At four-thirty in the morning, Scarlet's alarm started ringing its incessant, annoying, obnoxious music.

She groaned as she swiped her phone, shutting it off.

It took ages for her to get any sleep that night, as one normally does when there is some sort of event going on the next day, but eventually she did.

Her brain woke up slower than her body, but when it did, she remembered immediately that today was the day that she was going back to France, back to Rieux. Back to her grand-mère.

She got up, switched on the light, and changed into a pair of jeans and a black tank-top, tying her red hoodie around her waist for when she'd arrive in France.

She went to the toilet, made her way to the bathroom, washed her hands, and rummaged around for a sturdy a hair tie to tie her curly hair up with. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and decided it looked good enough for being awake this early in the morning. This took around ten minutes, as was her usual morning routine.

She went to the kitchen, not bothering about waking her dad. She could still hear him snoring in his room. She flicked on the lights, and put some bread in the toaster, even though she wasn't feeling hungry and probably wouldn't finish it all.

While she was waiting, she went back inside her room and grabbed her phone, her suitcase and her carry-on and left it by the front door.

She had spent the later half of yesterday packing everything she would need for France. She had started off doing it neatly, folding her clothes, putting necessities together by use and when she'd need them, but then she got lazy and just dumped everything in there. Still, she had what she needed, and that was what really mattered, wasn't it?

Wolf would be coming to pick her up at five, and only twenty minutes had passed since she first woken up.

She was excited. She'd finally be going back to her country.

For the entire time she was at home, she only spoke to her father in French, just to brush up on the language, to make sure she wasn't as rusty as she feared. She tried thinking in French, but it just got too confusing when she started replying to people in French instead of English. Even though Thorne unnecessarily commented that she 'sounded hot' when she spoke French.

She just wished she was there already.

Her toast was finished, and she grabbed the butter and spread it on, sitting at the stools at the bench top as she ate it.

She cleaned off the crumbs, wondering how her father would fare with her gone for a little over two-weeks.

Time passed quickly, with the help of social media, and soon, Wolf texted her that he was here.

She opened the door, and he was standing in the doorway looking nice in a pair of baggy jeans and a tight-fitting T-shirt. He didn't seem tired at all. He was probably always awake this early. He seemed the type to not mind the morning, even if it was the early morning.

"You ready?" He asked.

Scarlet slung her carry-on (a well worn back-pack) over her shoulders, and got her suitcase, pressing the button and adjusting the handle to a height that suited her.

"I'm ready." She said. "Let's go."

She locked the door to the rickety old house she was glad to be saying goodbye to, even if it was for a short amount of time. Any time away from her dad would be time that she could take to look after one person: herself.

The air was wasn't hot, this early in the morning, but it wasn't cold either. The moon was still hanging in the sky, bright and luminescent. The stars were twinkling also.

They crossed the road, to Wolf's car, opened the door, and buckled herself in.

She had only been to the airport once in her life, and that was when she and her father left France. She remembered being confused, feeling stolen. She wanted to go back to Rieux, with the rolling green fields, and her grand-mere's farm with the tomatoes and the ever present dirt beneath her fingernails.

That feeling never really left her. It became all too evident the closer she was to getting back to her home.

It hadn't really changed, from what she could remember. The floor was still polished and waxed. There were the stores that people bustled in and out from. If she looked out the windows, there were planes lined up, waiting for take-off, and planes already flying to their destinations.

Wolf was with her, as she checked in her luggage and scanned her ticket, then there was twenty minutes until she had to line up to board her plane.

She lead him near to the gates, and Wolf looked at her and started talking.

"Remember, you need to find out about Selene. You're not just there for sightseeing."

He sounded like a teacher, and slightly condescending. She crossed her arms. "I know. You said that already in the car."

"I know, but still."

"I've got it, alright? I know why I'm going, but I'm going there to see my family as well."

"I'm not saying that you can't see your family, I'm just saying, remember your priority."

She rolled her eyes. "It's remembered. Don't worry."

He sighed. "I'm not worrying. I know you'll be fine." He glanced at her. "Do you want to get something to eat, quickly?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why, do you?"

He shrugged. "I'm kind of hungry."

They were close to the food court anyway. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to get some food.

"Alright." She said. "What do you want?"

"I don't know why, but I really feel like some tomatoes."

She burst with laughter. "Well, I'm not sure you'll be able to find some here."

"Burgers have tomatoes in them though. That's good enough for me."

She smiled. "True."

They stood in the queue to a fast food restaurant. While in the line, Scarlet asked:

"What are you and Aimery going to do later?"

"I'm going to try and get information on Selene. How they know about her, all that stuff."

"And your sure he trusts you?"

"I don't think he trusts anyone, except for Levana. But we'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out."

They got to the front of the line and ordered their meal. Wolf ordered two burgers and a meal, and Scarlet only ordered one burger and some fries. She would be getting food on the plane, and besides, she was feeling a bit jittery about getting on the plane.

They sat at a bench and ate their food quietly. She even gave her tomatoes to Wolf, even though she liked tomatoes, but the look on his face when he opened the buns and ate the tomato slices, he looked so unsatisfied that Scarlet decided to give him hers, too.

They both finished their food quickly, and the gates had opened up not too long after, and they both made their way there.

Scarlet started to say goodbye to him. "Thanks for giving me a lift."

"No problem." He said. "Call me when you grandma tells you about Selene."

"I know that, too." She grumbled.

"I know." He grinned, she could see the fine points of his teeth.

She mock-glared at him.

The line started to move. "I'll see you in two weeks then." She said.

"Bye,"

She turned turned around as more people started to join the queue.

She sat down on her seat. She had bought economy class, as a last minute ticket, and it was the cheapest she could find in her budget, A little over one-thousand dollars, but a lot better than others she could find.

She seat was not that comfortable, but she could deal with it. There was a small screen on the back of the chair in front of her, to keep her entertained for the long flight.

She put her phone on airplane mode and waited as more people kept filling into the seats around her. She had got an aisle seat. She figured she wasn't really fussy if she got a window seat or not, since she just really wanted to get to Rieux.

A tall, bald man with tattoos got on the seat next to her, he nodded at her, and she gave him a small smile in return and turned back to herself, hoping he wouldn't talk to her for the flight.

After a while, the flight attendants entered and started giving their safety talk, and once the left, the plane started descending along the runway, and the plane started tilting backwards, and soon enough, they were in the air.

She grabbed the earphones the attendants had given out and plugged them in and started watching a French movie without the subtitles.

On the drive home, Wolf's thoughts were plagued with Scarlet.

He knew she would be fine. She was independent, and strong-willed, and willing to get the job done, and he knew she could do it efficiently and quickly, but still, there was a part of him that thought maybe he should have gone with her.

Of course, he couldn't have. He had his own business to do here, and he felt like it was his responsibility to get everyone sorted out.

But more than that... he was thinking about Scarlet in a different way. When she had opened the door, with her hair tied up, and she looked so excited to be going back to France... he found himself thinking about how she looked nice. And when she smiled at him as she joined to cue he realised that he would miss her for the time that she was gone.

He found his thoughts drifting more and more often towards her these days, to the point where he just wanted to find out more about her.

It was strange, thinking this way.

He couldn't really recall a time when he had ever thought about somebody like this. He had opened up to Scarlet, and she had opened up to him, and he felt like there was some kind of bond between them, but he just didn't know if she felt the same way

Eventually, he went back home, having taken the day off, in order to get prepared for his meeting with Aimery. He said that he would tell him their entire plan, only if he could prove that he was loyal to them, and unwavering in his loyalty.

He didn't know if there was going to be some kind of test, or anything like that, but he felt uneasy that he didn't know what was going to happen. As a precaution, he deleted every incriminating text he had sent to Cress or Scarlet, or Kai, in case they decided to tap his phone.

The burgers that he and Scarlet bought felt diminished in his stomach, so he made himself a cheese and ham sandwich, and reminded himself to buy some tomatoes later on if he got the chance.

He tried to stay away from the topic of Scarlet, and started to think about Selene instead.

Selene, or Cinder, moved in with Kai last night. And he was glad that there was someone trustworthy to watch over her, in case someone found out about her, Kai would be able to tell Wolf immediately.

He had said that she was an amputee as well. He didn't know if Aimery knew that, but he didn't think that he should tell him. It might be an advantage in one way or another.

He finished the last bites of his sandwich.

Today, instead of Wolf going to Aimery's house, it would be the other way around. He figured that this was part of this loyalty test, to see if he trusted Aimery to be in his own house.

And it was happening soon. He didn't know why, but he always expected their meetings to occur at midnight in dimly lit living rooms, but he was coming in the morning as they would talk for how ever long it would take, and then Wolf would either be inaugurated into their little gang, or he wouldn't.

Wolf tidied up around his apartment, cleaning the breadcrumbs off the couch where he was eating, cleaning the bench top and straightening out the pillows of his well-worn couch.

There was a knock at the door. He paused, glancing at it.

Was Aimery early?

He glanced at the clock on the wall. No. Wolf had misjudged the time.

He made his way to the door and opened it, where Aimery stood in his Italian suit and his hands clasped behind his back.

He looked every bit like the professional business man, but Wolf knew the truth. If anything, he was a professional conman, a professional murderer.

He smiled amicably at Wolf.

"Well?" He said slowly. "Are you going to let me in?"

He moved to side, and he strode in, as if he owned the place, surveying the apartment.

"Well, it's certainly homely." He said, looking around. "Though it could do with some professional cleaning." He kicked aside on of his shoes that he hadn't had the chance to put away yet.

Wolf crossed his arms. "I didn't invite you here to criticize my home."

He looked at him, and Wolf thought he was going to be scolded, but instead, his glare turned into a strained smile.

"Indeed, you didn't." He moved around his shoes and sat down on his couch. Wolf surveyed him for a minute, then joined him, on the couch opposite.

"You don't have anything to drink?"

"I have water."

"I mean whiskey." He snorted.

"It's 8 o'clock in the morning." He said. "And I don't drink."

"How boring." He sighed.

Wolf glared at him, imagining he was shooting daggers into his bald skull.

"Let's stop beating around the bushes." He spoke with such a drawling voice. It was beginning to irritate Wolf. "Give me your phone."

"For what?"

"So I can add a tracker to it."

Wolf felt in his pocket. "Why?"

"So I can track you." He spoke as if Wolf was stupid. "Hand it over... unless you have something to hide."

He didn't have anything to hide. He had deleted everything, every text, every message. He didn't have any social media accounts.

But he did have a problem with people invading his privacy.

"No," He said.

Aimery's smile slipped to a snakelike glare. "No...?"

"You're not going to put a tracker on my phone."

He raised an eyebrow. "You realise that if you say no, you won't be able to-"

"Prove my loyalty?" He interrupted. "I'm not going to prove I'm loyal by letting you invade my privacy. Find another way."

Aimery leaned back, clasping his fingers together. "You're just like your brother." He was amused. He was grinning.

"What are you talking about?" He growled.

"Your brother said the exact same thing the day I asked him."

He looked at him. "And he let you?"

He chuckled abrasively. "Of course not. That's the test."

He blinked. "What?"

"That's how we know if people are loyal or not. If they're loyal to their privacy, then they're loyal to our cause. Believe me, we've had plenty of people find out about us, and when they try to join us, and we ask them that question, they hand over their phones, with no questions asked. And then when we do our research on them? They turn out to be the police!" He laughed. "It's foolproof, see?"

Was it such luck that Wolf had said no?

"What do you do to them, once they're found out?"

Aimery grinned. "We make sure that they're never able to try and spy on us ever again. Or anyone else for that matter."

Wolf tried to return his grin.

"How is it that you've never been caught, anyway?"

"Curious are you?" Aimery sneered. "I'll tell you, in time. But let's just say I have a patron."

"Do I have one?"

"I feel like you're someone who'd be so good he wouldn't even need one."

"Good at what?"

He looked at him for a long minute. "You'll see..."

The plane landed at Toulouse-Blagnac airport 7 hours later.

An automated voice rang out through the speakers, first in French, then in English, and a few other languages.

"Welcome to Toulouse-Blagnac airport. You may now unbuckle your seat-belts. We hope you enjoyed your flight with Ajira airways."

The flight attendants started coming down the aisle, opening up the compartments.

Scarlet unbuckled her seat-belt, when they opened hers and stood up grabbed her carry-on from the compartment's above her head.

Slowly, she started shuffling down the aisle, to the exits.

The air was crisp and cool. A huge change in weather. As she descended down the stairs, she inhaled the French air.

She shrugged on her hoodie, and followed the crowd into the airport gates. It was heated in the airport, but she could still feel the coolness on her skin. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she came around the bend-

There she was. Her grand-mère. She looked almost the same as when she saw her last. Only with more lines on her face. Scarlet all but ran towards her, she had seen her the same time she did. They embraced each other.

She still smelt the same, like the bread she'd always bake, the soil she'd spend hours toiling away in.

"Ma chère Scarlet." She pulled away, kissing her on both cheeks. "How I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, grand-mère."

"You've gotten so tall," She said.

Scarlet smirked. "You've gotten shorter."

She glared. "Don't you be smart with me." Then she burst out laughing. "Look how beautiful you are."

"Grand-mère." Scarlet whined. "I want to go back to the farm. Is it still the same? What about the Tavern?"

"All in time, Scarlet. You've always had my patience."

"You mean none at all?" The corners of her mouth twitched.

She laughed. "That's exactly what I mean."

They started walking away from the airport terminal.

"Just wait till you get home, I've cooked us a feast. I got Gilles to help out."

"How'd you manage that? He always thought you were crazy."

"Who said I'm crazy?"

Scarlet laughed. "No one, grand-mère."

She sniggered. "That's what I thought."

They exited the gates of through the gates of the airport, into the carpark. After walking past the rows of cars all park out front, they found her grand-mère's car. It was still the same one she had been driving for years, only she had replaced the radio with an updated one with a CD player.

She opened the door and got in. This was familiar. The uncomfortable seats, the dusty dashboard, even the car freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror was the same.

grand-mère started driving along the complicated roads of the airport, finally getting out.

"How is your father?" grand-mère asked.

She noticed how she said 'your father' rather than 'my son.' "He's good." She said. "He's getting better."

She looked at her out the corner of her eye. "That's good. Hopefully one day he'll be able to treat you like a father should."

Scarlet shrugged. "It's not too bad, really. I'm working full-time so he's usually asleep by the time I get home."

"With a bottle in his hand, no doubt." She grumbled.

Scarlet looked out the window. They were nearing the exit, and she could see all the homes as they merged into the road.

"Where are you working at? A restaurant?"

She had learnt how to cook from her grand-mère, and her unofficial job working at the tavern. She had perfected her skill until she was the best chef that she knew, better even than grand-mère. It wasn't surprising that she would have thought she was working at a restaurant.

"Not yet," She said. "I'm at an amusement park. Lunar Park."

She watched as grand-mère bit the inside of her cheek.

"What?"

"Nothing, ma chèrie." She said.

"I'm going to open up my own restaurant once I save up enough money." Scarlet looked at her. Was she disappointed?

"Are you and- what was that girl's name? Summer? Winter-?"

"Winter, and no, we broke up." She interrupted her.

"Oh." She said. "Don't worry, some time in Rieux will cheer you right up."

"I'm not upset." She said quickly.

"Sure you're not."

Scarlet groaned.

Then:

"Isn't there a Blackburn at Lunar Park?"

Scarlet tore her eyes away from the scenery to look at her. "Yes. Why?"

Was she going to be getting answers and she hadn't even been in France for thirty minutes yet?

She bit the inside of her cheek again. "No reason. Just wondering."

Apparently not.

After that, they sat in a somewhat awkward silence. It wasn't until they entered Rieux that they started talking again.

The town still looked as timeless, as untouched as it did the day she left it. There was still so much green, the buildings built out of the same red brick. It was so picturesque. It felt like coming home.

They drove still a little more, until they reached Benoit Farms and Gardens.

Grand-mère parked the car on the gravel driveway, and they both got out. She could smell the manure in the garden, with the flowers and plants immaculately growing side by side. Scarlet grabbed her luggage from the trunk and strode to the doorstep.

Grand-mère unlocked the door and she stepped in. Scarlet waited a moment. How much of her home would be changed? Was it still the same as she remembered it?

She stepped in. She smelt the aroma of chicken, vegetables. The spices that grand-mère loved to use in her cooking. She remembered again, how much she missed this place. Missed a home that didn't smell of alcohol and disappointment.

She made her way into the kitchen. She was right. Grand-mère had made a feast. She wouldn't be able to finish this in one day.

"Sit." Grand-mère said, indicating to the dinner table.

This one was a new one. It was smaller. Round and made out of glass. High-backed chairs was positioned around it, and Scarlet took a seat in one of them.

Grand-mère bought out a pot of bouillabaisse, still with steam rising in clouds and the smell of seafood mingling with the air.

"Eat as much as you want, ma chèrie."

She dipped her spoon in the broth, blew on it and slurped it.

It was like she had life breathed back into her. Like she had been living without a soul her entire life only to have one again. Like she was born as pure and innocent as a baby, the moment the broth touched her mouth.

Maybe she was being dramatic. But in all honesty, having had to live without her culture for so many years, only to have it right here in front of her again. It was like a godsend.

Grand-mère laughed. "I can tell you have missed this? What, you never cooked French food with your papa?"

"He never bothered," Scarlet sniffed. "All I basically lived off were sandwiches."

She looked affronted. "Non, non, non. That's not what a Benoit girl does. If she wants something, she gets it. If your papa could never be bothered, you make him be bothered."

"Oui, grand-mère." Scarlet said. Though it's kind of hard to when he was drunk most of the time. She thought to herself.

Scarlet took another bite of her bouillabaisse, thinking pensively. "...Grand-mère?"

She looked at her. "Oui?"

A Benoit girl gets what she wants. Scarlet reminded herself before she could lose her nerve. "Why did Logan Tanner bring Selene Blackburn to you?"

She set down her cutlery, sighing. "Scarlet, this isn't talk for the dinner table."

"I want to know, though." She said. "I've met her."

"What do you mean?"

"She works at Lunar Park, sometimes. Her name is Cinder."

"...Cinder." She sighed, but she said it affectionately. "Scarlet, I will tell you. But now isn't the time."

She chewed on her bottom lip, but let her have it. If she didn't want to talk about it yet, then she would just let it be. She probably had a good reason for it anyway. And she didn't want to ruin their first night together, anyway.

"Alright," She said. "But you have to tell me soon."

She looked straight at her, unwavering, knowing that she would have to agree.

The first night, she found it hard to get some sleep. It was strange. She had gotten used to the sounds of the cars and buses and the busy nights back in the city. Here, it was so rural, all she could hear was the winter wind howling against her window.

She was back in her old room. It was empty, except for her bed, which had been freshly washed and aired. She had a full stomach by the time she went to bed, but jet lag had caught up with her and she couldn't sleep.

She realised she hadn't turned her phone off airplane mode since she landed. She connected to grand-mère's wi-fi. It was slow, and disconnected frequently, depending on where she was. She supposed that grand-mère rarely used it, being so busy with the farm.

She would have to get used to that too, not being so connected, all the time.

She had a few messages on Facebook, from Emilie, telling her to have fun in France, wishing she could be there as well.

Scarlet scrolled through her newsfeed, but got frustrated when it wouldn't load fast enough. She stared at her room, chasing the floaters in the corners of her eyes as her boredom descended into a strange kind of unawareness that she was bored.

What was she going to do once she found out why Selene was in France? Would she tell Cinder? She barely even knew the girl, anyway. And how did Logan Tanner know about her grandmother anyway?

She wanted to know a lot of things. She wasn't sure if she'd like to know the answers to them.