Chapter 7: Rising Tensions

After finishing my breakfast, Sebastian and I walked back into Ciel's office. He was sitting at his desk, arms crossed in front of him.

''I see you've concluded your discussion,'' the Earl spat as we entered.

I smiled. ''Yes, we have. I hope we didn't take too long."

Ciel pushed his chair out, walking over to us. ''As I've said before, I have all the time in the world now. There's never a need to rush."

I didn't respond, pulling out the chair I had sat on previously, taking a seat.

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?''

I shrugged. ''Just sitting here, waiting for you to make the call." I tilted my head in the direction of the closest.

Ciel looked confused. ''This is not my call to make. You have to decide whether you want to save your friend or not."

''True,'' I said leaning back, ''so, could I make a request? I'd like to see her again.''

Ciel didn't take his gaze off of me, carefully opening the closet door. I looked on the ground where the girl was lying, thought I wasn't afraid for her anymore. A tiny smirk made its way onto my lips. ''I've decided that I want to save her."

''That's what I thought you were going to say," Ciel said, pleased.

''But I'm not taking you back to my world."

Ciel frowned. ''You have no choice, if you want to save her."

''Actually,'' I said standing up, ''I do. Because that's not Katie lying there. She's safe at home and you're just trying to trick me into taking you back with me."

Ciel's eye's widened slightly. ''What makes you say that?"

I stood up, squaring myself with him. ''This,'' I said, lifting up the charm on my necklace. ''Katie and I each wear a half of the necklace. I have the left half that says "best'' on it, and she has the "friend" part. But she's not wearing the "friend" piece.'' I crouched down, pointing to her neck. "She's wearing the same piece as me." As I scanned her again, I saw that her features were slightly different from Katie's. Her cheekbones weren't as prominent, and her hair was a bit too long. She was just a doppelganger.

Ciel cracked a smirk. ''I must admit, I didn't think you'd be able to figure that out. You are clearly more observant than I remember."

''Next time you're going to trick me, you might want might to try a little harder,'' I said, standing back up.

Ciel chuckled. ''Ah, but you're forgetting one thing. I'm always one step ahead.'' Suddenly, he reached into his uniform, pulling out a gun. Instinctively, I took a step backwards. He pointed it at me, his finger on the trigger.

''If you're thinking I'm going to shoot you, you're wrong,'' he stated. ''I can't kill the one person linking me to my destination.''

Then he pointed the gun at the girl in the closet. "But she, on the other hand, is of no use to me.''

Alarms went off in my mind. ''No,'' I said, taking a step towards him, ''you can't just shoot an innocent person!''

''Innocent?'' The Earl exclaimed. ''She's far from it, I'm afraid.''

''What do you mean?''

''She's a convict,'' Ciel explained, ''and as the Queen's Watchdog, it's my job to catch them. Or rather, it was." His gaze flickered downward for a moment, before looking up at me again. ''Her name is Aliza Bennet. She's a thief that's been stealing from local shops."

''Okay,'' I said, trying to keep my voice steady, ''but you have no right to shoot her. Killing isn't justice,''

''I suppose that's true. After all, justice in this world is just a bunch of principals made by those with power to suit themselves." Then his eye flashed red. ''But I feel no pity for criminals like her.'' He took a step towards the closet, still pointing the gun downwards. ''If you take me to your world, however, then perhaps I'll leave her alone.''

I gritted my teeth. ''You're unbelievable.'' I looked down at my feet, clenching my fists. I can't let him shoot her. A life is a life. And now I'm responsible for hers.

I took a deep breath, looking back up at him again. ''Please, you don't want to do this. I know you're more than capable of it, but you don't have to. It isn't right."

''If you're trying to persuade me, it won't work,'' the Earl stammered.

''You're better than this, Ciel,'' I tried again. ''What would your parents think if they saw you now?"

Ciel stiffened, as if irked by my words. ''It doesn't matter, '' Ciel countered, ''they're no longer here."

''What about Elizabeth?'' I cried. ''What would she say if she saw you doing this?''

''Leave her out of this, '' he spat. He sounded agitated. I hit a nerve.

''You know she wouldn't like this!'' I shouted, gaining confidence. "Does she even know you're still alive?''

''Enough!'' He raised the gun so it was pointed at me. ''You do realize what sort of a position you're in, don't you?' I nodded, not breaking his gaze. ''Then why do you insist on putting yourself in more danger?''

''Because I know that if there's any shred of humanity left in you, you won't pull that trigger."

I saw his grip tighten. He lingered for a moment, as if contemplating what to do. Then there was a loud boom, and everything went black.