Story: A Touch of Colour in the Gray

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date: April 25, 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. 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!)

Unfortunately, Koneko can't continue to béta this story :'( A big round of applause for her previous work, please ! On the same topic, If someone is interested in betaing this story, please PM me!

Enjoy your reading :D

Shading the Black Chapter 31: Happy Portugal

Thursday 1st April 1886

To be honest... I had completely forgotten.

My birthday, I mean.

I had noticed Road's mischievous look and Tricia's sly smile throughout the last week but I was far too used to my October 10th to even think that this could be the cause. So, on the evening of March 31, I went quietly to bed, expecting nothing from the next day except to help Berthe in the kitchen... and woke up instead with a scream in my ears and a weight crushing my chest.

"Happy birthday!" Road shouted as my brain attempted a reboot despite the lack of oxygen.

"Ro...ad." I choked with difficulty, my nose in my pillow, my arm under my neck cutting off my breath with Road's weight on my shoulders.

"Oops, sorry, coming down, hold on." She laughed as she dug her elbows into my back on her way out. Raising myself up on my forearms, I pushed myself upright, my head full of… errr… cotton, to be polite. Forcing myself to be a little more graceful than during my usual morning routines, Road staring at me, I finally noticed something crucial.

"Road... what time is it?" I asked horrified as I saw that not a ray of light filtered in from under the curtains.

"One minute past midnight!" She chirped as she swayed on her toes. "You said your dad always came to wake you up at exactly midnight on your birthday, I figured I could take over!"

Looking at her uncomprehendingly, it took a little while for my brain to understand what she was whispering to me. "When did I tell you that?" I asked surprised, my voice softening with emotion. It was a silly thing that I used to complain about all the time before but somehow... I missed it now and I was incredibly touched that she thought of it. "Whatever, that's nice Road, but you shouldn't be up at this time, you have school tomorrow."

"Today." She corrected before sulking, making me feel bad. Firstly because it always made my heart ache to see a child sulking, but mostly because it was Road. Road the Noah, you know, the person you didn't want to be on the wrong side of.

"Today." I corrected myself as a peace offering before hesitating for a second and giving her a hug. Luckily for me, she returned it right away so it wasn't too strange. I think It was the first time I had initiated a hug myself. Not that I didn't want to, I was the type of person who needed hugs to be happy, but it wasn't really good behaviour here... "Thank you very much, it makes me very happy, it's... almost like being home." I said as I awkwardly patted her back, reminding me of my best friend from my past life.

But this seemed to be a mistake, because immediately her, until now, loose fingers dug into my shoulders with difficulty and she brought her lips to my ear as she said in the creepiest voice possible : "But you're home..." making me shudder in spite of myself and immediately stammer assurances that of course this was my home. But they were not empty words, for as I said them, I realised that, yes, I was home. Kamelott Manor was my home and I loved it here despite the fragility of my existence at the hands of the Noahs.

Road must have felt my sincerity because she let go of me gently as her face bored nothing but the purest joyful innocence. "Here!" She said, handing me a small package wrapped with a beautiful pink ribbon. Amazed because Road Kamelott had just woken me up to give me a birthday present... (a sentence I never thought I'd think of one day.) I gently unwrapped the paper and pulled out an assortment of hair accessories. In my hands were three ribbons in the exact same shades as the dresses I most often wore, a few patterned scrunchies, some utilitarian bobby pins, and a beautiful silver decorative clip, a blue diamond shaped stone circled with three loops of ribbon.

"Dad brought it back to me from Portugal, but it will look much better with your eyes." Road chirped as my gaze fell on the clip. "It's pretty, isn't it? I'll be able to do some nice hairdressing for you with it!" And indeed, the clip was very pretty and so were the ribbons, and it was nice to receive this when I wasn't expecting it at all, but on the other hand... it accentuated my role as a human doll for Road . Well, at least it was still better than disgusting human...

Warmly thanking Road again, I let her return to her room with a final hug, then placed the small package on my bedside table with a bittersweet smile. Despite my confused thoughts, I was asleep within five minutes.

It was also a gentle awakening.

I was infinitely grateful to myself for keeping my room tidy (not that I had enough stuff for it to be really messy...) because it seemed to have become a place of passage without any regard for the so-called modesty of the time. Tricia, I could understand. Not only was she the lady of the house and so I didn't have much to say, but on top of that I had seen her asleep practically every day for over a year. I didn't really have the right to complain about her doing the same to me. Even if she was paying me for it. And so, for the first time since I'd arrived at the manor (or almost, there had been those weeks of intimidation...), I wasn't woken up that morning. But although no one knocked on the door, my body, far too used to the precise awakening time it had been forced to bear every day for over a year, woke up by itself at the usual time. However, believing I had woken up too early, I remained at the bottom of my duvet, all too happy to still enjoy it warmth. Hey, it was a draughty old mansion, okay? And I very rarely got to dawdle in bed, as it was apparently synonymous with illness and therefore a source of concern at the time.

Anyway, the point is that I wasn't really asleep but not really awake either when the door to the hallway opened silently. Half-conscious, it took me an awfully long time to notice the footsteps but not much longer to jump to my feet, panicked by such deviousness. Well yeah, children were never that quiet and they were the only ones I was comfortable seeing here after the staff episode. But it wasn't a maid with dubious intentions who had entered, but Tricia whom I had frightened so much by standing up suddenly that she almost fell over with a little scream.

"I'm so disappointed, I wanted to wake you up." She lamented a few minutes later, after we had both calmed down before a soft smile stretched her lips and she leaned in to kiss my forehead. "Happy birthday, Eve." And that set the tone for the rest of the day. Everyone was excessively nice, even Sheryl! Well, in a manner of speaking... He greeted me politely and ran into his office without any piquant remark or annoyed disdain. But it could also have been because it was three days before his sacrosanct ministerial election and he quite frankly had other things to do.

On the other hand, the staff I didn't get on with always avoided me and there was really no one available at the manor except Tricia. Louise, Jean and Clarisse had too much work to pass more than a few minutes with me, moreover since they refused I helped them with their work this day. Road was at school, the twins were at boarding school, Lucy Belle and the Duke were at their manor and Tyki was still away on business. I wasn't complaining though, it was a very nice day, just spent with Tricia who made a point of delaying her nap until Road came back so I wouldn't be left alone on this 'special day'. Even Road made an effort to let me decide on our games and the day ended happily with dinner in the small living room with just the three of us. Tricia had a curry prepared by Berthe and I finally understood why Road had been bugging me this past week. She had asked me a lot of personal questions including what dish I would want to try if I had the chance after not being able to tell her my favourite meal.

And at the end of the meal, after a chocolate cake that I never thought I'd eat again in this life, Tricia gave me a beautiful carved wooden box "to put all your friend's letters in," she said, and I couldn't stop a mile-long smile from taking over my lips for... everything.

It had been a good day, a very good day.

And as I put my letters away in my new box that evening, my hair braided with ribbons, I told myself that despite everything that had happened... I was ready to spend a lot more birthdays here like this one.

Friday 9th April 1886

I had been hearing about it for a long time, but I was still surprised when it finally happened: the elections.

There was no reason for me to be though... Sheryl had been in such a state of nerves the last few weeks that as soon as I saw him from a distance, I would immediately turn my heels for fear of rubbing him the wrong way. Many times I hadn't been quick enough and I had inherited ungrateful tasks that I could have done without. But at last, at last, it was over!

At least that's what I thought.

But actually noooo, winning the election was just the first step. And, yes, I don't think it will shock anyone, but he had won the election. Anyway, the manor had been delightfully quiet for one blessed evening before a new ruckus began.

My first clue had surely been Tyki's return at the ungodly hour of three thirty-seven in the morning, who had shamefully woken me up by tripping over the small table before crashing into my door. Waking up with a start, I had stumbled to the handle to open it and let Tyki fall on my legs, the idiot still leaning on the panel when I had opened it. It was only by who know which divinity that I had not sprawled on the floor myself and had instead sent Tyki back to his room, not losing another minute to fall back into the arms of Morpheus.

The second clue was, without context, the look of pure jealousy that one of the maids gave me when she shoved my breakfast tray into my hands. Yes, she was one of the most virulent during my bullying phase, but that was months ago and it must have been weeks since she treated me with anything but holy indifference.

The third clue was when Tricia greeted me terribly cheerfully when I came to wake her up a few minutes later. Not that it was suspicious that Tricia was cheerful, she usually tried to be. But this time she was a little too cheerful, especially when she started talking to me about luggage and toilets and that's when she lost me. I had no idea what she was talking about and after listening to her wonder which dress to choose between the pale pink and the fuchsia for a good twenty minutes, I finally broke down and asked her what she was talking about.

It turns out that we were going to Portugal after lunch.

Good to know...

It would have been even better if someone had taken the trouble to warn me earlier.

Not that I had much else planned...

But still.

Of course, in a way, I had unconsciously realised that, as a new minister, Sheryl would have to travel. But I confess, I had rather understood it as a distant thing that didn't affect me other than the fact that he wouldn't be in my way. But, well, he had apparently decided to take his family on his first political trip. Probably a matter of "seeing and being seen". And so, presumably, they were also taking me along to keep Tricia company and distract Road.

It explained why Tyki had returned without notice or even the maid's reaction this morning. Travelling was no small feat in those days and to be whisked away on a holiday trip with the householders for no other purpose than to provide friendly support? Yes, I could totally understand the jealousy.

However, I wasn't the only one going this time, two butlers, John and... you guessed it... yes, Eliott, and a maid were there too. But, yeah, we weren't treated the same way. That is, they were sent to second class bar Eliott, who served the family, while I was travelling with the householders. But it was hard to know whether this was a good thing or not. On the one hand, cushioned seats were not to be sniffed at after an icy boat and with many hours of trains in sight, on the other hand, I got the terrible task of entertaining a Road incredibly bored by all this transport. If I had thought the journey to Paris was long, I was terribly mistaken, it was nothing compared to crossing the Channel and then France and then Spain to finally arrive in Portugal.

Three days .

It took us three days and an absurd number of transport transfers to do this. It was so ridiculous, never again would I complain about my nine hours of transport to get home every holiday, never again! Well, it's not like I'd ever do those nine hours again so… nine hours to go where, again? Well, anyway, we ended up arriving in one piece and thank goodness Sheryl wasn't travelling with us! He'd left a few hours earlier, the bugger, and I was pretty sure he'd taken the ark or a door from Road because even as Noahs, you couldn't look that good after three days of travel, I just refused to believe it.

He had welcomed us (or rather, his family, really) as soon as we arrived without a trace of fatigue or weariness. For someone who had to arrive himself that morning, this seemed extremely suspicious. Maybe that was why Road had been so awful? She had had to travel by train with us poor mortals, when she could have been there in a flash with the Ark or its doors. Fortunately, her father managed to pacify her when she arrived. Or maybe it was she who managed to calm him down... Because while he seemed to be as frowning as he had been for the past few weeks, he had literally melted away as soon as he had seen his daughter. Leaping over the steps of the stoop, he had caught Road in the air and immediately crushed her in a hug. It was a good thing Road was a Noah because that looked downright painful. Tyki must have agreed because he immediately slid in behind me, seemingly making himself smaller to avoid his brother's gaze. Not cool. But understandable... The employees of the new house were clearly disturbed by the strange actions of the householder but they didn't overreact, luckily for them.

Anyway, the place we were staying was beautiful. Tricia was terribly excited about our stay and didn't go a moment without being quiet so it was she who told me the history of the place on the train. It was an old mansion full of history, one of those buildings that had stood the test of time. Half the size of the one in London, it was still pretty damn big and imposing with its high ceilings and its gardens as far as the eye could see. Tricia had told me happily that was her and Sheryl's wedding present from the Duke. An old heirloom, she had told me, and I made a meaningless noise as I watched the old stones crush each other into an intricate architecture. It was beautiful and my feet were itching to explore. Tyki must have sensed this, or maybe he just wanted to get away from his brother, because he immediately suggested that Tricia and Sheryl enjoy some time together and pushed Road and me up the stairs to the upper floor. The afternoon was full of adventure, with Road showing me every nook and cranny of the mansion while Tyki lazily followed us. Finally, Road introduced me to the highlight of the house: a magnificent little baroque library. It was tiny compared to the mansion's, a simple room, a living room, really, but it was beautifully decorated, ceilings lined with mouldings and walls painted with country scenes framed by massive dark wood bookcases.

"I don't understand why you're so impressed by this," Road said as I shyly brushed a moulding with my fingertips, a probably terribly silly look on my face.

"But it's incredible! Did you see those details? They must have spent their lives on it..." I whispered with sincere respect.

"Of all the idiotic ways to ruin your life..." scoffed Road, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it. "You're being ridiculous Vivi." she added before hopping out of the room but it almost sounded sweet. Loving, even, if I dare say so.

A little puzzled, I watched the little Noah disappear as another took his place beside me. " Don't tell Road or she'll tease me mercilessly, but I like that sort of thing too." Tyki confided in me with a shrug. "It tells a story, I guess, and I like stories." he added quietly as I smiled gently. "By the way, I know a place you'll like, but you'll have to dress as a boy and be discreet, ready for an adventure?" He teased me.

"Always!" I replied immediately, curious as to what he would want to show me. The answer wasn't really true though, but as a rule Tyki didn't aim falsely so I was going to trust him on this one.

A nice little chapter, like the next one too, but it will quickly get a bit more complicated for Eve! For those who want to work on their French, don't forget the original story "Nuancer le Noir" is available on my profile. Hopefully I'll be able to translate UAPV in english someday too X) (Edit2023: Nop)

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