"Cloie? Cloie, are you listening to me?"

An angry pair of eyes appeared in front of her and she blinked. The maids came in and out of the dining room, disregarding them while they cleared the table. Uh-oh. Had she spaced out again? Cloie fidgeted in her seat and swallowed nervously. "Um, yes?" She lied. The crinkles on her grandmother's forehead creased even more as she glared. Oops, maybe lying wasn't the best choice.

"I give you another chance of freedom and here you go being careless," She scolded. Cloie slid down her seat in attempt to hide from the scowling directed at her. "Be sure to stay close to your guards this time. I don't want you getting kidnapped or anything."

"Alright..." She nodded, then left the room quietly.

It's been two days since the night she met that boy outside the fence. And the last words he told her was that he was a Twilight, one of the monsters she was supposed to avoid. Her head was so full of endless questions that she couldn't sleep well since then. That boy couldn't be a Twilight, she kept telling herself. He was nice, at least, that was what she wanted to believe. Monsters could kill without breaking a sweat, whereas he seemed harmless. It just didn't make sense to her.

"Miss Cloie, be careful of the--"

"OwWww!!" She rubbed the red mark on her forehead where she had hit the door.

"Nevermind..." James, one of her bodyguards, smiled in sympathy. "Are you alright? You've been spaced out lately."

He walked over and opened the door for her. She groaned and walked out, and they both headed inside one of the family cars. Today they were going to 09 street, which was a government neutral zone. Since it was located at the heart of the city and close to where they live, her grandmother assigned two guards to accompany her. Cloie was thankful that her favorite was one of them.

"I was just thinking about something... Ah, this really hurts." She poked her forehead and winced. Then, she turned to James, and wondered if she should ask him about the Twilights. Her family hated Twilights, calling them abominations, but maybe James had a different opinion about them.

"You look like you want to ask me something," He chuckled.

"Well, I was just wondering, what do you think of Twilights, James?" Her eyes cast down at her shoes as she asked. James widened his eyes at her question. "You hadn't been curious about them for a long time. What brought this up?" He asked back curiously. She shrugged, "I was just wondering about it recently. Twilights are supposed to be monsters, right?"

James closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then he looked at her again and smiled. "That depends. What is a monster to you, miss?" He questioned further. Cloie hummed in thought, unsure of how to phrase her words correctly. How would one define a monster?

"I guess... They're something big, scary, and strong. And cruel." She concluded.

"So do you think Twilights are all those things?"

"I don't know. I never met one."

The conversation stopped after that and a comfortable silence filled the air, giving her time to think. "Twilights are supposed to be monsters", she thought. The people around her told her that many times so she ended up thinking that it was true.

Hearing the door open, she realized that they had already arrived at their destination. Cloie got out of the car and looked around her. It was a fairly busy street with some people crowding in one area. When she inspected closer, she saw that they were holding up signs and yelling for the killing of all Twilights.

"Miss Cloie, please don't get too close to the crowds or else you'll end up getting caught in it." James pulled her back by the shoulder. The other guard was also looking at the anti-Twilight group gathering in front of the police station. Cloie allowed them to lead her away from the noise and down the street.

They walked in silence, further and further away from the uproar. Throughout the whole ten minutes she had thought of nothing but the screams and angry yells of the locals. They were demanding the extermination of an entire kind. One face came into mind and this made her stop without noticing.

"Miss Cloie?" James slowed down when he noticed that she was no longer following him.

Cloie stared at the ground, wondering whether it was right or wrong to want to eliminate the Twilights. She immediately thought about that boy, his cold corpse covered in his blood, and how she felt after imagining it made her sick to her stomach.

"Miss Cloie?" James called again, now standing in front of her with a concerned look. "Is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay..." She forced out a light laugh. He wasn't convinced at all, but didn't press the matter further.

They continued their walk and Cloie took in all the sights. Everything was different from how she had imagined it to be like. Somehow everyone was having a normal life, despite the amount of criminals supposedly found in the city. "Ergastulum is a dangerous place so always be vigilant," her father used to tell her. As she walked around the street, things didn't seem as bad as everyone back at home kept claiming it to be.

"What's that?" She closed her eyes and sniffed. There was a sweet aroma hanging in the air and she followed it to a small store at the corner.

"Welcome!" The shop owner greeted with a big smile.

Cloie scanned the store and proceeded to walk towards the shelves. Her bodyguards followed closely behind her. From the middle shelf, she took various pieces of candy, then went to the register to pay for them.

The rest of the day was spent on walking around and going through clothing stores. It was rare for her to find something she liked, since her grandmother always picks her dresses, so this was a good opportunity as any.

"Let's go there next!" She exclaimed, pointing at another store excitedly. A muffled groan sounded from somewhere beneath the mountain bag of clothes and shoe boxes.

"I think we need to leave these in the car first, Miss..." Erik, her second guard, suggested hopefully.

"Hehe, alright! I'll be inside that store over there." She giggled, handing them the bags she was carrying. "Be prepared for more things to carry! I have a good feeling about this!" Then she ran off at full speed, leaving the two men unable to try and stop her.

Ting! The door chimed as she entered the store.

Beautiful dresses were lined neatly to her left; then on her right, rows and rows of high-heeled shoes.

"Is there anything you're looking for in particular, little girl?" The owner asked kindly. She browsed through the dresses, hoping to find something that would suit her childish features.

"Nothing really," Cloie shrugged and picked out a black halter dress from the rack. "Anything that would make me look like I'm actually 19 and not 12."

Hearing this, the owner awkwardly smiled. "I am so terribly sorry, I wasn't aware--"

"It's fine, it's fine. You're not the first to make that mistake." She waved her hand dismissively, not minding the common misunderstanding.

In the end, Cloie ended up buying six different dresses from the store and a pair of black high heels, before leaving satisfied with her purchases. She stood outside and looked around, but couldn't find James or Erik. "Did they get lost?" She wondered out loud, frowning at the bags in her hands. "Guess it would be better to meet them halfway rather than standing around here."

Making sure to study the area carefully, she retraced her steps back to the car. It was going to be a long walk so, along the way, Cloie took some shortcuts thinking that it would make her trip shorter. It didn't. She was almost positive that she was just getting lost.

"Okay, where am I?" She paused and examined her surroundings.

Everything looked familiar. At least that was what she thought. She wasn't quite sure about it anymore and, with the sun already setting in the sky, she was growing more nervous. Soon it would be too difficult for her to find her way around and her guards would be having an even harder time seeing her since she was so small.

Cloie had a weird feeling that she was being watched. So she started walking again in hopes of getting away from whatever it was. Heavy boots crunching the pavement caught her ear and she secretly looked over her shoulder to see what it was.

Two men were following her, but they weren't her bodyguards.

In a state of panic, she ran away as fast as she could. "I should've just waited for them..!" She told herself. She had to find James and Erik before she got caught.

Cloie ducked into a nearby alley and hid behind a dumpster. Her ears strained to listen closely for the men to pass by. When she had heard none, she peeked out from her hiding place.

"Hello there, cutie~" A man sneered, quickly grabbing her and covering her mouth.

She screamed and tried to push him away, but his accomplice had managed to grab her wrists. Her bags fell from her hands and cluttered against the ground. Cloie knew she was in trouble. She shifted her eyes to look at the main road, however, there weren't many people around who would be able to see her.

"Be a good girl and come with us," The other man snickered and began dragging her away.

If she couldn't find a way to escape then she could be held hostage for a heavy ransom. Maybe even raped then killed, right here and now. As she thought this, the second man began unbuckling his belt. Her eyes widened in fear and she struggled harder to break free from her captors. Her cries were muffled against the large hand covering her mouth.

"Someone please help me", she prayed desperately.

Cloie shut her eyes, making salty tears roll down her cheeks. A loud clank echoed throughout the quiet alley and she felt the men freeze. On the ground beside them was a glint from a bladed weapon.

"Shit, it's one of those Dogtags!" She heard the first man yell in alarm. Her wrists were freed and she immediately collapsed on the ground as they ran away.

"Jeez... I told you to stop being so damn ignorant, didn't I? What the hell made you think going here at this hour was a good idea?"

She recognized the owner of the voice and looked up. Sure enough, it was the boy she had previously met. He was giving her an irritated look. Cloie opened her mouth to speak to him.

"N-Name." She whispered, her own voice trembling.

"Huh?" He crouched down in front of her and cupped a hand to his ear.

"Y-Your name... W-What's your n-n-name?" She said, louder this time.

He scoffed and stood up, retrieving his weapon and putting it away. Cloie stared at his back as he bent down to pick up her fallen belongings. She was grateful that he was helping her even though he clearly looked annoyed with her presence. When she was about to repeat her question, the boy turned around and hastily returned her bags.

"...It's Doug..." He finally answered.