Kiara Cartier (Fred Weasley Love Series)

Ch. 34: Blank Space

"Kiara Cartier."

Chapter 34: Blank Space

"George! Cameron!" Fred bellowed from his bedroom one Thursday night, his eyes widened in horror. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He stumbled across it accidentally while trying to find his socks underneath his bed. He forgot it was even there and shocked himself when his hands wrapped around the metal clasp. "No... No, it can't be true."

"Fred, what's wrong?" Cameron exclaimed, worry evident in his voice as he sprinted in the room, holding his wand. He thought Death Eaters had somehow broken in so he was ready to attack whatever or whoever caused such panic in Fred's voice. He lowered his wand, noticing that it was only Fred in the room and he was alone, safe from harm. George appeared only a second later, freshly showered with his hair wrapped in a towel turban. Cameron looked at him oddly. In any normal situation, he would've laughed at the sight. "What? A man can't towel dry his hair?"

Cameron rolled his eyes, used to these sly and almost cheeky responses from the twins. Since spending a lot of his extra time with Fred and George at the flat, he was no longer surprised by their odd antics. It was becoming a common occurrence, particularly from George. If Kiara was around, he knew that Fred would be the same. Cameron turned to Fred, who was facing the opposite way. He couldn't see his face but he could tell there was something clearly wrong by his dropped shoulders and the way he looked as if he was on the verge of collapsing to the floor. "Fred? What's the matter, mate?"

"I think... Something bad has happened to Kiara," Fred choked out. He turned to face them, all of the colour was drained from his face. Both Cameron and George felt their heart skip a beat or two at his words. He held out a gold bracelet in the palm of his hand, that both Cameron and George recognised instantly as something that belonged to Kiara. It was styled as an intricate vine that grew charms. They had seen her wear it before. Cameron always admired it, never knowing that it was something that Fred had given to her as a present. "It's her bracelet that I gave her for Christmas when we first started dating. She hid it under my bed when she disguised herself as Aria because it could've given away her identity easily if she was caught wearing it. I found it just before under there. And... There's something wrong with it."

"I – I don't get it," George said in confusion. He took the gold bracelet from Fred and inspected it. The bracelet looked the exact same as he remembered. The charms were all still intact. "There's nothing different about it. How do you know something has happened to Kiara because of this bracelet?"

"Look at it properly, George. The leaf," Fred said hoarsely. "The little gold leaf used to have my name on it. It fell off when we broke up and regrew when we got back together but my name has always been on there. The bracelet is meant to represent important people or moments in your life. That's why she has a fire charm and a water charm – for her elements."

"The leaf is still here though, Fred," George said slowly. Cameron took the bracelet from George and flipped over the leaf, realising why Fred was borderline hysterical. It was something so small and minor, but Fred noticed it instantly because it meant so much to him. Cameron stared at Fred with wide eyes.

"The leaf is blank," Fred explained. The walls of his lungs felt as if they were closing in tightly in his chest. The blood pounded in his ears. Cameron held the leaf gently between his thumb and forefinger, tracing the smooth surface. There was no longer any engraving at all. Fred's name was completely gone. "It's a blank space. My name was on the leaf every time it grew. It's gone now. There is no engraving."

"Fred, it could just be because she's been taken away from us by her father. The leaf must've fallen off because they've kidnapped her and you're not with her anymore," George attempted to reassure him, noticing the way his hands shook at his sides. His twin brother seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. It was no secret to anyone that with every passing day where Kiara was not found, Fred was sinking lower into a dark state of despair. Cameron was not far behind him either, but the two of them still clung onto the hope that they could find Kiara and bring her home. The hope was the only thing that encouraged them to keep crawling out of the depths of the hole. The difficulty with their shared hope was that the spark was beginning to flicker and dim. They were losing their hope quickly, considering they were no closer to finding her now than they were when she was first taken.