A loud pounding sounded on the manor door. Sebastian quickly went to go answer it before whoever was on the other side broke the whole door down. That would be added work for him that he didn't care to do.
When he opened the door, three large-muscled men burst inside. He frowned at their complete lack of decorum. One should never enter a manor unless invited in.
"All right, where is she?" one of them demanded in a thick Cockney accent. "We know she's here."
"Who might you be referring to?" the butler asked.
"You know who I'm talkin' about! We tracked her down to this place."
Ciel appeared at the top of the stairs having heard all the noise from all the way upstairs. "Sebastian, what seems to be the problem?"
"It appears these men are looking for someone at the manor," Sebastian answered.
"You're Earl Phantomhive?" another man asked in disbelief, a wide smirk on his face. "How old are you, 10?"
Ciel glared at the three intruders, not appreciating being called younger than he really was. "What is your business here?"
At that moment, Adalina walked into the foyer to see what the commotion was about.
Immediately, Sebastian sensed her immense fear and worry. When he looked over at her, her eyes were wide and her breathing came in short gasps. It was clear she knew these men and for whatever reason, she was terrified of them.
"Oh, there she is," one of the men sneered. "Told you she was here. We'll be takin' her back now."
"I'm afraid not," Sebastian said politely. "She is now a servant of Phantomhive Manor and is of great importance to my young master."
"Tough luck, my friend. She's our property. She rightfully belongs to us."
"Do you have proof of this ownership?"
"Well...no, but that don't mean she ain't ours! The fact that we were able to track her down should be proof enough! Now hand her over."
Adalina backed away from them, her eyes widening even more in terror. She met eyes with Sebastian, silently begging him to do something. Anything to make sure that she didn't have to go back with them.
Ciel glanced at his head maid. He hadn't seen her this scared even when she had learned the truth of Sebastian. He deduced that these men had something to do with her muteness. Why else would she be so terrified of them?
Whoever they were, they needed to be dealt with. He couldn't have someone hired to protect him this frightened over something that could easily be remedied. They had finally fixed the whole Sebastian problem, and he was not one for moving two steps back.
"Adalina, go to your room," he ordered. Adalina looked up at him in protest. She took a step forward, but he added firmly, "Now."
Not daring to refuse her master, Adalina politely curtseyed and returned to her quarters.
"Hey!" one of the three men yelled. "You can't order her about. That's our job."
"I think you'll find that I do not tolerate that which makes my servants afraid. As Phantomhive servants, they are expected to be able to protect me and this manor with their lives. They cannot do their job if they are distracted by their fears."
"Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it, pipsqueak? Go cry to dead mummy and daddy?"
Ciel glared at them even more fiercely. That man had no idea what he had just done. "Enough of this. Sebastian, this is an order. Kill them."
Sebastian's eyes glowed pink. "Yes, my young lord."
The room began to darken.
Inside the head maid's quarters, Adalina sat in a ball in the corner with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands covering her ears to block out the agonizing screams from inside the foyer.
How had those men even managed to find her? She never thought that those men would be able to find her here much less attempt to take her back with them. She had just always assumed them to be dead or thought that they had believed her to be too much trouble to seek out after she had escaped.
Two hands touched her own, and she flinched as she opened her eyes. She found herself looking into the crimson eyes of Sebastian. He gently pulled her hands away from her ears.
"There is no need to worry, Adalina," he said in a tender voice. "They will not hurt you ever again."
Adalina had a pretty good idea of what he had done, but she didn't have any desire to know the details.
Sebastian helped her up off the floor. "Adalina..." he started cautiously. "If it is all right with you, I would like to understand what happened to you and why you were so afraid of those men."
Adalina looked away from him.
"You will not have to say anything. I'll be able to see it."
The young woman looked back up at him. If she was being honest, it would be nice to have someone know what she had gone through and understand why she never spoke. And for reasons she couldn't fully explain, she did trust Sebastian. She wondered if she was being foolish for trusting a demon, but he had yet to give her any reason not to trust him.
She slowly nodded her head.
Sebastian removed his gloves, and Adalina let out a small gasp when she saw his black nails and the purple design on the back of his left hand.
"Do not let this worry you," Sebastian told her. "It is simply proof of the contract with my master. I need you to take my hands."
Adalina hesitated for a moment, questioning if she should really go through with his plan, and then slowly put her hands into Sebastian's awaiting palms.
"Close your eyes."
She did so.
"Now think about what happened to you in the past. Why were you so afraid of those men? Why do you no longer speak?"
Adalina grimaced as her head began to hurt a little. She forced herself to think about all of the horrid things she had endured in the past several years before coming to work at Phantomhive Manor.
Sebastian's eyes glowed bright pink as he began to see flashes of various images of Adalina's life.
A teenage Adalina peeked out of her room in the very small house she lived in. Big intimidating men stood at the door, one of them holding her father's shirt in his fist.
"Where's the money you owe me?" he growled.
"I...I just need a bit more time," her father stammered. "Just a little more time, and I'll have everything."
"You've had enough time. Get me my money by tomorrow."
"That's...That's not enough time. Please..."
"Well, you should've thought of that before you gambled it all away to me. I'll be here tomorrow, and if I don't get my money, you won't live to see another day."
The scary man released her father and stormed off. Her father sighed heavily as he leaned against the door.
The teenage Adalina backed against the wall of her home terror-stricken.
The previous men barged into her rooms, knives and switchblades drawn.
"Where's my money?" the biggest and scariest one demanded. "Where is it?!"
"Please, just give me a few more days! I'll get everything to you, I promise."
"Sorry, mate, I've waited long enough."
The man raised his knife above his head and brought it down. Blood spattered onto the floors and walls. Adalina flinched, and her mouth dropped open in horror.
"NO!" her mother screamed in hysterics, leaning over her father's lifeless corpse. "No, no, no! How could you?!"
"SHUT UP!" the man yelled.
He didn't even raise his weapon as he ended her mother's life. More blood soaked the floor, intermingling with her father's blood. Some of it got onto Adalina's face and dress.
The reality of the situation hit her all at once, and she broke down onto the floor in sobs and screams.
All of the men came over to her, and she closed her eyes as she prepared for them to kill her as well. But instead, one of them grasped her hair in his hand and pulled her head up so they could see her face, multiple tears streaming down her cheeks.
"What do you think, lads?" he smirked. "Think she'd work for us?"
"Can't be too bad," another answered. "We'll add her with the rest."
The man painfully yanked her up off the floor by her hair and forced her out to the wagon they had arrived in. One man got in front and drove the wagon while two remained in the back with Adalina to make sure she didn't try to escape.
Adalina shivered and huddled together with several other teenage girls. All of them were dirty and starved and had thin clothing on that covered less of their bodies than half of the prostitutes on the streets. There were only two thin and worn blankets in the room that only covered about three girls if stretched far enough. That left many other girls with nothing to warm themselves with other than the small fire that lit the room.
Adalina gave her small food portion to a girl who looked very, very ill and feverish. Death was not far behind for this girl.
Though Adalina's stomach began to growl and a sharp pain hit her from the lack of food, she ignored it and continued to feed the sick girl. Then she took one of the worn blankets and draped it over her. The girl let out a hoarse cough and continued to shiver.
Adalina and another black-haired girl served the owners of the household: the men who had come to her home and taken her away.
The girl served the men a platter of food.
"Away with you now," one of them said as he waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, sir," the girl answered quietly.
Without any hesitation, the man stood up and hit her forcefully on the cheek so hard, she went tumbling to the ground.
"What did I tell you about talkin' back?!"
"I'm...I'm sorry, sir."
"SHUT IT! I warned you that you were not to speak while in our presence!"
The man began kicking the girl forcefully over and over again. Adalina could only watch for a few seconds before she stepped in and threw herself over the poor girl in an attempt to stop the abuse.
"Out of the way!"
He kicked Adalina in the stomach and face to get her to move. Other men grabbed her arms and hauled her away. Meanwhile, the black-haired girl continued to be beaten.
Adalina took out a cold cloth she had managed to swipe while working in the kitchen earlier and placed it on the black-haired girl's face where multiple cuts and bruises rested from the prior beating.
"Thank you, Adalina," the girl said softly, her voice extremely scratchy by now.
Adalina gave a small smile and nodded. She continued to gently press the cloth to the bruises to provide temporary relief from her injuries.
If she was lucky, she would get called to the kitchen again tomorrow and could swipe more cloths to care for the other injured girls in the room with her.
Two men grabbed Adalina and forced her to stand in the corner of the main room. Then they ripped the back of her clothes open. They didn't fall from her chest, but the whole of her back was exposed.
"Maybe this'll teach you," one man smirked as he held a whip in his hands. "You can't steal from us and get off without punishment. What do you say, lads? Ten for stealing?"
"Ten should be good," another laughed.
"Make any sound and you get two more."
Adalina flinched as the whip grazed against her bare back. Her hands pressed against the two walls to brace herself. On the fifth lash, she let out a small whimper.
"Oh, you made a sound!" the man whipping her laughed. "That's two more!"
Adalina felt the skin on her back break from the multiple lashes, but she did not let herself cry out.
The men's laughter surrounded her as she grimaced from the pain.
"Adalina, don't do it!" a dirty blonde-haired girl said to the young woman. "You'll get caught, and they'll kill you!"
Adalina looked at the young girl but didn't say anything.
"We're back here. It's okay to talk now."
Adalina still didn't say anything. Instead, she held her head high and marched out to where the awaiting man was to escort her to the main room.
"Keep it moving!" he ordered as he pushed her forward.
When Adalina got into the main room, she looked at the small table where all the food and wine had been prepared by other girls. She made eye contact with one of the men in the room, and he sent her a small nod.
While no one was looking, Adalina took out a small vial of white powder from inside her clothing. She then quickly dumped parts of it into several of the drinks before tucking the vial back inside her clothes.
"Hurry it up, will you?!" one the men yelled at her causing her to flinch.
Adalina brought the tray of drinks over to them. She served each man a glass...with the exception of one.
"What are you waitin' for, New Years?! Bring the bloody food!"
Adalina returned to the small table, but she did not grab any of the prepared meals. Instead, she slowly turned back around to see almost all of the men furiously blinking their drooping eyes.
"What did you do, wench?"
"Wait a moment, why ain't you feelin' tired?" one of the men addressed the one who had not taken a glass of wine. "He's in on it! He's helpin' 'em!"
"I'll kill you!"
Two of the men passed out, but the one who had managed to stay awake pulled out his knife. The alert man started running towards Adalina. Just as he got to her, his eyes widened. He fell against her, and the young woman saw the knife sticking out of his back.
"Get out," he rasped. "Get out now. You can't worry about the others. Not yet. You'll have to come back for 'em. More guys are comin'. If you go back for 'em now, you won't make it in time, and they'll kill you. I'm so sorry."
Adalina set him down on the ground and saw that all of the men were now unconscious. She raced over to the window and flung it open before jumping out. Then she ran as far away from the house as her bare feet would take her.
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Adalina sighed. She wished there was some other way. Any other way. But there was nothing else she could do. Not if she wanted to survive.
Now that she couldn't even speak (or more accurately was too afraid to speak), she couldn't tell anyone that girls were being held captive by abusive owners. When she tried to do something, people took one look at her appearance, her ragged hair, and her revealing clothing, and did anything to get away from her.
Not that it mattered anymore. When she had returned to the house to try and sneak in and free the other girls, the whole place was abandoned. The men had disappeared, and she didn't have the faintest clue where they had gone. She should've tried to free them before she escaped. Even if other men did come, she was sure she could've helped at least a few of the girls get out.
But it was too late for any of that now.
She walked through a crowd of people, no one really paying much attention to her. If someone did, they looked at her and then tried to put as much space between them as possible.
While no one was looking, she swiped a necklace here, a ring there, or if she was lucky, she could grab a few coins. She was fast and swift and she could get really creative with the ways she managed to grab things. After all, she had had plenty of practice stealing things from the kitchen during her time in captivity.
No one ever noticed the poor homeless girl taking their possessions.
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Adalina sat at the entrance of an alley with tears resting on her cheeks. She had nowhere to go. No one to go to. No reason to live anymore.
Some people tossed scraps and small coins her way, but most people just turned their faces away from her in disgust.
How had she ended up here? How had the last few years gone so wrong?
She let out a large hoarse cough that hurt her whole body. She was getting sicker as the days passed by, and she didn't know how much longer she could go on. Had she escaped for nothing?
She looked over to find a very handsome man dressed in a very nice suit. He must've been a butler to a noble. There was a chain to a pocket watch on his tailcoat. Surely a watch belonging to the butler of a noble would fetch a good price. Perhaps she could get something other than stale bread tonight.
Forcing herself to her feet, she discreetly followed the butler and tried to match his pace. It was difficult because he had much longer legs than she did, but she was used to that kind of problem. When he slowed down a little, she began to walk past him. Her hand reached up to the chain...
Suddenly, her wrist was caught in a death grip.
She looked up and met the butler's eyes. They were a dark crimson color she had never seen before. It scared her.
She tried to wrench herself out of his iron grasp, but it was useless. He was far too strong for her, especially in her weakened state.
To her surprise, he didn't look angry. Instead, he was smirking.
"I've noticed you are quite efficient when it comes to getting what you need," he said to her. "You have a sharp wit about you. It's a good skill when used appropriately."
Why was he smiling and giving her compliments? Didn't he plan to arrest her now?
"I'd like to offer you a position."
He was offering her a what? A position? Like...a job?
"You'll be paid well, and room and board as well as meals will be taken care of. However, stealing will not be tolerated."
She was eager to accept his offer the moment she heard 'room and board'. Anything would be better than her current situation. And no stealing wouldn't be a problem. She only stole now because she didn't have any other option.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" the man asked when she didn't answer.
Adalina nodded a little.
"Good. Do you accept my offer then? No experience is necessary."
He released her wrist and held out his hand for her.
Adalina looked up at him again. She put her hand to her throat and then pressed her fingers to her lips before shaking her head.
"Ah, I see. You do not speak."
She looked away from him in shame. Now that he saw she didn't speak, she half-expected him to rescind his offer. Surely he wouldn't want a mute to work with him.
The man continued to smile. "I assure you...that won't be a problem."
The offer was too good to resist. Room and board with pay? How could she pass up such a thing? She slowly took his outstretched hand, sealing the deal.
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Adalina released Sebastian's hands as she took short breaths, her head pounding fiercely. Reliving all of that had been much more painful than she had expected.
She looked up at him, but she couldn't fully understand the look on his face.
It made her nervous that he wasn't saying anything. Did what he saw change his opinion of her?
Feeling rather weak after reliving such a traumatic time in her life and the effect that sharing memories with a demon had on her, Adalina took off to go to another place in the manor where she could be free of Sebastian's presence until he gathered his thoughts again.
As Sebastian watched her go, he looked at his palms.
Why did he suddenly feel so strange?