((Thanks for all the encouragement guys! I really appreciate it! It helps a lot with the way I view the story or my writing at all. But I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story!))

Ciel had his face in his hands, obviously trying to think through what had happened. He had figured he would be able to solve this situation quickly and efficiently. On his own and without Sebastian's help in getting the information out of the woman. Though the next thing he knew, the woman was dead and tied up in his study.

Kimberly watched her brother, feeling bad for him. She loved her little brother, she didn't want him to feel so stressed out. Plus the feeling of guilt, that she knew who was trying to kill him and couldn't bring herself to tell him who was eating her alive. She knew Sebastian would believe her. But she didn't know what kind of lies Ciel had been told to properly place the doubt needed to get away with the scheme. She kept glancing at him as she stood by the window, staring outside at the garden. She loved the view Ciel had in his study. She loved the way the garden looked so cut off from the forest surrounding the property. It reminded her of Ciel and her. Ciel was like the garden, though having seen many things, kept safe from the outside world. The forest, with it's luring sense of danger, reminded her of herself. Keeping the lies and the dangers away from the garden, away from her brother, the best she could.

She glanced at Ciel again and saw that instead of trying to think, he was writing. Curiosity getting the better of her, she leaned over his shoulder to read what he was writing, though she wasn't sure she was exactly right she had read his writing correctly. So far, his parchment wrote:

'Lady Elizabeth Midford,

As you are surely aware, I am not one to host balls or anything else of the sort. Which is why I am in need of your help. I wish to host a ball, though I am dumbfounded on how to make the ball one will never forget. My lady, not only do I wish for you to help me to make the ball magnificent, I also wish for you to attend the ball as my personal guest.'

Ciel surely wasn't serious, was he? She cleared her throat slightly, "A ball Ciel? You hate balls," Kimberly said, frowning slightly. She didn't understand Ciel sometimes, but right at the moment, she didn't understand his motives.

"Yes, a ball," he said, glancing up at Kimberly, "think about it. If someone is trying to kill me, the best way to remain safe until the culprit is caught is not to isolate myself, but to keep myself surrounded by people. Besides, Elizabeth should be happy with the request. She's been complaining a lot; this should get her to stop," he answered, trying to justify his reasoning for wanting to host a ball.

Kimberly still wasn't sure his logic was completely foolproof, but she didn't say anything. Anyone who wanted to murder him could simply come to the ball anyways and find a way to get him alone. Besides, a ball wouldn't help him to stop a killer if the killer he is trying to stop is around him most of the time already.

However, she still couldn't bring herself to tell him Elise was the killer. She knew her aunt had been right. Ciel would see her as troubled. That she had suffered a great deal of trauma and didn't know what she was saying. For the next few days, Elizabeth had stayed over at the manor, planning the ball mostly by herself. She had arranged things on her own and still found a way to follow her around, chastising her about not wearing enough pink and how she should wear cuter clothing.

Kimberly simply smiled and nodded the way she had for a long time when it came to her cousin. That is, until the day of the ball. The morning came and Kimberly hadn't slept a wink all night. She didn't need the sleep, but it would have been nice. Instead of sleeping, she lay awake, trying to find loopholes in Elise's logic. Though nothing came to mind, she decided to confide in Sebastian about what Elise had told her.

For most of the day, Kimberly wandered the corridors, trying to keep her distance from the rest of the residents in the home. However, by the time the sun began to lower past the trees, she knew it was time to ready herself for the ball. She followed the hallways she knew back to her room and opened it to find Mey-Rin busying herself with pulling out a gorgeous gown(A/N: This but a deep purple and black, I'm afraid I can't properly describe the dress). She slowly entered the room and cleared her throat, which caused the young maid to jump in surprise.

"Oh! Miss Kimberly!" she exclaimed, a bright smile lighting up her face as she turned to her, "My lord has ordered me to help you prepare for the ball," she explained, bowing a bit to her and then placing the gown on the foot of Kimberly's bed.

"Thank you, Mey-Rin," Kimberly thanked her, walking forward into the room, shutting the door behind her and moving towards the dress to admire it. She was quickly helped into the dress, though it was too frilly for her taste, she figured Elizabeth had picked it out for her and would throw a world-class tantrum if she didn't wear it. It did look rather good on her, however, as she looked at herself in the mirror. She saw that the color managed to bring out her eyes. The color normally caused her eyes to look black, but with the color of the dress, it made their color pop.

She was sat down at the vanity. It seemed to be a routine the two had, dressed first, then hair, then makeup. But Kimberly always daydreamed when the maid worked on her hair. Despite the clumsiness of the girl, she did her hair rather well. Only when she finished with both hair and makeup did she really take a good look at the way her hair was done. (Once again, I'm too lazy to fully describe right now)

Smiling, Kimberly turned to the red-headed maid and thanked her. She then quickly exited the room and walked down the hall. She knew that the ball had yet to begin, despite it becoming rather dark outside. So, due to the this fact, she decided she would find Sebastian and tell him about what Elise had told her.

Unsure of what Sebastian would say to her after she informed him of this news, she moved on to Ciel's study where he was sure to be, finishing up work before the ball. And wherever Ciel was, she was sure to find Sebastian nearby.

However, upon entering the study, she found that the room was completely empty. She saw through the windows that the first snowfall of the season had begun. In the sliver of light that streamed in through the open door, she peered into the room, checking for any sign of where Ciel had gone off to. Finding nothing, she decided to try in the ballroom. Elizabeth was probably all ready and finished last bits of decoration. She shuddered at the thought of how pink and girly the ballroom most likely looked.

Deciding to skip looking for him in the ballroom, she moved down the hall to his bedroom. He might still be getting ready for the ball. She walked down the empty hallway, finding that it was abnormally quiet. Especially since there was a ball about to take place in the manor. She moved forward, frowning at the silence a bit. The last time she walked these halls in silence, she had found Ciel about to be killed.

Though immediately this thought vanished from her thoughts when she saw the sliver of light coming from the crack under his door to his bedroom. A small smile appeared on her face as she imagined what Elizabeth had picked out for him. She knocked on the door and stood in silence once again.

"Ciel, it's just me. Are you alright? Our guests will be here any minute now…" she said, calling out to him through the door. Silence greeted her ears and her heart dropped down to her stomach. Her mind began thinking of the worst. What if he was about to be killed again? What if Elise had gotten to him? What if he had gotten hurt and couldn't call for help?

However, her imagination proved to have gotten away from her, as the door opened, revealing a smiling Sebastian and a grim looking Ciel. Ciel looked up at Kimberly and raised an eyebrow, "What's the matter with you? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Oh, it's nothing, Ciel," she lied smoothly. She wasn't about to say she was imagining what had happened to him because he wasn't answering her and she was being paranoid. She took a step back to allow him room to leave the room, so he did, followed closely by Sebastian.

Kimberly couldn't hold back a slight blush as she felt Sebastian's eyes upon her. She knew he had seen right through her and could tell she wasn't saying something, but she couldn't say anything with Ciel right there, "Come on, Ciel, let's go see what Elizabeth has done to the ballroom," she said, trying to move things along and hurry to the ball. She wanted to get it over with; she hated large groups of people, and hated it even more when she had to be social with said large groups of people.

Ciel nodded in agreement and together they hurried through the corridor to greet their guests who were sure to arrive any minute now. However, even with the snow beginning to fall and starting to fall harder, guests still arrived. Men and women of all titles showed up. Some bringing children, others simply arriving to forget they have children for a while. Ciel and Kimberly greeted each one individually and quite honestly, Kimberly was glad when the last of their guests arrived.

Ciel was dragged into a dance with Elizabeth, Kimberly watched them. She was glad that Ciel was smiling, even if it was fake, at least she knew he wanted to be happy. She took a sip of the wine she had, biting her bottom lip gently as she glanced over the many people. She wasn't searching for anyone in particular, but she was glad when she spotted Sebastian not too far from her. She casually moved over to him and glanced up at him.

"Sebastian, I need to speak with you for a moment," she said under her breath, glancing around before meeting his eyes. As soon as she saw him nod at her, she turned and began to walk towards a hallway. It was dark, which didn't make much of a difference to her. She had already explored this hallway, so she knew it like the back of her hand. She walked down it, hoping no one saw them sneak away and when she was sure no one would hear them, she spun around on her heel and looked up at Sebastian.

"Sebastian, I need to tell you something very important," she began, waiting for him to nod that he understood before continuing, "I also need you to understand that this is not because of my past that I have come to this conclusion," she said, once again waiting for him to nod and then moved on, "Well… I have reason to believe Elise - my aunt - is the one who set up my captors to kill Ciel," she said hesitantly.

Things were silent for a moment or two until Sebastian smiled down at her, "Kimberly, my lady - my love, my lord and I are already aware of this. We overheard Lady Elise confessing this to you. I apologizing for not informing you of this earlier, but my lord ordered me not to speak of this to you. He did not want to cause your trauma to make this any worse."

Kimberly frowned at this and looked up at Sebastian suspiciously, "Sebastian…" she said slowly, but forgot what she was about to say. She could no longer remember when the shrill scream of a woman sounded down the hall, back where they came.

((Hey guys! Thanks so much for the support and comments! I really appreciate it! I hope you liked this chapter, I will have the next one up soon!))