Story: A Touch of Colour in the Gray

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date: 25 January 2020, corrected November 2022

Beta: None (2019) and Nobody (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, taking the name Eve, becomes Tricia Kamelott's lady-in-waiting. Eve quickly becomes aware of the social and gender differences of the time and begins to fear for her future, especially when Road, the twins, Tyki and even Allen arrive. But the exorcist leaves for India and the twins are sent to boarding school. As for Eve, with Sheryl's kind support, she expertly sneaks off to London to avoid the Christmas holidays.

Chapter trigger: The not-so-cool life of orphans in the East End, but no details, promise

My phone died somewhere during my 9 hour train ride. With my day's work inside of course, because otherwise it's not funny :)))) So forgive me for the probably strange turns of phrase and unpleasant mistakes, but knowing that I had to rewrite it in a hurry in two evenings... Meh, it's edible.

Enjoy your reading !

Shading the Black chapter 28: The little chimneysweeper

Tuesday 29 December 1885

By the time the 29th came around, I had seen the boy every day in one way or another. The food trick must work as well with wild animals as with wild children because after that first day I pulled him to eat at the inn, he kept coming back to see me. Honestly, I didn't expect to run into him again when, in the evening, after a good stew, I said goodbye to him on the doorstep, half a loaf of bread clutched in his skinny arms. He hadn't said anything all evening and I hadn't been able to learn anything about him, but I suspected that the bread wasn't for him. Yet the next day he was back.

At first shyly, I had glimpsed him out of the corner of my eye when I had forced myself out of the drawing room to take a basket from Mrs. Carley to one of Miss Taringan's girls. Fortunately, she was working as a secretary in the upper class, so I had been able to avoid the Red Light district. I didn't know how long he had been following me, perhaps even since the tavern, but in any case I had only noticed him when I had to turn hastily to catch the laundry on top of the basket that had seen fit to flee during the walk. He had been there, just around the corner, one foot half-committed, frozen when my eyes fell on him. Both of us standing still, I had barely tried to say "hello" that he had already disappeared. A little puzzled, I finished my errand, accepting a terribly suspicious letter to send to Cross and returned to the inn, fully prepared to slip in by the living room fire and stay there for the day. Unfortunately, the landlady approached me again in the middle of the afternoon, looking terribly upset. Accepting a new task with an outward smile and an inward groan, I went to the grocery store to urgently buy some starch she needed for the evening meal. It wasn't her fault that her helper was bedridden with a bad fever... and she had been so kind to me... and I wasn't doing anything productive with my days anyway...

But still, with my lips blue and my teeth chattering together, it was hard to remember all those beautiful thoughts.

It was really, really, way too cold in London in December 1885.

And on the way home I saw my little stalker again. Not letting him go this time, I grabbed him and bribed him with food again. In any case, if he came to observe me, it was because he was hoping for this result... Proof of that is that he was much more easily convinced this time, I didn't even have to run after him for more than two alleys!

And the same pattern was repeated.

Again.

And again.

For days, at least twice if not three times, he would come and spend a few minutes with me, whether it was a quarter of an hour or almost two. The length of time varied and he disappeared almost as quickly as he appeared. Fortunately, by the end of the second day, I didn't need to chase him anymore. I had to pass some test without knowing because he came very easily now and even when I didn't offer him anything, he still stayed to sit by the fireplace or even walk with me and I didn't see the advantage of that at all.

He still spoke very little, however.

Never more than a few words, two whole sentences on a notable occasion. But silence had become more of a comfort than an awkward thing, so I assumed he was naturally not very talkative.

But there were things you could learn from being around someone. For example, he was totally illiterate. Unlike Allen, who wrote, read and even did basic maths to a level at least as good as the twins now (which was no mean feat given that they were doing well in their first year of college with a bunch of young nobles who had been around much longer than them). The child could write his name and that was it. Or at least that's what he told me. Knowing that he still wouldn't tell me what his name was, I began to doubt it...

Despite his lack of education, he was nevertheless very polite and knew the basic rules of social behavior. Perhaps not those of the nobility, but at least those of the middle class if not the bourgeoisie. The reason had come out, in bits and pieces, in one conversation or another and I had to put the pieces together to get the full story. If I understood correctly, it was something like this: His father owned a small clothing shop in the middle lanes and his older brother had even started school before a lot of trouble started to fall on the little family. The boy was not even five years old when his mother died in childbirth with his unborn baby sister. His father, half devastated by grief, had held on for two years before his newfound alcoholism caught up with him and he committed suicide after losing the shop in a gambling match. From then on, his older brother took over, leaving school and finding them a job with a local chimney-sweeper. A little over a year later, he too died in an accident, leaving the boy to live on the streets.

"I can sleep in the church, Father Eude is nice, he knows my mother and always leaves me a little place in the Nave", he had once whispered to me when I was worried about where he was staying. He worked so "little" compared to the other street children that I wondered how he survived. But even though he was in poor health, he was not lacking in resources. Terribly intelligent and resourceful, he always managed to come up with the best plans but never at the expense of his morals.

I had been quite upset the first time he stopped to drop off one of the buns I had bought for him to a group of children his age. He said that one of them had hurt herself in a chimney and that they needed to feed her until she recovered. "It's natural, it will be my turn soon and I hope she remembers it then." He had muttered.

He was a chimney-sweeper, too. Or at least an apprentice. And he was already very ill. It didn't take long for his weak constitution to bother him and for him to start coughing up his lungs from the soot. That's why he worked half as hard as the other children but still kept his job thanks to his manners which pleased the bourgeois who employed them. With the free accommodation at the church, he managed to get by on his meagre salary and only bought food.

He was nice, so nice, but maybe I was just fooling myself? I wasn't very good at assessing people's characters... and I'd relied far too much on the manga this past year to navigate my stormy relationship with the Noahs. He couldn't know I worked in a noble house, I doubted he wanted a job, but maybe... Well even if he stayed with me only to earn something, I could hardly blame him, I enjoyed his company too. In any case, I didn't want to leave him there. Clearly, he expected to die soon. I had tried to talk to him about taking an apprenticeship, but without being literate or recommended, it was virtually impossible. And even if I came back to London regularly to teach him, it would take time, a lot of time that I wasn't sure he had.

So, thinking about the options, I asked him if he would accompany me to a local bar to meet a friend and we went together. Luckily for me, Tyki was there, playing a few final rounds with the night workers. We were in that perfect time slot when the night workers were leaving for their shift and the day workers were just coming out of the factories. So I didn't wait long after Tyki spotted me. Two more wins and his opponents would go off grumbling, allowing me to slip into the seat next to Noah while he collected his winnings.

"Ready to go home? I hope so because my sister-in-law is furious and my niece is very annoyed." He said with a smile as I let out a soul-splitting sigh.

"I thought Christmas parties would take their minds off it..." I muttered, beginning to dread my return. But maybe Tyki was blowing things up? Yes, that must have been it.

"Oh, it worked, until my birthday, but they soon went back to worrying. Sheryl wasn't being too proud with himself, Tricia scolded him, it was glorious. You really fit in at the mansion this year, you know."

"One year already..." I muttered, my eyes unfocused. Yes, one year and about four days now. My chest felt a little tight at the thought and I had to squint to keep the tears from forcing their way through, but it was nothing like the visceral pain I used to feel. I would always miss my family and there were days when I wanted to curl up with someone for a big comforting hug and others when I would suddenly start to get depressed in the corner for no visible reason, but overall you could tell that time had done its job.

Soon, I hoped, only a bitter nostalgia would remain.

"Anyway..." I say suddenly before hesitating for a second, bringing Tyki's curious gaze to me. "Remember that favour you owed me? I need help..." I asked in a flash of good insight.

"A favour? It was already a favour to repay all the help I gave you." He scoffed and I gave him the hottest black look I could muster causing him to throw his hands up in front of him laughing softly. "Okay, okay, I admit it was a bad move on my part, I didn't think they'd make you do all that. But no need for that, if I can help I will. Even more so since this seems like something Sheryl wouldn't appreciate at all." He teased me, making me blush. He was absolutely right. "So, what do you need?"

"I have a... friend. He's a chimney-sweeper but he's ill, he can't continue this job. I don't know what to do to help him... I thought with all the people you know, you might have an idea?" I asked softly, trying not to squirm in my chair.

Tyki hummed in response, seeming to take a second to think about it before grabbing his bag and standing up. "Well, let's see what I can do, can you introduce me?"

Nodding, I quickly got up and headed for the bar where I had left the boy a few minutes earlier. When Tyki realised who we were going to see, he gave me an indiscernible look before sighing and putting on a calm smile on his face.

Introducing them, I quickly took a step back to watch them interact. Tyki seemed to naturally know what to say to get the boy to relax and talk to him and I was a little jealous that he could do in three minutes what had taken me three days. I didn't know how he did his business, but while the conversation seemed awfully basic, the Noah managed to get some vital information out of him and even some I didn't know yet.

Slightly confused, I let myself be led quietly by the Noah when he ended the conversation with the boy with a smile and asked me to talk alone for a second.

When the distance was great enough, I let my questions come out in masses as Tyki puckered his lips in a strict pout. "So, what do you think? He's nice, isn't he? He just needs a little help, we can't leave him like this." I let out, sensing that Noah wasn't convinced by the idea.

"Yes, he seems like a nice kid, but Eve, he doesn't stand a chance. Without his brother, he would have died with his father. It was only delayed, he's too weak." He said in a final tone as a hand rested on my shoulder.

"He can learn! Sweeping chimneys, it's not for him, but he's very sharp with his hands, I'm sure precision work would suit him, I was thinking of an apprenticeship, please Tyki, I know he can do it, he doesn't..."

"Ivy!" exclaimed Tyki cutting me off in the middle of a panicked tirade. "You can't help everyone!"

"I know!" I almost shouted back, barely holding back the words. "But if I was so lucky, why not him?" I pleaded only receiving a look of pity in return that I didn't like at all.

"It wasn't the same, you wouldn't have died if you hadn't had a job at the manor. You're resourceful, I'm sure you would have found something quite suitable." he said but I only made a laughing noise in response.

"Nonsense, who else would have hired an undocumented, underage, amnesiac girl without even a recommendation? I could barely speak English at first! It's far more likely I would have ended up a prostitute or dead in the gutter because I doubt I would have had the courage to do it." I emptied my bag, confessing for the first time aloud the fear that had gripped my stomach since I had realised the extent of my situation.

"Don't say that..." he murmured with a pained look. "You're literate, I know it's harder for women but you could have found an apprenticeship or something." he said but I sensed his own doubt. It wasn't "harder" for women, it was almost impossible to get out of the gutter without papers. The boys, still, could be used as labourers, but the girls? No, of course not, they would distract the brave men at work. If I had had papers, I could have tried the church that hires trackers and paper-scrapers anywhere, but without? No, it was even more suspicious that I knew how to write and read at that rate... That left only the horrible jobs or the shady schemes like what had happened to Link and the former (future?) third generation Exorcists.

And even though I had learned all this during my year here, and maybe now I could manage, but then? Fresh from the twenty-first century and half panicked? No way.

"I doubt it." I finally whispered and Tyki said nothing to contradict me this time. "I've been very lucky, but even privileged, I've done nothing so far to help others. Maybe it's just misplaced guilt, but he... I can't... if I can, no, if you can help him, please, Tyki, do it." I muttered with trembling fists.

He seemed indecisive but finally sighed and dropped his hand on my shoulder with a quick comforting squeeze. "Look, I'm not promising anything, but I have some minor friends, one of the sisters of one of them runs a bakery, maybe..."

"Oh thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed with a suddenly radiant smile as I naturally hugged him. It was only a second later that my brain caught up with my arms and I took a quick step backwards, terribly sorry. "I apologise, I didn't mean to..."

"I'm fine" he said quickly as he swept his hand over it, he seemed just as lost as I was.

We stood there for a second in uncomfortable silence before we remembered what we were talking about and joined the boy again. With the story out of my hands, I left it to Tyki to introduce his solution. The boy nodded shyly and Tyki set about organising it. "I'll meet you tomorrow at the marketplace, you were supposed to go home with John, weren't you? I'm going to take advantage of it too. For once, my return should go unnoticed next to yours. You really shouldn't have left without telling Tricia."

"Don't say that..." I almost groan. "I forgot but Sheryl knew! Oh, Tricia is going to be unbearable..." I muttered the last part as Tyki let out a laugh.

The next day the boy came to thank me. Tyki had been able to get him a trial period and he seemed determined to prove himself. I hoped that everything would go well. Still, the good news made me happy and after packing up my things, saying the matron goodbye and heading back to the marketplace, I couldn't help a big happy smile from taking place on my lips and thanking Tyki profusely. It was funny how embarrassed he looked. It was nice to reverse the roles for once.

Unfortunately, the good mood didn't last long and I quickly began to feel anxious as we approached the mansion. Tyki's words were going through my head and I soon learned that they were not as exaggerated as I had hoped. Indeed, as soon as I set foot in the mansion, Tricia ran down the central staircase like an avenging angel before taking me in her arms with a strength I didn't suspect.

"What were you thinking, leaving like that, without a word! She asked, holding me at arm's length so she could look me in the eye before scanning my body as if to check I was okay. I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration, I was away for a week, it's not like I was sent to a commando island in the Caribbean...

"I left a letter...?" I started to say before I shut up when a dark look pierced my blue orbs.

"A letter? How can you call that a letter ? I had plans this Christmas, I was so sad to know you were so far away!" She said before pulling me back into her arms and then away again. "You had fun at least, didn't you? Where did you go?" She asked with a worried look on her face before suddenly letting go of me to stick her finger in Tyki's back who had attempted a runaway while I was being chewed up. "Oh no, Sir! Don't think I've forgotten you!" She said and Tyki turned around sheepishly.

"Vivi! Uncle Tyki!" A high-pitched voice suddenly shouted from the top of the stairs and a familiar little girl came down as quickly as her mother, her dress fluttering behind her in a strange sense of déjà-vu. Her cries must have brought people together, for soon the hall was filled with the other inhabitants of the mansion and the whole place became a shambles. It took Sheryl's arrival to calm things down a bit and soon we were in the living room where I could look at the remains of the Christmas tree at my leisure. It looked like it had been through hell. I didn't want to know what had happened.

The rest of the afternoon passed more quietly after that. Tricia was deeply disappointed that I hadn't stayed for Christmas, but she was too kind to hold it against me. She was glad that I had taken a holiday in some way, even if she seemed a little scandalised that I had just stayed in London. "Next time," she had said. "We'll visit another country, why not Belgium? I've heard good things."

"I want to go to Germany!" Road then exclaimed, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Or Portugal?" Tyki offered but the twins groaned in protest.

"Maybe next summer if everything goes well for Sheryl." Smiled Tricia before turning back to me. "But we'll have to do Christmas here again, I'd love to see the differences between our cultures."

"Oh yes! How are you celebrating Christmas, Eve?" Road asked and her smile looked, to me at least, clearly smug. She knew I wasn't religious, the little pest.

"Oh, well, classic things..." I mumbled, racking my brain to guess what traditions might seem normal a hundred and fifty years ago. "We decorate the tree, we go to mass, we tie socks to the fireplace..."

"Socks?" Tricia winked, surprised.

"Big decorative wool socks? I'm not sure where the tradition comes from, but they're named and we put sweets or little presents inside. And the big presents under the tree and then we eat a nice cooked meal all together and play games too..." I say, trying to sound a bit vague.

"Sounds like fun, we should celebrate it your way next year." Smile Road as I looked at her with vacant eyes, imagining for a second the Noahs playing mimes or baking dry cakes.

Nop.

Nop, nop, nop.

"Oh yes, what a wonderful idea sweetheart!" Tricia enthused and I blanched a little more. I could only hope that they would have forgotten this disastrous idea by next year...

Having finished it literally two minutes ago and being at the end of my life, I'm posting it to you without even a reread, my bed is calling.

Also, I just wrote Christmas 1886 and I can say you Road didn't forget :p

I hope you all had a fabulous year 2019 : D Lots of good things for you in 2020 too, love, health, personal achievement and everything :) Happy New Year! Think of letting a review and see you on the 25th of next month!