I couldn't believe my eyes. I was abducted and drugged. I tried to escape and now, I was seeing Raphael pointing a gun at me. Or was this all a dream?

"Haelyn? Is that really you? What happened to you? You stink!" Raphael exclaimed, with a grimace.

I frowned and pushed his gun away from me.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be gone to Italy?" I asked, scowling.

Raphael stared at me with a weird expression. Leah also stared at me.

"Uhmm, Haelyn...we are in Italy right now," Leah said.

I gaped back at them. I shook my head repeatedly, trying to refresh my memory.

"No, no, this can't be another hallucination. I remember clearly that I was in London when I was abducted," I blurted.

"We definitely are in Italy right now though. And do you know that man? Is he dangerous?" Leah whispered, leaning towards me.

"Well, he's got a gun. You can judge for yourself," I said, groaning as I leaned against the door.

Then a gunshot made me jump back straight.

"I forgot we needed to escape!" I screeched and turned to Raphael, "What are you waiting for? I don't know why you're here but I've got my life to save. Either you get down here and I drive away or you drive."

I glanced outside and was surprised to see no one coming out. But I could still hear the firing of guns. What was happening?

"We were planning to infiltrate the place secretly, but they must have been alerted early due to your escape. They cannot come out though, some men of ours have been placed around," Raphael assured us.

"Oh, you came to save me?" I beamed.

"No, we didn't know you were here or have been abducted, as you're saying," Raphael said, throwing me a confused look.

I sighed. So that's how it was.

"Actually, Eliyah received a message from you a week earlier, you said that you were going to come to Italy," he added.

"A week! You mean to say a week has passed-"

Right at the moment of my confusion and disbelief, the door next to Raphael opened.

"They are escaping from the back. We need to-"

I peeped out of my seat, waving at Castiel with a grin.

"Wait, wh-? You?" he spluttered and looked at Raphael for an explanation on that miracle.

"She was held hostage here...," he replied, shrugging.

He closed the door and opened the one next to me. The one I was leaning against. I instantly leaned out, about to fall out.

Castiel pushed me back inside and scrutinised me.

"For how many days did you not shower?" he frowned.

Wow, I was getting a lot of compliments today. I didn't even bother replying.

"And are you bleeding?" he said and was about to touch me when I slapped his hand away.

"I think a bullet may have grazed my arm, not that it concerns you. You should just stay away since I stink," I rolled my eyes.

"And who is that?" Castiel asked me, finally noticing Leah, who looked intimidated by Castiel's gaze, or glare on her.

"She was abducted by those goons as well," I shrugged.

Castiel closed the door again and moved to the other side. He opened Leah's door.

"Move at the back. I'm driving," he ordered.

Leah quickly nodded and scurried to the back, beside Raphael.

"What about the others?" Raphael asked.

"They can handle it," Castiel muttered and glanced at me, "Do not sleep. We'll arrive at the hospital soon."

I chuckled. He knew I liked doing everything that people tell me not to.

So yeah, I closed my eyes and slept.

☆☆☆

I finally opened my eyes again. A white ceiling greeted me. I moved around on the other side. The bed was quite soft. I close my eyes, in relaxation.

I frowned as I felt a pain searing in my right arm. I set up in bed and touched my arm; it was bandaged. Then, I remembered what happened.

I got out of bed and noticed that I don't have any shoes or slippers. I looked around; the room had another bed beside mine and there were two tables beside each bed.

I moved to the door and was going to get out, but then I paused. I probably looked like a maniac right now, and I stank. I had to shower first. Or maybe brush my teeth first. When was the last time I went to the toilet?

I went to the bathroom and looked down; I had no clothes other than the hospital gown I was wearing. I guessed I would have to wear it again. I quickly took a shower, went to the toilet and brushed my teeth with a toothbrush that I hoped was new.

I brushed my hand through my wet hair. Thank God, it stopped smelling like a sewer.

I opened the door and stepped out to see Castiel leaning against the wall. I quickly took a step away from him.

"It's okay. You no longer stink," he chuckled.

I glared at him and threw the wet towel on him. He caught it easily and threw it in the laundry basket inside the bathroom.

"The doctor said that you should not walk around. You need rest, so get in bed, Princess," he mockingly gestured for me to follow him to the bed.

"It's Queen to you, peasant," I rolled my eyes and flipped my wet hair at him.

I lied down on the bed, covering myself with the light blanket and getting comfortable. I closed my eyes; I was quite ready for yet another sleep.

I heard a strong rumble. I opened up my eyes.

"Was that an earthquake?" I whispered.

"No, that was your stomach," Castiel said, as he sat on the opposite bed, staring at me.

"Oh, my hearing sense must have heightened up," I claimed, sitting up.

"Not really, I'm sure the patient next door heard it too," Castiel mused.

I glared at him. My shoulders slumped. I need pizza. I need strength.

I glanced at Castiel and my eyes went to the table next to him. There was something in that paper bag. I eyed his amused look and the bag.

"What's that?" I mumbled, trying to reach for it but I got my hands slapped away.

"Pizza. BBQ chicken pizza."

My hands desperately reached for it and missed again as Castiel took it away.

"Don't you have anything to say to me before?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

I glanced at the pizza. I was salivating.

"Uhm...I love you?" I made an attempt.

Castiel's expression changed from smug, to constipated and then to a glare. I didn't wait for his reply and grabbed the pizza from his grasp.

I took a heavenly bite before Castiel could take it away from me. He continued glaring at me. His glare was disturbing my appetite.

"What? You want?" I asked, with my mouth full.

"You joke about love a lot, huh?" he muttered to himself.

I stopped eating and looked at him. "When did I joke about that to you before?" I asked.

"Remember? The prank you pulled the second year of high school?" he scoffed.

"What prank?" I asked, confused.

"You wrote a love letter or poem and signed it with your name at the bottom. Then, you put it in my book. When I asked you about it, you brushed me off, saying you never did such a thing," he rolled his eyes.

"That's because I really did not," I said scowling.

"I know your writing, Haelyn and it was the paper with a flower imprinted on it that you usually used back then," he said firmly.

"Oh...was it the light cream paper?"

"Yes."

"In a red envelope?"

"Yes."

"Was it a poem that covered half the page?"

"Yes."

"That was not for you," I concluded.

"Uh?"

"That was for Embry," I laughed, taking another bite from the pizza.

"You...love my brother?" he asked, cringing.

I coughed on the pizza, shaking my head vigorously. Embry was Castiel's brother, only a year younger than us. Surprisingly, I went along with him better than with Castiel. And there was no way that I loved him.

"Are you kidding me? He's younger than me!" I exclaimed. "He said that he needed a fake love letter for a prank so I-"

I stopped midway, exchanging looks with Castiel as I realised. Oh...a prank. To whom? I just found out now.

I let out an awkward laugh as Castiel let out a curse underneath his breath that I couldn't decipher.

"It's not like you believe it though, right?" I shrugged.

"What?"

"I love you."

An audible gasp echoed. My eyes roamed to the now opened door, where a group of agents and Leah followed inside.

"See, I told you guys! They love each other!" Raphael exclaimed, doing a celebratory dance around the room. Everyone facepalmed at his foolishness.

"Congratz, babez!" He said to me and took a slice of pizza, sitting down on my bed with one arm around my shoulder.

Leah stood awkwardly in the middle of the big agents standing in front of my bed. She was now dressed in clean, casual clothes. I ushered her to the other side of my bed.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"No, the hospital gown sucks," I whispered back.

"I bought clothes for you to change into. That man paid," she said handing me a bag, pointing to Shooky.

"Thanks, Shooky!" I winked at him as he rolled his eyes towards me.

"By the way, are you still high?" Raphael asked. I glowered at him.

"Calm down. I'm just asking because the doctor said that there was GHB left in your system."

"Do you remember anything from the past few days?" one of the agents asked. I sighed. Was I a witness yet again?

"No, I just remember being in a different basement or room. And there was a constant dizzy feeling," I said, shaking my head.

The men exchanged looks in silence. Can't they discuss orally for once?

"We believe that those who abducted you were involved in drug trafficking and thefts of valuable objects. You were probably brought here along with the last shipment of drugs," Cooky concluded.

I imagined the thought of me being parcelled along with containers of stolen things and drugs on a ship and instantly shuddered. That must have been the dizzy moving motions that I remembered faintly.

"Okay, cool. No one was suspicious about my disappearance?" I asked.

"Eliyah had called me asking if you came to the office," I ignored Castiel's look as I waited for him to continue, "She called again in the evening, saying that she got a text from you, which said that you also left for Italy. Then she could not get in contact with your phone again," he finished.

Oh no, my phone! It must have been thrown away somewhere. All the important things that were stored in it are gone. But the most important one, my memes! Just poof!

"What do I do now?" I huffed.

"You'll stay here for a few days to rest. Right now, you have no phone, no money, no passport or papers to be able to go back. We'll try to prepare papers for you to return home but it'll take time," Castiel replied.

"How about her?" I asked, pointing to Leah.

"I've contacted her brother. I think it's best for both of them to move away, somewhere more secure back in England," Raphael replied and turned to Leah, "I heard that your maternal grandmother lives in Manchester. You should stay there for a while." Leah nodded quietly.

I cleared my throat and got ready to ask the question. "And...where will I stay?"

"Castiel has two rooms at his place. I'm sure he can lend you one," Raphael said, trying to look nonchalant, but I could see his smirk.

"Yeah, okay. So it's decided!" Shooky said, clapping his hands for our attention before we could start another debate. "We need to get going now. We still have work to do. If you could follow me," he gestured to Leah as the others stepped out of the room.

Leah turned to me and gave me a farewell hug.

"Don't worry and stay safe. I'll get in contact with you once I return back home," I patted her back, comfortingly. She returned my smile and followed Shooky out.

"So, can I go already? Help me out!" I demanded, asking for Raphael's help, as I took the bag of clothes in one hand.

I turned to Castiel as we were leaving. "Don't forget the pizza!"

☆☆☆

I walked around the streets of Naples, taking pictures from my new brand phone, that Castiel bought. He made sure I understood that it was not a gift and that I had to return him back the money.

The camera was awesome and it was my first time outside of Castiel's apartment since my arrival. I spent the past three days in my temporary room, forced to rest. I also had to explain the situation to Eliyah and my Dad, who were almost packing for Italy when I told them what happened.

Then, I had to call Attorney Kim who kept on complaining about how I was stupid to walk willingly into the enemy's net and how he had to handle so many works alone.

Back to Naples, I came to a standstill at the poster that attracted my attention. it was an art exhibition poster. I couldn't understand anything. I scanned the poster, looking for the venue. San Carlo seemed to be the road where it was held.

I used Google maps to search for the road as I walked around.

After some five minutes only, I reached the sign of an art gallery. It seemed like a public gallery, considering the way people kept flowing in and out. I also followed them in.

Paintings covering the white walls surrounded the spacious room. I did not know much about art, but as long as they attracted my attention, I liked them. I didn't forget to take pictures of the ones I liked best.

I walked until the end of the hall. The last painting captured my attention. It was a painting of multiple hands covered in filth and soot from the darkness, reaching out to touch a little girl that held a lantern, which illuminated the place where she was standing.

I took a step back to get the whole painting in my picture when I knocked against someone from behind.

I immediately turned around, apologising. It was a young woman, who was wearing a formal, black halter dress, that complimented her long black hair and green eyes. The woman chuckled and shook her head.

"Va bene. It's okay. I saw you admiring my painting," she smiled, gesturing to the piece of art. I nodded at her.

"It's really great. You have awesome talent!" I complimented.

"Thank you. I'm Angelia," she said, stretching out her hand.

"Haelyn," I replied, shaking her hand.

I heard someone calling her name from behind. She nodded at them and looked back at me. "It was nice meeting you. This exhibition is being held for a few days. I hope you can come again," she smiled and walked away.

I took a picture of the painting and looked at the time. I should be returning now. I walked back to Castiel's apartment at a leisurely pace, admiring everywhere. It was rare to get a holiday, so might as well make the most out of it.

I arrived right in time to see Castiel get into the car he had been renting. I jogged to his side.

"Where are you going? Can I come along?" I asked immediately.

He frowned at me. "Where's Claudius?" he questioned. I pointed to the agent that had been following me the whole day, who stood still a bit far away.

"He's shy so he made sure he remained at least five metres behind me," I commented.

"Okay, good. Go up," Castiel said.

"No, I'm coming along!" Before he could lock the door, I slipped into the passenger seat.

"Don't you ever get enough of the trouble that you always get into?" Castiel asked, with an annoyed sigh.

"You mean there is trouble where you're going?" I asked excitedly.

"Why are you like this?" Castiel seemed to be questioning my weird existence.

"I was born like this. Let's just go. I promise I'll stick by your side."

Castiel finally started the car. He must have been thinking that it was too much of a heavy task to drag me back to his place.

I attached my seatbelt, grinning as we moved forward.

I didn't forget to wave at Claudius who looked like he was relieved off a burdenful duty.