Story: A Touch of Colour in the Gray

Book 1: Shading the Black.

Date: September 25, 2020, corrected February 2023

Beta: Fluffyluffy(2020) and Nobody (2023)

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. She meets Baroness Lucie Belle, the twins' older sister and her feline counterpart. Unfortunately Tyki and Eve have a big fight but once they sort it out they became closer than ever.

Chapter trigger: Description of a spiritism seance ?

Hi guys :D Guess what? We have a new béta ! Please, welcome Fluffyluffy who will correct this story from now on !

(Yeah, she is the 5th one… It feel like this story is kind of cursed…)

Enjoy your reading !

Shading the Black Chapter 36: Impossible or Improbable ?

Wednesday, 8th September 1886

September, for many poor, or rather lucky people, considering the times, was synonymous with the start of the new school year.

But not for me.

Despite being twenty (if we were sticking to the established age in this world) and therefore my so-called minority in the XIXᵉ century, I no longer had any duties other than keeping Tricia company. Yet, somehow, my life was still punctuated by the great September back-to-school. Three of the manor's inhabitants were student, and it took a considerable amount of effort to make them presentable for school.

Road threw her usual back-to-school tantrum: screaming, crying, whining, pleading everything she could not to be enrolled in yet another term of 'torture'. Unfortunately for her, the Marquesses Kamelott stood firm. The twins, for their part, although strangely enjoying their year at school, had taken a sudden liking to clothes which Tricia described as 'not suitable for boys from good families' and which Sheryl didn't even bother to call anything other than 'filthy, vile rags'. Of course, this caused far more problems than it should have, as the twins didn't want to part with their clothes under any circumstances, despite the compulsory uniform. Naturally, this sparked off a debate and everyone had their own little opinion, driving the whole affair further into an incoherent slump for what seemed to be the simple pleasure of contradicting each other.

Off to one side, away from the drama, Tyki and I watched the whole thing with the classic fascination of those who didn't felt concerned directly. Totally reconciled, our argument had in fact destroyed a wall between us. Much more at ease, the easy conversation of yesteryear had almost become symbiotic, now accompanied by little touches that seemed quite natural. A hand on the shoulder, an arm wrapped around the other's, the rehairing of a wild lock... It had become so normal, as constant as with Road or Tricia, that it took John's timid pointing out to me for me to realise that, no, it wasn't exactly common between two people of the opposite sex, with no family or love ties here. But I didn't cared, the silences were complicit, and we came up with so many private jokes that all it took was a single word and a shared glance to provoke an unstoppable fit of giggles. It was simply incredible to rediscover this style of relationship that I thought I had lost forever with the XXIᵉ century.

And a little terrifying, I must admit... Sheryl was extremely unhappy with our new-found friendship. He, who had gradually mellowed, seemed to watch every gesture of affection with suspicious eyes. He'd even started to separate us again, giving Tyki a load of absurd tasks in the afternoons and assigning me to babysit Road at the same time. On the other hand, Tricia had taken the most passive-aggressive decision to do just the opposite. The whole thing resembled a strange game of human tug-of-war, which I didn't enjoy very much. It was no fun being the figurative rope between the two masters of the house. Of course, the situation couldn't last, and it erupted into another argument, leading Sheryl to literally... sleep on the sofa in his office. I swear, Road had dragged me there in the middle of the night when I didn't believe her, the most terrifying seconds of my short life... He really did sleep on the sofa, not even in the second bedroom, where he usually settled when they had to sleep in separate rooms. Maybe he was too scared to even go up to the master wing?

In any case, Tricia's birthday hadn't helped matters. Sheryl had tried to make a romantic gesture, a little sweet trip carefully organised, but it had not gone down well. Ignoring the real problem with a distraction had only brought him more ire from his wife. So she celebrated quietly with Road, Tyki and me, enjoying a cake in the garden. This, of course, had certainly not helped Sheryl's annoyance with me and the cold war had reached a point where even Road, who usually took advantage of the chaos like a little devil, had enough. So she'd seen fit to call a council of war. At two in the morning. On Tyki's bed. With Pipou the Elephant as secretary.

I clearly wasn't ready.

"Road..." I moaned half-heartedly as she pushed me into Tyki's room." Why?!"

"Hush Vivi!" She said cheerfully as she jumped onto Tyki's bed causing me very suddenly to stare out the window opposite. The Idiot had slipped slightly across the bed when he woke up, and although I was pretty sure no one was fooled that I knew Tyki had powers, it didn't hurt to maintain the status quo.

"Road..." grunted Tyki in turn as he saw his bed invaded before sighing and dragging himself to the left, so we could sit down. "What's the matter?"

"I think we should take a holiday." Smiled the little pest and we both looked at her with round eyes.

"I hate to say it but... Back to school was less than a fortnight ago." I called back softly, afraid she would throw one of her tantrums about school.

"I know that!" She said, rolling her eyes. "But Mother and Daddy are insufferable, they don't even pay attention to me any more." She moans with a pout." If we go away for a few days, I'm sure they'll get their priority straight again!"

Yeah, by freaking them out and starting a witch-hunt. So no. Just no.

Trying to plead my case, I begged the Noah to abandon this new plan, but nothing helped. Let's face it, it was a given. At least Tyki was kind enough to give me a sympathetic look.

"In that case..." I muttered as my brain worked overtime to try and pull me out of this future pile of trouble. If I couldn't stop the moving train, at least I could try to jump off of it. "It's best if you both leave and I stay here. Lord Kamelott will be a lot less upset if he doesn't find me with Tyki." And I certainly wouldn't get into any trouble... because the way things were going, if I went with them, they'd get a slap on the wrist on the way back, but me, I risked getting in real trouble. Sheryl wasn't kidding about his family.

"Noooo." She groans as she drops onto my arm, digging her feet into Tyki's torso in the process. "I want to travel with you!"

"Then I'll stay." Tyki offered too quickly, sitting up to avoid Road's legs, which were coming dangerously close to his head. "Eve's right, Sheryl will be impossible if the three of us leave, I don't want him to dump any more paperwork on me."

Well, it didn't suit me, but I suppose it was better than going away all together...

Unfortunately, Road was sulking and didn't seem to want to give up the trip for the three of us. Sensing that she was starting to throw a tantrum that could wake the whole household, I immediately tried to calm her down. I really didn't want to have to explain to Sheryl or, worse still, Tricia, what I was doing in her brother's room in the middle of the night.

"Listen, Road, wouldn't it be great if it was simply the two of us? Just us girls?" I tried as Tyki glanced nervously at the door after Road had made her protests known a little too loudly.

"I suppose..." She said, toying with the idea. "But then, we should do something memorable together!"

"Not too memorable, though..." I swallowed, suddenly afraid of what might be going through this murderous little girl's head.

She gave me a saccharine smile in reply.

I was so screwed.

Friday 10th September 1886

"Road, where are we going?" I asked in a shaky voice as I followed the young Noah into the dark, my hand clenched over her fingers. It wasn't the first time this evening that I'd asked the question, far from it, but until now, little Noah hadn't deigned to answer me.

She'd come into my room after dinner, rummaging through my wardrobe with a disdainful pout before finally pulling out an overpriced blue dress I'd inherited from Tricia. She looked at it for a long time before glancing at me, growling, and putting it back in the wardrobe. Still curled up in a ball on my bed, sheet music in hand, I watched her slip away without understanding and was ready to go back to my project and ignore her when she appeared again. She was smiling broadly, an elegant dress and an equally dark cape in hand. This one clearly wasn't mine, and given the size, it wasn't Road's either. It couldn't have been Tricia's, she abhorred dark colours and the clothes were far too rich to belong to an employee... Road had stolen Lulubelle's clothes, I realised with horror. A groan like a slaughtered pig immediately escaped my mouth and I almost threw the dress on the bed by reflex before remembering once again who it belonged to and... nop nop nop. Road would have none of my pleas, and soon I was elegantly dressed, a sophisticated bun carefully arranged by Road with my hair. I didn't even know why she'd bothered, because she immediately covered it up with the cape's large hood. Suspicious as hell. She was just as dressed as I was, in a charming black dress with laces and a little hat with veil. We must have made an astonishing picture, richly dressed even if in mourning clothes, and I confirmed this when John looked at us with his mouth agape. Then again, maybe it was because we'd arrived in the courtyard just as night was falling and Road had immediately ordered him to take us to London. John had been quick to give me a panicked look, and I had immediately given it back to him, having no more answer than he had. John couldn't say no, but he couldn't very well take the young Kamelott heiress away like that, without permission or protection. Fortunately, Eliott had shown his face and given John the order. That's how John, Road, Eliott and I ended up in the London night. It was with pity that John had watched me leave, dragged along by Road, Eliott following us like a shadow. Anyway, we must have been pretty close to our goal by now, or she must have been bored by my constant questions, because Road finally told me where we were going once we were a little way from the carriage.

"Some of Adam's friends, very funny people, you'll see." She said distractedly as we turned the corner.

"Friends of the Duke? Are you sure I can really come?" I asked, even more worried than before. What would happen if I created the slightest problem for Tricia, or worse, Sheryl?

"Of course, don't worry!" She said, totally dismissing my concerns, while stopping in front of a door of some sort. The neighbourhood was fairly well-off, and the house was large and maintained, but it wasn't a mansion. A little surprised, I stared at the house, not paying much attention when Road knocked. Less than ten seconds later, a lanky man at least two heads taller than me opened the door. He only needed to glance at a smiling Road before opening the door wider and stepping aside to let us through.

"Thank you." I muttered confusedly as Road walked past him without a word. Following Road's lead, I let Eliott unburden us of our coats, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"Come on, Eve! The lounge's this way." The young Noah exclaimed, tugging on my hand to guide me down a small, shady corridor.

Following her without a word, we soon found ourselves in a large panelled room. Heavy curtains obscured the windows and a large candlelit table took centre stage. Around it, standing in small groups, a dozen men and women of all ages were chatting in hushed tones. Passing her gaze over the crowd, Road seemed to spot something she liked, because less than a second later she drew me towards the group furthest away, two men chatting in one of the corners of the room.

"Mister Jonathan!" she smiled, finally letting go of my hand as we got close to the group.

"Miss Rhodiola, how delightful to see you!" smiled the man, cutting short his previous conversation. I immediately glanced at Road but the girl didn't even flinch at the name. Hu. "Is your grandfather not with you?" he added curiously.

"No, I'm here with my aunt today." Road chirped, grabbing my arm again to make it clear she meant me. Trying not to let my frustration and incomprehension show, (Aunt, why Aunt?!) I smiled back before bowing slightly. Having no idea where I was or why, I was as sure of my steps as a newborn fawn, but given the far too expensive and classy clothes Road had stuffed me into, I suspected we weren't with the plebs. My instincts must have been right, because I was immediately followed by Jonathan and a little more awkwardly by the second young man, much to my relief.

"Hooo, an amateur?" Jonathan asked mysteriously.

"Not yet, but I certainly hope she finds the evening interesting and accompanies me more regularly in the future." Explained Road with such a gleeful grin that, yes, I was totally sure I was going to scream before the evening was over. Get me out of here.

Jonathan let out a small social laugh and asked about the family's health to get the conversation going again, Road gracefully inserting herself into the discussion. For our part, the second man and I stood on the sidelines, looking as socially lost as each other. I wondered what he was doing there, perhaps he'd been forced to come too? In any case, before I could decide whether or not to start the conversation, the same tall, lanky man entered the room and waved a small bell, effectively attracting the attention of the ten or so guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats, and we will begin", he said, and a joyful fervour swept through the guests, who hurried to pull out the big chairs at the round table.

"Come auntie, you can sit next to Arthur, he will be a perfect host, I am sure." Road chirped, making me particularly wary. Unfortunately, she had already sat down and there were only two seats left for the aforementioned Arthur and me. Sensing that something was amiss, I nevertheless came and sat down between the previously silent young man and Road.

"Arthur, I presume?" I whispered to my neighbour as I took my seat. Around us, the whispering had not diminished and the lanky man was lighting more candles which he placed in front of each of the guests.

"Indeed," he murmured back. "And yourself?"

I hesitated for a second. I had noticed that nobody had given their surname. That might have seemed normal in my day, but here it was particularly strange to call people by their first names outside of family or very close friends. Road wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to me, so out of safety...

"Eve," I smile gently. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." He said, and the conversation died. It was awkward... but no matter how much I racked my brains, I had no idea what to say. I couldn't really talk about the event we were here for because I had absolutely no idea what it consisted of, and I couldn't ask about his private life either since we didn't even introduce ourselves by name.

"This is the first time I've been here." He said suddenly. "I don't really know what to expect... Neither do you, it seems. Do you think they'll really come?"

Was I the only one who didn't know why I was there? No, more importantly, what was I supposed to say? "I don't know, we'll see, I suppose..." and then, as he opened up to me: "Did Jonathan invite you?"

"Yes, he was my teacher in medical school and I never lost touch with him." He said with a proud smile.

"Oh, you're a doctor?" If he was kind enough to broach the subject himself, I wasn't going to deny myself...

"Yes, I got my PhD last year." He said with some pride, and I congratulated him. "I have a small practice in London now." He added before glancing at the table, hesitating and then asking, "Are you a governess?"

A little surprised, I blinked before answering. "No, but I spend a lot of time with..."

"Me!" Road suddenly exclaimed, coming out of nowhere and clinging to my shoulders to look over my head at Arthur. "Don't tell my Auntie Lucy, but Auntie Eve is the best, she's always up for playing with us." Said Road as she tightened her arms, contracting my throat slightly in what could be nothing more than a threat for me to shut up.

"Are you a Lady?" Arthur asked, flabbergasted. This time it was he who was surprised and he kept glancing at my dress or my hands with doubt and... frustration? Why would he be upset?

Neither of us had time to reply, however, because the lanky man immediately rang the bell again and switched off the electric light. Although it hadn't been very bright before, now the difference was obvious. With the tiny candles in front of each guest, it was difficult to see anything but pale faces and shifting shadows. Uneasy, I leaned back a little more, preferring to move away from the small candle in front of me. I'm not usually a fan of candles, and the nightmare of a few weeks ago made it worse, haunting me horribly. Even though I couldn't really remember it, the burning sensation wouldn't go away, to the point where it became difficult to sit anywhere near the fireplace in the library. Suddenly, Road took my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. Blinking, I saw Arthur offer me his in the corner of my eye. Crossing his fingers with mine, I looked at the middle of the table as a slow realisation took place.

Oh Merlin.

Road had dragged me to a spiritism séance.

As if in response to my sudden flash of understanding, an old woman four seats away from me on the left intoned in a hoarse voice: "Spirit, are you there?"

Admittedly, with the half-light, the candles, the hands tied and the attentive atmosphere, I almost thought for a moment that Casper was going to cross the table to say hello. But no, he didn't, and no one answered the call, apart from a little cough on my right. However, far from being discouraged, the whispers redoubled and, this time, a man intoned a "Spirit, come to us!" Worthy of the greatest fantasy films. However, despite the convincing tone, nothing happened again, and I let out a relieved sigh. Frankly, with Road, I'd almost expected...

Wait a moment.

Why couldn't I feel the ground beneath my feet?

Lowering my eyes, expecting to see nothing, I let out a nervous laugh which, I admit, could have been likened to a whimper, when I noticed that the light from the candle was now splashing across my knees. Which was impossible because my legs were under the table and the lamp was on the table. As if triggered by my squashed hamster cry, howls of surprise began to be heard all around me: the twelve seats floated above the floor and continued to rise slowly. Yet no one let go of each other's hands, in fact it was as if the handshakes had grown stronger. Arthur held mine so tightly that I was sure it would be painful the next day. That is, if I lived to see a next day.

"Spirit answers our prayers!" exclaimed an old man opposite me, while a young girl exclaimed "Who are you?!" With delight mixed with horror.

No one spoke, instead the candles grew and in a magnificent pyrotechnic display hurriedly turned into a devilish tornado that spun around in the middle of the table. This time it was I who squeezed the hands of my neighbours as hard as I could, the table disappearing for a second to reveal a dark forest. But the vision was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving me shaking and wide-eyed.

"That's the spirit! The spirit!" screamed the first old woman, and no, just no: it was Road. What I had taken to be tremors of fear on my part were in fact those of the little minx vibrating with laughter next to me. How had no one noticed? Merlin, she even let out a few grunts of laughter every time one of the poor guys screamed. It was amazing what Road could think up when she put her mind to it...

Suddenly the tornado began to swell and swell and swell until I could feel the fire on my nose. The flames raced towards us and I couldn't hold back a scream. "Road!" I screamed in fear and as if answering my call, the fire immediately became the size of a candle flame again and our chairs hit the floor with a thud. Trembling and panting, I let go of Arthur's hand but clutched little Noah's twice as tightly, while all around us, moans of fear and cries of excitement still echoed.

"I didn't think you'd be that scared." Road suddenly whispered, and I wasn't sure I was meant to hear it. Turning my head towards her, detaching my eyes from the innocent candles, I saw her looking at me with a blank, curious look, even.

"Fire." I huffed between quick breaths. "I'm... I'm afraid of... of fire and... I..."

"Oh, Eve..." she cut me off suddenly, her eyes lighting up as if she'd suddenly understood why I was reacting so badly. Frankly, it would be nice If she could share because I had no clues myself. Admittedly, fire had always made me uncomfortable for as long as I could remember, but I'd never been so afraid of it, to the point of having nightmares about it or being all shook up when I saw it... But she didn't do anything about it, instead raising her hand to run her thumb over the corner of my wet eyes. I wasn't crying, I was far too shocked for that. Not quite, at least. But now that the tension was easing, I could feel my eyes burning and my chest tightening and I wasn't sure I could hold it in for long. Especially if the creator of my future nightmares kept looking at me like that without blinking. "The spirit was naughty, it won't do that again, I'll make sure of that." She said as if we didn't both know who 'the spirit' was.

"Promise?" I asked in a fragile voice and yes, I must have been a bit gullible to cling to Road's word like that but better a promise than nothing at all, right?

"I promise." She confirmed after hesitating for a second. Our little bubble couldn't last, though, and almost as soon as the word had passed her lips, Jonathan touched her shoulder to get her attention and she turned to speak to him. But she was still holding my hand and I felt a slight pressure from her fingers, as if to reassure me that she was still there. And to be honest, even though I was 99% sure she was the source of my latest nightmare, it was actually reassuring. It was like wandering around the slums with Tyki: somehow, I had the scariest thing around at my fingertips. Letting the tension subside, I stared at the chaotic environment unfolding around the table before my eyes settled on my other neighbour.

"Arthur?" I asked when I saw him staring at the wood of the table without moving. Not reacting, I waved my hand in front of his eyes before touching his shoulder. He jumped violently and looked up into my eyes with a shocked, almost feral expression.

"It's impossible." he said suddenly, as if he was stating an immutable fact. "Absolutely impossible, fire can't form a tornado like that, chairs can't fly, it's against all the laws of physics! There must be something..." he mumbled, sounding much less composed than when we met a few minutes earlier.

"Oh, you know, 'When you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' isn't it?" I smiled before freezing and thinking for a second about what I'd just said. Why had I thought of that?

Wait.

Arthur, doctor, PhD in 1886, guessing things about me, a spiritism séance... Oh Merlin, don't tell me I had just spat out his own future words to...

"Your name wouldn't happen to be Doyle, would it?" I asked in a voice a little higher than normal.

Arthur, who was feeling the table as if looking for a secret hiding place, looked up at me in surprise before answering in the affirmative.

Ahah.

It wasn't my hands or the table he was looking at, but my sleeves. It was by applying the rules of Sherlock Holmes that he'd deduced I was a governess, and it was because of Road's lies that he'd been upset: his techniques hadn't worked.

Yup... I'd just participated in a spiritism séance with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the future writer of my favourite character and a revolutionary in police techniques.

Impossible my ass.

Anyone guessed about Doyle? And, yes, I totally put my favourite old authors in this fic, don't pay attention to it ... A little quiet chapter before the big plot leap of the next chapter, but I hope it will have relaxed you :)

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