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Little Songbird: Chapter.5

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 .: Chapter V :.

Charles Grey

The Baker's Daughter” pt.3


The bakery was jostling around with needy customers, patrons occupying nearly every fine-finished table, a line of scavengers with coins clenched tightly in their palms at the counter, and Raeleigh happily trying to keep up with the overwhelming business. His daughter was equally distressed delivering orders to each table before disappearing into the backroom to restock the dwindling pastries. Business has been booming ever since Phipps and Grey's first visit months ago. Although, it was Grey that continued to come to town for their services and with every visit came another good word for their shop. But as much as that young man loved sweets, Raeleigh doubted that that was the only reason he bothered to come by every now and then.

Alas, the crowd buzzing about the counter was put at ease and each customer was sent to their own satisfaction. It was only temporary relief, as lunch would be coming soon and as soon as this mob disappeared another would follow.

Whatever solace Raeleigh had for the moment was gone when the front door was flung open, the usually cheerful bell now warned him that he should go and hide his daughter.

“Good morning, Raeleigh! I'm here to collect my dues!”

What a pompous boy, he was. Friendly and eccentric, but pompous. “Good to see you in town again, Charles. What do you mean by dues?”

Grey gave a pale, ear-to-ear smile as if he had something up his sleeve. “You owe me for all the good business don't you? Publicity isn't free.~”


Touché, ” Raleigh laughed. A right young man, he was, and excellent company. He actually reminded the baker of his own son, who was probably well around the same age and just as foolhardy and reckless. And while nothing could beat the comfort of his and his daughter's cozy little bakery in Preston, this audacious young man added some flavor to their routine lives. So Raeleigh would agree, he did owe some.“Well, what is it you're asking for?”

“Your daughter!”


Whatever mutual likeness there was between them was now dangling by the curve of Grey's lips.“What?”

“My daughter isn't fair game, Grey.”Raeleigh spoke straightly, but with a danger in his tone rising.

“You're acting like I've been hunting girls for my own purposes.”

“Exactly.”


Grey drew back, placing a hand over his heart and gasping as he feigned hurt. “I would never~!”


Raeleigh sighed. It was as an irritating confrontation, but it wasn't like it was unexpected. He leaned over the counter and beckoned for Grey to come closer, and when he obliged Raeleigh took him by the collar in an iron-grip.


Grey never expected good-man Raeleigh to ever possess an expression so demonic. It almost made the colour flee from his face.

“She is my princess, not your conquest.”


- - -


What had first started as a catastrophe in a young man's life took a full turn that evening, and Grey couldn't be any more satisfied. Every thing was falling just as he liked it: in his favor. There she was, his future fiancée, set before him like a cake. Seeing her after so long was stumbling upon a desert oasis after years of hot, dry sand. But it was so unlikely that she would somehow end up under his nose like this—especially like this—that Grey thought his mind was playing tricks on him. He managed to shake off enough excitement to pry his eyes off her and spared Wynn an excuse to leave. He could question that idiot later, but right now he had to make sure that this wasn't just mirage. A thirsty man in a desert was prone to such delusions.


Swiftly and over-zealously, he cut through the horde like a sharpened dagger, but it was in vain. She'd already run off somewhere. “Shoot,” he frowned. Bait on a hook, she was.


His pouting didn't go unnoticed, he saw Elizabeth Midford giving him curious looks. Grey recalled she and Phantomhive speaking to Riliane just moments before, but he decided against asking that girl for help. That blonde was almost as headache-inducing as Wynn and he really wasn't in the mood for a verbal spar with the one-eyed brat.


'Actually...where is Phantomhive?'


It was so odd for that girl to be apart from him during one of the few parties he bothered to attend. Grey wondered if the poor fool finally had enough and ditched her.


“About time,” he muttered, and left it at that. Finding his own fiancée was of more importance. He snorted, mocking himself. Just minutes ago he was grumbling over the idea of being wed-locked. He even had agreeing opinions with his sister about his 'choice' of bride.


Grey had went ahead and told Charlotte about his 'interest' in Riliane the day before. While she was always so bent on pushing him to marry, her reaction upon hearing the name was far from an approval. Apparently, Riliane had been out to parties at least twice last year and those were the only appearances up until now. Even then, she was described as a wall-flower, but aside from the gift of aesthetics she was anything but. As pleasantly as she spoke and smiled, it was clear that she wasn't at all interested in socializing. According to Charlotte, she would sit quietly alone, watching and listening as if she were spying. Then there was the odd thing which earned Riliane the title as the ghost of the ball: she would disappear for half the night only to reappear moments before her departure, leaving as quickly as she'd been spotted. The family reputation didn't reflect too well on her either, and vice versa. Like Phantomhive, the Kingsleys were known for being inroversive and the previous earl definitely acted as if he had something to hide.


'Great, I get to marry a shut-in', was Grey's initial thought, but now the name Riliane Kingsley was suddenly much, much more appealing. He knew the real her. Gossip was often just gossip, and his sister tended to be the queen of misconception and gullibility. What Charlotte called indifference he knew was shyness, what she referred to as queer he called eccentric, and to hell with anyone who dared to glob Riliane in the same league as Heinz Kingsley. Come to think of it, she wasn't his daughter. Grey was sure of that.


'So, how on earth did she end up here?'


The sound of the orchestra prepping up snapped him back, filling his ears with a course of pitchy tuning before beginning a melody. The music summoned couples to the cleared center and the figures all somehow knew how to waltz in harmony. It nearly distracted him from noticing the memorable ivory dress that dotted the corner of his vision. A slow grin crept onto his lips.

Grey wasted no time, scampering through the crowd once more toward his unknowing dance partner. He didn't even bother to offer his hand before he snatched Riliane from her little niche in the doorway. He spun and twirled her around, grinning listlessly at her dazed, dizzied expression and turned her one more time to meet his face. 'Damn.' She wasn't just an oasis, she was his rainfall.


"Don't touch me,” she ordered coldly, shoving him off almost immediately.

Dumbfounded, he let her slip away. As she retreated just out of his reach she almost seemed...scared, but she regained her composure so quickly Grey almost missed it. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to approach her. She was always easily frightened. “What's wrong, love? You do remember, yes?”


With an abrupt change of character she turned her head, as if to completely disregard his existence, and lead herself the other way, cutting through the mass of embroidered gowns and tailored suits. She only looked back to leave him an icy warning. “Spare me, Grey, I'll deal with none of it.”


“Excuse me?” His smile dropped the moment she spun on her heal. Several heads turned to give questioning looks to the two, and Grey felt himself shrink. He shooed away the nosy crowd , which have already begun to whisper, and stalked after her. He'll not have the other nobles spreading lies about him striking out with his yet-to-be-bride.


It was easy to match her pace, but the little vixen hyped up her speed every time he got too close. “Hey, this isn't cute anymore.”


“I did not mean to be 'cute', Grey.”

“Grey?” He grabbed her arm and towed her to the more private sidelines. His eyes darted around until he decided on a deserted corner and practically tossed Riliane behind a large, potted plant, trapping her between himself and the wall. “What happened to 'Charles'?

“If you want to speak with me I require a personal circle with at least a two-foot radius.”

“What?”


“Move away, Grey.”

They stood silently eye-to-eye as if a glaring battle would solve who got what they wanted first. He leaned closer, watching her stiffen, and slightly grinned to himself in victory. “And just what is wrong with you?”

“Stop being a persistent brat.”


His brows shot up into complete arches. 'Brat? Brat. Brat!' She had the audacity to call him a brat. This snotty attitude, that callous glare—directed at him like he was some pest! It was all rapidly deflating his mood, not that it started out well when the night began, but he was back-flipping on the hopes that everything Charlotte had said was lie.

“Why so grumpy?”

“Two feet, Grey.”


For all he knew, that naïve little sweetheart from four years ago was probably gone. The girl that mysteriously vanished after Raeleigh's bakery shriveled into ashes never returned, and whoever was standing before him now was someone entirely different.


“The last time I saw you, you were elbow-deep in flour.” Grey narrowed his eyes and brought himself closer, watching her body grow rigid. He was making her nervous so easily but the daunting look in her eyes, whether she meant to be threatening or not, unnerved him. “How are you here?”


“As I thought. Still has stubborn and childish as ever.”


Grey slammed his hand against the wall and loomed over her like a predator, crushing that attitude of hers into rubble. She paled at the sudden assault and looked down as if she could will him away, but he wasn't going anywhere. He brought his other hand up and tilted her chin so they could lock gazes once more, their faces close enough to feel the other's breath scatter across their lips.

“The little princess cowed so easily, “ he whispered. She had no snarky, indirect remark this time, but he couldn't care less now. He was completely enamored by her doe-like eyes. They suddenly appeared just as innocent and honest as they did back then.


“Excuse me, but I don't think it reflects very well on her majesty when one of her officers act so unjustly.”


He pulled away, having completely forgotten they were in public and turned around only to immediately meet the frightening glower of that red-headed butler.

“When a lady is not having fun, a true gentlemen walks away.”


No one could have bittered any faster than Grey had at that moment. There was something about this man he disliked, aside from that lewd scene he witnessed between Riliane and this crude excuse for a servant. It was the same cryptic resentment he held towards Phantomhive's butler. There was just something about the both of them that was so unsettling, so unnatural. Not to mention that they both had such enormous mouths.

“How inappropriate for a servant to be speaking out of bounds.”

“I'm here as her chaperone.”

“Wynn didn't say anything about a chaperone.”

“I'm here for my own purposes.”

Damian offered a gloved hand out for Riliane, which she took more eagerly than Grey would have liked. She calmly laced her arm around the crook of his elbow, clinging to him in relief, and pulled at him to take her away. He obliged happily, almost pompously, sweeping her off to who knows where.


Grey was left, seething as he clenched his hand around the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles twitched. In his mind he was stabbing that man's eyes out, skinning the flesh off his hands, and cutting him to pieces so that he would never look at, touch, or come near her ever again.


The beautiful memory of when he spied Riliane bathing blazed in his mind as the recollection burned into something ugly. This redhead was the one helping her bathe.

'How dare he.' 

Chapter Summary:

Thrilled to find that the bride chosen for him is actually the splendid girl from his memories, Grey becomes ecstatic to be able to speak to her once more. However, he learns the disappointing way that people indeed change...and find newer red-headed interests.
Next>>reverie-chimera.deviantart.com…

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A Kuroshitsuji story with Charles Grey and an older Ciel Phantomhive. Featuring OCs.
© 2014 - 2024 LadyPenrose
Comments5
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chilly47penguin's avatar
I wonder what secrets Riliane has... really lovely story you have =)