Warning: mentions of Madam Red's corpse and Mary Jane Kelly's violent death.
Y/N waited on the doorstep of Madam Red's manor as a butler of hers searched for the item Y/N had requested. Y/N hadn't bothered to go inside; the thought of walking into the dead woman's home seemed wrong. Just from the outside, Y/N could tell how beautiful the manor was, she could hardly begin to imagine the inside's gorgeous halls in her mind. There were rose bushes and vines crawling up the side of the arched doorway that made it look like the entrance to a fairy tale castle. Normally Y/N would've been bored just waiting for the item to be given to her, but her surroundings made it difficult to look at one thing for too long before something else caught her attention. The butler returned to the door with a light cream colored box, tied shut with a lavish red ribbon. "This is the item the young Earl requested," said the butler as Y/N carefully took the box from him. It weighed more than she thought it would, but Y/N made sure not to drop it. She thanked the butler before going back to the carriage she had taken to the estate. After she placed the box inside the carriage, Y/N took in the estate one last time before she climbed inside the cab and knocked on the roof. Y/n heard the crack of a whip, the whinnying of horses, and then the sound of hooves against cobblestone. She looked out the window as Madam Red's estate slowly vanished in the distance, "I wonder," Y/N thought to herself, "What will become of her manor?"
Y/N didn't have the extra money on her to afford another dress for the Madam's funeral, but she had some clothes from home that would be Era-appropriate. She had donned a black button up shirt, black high waisted pants, and a belt with a fake gold buckle. It was nowhere near as beautiful and extravagant as the dress she had worn to the Viscount's ball, but she didn't plan on making a major appearance. The Undertaker had, once again, offered to do her makeup, insisting it was more fun to practice on a live human than a dead one. He gave Y/N eye shadow as dark as her shirt and mascara to match. There was no blush this time and her lipstick was a dark maroon, almost black. Y/n thanked him before he left to go prepare for the burial. Alice had given Y/N the day off to morn. She wasn't aware that Madam Red was half of Jack the Ripper; she was under the impression she was his last victim. In a sick, twisted way, Alice was right. Christopher had spent the day trying to cheer her up before she was supposed to leave but nothing he was doing seemed to help. Y/N didn't really understand why she was so sad. Madam Red had tried to kill her. Maybe just reading the mangas and watching the anime over and over again had made her form an attachment. Y/N had also tried to save her. Had she jumped a few seconds sooner she could've done just that. Alice hadn't been able to close down the Pub but she was still spending every second she could trying to comfort Y/N. The only person who was more afraid and exhausted than Y/N after the night Mary Jane Kelly died had been Alice. She had been trying to get Y/N to tell her what had gotten her so shaken up since Y/N had arrived back at the pub. All Y/N would tell her was that Jack the Ripper killed two more women before she and the Guard Dog managed to stop them. The Ripper was disposed of and she was to attend one of the funerals of the victims. None of Alice and Christopher's attempts to help Y/N seemed to work. All Y/N could see was Madam Red's dead eyes looking at her. "Please just, leave me alone," Y'N finally whispered to them. Christopher was trying to show her how well he had gotten at reading, but Y/N just wasn't up for it. The young boy looked downcast and Alice placed loving hands on his shoulders before leading him away.
Y/N had been up in her room moping for about an hour before she noticed a rather nice carriage pull up beside the pub. She knew it was meant for her because she recognized the driver clear as day. Y/n made sure to take the box she had been sent to retrieve earlier that day downstairs. She waved goodbye to Alice and Christopher before leaving the pub, cream box in hand. Y/n nodded hello to Sebastian before climbing into the carriage cab. Inside Ciel was waiting for her, hair slicked back and to the side. "I see you've retrieved the item I requested," not even a 'hello'.
"Just as you asked," Y/N passed him the box, "So what is it?" She already knew what it was, but it was more polite to ask than say. Ciel pulled on the red bow, carefully untying it. He lifted the lid slowly off the box, and moved the silk covering aside. Y/N could see the extravagantly striking red fabric of one of Madam Red's signature red dresses. All Y/n could do was gasp. Everything about what little of the dress she could see was beautiful. "Oh, it's gorgeous. But, isn't she already dressed for the funeral?"
"Yes, but white never suited her. She was far from a plain woman," explained the Earl as he placed the silk over the dress again.
Y/N chuckled dryly, "Yeah, I got that impression from the Viscount's party."
"You were there?" Y/N knew Ciel was nervous about what she could've seen that night. For the first time that day Y/N genuinely smiled.
"Yes, I was." She paused, making him think that was all she was going to say. She noticed him relax just the smallest bit. "You looked great in that dress, by the way. I know I could've pulled it off but you were definitely something." The Earl's face turned pink before he began insisting that he would have her killed if she told anyone about what she'd seen at the party. Y/N just laughed as he spewed threats to her, causing her to giggle louder. "I was never going to tell anyone!" She was smiling more than she had in a long time. "Besides kid, look at what I'm wearing," Y/N pointed to her shirt and pants, "If you think I'm going to get weirded out because you did what you had to in order to solve a case, you're wrong. Unlike you, I crossdress for fun sometimes. I think I'm the strange one out of the two of us." Ciel looked her up and down, thought about what she had said, and insisted one last time that if she told anyone she would be killed.
The carriage ride continued in silence as they made their way to the church, fashionably late. Y/N and Sebastian assisted Ciel in getting the dress out of the box and placed upon his shoulder. Neither Sebastian nor Y/N would be going into the church; they were in charge of making the red rose petals fly into the church behind the young lord. Y/N adjusted the rose on Ciel's breast pocket before pressing down and straightening out her own shirt. "All set, ready when you are." Ciel nodded to the girl and his butler, he was ready. Y/N and Sebastian slowly pushed open the chapel doors which opened with a loud creak. Y/N saw heads turn to face the entrance where Ciel now stood. Lady Elizabeth stood in the center aisle, weeping. She turned to face him like everyone else had, "Ciel!" It was barely above a whisper. The young lord began walking down the aisle. Despite the whispering flooding the church about how 'inappropriate' it was for him to have the red gown, he held his head high. The whispers continued until Ciel made his way to the front of the church where the Madam was resting in a beautiful coffin. Ciel threw the dress over her lower body and sat down next to her coffin.
"White flowers, and plain clothes... Do not befit you. What suits you best, is passionate red." Y/N and Sebastian made way to the carriage Ciel had ordered the Undertaker to put together. It was mostly a glass tank. The corners were black painted wood and there was gold paint accenting it. Inside the case were beautiful, flawless, red rose petals. "The color of Lycoris that blazes the Earth..." He placed the red rose from his pocket in her hair, tucked behind her ear.
"The color of Spider Lilies," Y/N whispered as a single tear made its way down her cheek. It left a mascara stain trial on her skin.
"Humans are so weak," Sebastian muttered as they readied the petals.
"Am I really the weak one, just because I feel emotions? Or is it you, who chooses to shy away and hide from them that is weak?" Y/N didn't wipe away the tear, but rather, let it fall from her face. A face where the only emotion shown was strength.
"Aunt An," Y/N heard the Earl say from inside as he pressed his forehead against his aunt's. That was their cue. Y/N and Sebastian released the rose petals, familiar footsteps approaching. The Undertaker stood beside the demon and the woman as the petals caught on the wind and flowed into the church.
"Such a shame, your mascara's bled." The Undertaker pointed it out as he made his way over to her. He went to wipe it away with his thumb before he paused. He stared at her for a moment, his signature grin turned slightly softer, "No, it's not. In fact, it's quite the statement." His grin returned to normal before looking over to the demon. He laughed harder, finding something quite amusing. The stark contrast between pure human and pure devil.
"Goodnight, Madam Red." That was it. She was officially laid to rest.
"May she seek happiness with the man she learned to love, with the man she first found love, with the sister she loved more than anything, and her baby who was never meant to be." Y/N took a handful of petals and brought them to her lips. She pressed them against her skin gently before releasing them into the breeze to be carried into the church. One petal for her husband, one for Vincent Phantomhive, one for Rachel Phantomhive, one for her unborn baby, and one last petal for her beloved nephews, twins whom she loved dearly. "If only she knew."
Lau stood with them as they overlooked Madam Red's grave. "You are not reporting the true identity of Jack the Ripper to the Queen?"
"There is no need to do so, as Jack the Ripper is no longer in London." Ciel looked up to the sky. Two white birds circled above.
"And thus, do you become further mired in the mud." Y/N was already aware that Lau frequently talked in an almost proverb-esk sort of way, yet that didn't make it easier to understand him. "Even if you reach a place from whence you cannot return... You will never utter an unsightly scream or beg for help in front of anybody. You proud hound of the Queen. I shall be careful myself, to avoid falling into my Lord's 'care'."
"The addictive nature of Opium is becoming a problem," Ciel warned him, "It is but a matter of time before it becomes regulated in Great Britain. And if that happens, the Opium dens you Chinamen are operating will have to be shut down."
"Then I will come up with another business." It wasn't exactly a funny joke, but Y/N knew just as well as Ciel that Lau would hardly ever consider leaving behind his dens. "I am still interested in this country. And in you as well... My Lord." Both Sebastian and Y/n glared at Lau as he approached Ciel. He gripped the young Earl's shoulder and leaned down to whisper to him, "I expect you will continue... to amuse me." Lau turned to look Y/N dead in the eyes, "Especially now that you have a new pawn." With that said, Lau quickly stood up, closed his eyes, pressed his changshan flat, and hid his hands in his sleeves. As Lau walked away, Ciel addressed both his butler and Y/N.
"We have someplace to be, and she needs to go back to where she crawled out from. Come." Y/N just snickered at what he said. Normally she would've made that joke herself. The two followed Ciel over to Mary Jane Kelly's grave where the Undertaker was perched. "Undertaker. Are you done?"
"Of course." He hopped off the grave. "I cleaned her up and buried her. See?" The Undertaker extended one arm towards the fresh grave, her name engraved at the top. Sebastian didn't know about the grave, but Y/N had known and requested that a Spider Lily be placed in the bouquet of White Lilies. "My last client from Jack the Ripper. It seems like she was an immigrant from overseas. We could not find a soul to claim her body." The Undertaker began to giggle as he poked Ciel in the cheek. "And so the kind Earl built a grave for the nameless whooore!"
"I am not kind. I knew." He paused, images of Mary Kelly's chopped up body flashed through his mind and Y/N's. "I knew that I would not be able to save this woman. If I had only thought of her life first, there were any number of ways to rescue her that night. But I did not attempt any of them."
"We did not attempt any of them," Y/N interjected, voice hardly above a whisper.
The young lord paused to think about what she had said. "We knew she could have been rescued, but my first priority was to capture Jack the Ripper. I knew that I would not save her life. I knew and I let her die. Just as I let my own flesh and blood die."
"Do you regret it?" The Reaper eventually asked, only he wasn't just asking Ciel.
"No. Jack the Ripper is no more." His voice was stone cold, not like one of a child's should be. "The pall cast on Queen Victoria has been lifted." The Undertaker looked over to Y/N. When she didn't answer he looked over to the single Spider Lily and nodded.
"Queen Victoria, hm? Can't say I like her onnnne bit!" Y/N smiled lightly at the Undertaker's antics. He would be the type of cousin to bring politics up on Thanksgiving or Christmas just for fun. "She only looks on from afar, and makes the Earl, and now Miss Y/N, handle aaaaall the tough dirty work."
"That is the fate of our family, and now her's. It has been handed down for generations together with this ring." The bright blue stone reflected sunlight.
"That ring is practically like a collar, hmm?" The Undertaker gripped the young boy, long black nails digging into his shoulders. "It binds you to the Queen through the chains of fate. I do wonder," he let the Earl go, "When will you get a collar of your own, dear Y/N?"
"Never. You don't corner a lion, much less collar one with shackles." Y/N knew how the Queen operated, and how she would operate in the future. She would always be one step ahead.
"The one who decided to put that collar around this neck, was I," stated the young lord.
The Undertaker let go of Ciel before snatching him up by the tie, practically lifting him off the ground. "I pray you do not hang yourself with it someday. I would find it gravely disappointing." He smirked before letting the Earl go. "And I meant that in regards to both of you. Feel free to visit me. And you know I'll visit you, Miss Y/N." Ciel scoffed and Y/N rolled her eyes with a smirk as the Undertaker walked away. "Milord, his master butler and Milady are welcome anytime." His laugh faded as he walked further and further away.
"Y/N, please go wait in the carriage," Y/N knew what was about to go down between Sebastian and Ciel. She just nodded before heading back to the carriage. She wanted nothing more than to leave the graveyard.
"The only time I want to return is for Sebastian's stupid, corny, fake funeral," Y/N grumbled to herself.