I hold the grip of the dagger tightly, shaking with anticipation. It's hard enough to believe that Leo even considered letting me out of O'Khasis right now, it's harder to believe Garte let me go.

I hear a gentle knock. I spin around and see Garte standing there, looking slightly distressed. He bites his lip and clenches his hand into a fist. I swallow, hoping he doesn't think of anything to rash. Garte still despises the idea of me going out while they're looking for this murderer.

"H-Hey." I say quietly, slightly stuttering.

Garte gives a small, gentle nod. His eyes are averted to the floor. He looks around at the ground as though he's analyzing the shapes and details of the tile. I begin to question what he's thinking. He slowly walks over to me, but I step back.

"You ready?" He asks me but is unable to make direct eye contact. He looks slightly past me.

"As ready as I can be." I tell him as I try to make eye contact with me.

Garte stares out the window. His eyes always seem like he's analyzing something, especially these days. He crosses his arms at his chest, and after a few minutes he looks at me. This time he looks me straight in the eye.

Garte nods. "Good."

"You okay?" I ask him, noticing that he's sweating pinballs.

Garte sighs, seeming as though he's ignoring me. He walks into the bedroom and he paces like a mad man. Then he looks up at me, his eyes sparking with danger. I begin to shake, worried that he'll hit me in some way. Instead, he reaches for his side and pulls out a handgun.

I shake harder than ever. I don't know what he's trying to do. Will he shoot me for going, or shoot Leo for giving the suggestion? I never even knew he carried a handgun with him!

But he doesn't hold up the gun and pull the trigger. He turns it in his hand so the barrel and sights are resting on his palm. The muzzle is facing the right side of his chest. He walks over to me, handing the dangerous weapon to me.

"Garte I-" I begin.

"You're taking it." He cuts me off, his body language reflects anger.

"I don't need it. I have a sword and a dagger." I insist, standing my ground.

"Those will only go so far. Zianna, a gun is power. A gun represents the ability to kill." Garte tells me. I can see a small smirk appearing on his face.

"No. I'm not taking it." I shake my head.

"I don't care! You're taking it so you don't die." He yells and hisses the words at me.

I bite my lip, furrowing my eyebrows and practically ripping it out of his hands. I can see he's ready to get angry, but he doesn't say a word. I know I won't use it, I won't need to. Garte stands as straight ad possible, his body so stiff there's nothing that could knock him over. I walk past him and out the door, still angry at him.

I place the gun on my side and cover it with my jacket, just so no one will see it, especially the boys.

I walk through the manor, everyone is silent. I smile at some of the maids and guards, and some smile back. A lot of them exchange nervous looks. It makes me feel awkward, but I continue to try and find the boys to tell them goodbye. I'm confident I'll come back, but I don't really know.

Walking outside, I see both boys playing. I smile softly, realizing just how precious they are. I walk out the door and both boys run over to me. I kneel down to their level and smile at them.

"Hey, you two. Having fun?" I ask both of them.

"Yeah!" Garroth says in a rough voice. I can tell he's been playing slightly violently.

"That's good. You be careful for mommy, okay?" I put my hand on Zane's shoulder and look at both of them. They nod, almost in sync.

"Daddy said mommy's going away." Zane says. I look at him, his features similar to mine.

"Just for a little bit, okay?" I tell him.

They both hug me and I kiss the sides of their heads. They smile at me, Garroth's a little wider than Zane's. I put my hands on each of their heads.

"Love you two. Take care of daddy for me, okay?" I tell them.

"Okay." Garroth says as he walks back over to the toys they were playing with.

I feel a hand go over my shoulder. Spinning around as fast as I can, I see Leo standing there with a helmet on that doesn't cover his face. He has sympathetic eyes and a soft smile. I smile back at him. He nods at me.

"You ready to go, m'lady?" Leo asks. He seems confident.

"Of course, Leo." I smile brighter at him, looking past his shoulder and hoping Garte doesn't see me.

"I'll escort you out of the village and then you're free to go." Leo tells me. "Is that good?"

"Yeah." I shrug and begin to walk out the door.

There's not a lot of conversation as we go out to the door and even through the village. The village isn't busy at all, as Garte ordered people to stay in their houses as much as possible. He was even hesitant to let the boys play outside, but I insisted. I especially wanted Garroth to go outside, he gets anxious if he can't get any energy out. He is a four year old boy, after all.

We approach the gates. Leo looks at me, raising his eyebrows in a nervous way. He quickly walks over to the lever and pulls it down very quickly, but with a little bit of hesitancy, as the gates are very heavy. He nods at me, kind of smiling.

"Good luck, m'lady. Stay safe for us." He instructs me.

"Will do, Leo." I say.

I take a deep breath and walk out of the gates. The guards begin to close the gates practically the first step I take out. The loud sounds of chains hitting against each other startles me a bit, but I ignore it and keep walking.

I turn around several times, and every time I turn around O'Khasis seems to disappear behind the trees. Once I can't see it, I begin to run through the thick forest. Adrenaline pumps through my body, I smile to myself, inhaling the fresh air.

I keep walking around, hoping I find Theodore's house at some point. I know I'll be safe once I get there. My hand is basically glued to the dagger, but I find myself grabbing the gun's handle. The thought of using it terrifies me. I don't believe in killing without complete reason.

I hear a noise, like the snap of a twig and leaves being rustled around. I find myself pulling out the gun, my finger gently placed on the trigger.

Why was this the first weapon I pulled out?

I pull it up, just under my chin. Slowly turning in all directions, I see nothing. My mind races. Could that be the murderer just being sneaky? I turn around once again, and then I feel a hand on my shoulder. I jump, nearly pulling the trigger.

"My, you are easy to scare." A relatively deep voice says.

I spin on my heels, my heart beating violently. I see Theodore smiling slightly, a sneaky smirk appearing on his face. I put my hand on my chest and breathe deeply, hoping to catch my breath and get used to the fact that he's not a crazy muderer.

"Theodore you nearly gave me a heart attack!" I laugh and slightly scold him. He chuckles.

"Come home with me. A lady such as you shouldn't be out here when they're looking for a mad murderer." Theodore says.

I feel hesitant for a moment, thinking maybe what I'm doing is wrong. And then I realize how bad it'll hurt Garte. But I know that it isn't safe to go back home, plus if they see Theodore they might think he's the murderer.

"Of course."

••••••••
I'm sick so I was like hey

Why not write a book I never update.

I hope you guys enjoyed!

Thanks for reading! Bye!
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