The sound of quiet crying reached Adalina's ears as she was about to return inside.
She went to the gardens searching for the source of the crying. She was surprised to find Finnian sitting in a ball by the roses, his head buried into his arms.
She had never seen the young gardener in such a state before. Well, she had seen him crying before but never like this. Usually when he was upset about something, he was in hysterics and clung onto Sebastian and Adalina wailing unintelligibly.
She slowly approached him making sure he could hear her footsteps. He never looked up at her. She then knelt down before reaching her hand out and touching his shoulder.
His tear-stained face slowly looked up at her. It broke her heart.
"My hat ripped," he stated quietly.
Adalina looked next to him and saw that his straw hat he wore every day and treasured more than anything had been ripped clean in half. Something told her that had happened when Lukas's minions had invaded the manor.
She sat next to him and lightly put her arm around him as he cried.
All of the servants had been given something from Ciel when they were first hired. Mey-Rin had been given her glasses, Baldroy had been given access to any weapon he needed to protect Ciel and the manor, Adalina had been given a few dresses in addition to her uniforms (Ciel thought she deserved it after being forced to wear such provocative clothing for so long), and Finnian had been given his straw hat.
All of them cherished these things more than anything because it had been given to them by their master.
So she knew how upset it made Finnian to have this object destroyed.
"Now how am I supposed to hide this...?"
Adalina looked at the mark on the back of his neck: S-012. As if having his most cherished item gone forever wasn't bad enough, she knew how much he wanted to keep that mark covered so he could forget about his torturous time where he had been considered nothing more than an experiment.
She too would do anything to hide the scars she had received from the lash of the whip.
The young woman motioned for him to stay put. Then she went back inside the manor and headed to the head maid's quarters. Once there, she took out one of her dresses that she only wore when she had days off which was a rare occurrence. It had been a while since she had worn this particular dress. She wouldn't miss it.
She cut off a good portion of the fabric and stretched it out a bit.
Finnian looked up when he felt something touch his neck. Adalina crouched in front of him and tied the fabric around him to make a thin scarf. The sandy color went well with the rest of his uniform and wasn't too hot so he could still wear it outside. Since this had been one of the dresses Ciel had given her, it was almost like he had given this to Finnian as well. And most importantly, it covered the mark.
Adalina smiled a little at him.
Finnian's eyes sparkled, and he quickly stood up. "Did you make this for me?"
She nodded.
The young boy tightly hugged her but not enough to hurt her. "Thank you."
Adalina was tending to the horses in the stables used for the Phantomhive carriages.
She gently rubbed her hand across the head of one of the horses, wishing her life was far less complicated and more like the horse's. He only had to worry about pulling a carriage. She had to worry about working and falling in love with an actual demon who loved her as well but didn't want to be with her because he loved his power more than he loved her.
Quiet laughter behind her broke her out of her thoughts about her twisted love life. She turned to find Lukas smirking at her, Ciel in his hold. His large Death Scythe was pressed against the boy's neck, daring him to make a noise.
"I've got to admit, I've never had so much trouble getting rid of humans before," the rogue Grim Reaper laughed. "I suppose if you want something done, you've gotta do it yourself."
Lukas knocked Ciel on the back of the head just hard enough for him to go slack in his arms.
"Catch me if you can!"
With no time to spare and definitely no time to get Sebastian whether she wanted to or not, Adalina swung herself up onto the horse's bare back and took off after the Reaper. With Ciel in his arms, he wasn't as fast as he normally was. She found that if she forced the horse on as fast as he could go, she could just barely keep up with him.
She kept her eyes on her unconscious master to make sure he stayed alive.
Lukas finally stopped on one of the tree branches resting above a very large pond.
Adalina slowed the horse, not caring about how extremely uncomfortable the ride had been.
Lukas smirked at her once again. "Don't think I haven't done my research, dear. You won't be able to save him this time. And if you try, you'll both die."
Before the head maid could stop him, Lukas dropped the unconscious Ciel right in the middle of the pond. Adalina jumped off the horse and ran towards the water as Lukas disappeared with another laugh.
She hesitated at the edge only for a second before wading into the water. She frantically went deeper and deeper, feeling around for Ciel. Her feet stuck in the mud the further she went.
With no other choice, she went under the water and forced her eyes open, feeling them sting upon contact with the dirty water. It hardly mattered because she could barely see anything in the murkiness.
She went up for air for a quick moment before plunging down again and resuming her search.
Ciel had gone down far enough to the point where she could not stand with her head above water and reach him. Desperate to save him, she clumsily waded towards him and hooked her arm around his waist. Then she frantically pushed for the surface. She took a deep inhale when her head came above the water, but it wasn't long before she fell back under again.
Still unable to swim, Adalina did everything in her power to make sure that Ciel's head stayed above the water. After frantic fighting to stay on the surface and move towards the bank, she finally felt ground beneath her and was able to pull Ciel to the edge.
He was still unconscious, and she had no doubt that water had to have gotten into his lungs.
She leaned over him and pressed her hands to his chest, trying to get the water to expel from his body. Then she pressed her mouth to his and gave him some breaths to see if that would help.
It still didn't work.
She once again pressed on his chest, fearing the worst.
Finally, Ciel lurched before turning and coughing out water. After taking a couple deep breaths, he turned back over so that he was lying on his back.
A wave of relief washed over Adalina. Completely exhausted, she collapsed on the grass next to him.
"What happened?" Ciel gasped. He looked at the pond in front of him and realized they were both soaking wet. "Did you jump in there after me?"
Adalina looked over at him and nodded.
"But you can't swim."
She nodded again.
In that moment, the head maid once again greatly gained the young earl's respect.
Adalina forced herself up off the ground and held her hand out for Ciel. He took it with great difficulty. Both of their bodies felt like lead.
She helped the boy up onto the horse and then swung herself up behind him. Then she galloped off back towards the manor. Riding the horse bareback was one of the most uncomfortable things Ciel had ever experienced, but he decided not to say anything since he knew that there hadn't been time for her to saddle up.
Upon returning to the manor, Adalina hopped down from the horse and helped Ciel down as well. She began to carry him into the manor, but her fatigue had not faded away from the amount of fighting she had done in the pond to keep both her and Ciel alive. She could feel herself weakening further the longer she carried him.
Luckily (or unluckily depending on the point of view), Sebastian came out and hurried over to them when he saw the two of them approaching the manor. As soon as Ciel had been transferred to Sebastian's arms, Adalina fell to her knees in exhaustion.
She refused to look at the butler.
Sebastian carried Ciel up to his room where he could prepare him a change of clothing.
"Why didn't you come?" Ciel snapped. "You should've known I was dying."
"Forgive me, young master. It's safe to say Lukas did this, is it not?"
"Who else would it be?"
"He did something to shield your presence from me so I could no longer sense if you were in danger."
"I suppose you're lucky Adalina was there then."
"If anyone is lucky, it is you, young master. I have never known a human to evade death so well."
Adalina was out in the yard hanging up some laundry to dry, increasingly wary of Lukas's presence or any other human he may have hired to kill them all.
She was just about to head inside when she felt a sharp pain in her leg. She bent down and found a very small dart lodged into her skin. She slowly pulled it out, and a small spot of blood soaked through the tights she was wearing from the hole the dart had made. Examining the weapon in her palm, she suddenly felt her legs go weak. Before she could do anything, all of the muscles in her legs ceased to work and she fell onto the ground.
Adalina panicked for a moment and attempted to crawl towards the manor for help. After all, she couldn't call for anyone. It didn't take very long for the muscles in her arms to stop working as well and she was rendered helpless. She couldn't move a single part of her body.
Lukas smirked from his spot in the trees. "Demon lover," he muttered.
It had become increasingly clear that he wasn't going to be able to rid himself of that demon or that stupid Phantomhive kid or that woman who was in love with that demon. They just wouldn't die! He had managed to successfully kill multiple criminals littering the streets, and yet his greatest adversaries were a kid, a maid, and a butler!
If he couldn't kill them, he could at least make the demon's life miserable and that was the next best thing.
He could probably just kill that maid now, but the result of this drug was going to be much better than killing her...
Adalina lay on the grass for at least two hours unable to move. She feared Lukas was going to come and finally end her life, but to her surprise, it never happened.
"Adalina!" she heard Sebastian call.
Despite their intensely awkward situation, she wanted to call back to him. She wanted him to know that she needed his help. Really...she just wanted him near her again.
Sebastian's face appeared in her view. "Honestly, I'd expect this from the other servants, but not from you."
Adalina wondered if she would be able to speak even if she wasn't a mute. Perhaps the drugged dart had rendered her speechless anyway.
"Come now, you have chores to finish."
Sebastian took her hands and pulled her to her feet, but her limp body immediately started to go down again. He quickly caught her before she hit the ground.
"What happened to you? Why can't you stand?"
Adalina's eyes went towards the ground, and when Sebastian followed her line of sight, he saw a small dart resting on the grass. He looked down at her to find a dark stain on her tights. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together.
Sebastian sighed heavily. This really was the last thing he needed.
He hefted Adalina up into his arms and moved her so that her head was resting on his chest. There was no need for her to be extremely uncomfortable as he carried her. Though considering their circumstances, she was probably already really uncomfortable. But there was no reason to make it worse by accidently hitting her head against a doorframe.
He returned her to the head maid's quarters and placed her on the bed.
"This certainly complicates things," he said as he put his hand to chin. "I'll inform the young master about what's happened. In the meantime, I suppose I can't just leave you here staring up at the ceiling."
He went over to her and took her head in his hands in order to force her to look at him. She met his eyes as they began to glow their terrifying bright pink and the pupils narrowed.
"Sleep."
And immediately, Adalina fell asleep.
Sebastian sighed again. Why did it seem that ever since Adalina had found out he was a demon, she just couldn't catch a break? Hopefully, the effects of the drug would wear off by the time she awoke, whenever that would be. Humans usually didn't wake up for a really long time when he put them to sleep which is why he hardly ever did so.
"Young lord," Sebastian said as he entered Ciel's study. "I'm afraid Adalina's been struck by a paralyzing drug. She's currently in bed sleeping it off."
"How did that happen?" Ciel asked.
"My only guess would be Lukas."
"This is getting out of hand."
"I agree. Shall I inform the other Reapers of his actions?"
"I don't think it can be helped."
"Very good, my lord. I shall see if I can contact William and inform him of what's going on."
Adalina's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt like she had been sleeping for a month.
Her eyes widened as she looked around her. She quickly sat up when she realized she was in a warm bed and not in a cold room full of sick girls.
The last thing she remembered, she was locked away with the other captured girls awaiting to serve the men who had killed her family and snatched her away from her home. How did she get into this room wearing a warm nightgown rather than the very revealing clothing the men made her wear?
Had something happened while she had been sleeping? Had the men been caught and she had been transported to another place when they found her? Had the men sold her to someone else? Where the other girls?
What even was this place?
Adalina slowly got out of her bed and her eyes widened even more when she caught sight of herself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. She may not have seen how she looked in a very long time, but she definitely knew that she should be much thinner and paler than she looked now. She hadn't had a proper meal since she had been taken and that was months ago. Why did she look so...healthy?
The young woman exited the room and made her way down the long hallway in the strange place.
"I'm glad to see you're okay."
Adalina frantically turned around to find a man dressed as a butler walking towards her. She quickly backed away from him.
"Is something wrong?"
Something was definitely wrong. This man seemed to know her, but she had never seen him before in her life. Was he responsible for bringing her to this strange place? How could he explain how she looked so healthy when she should be starved and sick?
Sebastian looked at the alarmed woman in front of him, confusion and panic radiating from her. "Do you...know where you are?"
Adalina looked at him with wide eyes and slowly shook her head.
"Do you know who I am?"
Again, Adalina shook her head.
Sebastian fought to keep his eyes from glowing in front of her as his hatred for Lukas increased tenfold. If the Reaper wasn't next to impossible to catch, Sebastian would kill that creature himself regardless of any consequences he might face.
The paralyzing drug had caused Adalina to lose her memories.