57STB 31
History: A touch of color in the Gray
Book 1: Shade the black.
Date: April 25, 2020
Author: Me -_-'
Beta: None :'(
Fandom: D Gray Man
Warning: No, I do not own D Gray Man and I do not make any profit with this story.
Summary: After landing in the nineteenth century, Ennaèl discovers that she started working with the Kamelott family, essentially, the villains of DGM. Taking the name of Eve, she became Tricia Kamelott's handmaid, helping her with her daily tasks. Now that life is a little less chaotic, Eve reflects on her arrival in this world and makes the decision to make her own opinion on the characters— ...people of this new world despite her knowledge of the manga. She gradually becomes aware of the social differences towards women at this time and becomes afraid for the future especially when she is saddled with Road and the twins ... Deciding to visit London, Eve encounters, as if by chance, Allen, then Tyki and they become friends. A few days later, the three go their own ways. However, it was not a long parting between Eve and Tyki. After having a rather awkward first meeting with the Duke, Eve decides to flee like the plague, her attempts to escape leading her to make a trip to Paris with Tyki, where she meets Victor Hugo who entrusts her with a bunch of information about the holy war before dying a few days after. As a result, Eve was dragged to a ball by Tyki, because he does not want to suffer alone, the sneaky guy, and Eve faints spectacularly because of her too tight corset. Don't ask how, but then she discovers a strange talent for musical instruments and wonders with horror if she could be the 14th. It does not help that the Duke has discovered her talents and seems to be more interested in her. And then of course, Eve is harshly harassed for weeks until an employee is almost killed by Road. And so, everything calms down just in time for the twins to be sent to boarding school while Road believes that Eve has a phobia of storms. Life is fairly quiet after that, the twins and Tyki no longer being there. Eve goes abroad for the Christmas holidays and meets a little street boy and decides to (once again) question her morals and help him.
French version: 43 chapters long :)
English version: A moment of silence for Lyra, AxZi and Koneko our wonderful past-Beta.
Fanart: You can see a draw of Eve and some fanart made by Kazemarune and Arya39 on my Tumblr (Ennael too). Also, Elogane made a canon side-fic but in french, It's "Nuancer les sentiments"
Italic: french, important thought (or both)
Hi guys, Koneko can't continue to béta this story and go in hiatus ! So I need a new great soul to help me so this fic continue to being understandable :,)
If someone want to Béta this story, please PM me !
Anyway, Good Reading ;)
To being honest ... I had completely forgotten.
My birthday, I mean.
I had noticed Road's mischievous look and Tricia's sly smile all through the last week, but I was far too used to my October 10th to even think that it could be the cause. So, on the evening of March 31, I went to bed quietly expecting nothing from the next day except to help Berthe in the kitchens…. and I would wake up instead with a cry in my ears and a weight crushing my chest.
"Happy Birthday !" Howled Road as my brain attempted a restart despite the lack of oxygen.
"Ro ... ad." I let it pass with difficulty, my nose in my pillow, my arm under my neck cutting my breath with her weight on my shoulders.
"Oops, sorry, I'm going down, wait a second." She laughs as she thrusts her elbows behind my back by the way out. Standing on my forearms, I pushed myself seated, 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 with no tomorrow, I finally noticed something crucial.
"Road… what time is it?" I asked horrified when I saw that not a ray of light filtered below the curtains.
"Midnight and one minute!" She chirped, swaying on her tiptoes. "You said that your father always came to wake you up at midnight on your birthday, I thought I could take over!"
Looking at her with a blank look, it took my brain a little time to understand what she was whispering to me. "When did I tell you that?" I asked, surprised my voice softened by the emotion. It was an idiotic thing that I had complained about all the time before but... I missed it now and I was incredibly touched that she thought about it. "Whatever, it's nice Road, but you shouldn't be up at this time, you have school tomorrow."
"Today." She corrected before starting to sulk causing me to feel bad. For once, because it always hurt my heart to see someone being sad, but especially because it was Road. Road the Noah, the person you didn't want to be on the wrong side.
"Today." I corrected myself as a pledge of peace before hesitating for a second and hugging her. Fortunately for me, she returned it to me immediately so it was not too strange. It was the first time that I initiated a hug myself, it must be said. Not that I didn't want to, I was the type of person who needed hugs to be happy, but it was not really good morals here... "Thank you very much, it makes me very happy, it's almost like being at home. " I then tell her while I patted her on the back awkwardly, remembering my best friend in my past life.
But that seemed to be a mistake because immediately her fingers, until then loose, plunged with difficulty into my shoulders and she brought her lips to my ear to say in the most frightening voice possible: "But you are at home... "making me shiver and immediately stammering assurances like what of course it was my house. But they were not empty of meaning, because at the same time as I said them, I realized that, yes, I was at home, the Kamelott's Manor was my house and I loved being 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 and her face bore nothing but pure 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 would think.) I gently unwrapped the paper to take out an assortment of hair accessories . In my hands were spread three ribbons of the same exact tones as the dresses I most often put on, a few patterned ties, utility pins and a beautiful decorative silver clip with a blue and silver flower.
"Dad brought it to me from Portugal, but it will look much better with your eyes." Gazouilla Road when my gaze fell on the clamp. "It's pretty, isn't it? I'm going to be able to make you beautiful hairstyles with all that!" And indeed, the clip was very pretty and the ribbons too, and it was nice to receive this when I did not expect it at all, but on the other hand… it further accentuated my role as a human doll for Road. Well, at least it was always better than being a disgusting human ...
Warmly thanking Road again, I let her go back to her room with a last hug, then I placed the small package on my bedside table with a bittersweet smile. Despite my confused thoughts, I was asleep within five minutes.
The awakening was also gentle.
I was infinitely grateful to myself for keeping my room tidy (not that I had enough things to make it really messy) because it seemed to have become a place of passage without any consideration for myself despite the modesty of the time. Tricia, I could understand. Not only was she the housewife and therefore I didn't have much to say, but on top of that I had seen her asleep practically every day for more than a year, I didn't really have the right to complain that she returns the favor. Even if she paid me for it. And so, for the first time since I arrived at the manor (or almost, there had been these weeks of intimidation ...), no one came to wake me up that morning. But even though no one knocked on the door, my body, far too used to the precise awakening to which it had been forced every day for over a year, woke up by itself at the usual time. However, believing I had woken up too early, I stayed at the bottom of my duvet, far too happy to still enjoy its warmth. Hey, it was an old mansion full of drafts, okay? And I very rarely had the opportunity to dawdle in bed, this apparently being synonymous with illness and therefore a source of concern for the time.
In short, all that to say that I was not really asleep but not really awake either when the door leading to the master bedroom opened silently. Half-conscious, it took me awfully long to notice the footsteps but not much more to get up suddenly, panicked by so much slyness. Well yes, the kids were never so calm and they were the only ones I was comfortable seeing here after the employee episode. But it was not a maid with dubious intentions who had entered, but Tricia to whom I had scared so much when I got up suddenly that she almost fell with a little cry.
"I'm so disappointed, I wanted to wake you up." She grieved a few minutes later, after we both calmed down before a sweet smile stretched her lips and she leaned in to kiss me. "Happy birthday, Eve." And that set the tone for the rest of the day. Everyone was overly nice, even Sheryl! Finally, in a manner of speaking ... He greeted me politely and ran into his office without spicy remarks or annoyed disdain. But it could also have been because we were three days away from his holy ministerial election and he had quite frankly something else to do.
On the other hand, the employees with whom I did not get along always avoided me and there was really no one at the manor except Tricia. Road was at school, the twins in boarding school, Lucie Belle and the Duke in their mansion and Tyki still gone by mountains and calves. Finally, I did not complain, it was a very nice day, just spent with Tricia who made it a point of honor to delay her nap until Road came back so as not to leave me alone for this "special day". Even Road made an effort to let me decide on our games and the day ended in style with dinner in the small living room with just the three of us. Tricia had a curry prepared and I finally understood why Road had bothered me this last week by asking me a lot of personal questions including which dish I would like to try if I had the opportunity after not being able to tell him my favorite meal.
And at the end of the meal, after a chocolate cake that I never thought I could eat in this life, Tricia offered me a beautiful wooden box "to put all your friend's letters." she added, and I couldn't help a three-kilometer-long smile on my lips for ... everything.
It had been a good day, a very good day.
And when I put my letters in my new box the same evening, my hair braided with ribbons, I tell myself that despite everything that had happened… I was ready to spend a lot of other birthdays here like that one.
Since the time I heard about it, I was nevertheless surprised when it finally happened: the elections.
There was no reason why I should be… Sheryl had been so nervous for the past few weeks that as soon as I saw him from a distance, I would immediately turn on my heels for fear of rubbing him the wrong way. Many times I hadn't been fast enough and had inherited thankless tasks that I would have done well without them. But finally, finally, it was over!
Finally that is what I thought.
But noooo, winning the election was only the first step. And, yes, I don't think that shocked anyone, but he had won the election. Either way, the mansion had been delightfully quiet for a blessed evening before a new fight was set in motion.
My first clue had surely been the return of Tyki at the bad hour of three thirty-seven in the morning who had shamefully awakened me by stumbling on the small table before crashing into my door. Waking up with a start, I had tripped up to the handle to open it and drop Tyki on my legs, the idiot still being pressed against the panel when I opened it. It was only thanks to the divine force that I had not sprawled on the floor in my turn and I 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 deep jealousy that one of the maids threw at me when she stuffed my breakfast tray into my hands. So yes, it was one of the most virulent during my intimidation phase, but it was months ago and it must have been weeks since she treated me other than with holy indifference.
The third clue was when Tricia greeted me terribly happily when I came to wake her up a few hours later. Not that it was suspicious that Tricia was happy, she usually tried to be. But there she was a little too much, especially since she started talking to me about luggage and ornaments and that's where she lost me. I had no idea what she was talking to me and after listening to her wonder what dress to choose between pale pink and fuchsia for a good twenty minutes, I ended up cracking and asking her what she was talking about.
It turns out that we are leaving for Portugal after lunch.
Good to know…
Even better if someone had taken the trouble to warn me earlier.
Not that I had much else planned…
Urgh.
Obviously, in a way, I had unconsciously realized that as a new minister, Sheryl would have to travel. But I admit, I had rather apprehended it as a distant thing which did not touch me otherwise than for the fact that it would not be in my way. But, well, he had apparently decided to take his family on his first political trip. Surely a question of "seeing and being seen". And so, they also took me to keep company at Tricia and distract Road.
It explained why Tyki had returned without notice or even the maid's reaction this morning. Traveling was not an easy task at that time and getting embarked on a vacation trip with the masters of houses with no other purpose than to provide friendly support? Yes, I could totally understand jealousy.
However, I was not the only one to leave this time, two butlers, Jean and ... you will have guessed who ... as well as a maid were there too. But, yeah, we have to admit, we weren't treated the same. It is that, they had been sent in second class while I was traveling with the masters of houses, but difficult to know if it was a kindness or not. On the one hand, padded seats were not to be refused after an icy boat and with the many hours of trains in sight, on the other, it was necessary to satisfy a Road terribly bored by all this transport. If I had thought that the trip to Paris was long, I was terribly wrong, it was nothing compared to crossing the Channel then France then Spain to finally arrive in Portugal.
Three days.
It took us three days and an absurd number of transfers to do this. It was so ridiculous, never again would I complain about my nine hours of transportation to go home each vacation, never again! Well, it's not like I would do it again one day... (wait, nine hours to go where...?) Anyway, we end up arriving in one piece and thank you the little mercies that Sheryl did not travel with us! He had left a few hours earlier and I was pretty much convinced that he had taken the ark or a door from Road because even with being a Noah, I refused to think he would look so good after a three days travel.
The guy had welcomed us (or rather, he had welcomed his family, really) upon our arrival without a trace of tiredness. To someone who must have arrived himself that morning, it seemed extremely suspicious. Maybe that was why Road had been so horrible for that matter? She must have traveled by train with us poor mortals when she could have been there in the twinkling of an eye with the Ark or her doors.
Either way, the place we were staying was beautiful. Tricia was terribly excited by our stay and did not spend a moment without remaining silent so it was she who told me the story of the place on the train. It was an old mansion full of history, one of those buildings that had survived the ages. Half the size of London's Manor, it was still damn huge and imposing thanks to its high ceilings and gardens as far as the eye could see. Tricia had then told me, very happy, that it was their wedding gift, to Sheryl and her, from the Duke. An old heritage, she had told me, and I made a noise without too much significance by watching the old stones crash into each other in complex architecture. It was beautiful and my feet itched to explore. Tyki must have felt it or he might just want to get away from his brother, because immediately he proposed to Tricia and Sheryl to enjoy a moment as a couple and pushed us, Road and I, on the stairs towards the second floor. The afternoon was full of adventures, Road showing me every nook and cranny of the mansion while Tyki lazily followed us. Finally, Road presented to me the highlight of the show: a magnificent little baroque library. It was tiny compared to that of the manor, a simple room, a living room, really, but it was magnificently decorated, ceilings carpeted with moldings and the walls painted with country scenes framed massive bookcases of dark wood.
"I don't understand why you are so impressed with this." Road said as I timidly brushed against a molding with my fingertips, a surely silly look on my face.
"But it's incredible! Did you see these details? They must have spent their lives there ..." I whispered with healthy respect.
"Another silly ways to ruin their life ..." Road mocked, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it. "You are ridiculous Eve." She added before hopping outside the room but it seemed almost nice, even loving.
A little perplexed, I watched the little Noah disappear while another took her place. "Don't tell Road or she'll tease me mercilessly, but I like that stuff too." Tyki confided in me, shrugging his shoulders. "It tells a story, I guess, and I like stories." He added quietly as I smiled softly. "Ho! I know a place that will please you, but you will have to dress like a boy and be discreet, ready for an adventure?" He teased me. "It'll be my birthday gift."
"Always !" I answered immediately, curious about what he would like to show me. The answer was not really true however, but Tyki was generally not aimed next door so I was going to trust him on that one. "But you really don't need to" I smiled.
"It'll be my pleasure." He winked and I rolled my eyes happily.
A nice little chapter, like the next one too, but it will quickly get a bit more complicated for Eve!
I need a new Beta ! KnK got too much work to do it anymore, if you want to help so this story can continue, please say it to me !
I hope you enjoyed it, think about the reviews, and see you next month!
