History: A Touch of Colour in Grey
Book 1: Shading the black.
Date: 25 May 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, the twins and Allen arrive... Don't ask how, but then she discovers a strange talent for musical instruments and wonders with horror if she could be the 14th. It does not help that the Duke has discovered her talents as well and seems to be more interested in her.
Chapter Trigger: None of what I can see
Luckily there is a date on the computer or you would never get the chapters... I'm so absent-minded, I can never remember the dates -_-'
Anyway, Enjoy your reading :3
Shading the Black 20: The strike
Tuesday 21st July 1885
Following what I mentally referred to as the "day when everything changed bis" (the first being, of course, my arrival in this world and my involvement with the Kamelotts) or otherwise, the piano incident, I had been practising the instrument every day with or without the Millennial Earl.
Surprisingly, the Earl had been strangely understanding with me. When he was at the manor, Tyki and I knew that we would not cut the day's piano lesson. Tyki, because he would have class with him and I, because a servant (and this time I was sure it was definitely an akuma!) of the Earl was coming to teach me. In fact, in the last month I had only had two more classes with him, and each time it was more like a check-in on my progress. He finally seemed to understand the restraint I had with him and gave me space. As a result, no longer preparing myself for surprise ambushes, I was much more relaxed when I actually spoke to him and we had had a few discussions; awkward but interesting talk about literature: obviously Tyki didn't get that from nowhere.
Unfortunately, whether the Earl came or not, I had classes with the new teacher every day and Tyki had ended up being enrolled as well.
And how the Noah had sulked at me because of it! As he had so aptly pointed out, the Earl had not watched him before, and though he did his best to practise to please him, he might not do so everyday, or make a shorter lesson if he felt like it. Now, however, that was impossible.
Well, it's true that I could have refused when the Duke had brought up the idea of a piano teacher in our second lesson... but he had said it with such a face of hope, joy and general positivity that I simply couldn't do anything but nod. Later, as I stumbled out of the room with a look of incomprehension, Road had walked past me, stared at my face for a second before patting my hand with a strangely sympathetic and understanding look. "This is the Duke's greatest power. You can't say no to him," she said. "Come on Vivi, let's get some ice cream, it'll take your mind off it," she added quickly when I didn't react any further before pulling me towards the stairs.
I wonder if I had just discovered why there were so many akumas when no one would normally accept the shady proposition of a six-foot elf with a creepy smile.
Anyway, my miraculous piano skills had not disappeared after that first time. On the contrary, as if I were training a rusty muscle, as long as I didn't think too much, I played better and better and more and more difficult things.
And my growth curve in piano ability seemed to be intimately linked to my stress curve. The more I saw the satisfaction in the Earl's eyes, the more terrified I became that my assumptions would prove correct. So much so, in fact, that Tricia had worried about my pale and tired appearance several times already. I didn't know what to do and I felt like a sword of Damocles was hanging over my head, just waiting for a Tease to graze it to crush me under the weight of fate.
Yet no matter how much I observed my thoughts, dissected my actions, and triturated my mind, nothing seemed to add up. Of course, I didn't really know what the transformation into No-... the transformation entailed, but I had no particular desire to kill and torture people (except for one of the employees who seemed to take a malicious pleasure in ruining my life, but that was normal) or even to play the piano without stopping at all hours of the day and night. Moreover, no matter how hard I looked at my forehead every morning, there was no sign of a grey tinge or a budding stigma on my features. Of course, I could be far from waking up and it hadn't shown up yet... but still! It was at least a small ray of hope...
Anyway, all this to say that more than a month after the first lesson, I wanted to strangle someone. Preferably our piano teacher. Those clockwork lessons full of cold advice and rulers hitting my fingers at the slightest wrong note had taken over my nerves and, above all, any love I might have had for the instrument. I had tried, the day before, when the Earl had come to take the twins to town, that it would be nice if I could, oh, I don't know, no longer have a piano teacher. But he had pretended not to hear me, brushing aside my coy request with a laugh before telling a meaningless anecdote.
Well, very good! If direct confrontation didn't work, well... the strike was a well-known French weapon.
And a little patriotic pride didn't hurt, right?
And so, after taking Tricia to rest, instead of dragging my feet towards the music room, I turned resolutely towards the exit before heading into the forest with a grim face. I knew it was the akuma's turn to teach us today, I had seen him coming through the window earlier. Call me childish, but I couldn't stand these classes anymore and it's not like I was ignoring the Earl either... just one of his employees... whose eyes he shared... and ears... urgh, I just hope my little escapade doesn't get me into too much trouble.
Ten minutes from the manor, I glanced back. I could still go, I'd just be a little late... I'd only get a few more strokes of the rules... But no! If I didn't show my displeasure, nothing would change! And it wasn't Tyki who was going to help me on this one. Even if he hated him as much if not more than I did, he was far too grateful to the Earl to go against his will.
Sighing, I pushed a few branches out of the way before looking at the clearing appearing behind them with some nostalgia. Eight months already... more than half a year... Walking slowly to a golden tree stump in the sun, I brushed some leaves away before leaning against it. It was strange how a place could change so much with the seasons.
I had only been here once, and only for a short time when I first met Tricia, but this little clearing made a big impression on me. And in case Tyki was looking for me at the akuma's request, I thought it would be better to go to the opposite side of the back garden where the lake was. Anyway, without the snow and frost, it seemed much less isolated than it had been the first time. Now, with the sun beating its way around the leafy branches, splashing colourful spots on the ground and the birds seemingly having a field day, I felt much more like I was in Sleeping Beauty's forest than Narnia's.
Taking a breath of fresh air, I pulled my legs up to my chest before putting down the book I had dragged with me. I had two hours to waste before I was sure he was gone after all...
As I plunged into the novel, I quickly lost track of time. It was a horror novel, a genre I didn't normally like and still didn't like very much. Unfortunately, I hadn't been paying attention when I'd picked up a book from the library and, in the end, even though I didn't like it, it was well written and that didn't stop me from being caught up in it. I was so immersed that when a hand landed on my shoulder, I screamed in surprise before throwing the book in the general direction of whatever had touched me and stumbling to my feet.
"I'm so sorry!" I shouted immediately as I printed in my brain who was behind me. "It's a horror book and I tend to get a little too involved and I was at the point where the murderer was attacking the hero and I... you scared me!"
"Everything is fine, I should have been more careful." Sheryl replied calmly as he bent down to pick up the book. "I'm surprised to run into you here, didn't the Duke arrange piano lessons for you and my brother?" He asked, handing me the book before taking out his pocket watch and glancing at it. "Or perhaps you've already finished?"
"I think Tyki is practising right now..." I replied evasively, my cheeks flushed, carefully avoiding his gaze. Of course I hadn't been so suicidal as to skip the lesson without warning. Well, of course I hadn't warned the akuma in charge, but I had made sure to inform Tyki, Road and the twins. There was no need to be hunted down after all and I just knew that Road would have given me a hard time if I had left without warning. But, I hadn't thought of informing Sheryl at all. He'd been away so much lately, I'd only run into him twice at the mansion in the last month. In fact, now that I think about it..."Weren't you supposed to come back the day after tomorrow?" I asked curiously as I quickly followed him as he headed back to the manor.
"The negotiations went better than expected, so I thought I'd head back to the manor for a while, even though I'll have to leave for Portugal soon," he explained.
"Lady Tricia and the young Miss will be happy to see you again, they have missed you very much." I replied with a smile, a little relieved despite myself. Road had been... difficult to handle these last few weeks and I could only be happy that her attention was turned to her father. Even the twins, who had been trying so hard to behave lately, just preferred to run away from her now. At least, with all their fighting, I could see them more as the arrogant, self-confident kids from the manga and less as the terrified street rats they were only a few months earlier, even if they still had a long way to go.
"I missed them too..." He murmured with a small smile and it seemed like he had already forgotten I was there. "These meetings are important, but I wish I had more time for my family." He sighed before turning to me with an appraising look. "As it is, you've been at the manor for several months now, is everything going well?"
Feeling my eyebrow twitch, I smiled a little before answering him with a slightly false "Wonderful!" If a few months earlier, someone would have told me that in a manor full of Noah, it would have been the human servants who would have caused me problems, I wouldn't have believed it... And yet! The good understanding of the first week had quickly given way to some jealousy in the first months after my hiring by Tricia. But still, everything was going well enough... and then, the head butler, Ernest Impleton, Dolores' brother who had got me the job of maid in the first place, had retired.
Little did I know how much this man kept the manor running smoothly... yet the mood had changed dramatically after he left. It was as if the chains had been cut, the jealous glances of some of the maids had turned into feverish hostilities, and the dirty tricks had soon begun. Not being woken up in the morning, forbidding me to enter certain rooms with stupid arguments, spilling the salt in my meal... It was small things, but as repeated as they were, it was quickly becoming annoying. It was only the hard fact that I had literally nowhere else to go, which prevented me to react badly.
"Oh, really?" replied Sheryl, giving me a flat look.
"Oh, yes, nothing worth mentioning," I replied with a slightly more accentuated smile. Anyway, even if I wanted to talk about my problems, it certainly wouldn't be with Sheryl. Of all the Noahs I had met so far, including the Earl, I got along with him the least. I just didn't know what to do with him, his thoughts on me were... impenetrable. Not that I was good at knowing whether people liked me or not, but I hope I could still sense if someone hated me.
In fact, now that I think about it, I got on surprisingly well with the Noahs. Tyki was clearly the one I got on with best, it certainly helped that we had things in common like reading, appreciating the middle-class but working-class lifestyle, ridiculous challenges and complaining about his family being too extreme. So yes, I'd say we were beginning to have a solid friendship... well as solid as a friendship can be between a human and a superhuman whose mission is to destroy humanity... Nothing is perfect.
I also got on quite well with Road too. I think at first she saw me as a new toy that she had to try not to break for Tricia's sake, but... the balcony episode, (oh, damn, I don't want to remember that...) the many games, the homework help, the long hairdressing evenings by the fire and the little conversations without taking her for a stupid child (children had to be seen but not heard in those days. It was, admittedly, much less so at the manor but Tricia sometimes fell back into those classic patterns and the school and the servants, of course, didn't help in that respect.) had, I think, significantly improved our relationship. If not the role of friend or confidant, I was at least pretty sure I had achieved the role of beloved distraction. It may not have been ideal, but as long as I was appreciated enough not to be subjected to physical or mental torture... and what's more, despite everything, I liked the little psycho.
What do you mean, masochist? Noooo...
The twins were... a special case. I'd clearly won points with the soup episode (don't think of the balcony, don't think of the balcony...) and teaching them all those games (and who knew I knew so many?) had clearly paid off in terms of getting them out of their shells. Devit was still abrasive, sure, but at least now he talked to everyone without seeming to want to rip their throats out with his teeth. Except for Sheryl. Jasdero had gone from being completely mute to shy and even playful, quite an achievement if you ask me. On the other hand, lately I detected a tendency to simply support his brother's speech, which was a bit worrying for his social progress. However, I just couldn't figure out if it was because they had the same opinion or if Jasdero was just following what his brother said. In any case, I felt my weak control over them (by which I mean that they used to have enough respect for me to stop their antics when I told them) was gradually fading. At the same time, I was happy because it proved their evolution, on the other hand... I really wasn't waiting for the day when they will be confident enough to take me as a target for jokes because I knew I wouldn't have any chance against them then.
And then there was the Earl. Having spent most of my time running away from him like the plague over the last few months, it was quite difficult to form an opinion of our relationship, if one could even say there was one. I would say, in retrospect, that at first he wasn't that interested in me, despite our strange first meeting (I have to stop getting into these impossible situations...) but he was amused enough by my reactions that he kept pestering me from time to time. It probably also helped that he was usually quite... nice to everyone. It's strange to think that about the big villain, isn't it? But still... I remember once he went to mass with us and this time everyone was out. And when I mean everyone, it was really the whole family, that is, a bright Tricia and a loving Sheryl, an annoyed Road, uncomfortable twins, a bored Tyki and: the Earl. I had tried to sneak in, of course, under the guise of a family outing that I didn't dare disturb, and it had almost worked! Sheryl was on my side, of course, and Tricia even though she wanted to include me was a little uncomfortable with the Earl but of course Tyki had to come along with his charming smile (whispering a "if I have to suffer, so do you") and that had rekindled her mania for settling us down together, destroying any hope I had of taking it easy at the manor.
Why was I saying that? Ah, yes! All that to say that it was either before, during or after the mass (in the same church ruled by the black order as the first time. With the Millennial Earl. Oh the irony...) The duke had been beaming all the time, making small talk with everyone, helping a fallen child, buying flowers from a little shop girl, exchanging smiles... hell, I was pretty sure he'd let himself be robbed by a street kid on purpose!
To think that I had spent the next afternoon thinking deeply about the so-called wrong side of the story was an understatment...
So, yes, he wasn't ignoring me as one might have expected a nobleman to do with an employee at that time, but since he wasn't doing it with anyone else either, it didn't mean much... After the piano episode, however, that's where there had been a change. Instead of ambushing me like he used to do, he had simply stopped bothering me, waiting for me to come to him on my own. Well, it's true that I felt a bit like a wild animal being tamed but, oh well... anyway, talking to him was becoming less and less terrifying and I was beginning to enjoy our little piano lessons, after all.
Oh, Merlin, how on earth did I get here?!
No, Eve, this is not the time for an existential crisis... shaking my head slightly to clear the dark thoughts that threatened to pile up, I looked up to realize with surprise that we were already very close to the mansion. Sheryl was still there and we had come all the way in comfortable silence... or so I hoped. It would have been particularly embarrassing to have been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed him talking to me...
But, well, he didn't seem to be in a bad mood, so I guess it went well.
"Dad!" suddenly shouted a voice from above. I looked up in one motion to see Road leaning precariously out of a first-floor window, yelling in our direction. "You're home early!" She exclaimed happily as I watched, fascinated, as the serious Sheryl transformed into a glowing ball of goo. It was amazing how the mere presence of Road changed this man completely, it impressed me every time.
"Please Young Mistress, don't lean out the window!" A groan came from behind Road and I stiffened a little as I heard Marie's voice. She was the chamber maid of Road and was one of the employees... annoyed at my promotion. As if suddenly recognizing my presence, the woman gave a quick sneer as she met my eyes before glancing at Sheryl and then back at me. Having received a number of jibes in recent weeks, the meaning was abundantly clear. Returning her smile with too many teeth, I continued my way inside, shoulders high and eyes straight. After all, in this kind of place, if you show weakness... you're screwed.
Ascending the grand staircase with as much dignity as I could muster, I made my way to the top floor, offering a smile to Road as she crossed my path to greet her father. Giving Mary a simple nod, I received only a pair of raised eyebrows in response before she continued to follow Road, chin up and lips puckered. Sighing at the reaction, I continued on my way, making sure to take a wide turn through the left wing to avoid the music room as much as possible.
Arriving at a large wooden door, I knocked twice before pushing the door open without further ado. It was the library after all, and I had enough power now to enter as I wanted, but it didn't hurt to warn people just in case. Luckily for me, no one but Tyki was there and I slipped in with a sigh of relief. I really didn't want to be alone in my room this afternoon.
"You're back much sooner than I thought," said Noah, lifting his head from the book in his lap as I entered. Buzzing, I put away the book I had taken with me into the forest before heading towards him.
"I ran into your brother in the forest." I replied with a sigh as I collapsed (but with grace! I didn't need any more lessons in manners from Tricia and Sheryl, thank you very much...) on the chair opposite Tyki, which I had started to think of as my own with all the time I spent wallowing in it.
"He's back already?" Grimaced Tyki before glancing sadly at his book. "I should go and greet him, shouldn't I?" he asked me with a pained look.
"Well, normally yes, but you're not supposed to know he's there so..." I replied with an amused smile as Tyki's face lit up with relief.
"I know I'm just procrastinating, but I'm not in the mood to have my place in society stifled and railed at..." he confided to me as he closed his book. "The Duke's servant is furious, by the way, but I don't think he'll tell him about it, so you can go on not going to class without fear."
"You make me look like a disobedient little child..." I groaned before quickly following up as I saw him open his lips. "...Which I am, but in my defence, Duke Campbell isn't even my employer and, anyway, what employer pays for a lady-in-waiting to learn the piano in her spare time? It's just strange."
"What do you expect, my family doesn't like to do things the way other people do, and you're not exactly the typical employee either," Noah replied with a shrug.
"I guess we're a match made in heaven, then." I laughed before taking on the serious tone of an old fortune teller that Tyki and I had met on one of our trips to the lesser known parts of London. "It was fate..."
"Ha, by the way Ivy, you remind me..." He said after he'd finished laughing, slipping his hand into his jacket. "I noticed this earlier in the hands of someone who shouldn't have it." He said as he pulled out a thick letter addressed to me.
"From Allen?!" I smiled brightly, leaning forward to take it but Tyki caught my hand instead preventing me from reaching the envelope.
"I thought it was strange that I hadn't heard from him in the last month," Tyki replied, his smile disappearing. Feeling the air grow a little darker, I slowly backed up in my chair. "I knew the employees weren't the most kind with you... but stealing your mail... which is also mine if it comes from Allen... And I'm pretty annoyed that my stuff was stolen." He said calmly, tapping the envelope absentmindedly.
Suddenly worried, I looked at him with wide eyes. "Maybe she just didn't have time to give me the envelope this morning, I left pretty quickly after all..." I tried but winced when I saw his sceptical look. "It wasn't mean, she... she would have given it back to me later."
"Of course." He replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm before running his hand through his hair with a sigh, destroying his oh-so-careful haircut much to Sheryl's future despair. "My brother is going to be terribly happy: he's finally managed to rub off on me somewhat. I would never have taken care of an employee's job before... Just so you know, I fired her, we don't employ thieves here."
My eyes widened as I looked at him in horror, Allen's letter totally forgotten. The treatment had been tolerable so far... but that one of the householders had fired an employee for... me? It was going to be hell.
And I couldn't have been more right.
Bim badaboum, everything is ready for Eve to go crazy in the next chapter! Anyone want to bet on a possible knight in shining armor? :3 I'm almost done with my hell exam month (or two month, really) and I think it goes pretty well... I wish you all the best with your exams too!
(KnK: On a side note, I thought it might be important to point out that Eve only ever calls the Duke 'Earl' or 'Millennium Earl' in her head, since his human form is Duke Campbell. If it were me, I would accidentally slip up for sure…
Nël: well, she slip up, but this will be in a few chapters for you ^^')
Also, HeavenSealer was worried i'll stop this story because they're not much reviews. Don't worry, I didn't write this fic for reviews, (if that was my goal then I'll wrote drarry XD: DGM/OC/French fanfic is one of the worst combos for view, you know ?) Even if i have none i'll still continue it ^^ But I won't lie, reviews are still a joy. The only way this story could stop right away is because Koneko stop the translation, so it's more her you should pray to and thank :p
Think of the reviews and see you on the 25th of next month!