I do not own Basta ( I wish I did anyway) Cornelia Funke owns him ( lucky her)... I only own Maria, who's a sweet girl. She reminds me of …. me D.

She had decided it was about time to run away from this awful Institute. She had no family; she did not belong anywhere, not even here. Running away was her only option. Maria quickly gathered her belongings, not much anyway; she could even do without them. She hid the money she had stolen from the Headmistress in the morning. Even now, she felt guilt, but the crooked women never even pretend to like her. She knew she should not steal. Then again, she badly needed the money.

A few moments later, Maria, with a backpack swung over her shoulder, jumped trough the first floor window and ran quickly to the wall. Her heart was beating against her chest. She climbed swiftly and jumped on the other side. She was free! Now what…? There was a motorcycle parked at the gate and she had the keys. Don't ask me how she had gotten them from Marius, the guard. She started the damn thing and drove without thought. She did not even have a map. At some point, she reached a god-forsaken road with a barrier. She passed by it. Was there a better place to hide? In a few hours, the police would be looking for a girl on a stolen motorcycle. Soon she reached a small village.

"That is weird," she thought, "how come there is a village after a closed rode?"

She stopped somewhere before the parking lot and hid the motorcycle. One can never be to sure… While she was doing that, she heard something crack. The next moment, a hand was toughly holding her mouth shut.

"This is private property," a harsh male voice whispered in her ear. His other hand was griping her tightly around the waist.

"Cockerel, you huntin' for cats again?" laughed a voice in the dark. It sounded as if the man's face had been squashed.

"Look what a birdie I found…", smiled the man, called Cockerel. He pushed her roughly forward in to the light of a street lamp. She stumbled into the hands of the other man. His face was squashed.

"Well, well, what have we got here…"

The flatnose guy was eyeing her with amusement. However, there was something in his eyes that made her blush and tremble with anger. His hands slid across the sides of her body. Maria slapped them and stepped backwards, her eyes flashing.

"Oh, so it is a cat, after all…" laughed Cockerel.

"Should we take her to the chief?" Flatnose spoke slowly. It seemed as if the thought was not that pleasant.

"Yes, we should…"said Cockerel softly, a mischievous glance in his eyes. "She's a pretty piece, isn't she?" He played with her brown curls and looked at her in a delighted way. "Maybe the chief can wait… after all we have to check the delivery first, don't we?" He laughed cruelly as her eyes grew wide when he caught her chin and gave her a quick kiss. Maria reached to slap him but her hand landed caught by Cockerel.

"Careful, sweetie… you don't want to get yourself hurt, now do you?" With a swift move form his other hand he took a knife out and held it so close to her face, she could actually see her own reflection in the blade.

Her knees felt week with fear as he played lovingly with the blade across her face. The cold … she was petrified with fear. He used the moment to lean her hard against the wall. With one hand, he held her hands in place and with the other he forced her to face him. He started kissing her.

"Hey, Cockerel, leave something for me…", laughed Flatnose

Maria was terrified, she tried to shriek, but his lips muffled the sound. She tried fighting and kicking but it did not seam to matter to him how hard he fought. He had no intention of leaving her alone.

Suddenly a soft, purring voice said close to them.

"Cockerel, don't you have job… leave the maid for another time."

Cockerel jumped and let go of Maria for a moment. it was enough for her to try to get past him. The newcomer caught her, "Oh, no you don't." Maria saw the hottest guy with jet-black hair and dark eyes holding her. She could not believe she could think about fancying anyone while in such a situation.

Basta saw the girl in his hands was no maid.

"Now, what's this", he barked. "Newcomers go to the chief, how many times have I said that." He did not let go of Maria, but managed to get a good kick at Cockerel.

"Enough," grumbled Cockerel bent in two from the kick. He looked for Flatnose, but he seemed to have vanished.

"Well, not apparently enough for you."

The girl was trembling in his hands. That fool should do his job, not force his hardly pleasant self on children. The girl in his hands was not more than fifteen of age, even less perhaps. It was under any man's pride to do this to a child.

"Well, come along," he grumbled and pushed her roughly. She walked uncertainly with his hand gripping her by the arm. She kept thanking him in her mind and she even enjoyed his touch.

Soon they reached the church. Capricorn looked at his fingernails while she talked. When he heard her story, he sat calmly there as if he had heard and understood nothing at all. Finally, he looked at her with colorless eyes. She felt shivers running down her spine at his look.

"We have plenty of maids at our hands and we do not need any more. We certainly can't let you go and we do not need you. Cockerel what do we do to people we do not need?"

Cockerel just smiled and started polishing his knife. Capricorn just nodded at Cockerel and the man grabbed the girl roughly by the arm, grinning.

Basta looked at her direction with pity. It was a shame to waist such a pretty girl. He also seemed to imagine what exactly Cockerel intended to do with her before killing her.

Capricorn followed his glance and laughed heartily.

"On the other hand, Basta seems to have taken a fancy of the girl. Now that I think of it, he does need female company since none of the maids want to do anything with him…"

Basta almost jumped when he heard his name. At the last remarked he flinched.

Cockerel stopped, clutching the girl's arms with a noticeable amount of irritation. Maria looked at Basta with such a pleading look he had to turn away. Why was this girl so special to him? He had hardly met her a few minutes ago. She could die and he wouldn't even have to care. But he did care… She was too pretty and seemed so innocent. He just had to have her… own her… be with her. He looked slowly at her the way a man looks when he imagines a woman naked. Maria trembled with the thought that the guy was too hot to be imagining her… Please, please take me, her eyes seemed to say. It was not only that she did not want to die. That was obvious. No, it was also that she had never felt such a physical attraction to a man.

"Well, Basta…we're all waiting for your decision; do you want the girl or not?"

His mind races… yes he did want her, but he did not want to sound too hopeful.

"Having constant female company… and a hand at the house would be useful… yes I'll have her."

Cockerel let go of her and threw her forward. She stumbled and almost smiled as Basta caught her in his arms. When she looked up however, he was not smiling at her so the happiness in her died.

'Well, what are you waiting for? Take her away, we don't have all day" said Capricorn harshly.

Basta gripped the girl's arm roughly and took her quickly to his house. On the way he told her he would get her out of the village and as far away as possible first thing tomorrow. She looked at him with amazement and said she did not want to leave. He stopped and looked at her with amusement mixed with anger. "You belong to me now. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?

You'll do as I say and I say I don't want you here. You'll leave tomorrow!"

He opened the door of the house and pushed Maria in. He sat her at a table, where she just sat crushed and looked at the floor. He looked at her while preparing a snack. "Look, child…"He felt guilty.

She did not even move.

"I know you have taken a fancy of me, but believe me you don't want to have anything to do with me…"

"Why not?" She looked innocently at him with these big brown eyes. He had to look away.

"It is not safe here. This life you think you want, life with me is not for you. I am not for you. I am a killer…" He came close to her and shook her angrily. "Do you know what I do for living? What I enjoy? How I destroy people's lives?"

She kept staring blankly at him with the same innocent admiration. He wanted to wipe it of her face with a slap. He almost did but something from inside him stopped his hand.

"Do it. Hit me," she whispered. "I don't mind. I've been hit many times before. It would not change may mind, though. I want to be with you; to love you."

She said it so softly he almost missed the words he'd never heard before

"Are you crazy?" This time he did slap her. "You don't know me. You can't love me."

"Yes, I can. I know you. You were there when the black-jackets burned my parents' house with them inside. You took me out. You saved me. You're not as bad as you think… remember the little girl with the pink bracelet?"

Yes, he did. He even kept the bracelet. It was to remind him that he did good things sometimes. It seemed to say he really wasn't that bad.