France was sparkling in the moonlight, the lights of the city giving the streets a soft glow. Anya and Dmitry had enjoyed a nice dinner by the river, then they'd decided to walk through the city with Vlad and Lily.
"So, has Paris grown on you?" Vlad asked the happy couple.
Dmitry shrugged. "A little."
Anya laughed and gave him a playful nudge. "Well, I love it here."
"What about you, Lily?" Vlad asked her.
"No."
Vlad sighed and rested his hand on hers. "One day."
They continued to walk in silence for a moment, then came upon a dark street. The lights of the city did not touch here.
"Uhh- are we lost?" Dmitry asked.
"Nonsense! We just need to go through here and we'll be back where we started in no time. It's a shortcut. It's completely safe!" Vlad insisted.
Everyone but Vlad was hesitant, but they continued to walk down the street. But, at the end of the street was yet another dark road.
"Vlad?" Anya asked. "Are you sure-"
Anya was cut off by a shadowy figure approaching. She turned around to go back but found another figure approaching. As they got closer, it became apparent that they were two men, one of them armed, one carrying a pole, both threatening.
"Your money. Hand it over," one of them said. Vlad stepped forward to say something, but the gun was immediately pointed at his chest.
"NOW!"
"Do you know who I am?" Lily asked.
"No, and I don't give a shit. Money. Now!"
Everyone emptied their pockets, and stared expectantly at the men.
"Well? Can we go now?" Lily asked.
One of the men started to move towards Anya, and Dmitry started to move in front of her, but the gun was pointed at him now.
"You move, I shoot."
He took a couple more steps toward her, then brushed the side of her face with his hand.
"Maybe I'll have a taste of this one," the man said, leaning into her hair and inhaling. "Yes, I think this one will be j-" he was cut off by Dmitry, who punched him in the face. The man stumbled back and took a shot, which caused a storm of chaos.
Lily and Vlad took on the other man. Vlad received a punch to the throat, and Lily threw back a punch, which downed the man. "Ow!" she yelled. "You didn't tell me punching someone would hurt!" she yelled at Vlad, who was clutching his throat and unable to respond. Meanwhile, the backfire of the gunshot knocked the other one to the ground. He was now getting to his feet. Anya grabbed the pole one of the men had held, and hit him on the back as hard as she could. He was back on the ground, and clearly stunned.
"Never! Touch! Us! Again!" she screamed, holding the pole above him threateningly. He scrambled to his feet, and ran down the street, clutching his back. The other one had regained consciousness and quickly followed. "Yeah, you'd better run!" she yelled at their disappearing silhouettes. Dropping the pole, she turned around to look at the others. Dmitry was sitting against a wall and clutching his arm, red leaking through onto his white shirt. "Dmitry!" Anya gasped, rushing over to him.
"I'm fine, Anya," he told her.
"Fine? You got SHOT! This is not fine!" She shouted desperately.
"Anya, it's just my arm! I'm okay!" he replied.
"No, you aren't! We need to get you to a doctor, now!" she insisted, and he did not argue. She tried to help him up, but he shook his head and stood by himself.
"Anya, I got shot in the arm. My legs are fine. I can walk," he said.
"Fine," she said, turning to check on the others. Both of them were okay, but Vlad was massaging his throat and could not speak at a volume above a whisper.
"Let's get out of here," Lily commanded, and they all turned around and took the other road back. They got Dmitry into a doctor, and once they were assured that he would be fine, they all took a sigh of relief.
Anya turned to Vlad.
"You were right. That was completely safe," she said.
Vlad shrugged helplessly. "Must have been the wrong road," he whispered, then went back to massaging his throat.
Dmitry entered the room, his arm bandaged, and Anya tackled him into a hug.
"I told you I was okay, Anya."
She looked up at him. "You were really brave back there, Dima," she replied.
"What about me?" Vlad asked.
"Right, you got punched in the throat and I did all the work. Very brave," Lily scoffed.
"Let's go home," Dmitry requested. They arrived at the palace, and Dmitry and Anya turned to say goodbye to Lily and Vlad.
"Recover soon, young man," Lily said to Dmitry.
He grinned. "I will."
As the couple turned to leave, Anya heard Lily say to Vlad.
"Paris will NEVER grow on me."