Story: A Touch of Colour in the Gray
Book 1: Shading the black.
Date: March 25, 2020, corrected November 2022
Beta: Nouillesverte (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. But the exorcist goes to India and the twins are sent to boarding school. Eve receives letters from them, however, including one from Allen that makes her very worried about the future.
Chapter trigger: None, I think (let me know if you think it's necessary to add one!)
Koneko had too much work to do this month and cannot béta this chapter ! But a wonderful friend of mine, Nouillesverte, was able to beta it :D I hope Koneko will be able to make the next, though, because i'm in exam hell and Covid19 or not, Teachers aren't going easy on us X'(
Enjoy your reading!
Shading the Black chapter 30: The Duke's Cat
Tuesday 9 March 1886
Following my decision to deliberately influence the story, I was feeling pretty good. I was, of course, still a little stressed and would probably always await Allen's next letters with trepidation, but otherwise everything was fine.
In fact, everything was going too well...
Since the harassment in August and my mini-depression in October, nothing too dramatic had happened. Actually, I'd even say things had calmed down quite a bit, back to where they were a few weeks after I arrived at the mansion. Sheryl was busier than ever with the elections finally coming up in just a few weeks, Tricia wasn't at her best because of the weather, Tyki was out of town, the twins were at boarding school, Road was at her young lady classes, and the Earl was visiting far less often than before. And now that I'd accepted the whole Narein thing, I was waiting with bated breath for the next obstacle, eyeing Road suspiciously every time she came to me.
It was getting tiring, but at the same time I couldn't shake the feeling that I wouldn't be at peace for long. In retrospect, I should have realised that all those quiet months were a kind of divine excuse for all the shit that was going to happen to me next...
In the meantime, I was sitting quietly at my desk, happily drawing some key Harry Potter moments in watercolour. This was the next story I would be telling the children when the twins came home this weekend and I was trying something new to try and make it more interactive and easy to tell. I was still babbling a lot and sometimes I'd forget an important event or mix up the moments, which was a bloody nuisance for the flow of the story so I thought I'd draw some panels with the key elements. This way, I could tell everything in the right order, so that I didn't forget anything and the children would be more involved in the story.
I hoped they would like the story, it would be the first one that was less "classic" and especially long, as I had rather stuck to Disney until now. I hoped I wouldn't have any problems with Tricia either... She was very nice, but mostly very Catholic and they weren't usually fans of wizards, nice or not... But then, I doubted the children had told the housemasters about our story nights or they hadn't bothered to tell me. In any case, I was just about to draw the swelling of Aunt Marge from the third book when I decided to take a break. Stretching, I stood up and ran a hand through my hair, stopping for a second to check in the mirror that I was well enough to go out and then poked my head into the hallway.
No one.
Almost whistling, I left my room, taking care to close the door before heading towards the entrance, shivering slightly. The weather was much better than last month, but it was still cold. Glancing sadly out of one of the large windows in the hallway, I sighed before continuing on my way. I would have liked to go for a horse ride or even just lie in the grass in the sun to read, but that was certainly out of the question for now.
Walking down the main staircase, I had almost reached the kitchen when a loud crash sounded not far from me. Jumping up in surprise, I headed towards the sound, hesitating at the end of a corridor when I realised it was coming from Sheryl's office. However, I didn't have time to hesitate for long because immediately the door slammed open, letting a bruised Sheryl through.
Grumbling in surprise, I immediately flattened myself against the wall to let him pass, almost praying that he wouldn't notice me. I really didn't want to deal with him when he was in such a bad mood... Yes, well, I didn't want to deal with him as a rule, but this time in particular. And it almost worked! Without even noticing me, he walked past me, grumbling, holding at arm's length a... cat?
Blinking at the bizarre picture, it took me another second to notice Sheryl retrace his steps to stop in front of me.
"Miss Campbell, perfect timing! Can you take care of... this for me? Thank you." He said as he shoved the cat into my arms, forcing me to pick it up if I didn't want it to crash to the floor. Without another glance, he turned and ran back to his office, slamming the door behind him again.
Ooo...kay ?
Lowering my gaze to the cat in my arms, I met a pair of golden orbs and blinked.
A cat. Very good. Cats hated me. Perfect. Can't wait to get a bloody arm before the end of the day...
Yet, despite his flattened ears and tail between his legs, he did not move, remaining taut as a board in my hands. I looked at him suspiciously, but eventually placed him more comfortably between my arms when he didn't try to poke me in the eye. "Qu'est-ce que je vais faire de toi…?" I asked myself what I was going to do with him, our eyes still locked on each other. Ending the impromptu staring contest, I slowly walked out of the hallway a little confused about what I should do next.
"Are you hungry?" I asked suddenly as I remembered my original purpose for leaving my room. Receiving a "meow" that might as well have been a "yes" as a "no" as a "diiiie" I shrugged and mentally chose the first option. Aaah, denial...
Creeping along the corridors, with the sulky ball of fur in my arms, it didn't take me long to reach the kitchen and poke my head through the doorway. There was just Berthe, the cook, and Louise chopping carrots. Perfect, those ones were on my side.
"Eve! Hello !" Louise greeted with a shy smile as I cautiously entered the kitchen.
"Well then, Miss, you've only come to see us now? It's been a week since I perfected that mushroom soup you gave me the recipe for, you'll tell me about it! Berthe said a little further away without even turning around as she stirred a large pot "And talking about that, you could come more often..." She added, pointing a wooden spoon in my direction before freezing when she saw my load. "A cat? Eve! You don't bring an animal into the kitchens of... wait, is that the Duke's cat? Yes, it is! I recognise that face." She said as she walked over to us to pet the cat on the head while he let out a purr. "Come here, I must have some good fresh milk nearby..." she mumbled while going.
"Is that really the Duke's cat?" Louise asked curiously, forsaking her carrots to approach me, clearly wanting to pet the animal but being too shy to do so on her own.
"I guess..." I replied, looking more closely at the cat. "I didn't know the Duke had a cat, but now that I think about it, I've seen him two or three times before..."
"Yes, but he usually doesn't let us near him... How did you do it?" Louise asked before biting her lip and shyly moving her hand forward to finally scratch the cat.
"Lord Kamelott gave him to me? I didn't quite understand what happened, I confess, he just told me to look after him and that was that." I replied with a shrug causing the cat to feint in annoyance. "Sorry." I was quick to apologise when he glared at me. If I could still avoid a bite...
"Come here kitty, I have just the thing for you! exclaimed Berthe as she came back into the main room, a bowl of milk in her hands. Putting it on the floor, she looked at me, probably expecting me to put the cat on the floor but I hesitated a little.
"Do you know him well? Is he behaving properly? I'm afraid he'll run away, I was told to look after him, I can't let that happen..." I asked worriedly.
"I have no idea, he usually walks around the manor, this is the first time I've seen him this close." Replied Berthe with a frown. "But you're right, maybe it would be better to take him into the small living room, there are too many interesting things in this kitchen for a little cat. Louise, go with Eve and bring the milk, will you? You'll go and get some clean horse blankets for her afterwards and then come straight back here, those carrots won't peel themselves!"
"Can I help? I don't mind peeling if..." I started to say but Berthe immediately interrupted me by pushing me towards the door.
"No, no! That's very kind, Eve, but if the Marquess has given you a task, you'd better do it right! Look after the cat, will you? We'll take care of dinner." And then, as an afterthought. "But here, if you want to help, come and eat in the kitchen with us tonight, you can wash the dishes afterwards." She says with a motherly smile before waving for us to leave. With a small smile, I accompanied Louise down the long corridors, the cat still in my arms.
"I wonder what he did to make Lord Kamelott so angry." I muttered to Louise when we were a safe distance from prying ears.
"Maybe he made a mess of the office? Oh, I'd pay good money to see his reaction!The Marquess is always so fastidious about his organisation, I always feel sorry for Clarisse when it's her turn to clean the office." she laughed and I smiled back. It was funny how she always seemed to be more lively when we were alone and became quiet again when we met one of the householders or even more experienced employees. 'A good employee must be forgettable, Miss Campbell," came back the obnoxious voice of Mary, the former head housekeeper. She annoyed the hell out of me... Even if I wasn't a fan of Road's methods, I was still glad she'd got rid of her... "But how can you get mad at such a cute furball?" Lousie continued, shyly bringing her hand up to the cat.
"Be careful with all these compliments, he shouldn't get a big head." I teased them, receiving a vicious jab of my teeth in response, "Ouch! You're exaggerating, I didn't say anything mean!" I almost groaned. Luckily we had arrived at the small living room and although I awkwardly stood there for a few more minutes while Louise went to get the blankets, once done I quickly settled the cat by the fire before checking that the windows were closed and then collapsing onto a sofa with a happy sigh. Louise had immediately gone back with a sad look at the cat, leaving me alone with him.
"Don't tell Sheryl..." I mumbled as I closed my eyes, ready to take a nap here and now smiling when I heard a surprisingly expressive purr in response. Opening my eyes again, I looked up at the ceiling before settling my gaze on the cat who was quietly lapping up his milk on his pile of blanket. "You promise not to make a mess if I'm asleep?" I asked, receiving only a stare in response. "...I'll take that as a yes." I smiled as I sat back down properly to remove my shoes. "I'm too tired anyway... I shouldn't have finished that novel last night... or this morning, really." I conclude by lying down on the sofa with my back to the door. With any luck, even if someone came in, they wouldn't see me. And if they did see me... well, only Sheryl would be a problem, really, the employees had no say in the matter and the other householders had grown accustomed to my "eccentricities." so, why not take advantage of it?
I was asleep within five minutes.
The awakening was slower.
The couch was horribly comfortable and the fire diffused a perfect temperature in the room. Plus, I'd managed to find something fluffy to sneak between my arms, bringing me to the perfect curvature of my shoulders to sleep properly. Really, if it wasn't for that incessant ticking noise, I wouldn't have moved from there...
Wait, wait, wait. Gné?
Becoming aware of a blanket over me that certainly wasn't there when I'd fallen asleep, I opened one lazy eye, my mind still in the limbo of sleep, to find the cat from earlier in my arms. "Comment es-tu arrivé là, toi?" I asked the cat how he got there as I began to scratch his ears.
"Oh, sûrement en se faufilant, Mademoiselle adore les câlins." Answered unexpectedly just as much in French as I did a voice not far from my head. Squealing in surprise, I slipped as I tried to get up to see the intruder and fell like a pancake. Face down on the ground, my fall drew an angry yelp from the cat that had remained in my arms during my stunt.
"Is everything all right?" Asked the worried voice, the ticking noise suddenly stopped.
"Couldn't be better." I replied, my cheeks probably terribly flushed. Trying desperately to find a suitable position, I stumbled awkwardly on the blanket before finally planting myself on my two feet.
"Duke Campbell, I didn't know you were coming to the manor today, um, good afternoon." I replied awkwardly as he looked down at his knitting. As he concentrated on untying a tough knot, I took the opportunity to get my hair in shape and dust off my skirt.
"Neither did I, it must be said, but my daughter returned from her trip earlier than expected and Sheryl was kind enough to gather the family here for a welcoming dinner." He answered with a quiet smile and I sat back down gently on the couch. If he was going to pretend like nothing happened, clearly I wasn't going to argue with him.
"Oh, your daughter?" I asked for a confused moment as I watched the cat jump up and down on the headrest of the Earl's chair giving me an evil look in the process. It wasn't my fault! What an idea too, to come crawling into the arms of a sleeper...
"Yes, my daughter Lucie, married to Etienne Belle, the twins' older brother. She's a good friend of Tricia's, haven't you heard of her?"
Oh.
OH.
"Ah yes, indeed, Tricia has mentioned her before once or twice." Or five or six, for that matter. She talked about her a lot actually. Tricia seemed impressed with the lady and her French elegance as she said. It is worth noting that she had never mentioned the same to me, even though I was French too. Well, it's true I had just fallen off a sofa in front of the Millennium Earl. Indeed, if the elegance was missing...
A loud meow was heard as the cat jumped into the Earl's lap.
...didn't he say "Miss?" Oh I'm stupid... The cat, or rather the female cat, is Lulubell. How did that not occur to me earlier? Earl's cat? Black fur and golden eyes? Hell, she even had a white spot on her forehead that looked a bit like a stigma!
Forcing myself to think of what problematic things I might have said in the presence of the ca-... of Lulubell, it took me a little while to come out of my thoughts and realise that the Earl had asked me a question. "Excuse me?" I asked back shyly as he continued to knit, the pink monstrosity falling in waves over Lulubell's black coat.
"I was wondering if you could play the piano for me? We still have some time before tea and I like to listen to music while knitting." He said with a pleasant smile.
As for me, my smile had suddenly frozen. What was I supposed to do? How could I say no to him? "I'm not sure that..." I started timidly but he cut me off immediately.
"I insist, I would like to see your progress!" He assured me, and I couldn't see any way out without being incredibly rude. And I really, really didn't want to disappoint the Earl. Just in case you know... So, with a heavy heart, I slowly got up and walked over to the beautiful grand piano in the corner of the living room, stopping just once on the bench to ask him what to play. "Oh, I don't mind, really, just play a song you like, will you?" He said gently and I turned back to the piano with a blank stare.
Then, slowly, I placed my fingers on the ivory keys.
It wasn't magic, I didn't suddenly start playing exceptionally well, but it was... nice. I guess my gift from that summer hadn't gone away and the almost daily practice had helped. It didn't hurt that I'd already figured out how to play the notes of the music I'd chosen before so it was much easier to let my memory and my hands carry me along. As long as I didn't put too much brain power into it, I was doing fine.
"I don't recognise the tune, what are you playing?" The Count suddenly asked, startling me. Pressing the wrong key, I winced and, unsettled, began to search for the right sound by ear.
"It's 'See you tomorrow' from the 'Dragon' set but played a bit slower than it should be. I'm still struggling to play it at normal speed." I replied absentmindedly, letting out a small sound of victory as I finally found the right note and continued to play.
"Oh yeah? Who wrote it?" The Earl continued and I mentally answered before hesitating. I had already said too much... this music won't be written for years, was it really a good idea? No, no it wasn't...
"I... I'm not sure..." I replied shyly, keeping my gaze fixed on the Piano keys. Wow, credibility + 100 Eve... "I must have heard it somewhere. Maybe in my childhood." Bim, amnesia card as support.
"It's impressive that you remember it so well." Praised the Earl, and he looked genuinely impressed. Despite myself, I felt a little proud... Amazing how this man could make me... no, us, because it happened to everyone from what I could see, feel embarrassment, shame, worry, pride or joy with just a few words. I understood now why all these people agreed to do an akuma. His voice inspired confidence. Yes, in a way...
The Millenium Earl was truly terrifying.
"I remember sounds quite easily." I replied simply, not sure what to say.
"I can see that." He said and I heard his voice filled with a smile. "And you play it by ear! Without even a score."
"Ah, it's just that I can't read music, so I have to." I replied, but his interruptions didn't help and I hit a wrong note again, making me grit my teeth.
"I'll have to teach you." He said and as I turned to him to express how unnecessary it was for him to bother, he continued without giving me time to speak. "You mentioned a set? Is it a series of songs that tell a story like in an opera?" he asked curiously, derailing me from my previous train of thought.
"Ah, yes, It's the story of Hiccup, a young Viking who is the weakest of the tribe despite being the son of the chief. One day, he decides to prove himself by killing one of the dragons... uhum, they are common in this story, they often raid his island. Anyway, he manages to wound one of them but can't finish it off and decides to free it. The music tells of his strange friendship with this dragon and how it will change him and his tribe." I explained much more happily than in our previous exchanges.
"A man and a dragon? That sounds like an interesting... friendship." He seemed lost in thought before picking up his needles again and asking me if I knew any others from the same series.
Nodding my head (that or something else...) I turned back to the piano and began the first notes of "test drive" and then "forbiden friendship" answering distractedly when the Duke asked me what this or that music was. I was so lost in my memories of films and books that when the Earl asked me again what I was playing it took me a few seconds to get out of my head and realise that I had absolutely no idea even though I had answered "Third date" on automatic. I was sure the song was from Dragon but for the life of me, I had no idea where... and since I had been listening to the playlists of both films over and over again, it was very strange.
Yet I did not linger much longer on the matter for there was a knock at the door and Tricia entered the small sitting room with a curious air. "Miss and Duke Campbell." She greeted, endlessly amused by our shared-name. Rising from the Piano at once, I apologised profusely, having completely lost track of time. "Do not worry Eve, I had a feeling you must have been lost in a book." She said kindly as she entered the room, the Earl finished a knot before standing up to greet her "But I wouldn't have guessed it was you playing the piano! I'm disappointed I missed it, you'll have to play for me next time!" she exclaimed beaming and my grin must have been more than mental as she laughed and gently assured me I was playing well before opening the door a little further allowing me to see a tall, tough looking woman.
"May I introduce my dearest friend, Lucie Belle? Lucie, this is Eve, the young Miss I have spoken of so often in my letters."
"Nice to meet you." Said the woman quietly although she didn't really look like she cared. Her gaze was blank and her posture straight, clearly she didn't give a damn about our encounter. Responding with an even platitude, I looked around furtively and, of course, the cat was gone.
Another new person to watch, it seems...
Here we go ! I hope you liked this chapter:D Lulubell joins the battle X) Next one, family travel!
Think of the reviews and see you on the 25th of next month!