Chapter 12: A Betrayal Never Thought Of

"Lina?" The butler in clad softly said as he knocked on her door softly, waiting for her to open it. Seconds passed and there was no response. Trying once more, his finger quietly tapped against the wooden door, his hand already at the knob. Narrowing his eyes, knowing for certain now, he pushed the door open and saw a neatly made bed and the curtains swaying in the breeze.

His hand falling down to his side, his eyes lowered in disappointment as they looked around the room, hoping to find something, anything that would let him remember her in some way. His eyes lay upon the letter on the desk with the bottom of it slightly smeared. Walking over to it, he picked it up and read it, the disappointment in him growing deeper and darker every second. Just then, a knock came from the door and Sebastian looked up, seeing Finny peering in with a bright look in his eye.

"Something wrong Sebastian?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in question. His eyes met the fixed bed and the opened window, realizing. Sebastian took the letter and walked past him, as he stood there, transfixed that Lina was gone.

"Yes, she's gone." Sebastian said for him, heading for a sleeping Young Master, ready to be woken up. Finny turned, his hands balling into fists.

"But why?" He asked, confusion in his voice as it echoed through the empty hall. Sebastian turned slightly and met the gardener's bright blue eyes.

"That is something even I don't know about," He replied, walking into the dark, leaving a confused and sad Finny behind. He shook his head and looked back at the open window, huffing. He ran off, heading for his friends to share the news, upset that she was gone.

xXx

Sebastian opened the door to the Earl and rolled the cart of tea in, the letter on top for the Master to see. Going to his window, he drew the curtains open, letting the sun shine in as Ciel rolled over in his bed, blocking his face from the sunlight.

"Sebastian, did something happen?" He suddenly asked, meeting the butler's red eyes. Instead of answering, he handed him his tea and showed the letter, sitting beside him on the bed. After reading the letter, the Earl sighed and took a sip from his tea, closing his eyes. Sebastian set the letter down on the cart and prepared the Young Master's clothes.

"I will not leave your side until given order to, Young Master," He guaranteed, changing him out of his pajamas. Ciel kept his eyes closed, letting the butler slip on the green coat.

"It's all right; you will not be leaving my side at any moment. We must leave Lina to her own burdens," He quietly said, putting his head up as Sebastian tied the ribbon around his neck.

"But surely she might be in trouble?" Sebastian asked, lifting his head to meet his eyes.

"You trust her don't you?" Ciel asked, extending his foot as Sebastian slipped on his shoes. He stopped for a second, and glanced up at him, seeing him with his eyes closed, waiting.

"Of course, as do you." He replied, tying the strings. Tying the other shoe on, he stood up and helped the Young Master down, letting him go first.

"So, we will wait for her return, and if she doesn't, then it is her decision to come back." The Young Master said before exiting the room to go downstairs, being followed by Sebastian, who was thinking to himself quietly.

"Oh yes, and burn the letter, if she returns on her choice, then she will place new memories in this mansion, the old ones banished." He added with a wave of his hand. Sebastian closed his eyes and nodded, listening to the young boy's orders.

"Yes, my Lord." He replied, heading into the kitchen. Taking the letter, he walked next to the fireplace that was currently burning wood, the ember crackling quietly. Bending down, he read the letter one last time and spotted the smeared part at the bottom; a faint tear streak.

"So she was sad to leave," He quietly said to himself, tossing the letter in with the rest of the burning wood, watching fire lick onto the page, soon consuming it, the letters disappearing into ash.

To the Young Master and Sebastian,

I have to bid farewell to you both for a while. An important task came up that had to be finished. I may not return to this Phantomhive mansion; however I hope that my presence brought you some happiness in your life, as I did with my master.

We will hopefully meet again soon,
Lina Carson

The neatly written letter burned into a crisp, leaving only nothing but ash that sunk down to the bottom of the stack of wood. Sebastian narrowed his eyes as he took the Young Master's breakfast for the day to him, still thinking to himself.

Hopefully we do meet again Lina.

xXx

The dark and cold chasm of her empty heart grew deeper as she stepped out of the portal, hearing it close behind her. She had to come back, yet why did it feel like she wasn't meant to belong here? Taking a breath, she fixed the grip on her suitcase and walked over the stone bridge that hung over the literal red sea beneath her. Thunder rumbled in the distance of the blood red clouds, strong winds blowing in the air.

It blew her hair back behind her as she reached the door, taking the knob in her hand. Her heart starting to race, she pushed it open and stepped in, shutting it behind her. Instantly, the lights snapped on and she jumped as cheers echoed through the mansion. There, right in front of her was her family, clapping with grins on their faces…one that didn't reach their eyes. Kai was there too, looking especially happy, his smile bright. In the middle of that, was her uncle whose dark red eyes glowed even in the bright light. He had the soft and composed smile as he walked down the steps to embrace his grand-daughter.

"Oof," Lina said as he shoved her head against his chest, putting his chin on top of her head. He chuckled as he pushed her back, taking a good look at her, his eyes flickering.

"It's so great to see you again Lina," He greeted as he led her to the dinner table, where everything was set. Before she knew it, her suitcase was snatched out of her hands and she was sitting down in a chair with food placed in front of her, her family members sitting next to her with odd beaming faces.

Kai looked especially different than everyone else; he had a distant look in his eyes as he gazed down at his plate, biting into pieces of his food. His black wavy hair fell in front of his eyes, yet he made no move to put it back into place. Looking back to her uncle, he was playing with his wine glass, making the liquid swirl around the clear glass.

"It's nice to see you all again," Lina quietly said with a nod, looking into each other family member's eyes. They just laughed and grabbed her wrist, patting it affectionately.

"It's nice to see you to dear!" Her mother replied with too much enthusiasm. Lina chuckled and gave her a hug, inhaling the sweet perfume that she missed so much.

"So, I assume you received Kai's letter then?" Her uncle asked, taking a sip from his glass. Lina sat back in her seat, placing her hands in her lap, knives at the ready under her thigh for precaution.

"Absolutely, I wouldn't miss meeting you all for anything." By the looks in her family's eyes, there was something going on here that was preventing them to act normal. Glancing back at her uncle, she saw a dark colored bracelet on his wrist that was concealed under the sleeve of his blazer. Was that it?

"Now now, why don't we get back to eating our dinner?" Her dad suggested brightly, digging in to his plate. Lina met his eyes and saw a flicker of fear, a message to run. Looking over at Kai, she met his hazel eyes, also seeing the same message. Meeting everyone's eyes in her family, one thing was clear: they wanted her to get out and run.

She would've done exactly that, however the burning gaze of her old and tired uncle was boring straight into her. The knives that were kept under her thigh now started to make marks against the skin from sitting there so long. Soon, the end of dinner arrived and her mother volunteered to take the plates back into the kitchen, her father following as well. Her cousins smiled and took her by the arm, leading her through the hall, giving her a tour of the mansion with bright voices.

"And this is going to be your room Lina! You're right next to me!" Her cousin, Angelica happily said, handing the key to the room. The others had left to go to bed for they had been waiting for Lina's arrival ever since. "Oh and your suitcase is placed on your bed for you." She added before disappearing into the haven of her room, shutting the door softly.

Entering her room, she walked towards the window of her darkened home, seeing nothing but the red sea and the occasional lightning bolts strike across the sky. Why exactly did she want to come back? This place certainly wasn't the feel of "home" at all. She went over to her suitcase and snapped it open; grabbing the ring that Lady Éclair gave to her. Holding it in her hand, she gazed at it while sitting on the edge of the bed, a thoughtful look on her face. Had she disobeyed her order? Or was this just putting it on hold for a moment?

Before she could answer her own questions, a knock came from her door, causing her to whirl around in surprise. Kai was standing there, a pained look on his face as he walked over to her silently.

"Oh hey," Lina greeted with a smile, turning back to her suitcase that was on the bed, she reached for her hat when a hand reached out and grabbed her hand. Looking up, Kai's eyes met hers with a hard gaze, only silence filling the air. Suddenly, he brought her into his arms, crushing her in his strong hug. Lina fell into him surprised as he breathed out slowly.

"K-kai," She whispered, a light blush reaching her cheeks.

"I missed you….so much…" He whispered back, his voice in pain. She laughed nervously, looking to the side as he let go of her, stepping back.

"Yeah…me too," She replied back awkwardly, casting her eyes to the ground.

"Do you know how long your parents have been worrying about you?" He asked softly, his back turned to her as he put a hand over his eyes. A pang of guilt hit her heart as she lowered her head, feeling the weight of the burden she had cast aside for so long.

Once again, he gazed into her eyes, his own searching hers, for some sort of answer. Then he sighed and broke out into a widened grin. He did a hair flip to brush his hair out of his eyes and chuckled.

"It's nice to finally see you again," He calmly said, completely catching her by surprise. A moment ago, he was torn in two, his sensitive side showing itself to her. But now, he had regained his original composure like he always did, not missing a single beat. Lina smiled back and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as he sat down next to her.

"Tell me, what was with that act you were holding earlier at the table?" She asked, finally getting to the question. Kai gave her a serious gaze and looked up to the ceiling, his hazel eyes glowing.

"Your uncle, he gave us all an order before you arrived: 'You are to give her a cheery welcome, and act natural.'" Lina scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, disbelieving.

"That out there was not natural," She replied, her chin held high. Kai laughed; one thing she had longed to hear since she left.

"Well, there's something going on with him, I'm pretty sure of it. However," He turned and met her eyes once more, that deep look in his eyes.

"If he ever tries to hurt you in any way, your parents and I will be there to protect you." He added, meaning every word in that sentence. Lina smiled gratefully to him and leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. A warm hand held on to hers and she was thankful that he was there. However, a betrayed and guilty feeling hit her in the stomach, making her stare down at the ground in worry. One person came in mind once she had laid her head against his shoulder; it was one with that perfect style of serving, one who could do everything.

Was this what it felt like to betray someone you also like?

xXx

End of Chapter 12

I'd like to apologize for not updating sooner, but I was super busy in the past few months and had to take care of some really important things. So, please forgive me. I'll try to update sooner and I thank you for reading this chapter! Till the next chapter!

-FallenWing21