Here you go, finally some action I guess. I hope you'll like reading this as much as I liked writing it :P

I suppose I should warn you that there is mention of rape in this chapter. I hope you are comfortable with the subject. It's nothing explicit, but it's there nonetheless. Be careful.

Thank you very much for reading and for your reviews :) it's a wonderful motivation to know people are enjoying what you write ^_^

Thank you to "TooLazyToLogin" :P I can't pm you so I'll say it here, I'm glad you like my story :) thank you very much

And a particular thanks to LightChimera who always gives me very constructive comments. You really helped me out :D

Oh and I did an image cover also :) if you're interested in seeing it bigger, here's the link to my deviantart: www. verica. deviantart. com just remove the spaces. It's called the way of the fist so it should be easy to spot :P

Chapter 11 Heated argument

"I can't believe it..."

Verica sat on a dead tree stump, somewhere in Prontera Forest. She was looking in front of her, but her head was in the clouds...

She'd run straight forward for at least an hour, not looking where she was going. What a stupid idea it was...running in the forest like that. But she panicked...

When Mathias told her about Kenneth's dream...something stopped working in her head. Stunned was not enough to describe how she felt. When she got out of her stupor, she just started to run...she didn't know what else to do...

Thoughts ran through her head and memories came back to the surface. She was remembered of her first meeting with Kenneth...and everything made sense all of a sudden: Why he waited for her at the Prontera gate, why he wanted to teach her so badly and why everyone seemed surprise to see him with an apprentice. Yes...now it all made sense. Kenneth didn't care for her. All those years with him... they were lies and delusions. He wouldn't have taken her with him if it wasn't for his dream, she was sure of that now. She was just...someone who looked like a girl in his dream. It had been a roll of a dice. She had just been lucky (or unlucky) to have purple hair and dark eyes...otherwise, Kenneth would never have noticed her. The more she was thinking about it, the more she felt stupid. She should have known...she should have noticed that something was off. How stupid and naive she could be...

"...Verica..."

Verica turned her head around quickly when she heard her name. She saw Kenneth and got up immediately. She took a step to run away...

"no! Please wait!" Kenneth said as he reached out for her. He could have grabbed her arm, but he didn't want to provoke her so he didn't.

Verica looked away from him, but stayed where she was. Kenneth respected the distance she had put between them. He scratched the back of his head as he sighed, trying to figure out what to say.

"Verica...I'm sorry..."

She continued to look at the ground...

"I...I should have told you about my dream. Look...I know you're upset but...I didn't know how you would react..."

"yeah, well, now you know!" she spitted angrily.

"...I didn't mean to hurt you or anything...I just...actually, I don't know why I didn't tell you. I suppose...I felt it was just not important..."

"not important?" Verica yelled back as she looked up at him with wide eyes, on the verge of tears "How can you say that?"

"..."

"..you...you brought me here with you so I could become a monk. You said I had potential and you did everything you could to be my teacher. You...you cared so much about me..." Tears started to flow "And now...I learn that all this...had nothing to do with me personally. I just look like a girl you saw in your dream...nothing more..."

"That's not true and you know it..." Kenneth said, remaining calm.

"Don't lie to me! Would you have taken me as a student if it wasn't for your dream?"

"I...well..."

"I don't think so! Everyone was surprised to see that you had brought an apprentice. Now I understand why!" She continued, loosing more and more her cool.

"alright...yes, I admit it. I...I don't think I would have taken you if it wasn't for my dream. But...that doesn't change the potential I felt from you and this incredible talent you have!"

"That's not the point!" She yelled "The point is that you lied to me!"

"I didn't lie...I just...didn't tell you everything..."

"Yeah, play with words! You always told me you weren't good with words, but I suppose that's just another lie!" She replied as she wiped away her tears.

"...Verica..."

"You don't care about me anyway. You just want to know why you saw me in your dream! That's why you stick with me! That's all!"

"no...that's not..."

"I trusted you! I abandoned my priest apprenticeship to follow you! I thought I was doing it for the right reason! But...nothing was like I thought...nothing was like you made me believe!"

"But you're a good monk!" Kenneth said, raising is voice a little "You're happy here. That count for something!"

"That's not the point!"

"The point is that you're just angry and being childish!" Kenneth yelled " You're overreacting! My dream doesn't change anything to the situation"

"yes it does!"

"NO, it doesn't" He screamed. The forest went silent all of a sudden and Verica took a step back.

"yes, I hid things from you, so what? Big deal! Sorry to pop your bubble girl, but I'm not going to be the only one lying or hiding things from you in your life. Welcome to the grown up world! You gotta deal with it!" Kenneth yelled, pointing his finger at her. He looked angry and exasperated at the same time. Normally, his outburst would have scared Verica, but presently, it just angered her even more...

"The grown up world? You're the one who's treating me like a little girl! I bet you came running after me because you thought I couldn't handle myself out here!"

"Yes! Exactly! And I still think you can't!"

"Why can't you see that I'm an adult! I'm 21 for God's sake! You don't need to hide things from me for my protection! I'm old enough to know about things that concerns me! You don't need to follow me like my shadow to make sure nothing happens to me either! Why can't you see!" Verica said as she moved closer to Kenneth a little.

"Yes, well, maybe if you didn't act so childish I wouldn't treat you like a child!" Kenneth replied, moving closer as well.

"You treat me like a child because you like it! Maybe it makes you feels superior or something! I don't know what is your problem, but it's really getting on my nerve!" She stood on tiptoe to try to be at eye level with him, but she still had to raise her head to look at him in the eyes.

"You are the one getting on my nerve! This is ridiculous! You are overreacting to all this! You're just an impudent brat who doesn't know her place!" Kenneth yelled at her face, only a few inches away from her.

"Fuck you!"

"You insolent little b..."

Verica took a quick and short breath and threw her hand at her sensei's face, slapping him violently.

Everything went to fast...neither of them understood what happened. Kenneth stayed there, head turned with a shocked expression. Verica looked at him, panting heavily, as what she had done started to seek in...

After a few seconds, Kenneth turned his head back toward her. He kept his eyes closed as he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Verica looked at the ground, guilty...but there was no way she was apologizing...he deserved that slap...right?

"alright...listen" Kenneth said as he looked back at her. She could see no more anger in his eyes...but she was still angry. "It's dangerous here...there are beasts and bandits. Come back with me at St Capitolina and..."

"no!" She said as she looked away.

"Verica..."

"I said no! I'm done listening to you!"

Kenneth was about to yelled back at her, but he restrained himself at the last moment. This girl was so stubborn...

"Be rational please..."

"I'll be rational when you will!" She said crossing her arms on her chest.

"That's enough!" He said, raising his voice again. She wanted to play it like this. Fine. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not!"

"Let me go!" She yelled back as she tried to break free from his grip, but with little success.

As he was dragging her toward the Abbey, a Bigfoot approached from behind Verica. They both looked up at it in surprise. The Bigfoot attacked them and Kenneth quickly pushed Verica out of the way as he let go of her arm. He dodged the blow by moving back, but the Bigfoot kept attacking him. Kenneth continued to step back, avoiding the Bigfoot's claws as he summoned spirit spheres. When he saw an opening, he punched the beast on the muzzle and then jumped above his head. While in the air, he threw his spheres at him. The Bigfoot staggered as he growled. Kenneth landed on his feet and punched him a few more time in the back, until the Bigfoot collapsed on the ground, panting and exhausted.

Kenneth stood up, panting as well a little. He didn't kill the Bigfoot, for a monk never kills when he can avoid it. All life is valuable, even the life of the tiniest bug. But sometime, self-defence is not enough. In that case, even if he didn't understand why the Bigfoot attacked them, there was no need to kill it...

He mentally slapped himself though. He was so involved in his argument with Verica that he hadn't felt his presence at all. He turned around to check his student.

"Are you al..."

Verica was not there anymore...she took the occasion to run away...damn it.

He tried to concentrate to feel her presence, but she was hiding it this time. It would be a pain to find her again. Maybe he could leave her alone...give her some time to calm down...

But then he looked up at the sky...it was getting dark. He couldn't possibly let her wander alone in the forest at night...he had to find her...and bring her back somehow.

Verica ran as fast as she could between the trees without looking behind her. She just hoped that Kenneth wasn't chasing after her. She needed time...to think this through...

...Guilt started to fall on her. What she told him...she didn't really mean it. Well...yes but...it came out all wrong. Kenneth was right...she overreacted and she was being childish. But she had reasons to be angry! It's just that she hated it so much when he was right like this. And she hated it even more when he was so calm while she was not. She always felt the need to make him angry when she was, even if it was a bit hard to make Kenneth angry. And...well, maybe it hadn't been the brightest idea to run away into the forest either...

She stopped running and came to a stop eventually. She looked around her and saw that it was night already...damn...she really needed to come back at the abbey...but how?

She turned around and started to walk in a random direction. She was in so much trouble...she had no way to know how to go back! She could only continue to walk and hope that she was going in the right direction...

All she hoped was that Kenneth wouldn't find her...after all her speech about how she could take care of herself, it would be really humiliating to need him to go back...

She continued to walk for what seemed like hours. She continued to think about her issue with Kenneth...she was so wrapped in her thought that she didn't noticed the campfire a few meters away...

Suddenly, she fell over. She tripped on a rope, stretched between two trees. A trap...

A net fell on her and 3 men came down from the trees as well. She managed to break free from the net, but before she could get up, chains surrounded her and she was tied up tightly. She fell on her stomach as someone pushed her from behind. She then felt her feet being tied up as well...

"Look what we have here..." Verica heard from her right. She looked up at the 3 men.

They were all thieves...a bunch of smugglers with no pride...

"What do you low-life want from me?" She yelled as she struggled against her chains.

"easy now" One of the men said as he crouched before her "You just had the bad luck to stumble across our camp. You triggered one of our trap...yes...bad luck indeed..." He continued.

"Yeah...you're one unlucky little girl!" Another man said as he laughed.

"...Then let me go...before I kill you all where you stand!" Verica said as she spitted in the face of the man in front of him.

The 2 other men laughed as the other one wiped the dribble from his face. He looked at Verica angrily and slapped her.

"You fucking bitch..."

"Calm down man." Said the other thief. "Let's just bring her to the boss...I'm sure he'll be happy to have company... " He walked up to Verica and pulled on her hair to make her look at him "and if we are lucky, we might have a piece of it too"

Verica looked at the man with an hint of fear in her eyes...He couldn't mean...

The 3 men laughed as one of them took Verica. He threw her on his shoulder and they started to walk toward the camp.

They arrived at their "camp". Really, it was just a fire with a bunch of sleeping bag around it. There was only one tent.

"She's the one who triggered the trap?" One of the man in the camp asked.

"Yeah...aren't we lucky, hehe"

All these men were thieves. She was pretty sure she could handle some bandit if she managed to breaks free from her chains...but there were at least 15 of them...it was a bit much. The best would be to be stealthy...

The man carrying her entered the tent. He stopped at the entrance and dropped Verica on the ground. She fell on her side with a thud. She looked up and saw a man with long brown hair. He was turning his back to her...so she couldn't tell what he looked like.

"Hey boss, we found this little girl in the forest. She triggered one of our trap."

"A little girl?" He asked without turning around.

"Yeah...a pretty little girl...she probably got lost or something. Hey, but I warn you, she got a dirty mouth!"

The man got up and turned around. He was around 30 years old. He had brown emotionless eyes and a light beard. Verica found him handsome on her first look, until she realized what he was wearing. She gasped at what she saw...this was no ordinary thief. This man was a stalker...She had no chance against him! He looked down at her and then looked up at the thief.

"This is no little girl, you dumbass. She's a monk."

"...a what?"

"Whatever. You don't deserve that I waste my saliva to explain you something so complex."

"...er...I'm not sure to understand..."

"exactly.." The man said exasperated. He walked up to Verica and crouched in front of her. "What are you doing here, so far from you order?"

"...I...This is...none of your business" Verica replied, trying to hide her fear. This man scared her to no end. This was a real criminal. A murderer with no emotions...Who knows what he could do to her...

"hm...I don't really care anyway." He said as he got up. "Put her there" He said as he pointed toward a corner of the tent. "And gag her..."

"but hm...what will you do with her?"

"What does it matter?" The stalker asked as he sat back at a table where parchments and maps were.

"Well...if...if you don't want her...we will gladly take care of her" The thief said laughing as he took Verica in his arms.

"She's too beautiful for you. Beside, she's a monk..."

"so what?" The thief asked as he put her down where the other man had told him.

"...It's like she's a priest"

"...and...what does it have to do with anything?"

The man sighed " It means she's a fucking virgin, you stupid brain-damaged monkey."

"..oohh, right..."

"I am not!" Verica yelled

The stalker turned toward her "is that so?"

"I...monks are not like priests!"

"Really? I thought lust was a sin condemned by God."

"it's...yes but...that doesn't mean we are not allowed to..."

"oh...well, my apology. I was mistaken." he looked back at the thief. "you can take her in that case. Have fun."

"What?"

"haha, you're the best boss" The thief said as he took Verica in his arm again, but she struggled to get away form his touch.

"n...no, WAIT!"

"I wanted to spare you the trauma of loosing your virginity to a gang of no-manners pigs. I'm a gentleman and I've a minimum of decency. But if you're already accustomed with..."

"no! please! I..I am! I am a virgin...please don't..." She yelled as she was being dragged away outside.

"Come back" The man said.

The thief reluctantly came back into the tent. The stalker looked back at Verica who was starting to cry.

"I know you are. It's obvious. Put her back there. I'll take care of her. You might have a piece later...maybe...it will depend of her."

"but boss..."

"and gag her. I have to work, I don't want to hear her."

"but..."

"You speak again and I cut your tongue."

"..."

The thief dropped Verica back in the corner of the tent. He took a large rope and gagged her with it. It tasted horrible...but it was better than going outside with all those thugs...

The thief left and the stalker didn't pay much attention to her after that. He just continued to work at his table. She heard many noises from outside. Laughter and sounds of fight. But nothing happened for a long time. She tried in vain to removed her chain, but there was nothing she could do. Her only hope...was Kenneth. She stopped hiding her presence and started to pray that Kennth was still looking for her...and that he would find her...in time...

Eventually everything went silent. They were probably all sleeping. But the stalker continued to work, ignoring her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he stopped to write and spoke.

"What a bunch of losers I'm working with..." He said as he sighed. He turned toward Verica and stared at her intensely. "you know, I used to work with an elite team of rogues and assassins...but I got captured by the Royal guard. I managed to escape prison with other prisoners...but now I'm stuck with them...I really need a new gang...those men have no class."

Verica listened to him from her fetal position in the corner of the tent. She tried to concentrate and find a way to get out of here...but she was starting to be too scared to think straight. Where the hell was Kenneth...

"You know...you really are beautiful..."He said as he got up from his chair.

He moved toward Verica, who tried to move away but she had nowhere to go. The man sat in front of her and removed the rope from he mouth. Her first thought was to scream for help...but it would be useless. No one could hear her here. He helped her getting up so she could sit on her legs. The man took an apple from a basket of fruit and offered it to her. She looked at him with fear and didn't say anything as she tried not to move.

"Are you hungry?"

"..."

"Do you want an apple?"

"..."

"no? ok..." He said as he started to eat it.

"..what...what are you going to do with me?" She asked in a whisper.

"...keep you here...for as long as I can I guess. I'm a little bit lonely here..."

"...so...you..."

"hm?"

"...you're not going to...rape me?"

"...Please, don't use that word...it's such an...ugly word..."

"...but you won't? will you?"

"...of course I will dear. But...I like to believe that you'll be cooperative. In that case, no need to use the word rape anymore. I really don't like that word..." he said as he put down his apple.

"...I...no..please! please don't do this! I..I can do whatever you want!"

"Don't worry. As I said, I'm a gentleman. I'll try not to hurt you too much. I'll take care of you. You're a beautiful woman and you deserve to be treated with respect." He said. Then, he took a dagger from his belt. "But, I expect you to treat me with respect as well." He brought the dagger at Verica's neck "cooperate, and I won't let you be gang banged by my men. The choice is yours, but I think you'll agree that my offer is much more advantageous..."

Verica gulped as tears started to fell. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in surrender. The man brushed her tears away with his thumb, the dagger still at her neck.

"It's ok. Belive me, it could be worse. You'll see. I'm not such a bad man" he said as he approach his lips from hers.

She turned her head before he could kiss her. The man took her jaw with his hand. He forced her to look at him as the dagger sank in the skin of her neck a little. She gasped as she looked at him in the eyes. She saw him closing in again for a kiss. She tried to turn again but his grip on her jaw prevented her from avoiding him. She closed her eyes and held her breath as she felt his lips on hers. His lips were dry and the more he pressed against her the more she hated it. She tried to move back but he moved as well and followed her lips. Eventually she moved back too much and fell on her back as she gasped. The stalker looked at her fearful expression with an hint of pity in his eyes as he dropped his dagger.

"It's ok" He said as he bent down above her "You'll get use to it."

He put one of his hand on her cheek and kissed her again. He stretched out his tongue to enter her mouth but she kept it shut for as long as she could. But when he pressed on her chin with his thumb, she had no choice but to open it. As she felt his tongue inside her mouth, she tried to prevent hers from touching his. But it was impossible. His tongue went everywhere and the taste was disgusting. His other hand raised to her arm and slided down. It stopped on her hips where he grabbed her outer-thigh firmly. She wanted to push him off, but her hands were tied to her body with the chains. When she felt one of his hand trying to pull her legs apart, she panicked. She tried with all her strength to keep her thighs together. The man untied her feet and she immediately took the occasion to try to kick him. But her panic made her clumsy. The stalker managed to get himself between her legs and he pressed himself against her, trapping her with his weight. She closed her eyes as she cried. She wanted to scream but her throat was dry. He tried again to kiss her but she turned her head again, and so the man started to kiss her neck instead. Verica kept her eyes shut as she slowly surrendered. There was nothing she could do...nothing her brain was able to process. And Kenneth was not coming...he was not going to come...she cried and let the man kissed her neck as his hands started to remove the brooch holding her coat at her neck.

"I'll be gentle, I promise" He whispered in the crook of his neck.

She just continued to cry, eyes close, as her coat was being opened and her belt being untied.

...Then she heard a strange noise and everything stopped. She no longer felt his tongue on her neck...nor his hands on her body. Just his weight on her chest...

Then she felt him moving away from her. She heard a thud beside her and footsteps. She opened her eyes and saw the stalker, unconscious on the ground beside her. She looked above her and saw Kenneth, looking at her with a gaze filled with worries.

"Are you ok..." he whispered.

"..." She just looked at him as she continued to cry and pant.

"It'll be alright" He continued as he crouched and started to untie her. "I'll get you out of here"

Once he was finished, he took her in his arm. Verica hugged him back and clung to him.

"I'm so sorry...I wish I'd come sooner..."

"..." Verica didn't answer. She just buried her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his reassuring scent. Kenneth tried to let go of her, but she hang on his clothes with her fist like her life depended on it.

"It's ok...I'm with you. I'm not leaving without you...but we have to go, now" He said as he forced her to let go.

Kenneth took her brooch on the ground and tied her coat back with a smile, then tied her belt. He looked at her with compassion as he hugged her again. He felt her shaking in his arms and it broke his heart...but they had to hurry...

"Let's go..."

Verica looked back at the stalker on the ground...

"Is he...dead?"

"no...just unconscious. We must hurry."

"..."

Kenneth got up and looked outside the tent to make sure the others were still asleep. Verica looked back at the man again...then at his dagger. Without thinking, she took it and approach the man. She was about to pierce his heart with it, but Kenneth grabbed her shaking wrist.

"Don't"

"...why?"

"You don't need to kill him"

"He deserves to die..."

"who are you to decide?" He said with the most serious face she'd ever seen on him.

"...you want to let him live?"

"A monk doesn't kill if he can avoid it. Every life is worth something to God..."

"how can you say that...didn't you...see what he tried to do?" she said, raising her voice a little.

"yes...and believe me it took me everything not to kill him myself. But this is not what we do. We are not murderers...we are not assassins. Kill him, and you're not better than him." He said as he took the dagger from her hand. "Now let's go"

Verica took a last look at the stalker, then reluctantly followed her sensei outside the tent. Kenneth stopped just outside and looked at the sleeping thieves. He turned toward Verica behind him.

"Let's not wake them" he whispered.

They discreetly made their way through the camp, but Verica was still shocked. Her legs shook and she had trouble to stay straight. As she strode over one of the bandit, her legs abandonned her and she fell.

"hn...what the..." the thief woke up, a little confused, but he quickly realized what was going on "hey! the girl is escaping!" he yelled.

Kenneth quickly took Verica in his arm and started to run toward the Abbey. The thieves woke, one by one and the commotion started. As Kenneth ran, one of the thief took throwing knives out of a bag and throw them at the two monks. Kenneth put Verica back on the ground and turned around toward the thieves.

"Run!" he screamed to Verica as he caught the first knife and dropped it on the ground.

Verica started to run the best she could, panicked. Kennth stayed behind and deflected all the knives with his padded gloves, except one that sliced his upper arm. Verica saw the knife pass to her right. She turned around and screamed.

"Kenneth!"

"I'm ok, just run!" Kenneth replied as he summoned 5 spirit spheres and used them to enter fury state. The thieves ran toward him. When they were close enough, Kenneth jumped forward and unleashed a palm push strike, knocking back all the bandits in front of him. The thieves screamed as they collapsed on the ground. Kenneth then caught up with Verica in the wood. He stopped in front of her and crouched.

"Climb on my back!"

Verica did as she was told. Once she was installed, Kenneth jumped on a tree and started to jump from branch to branch. He concentrated on the thieves' presence, but he didn't feel them following. He continued to move forward nonetheless. They had to put as much distance between them. Verica clung tightly to her sensei.

"I'm sorry sensei...I shouldn't have run off..."

"It's ok..."

"and I'm sorry for what I told you...I overreacted..."

"no...you were right to be angry" Kenneth said, still jumping from branch to branch. "I've been a real jerk..."

"...no..." she sighed "I...I feel so stupid..."

"Then we both feel stupid...are you...are you ok?"

"I...yes..."

"He...he didn't..."

"no...you...you arrived just in time..."

"I wish I'd arrived sooner...I'm so sorry. I'll never let you live something like this again...I promise..."

"...thank you sensei" Verica replied with a smile. She pressed herself against him. She was so cold, but Kenneth was as much warm as she was freezing. It felt good to be pressed against him. It was like that time in the forest after Kebbaku's death. It was an amazing feeling...she wasn't sure if it was ok for her to enjoy the contact with her sensei so much...but presently she didn't care. It just felt good. That's all that mattered to her for the moment...

I know...Palm push strike affects only one enemy, not an area...I cheated, sorry :P

Thank you for reading as always :)