Firstly, thanks to Lyla G and EyeDen47 for your kind reviews! I really hope that the rest of my story will live up to your expectations!

Sorry for the delayed update. For some reason, I had severe difficulty trying to put my plot into actual cohesive sentences.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please feel free to review if you feel so inclined!


Chapter 1

"Victoria," came a soft voice, followed by a gentle knock on the door.

Victoria blinked her eyes open, rubbing the sleep from them. She pushed herself up on wobbly arms, then swung her legs over the side of the bed and crossed the room. After briefly fumbling in the dark for the handle, she opened the door to see Diana, standing as composedly and elegantly as she always was. Victoria had always admired that about her.

She didn't even need to see the despondent look in Diana's eyes to know that the visit meant bad news.

"Victoria," Diana repeated. She raised a hand as if to cup Victoria's cheek, but paused and let her hand hover, almost but never quite touching her, before curling her fingers in and pulling back. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Why? What's wrong? W-what's happening?" Victoria tried to meet Diana's eye with no avail. She was growing increasingly panicked by the second. "Diana?"

She looked up for a brief moment, just long enough to say, "I must ask again for you to be brave."

At that moment, one of the mansion's guards - which one, Victoria didn't know; they all looked the same to her - came running to them. Diana took a step away from Victoria and turned to face him, cool composure masking her face and concealing any sign of affection or warmth she may have had. Something about the way she could drop all signs of emotion, of humanness, sent a chill down Victoria's spine.

"Ma'am, there's a man waiting at the gate. He says you're expecting him. Does the, uh, number forty-seven mean anything to you?"

Victoria perked up at the mention of 47. Perhaps they can bring good news after all, she thought to herself with a small smile. The smile disappeared almost as soon as it came, though. A moment of logical thinking told her that 47 wouldn't have come if there wasn't a serious problem. After all, he hadn't once come to see her. She turned her gaze to the grooves in the wooden flooring, wanting nothing more than to seep through the cracks into the cold ground below.

"Yes, let him in. I'll be down in a minute."

The guard promptly responded with a curt 'Yes, ma'am' before retreating to the hallway.

The cold, detached pretense dropped the second Diana turned back to Victoria. "Listen to me," she said in a calm tone. "Pack your belongings immediately. Meet me downstairs as sson as you are able to, and be prepared to leave."

At a loss for words, Victoria took a step back as Diana turned away. A flurry of questions clouded her head: what was going on? Where was she going? Why did she have to leave? Was Diana coming with her? She eventually found her voice, crying out, "Wait! Diana, I - what's happening?"

"Pack your bag first. I'll speak with you later." Diana paused at the door, casting one long glance at Victoria. Her arm moved almost imperceptibly, as if she was about to reach out to touch Victoria. Her hand never left her side, though, and the next moment she had turned and was walking away. A few sharp clicks of her low-heeled shoes later and she was gone.

After mindlessly placing a few sets of carefully ironed and folded clothing in a small leather backpack, Victoria slowly descended the stairs. Her steps were languid; though she had no idea what was going on, she knew it would be bad, and what was waiting for her downstairs would only prove it.

She paused when she heard the faint fragments of conversation being held in the next room. Diana's soft voice, coming across as tense and urgent, made her cringe a bit. She never liked that side of Diana, the one that reminded her of just what exactly she was capable of, of who she really was. Curious, she inched closer to the bottom of the staircase as quietly as she could.

"— but they won't get involved, regardless of the fact that it was Travis' atrocities being orchestrated right under their noses. They're refusing to take responsibility. She's completely vulnerable here. If there was any other way —"

The last step creaked under her weight, quiet enough that the sound would've gone unnoticed to the average person. But none of them were average people. Victoria froze, unsure of whether or not she should continue forward. After a few painful seconds of terse silence, she steeled herself and entered the foyer.

Standing rigidly next to Diana stood 47. He was dressed in his immaculate black suit and blood-red tie, and his face was as stoic as usual, though Victoria could've sworn his icy blue eyes softened just a bit as he caught sight of her. It could've just been wishful thinking on her part, though.

"Victoria," he said softly.

Victoria dropped her bag and ran towards him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, almost too ecstatic to notice his muscles tensing at the contact. He eventually brought his hands up to gingerly grasp her shoulders, the leather of his gloves squeaking faintly but not unpleasantly in her ears. Victoria forced herself to stand back, suddenly very conscious of herself and her childishness.

"I-I haven't seen you in months." She remembered all too well in vivid detail the last time she had seen him. After the traumatizing debacle that would be etched into her memory for years to come, 47 had dropped her off at Diana's mansion and left the next minute. He hadn't come back ever since. Victoria had a feeling that he'd been watching her from time to time, but a part of her also wondered if he really would've spared the time to do so.

Diana stepped closer to the two. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid time is of the essence. We must be quick." She turned to face Victoria before continuing, resting her hands comfortingly on her slight shoulders. "I would not willingly abandon you, Victoria, especially not at a time like this. But I need you to be brave. I need you to trust me when I say you must leave."

"I don't understand. Aren't I safe here?" The mansion was the safest place Victoria could've imagined. It was isolated from the rest of Chicago and on tight lockdown 24/7, the guards were all thoroughly screened, it was even censored from satellite imaging. How could it not have been safe?

"There are people looking for you. People who are not to be underestimated. I am almost certain their search will start with me." Diana sighed as she looked at the understanding dawning on the girl. Her eyes misted as she processed her words.

"You're not coming with me then, are you?" She said, shifting her gaze to the ground. She already knew the answer.

"You'll be under 47's care the whole time. And this will only be temporary. Once the matter is settled, you'll come straight back here."

"When will that be? When will I see you again?" Victoria looked to Diana with pleading eyes, seeking some sort of reassurance even though she knew that there would be none.

Without hesitation, Diana gently pulled her into a warm embrace. "What matters is that we will meet again."

Victoria relaxed in Diana's arms, resting her head against the older woman's chest. Her arms wrapped around Victoria like the protective wings of a bird would to shield its young from the severe brutalities of the world. Victoria sighed, trying to engrave in her mind what the comforting warmth felt like before it was gone - much too soon, for Victoria's liking. She reluctantly let her arms drop.

"What about you? Where will you go?" Victoria asked.

Diana's light fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from Victoria's face. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, and so will you. 47 will see to that." She sent an appreciative nod in his direction. "Now go. I know you're strong enough to do this." She pressed her lips to Victoria's forehead before stepping back.

47 picked up the neglected bag from the floor, then strode over to Victoria. "Come on." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Victoria slowly turned around. She followed in his footsteps, pausing only to glance one last time at Diana before walking out through the doorway into the bitter wind blowing softly outside. The doors closed behind her with a dull thud.

She stared up at the sky. Dawn had lightened the grey clouds and had calmed the storm, but the sun had yet to fully rise. The trees sighed in the gentle breeze, their leaves rustling in the wind. She could hear droplets of water falling rhythmically from the gutters, could smell the asphalt wetted and cleansed by the rain.

There had never been a moment more serene or desolate in her life.