Ceil entered the forest cautiously. She could let any predatory animals notice her her because the days where she could fight them off where over. She tried very hard to stay off wind to the goblins that chattering in the clearing. She knew that she probably smelt bad enough that the goblins would think she was one of their but she wasn't willing to take that risk.
She leapt up to the trees with a bit of a limp. Carefully sidestepping over branches and using her arms to steady herself as she climbed around the ring to get to the exit. She doubted that she would be able to make the whole way across through the forest so she would drop into the underbrush once she was sure that the creatures roaming by would stomp over. Even the deer in This forest were feral enough to swallow a human. There were worse things though like the augmented panthers that could turn invisible. They stalked their prey with success. If one was stalking her right now she wouldn't realise until after it had eaten her that she was being chased.
She made it to the edge of the forest thankfully and gulped down the flask of water she brought with her in relief. The tension stared to disappears from her shoulders she took one shuddering breath after another.
"Right off we pop" The shed was now within few meters she took a stumbling skip and hop to get inside.
Once there she did a mandatory check of her gold. She had hidden it underneath her cabinet draws in a secret compartment but one could never be certain of one successes. What if one of her cousins ransacked her shelf while she was away. would they be so suspicious?
The next couple of days would be busy apart from setting up her shop she would need to get a permit at the town hall, make an appearance at the manor for her aunts weekly assessment of is she going to usurp me? Can I finally kill her yet?
No, she couldn't.
Mostly those assessments were about how well ciel be non threatening. If she was spiteful or rude her aunt would have her whipped or hung.
Ciel frowned at the discordant image.
Right but for now I need to sleep, the rest of the errands could be done tomorrow.
She awoke to a splitting headache and banging sound at her door.
It was her sisters her aunt had taken them because there had been an opportunity to poison their minds against the former heir.
Ciel's heart broke when her formerly lovely sisters would curse and bully those below their station.
They still didn't understand how their sister was different from them.
Ciel swung her door open to find Lucy and her body guard Avery standing outside in the freezing cold.
Lucy was in an impossibly pink frilly dress and Avery a simple knights uniform with a red scarf.
Ciel nodded to each of them "why did you come here?"