I had managed to break one of his oh-so-important rules that he had taken so much time to embed in my brain, namely rule number one: "A lady never makes a scene in public." Surely my fainting spell could be named as such. Fortunately for me, Tyki's fangirls were just a step away from us when I started to stagger and were already surrounding us like hungry hyenas when I had fainted. Not only had Tyki been able to escape the girls in the short term by pretending to take me to rest, but in the long term it had put a damper on the harassment of the poor (feel the sarcasm) Noah. Indeed, the fact that these girls had been so inappropriate that I had fainted (even if it wasn't because of them) had led to some serious scolding from their terrified parents. In the end, I had come out of the whole ordeal as a poor innocent victim rather than the source of the nasty gossip. Which would have happened if I had passed out on my own a few seconds earlier.

I might as well say that I was doing well in the end.

Anyway, this moment of weakness had brought at least one good thing into my life: Tricia wasn't forcing anything on me anymore. I felt a little bad that she was blaming herself for forcing me to go to the ball when I obviously didn't want to go, but if blaming herself meant I wouldn't have to spend my Sunday mornings in Church... Well, that was a small sacrifice, wasn't it? So it was with joy that I had waved to her from the doorway when she had gone to church these last few Sundays. Behind her, wrapped up in their beautiful clothes, the twins tried to make me flinch with pleading eyes beside a bored Tyki. Still, I had limited my joy in its exuberance because the look Road was giving me was positively murderous. Hopefully, by the time she returned in the afternoon, her father had showered her with enough candy and new toys to put her in a forgiving mood. Still, I preferred not to stir the pot. Just in case. Anyway, I was enjoying my Sundays in a strangely empty manor. With all the householders gone and most of the employees in the village shopping or seeing their families, there were very few people left. I usually took the opportunity to spend time with Clarisse and Louise in the garden where the older one taught us to sew with old clothes. After the success (mixed, I didn't have the knowledge to make real ones, but anything was better than a pile of bloody petticoats) of period shorts, I set about adding pockets to my dresses and creating pyjama shorts. Jean was usually in the village to see his mother and younger brothers but the girls stayed at the manor. Clarisse, because she was too far away to make the trip and Louise because she didn't get on with her father. I was even tempted to say that she was afraid of him, the way she talked about him, but I didn't know how to broach the subject so I held my tongue as long as she didn't try to go home. The early afternoons were quite pleasant, sitting in the shade of a big tree in the garden, our books on our laps and our tongues untied. There were no bosses to contain themselves in front of or other employees with appraising eyes and I was discovering new sides to the girls that I had not suspected.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to enjoy my time off when Road was literally pacing up and down the manor. According to Tyki, this was very easily explained by the fact that at this time of year the family would normally be away on holiday in some random country. However, with Tricia's health having deteriorated further due to the heat and Sheryl being in the middle of an election campaign to become Prime Minister of Portugal next year... well, it was just as well that everyone was stuck here.

As she did so, the girl sulked terribly to the point where I was quite frankly reluctant to approach her. How ridiculous was it to be afraid of a girl of-... er... nine years old, now? Hey, she was a little girl, sure, but a Noah girl! Destroyer of humanity, sadist, loving to break people's spirits for her own pleasure, all that, all that…

And that's exactly why, I had hurriedly turned left when I saw the girl in question stomping furiously towards a pair of fleeing twins before starting to yell at them. I would have liked to help them but... well, I was much more at risk than they were.

Peace to their souls.

As I laboriously shuffled along a random corridor, I heard harmonious sounds coming from a doorway further down the hall. Literally following the music, I soon arrived near the piano room where I had had my existential crisis three months earlier. Normally, this room was completely soundproof but the door had apparently been left ajar. Curious, I glanced around the room to see Tyki and the Earl sitting with their backs to me on the piano bench. It was young Noah of pleasure playing and the Duke seemed to be teaching him.

At that point I should have just backed away quietly, turned around and pretended I hadn't seen anything. That would have saved me a lot of trouble in the future. And when I mean a lot, I mean a lot. And not small ones either. But, well, it's not as if I could have imagined that this simple observation would lead to these future disasters... what's more, it had been months since I had heard any music and even this simple piece of Piano seemed to draw me in and I couldn't get away from it.

So, biting my lip and mentally calling myself an idiot, I timidly pushed open the door as quietly as possible to hear the music a little better. Yet, despite my precautions, I must have been noticed somehow because the Duke turned his head towards me and, with a smile and a nod, gave me permission to enter.

Hesitating for a second, I finally slipped into the room. It's not like I could turn away now anyway. At least not socially speaking. In case of an emergency though... I was careful to leave the door open, you never know. Sitting gingerly on a small chair near the wall, I let out an inaudible sigh, just enjoying the moment.

Merlin, I missed the music.

Leaning my head against the wall behind me, I closed my eyes, forgetting for a moment that I was in a room with two Noahs. Gradually my muscles seemed to relax on their own and I finally noticed how tense I had been over the last few months. I may have finally accepted my situation at the beginning of April, but it hadn't suddenly gotten better in a flash. Accepted, yes. Forgotten? Certainly not. The pain was still alive and would probably never go away. But maybe... with a little time... I would get out of this gloomy haze that seemed to assail me whenever I was alone.

"Eve?"

Slowly opening my eyes as if I were waking from a dream, I tilted my head towards Tyki who had turned to face me, having finished his piece.

"Was my performance so bad that you fell asleep?" He teased me but I could still see a small sparkle of hurt twirling in his eyes.

"On the contrary!" I replied with a smile as I straightened up. Sheryl would have simply eviscerated me if he had seen me like this. "It's been a long time since I've been this relaxed. It was beautiful." These words drew a smile from him as he got up from the bench to approach. However, in wonderful timing, the Earl chose this moment to remind us of his presence.

"Yes, that was good Tyki. There are still a few things to improve on, of course, but overall you've made good progress." He said with a serious look on his face as I saw Tyki wince before smoothing his face and turning back to the Earl.

"Thank you... Adam," he said simply, stumbling over the name a little after glancing at me.

"Of course." Smiles the Earl. "You may go Tyki. And don't forget, see you in the morning. Miss Campbell," he greeted as I also got up to leave the room. No reason to stay now that there was no music, especially not alone with the Earl. Fortunately, the Earl didn't hold me back and I was able to walk out with Tyki without a hitch. As I closed the door, I could hear familiar music coming from the room.

It was the song of the fourteenth but... much slower and sadder than usual.

Closing the door gently, I joined Tyki who was waiting for me a little further down the corridor. "Library?" he asked and I nodded with a smile.

"I didn't know you played the piano." I say a little further. I've been here for months and I've never seen you play!"

"I'm not surprised," Tyki replied with a slight shrug. "I only started playing again when the Duke began to drop by regularly and we usually do that in the morning when you're with Tricia." he explained before hesitating for a second and saying more quietly. "I don't really like playing the piano but the Duke insists. It's the only thing he's really forced on me with social occasions so I do it anyway. I owe him that much."

"I understand..." I muttered in response, thinking. I know Tyki was practically a carbon copy of Neah... Could it be that the Duke was projecting his brother onto the Noah of pleasure? I wouldn't be surprised, but it was pretty sad...

"Eve!" Jasdero suddenly shouted as he ran in our direction and rammed in front of me. "Road and Devit are fighting in the garden." He said a little laboriously but with much less shyness than a few months earlier. Jasdero will probably never be a man of many words but that was not a problem, I was already glad he was trying so hard.

Sighing, I put my hand on his shoulder, already changing direction towards the nearest exit.

"What happened this time?" Tyki asked curiously as he followed our lead. It was sad, but this was hardly the first time Jasdero had come looking for me to break up a fight between his twin and his sister Noah. And every time, the same incredulous laughter threatened to escape from my chest. Me? Eve Campbell? A human reincarnated with no powers and a weak physical condition to stop a fight between two superhuman children Noah? And yet, like the other times, I was simply coaxing the two little monsters with a sweet voice and promises of cake. Words really were the most frightening of weapons. But then again, it would be a long time before I could say I had mastered it. In the meantime, I was just glad that the two kids liked me enough to really listen to me when I literally had no power over them.

"What if we went to the lake? We had fun last time, didn't we?" I asked the children as I felt another argument brewing. Fortunately, the idea worked and I spent the afternoon where I had met the Earl a few weeks earlier.

The rest of the day was pleasantly spent wading around the lake. Well, me at the edge. The kids were always jumping in the lake and, discovering my reluctance to cold water, they had no mercy in dousing me. But fortunately I had been able to quickly abandon them from their water fights which looked very much like attempted murder by drowning to join Tyki. He had undertaken since the second time we had come together, the creation of a jumping platform in the big tree overhanging the lake. But what had started out as a simple ladder and wooden floor had taken on the appearance of a tree house the further into the summer we got. This was potentially my fault, having suggested adding a tarzan rope, a swing and even a slide. But Tyki hadn't hesitated for long and got to work straight away, adding walls and then separate little floors, little bridges and other platforms... He was doing fine on his own and didn't really need me but I had been able to help him nail down some boards and carve some poles and I was now painting the walls and decorating them with patterns. I felt a little bad though, because other than a large pot of lime, the rest was carefully packed in delicate glass bottles. Road had asked his father for the paint and, knowing him, he had only taken the best. So I had to stop myself having an existential crisis every time I made a line on the wall, wondering how many families in London I could feed with the milligram of pigment that went into my brushstroke. Anyway, after killing each other for a good hour, the other three had finally joined us at the top of the tree. This was followed by a long period where I had to pretend not to notice that Road was putting furniture in the hut that we certainly hadn't brought with us or that Jasdevit had frozen the lime pot while arguing near the adjoining wall. It was so ridiculous when I looked up to see Tyki at three meters above me tending to the roof, with his feet literally on nothing, that I wondered for a second if they weren't doing it on purpose. But I guess not, because no sooner had I blinked than Tyki was innocently on the boards with both feet and a small explosion was heard, accompanied by a generous spray of white on my skirt. Leaning over to take a look, not so worried about the Noahs twins, I saw the lime pots explode, white paint smeared Jackson Pollock style on the wall and the twins covered from head to toe.

Well, at least, the pots were definitely warmed up.

Road wasted no time in pushing the twins back into the water. There followed another trip into the lake for everyone, trying to hide the disaster that our clothes had become from Tricia. Not that it made much difference and so it was a bit of a commando operation to get back to the mansion. Unfortunately Tricia was already awake and having tea in the back garden, one eye fixed on the forest as if she was waiting for us. So we had to go all the way round under the cover of the trees and ask John, who was unloading the groceries in the courtyard, to go and get us some more suitable clothes, fearing that Sheryl or one of her loyal servants would see us. We then changed in the stables after asking permission from a full of laughter Phillipe. Then, while the three boys helped poor John finish his work and Road went off to look after Tricia, I ran with the grey clothes to the laundry room, nearly tripping over a black cat I had no idea was there, and handed them over to the laundresses. Enduring their disdainful looks, I hurried to join the householders in the garden and Tricia never knew. When the day was more or less over after tea, I went upstairs, as soon as Tricia had left, to the dining room, to study the books of Victor Hugo.

I had quickly learned that it was not worth trying to read them during the day or evening, as children tend to waltz into my room at any time without even knocking. I had tried to make them respect my privacy by playing on the modesty of the time, telling them that they might see me naked but Road didn't give a damn and the twins, even if horrified at the time, seemed to forget about the risk the next time. In short, the only time I could be relatively sure of not being disturbed was after midnight or at dinner. And as I really needed my beauty sleep with all the kids were putting me through, it didn't leave me much choice.

Anyway, the books were terribly interesting. Even though I had been studying them for an hour every night for weeks, I was still far from having finished them. It wasn't just that there were so many of them, although that was obviously a factor, but it was mainly because, in addition to the archaic language, the reports contained a lot of hard-to-guess neologisms, and on top of that, layers and layers of pretense. I had to study every sentence with a magnifying glass, dissect every word, stretch every syllable just to hope to understand even half of the implications. And I'm pretty sure I was still missing details. Despite my passion for mysteries, the dozens of Sherlock and the thousand or so episodes of Conan had never really managed to break through a good analysis process in my head.

Still, I thought as I reread the same sentence for the third time, trying to figure out why my instincts were screaming at me that something was up, I wondered how Hugo had managed to get even a quarter of those documents. The testimonies and lists of Akuma's abilities and how they worked, I could understand, even if it was dangerous, all it took was some discussion or analysis... but mission reports from the Black Order? Curiosity was killing me and I was so sorry I couldn't talk to the writer about it. If only to benefit from his wisdom on certain issues. It's obvious that he would have handled the situation much better than I did. But, at the same time, I just couldn't wish that he was still there. Our meeting may have been brief, but it was clear that Hugo was tired of living. He had accepted death with open arms and deserved his rest.

Sighing, and feeling that it wouldn't get any better for tonight, I carefully hid the documents again before collapsing onto the bed. Burying my head in the pillow, I pushed away further contemplative thoughts about life and closed my eyes. Lulled by the flickering flame of the candles on my bedside table, it didn't take me long to fall asleep.

The next day, as I followed Tricia towards the gardens after breakfast, we passed Tyki and the Duke walking towards us. After a little empty conversation between the two adults as Tyki and I stood awkwardly back, waiting for it to pass, the two groups separated again and Tricia and I continued on our way as the two men entered the music room.

How had I not noticed this? Of course, I had seen that the Earl was coming to the manor more and more regularly and, obviously, I had spent more time running away from him than anything else but still, not noticing his regular disappearance with Tyki...

Anyway, the end of the morning passed without a hitch. I was still not a fan of walks, especially when I could navigate the gardens with my eyes closed, but Tricia was so happy that I couldn't find the strength to put on my usual sulky face in such situations (and it would be my father who would be jealous... he who had to drag me out of my room to go for a walk...) At noon, I dropped Tricia off in the dining room before hurrying off. Sheryl was eating with them this time, so I didn't normally have a place at the table, but the Earl was also present, so I didn't want to tempt the devil (literally). He always seemed to take Tricia's side these days after all and since she wanted me to be able to eat with them... well, better to avoid sources of conflict.

Being well aware of the ever-increasing resentment towards me on the part of some of the maids, I ate as quickly as possible in the kitchen with Louise before heading for my room. However, as I passed the music room, I hesitated. It was perfectly soundproof, wasn't it? And Tricia had repeatedly told me that I could go to the recreation rooms as I pleased (although at the time she was probably thinking mainly of the library.) So...

Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was there, I quickly entered the music room before closing the door gently behind me.

Brushing my fingers over the various instruments, I moved with envy towards a violin that was proudly displayed. I had always wanted to learn the violin, but... let's just say I never had the chance. Unhooking it from the wall, I sat down in a perfectly uncomfortable straight-backed chair and began plucking the strings.

My old babysitter once brought his violin home for my birthday and taught me "A la claire fontaine" but it had been years since I could remember the notes. Yet, humming the music, I tried to recreate the song by trial and error. Surprisingly, when I put the violin down some time later, an unlucky passer-by could have recognised the tune if they had ignored the false high notes. I was quite proud of myself for that.

Stretching, I let my eyes wander around the room. So many possibilities for playing! Glancing contemplatively at a trumpet, I finally chose to sit at the grand piano. At least with this one, I could do a few songs, if only with one hand.

Staring at the keys, I was wondering which of the three songs I knew I would try when I heard a noise behind me. Turning, I saw the Earl in the doorway, a surprised look on his face.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" I said hastily as I got up from the bench at full speed. "I'll leave you to it."

"No! No, don't feel obliged to move, I was just getting my jacket. The Earl replied at once, stopping me in my tracks. Looking for it, I saw it indeed on an armchair behind the piano. If I had seen it earlier, I would not have lingered in the room... I thought, holding back the gloomy look on my face. "Were you playing the piano? I'm sad to have disturbed you, I like listening to musicians." He finally said when the silence thickened a little too much.

"Oh no, not at all! I don't know how to play," I denied immediately, trying not to theorize too much about the Earl's sentence.

"...would you like to learn?" he asked suddenly, his piercing gaze boring into my eyes. Surprised, I looked at him without knowing what to say. Finally, glancing longingly at the piano before returning to the Duke, I sighed mentally.

"Oh that's so kind of you, but I don't want to bother you..." I murmured, doing my best not to offend him in any way.

"Don't worry! I like playing teacher." He said suddenly with a beaming smile before passing me to settle at the piano. "Come on, join me!" A little confused, I did exactly as he said and sat shyly beside him on the bench.

"Do you play another instrument? Do you know music theory?" He asked excitedly and I suddenly felt like I was talking to a teenager my own age. It was a far cry from the wise but amused old man I was more used to, but it wasn't the first time I had seen this side of him. Indeed, I had had the same impression on a few memorable occasions. It wasn't just his attitude, but his whole body language that changed at those moments and it was all the more terrifying because unlike my classmates in my acting classes, he wasn't playing a role: it was also him.

"I played a bit of flute when I was younger, but just for fun, I never had any formal lessons," I say, hesitantly, thinking of the ocarina. It could qualify as a flute, couldn't it?

"We'll do without music theory for now. We can learn it well later if you like." Said the Earl with a smile as he ran his hands over the cold keys of the piano. "I think I'll show you how to play simple music instead, it's much more fun that way anyway." He reflected before turning to me a little to explain scales and a few other useful things quickly but effectively. Then, when I repeated his information without missing a beat, he nodded his head with a satisfied look and quickly did a little six-note sequence before showing it to me again more slowly and asking me to do it. And that set the tone for the rest of the session.

Like when I was learning poetry when I was younger, he would show me a few notes, have me repeat them and then show me another group of notes and once I knew them perfectly, ask me to string them together. Although the exercise was not very difficult and I had no real problem doing what he asked, I could see that he seemed to have infinite patience, at least with the piano, and his happy but calm demeanour could not have been more pleasant.

It was strange to say, but the millennial Earl was a very good teacher.

"Good!" he exclaimed happily as I finished the last set of notes with my right hand. We hadn't attacked both hands at the same time and I was quite relieved about that because it was something I had rarely achieved in my previous life. In my defense, I had access to a piano for five minutes twice a year when I went to the homes of friends who had one, so it wasn't outrageous that the coordination of both hands at the piano was not yet acquired, especially as a self-taught player, and I had never worried about it. But now, in the face of the possible destroyer of humanity, it was hard not to do your best and pray for excellence. The guy changes moods like shirts, so I preferred to make as few mistakes as possible.

So when he said to me, "Well, what do you say we try it in its entirety, now?" While from any other person I would have recognised the joking tone, at that moment I heard instead 'Play. Without fail. Or you'll suffer.' Swallowing, I nodded vaguely before putting my hands on the piano. It was no problem remembering the music, the rhythm was simple but catchy and happy and stuck in my head.

The notes however...

Taking a long breath, I pressed what I thought was the first note. It was it. Getting a little more confident, I brushed the second, then the third, then the fourth... and suddenly, in front of my extremely confused look, my hands continued to string the notes together without any mistake. When I reached the end, I looked at my hands without understanding before looking up at the Earl, who seemed just as perplexed as I was.

"I thought you couldn't play the piano..." He said weakly, his eyes fixed on my hands.

"I thought so too." I mumbled. This wasn't right, I never had any talent for music, I shouldn't have been able to play the piano like that, I... no... it couldn't be...?

"Well, that was very impressive! You must have a gift, Miss Campbell, it would be a shame to waste it, we should get on with the class." He exclaimed suddenly, his face breaking into a strange smile before he put on a thoughtful look. "I can't certify an exact schedule so let's do it like we did with Tyki. I'll give you homework when I can't be there. What do you think?"

"Hu... I... um." I stammered, completely taken aback. Everything was going too fast! What was happening?

"Fantastic!" he said, getting up without waiting for me to formulate something intelligible. "So I'll see you tomorrow, good afternoon, Miss Campbell." And he grabbed his jacket, walked to the door, opened it and disappeared before I could form a conscious thought.

"Hu?" I choked two seconds later as I stumbled off the bench. Had I just 'won' piano lessons with the Millennium Earl? Yes, I realised with a heartbreaking groan, yes, because I'd played music on the first try like a moron.

Could it be that I am...?

Biting my lip until it bled to stop my brain from finishing that terrifying thought, I walked like a zombie to the door before glancing at the piano behind me. Nothing. No inexplicable urge to approach the instrument. Thinking back to the look on the Earl's face when I had met his gaze at the end of the song, I let out another dying animal sigh before closing the music room door behind me.

Goodbye peaceful days...

Ennael : Beware~ the truth is not as obvious as it seems :3 But I doubt you'll think about it since I haven't written even 1/10 of my back story yet... well it'll come.

KnK : Trucking along! Let me know if there are mistakes! Poor Eve… Enjoy!

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