Silence

Chapter 18

When Adalina opened her eyes, her breathing quickened and she began to panic.

She was back in the small, cramped room at the men's house.

Sick girls surrounded her, not seeming to notice that she was on the verge of having a breakdown.

Had her entire time as a head maid for Earl Phantomhive just been a wonderful dream? An illusion driven by her desperation to be free?

She couldn't take this. After knowing the beautiful taste of freedom, she could never be locked up like this again.

She had to escape.

She ran to the door and flung it open, not caring about the guard who usually stood on the other side. However, it seemed he had been called away because no one was there.

Adalina frantically ran down the halls searching for some way out. She didn't know what she was expecting to find. She had spent years in this place without ever finding a means of escape before.

She passed an open door and when she looked inside, she found to her horror that the men were whipping another one of the girls.

The girl turned around for a moment to look at her.

Adalina's eyes widened when she saw that she was looking at her own face, pale and sick from the severe lack of nourishment.

One of the men forced her to turn back around before they continued to whip her.

Adalina put her hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

Why couldn't she escape? Why couldn't she ever be free of these people?

She continued down the hallway when she came upon another door, this one closed. She slowly opened it, hoping that it would lead her outside but dreading what the alternative would be.

To her horror, Ciel was trapped in a cage in the middle of the room. She ran up to him and knelt in front of the cage, putting her hands over his that were gripping the cage bars.

They were so cold. And so small.

She took a good look at her master and saw that he was a few years younger. More tears came to her eyes as she realized this was what he had been through when he had been captured as a child.

He was so very young.

He wore only a white shirt and brown shorts, both of which were tattered beyond repair and stained with blood.

She met his desperate and terrified eyes. His right eye remained the same cool blue as the other. It was the only time she had ever seen both of his eyes.

She gently rubbed her thumb over his hand, unwilling to leave his side ever again. Slowly so as not to alarm him, she put her hand through the bars and stroked his dirtied hair. Unlike usual, he seemed to welcome her touch.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and forced off the floor. She fought against the hooded figures pulling her away so she could try to protect Ciel from them.

One of the hooded figures unlocked the cage and yanked the young Ciel out of it to his frightened protests.

Adalina broke free of her captors and ran to him. She firmly wrapped her arms around the small boy, his head only reaching the middle of her stomach. She clutched onto him protectively in order to shield him from his captors and whatever their malicious intentions were.

More hooded figures grabbed her and pulled her away from the young Ciel. Adalina frantically held her arms out for him as she was pulled away, urging him to try to reach her hands where he would be safe.