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, 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: Blood and a description of a not fatal but still painful fall.

I passed my exams : 3 I am now in vacat ...!

BOUM

*summer homework in the face*

Well ... well, it's okay, listen, we'll sleep later. And you, how are you? :) If not well, we have an almost murder in this chapter! Almost 6,000 words to evacuate some frustrations before going back to it. X)

Enjoy your reading!

Shading the Black 21: Happy Harassment

Saturday 15 August 1885

Trois semaines.

Three. Fucking. Weeks.

Letting out a shaky breath, I closed my fists, clenching my fingers tightly, digging my nails into my palms. With the air fully exhaled from my lungs, I stayed like that for a few moments, until a pleasant burn developed in my chest, pushing until my head spun and then I opened my lips again, breathing in deeply until nothing could enter.

Repeating the operation a few times, I let my shoulders relax, gently bending my head to crack my neck. Feeling calm enough, I opened my eyes and looked at my surroundings.

Nope, still no changes.

"It's okay, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine... What's a little bit of shit on the sheets, nothing at all," I muttered into the empty room. Taking another deep breath, I wrinkled my nose at the smell and walked over to my closet, hope clenching my chest.

Hope which died very quickly when I saw that my clothes had suffered the same fate as my sheets.

So, I wasn't usually very materialistic but... I loved this orange dress! Tricia had picked it out especially for me and Road had told me that it showed off my hair. Hell, even Jasdero had complimented me! It was a good thing I was wearing my favourite purple dress today... I would have really felt bad if it had been ruined with the others. Sadly examining the clothes to see if I could salvage anything, I pulled out some underwear, a skirt and two of Eglantine's old shirts miraculously spared from the carnage before resolutely closing the cupboard and opening the window wide. Fortunately, I had long since hidden my men's clothes (used when I used to sneak into town with Tyki) outside my room, in case Road was snooping, or they would have suffered the same fate.

Giving my bed one last sorry look, I didn't even dare to glance at the small table in the room before turning resolutely towards the hallway. Gently closing the door to my room, I crossed the corridor in a few nervous strides before planting myself in front of the twins' room. Taking another breath, I plastered a happy smile on my face before knocking on the door.

Waiting patiently, the door was soon ajar, revealing a dark eye framed by dishevelled black locks. "Eve? What is it?" Jasdero asked, opening the door wide when he recognised me on the landing.

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering if I could hide this..." I said, lifting the clothes in my arms. "In your room? Road doesn't like my old clothes and wants to get rid of them but I'm rather attached to them..." I replied with a simple smile.

"Er, yes, come in." He replied with a shy smile before stepping aside to let me in. I thanked him with a cheerful smile before stuffing my clothes into one of the sideboards near the entrance before going to tease Devit who seemed to be tearing his hair out over a grammar assignment. Wincing when I saw the subject, I ended up staying and trying to help the twins until dinner before picking up Tricia and taking the whole gang to the dining room before taking my leave.

With a tired sigh, I climbed the stairs to the family rooms and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt with a determined look on my face, wrinkling my nose in prevention before opening my bedroom door.

How I would have liked to have clean it as soon as I discovered it! With a bit of luck and the windows wide open, I could have even slept there tonight, but of course that wasn't an option. The manor was constantly swarming with servants making it terribly difficult to sneak in. There were fewer of them in the afternoon, as they tried to make themselves scarce when the householders were walking around, and I could have tried it but... what if I'd run into Road? Or Tyki and Sheryl?

My only option, I had learned in recent weeks, was to clean up the mess at dinner. Not only were the Noahs, of course, all seated, but the servants were just as busy, one third serving, another third panicking in the kitchens, and the final third assigned to certain rooms to clean them from top to bottom and get a head start on their chores the next day. So I had a good hour free to clean up the last attempt by some of the servants to get me to leave.

With the ash bucket in one hand and the shovel in the other, I tried to remove most of the shit first. Fortunately, my torturer of the day had not been very diligent and had not even taken the trouble to spread the stuff.

I wasn't complaining.

Grabbing the corners of my sheets with deep disgust on my face, I pulled it into a bundle before tying a knot in it and dropping it with a slimy sound in the centre of my room. Pulling the bottom sheet, which had unfortunately suffered just as much, I slid it towards the wardrobe and dropped the clothes into it before tying a knot in it too.

My stomach churned at the smell, I grabbed the two bags of dirty laundry in one hand, the bucket in the other and headed for the stables, taking great care to make a wide turn away from the kitchens.

Throwing the contents of the bucket on top of a pile of its congeners, from which it had surely been taken mid-morning to be graciously spread on my bed, I entered the stables. Stopping to pet some of the stallions, I approached the back where a large basin and washboard were located. This was usually where the stable boys cleaned the old horse blankets and I couldn't have been happier to have thought of the place. It was the first time I'd ever found myself with something as extreme as horse shit on my bedding, but the servants had a fabulous imagination and this must have been at least the fifth or sixth time in the last three bloody weeks that I'd found myself having to clean my clothes in a hurry.

With disgust plastered on my face, I dropped the first sheet into the basin and grabbed a brush, promising to clean my hands repeatedly when I was done.

Unfortunately, I had no doubt about my inability to remove the stains. The usually obnoxiously white sheets would certainly turn a disturbing yellowish hue by the time I was done with them, but it wasn't as if I could ask for more sheets and it was already September... I wouldn't be able to sleep without a blanket soon, I had to manage.

It was quite interesting to note that the whole thing had created a deep division among the staff. On the one hand, there were the stalkers, mainly made up of jealous chambermaids who had been there longer than I had and who were particularly outraged by all the advantages I had obtained in recent months. In their ranks, there were also a few butlers who, though less zealous, supported their female counterparts, whether out of genuine conviction, a simple attempt to make themselves look better, or just to go with the flow. Fortunately, only three of them were really vocal, the other few were content to follow orders without any real heat. Then there were the indifferent servants, so far I could identify five. It was rather strange to think that I was pretty sure that four of them were akumas, the last one being a young girl hired only four months before who seemed to want to help me but didn't want to get in the bad graces of the older ones.

And then there were those who openly supported me, the stable staff, Philipe and his son, Petter, John and Berthe the head cook (and fortunately or there would have been a very disturbing possibility that I would have had to worry about poison too...) Louise and Clarisse of course. So the factions were roughly equal and tensions had not been long in coming. The manor was disturbed and I was pretty sure that even the twins had noticed the heavy atmosphere by now.

Tricia had done so anyway, if her roundabout questions to find out more about the employees were anything to go by. And what was I supposed to say to her? Oh noooo, it's all right, I'm just afraid to walk around the manor alone now! After all, accidents happen so quickly... and it would be just tragically convenient if this left my enviable position as lady-in-waiting vacant, wouldn't it?

Urgh, stop me, I'm starting to joke about my death...

Quite frankly, I didn't really know what was keeping me from throwing a fit and going to complain to Tricia.

This kind of thing had never happened to me in my old life... Maybe a little in primary school but I honestly had almost no clear memory before I was 14 so it was hard to say. I had always been more into talking rather than violence but it had to be said that my meagre social skills seemed to have very little effect and I could barely restrain myself from headbutting my most virulent tormentors...

Things hadn't been fabulous before Tyki sent that girl away, but they had been manageable. I could deal with the petty remarks and little pranks without too much nastiness... but now? I was just damn impressed that I'd lasted three weeks. Of course, things hadn't been that bad straight away, they had got progressively worse, but still! I was a bit proud, I must admit. I don't know if it was all the dimension-hopping or the madness, but I'm sure I wouldn't have lasted two weeks in my old life. I think I would have cracked last Friday, in fact, the day they filled my room with a bunch of bug-eyed, overly leggy things. And frankly, where did they find the time to catch so many?

Anyway, I had opened my door that Friday afternoon to find my bed filled with bedbugs, slugs, fleas and the like. I had been this close to slumping into my bed, it was just a clumsy ankle movement that allowed me to crash to the floor rather than into the trapped sheets. I'm pretty sure the sound I let out at that moment was more akin to a dog being strangled to death than a human, but hey... Removing the spiders and slugs had been no picnic and I'd come close to a nervous breakdown. I'll admit without shame that I burst into tears in the middle. The fleas on the other hand... Well, I can't say I've slept in my bed since that day.

The sofas in the library were much more comfortable anyway.

Optimism, Eve, optimism...

All this to say that I really, really, really wanted to go and tell Tricia about it, to hell with my morals. It was after all very difficult to worry about someone's future when they were doing their best to ruin your life... And I was far from a saint. I knew that if it continued like this, it was only a matter of time before things went far enough to hurt someone. Most likely me. And at that point, either things would be discovered, or my torturers would be scared enough to stop. (And I chose not to consider any other option) The obvious thing to do at that point, was to go straight to a concerned authority, right? Since it would happen sooner or later, I might as well save myself some pain...

But I wouldn't.

Because despite my best efforts, I couldn't consider these people without the knowledge of the manga. Sure, I had what seemed like a good relationship with them but... weren't they supposed to want to destroy humanity? And, well, I was a human so...

Yeah. You see the problem. As much as I tried to tell myself that, come on, I've been hanging out with these people on a daily basis for over half a year, they can't pretend to like me for that long... can they? And at that, the word "NOAH" kept running through my head...

So, yes, I could have complained to Tricia but so what? It's not like she would/should have half the manor fired... We like each other, sure, but she also got on well with the other employees. Hell, our very first conversation had involved how "nice" Tricia's employees were! Sure, there were a few who did it just to get ahead, but for the most part, I was just convinced that they simply loved their mistress. It was hard not to love Tricia after all.

But then again, let's say Tricia decided to report the problem to Sheryl... then what? Sheryl was still the master of the house, and it was much smarter to get the source of the problem, me, out of there than the half-dozen people who were creating it. Especially since we didn't really have any positive feelings for each other. There had been a chance of us getting along well at first, when I was just there for his wife and daughter and could take care of the twins, which took a lot of the sting out of it... but that all went somewhat to hell with Tyki's arrival and Road's insinuations. We often talked about his daughter-complex, but surely we shouldn't underestimate his brother-complex, it was something...

In any case, in either case, leaving because of the employees or being fired by Sheryl, the problem remained the same: the fear of the unknown.

I've said it before, but I was incredibly lucky to be hired by the Kamelotts. What else would I have done, a poor twenty-first century girl into the depths of London? I knew nothing about life there, except for romanticised tales, so it was laughable to think I would have got through it without a hitch.

So okay, with all the trips we'd taken with Tyki and the stories Allen was sending me, I was much more likely to make it now... but still!

I'd rather put up with a bit of harassment than take to the streets of London with only the clothes on my back.

At least, that's what I told myself at the beginning of last week.

Now, however, I wasn't so sure... Every day that I didn't react, the "pranks" became more and more violent. So much so that I didn't dare stay alone for too long. At least Road and the twins were happy with the attention. I had even gone back to attending my piano lessons almost daily! And Merlin knows I hated the teacher... Tyki had looked at me strangely for days after I went back after only a few days of boycotting. He told me he was sure I would ignore him continuously unless something big changed. At the same time, I was all for it, but the twins had tutors, Road had afternoon classes, and Tyki had to go out of town sometimes for Sheryl, so I had to get a bodyguard for those days! And since the piano teacher came to the manor whether I showed up for class or not... Well, I might as well say that he had found the joy of my presence a few afternoons a week.

And ho, how my hand suffered...

I was already against corporal punishment in education, but who thinks it's a good idea to hurt the hands of a piano player? Isn't that, I don't know... totally counterproductive?! Meh. I guess I don't have the same logic...

I wanted a bath...

With a dark look in my eyes, I glanced desperately at the pile of clothes I still had to 'clean' before I could hope to get back to the manor. I could use some magic right now. Damn, this was taking even longer than I thought, I'd been a bit too optimistic about it... Dinner would be over soon and even though I didn't have to worry about anyone bad being here (the stable staff were completely unaffected by the whole thing, you could even say they were a bit on my side, having let me use their facilities and sometimes bring in food without a word) I'd still have to be very careful when I got back afterwards.

Ruminating on dark thoughts, I finally put the load down and stood up to crack my back. Merlin, I was tired. I hadn't been sleeping very well lately... The library was comfortable, but I was always afraid of being found by someone or not waking up in time the next day. So I would fall into a kind of unpleasant half-sleep where the slightest noise would wake me up with a start. In fact, I think I'd blown my nap count in the last two weeks... it must have been a bit suspicious, but it was hard to resist when I was sitting comfortably in the library, with an Old English book in my lap and Tyki unconsciously standing guard against my tormentors. I might as well tell you that I had found myself waking up several times with drool on the corners of my mouth because of an awkward position or, on one memorable occasion, with my head on Tyki's shoulder and Road's skull in my lap. It took all my self-control not to jump and wake up Road (who must have been fully conscious by now because, you know, Noah).

It was already dark when I pushed open the stable door with a basket of more or less clean clothes in my hands. They were soaked, of course. I had done my best to wring them out, but it was much more difficult alone and I would have to hear them in my room between two chairs before I could get to the library to sleep.

The outside doors were being closed at this time, so fortunately it was easy to slip inside through the large window of one of the small lounges. Ironically, it was the one where I had brought the twins for that first joke on Road. Many others had followed since but now I was careful not to interfere. Carefully closing the window, I picked up my heavy basket before slipping down the dark hallway towards the grand staircase.

Dinner was over by now, the Noahs would be in one of the family rooms upstairs or, in a pinch, in their quarters, and the servants avoided the main corridors as much as possible, so the most logical choice was to use those. What's more, it would get me upstairs quicker and that's really where I'd have to be careful.

The logic seemed to be valid... but I guess it really wasn't my thing, because as soon as I got to the top of the stairs, I froze when I saw my chief torturer placing a new candle in a candlestick in the hallway. Marie Brown, Road's personal maid and the first person I thought I could really hate.

Before I could even make a move, she had spotted me and her face creased in deep disgust.

"What have we here..." she said as she walked towards me, a sneer on her face and anger in her eyes. "Shouldn't you be in your room, Miss Campbell? It's not a good idea to be walking alone so late..." she added condescendingly as she stopped a few steps away from me.

"I was just coming back, if you'll excuse me..." I replied with a tight smile before rushing a few steps in her direction, all too aware of the stairs at my back. No one had attempted a murder until now, but there was no reason to tempt the devil...

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it." She said at once, stepping sideways directly into my path forcing me to stop to avoid hitting her. Damn these small corridors... there was no way to get around her easily and my hands busy with the basket didn't make me feel much better either. "You are so arrogant! Dismissing me as common trash when we were just talking. So consumed with your rank that you treat the servants like dirt under your shoes! And John doesn't see why I don't trust you! Admit it, you charmed him, didn't you? A whore, ah, you disgust me!" she hissed suddenly, letting out all the anger she had built up against me.

The hatred was not pretty.

"I have no problem with servants, I don't care about rank." I snapped just as quickly, though I knew unfortunately that nothing would convince this woman. "You are only jealous because I got the job in a week that you wanted for years. I don't know you and from what I've seen in the last few weeks I don't want to know you, but you seem to be a very rancid woman, one of those human beings who dishonours all others." I spoke distinctly in an acid voice, my fists clenched around my basket so tightly that the knuckles were white. Maybe, a week before, I would have tried to be the best version of myself and talked to her, tried to understand his problem and help him but now? Now I was just tired and wanted this shit to end. So much for the understanding Eve, I was far from a saint and my patience had reached its limit. "It's not even that you disgust me, it would be pointless to evoke such strong feelings for someone as pathetic as you, no... I pity you." I finished in a loud voice with a crooked smile, head held high and a laughing look on my face before forcing my way past her.

Arms outstretched and legs shaking, I forced myself not to turn towards her, well aware that turning my back on her was not the best idea, but what else was I supposed to do? Besides, it wasn't as if the woman was armed and it would be terribly stupid of her to try a bare-knuckle attack when we were only a few yards from the family's rooms.

I guess I had too much faith.

I had not taken two steps when a hand grabbed my collar and pulled me back, causing me to drop my basket with a low, surprised cry. "Shut up!" the woman hissed at once as she pushed me to the floor, my head directly into the basket of damp linen. With my mouth and nose blocked by the sheets, I soon struggled violently, kicking the basket and using the new space to turn and kick her in the kneecaps. Screaming in pain, she stumbled backwards and I watched in horror as she fell towards the stairs. "Attention !" I shouted as I rushed to my feet, my hand reaching out to catch her.

And I almost did. I almost did. But as my hand brushed against her dress, two small arms wrapped around my waist pinning me in place with a force their small size should not contain. "Leave her." A voice behind my shoulder ordered coldly, but it's not like I could have done anything else anyway: she was too strong for me.

And sure enough, eyes wide in horror, I saw my tormentor fall down the stairs with a terrified gasp, her shoulders shattering into a step with a sickening crunch before rolling down to the ground floor and coming to rest at the bottom of the steps, motionless.

Breathless, I barely felt the hands pull away from me as I dashed down the stairs, almost tripping over myself in my haste to get to the woman. Dropping to my knees beside her I tried in panic to remember my first aid lessons, my eyes blurred with barely restrained tears. Resolutely avoiding looking at her left arm, which rested at her side in an unlikely position, I wrapped one hand around her wrist and lifted her eyelid with the other, almost slumping with relief when I felt a pulse. "She's alive," I breathed in relief as I racked my brain for what the hell I was supposed to do next.

"Unfortunately," came a desolate voice from behind me and I jumped in its direction to see Road slowly descending the last few steps of the stairs.

"Road?" I whispered in a shaky voice as the girl came up to my level before leaning over the woman's body with deep disgust on her face.

"You're right, you know." She says instead of answering me. "It's really not a very good example of the human race..." Road crouches down, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. "It's been amusing to see her poor attempts at improving her status over the last few years, you're far from the only person she's messed with you know, but it's not like that now, I don't like my stuff being touched." She added, turning her piercing gaze on me. "I'm disappointed, Eve, I wish you'd told me yourself. I waited for weeks, you know, this whole thing could have ended a lot sooner."

With my brain wandering, I looked at the girl in confusion. It was... Road, wasn't it? The little girl I had come to know over the past few months? The one I'd made snowmen with and helped with homework and played with...dolls.

Dolls.

I'd already thought that, hadn't I? I'd always told myself that I was just a doll for Road, a new favourite toy that she looked after, trying not to break. I'd said that and yet... yet I'd hoped it was more than that, that I'd managed to squeeze the Noah's heart a little... But that was just an illusion, wasn't it? I shouldn't have deluded myself, what could little Estelle, this strange girl, completely disconnected from her feelings, be doing? Empathy? Ah, I had lied to myself, I had always been terrible at comforting people and not for nothing! I could imitate them, yes, I could fake it, yes, my many years of acting had seen to that, but it was impossible for me to know if it was real or not.

My eyes went wide and I opened my lips without knowing what I was going to say, but quickly closed them again when I heard a noise coming from the top of the stairs. Suddenly, Road's expression changed dramatically as she stood up and cried out, "Help us! There's been an accident, someone has fallen! Daddy!" Soon the footsteps came closer and Eliott appeared at the top of the stairs. Still with his usual blank look, he glanced at Road, nodded, then turned and disappeared down the corridor before my stunned eyes.

Uh... what?

Finally feeling the blood seeping into my skirt, I quickly removed my jacket and pressed it against the woman's head, not knowing what else to do. Road still didn't seem intent on helping me, in fact she was watching the whole procedure with notable boredom. "I don't understand why you're helping her, she's earned this... Good thing we don't have a carpet in the hall, all that blood would have been impossible to remove!" She moaned, reverting to the little girl I knew better even though she was lamenting the death of a human instead of a doll.

Well, again, it was much the same for her...

Fortunately, a few seconds later, the sound of running was heard again and Sheryl appeared at the top of the stairs flanked by Tyki and Tricia.

"My God!" gasped Tricia, her eyes wide as she covered her mouth with her hands, her husband and brother already running down the stairs.

"What happened?" Sheryl asked as Road rushed into his arms.

"Oh that was horrible, I saw the whole thing!" Road whined with excessive drama. "Marie was mean to Eve and then she tried to push her down the stairs but luckily I caught Eve first! Marie, on the other hand, was dragged down in her momentum and fell instead." Road cried and now that I thought about it, it was substantially true. Still, I noticed that she had completely avoided the fact that she had prevented me from catching her maid...

"Eve?" whispered Tricia right next to me. Surprised, I gasped and turned my head in her direction. I was still kneeling in a growing pool of blood next to Mary, my hands trembling and pressed to her head and my eyes unfocused: I must not have made a very pretty picture. "Come with me, darling," she said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Mais... I... elle a… needs aide… help..." I stammered, not quite sure I was making sense. Warm hands suddenly overlapped mine and I turned my head to see Tyki kneeling beside the woman, his eyes fixed on Tricia. "I'll take care of it, take Eve and Road, Tricia," he said before turning to Sheryl "Sheryl, call the doctor."

Sheryl nodded and gently pushed Road towards Tricia and me before rushing to his office, Eliott already kneeling beside Tyki to help him.

"Let's go to my room, I don't think you should be alone tonight..." Tricia whispered, her hands wrapped protectively around our shoulders and I was just amazed that she cared for me as much as she did for her daughter.

As we climbed the stairs, Tricia letting go of us for a second to whisper a quick order to one of the maids who had just arrived because of the commotion, I turned my head to observe the scene below.

Hands still shaking, I watched as more and more servants hurried in with medical supplies or simply to observe with morbid curiosity.

Certainly, seeing her fall down the stairs and crash to the ground had been terrifying but...

A small hand slid possessively around my bloody fingers, forcing me to turn my head to look into Road's unusually golden eyes. A smile of contentment on her lips, a far cry from the tearful little girl she'd played just moments earlier, she pulled me gently towards Tricia without ever taking her eyes off me.

...But what frightened me most was that I was finally realising the full meaning of the word "Noah". Mentally, I had known what they were, I had even had a brief glimpse of them through Tyki in Paris, but now it was obvious that I had not integrated it well. For it could very well have been me, the person bathing in their own blood at the bottom of that staircase.

Shivering, I instinctively tightened my grip on Road's little fingers as I followed her down the corridors. I knew all the horrible things I'd narrowly escaped in the 19th century, but I guess I'd still taken it all too lightly.

The whole maybe-jump-dimension thing was suddenly looking a lot more sinister...

KnK: Pretenses are slowly being stripped away…

Nël: Isn't it a little pathetic that I do not remember the last time I wrote an action scene? X) in fact, I don't even know if we can call it an action scene, there are literally only two sentences that describe the fall of a super secondary character...

By the way, I made a Bonus chapter for the 100 reviews on NlN (the french version of this story)! So if Koneko feels up to it, you'll have the bonus chapter too :) It's 12k of other characters explaining their POV of STB from 1 to chapter 13.

Anyway! I hope once again that everything is going well for you :) Tell yourself that if it's not the case, the next time you'll read Eve's woes, all your exams will be finished!

Think of the reviews and see you on the 25th of next month!