Death's Daughter (Black Butler)

Chapter Five: Blue Eyes

Alan sighed and sniffled, "Brielle," he said my name, his voice commanding, "come on out."

I gasped and felt my eyes widen. Alan had specifically instructed me not to leave his room or make a sound. Was he testing me, or did he really want me to come out, now that he had accidentally revealed that I was residing with them? I stood from my seat on the bed and walked over to the door, my hands shaking as I reached for the brass knob. I twisted it, slowly pushing the door open. Before me stood Alan with tear-stained cheeks, a shameful looking Eric, and a confused woman that I suspected to be Remi.

Remi was unlike any other woman I had ever seen. She was tall with a study yet slim frame. Her hair was layered with ginger blonde and black, accompanied by side-swept bangs, a few strand of which flipped up in a cowlick. She shared the same bright green eyes that every Reaper did, only hers were lines with black eyeliner and mascara. Over her eyes, she wore a pair of thick, black-framed glasses. She wore a long sleeve white blouse, black tie, high-waisted grey pencil skirt, black leggings, and black high heels.

I looked Remi up and down once again, taking every note of her appearance. I smoothed out my skirt and held out my hand for her to shake. "Um, hi," I said timidly. I was as nervous as ever - there was no doubt that she knew I was a human.

"Brielle," Eric said, urging to introduce Remi and I to each other, "this is Remington Knox, a dear friend of mine. Remi, this is Brielle Marie..." Eric stalled for a short while, before deciding that a last name wasn't necessary for my case. "Alan and I are taking care of this lovely young girl."

Remi looked up to Eric, squinting her eyes as she peered closer to him. "Could you say that she's a daughter to you and Alan?" she asked curiously.

"What?!" Alan yelped.

"Not really, we're just helping take care of her," Eric looked away from Remi's gaze and his voice trailed off, "but I suppose that calling her a daughter would be one way to refer to her. In that case, she'd be Alan's daughter as well, then."

Remi's face went blank, then she proceeded to smile and squeal. She threw herself into Eric's arms, as if forcing him to hug her. "That's so sweet of you two!" she complimented with a giggle, "The two of you, co-parenting to help raise a young woman like this darling here. That's so heartfelt and touching, I think I could melt!" Remi stood up on her toes, reaching high to peck Eric on the cheek.

"Parents," Alan forced a chuckle, looking away from the scene between Remi and Eric, "I never thought of it in a way like that. I suppose we are parents."

After she had wiggled her way out of Eric's embrace, Remi crouched down to my height. She was a whole deal taller than me, after all. "Hi, honey," she greeted, "like Eric said, my name's Remington, but you can call me Remi. You're Brielle, right?"

"Right," I answered with a nod.

"It's a very cute name, it suits you well," She nodded. Remi leaned in, twisting her head around and her eyes darting here and there as her hands held my head still. I was a bit confused and slightly disturbed by what she was doing, but I decided to let her go through with it anyway. "Hm," she pondered, "rosy cheeks, no glasses, and blue eyes..." she gasped, backing away. Immediately, I worried that she'd hate me because I was a human. To my surprise, the case was the exact opposite. "The prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen. Oh, the innocence, the charm, the kindness, you can see it all in her eyes," she swooned. Remi tilted her head up, looking at Eric, who stood by her side. "Looks like you two found a human," she giggled.

"Remi, I-I can explain," Alan started with a stutter, "see, her father was killed, and then we disco-"

"Alan," Remi shook her head as she interrupted him, "honestly, I couldn't care less about how she was entrusted in your care. What I care about right now is that she's in a pair of safe hands," she stood up and faced Alan, smiling. "yours. I'm sure that you'll care for her well and that she'll grow up to be a successful young woman," Remi glanced down at me and pursed her lips together before turning back to Alan. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but what did you see in bringing her here to our realm? You know how William would punish you for an act like-"