Encounter

The person came with every 'clack' sound nearer until the figure stood in front of Emilié, but unexpected from her side on, the person picked her shaking self up from the floor, into his embrace.

She looked up shocked and saw two beautiful silver shining eyes. The man had a gentle smile on his face, which put the scar on his right jaw side in the shadow.

If Sasha where here he would have cried from happiness, then the person who stood before Emilié was none other than Emil. The one, who should have been dead 6 years ago in a car accident.

"Ha ha, this is the first time I see you in flesh and blood, indeed just as cute as your fath-" He said with gleeful voice.

But soon the gleeful voice turned cold and his eyebrows frowned. Indeed, he did saw blood and much of it. It flowed down Emilié's cheek like bloody tears.

"Did those kids do this to you?" He growled. "What cruelty in such young age I should have never underestimated them and left you alone."

He put her down and packed out some sterilised tissues and first-aid-bands out his bag and tended to her wound. While cleaning the cut he never stopped frowning.

"Damn, had Haku (glasses guy) not said you were here you would've bled to death." He clenched his fists until they went white suppressing his anger down.

Emilié felt stinging pain coming from her face the sterilised tissues made their job very well giving back a feel of reality to her. That man's hand was rough and filled with calluses, however, his touches were gently and he cleaned her wound carefully.

She watched him intently and observed every little detail of him. He looked familiar with those raven black hair and somehow she knew him from somewhere, but where?

Her mind churned, this familiarity was shrouded in a hazy layer. Where did she met him and why was he helping her?

Meanwhile, the familiar but foreign man had cleaned and covered the cut with a band-aid. What was enough for now to stop the bleeding.

'knock'

"Hey!" came a feminine, yet frosty voice behind the door, accompanied with a knocking sound.

Emilié sprung up from the suddenness, it scared that little tense heart of hers.

"Shhh, everything's ok" said the man, taking her back in his embrace, caressing her back to make her feel comfortable and safe.

He turned his head back to the door with dissatisfaction and hissed back. "Hey what! Here is a wounded child! Sera, be quiet and don't scare her to death."

"..." It turned silent for a while.

"Oh yeah, sorry my bad, I forgot I have X-ray view and can look through doors seeing you hold a hurt child." She snapped back sarcastically even a bit offended. "I'm only here to tell you the situation going on in the ballroom but if you don't wanna know, bye~"

"Stop acting like a child, tell me what's wrong." spat Emil back. "Or was Haku not able to clip off the information that was traveling to the main host's ear?"

"No, he did his job well, but he can't wrap it up for longer, the children aren't easy to restrain, they are too traumatised that their acting a taaad~ bit crazy. Just a bit." emphasizing the tad.

"So Haku has everything under control then what's the problem? I don't understand what you mean speak clearly!" anoyed about all the beating around the bush, he demanded a fast and blunt answer now.

"Then I won't hold back." turning her eyes in annoyance. Sera didn't want to sound harsh in front of a child, but when Emil forced her to, then no holding back.

"Haku was able to stop the information flow, FOR NOW that is and we have enough time to complete our mission. Except, we're running out of time because of you blockhead, who is jeopardizing our whole mission for a child! A child that is Sasha's! Do you have masochistic tendencies or what? Just let her there and let us go! Someone will find her anyway and take care of her."

Sera really did not hold a filter before her mouth, Emil's veins almost popped out from anger. "Take care?" He grumbled and held Emilié tighter in his arms.

"Hmm?" Even though Sera was behind a door, she felt a chill creep on her.

"Pfff- ha ha!" He began with a laugh that was dipped in sarcasm. "Who should take care of her? Tell me?"

"Those bastard servants, who have no eyes ignoring and disdaining her. Or the brats she has to call brother and sister, one who is dumb, to the point of ignorance and naïvity becoming a new definition, and the other bullying her in every turn she can! Or that shrewd old bone bag, using her as a piece for negotiation purpose! Ha ha! Ohh~ there is still that vixen of a mother, who carried and protected this child for months but now, there is nothing to see of that!"

He decimated all the disgusting truth about the relationships of Emilié and the other occupants within this mansion.

Emilié hearing him felt some relief falling in her heart, for once someone knew what was going on around her, but at the same time, some suspicious thoughts came up. Why did he know so much about her? And again, why did he care?

"Emil! You, you don't think of taking this girl with us are you?" came the incredulous voice behind the door.

Emil? Catching up to the conversations content, Emilié could decipher some relevant information.

Emil, she heared that name from somewhere, but from where?

A frisky smile played on Emil's lips complimenting his carefree attitude."Yes, that is what I plan to do."

Sera became agitated, 6 years of accompanying this idiot wore of her patient. "You stupid! Did someone slapped your head to strong! What do you want to do with a child and that of Sasha's to boot?! Are you still hanging to him?"

"Hmpf, don't bring Sasha up that fool! Running behind a shadow believing that is for revenge for all our fallen brothers, when in truth his true problems lay in front of him. He just has to grasp it, but even after five years he didn't learn and even lets his daughter suffer under his watch."

"What leaving his children in other people's hand, never coming back home and pursuing a dumb revenge. Can I trust him to be able to protect this child?"

"..." Sera didn't know what to say.

Emil laid the truth bare. In all this years Sasha was like possessed going after the Black Vipers, believing they were the prime problem for all his loss and ignored every troubling matters around him.

When in truth the culprit was in a hair's breadth distance to him, his own father.

Seven years ago he colluded with others and the old general, promising them stability for their family and the generations afterthem to come, when he did what he told them.

Therefore the general was able to make contact with the underground organization the Black Vipers and hired them as assassins for Sasha's group and staged some drug incident, pulling Sasha's image down at first; just so that the following events pulled up his reputation under the citizens to the highest point and make him the new general.

If Clyde had to sacrifice some people, then that wouldn't matter when Sasha, his own son he groomed, was on top of everyone else.

But even his calculating mind can miss the target. That senile general tweaked at his plan and tried to kill all of them, what failed and ended up with his 'suicide'.

Since he was cremated there was no way to dig up any evidence, that it was someone else who might have killed him and the whole family from the old general fell into disgrace.

Well, for the general on the other side, if you want to make a pact with the devil, then make a good one at least.

"Seems like you have nothing more to say." sayed Emil. "Let us not waste more time or boss will be angry, you go and finish the mission. I'm gonna bring back this child."

With that he opened the balcony, letting the cold winter wind hit into his face. He immediately reacted and protected Emilié under his combat jacket and disappeared under the shine of the moon.

'sigh' Sera leaned back on the door giving a helpless sigh. "Even after six years I still can't hold a candle against that stupid man. Emil you are so cruel." she whispered inaudible. Her hair falling infront of her face hiding her emotions.

On the balcony, Emil held Emilié tightly on his chest, then he sprung off the balcony to the one next to it.

Emilié was wide awake, the wind whistled next to her ear, the blood rushed up her head. It was scary, she had the feeling she could slip any minute, a roller coaster was nothing compared with Emil's dangerous stunt of hoping around on snowy ground, which was restricted in a limited area and was slippy.

She felt her life was in danger, she clutched at Emil's clothes like a koala for safety. Funnily, at that moment Emilié had not the slightest hint of any death thoughts.

Emil sprung from one balcony to the other, until he had to stop at one of them, whose door was open and light streemed out.

The doors from the balcony were made so, that the door swung out, so Emil hid behind the door and counted on the occupants to not come out the room.