THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE, THIS IS THE CONTINUATION OF "SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT?" SO PLEASE READ THE FIRST PART.

          ~Considering the fact that the tunnels were the only place where one could enter the wilds, I found it that they weren't guarded very well, strange?

Probably because no one was as foolish as I was being. I wasn't naive, and I was perfectly well aware that what I was doing was not only dangerous, but potentially life threatening. If what the soldier had said was true, even the trees in the wilds posed a problem, and so I'd need to be especially on my guard.

Entering the wilds at daytime would have been much more reasonable as well, since something about night time always seemed to bring out the worst in any location, and I was sure the forest was going to be the same.

Yet I was also sure that I could not wait, since to do so would risk my sisters and the Duke finding out, and I was positive I'd be put under strict house arrest if that were ever to happen.

So tonight was just going to have to work.

I would have liked to have said that I wasn't afraid, and that I walked head first into danger without so much as batting an eyelash.

But unfortunately that was not the case, and I found myself more frightened then I'd probably ever been in my life.

I wasn't foolish enough not to realize that it was very likely my little expedition would be the cause of my death, and although I was really hoping that I didn't make myself a martyr for my father's dreams, I also understood that it was a very real possibility.

The tunnels were well lit at least, though the shadows I cast on the walls looked distorted and eerie, and it felt as if I had been walking down them alone for ages.

Truthfully, I doubted it had been more than a few hours, but since the tunnels stretched on in the same direction as far as the eye could see, they looked like they continued on forever.

There were a few scattered stones that hadn't been replaced that lingered on the tunnel floor- which was simply made of rock pieced together delicately, so no roots or any other natural thing could make its way within.

I wasn't exactly sure how my father had managed to break the wall- with a strong pick-axe I was certain, and I realized that I had neglected to solve one, fairly sizable problem.

Although I had prepared myself for being in the wilds themselves, I hadn't exactly thought about how I was going to get to them in the first place. I wasn't exactly the strongest person speaking at my height of 5'6 and lean physique, and so I knew it would be useless to try and use any strength, even on the part of the wall that had already come loose.

I looked around to find anything that could be even a small bit helpful in breaking the stone, coming up with little other than already broken pieces that didn't help me at all. I screeched in frustration, kicking the wall with my foot, but to no avail.

Tiny pieces of mortar fell from the wall onto my foot only making me more angry with myself for being so stupid until I began clawing at the walls as best I could.

I knew my good luck wouldn't last, and soon, someone would come by and see me trying to escape, be it a soldier or a caravan of food, and so I needed to find a solution quickly.

I knew I could have escaped if I returned to the city of Fiore and got a tool to assist me, but I really couldn't afford to waste the time it would have taken.

I was just about to continue down the tunnel to see if I could find anything left on the ground, but before I had the chance, I could hear footsteps echoing in the distance.

My heart froze, since there was no place for me to hide from the guards, and I wasn't exactly carrying anything I could pass of as being part of a trade. Citizens weren't permitted to enter the tunnels unless it was on business, since it was so dangerous, and I had no excuse to remain.

My eyes were sore and red from holding back tears of defeat. Had I really come all this way for nothing? Was my father destined to die all alone in the wilds? I slumped to my knees, and tucked my head between my legs while I struggled to keep my tears from falling.

It wouldn't do to look puffy-eyed and pathetic in front of whoever it was that I was sure was going to make me return to the duke's manor.

But it wasn't a guard who approached me, and as soon the figure noticed me on the ground he rushed as quickly as he could to get to where I was sitting- the torch-light making his blonde head gleam.

"Taehyung?" I asked, barely able to believe my eyes. Through my surprise I didn't even remember to address him properly- Lily would be appalled.

"I knew you'd try to help your father," was the simple explanation given for his presence in the tunnels.

"You don't even know me. How did you know I'd leave?" I asked incredulously, causing him to smile widely.

"Because Rose, you don't strike me as a girl who would sit and do nothing while her only living parent is in trouble. Plus, I saw you go. You're not exactly an expert at stealth," he added as an afterthought. I knew I hadn't really been careful when I had left, taking for granted that most people would have been asleep. I groaned.

"So why did you come? To try and force me to go back? Because I won't do it. I'm leaving and there isn't anything you can do to stop me."

"I'm well aware of that, and I don't plan on making you go back home. Someone who seems to be as stubborn as you would simply find another opportunity to leave and meet your death anyway. I've come to help you," he answered seriously, and pulled from behind his back an ax that I hadn't noticed before.

He'd probably hidden it so that his shadows wouldn't frighten me as he drew nearer.

"Why?"

"I like you Rose, and I think you've as good a chance as anyone to find your father. I'm not keen on sending you off to danger, but I admit I've my own selfish reasons for wanting you to learn whatever you can about the wilds," he said, placing a large, warm hand on my shoulder.

"I thought the study of the wilds didn't interest you," I asked, genuinely confused by his curiosity

"It doesn't. But it does interest my uncle to an almost extreme level. There is something in that forest, and I have a feeling that he wants it to stay there. I want to know what that something is."

"But if your uncle truly felt that way why would he send my father and his men to their deaths? Why wouldn't he just let it be?" I wondered.

Taehyung's brows narrowed, the expression looked odd in the torchlight of the tunnel, and drew strange shadows across his handsome face.

"Good question's, and I can answer neither. But perhaps if you find your father, we will be able to figure that out for ourselves."

It seemed as reasonable as anything to me, and with a deep, fortifying breath, I asked Taehyung for the pick-axe he was carrying, but he refused to give it to me.

Instead, he began hacking away at the wall himself, and after a few moments, the newly replaced stones had crumbled to the stone floor revealing a path into the darkness.

I looked at him with silent thanks, and then striking the flint to light my lantern I began to exit the tunnels.

Taehyung gripped my arm tightly as I walked, preventing my progress.

"Please be careful. Would that I could go with you, but if anyone discovered I'd left with you I'd be retrieved before you even had a chance to find Master Heart. Besides, I've got to repair this wall behind you. I will await your return."

I smiled warmly at him, actually pleased that he was staying behind.

Something inside of me told me that the journey I was about to undertake was one that I needed to take alone.

Besides, if anything were to happen to the Duke's nephew because of my foolishness I'd be flayed alive.

His desire and willingness to help me was more than good enough for me, and it raised my spirits more than I could say- so I hoped my smile would suffice as thanks.

I stepped through the hole in the wall with a l