Little Thief (Black Butler G/T)

Chapter Twelve

As Sebastian pulled green weeds from the earth, he could sense a presence around them but didn't dare mention it aloud. Kadence was so focused on her job, it was surprising. For such a tiny humanoid she seemed very concerned about getting what she needed to get done, done. 

Every now and then he would look at her, and she would be climbing all over the bushes nearby, picking off every dead petal she could get her tiny little hands on. At one point, she had almost fallen and Sebastian swore he would have to catch her, but in an instant, she had caught a branch and hoisted herself back up.

Her uniform had even already dried from her constant movement and the warm sunlight. 

He was genuinely...almost impressed. But she did survive on her own for a long time, she must be fairly strong for her size. So it wasn't too surprising to him. 

"Kadence?" He asked with a hum in his voice, tossing the final weeds to the side and looked at his dirtied gloves. He'd have to change them without her seeing, meaning they should head back to his room. However, this presence can't go ignored. 

The tiny redhead's eyes locked onto his, a wide smile on her face as she pushed strands of hair from her face. "Did I do well? I mean, I've never done this before and some petals I couldn't reach, but I promise I will try and do better." Kadence insisted, gripping onto the stem of the flower bush and started to climb down.

Sebastian, even with his dirt covered fingers, reached out toward her but hesitated. he simply sat there, waiting, seeing if she possibly needed his help to get down. But her feet easily made it to the ground, and she could have practically been invisible in the grass if her hair wasn't such a bright red. "I believe you did just fine, though, yes, you could practice a little more."

She felt his hand come closer. She wasn't about to let herself fall now and possibly prove what he and the Earl thought. Kadence knew she was an excellent climber, she knew that she could scale a wall if she needed to. 

His words made her heart swell with pride, and she looked up into the crimson colored eyes watching her from above. "Sebastian, what happened to that man that had grabbed me?" She suddenly asked, not meaning to ask the question allowed but it slipped out.

His crimson eyes widened briefly and his lips curled into an intimidating smirk. "My, curious aren't you?" Reaching down, Sebastian set his hand on the ground palm up, not answering her question. "Let's go back inside, and once I change my gloves I'll have some things to take care of."

Kadence wasn't stupid. She knew the butler was avoiding the question. Part of her told her to insist, part of her told her to drop it and leave it alone. The man was gone and that was that, so she should just be grateful and shut up. 

Inhaling deeply through her nose, she stepped onto the gloved hand and didn't even flinch when he began to move. She was starting to already get used to being toted around in a palm. As long as his fingers remained uncurled, she thinks she'll be okay. "Yes, sir."

Fighting off a chuckle, Sebastian swept his eyes around the area and just behind the trees, perhaps twenty meters away were two men. They both had guns on their backs, a cage looking object in one's hand. He knew immediately what that was for and he looked at the red-haired Borrower in his palm. At least he knew where the presence was coming from, and now he could be more aware.

Stepping inside, he closed the door and locked it with his free hand. Keeping a calm appearance to not upset the Borrower, Sebastian hurried up the several staircases to where he needed to be. Kadence was silent. He could feel her tiny fingers trailing along the lines of his palm. It was a rather odd sensation and he looked at her with a curious expression. 

Her emerald eyes looked up and widened, and her hand moved next to her other one in her lap. "Sorry." her small voice came out in a squeaky, nervous whisper.

"Don't be." Sebastian placed her on his desk and took another pair of gloves from the drawers nearby. Then, he turned his back to the tiny woman to change them.

Kadence kept her gaze fixated on the tall black-haired butler, her eyebrows furrowed. She was curious about him more than ever. She could still see parts of his hands, despite the fact he seemed to be trying to hide them. As he removed his dirty gloves, she could see his nails were pure black. It was unnatural, and she knew that they all couldn't have been smashed in something, they couldn't just be bruises. 

A glimpse of his other hand made her eyes widen more than they already were. Kadence quickly averted her gaze, picturing that pentagram in her mind that she saw tattooed on his skin. God, she hoped it was just a tattoo. A pentagram, surrounded by a circle with diamond-like shapes outlining the edge of the circle.

Not daring to mention what she just saw, Kadence kept her eyes on her hands and calmed herself to avoid raising suspicion from this butler. 

As soon as Sebastian turned around, he could tell the tiny female wasn't the same as she was a few seconds ago. She seemed like she'd seen something. And in his mind, he knew exactly what she saw, but wouldn't speak of it unless she herself brought it up. 

"Kadence, do you wish to come with me to the kitchen and maybe help cook dinner? If not, I will bring you up a meal and then we'll have to get right to the dishes again." Sebastian said in a slow tone, keeping a straight and calm face.

Letting the thought of food distract her, Kadence looked up at Sebastian with a meek smile. "I-I'll wait here, thank you, sir." She practically whispered, cringing when his fingers curled around her even though they were gentle. The hand moved her from the desk to the pillow on the bed. 

The soft surface was comforting. Kadence watched Sebastian turn his back to her and glided out of the room. While she didn't like being scared of him, she hated being alone too. Being alone in this room made her nervous, and forced her mind to believe she was safe.

That to her wasn't really a good thing. She should never feel safe. But she felt like she needed to. If she didn't, she'd drive herself crazy from the paranoia. 

Sinking into the soft surface of the pillow, Kadence stretched her exhausted, tiny body out. It felt wonderful, and her muscles were aching from all the climbing and scrubbing and picking and- She just felt like she needed a short nap. 

Lying on her stomach, Kadence closed her emerald eyes, wondering how long it would be for Sebastian to finish dinner, and if she could get enough sleep in that amount of time.