The Thief Lord does not belong to me. Nor do I ever expect it to. Not saying that I don't wish it did...

I heard someone sit in the seat beside me, and I glanced behind me to see Adeline rubbing her eyes and smiling slightly. "Hey," her words were slightly slurred in her drowsiness.

"Hey," I answered.

"How did you sleep?"

"I slept pretty well. You?"

"Fine," she stared at me. "You talk in your sleep, Pena."

"Oh?" My worry hit me full force.

"It wasn't on the plane. It was while you were 'dreaming about giant waffles'."

I hesitated, pondering on the different responses available. Then I finally asked, "What did I say?"

Her eyes held my gaze. "Something about 'Scuro' and 'don't hurt me'." Adeline furrowed her brow slightly and asked, "Pena, who's Scuro?"

My breath caught in my throat, and I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. After a while, I managed to croak, "Scuro… is—was—my brother. He threw me out of the house after our mother died." I took a deep breath and began telling Adeline about everything that had occurred before I had met her.

Adeline didn't interrupt as I told my tale, and her expression stayed the same through the whole story. When I was finished, she asked, "So you're going to Venice to escape your brother?"

"What I told you about my mother being born there was true, and I did want to explore, but exploration wasn't my main goal in my trip."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to involve anyone else. It's dangerous, Adeline. You must see that."

The desperation in my voice rang out to her. "How dangerous is it?"

"Dangerous enough to worry about twelve-year-olds that try to get involved," I answered sternly.

"I'm not scared," Adeline held her head high.

"It's not your life that's dangerous," I reminded her softly.

She pondered for a while, until she finally concluded, "I guess you're right. I just wish you had told the truth."

When I opened my mouth to argue, she corrected herself, "The entire truth."

I glowered at her, feeling defeated by the world. "I didn't think that the entire truth was relevant at that time."

"Well, it was, Pena. The truth is always relevant."

"I know," I sighed.

Adeline studied me for a while before nodding. "Well, I suppose you're going to leave as soon as you can," sadness colored her tone.

"I have to," I wished that she could understand, but I knew that it was impossible. No one would understand the deep pain and longing that I knew personally. For one to experience such raw sadness, the emotions must hit them like a numbing arrow through the heart, then the infection would start. The feelings would fester inside for a while, brewing in the dark. Eventually, the wounds would heal, but they would leave ragged scars that would stay for life. Do my emotions leave me scarred, unable to heal? I wondered.

"I wish you could stay," Adeline sighed.

"So do I, Adeline. So do I," I hugged her tightly and we stayed there for a while, our thoughts staying to their own person.

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Author Note:
Okay, I promise that I will introduce the gang next chapter!!!!!!! But I really need feedback for Prop/Hornet and Scip/OC (Scip/Pena or Scip/Adeline? Just kidding... Adeline's, like, twelve). So yeah.