Max's POV

Florence and I soon reached the location of the tournament. The other guy's second smiled and said, "Miss Vassy."

"Mr. Molokov," Florence—who might really be my aunt, but we'd agreed we'd pretend she was my aunt to explain why I was here—replied much more politely than I'd expected or was able.

"Who's the girl with you?" he asked.

I bristled and she caught my arm, shaking her head at me. "You promised," she hissed at me.

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest, and Florence quickly said, "You must forgive my niece. She takes after her father."

"You had siblings?" Molokov's jaw fell opened and I grinned.

"One brother. He died a few months ago, in Germany," she continued. "So, before he died, he learned that I'd be coming to Merano and made me stop in Germany to pick his daughter, Maxine Vassy, up."

I scowled at Florence.

She stomped on my foot and hissed, "I know it's girly, but it's the best I could up with, without using your real name, Max.

Then she turned back to Molokov and said, "But he said to call her Max, because she hates being called Maxine."

"Well, then, Miss Max Vassy, it is an honor to meet you," he said politely. "My name is Alexander Molokov."

"It is an honor to meet you as well, Mr. Molokov," I replied automatically, biting my tongue and fighting my true nature.

Then he turned back to Florence and asked, "Why is she here with you?"

I jumped in and said, "Well, Auntie Florence couldn't find anyone to look after me while she was away and I really wanted to see Frederick play chess, in the world championship tournament, and Auntie Florence wanted to make sure I stayed out of trouble, so she decided to keep me with her."

Florence looked at me and raised her eyebrows, saying, "Auntie Florence?"

"What?" I shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and Molokov said, "So, you hope to learn from the best, Maxine?"

"Max," Florence and I immediately corrected.

Molokov ignored us and said, "You should be with me and Anatoly Sergievsky. Then you can watch a true champion."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'll stay with Auntie Florence."

"Don't overdo it," Florence hissed to me in a low voice.

I nodded and he snapped, "So, you'll stay with a loser?"

I stiffened and suddenly stalked off. "I'll go after her," Florence said rapidly.

Florence's POV

I soon caught up with Max and said, "Max, what's wrong?"

"I really want to just take a swing at Molokov," she admitted. "I really want to."

"Why?" I asked.

"He's aggravating me and it's my nature to hurt those who wish me harm or to those I care about," I explained.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"I feel threatened by Molokov," I explained. "I think he's threatening me, you, and Freddie."

I nodded and said, "Let's go back in, and pretend this never happened."

She smiled and we hurried back in, only to see Freddie flip the board and leave in a huff.

A/N. Hey everyone. I have a poll and I need you to vote. Who will get sacrificed to Max's wrath when Angel disappears-again? Go to my profile and vote now.