Silence

Chapter 4

Ciel paced around in his study. "Why isn't she back yet?" he demanded.

"I am not sure, my lord. Perhaps she got distracted by some of the other stores. It is rare she gets to go into town."

"It's unlike her to do something like this. I've never known her to be distracted by anything. The town isn't far away. She should've been back at least three hours ago."

"Shall I go look for her?"

"Yes. Start by the bookstore where she was retrieving the package and see what you can find."

"Yes, my young lord."

Sebastian took off outside the manor and was in town in no time flat. He tried to sense Adalina, but she was not in the vicinity. That struck him as odd. Even if she did get distracted by something, he should still be able to sense her. As the butler made his way down the streets, something caught his eye.

He knelt down and picked up three books that had been tossed to the curb. Then he quickly returned to his young master's study.

"I found these a few feet away from the bookstore. They are relatively new, but it's clear they have been on the sidewalk for quite a while."

Ciel took the books from Sebastian. "These were the books I ordered her to fetch for me. Something must have happened to her. Sebastian, this is an order. Find Adalina and bring her back safely."

Sebastian bowed as he placed his hand on his chest. "Yes, my young lord."

While Sebastian didn't want Adalina to be put in such a dire situation (after all, it created more work for him), he could very well use this to his advantage. Tonight would be the night that he finally got things back to the way they were.

Adalina opened her eyes but saw nothing. As the effects of the knockout drug the two strangers had given her in the carriage wore off, her heart began to hammer in her chest as she tried to figure out what was going on. She realized that she was blindfolded and her hands were tied in front of her. On her back, she felt cold steel bars and guessed she had been put in some kind of cage.

"Our last item of the day!" a male's voice said near her. "Our finest one yet. A right pretty young girl with a perfect slender body. She is a mute, but to some, that might be a desired trait. We shall start off the bidding at £2,000."

Bidding?

She was in an auction. She was to be sold, and from the sound of it, the buyer was looking to buy women for prostitution. Tears escaped from the confines of the blindfold and ran down her cheeks at the idea of what the man who bought her was going to do to her.

Ciel must know she was gone by now. But did he even care? Perhaps it was his plan all along for her to go to town alone so that something would happen to her and his secret would be safe without him having to dirty his own hands.

"£2,500!" someone in the audience in front of her shouted.

"4,000!"

"5,000!"

"5,000 going once!" the auctioneer called out. "Going twice!"

'Sold' was never said. Instead, Adalina flinched as she heard various people crying out in surprise and pain. Angry and panicked shouts filled the room.

"What is that thing?!" she heard someone yell.

She could make out thuds and more screams and then suddenly...all was quiet. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing. Soft footsteps made their way towards her. Then her blindfold was taken down off her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted to the new light, her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Sebastian's face in front of her. Her body tensed up as she tried to back away, but seeing as she was indeed in a cage, there was nowhere for her to go.