Silence

Chapter 13

Acting as if nothing was wrong was one of the hardest things Adalina had ever had to do. It was almost impossible, but since she had not truly smiled in many years, none of the servants noticed anything different. She managed to hold back her tears in their presence.

She didn't really know what she was supposed to do now. She could never take over for Sebastian. He was capable of doing supernatural things for obvious reasons. She could never do any of that for Ciel.

But that was irrelevant. She may not have his abilities, but she was going to do everything in her power to protect her master to the best of her ability. And that was going to start by helping him find the Grim Reaper responsible for all of this.

For the remainder of the day, she served Ciel his meals and his tea, completed her daily chores, and made sure that she hid her tears in front of him as well. She would be strong for him in the midst of this loss and let him see that she would still take care of him.

However, that night when she was finally alone, all of her built-up tears released. She curled up into a ball on her bed and cried for at least an hour. She fell asleep to swollen eyes and a sore stomach.

When Adalina awoke, she wanted to cry all over again, but she didn't. She forced herself to be strong like she promised herself she would be.

She promptly awoke the young master, helped him dress like a good servant did, and prepared his breakfast for him. Never once did she cry.

"Adalina," Ciel said once his breakfast was finished. "We are going into London today. Perhaps we can find out more about this Reaper vigilante."

Adalina curtseyed and went to prepare the carriage, but she didn't really know what he wanted her to do. If Sebastian hadn't even been able to handle himself against this Reaper, she didn't have a prayer.

But Ciel had ordered it, and Ciel's word was law.

The young boy and his head maid walked through the streets of London, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity that may give away the rogue Reaper.

"Is that...Ciel Phantomhive?" a voice with a bit of a Cockney accent laughed as the owner pushed up his glasses.

The two of them turned their heads to find a young man with such dark brown hair that it was almost black who looked to be in his early 20's leaning against an alley wall.

"Pleasure to meet you!" the man said with an overdramatic bow.

"Do I know you?" Ciel asked as he walked over to him.

"No, but I know you. Everyone does, of course! The loyal Guard Dog for the Queen! Although, I'm unfamiliar with this lovely lady."

"She's my head maid, Adalina."

"Right pretty little thing she is. But, uh, where's that famous butler you always have by your side? Word on the street is he can do practically anything."

"I'm afraid he's..." Ciel faltered for a moment as Adalina forced back more tears. "He's dead. He was killed a few days ago in a fight with...a suspicious character."

"Oh," the man said sympathetically as he put his head down. "I'm terribly sorry about that."

"Are you?"

The man lifted up his head and smirked. "Not really."

Before Adalina could even grab the whip tied around her waist, she found herself chained to the alley wall with two separate chains holding her wrists up. It all happened so fast that she had no idea how they had even gotten there in the first place. Ciel was chained up next to her in a similar fashion. The entrance to the alley was blurred, and she figured that no one passing by could see what was happening. They had definitely found their Reaper.