A stroll at night

Thirteen years later...

It was the time of night when no villager could be seen outside. But at the top of the bell tower in Lasburgh, a masculine figure stood quietly.

Not that he was interested in watching the night sky, but because it was a perfect spot to smoke his cigar.

The man huffed out the smoke he had inhaled from his cigar, and it spread in space, soon blown away by the cold night breeze. This man was none other than Kione Reign.

He took another drag from his cigar, and when he blew it out, his eyes caught sight of something red moving in the shadows beneath him.

And on a closer look, it was a person clad in a red cloak.

Kione took yet another puff from the cigar as he watched the person squat down.

"AH!" the voice cried sharply before it was replaced with a hiss.

THUD!

He landed smoothly on the ground, just behind the person. And Kione saw how the person turned stiff.

"Well, who do we have? A witch." He commented, taking in the air around him. "But then you don't smell like one."

Standing up from where she squatted, her eyes shifted to the clover leaf she had picked.

She turned around, and without meeting the stranger's gaze, she clarified, "I am not a witch. Just a human like yourself."

"Human?" he said in a mocking tone. "What makes you think I am one?"

Her gray eyes snapped to look at him as worry marred her features. 'Black hair and perfectly arched brows look all human. What was he then?' She stepped back away from him, not liking her present situation.

Belle had naively sneaked out of the house for a nighttime stroll, despite knowing her mom and uncle would frown at the idea.

She had hoped that no one would see her, and she could confidently tell about how safe the night was, but her present situation would not allow it.

As if reading her thoughts, Kione commented, "You must have foolishly thought that everywhere was safe, even at night."

"I can say the same for you." She offered him a polite bow and said, "I will take my leave now."

Belle had only taken a few steps when she felt being pushed back, and the next moment she stood with her back pressed behind a tree with Kione in front of her.

"WHA–" Her words were quickly muffled by loud, heavy footsteps.

Her head cautiously turned to look at the path, where she had been standing a moment ago, only to see packs of big dog-like creatures run along. One of the creatures tagged behind, sniffing the place as if it could smell them, and this made Belle worried.

It sneered, showing its colored teeth, before leaving. A sigh escaped her lips when the creature left.

'The night is not safe, and neither was the day.' She thought.

While Belle stared at the path the creatures had run off to, Kione watched her for a moment, where the hood she had been wearing had come off, leaving her face on full display.

Her golden blonde hair now danced rhythmically with the night breeze.

Stepping away from her, Kione said, "It seems you have had some luck with the leaf."

He turned around to walk away while her eyes moved to look at the leaf in her hand.

"I think so." Raising her eyes back to look at him, she found the space empty. "Where did he go?" she muttered to herself in disappointment. "I didn't even get to thank him."

Now, well aware that the night was not safe for a girl like her, Belle headed back home. This time, she placed her eyes and ears on high alert.

Away from where Belle was, on the east side of the forest, three men stood in one of the open spaces, waiting for someone.

One of the men opened his pocket watch and said, "He should be here by now; what's taking him this long?" before flipping the pocket watch closed. "Oh! There he is." He announced.

And the others shifted their gaze to look at the person. "Sire." They all said in unison as they bowed at him.

"Have you successfully lured them to the place?" He asked one of the men with his usual aloofness.

"Yes. Thank you for your help, Master Kione." The man smiled brightly. "The Garretts appreciate your support in handling the rogue werewolves."

"It's a good thing that no human was found outside." Another one of the men chimed in.

"Hm." Kione hummed before saying, "I will leave the rest for you to handle." And the men nodded in understanding. "Craig." He called out as he walked away.

The two men bowed at him again, while Craig quickly followed behind him.

As they moved further away from the other men, Craig asked, "What took you so long?"

Kione dug his hands into the pockets in his coat as he continued to walk. "Saving a blind bunny." Came his curt response.

Blind bunny? Craig thought, as he hadn't heard of such a thing like that, and if there was a thing about bunnies being blind, he was sure his master would not waste his time with it.

"I need you to prepare some papers for me and let Hurley know of the success of the work." He said.

"Yes, sire." Craig obliged with a bow and watched his master walk in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, in Lasburgh, Belle arrived at the front of her house. She reached her hands for the door's handle.

She stealthily turned it for it to open, and she stepped inside before shutting it.

"Where are you coming from?"

"Ah!" she shouted and turned to look behind her, finding her mother sitting on one of the couches facing the door.

"You scared me, mother." She said as she walked towards her.

"Answer me," Piper demanded.

"I wanted to take some fresh air, so—l"

"And how many times do I have to tell you that staying outside is not safe?"

Sensing how angstful her mother was, Belle went to hug her and said, "I understand," because I have experienced firsthand what you mean today.

Moving away from their hug, Piper caressed her daughter's face as a smile broke into her lips. "Promise me you won't do it again."

"I promise. I will stay here and keep you safe without any worries." She agreed without hesitation.

"That's good. You've got me really worried." Piper let her know as she hugged her one last time.

"I—"

COUGH. COUGH. COUGH.

Worry smudged Belle's face as she anxiously asked her mother, "Are you alright?"

Just as the question passed Belle's lips, Piper raised her face to look at her. The girl's eyes fell wide, alarmed by the sight in front of her.