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Kimberly looked at Sebastian with shock and horror. He was the only one who knew about her little secret, not even Ciel knew. She gulped and looked up at him, her tail going between her legs and her ears going back.
Standing up, Sebastian sighed and placed a gown on the bed and turned to leave the room, "Your brother wishes to see you, once you are dressed, I shall escort you to him."
With that, he left the room, and Kimberly was left alone to shift back into her human form. Which was exactly what she did, though she shuddered when her bare skin came in contact with the chilly air, no longer protected by her fur. She quickly dressed in the gown, long sleeved and dark, almost a black but it had a purple tint to the color. It was soft too, and fit her perfectly. She exited the room and glanced at Sebastian, hoping her brother had not been informed of her secret, as she was sure would happen. She was almost absolutely sure that Sebastian hated her.
Upon arriving in the room Ciel sat himself in, she slowly made her way in and smiled at him, "Hello, Ciel. Having trouble sleeping?" she asked, casually. Maybe if she tried to act like she hadn't left, she wouldn't get told off. It wasn't Ciel she didn't want to be scolded by, he was her younger brother, so she hardly ever listened to him anyways, but Sebastian knew how to make her feel guilty just for breathing.
"Where were you?" he asked, getting straight to the point the way he always did. He looked at her with a frown, his arms crossed as he sat in the cushioned chair by the window. The look didn't match him. He should be smiling and laughing at his age, he shouldn't be worrying or frowning the way he does.
"What are you talking about-"
"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed, a pissy look in his deep, ocean blue eyes.
Barely managing to not retort back, reminding him their ages and scolding him the way he was scolding her, she said with a sigh, "I got worried for you two, so I took a walk. It started raining and I got lost." she answered him, lying through her teeth. There are many secrets she knew she had to keep from him, but she also knew that keeping those secrets would be keeping him from the burden of knowing.
He looked at her for a long time before sighing and turning his attention to the window. "Why didn't you let anyone else know what you were doing? What if you got hurt?" he asked, emotion well-guarded but his anger was seeping through his voice. Though it was not blind anger. It was restrained anger. Each word, every look and movement he made was thoroughly thought through.
"Everyone was busy. If I got hurt, I'm sure Sebastian or you would have found me. So what is the difference between me leaving on my own, and you leaving on your own?" she asked, looking straight at him. She was older than him, by about 4 years. Of course, she looked younger than she really was, getting that trait from her mother.
"The difference is, I have someone to look after me when I leave. You did not." he said, still not looking at her. Before she could say anything more, he continued, "What do you think would have happened if you got hurt badly enough that you died? You realize we are all that is left of the Phantomhive family. Do you not?" he asked, more rage crossing his voice, though she knew the sound of grief, and it was ebbing its way into his voice.
Kimberly looked at him, her expression hard. She hated having conversations like these. She knew just as much about grief as he had, so when he brought up being the last of the Phantomhives, all the guilt about not telling him the whole truth about everything crashed down on her.
"Yes. I know we are the last. Ciel, you need to stop reopening closing wounds. If you continue to bring up our," she couldn't help but hesitate, "parents… All you're going to do is make it harder to accept that they are gone. I know that you are upset, but you cannot remain so torn, you will only make yourself that much more grief-stricken." she lectured. She still had not told him that they did not share the same mother, and she didn't plan to. She didn't allow Ciel to retort and continued, "They died long ago. You are safe, I am safe, we have the manor and the rest of our family. I know you don't understand this yet, but if you cling to their deaths, nothing good will come out of it. I am the eldest in this family. It is my responsibility to keep you safe and you are acting like you must take all these responsibilities on your own. I can keep myself safe, can you?" she asked, turning around and marching away from him, pushing past Sebastian and glaring as she continued up the stairs and to her room.
Kimberly didn't leave that room until they were loading their things and leaving the city house. She had been told what had happened by Sebastian, or at least what she was allowed to know. That Jack the Ripper had been caught and that Madame Red had been killed. Their job here was done and they had to leave.
Kimberly tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut during the long ride home. Normally, she would be talking with Ciel, telling him little bits and pieces of the books she read or anything else that came to her mind. But right now, she was upset with him. For bringing up their father, for scolding her, even Sebastian waited to scold her until the following morning. But she didn't bother to argue, not needing another fight on her hands.
She was rather fond of Sebastian, she thought as she stared out the window, determined to keep her thoughts off of the round she had with her brother. He was tall and kind, and he was a wonderful cook. He looked after Ciel and cared for him even though he could be a prat when he wanted to. She bit her bottom lip and thought of his crimson eyes, his messy black hair, how each of his movements seemed swift and thought out. He was smart and good for the manor. She found herself blushing, her face hot and she quickly placed her hands to her cheeks to cool her face off, not needing Ciel to notice how bright her face was.
She returned to looking out the mirror once her blush had died down. She couldn't love Sebastian anyways. He was a demon, although they kept a few secrets from Ciel, that was probably the one thing they had in common. He couldn't love, it was a miracle she could. But she was part human, too. She stared out the window until her thoughts blurred together in a giant mass of stress and guilt and anger and sadness. Nothing could replace these feelings.
By the time they returned to the manor, it was lunch time and Kimberly didn't have much of an appetite, even for Sebastian's cooking. She returned to her room right away and picked up her book and decided to lose herself in it. She found herself humming a tune her mother had often sung to her before she died, it comforted her, reminding her that she was still a part of her mother. She couldn't concentrate on the book, lying there, staring at the ceiling until she was awoken by a knock on the door.
She sat up, smoothing her hair and dress down before calling out for whoever it was to enter.
"My lady, your brother has company and wishes for you to join him." Sebastian said, opening the door and stepping in a little. He raised an eyebrow at her when he saw her. Her hair was all messy and she looked like she had just woken up. "But of course, it seems you will have to fix up first. I will be back shortly," he said, going to shut the door.
"Wait! Sebastian…" she began, standing up, "would you mind helping me?" she asked, knowing Mey-Rin was probably doing something if it wasn't her to inform her.
Sebastian nodded and entered the room, shutting the door behind himself as he did and walked over to her. He smiled at her a bit as he motioned for her to sit at the vanity. She did as told and sat down, staring at herself in the mirror and taking glances at Sebastian when she could. He pulled out her braid she had in and carefully ran his fingers through her hair to relieve it of the knots before beginning to gently brush her hair.
Kimberly held back shivers as she felt his fingers through her hair, they gently brushed over the back of her neck every now and then and she blushed softly. Within minutes, her hair was perfectly brushed and in a crown braid. Normally, she would say something against looking so childish, but she didn't complain. She stood up and Sebastian bowed slightly to her and then straightened up, "Shall I escort you to your brother, my lady?" he asked, placing his hand gently over his heart and smiled at her the way he smiled at everyone.
"Of course, Sebastian." she said and followed him out of the room. She followed him through the hallway, and only did she speak up when they were just around the corner from the study. "Sebastian? Who is our company?" she asked. She knew she had been loud enough for him to hear her, but he didn't answer. Shrugging slightly, she was sure it was probably just Aunt Francis or Elizabeth. But when she walked into Ciel's study, she saw how wrong she was.
"Oh Kimmy! My how much you've grown!"
In that moment, Kimberly felt her world collapse in on itself and all her guilt and secrets unfolded.
((Thank you guys so much for the comments! I hope this chapter is better, give me your opinion in the comment selection if you wanna!))
