I did it again.

          Emi paced up and down the room, biting on her fingernail, incensed, mostly at herself.

          I did another stupid mistake, first I almost killed myself and the second, I lost my only leverage against both Sergi and that spiteful man.

          Kris.

          “No, I can’t let him have it, no matter what, not yet.” Emi muttered to herself.

          Not yet.

          “Emi Winters, you are pathetic.” Emi reprimanded herself, letting out a depressing sigh as she stopped herself, squeezing her eyes close and shaking her head.

          What am I doing?

          I have wasted so many days here, not thoroughly thinking of a plan to escape. I was so distracted by the cozy atmosphere here, I almost forgot the real motive, I almost forget that I would be thrown over to someone in less than a month.

          I am such an idiot!

          “Think, Emi, think. That’s your forte, think!” She whispered encouragingly to herself, she knew that even if Kris showed her the way out of the forest, he would blindfold her again, like the first time, so there wasn’t any point in trying.

          She needed to get through the tunnel, one way or another, she needed to train; train to hold her breath longer and longer.

          Emi stood still, a contemplative expression on her face as she shook her head grimly.

          No, not that either.

          I wouldn’t be able to train myself to hold my breath for five minutes, in less than a month. It’s impossible to achieve it.

          Tch.

          Emi clicked her tongue, staring at the starry sky before glancing towards the trapdoor. She knew it was her only last resort, to go to the lion’s den itself to steal the necklace back and then, she would have to think of a way to find the way of the forest later.

          The necklace is my priority, without it, I have no leverage against any one of them.

          She headed to the trapdoor, opening it and climbing down the ladder, treading silently through the house with ease. It was already close to midnight and everyone would be asleep, except for the patrols. She wasn’t worried about them, since they were all outside and she only needed to figure the way to wherever Kris’ slept at.

          He’s a leader, like Sergi, he would definitely have his own room.

          She sneaked down the hallway, knowing that the hallway led to the area where all the mercenaries slept on the bunk beds, side by side. She felt a drop of sweat slowly rolling down her cheeks as she passed by them, her footsteps silent and she flinched when she heard a loud snore from one of them, her eyes looking around frantically, only for her body to relax when she saw no visible signs of anyone waking up from the horrible snore.

          She resumed her sneaking, almost reaching the end of the area, where she assumed further away would be where the rooms reside in this huge house. It was dark and the only source of light was from the moonlight, which provided more than enough light for Emi.

          “Hey! What are you doing?” Someone suddenly shouted, startling Emi so badly that she bit hard on her lower lip to stop herself from screaming. She turned her head slowly, seeing someone sitting upright on the bed, staring straight at her with a fierce look.

          She held her breath, rooted to the spot as she stared at him with wide eyes. A few seconds later, his body swayed and he collapsed back onto the bed, making let out a shaky breath.

          He was only dreaming and talking in his sleep.

          Oh, thank goodness.

         

         

          ***************************************************

         

         

          Finally reaching the rooms, she looked through every keyhole, realising that all three rooms were occupied with equipment and nothing else. She stopped in front of the fourth room, inhaling a deep breath as she looked through the keyhole again, her eyes widening slightly when she recognized a bed in the middle of the room.

          She couldn’t see who it was or if anyone was there, nevertheless, it was worth a shot. She quietly turned the knob, pushing the door open as slowly as she could, stepping inside the room and closing the door gently, trying her best to minimize any amount of noise.

          She squinted her eyes, noticing that there was someone on the bed, since the bed wasn’t utterly flat. She started to walk to the drawers of the room that she spotted, however, she hesitated in her silent footsteps, directing her eyes towards the bed.

          Deciding to change the direction to her bed, she headed the opposite direction, since the person sleeping on the bed was facing the other way and the moonlight from the window was shining on the person’s face.

          Inspecting the person’s face, she recognized the person to be Kris and she felt relieved, knowing she was in the correct room. She observed his face and features, his eyes closed as he slept, his chest moving up and down in a smooth rhythm, looking so serene.

          A frown was evident on Emi’s face as she unconsciously leaned in closer, a curious look on her face.

          He looks so…different.        

          Her eyes carefully inspected his face, noticing features that she never knew before about him. His eyelashes were a little longer than she expected and there was a faint scar near his left eyebrow, along with the faint scar at his jawline. Her eyes slowly moved up as she stared at his dark brown hair, which appeared slightly brown in the moonlight, was messy; probably from him tossing and turning in the bed while in his sleep.

          This kind of serene expression on his face was surprising to Emi, since she never knew he could look like this. All she saw from him was his constant frowns and glaring, eventually, the thought of his expressions made her wonder.

          I’ve never seen him smile, cry or even get utterly mad.

          Emi let out a small wry smile.

          Don’t be ridiculous, Emi, you’ve only been here for a few days, you can’t learn anything about him from these few days.

          Just like she was an enigma to Kris, Kris was an enigma to her too.

          I wonder why he hates me…

          Perhaps…he has a horrid past, like mine?

          Emi shook her head at that thought, scoffing inwardly at even thinking that.

          A horrid past like mine? That’s silly, my past isn’t something that happens to everyone.

          Before Emi sank even further into her thought, when she heard a soft snore coming from beside her and she immediately drew back, looking at Kris with wide eyes. He turned slightly, his whole body facing upwards now as his mouth dropped open a little and she noticed a small trail of saliva from the corner of his mouth. He snored again, louder this time and he wrinkled his nose, swiping the air and let out another small snore.

          Oh no.

          Emi pressed her hand against , trying to suppress her laughter at the sight she just witnessed. She spun around and at the same time, a small gust of wind flew in, blowing Emi’s hair towards Kris direction, her hair tickling his arms.

          The foreign feeling instantly made Kris’ eyes snap wide open as he bolted up from the bed, grabbing onto Emi’s arm and pulling her down onto his bed, both of his hands placed beside her head, trapping her under him.

          Swiftly taking out a knife from his back pocket, he hovered it dangerously over Emi’s throat, his eyes glinting menacingly in the moonlight.

          “Who are you?”

          Emi’s heart jumped to as she froze, staring straight into his eyes, the whole event happening so fast that she was rendered speechless.

          Still not fully awake, Kris took a little longer to recognize the stranger in his bed, his eyes eventually widening in recognition.

          “Winters?”

          Emi continued looking at him, not speaking a word.

          “What are you—ugh!” Kris said, only to be knocked off balance by Emi’s leg as she quickly snatched the knife out his hands, pressing the knife against his throat this time.

          Kris groaned, opening his eyes and seeing the infamous thief straddling him.

          The necklace.

          He glanced at her neck, relieved to see it wasn't there and he directed his eyes furtively to the corner of his room. However, Emi caught his eye movement, something clicking in her mind as she jumped down from the bed, rushing to the corner where Kris’ eyes looked at.

          Kris immediately went after her and she threw the knife towards him, distracting him temporarily as he avoided the knife. It clattered to the wooden floor, Emi taking the opportunity to scout the area, realising that there was another drawer here and she didn’t hesitate, pulling the drawer open, only to click her tongue when it wouldn’t open.

          It’s locked.

          Kris knocked her against the drawer, making her grunt in pain as he restricted her movement, using both of his hands to block her flailing hands and locked both of her arms, pinning them against her back.

          “Three times, aren’t you starting to get a little too careless, Shadow Rogue?”

          “I told you not to call me by that name!” Emi hissed, using her leg to kick him but he predicted it this time, spinning both of them around and not giving him any time to rest, she rammed her head against his chin, making him stumble back, releasing the grip from her arms as he winced, rubbing his chin.

          Emi went back to the same drawer again and Kris took a step towards her, hesitating in his steps as he reached for the knife on the ground.

          Meanwhile, Emi clicked her tongue, trying to find any hidden switches around it but to no avail.

          A key?

          Spinning around, Emi held her breath when Kris appeared in front of her, the knife just inches away from .

          “Don’t move.” Kris growled out and Emi glared at him, moving away from the knife and ducking when Kris tried to strike her with it. She took advantage of the confusion, she threw a roundhouse kick towards Kris, who avoided it with ease and she flung a punch at him right after, to which he avoided it too.

          “Damn it.” She cursed, having the knife near , again.

          “Give it up, Winters. I’ll never let you see the necklace again, for as long as I live.” Kris narrowed his eyes at her and Emi glared at him.

          How stupid of me, getting distracted when I could have searched around the room.

          Damn it.

          I am one foolish idiot.

          “Then I wouldn’t help you with Bartholomew either.” She countered back.

          Smirking, Kris twirled the knife around his hand expertly, keeping it at his back pocket. “Are you sure you want to give up your only chance of escape?”

          “What?”

          “The way to escape through the forest.” Kris answered her and she clenched her fists, taking a step forward, their faces inches away from each other now.

          “You wouldn’t even let me see anything anyway, you are too meticulous.”

          “I can’t deny that. However, it’s still your only way out of here.”

          Kris spotted the hesitation in Emi’s eyes as she tensed up, an unsettled look on her face. Kris felt something tug in his chest and he frowned, the unsettling expression on her face making him feel…strange.

          It’s almost like I don’t want her to feel like that.

          Kris’ breathing hitched as it occurred to him what he had just considered and he blinked his eyes rapidly, shaking his head. Emi was too immersed in her conflicting thoughts that she didn’t notice the strange behavior of Kris.

          “…alright.” Emi agreed after a moment of silence between them, both of them struggling with their thoughts. The both of them immediately withdrew, distancing themselves from one another and Emi started to walk out of the room and stopped in front of the door, pushing it open. Before stepping out, she turned around, gazing at the corner of the room where she knew the necklace was.

          However, she knew after she stepped out from here, it would be gone, for a long, long time. Nevertheless, escaping was her highest priority, since even if she found the necklace, if she didn’t have any escape route, it’ll be a futile effort.

          Sergi.

          He’ll find me, no matter what and I know, I’ll be forced to return to him sooner or later.

          The necklace that could grant me my freedom…

          Kris observed her troubled expression changing into a resentful one as she directed her eyes to him. He just continued staring at her, an inscrutable look on his face.

          His eyes widened, little by little as he saw the resentful expression changing into a doleful one.

          Freedom.

          When will I ever be able to obtain it?

          Emi disappeared into the dark after that and Kris was left confused, due to many reasons.

          Why did she seem so…sad?

          And why is…

          Kris glanced at the opened door, pressing his hand against his chest as he tilted his head to one side.

          Why does my chest feel so damn weird?

         

         

          ************************************************

         

         

          Sergi climbed up onto his horse, adjusting himself properly and one of his comrade stepped up next to him.

          “Are you sure that you don’t want anyone to accompany you?”

          “No, I’ll be fine on my own.”

          “Alright then, good luck.”

          Sergi smirked at him, urging his horse to set off and it started galloping across the path.

         

         

          *************************************************

         

         

          The next early afternoon, Kris, Yun and Emi set off, since it would take them awhile to reach the location. Of course, as expected, Emi was riding with a blindfold again, like the first time when she was brought her, her horse being tied to Kris, along with her.

          He must’ve brought me here by the same way he did the first time.

          This time however, Emi was tied up only by her hands and blindfolded. She started to recall the earlier conversation they had before they started to set off for the journey.

          “Okay, the four of you, let’s go.” Kris ordered the four mercenaries to follow him and Emi frowned as they walked past her.

          “Kris, we can’t let them go.”

          “What? What are you even saying?” Kris narrowed his eyes at her, his tone mocking.

          “Bartholomew is a smart thief, he’ll figure out who you people are in no time.”

          “Disguises don’t work against him?” Yun asked and Emi glanced at him, shaking her head.

          “Bartholomew’s forte is reading the movements of people.” Emi said, not wanting to elaborate any further since they didn’t have much time left.

          “Fine, then Yun, you’ll accompany me, the rest of you will stay here.”

          Every one of them obeyed Kris and they prepared to set off.

          “Hey, Emi, how do you know Bartholomew that much?” Yun questioned her and Emi stared at him for a few seconds, a blank look on her face.

          “I worked with him, before.” She simply answered and climbed onto her horse, not answering anymore questions about him after that.

          The three of them rode silently, none of them knowing about the chaos awaiting them.

         

         

          ************************************************

         

         

          A tall, lean man with a pair of binoculars stood at the rooftop of a building as he observed something through the binoculars before removing them from his eyes, leaning against the railing.

          He drummed his fingers on the railing, a mischievous grin on his thin lips and his green eyes twinkled in delight, his light brown hair brighter in the sun. He was dressed like a normal civilian, in simple long brown pants, grey shirt along with a brown vest and covered shoes. After a few moments, he decided to descend down the stairs, lifting his hand up and placing a homburg on his head, shoving his hands into his pockets.

          Walking out into the streets which had people walking from time to time, since it was still working hours, he saw a discarded newspaper on the ground and he paused in his steps when he noticed the title of the article.

          Infamous thief, Shadow Rogue disappeared? And Bartholomew strikes again!

          The man smirked, stepping over the newspaper and tipping his hat further down with his fingers.

          “She won’t disappear that easily.” He muttered out, continuing down the street, ducking his head down.

 

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I'm sleepy and my school just started, sigh. As always, I hope you guys like this chapter and yes, a new side character :p,