Silence

Chapter 18

The young Ciel reached for her with terrified cries, but too many hooded figures held them so that they could not reach one another.

The hooded figures roughly tossed Adalina out of the room and she fell to the floor. She looked up in time to see the door slam.

Panicking, she got up and ran to the door, slamming and pounding her hands against it as if doing so would let it open again. She weakly leaned her head on the closed door, tears traveling down her cheeks as she heard the young Ciel's agonizing screams from inside.

She began stumbling down the halls again, tears still blurring her vision.

What kind of heartless people tortured a small child? What were they doing to him while she was locked out of the room?

Her footsteps were slow and she could barely walk in a straight line as her emotions overwhelmed her.

She could still hear the young Ciel's terrified screams.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her and firmly held her arms. She started whimpering and fought fiercely against the person holding her, doing anything to get away. She could not be captive again! She wouldn't let this person take her and keep her in this place of horror!

One of the hands released her arm and firmly grasped her chin before forcing her to look up.

"Adalina!"

Adalina's eyes quickly opened, and she found that was she looking up at Sebastian. His hand was firmly holding her arm while his other hand was under her chin. His brow was furrowed in urgent concern, an expression she wasn't sure she had ever seen him wear before.

Taking heaving breaths, she quickly looked around her. She was back in Phantomhive Manor.

Sebastian knew that she must've dreamt about her time in captivity. It was the only thing that could make her react so terribly. She had had nightmares when she had first come to the manor but never any of this intensity. The whole event with Viscount Druitt must've affected her more than both of them realized. Spending time in the torture chamber not long ago certainly didn't help.

"Adalina, look at me," Sebastian said firmly as he put his hand to her face, reminded of the time his young master had an experience quite similar to this one after investigating the circus. He gently moved the hair away from her sweaty face. "You are not captive any longer. Those men will never be able to touch you or hurt you again. There is nothing to fear."

Adalina frantically shook her head and attempted to pull away from him. She wanted to see Ciel. She wanted to know that he was okay.

"Adalina," Sebastian said calmly, keeping a firm hold on her for fear she would hurt herself if he let her go. If he didn't get her to stop hyperventilating soon, she was going to pass out. He once again forced her to look at him. "Everyone is fine. The servants, myself, the young master, everyone is perfectly safe."

Adalina met his crimson eyes and felt a warmth spread through her that helped her begin to calm down. She ran a hand through her hair, her breathing finally beginning to slow.

When she pulled away from Sebastian, she realized that she was in one of the hallways on the second floor of the manor rather than in the head maid's quarters on the first floor.

Had she been sleepwalking? That seemed unlike her. She wasn't sure she had ever walked around in her sleep before. If she had, surely she would've known by now. Sebastian would've told her.

"That was quite the nightmare," Sebastian stated.

Adalina looked over at him.

"Warm milk and honey?"

Adalina nodded, and the two of them went down to the kitchen. As she sat down on one of the chairs, Sebastian filled a teacup with warmed milk and honey and handed it to her. She slowly sipped it, her heart calming down once more.

Sebastian never understood how such a simple drink could manage to calm humans so well. They were such simple creatures really.

"Does this help?"

Adalina nodded again. She remembered her promise to never let her memories control her again. But she couldn't be angry with herself this time. That dream had been more vivid than any nightmare she had ever had before. And given what she had been through in the past few days, she figured she could cut herself some slack.

Sebastian wondered what she possibly could've dreamt about that made her wander the halls of the manor and fight against him when he touched her. He guessed captivity, and he was certain that was a part of it, but this was the first time he had ever had to reassure her that everyone in the manor was okay.

"You needn't be afraid of such things any longer," he assured her. "As long as I am here, you will never have to endure anything like that ever again." He came up behind her and pressed his hands to her shoulders. He leaned his head down close to her ear. "I give you my word."

She tilted her head to the left, and it gave Sebastian room to press his lips to her neck. She let herself indulge in the feeling again, but only for a moment.

She placed her left hand to his head which told him to pull away from her. He sat on the chair next to her and pressed his forehead to hers, her hand still touching the side of his face.

He greatly desired to kiss her pale full lips, but he couldn't. He could not be the one to kiss her first, and if she tried to kiss him now, he couldn't say for sure if he would let her.

Instead, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her small form.

Adalina rested her head on his chest. She liked being in Sebastian's arms. She felt like nothing bad could ever happen if he was holding her. Like there wasn't a safer place.

"You should get some sleep," Sebastian said in his smooth voice that made anyone melt.

However, it didn't have that effect on Adalina. At least not in the same way it affected other women. It didn't bother him like he thought it would. It meant she was different from the rest of the humans he came in contact with.

"We both know how the young master feels about his servants not getting enough rest."

Sebastian escorted her to her room, not willing to leave her side just yet. Not to mention he was fairly certain she didn't want to be alone for the dark walk from the kitchen to the head maid's quarters. Not after a nightmare of that degree.

Once in her room, Adalina got into the bed and pulled up the blanket.

Sebastian gave her a slight bow. "Good night, Adalina."

He turned to leave, but he stopped when he felt her hand on his arm. He turned back around to face her. She wasn't looking at him. He could sense her lingering fear from the nightmare. She did not want to be alone yet.

"Very well."

Sebastian removed his coat so that only his white shirt and vest were showing. For courtesy's sake, he did not get under the blankets with her. He lied on top of them next to her and put his arm around her so he could pull her close to him.

Adalina rested her head and right hand on his chest. The arm Sebastian had around her gently ran up and down her back in a comforting manner. She relaxed and soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Sebastian listened to her heartbeat so he could tell when she had fallen asleep. It didn't take long. He could easily slip out of her grasp now, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to savor this. It was not often he got to hold Adalina in his arms while she was calm and uninjured. He wanted this moment to last forever.

He removed the glove from the hand rubbing her back and slowly brushed his fingers through her soft hair. She stirred for a moment but remained asleep, so he continued the action.

It was the first night that he actually wished for the sun to never rise again.