Undertaken

13

I feel a weak squeeze on my hand and wake up. I didn't even know I'd fallen asleep. I see that I'm still holding Mikki's hand and her eyes are still closed, but I realize the hand I'm holding is working hard to hold my own back. I sit up quickly and place my other hand on top of ours, rubbing her hand softly with my thumb, as if to let her know I'm there for her. I don't want her to keep wasting energy on holding my hand. I then see a very small, very faint smile ghost Mikki's pale lips. I lean in and kiss her.

Not on the head.

Not on the nose.

On her lips.

I kiss Mikki's lips and keep there for about five secons, then slowly pull away, keeping my face just inches from hers. Her mouth opens slightly as if to say something, but no sound came out. However, she keeps moving her lips, and I see her mouth the words, "I love you, Adrien Crevan." I feel a heavy thump in my chest, then lean in to her ear and whisper, "I love you, McKenzie Bruswick," and kiss her ear. With the hand that isn't holding Mikki's, I stroke her cheek softly. I see another weak smile from her. As it fades, the light grip on my hand loosens and I realize she's fallen asleep.

====SEBASTIAN====

"Sebastian, we are going to bring a small welcoming gift to the Undertaker's guest. Get one ready, then get a carriage," my young master says.

"Feeling chivalrous?" I tease, but bow with a "Yes, my lord," nonetheless and head to the kitchen, where I make a batch of cookies and get a large travel cup filled with milk. I then fetch a carriage and retrieve my master.

~~~

The carriage stops just outside of Undertaker's parlor, and I help my young lord out and knock on the door. No answer. We both knew Undertaker was there because we could see his horse and wagon. I open the door and allow for my master to walk inside before I follow and close the door behind me.

"Undertaker?" my master calls out. No reply. He then turns to me. "Sebastian, go and find him." I nod and set off to look for the Undertaker. I see the glow of a candle, and follow it into a room.

There, I see Undertaker kneeling next to a pale, weak-looking girl in a coffin. He is holding one of the girl's hands and resting it on his forehead as he looks down at the girl in the coffin. I back out and get my master. We then walk into the room, and Undertaker doesn't move from his position.

"Undertaker, what are you doing? Where is Lady McKenzie?" my young lord asks. 

"Right here..." Undertaker says quietly, still not moving from the position he's in. My eyes widen slightly at the sight of the girl, and I then recognize that the girl really is Lady McKenzie. Both myself and my master step forward more to see better.

"What happened?" I ask.

"She... she was attacked."

"How do you mean?" my master asks, Undertaker sighs and tells us all what happened from what he knows.

I walk to the waste basket and retrieve the cloth. I smell it and just like Undertaker said, it smelled of chloroform, and also something else. In all my years, I've never smelt it before. I wrap the foul-smelling cloth up and put it in my pocket before going back to the room everyone else is in.. I approach Undertaker slowly and look down at him. I have never seen him so.. down. In fact, I've never seen him in any other emotion other than cheery and such.

Undertaker took a beautiful red rose from the brim of his hat that I hadn't noticed earlier and places it in Lady McKenzie's hair. He lets out a shaky sigh and removes her hand from his own and moves her hand to rest on her chest, then slowly rises from the ground. His face was a little red, but I'm sure under all that hair over his eyes that they were moist and red...

~~~

It has been half a month. Lady McKenzie is still bed ridden in the Undertaker's parlor, and my master has ordered me to find a way to catch the man for young Lady McKenzie's ill state.

====UNDERTAKER====

I never knew I would fall in love. Sure, my heart is falling apart and crumbling just watching the woman I came to love (and yes, I mean love) in bed, suffering greatly, but I know there is a way she'll be okay. I won't let her become a client of mine. I know she'll be okay. Butler Sebastian has been looking for clues leading to this mysterious person responsible for all of this, and I trust him to find something.

~~~

My dear Mikki has slowly been regaining her strength and has started to make out short sentences before quieting once again. Of course, the one person not to be taking pity on this situation is, of course, that damned grim reaper, Grell Sutcliff. However, he agreed to look out for suspicious men.

It's not until Mikki gains the strength to turn over a few times did I notice a large lock of hair missing from Mikki's head. Dried blood stains the area around the large bald spot on her head. The tool used to cut her hair had cut her head and caused the bad bleeding. How could I have not noticed? Pretty much the entire back of her head was stained in blood. Then I see the worst of it all.

It isn't just any wound. It's swollen and the inner wound is a reddish-brown color, much like rust. I notice the smell, and identify that it is, indeed, rust. The man had used a dirty, rusty tool and cut a chunk of Mikki's hair out, as well as putting a deep-looking cut in her head. The wound looks rather infected from the rust, but I can't see it very well because her hair has been growing back slightly.

I hear a knock on the door, and soon Sebastian walks in with Ciel. They, too, see the wound, and Sebastian kneels next to me and slips off one of his gloves, putting it in the pocket of his clothing.

"With your permission?" Sebastian asks quietly. I hesitate a little before finally moving aside and letting him take a look at Mikki. I know she's asleep, but when she flinches from the butler's touch, I nearly beat him to the floor, but thankfully I refrain. I know he's only trying to help.

Before long, Sebastian pulls his hand away and wipes it off, then puts his glove back on. he lets out a sigh. "There's not much we can do. It's very deep and severe. Slightly infected. It would be much easier to treat if we completely shaved her head, but I am not sure if you want to do that," he says. Again, I hesitate, looking at her beautiful honey-wheaten blonde locks of hair.

"Shave it all off," a weak voice says. All three of us make a surprised noise when we realize it's Mikki that spoke. Her back is to us, and she keeps still. I smile very slightly, squeezing her cold, pale hand in mine.

"The scissors are on a corner in the kitchen," I say. I then hear Sebastian leave the room and come back not long after. I know he's holding the scissors.

Just to be safe, Sebastian cleans them a multiple times before looking closely at them. "Get her to sit up somewhere while I disinfect the scissors," he says. I scoop Mikki up and carry her into another room. I sit her on a closed coffin, holding her to make sure she doesn't fall over. Sebastian comes in and stands behind Mikki and holds her hair in his gloved hand. He then takes a lock of hair gently in his hands and snips it off with the scissors, laying the beautiful lock of hand down on the lid of the coffin.

~~~

About an hour later, we are carrying the now-bald Mikki back to her room. "Wait," I say. I turn with Mikki in my arms and head to my room. "Lord Phantomhive, can you hold McKenzie up on this coffin? I need your butler's help with something." I set Mikki on a coffin in my room. Ciel holds her up steadily and Sebastian follows me to Mikki's room, where we pick up her coffin-bed and carry it into my room. We set it beside mine, then I lift Mikki up and lay her in it. "Thank you," I whisper.