Story: A Touch of Color in the Grey

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date : September 25, 2021

Beta : Lucky's-Dice

Fandom: D Gray Man

Disclaimer : No, I do not own D Gray Man and I am not making any profit from this story.

Summary : After waking up in the 19th century, Ennaël takes the name Eve and becomes Tricia Kamelott's companion. She realizes the social difference of women at this time and begins to fear for the future, especially when Road, the twins, Allen, Tyki, The Earl, Lulubell and Skin Bolic arrive.

While trying to flee the Count, Eve meets Victor Hugo who passes her a lot of information on the holy war before dying. Eve discovers a strange talent for musical instruments and wonders in horror if she would not be the 14th. It doesn't help that the Earl has discovered her talents and seems to be more and more interested in her.

She then argues with Tyki who fails to kill her with his Noah powers, begins a correspondence with Conan Doyles and again nearly dies of tuberculosis. Following this ordeal, Eve really seems to have integrated into the family dynamic... so much that a few months later, she learns the same day that she has been adopted by Duke Campbell (the Earl) and that she is going to marry Tyki. Eve really wants to magically immolate herself. Ah yes because she discovered that she could do magic in the meantime. Meh. She goes to train to be a good wife at Campbell Mansion, spends time with her new "Sister" and marries Tyki.

And in the last chapter : Eve and Tyki go on their honeymoon and spend some time with Allen. Eve reveals to him that she is not totally ignorant about the holy war and that Tyki is dangerous.

A bit of everyday life at the mansion before everything goes out the window: D

It was supposed to be the penultimate chapter buuuut I didn't want to leave them so quickly so I added another one… or two 'I'm weak... And I'm screwing up my superb schedule! But hey, at least it will still end in 2021 X)

Happy Reading: D

June 19, 1887

"Finally!" Cried Road, throwing herself into my arms. It was only because I expected it that I was able to catch her without getting knocked down. "You've been gone soooo long! I should have come with you!"

"Road." Tricia gently chastised her from the top of the stairs, before descending with dignity and hugging us tightly. Looks like leaving almost two months, after already more than one with the Duke, was a bit much for her, she must have missed me. Well, I missed her too, of course, but I was still a little clumsy. We had made peace the day before my departure but we had not yet had the time to resume our 'normal' life and… in addition, I had to take into account my new status as a sister-in-law.

"Why do you have so much luggage, are there presents for me?" Road asked with a delighted look as she saw the servants carrying the heavy traveling trunks inside.

"Of course we have souvenirs for you." I smiled at Road after I had to laboriously extricate myself from Tricia. "There are also my things from the Duke's mansion." And not just things, by the way. Glancing back quickly, I held back a grimace when I saw Mahulda standing right behind me, face straight and hands clasped in front of her. It was a miracle that we were able to go on our honeymoon without her, but unfortunately it did not last… As soon as we set foot at the Campbell Manor to say hello to my… father before joining the Kamelott family, Mahulda had become my shadow again. I had tried to get rid of it, but Adam was adamant that I had to bring a servant to feel 'at home' at Kamelott Mansion.

Reminding him that I had lived there for more than two years, unlike the poor month at the Campbell manor, had fallen on deaf ears.

I had then tried to take another servant, anyone better than this terrifying robot (... except Eliott) but on my life, I had not been able to name a single other servant of the mansion. Uh. Indeed, they had spent my month at Campbell Mansion as silent shadows and it was only now that I noticed that I hadn't really made their acquaintance. All Akuma, I tell you...

And that's how I had managed to dig my fingernails into Tyki's forearm, a placid smile frozen on my lips as I shivered in unease every time the "woman" moved.

"Did you go see the Duke before coming here?" Tricia asked, startling me the time I remembered that I was, indeed, previously in the middle of a conversation. She looked half proud that we went to see him, and half bored that we had taken so long to get home.

"We had to thank him for Eve's castle." Tyki replied as he in turn was attacked by Road. He thought it best to add, most seriously: "And tell him about our trip." Knowing that the only reason we had spent the last few days with the Duke was because neither of us wanted to confront Sheryl. If Adam hadn't thrown us out of his house this morning, we wouldn't have been home for a loooong time...

"Oh yeah, you need to see the castle, Tricia, it's amazing." I smiled as I followed her into her boudoir, Tyki in toe, dragging Road clinging to his leg. Ho, and Mahulda, silent as an assassin, behind us, of course.

"It's in France, isn't it? Maybe we can go this summer?" She said excitedly.

"Maybe more around September or October. It was already getting hot when we went, it must be unbearable now," I replied. I couldn't help but frown as we opened the door. There was no one. Normally the first thing we should have done when we got there was go and say hello to Sheryl as the host. It was he himself who had rooted good manners in my head, hard to forget. "The Marquis isn't here?"

"Dad is on a business trip, he should be back tonight." Road replied. "And in the meantime, you should learn to call him 'Sheryl'"

"That's right, Eve, Sheryl is your brother-in-law now." Tricia laughed softly. It took everything I had not to wince. I couldn't imagine calling him Sheryl… not in his presence anyway.

"And me, your niece!" Road shouted, letting go of Tyki to come and bounce on my knees. But, phew! She wasn't as light as she was at eight years old. "For real this time." She added in a whisper. It suddenly reminded me of the spiritualism session and so...

"Did you receive mail for me while we were away?" I asked suddenly and Tricia nodded curiously before waving her hand towards the dresser. I was on the verge of getting up to go and search it, but Mahulda was already on the job, retrieving the package and giving it to me with formidable efficiency.

Tearing up the craft paper, I opened it to see in happiness-tinged surprise what I expected: Sherlock Holmes' first hardcover book, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. And I had no idea how he found a publisher for his first novel when I was pretty sure it first appeared in a newspaper in my world…

Leaving this mystery aside, I opened the book to see that a dedication for me was on the first page (signed for Lady Evelyne Campbell, but I couldn't complain…). Better yet, one of the drawings I had made of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, both sitting in their chairs with the not-yet-famous pipe was there, just below the title. My drawing was in the first edition of A Study in Scarlet of this world. My fangirl heart was filled. Stopping myself from screaming with joy, I also had to restrain myself from curling up on the couch here and now and reading it to see what had changed since the last manuscript.

"Is that your doctor friend's book?" Tricia asked me. I nodded, excited.

"It's going to be a bestseller. Sherlock Holmes is an amazing character, he's going to inspire generations of creators through time, and Arthur's theories of criminology are going to revolutionize policing." I chirped as I flipped through the pages... only realizing what I had said when Road let out a dismissive laugh.

"You exaggerate." she replied, rolling her eyes.

I gave her a knowing little smile in response, biting my tongue so as not to bring up the subject again. Fortunately, Tricia, with a surprised blink in my direction, asked if she could read it, interested in my communicative joy. I replied in the affirmative.

We soon brought out our vacation memories, offering some exotic items to Tricia and some odd toys to Road. Strangely, even as Road lit up when she received the souvenirs, she almost immediately began to look at us again as if waiting for something else. A little confused, I exchanged a look with Tyki but he shrugged slightly. Leaving that question aside, we continued chatting for a good hour before Sheryl came home. He looked tired but his whole face lit up when he saw Tyki; he hastened to crush him in a hug.

Watching them this way, as well as Tricia and Road, I couldn't help but think back to the first time I'd seen Tyki with the family. The biggest difference was that I was inside with them now and not as an observer outside the room. Another is that this time Sheryl didn't even try to regain his composure when he saw me, simply greeting me before continuing to suffocate his brother under the terrible weight of his love.

It was amazing how things were changing… and yet not so much.

This thought lingered in my head throughout dinner and then again when I unpacked my suitcases after eating, Tyki leafing through the first book of Sherlock Holmes, sitting at my small round table. "I understand why you always looked a little nervous when you came back from your wanderings," I told him. "It's strange coming home with everyone. After so long away from them. It's like… like nothing is changing here, even though so much has happened far from the mansion."

"Hmm, I know what you mean." Hummed Tyki, lowering his book. "But sometimes it's good too. The mansion is a safe bet. We know what we're going to find here, it's a good place to take a break when things are bad outs… What do you have in your hands?"

"That?" I asked him, confused, lifting the bottle I had just delicately pulled out of the bag a little higher. "Road gave it to me for my birthday."

The Noah of pleasure gave me a disbelieving look before narrowing his eyes. "You know what it is?" He said cautiously, as if walking on eggs.

Glancing at the bottle again, I gave him an uncertain look. "Scented oil?"

Considering his gaze, it wasn't that.

Or not exactly that. He explained carefully to me what it was really for and I immediately began to shake with laughter. "Oh Merlin, I finally understand why Adam made that face." I was breathing hard and Tyki blinked before joining me in my giggles.

"Here, you will have more use of it than me." I handed the bottle to Tyki once I was able to string together two words again without hiccupping.

Tyki picked up the bottle, whistling in amazement upon seeing the mark. "Even for jokes, Road does things well: It's great quality!"

Shaking my head, amused, I continued to unwrap my bag, relieved when it was finally empty. Storing it in the closet between one of Jasdevi's pistols and one of Road's headless dolls (What the…?), I joined Tyki at the small table, letting out a tired sigh. Eyes falling on my hands, I played for a few moments with the two rings encircling my fingers. "It's a shame they're so different, I love them but it's hard to put them both on without Tricia edging at me." And since I was forbidden to remove the ring sealing our marriage... with yet another sigh, I removed the engagement ring from my hand, examining it more closely.

"Hold on!" Tyki suddenly exclaimed. With the same gesture, he stood up and walked over to the small jewelry box on the desk. Digging for a second, he quickly returned with a simple silver chain that I didn't even remember owning. I could almost bet it was another thing from Road.

"You should keep it on a necklace." He said with an air that was way too serious at the moment.

Blinking in surprise, I let him slip the fiancé ring through the chain and hang it around my neck. "If you care so much about it…" I teased him but stopped quickly when he looked genuinely uncomfortable. Hu. Weird. "It's good, it's long enough that I can hide it under most of my dresses if it doesn't go with it. I think I'll keep it that way, you're right, that was a good idea." I reassured him and he immediately smiled back at me, looking appeased.

An appeasement that did not last long, however, for that was the moment Road chose to yell a "TYKI!" that echoed throughout the mansion, causing the windows to shake.

"What did you do?" I asked with morbid curiosity but the Noah had already risen, his face white.

"No idea and I don't want to know it." He mumbled. With a quick wave of his hand, he disappeared across the floor just as Road finished breaking down my bedroom door.

"Where is Tyki?!" She growled. But without giving me time to respond, her head snapped down, as if she could feel him. She was already in the hallway again, her footsteps fading as she ran towards the hall.

Rolling my eyes in the face of all this drama that I had, it must be admitted, a little bit missed, I took advantage of the restored calm to go and search the brand new trunk at the foot of my bed. Inside, piles of heavy volumes crowded together and I wondered how the servants had managed to carry it all here. Not even deigning to consider the first row, I immediately rummaged inside until my fingers brushed against an old handwritten book: the book of magic.

With Adam, Skin Bolic and Lulu at the Campbell Mansion, Road and Tyki in hide-and-seek, the twins at the boarding school, and Tricia and Sheryl in the boudoir, there really wasn't anyone watching me just yet. So it was the perfect time to continue practicing magic! And, yes, I said I wouldn't take the book with me but… In my defense, instead of its place at the dusty little table on the second floor of the library, I found it on my desk. In my room.

I hadn't put it there.

Adam had made no remark. He just said that I could borrow as many books as I wanted. And, oh! 'Don't hesitate to look at the family's research notebooks, I have some particularly interesting ones on unusual subjects upstairs!'

Haha.

Yup, we were gonna pretend everything was fine. Ah, the denial… Anyway, with this kind invitation, there was no reason I shouldn't take it. And we weren't going to think about the resulting panic attack, absolutely not.

All that to say that with everyone busy, I would drop onto my bed and open the book. It was with happiness that I arrived at the next chapter, something that I had wanted to try since I had seen it in the summary, something very useful: a barrier. But, having only a few books to learn the art, I had religiously followed all the advice, for fear of doing worse than setting fire to the forest behind the manor… Kof… Which had painfully delayed the learning of some of the more complex spells that made me drool with envy. But finally… finally! I reached the first of them and it was with exquisite pleasure that I reread the instructions three times, deciphering painfully but not without courage, the curly writing.

Nodding my head when I thought I fully understood what I could expect from the spell, I slipped the book under my pillow in the event of an unexpected interruption. (Cat-Lulu was a master at catching me by surprise. I wasn't counting anymore the times she'd snuck up behind me as I did something I did NOT want them to know) and stood up, cracking my neck in the process as I correctly placed my arms in front of me. "Praetendere Saepem On!" I was speaking distinctly but faintly, a story that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law did not hear me through our adjoining door.

Annnnnd… nothing happened.

I was used to it, now, new spells never worked on the first try. Or at any rate, I preferred that they didn't work the first time because the other option, which was never a success, was an explosion of mass destruction that tended to make any excuse incredibly unbelievable. Not that my foster dad had done anything other than raise an eyebrow the two times he caught me blowing up the garden or drowning the library, but somehow I doubted the reaction would be this superficial here.

"Praetendere Saepem On!" I reiterated the phrase, doing my best to articulate as well as possible. Having no idea if it sounds like that or not, it shouldn't help much, but what could I do about it? Trying several sound variations until suddenly a spark was visible in front of my fingers. I smiled a little too broadly as I repeated the words over and over. But my work paid off! Already, I saw a thin patch of air rippling in front of my eyes for a few seconds... before disappearing.

"Praetendere Saepem On!" I was rehearsing again and several things happened at the same time. First, Tyki ran through the wall, secondly, just an instant later, Road kicked the door open and finally Tyki rushed straight into the thin barrier I had managed to summon.

Strangely enough, Tyki didn't get through.

He wasn't expecting it.

Neither did I.

Same for Road.

Bouncing off the barrier, he stumbled back, straight onto Road, crushing her with all his weight. For my part, taken aback by the bursting of the barrier, I was thrown to the ground in my turn. The whole affair had literally lasted less than two seconds, but it was enough to end up all three of us on the ground, completely lost.

"What…" I mumbled as I sat down again.

"Tykiiiiii" Road hissed and her voice sounded positively murderous. Wisely, the Noah of pleasure immediately jumped away from her. Without taking more than a moment, the young Noah pounced on him again, her hands gripping the boy's dark curls. Sensing the drama, I immediately jumped in, quietly asking Road what the problem was.

"He forgot my birthday!" She moaned as big crocodile tears trickled down her cheeks.

...

Ah!

"Eeeve" suddenly surged Road, letting go of her uncle to turn completely to me. "You haven't forgotten either… have you?"

"Obviously not!" I replied with the most hurt look I could possibly do as I frantically calculated today's date. Road was born on… June 20? Oh, I now understood why Adam had thrown us out of his mansion so early this morning… but he could have reminded us! Heck, what was today's date... "How could I have?"

"Ah, you see?" Road exclaimed at Tyki as he stood up, eyeing us both high as we stayed quietly on the ground. Road looking at Tyki with a terrifying grin, I took this opportunity to glance over his shoulder to see what date we were on the calendar I had made. Squinting, I barely saw the numbers. Was it a Sunday or a Monday today…? I was pretty sure it was Sunday, Road had greeted us this morning instead of being at school… But if it was Sunday 19th, why was she already having a fit about her birthday?

Before I could think of a theory, Road was already looking at me. "I waited and waited, but none of you gave me any jewelry!"

...What?

Looking as quietly as possible at Tyki with a puzzled look, I was happy to see understanding spread across his face. Because I was totally lost.

"You're too impatient, Road, we wanted to get it right and wait until midnight to get it to you." Tyki smiled and Road suddenly relaxed.

"Is that true?" She exclaimed happily. "Ho, Mother doesn't want me to go to bed so late, can't we do it now?" She implored him.

But Tyki shook his head, telling her something about Adam and tradition and Road nodded gravely before telling us that she was going to bed with emphasis on the word. As if we hadn't understood that she would be waiting for us firmly in her room at midnight sharp.

"Jewelry?" I was asking totally lost and the Noah of pleasure looked at me for a second with a puzzled expression before slapping his forehead with a groan.

"Of course I should have thought about it… I sometimes forget that you don't… remember those things." Shaking his head, he lifted his head to meet my gaze. "In some wealthy families, young girls leaving childhood the day before their eleventh birthday are given an adornment. It is a way of showing that they are old enough now not to lose or damage expensive jewelry. My fault, I had… completely forgotten that Road was going to be… uh… eleven years old." And he almost looked like he had swallowed a lemon saying the number 'eleven'. Yeah, I understood it then, Road wasn't really eleven.

"What are we going to do? We didn't buy anything for that and couldn't find anything in… an hour and a half." I mumbled looking at the clock on my desk. "Why did you say that? It's even worse now, she's going to burn us alive!"

"Oh, she would do even worse than that." Tyki replied without a hint of humor in his voice. "But luckily for us, I… uh… actually thought about it during our trip and I have it in my trunk, I'm going to go get it but… I don't remember exactly where I put it so it might take a little while but I'll be back soon, don't worry!" He mumbled and was gone without giving me time to say how bad a liar he was. I was the one who had to redo his entire suitcase because he had bought too many things and couldn't close it. I had done the whole Tetris twice and I could swear there wasn't an ounce of jewelry (other than those already given to Tricia) in there.

Yet ten minutes before the fateful hour, he appeared in front of my room with disheveled hair and sand on his clothes. In his hand, a beautiful, well-wrapped box was waiting to be opened and we made our way to Road's room without dragging any further. If Tyki hadn't just used the Ark by express to get to a country with open jewelry stores, I'd eat my hat. But anyway, I couldn't complain when he had just avoided me on a furious Road, having offered the gift in both of our names. Even if, well, in my defense, I was not aware of this tradition! But hey, that didn't excuse me (almost) forgetting her birthday.

Fortunately, she was happy with the result. And because of it, me too.

A little less when I woke up the next morning to a Sheryl telling us that we were home just in time because Road's birthday ball would be just next weekend and, oh! That left just a week to go over my damn lessons in good manners. Perfect, right?

No, not perfect! It was with loud growls that I filled my days with etiquette lessons and pair dancing knowing the ball would be even worse than the last two. Because yes, this time I was officially married and the legitimate and official heiress of Duke Campbell. It was practically royalty and even worse, with this damn very public wedding, everyone knew who I was. And so I was expected to be an active part of the conversations this time around. Not allowed to dance three times and then hide behind the buffet.

Not that it stopped me from trying the same day, but the family knew me too well now. Even though Tyki was very much up for using his powers and discreetly sending us off out the balcony, it was impossible to do so when Lucie was tracking us, the twins glued to her heels. They weren't the best keepers though. Certainly, Lucie prevented us from running away (the twins too, they weren't there of their own accord...) But she was not the best person to force us to socialize. However, overall, with Tyki mostly doing the talking and me smiling stupidly beside him, I don't think we fared too badly.

All that to say that when, finally! My life returned to normal, I was not quite ready. It had been months since my routine had broken down with all these marriage problems. However, even before that, now that I thought about it, the magic, my almost death, then my formal adoption in the family had already drastically changed things. Either way, the new routine, although quite similar to the old one, was somewhat different. On the one hand, Mahulda followed me all day long to such an extent that I had become paranoid, even wondering when I was alone, if she was there, spying on me in the shadows. On the other hand, my free time had drastically diminished. I still spent the morning with Tricia and the evening with the Noahs but my afternoon had turned into lessons on my duties as heiress of the duchy. If Adam couldn't teach me himself (which was sad: he always knew how to make lessons, even the driest on the law, fun) then it was a tutor. But the worst part was that the Duke had started to delegate tasks to me. Suddenly, I found myself running a mansion, planning the budget, responding to letters from such and such nobleman… If Lucie hadn't been there to hold my hand while doing it, I wouldn't have been able to do it well. Fortunately, she had to do exactly the same for the Belle estate (which she administered as regent while waiting for her late husband's little "brothers", aka the twins, to be old enough to do so.) And even if she was not the most educational she gave me typical examples if I really did not understand anything.

Carefully, I didn't point out that it technically took hours for Adam and Lucy to be able to come from the Campbell's mansion to the Kamelott's, and so they shouldn't be able to come so regularly.

Luckily, late night and weekends were mine and even though a lot of it was spent with Road, Tyki, the mansion staff or even the twins when they came, I always found some time to practice Magic. And I had only uprooted three trees, trying to completely surround myself with the barrier. Frankly, compared to the half-charred forest at Manor Campbell, it was an improvement… right?

All that to say that I had become used to a routine even if it was not quite the one of the last two years. So I was a little unsettled when Tricia destroyed it by offering to go horse riding just the two of us that weekend. Knowing that she had spent the last few weeks since my return trying to create as much alone time with Tyki as possible with an air of hope, it was weird.

Especially when the first thing she says besides 'It's nice today, isn't it?' was "I was wondering, Eve… are you pregnant?" which, on her part, was as shocking as if she had spat "So Tyki knocked you up?" with an Irish accent.

And that's how I fell off my horse and broke my leg.

Next chapter: We see Allen again! And Eve has two existential crises, just that...

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