Chapter Text
Walking along the cobblestone streets of the city, you looked down at the missive clutched tightly in your gloved hand. It was a cool autumn day, and a few wispy white clouds streaked the cold blue sky. Wet, fallen leaves formed sludgy brown streams running along the sides of the pavements, flowing into the gutters. Here and there, trees lining the street on both sides shivered in the chilly breeze, ready to shed the last of their russet and golden leaves and commit them to the same fate as those on the road. You, on the other hand, had busy times ahead of you. There was no time for idling, or taking in your surroundings.
You pulled your woollen shawl closer to your body and continued on your way into the city centre. The missive that you held in your hand detailed your assignment as well as a list of contacts that you needed to meet with for further information. It was of the utmost importance, firstly, and secondly of unconditional secrecy. You were to inform nobody of your intentions other than the contacts on that list. They already knew that you were coming, anyway.
Looking down at the letter again, you checked again the first name and address written there. When you read the beautiful, sweeping cursive it was confirmed that you did, of course, remember the details with full accuracy. "One hundred and two..." you muttered to yourself, clutching at your clothing for warmth as another icy blast of air hit you. Winter was definitely on its way, you thought. You recited the first house number a few times until it stuck in your head.
When you arrived at the green painted door, you took the brass knocker delicately between your fingers and rapped it twice upon the wood. You waited for a couple of minutes, politely and patiently, and were about to knock again when suddenly the door swung open. There stood a little woman with dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She eyed you curiously, before realising the purpose of your visit before you could even tell her.
"Come in," she said quietly, standing to the side of the door so that you could pass.
"Thank you," you said, breezing past her. Your presence meant something to her, and she wanted to impart upon you what little she knew about your target and get you out of her house as quickly as possible. It was a fair thing for her to feel against you; you tended to have that effect on people. Yours could be a foreboding, ominous presence and yet at other times it could be positively saintly, and soothing.
Now was not one of those times, though.
"Right," said the blonde woman, whose name was Harriett Ellison. "I'm only doing this because if I don't then I'll be hanged. I don't want anything to do with this, and if you come sniffing back around here for information you'll find my doors firmly shut. Do we understand each other?"
You smiled slightly, although it was more to yourself out of amusement than towards Harriett out of reassurance. "Perfectly," you purred, standing completely still in her living room.
"Very well then," she replied, but you could tell that she did not quite believe you. She knew that, if you wanted more information from her, you would be back anytime you pleased. As the Queen's Bloodhound, it was your undisputed duty to carry out these missions to the letter, and nothing would stand in your way. It never had. You had a reputation to support, too.
"So what have you got for me?" you said softly, lulling her into a false sense of security. You wanted her to be wary of you, but still relaxed enough to be able to speak freely; to lie to you--especially while on official business--was dangerous, not to mention criminal when you were doing something under direct orders from Her Majesty. You would see right through any lies that she might try to make you swallow, though.
"When last your target was sighted in the city, their sole business here seemed to be at the post office," said Harriett, eyeing you carefully. She did not trust you, but you had been sent by Queen Victoria, so there was nothing she could do about it other than give you what you had come for. Or risk interfering with royal business, as it were. "I would imagine that there would be your next port of call,"
You nodded slowly, keeping your eyes fixed on her. You could sense her growing uneasy under your watchful gaze, and you wondered how long it would be before she started getting jittery. "Thank you very much," you said, ceasing to nod. You reached into the little purse that you carried and took from it one of the little tokens that Queen Victoria had given to you to give to those who were able to help you. These tokens were the only items in your purse, and they had only one purpose. You held out your hand and offered her the little blue jewel. "A token of Her Majesty's esteem," you told her, holding her own gaze now.
"Thank you," she replied, taking it carefully from your hand. You were pleased by this, as you didn't care for snatching. "Why are you giving this to me, though?"
"Her Majesty ordered me to bestow a single token upon each of the contacts on this list, if they are able to offer useful, constructive information," you answered, maintaining your perfectly-still stance as you stood before her. "You may do with it as you see fit,"
Harriett nodded and looked down at the glittering gemstone in her palm. It was very beautiful indeed. "Well...thank you again," she said, now feeling slightly uncomfortable in your presence. "Is that all you'll be needing?"
"Yes," you said simply, moving towards the door. Harriett flinched slightly, having forgotten--due to your stillness until this point--that you could actually move. She didn't know why you made her feel uncomfortable, but there was something other than the intimidation of having the Queen's most elite lieutenant stood in her living room making her uneasy. "Thank you for your assistance," you said, leaving her with a soft smile but one that implied warning.
You showed yourself out, and made your way towards the post office. It wasn't that far away, so you assumed that it had actually been Harriett herself who saw your target making their way to the building. She could well have seen them from her bedroom window, it was that nearby. You pushed open the door and walked inside, approaching the man behind the counter. You smiled kindly at him--he looked rather young to have been doing this job for long--and asked him what you needed to know.
"Any strange packages recently?" he repeated, gazing at you with big brown eyes. He was rather sweet, and adorable. "Well, Miss, not really but there was this one chap who came in the other day with a rather big parcel that he said needed delivering...Oh, I shouldn't have said that..." he babbled, revealing his clearly talkative nature.
"May I ask why not?" you said, attempting to reassure him. You smiled gently, wanting to calm him down.
"Oh, because Mrs. Kent says that customers' business should always be kept confidential..." he whimpered, knowing he'd done wrong by disclosing a customer's intentions for a delivery. You doubted that the package had much to do with your target in general, but you knew that he was a peculiar man and so asking about out-of-the-ordinary parcels and/or letters was sure to raise the subject of an equally unusual man.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you said anything," you said with a bright, beaming smile. "I just wanted to know if you knew what that man's name was, or what he looked like,"
"U-um...I probably shouldn't..." he stammered, not knowing what to do. You felt a little guilty for driving him into a corner like this, but you had to glean this information from him.
"I promise you, my dear, that this will stay between you and I," you murmured, charming him into giving you an answer. He looked at you like a frightened rabbit, but he eventually seemed to relax.
"Does this man owe you something, Miss?" he asked initially, wondering what your motive was for asking about this particular customer.
"Not as such. I just have a very...personal delivery for him, and I cannot send it to him through the post office. I am sure that you can understand this..."
His expression brightened considerably and he nodded vigorously. "Yes, Miss! Alright then, I'm not sure of his name but I do know that he was dressed very richly, all fancy-like...I think he must've been a Lord or someone like that...Oh! And he mentioned another Lord...Phantomhive, I believe he said,"
You smiled again and nodded to him. "Thank you very much, sir," you said, addressing him with respect so that he knew that you appreciated his defiance of his boss. You also wanted him to feel proud of himself for his assistance of you. "As I promised, this will go no further than myself. Please have yourself a nice day," You turned around and walked back out of the post office, leaving the young man in a state of calm over the encounter. He had nothing to fear from you.
"Now," you said to yourself, standing on the pavement outside the post office. "On to the next contact..."
You were going to be very, very busy indeed. You could have sworn an oath that it came with what you were...