A/N: I don't own HOA.

Ivory's POV

"So…who's going to untie me?" asked Amber, still blinking in the bright sunlight.

"I will," offered Emma, quickly pulling out a blade out of her boot.

"Wouldn't that cut you?" asked Cassie. "I mean, honestly—"

"Cassie, just because you're smarter than the rest of us, doesn't mean that you can rub it in by being reasonable," Ivan scolded.

"I'm not being reasonable! I'm being logical!" Cassie defended.

"Guys!" Amber cried, waving her fists in our faces.

"Can't you see they're having an argument, they'll never stop now," Oli muttered, walking towards the door.

"So we're just going to leave them?" clarified Ivan.

"No, we'll give them five seconds," I answered.

One.

"YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT!" cried Cassie.

Three.

"I at least don't have to stand around in the….why are they leaving?" Emma muttered, watching us head towards the door. "Let's cool it until we get home, how 'bout that?"

Cassie mumbled a, "Sure thing."

The two of them rushed out after me, Oli, Ivan, and the newly rescued Amber.

Jerome's POV

"No idea. But I'm working on it," Mara muttered pacing back and forth under the window.

I sat there—stood there for what seemed like days, but judging by the path the sun took across the cell's floor it was only about two hours.

Until…she finally said, "I've got it."

"What's the plan?" I mumbled, drowsily sitting up.

"We pretend we're still tied up. They're coming with the dinners soon," Mara answered, heading back to the chairs.

"Then what?" I asked, picking up the sawed off ropes and putting them loosely around my feet.

"We attack them as they are leaving, surprising them," she answered.

"And that will get us out how?" I asked, holding my hands in the ropes behind my chair.

"We'll grab the keys and run," she answered.

"That will just make them want to find us even more," I muttered.

"That's where you're wrong," she mumbled.

Just then the door clanged open and two burly guards came in. They each were carrying a platter of food and as they set them down Mara said, "Was it a nice day outside?"

Her guard answered, "Er…yea miss."

Mine retorted, "We aren't suppose to talk to the prisoners."

"Really?" asked Mara. "I've never heard that before. Maybe you'd fancy a book?"

Maybe you'd fancy a book.

Fight until they're down…

"I know I would," I said, assuring her I was ready.

And with that we somehow managed to get the two guards knocked out and inside the locked cell, relieved of their keys.

"Tell me again why we took the keys?" I asked as we ran out the back of the complex and into the alleys.

"If we have them, and they try and find us, we'll release some of the prisoners, getting them into more trouble than they could ever do to us," she answered, smiling.

That reminded me why I fell in love with her in the first place.

Nina's POV

"Why, I haven't told you have I? Before dawn tomorrow, everyone in your precious little family will be…dead," Vera shouted.

I felt my mouth drop open, but I couldn't recognize why I should shut it.

"ALVARO!" Vera yelled over her shoulder, leaning back into her chair.

There was no reply. Just silence.

"Well then…" Vera muttered darkly. "You go saunter over to the cage there and stay there. Preferably bring your dolt of a husband too."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'll kill him immediately," Vera answered in a very serious voice.

I didn't take my chances. I heaved Fabian into my arms then dragged him as gently as I could manage over to the giant cage in the corner of the room.

Vera smiled. "I knew you could do it, Martin."

I practically wanted to growl at her and chew her head off, but I kept mine on. For Fabian. And Ivory and Oliver. And all of my family.

"Stay with me, love," I whispered in Fabian's ear as I set him down. "I'm going to get us out of here."

We are so doomed.

Amber's POV

"So what exactly are we doing?" asked Ivan as we ran through the hallways, Ivy, Oli, Emma, and Cassie falling behind every few feet to look around in a room.

"I think we're looking for Nina and Fabian. Nina, the idiot would probably have come here to sacrifice herself, but then find out that Vera needs three generations, that don't exist…" I trailed off. Damn my blonde locks. They always spurt out the worst information.

The five children stared at me.

"What exactly do you mean sacrifice?" asked Ivory.

She looked so much like Nina in that moment I almost smiled. Then I remembered that somewhere in this house Nina was suffering—with Fabian.

"Is that really important right now?" I asked, gesturing towards the house. "I mean, we haven't even found them!"

"We're in deep merda (shit/crap)," muttered Ivan. (A/N: Have you realized that within three stories set in Italy, I haven't used a single word of Italian?)

"You can say that again," Emma muttered.

"Don't though," Cassie cut in, as he was taking a breath.

"Guys! Be serious! It's our parents on the line here!" Oli shouted.

We all fell silent, me included. But I swear I heard footsteps at the end of the hallway.

"Ours are too!" Emma retorted, "You know, they might even be in jail!"

I nearly laughed out loud at that. In fact, if we're being totally honest, I snorted in laughter. "Mara, and Jerome? In prison!" At that point there was no point in trying to hide my laughter. "Really? That is the most—hilarious thing in the world!"

"Amber…" warned Ivy, glaring behind me.

The laughter spilled off my face as I regained control, "No, honestly guys. When Jerome was your age, he escaped from prison."

"At the age of fourteen?" Emma muttered sarcastically.

"Okay, sixteen, but it's pretty much the same thing…" I trialed off, noting the sudden silence of the children in front of me. "Hey… what's going on?" I asked.

"Me," said the silky voice that had held me prisoner for days.

The guy was just asking for it.

Piper's POV

They came in the night.

I guess I should explain.

After Patricia and I had the very heart-full moment with the sunset, we went back inside to Trudy and the others.

Trudy was happily playing with Jackie and Pete, but Joy and Mick were huddled in a chair, glancing out the window every few seconds.

After a minute of us just sitting there in the blissful silence Trudy said, "It's safe here, dears. Honestly. Nothing is going to hurt you here. I promise."

Joy smiled slightly and clasped Mick's hand in her lap. I glanced over at Patricia.

"Really?" gasped Jackie. "You can really promise?"

"Of course my bambino (child)," Trudy smiled, ruffling her hair slightly.

"Grana Tru?" asked Pete, flipping a page Willow used to read in. "What happened to Willow?"

Trudy glanced at the book, blinking as she realized who it had belonged to. She glanced nervously over at Joy and Mick who were watching the scene with interest.

"You can tell them," Joy finally said quietly when the silence had gotten too long.

I watched as Trudy took a deep breath and began.

"Willow used to be as bright and as happy as anyone could be. But then… Vera happened. She took her…and, it's been almost twelve years since we saw her last. We can only hope that Vera didn't…didn't…" Trudy's face bunched up as she tried to hide the fact she was crying. "Dead."

Pete raised an eyebrow and turned back to his book. Jackie cocked her head to one side. "But she's not is she?"

"We can only hope not," I muttered.

Then we all drifted off to sleep.

That's when they struck as silently as the night's wings' itself.

They took us away to the lair of Vera von Devenish. For that is where I awoke, in a cage with Nina and Fabian and all the others. And Willow.

Alvaro's POV

"Okay, sixteen, but it's pretty much the same thing…" the blonde trialed off, noting the sudden silence of the children in front of her. "Hey… what's going on?" the silvery blonde asked.

"Me," I said.

She whipped around, registering who I was, and then slapped me across the face.

"OW!" I yelped. The five kids all stared at me. Especially the girl I thought I had seen before, the one that looked like the woman downstairs.

"You're that boy!" she cried. "Alvaro!"

"Yes, and you're the Night's Cloak," I muttered, remembering and rubbing the side of my face gently. "That hurt you know."

"Yes, I'm glad it did!" the blonde retorted.

"Who are you?" demanded one of the boys, the older one I think.

"I'm Alvaro," I answered. "Who are you?"

"Don't be silly Ivan!" cried the blonde I had looked after for days. "He works for Vera! The same one that wants to kill us!"

"I don't want to kill you!" I cried. "I want to save you. All of you!" I shouted.

It was silent as they stared at me.

"Aren't you worried Vera will hear you?" asked one of the girls.

"No," I answered. "She's in the great hall. Ages away from here. Now what are your names, I can't keep referring to you as 'the blonde' or 'the elder boy'."

"Fine. I'm Ivory Rutter," said the girl I thought was the Night's Cloak. "And I am the Night's Cloak."

A/N: I should have been reading…but you know. I've still got like four weeks (I have to finish four books pretty much…hehe) Okay, well you should review! It gives me a reason to put off my homework/practicing. It also gives me a reason to get away from my life (which I really need to do before Saturday). Anyway. Go live your happy lives of not being me. You should be happy!

{They say those who suffer the most, do the most good. Okay, they don't say that. I just wanted to say it.}