Song: https://youtu.be/49ZhrgtR-S4

"What do you mean?" She asked, folding her arms lightly. I sighed.

"I haven't actually danced with anyone since I was a little girl. I just wanted to dance, I really didn't mean to trick him." I said, finishing up the dishes.

Edna finally noticed that I'd been doing them and shook her head. "Why do I even try to stop you anymore?" She laughed quietly, and I shrugged with a half smile. I dried my hands when she set a hand on my shoulder. "As long as you're honest with him, I'm sure he'll understand." She smiled. I nodded, but this time, I couldn't seem to smile back. I was just so tired.

"Why don't you head up to bed? You look exhausted." She told me, gently pushing me towards the door, and I gave a breathy laugh.

"I am tired..Good night, Edna."

"Good night, Monica."

As I headed toward the stairs, I nearly bumped into someone near the door. "Ah, I'm sorry." I tried not to mumble. But when I looked up and saw who it was, I felt like falling over. Barrett was standing there. Which probably meant he'd overheard my conversation with Edna.

"Have fun, did you?" He asked, his arms folded. I blinked at him before heading past him, towards the stairs. He followed after me, albeit at a slower pace. Getting up the stairs seemed harder on him than going down.

"I thought I warned you not to talk to him." He continued as I turned to help him up the stairs. But he shook his head, not letting me.

"Since when did you become my father? He just wanted to talk to me. It's not the end of the world, you know." I frowned at him, letting him walk up himself as we ambled up the steps.

"You can't trust every stranger you bump into." Barrett told me as I offered to help him to his room, hesitantly, he grabbed my offered shoulder. Letting me walk him to his room.

"I think I can tell a bad person from a good one. I was willing to trust you after all."

"Yes, but I'm not exactly a stranger to you, am I?"

I stopped, not looking at him. I could already feel heat from his gaze, and I worried that his eyes would be too intense for me. His stare was draining and I was already about to collapse from exhaustion. I didn't think I could handle it at the moment. Instead, I just stared at the door to his room.

"I trust Edna." I murmured, but he snorted.

"I know Edna, and her husband. It's the only reason we're still here. If I didn't trust them, I wouldn't want you talking to them either." He told me, as I glanced up at him, but I didn't look him in the eye.

"So because you don't know Elwen, you don't want me knowing him either, is that it?" I asked, starting forward again, getting him to his room. Barrett let go of me as he limped over to his bed, sitting down and staring right at me. However, I kept my gaze somewhere off to the side instead.

"If the person isn't being hunted by the Marquis, they probably rat out others to keep themselves safe, and if they are being hunted by the marquis, there's a reason for it." He told me, and I folded my arms, leaning on the door frame.

"So Edna has a sinister reason for not being on the..the marquis's radar? Who's the marquis anyway?" I blinked at him in confusion, but stared more at his shirt than his face.

"The marquis is Lord Dominic. Look, the point I'm trying to make is that people who are willing to house a thief are few and far between." He said as I ran a hand through my hair, holding it out of my face.

"I'm not the thief, Barrett."

His stare suddenly became much more apparent after hearing my mutter. If his eyes were any more intense, He might have burned holes right through me. But I turned my head, keeping my gaze away, folded my arms tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired, and that didn't come out how I meant it." I mumbled when he got up again, limping over to me.

"Really? What did you mean?" His voice sounded like acid as I looked up at him. I risked it, and I regretted it. Looking into his eyes practically froze me in place. They were like boiling wine. A poisonous sort of beauty that I found myself trapped by.

"I...I meant.." I couldn't think. What were we talking about again? Trust. Right. Something he didn't like giving out. I knew he was cautious for a reason, but I wasn't him.

"Look, I just..oh would you stop looking at me like that?!" Barrett blinked in surprise at my raised voice as I quickly turned around, squeezing my eyes shut. Why couldn't I just look at him like a normal person?

Rubbing my face with both hands, I took a deep breath. "I'm not on the run, I don't really have anything to hide, so why on earth is it such a big deal that I'm making small talk with someone you don't know? Are you worried about him? Or are you worried about me?" I semi rambled before pausing.

Did he think I would rat him out? Sure he'd annoyed me quite alot ever since our first meeting, but I'd never do that. Of course, he wouldn't know that. He didn't know me.

Dropping my hands to my sides, I suddenly felt the fatigue of the day washing over me anew. I didn't want to feel this way.

"Oh.."

"Monica.."

"I'm tired, alright? Can I please just go to bed?" I asked, not even bothering to turn in his direction. He was silent.

"Fine, get some rest." He grumbled, but before I left, I nodded quietly.

"Thank you..and I did have fun, thank you for asking." I said loud enough for him to hear. I only heard a short huff in reply. I knew his question had been rhetorical, but I wanted him to know that I'd had fun. I really had.

Heading into my room, I shut the door behind me before sighing shakily. Those eyes could suck the life out of me and I wouldn't mind in the moment. But my feelings for Barrett were starting to become a nuisance. How was I supposed to convince him I was competent if I was too busy ogling him to do anything worth note?

Laying down on my side, I stared at the wall with heavy eyes. I just wanted to sleep all my troubles away. But I only had so much time to rest. Tomorrow, I needed to talk to Elwen. How I would find him and when? They were questions I'd have to figure out in the morning. For now, I just wanted to sleep.

Lord Dominic stood in front of me, staring directly at me. He was smiling pleasantly at me, talking with me. I couldn't hear a word, only screams of horror seemed to emanate from him. The blonde who'd interrupted him before, interrupted again, talking quickly. They both looked at me before everything faded to black. Again, I saw the gilded caravan, and the arrow slicing through the air, its tip already red with the nobleman's blood.

When I opened my eyes, I felt like crying. The dream didn't offer any more clarity about who the blonde noble was, or why Lord Dominic wanted him dead. All it did was scare me. So much so, I didn't even want to think about going back to bed.

The marquis had been so close to me in my dream, I could finally tell the color of his eyes. Green, a Dark green that seemed to match the dark forest perfectly. Was he the darkness of this forest? If he were defeated would light return to the trees? Or was I just thinking of this world like it was still my dream?

I sat up with a glance out the window. As expected, it was dark out. If the sun were to rise, it wouldn't be for a while. But the thought of sleep left me shivering like a wet cat. I didn't want to close my eyes and see that wicked man again, especially so soon, and so close.

Getting to my feet, I grabbed the cloak Barrett had given me and headed out of the house into the street. Barrett's room was dark, so I didn't worry about him seeing me. It wasn't as if I was leaving him anyway. If Elwen was still at the tavern, perhaps I could get the chance to talk to him.

The fatigue I'd felt just before bed was nowhere in my mind as I walked along the street. Following my memory, I found the public house rather quickly.

There was no real reason for me to believe Elwen would still be here. It was very late into the night, and he had probably left hours ago. Yet the lights into the tavern were still on. There was no music like before, but I didn't mind. I didn't need music, I wasn't here to dance. I just wanted to tell Elwen the truth, that I really only saw him as a potential friend. That and perhaps talking to him would keep the thought of my dreams at bay.

My feet stopped moving at the thought. Now I was using him as a distraction from my nightmares? How childish could I be? He was person for goodness sake, not an excuse!

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge as my mind seemed to run itself around in circles. This wasn't a good idea. But I stepped up to one of the windows anyway, peering cautiously inside. If I didn't see Elwen, I'd just head back to the house and find something to preoccupy my mind. It was the best solution I had other than distracting myself with Elwen's situation.

No, that wasn't why I wanted to tell Elwen we should only be friends. I didn't want to lead him on. I rubbed my face with a groan, trying to get my mind to be quiet as I scanned the room inside.

The red head was indeed in the tavern, on the complete other side from me. But what caught my attention was the man standing next to him. His golden hair looked bright even in the dimly lit pub, and I could almost see the twinge of green in his dark eyes, now that I knew their color.

Lord Dominic, what was he doing here? He couldn't possibly have followed Barrett and I here. We'd been here for several days without a trace of our pursuer. But now he was meeting with Elwen, in the dark of night at a tavern. Was he after Elwen? Or was Elwen an informant?

I didn't know the situation, and I didn't want to assume. Perhaps they had simply bumped into each other and were having a small chat. Elwen might still let it slip that a girl with an injured friend was here. He wouldn't know Lord Dominic was after us. Would he?

One thing was clear, it was time to go. Whether I wanted to or not. Barrett was right, Elwen couldn't have been trusted, especially with only parts of the truth. If he was on our side, he wouldn't know our information was meant to be kept from Lord Dominic. But if he wasn't, then he was intentionally trying to lead us into a sense of false security. Something Barrett never fell for, because he didn't trust anyone. Especially not me, and now, I didn't blame him.

Moving out of sight of the window, I bit my lip, quickly heading back to the house. I'd walked briskly at first, but my pace picked up until I was running full tilt towards the doctor's home. Barrett and I had to get out of here. Or at least, Barrett did. If he decided to leave me behind, well, I wouldn't argue.

Who all called this one? Do you trust anyone? You don't need to say names, just remember, trust isn't something taken. It's something given, and tying that snapped string back together is not easy!

Have a restful Evening.

G'Night Stars.